NYT says Bloomberg will back Clinton — and he tweets it

Brother of gay pride killer: I am against violence

Michael Schlissel, the brother of convicted murderer Yishai Schlissel, says he is opposed to violence, and expresses his sorrow to the family of 16-year-old Shira Banki, who was killed by his sibling at last year’s gay pride parade.

Michael Schlissel was detained for several days last week over an alleged plot with his brother to attack this year’s parade, which took place Thursday.

“I am strongly opposed to violence and my brother’s actions,” he tells Ynet. “I can tell the Banki family that I am certainly opposed to [what happened]. I am very sorry that it happened and [Shira] lost her life. ”

Participants in the gay pride parade in Jerusalem flee stabber Yishai Schlissel, July 30, 2015. (Koby Shotz)

4 hospitals hit by air raids in Aleppo, doctors say

Four makeshift hospitals and a local blood bank in Syria’s battered Aleppo city were hit by air raids in the past 24 hours, a group of doctors say.

The bombardment killed a two-day-old baby in the children’s hospital in a besieged eastern neighborhood of Aleppo, says the Independent Doctor’s Association, a group of Syrian doctors that supports clinics in the city.

The infant’s oxygen supply was cut after a strike on the hospital at 1:00 am (2300 GMT), the second strike on the hospital in about nine hours, according to the IDA.

“The doctors could only yell for their colleagues to take cover and shield the babies,” the group says in a statement.

A Syrian civil defense volunteer carries a wounded child following a reported airstrike on the rebel-held neighborhood of Qatirji in the northern city of Aleppo on July 23, 2016. (AFP PHOTO/Thaer Mohammed)

The IDA says the four hospitals that were hit — the children’s hospital, Al-Bayan, Al-Zahraa, and Al-Daqaq — will all be going out of service “as a result of the escalating series of aerial attacks taking place against health facilities in Aleppo by Syrian and Russian warplanes.”

The World Health Organization says Syria is the most dangerous place for health care workers to operate last year, with 135 attacks on health facilities and workers in 2015.

— AFP

UK paper says Corbyn group linked to anti-Semitic organization

The Mail on Sunday reports that a far-left political group created to support UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has secret ties to an “extremist” organization accused of anti-Semitism.

The paper says its undercover reporter was told by an official from Momentum that the Muslim Public Affairs Committee (MPAC) could help him drum up support for the Labour leader.

According to the Mail, MPAC “once publicly mocked Holocaust Remembrance Day,” and has been banned for the past 12 years by the National Union of Students due to its “extreme views.” The group also donated money to convicted Holocaust denier David Irving, the Mail says.

Under Corbyn, the veteran far-left backbencher who replaced Ed Miliband as party leader last year, numerous Labour members have been suspended or censured for anti-Semitic comments. He is currently facing a leadership challenge by Owen Smith MP.

Read the full report here

Every second high school teacher experiences abuse, union says

Every other high school teacher in Israel experiences physical or verbal abuse, according to a new study by the Secondary School Teachers Association.

According to the study, some 3,000 teachers have experienced physical violence — including hitting, stoning and sexual assault — and one in four teachers has been attacked by parents, Army Radio reports.

The head of the union, Ran Erez, is calling for action to improve the situation.

“If a school is disorderly, there is no discipline and no respect for those who teach the students. It is impossible to achieve results,” he says. “We must invest in education to prevent violence, and solve the problems of violence, disorder, and lack of respect for the education system and the teachers.”

Police mulling charges in leak of rape accuser’s ID

Israel Police is consulting with the army on whether to bring charges against those who leaked the name and image of a woman accusing an IDF general of rape.

Brig.-Gen. Ofek Buchris seen during a visit to Tel Hashomer army base, November 22, 2010. (Flash90)

IDF Brig. Gen. Ofek Buchris was indicted by the Military Advocate General on Thursday for rape, sodomy and sexual assault against two female subordinates between 2010 and 2012. He denies the charges.

Israel has very strict rules against releasing information about alleged victims of sexual assault, which were put in place to protect complainants and encourage them to come forward. Violating these rules can result in criminal charges.

— Ilan Ben Zion

IOC meets on banning Russia from Rio Olympics

The International Olympic Committee is currently meeting on whether to ban Russia from the Rio Games over state-run doping, an unprecedented decision that could spark the Olympic movement’s worst crisis in decades.

While countries have been banned from past Games for political reasons, throwing an entire nation out for drug cheating would be a first. Russia’s track and field team is already barred over drug cheating.

The IOC is facing global pressure to take exemplary action given the stunning nature of the allegations against Russia, as well as a run against the clock because the Olympics start in less than two weeks.

Russia’s Maria Sharapova carries the torch during the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, February 7, 2014. (AP/Matt Dunham)

An independent report from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) says Russia’s sports ministry directed a vast doping program with support from the state intelligence agency that saw thousands of tainted urine samples destroyed or swapped for clean ones.

The cheating affected 30 sports and went on during the 2014 Sochi Games and other major Olympic and international events, according to the WADA report.

— AFP

IS claims Baghdad suicide bombing that killed 14

The Islamic State group claims responsibility for a suicide bombing in Baghdad that killed 14 people.

In an online statement, the group says the attack at a checkpoint in the Kadhimiyah neighborhood targeted a gathering of security forces and Shiite militia members.

The claims cannot be verified, but are posted on a militant website commonly used by the extremists.

Iraqi security forces stand guard at the site of a suicide bombing on July 24, 2016 near a checkpoint in the Kadhimiyah area, home to a major Shiite shrine, in northern Baghdad. (AFP PHOTO/SABAH ARAR)

— AP

Israel claims gold at gymnastics World Cup

Israel’s rhythmic gymnastics team wins a gold medal at the International Gymnastics Federation’s World Cup competition in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The team claims the medal in group exercises with five ribbons, with a winning score of 18.500 points. Russia wins silver with 18.350 points, and Spain takes bronze with a score of 18.250 points.

Munich gunman planned shooting for year, police say

The 18-year-old gunman who killed nine people in a shooting spree in Munich on Friday had been planning his crime for 12 months, police say.

“He had been preparing [the shooting] for a year,” Bavarian police chief Robert Heimberger tells a news conference in the city.

But, police say, Ali Sonboly didn’t specifically select victims.

Reports had emerged that the gunman deliberately lured young people to the mall with a fake claim of giveaways that he posted online via a hacked Facebook account.

A memorial of candles and flowers stands in front of the Olympia Einkaufszentrum shopping center in Munich, southern Germany, on July 24, 2016, two days after an 18-year-old German-Iranian student killed nine people in a shooting attack there. (AFP PHOTO/dpa/Karl-Josef Hildenbrand)

Israel cracks egg-smuggling plot

Agriculture Ministry officials thwart a plan to smuggle 18,000 eggs from the West Bank into Israel.

Channel 10 says the eggs, which even had forged stamps on the shells, came from Ramallah, and were intercepted at a checkpoint between Israel and the central West Bank.

The eggs could have posed a threat to public health, according to Channel 10.

Rivlin makes condolence call to Abbas over brother’s death

President Reuven Rivlin makes a condolence call to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas following the death of his brother Omar Abbas last week, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reports.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Isaac Herzog have made similar calls.

Obama’s half-brother says he’s voting Trump

The New York Post says Barack Obama’s Kenyan half-brother is voting for Donald Trump in the November presidential elections.

According to the Post, Malik Obama says he likes the GOP nominee “because he speaks from the heart.”

He says: “Make America Great Again is a great slogan. I would like to meet him.”

Malik Obama attributes his recent switch to “the party of Lincoln” to his “deep disappointment” in his brother’s administration. He also cites the FBI decision not to indict presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton for using a private email server during her stint as secretary of state.

In this Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012 file photo, Malik Obama, half-brother of President Barack Obama, poses for photographs after speaking about the then upcoming US elections to a reporter in the village of Kogelo where he lives in western Kenya. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

“She should have known better as the custodian of classified information,” the Post quotes Malik Obama as saying.

Obama also expresses anger over his brother’s killing Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, whom he says was one of his best friends.

Read the full report here

Tehran confirms detention of Iranian-American man

A judicial spokesman in Iran confirms reports that the country has detained an Iranian-American national in recent days.

“The reports on the detention of a dual-national Iranian-American individual are confirmed,” Mohseni Ejei says at a press conference in Tehran, the semi-official Fars news agency says.

According to Fars, Ejei declines to discuss the allegations against the detainee, but does confirm that the man was arrested in Gorgan, a city in northern Iran.

While Iran has yet to name the man, Fars says, Western media media outlets have reported in the last few days that Gorgan native Gholamreza Shahini, also known as “Robin,” was arrested this month during a visit to the country.

Pope heading to Poland for ‘Catholic Woodstock,’ Auschwitz visit

Pope Francis will arrive in Poland on Wednesday amid heavy security for an international Catholic youth festival where he is expected to make the case for welcoming refugees, a thorny issue for Warsaw.

He will also visit Auschwitz, where he will meet with survivors of the Nazi death camp, and lead prayers for its 1.1 million mostly Jewish victims with Poland’s chief rabbi Michael Schudrich.

With Europe reeling from a series of terror attacks targeting civilians, Poland will deploy over 20,000 policemen and has temporarily restored border checks with EU neighbors.

Though World Youth Day organizers are expecting nearly two million pilgrims, only around 400,000 have officially registered.

The 79-year-old Argentine pontiff, a son of Italian immigrants, has chosen a theme of mercy for the 2016 edition of the faith extravaganza, dubbed “the Catholic Woodstock.”

— AFP

Turkey holding cross-party ‘unity’ rally to condemn coup

Turkey is today holding its first cross-party rally to condemn the recent bloody coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as his government presses on with a purge of suspected state enemies.

The mass pro-democracy event, to be held under tight security on Istanbul’s iconic Taksim square from 1500 GMT today, was called for by the biggest opposition group, the secular and center-left Republican People’s Party.

But to signal patriotic unity, it will be joined by Erdogan’s Islamic-conservative AKP, whose followers have turned city squares red with seas of Turkish flags every night since the failed putsch.

An AKP official says the party would work to prevent any trouble with opposition supporters, stressing that: “We’re trying to turn these rallies into an opportunity for national unity and a jointly celebrated democracy festival.”

A woman waves flags during a pro-Erdogan rally in Taksim square in Istanbul on July 22, 2016, following the failed military coup attempt of July 15. (AFP PHOTO/OZAN KOSE)

— AFP

Candidate for Israel Police chief rabbi: Don’t rent to gays

Rabbi Rami Berachyahu, a candidate for the post of chief rabbi of Israel Police, reportedly advised against renting apartment to gay couples.

According to the Ynet news website, Berachyahu, who is chief rabbi of the West Bank settlement of Talmon, wrote in a missive in his community bulletin two years ago that he advocated “warm and humane” treatment of gays as individuals and criticized the poor attitudes that some have toward gay people.

But, he continued: “We cannot let live in our community those who are inconsistent with the law of nature and the values ​​of the Torah and halacha.”

Iran destroys 100,000 illegal satellite dishes

Iran destroys 100,000 illegal satellite dishes and receivers as part of a widespread crackdown against the devices that authorities say are morally damaging, according to an Iranian news website.

The destruction ceremony takes place in Tehran in the presence of General Mohammad Reza Naghdi, head of Iran’s Basij militia, who warns of the impact that satellite television is having in the conservative country.

“The truth is that most satellite channels… deviate the society’s morality and culture,” he says at the event, according to Basij News. “What these televisions really achieve is increased divorce, addiction and insecurity in society.”

Under Iranian law, satellite equipment is banned, and those who distribute, use, or repair it can be fined up to $2,800.

— AFP

No blanket ban on Russia at Rio

The International Olympic Committee decides against a complete ban on Russian athletes from the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and is leaving it up to global federations to decide which Russian athletes to accept in their sports.

But, the committee says, it will deny entry of Russian athletes who do not meet the requirements set out for the federations, and those federations have the authority under their own rules to exclude Russian teams as a whole from their sports.

— AP

Brawl erupts at Knesset debate on closure of state broadcaster

A number of Israel Broadcasting Authority employees are ejected from a stormy meeting of the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee as they protest the delayed launch of the new state broadcaster for more than a year.

The Broadcasting Corporation was due to start in September, replacing the IBA, which is closing. But Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu, who is also acting communications minister, decided last week to wait until the beginning of 2018 to complete the launch.

One of the IBA employees is forcibly removed when he begins shouting at committee chairman MK Eitan Cabel (Zionist Union).

“I am the sole breadwinner. I have been at the [IBA] for 30 years, are you going to throw me out of my house? You are a garbage lawmaker,” he says.

The decision by Netanyahu is also criticized by Cabel and Yesh Atid MK Karin Elharar.

Trump ‘expanding,’ not backtracking, on Muslim ban

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump says he is not backtracking on his proposed ban on Muslims entering the US, but rather “expanding” it to focus on territory.

“People were so upset when I used the word Muslim. Oh, you can’t use the word Muslim. Remember this. And I’m okay with that because I’m talking territory instead of Muslim,” he tells “Meet the Press.”

“I actually don’t think it’s a rollback. In fact, you could say it’s an expansion. I’m looking now at territory,” he says.

Trump has repeatedly called for “extreme vetting” to be put in place for nations hit by recent terror to protect the United States from the risk of attack.

“Just remember this,” Trump says. “Our Constitution is great. But it doesn’t necessarily give us the right to commit suicide, okay? Now, we have a religious, you know, everybody wants to be protected. And that’s great. And that’s the wonderful part of our Constitution. I view it differently.”

— AFP

Amnesty: ‘Credible evidence’ of torture of Turkey coup detainees

Human rights group Amnesty International says it has “credible evidence” of abuse and torture of people detained in sweeping arrests since Turkey’s July 15 coup attempt aimed at ousting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The London-based group says some of those being held are being “subjected to beatings and torture, including rape, in official and unofficial detention centers in the country.”

A Turkish official said earlier today that the country has detained a senior aide to the US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom it blames for the coup attempt.

— AFP

Buchris accuser files police complaint over leak

One of two women accusing an IDF general of rape files a police complaint over the publication of her name and image on Facebook.

Brig. Gen. Ofek Buchris was last week indicted for rape and sexual assault of the two women subordinates between 2010 and 2012. He denies the charges.

“We hope that the arm of the law reaches the perpetrators in such a way as to deter others from taking similar actions,” the woman’s lawyers say, Channel 2 reports. “The complainant has been exposed to a smear campaign that could discourage other women from making a complaint.”

Trump threatens to take US out of World Trade Organization

Republican White House nominee Donald Trump suggests the US could pull out of the World Trade Organization if he is elected president.

Trump tells NBC’s “Meet the Press” he would slap punitive taxes on firms that moved manufacturing activities abroad, citing Mexico as an example.

When show host Chuck Todd says that such plans would be challenged at the WTO, Trump responds: “Doesn’t matter. We’ll renegotiate or pull out. These trade deals are a disaster, Chuck. The World Trade Organization is a disaster.”

— AFP

1 dead, 2 hurt in machete attack in Germany — reports

Initial reports say a woman is dead and two other people are wounded in a machete attack in Reutlingen in southern Germany.

The attacker is under arrest, the reports say. Images uploaded to social media purport to show the attacker lying on the ground after the attack, with a bloodied face, and a policeman’s foot on his leg.

Macheten-Killer a #Reutlingen wieder sehr Deutsch aussehend.#Merkel #Amoklauf
schaun was d #Medien heute einfällt pic.twitter.com/5EiMkJeVLf

— Kreuz 2017 (@zwo_gstreckt) July 24, 2016

Police confirm one dead in southern German attack

Police confirm that one person has been killed in a machete attack in the southern German city of Reutlingen, German newspaper Bild says.

Earlier reports state that two other people are wounded.

Images on social media show a machete that was purportedly used in the attack.

https://twitter.com/AmichaiStein1/status/757243745528057856

Report: Germany attacker is Syrian refugee, 21

Police say the man who killed a woman and wounded two other people in a machete attack in the German city of Reutlingen is a 21-year-old Syrian refugee, Ynet reports.

The man had previously been involved in attacks, police say, adding that they believe he acted alone.

Video purports to show south Germany machete attack

A video released on YouTube purports to show the moment a Syrian refugee began to attack passers-by with a machete in the southern German city of Reutlingen, killing one person and wounding two.

The footage begins by showing what appears to be a covered body on the ground, and quickly moves to a clip apparently taken from inside a car, and shows a man dressed in dark clothing begin to run down the street, waving something in his hand. One woman inside the car can be heard apparently calling the police, while another woman repeatedly says “Oh my God!”

US general retweets — and deletes — anti-Semitic Twitter post

A retired US general who spoke at last week’s Republican National Convention gets slammed on Twitter for retweeting a post that appears to blame Jews for the recent leak of Democratic National Committee emails.

Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn later deletes the tweet and issues an apology.

A screen capture of deleted tweet by former US Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who reposted a tweet accusing Jews of leaking DNC emails.

“The corrupt Democratic machine will do and say anything to get #NeverHillary into power. This is a new low,” writes Flynn in the original post, in a message that attaches a tweet from an account under the name Saint Bibiana.

The attached tweet appears to mock a claim by Hillary Clinton campaign that Russia is behind the leak of DNC emails in order to embarrass the party and help get Donald Trump elected. It goes on to imply that Jews are actually behind the release of the emails.

“CNN implicated. The USSR is to blame!, the tweet reads, adding: “Not anymore, Jews. Not anymore.”

>CNN implicated.

"The USSR is to blame!"

Not anymore, Jews. Not anymore. https://t.co/PhcYKvigmk

— Saint Bibiana (@30PiecesofAG_) July 24, 2016

In his apology tweet, Flynn says he only intended to tweet the link to a CNN article included in the anti-Semitic message.

“This is what was meant to be retweeted…the earlier retweet was a mistake,” Flynn writes. “My sincerest apologies.”

All, this is what was meant to be retweeted…the earlier retweet was a mistake. My sincerest apologies. https://t.co/0s1OqEC3gr

— General Flynn (@GenFlynn) July 24, 2016

No evidence machete killing is ‘terrorist attack’ — German police

German police say there is no evidence that a deadly machete attack by a Syrian refugee in the southern city of Reutlingen was a terror attack.

One woman was killed and two other people were wounded when the 21-year-old asylum seeker went on the rampage in the third attack in the country in six days.

GERMANY: Man with machete kills a woman, injures 2 other people in Reutlingen, Germany. attacker arrested. PHOTOS: pic.twitter.com/ld4kuAZfeR

— KolHaolam (@KolHaolam) July 24, 2016

Police: Reutlingen killer argued with woman before attack

Police say the man who went on the rampage with a machete in the southern German city of Reutlingen had argued earlier with the woman he killed in the attack.

The man, who was arrested, “had a dispute” with the woman and killed her “with a machete” before injuring a second woman and a man, police say.

The attack does not bear the hallmarks of a “terrorist” attack, according to police.

“At this stage of the inquiry we have nothing to indicate this was a terrorist attack,” the police say.

A police line near the site where a Syrian asylum-seeker killed a woman and injured two people with a machete, on July 24, 2016 in Reutlingen, southern Germany. (AFP PHOTO/dpa/Christoph Schmidt)

— AFP

Report: Massive blast, gunfire heard in Kabul

A massive explosion and gunfire have been heard in the Afghan capital Kabul, Russia’s RT news agency reports, citing local sources on social media.

The blast reportedly took place in the area of the city heavily populated by foreign diplomats.

#Breaking: Ambulances' sirens, gun fires follow a huge explosion near diplomatic enclave n #Kabul. Gunfire has calmed down now. #Afghanistan

— Bashir Ahmad Gwakh (@bashirgwakh) July 24, 2016

Report: Rocket fire near US embassy in Kabul

A loud explosion is heard in Kabul, in what a local reporter says was rocket fire close to the US embassy in the so-called diplomatic area of the city.

UPDATE: Kabul based journalist reports that source of explosion in Kabul was a rocket that hit near the US embassy.https://t.co/l6JvmTGkV6

— Conflict News (@Conflicts) July 24, 2016

Sirens are also reportedly heard coming from the US embassy.

Kabul is in mourning after its deadliest attack for 15 years killed 80 people and left hundreds maimed yesterday.

Report: Rocket falls in kindergarten yard in Kabul

An Afghan interior ministry spokesman says a rocket landed in the yard of a kindergarten in the Macroryan district of Kabul, according to a CNN producer.

There are no casualties, the spokesman says.

The comment comes shortly after reports of a loud explosion in the diplomatic district of the Afghan capital.

A rocket landed in a kindergarten yard in the #Macroryan district of #Kabul, #Afghanistan caused no casualties, And interior ministry Spox.

— Hamdi (@HamdiAlkhshali) July 24, 2016

NYT says Bloomberg will endorse Clinton — and he tweets it

The New York Times reports that Michael Bloomberg is set to endorse Hillary Clinton for president, and — in an apparent endorsement of his apparent endorsement — the billionaire former New York mayor tweets a link to the article.

The report says that Bloomberg, who ran for mayor on a Republican ticket, is to speak in a “prime-time” slot at the Democratic convention that starts tomorrow in Philadelphia.

According to the paper, this is “an unexpected move” by Bloomberg, but one that “reflects [his] increasing dismay about the rise of Donald J. Trump and a determination to see that the Republican nominee is defeated.”

"Dismayed by Donald Trump, Michael Bloomberg Will Endorse @HillaryClinton" https://t.co/M9VQ45ozbB

— Mike Bloomberg (@MikeBloomberg) July 24, 2016