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AUGUST 27, 2020 | The Jewish Home
The Week In News
Mali Junta Frees President
The rebel soldiers who seized power in Mali last week are demanding a military-led transitional body to rule for three years and have agreed to release the ousted president they kidnapped, according to a statement issued on Sunday. Last week’s coup – the second in Mali within eight years – followed months of protests calling for the
resignation of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, as discontent grew over Islamist insurgency and the collapsing economy. “The junta has affirmed that it wants a three-year transition to review the foundations of the Malian state. This transition will be directed by a body led by a soldier, who will also be head of state,” a source in the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) delegation reported. He elaborated that, under the proposal, the government “will also be predominantly composed of soldiers.” The source and a junta official added that Keita, currently detained along with other political leaders, would be freed and allowed to return to his home in the capital and would be permitted to travel abroad for medical treatment if he so chooses. Prime Minister Boubou Cisse, who has been held at a military base outside the capital with Keita, would be moved to a secure residence within the city. While the coup was met with international condemnation, thousands of supporters celebrated the president’s ouster in the streets of
Bamako. The junta has promised to hold elections “within a reasonable time,” though Mali’s neighbors have called for the reinstatement of Keita. Keita won a landslide election in 2013, presenting himself as a unifying figure in a fractured country and was re-elected in 2018 for another five-year term.
Putin Critic was Poisoned
On Monday, the Berlin hospital that was treating Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny said that test results indicated he had been poisoned. Russian doctors, however, responded that they were not able to find the toxin in his blood.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for the Russian authorities to ensure those responsible are held accountable. The 44-year-old opposition leader and anti-corruption campaigner was brought to the German capital on Saturday after falling ill in Siberia last week with what Russian doctors blamed on a metabolic disorder. His supporters say that poison was slipped into the tea that he drank at the airport on Thursday. His plane had been forced to make an emergency landing in the city of Omsk when he began to feel sick. On Monday, the German hospital said its clinical tests on Navalny “indicate poisoning with a substance from the group of cholinesterase inhibitors.” Cholinesterase is an enzyme needed for the central nervous system to function properly. Its inhibitors are used to make medicines and insecticides and nerve agents such as sarin. “Alexei Navalny’s prognosis remains unclear; the possibility of long-term effects, particularly those affecting the nervous system, cannot be excluded,” the hospital said on
On behalf of the Board of Directors and the Emunah of America family we mourn the loss of
SHIRLEY SINGER v’’g Shirley was one of the founders of Emunah of America, the Past Executive Director, and her current role was Senior Director of Philanthropy & Strategic Partnerships. Since 1946, Shirley dedicated her life to ensuring the well-being and safety of the children and families of Israel. She quietly raised significant funds for Emunah’s projects. She was a dynamo, that never stopped. Her dedication and work ethic was to be admired. Shirley loved her family, loved Emunah, loved her friends and loved Israel. Her impact will be felt for generations to come. Shirley was a mentor to so many. It is a tremendous loss to everyone who knew and loved her, and to all of Klal Yisroel. Shirley will never be forgotten. May her family be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.
Johanna Guttmann Herskowitz National President
Karen Spitalnick
Chairman of the Board
www.emunah.org
Laurie Szenicer
Chief Executive Officer
