Gilyonos for Shabbos attached

The UK has signed a £3.4bn agreement to cede sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius after an 11th-hour legal challenge failed.

Keir Starmer told a press conference on Thursday afternoon he had signed the deal and that it was “one of the most significant contributions that we make to our security relationship with the United States”.

Under the agreement, Britain cedes control over the islands to Mauritius but leases the largest one, Diego Garcia, for 99 years to continue operating a joint US-UK military base there.

The cost of leasing Diego Garcia, revealed for the first time on Thursday, is £101m a year. The Ministry of Defence said the net value of the cumulative payments would be £3.4bn.

Starmer said there was “no alternative” to this agreement and defended its cost, saying it was “part and parcel of using Britain’s reach to keep us safe at home”. He said it was less than the cost of running one aircraft carrier for a year.

Downing Street said the deal was a “legal necessity” and backed by the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, which are part of an intelligence-sharing partnership with the UK.

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Scotland Yard has urged London’s Jewish community to remain vigilant in the aftermath of the killing of two Israeli embassy staff in Washington DC.

The Metropolitan Police warned Jewish Londoners of the “ever-present need” to be on their guard following the attack, carried out near the US capital’s Jewish museum by a man who shouted “free Palestine”.

A Met Police spokesman said: “We understand why the awful attack on the Jewish community in Washington DC on Wednesday evening will undoubtedly have increased concerns among Jewish Londoners.

“It comes at a time when many are already increasingly worried about their safety.

“There is nothing to indicate that events in Washington have specifically increased the risk or threat here in London, but they are a reminder of the ever-present need to be vigilant. Our message to Jewish Londoners remains the same – please be alert, but do not be alarmed.

“If you see something that doesn’t feel right, trust your instincts and report it.

SILVERDALE

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that he has no interest in being re-elected as president.

“We want the new constitution not for ourselves but for our country. I have no interest in being re-elected or becoming a candidate again,” Mr Erdogan told journalists on the plane after visiting Hungary, state news agency Anadolu reported.

Turkey’s 71-year-old leader made the remarks as he pushes for moves to change the country’s constitution, to create what he described as a “civilian” framework and not one “written by coup plotters”.

The country’s current constitution was ratified following a coup in 1980 − one of many military takeovers in the country’s modern history.

“Let’s set up our commissions, create the civilian constitution as soon as possible and present it to our nation,” said Mr Erdogan, who has been in power as Prime Minister and President since 2003. “Let it be both national and local. Let Turkey see such a constitution.

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PM Netanyahu says he has appointed Maj. Gen. David Zini as the next Shin Bet chief. Zini currently serves as the head of the IDF Training Command and General Staff Corps. He has also been responsible for advancing the draft of Haredi soldiers to the military.

Israel is getting ready to quickly strike Iran if ongoing talks between the United States and the Islamic Republic over the latter’s nuclear program break down, Axios reported Wednesday, citing a pair of Israeli sources.

“Bibi is waiting for the nuclear talks to collapse and for the moment Trump will be disappointed about the negotiations and open to giving him the go-ahead,” said one of the sources, using Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s nickname.

According to the sources, the Israeli intelligence community now thinks the nuclear talks could collapse soon, after previously believing an agreement was close. One of the sources said the military believes the window to attack Iran may soon slam shut, requiring Israel to move fast if the negotiations do not pan out, without saying why the IDF reached that assessment.

The news site also said that both sources confirmed a CNN report that Israel is preparing for potential strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, while adding that any attack would require a weeklong campaign and not be a one-off. Conducting such an operation would also pose great risks to the Israeli forces, the report said.

“There was a lot of training and the US military sees everything and understands Israel is preparing,” one of the sources is quoted as saying.

A US source told Axios that Washington is concerned that Israel could go ahead with a strike without getting prior approval from US President Donald Trump.

In addition, other countries in the region are worried that an Israeli strike — which would likely provoke a war — could release radioactive material that would spread across the area.

A key point of contention in the nuclear talks is Iran’s uranium enrichment activities. Whereas Washington has increasingly stressed that in any deal Iran would not be permitted to enrich uranium, Tehran has vowed that it won’t give up its right to do so.

For the UK Jewish Orthodox Community
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Erev Shabbos

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