Netanyahu's coalition is rattled as ultra-Orthodox party announces exit over military draft law
United Torah Judaism's two factions said they were bolting the government over disagreements surrounding a bill that would codify broad military draft exemptions for their constituents, many of whom study Jewish texts instead of enlist to the military. The issue has long divided Jewish Israelis, most of whom are required to enlist, a rift that has only widened since the war in Gaza began and demands on military manpower grew.
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Canada News.Net
2 hours ago
- Canada News.Net
Daily World Briefing, July 16
Leaders from more than 20 countries and heads of 10 international organizations will attend the Tianjin summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and related events, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday. The SCO Tianjin summit will be held from August 31 to September 1, Wang said in Tianjin during a joint press meeting with SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev. On the same day, Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, chaired SCO member states' meeting of the council of the ministers of foreign affairs in Tianjin. Canada's Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 1.9 percent on a year-over-year basis in June, up from a 1.7 percent increase in May, Statistics Canada said Tuesday. Headline inflation grew at a faster pace, as gasoline prices fell to a lesser extent in June than in May, said the national statistical agency, adding that faster price growth for some durable goods, such as passenger vehicles and furniture, put upward pressure on the CPI in June. The CPI excluding energy remained higher than the CPI in June, partly due to the removal of consumer carbon pricing in April, said the agency. On a monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.1 percent in June, said Statistics Canada. U.S. President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that Indonesia will pay a 19 percent tariff on all goods exported to the United States, while U.S. exports to Indonesia are to be free of tariff- and non-tariff barriers. Trump said on Truth Social that he "finalized an important Deal with the Republic of Indonesia after speaking with their Highly Respected President Prabowo Subianto. This landmark Deal opens up Indonesia's ENTIRE MARKET to the United States for the first time in History." As part of the agreement, Indonesia has committed to purchasing 15 billion U.S. dollars in energy and 4.5 billion dollars in agricultural products from the U.S. market, besides 50 Boeing jets, he added. Hamas said Tuesday in a statement that one of its leaders Mohammed Faraj al-Ghoul was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City. The statement did not offer further details, and there was no immediate comment from the Israeli army on the airstrike. This came as the Israeli military issued a new statement warning residents of several areas in Gaza City and in Jabalia, northern Gaza, to evacuate immediately to the western areas and then to the southern areas towards Al-Mawasi amid escalating military operations. On March 18, Israel resumed its military operations in Gaza. At least 7,656 Palestinians have been killed and 27,314 others injured since Israel renewed its intensive strikes, bringing the total death toll since October 2023 to 58,479, and injuries to 139,355, Gaza-based health authorities said Tuesday. Experts from across Africa met in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, on Tuesday to discuss ways to improve rice production on the continent. The day-long symposium on Improving Rice Seed Production Systems in Africa brought together agricultural experts, policymakers and researchers from across the continent to review strategies for achieving self-sufficiency in rice production. Abdelbagi Ismail, principal scientist and regional representative for Africa at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), said that Africa imports about 17 million tonnes of rice annually, as local production is insufficient to meet demand. "Rising demand for rice as a staple food is being driven by rapid urbanization as well as shifting diets," Ismail said.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Republicans declared it ‘crypto' week in the House. It's not going as planned
WASHINGTON (AP) — A trio of cryptocurrency bills that had been expected to pass the House this week stalled on Tuesday after a bloc of Republicans unexpectedly joined with Democrats to prevent the legislation from coming up for debate and votes. The procedural snafu brought the House's so-called 'crypto week' to a standstill — and dealt a blow to President Donald Trump, who had strongly urged Republicans to pass the bills as part of his push to make the U.S. the ' crypto capital of the world.' A group of 13 Republicans joined all Democrats in opposition to a procedural vote needed to bring the crypto bills to the floor. Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters it was just part of 'legislative process' and that negotiations were underway between the House, Senate and White House. He suggested they could try again Tuesday evening. 'We expected there might be some 'no' votes, but we thought it was important to put it on the floor to advance it because time's of the essence on this,' Johnson said. 'So stay tuned. We'll have lots of discussions over the next few hours.' But just hours later, House leadership canceled votes for the remainder of the day, potentially throwing the crypto bills into limbo. The stalled legislation includes a Senate-passed bill to regulate a form of cryptocurrency known as stablecoins, along with far more sweeping measures aiming to address cryptocurrency market structure. Another bill would prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency. The disagreement blocking the bills from advancing centers on how the three bills would be passed. Johnson explained that 'some of these guys insist that it needs to be all in one package.' Packaging the bills would require them to be sent back to the Senate, since the chamber has only taken up one of the three bills so far. Rep. Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania, a Republican co-sponsor of one of the cryptocurrency bills, told reporters that some of the Republicans wanted to package the bills together due to them 'not having a lot of faith in the Senate moving our legislation.' Trump and Republican leaders have called on the House to pass the bills individually, so that the stablecoin legislation can get to Trump's desk for his signature before an August recess. The stablecoin legislation took the Senate nearly a month and half to pass, and the more sweeping market structure legislation is expected to take even longer. In a post Tuesday morning on social media, Trump called on Republicans to advance the crypto bills that afternoon, saying that 'all Republicans should vote 'yes.'' Asked Tuesday evening about the stalled legislation, Trump told reporters that Republicans who voted against it wanted it to be 'stronger.' Trump has pushed hard for the passage of the stablecoin legislation, with him and his family standing to profit from a boost to stablecoins. They hold a significant stake in World Liberty Financial, a crypto project that recently launched its own stablecoin, USD1. The stablecoin legislation passed by the Senate includes a provision that bars members of Congress and their families from profiting off stablecoins. But notably, that prohibition does not apply to the president or his family, even as Trump builds what some are calling a crypto empire from the White House. The cryptocurrency industry hopes the bills as a whole will aid in their push for legitimacy and increasing consumer trust. And road bumps like those seen Tuesday may not have been expected after spending heavily in the 2024 election to elect a large number of crypto-friendly lawmakers. Faryar Shirzad, chief policy officer of Coinbase, the nation's largest cryptocurrency exchange, said in a statement after the failed procedural vote that 'every few steps forward there's inevitably a step back.' Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. 'It's in these moments we'll see who is trying to get pro-crypto legislation done and who is not,' Shirzad said on social media. Passage of the bills could have implications on the 2026 midterm races. Fairshake, a crypto super political action committee, said that it and its affiliated organizations already have more than $140 million in the bank ready to spend on midterm races. 'The voters last year were clear — Congress needs to stop playing politics with crypto and finally pass responsible regulation,' said Josh Vlasto, spokesperson for Fairshake. 'We are building an aggressive, targeted strategy for next year to ensure that pro-crypto voices are heard in key races across the country.' ___ Associated Press writer Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.
Toronto Star
3 hours ago
- Toronto Star
Cuban minister faces backlash for saying there are no beggars in Cuba
HAVANA (AP) — A Cuban minister sparked criticism Tuesday, including from the president, after saying that there are no beggars in Cuba, only people disguised as such, and suggesting that those who clean windshields at crossroads have an 'easy' life. Cuba's Minister of Labor and Social Security, Marta Elena Feitó Cabrera, made the comments on Monday before deputies in a National Assembly committee. They went viral, prompting calls for Feitós' impeachment and a wave of criticism in a country experiencing a tough economic situation in recent years.
