Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta said Wednesday its first-quarter profit more than doubled, boosted by higher advertising revenue and a 6% increase on the average price of ads on its platforms. But its shares dropped sharply in after-hours trading following lukewarm revenue guidance.

Meta Platforms Inc. earned $12.37 billion, or $4.71 per share, in the January-March period. That’s up from $5.71 billion, or $2.20 per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Revenue rose 27% to $36.46 billion from $28.65 billion.

Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of $4.32 per share on revenue of $36.14 billion, according to a poll by FactSet.

For the current quarter, the Menlo Park, California-based company said it expects revenue between $36.5 billion and $39 billion. Analysts are expecting revenue of $38.25 billion for the second quarter, which is higher than the midpoint of Meta’s guidance range.

Meta also said it expects its 2024 capital expenses to be higher than anticipated due to its investments in artificial intelligence. It is forecasting expenses in the range of $35 billion to $40 billion, up from its earlier guidance of $30 billion to $37 billion.

The company has been investing heavily in AI and earlier this month unveiled a new set of artificial intelligence systems that are powering what CEO Mark Zuckerberg calls “the most intelligent AI assistant that you can freely use.”

Meta, along with leading AI developers Google and OpenAI, and startups such as Anthropic, Cohere and France’s Mistral, have been churning out new AI language models and hoping to persuade customers they’ve got the smartest, handiest or most efficient chatbots.

“Meta’s earnings should serve as a stark warning for companies reporting this earnings season,” said Thomas Monteiro, senior analyst at Investing.com “Even though the company did beat estimates in all top- and bottom-line metrics, it didn’t matter as much as the reported lowering revenue expectations for Q2. This is the exact opposite of what Tesla did yesterday and goes to show that investors are currently looking at the near future with heavy mistrust.”

On Tuesday, electric vehicle maker Tesla reported that its first-quarter net income plummeted 55%. But it said it would accelerate production of new, more affordable vehicles, and on Wednesday its stock rose 12%.

The number of people using Meta’s apps, meanwhile, continued to increase, with 3.24 billion users on average for March in its “family of apps” that includes Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger. That’s up 7% year-over-year. Beginning this quarter, the company will no longer disclose user figures for Facebook.

Meta had 69,329 workers as of March 31, a decrease of 10% year-over-year. Zuckerberg called 2023 the “year of efficiency” and the company laid off thousands to reduce expenses.

Meta’s shares fell 16% in after-hours trading. Meta’s stock price has more than doubled over the past year thanks to a rebound in online advertising.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Iran lashed out at Argentina on Wednesday after the South American country sought the arrest of Iran’s Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi over his alleged involvement in the deadly 1994 bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish community center.

Without mentioning Vahidi by name, Iran’s Foreign Ministry warned Argentina against “making baseless accusations against citizens of other countries.” The warning Wednesday came a day after Argentina demanded that Pakistan act on an Interpol red notice to arrest Vahidi during an official visit to Islamabad.

Vahidi, who is wanted by Interpol, cut his government trip to Southeast Asia short, making an unexpected return to Tehran Wednesday.

There was no immediate response from Pakistani authorities.

Argentina’s renewed push to hold Iran accountable for the worst such attack in its history comes as right-wing President Javier Milei reshapes foreign policy to align more closely with Iran’s bitter enemy, Israel, and as tensions surge between the Mideast foes.

In an apparent reference to Israel, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani urged Argentina “not to be influenced by those who are enemies of our bilateral relations.”

No one has been convicted for planning or carrying out the 1994 bombing that killed 85 people and wounded over 300 others. But in recent weeks — as Iran faces increasing global isolation and sanctions — Argentina has escalated efforts to condemn Iran and its overseas militant network for its alleged involvement. Iran has repeatedly denied any connection to the attack.

In a move cheered by Israel, Argentina’s highest criminal court this month ruled the Iranian government had plotted the 1994 attack — as well as a 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires that killed 29 people. Judges singled out three former Iranian officials for their involvement in the Jewish community center attack — including Minister Vahidi who at the time led the Revolutionary Guard’s expeditionary Quds Force. The court also accused the Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group of executing the attack.

Earlier this week Vahidi accompanied Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to Islamabad, where he met with his Pakistani counterpart to discuss intelligence-sharing. Although expected to continue on with Raisi’s delegation to Sri Lanka, Vahidi abruptly turned back, raising speculation that Argentina’s request had complicated his international travel.

He made a surprise appearance Wednesday at a Cabinet meeting in Tehran, where he praised his trip to Pakistan in interviews with state-linked Iranian news outlets. Meanwhile, President Raisi landed in Sri Lanka.

Argentine authorities said Tuesday they had coordinated with diplomats in Pakistan and India to request Vahidi’s detention and extradition to Buenos Aires. “They continue to hold positions of power with total impunity,” a government statement said. Kanani, the foreign minister spokesperson, accused Argentina of making “illegal and false requests” to defame Iran.

For years, Argentina has tried in vain to leverage Interpol red notices to press for the arrests of accused Iranian officials. The country’s elusive quest for justice in the 1992 and 1994 bombings has been mired in controversy and alleged government coverups.

(JNS) – Iran could make a dash for the bomb in a matter of weeks, the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog said on Monday, adding that Tehran’s activity “raises eyebrows.”

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Mariano Grossi told Deutsche Welle that Iran is “weeks rather than months” away from having sufficient enriched uranium to manufacture a bomb.

In late December, the agency said Iran had tripled its uranium enrichment level to 60%, which is just a short technical step away from 90% weapons-grade.

“I have been telling my Iranian counterparts time and again …, this activity raises eyebrows and compounded with the fact that we are not getting the necessary degree of access and visibility that I believe should be necessary,” he said.

“When you put all of that together, then, of course, you end up with lots of question marks,” added Grossi.

In February, Grossi accused Tehran is being less than forthright regarding its nuclear program, saying the Islamic Republic was “presenting a face which is not entirely transparent when it comes to its nuclear activities. Of course this increases dangers.”

There had recently been a rise in “loose talk” about nuclear weapons, including from Iran, he noted. “A very high official said, in fact, ‘We have everything, it’s disassembled.’ Well, please let me know what you have?” Grossi said.

The comment came after Ali Akbar Salehi, a former head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said that Tehran has all the pieces for a nuclear weapon “in our hands.”

When asked about reports of the possible revival of nuclear talks between the United States and Iran, Grossi told Deutsche Welle that the IAEA was committed to promoting dialogue.

On Sunday, the dpa German news agency reported that Iran is in contact with the Biden administration about restarting moribund talks, with the Islamic Republic’s U.N. mission coordinating with the Americans.

Earlier this month, Tehran threatened to reconsider its official nuclear doctrine amid a direct conflict with Israel.

Tehran engaged in a direct attack on the Jewish state for the first time on April 14, launching a massive drone and missile assault. Israel allegedly responded with a strike on an Iranian air base on April 19.

The IAEA is expected to issue its next report on Iran’s nuclear progress in June.

(JNS) – There can be no negotiations with Israel as the Jewish people are “slayers of prophets,” a top Qatari official told representatives at a recent Arab League summit, according to a translation of the speech the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) published on Wednesday.

Essa bin Ahmad al-Nassr, who serves on Doha’s Shura Council legislature and holds the rank of brigadier-general in the Qatari Armed Forces’ elite Emiri Guard protection unit, threatened the annihilation of the Jewish state.

Qatar, which hosts Hamas leaders and has provided the terrorist organization with hundreds of millions of dollars, played a role last year in mediating the release of 105 hostages from Gaza in exchange for 240 Palestinian terrorists.

It has previously deflected accusations of playing a double game, saying the United States requested that it open that mediation channel.

The undated footage of al-Nassr’s speech was first shared to X by Al Jazeera correspondent in Yemen Ahmed Alshalfi on April 22.

In his remarks to the Arab League, al-Nassr said that “there can be no peace or negotiations with the Zionist entity [Israel] for one reason and one reason only: Their faith does not allow for negotiations.

“Rather, it [condones] deception, the violation of agreements and lies,” the Qatari official continued, claiming that the Jewish faith “only accept[s] one thing—killing. They are the slayers of prophets.”

Quoting the Quran, he said, “The Al-Aqsa Flood operation is only the introduction of the annihilation of the corruption that the Zionist entity has spread … Inshallah [“God willing”], this will spell the beginning of the end for their state.”

Al-Aqsa Flood is the name given by Hamas to its Oct. 7 massacre of more than 1,200 people, primarily Jewish civilians, in the northwestern Negev. Terrorists also took 253 hostages, 133 of whom remain in Gaza.

Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani claimed last week that talks for their release had hit a delicate stage. “We are going through a sensitive stage with some stalling, and we are trying as much as possible to address this,” said Sheikh Mohammed, who also serves as foreign minister.

One day later, the Qatari leader announced that Doha would be reviewing its position as mediator between Israel and Hemas, citing “misuse of this mediation for narrow political interests.”

The announcement came after U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said that Washington should “reevaluate” its relationship with Doha over the stalled hostage negotiations with the Gaza terrorist group.

Qatar should threaten Hamas with “repercussions” if the terrorist group “continues to block progress towards releasing the hostages and establishing a temporary ceasefire,” said Hoyer.

While Israel has shown flexibility, Hamas has impeded an agreement, U.S. State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller said on April 15.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden met Wednesday with Abigail Edan, the 4-year-old American girl who was held hostage in Gaza for several weeks at the start of the war.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the White House meeting with Abigail and her family was “a reminder of the work still to do” to win the release of dozens of people who were taken captive by Hamas in an Oct. 7 attack on Israel and are still believed to be in captivity in Gaza.

Abigail, who has dual Israeli-U.S. citizenship, was taken hostage after her parents were killed in the attack and was released nearly seven weeks later. She was the first U.S. hostage freed by Hamas as part of a deal with Israel to exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners early in the war. Abigail turned four during her time in captivity.

“It was also a reminder in getting to see her that there are still Americans and others being held hostage by Hamas,” said Sullivan, who attended Biden’s meeting with the girl and her family. “And we’re working day in, day out to ensure all of them also are able to get safely home to their loved ones. ”

Israel says the militants are still holding around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.

Biden spoke to the girl soon after her release in November. Thursday’s meeting was one of mixed emotions for the president.

Sullivan noted that Abigail and her two siblings were “still living with the tragedy and the trauma” of their parents being killed on Oct. 7.

“Abigail, of course, is living with the trauma of being held captive for many weeks,” he added. “But this was a moment of joy as well, because she was able to be returned safely to her family. ”

Biden’s meeting with Abigail came as Hamas on Wednesday released a recorded video of an Israeli American still being held by the group.

The video was the first sign of life of Hersh Goldberg-Polin since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel. It was not clear when the video was taken.

Goldberg-Polin, 23, was at the Tribe of Nova music festival when Hamas launched its attack from nearby Gaza. In the video, Goldberg-Polin is missing part of his left arm.

Witnesses said he lost it when attackers tossed grenades into a shelter where people had taken refuge. He tied a tourniquet around it before being bundled into the truck.

Sullivan said U.S. law enforcement officials are assessing the video but declined further comment.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Work is set to begin Monday on a $12 billion high-speed passenger rail line between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area, with officials projecting millions of ticket-buyers will be boarding trains by 2028.

Brightline West, whose sister company already operates a fast train between Miami and Orlando in Florida, aims to lay 218 miles (351 kilometers) of new track between a terminal to be built just south of the Las Vegas Strip and another new facility in Rancho Cucamonga, California. Almost the full distance is to be built in the median of Interstate 15, with a station stop in San Bernardino County’s Victorville area.

In a statement, Brightline Holdings founder and Chairperson Wes Edens called the moment “the foundation for a new industry.”

Brightline aims to link other U.S. cities that are too near to each other for flying between them to make sense and too far for people to drive the distance, Edens said.

CEO Mike Reininger has said the goal is to have trains operating in time for the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is scheduled to take part in Monday’s groundbreaking. Brightline received $6.5 billion in backing from the Biden administration, including a $3 billion grant from federal infrastructure funds and approval to sell another $2.5 billion in tax-exempt bonds. The company won federal authorization in 2020 to sell $1 billion in similar bonds.

The project is touted as the first true high-speed passenger rail line in the nation, designed to reach speeds of 186 mph (300 kph), comparable to Japan’s Shinkansen bullet trains.

The route between Vegas and L.A. is largely open space, with no convenient alternate to I-15. Brightline’s Southern California terminal will be at a commuter rail connection to downtown Los Angeles.

The project outline says electric-powered trains will cut the four-hour trip across the Mojave Desert to a little more than two hours. Forecasts are for 11 million one-way passengers per year, or some 30,000 per day, with fares well below airline travel costs. The trains will offer rest rooms, Wi-Fi, food and beverage sales and the option to check luggage.

Las Vegas is a popular driving destination for Southern Californians. Officials hope the train line will relieve congestion on I-15, where motorists often sit in miles of crawling traffic while returning home from a Las Vegas weekend.

The Las Vegas area, now approaching 3 million residents, draws more than 40 million visitors per year. Passenger traffic at the city’s Harry Reid International Airport set a record of 57.6 million people in 2023. An average of more than 44,000 automobiles per day crossed the California-Nevada state line on I-15 in 2023, according to Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority data.

Florida-based Brightline Holdings already operates the Miami-to-Orlando line with trains reaching speeds up to 125 mph (200 kph). It launched service in 2018 and expanded service to Orlando International Airport last September. It offers 16 round-trips per day, with one-way tickets for the 235-mile (378-kilometer) distance costing about $80.

Other fast trains in the U.S. include Amtrak’s Acela, which can top 150 mph (241 kph) while sharing tracks with freight and commuter service between Boston and Washington, D.C.

Ideas for connecting other U.S. cities with high-speed passenger trains have been floated in recent years, including Dallas to Houston; Atlanta to Charlotte, North Carolina; and Chicago to St. Louis. Most have faced delays.

In California, voters in 2008 approved a proposed 500-mile (805-kilometer) rail line linking Los Angeles and San Francisco, but the plan has been beset by rising costs and routing disputes. A 2022 business plan by the California High-Speed Rail Authority projected the cost had more than tripled to $105 billion.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is marking Earth Day by announcing $7 billion in federal grants for residential solar projects serving 900,000-plus households in low- and middle-income communities. He also plans to expand his New Deal-style American Climate Corps green jobs training program.

The grants are being awarded by the Environmental Protection Agency, which unveiled the 60 recipients on Monday. The projects are expected to eventually reduce emissions by the equivalent of 30 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and save households $350 million annually, according to senior administration officials.

Biden’s latest environmental announcements come as he is working to energize young voters for his reelection campaign. Young people were a key part of a broad but potentially fragile coalition that helped him defeat then-President Donald Trump in 2020. Some have joined protests around the country of the administration’s handling of Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Senior administration officials said young Americans are keenly invested in the Biden climate agenda and want to actually help enact it. The Climate Corps initiative is a way for them to do that, the officials said.

Solar is gaining traction as a key renewable energy source that could reduce the nation’s reliance on fossil fuels, which emit planet-warming greenhouse gases. Not only is it clean, but solar energy can also boost the reliability of the electric grid.

But solar energy can have high costs for initial installation, making it inaccessible for many Americans — and potentially meaning a mingling of environmental policy with election-year politics.

Forty-nine of the new grants are state-level awards, six serve Native American tribes and five are multi-state awards. They can be used for investments such as rooftop solar and community solar gardens.

Biden is making the announcement at northern Virginia’s Prince William Forest Park, about 30 miles southwest of Washington. It was established in 1936 as a summer camp for underprivileged youth from Washington, part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps to help create jobs during the Great Depression.

Biden used executive action last year to create the American Climate Corps modeled on Roosevelt’s New Deal. He is announcing Monday that nearly 2,000 corps positions are being offered across 36 states, including jobs offered in partnership with the North American Building Trades Unions.

Biden has often used Earth Day as a backdrop to further his administration’s climate initiatives. Last year, he signed an executive order creating the White House Office of Environmental Justice, meant to help ensure that poverty, race and ethnic status do not lead to worse exposure to pollution and environmental harm.

He has tried to draw a contrast with GOP congressional leaders, who have called for less regulation of oil production to lower energy prices. Biden officials counter that GOP policies benefit highly profitable oil companies and could ultimately undermine U.S. efforts to compete with the Chinese in the renewable energy sector.

Biden will use his Virginia visit to discuss how “a climate crisis fully manifest to the American people in communities all across the country, is also an opportunity for us to come together,” said White House National Climate Adviser Ali Zaidi.

He said the programs can “unlock economic opportunity to create pathways to middle-class-supporting careers, to save people money and improve their quality of life.”

The awards came from the Solar for All program, part of the $27 billion “green bank” created as part of a sweeping climate law passed in 2022. The bank is intended to reduce climate and air pollution and send money to neighborhoods most in need, especially disadvantaged and low-income communities disproportionately impacted by climate change.

EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe said she was “looking forward to these funds getting out into the community, giving people skills, putting them to work in their local communities, and allowing people to save on their energy bills so that they can put those dollars to other needs.”

Among those receiving grants are state projects to provide solar-equipped roofs for homes, college residences and residential-serving community solar projects in West Virginia, a non-profit operating Mississippi solar lease program and solar workforce training initiatives in South Carolina.

The taxpayer-funded green bank has faced Republican opposition and concerns over accountability for how the money gets used. EPA previously disbursed the other $20 billion of the bank’s funds to nonprofits and community development banks for clean energy projects such as residential heat pumps, additional energy-efficient home improvements and larger-scale projects like electric vehicle charging stations and community cooling centers.

BERLIN (AP) — Four Germans were caught laying white roses in memory of Adolf Hitler at the house where the Nazi dictator was born in western Austria on the anniversary of his birth, and one gave a Hitler salute as they posed for photos, police said Monday.

Hitler was born on April 20, 1889, in Braunau am Inn. After lengthy wrangling over the future of the house where he was born, work started last year on turning it into a police station — a project meant to make it unattractive as a pilgrimage site for people who glorify Hitler.

Police in Upper Austria province said the four Germans — two sisters and their partners, in their 20s and early 30s — went to the building on Saturday to lay white roses in its window recesses. They posed in front of the house for photos and one of the women gave the stiff-armed Hitler salute.

Patrolling officers noticed the group and took them to a police station for questioning. The woman said that she hadn’t meant the salute seriously, but officers said they found a chat with the others on her cellphone in which they shared Nazi-themed messages and pictures.

Police said they were reporting all four to prosecutors on suspicion of violating the Austrian law that bans the symbols of Nazism.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will consider Monday whether banning homeless people from sleeping outside when shelter space is lacking amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.

The case is considered the most significant to come before the high court in decades on homelessness, which is reaching record levels in the United States.

In California and other Western states, courts have ruled that it’s unconstitutional to fine and arrest people sleeping in homeless encampments if shelter space is lacking.

A cross-section of Democratic and Republican officials contend that makes it difficult for them to manage encampments, which can have dangerous and unsanitary living conditions.

But hundreds of advocacy groups argue that allowing cities to punish people who need a place to sleep will criminalize homelessness and ultimately make the crisis worse.

The Justice Department has also weighed in. It argues people shouldn’t be punished just for sleeping outside, but only if there’s a determination they truly have nowhere else to go.

The case comes from the rural Oregon town of Grants Pass, which started fining people $295 for sleeping outside to manage homeless encampments that sprung up in the city’s public parks as the cost of housing escalated.

The measure was largely struck down by the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which also found in 2018 that such bans violated the 8th Amendment by punishing people for something they don’t have control over.

The case comes after homelessness in the United States grew a dramatic 12%, to its highest reported level as soaring rents and a decline in coronavirus pandemic assistance combined to put housing out of reach for more Americans, according to federal data.

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong has long been a major producer and consumer of great food, and a great amount of plastic and Styrofoam to go with it.

That’s going to change as new legislation aiming to stop the sale and distribution of Styrofoam products and single-use plastic cutlery went into effect on Monday.

Under the new law, single-use cutlery such as forks, spoons, straws and plates cannot be sold or distributed for both dine-in and takeaway customers. However, plastic food containers and cups can still be given out for takeaways.

The regulation of disposable plastic tableware and other plastic products in Hong Kong aims to reduce their use at the source to cut down on pollution, Hong Kong’s Environmental Protection Department said in an emailed response to The Associated Press.

Restaurants were given a six-month grace period. A second phase of the ban, expected next year, will ban all single-use plastics including containers for both dine-in and takeaway.

Many restaurants have already begun implementing the new measure.

Kuen Fat Kitchen is a typical lunch stop for many people in Hong Kong. Even before the new law was introduced, it had already started to reduce the use of Styrofoam boxes.

Owner Kitty Chan said the changes will mean higher costs.

“For a single-use cutlery set, you might think it’s just a small change, but switching the plastic spoon to a paper spoon doubles the cost for us. So, it’s not so friendly to the business of the food and beverage industry,” Chan added.

Customers at Kuen Fat Kitchen have mixed feelings. Some don’t want to face extra hassle when going out to eat if they are asked to bring their own containers and utensils.

“When I’m at work, I only have an hour for lunch, and I need to eat efficiently. I don’t think it’s convenient for me to bring my own cutlery and do the washing up afterwards. It’s not convenient and I don’t think it’s a good idea,” said customer Darren Seng.

Others recognized the environmental impacts of their dining-out habits.

“I think it’s better for the environment,” said resident Thomson Choi.

Single-use plastic cutlery is the second-largest source of plastic waste after single-use plastic bags in Hong Kong, according to Greenpeace. Many businesses are changing to alternative plastics made of natural resources to comply with new rules, instead of improving their packaging, the organization added.

Greenpeace campaigner Leanne Tam hopes that the new law will discourage the throwaway culture and promote reusables, instead of “greener” disposables.

“Any kind of plastic ban policy should aim to influence the public to stay away from plastic. We should move on, and have a new approach,” said Tam. “But we would like to remind the government that it should devote more resources to promote reusable instead of disposable. This is the way to solve the root of the problem.”

According to the latest figures by Hong Kong’s government in 2022, the city disposed 11,128 tons of solid waste per day, among which plastics contributed 2,369 tons.

Hong Kong is reliant on the city’s three landfills to handle its waste, but they are expected to be filled up by around 2026, according to the government.

The city plans to implement municipal solid waste charging from Aug. 1, but the logistics have yet to be worked out. It would compel individual homes, restaurants, and all businesses to pay for trash they throw away.

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Jewish Tunisians who organize an annual pilgrimage to one of the world’s oldest synagogues are planning a scaled-down event next month, citing concerns about security less than a year after a deadly shooting there shook their community.

Thousands regularly make the journey to Djerba — the North African island where many of Tunisia’s remaining 1,500 Jews reside — to celebrate the Jewish holiday Lag B’Omer. But this year, the community has decided to limit them to the 26-century-old El-Ghriba synagogue instead of the island-wide events traditionally held.

“Those who come to visit are welcome and they can hold religious rituals, light a candle, inside the synagogue,” Perez Trabelsi, the head of the island’s Jewish community, told The Associated Press.

The decision comes more than six months into the Israel-Hamas war, which has reverberated throughout the Middle East and North Africa, inciting mass street protests from Morocco to Iraq. In Tunisia, most of the protests have been peaceful but in October, demonstrators desecrated a synagogue in Al-Hammah on the mainland.

The limits to the Lag B’Omer pilgrimage are a blow to Djerba’s tourism industry after it welcomed more than 7,000 people for the three-day event last year. Days after it concluded, a 30-year-old national guardsman killed five people at the El-Ghriba synagogue, sparking panic among the population and visitors.

The shooting and the Israel-Hamas war are politically charged topics in the North African country. Trabelsi attributed the decision to limit this year’s Lag B’Omer festivities to security concerns over the shooting, not the war. He said the community didn’t feel threatened, but noted that its leaders felt obliged to protect it.

He praised Tunisian authorities for working to provide security for the event and in a statement on Friday underlined the significance of the pilgrimage: “Tunisia and Djerba will remain lands of tolerance, coexistence and peace.”

Similar questions have been raised about annual pilgrimages to Jewish sites in Morocco, historically home to North Africa’s largest Jewish community.

The International Federation of Moroccan Jews has called for canceling collective celebrations of the Mimouna holiday and avoiding festive events in public spaces, according to local media reports.

(JNS) – Israel Defense Forces Military Intelligence Directorate head Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva on Monday announced his resignation over his failure to prevent Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre.

Haliva decided to retire months ago following the intelligence failures that contributed to the massacre of some 1,200 people and the kidnapping of more than 253 hostages to Gaza, but asked IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi to postpone the announcement.

Haliva’s announcement comes after the IDF withdrew almost all ground troops from the Strip, leaving only one brigade remaining in the enclave.

“On Saturday, October 7, 2023, Hamas carried out a murderous surprise attack against the State of Israel, the consequences of which are difficult and painful. The Intelligence Directorate under my command did not live up to the task it was entrusted with,” Haliva wrote to Halevi.

Haliva, who served in the army for almost four decades, asked Halevi to relieve him of his duties following the conclusion of an internal investigation and after an “orderly learning and transition process.”

Earlier this year, Halevi announced an internal probe into the military’s failures leading up to Oct. 7, calling the investigation a “duty and not a privilege.”

In January, Israel’s Walla news site cited military sources as claiming that while the IDF was aware of Hamas’s repeated attempts to blow up the security fence on the Gaza border in preparation for the Oct. 7 attacks, it opted to dismiss the rehearsals as a “provocation.”

Hours before Hamas’s attack, IDF intelligence learned that hundreds of terrorists in Gaza activated Israeli SIM cards in their phones, the Military Censor cleared for publication in February.

The activations were detected around midnight on the night of Oct. 6, some six and a half hours before thousands of Palestinian terrorists breached the fence.

In October, The New York Times reported that Unit 8200, the IDF’s signals intelligence unit, stopped listening to Hamas’s handheld radios a year before the attacks, deciding it was a “waste of effort.”

(JNS) – Britain will continue to support Israel against “reckless” attacks by Iran and its terrorist proxies in the region, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak vowed in his annual Passover holiday statement on Monday.

“My thoughts are with those who lost loved ones on the 7th of October and those who continue to be held hostage. And we will continue to stand with Israel against the kind of reckless attack that we saw earlier this month from Iran,” said Sunak in the video statement posted to X.

The British leader noted that Passover is “a moment for families and communities to give thanks, to gather around the Seder table and break matzah together.”

However, “for too many families, there will be empty seats,” he said.

“The promise of Passover is that better times lie ahead. So to the Jewish community in the U.K. and around the world, whether your loved ones are near or far, I hope that this holiday brings some comfort and a reminder of that promise of a better tomorrow,” said Sunak.

Earlier this month, Sunak marked six months since the Hamas massacre of some 1,200 people by calling for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and the terrorist group and announcing additional aid to Gaza via the sea.

In January, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron sparked controversy when he suggested that London unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state so Palestinians “can see that there is going to be irreversible progress to a two-state solution.”

NEW YORK (AP) — Tesla knocked roughly a third off the price of its “Full Self Driving” system — which can’t drive itself and so drivers must remain alert and be ready to intervene — to $8,000 from $12,000, according to the company website.

Tesla CEO and billionaire Elon Musk promised in 2019 that there would be a fleet of robotaxis on the road in 2020, but the promise has yet to materialize, and the system still has to be supervised by humans.

The cuts, which occurred on Saturday, follow Tesla’s moves to slash $2,000 off the prices of three of its five models in the United States late Friday. That’s the latest evidence of the challenges facing the electric vehicle maker.

Tesla reduced the prices of the Model Y, a small SUV which is Tesla’s most popular model and the top-selling electric vehicle in the U.S., and also of the Models X and S, its older and more expensive models. Prices for the Model 3 sedan and the Cybertruck stayed the same.

The price reduction came the day after Tesla’s stock dropped below $150 per share, wiping out all gains made over the past year. The Austin, Texas, company’s stock price has dropped about 40% so far this year amid falling sales and increased competition. Discounted sticker prices are a way to try to entice more car buyers.