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Mask-wearing arsonists set a synagogue ablaze before dawn on Friday in the Australian city of Melbourne, police said, as the attack was widely condemned. The fire broke out at 4:10 am (1710 GMT Thursday) in the Adass Israel Synagogue when some congregants were already inside, police said, gutting much of the building in the southeast Melbourne suburb of Ripponlea. No serious injuries were reported. A witness entering the synagogue for morning prayers saw “two individuals wearing masks”, according to Detective Inspector Chris Murray of the Victorian police arson and explosive squad. “They appeared to be spreading an accelerant of some type in the premises,” he said. The synagogue was “engulfed in flames”, he added. “We believe it was deliberate. We believe it has been targeted. What we don’t know is why.” Police will increase patrols as they hunt for the arsonists, who were wearing dark clothing, he said. Detectives would be looking at CCTV footage and interviewing any witnesses, Murray said. Television images showed firefighters hosing down the embers through the blackened door of the single-storey building, which has a grey concrete facade. A board member of the synagogue, Benjamin Klein, said a few congregants were sitting and praying inside when the fire started. “They heard loud banging,” Klein told AFP. Liquid was poured inside the synagogue and set alight, he said. “If this had happened an hour later, there would have been hundreds of people inside,” Klein said. The congregants “ran out the back of the synagogue. One man who ran out — his hand got burnt,” he said. “The fire was extensive,” he told AFP. Books and furniture were destroyed, he said, vowing that the community would “rebuild”. Members of the congregation formed a human chain to remove religious items from the damaged synagogue, including Torah scrolls — one of which was brought to Australia from Germany in World War II, the Age newspaper reported. Klein said the synagogue had increased security over the past 12 months amid safety concerns, without giving further details. In 1995, the synagogue was damaged by a deliberately lit fire, with walls and Torah scrolls burned. Klein, who was a child at the time, said he remembered standing inside the synagogue with his grandfather, who he said was a Holocaust survivor. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese “unequivocally” condemned the fire and said federal police would help the state to investigate it. “This violence and intimidation and destruction at a place of worship is an outrage,” Albanese said in a statement. “This attack has risked lives and is clearly aimed at creating fear in the community.” The prime minister said he had “zero tolerance” for anti-Semitism. “It has absolutely no place in Australia.” Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he spoke with Albanese on Friday and expressed his “firm condemnation of the horrific arson attack”. He added that “the increasingly serious antisemitic attacks on the Jewish community required firm and strong action”. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the “heinous act cannot be separated from the anti-Israel sentiment emanating from the Australian Labor government”, citing Canberra’s decision to vote for a UN resolution demanding the end of Israel’s “unlawful” occupation of Palestinian territory. The war in Gaza has sparked protests from supporters of Israel and Palestinians in cities around Australia, as in much of the world. Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Daniel Aghion said the community had been living in fear of such an incident since the start of the war in Gaza. “This for us is just evidence of that fear,” he told reporters. “This is something that is the greatest manifestation of what we have been seeing and hearing in terms of threatening e-mails, threatening social media, threatening letters and all sorts of other material.” Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack which triggered the Gaza war resulted in the deaths of 1,208 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.GLASSBORO, New Jersey -- The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) at Rowan University's College of Engineering gives students a hands-on opportunity to build and compete with off-road vehicles. As juniors, students design the car and begin the building process. Then, they perfect it as seniors. At the South Jersey Technology Park, they can test drive it on an off-road course. Students also get the chance to travel with the car and compete against other clubs. To learn more, watch the video above and visit their website and Facebook page .Austin scores 20 off the bench, Portland downs Lafayette 74-64According to Langley, the vessel was in the marine park for about seven minutes, it also did not drop anchor or fish, neither was he onboard. Yet the DAF issued the fishing boss a $13,000 (US$8,300) fine. He says this is an example of one issue plaguing the state’s fisheries system. Langley says the DAF’s methodology and decision-making relies on the total numbers collected, but fails to account for the shrinking number of boats. These figures are also used to set quotas for the fisherman. This prompted Queensland Senator Gerard Rennick to post about it on social media. “It is madness for the state and federal government to allow the importation of fish from overfished areas while destroying our fishing industries,” he wrote. The federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry (DAFF) has pointed to several reasons why Australia is an importer of seafood. “These products are generally still available in Australia, but Australian consumers are often unwilling to pay as high a price as export markets for the volumes produced.” High value products include abalone, rock lobster, and tuna. The DAFF research also suggested that Australia’s coastlines are not as fertile, and do not produce as many fish. “Unlike other countries, the Australian continent does not have large offshore upwellings or sufficient runoff from the landmass to provide nutrients that naturally support larger fish stocks.” Grunske says there is a need for “real science” and not “doom science” that is largely negative about the health of Australia’s seas.
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NoneStrategic hire underscores Assembly's commitment to bolstering its leadership team to deliver best-in-class services and results for its clients. NEW YORK , Dec. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Assembly, a leading global marketing agency within the Stagwell (STGW) network, today announced the appointment of Josh Berman as Executive Vice President, Assembly Lead. Earlier this year, Assembly unveiled a new operating structure with teams organized into 'Assemblies' based on geography and industry sector. Based in New York , Berman will co-lead Assembly East, focusing on deepening brand relationships, driving innovation, and providing more rigor, expertise, and growth for clients. Berman brings 15 years of media industry experience to Assembly. Most recently, as Managing Partner and Client Lead at Wavemaker, he led media planning and buying for a major Church & Dwight brand and contributed to global product development initiatives, leveraging data and technology to craft effective marketing solutions. Over his career, Josh has partnered with marquee brands across various industries, including Citi, Campbell's , IKEA, Tiffany & Co., Amgen, Marriott, and AT&T. Berman's appointment is part of Assembly's ongoing growth efforts, ensuring that the agency remains at the forefront of the industry and continues to meet clients' evolving needs. "Our clients get the best of both worlds—an agency big enough to lead yet small enough to care—which means each client receives the attention, dedicated leadership, and prioritization the industry and clients are demanding," said Rick Acampora , Global CEO of Assembly. "Josh's extensive experience in media strategy, analytics, client leadership, and innovation, coupled with his ability to fuse media and creative to unlock and accelerate brand performance, will be instrumental as we continue to elevate and find the change that fuels growth for our clients. We are thrilled to have him join our team." Berman's role is effective immediately. ABOUT ASSEMBLY Assembly is a leading global omnichannel media agency that merges data, talent, and technology to catalyze growth for the world's most esteemed brands. Our holistic approach weaves together compelling brand narratives with a comprehensive suite of global media capabilities, driving performance and fostering significant business expansion. Our initiatives are powered by STAGE, our proprietary operating system, and executed by a dedicated global team of over 2,300 professionals across 35 offices worldwide. Committed to purposeful action, Assembly leads the way in social and environmental impact within the agency realm. As a proud member of Stagwell, the challenger network designed to revolutionize marketing, Assembly continues to set new standards of excellence. For more information, please visit assemblyglobal.com . Contact Mariana Delacqua mariana.delacqua@assemblyglobal.com View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/josh-berman-joins-assembly-as-evp-assembly-lead-in-north-america-302337752.html SOURCE Assembly
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NoneJOSH BERMAN JOINS ASSEMBLY AS EVP, ASSEMBLY LEAD IN NORTH AMERICA
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NEW YORK (AP) — The man accused of gunning down United Healthcare’s CEO outside a Manhattan hotel is now jailed in New York, awaiting arraignment Monday on a state murder indictment after he was returned to the city in dramatic fashion to face charges in multiple courts. Shackled and wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione was escorted Thursday by heavily armed police officers and whisked by air from Pennsylvania to Manhattan, where he appeared in a packed courtroom on federal charges that could bring the death penalty. The Ivy League graduate, who prosecutors say inveighed against the health insurance industry and wealthy executives in his writings, was not required to enter a plea to federal charges of murder, stalking and firearms charges in the Dec. 4 killing of Brian Thompson . The state indictment charges Mangione with murder as a terrorist act. Here’s what’s next in the cases: Mangione is being held without bail at Metropolitan Detention Center, the same federal jail where hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs and cryptocurrency fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried are currently detained. The notorious Brooklyn facility, the only federal lockup in the city, has been variously described as “hell on earth” and an “ongoing tragedy” because of deplorable conditions, rampant violence, dysfunction and multiple deaths. The federal Bureau of Prisons has said it is increasing staffing to make up for staggering shortfalls , but conditions have been so stark at the jail, which houses about 1,100 inmates, that some judges have refused to send people there. Besides the federal charges filed Thursday, Mangione must still answer to a state murder indictment . Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office charged Mangione with murder as an act of terrorism , which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole. He is also charged with state weapons offenses and possession of a fake ID. Prosecutors have said the two cases will proceed on parallel tracks, with the state charges expected to go to trial first. Mangione’s lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, argued in court Thursday that the terrorism allegations in the state case and stalking charges in the federal complaint appear to be at odds. “Those are two completely different theories,” she said. “These seem like different cases.” The U.S. Supreme Court in 2019 upheld a longstanding constitutional rule allowing state and federal governments to prosecute someone for the same crime. Mangione is set to be arraigned Monday in Manhattan on the state indictment, according to Bragg's office. The University of Pennsylvania alum, who hailed from a prominent Maryland family and had also lived in Hawaii, had been expected to be arraigned Thursday on the state charges before the federal charges preempted that appearance. In the federal case, Mangione could next return to court for a bail hearing or for a preliminary hearing if prosecutors don’t obtain a grand jury indictment by mid-January. New York effectively effectively abolished its death penalty by 2007 and the last execution in the state was in 1963. But the federal death penalty remains in effect. The federal complaint filed against Mangione includes a count of murder by firearm, which carries the possibility of the death penalty if he is convicted. Federal prosecutors have not said if they will seek the death penalty. That decision will be made in coming months by Justice Department officials in Washington, likely after President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in on Jan. 20. President Joe Biden's administration put a moratorium on federal executions soon after he took office in 2021, but that hasn't stopped federal prosecutors from seeking the death penalty . In contrast, Trump's administration carried out 13 executions in the last six months of his first term. Mangione also faces forgery and firearms charges in Pennsylvania stemming from his arrest last week, but those will likely not be addressed until the New York charges are resolved. He initially fought attempts to be returned to New York, but ultimately waived extradition and a preliminary hearing on the Pennsylvania charges on Thursday. “He is now in their custody,” Blair County District Attorney Peter Weeks said after Mangione was extradited to New York. “We intend to keep our case active and we intend to essentially revisit the case when the defendant is available for prosecution in Blair County.” Associated Press reporter Larry Neumeister in New York contributed to this story. Follow Philip Marcelo at twitter.com/philmarcelo .