After the priestly blessing was recited on Monday, the chief rabbis recited prayers for the peace and wellbeing of Israel and the Israel Defense Forces. They then blessed the Passover pilgrims who had made the trip to Jerusalem for the holiday, one of three annual Jewish pilgrimages.

"The pilgrimage of so many people to the Western Wall is powerful testament to the affinity of the people of Israel to the remnants of our Holy Temple," said Rabinovitch. "This joyful display of the people of Israel crowding the streets is reminiscent of times past, when pilgrims would arrive here. It reminds one of the Holy Temple itself rather than of its destruction."

Meanwhile, while the ceremony was taking place, hundreds of Palestinian protesters gathered on the Temple Mount in an effort to disrupt the holiday prayers, but police - prepared for such an incident with increased presence throughout the holy site - were able to subdue them.

The hackers had access to sensitive information such as real-time non-public details of the president's schedule. While such information is not classified, it is still highly sensitive and prized by foreign intelligence agencies, US officials say.

The White House in October said it noticed suspicious activity in the unclassified network that serves the executive office of the president. The system has been shut down periodically to allow for security upgrades. The FBI, Secret Service and US intelligence agencies are all involved in investigating the breach, which they consider among the most sophisticated attacks ever launched against US government systems.

The intrusion was routed through computers around the world, as hackers often do to hide their tracks, but investigators found tell-tale codes and other markers that they believe point to hackers working for the Russian government. National Security Council spokesman Mark Stroh didn't confirm the Russian hack, but he did say that "any such activity is something we take very seriously."

The two nations are also on opposite sides of the Syrian civil war. Iran strongly supports Syrian President Bashar Assad, including direct military aid, while Turkey openly seeks regime change in Damascus. Last month, Erdogan lashed out at Iran, accusing it of trying to "dominate the region." On Tuesday, Erdogan and Iranian President Hassan Rohani downplayed their differences.

"We had a comprehensive discussion about Yemen," Rohani said in comments broadcast live on Iranian state television. "We had common points; we have to witness the end of war and bloodshed in Yemen as soon as possible." Rohani again called for an end to the Saudi-led airstrike campaign in Yemen — now in its 13th day — and called for all Middle Eastern countries to "fight terrorism and extremism" together. Erdogan said, "The region is burning in a fire," and called for a comprehensive regional approach to end the crises in Yemen, Iraq and Syria.

"We discussed Iraq, 100 thousand people were killed there ... So far, more than 300 thousand were killed in Syria. All were Muslim. We do not know who is killing who," Erdogan said. "We have to get united and block the killing and bloodshed. We have to bring those who are fighting each other together and we can reach a conclusion."

Dubbed “The Lost Tomb of Jesus” in a 2007 documentary movie directed by James Cameron, the chamber contained nine burial boxes or “ossuaries” inscribed with the names “Jesus son of Joseph”, “Mary” and other names associated with the New Testament. The inscriptions and the approximate dates of burial have led some to suggest the Talpiot Tomb means Jesus married, that he fathered a child, and that the existence of bodily remains means the Resurrection could never have happened.

While the results are likely to rekindle the debate surrounding the possible remains of Jesus, they are still far from accepted in scientific circles. The collector who owns the James ossuary told the Times Dr Shimron’s work determines nothing “conclusively”, while other Jerusalem archaeologists say they await its publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

Arutz Sheva got the chance to speak with Israel's chief rabbis about the blessings, and their own blessings for the Jewish people. Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi David Lau said "it's a great merit for all of the people of Israel who stand here in a place that is so sanctified and so unique, standing and meriting the blessing of Heaven, everyone - with no difference in ethnic communities."

The mass of Jews gathering for a blessing were there "in a prayer that next year we will all merit to stand and be blessed from the mouth of the Creator of the Universe through His delegates the Kohanim, those serving G-d at the holy and pure place up above at the top of the (Temple) Mount," added Rabbi Lau.

The reference to ascending the Temple Mount, where the priestly service at the Temple occurred and is to occur at the time of the final redemption, comes at a time when the Jordanian Waqf still enjoys de facto control of the site and has forbidden Jewish prayer. "I bless the people of Israel with the blessing of a kosher and joyous Pesach," Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef added.

Chief Rabbi of the Kotel, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, also spoke with Arutz Sheva, saying that the priestly blessing is "a great and enormous blessing." "The Holy One Blessed be He guarantees it," said the rabbi, quoting the scriptural reference behind the priestly blessing in which it is written "place my Name upon the children of Israel and I will bless them."

"The synagogue at the Mahkama Building has a special uniqueness and importance to Jews, in that it is the only synagogue in the world located within the walls of the Temple Mount," wrote Visoli. "Therefore, this synagogue is the only one in the world where the commandment of prostrating oneself on the Temple Mount can be fulfilled."

Visoli demanded that Edri respond to the request by Tuesday, adding that if no response is given, the Joint HQ activists are prepared to launch legal processes against the Israeli Police to compel them to enforce the "Law for Preserving Holy Sites" which promises free access to holy sites. The urgent letter comes as a follow-up, after Visoli's request to enter the synagogue was rejected the day before.

Like many other Jews, Visoli was denied access to the Temple Mount during Pesach (Passover) on Sunday. Short of access to the Mount, he asked permission to visit the synagogue, but was denied by area commander Avi Biton who explained the synagogue had been turned into a military base.

Addressing Edri, Visoli wrote, "as is known to you, the state of Israel is a Jewish and democratic state that is subject to the rule of law, and is not a military dictatorship in which soldiers' residences cancel holy sites."

The students were barred as part of the Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS), which was introduced in 2007 following concern from the security services that terrorists were targeting British universities. But at the moment the scheme only applies to students from outside the EU and MPs are concerned that home grown jihadists could be slipping under the radar.

Sir John Stanley, chairman of the Arms Exports Controls Committee, said the system ought to be extended to cover home grown students who could also be seeking to use their education as a springboard to terrorism. Sir John said: “The fact 739 students have had to be barred indicates this is grounds for serious concern. It is extraordinary given the threat we face for the Government to go on refusing to extend this to those in the UK. We have made the recommendation for at least two years but it has been consistently rejected.”

Greece's growing insolvency problems have raised fears the country would become the first developed nation to ever fall into an arrears process with the IMF. However, the informal talks with Yanis Varoufakis on Easter Sunday seemed to have repaired relations between the parties, with Ms Lagarde saying both sides had "agreed that effective cooperation is in everyone’s interest."

"I reiterated that the Fund remains committed to work together with the authorities to help Greece return to a sustainable path of growth and employment," said Ms Lagarde in a statement.

But what does Mr Tsipras really hope to achieve? Fears of a Leftist alliance with Putin's Russia first emerged after Syriza's landslide election win in late January. The nascent government moved to quickly condemn economic sanctions placed on Moscow. In a nod to their long-standing historical ties, the Moscow trip was announced as Greeks marked the anniversary of their foundational War of Independence, when Tsar Alexander I allied with the Mediterranean state to throw off four centuries of Ottoman rule.

The dalliance with the Kremlin has since intensified, as Greece's creditors show no signs of lessening the squeeze on the country. Ahead of his visit, a defiant Mr Tsipras revived calls for the EU to halt sanctions and open up diplomatic channels with the Kremlin. In a hint at Greece's simmering tensions with Brussels, the Syriza leader attacked economic warfare as a "dead-end policy".

With the clock ticking on its cash crunch, both sides will be hoping for a denouement to the saga before Mr Tsipras returns to Moscow in May. The Greek premier will be marking Russian Victory Day - a celebration of the capitulation of Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union in the Second World War.

After European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker called for the creation of an “EU joint army” in a March 8 interview with Germany’s Welt am Sonntag newspaper, Le Monde published an article titled “Germans in uniform.” The French media and political establishment are for the most part remaining silent on Juncker’s proposal for an EU army, which would be dominated by Germany. Le Monde wrote, “The proposal, which has largely gone unnoticed in France, has become very popular on the other side of the Rhine.” Le Monde went on to cite German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen, who welcomed Juncker’s proposal, saying, “Our future, as Europeans, will one day depend on a European army.”

Le Monde drew a parallel with the situation after World War II, when Washington forced Paris to acquiesce to the rearmament of West Germany, which was directed against the USSR. The newspaper wrote: “The French had to submit to what they wanted to avoid: the rearming of Germany and its integration into NATO. Sixty-five years later, History seems to be repeating itself. Europe again wants Germans in uniform, as it is threatened by the Islamic State (IS) and Vladimir Putin.” However, as Le Monde bluntly added, “The French… are not in a hurry to see Germans in uniform.”

The newspaper summarily dismissed Berlin’s attempts to mask the reassertion of its imperialist interests under the veneer of an all-European project. It explained Berlin’s calculations as follows: “We cannot scare our neighbors as we re-arm. It is better to give a European gloss to our re-militarization.”

Fundamental contradictions of European capitalism are reasserting themselves. Berlin and Paris are planning joint projects, such as combat drones, and have sought to work together to negotiate a cease-fire in Ukraine to prevent the US from precipitating outright war with Russia. However, the policy of rearmament across Europe is sharpening deeply rooted tensions between Germany and France, who fought wars three times in the last century-and-a-half: the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-1871 and the two world wars of the 20th century.

SBX “represents a capability that is unmatched,” the director of the Missile Defense Agency told a Senate subcommittee in 2007. In reality, the giant floating radar has been a $2.2-billion flop, a Los Angeles Times investigation found.

Although it can powerfully magnify distant objects, its field of vision is so narrow that it would be of little use against what experts consider the likeliest attack: a stream of missiles interspersed with decoys. SBX was supposed to be operational by 2005. Instead, it spends most of the year mothballed at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Over the last decade, the agency has sunk nearly $10 billion into SBX and three other programs that had to be killed or sidelined after they proved unworkable, The Times found.

The man behind the institute, Dr Abdullah Swalha, wants to see an informed Arab public equipped with the tools to relate, deal and negotiate with Israel, by presenting the country as an imperfect democracy and model of tolerance, albeit with inequalities between Arab and Jewish citizens and an occupying power still controlling the lives of million of Palestinians in the West Bank — a far cry from the “Zionist entity” trope widely used for decades in the Arab world as a blanket description for the Jewish state.

“We don’t see the other side of Israel: Israel as a model of democracy, Israel as a model for prosperity, Israel as a state that respects human rights,” Swalha told this reporter in his cushy, renovated office featuring arresting views of downtown Amman. “The relationship between the government branch and the people, the separation of power, an independent judiciary — all the necessary democratic criteria exist in Israel,” Swalha said, adding “I speak of course only about Israel within [the 1967 lines], not about Israel in relation to the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. We have to be clear about this point.”

Modeling the center on Israeli think tanks and research institutes, Swalha seeks not only to inform the public, but also to provide strategy analysis and recommendations to the Jordanian government — both to shape foreign policy vis-à-vis Israel, and to widen Jordan’s involvement in a binding rapprochement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

The affected families can be found in the rural communities of Eastern Coachella Valley and South Kern, and are known to spend 10 percent of their earnings buying bottled water and other alternatives because the local supply tastes bad, has a dirty appearance or suffers from general contamination. “In some of these areas, people are getting their water from private wells,” said Dr Lucia Kaiser, lead author of a recent policy brief from UC Davis’ Center for Poverty Research. “Those aren’t as regulated, or as tested to be proven safe.”

Families resort to drinking from bottles or a filtration system, but both are costly. The extra cost and fear about water contamination is creating another health issue as people begin purchasing sugar-sweetened beverages instead, leading to growing levels of diabetes. In the last decade, there has been a 35 percent increase.

However, it is actually a facade to win political access and influence for individuals holding extreme, bigoted and anti-democratic views. Labour’s shadow equalities minister and vice-chair of its national policy forum, Kate Green, spoke at a Mend event last Friday addressed by a man, Abu Eesa Niamatullah, who has called British people “animals,” demanded that women should not work, attacked democracy and said that “the Creator is the one who should decide what the laws should be.”

In new recordings heard by this newspaper, Sufyan Ismail, Mend’s chief executive, describes the group’s strategy to act as “kingmaker” in next month’s election and claims it can control as many as 30 seats.

A survey of 10,000 people by the Equality and Human Rights Commission in 2012 suggested that 1% of the population was transgender. But the truth is no-one really knows because many people never seek help. The UK's only centre specialising in gender issues in under 18s is the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust which has clinics in London and Leeds. It says that gender dysphoria in young people is a "complex and rare condition where there is incongruence between the young person's perceived gender and their biological sex".

Over the past six years there's been a four-fold increase in children aged 10 or under being referred to the unit in 2014-15, compared with 2009-10. Of those children, 47 were aged five or younger and two of the children were three years old. One charity which supports parents with kids who are uncomfortable with their gender is Mermaids. Its head says she's received around 60 calls in the past year from parents of under 10s who think their child might be transgender.

There might be some who would attribute the situation to the parents - that it must be the way they brought their child up, spoiling them rotten, indulging them, or maybe they inadvertently "conditioned" the child in some way because they wanted a girl instead of a boy?