This kippah is meant to symbolize religious devotion and respect. It's disheartening to see it politicized with national flags. Let's honor its true meaning and keep it a symbol of faith and sincerity. #RespectTraditions#Kippah@israel@biden
US threatens German banks with sanctions – Reuters
The treasury secretary has urged financial institutions to comply with restrictions on Russia or face penalties
German bank executives need to increase their compliance with sanctions on Russia, and shut down any efforts to circumvent them, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned on Tuesday during a meeting with bankers in Frankfurt, according to Reuters.
The US official reportedly stressed that Russia must not be allowed to procure “sensitive goods” to aid its military operation in Ukraine, and warned that Washington now has the authority to hit foreign banks with secondary sanctions if they are believed to be aiding Russian military-related transactions.
“I urge all institutions here to take heightened compliance measures and to increase your focus on Russian evasion attempts,” Yellen said, warning that those who fail to do so may be prevented from using the US dollar.
Reuters reported that she also told the executives to police sanctions compliance at their foreign branches and subsidiaries, and reach out to foreign correspondent banking customers to do the same, especially in high-risk jurisdictions.
ECB rushing banks to quit Russia – FTRead more
Yellen suggested that Russia is now “desperate” to obtain critical goods from Germany and the US, and that such countries must “remain vigilant to prevent the Kremlin’s ability to supply its defense industrial base and to access our financial systems to do so.”
Earlier this month, Reuters also reported that the US Treasury had threatened to cut off the access of Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) to the American financial system due to its continued activity in Russia.
The Austrian lender is one of the few foreign banks that has yet to suspend operations in Russia despite Western sanctions. However, in a letter seen by Reuters, US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo warned that RBI’s continued presence in Russia threatened US national security, and suggested curbing its access to the US dollar.
After the warning, RBI announced it would no longer expand its business in Russia, while a spokesman for the group said it had “significantly reduced” its presence in the country to mitigate the risks from sanctions.
“RBI will continue to work towards the de-consolidation of its Russian subsidiary,” the spokesperson told Reuters.
The European Central Bank has also pressured all banks in the Eurozone to speed up their exits from Russia or face US sanctions – and instructed them to submit an “action plan” by next month detailing how they will suspend their operations in the country.
#USANews
LOOK AT THE JOKE ...DESPITE TRUE OR NOT BUT THE MATTER OF FACT THESE ASSHOLE BIDEN & USA GOVT PAYING BILLIONS OF TAX PAYER MONEY TO ORCHESTER THE WAR GLOBALLY ..
Netanyahu claims more people starving to death in US than in Gaza
The ICC’s top prosecutor accused Israel of “starvation of civilians as a method of warfare”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has argued that there have only been a few dozen officially confirmed deaths from starvation among Palestinian civilians in Gaza over the course of the Israeli war with Hamas, dismissing the International Criminal Court's accusations as blatant lies.
The ICC’s top prosecutor, Karim Khan, requested warrants for both Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, claiming that there are “reasonable grounds to believe” that the top officials, among other things, are guilty of “starvation of civilians as a method of warfare as a war crime” and “extermination and/or murder… in the context of deaths caused by starvation, as a crime against humanity.”
The prosecutor also accused Israel of “other attacks on civilians, including those queuing for food,” as well as “obstruction of aid delivery by humanitarian agencies” – a charge vehemently denied by Netanyahu in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Tuesday.
“Let’s take this charge of starvation: We’ve put in 500,000 tons of… food and medicine for this population. We’ve taken 20,000 trucks. We’ve paved roads to put those trucks in. We’ve opened border crossings that Hamas closed down. I’ve had airdrops, sea route supplies,” Netanyahu argued. “I mean, the whole thing is absurd. You should know this, I mean, the prices of food in Gaza have dropped by 80 percent. The markets don’t lie.”
There’s talk about 23, I think, or 30 cases of malnutrition in a population of 2 million... Okay, the United States in 2022 had 20,000 deaths of malnutrition. That’s three times more than in Gaza.
The Israeli prime minister went on to accuse the ICC of anti-Semitism, claiming that this kind of “slander has been leveled at the Jewish people for ages, and it’s renewed now against the Jewish state.”
International humanitarian organizations and UN officials have been sounding the alarm over aid-distribution issues, saying the supplies are inadequate to avoid mass hunger in Gaza.
It remains unclear how many people have died of starvation outside of the hospitals across Gaza, but according to the enclave’s health officials, at least 32 people, including 28 children, died of malnutrition and dehydration as of April 1. In March, a UN-backed report warned that more than 70% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million faces “catastrophic hunger,” with two out of every 10,000 people expected to die daily from starvation, malnutrition, and disease if not helped immediately.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said on Tuesday that food distribution in the southern Gaza city of Rafah is currently suspended due to a lack of supplies and due to insecurity amid Israel’s offensive. Deliveries of international aid have dropped off significantly since Israel stepped up military operations in and around Rafah earlier this month, closing the border crossing to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
In the US, the number of deaths attributed to malnutrition more than doubled since before the Covid-19 pandemic to over 20,500 in 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Malnutrition particularly affects elderly and low-income Americans, especially those with underlying health conditions or without reliable access to healthy food and medical services, with the majority of deaths occurring among those aged 85 and older.
Musk questions Ukrainian democracy
The US entrepreneur has reacted with sarcasm to President Zelensky holding office beyond his official term
Elon Musk has cast doubt on Western involvement in the Ukraine conflict being described as upholding democracy, if the country’s leader has a questionable legal claim to power.
Tuesday marked the first day after the expiration of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s five-year presidential term. His government declined to hold a new election, citing martial law put in place due to hostilities with Russia.
The American billionaire entrepreneur responded to an X (formerly Twitter) post highlighting the deadline published by conservative journalist Jack Posobiec. Musk said: “But I thought we were there to ‘uphold democracy’?”
Zelensky’s democratic bona fides were called into question before the fighting with Russia started in February 2022. His government had cracked down on critical media and opposition politicians, claiming that it was fighting Russian influence and the power of oligarchs.
His remaining in power is based on the absence of a duly elected successor, who Zelensky’s office has argued cannot be produced during war time. Kiev cited a constitutional restriction on voting under martial law as the reason for not organizing a presidential vote.
The Ukrainian Constitution does explicitly forbid parliamentary elections and some kinds of referendums during national emergencies, but says nothing about presidential elections. The Constitutional Court has not ruled on how the current impasse should be resolved.
The US and its allies have portrayed the arming and training of Ukrainian troops to fight Russia as a contribution to a global fight of democracies against autocracies. Conversely, Moscow has argued that the conflict is a US-initiated proxy war on Russia, in which Ukrainian soldiers serve as cannon fodder.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week that the issue of Zelensky’s legitimacy is something that the country itself has to sort out. However, the Ukrainian president’s status could call into question any future treaties he may sign with Russia, he added.
#askelonmusk #askelon