Feed aggregator

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent leveled harsh criticism at the operations of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday even as he tried to reassure nervous investors that the United States would maintain its global leadership role. “America first does not mean America alone,” he said in a speech to the Institute of International Finance. “To the contrary, it is a call for deeper collaboration and mutual respect among trade partners.” Although Bessent said the IMF and the World Bank are “falling short,” he stopped short of calling for the U.S. to withdraw from the institutions as some conservatives have advocated. It was the latest example of how Bessent, a former hedge fund manager who keeps a close eye on the financial markets, has tried to calm the economic turmoil as President Donald Trump tries to rewire international trade through aggressive tariffs. After Bessent’s remarks, reporters asked him about a Wall Street Journal article that said the huge U.S. tariffs that the Republican president has levied on China could be cut in half, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. Bessent said: “I’d be surprised if that discussion is happening.” However, he said he expects “there’d have to be a de-escalation” from Washington and Beijing’s trade confrontation. Trump had said on Tuesday that the 145% tariffs on China could “come down substantially.” And then on Wednesday, he told reporters that “everybody wants to be a part of what we’re doing” and “everyone’s going to be happy.” Bessent’s speech in Washington represented a broadside against the IMF and the World Bank, which provide loans and other financial support around the world. He said the Trump administration “will leverage U.S. leadership and influence at these institutions and push them to accomplish their important mandates.” Some of Bessent’s criticisms echoed the Trump administration’s efforts to root out progressive ideology from federal institutions. Bessent said the IMF “has suffered from mission creep” and “devotes disproportionate time and resources to work on climate change, gender and social issues.” He said there were similar problems at the World Bank, which he said “should no longer expect blank checks for vapid, buzzword-centric marketing accompanied by half-hearted commitments to reform.” One of the problems, Bessent said, is that China is still treated like a developing country, which gives it more favorable treatment from global institutions. With China as the second-largest economy in the world, he said, “it’s an adult economy.” Despite growing friction between Beijing and Washington, Bessent said “there is an opportunity for a big deal here.” Bessent wants the U.S. to boost manufacturing while China increases consumption, making its economy less reliant on flooding the globe with cheap exports. “If they want to rebalance, let’s do it together,” he said. “This is an incredible opportunity.” Beijing said Wednesday that “exerting pressure is not the right way to deal with China and simply will not work.” (AP)

Colombian President Gustavo Petro stated that he suspects that the Trump administration has canceled his travel visa to the United States.

Petro, who had earlier relented to pressure from President Trump to accept deported migrants, made this assertion during a Cabinet meeting in Bogota, where he explained why he would be unable to attend the spring meetings organized by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington, DC.

“I can no longer go because I believe they took away my visa,” Petro remarked.

“I didn’t need to have one, but anyway, I’ve already seen Donald Duck several times, so I’ll go see other things,” the Colombian president continued, taking a jab at Trump.

The U.S. State Department, however, declined to verify or reject Petro’s statement, citing the confidentiality of visa-related information.

“Visa records are confidential under US law; therefore, we cannot discuss the details of individual visa cases,” a spokesperson from the State Department told The Post.

Earlier this year, Trump had warned of potential visa sanctions, heightened inspections for travelers, and emergency tariffs up to 50% on Colombia after a confrontation over the deportation of migrants.

Initially, Petro, a former leftist guerrilla leader, had resisted accepting deported Colombian migrants, criticizing the Trump administration for treating them as if they were “criminals.” However, after Trump’s threat, the Colombian president quickly changed his stance and even offered the U.S. his presidential plane to help transport the deported migrants back to Colombia.

“Today’s events make clear to the world that America is respected again,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt at the time, referring to the dispute.

{Matzav.com}

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat and his party’s top leader on the Judiciary Committee, announced Wednesday that he won’t seek a sixth term in 2026. “I know in my heart it’s time to pass the torch,” the veteran senator said in a social media post Wednesday.

POTUS: “We’re going to have a fair deal with China. It’s going to be fair… we’re going to have a country that you can be proud of, not a laughingstock all over the world…”

Minister Itamar Ben Gvir from Miami: “As long as there are hostages who are not receiving food, no humanitarian aid will be brought into Gaza”

Last night at Yale University, Hundreds of pro-terrorists protesters set up a new encampment and were chanting “we will honor all our martyrs” among other pro-terrorist chants.

In a summary of activities in Lebanon over the past week, the IDF says it killed nine Hezbollah operatives and struck over 40 sites belonging to the terror group.

President Trump appears to be discussing changes to the north lawn at the White House, including a place for a new flagpole.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announces the military is bringing back 8,700+ troops fired over the COVID vaccine: “Over 8,700 service members were separated for not taking an experimental vaccine… we’re welcoming them back. We’ve sent letters out.”

Walter Frankenstein, who survived the Holocaust by hiding in Berlin with his wife and infant children and spent his later years educating young people to keep the events alive in memory, has died. He was 100. Klaus Hillenbrand, a close friend who wrote a book about Frankenstein, confirmed the death on Tuesday. He said Frankenstein died on Monday. The foundation that oversees Berlin’s Holocaust memorial also confirmed that he died Monday in Stockholm. Frankenstein was born in 1924 in Flatow in what is now Poland but was then part of Germany. Three years after the Nazis came to power, in 1936, he was no longer allowed to attend the town’s public school because he was Jewish. With the help of an uncle, his mother sent him to Berlin where he could continue his school education, and he later trained as a bricklayer at the Jewish community’s vocational school. He stayed at the Jewish Auerbach’sche Orphanage where he met Leonie Rosner, who would later become his wife. In an interview with The Associated Press in 2018, Frankenstein described how he witnessed Kristallnacht — the “Night of Broken Glass” on November 9, 1938, when Nazis, among them many ordinary Germans, terrorized Jews throughout Germany and Austria. They killed at least 91 people and vandalized 7,500 Jewish businesses. They also burned more than 1,400 synagogues, according to Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial. Up to 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and taken to concentration camps. Frankenstein, who was then 14, climbed on the roof of the orphanage and saw fire lighting up the city. “Then we knew: the synagogues were burning,” he said. “The next morning, when I had to go to school, there was sparkling, broken glass everywhere on the streets.” Starting in 1941, Frankenstein had to do forced labor in Berlin, repeatedly threatened by the danger of being deported by the Nazis. In 1943, five weeks after their son Peter-Uri was born, he went into hiding with his wife, Leonie, as the Nazis were deporting thousands of Jews from Berlin to Auschwitz. “We had promised ourselves not to do what Hitler wanted,” Frankenstein told the AP. “So we went into hiding.” Together with their baby, the couple spent 25 months in hiding in Berlin. A second son, Michael, was born in 1944, during their time on the run. They stayed with friends or in bombed-out buildings. Up to 7,000 Berlin Jews had gone into hiding, but only 1,700 of them were able to survive. The others were either arrested, died of illness or perished in air raids. In 1945, when Berlin was liberated by the Soviet Red Army, Frankenstein’s children were among the youngest of a total of only 25 Jewish children who had survived in Berlin. Before the Holocaust, Berlin had the biggest Jewish community in Germany. In 1933, the year the Nazis came to power, around 160,500 Jews lived in Berlin. By the end of World War II in 1945 their numbers had diminished to about 7,000 through emigration and extermination. All in all, some 6 million European Jews were murdered in the Holocaust. After the collapse of the Nazis’ Third Reich, the Frankensteins immigrated to what was then Palestine and later became Israel. Eleven years later, in 1956, they moved to Sweden, where they settled for good. Later in […]

Apple and Meta were both hit with massive fines on Wednesday, totaling hundreds of millions of dollars, for breaching the European Union’s newly established competition regulations aimed at limiting the dominance of Big Tech.

Apple was penalized $570 million by EU antitrust authorities for preventing developers from directing users to less expensive alternatives outside its App Store.

Meanwhile, Meta faced a $230 million fine for coercing users of Facebook and Instagram into choosing between viewing ads or paying to avoid them, according to the European Commission.

These fines are the first to be issued to Big Tech giants under the EU’s Digital Markets Act, a landmark law introduced in 2022.

The penalties came after a lengthy investigation by the European Commission to determine whether the two companies were adhering to the new rules, which are designed to make it easier for smaller competitors to enter markets that are currently dominated by large players.

Apple has already promised to appeal the decision.

“Today’s announcements are yet another example of the European Commission unfairly targeting Apple in a series of decisions that are bad for the privacy and security of our users, bad for products, and force us to give away our technology for free,” said an Apple spokesperson in a statement.

Meta also condemned the fine, calling it unjust.

“The European Commission is attempting to handicap successful American businesses while allowing Chinese and European companies to operate under different standards,” a Meta spokesperson stated.

“This isn’t just about a fine; the Commission forcing us to change our business model, effectively imposing a multi-billion-dollar tariff on Meta while requiring us to offer an inferior service,” the spokesperson added.

The sanctions were expected to be announced in March, but EU officials reportedly delayed them due to President Trump’s ongoing trade tensions.

{Matzav.com}

Adelynn Campbell’s last plane trip ended with a panic attack that she got through largely with the help of a kind flight attendant. That was last year — before 67 people died in January when an American Airlines jet collided with a helicopter over Washington, D.C., in the deadliest U.S. air disaster in almost a quarter century. Now, Campbell is even more hesitant to book a flight. “It’s definitely spiked my concern about getting on a plane and it’s making the whole situation a little more stressful than it used to be,” said Campbell, 30, who manages a coffee shop in San Diego. Being at least a little nervous about flying is understandable. As Mel Brooks once said: “If God wanted us to fly, He would have given us tickets.” But for some people it causes deep anxiety that could require professional help. Here’s a look at air travel anxiety and ways to cope with it. More people seem to be nervous about flying The evidence is anecdotal, but psychologists and flight attendants say they’ve seen and heard increased worries — and not only in people who already had anxieties about flying. “Even people who didn’t have a fear of flying are talking about it, given recent events,” said Jennifer Dragonette, a California-based psychologist who treats people with air travel anxieties. U.S. air travel was down in March and early April compared with last year, according to TSA statistics. Airlines have attributed the decline to economic uncertainty, a decline in government and corporate travel and — yes — concern about recent aviation incidents. FAA officials recently acknowledged they weren’t doing enough to ensure air safety. Recent polling by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that fewer Americans report feeling safe about flying this year. Flight attendants who work planes out of the Washington, D.C., airport were particularly rattled by the January collision, said Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants union. Some asked for time off to process their emotions, and at least one flight attendant left the job, she said. What is fear of flying? Fear of flying — sometimes called aerophobia — goes beyond just being nervous about a flight. It is an intense form of anxiety that centers on certain aspects of air travel. Many aerophobes get most rattled during take-off and landing, or when they think about being locked in a plane. Some research has suggested it affects about 25 million U.S. adults. Psychologists say it often surfaces in adulthood, developing in people who didn’t mind flying as kids but grew more rattled as they aged. In many cases, it starts when people are in their 20s or 30s, at a time they are experiencing big life changes and new responsibilities — like getting married or becoming a parent — and they start to think that “everything counts,” said David Carbonell, a Chicago-based psychologist who authored a workbook to help people cope with flying fears. A bad flight with heavy turbulence or some other problem may trigger an anxiety that persists, he said. Campbell, who has other forms of anxiety, developed a fear of flying a few years ago. She is transgender, and said travel can be stressful because of concerns about how she’ll be treated by airport security or in other interactions. Aerophobia can be complicated, Carbonell […]

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas delivered a fiery speech during the PA Central Council meeting on Wednesday, unleashing harsh criticism at Hamas and demanding the release of hostages held in Gaza. “Sons of dogs, hand over the hostages,” he declared in a televised address.

He emphasized the urgency of ending the conflict, citing the relentless loss of life. “The war must end,” Abbas said, explaining that “[Hamas] doesn’t want to hand over the American hostages. Sons of dogs – hand over the hostages and end the matter.”

Outlining key objectives, Abbas listed the return of hostages, the removal of Israel’s blockade on Gaza, coordination with Arab states to halt the displacement of Palestinians, and the preservation of what he called the “Palestinian cause.” “Returning the hostages; lifting the Israeli blockade of Gaza; stopping the displacement of our people in coordination with Arab countries; defending the ‘Palestinian cause.’”

Abbas demanded that Hamas relinquish power in Gaza and surrender its weapons to the Palestinian Authority. “Hamas must end its control of the Gaza Strip and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority,” he stated.

He also urged Hamas to abandon its militant posture and transition into a political entity. “Talk to us instead of the Americans,” he said, calling for dialogue and internal Palestinian unity.

Turning his focus to the war’s broader devastation, Abbas placed blame on Hamas’s 2007 takeover of Gaza, which he claimed served as justification for Israel’s military operations. “The coup carried out by Hamas in 2007 gave Israel a pretext to destroy the Gaza Strip. 2,165 families were completely wiped out, and 6,664 were partially wiped out. More than two-thirds of the homes were destroyed in the war.”

He warned of the looming threat of widespread displacement. “We are facing serious dangers that could lead to a ‘new Nakba,’” he cautioned.

Abbas concluded by reaffirming his stance on the path to peace, which he said hinges on bringing an end to Israeli occupation and creating a Palestinian state. “Our vision for achieving peace in the Middle East is based on ending the Israeli occupation and establishing a state.”

{Matzav.com}

The White House confirmed that discussions toward a trade pact with China are moving forward, and noted a surge of interest globally, with 18 official trade offers submitted by foreign governments and over 100 countries expressing interest in forming economic partnerships with the United States.

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump temporarily suspended retaliatory tariffs on goods from most foreign countries for 90 days — with China notably excluded from this moratorium. This pause is intended to provide a window for international partners to engage in talks and potentially finalize trade deals. Vice President JD Vance revealed Monday that the U.S. has outlined a trade strategy with India and is nearing an agreement with Japan as well.

Speaking to reporters, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt shared that she had earlier spoken with top members of the administration’s economic team, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and senior trade advisor Peter Navarro.

“There is a lot of progress being made,” Leavitt stated during her press conference, which was broadcast live via Newsmax and its streaming platform, Newsmax2. “We now have 18 proposals on paper that have been brought to the trade team. Again, these are proposals on paper that countries have proposed to the Trump administration and to our government.

“You have Secretary Bessent, Secretary Lutnick, Ambassador Greer, NEC Director Hassett and Peter Navarro, the entire trade team meeting with 34 countries this week alone. We are moving at Trump speed to ensure these deals are made on behalf of the American worker and the American people.”

Although she didn’t name the 18 countries that submitted proposals, Leavitt provided an update on where negotiations with China stand. China remains subject to Trump-imposed tariffs as high as 145%, while Beijing countered with 125% duties on American products.

“I asked the president about this before coming out here, and he wanted me to share with all of you that we’re doing very well in respect to a potential trade deal with China,” said Leavitt, noting that no direct communication has yet occurred between Trump and President Xi Jinping. “As I mentioned, there have now been 18 proposals and more than 100 countries around the world who are wanting to make a deal with the United States of America, and the president and the administration are setting the stage for a deal with China.

“So, we feel everyone involved wants to see a trade deal happen, and the ball is moving in the right direction.”

Leavitt voiced frustration that the milestone reached between the U.S. and India had been largely overlooked by the media following Vance’s diplomatic visit to New Delhi and his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“And just yesterday, it seemed to get a little bit lost in the news, and I think it’s a disservice to the American public that it did,” Leavitt said. “The vice president announced terms of reference for a trade deal with India. That is a big deal. We know when we look at the numbers, the monetary trade barriers and the nonmonetary trade barriers from India, they have been ripping off the United States and American workers for a very long time.

“So, the fact that the vice president, with Prime Minister Modi on that trip in India, announced these terms of reference, which is essentially a framework to move the ball forward to sign a good trade deal between our two nations, is great progress, and it speaks to the work ethic and the real labor that’s being put into this effort by the president’s trade team.”

{Matzav.com}

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.2 shook Istanbul and other areas Wednesday, prompting widespread panic and scores of injuries in the Turkish city of 16 million people, though there were no immediate reports of serious damage. More than 150 people were hospitalized with injuries sustained while trying to jump from buildings, said the governor’s office in Istanbul, where residents are on tenterhooks because the city is considered at high risk for a major quake. The earthquake had a shallow depth of 10 kilometers (about 6 miles), according to the United States Geological Survey, with its epicenter about 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of Istanbul, in the Sea of Marmara. It was felt in the neighboring provinces of Tekirdag, Yalova, Bursa and Balikesir and in the city of Izmir, some 550 kilometers (340 miles) south of Istanbul. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said the earthquake lasted 13 seconds and was followed by more than 50 aftershocks – the strongest measuring 5.9. The quake started at 12:49 p.m. during a public holiday when many children were out of school and celebrating in the streets of Istanbul. Panicked residents rushed from their homes and buildings into the streets. The disaster and emergency management agency urged people to stay away from buildings. More than 150 injured “Due to panic, 151 of our citizens were injured from jumping from heights,” the Istanbul governor’s office said in a statement. “Their treatments are ongoing in hospitals, and they are not in life-threatening condition.” Many residents flocked to parks, school yards and other open areas to avoid being near buildings in case of collapse or subsequent earthquakes. Some people pitched tents in parks. “Thank God, there does not seem to be any problems for now,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at an event marking the National Sovereignty and Children’s Day holiday. “May God protect our country and our people from all kinds of calamities, disasters, accidents and troubles.” Leyla Ucar, a personal trainer, said she was exercising with her student on the 20th floor of a building when they felt intense shaking. “We shook incredibly. It threw us around, we couldn’t understand what was happening, we didn’t think of an earthquake at first because of the shock of the event,” she said. “It was very scary.” Senol Sari, 51, told The Associated Press he was with his children in the living room of their third floor apartment when he heard a loud noise and the building started shaking. They fled to a nearby park. “We immediately protected ourselves from the earthquake and waited for it to pass,” Sari said. “Of course, we were scared.” They later were able to return home calmly, Sari said, but they remain worried that a bigger quake will some day strike the city. It’s “an expected earthquake, our concerns continue,” he said. ‘My children were a little scared’ Cihan Boztepe, 40, was one of many who hurriedly fled to the streets with his family in order to avoid a potential collapse. Boztepe, standing next to his sobbing child, told AP that in 2023 he was living in Batman province, an area close to the southern part of Turkey where major quakes struck at the time, and that Wednesday’s tremor felt weaker and that he wasn’t as scared. “At first we were shaken, then it stopped, then […]

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday slammed the Hamas terror organization for providing Israel with an “excuse” to destroy Gaza by holding on to the hostages. Speaking at a meeting of the PLO Central Council, Abbas called Hamas “sons of female dogs.” “The war must end,” he said. “There are hundreds killed every day. Why? They don’t want to release the American hostages. Sons of dogs, give the hostages back and end this story. Eliminate its [Israel’s] excuses.” It was unclear whether Abbas was referring to all the hostages or just the American hostages, of whom only one, Eden Alexander, is believed to be still alive. Abbas  started out by saying that “the coup carried out by Hamas in 2007 gave Israel an excuse to destroy the Gaza Strip.” He then claimed: “Israel wants to eliminate the Palestinian issue in its actions in Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem. Displacing Palestinians from Gaza would be a new Nakba,” he said. “Hamas must remove itself from ruling over Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority,” Abbas said, adding that Hamas must hold talks with the PA rather than the US and others. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

For the past 21 years, YWN’s team of seasoned reporters has delivered breaking news and reliable updates, building two decades of trust with over half a million readers each day. On this live blog, YWN will be providing continuous, around-the-clock coverage, bringing you the latest developments as they unfold. You can also join over 100,000 subscribers on YWN WhatsApp and stay connected for real time updates: YWN’s WhatsApp Community YWN’s WhatsApp status

It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the passing of Rabbi Yonah Feinstein z”l, who served Klal Yisroel for many years with dedication and distinction as the Director of Special Projects at Agudath Israel of America.

A man of quiet strength, profound humility, and unwavering commitment to the needs of the tzibbur, Rabbi Feinstein was a trusted and beloved figure whose contributions touched numerous lives.

The levayah will taking place this morning at 11 a.m. at Shomrei Hadas Chapels, located at 3803 14th Avenue in Brooklyn. The aron will then be flown to Eretz Yisroel for kevurah at the Eretz Hachaim Cemetery in Beit Shemesh.

Rabbi Feinstein is survived by his devoted wife, Mrs. Shoshana Feinstein, and their children: Mrs. Ilana David, Mrs. Aviva Paneth, Mrs. Airela David, and Yaakov Feinstein, along with many grandchildren.

Yehi zichro boruch.

{Matzav.com}

PSYCHOLOGICAL TERROR: Hamas released a video of hostage Omri Miran (47) on Wednesday, who was kidnapped from his home in Nahal Oz on October 7. The most recent sign of life of Miran was received through an Israeli who was returned from captivity in February.