The U.S. will send hundreds of additional troops and a dozen fighter jets to the Middle East in the coming weeks to counter what the Pentagon said is an escalating campaign by Iran to plan attacks against the U.S. and its interests in the region. And for the first time, Pentagon officials on Friday publicly blamed Iran and its proxies for recent tanker bombings near United Arab Emirates and a rocket attack in Iraq. Source: Associated Press
Pivot Countries
A senior German diplomat was in Tehran on Thursday for meetings with Iranian officials to try to preserve the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and cool rising tensions in the region, a German diplomatic source told Reuters. Source: Reuters
- Iran has recently quadrupled its uranium production, a spokesperson for the nation’s atomic energy agency says.
- The nation has stopped complying with key parts of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
Saudi Arabia’s 200 billion-riyal ($53 billion) lifeline to its non-oil economy may be in place for longer than planned as the kingdom supports industries struggling to cope with reforms that pushed up costs and dampened demand. Source: The Star
Saudi Arabia said two of its oil tankers had been sabotaged off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, in attacks it said posed a threat to shipping and the security of global oil supplies. Source: CNN
urkey’s plan to clean up some $13 billion in bad energy loans, one of the worst hangovers from last year’s currency crisis, is taking shape even as some banks hold out for the government to agree to safeguards and higher electricity prices. Source: Reuters
Iran’s oil exports so far in March are down from January and February to average around 1 million bpd-1.1 million bpd ahead of the US decision to extend or deny new waivers, Reuters reported Thursday. Source: RT
The father of Zaheer Hassan Mehmood, the Paris terrorist who attacked two people in the street on Friday, September 25, was delighted with the act of his son. The man, who is a farmer and lives in Pakistan, in the province of Mandi Bahauddin, was interviewed by Naya Pakistan (a Pakistani media, editor’s note). He felt that his son had “done a good job” and that he was particularly “happy” about the attack. Source Actu17
A high school student was stabbed by another in the middle of class in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis) this Wednesday morning. The 16-year-old victim was taken to hospital. Source Actu17
The first group of refugees from the razed Moria camp arrived in Germany from Greece on Wednesday.
A group of 139 people — unaccompanied children, children suffering from serious health problems and their immediate families — arrived in Hannover, in northern Germany. Source DW
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently warned Iraqi leaders that the U.S. embassy in Baghdad would close and all diplomats removed unless Iraq reins in on attacks by Iranian proxy militias on American military and diplomatic sites. The embassy is located inside Baghdad’s Green Zone. Source Sofrep
Saudi Arabia says it has taken down a “terrorist cell” that had received training from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, arresting 10 people and seizing weapons and explosives, while Tehran says the allegation is a “complete fabrication”. Source Al Jazeera
In particular, a spokesperson for Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) accused US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of unilateralism and said his attitude is inelegant.
Ömer Çelik, the AKP spokesperson, even called on Pompeo to maintain a neutral stance because unilateral visits and statements give the wrong messages.
At the same time, he once again made provocative statements regarding Ankara’s intentions in Greek-Turkish issues in the East Mediterranean. Source Greek Reporter
rance’s government presented its 2021 budget on Monday, a plan that aims to rescue the country’s beleaguered economy from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic by injecting a 42 billion-euro ($49 billion) stimulus next year. Source AP
Amnesty International suspended human rights work in India after an Indian government investigative arm froze the organization’s bank accounts, according to a statement released Tuesday.
“This is an egregious and shameful act by the Indian government, which forces us to cease the crucial human rights work of Amnesty International India for now,” Julie Verhaar, the acting secretary-general of Amnesty, said in a statement, adding that the organization was working “resolutely” to determine how it can continue human rights work in India. Source Deutsche Welle
The Government is looking at creating safe, legal routes for asylum seekers to enter the UK, Priti Patel has announced.
The Home Secretary confirmed that her department is working “right now” at finding new routes “for the protection of those that need our help”. Source MSN
Many train commuters have no choice but to travel on more expensive modes of transport after extensive vandalism and pillaging of the rail infrastructure, especially during the Covid-19 lockdown. Daily Maverick visited stations around Gauteng and saw the devastation — and also witnessed pillaging first-hand. (Additional reporting by Shiraaz Mohamed) Source Daily Maverick
Turkish air force F-16s have been deployed against Armenia and shot down an Armenian military aircraft amid the Azeri attack on Artsakh, the Armenian military said. Source ArmenPress
he Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA) raised 487.5 million euros on Wednesday through the auction of 26-week treasury bills at a uniform yield of -0.10%. Source Ekathimerini
About 40,000 workers in the airline industry are facing layoffs on Thursday unless Congress comes up with another aid package Source ABC
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts notified the Florida unemployment department Tuesday of impeding layoffs across the theme park’s properties that includes nearly 10% of its employees across the state. Source Click Orlando
U.S. and European oil majors’ commitment to moving away from fossil fuels toward renewable energy threatens oil supplies and prices, Russia’s state-run oil giant Rosneft has said, according to the Financial Times. Source Moscow Times
Royal Dutch Shell announced on Wednesday plans to cut up to 9,000 jobs, or over 10% of its workforce, as part of a major overhaul to shift the oil and gas giant to low-carbon energy.
Shell, which had 83,000 employees at the end of 2019, said that the reorganization will lead to annual savings of $2 billion to $2.5 billion by 2022. Source Shell
The German finance minister has kicked off days of debate over the 2021 budget, arguing for more debt to support the economy during the coronavirus pandemic. “It’s a really, really” large sum, admitted Scholz. Source Deutsche Welle
The world’s largest group of shipping insurers will not insure vessels involved in the Russian-led Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream gas pipeline projects because of the threat of U.S. sanctions. Source Reuters
Italy expects debt to rise to about 160% of gross domestic product by the end of this year despite a smaller-than-forecast contraction of the economy, officials familiar with ongoing budget talks said. The new figures, which are provisional and still subject to change, see the economy expanding 6% in 2021, the officials said, asking not to be named discussing confidential deliberations. Source Bloomberg Quint
It is less than two months since U.S. President Donald Trump travelled to Texas to declare that the U.S. energy industry, laid low by this year’s oil price crash, was back on its feet. “We’re OK now,” the president told the assembled crowd.
But bankruptcy numbers released this week tell a different story. Another 16 upstream U.S. oil and gas companies — producers and service providers — hit the wall in August, the same number as in July, according to law firm Haynes and Boone. Source Financial Post
The Bank of Italy said Italy’s public debt hit a new high of 2,560.5 billion euros in July, up 29.9 billion with respect to June. Source Ansa
Austria has said it still supports the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, despite growing reservations about the project in parts of Europe following the poisoning of Russian opposition figure Aleksei Navalny. Source Radio Free Europe
