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Every president — even the most outspoken supporters of Israel — has quarreled with Israeli prime ministers at one point or another. Despite recognizing Israel, Mr. Truman refused to sell the new state offensive arms, as did his two successors. Mr. Netanyahu has been at the heart of many disputes in the last few decades. When he was deputy foreign minister, his public criticism of the United States in 1990 prompted an angry Secretary of State James A. Baker III to bar Mr. Netanyahu from the State Department. Once Mr. Netanyahu became prime minister, Bill Clinton was so turned off after their first meeting in 1996 that he asked aides afterward, “Who’s the superpower here?” using an expletive for emphasis.

Persons: Robert B, “, Harry S, Truman, —, Israel —, Israel, Dwight D, Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, George H.W, Bush, Netanyahu, State James A, Baker, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Donald J, Trump, Mr, Biden Organizations: Washington Institute for Near East, State, State Department, Mr Locations: Israel, United States, U.S, Egypt, Suez, Saudi Arabia, Iran

Romanian port operators shipped 8.6 million tonnes last year, and 6.3 million tonnes in the first five months of 2023, the Constanta Port authority told Reuters. The port handled 12.17 million tonnes of grains overall in the first five months, a 21% jump on the year. "There are premises that Constanta Port will see a new traffic record," the authority said. As a result, the port could be overwhelmed, even if Black Sea grain initiative is extended, according to Cezar Gheorghe of Romanian grain market consultancy AGRIColumn. The port has a storage capacity of 2 million tonnes, but flows need to be stringently separated for origin certification.

Persons: Cezar Gheorghe, Gheorghe, Luiza Ilie, Marek Strzelecki, Pavel Polityuk, David Evans Organizations: United, Constanta Port, Reuters, AGRIColumn, European Union, EU, Thomson Locations: BUCHAREST, Constanta, Romania, Ukraine, United Nations, Turkey, Romanian, Constanta Port, Moldova, Odessa, Istanbul, Russian, Suez, Western Ukraine, Bucharest, Europe, Warsaw

An Iranian navy vessel fired shots during the second seizure attempt, Navy Fifth Fleet spokesperson Timothy Hawkins said. British maritime security company Ambrey said a warship with a multinational navy task group was in the area at the time and had requested the Iranian navy to "cease harassing" one of the merchant ships. Iran seized two oil tankers in a week just over a month ago, the U.S. Navy said. Refinitiv ship-tracking data shows the Richmond Voyager previously docked in Ras Tannoura in eastern Saudi Arabia before Wednesday's incident in the Gulf of Oman. The Richmond Voyager was sailing away from the Gulf with Singapore listed as its destination, Refinitiv ship tracking showed.

Persons: Timothy Hawkins, Hawkins, Ambrey, IRNA, Lisa Barrington, Jonathan Saul, Rami Ayyub, Jason Neely, David Holmes Organizations: U.S . Navy, Chevron, Richmond Voyager, Navy Fifth Fleet, Reuters, Marshall, Suez, Dubai, Thomson Locations: DUBAI, Iran, Gulf of Oman, U.S, Iranian, Oman, United States, Hormuz, Ras Tannoura, Saudi Arabia, Gulf, Singapore, Marshall Islands, Greece, U.S . Gulf, Mexico, Galveston, Washington

☆ 'Obama,' 'Trump gets impeached twice' and the other top political references in Fall Out Boy's new cover of the Billy Joel classic 'We Didn't Start the Fire'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Fall Out Boy's new cover of the 1989 Billy Joel classic covers a lot of the bases the original touch. "Cambridge Analytica" (2018): The British consulting firm had been around for years, but bombshell reporting by The New York Times and The Guardian in 2018 sparked a scandal. Obama went on to defeat Republican presidential nominee John McCain en route to becoming the nation's first Black president. "Trump gets impeached twice" (2021): President Donald Trump became the first president to be impeached twice in the wake of the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot. Video later showed that Rice, who was 12 years old, was killed within two seconds of officers arriving, The New York Times reported.

Persons: Billy Joel, Obama, Trump, —, Billy Joel's, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Dwight D, Eisenhower, It's, Egypitan Hosni Mubarak, Muammar Gaddafi, Rodney King, King, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Viktor Yanukovych, Russia's, Donald Trump's, Alexander Nix, Cambridge Analytica, Osama bin Laden's, Illinois Sen, Barack Obama, New York Sen, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Donald Trump, acquit Trump, Roberto Schmidt, Timothy McVeigh, Alfred P, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice, Bland, Rice, George Floyd, Derek Chauvin, Chauvin, Kerem Yucel, Gore, George W, Bush, Al Gore, Sandra Day O'Connor, Tom Delonge Organizations: Service, Cubs, Israel, NPR, National Guard, Russia, Cambridge, The New York Times, Guardian, London Thomson Reuters, US, New York, Democratic, Affordable, Republican, AFP, Getty, Murrah Federal Building, Georgia Republican, Minneapolis Police, Civil, Hennepin County Government Center, Texas Gov, Electoral College, Washington Post, CNN, Fox News, The Washington Post, New York Times Locations: Suez, Israel, Egypt, United Kingdom, France, British, Tunisia, North Africa, California's, Crimea, Ukraine, Azov, Kerch, Moscow, Russian, London, Afghanistan, Illinois, Iowa, Washington, Oklahoma, Georgia, The, Hennepin County, Minneapolis , Minnesota, AFP, Florida

☆ Egypt and India bolster ties as Modi makes first trip to Cairo
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Ittihadiya presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt June 25, 2023. The Egyptian Presidency/Handout via REUTERSCAIRO, June 25 (Reuters) - Egypt and India discussed strengthening ties in areas including trade, food security and defence during a state visit to Cairo by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the two countries said on Sunday. On his first trip to Egypt, Modi met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Egyptian ministers appointed to an "India unit" after a state visit by Sisi to India in January during which a "strategic partnership" was announced. India is seen as keen to boost ties with Egypt partly to secure trade through the Suez Canal. Modi, a Hindu nationalist, has rarely made public visits to mosques as prime minister.

Persons: Abdel Fattah El, Narendra Modi, Modi, Abdel Fattah al, Sisi, Al Hakim, Mohamed Waly, Rajesh, Jyoti Narayan, Shivani, Aidan Lewis, Ros Russell Organizations: Indian, REUTERS, Global, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Cairo, Egypt, REUTERS CAIRO, India, Sisi, Suez, Gujarat

☆ U.S. trade dominates Panama Canal traffic. 'Severe' drought is threatening the long-term future of the century-old shipping route
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Lori Ann Larocco | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Forty percent of all U.S. container traffic travels through the Panama Canal every year, which in all, moves roughly $270 billion cargo annually. "The U.S. is the main the main source and destination of our traffic," said Ricaurte Vásquez Morales, administrator of the Panama Canal Administrator. The Panama Canal is popular for East Coast trade because it is faster than other options. Traveling through the Panama Canal, which is more expensive, takes only 35 days. The U.S. is the largest country to move energy commodities through the Panama Canal, including natural gas.

Persons: Ricaurte Vásquez Morales, Vásquez, Luis Acosta Organizations: Gulf, Panama Canal, East, Agriculture Transportation Coalition, CNBC, LNG Allies, Panama, Afp, Getty, Panama Canal Authority Locations: Panama, East Coast, U.S, Shenzhen, China, Miami , Florida, Suez, New Orleans, Mobile , Alabama, Colon province, Panama City

☆ Israel to build fibre-optic link between Europe and Asia
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JERUSALEM, June 18 (Reuters) - Israel will build a 254-kilometre (158 mile) fibre-optic cable between the Mediterranean and Red Sea, creating a continuous link between Europe and countries in the Gulf and Asia, the Finance Ministry said on Sunday. The project, said EAPC Chief Executive Itzik Levy, "will position Israel as a communication land bridge connecting the Gulf countries and Asia to Europe." It will be available to any telecom company licensed in Israel under a 25-year lease, the ministry said. EAPC, or the Europe Asia Pipeline Company, offers its pipeline as an alternative to the Suez Canal. The ministry said the fibre-optic deployment along the pipeline route will help monitor any changes in terrain and detect possible leaks.

Persons: Itzik Levy, Ari Rabinovitch, James Mackenzie, David Evans Organizations: Finance, Sunday . State, Israel, Europe Asia Pipeline Company, Thomson Locations: Israel, Red, Europe, Gulf, Asia, Ashkelon, Eilat, Suez

☆ Analysis: Egypt faces external debt reckoning after borrowing spree
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Patrick Werr | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Amid a foreign currency crunch, Egypt has drawn down net foreign assets in the banking system by more than $40 billion in two years, partly used to prop up the pound. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsReuters GraphicsFINDING FOREIGN FUNDSTwo of Egypt's main foreign currency streams, tourism and Suez Canal transit fees, have edged up. The hard currency squeeze has raised concerns about Egypt's ability to repay foreign debt. Those repayments to the IMF and foreign bond holders alone, worth about $4.5 billion, amount to more than half the annual $8 billion Egypt earns from the Suez Canal. Egypt's external loans leapt to $162.9 billion by December 2022 from under $40 billion in 2015, central bank data showed.

Persons: snubbing, Monica Malik, Moustafa Madbouly, Moody's, politican Abdel Fattah al, Sisi, Farouk Soussa, Goldman Sachs, Patrick Werr, Sumanta Sen, Aidan Lewis, Edmund Blair Organizations: Investors, International Monetary Fund, Finance, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Reuters, Reasssured, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Thomson Locations: CAIRO, Egypt, snubbing Egypt, Ukraine, Abu Dhabi, Suez, Cairo, Stockholm

☆ Egypt tows away stranded oil tanker in Suez Canal
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] A tugboat works to refloat the SEAVIGOUR oil tanker to the waiting area in the Suez Canal, next to Ismailia, Egypt June 4, 2023. The Suez Canal Authority/Handout via REUTERSCAIRO, June 4 (Reuters) - An oil tanker that suffered engine failure in Egypt's Suez Canal, briefly disrupting traffic in the vital waterway, has been towed away, the canal's authority said on Sunday. The crude tanker, SEAVIGOUR, is a Malta-flagged vessel that was built in 2016, according to Refinitiv Eikon shipping data. It was heading from Russia to China, the canal authority added. Frequent traffic disruptions occur in the Suez Canal due to technical malfunctions, but stoppages are usually brief.

Persons: Osama Rabie, Hatem Maher, Emelia Sithole, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Authority, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Suez, Ismailia, Egypt, REUTERS CAIRO, Malta, Russia, China

☆ Iraq launches $17 billion road and rail project to link Asia and Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Timour Azhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"The Development Road is not just a road to move goods or passengers. This road opens the door to development of vast areas of Iraq," Farhan al-Fartousi, director general of the General Company for Ports of Iraq, told Reuters. The Grand Faw Port, which was devised over a decade ago, is halfway to completion, Fartousi said. Passenger transport between Iraq and Europe harkens back to grand plans at the turn of the 20th century to create a Baghdad to Berlin express. But officials say the Development Road is based on something new: a period of relative stability since late last year that they hope can be maintained.

[1/4] Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki shake hands as they attend a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China May 15, 2023. REUTERS/Florence Lo/PoolBEIJING, May 15 (Reuters) - China's Premier Li Qiang told visiting Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki on Monday their countries should "deepen mutually beneficial win-win cooperation and continuously enrich their strategic partnership" at a meeting in Beijing. Eritrea also shares a border with Djibouti, where China's People's Liberation Army set up its first overseas military base in 2017. The "marginalised continent of Africa and the rest of the world will heavily defend and expect more contributions from the People's Republic of China," Afwerki said. Reporting by Joe Cash; Editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Analysis: North Africa backslides toward swirling debt troubles
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Making debt payments could become almost impossible. EGYPTEgypt's finances also look stretched despite it securing a $3 billion IMF rescue plan in December. The rating agency, which downgraded Egypt's credit rating again on Friday, highlights that only default-stricken Sri Lanka would need to pay more. "It would not be immaterial if it were to default" Ross said about the impact on global money managers. "These very wealthy Gulf countries have generally enhanced financial stability in the region," via their support he added.

☆ Egypt's current account moves into surplus in Oct-Dec
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CAIRO, May 3 (Reuters) - Egypt's current account turned a surplus for the first time in years in the October-to-December quarter as imports dropped and exports rose, the central bank said in a statement on Wednesday. Egypt imposed import restrictions during most of 2022 and continues to suffer an acute shortage of foreign currency. The current account registered a surplus of $1.41 billion dollars compared to deficits of $3.19 billion in July to September and $3.8 billion in Oct-Dec 2021. Imports fell to $17.99 billion from $19.07 billion in July-September and $22.48 billion a year earlier, while exports rose to $11.54 billion from $9.97 billion in July-September. Reporting by Enas Alashray and Alaa Swilam; Editing by Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Iran seizes second oil tanker in a week in Gulf, US Navy says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

DUBAI, May 3 (Reuters) - Iran has seized a second oil tanker in a week on Wednesday in Gulf waters, the U.S. Navy said, the latest escalation in a series of seizures or attacks on commercial vessels in Gulf waters since 2019. In Iran's first response, Tehran's prosecutor announced the oil tanker was seized on a judicial order following a complaint by a plaintiff, the judiciary's Mizan news agency said. The incident comes after Iran on Thursday seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman called the Advantage Sweet. The Niovi oil tanker seized on Wednesday had been travelling from Dubai toward the UAE's Fujairah port when it was forced by IRGCN boats to change course towards Iranian territorial waters, the Navy said. Since 2019, there have been a series of attacks on shipping in the strategic Gulf waters at times of tension between the United States and Iran.

☆ PlayStation, treasure hunts and natural wonders: What life is like onboard a giant oil tanker
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Lucy Handley | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

The movies, which feature ambushes, looting and a drunken captain, are far from real life, according to shipping veteran Ralph Juhl. The crew on board an oil tanker operated by Hafnia. Where the ship goes depends on where the demand for oil is and Dixon has sailed to every continent bar Antarctica, he said. An aurora borealis light display in the southern part of Norway, one of the natural spectacles seen by oil tanker captain DSA Dixon during his seafaring life. Oil tanker crew prepare mooring ropes to secure a bunker barge to their vessel for refueling.

☆ US confiscates Iran oil cargo on tanker amid Tehran tensions
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

As oil markets remain jittery, the cargo seizure is the latest escalation between Washington and Tehran after years of sanctions pressure by the U.S. over Iran's nuclear program. Tehran says its nuclear program is for civilian purposes while Washington suspects Iran wants to develop a nuclear bomb. Iran has previously responded tit-for-tat following seizures of Iranian oil cargo." Last year the U.S. tried to confiscate a cargo of Iranian oil near Greece, which prompted Tehran to seize two Greek tankers in the Gulf. In a step likely to exacerbate tensions, 12 U.S. senators on Thursday urged President Joe Biden to remove Treasury Department policy hurdles that have prevented the Department of Homeland Security from seizing Iranian oil shipments for more than a year.

☆ Opinion: How Putin’s ‘cat’s paw’ sunk into Sudan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

International sanctions complicated Russia’s finances, so the Kremlin used the Wagner Group to get its hands on Sudan’s gold mines. It wasn’t the first time Wagner, Putin’s cat’s paw, had moved deep into mineral-rich Africa. It wanted one on the Mediterranean, which was one of the reasons it intervened – with a strong Wagner Group presence – in the Syrian civil war. But his credibility is in tatters (asked about Wagner’s massacres in Mali a few years ago, he answered “the Wagner Group does not exist”). And all for the sake of two men’s quest for power, aided by the machinations of the Kremlin and the maneuvers of its Wagner Group.

☆ Environmental hero’s mission to save the most over-fished sea in the world
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Nell Lewis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Wiping out marine life has damaged the livelihoods of local fishers. Local fishing communities are benefiting from the marine protected area as fish stocks bounce back. He trained local fishers as marine rangers who could monitor the waters for illegal fishing and send alerts to the Turkish Coast Guard. “We became a fishmonger,” says Kizilkaya, adding that the AKD continues to sell “tasty, cheap” lionfish caught by local fishers to restaurants. Kizilkaya hopes that the Goldman Environmental Prize will add momentum to his mission.

Collisions are more likely in such cases, raising the odds of a devastating oil spill. It’s also harder to tell whether the vessels with murky ownership comply with the strict rules governing oil transfers at sea, according to Kenney. Group of Seven nations have imposed a cap on the price of Russian oil and oil products, and a smaller pool of buyers can also negotiate greater discounts. China’s imports of Russian oil in the first quarter of the year rose 38% compared with a year prior, according to Kpler data. As trade of Russian oil has become more complex, many Western shippers have pulled back.

☆ China is succeeding in the Middle East because it learned from watching the US fail there for 20 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Natalie Armbruster | Defense Priorities | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Conversely, China is clear-eyed about its interests in the Middle East and, more importantly, their limits. In fact, most of China's Belt and Road Initiative investments in the Middle East hinge on ensuring free trade in the Middle East and a steady energy supply, not security. As international scrutiny builds surrounding the Uyghur crisis, China is particularly keen on finding partners in the Middle East who will exchange silence for investment. With Saudi Arabia, which has its own skeletons in its closet, such a trade is tempting. Instead of resorting to undue threat inflation, the United States may benefit from a corrective course on its history in the Middle East thus far.

☆ U.S. Navy sends guided-missile submarine to Middle East - statement
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

April 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy said on Saturday a nuclear-powered guided-missile submarine was operating in the Middle East in support of the Bahrain-based U.S. Fifth Fleet. The USS Florida entered the region on Thursday and began transiting the Suez Canal, Commander Timothy Hawkins said in a statement. "It is capable of carrying up to 154 Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles and is deployed to U.S. 5th Fleet to help ensure regional maritime security and stability," Hawkins said. Reporting By Lisa Barrington; Editing by William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. Navy sends guided-missile submarine to Middle East
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

April 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy said on Saturday a nuclear-powered guided-missile submarine was operating in the Middle East in support of the Bahrain-based U.S. Fifth Fleet. The USS Florida entered the region on Thursday and began transiting the Suez Canal on Friday, Commander Timothy Hawkins said in a statement. "It is capable of carrying up to 154 Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles and is deployed to U.S. 5th Fleet to help ensure regional maritime security and stability," Hawkins said. Reporting By Lisa Barrington; Editing by William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

LAUNCESTON, Australia, April 6 (Reuters) - Asia's imports of crude oil stayed at relatively robust levels in March, as strong inflows to the top-importing region's heavyweights China and India offset weaker demand among some others buyers. Total March crude imports were estimated by Refinitiv Oil Research at 116.73 million tonnes, equivalent to 27.60 million barrels per day (bpd). This was up almost 4% from February's 112.32 million tonnes, but down 6.1% on a daily basis from February's 29.4 million bpd, and also below January's 29.13 million bpd. However, the first three months of 2023 were stronger than every month in 2022, except for November when Asia's crude imports were 29.10 million bpd. Saudi Arabia reclaimed its place as China's top supplier with 8.08 million tonnes, or a share of 16.4%, edging out Russia at 7.95 million tonnes, or a share of 16.1%.

SINGAPORE, March 27 (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco's Jizan refinery is set to increase output of ultra-low sulphur diesel (ULSD) and reduce exports of vacuum gasoil (VGO) as it ramps up production in the second quarter, industry sources said. The refinery could produce up to 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) of ULSD, or 10-ppm gasoil, when it hits full capacity. This could boost Aramco's fuel exports to Europe, the sources said. A hydrocracker processes residual fuel and VGO to produce diesel and kerosene. This could end Jizan's residual fuel exports, with about 90,000 bpd of high-sulphur fuel oil and vacuum residues estimated to be fed into the power plant, said FGE.

☆ Egypt's Sisi discusses nuclear plant, grains trade with Russian officials
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CAIRO, March 19, (Reuters) - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi held talks with high-ranking Russian officials on Sunday to discuss a Russian-built nuclear plant under construction on Egypt's north coast as well as grains supply and food security, Egypt's presidency said. The meeting with officials including Russia's trade minister and a special envoy of President Vladimir Putin also addressed the establishment of a Russian industrial zone inside the Suez Canal's Economic Zone, among other investments, it added. Construction by Russia's state-owned energy corporation Rosatom of Egypt's first nuclear plant at El Dabaa began in July of last year, and is expected to take until at least 2030. In the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Egypt has been trying to balance long-standing ties with both Russia and Western powers. Reporting by Mohamed Hendawy Writing by Farah Saafan Editing by Aidan Lewis and Peter GraffOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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