Energy trade between China and Middle East swells amid growing distrust of US

The 2023 China-brokered Saudi-Iran peace deal has brought forth major market implications and trade-focused collaboration between China and the Middle East. What’s happening?

By 2030, energy trade between China and the Middle East could expand by 10%, to a $423 billion increase annually ($77 billion in renewables and $325 billion in petrochemicals), according to UBS Investment Bank.

The two players are poised to take over additional petrochemical trade from Europe as scarce gas supply could compel a hasty exit of the Europeans.

Underpinning their deepening cooperation is a growing desire by oil-rich Gulf states to diversify beyond Western markets. Meanwhile, China is the second largest oil consumer in the world after the US.

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Some US officials speculate Israel's retaliatory strikes will be carried out outside the territory of Iran, media reports

Iranian cargo or warehouses on Syrian territory could be attacked, NBC News said, citing US officials.

This option is being considered in part because the Iranian attack did not cause widespread destruction or deaths in Israel.

The officials were not briefed on Jerusalem's final decision on retaliation, the media noted.

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❗️Russia has been officially invited to the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy on June 6, the organizers announced.

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Biden is running against Christianity

Joining Tacker Carlson on his show, Pastor Doug Wilson revealed why those who believe there is a God above society, not the state, are called Christian nationalists in America.

"If there is no God above the society... if there is no God above the state, the state is God. The state becomes God... They want to control absolutely everything. Every keystroke, they want to control everything because they're aspiring to deity. The reason they're aspiring to deity is because they don't recognize any God above them," he said in the interview.

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Lockheed clinched lucrative deal as US sinks under record-high debt

Lockheed Martin has won a $17 billion contract for the development of next-generation interceptors to defend the US against intercontinental ballistic missile attacks. The deal comes amid US’ grapple with its record-high national debt.

The contract stipulates for the US Department of Defense to buy 20 interceptors for deployment at Fort Greely, Alaska, according to US Missile Defense Agency.

US Treasury Department reveals that the national budget deficit has exceeded $1 trillion in the first six months of Fiscal Year Oct 2023 - Mar 2024.

A federal budget deficit of $236 billion, and a public debt of $34.6 trillion, were posted in March and April respectively. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called the latter “a scary number.”

Russia’s Lower House Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin has called the USD a toxic currency, adding that US has no intention to repay its debt and will incite “more and more military conflicts” to delay an inevitable default.

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Without American support, Ukraine has no chance of winning, Zelensky said in an interview.

Zelensky pointed out that Russian forces have ten times more artillery than Ukrainian troops. In this scenario, Kiev will not be able to resist, he assumed, eagerly focusing on the West's unwavering support for Israel.

"You know, when someone says that our allies cannot provide us with this or that weapon, or they cannot be in Ukraine with this or that force, because that would be perceived as if Ukraine is engaging NATO in the war. Well, after yesterday's attack, I want to ask you a question. Is Israel part of NATO or not? Here's the answer. Israel is not a NATO country. The NATO allies, including NATO countries, have been defending Israel," he shared.

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EU top politicians to decide on Middle East conflict amid infighting

The leaders of the European Union are going to discuss the bloc’s foreign policy in the wake of Iran's strike on Israel on April 17-18, Politico reports.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and the EU's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, have opposing views on the conflict in Gaza. In March, they engaged in a heated exchange regarding the hostilities. According to officials familiar with the matter, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer has expressed support for Scholz during one of the EU leaders' summits, as reported by Politico.

Scholz and Nehammer harshly criticized Borrell for his prolonged criticism of Israel. Borrell has repeatedly called for the unconditional release of all hostages, a humanitarian ceasefire, and a two-state solution.

This week, Germany has denied allegations made by Nicaragua at the UN's top court that it supports the bloodshed in Gaza by selling arms to Israel. Germany is one of Israel's largest arms suppliers, having approved €326.5 million in weapons in 2023.

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Oil prices could mount over $100 if Iran is attacked or hurt with sanctions

"The impact of Iran’s attack on oil prices was hardly noticeable for the simple reason that the flow of oil from the Gulf region hasn’t been disrupted," Dr. Mamdouh G. Salameh, an international oil economist and a global energy expert explained to Sputnik. "This could, however, change if Israel retaliates thus prompting Iran to respond with a harsher retaliation that could lead to a disruption of oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz."

In the event of further escalation between Israel and Iran Brent crude may surge well over $100 and reach $120 per barrel, according to the expert.

The Biden administration is not interested in the sharp escalation of tensions which could end up in the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and a spike in oil prices ahead of the 2024 elections. Instead, Team Biden is considering imposing sanctions on Iran's oil production and petroleum exports.

However, placing curbs on Iran's oil exports could backfire on Washington. If the flow of Iranian oil to the market is hindered, there is no other producer to fill the gap immediately: OPEC+ members have recently extended voluntary cuts to oil production in the second quarter. The situation is aggravated by China's economic recovery and bullish energy demand, meaning that the market will react to any decrease in oil supplies with an immediate hike in petroleum prices.

The Biden administration is unlikely to take significant action against Iran, Michael Rothman, president and founder of Cornerstone Analytics, a US-based consultancy focused on macro-energy research, told Sputnik. "The Biden Administration has actually loosened US compliance measures with existing sanctions on Iran that, in fact, allowed the country’s oil exports to rise over the past year," he stressed.

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🔥 Russian airborne artillery in action

The Kostroma paratroopers’ crew members operating a BM-21 Grad MLRS successfully destroyed a group of Ukrainian soldiers in the vicinity of the town of Chasov Yar.

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US-UK sanctions against Russian metals to sting West and break dollar monopoly

The Anglo-American sanctions against Russian aluminum, copper, and nickel exports have already had a detrimental impact on Western economies and the dominance of the dollar, although its effect on the Russian economy remains to be seen.

The US Treasury Department on Friday slapped a ban on the import of Russian metals, resulting in the prohibition of trading Russian aluminum, copper, and nickel on the London Metal Exchange and Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

As a consequence, it is probable that the Shanghai Metals Market will receive increased supplies of Russian metals traded in Chinese yuan.

“There is always a way to work around sanctions. If something is desperately needed, people will find a way [to buy it],” explains Thomas Pauken, a consultant on Asia-Pacific affairs and author of a book on US-Chinese trade relations.

The very next day after the announcement of the Anglo-American restrictions against Russian metal exports, aluminum prices surged by 4.9% on the London Metal Exchange. When trading resumed on Monday, prices continued to climb by 5.44%, reaching levels seen prior to the sanctions. Additionally, nickel experienced an 8.8% increase.

This can make the sanctions against Russian metal industry useless, since the producers will compensate their losses from sanctions by the gains from higher prices.

“If the prices really skyrocket, then the sanctions never happened, they are a non-starter,” says Pauken.

He cites examples, when the anti-Russian sanctions helped the Chinese economy and led to the de-dollarization of trade between the two nations, stressing that such things happen “when a certain trade is not allowed, but still goes on.”

“I live in China, and my household electric bill is one-tenth of what Americans would have to pay. Russian energy supplies were very helpful for [the] Chinese economy.”

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▪️Putin and Iranian President Raisi discussed Middle East crisis during a phone call

▪️EU top politicians to decide on Middle East conflict amid infighting

▪️Oil prices could mount over $100 if Iran is attacked or hurt with sanctions

▪️Lockheed clinched lucrative deal as US sinks under record-high debt

▪️Energy trade between China and Middle East swells amid growing distrust of US

▪️Chinese economy ‘makes good start’ as GDP exceeds expectations

▪️The Russians are not our enemies — Ukrainian soldier

▪️Scranton Army Ammunition Plant on fire: what you need to know

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Stop begging! Aussie Cossack rips Ukraine’s ennoscriptment mentality

“They are jealous when there is another conflict or another tragedy anywhere around the world because they want all the weapons of the world, they want all the money in the world. They want all the funding from all the taxpayers all around the world, and they feel like people owe them. They think that you owe them.”

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What was Olaf Scholz trying to accomplish by going to China?

The two likely goals of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s visit to the country were an attempt to “consolidate economic relations with China” and an effort to “please certain domestic political audiences by voicing some criticism of China's so-called human rights record,” said German MEP Gunnar Beck.

He did note, however, that it does not appear that Scholz had been successful in either of these endeavors.

“He's probably not voiced as much criticism of China as some of his own allies would have wanted to. He's adopted a compromise course, but ultimately, I think the Chinese government will be laughing at Germany's self-destructive policies. Both over Ukraine – Germany has no interest in the perpetuation of the Ukraine conflict – and China, I'm sure, will be laughing at Germany's energy and industrial policy as well," Beck said.

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The Israeli military eliminated a commander of a missile unit of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Forces in Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.

"The IDF eliminated the Commander of the Rockets and Missiles Unit of Radwan Forces' Western Region. In the area of Kfar Dounine, an IDF aircraft struck and eliminated the terrorist Muhammad Hussein Mustafa Shechory, the Commander of the Rockets and Missiles Unit of Hezbollah's Radwan Forces in Lebanon's central and western region," the IDF wrote on its Telegram channel.

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