Welcome to The Now

  Alrighty Then : The United ‌Arab Emirates has announced its decision to quit OPEC and OPEC+ to focus on “national interests”, dealing ⁠a heavy ⁠blow to the oil-exporting groups at a time when the US-Israel war on Iran has caused ⁠a historic energy shock and rattled the global economy. The move, which will take effect on Friday, reflects “the UAE’s long-term strategic and economic vision and evolving energy profile”, a statement carried by state media said on Tuesday. “During our time in the organisation, we made significant contributions and even greater sacrifices for the benefit of all,” it added. “However, the time has come to focus our efforts on what our national interest dictates.” The loss of the UAE, a longstanding OPEC member, could create disarray and weaken the oil cartel, which has usually sought to show a united ⁠front despite internal disagreements over a range of issues from geopolitics to production quotas. UAE Energy Minister Suhail Mohamed al-Mazrouei said the d...

 

 

 

 Apparently, the criticism over shooting and bombing has led Israel to use a different tactic to force Palestinians out of Gaza: From CBS News : The head of Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City said on Tuesday that 21 children had died across the Palestinian territory in the past three days "due to malnutrition and starvation." "These deaths were recorded at hospitals in Gaza, including Al-Shifa in Gaza City, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah and Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis ... over the past 72 hours," Mohammed Abu Salmiya told reporters. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned Monday evening that "the last lifelines keeping people alive are collapsing" in Gaza, and that there were growing reports of children and adults exhibiting symptoms of malnutrition. Abu Salmiya told reporters that new cases of malnutrition and starvation were arriving at Gaza's remaining functioning hospitals "every moment," adding: "We are he...

 When you're indebted to the West and decide to not  play ball, you get a quick lesson on how much power you really have...

 

 I'm sure Barak Obama was not expecting s omeone from his State Department getting arrested for going off on a New York street vendor , but here we are: Scary to think that people who think like Stuart Seldowitz does have been influencing America's foreign policy. 

 Al Jazeera shares a video .

 From a PR, military and economic perspective: Israel's campaign against Hamas (which has become a campaign against virtually all of Palestine) is not going as planned.  Hezbollah's leader has just finished giving his first speech since the 10/7 Hamas attack, and it boiled down to: if the West wants to play stupid games, they will win stupid prizes. One prevailing theme is that despite their bravado, the Israeli military cannot survive with out Western (read: United States) aid. Of course, Israel issued a pre-speech warning to Hezbollah .  With the speech still cooling off and this conflict touching many sensitive nerves, it may take some time to link to more credible stories. UPDATE: here's at least one .

  Protesting is the new black : Thousands of farmers have gathered in the central Netherlands to protest against the Dutch government’s plans to rein in emissions of nitrogen oxide and ammonia, driving their tractors across the Netherlands and snarling traffic on major highways. Wednesday’s protest was organised earlier this month after the government published nationwide targets for reducing emissions, sparking anger from farmers who claim their livelihoods – and those of thousands of people who work in the agricultural service industry – are on the line. Calling it an “unavoidable transition”, the government mandated reductions in emissions of up to 70 percent in many places close to protected nature areas and as high as 95 percent in other places. The government has been forced to act after courts in recent years began blocking permits for infrastructure and housing projects because the country was missing its emissions targets. By early afternoon, many protesting farmers had ar...