Life under Iran’s digital blackout
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What are the latest developments regarding the Trump administration and Disney?
Good morning from the Financial Times. Today is Wednesday, April 29th, and this is your FT News Briefing. The Trump administration is going after a late-night comedian again. And the United Arab Emirates is handing in its OPEC membership card. Plus, there isn't internet in Iran right now. And during wartime, that's especially dangerous.
There is no emergency alert, no text message telling them to evacuate. So when there is active bombing, families are left hoping that the bombs aren't hitting their neighborhood.
I'm Marc Filippino, and here's the news you need to start your day.
U.S. federal regulators have launched a probe into all Disney-owned television stations. They're looking for violations of rules, including, quote, unlawful discrimination.
Why is the UAE leaving OPEC after 60 years?
The Federal Communications Commission announced this yesterday, and it's a significant move against a network that's come down on the wrong side of U.S. President Donald Trump. The review comes as a nationwide debate simmers over political violence and freedom of speech, and as the president and his allies call for Jimmy Kimmel to be fired. The late-night comedian made this joke on ABC, which is owned by Disney, about First Lady Melania Trump.
And of course, our First Lady Melania is here.
What impact does the internet blackout have on daily life in Iran?
Look at Melania. So beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.
Now, this was part of a skit about the White House Correspondents' Dinner, and it aired a few days before the shooting at that dinner that the Trumps attended. On Monday night, Kimmel defended his joke as satire.
So on Thursday... Three days before the event, in order to keep that cherished tradition alive, I did my own version of the correspondence dinner on my show. I put on a tuxedo. It was a pretend roast about the fact that he's almost 80 and she's younger than I am. It was not, by any stretch of the definition, a call to assassination.
This isn't the first time Trump and Kimmel have gone head-to-head. Last year, Kimmel made comments about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. It got him temporarily taken off the air, a move that Trump applauded. In response to the FCC probe, Disney said its stations have a long record of operating in full compliance with regulatory rules.
The United Arab Emirates is calling it quits on OPEC. The UAE said on Tuesday it'll leave the oil cartel after almost 60 years of membership. The decision underlines long-running frustrations over production and simmering geopolitical tensions. So what does this mean for the future of the UAE and the future of OPEC? Andrew England is the FT's Middle East editor. He joins me now to discuss. Hi, Andrew. Hi. So how big of a deal is this?
It's a pretty big deal, actually. Some people would say it wasn't a surprise, because as you said, the UAE has long complained about OPEC quotas restricting its ability to sell more oil. But others are surprised that it's quite a dramatic decision that's happened now at a time when there's a global energy crisis caused by the US-Israeli war against Iran.
How are Iranians coping without internet during wartime?
And it kind of immediately puts a spotlight on the UAE's relationship with its Gulf neighbour, Saudi Arabia, which is the de facto leader. of OPEC at a time when, you know, all the Gulf states are trying to sort of manage their responses and reactions to the conflict. So on the one hand, you can say, yes, they've been threatening it for a long time and now they've pulled the trigger. On the other hand, you can say it's still a dramatic move.
Yeah, tell me a little bit more about what the exit might mean for OPEC.
The UAE was producing about 3.4 million barrels of oil a day before the war. That's about 12% of OPEC's total production output. Obviously, during the war, the UAE, like other oil producers in the Gulf, has had to significantly reduce its production because of the effective closing of the Strait of Hormuz, which has prevented tankers getting out of the Gulf and being able to ship oil. Longer term, it's going to have a big impact. Crucially, it has spare capacity. That means that it can act as a swing producer, which means when there's a desire to increase global oil production, it can do that.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What are the latest developments regarding the Trump administration and Disney?
0:02–0:53
2
Why is the UAE leaving OPEC after 60 years?
0:53–1:20
3
What impact does the internet blackout have on daily life in Iran?
1:20–3:10
4
How are Iranians coping without internet during wartime?
3:10–4:20
5
What are the economic consequences of Iran's internet shutdown?
4:20–6:30
6
Who has access to the internet during Iran's digital blackout?
6:30–7:20
7
What reasons do Iranian authorities give for the internet blackout?
7:20–9:05
8
How does the history of internet shutdowns shape Iran's current situation?
9:05–11:58