Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hi, I'm Kim Vennell in Whanganui, New Zealand. It's Monday, March 16th. Today, Trump's call for other countries to send ships to the Strait of Hormuz falls on deaf ears. Trump says action in Cuba is possible after he's done with Iran. Tens of thousands of TSA agents work without pay and airports ask for donations. And one battle after another wins big at the Oscars.
Chapter 2: What is Trump's call for help regarding the Strait of Hormuz?
This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes, seven days a week. U.S. President Donald Trump is demanding other countries help protect the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has essentially closed, holding 20% of the world's oil and gas supply hostage.
Speaking on board Air Force One, Trump said Washington is in talks with seven nations about policing the Strait. Trump didn't name names, but over the weekend said on social media he hoped the UK, France, Japan, China and South Korea would act.
EU foreign ministers are meeting later today to discuss bolstering their presence in the Middle East, but are not expected to extend it to the Strait of Hormuz. In Asia, South Korea is weighing its response, and Japan says it's not planning any deployment for now. The Chinese foreign ministry has not responded to Reuters' request for comment.
Reuters chief national security correspondent Phil Stewart is in Washington, D.C. So I think what we're hearing from President Trump is increasing attempts to have leverage over U.S. allies and even countries that aren't allies like China in an effort to make them help him open the Strait of Hormuz and bring down energy prices that could really affect him politically.
So what we've seen is President Trump in an interview with the Financial Times telling NATO that they're going to have a very bad future if allies don't help open up the Strait of Hormuz. And he also says he may delay a planned summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
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Chapter 3: What challenges are TSA workers facing during the government shutdown?
And so these two comments together suggest he is quite frustrated with his ability so far to reopen traffic in the strait and wants to create this coalition to do that. But, you know, as we know, as we're becoming aware, it's much, much harder for countries to participate in this operation, given questions about the legality of it, questions for their own national security, given the real risks
that Iran will attack the ships that are policing the strait. Trump says Washington is in talks with Iran too, although he appears sceptical that will amount to anything. Central banks and a number of major economies will be holding their first full meetings this week since the start of the Iran war, with energy prices looming over all of them.
For more on what to expect from markets this week, here's Morning Bid host Mike Dolan. Yeah, pretty much every major central bank is meeting this week, which is a very unusual event. And of course, everyone will be focused on the oil price shock that we've seen from the Gulf. The question is, is there a big move happening in interest rates?
The simple answer is not this week, most likely, apart from Australia, which was already in in the process of lifting rates. But the Federal Reserve, which decides on Wednesday, probably just signals its concern about the inflation impact as the rest will sit and watch as well.
But crucial what they're signaling here and lots of memories of 2022 after the Ukraine invasion and the oil price shock then. Thanks, Mike. You can listen to Morning Bid wherever you get your podcasts. A few more updates on the US-Israeli war with Iran now.
In an exclusive to Reuters, Iran's ambassador to Saudi Arabia says Tehran believes relations with Gulf states now need a serious review because of the war. Ambassador Ali Reza Eniati says the region has relied too heavily on outside powers and has called for deeper ties between Iran, Gulf states and Iraq.
The comments come as Gulf countries face thousands of missile and drone attacks since the war began, hitting oil infrastructure and U.S. military sites. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has posted a video dismissing false reports that he was dead or injured, rumors aired by Iranian state media and spread online in Iran.
Filmed at a cafe outside Jerusalem, the video shows Netanyahu joking alongside an aide. Thank you. President Donald Trump is signaling change is imminent for the communist-run island of Cuba. The pressure has intensified since the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January, cutting off Cuba's most important foreign benefactor.
The White House has since halted Venezuelan oil shipments to the island and warned it could impose tariffs on any country that sells fuel to Cuba. On Friday, Cuba's president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, said the country is in talks with the U.S., with the island facing one of its most severe economic crises in decades. White House reporter Bo Erickson has more.
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