Fuel Riots Spread Around the World, and Trump Approves $2.8 Billion Arms Sale to Israel
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From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today is Wednesday, September 16th. Here's what we're covering.
Yeah. All over the world people are protesting over soaring energy prices once again caused by the war in Iran and in the Middle East. In country after country, people are furious about gas and diesel prices skyrocketing, and they're taking to the streets.
Damian Cave is a global affairs correspondent for the Times. He says between the ongoing attacks near the Strait of Hormuz and increasing threats to alternate shipping routes for oil and gas, like the Red Sea, people are facing record high prices, especially for diesel. And he says everyone from farmers in Guatemala to drivers in Portugal have been staging demonstrations to say, we can't go on like this.
In Indonesia and a bunch of different islands, taxi drivers are protesting and in some cases just not going to work because everything that they make basically goes into their gas tanks if they're lucky enough to even get fuel. Because part of the problem in a lot of these places is that shortages are again appearing. You've got huge long lines and places where you know motorbikes are just being left and this long snaking chain. Miles. You know, cars have been sitting there for 40 minutes, an hour. Sometimes people are lining up at 3 a.m. And if they're lucky, they get gas at 5 a.m. Bangladesh is another place that's really suffering because of a shortage of natural gas that powers electricity. You've got factories that are shutting down for many hours a day.
And in Syria, which may be the most extreme example, people took to the streets after prices jumped by 40%. And in one case, there was a guy who was pouring fuel over himself and about to light himself on fire when crowds intervened and prevented that from happening. But the anger is really spreading from place to place. Tensions in the streets or fuel riots, as some people call them, are also becoming an increasing political challenge. You know, governments are being accused of colluding with rich oil and gas companies. So you're seeing a degree of political protest and tension morph from just frustration about prices to an accusation against governments and against an entire system that people are starting to question.
Meanwhile, this vote the yeas are 220, the nays are 204. The concurrent resolution is adopted. In the US, the House passed a measure yesterday directing President Trump to end the war. The third time it's done that. The Senate's done it twice. The measure calls for Trump to halt military operations or explicitly seek Congress's approval to continue them. It doesn't carry the force of law, but the fact that enough Republican lawmakers continue to join with Democrats to pass these measures underscores widespread frustration over the war's effects at home, including gas prices. A New Times Sienna poll of likely voters found that only 31% approve of the war with Iran.
Now three other updates on the Trump administration. First, the White House has signed off on a two point eight billion dollar arms deal with Israel. According to an official familiar with the proposed sale, it would include tens of thousands of bombs and warheads, and is one of the largest transfers of weapons ever between the two countries.
Why are fuel riots erupting worldwide over soaring energy prices?
As part of the deal, Israel would get more of the powerful 2,000-pound bombs that its military dropped across Gaza, drawing international outrage over civilian deaths. While there's likely to be pushback from Congress over this deal, as public support for Israel has been falling in the US, the Trump administration can use emergency powers to push it through.
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Chapters
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