Saudi Arabia to cut oil production by 500,000 barrels per day

Saudi Aramco engineers and journalists look at the Hawiyah Natural Gas Liquids Recovery Plant in Hawiyah, in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia on June 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)

Saudi Arabia said Sunday it will cut oil production by 500,000 barrels per day from May until the end of 2023, a move that could raise prices worldwide.

Higher oil prices would help fill Russian President Vladimir Putin's coffers as his country wages war on Ukraine and force Americans and others to pay even higher prices at the pump amid inflation fueled in part by that conflict.

It was also likely to further strain ties with the United States, which has called on Saudi Arabia and other allies to increase production as it tries to bring prices down and squeeze Russia's finances.

The Saudi Energy Ministry said the cuts would be made in coordination with some OPEC and non-OPEC members, without naming them. The cuts are in addition to a reduction announced last October that infuriated the Biden administration.

The ministry described the move as a “precautionary measure” aimed at stabilizing the oil market. The cuts represent less than 5% of Saudi Arabia's average production of 11.5 million barrels per day in 2022.

The earlier cuts — of some 2 million barrels a day — had come on the eve of U.S. midterm elections in which soaring prices were a major issue. President Joe Biden vowed at the time that there would be “consequences” and Democratic lawmakers called for freezing cooperation with the Saudis.

Both the U.S. and Saudi Arabia denied any political motives in the dispute, with each saying it was focused on maintaining a healthy market price.

Since those cuts, oil prices have actually trended down. Brent crude, a global benchmark, was trading at around $80 a barrel at the end of last week, down from around $95 a barrel in early October, when the earlier cuts were agreed.

Saudi Arabia's state-run oil giant Aramco recently announced record profits of $161 billion from last year. Profits rose 46.5% when compared to the company’s 2021 results of $110 billion. Aramco said it hoped to boost production to 13 million barrels a day by 2027.

The decades-long U.S.-Saudi alliance has come under growing strain in recent years following the 2018 killing of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S.-based journalist, and Saudi Arabia's disastrous war with the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

As a candidate for president, Biden had vowed to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” over the Khashoggi killing, but as oil prices rose after his inauguration he backed off. He visited the kingdom last July in a bid to patch up relations, drawing criticism for sharing a fistbump with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Saudi Arabia has denied siding with Russia in the Ukraine war, even as it has cultivated closer ties with both Moscow and Beijing in recent years, unnerving its longtime allies in Washington. Last week, Aramco announced billions of dollars of investment in China's downstream petrochemicals industry.

Since those cuts, oil prices have actually trended down. Brent crude, a global benchmark, was trading at around $80 a barrel at the end of last week, down from around $95 a barrel in early October, when the earlier cuts were agreed.

Saudi Arabia’s state-run oil giant Aramco recently announced record profits of $161 billion from last year.

Profits rose 46.5% when compared to the company’s 2021 results of $110 billion. Aramco said it hoped to boost production to 13 million barrels a day by 2027.

Gregoria Mariska Juara Spayol Masters 2023

Tunggal putri Indonesia Gregoria Mariska Tunjung
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Tunggal putri Indonesia sukses mengharumkan Indonesia di Eropa, Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, tampil trengginas taklukkan wakil India, Shindu, pada final Spain Masters 2023 atau Spanyol Masters 2023, di Madrid, Spanyol.

Gregoria menjalani laga puncak turnamen level super 300 ini dengan menghadapi wakil India Pusarla Venkata (PV) Sindhu, hari Minggu, 02/04/2023.

Berlaga di Centro Deportivo Municipal Gallur, Madrid, Spanyol, Gregoria menang dua gim langsung dengan skor telak 21-8, 21-8 dalam tempo 29 menit.

Kemenangan dengan skor kembar ini membuat pemain asal Wonogiri, Jawa Tengah itu menorehkan gelar juara pertamanya dalam turnamen world tour BWF.

Selain itu, hasil ini menjadi kemenangan pertama Gregoria atas PV Sindhu setelah dalam tujuh laga sebelumnya selalu menelan kekalahan.

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Gregoria tampil dengan tenang pada pertandingan yang menjadi pertemuan kedelapannya kontra ratu bulutangkis terkaya sejagat tersebut. Kali ini Gregoria bisa mengendalikan pukulan dan ritme sejak awal gim.

Berbekal keunggulan 11-7, poin Gregoria terus meroket berkat perolehan enam poin beruntun menjadi 17-7. Meski sudah unggul jauh, namun Gregoria tetap tenang dan enggan terburu-buru mematikan lawannya.

Sementara itu, Sindhu hanya bisa menambah satu poin yang datang dari kesalahan Gregoria, setelah pukulannya membuat kok jatuh bersebelahan dengan garis lapangan.

Setelah kehilangan satu poin, Gregoria lagi-lagi mencetak empat poin sehingga menyudahi perlawanan Sindhu dengan 21-8.

Gregoria masih mempertahankan konsistensinya pada gim kedua, dengan menikmati permainan dan sabar dalam memberikan reli-reli kepada Sindhu

Daya tahan Gregoria juga patut diacungi jempol karena mampu bermain secara sabar dan meladeni reli yang diberikan lawannya. Kesabaran tersebut menjadi keunggulan Gregoria, sehingga dia bisa meraih keunggulan secara efektif. Saat Gregoria mencapai interval dengan 11 poin, Sindhu masih tertinggal jauh hanya dengan mencatatkan tiga poin.

Situasi tersebut membuat Sindhu semakin tertekan dan justru menciptakan blunder. Dia kerap memaksa melakukan pengembalian yang sulit, yang justru berakhir dengan eror berupa pukulan yang melenceng dari lapangan.

Gregoria semakin menampilkan dominasinya di lapangan, bahkan kembali merebut poin beruntun sebanyak enam kali menjadi unggul 18-4.

Tak butuh waktu lama bagi Gregoria untuk mencapai match point terlebih dulu, sementara Sindhu masih terjebak dengan delapan poin dan tak punya peluang untuk mengejar ketertinggalan.

Satu poin penentu kemenangan Gregoria tercipta setelah Sindhu membuat kesalahan, ketika kok pengembaliannya justru membentur net, yang sekaligus menandai kemenangan perdana bagi wakil Indonesia atas Sindhu dari delapan pertemuan yang pernah dimainkan.

"Saya sempat flu di Swiss Open dan di Spain Masters ini paha saya mulai kencang ototnya, seperti tertarik. Tapi saya coba fokus berpikir satu-satu saja," ucap Gregoria.

Meski tampil dengan otot paha yang bermasalah, namun Gregoria tetap berhasil tampil luar biasa di sepanjang kejuaraan ini.

"Gelar juara ini untuk semua yang dukung saya sampai hari ini. Juara ini juga menjadi arti yang besar buat saya, saya sempat sangat terpuruk tapi Puji Tuhan bisa melewati itu dan bangkit lagi," ucap Gregoria.

Fakta terakhir dari penampilan Gregoria di final Spain Masters 2023 adalah sejarah baru yang diukir dalam kariernya. Pasalnya, ini jadi gelar juara pertama bagi Gregoria di ajang BWF World Tour.

Death toll tops 20 as storm takes aim at eastern U.S

A violent storm packing high winds and heavy rains ripped through Southern and Midwestern sections of the United States as it headed east on Saturday, leaving at least 22 dead and scores injured, according to officials and media reports.

At least five people were killed in Arkansas, according to officials, as first responders sifted through debris for more possible victims after tornadoes sliced through the state on Friday.

Officials also reported four deaths in Illinois and three in Indiana.

Meanwhile, the Tennessee Department of Health confirmed seven weather-related deaths in McNairy County, at the Mississippi border. Tennessee Emergency Management Agency Director Patrick Sheehan said the number of people injured and damaged structures in several counties were not yet determined.

Just south of the Tennessee border in Madison County, Alabama, 90-year-old Ovie Lasater was killed when a tornado destroyed her home, county coroner Tyler Berryhill told Reuters.

Fox News reported another death in Pontotoc County in neighboring Mississippi.

In Illinois, three people were killed in Crawford County after the collapse of a residential structure, the state Emergency Management Agency said.

These were in addition to the 50-year-old man who died in Belvidere, a city in northern Illinois, after a roof collapsed at a theater with 260 people inside. Dan Zaccard, a senior emergency management official in Boone County, said on Saturday that the incident left 40 people injured.

The crowd at the city's Apollo Theatre was attending a concert featuring the heavy-metal group Morbid Angel, which was on its 'Tour of Terror.'

One person was killed in Sussex County, Delaware, after a line of powerful storms tore through the region on Saturday night, an ABC News affiliate reported.

The National Weather Service on Saturday warned of thunderstorms moving across the eastern third of the United States, likely resulting in power outages and downed trees from winds with gusts over 60 mph (100 kph).

A tree branch is seen impaled through the ceiling as Ester Johnson-El, 62, inspects the wreckage of her bedroom where she rode out the storm with her nephew, grandson, and her grandson?s mother, in the aftermath of a tornado, after a monster storm system tore through the South and Midwest on Friday, in Wynne, Arkansas, U.S. April 1, 2023. REUTERS/Cheney Orr.

The twisters sheared roofs and walls from many buildings in Arkansas, flipped over vehicles and downed trees and power lines in Little Rock and large areas east and northeast of the state capital, officials said.

The blast of extreme spring weather swept much of the United States on Friday, menacing the nation's midsection from Texas to the Great Lakes with thunderstorms and tornados.

Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Saturday said there were five confirmed dead in the state.

"Right now, we have five confirmed fatalities. We have a couple of others that have been reported, but we do not have confirmation from local law enforcement on the ground. And, so, awaiting that. But right now, statewide, we have five confirmed fatalities," she said.

Four of the Arkansas fatalities were reported in Wynne, about 100 miles (160 km) east of Little Rock, Cross County Coroner Eli Long said.

One person was killed and more than 50 people were hospitalized in North Little Rock, Pulaski County spokeswoman Madeline Roberts told the Washington Post.

U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with Huckabee Sanders and the mayors of Little Rock and Wynne, the White House said in a statement. He also spoke with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell.

Huckabee Sanders said Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, in phone calls on Saturday, offered federal government support.

"Anything that Arkansas needs, they have assured us that those resources will be here and on the ground," she said at a news conference.

In Sullivan County, Indiana, three people were killed, Indiana State Police Sergeant Matt Ames said. A state of emergency was declared for the affected areas, Sheriff Jason Bobbitt said on Facebook.

The turbulent weather occurred one week after a swarm of thunderstorms unleashed a deadly tornado that devastated the Mississippi town of Rolling Fork, destroying many of the community's 400 homes and killing 26 people.

Russia to Consider ‘NATO Peacekeepers’ as Targets if Deployed in Ukraine, Medvedev Says

©Sputnik / POOL / Go to the mediabank

Russia will consider so-called NATO peacekeepers as legitimate targets if they get deployed in Ukraine on the front line, Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday.

"They will be a legitimate target for our armed forces if they are placed on the front line without the consent of Russia with weapons in their hands and directly threaten us," Medvedev wrote on his Telegram channel.

According to the official, the West’s real goal is to establish a ceasefire on the front line that is favorable to them.

"It is clear that the so-called NATO peacekeepers are simply going to enter the conflict on the side of our enemies [Ukraine] … Unleash that very third world war, which they so fear when they talk," Medvedev said.

Earlier in March, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban stated that the European Union is one step ahead from discussing sending military of some peacekeeping type in Ukraine.

Medvedev recalled that the potential results of such actions can be seen in the "history of operations conducted by the United States and its allies in various regions of the world, [including] the tragedies of Korea, Vietnam, Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan and numerous African countries."

"Their (NATO member countries’ - TASS) true intentions are crystal clear - to impose a peace that is favorable to them on the line of contact from a position of strength and to station their ‘peacekeeping’ troops in Ukraine, who would be armed with assault rifles and riding on tanks, and would be wearing some sort of blue helmets with yellow stars," the deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council said.

Milley Says US Rhetoric on China Needs to Become More Realistic, Less ‘Emotional’

©AP Photo / Susan Walsh

The United States’ rhetoric towards China needs to become more realistic and less emotional, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said on Friday.

“I think that [US rhetoric on China] needs to be a little bit more realistic and a little bit less, perhaps, emotional,” Milley said during a Defense One.

The US should approach its relationship with China with a “steely-eyed, cold-eyed realism” and keep its military competitive with Beijing across all domains, Milley said.

The US needs to be pragmatic and cautious going forward, but can decrease the chances of conflict if it remains strong relative to China, Milley added.

US has small stockpile of long-range missiles to hand them over to Ukraine — Pentagon

The United States has an small stockpile of long-range missiles, which limits the possibility of handing them over to Ukraine, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley said in an online interview with the Defense One media outlet.

Asked whether Washington was planning to supply Ukraine with ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) missiles with a strike range of up to 300 kilometers, Milley replied "Well, there's a policy decision to date not to, so far. And I would never predict anything on the table, off the table, for the future."

"But from a military standpoint, we have relatively few ATACMS, we do have to make sure that we maintain our own munitions inventories, as well," he continued. "And the range of the weapon - I think there's a little bit of overstating of what an ATACMS can do and can't do."

"You're looking at a single shot, so think of a musket versus a repeating rifle. Whereas the GMLRS fires six shots, and ATACMs fires one. Now the range of the ATACMS is longer, but there's other systems they can get you that range," the high-ranking military official said.

"There’s UAVs, for example, that could do it, and the Brits have a couple of systems. So, those are some things that we're looking at to give them a little bit more legs. But right now, we're not providing the ATACMS," Milley added.

Ukraine repeatedly asked the United States to provide it with ATACMS missiles, but was refused.

Russian Aerospace Forces down Ukraine’s MiG-29 aircraft, Mi-8 helicopter in DPR

MiG-29 aircraft
©AP Photo/Alexander Ermochenko

Russia’s Aerospace Forces downed a Ukrainian MiG-29 aircraft and an Mi-8 helicopter in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov said at a briefing on Saturday.

"The Russian Aerospace Forces’ fighter jets downed an MiG-29 aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Forces near the Koptevo settlement in the Donetsk People’s Republic. A Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopter was downed near the Novovasilyevka settlement in the Donetsk People’s Republic," he pointed out.

Russian forces destroy Ukrainian ammunition depot in Kharkov Region — Defense Ministry

Russian forces destroyed a Ukrainian ammunition depot in the Kharkov Region, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov said at a briefing on Saturday.

"An ammunition depot belonging to the 127th Territorial Defense Brigade was destroyed near the Izbitskoye settlement in the Kharkov Region," he noted.

According to Konashenkov, Russian tactical aircraft, missile and artillery forces hit 86 Ukrainian artillery units in firing positions, as well as troops and equipment in 92 areas.

Russian forces kill up to 40 Ukrainian troops on Kherson frontline — Defense Ministry

Russian forces killed up to 40 Ukrainian troops on the Kherson frontline in the past day, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov said at a briefing on Saturday.

"Up to 40 Ukrainian troops were killed on the Kherson frontline in the past 24 hours, while three motor vehicles, an Akatsiya self-propelled howitzer and a Giatsint-B towed field gun were destroyed," he specified.

Russian forces wipe out two Ukrainian subversive groups in Kupyansk area

Russian forces eliminated two Ukrainian subversive/reconnaissance groups in the Kupyansk area, Western Battlegroup Spokesman Sergey Zybinsky told TASS on Saturday.

"The forces of the battlegroup West in the Kupyansk area used UAVs, Msta-S self-propelled howitzers as well as D-20 and D-30 howitzers to detect and then eliminate two subversive/reconnaissance groups," Zybinsky said adding that the forces disrupted the rotation of Ukrainian army units at forward positions near the settlement of Stelimakhovka.

"The enemy attempted a simultaneous reconnaissance by fire attacks from two directions employing forces of the 14th separate mechanized brigade," he said adding that the attacks were thwarted and 15 militants were eliminated.

The western battlegroup’s artillery also destroyed two enemy mortar teams, Zybinsky noted.

Russian defense chief chairs meeting on weapons supply to troops

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has held a meeting on weapons supply to troops at the headquarters of the Joint Group of Forces, the Defense Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

"Russian Defense Minister Army General Sergey Shoigu visited the headquarters of the Joint Group of Forces to hear reports on the current situation and hold a meeting with the group’s commanders and deputy defense ministers on weapons supply to troops," the statement reads.

Shoigu pointed out that "the Russian government and the Defense Ministry keep weapons supplies under constant control.".

Shoigu announced that Russia has significantly increased the production of high-precision weapons. "Steps to expand production capacities and improve productivity have made it possible to significantly increase the production of weapons for troops, including conventional and high-precision weapons. All this allows us to achieve the goals set by the supreme commander-in-chief based on the plan of the special military operation," Shoigu said, as cited by the ministry.

The meeting’s participants also discussed ways to further increase weapons supply to Russian troops, including the need to improve the efficiency of the logistics system.