16 people were injured when a missile launched by the Houthis from Yemen hit Tel Aviv, emergency services said on Saturday. Most people were hurt by shattered glass, resulting in light injuries. Authorities said the ballistic missile struck a park. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) acknowledged they attempted to intercept the rocket but the efforts were unsuccessful.
Houthis hail ‘failure’ of Israeli air defenses
Houthi official Hezam al-Asad celebrated on Saturday the air strike carried out by his militant group in Tel Aviv earlier, injuring 16 people. “The failure of all Israeli defense systems means that the depth of the Zionist enemy is no longer secure,” he said. “There is no longer any use for interception systems that cost billions of dollars,” Al-Asad added. He said the attack was carried out in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Over 45,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza in October 2023.
Israel’s deputy foreign minister said Syria’s new leaders are “wolves in clothes of sheep,” who are trying to persuade the world they are not radical Islamists — but her government isn’t convinced “We’re not fooled by many of the conversations and interviews of those rebel groups who are, in fact, terrorist groups,” Sharren Haskel said in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Wednesday. She was responding to a question about Syria’s de-facto leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa, who said Israel’s military should reverse its recent advance into the buffer zone with Syria because his forces pose no threat to the country. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the former al-Qaeda affiliate headed by Al-Sharaa, is designated a terrorist organization by the US and other countries, though Washington has held direct talks with the group since it toppled President Bashar al-Assad earlier this month. Haskel, 40, said Israel won’t make the same mistake it made with Hamas, the Palestinian group that indicated support for coexistence before launching the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attacks that triggered the war in Gaza.
US lifts bounty on new Syrian leader Ahmad al-Sharaa
The United States lifted the reward for the capture of the leader of the armed group Ahmed al-Sharaa, after he pledged not to allow terrorist factions that pose threats to the US and its neighboring countries to operate within Syria, US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf told reporters on Friday.”Based on our discussion, I told him we would not be pursuing the Rewards for Justice reward offer,” she says. “We discussed the critical need to ensure that terrorist groups cannot pose a threat inside of Syria or externally, including to the US and our partners in the region. Ahmad al-Sharaa committed to this.” Previously, the FBI had announced a reward of up to $10 million for any information that could lead to al-Sharaa’s capture, known by his alias Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, pointing to his swearing of allegiance to Al-Qaeda..
United States Fedral Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stated on Wednesday that the financial institution does not rule out rate hikes when asked about the possibility of a rate hike next year given inflation was “moving sideways.” “You don’t rule things completely in or out in this world, but that doesn’t appear to be a likely outcome,” the policymaker responded during a post-FOMC press conference. He additionally mentioned that the Federal Reserve was signaling fewer interest rate reductions in the upcoming year, along with a deceleration in the pace of these cuts. Nevertheless, the policymaker highlighted that “it’s pretty clear we’ve avoided recession” and affirmed that the US economy is doing “very, very well.” NN Audio file:
Israel’s deputy foreign minister said Syria’s new leaders are “wolves in clothes of sheep,” who are trying to persuade the world they are not radical Islamists — but her government isn’t convinced. “We’re not fooled by many of the conversations and interviews of those rebel groups who are, in fact, terrorist groups,” Sharren Haskel said in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Wednesday. She was responding to a question about Syria’s de-facto leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa, who said Israel’s military should reverse its recent advance into the buffer zone with Syria because his forces pose no threat to the country. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the former al-Qaeda affiliate headed by Al-Sharaa, is designated a terrorist organization by the US and other countries, though Washington has held direct talks with the group since it toppled President Bashar al-Assad earlier this month. “We are very aware of what they are saying,” Haskel said. “But the fact is we are going to look at their actions, and that’s going to dictate how we react. We are not fooled by nice talk.” Haskel, 40, said Israel won’t make the same mistake it made with Hamas, the Palestinian group that indicated support for coexistence before launching the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attacks that triggered the war in Gaza. Israel has sent troops into the buffer zone between its northeast border and Syria since HTS overthrew Assad, a move that Haskel described as “temporary and obviously limited.” Israeli warplanes have also struck weapons depots and other military sites in Syria to prevent equipment falling into the hands of extremist groups hostile to Israel. The offensive has been criticized by Middle East countries including Egypt, which condemned the systematic targeting of infrastructure. Haskel said Israel is concerned about the rights of minority groups in Syria, particularly the Druze and Kurds, with whom the Jewish state has good relations. There is a Druze community in Israel with close relatives across the Syrian border whose lives could be threatened, she said. Asked if the Israeli government is in touch with the new Syrian leadership, she said only via the US. Haskel said Israel is deeply concerned about Turkey’s actions against the Kurds, who have fought against Islamic State in Syria in recent years. Asked about optimism that an Israel-Hamas ceasefire could be imminent after more than 14 months of fighting, Haskel said: “Personally, I try to stay pessimistic.” Hamas has rejected offers in the past, she said, while reiterating that Israel is “doing everything in our capability to bring back” the 100 hostages still held by the Iran-backed group in Gaza. Hamas has accused Israel of chopping and changing its demands. Robust statements by President-elect Donald Trump have been important in creating a breakthrough, Haskel said. The winner of last month’s US election has said the hostages should be returned by the time he takes office on Jan. 20 or there will be “hell to pay.” Hamas is designated a terrorist organization by Washington and others. Under the terms of a deal still being discussed with mediators Qatar and Egypt, hostages would be returned in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and a huge boost in humanitarian aid could be delivered to the coastal strip.
Israeli warplanes struck Houthi sites in Yemen’s capital and elsewhere in the country following an increase in missile attacks by the Iran-backed militia, including one overnight that damaged a school near Tel Aviv. The Israeli strikes killed nine people, according to reports from a Houthi-affiliated television station, and damaged energy facilities and power stations. Houthi-run Al Masirah Television reported that seven people were killed in Israel’s strikes on Al-Salif port close to Hodeida, while two died at the nearby Ras Isa oil terminal. The Houthis said they targeted Tel Aviv with two ballistic missiles early on Thursday. Israel intercepted one of them but shrapnel fell on a school in the Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Gan, the town’s mayor said. There were no reports of casualties, despite the damage. It’s unclear what happened to the second projectile. Millions of Israelis were forced into bomb shelters as air sirens went off across large parts of the country. An Israeli military spokesman said jets were already flying toward Yemen when the Houthis fired their missiles. Israel, he said, had planned its operation — complicated by Yemen lying about 1,700 kilometers (1,060 miles) away — for some time. The Houthis have been firing drones and missiles at Israel regularly, saying they’ll continue until there’s a ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza. The projectiles have mostly been intercepted before reaching Israeli territory, but in July a Houthi drone killed a man in Tel Aviv. Israel reacted to that attack by striking Houthi targets for the first time, and did so again in September. The latest mission was the first time Israel has targeted Sanaa, the Yemeni capital. In the past two weeks, a Houthi drone hit an apartment block in the south of Israel and on Sunday a long-range missile was fired at the center of the country. The Houthis have continued their attacks on Israel and on ships in the Red Sea despite the strikes by Israel and several others by the US and UK air forces. The group’s maritime assaults have effectively closed the southern Red Sea and parts of the Gulf of Aden to most Western shipping firms, pushing up global freight prices. Hamas and the Houthis are designated as terrorist groups by the US and many other governments. The Yemeni group captured Sanaa and other areas, including the strategic port of Hodeida, soon after Yemen’s civil war began in 2014. It is funded and advised by Iran and a key member of Tehran’s “axis of resistance” against Western and Israeli interests. NN: Now its time to kick Houthi ass
Predictions of declining demand for the world’s most polluting fossil fuel coal are wrong wrong wrong
Coal demand set a record high in 2024, according to the International Energy Agency’s annual report published on Wednesday. Considering the commodity is the most important contributor to global warming, its consumption trends matter enormously for the fight against climate change. The report makes for a depressing reading: The planet is losing to our unquenchable demand for king coal. Forget all the slogans about consigning coal to history. We’re on a path to consigning the planet to history.
The International Energy Agency has revised higher its historical coal demand data and its forecast from those published in earlier years
Source: International Energy Agency
As the IEA puts it, “coal is often considered a fuel of the past, but global consumption of it has doubled in the past three decades.” Worse, not only has usage grown a lot – particularly in China and India – but demand will keep rising for the foreseeable future. The IEA now estimates that global coal demand surged to an all-time high of 8,771 million metric tons this year, up 1% from 20232, as electricity demand rose faster than expected. That shouldn’t be a surprise: The energy transition requires electrifying everything. Renewables are doing some of that job, but coal remains, the go-to fuel to power the energy transition. Worse, the IEA revised higher its historical data, so the increase comes from a significantly higher baseline than before. The world is consuming a lot more coal than we thought – and therefore, it’s polluting the atmosphere a lot more than we thought, too. While last year the IEA initially estimated consumption in 2023 at 8,563 million tons, it pegs it now at 8,687 million. The difference equals roughly to the annual demand of Japan, the world’s fourth-biggest coal consumer
China accounts for more than half the world’s coal demand, with the US and the European Union accounting for a fraction of global consumption
Source: International Energy Agency
The IEA has been calling for a peak in coal use, particularly in China, for more than a decade. Considering that record of wrong calls, it would be prudent for the agency to err on the side of caution. Flagging higher demand isn’t cheerleading fossil-fuel consumption – it’s candidly conceding to reality.
The biggest problem is China. The country, worshiped by some green enthusiasts thanks to its embrace of electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar panels, is the world’s big polluter. China alone consumes nearly 30% more coal than the rest of the world together. That’s not ending anytime soon. Now, the IEA assumes that Chinese coal demand will set an all-time high every year until at least 2027. For Beijing, coal is energy security. It’s time to acknowledge that. And acknowledge that China’s promises to reduce its coal consumption any time soon just don’t stand up to scrutiny
Summary of Weekly Petroleum Data for the week ending December 13, 2024
U.S. commercial crude oil inventories (excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve) decreased by 0.9 million barrels from the previous week. At 421.0 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 6% below the five year average for this time of year. U.S. crude oil refinery inputs averaged 16.6 million barrels per day during the week ending
December 13, 2024, which was 48 thousand barrels per day less than the previous week’s average. Refineries operated at 91.8% of their operable capacity last week. Gasoline production decreased last week, averaging 9.9 million barrels per day. Distillate fuel production decreased last week, averaging 5.1 million barrels per day. U.S. crude oil imports averaged 6.6 million barrels per day last week, increased by 665 thousand barrels per day from the previous week. Over the past four weeks, crude oil imports averaged about 6.5 million barrels per day, 2.1% less than the same four-week period last year. Total motor gasoline imports (including both finished gasoline and gasoline blending components) last week averaged 755 thousand barrels per day, and distillate fuel imports averaged 164 thousand barrels per day. Total motor gasoline
inventories increased by 2.3 million barrels from last week and are about 3% below the five year average for this time of year. Finished gasoline inventories decreased while blending
components inventories increased last week. Distillate fuel inventories decreased by 3.2 million barrels last week and are about 7% below the five year average for this time of year. Propane/propylene inventories decreased by 3.0 million barrels from last week and are 7% above
the five year average for this time of year. Total commercial petroleum inventories decreased by 3.2 million barrels last week. Total products supplied over the last four-week period averaged 20.4 million barrels a day, up by 1.3% from the same period last year. Over the past four weeks, motor gasoline product supplied averaged 8.7 million barrels a day, up by 2.1% from the same period last year. Distillate fuel
product supplied averaged 3.8 million barrels a day over the past four weeks, up by 4.8% from, the same period last year. Jet fuel product supplied was up 11.6% compared with the same four week period last year
Crude oil inventories in the United fell by 4.7 million barrels for the week ending December 6, according to The American Petroleum Institute (API). Analysts had expected a draw of 1.85 million barrels. For the week prior, the API reported a 499,000-barrel build in crude inventories. So far this year, crude oil inventories have fallen by roughly 8 million barrels since the beginning of the year, according to API data. On Tuesday, the Department of Energy (DoE) reported that crude oil inventories in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) rose by 0.5 million barrels as of December 13. SPR inventories are now at 393 million barrels, a figure that is about 46 million above its multi-decade low last summer, yet still 242 million down from when President Biden took office.
At 4:44 am ET, Brent crude was at $73.31. The U.S. benchmark WTI was trading at $70.61 not a very big move. With volume low because of the pending holidays its hard to get a read on the short term trend
Gasoline inventories rose this week by 2.4 million barrels after last week’s 2.852-million-barrel increase. As of last week, gasoline inventories are 4% below the five-year average for this time of year, according to the latest EIA data. Distillate inventories rose by 700,000 barrels, after last week’s 2.452-million-barrel increase. Distillate inventories were about 4% below the five-year average as of the week ending December 6, the latest EIA data shows. Cushing inventories—the benchmark crude stored and traded at the key delivery point for U.S. futures contracts in Cushing, Oklahoma—rose by 800,000 barrels, according to API data, after falling by 1.517 million barrels in the previous week.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry accused Turkey on Tuesday of backing “jihadist forces that operate in Syria” while rejecting the Turkish Foreign Ministry’s previous statements regarding Israeli involvement in the war-torn country. “Turkey has systematically encroached on Syrian territory, a process that began with military operations in 2016, 2018, and 2019, and continues to this day,” the ministry wrote in a statement on X. It also blasted Ankara for using its proxies to occupy Syrian territory. “The last country that can speak about occupation in Syria is Turkey, with 15% of Syria’s territory under the control of proxies operating under its patronage. There is no justification for the continuation of Turkish aggression and violence against Kurds in Syria,” the statement concluded. NN: Every time the Islamic savages have gone to war with Israel Jew bastards they have gotten their Mohammed asses kicked lost land and begged the UN to bail them out. Like my grandmother use to say the Jews are GODS chosen people. The only question is what are they chosen for?
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated on Tuesday that following Hamas’ defeat, Israel intends to maintain “security control” over the Gaza Strip, ensuring “full freedom of action” in the territory. “We will not allow any terrorist organization against Israeli communities and Israeli citizens from Gaza. We will not allow a return to the reality before October 7th,” Katz wrote in a post on X. The defense minister previously noted that an agreement between Israel and Hamas is “possible” which could include the release of all the hostages from the Palestinian enclave.
