Open Hormuz or all hell will rain: Trump

The US president on Saturday reupped a previous April 6 deadline for Iran to open up the Strait of Hormuz or face devastating consequences ldquoRemember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAITrdquo Trump wrote on his social media account Saturday ldquoTime is running out mdash 48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them Glory be to GODrdquoThe Trump administration hasnrsquot made an official comment on the US fighter jet shot down in Iran But the US military pressed ahead in a frantic search for a missing pilot after Iran shot down an American war planeOne US crew member from that plane was rescued But the Pentagon also notified defence authorities that the status of a second service member on the fighter jet was not known Trump declined to discuss the searchandrescue efforts but said what happened would not affect negotiations with IranPICISTOCKThe conflict launched by the US and Israel on February 28 has rippled across the region The downing of the military planes came just two days after President Donald Trump said in a national address that the US has ldquobeaten and completely decimated Iranrdquo and was ldquogoing to finish the job and wersquore going to finish it very fastrdquo The US and Israel had boasted recently that Iranrsquos air defences were decimatedPakistan slashes fuel pricesA day after an unprecedented surge in fuel prices triggered severe backlash Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced slashing the petrol price by PKR 80 making the commodity available to the end consumer for PKR 378 per litre The price had touched PKR 45841 per litre on FridayIran attacks Oraclersquos HQ in DubaiAn apparent Iranian drone damaged the Dubai headquarters of the American tech giant Oracle on Saturday after Iranrsquos paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened the firm Video footage showed a large hole in the building with the ldquoerdquo in ldquoOraclerdquo on a neon sign damagedPICPTIThe sheikhdomrsquos Dubai Media Office which speaks for its government said a ldquominor incident caused by debris from an aerial interception that fell on the facade of the Oracle building in Dubai Internet Cityrdquo adding there were no injuries Oracle based in Austin Texas did not immediately respond to a request for commentThe Guard has accused some of Americarsquos largest tech companies of being involved in ldquoterrorist espionagerdquo operations against the Islamic Republic and said they were legitimate targetsProfit caps on energy needed EuropeThe finance ministers of Spain and four other European countries are urging the EU to impose a blocwide windfall tax on energy companies concerned that surging oil prices will fuel inflationCarlos Cuerpo PICEUROPEAN COMMISSIONSpanish Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said on Saturday that his counterparts from Germany Italy Portugal and Austria had signed a letter to the European Commission citing ldquomarket distortionsrdquo caused by the price spikeEurope is dependent on imported oil and gas leaving it vulnerable to external shocks In 2022 turmoil in energy markets following Russiarsquos invasion of Ukraine pushed inflation into double digits in many European countriesPak and Iran deny media reports of collapse in USIran peace talksPakistan on Saturday rejected media reports that its initiative to facilitate talks between the US and Iran to end the ongoing conflict had hit obstaclesTahir Andrabi PICFACEBOOK TAHIR ANDRAB and Seyed Abbas Araghchi PICWIKPEDIAForeign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi rejected the media reports as ldquobaselessrdquo and a ldquofigment of imaginationrdquo ldquoWe have noted several reports in the media including on social media citing socalled official government sources regarding the ongoing conflict and Pakistanrsquos efforts to promote peace and dialoguerdquo he saidSimilarly Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi dismissed Western media reports suggesting a stalemate in Pakistanfacilitated talks between Iran and the US labelling it as ldquomisrepresentedrdquo ldquoWe are deeply grateful to Pakistan for its efforts and have never refused to go to IslamabadrdquoThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever