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I'm your weekend host, Sharon Reichgarson, it's Sunday, March 15th, today.
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Iran arrests dozens of people it accuses of helping Israel target the military.
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The U.S. pressures allies to send warships to secure the Strait of Hormuz.
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Economic officials from the U.S. and China meet in Paris ahead of Trump's trip to Beijing.
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And F1 calls off races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
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This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the frontlines in 10 minutes,
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Iran has arrested dozens of people it accuses of helping Israel target military sites.
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That's according to local media.
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State-linked outlets report that security forces have detained suspects across several provinces,
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accusing them of gathering intelligence on sensitive locations and economic infrastructure.
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Officials say the roundup is part of a broader push to stop what they describe
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as ground-level tip-offs to Israel.
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This comes as the U.S. president has threatened more strikes on Iran's cargo island
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and is pushing for allies to send warships to the strait of Hormuz.
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On Saturday, Trump telling NBC News, quote,
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we may hit it a few more times, just for fun.
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The remarks signal a sharp escalation from Trump
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and come as the U.S. rejects new efforts by Middle Eastern allies to start cease-fire talks.
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Three sources tell Reuters that Oman and Egypt have been trying to open diplomatic channels,
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but Washington is brushing them off.
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And Iran is refusing to come to the table until U.S. and Israeli strikes stop.
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Two senior officials have told Reuters they've rejected the possibility of any cease-fire for now.
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They also say several countries have been trying to mediate an end to the conflict.
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And with no diplomatic movement, the fallout continues to spill into the strait of Hormuz,
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the narrow, crucial oil route seeing drone attacks and shipping disruptions.
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That's raised fuel prices across Asia and is pushing Japan,
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which relies on the Middle East for 90 percent of its oil supply,
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to release a record 80 million barrels of oil on Monday.
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Tokyo says that's a roughly 45-day supply,
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and will cut national reserves by 17 percent.
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Energy analysts say the move mainly buys time,
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but can't fully offset a prolonged Hormuz disruption.
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Meanwhile, U.S. officials are urging allies to buy more American energy.
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Iran has allowed some Indian vessels to sail through the strait of Hormuz,
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a rare exception to the blockade.
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Here's a representative for Iran's Supreme Leader in India, Abdul Majid Hakim Allahi.
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Yes, the oil and the ships which support our enemies, that they are not allowed to go,
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but the other countries should not be suffered.
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But many Indian sailors have been stuck for two weeks,
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and they say they're growing increasingly desperate as drone and missiles hit chips nearby.
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Reporter Saurab Sharma has more.
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The situation as of now is that there are about 20 tankers and vessels
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which are stuck, and they have a lot of Indian fuel on them.
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I was able to speak with at least three sailors who are stranded on different vessels,
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and these sailors have been telling me that initially they were not able to access the internet,
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then they started seeing drones.
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They even saw fighter jets passing,
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and according to the sailors that I spoke to,
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the only option that they have now is to sail to the nearest port of a different country
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where the air space is still open,
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or the alternate route for them would be to stay with the ship
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till they get a clearance to come out or pass through that strait of Hormuz.
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The authorities in Iran and the authorities from India is communicating with them very regularly,
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and they are assuring that nothing will happen.
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Iran's ambassador has repeated that India and Iran have been friends.
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Even the Indian Prime Minister had a telephonic conversation with the Iranian Prime Minister,
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so given the cultural relations that India shares with Iran,
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India is a major exporter of rise to Iran.
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So I think these are the leverages that India has.
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As New Delhi works diplomatic channels, protests have erupted across India
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over a cooking gas shortage.
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Demonstrators were seeing carrying gas cylinders and chanting while moving through the streets.
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Residents report being stuck waiting in hours long lines due to disruptions in liquefied petroleum gas.
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The cooking gas millions rely on.
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Like Shiv Kumar, who took time off of work to line up at 5 a.m.,
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but left empty-handed with it all sold out.
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Without gas, some like teacher Mohamed Parvez are turning to fire.
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Burning wood from school benches or whatever scraps they can find to cook their meals.
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India's government's asking people not to panic to avoid stockpiling.
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Top US and Chinese economic officials are meeting in Paris today,
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to smooth out the path for President Trump's trip to Beijing later this month.
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The talks are being led by Treasury Secretary Scott Besent and Chinese Vice Premier Hotly Fung.
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And they're focusing on some of the toughest issues, tariffs, rare earths,
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US high-tech export controls, and China's purchase of American farm goods.
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But US China analysts tell Reuters they're not expecting a major trade breakthrough
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with Washington's attention being pulled toward the war in Iran.
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Formula One is canceling its April races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia as the conflict in Iran
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intensifies. F1 says security risks including Iranian drone and missile strikes hitting
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Minama and airport closures across the Gulf make holding the races unsafe. Reuters'
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Motorsports correspondent Alan Baldwin says it's unlikely those events will be rescheduled.
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A month without racing in Formula One.
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Three Iranian women soccer players who'd sought asylum in Australia are now choosing to return
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to Iran. It's a sharp turnaround after refusing to sing the national anthem at an Asia Cup match.
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Australia says the women were granted humanitarian visas and offered support to stay.
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Another member changed her mind last week.
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Over to Cuba now, where anti-government protesters attacked a communist party office in
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Iran after a rally over blackouts and shortages turned violent overnight.
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Videos verified by Reuters show a large fire and crowds shouting liberty.
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State media say police detained five people.
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President Miguel Villescanel says anger over power cuts is understandable,
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but he warns there'll be no impunity for vandalism or violence.
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We spoke to Dan Trata who's in our Havana bureau about how these shortages are shaping daily life.
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I've been traveling to Cuba on and off for the past 10 years and this is by far the worst
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I've ever seen in terms of the conditions, the hardships for the people. There's always been
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shortages but the shortages of food, water, medicine are more acute than ever and on top of that now
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you have the fuel shortage caused by what's essentially a U.S. oil blockade preventing oil
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shipments from coming into the country. Fuel is being rationed. The country's ground to a halt.
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For more on any of the stories from today, check out Reuters.com or the Reuters app.
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