Rubio lays down ultimatum to Panama over canal

"US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday threatened action against Panama without immediate changes to reduce Chinese influence on the canal, but the country's leader insisted he was not afraid of a US invasion and offered talks.

On his first trip overseas as the top US diplomat, Rubio took a guided tour of the canal accompanied by its Panamanian administrator as a South Korean-affiliated oil tanker and Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship passed through the vital link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
But Rubio was said to have had a firmer message in private, telling Panama that President Donald Trump had determined that the country had violated terms of the treaty that handed over the canal at the end of 1999.
He pointed to the "influence and control" of China over the canal, through which some 40 percent of US container traffic passes.
Meeting President Jose Raul Mulino, Rubio "made clear that this status quo is unacceptable and that absent immediate changes, it would require the United States to take measures necessary to protect its rights under the treaty," State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said." MS

US launched a nuke on election night

"The United States launched a nuclear missile on the night of the presidential election in a chilling show of strength.

The U.S. Air Force fired an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California on Nov. 5.
The ICBM's reentry vehicle traveled approximately 4,200 miles to the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command's Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site located within the Republic of the Marshall Islands at the Kwajalein Atoll." MS

Iran Hijacks Oil Tanker In Gulf Of Oman

"Iranian naval forces, acting under a court order, seized Marshall Islands-flagged tanker "St Nikolas," Bloomberg reports, citing Iran's semi-official Tasnim agency reports. The report said St Nikolas is a "US oil tanker."Turkish Petroleum Refineries Corp. chartered the tanker, which was transporting 140,00 tons of Iraqi SOMO crude. The vessel was en route to Aliaga in western Turkey." ZH

US secures Marshall Islands military deal, keeps China at bay in strategically vital Pacific region

"After months of haggling, the Marshall Islands agreed to renew a strategic pact granting the US military access to its land, air and sea in exchange for economic help for decades. The renewal offers US$2.3 billion for 20 years. "MS

First export of wheat under UN deal as two more ships leave Ukraine

"Belize-flagged Sormovsky left Ukraine’s Chornomorsk port, carrying 3,050 tons of wheat.

Marshall Island-flagged Star Laura departed from Pivdennyi, carrying 60,000 tons of corn." ArabNews