First with Washington agreeing with other big powers to propose nuclear-free Middle East.

Reuters U.N. bureau broke the news on May 5 that the United States had reversed the stance of the previous administration and had joined Russia, China, Britain and France in proposing that the Middle East be a zone free of nuclear weapons. Such a zone would mean Israel would have to give up its nuclear weapons and sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which it has refused to do and the change of position by Washington was seen by some of further evidence of tension between the United States and the Jewish state. Reuters was hours ahead of the competition with the statement and was widely quoted on news sites and by broadcasters around the world. In April, Reuters had been first to report on an Egyptian proposal for an international conference on banning nuclear weapons in the Middle East. The story was picked up widely around the world, especially in the Middle East, where newspapers and broadcasters were regularly citing it. It took days for competitors to match the story.