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July 05, 2026
 

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IRAN

The Federal Reserve said on Wednesday that it needed to hold rates steady because “developments in the Middle East are contributing to a high level of uncertainty about the economic outlook.”
BUSINESS / Economy
May 2, 2026
The world’s central banks are wrestling with a gigantic problem
Surging inflation, an economic slowdown, and uncertainty over how long the energy shock will last has forced central banks to adjust.
An electronic board displays the foreign exchange rate of the yen against the dollar along a street in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Markets / FOCUS
May 2, 2026
Japan determined to prop up yen through intervention
Many analysts believe the effects of the latest intervention will be short-lived as the factors that contribute to a weaker yen remain unchanged.
The New York Stock Exchange in New York. The part of the ‌energy ‌landscape where the real issue lurks is the physical market, where actual barrels of crude and refined products change hands, rather than ​electronic futures.
BUSINESS / Markets / ANALYSIS
May 2, 2026
Investors are running out of time to brace for true oil shock
In thrall to an AI boom ⁠that has sent stocks to record highs and harboring hopes of a short-lived Iran war, investors have yet to prepare for a doubling of physical oil prices.
A U.S. military member sits outside the Civil-Military Coordination Center, on the day of a visit from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in Kiryat Gat, southern Israel, last October.
WORLD
May 2, 2026
U.S. to close its flagship Gaza mission as Trump plan stalls
Diplomats said the move underscores the difficulties facing U.S. efforts to oversee the ​truce and coordinate on aid.
Germany Chancellor Friedrich Merz (left), French President Emmanuel Macron (second left), British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (second right) and Italian leader Giorgia Meloni arrive for a news conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris on April 17.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
May 2, 2026
Trump’s attacks on Europe’s leaders worsen transatlantic frost
The latest U.S. broadsides, fired over disagreements about the Iran war, have raised fresh questions about the best way to handle a mercurial ally.
Soldiers give a briefing on the Long Range Hypersonic Weapon system in Australia's Northern Territory last July.
WORLD
May 2, 2026
U.S. seeks to deploy hypersonic missile for the first time against Iran
If the request, which has not been made public, is approved, it would also send a signal to strategic adversaries Russia and China.
U.S. President Donald Trump attends an event at The Villages Charter School at The Villages, Florida, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
May 2, 2026
Trump says he’s dissatisfied with Iranian proposal as rift with allies deepens
Trump’s comments indicated the deadlock over the 2-month-old war is likely to persist, even as he looks to end a conflict that remains deeply unpopular among Americans.
U.S. Army soldiers take part in a combined military exercise at the U.S. military's Hohenfels Training Area in Hohenfels, Germany, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
May 2, 2026
U.S. withdrawing 5,000 troops from Germany, U.S. officials say
The drawdown would bring U.S. troop levels in Europe back to roughly pre-2022 levels, before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggered a buildup by then-President Joe Biden.
The yen was back in ¥150-to-the-dollar territory after reports of intervention by the Japanese government.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 1, 2026
Japan mum on yen intervention, heavy on jawboning, ahead of long holiday weekend
Multiple reports say that the government did seek to prop up the currency, and traders are bracing for another round.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a government meeting on the Middle East on Thursday at the Prime Minister's Office.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 1, 2026
Japan secures enough petroleum-derived naphtha to last into 2027
Questions over a possible shortage of the material — used for products ranging from medical supplies to cheap consumer goods — have been rising due to the Iran war.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office on Thursday following phone talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
JAPAN
May 1, 2026
Takaichi urges Iran president to ensure safe passage through Strait of Hormuz
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi also expressed her hopes that the U.S. and Iran will resume talks soon on ending their fighting and reach a final deal.
Japan has cut dependence on the Middle East for its liquefied natural gas in recent years, but utilities remain exposed to the cost of importing fuel.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 1, 2026
Japanese utilities withhold earnings guidance amid fuel volatility
The war in the Middle East has driven a 70% increase in LNG prices in Asia, while the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed.
Tom Fletcher, the head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, visits a camp for internally displaced people in Baidoa, Somalia, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Society
May 1, 2026
Cost of Iran war equals aid for more than 87 million people, U.N. aid chief says
The Pentagon says it has spent $25 billion on the conflict in the Middle East, while the United Nations aid office sought $23 billion for humanitarian assistance programs.
The consumer price index excluding fresh food rose 1.5% in April from a year earlier in Tokyo, the smallest gain since March 2022, according to the internal affairs ministry.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 1, 2026
Tokyo inflation cools on childcare support, backing BOJ caution
The consumer price index excluding fresh food rose 1.5% in April from a year earlier in the capital, the smallest gain since March 2022.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks during the 76th FIFA Congress in Vancouver on Thursday.
SOCCER
May 1, 2026
FIFA head Gianni Infantino confirms Iran will play World Cup matches in U.S.
Iran’s participation at this year’s World Cup has been shrouded in uncertainty since the eruption of war in the Middle East in February.
A worker cultivates rice plants at a farm in Bangkok. Rice supply is expected to fall this year due to impacts of the Iran war and an emerging El Nino weather phenomenon that is set to usher in hotter, drier conditions.
BUSINESS
May 1, 2026
From surplus to strain: Iran war and El Nino threaten global rice supply
Rice is central to global food security, and even small supply disruptions can ripple through countries, raising prices and straining household budgets.
People shop in a store in Tehran on Tuesday. Despite an oil-export squeeze, Iran has plentiful internal supplies, steady trade with neighbors and only limited signs of immediate stress from state-revenue losses caused by the U.S. blockade.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
May 1, 2026
Iranian economic collapse may come too late for Trump
If U.S. President ​Donald Trump expects Iran to blink first in their game of economic chicken, he may be waiting a while.
Iranian army soldiers stand in front of a picture of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei during a rally in Tehran on Wednesday.
WORLD
Apr 30, 2026
Supreme leader vows Iran won’t give up nuclear technologies
The Islamic Republic will “guard” its “advanced technologies” like it does its own borders, Mojtaba Khamenei said in a written statement.
The yen is trading at levels last seen in July 2024.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 30, 2026
Yen, Japanese government bonds and Tokyo stocks decline as oil prices spike
The Japanese currency is at its weakest since July 2024 and at levels that could trigger intervention.
Japan may see food and drink prices rise as early as this summer, as war-related disruptions to energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz squeeze naphtha supply, driving up plastic packaging costs.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 30, 2026
Food prices in Japan set to rise as war drives up cost of plastic packaging
Prolonged disruption to energy flows via the Strait of Hormuz has cut the availability of naphtha, a critical ingredient used in the production of plastic packaging.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
Japan’s princesses face life-altering legal revisions
Princess Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito, said in a 2022 news conference upon coming of age that she hopes to “spend a long time together” with her parents.
Japanese police arrest nine over Sierra Leone-based special fraud
Japanese police have arrested nine individuals for their alleged involvement in a special fraud case using Sierra Leone as a base.
Iran war exposed, but hasn’t changed, Japan’s reliance on imported oil
Wind turbines generate energy from strong easterly winds on the Shonai Plain in Yamagata Prefecture. Despite the oil crisis caused by conflict near the Strait of Hormuz, and concerns instability in the region could continue to impact supply and the price of imports, the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi does not seem to be drawing on the war as a pretext to hasten progress toward Japan's renewable goals.
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.

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