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July 10, 2026
 

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OIL

Chinese leader Xi Jinping welcomes then-Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi at a ceremony in Beijing in February 2023. China is unlikely to be weakened by Donald Trump’s Iran strikes and may instead exploit any prolonged U.S. distraction in the Middle East.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 6, 2026
Regimes come and go. China’s interests in Iran will endure.
“The Middle East is not a paramount security or foreign policy priority for the Chinese in the way it is for the Europeans and the Americans.”
An oil refinery in Texas. The war in the Middle East has roiled oil and gas markets, however, falling prices of solar and batteries offer another option.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Mar 6, 2026
How fossil fuel disruptions lead to booms in solar and batteries
The war in the Middle East has roiled oil and gas markets. Under a severe scenario, one estimate says that crude could reach $108 a barrel.
South Korea's benchmark Kospi index of shares and the Kosdaq are seen down on Tuesday as investors fretted about the turmoil in the Middle East.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 6, 2026
Why the Iran war morphed into panic selling in Asia
The selloff may have come as somewhat of a surprise for investors. North Asia is known for its dependence on oil and natural gas imports.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Chief Executive Officer Sultan Al Jaber at Adnoc headquarters in Abu Dhabi on Jan. 9
JAPAN
Mar 5, 2026
Adnoc boss and UAE minister Al Jaber meets Sanae Takaichi
“While your energy security continues to be our priority, we will not be able to do much if there is any distortion in the Strait of Hormuz,” Al Jaber said.
Oil storage tanks in Kawasaki. As of the end of last year, Japan had enough oil in its reserves to last 254 days, according to data from the trade ministry.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 5, 2026
Oil refiners in Japan ask government to tap strategic reserves
Japan gets more than 90% of its oil from the Middle East, leaving it vulnerable to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz that’s preventing energy exports.
Prosecutors enter the building that houses Eneos Wing's Tokyo branch on Thursday to investigate the prices for gas oil allegedly being fixed.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 5, 2026
Eneos Wing’s Tokyo office raided in gas oil price-fixing probe
Eight oil distributors are suspected of forming a cartel to fix gas oil prices for corporate clients in Tokyo such as transportation companies.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda has pledged to closely monitor developments as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran reverberates across the region.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 4, 2026
Middle East conflict could affect Japan’s economy significantly, says BOJ’s Ueda
Japan’s reliance on Middle Eastern oil has hovered around 90%, the economy ministry has said, with much of that oil traveling through the Strait of Hormuz.
Tankers are seen off the coast of the Fujairah, as Iran vows to close the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 4, 2026
Trump says U.S. will escort and insure oil tankers amid the Iran war
U.S. and Israel’s attacks on Iran have effectively brought oil flows through the critical Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s energy supplies transit, to a halt.
Tokyo stocks fell for another day as major conflict continues in the Middle East.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 3, 2026
Japan and its businesses rush to respond to Middle East conflict
Vessels are being halted, flights canceled and employees evacuated from the region.
Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, operated by Qatar Airways, are parked outside Terminal 8 at John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport in New York on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 3, 2026
Flight prices soar on Asia-Europe routes after Gulf conflict closes major hubs
Key hubs including Dubai — the world’s busiest international airport that normally handles over 1,000 flights a day — remain closed, slashing capacity on popular routes.
Bank of Japan Deputy Gov. Ryozo Himino has said he is closely monitoring the situation in the Middle East as the outlook for the economy became murkier after the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 2, 2026
BOJ deputy chief refrains from signaling rate hike in March
“I want to closely monitor the situation” in the Middle East, Bank of Japan Deputy Gov. Ryozo Himino said in a speech to local business leaders in Wakayama Prefecture.
Oil tanker Ethera, part of the "shadow fleet" Russia uses to circumvent Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine, is docked at the naval base in Zeebrugge, Belgium, after it was boarded and seized by Belgium's special forces on Sunday.
WORLD
Mar 1, 2026
Belgium seizes Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tanker
Russia has used a flotilla of ageing tankers of opaque ownership to get around restrictions on its lucrative crude exports imposed over its 2022 all-out invasion of Ukraine.
A family sits against the backdrop of a dockyard off United Arab Emirates' coastal city of Fujairah, in the Strait of Hormuz, on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 1, 2026
Ships avoid Strait of Hormuz as Iranian media essentially shuts it down
There’s been no formal announcement from Tehran about the status of the strait, which is crucial for the flow of oil and gas, but some tankers are turning around.
A crude oil tanker near the terminal Kozmino in Nakhodka Bay near the port city of Nakhodka, Russia, in 2022. Hungary ​and Slovakia, still reliant on Russian oil imports, are strongly opposed to any permanent ban.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 25, 2026
EU to propose permanent ban on Russian oil after Hungary election, document shows
The timing was ‌designed to prevent ‌the oil ban from becoming a major factor in Hungary’s election campaign, EU officials said, with the country strongly opposed to any ban.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks during the spring session of parliament in Budapest on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 24, 2026
Hungary blocks Russia sanctions and EU cash for Kyiv on eve of war anniversary
Ukraine says the oil flows stopped after a Russian attack on pipeline infrastructure in ​January and it is fixing the damage as fast as it ⁠can.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meet in the Oval Office in Washington on Feb. 13, 2025. Trump’s transactional trade policies have eroded U.S.-India trust, leaving a once-strategic partnership vulnerable despite a temporary tariff deal.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 17, 2026
Trump’s trade truce won’t restore the U.S.-India relationship
With the interim trade deal between the U.S. and India, hopes are high that the bruising confrontation initiated by Trump last year is coming to an end.
U.S. military forces board an oil tanker in the Indian Ocean on Sunday. India forces have seized three other U.S.-sanctioned oil tankers linked to Iran this month and stepped up surveillance in its maritime zone to curb illicit trade, according to a source.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 17, 2026
India seizes three Iran-linked, U.S.-sanctioned tankers, source says
New Delhi’s ship seizures and heightened surveillance in its waters follow recent improvements to ⁠U.S.-India relations.
This aerial view shows the oil tanker Boracaya, suspected of being part of the “shadow fleet” involved in Russian oil trade, under investigation by French authorities off the coast of Saint-Nazaire in October.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 17, 2026
The black market for Russian and Iranian oil is in trouble
China’s choices will determine whether prices rise or fall and whether Moscow and Tehran cut production.
With Cuba’s former Venezuelan ally, President Nicolas Maduro, facing charges in the U.S., Havana confronts a deepening crisis under Trump administration pressure, leaving it few friends and stark choices between reform and collapse.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 17, 2026
Cuba is home alone in Latin America
Cuba’s collapse has long been predicted; this time, it feels unmistakably real.
Venezuelan Interim President Delcy Rodriguez (center) greets a worker from a state oil company next to U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright (second from left) during a visit to the Orinoco Oil Belt in El Aceital, Anzoategui State, southern Venezuela, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 14, 2026
U.S. waives Venezuela oil sanctions as Trump says he expects to visit
“I’m going to make a visit to Venezuela,” the U.S. president told reporters, while adding that the date had not been decided.
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Japan needs caregivers. Young Indians are answering the call.
Young people in India's northeast are increasingly studying Japanese in hopes of building new lives and careers in Japan.
Trump says ‘Japan’ instead of Iran at meeting in Ankara
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a news conference during a NATO leaders' summit in Ankara on Wednesday.
Wakatakakage injury casts pall over July meet, but potential new stars loom
Nicholas Tarasenko trains at Minato stable in August 2024.
Osaka trumps Tokyo as both ranked among world’s top 10 most livable cities
Osaka’s infrastructure earned higher marks than Tokyo’s in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s latest Global Liveability Index.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.
Filmmaker explores history of discrimination against foreign nationals in Japan
Takashi Nishihara, the director of "Now and Then," in Tokyo on Wednesday. The director has spent 10 years traversing politically charged terrain while exploring youth-driven grassroots political movements that scrutinize the status quo.
Okinawa’s prized seaweed under threat as oceans warm
Local harvesters gather <i>mozuku</i> during low tide at Hyakuna Beach in the city of Nanjo, Okinawa Prefecture. As the planet warms, rising ocean temperatures are placing increasing pressure on the seaweed industry.
Japanese nail salons are tourists’ new obsession
Tourists in Japan have always been interested in quintessentially Japanese approaches to modern culture, and, increasingly, visits to nail salons have become the new hot thing.

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