Drones carrying explosives targeted a city in northern Iraq where US forces are stationed, while sirens rang out in Bahrain. Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed responsibility for targeting an Amazon data center in Bahrain, hours after the US completed its 13th night of strikes against Iran, escalating regional tensions.
Coca-Cola has increased prices in India due to severe disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, a key supply route for aluminum cans and raw materials, following the collapse of an interim truce in the Iran conflict.
Miatta Fahnbulleh, the new UK Energy Secretary, faces urgent decisions on gas supply, including approving new fields and a £2bn expansion for Centrica's Rough storage facility, crucial for avoiding a 2030 crisis.
Oil prices surpassed $100 a barrel for the first time in two months due to escalating Middle East tensions, including Houthi militia attacks on Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea. This renewed conflict threatens global oil supplies, pushing up government borrowing costs and causing stock market declines amid inflation fears.
Russia has deployed the Koshchey hexacopter to Ukraine's special military operation area, enabling stealthy delivery of water, provisions, and medicines to hard-to-reach units. The upgraded drone can also drop 10-kg anti-tank mines and has an operating range of up to 30 km.
Oil prices surpassed $100 a barrel for the first time in two months due to escalating Middle East conflict, particularly Houthi attacks on Saudi oil tankers and rising US-Iran tensions over Red Sea and Strait of Hormuz oil flows.
Analysts view a proposed Indonesia-Philippines power link as crucial for addressing Philippine domestic energy issues, despite geographical and supply-chain challenges. The Philippines, as ASEAN chair, is advancing regional energy cooperation, while also addressing US-Iran tensions at ministerial meetings.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Manila, reaffirming Moscow's commitment to agreements from the Alaska summit and readiness for a political resolution to the Ukraine conflict, while stressing the unacceptability of further weapons supplies to Kiev.
Iranian-aligned Houthis claimed strikes on two Saudi oil tankers, threatening a second global oil chokepoint. This occurred as the US military conducted a 12th night of strikes on Iran, prompting Iranian retaliation against US military posts in Jordan and Kuwait, escalating regional conflict and oil supply concerns.
A scientific analysis reveals extreme heat, intensified by the climate crisis, is driving severe drought across Europe. Conditions are 80x more likely in western Europe and 40x in eastern Europe, redefining drought as temperature-driven. This leads to water restrictions, wildfires, crop losses, and rising food/energy prices, with significant economic costs.
Oil prices surged past $95 a barrel for the first time in six weeks due to escalating Middle East conflict, including renewed US-Iran aggression and Houthi threats to shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb strait. Analysts warn prices could hit $120 by year-end without a restart of Gulf exports via Hormuz, despite IEA efforts to cushion the market.
Brazil's São Francisco River diversion project, designed to bring water to 12 million people in the drought-prone sertão, faces criticism for its uneven benefits. Displaced communities, like Maria de Fátima Ferreira da Silva's, still lack basic water access despite living near the new infrastructure, highlighting the human cost of large-scale development.
Polly Cooper, an Oneida woman, walked 200 miles through snow to Valley Forge in 1778, providing and preparing corn to save George Washington's starving Continental Army. Her story, preserved through oral tradition, is now recognized on the 2026 Sacagawea $1 coin.
Three Saudi crude oil tankers bound for China and India reversed course in the Red Sea, heading for the Suez Canal after Yemen's Houthi militia warned against using Saudi ports, signaling disruptions to global energy supplies and trade.
The National Energy System Operator (Neso) faces accusations of a cover-up regarding power system strain during summer heatwaves. Whistleblowers allege managers ordered staff to forgo note-keeping and pressured operators to protect Neso's reputation, prompting an independent investigation.
Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov stated the government is addressing the difficult situation faced by Wildberries and small-and medium-sized businesses following Ukrainian drone attacks on warehouses in Kotovsk and Elektrostal. The attacks, classified as terrorist acts, resulted in 8 deaths and 62 injuries, with Peskov refuting claims of military use for Wildberries facilities.
About 10,000 homes and hundreds of businesses in Shau Kei Wan, Hong Kong, lost fresh water for over a day. The department responsible announced increased budget for water main replacements and scheduled new works covering 40km by year-end.
Russia launched one of its largest ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv, killing at least eight and injuring dozens, while Ukrainian drones conducted their deadliest strikes inside Russia in over two years, hitting warehouses and an oil depot. The tit-for-tat attacks escalate fears of wider conflict and strain on oil supplies.
Around 10,000 homes in Hong Kong's Eastern district, specifically Shau Kei Wan and surrounding areas, are experiencing a 24-hour fresh water supply disruption due to an 18-inch pipe burst. The Water Supplies Department expects service to resume by Monday morning.
The Indian government fined HP India and its partners a total of 1.4 billion rupees ($14.4 million) for colluding with resellers in the "cartelization" of computers, ink cartridges, and toner, including bid rigging for government contracts.
The EU is projected to enter the heating season with its lowest gas reserves in 15 years (76% full by October), driven by a shift away from Russian gas, reliance on expensive US LNG, and global supply disruptions, potentially leading to increased energy costs.
A Ukrainian drone attack on the Moscow Region killed at least three people and injured five, with air defence units downing 81 drones overnight. Meanwhile, Russia continues strikes on Ukrainian oil facilities, and President Zelensky calls for more prompt weapons supplies from allies.
President Zelensky vows accountability for officials who allowed weapons warehouses in a residential area outside Kyiv, hit by a Russian strike that killed 10 and damaged hundreds of homes. He also urged allies for prompt weapons supplies.
Spain's imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) rose significantly in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025. Russia became the third-largest gas supplier to Spain, providing 19.7% of the total volume.
