IEA Slashes Oil Supply Forecast as Hormuz Remains Closed
The International Energy Agency (IEA) on Wednesday sharply lowered its forecast for global oil supply in 2026, warning that continued disruption in the Middle East is pushing the market deeper into deficit. The revision, published in the IEA's August Oil Market Report and reported by Reuters, projects global oil supply will fall by 4.3 million barrels per day this year, a steeper decline than the 3.7 million bpd contraction forecast in July, bringing total 2026 supply to 102.02 million bpd. The IEA attributed the downgrade to the continuing closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. blockade of Iranian exports, renewed attacks in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and lower Kazakh CPC Blend exports. A ceasefire and memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the Iran war collapsed last month, after which tanker attacks in Hormuz resumed alongside renewed Houthi strikes in the Red Sea. Gulf oil loadings through Hormuz peaked at…
Ukraine Strikes Key Russian Black Sea Fleet Base
Ukraine's Defense Forces struck more than 300 kilometers past the front line overnight, hitting Russia's naval base in Novorossiysk, which President Volodymyr Zelensky called "the last main stronghold of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea." Zelensky confirmed the operation on his official Telegram channel. The president said the strike combined "Palianytsia" jet drones, "Neptune" missiles, and uncrewed naval systems, with confirmed hits on air defense positions, docks, and port infrastructure. He thanked Ukraine's military, the Security Service (SBU), and military intelligence for the operation. The attack was part of a broader overnight wave: explosions and air defense activity were also reported in occupied Crimea, near Sevastopol and the Kerch Bridge, according to The Kyiv Independent. Russia's Ministry of Defense claimed 502 drones downed overnight, a figure that could not be independently verified. The Novorossiysk naval base sits inside the same port complex as the city's grain terminal, operated by…
Trump Turns Iran’s Compensation Demand Around
President Donald Trump has rejected Iran's demand for compensation over war damages, saying on Truth Social that Iran "should be responsible for the damages and death caused to the people of Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Gaza." The exchange added a new obstacle to talks over reopening the Strait of Hormuz, severely constrained since the U.S.-Israel war on Iran began in February. Trump separately told reporters at the White House that his administration would seek compensation covering roughly 50 years of alleged Iranian-linked deaths, including American and regional casualties. The dispute escalated after Iran tied the strait's reopening to a list of U.S. concessions. Reuters reported that Iranian security officials said Washington must end the war and unfreeze Iranian assets, while earlier Iranian demands included lifting the naval blockade and paying compensation for war damage. AP reported that the Trump administration is pivoting back toward sanctions and economic pressure as other…
Syria Sentences Assad to Death
A Damascus court has sentenced ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia, a landmark Syrian conviction against the former ruler since his government collapsed in December 2024. Reuters reported that Assad was convicted on charges including killings, torture and arbitrary arrest during Syria's nearly 14-year war. His brother Maher al-Assad, former commander of the Fourth Armoured Division, was also sentenced to death in absentia. The only senior Assad-era figure sentenced in custody was Atef Najib, Assad's cousin and former head of political security in Deraa province. AP reported that Judge Fakhareddine al-Aryan delivered the verdict in a live televised session, saying Assad had used state agencies to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity. Najib's case carries heavy symbolic weight. Deraa was the birthplace of Syria's 2011 uprising, after teenagers accused of writing anti-government graffiti were detained and tortured. Syrian Network for Human Rights trial monitoring links Najib's…
Sudan War Threatens Ancient Pyramids of Meroe
Sudan's civil war is threatening the ancient pyramids of Meroe, a UNESCO World Heritage Site about 200 kilometres north of Khartoum, after more than three years of fighting halted preservation work and foreign archaeological missions. The site near Bejrawiya holds more than 200 pyramids built as royal tombs for rulers of the Kingdom of Kush, whose Meroitic heartland flourished from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. Guards and occasional visiting families remain at the site, but the war has removed the state restoration projects and international missions that once kept it stable. AP reporting found sand accumulating around the pyramids and inside funerary temples, spreading vegetation and stones beginning to fall. Archaeologist Mahmoud Suleiman warned the site "could face a disaster" and that collapses are possible if conservation work does not resume. Antiquities inspector Mohamed Mubarak said salt released from accumulated sand is damaging fragile stone, inscriptions…
U.N. Says Myanmar Stepped Up Attacks on Civilians
Myanmar's military intensified aerial attacks and other abuses against civilians in the months surrounding the country's junta-organized election, held in phases between December 2025 and January 2026, according to the annual report of the U.N.'s Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), which covers the period from July 2025 to June 2026 and was published Tuesday. The findings draw on more than 1,600 sources, including over 750 witness accounts, as well as photographs, video, forensic evidence and satellite imagery. "Behind every piece of evidence we collect are people whose lives have been devastated by these crimes," IIMM head Nicholas Koumjian said. Investigators said the military increasingly relied on low-cost paramotors, gyrocopters and drones to carry out low-altitude attacks using unguided explosives. They are examining incidents in Sagaing Region in which pilots allegedly cut their engines before reaching their targets, gliding silently to reduce civilians' warning time, Reuters reported. According to the…
