Tuesday, July 28, 2026

World

Asia faces second energy crisis as Red Sea oil blockade worsens

Houthi forces are threatening Saudi oil exports through the Red Sea, leaving Asian economies scrambling for supply as the Strait of Hormuz only recently reopened. Yemen's internationally recognised government warns the Houthis are deliberately mirroring Iran's chokepoint strategy to gain leverage over global energy flows. Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines — which collectively depend on Middle East oil for up to 90% of their supply — are bearing the brunt.

MarketBab el-Mandeb Strait effectively closed by December 31?24%

World

Trump touts Iran war talks as Netanyahu arrives in Washington

Donald Trump says friendly negotiations are underway during a lull in US strikes on Iran, even as Tehran publicly denies that any direct talks are taking place. Netanyahu has arrived in Washington for face-to-face meetings with Trump, adding pressure to whatever diplomatic back-channel may exist. The Pentagon has separately drawn veterans' fury by quietly reclassifying American war dead under the anodyne label "Overseas Operations."

MarketWill the U.S. invade Iran before 2027?22%

Tech

Nvidia weighs $250bn guarantee to anchor OpenAI's Ohio megacampus

Nvidia is reportedly considering a $250 billion lease guarantee to underpin OpenAI's occupation of SoftBank's planned 10-gigawatt Ohio data centre, alongside a separate $350 billion chip financing arrangement. The scale of the deal would make it one of the largest single infrastructure commitments in corporate history, cementing Nvidia's role as the financial backbone of the AI buildout — not just its hardware supplier. Political resistance is already forming, with several US states proposing bans on new data centres.

Health

Johnson and Johnson offers $5.5bn to settle talc cancer lawsuits

Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $5.5 billion to resolve nearly 70,000 US lawsuits alleging its talc-based baby powder caused ovarian cancer. The settlement draws a line under a legal saga that has shadowed the company for over a decade and forced it to pull talc products from the US and Canadian markets. It is one of the largest consumer-product liability settlements in American history.

Politics

Meta trial opens as Tennessee cites suppressed teen-harm research

Tennessee's long-awaited jury trial against Meta got underway in Nashville, with state attorneys arguing the company knowingly buried internal research showing Instagram and Facebook harmed teenagers while continuing to profit from their engagement. Meta's lawyers countered that the company has been transparent about its moderation efforts. The trial is among the first to test whether a US state can hold a social media giant civilly liable for harms to minors.