Global Voices

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States fell this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, bringing the total rig count in the US to 587, up 45...

Leaks reveal failed journalist Paul Mason secretly advised ex-Prime Minister Keir Starmer, his Defence Secretary and now-Chancellor John Healey, and top aides on important security matters. Mason’s belligerent pronouncements on the need for Britain to “deter” Russia through a massive...

On the eve of the announcement, official sources in South Korea declared a major shift in the country's approach toward its northern neighbor. Whereas Seoul had previously maintained that North Korea's unconditional denuclearization should come first, the new priority is...

Saudi Arabia, which at the start of the Iran war redirected virtually all crude exports through its East-West pipeline to Yanbu on the Red Sea, has seen crude exports from Yanbu crumble by 41% to about 2.39 million barrels per...

The dual disruption of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb is tightening global oil flows, raising transport costs and fueling expectations of $100 oil. Friday, July 24, 2026 The double blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb has turbo-boosted...

The Board of Directors of the Bank of Russia voted at its July 24 meeting to lower the key interest rate by 25 basis points to 14%, according to the regulator's official statement. This marks the tenth consecutive meeting at...

Beijing has imposed strict restrictions on a number of European corporations, a move that could delay weapons deliveries and increase the cost of military assistance to Ukraine. China Responds to EU Sanctions with Mirror Measures Against European Defense Companies China's Ministry of...

Global liquefied natural gas exports grew by about 1.2 trillion cubic feet in 2025. The United States supplied approximately 1.10 trillion cubic feet of that increase. Put another way, roughly 93% of the world’s additional LNG came from the United...

Indian refiners are in search of crude supply from as far as Angola in Africa and Venezuela in South America as their term supplies from the Middle East are trapped again and unable to reach India as planned. Some of...

´US, a key player in narcotics trafficking. In some ways, life during the US occupation was even worse´ An Interview with Afghan Journalist Awaaz Armani Torn Afghanistan, facing the most severe humanitarian crisis in the world for decades. More than half the...

While many were waiting for U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to acknowledge that the so-called Spirit of Anchorage had faded, another prominent member of the American elite was enthusiastically investing in the creation of humanoid combat robots. Somewhat surprisingly,...

Senior fellow Gary Miller spoke with Cape Cellular about the exploitation of mobile network vulnerabilities to track US personnel during the Iran war. He also discussed a recent Citizen Lab report about commercial surveillance vendors using the global telecom interconnect ecosystem...

Syria is expanding energy and infrastructure cooperation as it seeks economic recovery and greater regional relevance. Damascus is also rebuilding state institutions, including graduating 1,000 new air force cadets. The post Syria focuses on energy deals, works to revive infrastructure and...

Subscribe now with a one-month trial for only $1, then enjoy the first year at an exclusive rate of just $99. Japan’s nuclear taboo is slowly unravelingScott Foster reports that Japanese officials are increasingly willing to debate nuclear weapons, nuclear sharing...

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company ADNOC has issued its seventh tender offering crude from the United Arab Emirates since the beginning of June, expecting to sell millions of barrels of oil between August and October, both from within and outside...

The top US and Russian diplomats met in a new push to find an end to Moscow's more-than-four-year-old war on Ukraine, but both sides signaled no new breakthroughs or cause for optimism. The July 23 meeting between US Secretary of...

As EU-China relations sink into mistrust, the European Parliament is attempting to reopen a political channel with Beijing. The question is whether Europe can move beyond bloc confrontation and recognize that engagement with China is not a concession but a...

Governments have become remarkably efficient at producing information. During crises, official statements, emergency regulations and public updates appear almost instantly. Yet recent global emergencies have exposed a fundamental paradox: more information does not necessarily create greater public trust. The COVID-19...

Pakistan’s alliance of goods transporters has warned it could launch a nationwide strike over soaring fuel costs in another economic pressure that the South Asian country is feeling from the Middle East crisis. “Transporters across Pakistan should remain prepared; a...

Earlier this month, the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was buried in his hometown of Mashhad after a four-day ceremony. Many international delegations were present, but each country will have chosen their representatives with the utmost care. Sending...

The “ Silicon Shield ” describes the idea that Taiwan’s central role in advanced semiconductor manufacturing raises the economic and strategic cost of military action against the island. The shield is not a literal defense system. It is a form...

Only one oil tanker transited the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, the lowest number of crossings since May 7, as war risks spiked this week to hike crude oil prices above $100 per barrel again. Three tankers transited the Strait...

UN experts alarmed by renewed escalation of hostilities in Iran, call for accountability UN condemns as war crimes US military attacks targeting civilian structures in Iran GENEVA (24 July 2026) – UN experts* today expressed grave concern over reports of serious...

At least one oil tanker carrying Saudi crude oil has transited the Bab al-Mandeb Strait with its transponder switched off as risks to vessels in the Red Sea spiked this week after the Houthis announced a blockade on Saudi shipments...

September WTI crude oil futures were trading at $92.31 late Thursday, up $10.54 or 12.89% for the week. The contract posted a weekly low at $79.58 before climbing to a weekly high at $92.31. This was not a normal risk-premium...

Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict Iran has spent the week attacking the military infrastructure that allows the U.S. to wage war across the Middle East. After 12 consecutive nights of U.S. strikes on Iranian command centers, missile sites, air defenses and...

As an energy investor, I am sure you are aware of the expected impact of the AI boom. The servers that AI platforms require demand enormous amounts of power. That, along with expected demand increases from the continued growth of...

Trump likes to test big ideas in real time, and very publicly. Earlier this week, Washington was prepared to surrender one of its most valuable bargaining chips with Saudi Arabia, without the conditions one would expect from American foreign policy....

U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Friday after a technology-led selloff in the previous session, as investors assessed fresh corporate earnings, rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and new tariffs announced by the Trump administration. The S&P 500...

Wendy Faith and Alesi Diana Denise freed after five months in prison over allegations of engaging in same-sex activity For five months, Wendy Faith and Alesi Diana Denise shared a small prison cell knowing that there was a possibility they might...

Zambians will vote on August 13 in presidential and parliamentary elections, with polls and investors widely expecting President Hakainde Hichilema to defeat a fragmented opposition led by Brian Mundubile. For investors, however, the central question extends beyond the election outcome....

Chinese refiners have bought up all crude oil cargoes set to load from Russia’s Far East port of Kozmino in August weeks earlier than usual, traders with knowledge of the market told Bloomberg on Friday, as risks to Middle Eastern...

On February 26, 2026 – 48 hours before the United States and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury – Hangzhou-based MizarVision posted AI-annotated satellite imagery of F-22 Raptors at Ovda Air Base in Israel, carrier strike group positions in the Arabian...

Germany’s Constitutional Court ruled on Friday that the government cannot revoke hundreds of promised resettlement places for Afghan nationals through a blanket decision, saying each case must be assessed individually. The ruling came after an Afghan mother and her two...

Japan has identified a high concentration of valuable heavy rare earth elements in deep sea mud recovered from waters near the remote Pacific island of Minamitori, marking another step in its efforts to reduce dependence on Chinese critical mineral supplies....

The U.S. has identified cooperation on small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) as a key priority in its engagement with Southeast Asia as regional electricity demand continues to climb. Speaking after Secretary of State Marco Rubio attended the ASEAN Foreign Ministers'...

With the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) losing much of its diplomatic momentum, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been gradually reclaiming its centrality in the Indo-Pacific. The clearest evidence emerged this week as Manila hosted the ASEAN Foreign...