Global · Middle East · Iran conflict

US-Iran War: 11th Night of Strikes, Hormuz Disruption, Saudi Nuclear Deal

The United States has now conducted eleven consecutive nights of military strikes against Iran, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revealing the campaign has cost $37.5 billion and requesting an additional $67 billion from Congress. President Trump warned the US was 'not finished' and threatened to destroy one Iranian bridge or power plant for every ship attacked in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran retaliated by widening strikes on Gulf states, with its Revolutionary Guards claiming attacks on military bases in Jordan and Bahrain's air defenses intercepting Iranian aerial assaults. The conflict has disrupted two of the world's most critical energy chokepoints — the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb — putting roughly 6 million barrels of crude per day at risk, pushing Brent crude above $95 per barrel, and causing European natural gas prices to surge 40% in a month.

The widening conflict is reshaping regional alignments and global energy markets. Pakistan condemned Houthi threats against Saudi Arabia, the UK's new Defense Secretary Andy Burnham approved continued US use of British bases for some strikes, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — speaking at the ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting in Manila — described Iran as 'the troublemaker of the region' and said Tehran was 'in a lot of trouble' due to hyperinflation and military losses. A World Bank senior expert warned that escalation of the Iran war could cut global economic growth by more than half. Rubio also said the US remained willing to negotiate but that Iran was not serious about talks.

Against this backdrop, the US is set to announce a landmark 30-year civilian nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia that could allow Riyadh to enrich uranium — a move critics warn risks nuclear proliferation in an already volatile region by omitting critical inspection safeguards. The deal comes as Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, declared a naval blockade against Saudi ports. Political support for the war is also showing early cracks domestically: a July poll found only about one-third of Trump's MAGA base now considers the war worth its economic cost, down from 50% in May.

Latin America · Venezuela conflict

Venezuela Earthquakes: Missing Children, Institutional Silence, and Scientific Collapse

A series of earthquakes in Venezuela has left the country grappling with multiple compounding crises. In the immediate aftermath, child protection organizations and families struggled to locate and reunite with children who survived the disasters, hampered by a near-total absence of official communication and a flood of social media misinformation. The institutional vacuum meant that no reliable, centralized registry of displaced or separated minors existed, forcing NGOs and families to rely on fragmented, unverified reports.

The earthquakes also exposed deeper structural failures in Venezuela's capacity to manage seismic risk. Funvisis, the country's national seismological institute, had effectively been dismantled — a process overseen by military personnel who replaced trained scientists. The result was a critical brain drain, with experienced geophysicists and researchers leaving the institution, stripping Venezuela of the expertise needed to monitor seismic activity, issue timely warnings, and coordinate disaster response. Experts on the ground have stressed that separating verified data from rumor is essential to reducing harm in future events, but the institutional infrastructure to do so has been severely degraded.

Taken together, the situation reveals a country where natural disaster response is undermined at every level: from the scientific capacity to anticipate and measure earthquakes, to the governmental structures needed to protect the most vulnerable in their wake. With a full damage assessment still only beginning, and accountability mechanisms weak, the risk is that the lessons of this disaster go unlearned.

Southeast Asia · Philippines politics

Sara Duterte Impeachment Trial Advances to Confidential Funds Case

The impeachment trial of Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte reached a significant milestone as the prosecution concluded its case on the grave threats charges — stemming from Duterte's widely publicized statements threatening the lives of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez. National Bureau of Investigation Director Melvin Matibag testified that law enforcement could not simply ignore such statements, pushing back against defense suggestions that the threats had been taken out of context. The trial will resume on July 29, when prosecutors shift to presenting evidence on Duterte's alleged misuse of confidential funds.

The proceedings have also exposed structural weaknesses in Philippine law. BSP Deputy Governor Elmore Capule publicly lamented that the impeachment court's order to open bank deposits could not reach foreign currency deposit unit (FCDU) accounts, which remain shielded under the country's outdated bank secrecy rules. The limitation is seen as a potential obstacle to a full accounting of funds allegedly diverted during Duterte's tenure as vice president.

The case is one of the most consequential political trials in recent Philippine history, with the outcome likely to reshape the country's political landscape ahead of the 2028 presidential election cycle. Disinformation is already circulating online — fact-checkers have debunked an AI-generated video purporting to show Duterte in a confrontation with Senate President Francis Escudero, as well as false claims that US President Donald Trump planned to secure her father Rodrigo Duterte's release from ICC custody.

South Asia · Pakistan business

S&P Upgrades Pakistan Sovereign Credit Rating to 'B'

S&P Global Ratings has upgraded Pakistan's long-term sovereign credit rating by one notch, from 'B-' to 'B', with a stable outlook, while affirming the country's short-term rating at 'B'. The agency attributed the upgrade to an improving external position and gradual macroeconomic stabilisation — a significant shift for a country that has spent much of the past two years teetering on the edge of a balance-of-payments crisis and relying on successive IMF bailouts to stay solvent.

The upgrade marks a meaningful vote of confidence from one of the world's top three credit rating agencies. Pakistan has been working to restore macroeconomic stability through tight fiscal and monetary policies, foreign exchange reserve rebuilding, and cooperation with the International Monetary Fund under an Extended Fund Facility. Lower credit ratings raise the cost of sovereign borrowing on international markets and signal risk to foreign investors; moving up even one notch can reduce borrowing costs and improve access to international capital.

For ordinary Pakistanis, the practical implications are indirect but real: a stronger credit profile can ease pressure on the rupee, attract foreign investment, and support government finances at a time when inflation — while declining from its 2023 peak — continues to strain household budgets. The stable outlook signals that S&P does not anticipate a downgrade in the near term, provided Pakistan sustains its reform path. Analysts will now watch whether the government can maintain fiscal discipline and push through structural reforms to consolidate these gains.

East Asia · Japan climate

Japan Swelters Under 'Cruelly Hot Days' as Temperatures Exceed 40°C

Japan is in the grip of a severe heat emergency, with meteorological authorities deploying a new warning category — 'cruelly hot days' (酷暑日) — to describe temperatures surpassing 40 degrees Celsius across multiple cities. Emergency officials have formally characterized the conditions as 'a disaster,' reflecting the life-threatening nature of the heat event. Heatstroke alerts have been issued across a wide swath of the country as the summer surge intensifies.

The introduction of the new meteorological term this year reflects a recognition by Japanese authorities that existing heat classifications no longer adequately convey the danger posed by increasingly extreme summer temperatures. Japan's summers have been trending hotter over successive years, but readings above 40°C remain exceptional events that strain public health infrastructure, particularly for the elderly population.

With the heat showing no immediate sign of abating, public health officials are urging residents to avoid outdoor activity during peak afternoon hours, stay hydrated, and use air conditioning. The episode underscores the growing climate challenge facing Japan and the broader East Asian region, where urban heat island effects compound already record-breaking temperatures.