Energy

SANTIAGO, Chile, Aug. 10 (UPI) — Chilean President José Antonio Kast signed a constitutional reform bill Monday that lays the groundwork for his government’s new agenda to combat organized crime.

The initiative seeks to give the state stronger and more explicit tools to confront sophisticated criminal activity. Kast urged Congress to move quickly and approach the legislation with a willingness to reach agreements, with the goal of enacting the measures before the end of the year.

The government’s agenda includes more than 30 bills aimed at strengthening efforts to combat criminal organizations.

Key measures include creating a new state of emergency provision that would allow the deployment of the armed forces, establishing a registry of criminal organizations and creating separate high-security prisons for criminal leaders.

The measures would also streamline the seizure of illicit assets, extend the period in which authorities can make arrests in cases of flagrante delicto — caught in the act — to 24 hours and increase penalties for serious crimes.

Luis Toledo, a former prosecutor and director of the Center for Studies on Security and Organized Crime at San Sebastián University, said expectations about what the agenda can accomplish should be conservative.

“In the short and medium term, it is entirely possible to reduce homicides, regain control of certain territories, improve prison control and dismantle specific organizations, but structurally reversing the penetration of organized crime is another matter,” Toledo told UPI.

He said Chile is confronting not only criminal gangs, but also illicit markets with demand, sources of financing, money laundering mechanisms, recruitment capabilities and international connections.

“And those markets have an extraordinary capacity to adapt: When one structure is dismantled, smaller cells emerge, changing their leadership, communications, routes or financial mechanisms,” he said.

Toledo said Kast’s agenda contains significant proposals, but also has shortcomings, including combining measures targeting organized crime with broader public security and immigration enforcement policies.

“That distinction is important because not everything that increases the state’s coercive capacity necessarily dismantles a criminal organization,” he said.

He said the initiatives with the greatest potential are those aimed at targeting the assets of criminal organizations, seizing their property and preventing them from reinvesting illicit profits.

With organized crime expanding across Latin America, Toledo said tighter controls on illegal entry into the country and other measures proposed by Kast are necessary, but insufficient to address the problem on the scale required.

A transnational criminal organization cannot be fought exclusively through a national response, he said, adding that “international cooperation is one of the essential operational capabilities of a policy against organized crime.”

“We have to see whether Chile will be able to build a state policy that, on a sustained basis, creates a coordinated public security system capable of stripping organized crime of its money, command capabilities, territory, impunity and ability to recruit,” Toledo said. “That is where the possibility of truly reversing the phenomenon lies.”

Alfonso Kaiser, a risk management expert and professor in the Master of Engineering Management program at the University of the Andes, questioned the agenda’s lack of concrete objectives for measuring its results.

“A plan is being presented that does not have clear objectives. We don’t know how we are going to measure them or how much we want to achieve,” Kaiser told UPI.

“We need to take a more measured approach and conduct a somewhat more technical analysis of what goals we want to achieve and when we expect to achieve them.”

Kaiser agreed that border control should be a priority and said the government should strengthen the authority of Carabineros, Chile’s national uniformed police force, and the Maritime Police to deter illegal entry into the country. However, he said the main challenge lies within Chile itself.

“The main failure is internal. It is not that we are facing an extraordinarily intelligent enemy,” Kaiser said. “Our own mistakes are what have led to this situation.”

No casualties were reported after the flames broke out early on Sunday, the Saudi Energy Ministry says.

A fire reported at a facility belonging to Saudi Arabian state oil giant Aramco has been extinguished, authorities say.

The blaze broke out early on Sunday at a site in the coastal city of Jizan, the Saudi Ministry of Energy wrote in a statement on X. No casualties were reported.

“The competent authorities are completing the necessary procedures to deal with the incident,” the ministry added.

It did not say what caused the fire.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi armed group claimed it carried out an attack on the facility, located on the Red Sea near its border, the latest in a series of Houthi claims of strikes targeting Saudi oil sites.

A military spokesman for the Houthi led government in the capital Sanaa, Yahya Saree, wrote on X the group “succeeded in targeting the Aramco refinery in Jizan with a drone, and the strike was precise”.

He said the attack came in response to Saudi Arabia’s “breach of the airspace of the provinces of Saada and Hajjah” with drones.

There was no immediate comment on the claim from Riyadh. Al Jazeera has contacted the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Houthis last month claimed attacks on Aramco facilities in Jizan. The Houthis also said they targeted oil installations in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia’s principal west coast export gateway.

Aramco chief Amin Nasser said last ⁠week that recent attacks on the company’s facilities had caused some production interruptions but that he was confident operations could be restored quickly. He said the attacks ‌had no material operational or financial impact.

The attacks have added to growing strains on a 2022 truce in the war between the Houthis and Yemen’s internationally recognised government, backed by Saudi Arabia.

The Houthis, which took control of the capital, Sanaa, in 2014, also declared a blockade on Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea last month, threatening shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb strait.

Saudi authorities have also blamed Iran-aligned armed groups in Iraq for attacks on its oil facilities.

On Friday, Riyadh signed a defence pact with Turkiye and Pakistan amid rising regional tensions from the US-Israel war on Iran.

The Rams knew the resume. Saw the highlights. Gathered all the intel required.

But they were not aware of Myles Garrett’s aura.

How could they?

It’s not tangible, nor easily defined.

It’s just there.

“You just feel him,” coach Sean McVay said Friday.

McVay felt and said that before. About Aaron Donald. About Jalen Ramsey.

But listening to Rams players talk about Garrett, this feels different.

Mystical.

“You can just feel his aura,” cornerback Trent McDuffie said.

Safety Quentin Lake explained it the same way.

“Just his presence,” Lake said, “his aura.”

Rams defensive end Myles Garrett smiles during training camp at Loyola Marymount on July 26.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The Myles Garrett effect is not confined to the defense.

“Everybody on the field can kind of feel this aura sitting on whatever side of the field he’s on,” offensive guard Kevin Dotson said. “You just feel this monster energy.”

Garrett, a 10th year pro and two-time NFL defensive player of the year, laughed when asked if he was conscious of his aura.

“I guess,” he said. “It’s great to hear that they have respect for me.”

Garrett, 30, is one of the biggest stars on a star-studded Rams team that is favored to win the Super Bowl, regardless of whether Donald comes out of retirement.

Garrett, the No. 1 pick in the 2017 draft out of Texas A&M, amassed 125½ sacks in nine seasons with the Cleveland Browns. He was defensive player of the year in 2023 and also last season, when he recorded a league-record 23 sacks.

In June, the Rams sent edge rusher Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round pick and future second- and third-round picks to the Browns for Garrett. He was regarded as the final piece for a franchise intent on winning a second Super Bowl title under McVay.

Garrett is acclimating to Southern California and a team that advanced to the NFC championship game last season before losing to the eventual Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.

“It’s starting to feel like home rather quickly,” he said.

It did not take long for Garrett to ingratiate himself. His skill, work ethic and knowledge are imparted in the meeting room and on the field, edge rusher Byron Young said.

“It’s amazing,” Young said. “It’s art.”

Last season, Young recorded a career-best 12 sacks and was voted to the Pro Bowl.

With Garrett now lining up alongside him, the fourth-year pro is soaking in knowledge and learning from his example. Though Garrett, at 6 feet, 4 inches and 272 pounds, makes plays that can’t be replicated by others.

Myles Garrett (95) takes part in training camp along with wide receivers Puka Nacua (12) and Davante Adams (17) on July 26.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Garrett’s quickness off the ball is “insane,” Young said, noting that Garrett eats up “three or four yards,” with his first step.

“That right there alone is amazing,” Young said.

Garrett’s influence could be magnified if Donald, a three-time defensive player of the year, ends a two-year retirement to pursue another Super Bowl ring.

Garrett said he would not try to sway Donald’s decision. But he acknowledged that it would be exciting to be a “partner in crime” with the eight-time All-Pro.

“There’s a lot we can learn from each other,” Garrett said, “and I’d love to pick his brain on the things he does to attack his matchups and I think the same could be said vice versa.”

During training camp, Garrett and teammates are focused on blending their talents at all three levels of the defense.

Garrett is a “freak athlete for sure,” lineman Kobie Turner said.

Myles Garrett takes part in drills at Rams training camp on July 27.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

“We definitely understand the opportunities that should get opened up,” said Turner, who had seven sacks last season, “and if those opportunities don’t open up and they leave him soloed up, he’s going to take advantage.”

There is “no question” Garrett will dominate, Lake said.

“So now,” he said, “it’s just making sure, ‘Hey, can we do our job so this guy can go cut it loose over there too?’”

Garrett has embraced the Rams’ culture, built during McVay’s nine seasons during which the Rams made seven playoff appearances and played in two Super Bowls, winning one.

He is eager to share his knowledge and experience but also learn from younger teammates. The Rams’ defensive front features Young, Turner, and linemen Braden Fiske and Poona Ford, among others.

“This group was doing great without me,” Garrett said. “I want to just try to help elevate other guys and the playmakers that we have here.”

There is still “a lot of rust to knock off,” during camp and the lead-up to the season, he said.

The Rams’ opener against the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne, Australia, will be their first opportunity to measure the benefit of Garrett’s presence. It’s the start of a season the Rams aim to end with a Super Bowl victory at SoFi Stadium.

“Maybe,” Garrett said, “the aura will increase over time.”

Thousands of people in India have been displaced since July after monsoon rains triggered severe flooding. India’s northeastern state of Assam is among the hardest hit, with at least 87 recorded deaths.

Aug. 5 (UPI) — Hungary is facing an energy crisis as the Danube River, which cools the nation’s largest power plant, dries to record lows.

Water levels of the 1,800-mile river, which flows through 10 countries in Europe, has fallen amid a three-month drought across the continent.

The Danube is an integral component in the running of Paks, Hungary’s only nuclear power plant, as it flows into the reactor and cools it down.

Three of the plant’s four reactors were not in operation on Wednesday, while the fourth is operating at 50% power, CBS News reported.

The plant is responsible for generating half the electricity needed by the country’s 10 million people.

“Several factors will determine whether Hungary’s most important power plant can avoid a complete shutdown in the coming days,” said Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar, CBS News reported.

“There are a few critical days left — today and tomorrow are certainly that,” Magyar added, according to the outlet. “I ask everyone to continue the national unity that has developed in the country. Let’s do what our country demands.”

But the drying of the Danube has brought a silver lining for some. Residents and researchers have marveled at several discoveries that have emerged as water levels drop.

In Serbia, researchers have found some 200 boats that had been hidden deep in the Danube, including World War II-era Nazi warships, Smithsonian magazine reported.

A ship that likely sank in 1937 was exposed in Croatia.

And in Bulgaria, residents discovered the remains of a woolly mammoth.

Aug. 4 (UPI) — British oil giant BP posted second-quarter profit on Tuesday of $5.7 billion, more than double the $2.35 billion it made in the April to June period in 2025, amid sharply higher oil and gas prices caused by the U.S.-Iran conflict.

Profit was $2.5 billion more than what the company made in the first quarter, the first two months of which were before the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, and easily beat the $5 billion expected by analysts.

BP’s results, the latest of the oil giants to report bumper profits in recent days following on from Shell, Exxon Mobil and Chevron, came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump accused energy firms of exploiting the current shortage of supply.

“Based on a shortage, they’re making too much money,” he said Monday after Exxon Mobil and Chevron last week reported a combined $26.5 billion profit for the second quarter.

Trump demanded the companies return some of their windfall to the public by cutting their retail prices, saying profits that had jumped as much as 12-fold were not acceptable and that he was not happy about it.

On Friday, Shell, the other British supermajor, also posted results showing it more than doubled its earnings, reporting a $9.84 billion profit for the April to June period, up from $4.26 billion in the same period last year.

Environmental groups criticized the profit made by BP as unseemly.

“Clearly not everyone is feeling the pain of the energy crisis. While BP banks another round of enormous profits, millions of households are paying the price through sky-high energy bills and a climate crisis accelerating rapidly out of control with increasingly severe heatwaves, wildfires and droughts,” said Friends of the Earth campaigns head Rosie Downes.

BP CEO Meg O’Neill told CNBC on Tuesday that while she understood the pressure ordinary consumers felt when they were confronted by the prices at the pump, the company had little control over the cost.

“The reality is we produce a global commodity and the prices for the product we sell hangs off that global commodity price, said O’Neill, who stressed that the sterling financial results were due to strong performances across all its businesses,” she said.

She added that the company had tweaked the firm’s refining runs to ensure the products consumers needed most at any given point in time were available in sufficient quantities but insisted BP was “there was more to do.”

“We are not making the most of our potential. Our performance over the past few years has not met our own expectations, let alone those of our shareholders. We have not delivered consistently; we have written off too much value; and our costs and liabilities are not resilient enough in a low price environment,” said O’Neill.

BP’s results came four days after it put its North Sea oil business on the market amid uncertainty over whether the British government will forge ahead with phasing out North Sea oil and gas, in line with its Net Zero by 2050 target, or issue some new drilling licences to meet U.K. demand in the interim.

O’Neill said Tuesday that in a conversation with Prime Minister Andy Burnham he had assured her that he would take a “pragmatic” approach to the issue.

“The U.K. is still using a huge amount of oil and natural gas every single day, and we ought to be using our domestic resources first instead of buying those resources from a third party,” O’Neill added.

Analysts estimate BP’s 24 fields, about half of which are still producing, should fetch around $2.6 billion.

There are estimated to be at least 12 billion barrels of oil left under the North Sea, although developed reserves awaiting to be pumped are much lower.

United States President Donald Trump has lambasted the nation’s biggest oil and gas giants as Houston, Texas-based Chevron reported record earnings while consumers struggle with soaring petrol prices.

“I don’t like it,” Trump told reporters on Monday in reference to the blockbuster second-quarter earnings, as his war on Iran has kept oil prices high for months.

“Chevron, too much money. ExxonMobil, too much. Too much money.”

Trump’s comments came on the heels of an interview Chevron CEO Mike Wirth gave on the Fox News programme Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo. Writing on his Truth Social platform, the US president berated Wirth for not crediting his administration’s efforts to help the oil industry.

“The only thing he [Wirth] conveniently forgot to mention is that, without the genius, foresight, strength, and stability of the TRUMP Administration, the Oil Industry, and our Country itself, would be DEAD!”

Chevron reported its highest quarterly profits in six years on Friday. Adjusted earnings per share came to $6.06, or $12bn, as tensions between the US and Iran strained global oil supply chains in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, where roughly one-fifth of the world’s energy supply travelled through before the war, sending prices soaring.

Chevron rewarded its employees. Wirth praised them for their work and said in an email that most workers would receive a bonus equivalent to half their monthly base pay, the Reuters news agency reported, citing an internal email.

Al Jazeera has not been able to independently confirm Reuters’ reporting.

Chevron’s strong earnings come as the company is less reliant on Middle Eastern production operations than its competitors, allowing it to reap the benefits of higher global oil prices during the quarter. Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil prices, was 23 percent higher than in the first three months of the year.

“Being less dependent on the Strait of Hormuz is definitely helping them. It’s also the refining they’re able to do here. The fact that Chevron has less than 5 percent exposure there gives it some protection,” Bill Drolet, executive director, mergers & acquisitions at The Post Oak Group investment bank, told Al Jazeera.

“More than 70 percent of Chevron’s production is concentrated in America, and that’s where it’s making its biggest margins right now.”

Chevron also benefitted from the president’s move to open up oil production in Venezuela after US special forces abducted the country’s president, Nicolas Maduro, in January. Chevron had stayed on in the South American nation even after former President Hugo Chavez nationalised oil production.

Chevron did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.

Competitors also performed well. ExxonMobil on Friday posted its best quarterly profits in four years, but they fell short of analysts’ expectations. Earnings raked in $9.2bn.

Exxon did not respond to a request for comment.

On Thursday, Valero Energy reported its highest ever second-quarter profit, with net income coming in at $3.7bn as US refiners reap the benefits of tensions choking oil production across the Middle East.

But those benefits have not reached consumers, who are feeling the strain at the petrol pump. Petrol prices are above $4 a gallon (3.78 litres) across the US. The average price for a gallon of petrol is $4.09, down from $4.11 this time last week, but up from $3.82 a month ago, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA), which tracks daily petrol prices.

By comparison, when the US and Israel first struck Iran in late February, the average price was $2.98.

An analysis from Bank of America published in April showed consumers spending as much as 4.2 percent of their income on petrol in March, up from 3.9 percent in 2019. Lower-income earners are hit much harder, with more than 10 percent of households spending more than 10 percent of their monthly income on petrol.

This comes as pressure on the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve continues. The reserves hit their lowest level since 1983 this week, according to the Department of Energy. They fell by 2.8 million barrels over the week to 304.8 million barrels.

Political pushback

The condemnation of the oil industry has come from across the political spectrum.

“A decent industry would say, ‘this was money we didn’t earn, it’s a windfall we get from our cartel pricing scheme.’ Not these corrupt, greedy and grasping rogues,” Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island wrote in a post on X on Sunday.

But lowering prices might not be as easy. Beyond pressure from consumers, companies across the corporate United States are beholden to a concept called shareholder supremacy. This means that while lowering prices might be in the best interest of pinched consumers, it may not be possible given the legal framework and companies’ fiduciary responsibility to shareholders.

“They’ve [oil companies] got shareholders they’re responsible for. They could reduce share buybacks or dividend payouts, but right now, I don’t see oil companies doing much,” Post Oak Group’s Drolet said.

He said if he were advising a member of Congress or the president, providing relief to consumers might be easiest by suspending the so-called gas tax, which varies by state. In Texas, for example, the gas tax accounts for 20 cents per gallon, while in California, it is 63 cents per gallon.

“From a political standpoint, the best thing our government can do is suspend gas taxes, especially in California. If they put a temporary hold on taxes, that would help everybody get through this challenging time.”

Al Jazeera asked the White House if that policy is on the table, but the press office did not respond.

Heading into the US midterm elections, cost of living remains among the highest concerns for consumers. In a Washington Post/Ipsos poll last month, 54 percent of respondents said that high prices and the economy were a chief concern heading into November.

“They see the price of fuel and net profit for Exxon and Chevron and feel that they are abusing US consumers, especially as US consumers have access to the correct fuel, whereas other areas around the world have shortages [such as Germany, Philippines],” Babak Hafezi, professor of international business at American University, told Al Jazeera.

“The reality is that as the war [On Iran] progresses, the impacts of the lack of supply will create full price and supply shocks.”

Amid Trump’s comments, Chevron’s stock is on the downturn in midday trading, tumbling more than 2 percent from the market open. However, it is up more than 1.1 percent over the last five days.

ExxonMobil is down 0.5 percent for the day and 0.1 percent over the last five days.

Travel plans for around 1.6 million UK tourists heading to Italy were disrupted Rome, Milan, Venice and Naples hit by red alert. Greece helicopters fight fire despite midair crash which one Brit crew member miraculously survived.

Extreme weather brought chaos across Europe today, with warnings of 40C (104F) temperatures in some of the worst-hit countries.

Travel plans for about 1.6 million UK tourists heading to Italy were disrupted as nearly every city was placed on ‘red alert’ for extreme heat. Cities from north to south – including the capital Rome, Milan, Venice and Naples – were warning residents and tourists about the health risks. Temperatures have hit the mid-30sC in many places.

Authorities warned the ‘healthy and active’ were also at risk; not just groups including the elderly, very young children and people with chronic illnesses. Meanwhile, five water-dropping planes and five helicopters took off at dawn today to help firefighters near Athens – after a midair collision in which a Brit helicopter crew member miraculously survived.

The collision between the two fire-fighting choppers showed the extreme danger on the frontline of Europe’s wildfire emergency. Flames bore deeper into the region of the Greek capital, forcing fresh evacuations in the early hours. A Greek national and a Dane died when their helicopter collided with another near the seaside area of Psatha.

The British national and another local man were taken to a hospital, where their injuries were reported as minor. Foreign firefighting and helicopter crews are often deployed in Greece to help tackle wildfires during the country’s hot, dry summers.

More than 1,000 people have been evacuated from the region, including more than 250 rescued by boat from beaches in Greece. Evacuation orders were issued for three more areas, while crews worked to create firebreaks in a forest to help halt the blaze’s advance

In France, firefighters guarded a still-burning scar four times the size of Paris. The blaze raged through pine forests and scrubland over the weekend, whipped by gale force winds that often prevented water-dropping planes from operating.

Hungary is facing power cuts after the drought sweeping across much of Europe forced its only nuclear power plant to shut down. Peter Magyar, the prime minister, said the country was preparing for a “critical” week after the level of the Danube River, which cools the plant, fell to a record low.

The government was considering applying mandatory electricity restrictions for large companies starting today, Mr Magyar said: “We are facing the most critical five days ahead,” he said in a Facebook video.

The Paks power plant will not be generating, while the hottest, 40C days are ahead. The power grid, our public services, and we ourselves will all come under enormous strain.

The Danube has fallen to its lowest level in 30 years in several countries, including Romania. The drought has triggered water-use restrictions in more than 100 cities and villages, including on the outskirts of Budapest.

Mr Magyar called on companies, public institutions, local governments and households to significantly reduce or reschedule electricity use during evening peak hours between 5pm and 10pm.

Italy is in the midst of its fourth extreme heatwave of the summer, with temperatures hitting 40C in many parts of the country. According to official estimates, a total of 17.4 million tourists will be travelling in Italy until August 23, including 8.4 million Italians and nine million visitors from abroad, with about 1.6m expected from the UK.

Dash firefighting aircraft were seen through smoke as they flew over a wildfire in Correns, southeastern France, though the situation in the area was largely under control. Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said wildfires in Greece were ‘deeply worrying’ for UK travellers.

He said: “It’s essential, however, that travellers don’t cancel their trips, especially those not due to travel for the next week or two. Travellers who cancel now will likely forfeit the right to a refund or rebooking, and you’re unlikely to be able to claim on travel insurance, as the FCDO has not warned against travel to the affected regions.

“Where possible, holidaymakers should wait until closer to their departure date to see if their holiday can go ahead or what flexible booking options may be offered by their tour operator or airline. Travel companies will be prioritising anyone due to depart in the next couple of days.”

July 31 (UPI) — The United States military is preparing to launch a fresh wave of airstrikes on Iran as early as this weekend, unnamed sources told several news outlets Friday.

Sources told CBS News the attacks are likely to target energy infrastructure, but President Donald Trump is yet to give the final order to begin the assault.

The Israeli military might also be included in attacking Iran for the first time in weeks, Axios reported.

“We will be hitting them very hard,” Trump told reporters at Camp David on Friday. “At some point, they’re going to say, ‘We just can’t take it anymore.'”

Striking civilian infrastructure is a war crime under international humanitarian law.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Tuesday said, “We very much want to strike Iran’s energy targets.”

“The United States is not approving it at the moment because of the concern that Iran would attack neighboring countries, causing a global oil crisis,” he told the country’s Channel 14, as reported by The Times of Israel.

“As far as we’re concerned, we’re prepared to set [Iran] back 40 years,” Katz added.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell would not comment on specific targets before the strikes.

“The Department of War is locked and loaded, ready to execute the President’s directives at a moment’s notice,” Parnell said in a statement to CBS News.

One senior Iranian official was quoted as saying attacks against infrastructure are a form of “madness” and the country was prepared to retaliate, Al-Jazeera reported.

The official added Iran’s response would include “the vital infrastructure of the Zionist regime and the energy infrastructure of the US in the region.”

Russia claimed this week to be advancing into Ukraine’s regions of Sumy, Kharkiv and Donetsk, as Ukraine installed new political leadership in its defence ministry and a new military leadership in its armed forces.

The changes followed the unprecedented firing of both defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov and commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskii within a week.

Most concerning was the news from Ukrainian soldiers in the eastern region of Donetsk that Russia was “effectively cutting off” Kostiantynivka, the southernmost of four “fortress cities” Russia had pledged to overthrow in a bid to capture the remaining free territory of the region by the end of the year.

Kostiantynivka was “the key to liberating the entire territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic”, Russian President Vladimir Putin recently said.

“Things are very bad in Kostiantynivka. It’s not a question of whether we’ll lose [it] or not – we’ve effectively already lost it,” a soldier told the Ukrainian news outlet Hromadske. “If there’s a large number of Russians there, you can’t really say we’re holding it. They’re just pushing our guys into a corner.”

A local Ukrainian commander told Hromadske that Russians were moving into the villages of Molocharka and Izhevka north of the city, and his units could find themselves surrounded in “another month or two” unless reinforcements arrived or containment tactics changed.

Shortly before he was dismissed on July 21, Syrskii had painted a more optimistic picture, saying there were an estimated 145 Russian infiltrators in the city who were suffering “significant losses” of about 25 people a day, as Ukrainian drone units hunted them down in their urban shelters.

The commander of a group called Kurt and Company shared that more optimistic view with the news outlet Suspilne.

“Heavy fighting and gunfire are going on all over the city,” said the commander, identified by the call sign Kurt. “But we still control most of the city and the enemy is mainly on the flanks. They are trying to bypass us, cut us off, but we are holding our defence there. We are just constantly under attack from the KABs – they are just taking out positions with aerial bombs. This is the only thing that still gives the Russians success and this is a big problem for us.”

KABs are massive aerial ordnance with payloads of between 500kg and 3,000kg, which Russia has been dropping on Ukrainian positions at a rate of more than 200 and sometimes more than 300 a day. Ukraine has repeatedly placed aerial defence equipment at the top of its list of requirements from allies.

As recently as three weeks ago, the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, estimated that Russian forces had a presence in just 37 percent of Kostiantynivka, mostly in the form of “infiltrations” rather than firm control. Its most recent assessment of Russian infiltration suggests that it has spread to most of the city, however.

Overall, Russian forces have been slowing down, though. The ISW estimated that they were capturing 16.6sq km a day in the first half of 2025, but just 1km a day in June this year. In July, the ISW has assessed that Russia has been losing territory at a rate of 1.6sq km a day.

Now, it appears that Russia has been mounting an effort to regain the offensive. The commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces (SBS), Robert Brovdi, said “the actual number of enemy personnel involved in offensive operations along the front line” during the month had increased by 12 percent compared with June and 18 percent compared with May, based on analysis from the SBS intelligence centre. Russian casualties increased by similar proportions, he said.

In the northern Kharkiv and Sumy regions, Russia claimed to have destroyed 10 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) control centres on July 27, killing 70 personnel.

Three days later, it said its troops had routed defenders in Nova Sich, Mogritsa and Malaya Slobodka in Sumy and Yurchenkovo in Kharkiv, by copying the Ukrainian tactic of using drones to disrupt ammunition deliveries.

“Russian servicemen found large amounts of abandoned weapons, ammunition and military equipment,” according to a Russian report.

A local Russian official claimed Moscow had captured 13 settlements in Kharkiv this month.

Al Jazeera could not independently verify the Russian claims, which have in the past been inflated or premature, and Ukraine denied Nova Sich had fallen.

An autumn offensive?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this week he had received intelligence that Russia was preparing an “expanded mobilisation” to counter losses of 225,000 this year, versus recruitment of 221,000 people. Six out of 10 casualties were fatalities, he said.

Zelenskyy told Sky News Putin aimed to raise 300,000 to 500,000 troops in early October, after Russian parliamentary elections had taken place in September. “He will not be able to quickly prepare these people. This, again, means that he will send poorly trained people to the battlefield, which will inevitably lead to heavy losses,” Zelenskyy said.

More worrying, perhaps, were the 30,000 North Korean troops Russia was preparing barracks for in Voronezh, in southwestern Russia, according to Zelenskyy. Russia received 3,000 North Korean soldiers in 2024, and used them to reclaim territory Ukraine had counterinvaded in Kursk.

Fedorov announced a plan in June to attract foreign fighters by raising the salary for a front-line soldier to $7,000 a month. “I believe that 50 percent of the front line or among the attack aircraft could be foreigners,” he told Ukrainska Pravda this week.

Russia estimates that Ukraine currently employs about 4,000 foreign troops. Ukraine’s armed forces are estimated at 900,000 people.

Long-range strikes

Ukraine struck blows in its economic war against Russia, hitting refineries and oil depots.

Those included confirmed hits against the Subkhankulovo oil tank farm in Bashkortostan, 1,350km from Ukraine, six refineries, an oil loading terminal at Rostov-on-Don, and fuel and lubricant depots at Ishki in occupied Crimea and Udmurtia.

Ukraine has recently struck targets as far afield as 2,500km, and Zelenskyy said it had now acquired range of at least 3,000km.

Ukraine claims to have disabled 42 percent of Russian refining capacity this year. A Financial Times investigation using satellite photographs confirmed that it had disabled 45 percent of nominal capacity and 30 percent of actual capacity, causing damage lasting weeks or months.

Russia, which has been experiencing a fuel crisis as a result, extended a fuel export ban from the end of August to the end of January.

Ukraine also struck military production targets, including the Avitek plant in Kirov city, producing components for aviation and missiles, and an S-400 radar. On July 27, it downed a Forpost-R heavy drone used to carry KABs – only the sixth such prize of the entire war.

Brovdi’s forces continued to starve Crimea of electricity and fuel, striking 37 electricity substations and four oil tankers during the week, bringing the total number of electricity infrastructure nodes struck in July to 164, and the total number of tankers hit in the Black and Azov seas to 205.

Brovdi’s forces focused much of their fire on the warehouses of the Wildberries online retailer, suspected by Ukraine of providing equipment to mobilising troops.

During the past week they have struck warehouses in Voronezh, Leningrad, Simferopol, Udmurtia and Penza, bringing the total number of warehouses set ablaze to 12 and the estimated damage to $2.2bn.

Russia also claims to have hit military targets in massive drone and missile attacks on Ukraine, but many of the hits were civilian.

One person died when a supermarket in Chernihiv, northern Ukraine, was struck on July 26, and the entire Voronov family was wiped out in Radushne in central Ukraine when their house was blown to smithereens on July 30. A record 56,000 people spent the night sheltering in the Kyiv Metro that night.

July 31 (UPI) — British oil giant BP announced plans Friday to sell off its North Sea business, ending six decades of exploration and extraction in the U.K. Continental Shelf since the company first struck gas there in 1964.

The firm said that nothing would change for the time being while a buyer was found, vowing in a news release that it was fully committed to continuing to run its operations, prioritizing safety and dependability, while delivering for its customers, partners and investors.

The outcome of a review of its portfolio, BP said the goal was to enhance the value of the company by making it simpler and stronger through adhering to its approach of allocating capital in a rigorous fashion.

“The North Sea remains integral to the U.K.’s energy system. However, as we focus our portfolio and direct capital to our highest-value opportunities, we believe our North Sea business will be better positioned as part of another company. It has world-class people, resilient assets and a proud heritage, and it is precisely these qualities that can attract an owner ready to back its next chapter,” said BP.

“We are seeking an outcome that recognizes that value.”

CEO Meg O’Neill stressed that Britain would remain of key importance to the company going forward, saying BP was proud of the employment it generated, its input to the economy and its role in keeping energy flowing every day.

As recently as May, O’Neill described the North Sea basin as one of “untapped potential.”

The share price gained slightly on the news, rising a little more than 1% to $7.36 in mid afternoon trade on the London Stock Exchange on Friday.

BP has 24 fields across five main nodes in the North Sea, including its key Clair Ridge and Schielhallion fields of the Shetland Islands, with 1,100 workers pumping a little under 100,000 barrels of gas and oil daily.

Energy consultant Rystad, which estimates the North Sea business was worth $2.6 billion, told the Financial Times that it believed that the TotalEnergies-HitecVision-Repsol joint venture Neo Next +, Delek Group of Israel or Eni of Italy were in the running to buy it.

A sweeping package of new Russian sanctions has cleared its first hurdle in the United States Congress, and, if passed, could trigger huge tariffs for countries such as India and China which continue to buy oil from Moscow.

The bill, which was advanced in the US Senate this week, has been named for the late Lindsey Graham, whose funeral was attended by world leaders including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier in the week.

Here’s what we know:

What happened in the Senate?

The “Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026” was advanced overwhelmingly by the Senate this week in a vote of 86 to 12, meaning it can now proceed to the House of Representatives for further deliberation.

Named for the late Senator Graham, a staunch Ukraine supporter who died unexpectedly this month, the bill moved forward with the support of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was in Washington to attend Graham’s funeral and watched the proceedings from the gallery.

“It was an honour to be present as the votes were counted – 86 senators supported the bill,” he wrote on X afterwards. “This is the first step towards implementing Lindsey [Graham]’s plans, and certainly a step towards peace. It is important that this tool works.”

After clearing the Senate, there will be a delay before the bill can move forward to the House, which is now in summer recess.

On Wednesday this week, US President Donald Trump ordered lawmakers to amend the bill to include tariffs covering Iran as well. This will likely delay the bill further if it deters Democrats from supporting it, analysts said.

David Smith, an associate professor at the University of Sydney’s US Studies Centre, told Al Jazeera: “One of the things they’re worried about is how the tariff power in relation to Iran is going to be expanded. They’re going to be ok with tariff powers on Russia but they’re worried about tariff power on countries buying Iranian oil, which means China. I think there are going to be a lot of Democrats that are going to say these powers should be limited to sanctions and not tariffs.”

Without the Iran addition, he said he would have expected the bill to pass once the House resumes given strong Democratic support for Ukraine.

“Democrats have been genuinely worried about the Trump administration abandoning Ukraine. Something like this, which is ramping the pressure up on Russia so much, I just think there will be a large critical mass of Democrats who will vote for this,” he said.

What’s in the bill?

The bill makes use of sanctions and tariffs to target Russia and cut off the economic pipeline that has kept the Ukraine war going.

Major provisions include new sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as on more than 20 top officials and companies which work with the Russian defence industry. It also targets Russia’s “shadow fleet” of oil tankers and the network it uses to evade international sanctions on its energy exports.

The bill gives the president authority to impose sanctions by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Under it, he would be able to apply tariffs of up to 100 percent on exports to the US from the top five purchasers of Russian energy, military equipment or countries facilitating Russian sanctions evasion.

Tariffs of up to 500 percent can also be applied to Russian imports directly into the US. The US imported $3.8bn in goods from Russia in 2025.

Which countries are likely to be targeted?

China, India and Türkiye are potential targets of the bill, as they are among the largest buyers of Russian energy, according to data compiled by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

China has historically responded to Trump’s tariffs with tariffs of its own on US exports. Even Pay, a director at the Beijing-based consultancy Trivium China, told Al Jazeera that the US may wait to impose tariffs as Trump is due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping later this year.

Trump would still welcome the option, she said, after the Supreme Court struck down many of his tariffs in February.

“If passed and signed into law [which is still a big if at this point], the legislation would give Trump something he’s wanted for a while, namely, the legislature’s permission to impose high tariffs on China, alongside the small handful of other countries that import Russian oil,” Pay told Al Jazeera.

India is in a tricky position as its attempts to diversify away from Russian energy were disrupted by the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz, according to Maia Nikoladze, a deputy director of the Economic Statecraft Initiative at the Atlantic Council.

Due to the disruptions, it has also applied for and received US sanction waivers to continue buying Russian oil in the interim, Nikoladze wrote in a report this week, and it is expected to do the same in the future.

“India will face a trade-off between maintaining energy security and managing the risk of US tariffs, potentially prompting it to again seek waivers and exemptions,” Nikoladze said.

What do critics say about the bill?

Critics like Senator Maggie Hassan say the bill gives Trump too much power to impose tariffs while also potentially harming both the US taxpayer and allied countries.

Turkiye, for example, buys Russian energy but it is also a US ally and NATO member, while “major non-NATO ally” Brazil and “major security cooperation partner” Singapore both buy Russian oil products, according to CREA.

In a post on X, Hassan wrote that while she supports sanctioning Russia, she does “not think tariffs, which are paid for by American businesses and consumers, will help Ukraine win”.

The bill is also opposed by lobby groups such as the US Chamber of Commerce, which also says the true cost will be passed on to US businesses and consumers, as with past tariffs.

While many of Trump’s tariffs have already been struck down by the Supreme Court, the Russia tariffs could have more staying power because they would be imposed on a stronger legal basis, according to Smith.

That’s because it is new legislation which has been crafted using the powers of the IEEPA.

“Previously what Trump has done is to go back to old pieces of legislation and invoke from those his power to use tariffs in ways they haven’t been used before and in ways courts have subsequently found less lawful, whereas this looks like new legislation that is going to lawfully expand his tariff authority,” he told Al Jazeera.

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains in effect halted.
Tankers are now avoiding another critical waterway – Bab al-Mandeb – as Yemen’s Houthi forces threaten Saudi-linked vessels. Ukrainian strikes have hit Russian export infrastructure.
Three major routes are now disrupted at once: the Gulf, the Red Sea and the Black Sea.

Together, they threaten trade flows equivalent to nearly a quarter of global oil supplies just as reserves sit at multiyear lows.
Goldman Sachs says oil could rise above $120 a barrel by the fourth quarter if disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz alone persist.
Economies worldwide are bracing for another energy shock.

The fate of hundreds of clean energy projects hangs in the balance after court documents revealed that the Trump administration targeted California and other blue states solely for political reasons when it slashed funding for the initiatives last year.

Large companies, startups, utilities, universities and other nonprofits were among those that lost out on $7.6 billion in clean energy funding terminated by the White House in October. They include the University of California, the California Energy Commission, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and California’s nascent hydrogen hub, the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems, or ARCHES.

At the time, Trump administration officials said the grants were terminated because they “did not adequately advance the nation’s energy needs, were not economically viable, and would not provide a positive return on investment of taxpayer dollars.”

But in court documents filed as part of a lawsuit challenging the cuts, the Department of Energy states the selection of grants was “based solely on the political identity of the grant recipient’s state, i.e., whether the recipient’s location and/or place of performance was in a Blue State or a non-Blue State.”

It also concedes that neither the inclusion of ARCHES, nor any other grants in the October tranche, was “based on any programmatic, statutory, cost-reduction, or performance-based factor.”

California and the 15 other states that lost funding did not vote for Trump in the 2024 election.

Legal experts said such an action is unheard of.

“The government has stipulated that grants were cut off to states that voted against Trump. As far as I know, this blatant politics in cutting off grants is unprecedented. It also is illegal,” said Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Berkeley Law School and co-counsel in the lawsuit.

More projects were cut in California than any other state, about 79 out of nearly 300. They were all for clean energy, many to address climate change, and include investments in new battery plants, upgrades for the electrical grid and initiatives to take carbon out of the air. About $1.2 billion was slated for the hydrogen hub.

Money was also to go to West Biofuels in Woodland, CALSTART in Pasadena, Charge Bliss in Aliso Viejo, Rejoule in Signal Hill, Southern California Edison, the Imperial Irrigation District and Aera Federal LLC, among many others.

The lawsuit was brought by a group of faculty members and researchers at UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco, who were among those to lose research grants. A separate lawsuit was filed by California and a coalition of 13 other states in February.

The acknowledgment of political motivation is “startling — and it is particularly so when the administration has had these larger narratives about how they’re canceling grants that are about waste, fraud and abuse,” said Claudia Polsky, director of the Environmental Law Clinic at UC Berkeley and initiating counsel in the university case. “If they want to favor oil, coal and nuclear, and disfavor clean energy innovation, that’s their prerogative as the executive. But here we have stipulations saying that none of those things were true for these staggeringly consequential DOE grants.”

The lawsuit alleges that the government’s actions violate the Constitution’s equal protection clause, which prevents arbitrary discrimination, as well as the 1st Amendment in that it is targeting researchers for how their state voted.

“None of it was about a change in priorities,” Polsky said, noting that similar grants in red states were not canceled. “None of it was about fiscal stringency. None of it was about anything except punishing people who didn’t vote for Trump.”

Judge Rita F. Lin could order the federal funding to be reinstated, and indeed has already done so through some temporary preliminary injunctions. But many of the grantees are now in “purgatory” as the case proceeds toward a final ruling, Polsky said.

Many of the projects are complex, multi-year efforts that involve a hodgepodge of agencies, experts and partnerships, such as ARCHES, the state’s billion-dollar hydrogen hub awarded under President Biden. Officials with ARCHES could not immediately be reached for comment.

News of the funding cuts first broke last fall in a post on X from Russell Vought, director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget.

“Nearly $8 billion in Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left’s climate agenda is being canceled,” Vought wrote. “The projects are in the following states: CA, CO, CT, DE, HI, IL, MD, MA, MN, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OR, VT, WA.”

At a House hearing in June, however, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said decisions were not made based on politics.

The Energy Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“Secretary Wright looked me in the eye, under oath, insisting the decision to cancel California’s clean energy projects was ‘not political,’” Sen. Alex Padilla said in a statement to The Times on Monday. “The Administration’s own court filings tell a different story. These decisions jeopardize good-paying jobs, undermine American energy innovation, and drive up costs.”

Padilla is among 30 California lawmakers, including Sen. Adam Schiff and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San José), who separately challenged the funding cuts as unlawful — writing in an October letter to the Energy Department’s independent Office of the Inspector General that the decision targeted blue states “for their perceived lack of support for President Trump.” The office subsequently launched an investigation into the claims.

“Any Trump official who lied and told the nation these clean energy grant cancellations had nothing to do with politics should resign,” Schiff said in a post on X after the latest court filings were revealed. “As the administration has now been forced to concede — these cancellations had everything to do with politics. Of the worst kind.”

A final ruling is expected in early November.

Times staff writer Jaweed Kaleem contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has acknowledged in court documents that it canceled $7.6 billion in grants for hundreds of clean energy projects “based solely on the political identity of the grant recipient’s state,” including California and 15 other states that voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.

The statement, included in a court filing last week in a lawsuit over the canceled funding, contradicts repeated assertions by Energy Secretary Chris Wright and other officials that the projects were canceled because they did not adequately advance the nation’s energy needs or had other problems that made them a poor investment of taxpayer dollars.

The Department of Energy said in the filing Wednesday that “DOE accepts that the inclusion of grants … was based solely on the political identity of the grant recipient’s state, i.e., whether the recipient’s location and/or place of performance was in a Blue State or a non-Blue State. DOE will not contend that it looked beyond the prime grantee(s) to consider the political identity or geographic distribution of downstream beneficiaries of the grant funds.”

The agency also said that it “accepts that the differential treatment resulting in the October 2025 termination of Blue State grants and the non-termination of non-Blue State grants was not based on a rational connection between the recipient’s location and/or place of performance and DOE’s past or current agency priorities.”

Democrats and environmental groups seized on the court filing, saying the administration had “weaponized” the federal government to kill good jobs and punish working families because of their political views.

A ‘corrupt abuse of power’

“This administration has now admitted in court what has long been obvious: it terminated nearly 300 cost-cutting energy projects for no reason other than the fact that the states they were in did not vote for the president in the 2024 election,” Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio and Sen. Patty Murray of Washington state said in a joint statement. Both are high-ranking Democrats on the House and Senate appropriations committees, respectively.

“Weaponizing the federal government like this is outright un-American, and it’s hardworking families already struggling with sky-high costs who are suffering the consequences of this corrupt abuse of power,” Kaptur and Murray said.

They called on congressional Republicans to join them in holding the Trump administration “accountable for the President’s failure to look out for all Americans.”

The Energy Department announced in October that 321 funding awards across 223 projects were terminated, saying that after review, they “did not adequately advance the nation’s energy needs or were not economically viable.”

The cuts, part of broader attacks from President Trump on climate programs and clean energy funding, slashed federal support for projects to build battery plants, develop hydrogen technology, upgrade the electric grid and capture carbon dioxide emissions.

Russell Vought, the White House budget director, highlighted the cutbacks in a social media post, saying that money “to fuel the Left’s climate agenda is being cancelled.”

The Energy Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Projects from many states were cut

Projects that were cut were located in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington. All 16 targeted states supported Harris, but Wright said the cuts were “business decisions” based on whether the projects were a good use of taxpayer money or not.

The cuts were immediately challenged in court, and more than two dozen Democratic members of Congress, led by California Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla and Rep. Zoe Lofgren, wrote a letter to the Energy Department’s acting inspector general requesting a formal investigation. The department’s internal watchdog launched an investigation in December.

Government lawyers had previously confirmed in a court filing late last year that the selection of grants in fact “was influenced by whether a grantee’s address was located in a State that tends to elect … Democratic candidates in state and national elections (so-called ‘Blue States’).”

That filing came in a separate suit filed by clean-energy groups and the city of St. Paul, Minn., over the canceled funding. The most recent admission came in a case called Thakur vs. Trump that’s been ongoing since spring 2025. Federal lawyers acknowledged that they used keywords related to diversity, gender and COVID-19 to screen for projects that ran afoul of the Trump administration’s priorities.

Holly Bender, chief program officer for the Sierra Club, said the latest court filing shows “the Trump administration is brazenly admitting to a vindictive approach to cancelling much-needed energy infrastructure that ignores the job losses, air pollution and increasing bills that people are experiencing everywhere.”

Instead of “building the energy projects we desperately need,” billions of American taxpayer dollars are “going to line the pockets of a small handful of fossil fuel company CEOs,” Bender said, citing nearly $3 billion pledged by the Trump administration to cancel offshore wind projects in favor of fossil fuel projects such as natural gas and coal.

Daly writes for the Associated Press.

United States President Donald Trump agreed to a 30-year nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia on Wednesday that would see Washington transfer nuclear technology to the Gulf kingdom.

This has drawn concerns that if the deal comes to fruition, it could spark a nuclear arms race across the Middle East amid reports that Riyadh would be able to enrich its own uranium, a necessary step in acquiring nuclear weapons.

US officials have stressed the proposed deal would serve civilian nuclear purposes, although exact details of the agreement have not been made public.

It has now been tabled in the US Congress for a review, but is expected to survive resistance from Democrats.

Here’s why some are concerned about the agreement:

Could this spur a nuclear arms race in the region?

Analysts have raised concerns about whether the proposed deal could lead to Saudi Arabia seeking to develop military-grade uranium, which the US Energy Department has not yet confirmed.

Some analysts have warned this could open the door to spurring an arms race with other regional powers.

Saudi Arabia has long voiced its intention to use nuclear energy for power generation, but in 2018, de facto leader Mohammad bin Salman told CBS that Riyadh would “without a doubt” develop a nuclear weapon if Iran did the same.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted on Thursday that the deal would not lead to nuclear proliferation, as US contractors would handle the project, allowing Washington to monitor it. US nuclear reactor designer Westinghouse is believed to be a major contractor.

Former Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Liberman said in a post on X on Wednesday that Israel must oppose the deal with “all our might.”

“We must all understand that Saudi Arabia’s civilian nuclear programme will end in nuclear weapons and lead to a mad arms race across the entire Middle East,” he posted.

Israel, which developed a nuclear arsenal in the 1960s, has long sought to stop Arab countries and other regional countries from gaining their own nuclear weapons.

Is there a risk of nuclear reactors being attacked in strikes?

Some others have also raised concerns over possible nuclear leaks amid the tensions in the Middle East.

Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, for example, has seen some of its outer facilities hit in the US and Israel’s war on Iran. Iran too has hit the perimeter of the United Arab Emirates’ Barakah nuclear power plant in a drone strike.

None of these strikes hit the nuclear plants’ reactors, but analysts say allowing more such facilities in the Middle East when tensions are so high is a mistake.

Damage to a reactor’s core could release highly radioactive gases, causing immediate catastrophic damage within a 20- to 30-kilometre (12- to 18-mile) radius.

Nuclear accidents at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant in 2011 and Chornobyl in Ukraine in the former Soviet Union in 1986 are cautionary stories.

Could Saudi Arabia have access to sensitive material?

That’s unclear for now.

Highly enriched uranium and spent nuclear reactor fuel are key components of nuclear bombs.

According to US media, the agreement includes a clause providing for a “black box” uranium enrichment facility that would be situated in Saudi Arabia but run by US companies.

A joint study by the two countries, set to last two years, will determine whether such a facility is needed, or if Saudi Arabia should import commercial-grade low-enriched uranium.

“That’s really the concern,” Matthew Kroenig, a fellow with the Atlantic Council, told Al Jazeera, saying there’s been no such arrangement anywhere else in the world.

“What does the US really mean by a ‘black box’? So will the US bring its engineers there full time, forever? Realistically, the Saudis will be involved, they will learn the tech, and they could kick out the US in the future,” Kroenig said.

Washington could be seeking to model Moscow’s agreement with Turkiye and Egypt, where Russian contractors manage active nuclear power plants, including the needed uranium and the highly radioactive spent fuel from the reactors.

The difference, Kroenig pointed out, is that Russia does not enrich the uranium in those cases.

On the other hand, the UAE, which runs a civilian nuclear programme that has been held up as a gold standard for non-proliferation, imports all of its low-enriched uranium from France, the United Kingdom and Russia among other countries.

Kroenig suggested that the US could be using the two-year study as a negotiating tactic, noting that the same claims of impact studies have been used to stall South Korea’s requests to enrich its own uranium.

“The deal doesn’t immediately speak about uranium enrichment, so my hope is that this is a negotiating tactic and that after two years the US will say ‘oh no, this doesn’t make sense right now’”, he said.

July 23 (UPI) — The Houthis in Yemen claimed responsibility for two attacks on Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea with missiles and drones.

The Iran-backed Houthis, who have been fighting for control of Yemen, claimed on Wednesday that they had hit the Encelia and the Layla oil tankers, which they said were violating their blockade of Saudi ships. They had announced the blockade on Monday.

Saudi Arabia’s transportation authority confirmed the attack on the Encelia in a statement. It said there was a fire on board but the crew were all safe. It didn’t mention the Layla.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group promised to continue naval operations and would continue “enforcing the ‘siege for a siege’ equation,” the BBC reported.

The Houthis claimed they had also forced “10 ships to retreat and return.” That claim could not be independently verified, The Times said, but at least six vessels reversed course in the Red Sea on Monday and Tuesday after the Houthis warned shipping companies to avoid Saudi ports, according to Kpler, a maritime data company. It was not clear if those ships were part of the Houthis’ claims.

The Saudis and the Houthis have been in an effective cease-fire since 2022. But last week, tensions flared when the Houthis accused the Saudis of striking the airport in Yemen’s capital Sanaa. The spat came from a dispute when an Iranian plane had tried to land at the airport.

The Houthis then attacked the Abha airport in Saudi Arabia.

When the Houthis announced the “maritime embargo,” they didn’t give many details. But a media official said they would close the Bab al-Mandab Strait. That strait is on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula from the Strait of Hormuz. It’s the gateway between the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea, and blockades of both straits would cut off Saudi Arabia ships entirely.

The United States and Iran continued to trade attacks for the 12th consecutive night after the cease-fire between the two countries ended.

Days after declaring the Bab al-Mandeb (BAM) Strait closed to Saudi vessels, the Houthis of Yemen claim to have struck two ships in the Red Sea. The United Kingdom’s Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) group has confirmed an attack on at least one vessel in that area.

“The Yemeni armed forces have carried out a significant military operation targeting two Saudi oil tankers that violated the ban imposed by the armed forces in the Red Sea,” the Houthis claimed on Telegram. “The operation involved a number of ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones. Thanks to God’s help, the strikes were accurate and caused a large fire on both vessels.”

TWZ cannot independently verify the Houthi claim. However, in a post on X, UKMTO stated that a master of an oil tanker “reports being struck by an unknown projectile which has caused a fire onboard that the crew are currently fighting.”

The incident took place 70NM southwest of Al Shuqaiq, Saudi Arabia, the organization added. “There are no reported casualties and no environmental impact. Authorities are investigating. Vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO.”

Southeast Asian countries are highly affected by oil supply shortages caused by the Iran war and the Strait of Hormuz closure.

Southeast Asian nations are “deeply concerned” about the impact of blockades of key maritime trade routes in the Middle East, their top diplomats have said.

Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and their key ⁠partners met in the Philippines on Tuesday against a backdrop of instability due to the global impact on trade and energy supplies caused by the US-Israel war on Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, as well as territorial disputes with Beijing in the South China Sea.

Southeast Asian countries have a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of $3.8 trillion but are highly exposed to supply limitations caused by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, as they are heavily dependent on Gulf countries for their oil imports.

At the ongoing ASEAN summit in Manila, heads of state and top diplomats from the region are seeking to agree on an oil-sharing mechanism to mitigate the impact of the war on Iran.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis announced a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia on Monday, opening a potential new front in the war and risking aggravating the threat to global energy supplies and trade beyond the Gulf.

“We are deeply concerned that these ‌developments severely undermine the ongoing efforts of key mediators and diminish the prospects for a peaceful resolution through dialogue and diplomacy,” ASEAN ministers said in a statement.

Top diplomats from the United States, Russia and China are also attending the ASEAN summit, another reminder of how the war on Iran is reshaping international diplomacy and the global energy supply.

Reporting from Manila, Al Jazeera’s Barnaby Lo said the war has driven up oil and gas prices in Southeast Asia while also stalling manufacturing and exports, causing countries from the region to find new trade partners.

“Southeast Asia is thousands of kilometres away from the Middle East, but it has been one of the most impacted regions by the conflict because of how dependent many of its member nations are on oil from the Middle East,” Lo said.

“Take, for example, the Philippines: it’s the first country in the world to declare a state of national energy emergency, and it still is in this state, so it is fighting problems on two fronts. One on supply, the other on skyrocketing fuel prices,” Lo said. “On supply, it’s gotten oil from non-traditional partners, such as Russia and China, but on skyrocketing prices it has very little it can do because the prices here are driven by market forces.”

Other key issues to be discussed at the ASEAN summit include the civil war in Myanmar, as the bloc’s peace initiatives falter, five years after a military coup plunged the country into a conflict that has killed an estimated 100,000 people.

“Ahead of the summit, ASEAN foreign ministers held an in-person meeting – the first since 2021 – with the foreign minister of the military-backed government in Myanmar in Bangkok,” Lo reported. “This was criticised for legitimising the military junta in Myanmar.”

Top diplomats are also likely to discuss ⁠tensions in the South China Sea, with ASEAN countries and China still trying to conclude a code of conduct to ⁠prevent disputes after nearly 10 years. In advance of the summit, China and the Philippines were engaged in a feud after a confrontation between their vessels in disputed waters left a Filipino sailor injured.

The US Department of State condemned what it described as China’s “dangerous and aggressive” actions, and its “troubling pattern of provocation against lawful Philippine maritime operations”.