Oil prices climbed and world stocks were mixed on Wednesday, with Asian shares mostly higher even as Wall Street slipped further from last week’s record highs, as investors awaited a crucial US inflation reading and watched for any breakthrough in the stalled Iran war talks.
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The price of a barrel of Brent crude, the international benchmark, was up 0.9% at $89.67 early on Wednesday. US benchmark crude picked up 0.9% to $83.98.
Gold edged up 0.8% to $4,400.44 an ounce, while silver gained 1% to $65.30 an ounce.
Iran has rejected a comment by US President Donald Trump suggesting that, since Tehran is seeking compensation as part of any talks to end the war, Washington would demand the same.
The United States and Israel attacked Iran in late February, a strike that led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and kept much of the world’s oil pent up in the Middle East. Last month alone, Brent’s price swung between $72 and $102 a barrel.
Meanwhile, an attack by Iran-backed Houthi rebels on a vessel in the Bab el-Mandeb strait, off Yemen’s southern tip, has raised concerns that the violence could reignite civil war and further threaten regional shipping routes.
Higher oil prices worsen inflation, and they have pushed the average cost of a gallon of regular petrol in the US to $4.01, according to AAA — up from less than $3.14 a year ago.
That has Wall Street’s attention fixed on Wednesday, when the US government releases its latest monthly inflation reading. Economists expect it to show inflation slipped to 3.4% in July from 3.5% in June.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 fell 0.3% for a second modest drop since setting its all-time high on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 184 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite sank 0.6%.
Cooler inflation could ease pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates to tamp down price increases.
Higher rates could curb inflation, but they would also drag on the wider US economy by making it more expensive for households and businesses to borrow, while undercutting prices for stocks and other investments.
Treasury yields have jumped since the war with Iran began, driven by higher oil prices and inflation worries, sending long-term US mortgage rates to their highest levels in a year.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.6% to 67,334.94.
In South Korea, the Kospi jumped more than 4% to 6,597.90 on renewed buying of computer chipmakers. Samsung Electronics gained 7.7% and memory chipmaker SK Hynix rose 7.1%.
Taiwan’s Taiex advanced 0.8%.
The Shanghai Composite index added 0.3% to 3,946.51, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 1.2% to 25,352.13.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.6% to 9,197.00.
In other early Wednesday dealings, the dollar rose to 159.41 yen from 159.30 yen. The euro slipped to $1.1535 from $1.1544.
Aug. 11 (UPI) — The price of oil reached $90 per barrel Tuesday as Iran and President Donald Trump traded jabs about war reparations, decreasing hopes for a new peace deal.
West Texas Intermediate futures rose 19 cents to $82.32 per barrel around 8 a.m. EDT. Brent crude was up to $87.74.
Prices had dipped when Pakistan’s Defense Minister said the two warring countries were “close to some sort of arrangement.”
But on Monday, President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social demanding that Iran pay reparations, dimming hopes for peace. That caused a 3% spike.
The contradictory statements between Washington and Tehran also added to the fears Monday, as Trump said the United States has “100%” control of the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that the two sides were engaging, but not in person.
“The oil market remains very headline-driven, which leaves prices whipsawing. The latest bout of optimism is quickly fading,” ING strategists wrote in a Tuesday note, CNBC reported. “Current rhetoric suggests any potential deal is still some way off, meaning risks remain skewed to the upside for oil prices.”
Analysts at Deutsche Bank wrote in a research note that fears of higher inflation are coming from worries of a long standoff, The New York Times reported.
“That in turn led to mounting speculation about central bank rate hikes, with investors pricing in a more hawkish path for the months ahead,” the bank wrote.
The average gasoline price stayed at $4.11 a gallon Tuesday, a 38% increase since the start of the war with Iran.
President Donald Trump hosts Olympic and Paralympic medal-winning athletes during a reception for Team USA in the East Room of the White House on Thursday. The reception honored the team’s medal achievements during this year’s Winter Games, where American athletes earned 57 total medals, including 25 gold. Photo by Aaron Schwartz/UPI | License Photo
Crude and US Treasury yields rose together as traders judged that the exchange of compensation demands between the US and Iran has pushed any potential deal further out of reach.
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The US president said on Monday he had told his negotiators to seek payment from Iran for Americans killed and wounded in attacks he attributes to Tehran going back decades, including the bombing of the USS Cole in the year 2000 and for Iranians killed in protest crackdowns.
In a follow-up post on Truth Social he expanded on the demand, saying Iran should also pay for “the damages and death caused to the people of Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Gaza”.
Tehran, whose representatives had sought compensation for five months of US and Israeli bombardment, says the Strait of Hormuz will stay shut until Washington lifts its naval blockade, ends sanctions and releases frozen Iranian assets.
The front month contract on Brent traded at around $89.8 a barrel on Tuesday and West Texas Intermediate at about $84.2, both up roughly 2.5%.
The US bond market read it the same way, with yields rising across the US curve in a modest global sell-off, the two-year over 4.25%, the ten-year above 4.7% and the thirty-year higher than 5.27%. The yields for all durations are trading at the highs of this year.
Since yields move inversely to prices, the rise means investors are selling government debt as they expect that costlier oil will feed into inflation and strengthen the case for higher interest rates.
Money markets now put roughly even odds on a Federal Reserve rate hike in September, with July inflation data due on Wednesday.
Control claimed, traffic missing
The current stalling of US-Iran negotiations is deliberate as US President Donald Trump appears to have been favouring a slower approach as of late.
The US president told Axios in an interview published on Sunday that the US is “low-keying it,” meaning Washington was only semi-negotiating and content to watch Iran’s inflation and empty coffers do the work, a signal he is prepared to let economic pressure mount rather than order a fresh military campaign.
In the Oval Office on Monday, he struck a triumphant note, claiming the US controls “100%” of the Strait of Hormuz, that only the US Navy holds sway in the region, that American forces have swept it clear of Iranian mines and that the blockade of Iranian ports is impenetrable.
However, shipping data tells another story.
Confirmed crossings have run at 6 to 11 vessels a day recently, against the 130 to 140 daily before the war, according to Kpler data, leaving traffic at a fraction of normal levels throughout the five-month conflict.
Oil prices rose in early trading on Monday as market participants weighed mixed signals from the US and Iran, with concerns that a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could take longer to materialise.
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Futures for international benchmark Brent crude for October delivery gained 1.04% to $84.42 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate futures for September advanced 0.83% to $78.83 a barrel.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards insisted on Sunday that they would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the US complied with a list of demands.
Tehran insists on retaining control of the waterway – through which a fifth of world oil and LNG pass – after the war and wants to charge tolls for passage, which Washington has pushed back against.
Attacks in the strait, which was free to transit before the war, led to the collapse of an April ceasefire, and mediators have urged both sides to return to the terms of a subsequent June memorandum that set out a path for peace talks.
Iran on Saturday released a list of conditions for reopening the strait, including an end to the war on all fronts, the lifting of a US counterblockade of Iranian ports, the end of sanctions, the release of frozen assets and compensation for wartime damage, the Tasnim news agency reported.
Those conditions echoed the terms of the June agreement, which included a provision to create a $300 billion reconstruction fund for Iran.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Sunday that their strategy was to maintain their blockade “until the enemy accepts all our conditions… the strait is now actually a theatre of war for us and not just a waterway”.
For his part, US President Donald Trump said in an interview: “We are low-keying it.”
“We are only semi-negotiating with them,” he was quoted as saying. “We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money.”
“It will work out,” he added. “It’s like a chess game.”
Palestinians near Bethlehem describe daily settler attacks as violence rises across the West Bank. Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh reports that with elections looming, Israel’s right-wing government has an incentive to keep settlers happy, with their votes crucial to its re-election.
US curbs on foreign-made robots intensify its wider rivalry with China over AI, chips and industry.
Humanoid robots are no longer a laboratory experiment; they are a growing market. Morgan Stanley estimates it could hit $5 trillion by 2050, with more than a billion humanoids in use worldwide.
However, much of the global robot supply chain runs through China. It produces robot components at a scale and a price its competitors struggle to match.
The United States has banned imports of foreign-made humanoid robots, citing national security. It has also blocked power inverters used in data centres and solar energy systems. The move is seen as part of a broader effort to protect US industry and limit China’s technological rise.
Heathrow Airport will be allowed to charge airlines more for its services to recover money spent on the early stages of its third runway project.
The aviation regulator is permitting the airport to claw back up to £320m through higher airport charges to airlines for each passenger, which is likely to end up being added to ticket prices.
A bidder which unsuccessfully put forward a rival design involving a shorter runway, Arora Group’s Heathrow West, will also be allowed to recover £4.1m pounds in costs.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and Heathrow said safeguards would be put in place to protect consumers from unjustified costs.
At this stage, the costs being recovered are only for the early planning and design of the runway during 2025 and 2026.
Tim Johnson, the CAA’s director of consumers and markets, told the BBC: “We’ve announced that the first tranche of costs, which is to help with the planning of this, can be recovered from passengers. That’s up to a maximum of £320m.”
Heathrow airport will also be able to collect Heathrow West’s costs up to November last year by adding to its airport charges.
The CAA said allowing these costs to be recouped will result in the maximum airport charge per passenger increasing by around 15 pence in 2028, rising to an estimated 30 pence in the following years.
In November, the government announced it preferred the £33bn scheme put forward by the airport over Arora’s alternative plan.
At the time, the Department for Transport said Heathrow’s own proposal offered the most deliverable option, and the “greatest likelihood” of getting a decision on planning approval within this parliament.
The CAA’s director of consumers and markets, Tim Johnson, said today’s decision “strikes a balance between supporting the delivery of benefits to consumers through timely progress on Heathrow expansion, whilst also protecting them from undue increases in costs”.
The regulator said “safeguards” designed to monitor cost efficiency would include transparency and cost reporting requirements, and assurance by independent experts.
Airlines often complain that Heathrow is the world’s most most expensive hub airport, and have repeatedly voiced concern that the airport’s expansion plans will make it pricier.
The government hopes for a planning decision by 2029.
Plans for a third runway stretch back decades, with the government backing the plans in 2003.
However, the idea has also long faced opposition from climate campaigners, many local residents, and several politicians.
They worry an additional runway will increase air pollution, noise pollution, and breach the government’s legally binding climate commitments.
After an eventful couple of months, Yan Diomande, one of football’s top young prospects, is about to get his wish of joining a European powerhouse.
The 19-year-old is signing with Real Madrid in what can only be described as a record-setting transfer.
The Spanish giants will pay more than £100m for Diomande – making him a new record sale for RB Leipzig and he is expected to also become a new record signing for Real Madrid.
Simultaneously, Diomande becomes the most expensive African player in history.
His rise to stardom has also occurred seemingly in record time as less than 18 months ago he was almost completely unknown.
Only scouts and insiders were aware of a skinny winger who had previously played for Florida-based DME Academy, more renowned for its basketball programme.
Diomande had trials with Chelsea, Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, Rangers and Olympiacos but remained unsigned until he was picked up by La Liga side Leganes.
Within only a few months and 10 games in the Spanish top flight he increased his market value considerably, eventually signing with Leipzig for 20m euros.
The Red Bull-funded club believed they had acquired a diamond. And they were right. Almost from the get-go, Diomande looked like one of the most exciting players in the Bundesliga, scoring 13 goals and providing 10 assists across competitions in his first full season in Europe.
Initially, Leipzig intended to keep him for another year, hoping his market value would increase even further, but the demand was simply too high.
Liverpool, Paris St-Germain and finally Real Madrid showed so much interest in the winger, who also played for his home country of Ivory Coast at the World Cup, that the Bundesliga side had to give way and agree to a deal.
A lot can be said about the steadily increasing prices on an overheated transfer market where even prospects can demand fees in the nine digits, but Diomande is special. A hyper athletic and very creative winger, it is not far-fetched to consider him among the best dribblers in Europe already.
Obviously, there is still a degree of rawness to his game, but he made a leap forward in the past 12 months and there’s no reason he couldn’t develop further at the tender age of 19.
His passing skills are also somewhat underrated because he is the embodiment of a dribble-first winger. Diomande connected very well with right-back Ridle Baku at Leipzig and may look even stronger with the support of the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Marc Cucurella.
Diomande is able to play on both wings. A right-footer, he was mostly employed on the left side by Leganes but found a home on the right at Leipzig. At the World Cup, he played in both positions for Ivory Coast.
Deir el-Balah, Gaza – For years, Nuha Abu Lebda dreamed of becoming a mother. But Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has turned that dream into loss, time and time again.
As she was forcibly displaced several times across the Gaza Strip since the war began in October 2023, Abu Lebda lost three pregnancies. She says the losses came after months of air strikes, hunger, fear and living without proper medical care.
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“I miscarried because of the air strikes, the displacement, the difficult conditions, the lack of clean water and malnutrition,” she tells Al Jazeera.
After each miscarriage, she hoped she could still become a mother.
“When I lost my baby, I was exhausted. I woke up hoping my baby was still inside me. But the dream I carried for 10 years was gone.”
Abu Lebda sold her gold and almost everything she owned to pay for injections of heparin, a drug prescribed to some women to prevent blood clotting during pregnancy. She hoped the treatment would help her bring her pregnancies to term, but she lost the babies despite it.
“I cried so much because I lost the baby I dreamed of every single day,” she laments.
Even after the fighting slowed, her dream remained the same. “I dream of bringing a baby into this world. I want to be a mother and have children. Every time I see my husband playing with children, I start crying.”
Medical officials in Gaza say they are treating a surge in miscarriages, which they link directly to Israel’s genocidal war and blockade. The trend has worsened as Gaza’s health system has collapsed under bombardments and Israeli ground operations with malnutrition and psychological strain cited as key drivers.
Dr Yasser Saadeddine, the maternity director at al-Awda Hospital in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, told Al Jazeera roughly 70 percent of pregnancy losses his team treats are linked to the war and blockade.
A displaced Palestinian mother has a meal with her children inside a tent in Deir el-Balah. The war has led to malnutrition and psychological strain, which has taken a particular toll on pregnant women [File: Ramadan Abed/Reuters]
‘I lost my daughter during childbirth’
Abu Lebda is one of many women in Gaza who say they have lost pregnancies during the war. They describe miscarriages, premature births and losing newborns while trying to survive bombardments, displacement, hunger and the collapsing healthcare system.
Mai Zaqout tells Al Jazeera she lost her daughter because she could not access the medical care she needed.
“I lost my daughter during childbirth. She had already died inside my womb for a month, but I could not deliver her because the medical resources and support I needed were not available,” she says.
Her loss came shortly after another tragedy. “All of this happened within a very short time after my husband was killed.”
For Sara al-Awad, she had a scare when she was eight months pregnant. She says powerful explosions in Tal al-Hawa, a neighbourhood in Gaza City, caused extreme fear and stress, leading to severe bleeding.
“Because of the fear, anxiety and the power of the explosions, I started bleeding. My placenta had separated.”
Al-Awad says no ambulance could reach her, and she waited for hours before her brother took her to al-Quds Hospital in a wheelchair. “The doctors decided I needed an emergency C-section immediately.”
Her baby, Muhammad, was born weighing only 1.1kg (2.4lb) and was placed in an incubator. But as fighting continued around the hospital, Sara and her family were separated from him.
“My brother had to leave for the south while Muhammad stayed alone in the incubator. We could only check on him through messages from the medical staff,” she says.
After more than a month, al-Awad was finally reunited with her baby. “Thank God, the ceasefire came. … Muhammad left the incubator after 37 days.”
‘I witnessed horrific situations’
Across Gaza, other women have similar stories.
For Iman Badah, the loss was of the child she had waited years for.
“I am a mother who lost my only son. I waited six years to have him. I gave birth prematurely while I was being displaced,” she tells Al Jazeera.
Nuha Salameh was carrying twins during the war. “Fear and trauma caused me to lose them.”
She says doctors told her that, before the war, her babies may have survived.
“The doctor told me that if the situation had been normal, we would have placed them in the incubator, and they would have lived.”
Nidaa Seyam says she experienced her second miscarriage during the war. “I lost a baby girl, and this is the second time I have miscarried.”
She says doctors told her the war conditions affected her pregnancy. “They told me it was because of the psychological stress we are living through and malnutrition.”
She also describes surviving intense bombardment.
“I witnessed horrific situations where I was trapped under air strikes. I inhaled a lot of toxic fumes.”
A medical staff member works in the dark at al-Awda Hospital during Israel’s war when the facility had to suspend medical services due to running out of fuel needed to operate its electric generators in December 2025 [File: Moiz Salhi/Anadolu Agency]
‘War, blockade, malnutrition, displacement’
Palestinian doctors say these stories are becoming more common.
They report more miscarriages and pregnancy complications linked to hunger, stress, displacement and the lack of medical care.
At al-Awda Hospital, doctors say they have seen a major increase in pregnancy losses.
“During the war, there was a significant increase in miscarriage cases we received,” Saadeddine says.
He says the causes include “the war and the blockade, including malnutrition, poor hygiene, environmental contamination and continuous displacement”.
Doctors say miscarriages are only one part of the crisis. They are also seeing more babies dying in the womb, more premature deliveries and more dangerous pregnancy complications.
Many women lost their homes, medical records and access to regular check-ups during repeated displacements. Hospitals are also struggling with shortages of medicines, equipment and medical staff.
For many mothers, the war has left wounds that continue to hurt even after most of the fighting has stopped. For women in Gaza, the war has not ended with October’s “ceasefire”. It continues with every pregnancy lost, and every dream of motherhood left unfulfilled.
The European Commission said on Friday it would engage with the US to de-escalate tensions after the EU executive fined Google on Thursday over its dominance in the EU’s digital market, sparking an angry reaction from Washington.
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US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the EU’s fine jeopardised dialogue between the two sides of the Atlantic on digital regulation, as well as the trade deal that the US and EU struck last year after tough negotiations.
The Trump administration has persistently railed against the EU’s digital rules, accusing Brussels of imposing non-tariff barriers on US companies and disproportionately targeting American Big Tech.
However, the Commission’s chief spokesperson, Paula Pinho, said on Friday that the US had left the door open for talks.
“There’s a call for dialogue which we fully embrace,” she said, adding that Brussels would engage while making sure to preserve the EU’s regulatory “autonomy”.
‘The EU undermines dialogue’
Earlier this week, 25 US lawmakers wrote to US President Donald Trump calling for a US investigation into EU trade practices in advance of the anticipated fine against Google.
The fine was duly announced on Thursday, penalising the tech giant to the tune of €890 million under the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which Washington has relentlessly criticised over the past year, along with the Digital Services Act – an EU regulation targeting illegal content on large online platforms.
“We are trying to resolve our concerns with the EU’s Digital Markets Act and other actions through responsible, constructive dialogue,” Greer said in a statement after the fine was announced. “The EU’s recent actions undermine these efforts and pose a real risk to the continuation of transatlantic stability with respect to trade,” he added.
German Socialist MEP Bernd Lange, the European Parliament’s trade chief, told Euronews that he feared further escalation in transatlantic relations and expected additional action from the US.
The EU lawmaker was at the forefront of the negotiations to implement the EU-US agreement struck in July 2025 by Trump and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen after weeks of trade disputes. Yet despite the deal, EU officials still consider transatlantic relations volatile.
On Thursday, the White House announced a new tariff regime targeting its trading partners, including the EU, over forced labour allegations. While insisting it has stringent rules to combat products made with forced labour, Brussels chose not to retaliate, arguing that the new tariffs respected the 15 percent cap on EU goods set out in the trade deal.
The price of resale housing in Spain ended the second quarter of 2026 with a year-on-year increase of 17.2%, according to the Fotocasa Real Estate Index.
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Between April and June, prices also rose by 4%, bringing the average to €3,133 per square metre in June. Spain’s resale home prices have hit new record highs in four of the first six months of the year and are now at their highest level in the past 21 years.
Fotocasa’s head of research and spokesperson, María Matos, attributes this trend to a sharp imbalance between strong demand and limited supply. She explains that the shortage of available properties, financing conditions and demographic pressure in the main markets are driving prices up and making it more difficult to access housing.
According to Matos, “the result is ever faster price growth that makes it harder to access housing and widens the affordability gap for a large proportion of households.”
Fotocasa’s data is in line with the trend shown by statistics from the National Statistics Institute (INE), although the two use different methodologies.
While the property portal analyses the asking prices of advertised listings, the INE measures the prices of homes that are ultimately sold. According to the institute, the overall price of housing rose by 12.9% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, while second-hand homes became 13.5% more expensive.
Murcia leads the increases
Prices rose during the second quarter in 16 autonomous communities.
The Region of Murcia recorded the largest rise, at 8.6%, followed by Cantabria (6.3%), the Valencian Community (5.9%), Castile and León (5.6%) and La Rioja (5.1%). The Canary Islands was the only region where prices fell, with a drop of 0.7%.
On an annual basis, Murcia once again came out on top with an increase of 28%, ahead of Cantabria (20%), the Valencian Community (19.8%), Asturias (17%) and Andalusia (16.9%).
The report also highlights that “June 2026 ended with 14 autonomous communities posting double-digit year-on-year increases, compared with 11 in 2025, six in 2024 and seven in 2023”.
The Balearic Islands and Madrid remain the most expensive regions to buy a resale home, at €5,441 and €5,410 per square metre respectively.
They are followed by the Basque Country (€3,925), Catalonia (€3,418) and the Canary Islands (€3,374). At the opposite end of the scale are Extremadura (€1,352), Castile-La Mancha (€1,407) and Castile and León (€1,816).
Provinces, provincial capitals and major cities
Forty-six provinces recorded quarterly increases, with León (10.7%), Palencia (10.2%) and Murcia (8.6%) seeing the sharpest rises, while Cuenca, Huelva, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Ávila were the only ones where prices fell.
The Balearic Islands remains the most expensive province to buy a resale home, at €5,441 per square metre, followed by Madrid (€5,410), Guipúzcoa (€4,695) and Málaga (€4,690). Jaén continues to be the most affordable, at €1,112 per square metre.
Among provincial capitals, León recorded the largest quarterly increase, while Donostia-San Sebastián maintains the highest average price in Spain, at €7,158 per square metre, ahead of Madrid (€6,630), Barcelona (€5,368), Palma (€5,275), Málaga (€4,320) and Bilbao (€4,157).
At municipal level, Santa Eulària des Riu in Ibiza tops the national ranking with €8,491 per square metre, followed by Sant Antoni de Portmany (€8,284) and Eivissa (€7,441). In Madrid, the Salamanca district reaches €10,786 per square metre, while Sarrià-Sant Gervasi leads the way in Barcelona at €7,540 per square metre.
Oil prices jumped in early trading as the US announced further attacks for a ninth consecutive night. Iran has responded to the strikes by targeting US allies across the Middle East.
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Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 3.2% to $90.95 per barrel, while US benchmark crude climbed 2.8% to $84.04 per barrel.
“The US and Iran continue to exchange strikes, which are proving to be deadly for both sides,” ING commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote in a commentary on Monday.
“If this escalation goes unchecked, we could return to an environment of widespread attacks across the Persian Gulf,” they added.
Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for global oil transport, has nearly ground to a halt, adding to pressure on supplies, they noted.
Elsewhere, AI-related shares including chipmaking stocks declined on Friday, pulling world markets lower. Pledges of huge spending on AI are fuelling worries the sector may be in a bubble, and many investors have opted to sell to lock in profits from recent big gains.
“The return to war in the Strait of Hormuz may start to weigh more heavily on financial markets before too long, especially if even strong tech earnings reports continue to be met with scepticism,” Jonas Goltermann, chief markets economist at Capital Economics wrote in a note Monday.
Markets were also shaken by the rollout of another powerful Chinese AI model, this time by Beijing-based Moonshot AI.
The impact of the new Kimi K3 open-source AI model was similar to when China’s “ DeepSeek moment” rattled world markets in early 2025. It was viewed as another sign of how lower-cost, capable Chinese AI models are increasingly challenging rivals like Anthropic’s Claude and OpenAI’s GPT.
The Asia Pacific’s geopolitical balance is under change. While the U.S. remains the main architect of the plan, it is Australia that is becoming the executor of the strategy in the Oceania region. Through the signing of multiple defense agreements with the small island states, Canberra is transforming itself from a middle power to a regional security player in the South Pacific region.
Australia, being the most trusted ally of the United States and a member of the two most important defense cooperations, i.e., AUKUS and QUAD, makes it suitable to provide security to its neighbors. By signing the bilateral agreements in the defense domain, Australia, particularly, and the United States, generally, want to counter China’s rising military presence in the Pacific region. The defense deals signed with Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, and Fiji collectively demonstrate that work on a broader security plan is under process. Instead of deploying American military bases directly in these states, Washington is relying on Canberra to expand its security footprint in the South Pacific region.
The recent signing of the Australia-Fiji agreement named “Ocean of Peace Alliance” on July 6, 2026, is the latest in the series. This agreement marks Fiji’s first mutual defense treaty and Australia’s fourth, following treaties with the United States, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea. Secondly, the announcement of the Pukpuk Treaty entering into force between Australia and Papua New Guinea by PM Anthony Albanese and PM Honourable James Marape MP on July 8, 2026, also showcases a mutual defense commitment. Thirdly, the signing of the Nakamal Agreement between Australia and Vanuatu in June 2026 prevented China from creating military bases in the country.
In addition to this, the new PM of the Solomon Islands, Matthew Wale, has also shown interest in reducing the country’s dependence on China. He stated that the Solomon Islands-China pact, signed in 2022, needs to be revised, which would allow China to deploy its military and police personnel. By signaling on revising the agreement, it clearly demarcates that the Solomon Islands do not want to allow their land to be used for Chinese military bases. This statement proved a silver lining for Australia’s hegemonic designs in the region, as it was fearful that the Solomon Islands would be a foothold for China in the Pacific.
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The momentum and process of acquiring a broader Pacific security strategy are extending, as New Zealand PM Christopher Luxon has also shown interest in joining the recently signed Ocean of Peace Alliance. This also marks Australia’s victory in that these Pacific states are gradually turning away from China and moving towards Western allies. This also shows defense cooperation, military exercises, information sharing, and maritime cooperation. In such a case, when there is an attack on any ally in these domains, then others will come to aid and rescue.
Also, the opening of the US Embassy in the Solomon Islands back in 2023 and the agreement between another QUAD member, i.e., Japan, and the Solomon Islands also strengthen Australia’s position in the Pacific region.
Now, the bigger question here is why this change in geopolitical balance is happening and why the regional players are taking the lead despite having the hegemon, i.e., the United States. Rising interference of China by expanding its naval capabilities has drawn concerns of the states in the Oceania region. The recent firing of a long-range ballistic missile in the South Pacific region on the same day that Australia and Fiji signed the treaty sends a clear message that China will not remain quiet on these expanding relations. Although Chinese state media have stated that this firing was just a mere test using dummy warheads. But the concerns of the government officials of the Pacific countries and their rising apprehensions have clearly shown that concerns for Australia and its allies are increasing against China. This fear has enabled them to move towards a securitization strategy and maximize their security capabilities.
Along with benefits, there are various risks for Australia and partnering nations as well by entering into these defense deals. The original plan of keeping the Indo-Pacific free and open for trade for all is gradually turning into a hub of militarization. Therefore, strategic competition between China and Australia will increase more than ever before, compelling Canberra to engage in more economic and defense treaties in the broader Indo-Pacific region to maintain its central position. Additionally, small island states are also in turmoil as they are caught between China and the Western bloc.
Thus, it is clear that the US is expanding its network in the South Pacific region by making Australia a regional security player. This also sends a signal to China that its growing capabilities and tactics will not go unanswered. Moreover, Pacific Island countries are also diversifying their options by signing defense agreements and are not predominantly relying on China. These agreements also reduce the possibility of Beijing having a military presence in the Oceania region. Therefore, whether Australia’s expanding defense network succeeds or not depends on mutual trust. By not compromising the sovereignty of these states, Canberra can only become the regional security provider on its own terms.
This double act of “Lancashire” locations is my final celebration of Britain’s bypassed towns. My native county has dominated my life of late, and one key question asked in these columns has been: can you holiday right at home?
The French author Xavier de Maistre believed you could fit a journey inside a single room. And in Instructions on How to Climb a Staircase the Argentine-French writer Julio Cortázar turned a walk upstairs into a quest. An entire county offers enough adventures to fill a life.
Touring seldom-trod places, I’ve witnessed a lot of regeneration and redevelopment, demolition and disappearance. Preston, my closest city, has a £45m leisure complex, a revamped museum and a new bridge over the River Ribble, with lots more planned. St Helens, my childhood town – proudly in historic Lancashire, but administered as Merseyside, and now part of the Liverpool city region – looks and feels like a drawing board at the moment. But both are changing for the better, if you look beyond the frayed fabric of their townscapes.
Preston
St Walburge’s church, Preston. Photograph: Paul Melling/Alamy
At first, I was struck by the city’s low-slung eastern edges, as if land had been cleared. It was simply that areas have been Americanised – all squat, boxed retail, yawning carparks, and ring roads. It left me feeling flat. But Preston began to grow on me the minute I stood beneath the extraordinary hypodermic spire of St Walburge’s church – the tallest parish church in the UK, designed by Joseph Hansom (of cab fame), and a testament to the strong Roman Catholic presence in “Priest’s Town”. Looking up signifies hope; doing it is primitive cognitive therapy.
Then I discovered the imposing Harris museum and gallery, which reopened after a £19m refurbishment last September. It’s become the place to go for art, local history, textiles, fashion, ceramics, coffee, library books – the ultimate rainy-day or, indeed, heatwave refuge. It’s a regional treasure (and perhaps the Ashmolean and British Museum might like to return the complete Cuerdale hoard, the largest Viking hoard found in England, unearthed beside the River Ribble).
I used the Harris a lot while doing jury service at the crown court and turned my walks to town from the park-and-ride into sightseeing tours. Highlights include the brutalist bus station and Guild Hall, built for an unrealised new town; the monument to the 1842 martyrs gunned down by infantry and coppers during the General Strike; the Victorian market hall and court and Miller Arcade; Winckley Square with its park and Georgian terraces; St Wilfrid’s, St John’s Minster, the Saint Alphonsa Syro-Malabar Cathedral.
Preston’s brutalist bus station. Photograph: Radharc Images/Alamy
Made a city in 2002, Preston has long been a place of power and influence. It’s where the cotton-town trail through east Lancashire begins, geographically and chronologically. Richard Arkwright, father of the factory system and co-creator of the water-powered spinning frame, was born here in 1732. Centenary Mill was built for the empire-spanning textile firm Horrockses, Crewdson & Co – its magnificent chimney was mammon’s shameless challenge to the churches; an annexe off the yard contains a magical emporium of antiques, and fixtures and fittings culled from mouldering mansions.
Industry, one way or another, led to many of Preston’s other inventions. Temperance and teetotalism, spearheaded by the nearby Walton-le-Dale’s Joseph Livesey, son of a clothier, were partly reactions to urban “immorality”. Professional football was what professional workers wanted on Saturdays. Preston North End was a founder member of the English Football League. Deepdale, on the same site since 1875, is one of England’s oldest grounds. Dick, Kerr Ladies, founded in 1917, was one of the first women’s teams.
In fine fettle … the interior of the Black Horse pub. Photograph: Kevin Walsh/Alamy
I respect the temperance movement, but love the Black Horse – to me, Preston’s most beautiful old pub, with etched windows, fixed snug-like seating, gorgeous tiling and a rare ceramic bar. Trad spaces have been complemented by new food venues, with the cool Korean restaurant Kimji, authentic Spanish dishes at Pintxos and modern British at Aven.
When they hacked up counties in the 1974 local government overhaul, they accidentally made Preston a future “capital” of sorts. It’s beginning to live up to the billing.
Reflection Court on Canal Street, St Helens. Photograph: Radharc Images/Alamy
Till now, I had never been inside St Helens Minster, though I was born nearby. In my defence, it was just the parish church till May of this year, when the name was changed to reflect its role as mother-church of the whole community.
The town began here, with four ancient rural manors ranged around a chapel of ease where wayfarers could rest and pray. Windle, Parr, Sutton, Eccleston; old names that contain even prettier-sounding villages: Clinkham Wood, Thatto Heath, Nutgrove. St Helens was once fields. Then it was shops, pits and workplaces. Now it’s something else.
Two big things are unfolding to that end. One looks small on a map but is mightily symbolic. Conservation work is progressing at No 7 Cannington Shaw Bottle Shop. Built in 1886, there were originally nine such shops – factories – making up the largest glass bottle production site in the world. This lovely redbrick circular building, with a classic conical roof, is the sole survivor, occupying a rare patch of rough land beside a big Tesco and Saints’ flashy rugby league arena. Once tons of molten glass were heated here, with glassblowers scooping up gobs to skilfully inflate, shape and place in a mould to create bottles.
On the first Saturday of every month, No 7 Cannington Shaw Bottle Shop now hosts artisan craft markets, with a bar and food stalls. After serving as an air raid shelter and storage depot, the site was abandoned and was only spared demolition by happy accident. John Tabern, director of the project, says: “As an ex-glassman, it’s extremely important to me. I’m proud of St Helens and want people to know its story. But we must monetise it with gigs and markets and all those things.”
No 7 Cannington Shaw Bottle Shop. Photograph: Liam Bluck/Alamy
The other thing is large on the map, equally important, if less evocative. Following blitz-level demolition, a large area east and south of the town hall is being given a new bus station, homes, offices, a hotel, green spaces, piazzas and “revitalised retail spaces”.
They’re always knocking things down here. But the Gamble building will soon house a smart new library, youth space and offices. This and the town hall are solid examples of redbrick Victoriana. The Beecham’s building, built in 1887, cost a fortune at the time and is topped by a coquettish clock tower. Its founder, Thomas Beecham, began selling laxatives to costive Wiganers; St Helens, like a crucible, allowed his business to flourish. The smart St Helens college faces the former HQ and the marriage of old and new works well.
Reflection Court, the old Pilkington’s headquarters on Canal Street, has a streamlined brick facade, influenced by the architecture of the Dutch modernist Willem Marinus Dudok. The former Pilkington’s complex at Alexandra Park on the edge of town was built by modernist architects Jane Drew and Maxwell Fry – who collaborated with Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier. Everything seems to be earmarked for apartment conversions.
I leave town via the Book Stop community bookstore, which I have “shares” in and where I gave a talk on my recent Lancashire book earlier this year. With no prompting from me, the manager titled it “Don’t Call Us Merseyside”. The newer “Liverpool City Region” is equally unpopular. I pass a church that, as a child, I thought was huge and ominous. Renowned architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner wasn’t overly keen on St Mary’s Lowe House Catholic church, but I like the competing Byzantine dome and gothic tower. It’s as if the architect couldn’t make up his mind. The brickwork is black – the patina of two centuries of factory fumes. I pass the Turks Head pub, routinely lauded by Camra, and FC St Helens, where the rugby league team played in the 1880s.
The Camra-lauded Turks Head pub. Photograph: PSC-Photography/Alamy
Finally, I come to St Helens cemetery and crematorium. I have been here too often this past couple of decades. St Helens was built on furnaces; this one is still busy. I head to an area beyond the neat ranks of modern gravestones, walking on a path that, from the sky, is heart-shaped. In the wooded corner stands St Helens most ancient structure: Windleshaw Chantry, dating from 1415, when this was open countryside.
Beneath it is a large tomb, with a flat tablet full of abbreviated words. Spelled out, they say, “Here lie the remains of Jean Baptiste François Graux de la Bruyere – He was the first Who brought to Perfection A Work of very considerable Magnitude And Importance To the Commercial Interest of the British Nation.” This immigrant from Picardy, who died in 1787, aged 48, is thought to be the hero who brought glass-making to St Helens. I’m sure he’d be pleased that the town is at last celebrating his legacy. Things to see and do: World of Glass, The Book Stop, North West Museum of Road Transport, the Dream sculpture, Café Laziz
From being homeless to becoming one of Emmerdale’s most adored stars, one cast member has an incredible backstory
Emmerdale legend’s epic rise from being homeless to ‘earning thousands’ on ITV soap
An Emmerdale icon has an off-screen story even more remarkable than some of the soap’s biggest storylines.
Over the years, viewers have been introduced to several stars who have joined the long-running programme. And while plenty have left, several have remained in the Dales, including Bob Hope actor Tony Audenshaw.
Tony shot to fame playing Bob Hope on the ITV soap back in 2000. Since then, he’s become a firm favourite and has been involved in a ton of memorable soap moments.
And in Wednesday’s episode (July 15) episode, the Woolpack Batman was seen spilling the beans to newcomer Serena Sugden (Casey Al-Shaqsy) about her newfound family.
However, for actor Tony, life hasn’t always been plain sailing as he has endured tough times trying to make ends meet while chasing his dream of acting.
Tony’s real-life homeless experience
In 2019, Tony opened up about being homeless back in the day, before having his big break in the TV world. The actor revealed he could not afford to stay in a BnB when he worked in Thorpe Park back in the 1980s, so was forced to sleep in his car in order to make ends meet.
“There were occasions where I didn’t have enough for a B&B, so I just parked up and tried to get some kip. It wasn’t easy, but you do what you have to do,” he said on Loose Women.
“I used to work at Thorpe Park, the theme park, I used to be the Thorpe Park rangers and do the voices. Up North things are much cheaper. I came down here in the 80s, and it was £70 for a BNB.
“If I was down for five nights I would sleep in the car, because I didn’t have much money coming in. I’d never do it two nights on the trot because you couldn’t really function well. It was Monday in a B&B, Tuesday in the car – the things you saw in those car parks, torches in the window.”
Tony’s reported soap earnings
Bob’s perseverance paid off as after an early stint in Brookside in the mid-90s, he was first seen on Emmerdale in 1996 in a minor role before landing the part of Bob Hope four years later.
Since then, he has clocked up more than 2,500 episodes, making him one of the soap’s longest-serving cast members.
Due to his status on the show, it’s believed Tony. could be earning thousands. Cast members earn between £400 and £2,000 per episode, which translates to annual salaries ranging from roughly £12,000 for newer cast members to over £200,000 for top, long-standing stars, like Tony.
Tony’s world record
Away from the Yorkshire set, Tony is renowned for his love of running; a hobby that has taken him all around the world, from London to Amsterdam and New York.
In 2010, he entered the London Marathon in a giant baby outfit — and crossed the line in just 3 hours and 13 minutes. The remarkable time earned him a Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon dressed as a baby, but the record has since been broken.
Running was also a hobby he shared with his late wife Ruth, who died from cancer in April 2017, when she was 43 years old, after a 16-month battle with the disease. Tony and Ruth had been married since 1996 and had two children together, a son George and a daughter Emily.
Emmerdale airs Monday to Friday at 8:00pm on ITV1 and ITVX
In a draft regulation obtained by Euronews and due to be presented in September, the European Commission plans to tighten access to the EU market by allowing public authorities to exclude foreign companies that present risks of interference from public procurement.
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The draft proposal comes amid heightened geopolitical tensions, with concerns over data leaks from sensitive public services to Beijing and Washington and as well as the weaponisation of the EU’s dependence on rare earths and technology products from China.
The draft document proposes that “public buyers shall take appropriate measures, where relevant at any stage of the procurement procedure, from planning and market consultation to contract award and execution, to ensure the protection of the security and public safety interests of the Union.”
The document adds that risks to security or public safety in a public contract may arise from firms whose “ownership, control, or financing structure” bears “risks of undue interference or influence over it,” as well as companies whose “exposure to third-country legislation […] may compel disclosure of sensitive information or interference with contract performance.”
Finally, public buyers would be allowed to introduce a European preference in public procurement, although the draft regulation would not make it compulsory.
Such provisions could confirm the EU’s protectionist shift towards a “Made in Europe” strategy, which the EU executive already proposed last March for strategic sectors such as clean technologies, the automotive industry and energy-intensive industries.
The risks of foreign interference and data transfer have become more acute in recent years, with the US and China both adopting legislation allowing them to request that companies under their jurisdiction transfer data stored in the EU.
Some European governments are already taking steps to mitigate these risks. In April, the French government ended its contract with Microsoft to protect French health data, and in June, it replaced US tech company Palantir with French company ChapsVision for the processing of sensitive information held by the the country’s domestic intelligence service, the Directorate General for Internal Security.
Over the last few years, several EU countries, including Germany, France, Italy and Denmark, have also cancelled or denied public contracts to the Chinese telecoms giant Huawei over security concerns.
The draft regulation also seeks to protect “critical infrastructure, critical supply chains, critical technologies or essential services, resilience against physical, cyber, or hybrid threats, and prevention and protection against risks of their disruption including due to harmful strategic dependencies on third-country suppliers.”
Last year, China cut off the EU from exports of rare earth minerals, which are essential for green technologies and the defence sector. It also stopped the Dutch-based Nexperia, owned by China’s Wingtech, from importing Chinese chips essential to the EU’s car industry.
Herb Alpert walks up a long driveway at his rambling Malibu estate, wincing slightly after having woken up around 3 a.m. with a cramp in his left calf.
“It’s still kind of seizing,” the trumpeter says as he leads me past a garden lush with moist-looking tropical plants.
This, Alpert accepts, is the reality of life at 91. Yet the only reason he’s out here racking up steps by the hundreds on a recent morning is because he was tooling around in his sculpture studio before I arrived. And the only reason the sculpture studio is so far from his music studio — there’s also a studio devoted to his painting — is because of his huge success over the last 60 or so years.
“So I can’t really complain,” he says.
A Los Angeles native who got his start writing songs like Sam Cooke’s “Wonderful World,” Alpert has lived here in Malibu since 1972, a decade after he released “The Lonely Bull,” his debut album with the Tijuana Brass. The LP’s title track, inspired by a bullfight Alpert caught in Mexico, went to No. 6 on Billboard’s Hot 100; more than a dozen finger-snapping Top 40 hits followed, including “A Taste of Honey,” “Spanish Flea” (also heard as a theme song on TV’s “The Dating Game”) and “This Guy’s in Love With You,” which took a rare Alpert vocal turn all the way to No. 1.
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What’s more, these inescapable tunes came out on Alpert’s own label, A&M Records, which he “formed on a handshake,” as he puts it, in 1962 with his business partner Jerry Moss. The label quickly became one of the biggest independent record companies in music, with acts such as Carole King, the Carpenters, the Police, Peter Frampton and Janet Jackson, as well as a beloved recording studio complex on La Brea Avenue. (Moss, who with Alpert sold A&M in 1989 for a reported $500 million, died in 2023.)
After years working on his own and with his wife, the singer Lani Hall, Alpert revived the Tijuana Brass name in 2024 and launched a tour that will stop Sunday night at the Hollywood Bowl. We sat down in his gear-stuffed music studio to talk about it and much more.
I’m sure you heard that John Mayer and McG bought the former A&M Studios last year. I wondered what your emotional investment is in the place at this point. I don’t have an emotional investment. Once I left the lot, I was out of there — I didn’t look back. I wanted to paint, I wanted to sculpt, I wanted to make music. I wasn’t thinking about the business.
What’s an A&M success story you took particular pride in? Cat Stevens. I heard this kid — he was a kid at the time — at the Troubadour, just him and a guitar, and I got goosebumps. It was so beautiful and so honest.
What was Karen Carpenter like? She was a doll. She didn’t know how great she was — didn’t think she was a great singer. One hell of a drummer too. Go onto YouTube and search Karen Carpenter’s solo on drums — it’ll knock your socks off. But she was innocent. She was lucky to have [her brother] Richard because Richard knew what to do with her in a very gentle way.
Even at the Carpenters’ smoothest, I hear deep sadness in Karen’s singing. I think that’s a standard ingredient to great artists. Listen closely to Miles Davis and you’ll hear the same thing.
Karen struggled with her mental health, which her fame didn’t help. Did you ever feel responsible for what she went through? I’ve gone over that question so many times in my head: If I hadn’t picked them out and signed them, would the same result have happened?
Where have you landed? I don’t have an answer.
In a recent documentary about you, you’re talking about “Wonderful World” and you say that nobody knows what a hit record sounds like. That’s your feeling now based on years of experience. But did you think you knew when you were young? I didn’t know then either. “Wonderful World” was a demo that Keen Records put on a shelf. When Sam started selling records on RCA Victor, they pulled it out as a lark, and it ended up one of the biggest-selling singles Sam ever had. I’ve told this story before, but at A&M a guy played a record for me — I said, “Man, this record stinks.” Well, I was turning down “Louie Louie.”
Why didn’t you understand “Louie Louie”? It was out of tune. It was too long. I didn’t know what the hell they were saying.
That’s why it’s great. Probably so. But did they have another hit record? Sam used to say, “Close your eyes when you listen to a new artist — don’t get swayed by whether they’re beautiful or they’re handsome or they can dance their ass off.”
OK, but you were like a heartthrob in the ’60s. What am I now — chopped liver?
I don’t think you can say your success had nothing to do with your looks. I don’t think it did. You know that sadness you were talking about? It’s in my horn.
I agree. But it didn’t hurt that you looked great. It didn’t hurt once I had a hit record. It wouldn’t have given me a hit record.
Jerry Moss, left, and Herb Alpert in 1974.
(Michael Putland / Getty Images)
Let’s talk about your song “Rise.” Got lucky with that.
In what way? My nephew Randy, who’s one of my managers, he wanted me to take some of the Tijuana Brass records and do a little disco number with them. So we go into the studio with a bunch of great musicians, start playing “Taste of Honey” at 120 beats per minute. I got nauseous — I said, “Man, I ain’t doing this.”
Nauseous? The record was big, and I didn’t want to tamper with it. But Randy had written this song called “Rise” with a friend of his. He wanted me to play that at 120 beats per minute too. I said, “Lookit, man — let’s slow this thing down and let people dance closer together.” We recorded it live in the studio. Julius Wechter was playing marimba — dear friend of mine. I said, “What do you think of this thing? Pretty cool, isn’t it?” He turns around and says, “I hate it. That beat — the four-on-the-floor is killing me.” I expected a different answer from him. But it didn’t matter.
What’d you make of the Notorious B.I.G.’s sampling “Rise” for his “Hypnotize”? How could you not like that record? These guys that take your bass line and make a record by pressing a button — I think that’s cheating a bit. But there’s 70 zillion streams on that song. Can’t deny it.
“Rise” was also sampled by the rapper Nas for his song “Power, Paper & P—.” I don’t know how to comment on that one.
A lot of musicians from your generation have been selling their catalogs lately. Have you considered it? There’s no reason to — I don’t need the money.
I wrote about Frankie Valli a few years ago, and he and Bob Gaudio seemed eager to have this company Primary Wave out there finding ways to — Monetize the catalog. I get it. But they don’t have to do that with us. I don’t know if you know what’s happening, but I’m in the heyday of my career right now.
Right now? It wasn’t my idea to get the Tijuana Brass back together again. My nephew, he’s a social media guy, and he went around the world to see what songs of mine were selling the most. Turned out there were about 18 songs. I started listening to the 18, and at the end, I felt happy, I felt joyous, I felt a smile was on my face. I thought, Man, let’s try this — this might be interesting. We started doing it, and we’ve been sold out 50 concerts in a row.
It strikes me that without the Tijuana Brass, you weren’t playing the Hollywood Bowl. Hell no, I wasn’t.
What’s that say to you? That the music is touching people. The times we’re living in, there’s a lot of doubt with what’s going on, and I think people are getting some positive energy from it.
You’re a lifelong Angeleno. Lots of well-to-do folks say that L.A. has gone to hell in a handbasket. What’s your take? I think it’s pretty much the same all over the country.
Which is? Gone to hell in a handbasket. People are confused about where they’re going, whether they’re gonna be able to have enough food on the table, whether they can afford gasoline. I’m not saying it’s all bad — it’s just hard to make sense of a lot of it for a lot of people, including the guy you’re talking to.
Your music has pulled from any number of cultures. Do you think it speaks of your Jewish identity? Most definitely. My father was born in a shtetl outside Kyiv — didn’t speak Russian, spoke Yiddish. He brought his mandolin with him when he was 16 years old on a boat by himself and landed at Ellis Island. He used to play songs for me on the mandolin. When his nostrils flared, I knew he was into it. That kind of got me.
Jewish meets Mexican feels very L.A. to me. I think we’re all a product of our surroundings. In high school I used to go see Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker, and I was touched by them. Of course, they were loaded.
What kind of guy was Chet Baker? A troubled guy who was a brilliant musician. I gave him one of my horns, and he pawned it the next day. He was sweet but he didn’t have a hold on his emotions.
Not great for living, obviously. But good for music? Well, you’re opening up a whole can of worms. I mean, why did so many great jazz musicians get hooked on drugs? Maybe guys that were hung up on being a human being, they found that getting stoned helped them through the struggle. I recorded Stan Getz the first time he ever recorded without drugs. It was at A&M — he was wearing this red silk shirt that had sweat stains under both arms. He had like 75 reeds on the ground because he couldn’t pick out the right one. He finally found the right reed, got over the anxiety and started playing — same Stan Getz you heard throughout his career. These guys were under the assumption that being stoned would change what they played. I don’t think that holds any water.
Was there a time you thought it might be true? I did experiment with grass once. Turned on a recorder, took a puff, started playing some jazz. Took another puff, started playing some more jazz. I listened to that recording the next morning — it was terrible.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Can we do a little Herb Alpert trivia to finish? Do I have a choice?
“A Taste of Honey” won record of the year at the Grammys in 1966. You’re gonna ask why.
You beat the Beatles’ “Yesterday.” No kidding?
The year after “Taste of Honey,” you were nominated for record of the year again with “What Now My Love.” That one you lost. Remember what you lost to? Not “Louie, Louie.”
“Strangers in the Night.” That’s a real pop song. Love the guy, but not my favorite by him.
What’s your favorite Sinatra song? “Only the Lonely.”
“This Guy’s in Love With You” — great vocal performance. Why didn’t you do more? I’m not a singer.
Sure you are. I know it’s a great performance. But it was one take, man — I did that in one take.
This is what I’m saying. Look, I had an interesting guy in the sound booth who did the arrangements named Burt Bacharach.
I read that you talked with Burt a few times a week until he died. I did, and not about music. We talked about football, basketball, politics, you name it.
What’s your basketball team? Lakers.
Hard to be a Lakers fan these days. Easy to be a critic.
The latest data from the Statistical Centre of Iran (SCI) shows the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the period 22 May–21 June 2026 was 88.6% higher than in the corresponding period a year earlier. In practical terms, a household that spent 100 monetary units on the same basket of goods and services a year ago would now need to spend approximately 189 monetary units to purchase that basket.
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Economists attribute the sharp increase in prices to a combination of long-standing structural challenges and more recent pressures. These include weak economic management, persistent fiscal and monetary imbalances, the continued impact of international sanctions, subdued growth prospects, heightened uncertainty in the business environment and widening fiscal deficits. More recently, military conflict and heightened regional tensions have placed further strain on Iran’s economy by increasing investment risks, disrupting economic activity and adding pressure on public finances.
Statistical Centre versus Central Bank figures
Alongside the figures published by the Statistical Centre of Iran (SCI), the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has reported different inflation estimates. According to the CBI, year-on-year inflation reached 83.1% at the end of the period 22 May–21 June 2026, while the annual inflation rate stood at 57.7%.
These estimates differ from those published by the SCI, which reported an annual inflation rate of 62.0% and a year-on-year inflation rate of 88.6% for the same period.
The gap between the two sets of estimates amounts to 4.3 percentage points for annual inflation and 5.5 percentage points for year-on-year inflation. Such discrepancies are not unusual in Iran and have recurred over recent years.
The differences largely reflect variations in methodology, including the composition of household consumption baskets, the weighting assigned to individual goods and services, and data collection and sampling techniques. Although both institutions seek to measure changes in the general price level, methodological differences can lead to materially different inflation estimates.
Despite these statistical differences, both sets of figures point to the same underlying trend: Iran is experiencing one of its most severe episodes of inflation in decades. Persistently rapid price growth has become a structural feature of the economy rather than a temporary shock.
Inflation accelerates from 52% to nearly 90%
Recent data indicate that inflationary pressures have continued to intensify rather than ease. Year-on-year inflation increased from 52.6% in December 2025 to approximately 68% in February 2026, before rising further to 88.6% for the period 22 May–21 June 2026.
This trajectory suggests that inflationary pressures have become increasingly entrenched, reflecting deeper structural imbalances rather than a temporary or purely monetary phenomenon.
International forecasts also point to a challenging outlook. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects that Iran’s annual inflation rate will average around 68.9% in 2026, placing the country among the highest-inflation economies in the world. At the same time, the IMF forecasts a contraction in real GDP of around 6.1%, indicating continued pressure on economic activity.
Short-term price dynamics are also noteworthy. The Consumer Price Index increased by 5.9% over a single month, from 22 April–21 May 2026 to 22 May–21 June 2026 (the periods corresponding to the Iranian months of Ordibehesht and Khordad, respectively).
A monthly increase of this magnitude illustrates the speed at which prices are rising, making it increasingly difficult for households to maintain purchasing power and plan their finances.
Exchange-rate depreciation and inflation
Iran’s inflation surge – one of the most severe experienced by the country since the Second World War – has been closely associated with the sharp depreciation of the rial. Inflation has eroded the currency’s purchasing power, while successive declines in the rial have, in turn, fuelled further inflation by increasing the cost of imports and raising inflation expectations.
At the beginning of the year, the US dollar traded at around 1.35 million rials on Tehran’s open market. Following the start of US and Israeli air strikes against Iran on 28 February, the exchange rate rose to approximately 1.72 million rials per US dollar.
During the conflict, the exchange rate temporarily strengthened to around 1.46 million rials per US dollar as economic and commercial activity slowed, reducing demand for foreign currency. However, after Donald Trump threatened further US air strikes against critical Iranian infrastructure on 7 April, the rial came under renewed pressure, with the exchange rate weakening to around 1.63 million rials per US dollar.
Following the announcement of a ceasefire, the exchange rate recovered to approximately 1.525 million rials per US dollar. However, as economic activity resumed and Iranian officials estimated war-related damage at around US$300 billion, the rial weakened sharply again, with the exchange rate reaching a record 1.9 million rials per US dollar.
The subsequent signing of a memorandum of understanding between Tehran and Washington led to a temporary appreciation of the rial, bringing the exchange rate back to around 1.53 million rials per US dollar. Renewed tensions between Iran and the United States, however, pushed the exchange rate higher once again, approaching 1.7 million rials per US dollar.
These developments illustrate the extent to which exchange-rate movements have become a key transmission channel for inflation in Iran. Fluctuations in the rial affect not only the domestic cost of imported goods and production inputs but also the inflation expectations of households and businesses, reinforcing upward pressure on prices.
An uneven burden
Inflation has not affected all segments of society equally. Official data show that lower-income households have experienced a greater erosion of purchasing power than higher-income groups.
Year-on-year inflation reached 108.1% in rural areas, compared with 85.2% in urban areas. This disparity is particularly significant because lower-income households typically spend a larger share of their income on essential goods and services, especially food, leaving them more exposed to rising prices.
From a distributional perspective, inflation acts as an implicit tax, disproportionately reducing the real incomes of households with the least capacity to save, invest or protect themselves against rising prices.
Food at the centre of the cost-of-living crisis
The steepest price increases have been recorded in categories most closely associated with everyday household spending. Official statistics indicate that food prices have more than doubled compared with the same period a year earlier.
Year-on-year inflation reached 173.8% for tobacco, around 178% for meat, poultry and related products, approximately 152% for milk, cheese and eggs, and around 139% for bread and cereals.
Non-food categories have also recorded substantial price increases. Prices for furniture and household equipment rose by more than 111%, while transport costs increased by over 103%.
These figures suggest that the inflationary shock extends well beyond food prices. Alongside the rising cost of everyday essentials, households are also facing substantially higher costs for household goods and transport, further eroding purchasing power and placing increasing pressure on household budgets.
Wages fall behind the cost of living
One of the clearest consequences of sustained inflation is the widening gap between wages and the cost of meeting basic living expenses.
According to the Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA), the official minimum monthly wage for the current year was set at 166.255 million rials (approximately €85), while representatives at a meeting of the Supreme Labour Council on 13 March 2026 estimated that a minimum household living basket would cost around 450 million rials (approximately €225) per month.
On this basis, the official minimum wage covers only around 37% of the estimated cost of a basic living basket, leaving a shortfall of approximately 63%.
The figures illustrate how rapid inflation has eroded real wages. Although nominal wages have increased over time, they have failed to keep pace with the rising cost of essential goods and services, placing increasing pressure on household living standards.
More broadly, Iran’s inflation challenge extends beyond rising prices alone. A combination of persistent inflation, currency depreciation and weakening purchasing power has created a self-reinforcing cycle that continues to undermine household finances and economic stability.
This photo, taken Tuesday, shows the trading room of Hana Bank in Seoul as South Korean stocks rose by almost one percent as investors watched for a resumption of U.S.-Iran talks. Photo by Yonhap
South Korean stocks ended nearly 1 percent higher Tuesday, led by gains in technology shares, as investors watched for a possible resumption of U.S.-Iran talks in Qatar aimed at easing tensions in the Strait of Hormuz. The Korean won weakened against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 81.83 points, or 0.97 percent, to close at 8,476.47.
Investor sentiment improved after the United States and Iran were set to resume talks in Qatar aimed at easing tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, alleviating concerns over a prolonged disruption to global oil supplies.
Overnight, Wall Street rebounded sharply as investors returned to tech stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.59 percent to close at a record high, while the Nasdaq composite jumped 2.07 percent and the S&P 500 advanced 1.18 percent.
Crude prices rose modestly as investors monitored implementation of the U.S.-Iran peace framework.
Trade volume was moderate at 444.61 million shares worth 41.08 trillion won (US$26.51 billion), with losers outnumbering losers 621 to 261
Institutions and individuals bought a net 2.93 trillion won and 833.45 billion won worth of shares, respectively, while foreigners sold a net 3.79 trillion won.
“Investors scooped up semiconductor shares following recent losses, while IT infrastructure and electricity stocks rose on hopes for major investment in semiconductor infrastructure in the southwestern region announced by the government and chipmakers,” said Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities.
Tech shares lifted the overall market.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 3.41 percent to 334,000 won, and chip giant SK hynix gained 0.84 percent to 1.65 million won. SK Square, the parent of SK hynix, advanced 3.48 percent to 1.69 million won.
Chip components maker Samsung Electro-Mechanics jumped 7.16 percent to 1.18 million won after announcing a 454 billion-won supply deal for multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) for artificial intelligence servers to a U.S.-based customer.
Battery shares retreated on profit-taking after sharp gains the previous session.
LG Energy Solution plunged 9.61 percent to 362,000 won, and its smaller rival Samsung SDI sank 4.88 percent to 487,000 won.
The Korean won was quoted at 1,549.4 won per U.S. dollar as of 3:30 p.m., down 4.2 won from the previous session.
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Brent crude edges up as tit-for-tat strikes imperial return to normality in key waterway.
Published On 29 Jun 202629 Jun 2026
Oil prices have climbed following the latest flare-up in hostilities between the United States and Iran.
Brent crude, the primary international benchmark, rose about 0.9 percent on Monday after tit-for-tat US and Iranian strikes over the weekend renewed doubts about a return to normal shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
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Brent futures for August delivery stood at $73.21 a barrel as of 03:30 GMT, 127 cents higher than the day before the US and Israel launched their war on Iran on February 28.
“Brent’s partial rebound this morning reflects a market that had perhaps run too quickly on ceasefire optimism,” Fabien Yip, a market analyst at IG in Sydney, Australia, told Al Jazeera.
“Oil had nearly unwound its entire war premium, despite an MoU with no enforcement details and ongoing strikes. Thursday’s attack on a commercial vessel was a reality check, and this weekend’s tit-for-tat exchanges have compounded that,” Yip said.
Asian stock markets were mixed on Monday morning, with losses in Tokyo and Seoul and gains in Hong Kong and Taipei.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was 0.7 percent lower, while South Korea’s Kospi was down 1.9 percent.
Japanese and Korean stocks tied to the AI boom saw some of the biggest losses amid heated debate about whether tech firms’ massive investments in the emerging technology will pay off.
Japanese tech giant SoftBank Group fell about 5 percent, while Advantest Corporation, a key maker of semiconductor testing equipment, slumped 3.7 percent.
South Korean memory chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix dropped about 5 percent and 4 percent, respectively.
Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index and Taiwan’s Taiex both rose, gaining 2.2 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively.
“Quarter-end profit-taking is adding to the selling pressure, with investors locking in gains from what has been a remarkable run. The Kospi is up roughly 95 percent this year, and the Nikkei up 37 percent,” IG’s Yip said.
“The underlying concern, however, is whether the AI boom can continue to translate into sustained earnings growth, or whether margin pressure is arriving sooner than the market anticipated.”
US Central Command announced strikes against Iran on Friday and Saturday, citing Iranian attacks on two commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, which in peacetime serves as a conduit for about one-fifth of the global trade in oil and liquified natural gas.
Iran responded to the strikes by launching a series of missiles and drones targeting US military assets in Bahrain and Kuwait.
Washington and Tehran agreed to cease their attacks and renew their negotiations on ending the war, multiple media outlets reported late on Sunday, citing unnamed US officials.
Axios, citing an unnamed senior US official, reported that the sides would hold talks in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday.
Iran has yet to comment on the reported agreement to cease hostilities or the planned talks.
US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a memorandum of understanding to end the war on June 17, but the agreement has repeatedly come under strain due to flare-ups in hostilities and disagreements about the meaning of the text.
Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used in the military for planning and operations as a decision support tool at multiple stages. The US’s use of Anthropic’s Claude model against Iran marks a significant moment in the history of warfare. Integrated via Palantir’s Maven Smart System, AI-supported intelligence analysis, target identification, and operational simulations enabled planners to process information faster than human capabilities. While analysts have framed this as an “AI war,” the more significant shift lies in the growing influence of algorithmic systems in shaping military decision-making architectures.
Admiral Brad Cooper, who led Operation Epic Fury, said that AI systems processed massive amounts of intelligence and surveillance data, allowing commanders to gain insights within seconds. This is part of a wider movement to shift more complex intelligence tasks to algorithmic systems, raising questions about transparency, oversight, and reliance on algorithmic assessments.
This is also observed in other conflict zones, but in different operational roles. In Gaza, Israel’s Lavender system, developed by Unit 8200, assisted in the targeting of 37,000 suspected individuals, based on reported affiliations, using AI. Structural strikes and real-time tracking were made possible through the use of additional tools like “The Gospel” and “Where’s Daddy?” These systems reduced human review into quick, seconds-long “stamp of approval” decisions, moving targeting to machine-driven validation. In Ukraine, AI tools were used to assist in drone operations and battlefield analysis by training datasets. Initial programs, like Project Maven, relied on manually labeling 150,000 images. Currently, the Brave1 has enabled over 100 defense-tech firms to train combat AI on millions of annotated images from ongoing missions to improve these AI models.
The modern battlefield produces unprecedented volumes of data from interwoven sensor networks, drones, satellite imagery, and localized communications streams. This information comes at high speed and volume, which can overload the human brain. AI is being used to deal with this information overload, but there are concerns about the accuracy of AI-driven assessments and how much human oversight might be required to rely on AI. Military officials emphasize that humans have the final authority, but systematic integration poses challenges to oversight quality. The other predicament is automation bias, a psychological phenomenon in which a human operator, particularly under pressure or high stress, is likely to rely on the system’s recommendations. Therefore, striking a balance between speed and responsibility, ethical judgment, and accountability in the use of force is a key challenge.
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Another area of concern pertains to legal and ethical issues. International humanitarian law is based on the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution. With the growing use of AI in military operations, it becomes more difficult to apply these principles, thereby making accountability and scrutiny more difficult. The International Committee of the Red Cross has warned that, when algorithmic systems provide input for analysis, targeting, or operational planning, it is hard to assign responsibility for any errors. Even with humans “in the loop,” the black-box nature of machine learning limits transparency and complicates legal review. It is not just a theoretical problem; it has been seen in practice. In the early US campaign against Iran, an AI-assisted missile struck a girls’ school near an IRGC compound, killing 120 children, likely due to a classification error. Anthropic’s CEO’s admission of limited awareness over Claude’s use in the strike highlights a broader issue. AI developers are fully aware of the risks associated with delegating autonomous functions to AI, yet they continue to promote its adoption. As AI assumes greater decision-making roles, concerns over misidentification and the possibility of AI acting against human directives are often overshadowed by narratives emphasizing its benefits.
For Pakistan, these developments are neither distant nor theoretical. In a region where crises can escalate quickly, AI-enabled decision support offers advantages but also carries risks. It improves situational awareness and accelerates analysis but compresses decision time, limits verification, and heightens the risk of miscalculation. Considering both, Pakistan is accelerating efforts to build AI capacity and strengthen its supporting infrastructure. At the policy level, this translates to a recognition that successful adoption is not just about adopting algorithms but about enhancing data governance, institutional maturity, and a skilled workforce capable of embedding AI into decision-making processes. Thus, Pakistan’s approach remains focused on leveraging AI to bolster human judgment in intelligence fusion, surveillance, logistics, and cyber defense.
There is a clear lesson from the academic literature and initial operational experience: algorithmic systems are transforming military information processing. However, as their role in decision-making grows, they also entail bias, error propagation, lack of transparency, and overreliance on machine-generated recommendations. AI, therefore, must be used as a support system, with humans retaining final decision-making responsibility. This requires investment in training, auditability, and institutional safeguards to ensure that human decision-makers are meaningfully engaged, rather than merely present in form. The future of warfare will likely be defined not by machines acting alone, but by humans making increasingly time-pressured decisions shaped by machine-generated insights. The central strategic challenge is not whether to adopt algorithmic tools, but how to ensure that their speed never outpaces sound judgment.
