rises

WASHINGTON — As Janeese Lewis George paves a path to the mayor’s office in Washington, D.C., she’s told voters they could have it all.

Her unapologetically expansive, left-wing agenda includes subsidized or even free childcare, increased down payment assistance for homebuyers and community resources to reduce crime, plus a promise to aggressively confront President Trump’s attempts to reshape the nation’s capital.

“People are tired of hearing what government can’t do. They want to hear what government can do,” Lewis George said in an interview before the city’s primary, where she defeated her Democratic opponents and positioned herself to win the general election in November in a city dominated by Democrats.

Lewis George’s victory signals a break with a quarter-century of centrist governance in Washington, and it puts her in the vanguard of democratic socialists who have ascended in urban politics over the last year. Zohran Mamdani toppled Andrew Cuomo, the scion of a political dynasty, on his way to becoming New York City mayor. Katie Wilson won an upset victory to lead Seattle last fall. And this month, Nithya Raman clinched a spot in the November runoff against Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.

All of them are members of the Democratic Socialists of America, or DSA. The political organization has seen its membership ranks swell from a few thousand to more than 100,000 nationwide over the last decade after an influx of younger Americans joined following the presidential bids of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, also a self-described democratic socialist.

There’s little sign of national coordination among the candidates, and it’s unclear whether voters are gravitating toward their promises of improved government services, their vows to fight the Trump administration or their critiques of capitalism.

But from coast to coast, confrontational progressives are advancing in mayoral races. City leaders can draw outsized attention for their successes and failures, and democratic socialists will be under pressure from residents to deliver on their vows for a new kind of governance. Whether that translates to national politics is a next test for their movement.

“They are all channeling a displeasure with a status quo and a serious desire for economic populism that the establishment Democratic Party hasn’t been preaching,” said Eric Stern, a Democratic strategist with Fight Agency, a political consulting firm that strategized Mamdani’s mayoral campaign.

Stern added that Democratic voters appeared more willing to support the most progressive candidate in mayoral races rather than in contests for the U.S. House. Candidates like Mamdani and Raman, Stern said, are “daring voters to dream and fall in love not just with the individual candidates but also the political process as a whole.”

A rising left navigates America’s urban challenges

The trend of progressives surging in urban areas may have limits for its broader impact on Democratic politics. Democratic mayors in cities including Atlanta, Houston, Miami and San Francisco won on relatively moderate platforms in recent years.

Progressive have also faced noteworthy challenges. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson was endorsed by the city’s DSA chapter during his 2023 mayoral run but has since faced criticism from both moderate and liberal local leaders on issues such as immigration, the local budget and public safety. Recalls and public pressure ousted progressives elected to district attorney offices in multiple jurisdictions over the last five years, when criminal justice reform efforts ran into dissatisfaction over public disorder following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trump’s hardline immigration and law enforcement tactics have also become a challenge for liberal cities. The president’s agenda poses an especially serious threat to Washington, D.C., because of its status as a federal territory.

“Maybe we take back Washington and run it on a federal basis,” Trump told reporters this month when asked about the potential election of a democratic socialist as the district’s mayor. “We won’t put up with it.”

But progressives hope the current wave of anti-Trump furor in deep blue cities across the country will help buoy the chances of those on the hard left.

“It’s not folks looking for the leftmost option so much as looking for a candidate who’s gonna be on their side,” said Ravi Mangla, speaking for the left-wing Working Families Party. The party often endorses the same candidates as the DSA and is readying to target more mayoral offices in the country’s biggest metropolises this fall and in 2028.

“It’s less about whether you are on the right or on the left so much as whether you are willing to punch up at the powerful,” he added.

Mamdani and Lewis George are both self-described “sewer socialists” who emphasize the need for responsive government services rather than critiques of market economics. The phrase recalls the socialist Gilded Age mayors whom critics derided as too preoccupied with managing public works projects.

The term’s revival is partly a strategic move to align leftist ideas with concerns over affordability and the economy, voters’ top concern in the midterm elections, and shift the public perception of democratic socialists from firebrands who support radical policies to independent-minded public servants.

“This is absolutely a change election and I’m excited to bring the change that people want, which is really putting people first in the city and having the moral clarity and courage to stand up to Trump,” Lewis George said.

For voters the ‘socialist’ label did not seem to matter

While conservatives have used the “socialist” label to attack Democrats as extreme or incompetent, some D.C. voters appeared ambivalent before Tuesday’s primary.

Several lifelong residents said they believed Lewis George was a “fighter” but didn’t think she’d have much of an impact on the local economy, given the city’s status as a federal district.

“I go back and forth on my own labels and whether I am supportive of that movement or not, but I am supportive of making D.C. more affordable,” Owen Fitzgerald, a University of Maryland graduate student, said of his support for democratic socialism.

Fitzgerald voted for Lewis George because she would stand up to Trump and said he’d first learned of her campaign from friends in his neighborhood. But he didn’t know she was a democratic socialist until he saw news reports describing her with the label.

“It sends a cultural message to this administration that the people who are surrounding them in the capital are opposed to their platform, opposed to their political agenda, and I think that it will send a message, both nationally and internationally,” Fitzgerald said.

Brown writes for the Associated Press.

If there is a stage that is too big for Erling Haaland, we’re yet to find it.

A hat-trick on his Champions League debut for RB Salzburg, a hat-trick on his Bundesliga debut for Dortmund, a double on his Premier League debut for Manchester City, and now two goals on his World Cup finals debut, inspiring Norway to a 4-1 win over Iraq.

The 2026 World Cup might be six days in, but it felt as if it really began on Tuesday, with Kylian Mbappe inspiring France to a 3-1 victory over Senegal with two superb goals which made him Les Bleus’ all-time leading scorer.

Little over an hour later, Haaland strode out for his first World Cup appearance and picked up the gauntlet thrown by Mbappe, nearly 18 months his senior, with a display full of desire, as well as the goals we have come to expect.

Norway manager Stale Solbakken said afterwards: “You can see he lived up to the occasion – it wasn’t too big for him.

“I had a good feeling before the game, the last training session was very good. I had a feeling he would do it for us today.”

Iraq head coach Graham Arnold added: “He’s just an amazing number nine. We dealt with him quite well for a lot of the game [but] at the end of the day he’s a top striker.

“Norway could shock a lot of people with the team they have. They could go a very long way.”

Arnold spoke to Haaland after the final whistle and revealed: “I just said to him: ‘You’re one of the best number nines I’ve ever seen.’ He’s so strong, so quick and he’s just lethal.”

South Korean stocks nosedived more than 8 percent Monday, extending their losing streak to a third consecutive session, as investors dumped market heavyweights on renewed woes over artificial intelligence (AI) profitability and concerns over a possible hawkish pivot of the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar after opening at a 17-year low, in the face of verbal intervention by financial authorities.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) plunged 676.18 points, or 8.29 percent, to close at 7,484.41, after falling as low as 7,442.73. The secondary KOSDAQ index sank more than 9 percent to end at 911.39.

The KOSPI’s trade volume was heavy at 448.3 million shares worth 47.8 trillion won (US$31.2 billion), with losers sharply outnumbering winners 873 to 42. Foreigners and institutions dumped local shares worth 355.5 billion won and 1.6 trillion won, respectively, while retail investors scooped up 1.76 trillion won.

The Monday crash was largely anticipated on sharp losses on Wall Street last week, fueled by semiconductor shares’ biggest daily percentage drop since March 2020 and fears over a possible rate hike by the Fed sparked by a hotter-than-expected U.S. jobs report for May.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1.35 percent lower Friday (local time), while the S&P 500 dipped 2.64 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite slid 4.18 percent.

Major U.S. chip shares sharply lost ground, with Nvidia slumping 6.2 percent, Broadcom contracting 7.92 percent and Micron shooting down 13.25 percent.

The Korea Exchange (KRX) had activated a circuit breaker for the KOSPI about three minutes after opening, halting trading for 20 minutes, and implemented a consecutive sell-side sidecar at around 9:34 a.m.

The KRX had also issued a sell-side sidecar for the secondary KOSDAQ market about six minutes after opening, suspending trading for five minutes, and activated a circuit breaker for the index later in the day after the KOSDAQ fell by more than 8 percent.

“Today’s pullback appears to be driven not by the weakening of market fundamentals, but by profit-taking sentiment among investors, mainly targeted at the semiconductor sector, as the market reacted more sensitively to negative developments after an extended rally of chip shares,” a report by Samsung Securities said.

The KOSPI has been one of the best performing stock indexes across the world in recent months, surging to near the unprecedented 9,000-point mark on Tuesday last week from the 5,000-point level earlier this year, mainly driven by major semiconductor shares, including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.

“There is a lot at stake in this week’s financial market, with U.S. inflation data, treasury yields and the ongoing debate over the sustainability of AI-related investment all unfolding simultaneously,” said Seo Sang-young, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities.

Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, also anticipated a “challenging” week for the KOSPI, noting that the release of the U.S. Consumer Price Index for May, the SpaceX listing and Oracle’s earnings results planned for this week may weigh on the market.

Market analysts also said news that Iran and Israel traded strikes dampened investors’ risk appetite, dimming hopes for peace in the Middle East.

Market top-cap Samsung Electronics slid 10.18 percent to 295,500 won, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix dipped 7.68 percent to 1.91 million won.

AI investment firm SK Square nosedived 11.13 percent to 1.12 million won.

Samsung Life Insurance lost 8.97 percent to 375,500 won, and Samsung C&T plunged 11.29 percent to 408,500 won.

Top automaker Hyundai Motor plummeted 8.71 percent to 639,000 won, and its auto parts making affiliate Hyundai Mobis shot down 12.2 percent to 612,000 won.

Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution pulled back 6.16 percent, and its smaller rival Samsung SDI sank 11.44 percent.

Home appliances maker LG Electronics slipped 11.55 percent to 268,000 won, while power plant manufacturer Doosan Enerbility shed 10.25 percent to 85,800 won.

Internet portal operator Naver was among the few winners, jumping 9.2 percent on news that the company is conducting a joint project with U.S. AI chip giant Nvidia to build a massive global AI factory and the nomination of Han Seong-sook, former chief executive officer (CEO) of Naver and incumbent minister of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as South Korea’s new prime minister.

SK Networks surged 30 percent to 14,170 won on SK Group and Nvidia’s announcement of a broader partnership for AI infrastructure.

The Korean won was quoted at 1,535.0 won against the U.S. dollar at 3:30 p.m., up 4.1 won from the previous session, after opening at 1,555.2 won, the lowest mark since March 6, 2009, when the global markets were in a financial crisis.

The local currency turned higher after financial authorities vowed stern action against excessive volatility and one-sided movements in the foreign exchange market.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year Treasurys added 5.8 basis points to 3.940 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds gained 7 basis points to 4.190 percent.

Copyright (c) Yonhap News Agency prohibits its content from being redistributed or reprinted without consent, and forbids the content from being learned and used by artificial intelligence systems.

May 28 (UPI) — South Korea overtook the United States in 2025 to become the world’s second-largest exporter of cosmetics, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) earlier this month.

The ministry noted that the East Asian country’s cosmetics exports amounted to $11.4 billion in 2025, up 11.8% from a year before, trailing only runaway leader France with $24.3 billion.

The United States ranked third with $10.8 billion, followed by Germany with $9.9 billion, Spain with $9.2 billion, Italy with $9 billion, China with $7.3 billion, and Japan with $3.9 billion.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s 2025 cosmetics imports declined 2.3% year-on-year to $1.29 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $10.1 billion. It marked the first time Asia’s fourth-largest economy topped $10 billion in the annual cosmetics trade surplus.

By destination, the United States has emerged as the largest overseas market for Korean cosmetics last year as exports jumped 15% year-over-year to $2.2 billion. In contrast, shipments to China plunged 19% to $2 billion.

Demand for Korean cosmetics, widely known as K-beauty products, also increased sharply in Europe and the Middle East. Exports to Poland, in particular, more than doubled from a year earlier to $282 million.

To further beef up the competitiveness of the K-beauty industry, the MFDS pledged to pursue a range of policy initiatives, including expanded regulatory support programs.

“As countries such as the United States and China have recently introduced cosmetic safety assessment systems, we are preparing to implement our own safety evaluation framework in phases,” the MFDS said in a statement.

“To help domestic companies comply smoothly with the new system, the government plans to establish guidelines, provide consulting services, and train professional evaluators,” it added.

New players fueling K-beauty boom

In the past, South Korea’s cosmetics giants relied heavily on China as their primary offshore market. Traditional behemoths, including AmorePacific and LG Household and Health Care, resorted to such a business model for years.

However, a new wave of entrepreneurs has come to the fore with a different approach, reducing dependence on China while tapping aggressively into the United States, Europe, and Southeast Asia.

Leading the shift is APR, which was founded in 2014 and built its growth around online sales channels and beauty devices aimed at international customers.

Last year, APR almost tripled its operating profit to $240 million, which is almost equivalent to that of AmorePacific and well above $113 million of LG Household & Health Care.

APR continued its strong momentum this year as its first-quarter operating profit stood at $101 million, up 173.7% from a year ago, based on robust performance in such major markets as the United States and Japan.

According to U.S. business tracker Navigo Marketing, APR came in third place in Amazon’s beauty category last year with a 7.1% market share. The firm doubled it to 14.1% in the first quarter to claim the top position.

APR has also strengthened its offline presence by entering more than 1,500 Target stores across the United States last month. It plans to expand further into about 3,000 Walmart stores in June.

Meanwhile, first-quarter operating incomes of AmorePacific and LG Household and Health Care fell short of APR with $84 million and $72 million, respectively.

The strong earnings have prompted investors to pile into APR shares on the Seoul bourse.

As a result, APR’s market capitalization jumped 73.59% this year to reach $10 billion as of Thursday. Those of AmorePacific and LG Household & Health Care were $4.49 billion and $2.52 billion, respectively.

“Considering the expansion of offline channels in the United States and accelerating sales growth in Europe, APR’s stock is likely to maintain a medium- to long-term upward trajectory,” Yuanta Securities Korea analyst Lee Seung-eun said in a report.

HMC Investment Securities analyst Ha Hee-ji shared a similar view.

“APR’s growing brand recognition in the United States appears to be spreading across global markets, thus creating a virtuous cycle,” Ha said. “Business-to-business sales in Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East are also showing steep growth trends.”

WASHINGTON — Yet another White House construction project is underway, though this one is meant to be only temporary.

Crews are erecting an octagon-shaped cage on the South Lawn that will host next month’s UFC bout, helping mark the nation’s 250th anniversary — and President Trump ‘s 80th birthday.

Online renderings depict what the completed, wire-mesh-fence-ringed fight space is expected to look like ahead of the June 14 event. It will be ringed by a red, white and blue stage under a towering arch featuring stars and stripes patterns and two large screens carrying the action live.

The cage and stage will themselves be surrounded by thousands of temporary seats, including ringside space for a full marching band that can set the entire scene to blaring music.

The project is part of a series of events celebrating the semiquincentennial of the Declaration of Independence’s signing on July 4, 1776. Other planned functions include an IndyCar race that will pass by the White House and the Great American State Fair taking place on the National Mall.

Trump has said that the finished UFC project will feature “a 5,000-seat arena right outside the front door of the White House.” Additional large screens broadcasting the fights will be set up in a park at the nearby Ellipse, and the UFC has said it plans to issue as many as 85,000 free tickets to accommodate spectators at both locations.

“I have never seen anybody want anything so much as people want those tickets,” Trump said recently of demand to attend the UFC fight, adding, “That’s gonna be something.”

The card has been panned by fans online as underwhelming, featuring just two championship fights. Brazil’s Alex Pereira will meet France’s Ciryl Gane for the interim UFC heavyweight title. Then Spanish-Georgian lightweight champion Ilia Topuria takes on interim champ Justin Gaethje, one of just two Americans who currently hold even a share of the UFC’s 11 championship belts.

The octagon and surrounding structures are the latest project in the White House building boom Trump is leading.

The president’s other efforts to leave his mark include tearing up part of the Rose Garden to make room for a patio space reminiscent of his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, affixing partisan plaques to the wall of the colonnade for a Presidential Walk of Fame, redoing the bathroom attached to the Lincoln Bedroom and renovating the Palm Room, placing new flag poles on the north and south lawns and demolishing the entire East Wing for a sprawling ballroom.

The president also wants to repaint the Eisenhower Executive Office Building beside the White House and build a 250-foot arch at the nearby Lincoln Memorial — the same monument where weigh-ins for the upcoming UFC fight are scheduled to take place, bout organizers say.

Weissert writes for the Associated Press.

The recent Ebola outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has resulted in a rising death toll, reaching 118 fatalities on Monday, May 18, which is a significant jump from the 80 deaths recorded just two days earlier. This outbreak is the 17th recorded Ebola virus epidemic in the DRC and has been described as a matter of international emergency by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Patrick Muyaya, the DRC government spokesperson, announced that two additional health zones have been identified as impacted by the virus. These include Nyankunde in the Irumu territory of Ituri province. A suspected case has also emerged in Goma, the chief town of North Kivu.

The outbreak is now affecting multiple geographic areas, including Mongwalu, Rwampara, Bunia, Nyankunde in Ituri, as well as Butembo-Katwa and Goma in North Kivu. 

Butembo, a commercial town in North Kivu, was severely impacted during the Ebola Zaire strain outbreak from 2018 to 2020. Goma, which has been under the control of the M23 rebels since early 2025, serves as a significant regional transit hub on the border with Rwanda and Uganda.

The Bundibugyo Ebola strain, noted as the 17th epidemic in the DRC, was declared on May 15. Complete sequencing of the viral genome confirms that it is a genetically distinct variant from previous Bundibugyo outbreaks in 2007 and 2012, originating directly from an animal reserve, according to Jean-Jacques Muyembe, director of the DRC National Institute of Biomedical Research.

On May 17, after the WHO declared the epidemic an international public health emergency, the British organisation Oxfam also estimated that the global number of infections currently stands at 400.

Harvard-Westlake’s boys’ tennis team accomplished something on Friday few have done: topple Irvine University.

The Wolverines ended University’s four-year run as tennis champions with a 10-8 win at the Southern Section Division 1 championships. University is a 16-time champion.

Aiden Zadeh had an important win in singles. Chase Klugo and Aaron Chung swept their doubles competition. And Gideon Ames won the clinching set.

At a school that excels in many different sports, the Wolverines rose to the top. The season continues with regional and state competition.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

Published on
14/05/2026 – 14:35 GMT+2

Long-term US borrowing costs climbed to levels not seen since before the global financial crisis after the Treasury auctioned $25bn (€21.3bn) in 30-year bonds at a high yield of 5.058% on Wednesday, according to the department’s own data.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

The sale came only hours after the US Senate voted to confirm former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh as the next chairman, succeeding Jerome Powell.

The auction result immediately complicated the backdrop for Warsh’s arrival at the central bank, underlining the pressure facing policymakers as inflation is rising.

At the time of writing on Thursday, US 30-year bonds are trading at 5.02% while 10-year notes are selling with a yield of 4.44%.

US inflation figures released earlier this week showed consumer prices rose 3.8% from April 2025 as the 10-week Iran war pushed energy costs higher and distanced inflation from the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.

Producer price data also pointed to persistent underlying cost pressures across the economy, reinforcing expectations that the central bank may struggle to ease monetary policy quickly.

Rising Treasury yields have broad implications for the economy because they influence borrowing costs on mortgages, corporate debt and other forms of credit.

Higher long-term yields can also increase financing costs for the US government at a time when public debt is nearing $40 trillion (€34.1tn).

Investors are increasingly concerned that a combination of resilient economic growth, elevated energy prices and sustained government borrowing could keep inflationary pressures alive despite two years of restrictive monetary policy.

The yield on the benchmark 30-year Treasury bond being auctioned above 5% is a symbolic threshold last reached in 2007 before the onset of the global financial crisis.

While market conditions today differ substantially from that period, the move nonetheless underscores the sharp repricing that has taken place in global bond markets over the past two years.

Kevin Warsh inherits a difficult policy environment

Kevin Warsh takes over the Federal Reserve at a delicate moment for the US economy.

The former Morgan Stanley banker and Fed governor has previously argued in favour of maintaining the central bank’s credibility on inflation, while also signalling support for reforms to the institution’s communication strategy and balance sheet policies.

Warsh’s confirmation comes as financial markets remain divided over how aggressively the Federal Reserve should respond to persistent inflation pressures.

Some investors believe rates may need to stay higher for an extended period, while others warn that maintaining tight monetary conditions for too long could weigh heavily on economic growth and employment.

The main driver of the rise in inflation is the current disruption to global energy markets caused by the Iran war which also leaves the central bank at the mercy of geopolitics and not able to effectively control the situation.

Analysts stated that Wednesday’s Treasury auction illustrated the immediate challenge confronting the incoming Fed chair.

Elevated bond yields can help tighten financial conditions without additional rate increases from the central bank, but they can also amplify risks for heavily indebted households, businesses and the federal government itself.

For Warsh, the market reaction served as an early reminder that restoring confidence on inflation may prove more complicated than simply holding interest rates at restrictive levels.

South Korean stocks shot up nearly 6.5 percent Wednesday, extending a record-breaking run to top the 7,300-point mark, driven by a semiconductor rally and optimism for a potential peace deal in the Middle East. The local currency also strengthened against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 447.57 points, or 6.45 percent, to a fresh record high of 7,384.56.

It marked the second-largest daily gain in terms of points following 490.36 points reached on March 5.

Trade volume was heavy at 984.4 million shares worth 58.2 trillion won (US$40 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 199 to 677.

Foreigners bought 3.1 trillion won worth of local shares, while institutions and individuals dumped a net 2.3 trillion won and 571.2 billion won, respectively.

Overnight, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would pause operations to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz as part of efforts to reach a final agreement with Iran.

The KOSPI opened 2.25 percent higher to surpass the landmark 7,000-point threshold for the first time and extended the gains throughout the session.

The main index has been on a bullish run in recent months, surpassing the 5,000-point mark in late January and topping another milestone of 6,000 points in February.

After recouping its losses in March following the outbreak of the U.S.-Iran war in late February, the KOSPI breached the 7,000-point level on continued optimism over the artificial intelligence (AI) boom and hopes for the reopening of the key waterway.

“Global tech giants’ strong performances and the strengthened value chain for AI data centers boosted the AI-related shares,” Lee Kyung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities, said. “In particular, the market’s top-three shares of Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and SK Square led the rally.”

Top-cap Samsung Electronics surged 14.41 percent to close at 266,000 won, pushing its market capitalization above 1.5 quadrillion won and becoming the second Asian company to surpass the $1 trillion milestone after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.

SK hynix soared 10.64 percent to 1.6 million won, and AI investment firm SK Square jumped 9.89 percent to 1.1 million won.

Hanmi Semiconductor, a chip manufacturing company, rose 4.37 percent to 394,500 won, and LG Electronics vaulted 8.17 percent to 154,900 won.

However, shipbuilding and defense shares dropped. Major shipyard HD Hyundai Heavy Industries fell 4.71 percent to 648,000 won, and defense giant Hanwha Aerospace lost 2.18 percent to 1.4 million won.

Leading biotech firm Samsung Biologics declined 0.34 percent to 1.48 million won, and top mobile carrier SK Telecom backtracked 1.95 percent to 95,500 won.

The Korean won was quoted at 1,455.1 won against the U.S. dollar at 3:30 p.m., up 7.7 won from the previous session.

The quotation marks the highest since February 27, when the currency closed at 1,439.7 to the greenback.

Copyright (c) Yonhap News Agency prohibits its content from being redistributed or reprinted without consent, and forbids the content from being learned and used by artificial intelligence systems.

Palestinian journalists in Gaza marked World Press Freedom Day by honouring colleagues killed and targeted by Israel, as the territory becomes the deadliest place ever recorded for media workers. Pope Leo XIV called for greater protection of reporters ‘pursuing the truth’, especially in war zones.

Jump in prices comes as Donald Trump says vessels will need permission of US Navy to transit key waterway.

Oil prices have jumped on heightened tensions between the United States and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz following Washington and Tehran’s tit-for-tat captures of commercial vessels.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, topped $106 per barrel early on Friday morning as Washington and Tehran stepped up their confrontation over the key maritime route for transporting the world’s energy.

Brent stood at $106.80 as of 01:00 GMT, up nearly 5 percent from its closing price on Wednesday, when it surpassed $100 per barrel for the first time in two weeks.

US stocks fell overnight, with the benchmark S&P 500 index dipping 0.41 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropping 0.89 percent.

Shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries about one-fifth of the world’s supply of oil and natural gas, remains at a standstill as Iran continues to demand the right to decide which vessels may pass and the US blocks Iran’s maritime trade.

US President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post on Thursday that he had ordered the US Navy to destroy any Iranian boats laying mines in the strait, shortly after the Pentagon announced that it had seized a tanker carrying sanctioned Iranian oil for the second time in less than a week.

Trump also appeared to expand the scope of the US naval blockade beyond Iranian ports, writing on Truth Social that no ship “can enter or leave” the strait without the approval of the US Navy.

“It is ‘Sealed up Tight,’ until such time as Iran is able to make a DEAL!!!” Trump said.

Trump’s threats came a day after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced the capture of two foreign cargo ships in the waterway.

The IRGC said it had seized the Panamanian-flagged MSC Francesca and Greek-owned Epaminondas after the vessels had endangered maritime security “by operating without the necessary permits and tampering with navigation systems”.

The Greek Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy Ministry has denied that the Epaminondas was captured and said the vessel remains under the control of its captain.

Only nine commercial vessels transited the strait on Wednesday, compared with seven on Tuesday and 15 on Monday, according to maritime intelligence platform Windward.

Before the US and Israel launched their war against Iran on February 28, the waterway saw an average of 129 transits each day, according to United Nations Trade and Development.