Morning Edition · Sunday, June 21, 2026
Markets
Hormuz Stays Shut to Shipping Despite Truce, Keeping a Risk Premium in Oil
Iran's Revolutionary Guard is withholding transit permits even after a war-ending memorandum promised to reopen the strait, while loaded tankers reappear in the Gulf.
Geopolitics
US and Iranian Negotiators Convene in Switzerland to Save a Fragile Truce
Vice President JD Vance leads talks at Burgenstock aimed at securing the ceasefire and a nuclear accord, with Qatar and Pakistan mediating and Lebanon's war threatening the negotiations.
Markets
Ukrainian Strikes Trigger a Fuel Crisis in Russian-Held Crimea
The Moscow-aligned authorities halted all petrol sales after drones hit a major depot, the clearest sign yet that Kyiv's campaign against Russian energy infrastructure is reaching occupied territory.
Geopolitics
Renewed Fighting in South Lebanon Strains the US-Brokered Calm
A deadly tank loss and the collapse of a ceasefire have hardened Israeli criticism that Washington is directing the conflict, as the US proposes weapons-free "pilot zones" north of the border.
Geopolitics
Kremlin Says It Expects Victory, Not the Anchorage Deal It Signed
A senior Putin aide accused Washington of failing to honour the Alaska understandings and insisted Moscow is waiting for its war aims, not their implementation.
Macro
Iran Says Fear of Economic Damage Drove Trump to the Table
Tehran's media highlighted the US president's acknowledgment that a wider war risked global economic harm, presenting it as the main weakness in Washington's negotiating position.
Geopolitics
Colombians Vote in a Polarised Runoff That Could Redraw Ties With Washington
Leftist Iván Cepeda faces hardline conservative Abelardo de la Espriella, who has been endorsed by President Trump, in a contest over security and the country's foreign alignment.
Macro
Iran Reopens to Trade and Reviews Its Economic Rulebook After the War
The first container ship since the US blockade lifted has docked at an Iranian port, as Tehran weighs revising currency and trade rules that officials say hampered the economy.
Tech
Japan's AI Data-Center Boom Runs Into Local Resistance Over Power and Health
Residents near new urban developments are objecting to the noise, water and electricity demands of the facilities driving the country's artificial-intelligence expansion.
Geopolitics
Chinese Manufacturing Abroad Meets Backlash in Michigan and Rebadging in Russia
A bankrupting fight over a Chinese-linked battery plant in a US township and a Geely sold as a revived Russian "Volga" show two different results of Beijing's industrial reach.
World
Trump-Linked Gulf Money Draws Crowds and Criticism, From Albania to Air Force One
Tens of thousands have protested for three weeks against a Kushner-linked resort on Albania's coast, as the president presents a converted Qatari jet as a temporary Air Force One.
Geopolitics
A Poland-Ukraine "Honours War" Exposes Cracks in the Eastern Front
After Poland's president stripped his Ukrainian counterpart of a top state award, Ukrainian officials are renouncing their own Polish honours, straining a key wartime partnership.