All posts tagged: Asia Economy

Russian attack cuts power to around 150,000 in Chernihiv

Russian attack cuts power to around 150,000 in Chernihiv

Published by Sam Flores

A large plume of smoke rises over St. Petersburg following a Ukrainian drone strike targeting logistics facilities operated by Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer, on July 24, 2026 in St. Petersburg, Russia. Anadolu | Anadolu | Getty Images A Russian attack on an energy facility in Ukraine’s northern city of Chernihiv and surrounding district on Friday cut power to around 150,000 residents, according to the regional electricity distribution company. Workers were actively seeking to restore power supply to consumers in the area, the company said in an update via Telegram. Ukrainian air defenses were also working to repel a Russian attack in Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv on Friday morning, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko. The update comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed strikes by Ukrainian Defense Forces on a key missile components facility in the Russian city of Kirov, as well as well as an attack on an oil facility nearly 1,350 kilometers (838.9 miles) away. Zelenskyy said the Kirov facility supplied components for Russia’s aircraft and missile systems, describing the attack as “entirely justified” …

Pentagon removed four from official Iran war death toll

Pentagon removed four from official Iran war death toll

Published by Sam Flores

Soldiers from the US Army in a simulated village during the Combined Resolve “Greywolves” exercise at the US military Hohenfels Training Area in Hohenfels, Germany, on Thursday, April 30, 2026. Alex Kraus | Bloomberg | Getty Images The Pentagon lowered its official death toll for the Iran war to 14 from 18 in the space of a day, after the Trump administration removed four service members killed this month from the count, according to the defense casualty analysis system. The Pentagon’s casualty database showed seven of the 14 total deaths were classified as “hostile.” The New York Times reported the change in count earlier. Three military officials told the Times that the four service members killed this past weekend — three in Jordan and one in northern Iraq — were struck from the list because their deaths came after President Donald Trump declared a ceasefire in April. All of the deaths listed on Thursday U.S. time on the website, which said it was updated as of Wednesday, occurred in March. The Pentagon and the State …

Russia’s Amazon-style giant is in Ukraine’s crosshairs

Russia’s Amazon-style giant is in Ukraine’s crosshairs

Published by Sam Flores

Firefighters drive past the smoke of a fire at the Russian e-commerce firm Wildberries’ logistics complexes in the town of Elektrostal outside Moscow on July 18, 2026. A Ukrainian drone attack on two logistics centres in Russia killed eight people and injured 24, officials said on July 18, 2026. Tatyana Makeyeva | Afp | Getty Images Ukraine has ratcheted up its attacks on Russia’s Amazon-style retail giant Wildberries, signaling a new phase in the war as Kyiv seeks to inflict fresh pain on the Russian economy. Ukrainian Defense Forces have struck major logistics centers on Russian territory over the past week, including five facilities belonging to Wildberries in the period from Saturday through to Wednesday. The attacks, which follow months of drone strikes on Russian oil depots and refineries, appear designed to severely disrupt Moscow’s supply chains and increase the financial burden facing the country’s businesses and state budget. Wildberries is Russia’s biggest online retailer and its equivalent of U.S. e-commerce giant Amazon. Founded in 2004, the company currently employs some 48,000 people. “Ukraine has …

U.S. condemns China after Philippine sailor injured at disputed shoal

U.S. condemns China after Philippine sailor injured at disputed shoal

Published by Sam Flores

A ship identified by the Philippine Coast Guard as a Chinese research vessel is seen towing a floating structure at Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea on June 15, 2026. Jam Sta Rosa | Afp | Getty Images The U.S. condemned what it termed China’s “dangerous and aggressive” actions against Philippine navy personnel in the contested South China Sea waters, after Manila said a Chinese coast guard officer repeatedly struck a Filipino sailor on the head with a wooden baton, injuring him and damaging a navy rubber boat. The confrontation in the Second Thomas Shoal on Monday came as U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to visit Manila this week for meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers. Tensions in the South China Sea are expected to feature prominently in the discussions, with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also in attendance. Rubio met Wang on the sidelines of last year’s ASEAN gathering in Malaysia, and the two spoke by phone after President Donald Trump’s Beijing visit earlier this …

U.S. hits Iran for ninth consecutive night as casualties rise

U.S. hits Iran for ninth consecutive night as casualties rise

Published by Sam Flores

Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121) sails behind the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), June 27, 2026. Frank E. Petersen Jr. is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to support maritime security and stability in the Middle East. Courtesy: U.S. Navy The U.S. military on Sunday continued its campaign aimed at destroying Tehran’s ability to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. Central Command completed the ninth consecutive evening of strikes against Iran, at 10 p.m. ET on Sunday, Centcom said a post on X. The three-hour exercise targeted Iranian military command centers, air defense and coastal surveillance sites, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, aimed at further diminishing Tehran’s capabilities to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners transiting the strait, Centcom said. The warring powers have intensified their attacks in the region, stoking fears of a return to full war, with Washington and Tehran accusing each other of violating a memorandum of understanding reached in June. The waterway, which …

U.S. slaps 25% tariff on Brazilian goods over unfair trade practices

U.S. slaps 25% tariff on Brazilian goods over unfair trade practices

Published by Sam Flores

(COMBO) In this combination of files pictures created on December 2, 2025, Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during a press conference at the COP30 UN Climate Change Conference in Belem, Para state, Brazil, on November 19, 2025, and US President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet Meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC on December 2, 2025. Pablo Porciuncula, andrew Caballero-reynolds | Afp | Getty Images The U.S. has levied 25% tariffs on most imports from Brazil effective next week, concluding a yearlong investigation into what Washington calls unfair trade practices, and reigniting tensions with the Latin American nation after negotiation fell apart. The action, taken under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, targets Brazilian practices, such as orders directing American technology firms — including X, Meta, and Google — to remove certain political content and suspend accounts belonging to U.S. residents, preferential tariffs for Mexico and India, weak intellectual property enforcement, and ethanol market barriers. The 25% levy, set to take effect on July …

U.S. targets military assets in latest round of strikes against Iran

U.S. targets military assets in latest round of strikes against Iran

Published by Sam Flores

This frame grab taken from AFPTV video footage on July 12, 2026 shows cargo ships anchoring near the Strait of Hormuz off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates at Khor Fakkan. AFPTV | Getty Images The U.S. has completed its strikes against Iranian military targets for a third consecutive night, while Tehran hit two Emirati oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and triggered fresh missile alerts in Bahrain. U.S. Central Command said it has completed the latest wave of strikes against Iran. The five-hour mission struck military targets across Iran and further degraded Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping, Centcom said in a statement. The U.S. forces attacked Iranian coastal defense systems, missile and drone sites, and maritime capabilities. The military action came hours after Trump ordered to reinstate a blockade on Iran in the strait Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET, and floated a 20% toll charge for ships going through the critical energy waterway. Iran retaliated with attacks targeting Gulf countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain Tuesday morning. The …

Ukraine escalates attacks on tankers as Russian fuel shortages bite

Ukraine escalates attacks on tankers as Russian fuel shortages bite

Published by Sam Flores

Cars stand in line for gasoline at a Lukoil gas station on July 8, 2026 in Nakhabino outside of Moscow, Russia. Russian cities are experiencing a shortage of automobile fuel caused by numerous Ukrainian drone attacks on oil refineries. Contributor | Getty Images News | Getty Images Ukraine has stepped up its attacks on Russian fuel tankers in the Sea of Azov, seeking to disrupt supplies to occupied Crimea at a time when drone strikes have triggered nationwide gasoline shortages. Ukraine’s drone force commander Robert Brovdi, known as Magyar, said via Telegram that 14 Russian ships were hit in the Sea of Azov on Thursday evening, taking the number of Russian stuck by Ukrainian drones to 35 over the last 96 hours. CNBC could not independently verify this report. The drone strikes form part of Ukraine’s campaign designed to choke off supplies and transportation routes in and out of Crimea, which Russia seized by force in 2014. Situated off the southern shores of both Ukraine and Russia, the Sea of Azov is a shallow inland …

U.S. to continue technical talks with Iran despite new strikes

U.S. to continue technical talks with Iran despite new strikes

Published by Sam Flores

US President Donald Trump, alongside CIA Director John Ratcliffe, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine speaks about the conflict in Iran on April 6, 2026, in Washington, DC. Brendan Smialowski | Afp | Getty Images The U.S. will engage in “technical talks” with Iran and remains committed to finding a solution to the conflict, despite the two countries trading airstrikes in recent days, MS Now reported Thursday, citing a U.S. official. The official said President Donald Trump had made his position clear and characterized Iran’s attacks on commercial vessels as “acts of terrorism,” according to MS Now. Those comments come after Trump at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, said that the ceasefire with Iran was “over.” The memorandum of understanding between the two countries is performance-based, and Iran’s actions constitute “failed performance at an unacceptable level,” the U.S. official told MS Now, adding that talks with Tehran will continue. The ceasefire signed last month has come under serious strain in recent days with …

Trump calls precede NATO summit

Trump calls precede NATO summit

Published by Sam Flores

Local residents walk past burning garages outside a residential building following a Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on July 6, 2026, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Genya Savilov | Afp | Getty Images The long-running Russia-Ukraine war appears to have entered a new phase after major developments over the weekend and ahead of a crunch NATO summit. In the last 72 hours, U.S. President Donald Trump purportedly held separate calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian drones struck an oil terminal and port in St. Petersburg and the surrounding area and Russia launched its second large-scale attack on Kyiv in less than a week. The prospect of renewed diplomacy, alongside the risk of escalation, has put investors on notice at a time when markets are trying to price geopolitical risk, energy security and the integrity of Europe’s defense spending pledges. “There is a real prospect to put an end to this war, and America’s resolve is decisive,” Zelenskyy said in a social media post on …