Sunday 18 October 2026 · No. 5
Top Story The Gulf and World Markets
Brent crude closed Friday at $109.86 a barrel; tech companies lost more than $1 trillion in value.
Imagine one narrow door that nearly a fifth of the world’s oil used to pass through. That door is the Strait of Hormuz, between Iran and its southern neighbours. A war that began in late February, when the US and Israel attacked Iran, has disrupted shipping there ever since.
On Friday 16 October, Brent crude, a benchmark price for oil, briefly topped $110 a barrel, its highest since May, and closed at $109.86. It rose 4.9% over the week. US crude, called WTI, rose 3.5% to $101.41. UKMTO recorded 12 vessel attacks in the past week, 10 of them in the strait.
The two sides disagree on traffic. Iran’s army chief says the strait remains closed. US Central Command says 400 commercial vessels passed through in the past week, while UKMTO counts transits about 70% below pre-conflict levels.
Share markets felt it. Technology companies lost more than $1 trillion in value on Friday. One explanation is that higher fuel costs raise inflation, which makes further US rate rises more likely, and higher rates make growth companies’ future profits worth less today.
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow sea passage between Iran and its southern neighbours. Nearly a fifth of the world’s oil used to pass through it. A war began in late February, when the US and Israel attacked Iran. Since then, shipping there has been disrupted.
On Friday, Brent crude briefly went above $110 a barrel. Brent crude is a type of oil used to set world prices. That was its highest price since May.
The two sides disagree about the strait. Iran’s army chief says it is still closed. US Central Command says 400 ships passed through in the past week.
Tech companies lost more than $1 trillion in value on Friday. One reason may be that higher fuel costs push prices up. That makes US interest rates more likely to rise. Oil is a cost in almost everything, so families everywhere can feel it.
World Saudi Arabia and Yemen
Trump says Saudi Arabia should accept Israeli help against the Houthis.
🧵 New to this story? Read the story so far →Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, who control Sanaa in Yemen, are still fighting. A strike hit King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on 10 October, and Saudi Arabia says 12 people were killed and 300 wounded. The airport stays suspended through 17 October, while Jeddah and Dammam run with delays.
On 15 October Houthi missiles hit the Al-Maashiq presidential palace in Aden, the government’s interim capital. Yemen’s health minister said five people were killed and 16 wounded. The UN Security Council condemned the attacks in a presidential statement.
On 16 October Trump said Israel “has been very helpful to Saudi Arabia” and that Saudi–Israeli normalisation could return to the agenda. Riyadh has said it will normalise only with a clear path to Palestinian statehood. Saudi Arabia accuses Iran of encouraging the Houthis; Iran denies it and offers to mediate.
Saudi Arabia is fighting the Houthis, a group that controls Sanaa in Yemen. On 10 October, a strike hit the airport in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia says 12 people were killed and 300 were hurt. The airport stays shut through 17 October.
On 15 October, Houthi missiles hit a presidential palace in Aden. Aden is where Yemen’s government is based for now. Yemen’s health minister said five people were killed. The UN Security Council condemned, or strongly criticised, the attacks.
On 16 October, Trump said Israel has been very helpful to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia says Iran encourages the Houthis. Iran says that is not true. It has offered to help the two sides talk.
India The Gulf
All 24 seafarers on two struck tankers are safe, but six Indians were hurt at Riyadh airport.
India has a large stake in the Gulf. On 16 October the tanker MT ST 3, carrying 15 Indian seafarers, was struck in the Strait of Hormuz. On 14 October the chemical tanker YARA J, with nine Indian seafarers, was hit by a drone at Sulina Anchorage in Romania. All 24 are safe.
Indian passengers have also felt the war. Six Indian nationals were injured in the Riyadh airport attack on 10 October, two of them in intensive care. Air India and Air India Express suspended flights to Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah until 20 October, and IndiGo suspended Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Madinah until 24 October.
The US, Australia and India have issued travel warnings. Akasa Air suspended Riyadh flights until 24 October and Jeddah flights until 21 October.
Millions of Indians work and travel in the Gulf. So fighting there quickly worries families in India.
Seafarers are sailors. On 16 October, a tanker ship with 15 Indian seafarers was struck. It was in the Strait of Hormuz. On 14 October, another tanker with nine Indian seafarers was hit by a drone in Romania. All 24 sailors are safe.
Six Indians were hurt in an attack on Riyadh’s airport on 10 October. Two of them are in intensive care, a hospital unit for very sick patients.
Indian airlines have paused flights to Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam. Some flights are stopped until 24 October. India, the US and Australia have warned people about travel there.
United States Congress
A House bill to block it was filed on 16 October.
SENATORS SIGNING THE LETTER Number of senators
On 9 October President Trump announced a deal to let Russian diesel reach world markets by easing sanctions. Senators say the US would import about 2.2 million tons over two months. Six Republican and six Democratic senators wrote to him asking him to rescind it.
On 16 October a group of House Democrats and one Republican filed a bill to block the deal. It would likely face a presidential veto, which is the president’s power to reject a law. Republican leaders have not joined the effort, and Congress is away until after the midterms.
The midterm elections are about three weeks away, and fuel prices are a political worry for Republicans. Ukraine’s president says the deal puts more money in Putin’s pocket; the European Council expressed regret over it.
On 9 October, President Trump announced a deal about Russian diesel, a kind of fuel. The deal eases sanctions, which are penalties on a country. It lets Russian diesel reach world markets.
Six Republican and six Democratic senators wrote to Trump. They asked him to cancel the deal. On 16 October, some lawmakers in the House filed a bill to block it. The House is one part of Congress.
The president would likely veto the bill. A veto is the president’s power to reject a law. Congress is also away until after the midterm elections.
Those elections are about three weeks away. Fuel prices are a worry for Republicans. Ukraine’s president says the deal gives Putin more money.
Science & Tech Astronomy
XLSSC 122 lies about 10.4 billion light-years from Earth.
A galaxy cluster is a huge group of galaxies bound together by gravity. Using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers studied XLSSC 122, about 10.4 billion light-years away. It is the most distant known cluster showing strong gravitational lensing, which is the bending of light by mass, according to the Caltech IPAC release.
The cluster was found in 2014 by ESA’s XMM-Newton X-ray spacecraft. Webb saw its lensing arcs first. The team reports an unusually dense concentration of mass at its centre, at odds with standard cosmological models.
Dark matter is about five times more abundant than ordinary matter. The results appear in three Astrophysical Journal Letters papers; ScienceDaily reported them on 13 October.
A galaxy cluster is a huge group of galaxies held together by gravity. Astronomers used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to study one called XLSSC 122. It is about 10.4 billion light-years away.
Mass can bend light. This is called gravitational lensing. It can make curved arcs of light. XLSSC 122 is the most distant known cluster with strong lensing.
The team found an unusually large amount of mass packed into the cluster’s centre. This does not fit the standard models scientists use to explain the universe. Findings like this show scientists where to look harder, for example at dark matter.
The cluster was first found in 2014 by an X-ray spacecraft called XMM-Newton.
Economy India
Fuel and power prices rose fastest in September.
India’s wholesale price inflation rose to 11.39% in September from 9.92% in August, according to provisional data. The wholesale price index tracks goods traded in bulk before they reach shops.
Fuel and power inflation reached 25.85%, up from 22.93%. Crude petroleum and natural gas jumped to 57.32% from 34.41%. Food inflation was 8.66% and manufactured products 9.76%.
India’s figures cover September. Since then Brent crude has closed at $109.86 on 16 October, its highest level since May.
Wholesale prices are the prices of goods traded in bulk, before they reach shops. Inflation means prices going up. In India, wholesale inflation rose to 11.39% in September. In August it was about 10%.
Fuel and power prices rose fastest. Their inflation reached about 26%. Crude oil and natural gas jumped even more, to about 57%. Food and factory-made goods rose more slowly.
These figures are for September. Since then, the price of Brent crude has reached its highest level since May. Brent crude is a type of oil used to set world prices.
Higher wholesale costs for fuel, food and goods can later raise what families pay in shops.
Did you know?
Explainer
Oil has no single price, so traders use benchmarks. Brent crude is a benchmark used for oil traded internationally. WTI, short for West Texas Intermediate, is the main US benchmark.
On 16 October Brent closed at $109.86 a barrel and WTI at $101.41. Both rose that day, Brent by 3.7% and WTI by 3.5%, as ships were hit near Hormuz.
Discuss
How can a narrow strait affect prices in your own town?
Should one country’s president be able to ease sanctions without Congress’s approval? Why or why not?
Why might governments pass some powers to regions, as Burnham proposes for Scotland?
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