Briefing

Oman’s Sohar port is emerging as a favored location for ship-to-ship oil transfers while the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked. After Iran closed the strait, Houthis controlled Bab al-Mandeb and attacks disrupted Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline, Riyadh began moving crude to Sohar for transfer to other tankers. The operation requires careful coordination but carries spill, collision, insurance and tanker-availability risks.

Strait of Hormuzoil exportsship-to-ship transfersOman

Preliminary shipping data showed that four commodity vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf on Thursday, down from six the previous day and below the roughly 16-vessel 10-day average.

Strait of HormuzshippingGulf

Donald Trump’s naval campaign is deepening Tehran’s reliance on trade routes through land neighbours such as Turkey, as Iran turns from ships to trucks to evade the US blockade.

IranUS blockadeTurkeytrade

Russian Defense Ministry air defenses shot down another 15 drones heading toward Moscow, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said. TASS calculations based on his posts indicate that 35 UAVs have been destroyed while approaching the Russian capital since the start of the day, with emergency crews working where debris fell.

Moscowdronesair defenses

Russians began a three-day election on Friday to choose 450 members of the State Duma, the first such vote since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in 2022. Only parties supporting Vladimir Putin and his war are registered, while the opposition is barred. Putin’s United Russia is expected to retain its dominance. Voting is also taking place in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories against Kyiv’s wishes.

Russia electionState DumaVladimir PutinUkraine war

Russia holds its first parliamentary elections since the Ukraine war, with opposition parties barred from running. Because only parties loyal to Vladimir Putin are contesting the vote, it is being described as little more than a “veneer of democracy.”

Russiaparliamentary electionsVladimir Putin

Russia has begun its first parliamentary election vote since the war in Ukraine. On September 17, a precinct election commission member prepared a polling station in Moscow for the parliamentary elections.

Russiaparliamentary electionvoting

Oil prices are falling as supply concerns ease and diplomacy gathers pace. Saudi Arabia is working to restore its key East-West oil pipeline and is selling more crude through the Strait of Hormuz. The US has approved a $24.3 billion sale of F-35 jets to Saudi Arabia; US and Gulf countries are due to meet during next week’s UN General Assembly, while Washington says Iranian officials may travel to New York.

Saudi ArabiaF-35 jetsoil pipelineStrait of Hormuz

The United States said Thursday it had approved a $24.3 billion sale of 48 F-35 stealth fighter jets to Saudi Arabia. Israel had previously raised concerns about Riyadh obtaining the aircraft, despite efforts to normalise relations.

United StatesSaudi ArabiaF-35 jets

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney used a speech to the European Parliament to promote closer ties between Canada and Europe while taking another swipe at Donald Trump. The EU has indicated it could deepen its relationship with Canada, potentially through associate membership, raising questions about how Washington views the proposal.

CanadaEuropean UnionMark CarneyDonald Trump

Closer ties between Canada and Europe could bring significant benefits but would also pose challenges. Abacus polling conducted before Prime Minister Mark Carney’s September trip to Europe found that four in five Canadians support closer integration with the European Union. Eric Sorensen examines the complexities of a potential partnership.

CanadaEuropean Uniondiplomatic relations

Prime Minister Mark Carney began the week in Toronto urging some of the world’s wealthiest money managers to invest in Canada, then travelled to Europe with the message that Canada and Europe are stronger together. The Reporter Roundtable examines the week before Parliament returns.

Canada politicsCanada-Europe relationsMark Carney

The United States may wait until after next week’s meeting between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump to announce new tariffs on China, people familiar with the matter say.

USChinatariffstrade

Analysts say artificial intelligence, the ongoing trade war and the yuan are likely to dominate the upcoming US-China summit. Attention is focused on whether the two countries can make concessions or establish guardrails around key areas of competition.

US-China summitAI rivalrytrade waryuan

US President Donald Trump said Washington and Warsaw were making “major progress” toward establishing a US military base in Poland. The move could give the United States a permanent foothold on NATO’s eastern flank while his administration reviews its wider troop presence in Europe.

Donald TrumpPolandUS military baseNATO eastern flank

Japan's central bank lifted its benchmark rate after policymakers split over the decision. The move comes as it confronts intensifying inflation risks and unusually direct demands for additional steps toward policy normalization.

Bank of Japanrate hikeinflation

After the rate hike, the yen weakened beyond 157 against the dollar and the 10-year Japanese government bond yield declined, while the Nikkei 225 climbed 1.5%.

Japanese stocksyengovernment bonds

The Bank of Japan raised its target rate from 1% to 1.25%, the highest since 1995, seeking to limit inflationary pressure linked to the war in Iran. Two board members opposed the move. The yen fell about 0.7% against the dollar, helping the Nikkei rise nearly 2%.

Bank of Japaninterest ratesinflationyen

ABC News’ Linsey Davis speaks with Christopher DiCarlo, author of “Building a God,” about concerns surrounding the rapid development of artificial intelligence and steps companies could take to contain it.

artificial intelligencetechnology safetyAI development

Bloomberg journalists will take questions in a live Q&A on Sept. 18 at 11 a.m. HKT about calls in the US to slow AI development and the potential impact on China.

AIAI safetyUnited StatesChina

Fears that artificial intelligence could pose an existential threat have entered the mainstream, but some experts worry that this focus is crowding out attention to more urgent issues.

artificial intelligencetechnology industrysafety concerns

At least 33 people arrested in Nigeria on alleged illegal-mining charges have been found dead while in security custody. Officials suspect disease may have caused the deaths.

Nigeriaillegal miningcustody deaths

At least 37 people suspected of illegal mining died while detained by Nigeria’s Security and Civil Defense Corps in Minna, Niger State. Officials suspect disease, while preliminary intelligence points to overcrowding and poor ventilation. Police are investigating, and the state government has formed an inquiry committee and declared three days of mourning.

Nigeriadetention deathsillegal mininginvestigation

Graphic warning: people detained during mining raids in Nigeria have died while in custody.

Nigeriaillegal miningcustody deaths

A new feline species has been discovered in a Bolivian forest, marking the first such discovery in a century. The leopard-spotted “kitten” was initially kept as a family pet.

Bolivianew speciesfelines