June 6, 2026

The United Arab Emirates said Tuesday that it would leave OPEC, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which coordinates oil output among leading energy producing nations. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. The departure from OPEC will likely lead the UAE to boosting energy output. Although with the Strait of Hormuz closed, it’s not clear how fast any increased production would be able to reach global markets. “Following its exit, the UAE will continue to act responsibly, bringing additional production to market in a gradual and measured manner, aligned with … Read more

June 6, 2026

Health care costs reach a breaking point

admin

Statement Highlights: New American Heart Association Presidential Advisory warns that U.S. health care affordability has reached a crisis point. Rising health care costs, driven largely by chronic disease, are forcing many people in America to delay or avoid care altogether, and contribute to worsening health outcomes and increasing medical debt for families nationwide. The advisory outlines five core principles to inform policies toward a more affordable, sustainable health care system. Embargoed until 4 a.m. CT/5 a.m. ET Thursday, April 30, 2026 DALLAS, April 30, 2026 — With health care costs constituting a major source of concern … Read more

June 6, 2026

Pentagon inks deals with eight AI companies for classified military work | Trump administration

admin

The Pentagon said on Friday it had reached agreements with eight leading artificial intelligence (AI) companies: SpaceX, OpenAI, Google, Nvidia, Reflection, Microsoft, Oracle and Amazon Web Services. “These agreements accelerate the transformation toward establishing the United States military as an AI-first fighting force and will strengthen our warfighters’ ability to maintain decision superiority across all domains of warfare,” the Pentagon said in statement. The companies had agreed to the US military’s deployment of their technology for “any lawful use”, according to the Pentagon. The startup Anthropic, which makes the popular Claude chatbot, had rejected including the lawful use standard in … Read more

June 5, 2026

Is Japan Actually Breaking Free From the US-China Trap in 2026?

admin

The conventional read of Japan’s foreign policy in 2026 is that Tokyo is hedging: carefully managing relationships on multiple fronts in response to an uncertain environment. It is the kind of framing that sounds analytically serious and explains very little. Every country hedges. What is actually happening in Tokyo is more consequential and more original than that word suggests. Japan is in the early stages of becoming something it has not been since 1945: a country with genuine strategic autonomy. Not independence from its alliances; Tokyo is not walking away from Washington, and anyone who reads the current defense buildup … Read more

June 5, 2026

Trade, Taiwan and Iran cast shadows on Trump’s China summit with Xi

admin

BEIJING — President Donald Trump will begin a two-day summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday as the world’s two biggest economies look to stabilize a trade truce against the backdrop of the simmering U.S. conflict with Iran. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. Trump’s visit, the first by a U.S. president since his own trip nine years ago, will be “a wild one,” he promised this year, recounting at an event in Washington that he had told Xi “to put on the biggest display you’ve ever had … Read more

June 5, 2026

Seized ship taken toward Iran as Trump and China’s Xi agree Strait of Hormuz “must remain open”

admin

In an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity Thursday from Beijing, President Trump said that during their summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping assured him that China would not provide military equipment to Iran for its war in the Middle East. Asked by Hannity how big of a discussion the two leaders had regarding China’s support for Iran, Mr. Trump responded, “We discussed it. When you say support, they’re [China] not fighting a war with us or anything.” According to Mr. Trump, Xi told him that he’s “not going to give [Iran] military equipment. That’s a big statement. He said that … Read more