Samrat Chowdhery
@sam-rat.bsky.social
Media professional. Follow news on foreign affairs, media, nonprofits and nicotine policies.
Oil shock created $1 billion a day windfall for Saudi and US oil companies. Perhaps in their interest to drag Iran war on. www.livemint.com/industry/ene...
$1,000,000,000 in profit every day! As consumers paid more for fuel amid US-Iran conflict, here's who cashed in | Mint
Brent crude prices surged to $126 per barrel amid the Iran conflict, but later eased. Oil companies argue their profits are necessary for future investments, despite criticism over excessive earnings
livemint.com
The UN agency said in a report that there was an 81% chance of a very strong El Nino event, with sea surface temperatures at their warmest levels since at least 1982 and potentially making it the strongest such event since 1950.
Strong El Nino could push 49 million more into acute hunger, U.N. agency says
The U.N. agency said in a report that there was an 81% chance of a very strong El Nino event.
japantimes.co.jp
EU is paying for Ukraine war with seized Russian money – $9 billion so far. This sets a precedent that may seem like a smart move at first, but it also creates massive distrust in Western financial institutions.
EU receives €1.4 billion in revenue from immobilised Russian assets to be used for supporting Ukraine - The European Sting - Critical News & Insights on European Politics, Economy, Foreign Affairs, Business & Technology - europeansting.com European Union News -
EU receives €1.4 billion in revenue from immobilised Russian assets to be used for supporting Ukraine The European Sting - Critical News & Insights on European Politics, Economy, Foreign Affairs,…
europeansting.com
Gaza plan looks great on paper and Hamas does have the incentive to disarm, but not clear Israel can be reined in. After over 70,000 dead, we are back to the central question of whether the US can lean on its ally to behave rationally. That's the real chokepoint. #GazaWar
America had to finally buy the favour of major Gulf nations with dole-outs – currency swap, AI chips for Emiratis and a nuclear deal for Saudis. But concessions have a sell-by date, so the US is still on the clock to wrap up its war before this support wanes. #IranWar
Pirates of the Arabian. Who would've thought pirates will be fighting for control of Hormuz in 2026. #iranwar
Lindsey Graham’s demise could tilt interventionist foreign policy in US Senate toward isolationism. It's good to talk about the US not abdicating its role as the global policeman, but the way it has been using its power lately, such a shift could be welcome.
Oil is climbing again after US-Iran escalation. Traders are pricing in a prolonged conflict which will wreck inflation across Europe and Asia. www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Crucial moment for Israelis to reject Netanyahu's unchecked aggression and rehabilitate the country's global image.
Israel sets October 27 election as Netanyahu faces crucial post-Gaza war test
Israel will hold national elections on Oct. 27, the latest date permitted by law, parliament said on Sunday, setting up a vote widely seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's…
france24.com
Trump's meddling in WC has tainted FIFA, the tournament and every refree and VAR decision, because once you see overt corruption it's natural to doubt everything else.
Supports what many of us have seen in clinical practice! www.news-medical.net/news/2026070...
Regular exercise boosts success rates for quitting smoking
A pack-a-day smoker can spend around $14,000 a year on cigarettes, yet despite the financial and health costs, quitting remains one of the most difficult changes many people will ever attempt.
news-medical.net
Trump’s brand in Europe, even among the far right, has soured — curdled by his tariff wars, threats against Greenland and a war on Iran that increased energy prices.
Trump spent a decade making friends in Europe. Now they’re turning away.
From Italy to France, nationalist leaders are reassessing their ties with the U.S. president as his brand sours across the EU.
politico.eu
A decade later, Brexit remains a masterclass in self-inflicted economic isolation. Trading vital regional market access for abstract sovereignty yielded a staggering loss of global relevance and fractured supply lines.
nytimes.com
Abelardo de la Espriella's victory in Colombia completes Latin America's lurch to the right, in a stark reversal of the region’s so-called pink tide that brought several leftist governments to power in the early 2020s.
De la Espriella win in Colombia cements Latin America’s rightward shift
Colombia and Peru now join Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia and Panama in moving right.
japantimes.co.jp
Keir Starmer's impending resignation after less than two years proves a massive parliamentary majority can't guarantee everyone believes in your vision. The UK's center-left revival was remarkably hollow.
Australia has become a net exporter of failed bans, from vaping to U-18 internet use which again is impossible to implement and sets a dangerous precedent for absolute state intervention in digital freedom.
Why is the UK launching an ‘Australia plus’ social media ban and how will it work?
Government wants to back parents against tech companies though some feel the process has been rushed
theguardian.com
Russia and the US fell into the same trap. Both powers projected their own centralised structures onto smaller nations like Ukraine and Iran resulting in brutal quagmires.
nytimes.com
A US-Iran deal won't change the reality of this war, which is that a small nation of 90 million people rocked the global economy and now forever holds that card, became a new hegemon of ME and ended 47 years of obscurity to gain a seat on the world stage.
Elon Musk's $1.1T wealth is more than 170 of the world's 195 nations. #SpaceX
What won't authoritarians do to stay in power. At least in South Korea's case, democratic guardrails held and Yoon was jailed for 30 years.
Attacking California's water infrastructure over US strikes in Iran is a new asymmetric playbook. Vulnerable local grids are now the frontlines.
Cyber group claims California water system hack in retaliation for Iran strikes
A hacker-activist group, Handala, has claimed responsibility for a cyber intrusion targeting water facilities in California, saying the action was carried out in retaliation for alleged US strikes on…
middleeasteye.net
Shut out of SpaceX's massive IPO, Asian capital is flooding the entire space supply chain instead. And ETFs tracking the sector are exploding. Wall Street's exclusivity is accidentally funding a global space boom.
Asian investors look for novel ways to join SpaceX’s US IPO excitement
Japan and Australia are the only countries in Asia-Pacific where retail investors have direct access to SpaceX’s IPO.
scmp.com
US agency NOAA has declared El Niño has officially begun. Many forecasts suggest it could be the strongest ever recorded.
El Niño has begun, scientists say, and could bring record heat
An El Niño event has officially started, say US scientists, raising fears of extreme weather and higher temperatures.
bbc.com
Smart. Reuters and Time are joining The Atlantic and People Inc. in blocking unauthorised AI bots. By shifting to "allow lists", they’re reclaiming content value, forcing licensing deals and cutting infrastructure costs from wasteful bot traffic.
Reuters and Time adopt bot-blocking whitelists to rein in AI crawlers
Reuters and Time adopt a ‘block-all’ AI bot strategy, part of a broader publisher move toward whitelist-only access.
digiday.com
US unipolarity is giving way to regional actors dictating conflict resolution – Ukraine is turning to France, Germany and the UK for peace talks, while Iran is directly using hard power against Israel to safeguard Lebanon.
Substack isn’t the gold rush many imagine. A few stars thrive, most grind for scraps. This Poynter piece shows what the creator economy really looks like.
Can journalists really make a living on Substack? - Poynter
It seems independent journalism is more popular than ever, but whether it's a viable alternative to a newsroom job is up for debate.
poynter.org
The modern food system functions because regional crop failures are usually isolated, allowing other areas to compensate. Climate change is increasing the likelihood of synchronous, multi-region droughts, removing this safety net.
What happens when the world’s breadbaskets start failing simultaneously?
The modern food system was built on the expectation that geography would spread out the risks from droughts and floods. Climate change is testing all of that at once.
theconversation.com
