Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz near Bandar Abbas, Iran, May 4, 2026.Amirhosein Khorgooi | ISNA | WANA | Via Reuters GENEVA, June 30 (Reuters) – The U.N. trade and development agency warned on Tuesday that while the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz will bring immediate relief to energy markets, vulnerable economies remain at risk from…

Executive Summary The months of May-June 2026 were marked by a significant acceleration across all axes of Turkish activity – military, economic, support for terrorism, and rhetorical escalation – as Ankara becomes an increasingly dominant actor in Syria with each passing month. On the force-build-up front, Syrian forces participated for the first time in EFES-2026…

In light of the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) boycott, the Knesset plenum rejected in its first reading a bill to amend the Prisons Ordinance, Amendment No. 73, which sought to prevent representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross from entering detention facilities and to prohibit the transfer of information to the organization. The bill was…

The Palestinian sector is set to rely increasingly on electronic payments, moving away from physical bank notes as a means to deal with the banking crisis, Deputy Governor of the Palestinian Monetary Authority (PMA) Mohammad Manasra told the PA-run WAFA on Sunday. The move is part of a multi-track path to deal with the financial…

Israel’s Commissioner for Trade Levies and the Ministry of Economy and Industry have opened a new investigation into allegations of dumping of medical cannabis into the Israeli market from Canada. As first reported by Cannabis Magazine, Commissioner Danny Tal is launching the investigation less than six months after a District Court rejected Israeli growers’ attempts…

Ships and boats in the Strait of Hormuz, Musandam, Oman, May 1, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Stringer TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY Israeli Transport Minister Miri Regev has warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that a new wave of cross-border infrastructure projects in the Middle East is deliberately bypassing Israel and threatens to permanently erode the country’s strategic…

(June 29, 2026 / JNS) Transport Minister Miri Regev wrote a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu two weeks ago in which she warned against regional commercial initiatives to bypass Israel via new supply routes, Channel 12 reported on Friday. Israel’s “hands are tied” in the wake of the Washington-Tehran interim agreement signed on June…

ALTHOUGH taken for granted, economic activity thrives and can fuel both national and individual growth when peace is maintained within a country or between nations. While peace negotiations in the Middle East are vital for the world economy, it is helpful to broaden the perspective of peace when evaluating elements that could impair financial market…

The US and Iran have agreed to “stand down” following an exchange of strikes over the past few days, media reports say citing a US official. It comes after several attacks in and around the Strait of Hormuz, culminating in both nations accusing each other of violating their ceasefire. The official confirmed to the BBC’s…

Progress towards normality, but energy markets remain far from normal The first round of high-level US-Iran talks in Lucerne produced cautious but meaningful progress towards restoring stability in one of the world’s most important energy regions. Both sides described the discussions as constructive and agreed to continue technical negotiations aimed at reaching a comprehensive agreement…