Economics

Bougainville Presses Panguna Mine Restart After Camp Attack: September 14, 2026

WELLINGTON — Bougainville President Ishmael Toroama condemned an attack on a mining camp at Panguna and said his government would press ahead with plans to reopen the long-shuttered copper mine despite opposition from some groups, Reuters reported.

Personnel were assaulted and equipment destroyed at the camp, Toroama’s office said late Sunday, without detailing injuries or identifying those responsible. AFP reported that saboteurs torched heavy machinery belonging to Indian company Lloyds Metals and Energy, which is leading restart efforts.

Panguna, once among the world’s biggest open-pit copper operations, has been closed for nearly three decades after conflict devastated the autonomous Papua New Guinea region. Reopening is central to Bougainville’s push for economic strength as it pursues independence.

“The government and people of Bougainville will not be intimidated by individuals or factions seeking to undermine our efforts to redevelop the Panguna Mine,” Toroama said. Landowner consent, environmental safeguards, and benefit-sharing remain contested.

Sources: Reuters, AFP via France 24

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Oman Postpones Hormuz Talks After Iranian Cargo Ship Strike: September 14, 2026

DUBAI — Oman postponed a planned Monday meeting between Iran and other Persian Gulf powers on managing Strait of Hormuz shipping after an Iranian cargo vessel was struck near Qeshm Island, killing one person and wounding four, France 24 reported, citing AP and Iranian state media.

Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi said late Sunday the regional meeting was delayed “in the interests of consensus.” An Iranian foreign ministry official said Tehran and Muscat postponed talks at the request of some regional countries and would set a new date.

Iran’s IRNA quoted the Qeshm governor blaming a “terrorist enemy” for the Sunday strike. Asked whether the United States hit the vessel, President Donald Trump said, “I don’t want to say.” Commercial traffic through Hormuz remains low amid the U.S.–Iran war.

Saudi Arabia has submitted amendments to an Iran–Oman shipping arrangement, citing concern about lasting implications for other Gulf Cooperation Council states, a Gulf official told AP. Bahrain said it would not attend the meeting, citing a lack of diplomatic ties with Tehran.

Sources: France 24 (AP)

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Carney Pitches Canada to Global Investors Amid U.S. Trade War: September 14, 2026

TORONTO — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is welcoming dozens of global investors to Toronto this week to pitch more than 160 mining, energy, technology, and infrastructure projects he says are key to weathering a trade war with the United States, Reuters reported Monday.

Confirmed attendees include BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, Blackstone President Jon Gray, Temasek CEO Dilhan Pillay, and APG Groep CEO Annette Mosman, a source familiar with the event said. Carney has pledged to attract C$1 trillion ($721 billion) in investment over five years by cutting red tape.

“The world’s largest investors, managing over C$120 trillion dollars of assets, will come to ‘peer into our shop window’ because the world is looking at Canada differently,” Carney said at a welcome reception Sunday. A government source said major deals could take 12 to 18 months to materialize.

The summit aims to match about 100 investors with Canadian CEOs and officials. The prospectus seen by Reuters lists data centers, a photonic quantum computer project, the Crawford Nickel Project, and financing for a proposed Calgary–Edmonton high-speed transportation pod.

Sources: Reuters

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Kremlin Welcomes Trump Call for Ukraine to Halt Diesel Strikes: September 14, 2026

MOSCOW — The Kremlin on Monday welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for Ukraine to halt strikes on Russia’s diesel-producing facilities, while saying upheaval in global energy markets stemmed mainly from conflict in the Gulf, Reuters reported.

Trump on Sunday urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to stop targeting Russian diesel infrastructure, saying the attacks were causing a fuel shortage that is “hurting the world.” A wave of long-distance Ukrainian drone attacks on refineries in recent months has cut Russian fuel output and triggered gasoline shortages across Russia.

“Any call on the Kyiv regime to stop attacks on civilian economic infrastructure can only be welcomed,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Ukraine says striking Russian refineries raises the cost to Moscow of continuing its invasion.

Peskov said global energy markets were worsening mainly because of “instability and new rounds of escalation in the Persian Gulf region,” and that a Russian diesel export ban should help the domestic market ahead of parliamentary elections set for September 18–20.

Sources: Reuters

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South Korea Aims to Finalise U.S. Investment Plan Details This Week: September 13, 2026

SEOUL — South Korea will hold further talks with the United States early this week to finalise details of Seoul’s proposed $350 billion investment commitment to the U.S., Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said Sunday, Reuters reported.

Speaking after returning from the United States, Kim said a $200 billion ceiling for strategic investments — part of the broader $350 billion package — including a $20 billion annual cap, had already been agreed and would not change.

Kim said the two sides were close on many issues but that several matters remained unresolved. This week’s talks will be by videoconference. He declined to name specific projects before negotiations are finished.

Kim travelled to the United States last week for talks with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and other officials on the scale and conditions of the proposed package, tied to last year’s tariff agreement that lowered reciprocal U.S. rates from 25% to 15% in exchange for the investment pledge.

Sources: Reuters, Yonhap

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Vessel Struck in Strait of Hormuz as Fire Breaks Out, UKMTO Says: September 13, 2026

DUBAI — A fire broke out aboard a vessel after it was struck by an unknown projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the UK Maritime Trade Operations said Sunday, Anadolu Agency and RTE reported.

UKMTO said it received an initial report at 2300 GMT Saturday. An update Sunday said a fire had broken out and local authorities were assisting in evacuating crew. The agency advised vessels to exercise caution. Extent of damage and environmental impact remained unclear in early reports.

Separately, Qeshm city governor Amir Teymouri said a merchant vessel was struck around 5 a.m. local time off Hengam and Qeshm islands, killing one person and injuring three, Iranian state media said. Iranian outlets described the strike as a U.S. attack; attribution has not been independently confirmed by Western wires.

The incident comes a day before Iran is due to meet Gulf Arab states in Oman over the future of the strait, a chokepoint already disrupted by the U.S.–Iran war and now under added strain after Saudi Arabia shut its East-West oil pipeline.

Sources: Anadolu Agency, RTE

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Saudi Pipeline Outage Threatens Loss of 4% of Global Oil Supply: September 13, 2026

LONDON — Saudi Arabia will run out of oil stocks for exports if it does not restart its major East-West pipeline to the Red Sea within days, leading to a loss of up to 4% of global supply, Saudi oil buyers and traders told Reuters on Sunday.

Since Friday’s drone attacks forced Riyadh to shut the line, authorities have not given full details on damage or repair timelines. Industry sources gave estimates ranging from a partial restart sooner to five or six weeks for full repairs. Saudi Arabia’s government media office and energy ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters.

The pipeline has been rerouting about 4 million barrels per day — roughly 4% of global supply — to Yanbu after wartime disruption of the Strait of Hormuz. With the line offline, Yanbu has stocks to maintain exports for only five to seven days, three industry sources said. Additional stocks at Egypt’s Ain Sukhna and Sidi Kerir ports would also run down without resumed pumping.

Saudi oil supply already fell to a more than three-decade low in August, the International Energy Agency said Friday. Saudi Arabia told OPEC last week that August production dropped to 6.2 million barrels per day from 10.9 million in February before the war began.

Sources: Reuters

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Carney Explores Canada as EU ‘Associate Member’: September 13, 2026

BRUSSELS — Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney wants closer links with the European Union and is exploring whether his country could become an “associate member” of the bloc, Reuters reported Sunday, citing The Wall Street Journal.

The Journal said EU and Canadian officials described openness to a yet-to-be-created associate membership status. The Canadian embassy in Brussels and European Commission spokespeople did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Canada’s escalating trade war with the United States has added urgency to Ottawa’s pivot toward other partners. Relations with Washington have deteriorated since President Donald Trump returned to office in early 2025, with tariffs covering tens of billions of dollars in cross-border trade.

According to the Journal, Canada and the EU are discussing freer movement of goods, services, and workers in strategic supply chains such as energy, AI, defence, and critical minerals, plus underwater cables, data centres, and energy infrastructure. Carney has spoken regularly with EU leaders, notably French President Emmanuel Macron, about visa-free living and work arrangements; the two are set to meet later this month.

Sources: Reuters

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Trump Says U.S.-Canada Trade Deal Likely ‘Fairly Soon’: September 12, 2026

DUBLIN — President Donald Trump said Saturday that Canada wants a trade deal with the United States “very badly” and that an agreement could come “fairly soon,” Reuters reported after his meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin.

“Canada has to treat our farmers better. They can’t charge our farmers tariffs,” Trump told reporters, adding: “You’ll probably see a deal with Canada fairly soon.” He did not say whether formal negotiations had resumed after talks collapsed last month.

Asked whether he intended to have the United States leave the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, Trump sidestepped the question and returned to demands for better terms for U.S. farmers, Bloomberg and Reuters reported.

Canada’s retaliatory tariffs covering about $20 billion of U.S. goods took effect September 8 after Ottawa suspended negotiations, intensifying an 18-month trade dispute between the neighbors.

Sources: Reuters, Bloomberg

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Saudi Arabia Shuts East-West Oil Pipeline After Iraq-Origin Drone Attack: September 12, 2026

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia has closed its 1,200-kilometer (745-mile) East-West oil pipeline after drones launched from Iraq attacked the line, the BBC and Al Jazeera reported, widening pressure on global energy routes already strained by the U.S.–Iran war.

Saudi officials said Friday’s strikes hit areas in the Riyadh and Medina regions, causing injuries and damage still being assessed. The Energy Ministry said the Abqaiq-to-Yanbu pipeline was shut as a precaution while teams secured the line. Reuters has reported the pipeline had been moving 4% to 5% of global oil supply.

Iraq’s prime minister’s office said the attack originated in Maysan province, which borders Iran, and that the provincial operations commander had been removed pending an investigation. Riyadh said it would not retaliate for now after a call from Baghdad but reserved the right to take all necessary measures.

Al Jazeera cited security sources telling Reuters that Iraq also ordered the Shalamcheh border crossing with Iran closed as a precaution. Brent crude has traded above $100 a barrel amid Houthi advances on Yemen’s Red Sea coast and continued Hormuz disruption.

Sources: BBC, Al Jazeera, Reuters

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