Saturday, 18 July 2026

The Pentagon committed USD 25 million on Monday to a startup whose minerals feed jets, missiles, and submarines, according to Semafor Net Zero. The move lands as Washington and Beijing both widen state-funded bids to lock down mineral supply chains.

On the Chinese side, a newly formed Beijing-backed mining investment vehicle is working to shore up overseas supplies of critical metals, Bloomberg reported.

Washington has responded by buying stakes in several domestic rare earth producers, aiming to dilute China's grip on the market, according to Semafor Net Zero.

Cutting the US free of China across manufacturing and technology would run USD 13.7 trillion over 25 years, a new analysis found, according to Semafor Net Zero.

European Union ministers did not sign off on a 21st sanctions package against Russia on Monday, leaving the bloc's oil price cap unresolved and risking the effectiveness of one of its main levers against Kremlin oil revenue, according to World Oil.

Ministers did back 250 new listings covering banks, crypto operators and tankers accused of helping Russia evade existing measures, World Oil reported.

The cap on Russian oil currently stands at $44.10, World Oil reported. Without a fresh decision, that ceiling is likely to rise well above the current level as global fuel prices stay high, weakening the measure.

The floating mechanism was built to hold the ceiling 15% under the average market rate for Russian Urals crude, World Oil reported. It resets every six months, and European firms cannot provide services such as insurance or transport for oil sold above the threshold.

Kaja Kallas, the EU's foreign policy chief, described the 21st package as "quite close" but said she could not promise a decision on the oil price cap ahead of Wednesday's deadline, according to World Oil.

The European Commission first tabled the 21st package on June 9, World Oil reported.

Sticking points centered on curbs covering the transport of Russian liquefied natural gas and provisions touching Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International AG, according to people familiar with the private talks who spoke anonymously to World Oil.

An average of 7.7% of customers across Ohio's regulated electric utilities had their power turned off over unpaid bills, according to Canary Media, citing the latest utility reports.

More Ohioans are struggling to pay their utility bills, Canary Media reported, drawing on those same reports showing how many customers were disconnected because of unpaid balances.

The 7.7% figure is a statewide average across Ohio's regulated electric utilities.

Houthi forces in Yemen, backed by Iran, launched ballistic missiles and drones toward Saudi Arabia in what Rigzone characterized as the heaviest strike in several years.

The group said its target was Abha Airport in the kingdom's southwest and told aviation operators to steer clear of Saudi airspace until, in its words, a Saudi siege of the Yemeni capital Sanaa ends, according to Rigzone.

Saudi defense systems intercepted the incoming missiles, state-run Al Ekhbariya TV reported, without indicating whether Riyadh planned to strike back.

Rigzone reported the assault as the first serious flare-up between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed government since both sides reached a ceasefire in 2022.

Fresh strikes across the Red Sea could threaten Saudi crude shipments moving through the East-West Pipeline, a route that lets oil skirt Hormuz and reach the Red Sea for delivery to Europe and elsewhere, per Rigzone.

Mohammed al-Basha, a US-based Yemen analyst, warned that "we could be inching toward a full-scale war" between the two sides.

The Environmental Protection Agency announced a proposal on Monday to approve Alabama's coal ash permitting program, giving the state authority to oversee the closure of coal ash ponds at its major power plants, according to Inside Climate News.

Inside Climate News reported that the Biden administration rejected the same proposal in 2024 for failing to meet federal standards.

The Southern Environmental Law Center said the Alabama program the Trump EPA now wishes to approve was identical to the one rejected in 2024 during the Biden administration, according to Inside Climate News.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said Alabama understands its own resources and topography better than bureaucrats in D.C., per Inside Climate News.

Alabama Power operates six major coal ash ponds throughout the state, according to Inside Climate News.

Inside Climate News noted the 2008 dam breach at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Fossil Plant, which released 1.1 billion gallons of coal ash slurry into the Emory and Clinch rivers.