What is the strait of Hormuz and why is it crucial for oil supplies?

The US-Israeli war on Iran has ignited fears that escalating military aggression in the Middle East could send oil prices soaring, push up prices at the pump and drive a global economic downturn.The US began “major combat operations” in Iran on Saturday morning, shortly after Israel launched a strike against Tehran. Within hours of the US-Israeli strikes, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards reportedly warned tankers in the strait of Hormuz that no ship would be allowed to pass through the world’s most critical oil trade route.Iran has not formally confirmed a block on the narrow waterway, which would be an unprecedented escalation in the region, but ships appear to be avoiding the strait after an attack on a ship off Oman. At least 150 tankers carrying crude, liquified natural gas and oil products had dropped anchor in open waters across the Gulf past the strait on Sunday, Reuters reported

Oil price expected to surge after Iran strikes and strait of Hormuz closure

The price of oil is expected to soar on Monday as the US-Israel war on Iran and the effective closure of the crucial strait of Hormuz rattles investors despite major producers’ pledges to increase its output.US crude is on track to rise by 11% when trading resumes, according to data from the broker IG. The jump comes as Opec+, the cartel of oil producers, agreed on Sunday to step up its output by more than expected as it assessed the impact of the conflict.Iran’s Revolutionary Guards reportedly told ships on Saturday that passage through the strait of Hormuz was prohibited, in effect shutting the key choke point and prompting the halt of some oil shipments.About $500bn (£372bn) of energy trade and 20% of global oil supplies pass through the strait each year

OpenAI to work with Pentagon after Anthropic dropped by Trump over company’s ethics concerns

OpenAI said it had struck a deal with the Pentagon to supply AI to classified US military networks, hours after Donald Trump ordered the government to stop using the services of one of the company’s main competitors.Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, announced the move on Friday night. It came after an agreement between Anthropic, a rival AI company that runs the Claude system, and the Trump administration broke down after Anthropic sought assurances its technology would not be used for mass surveillance – nor for autonomous weapons systems that can kill people without human input.Announcing the deal, Altman insisted that OpenAI’s agreement with the government included assurances that it would not be used to those ends.“Two of our most important safety principles are prohibitions on domestic mass surveillance and human responsibility for the use of force, including for autonomous weapon systems,” Altman wrote on X

Suicide forum found to be in breach of Online Safety Act after failing to block UK users

A suicide forum linked to deaths in Britain has been ruled provisionally in breach of the Online Safety Act after it failed to properly block access to UK users when ordered to do so last year.Ofcom, the online regulator, said it could now apply to the courts to demand internet service providers block access to the site in the UK. This will depend on how the site, which also faces fines, responds over the next 10 days.Coroners had been raising concerns about the links between the forum and suicides in the UK since at least 2019, campaigners said. The family of 17-year-old Vlad Nikolin-Caisley, from Southampton, said he took his own life in 2024 after using the site, which Ofcom is not naming

AFL 2026 predicted ladder part one: Collingwood on a cliff edge as time waits for no one | Jonathan Horn

The Craig McRae-era Magpies play exhilarating football but their age profile makes you wince while other, younger teams are preparing to spikeThe rule changes and AFL adjustments keep coming with the introduction of wildcard round and an extension of the finals series the biggest for many years. But even with 10 clubs playing beyond the home-and-away season for the first time, there will always be teams heading in the wrong direction or simply well off the pace.In the first of a three-part series on 2026 predictions, here’s how we see the bottom part of the ladder playing out.Wooden spoon predictions are rarely brimming with optimism. But this is a great time to be a Richmond person

US hockey star Hilary Knight hits back at Trump’s joke about women’s team during SNL skit

US ice hockey star Hilary Knight aimed a barb at Donald Trump during an appearance on this weekend’s Saturday Night Live.Knight led the US women to gold at last month’s Olympics, scoring the Americans’ first goal as they beat Canada in overtime. But after the US men’s team won gold Trump joked that he would have to invite the women’s team to the White House too or risk being impeached. Many of the men’s players laughed at Trump’s comments, and Knight later called them “distasteful and unfortunate.” While the US men visited the White House last week, Knight and her teammates said they were too busy to attend and will instead celebrate at an event in July organized by rapper Flavor Flav