2026, day 241 Good morning from Asia. ‘For Trump, the Iran War Is Stuck Between Combat and Genuine Peace’ (NYT); ‘Iran’s Khamenei bans acts that ‘harm social cohesion’’ (Reuters); ‘Iran Urges Countries Not to Implement New U.S. Sanctions as Mediators Focus on Reopening Strait’ (Reuters); ‘US Treasury imposes limits on Egyptian bank for doing business with Iran’ (FT); ‘Hezbollah chief again rejects Lebanon-Israel deal, refuses ‘surrender’’ (ToI); ‘What will happen if Iran, Egypt, Bangladesh join Mecca Joint Defense Agreement? - analysis’ (JPost); ‘The commander who smashed ISIS just surrendered to Syria's ex-Al-Qaeda president’ (Ynet); ‘Drain on U.S. Munitions From Iran War Raises Fears Over Ability to Deter China, Russia’ (WSJ); ‘Is China's 'wise camel' the winner from the US-Iran war?’ (FT) - “Beijing has threatened to retaliate with 'all necessary measures' if the US hits it with sanctions”; ‘Zelenskyy says he ordered army to launch 1,000 drones a day at Russia’ (Reuters); ‘Drones hit Zaporizhzhia power plant: IAEA’ (AFP); ‘Russia is running out of cash due to its war in Ukraine: report’ (Defense News); ‘Putin risks accidental confrontation with NATO’ (Telegraph) - “Intel sources warn that Russian sabotage attacks in Europe could lead to dangerous ‘miscalculation’”; ‘NATO and Moscow must increase dialogue to avoid accidental war, Russian envoy says’ (Politico); ‘Baltic Sea states warn of ‘escalating’ hybrid warfare’ (Euractiv); ‘Sweden to deploy jets and warships to help Finland counter drones’ (Euractiv); ‘Ceuta warns it is 'on the brink of collapse' as Spain seeks Frontex and Europol help’ (Euronews); ‘Iceland’s EU referendum: What to know ahead of vote and what's at stake for Europe’ (Euronews); ‘US threatens Britain over Falklands Pentagon officials warn UK to boost’ (Telegraph) - “Pentagon officials warn UK to boost defence spending or risk losing support for sovereignty over the islands.” ‘Healey’s budget to duck setting a date for 3% defence spending target’ (Guardian); ‘The G20 needs more carrots to rebalance away from China’ (Atlantic Council); ‘Trump says US to take control of 65bn barrels of Venezuelan oil’ (FT); ‘Trump announces new US ‘space academy’’ (AFP); In geoeconomics, ‘China's hypercompetition goes global as Beijing frets over backlash’ (Nikkei Asia); ‘Google waves goodbye to China’ (Nikkei Asia); ‘Escalation tactics in trade negotiations with the U.S. prove to be a minefield’ (Globe & Mail); ‘Canada-U.S. free trade was a model for the world. Can anything save it now?’ (Financial Post); ‘Former IMF deputy Gita Gopinath: It's straight-out protectionism'’ (FT); ‘Trump vows legal order to break up food processing ‘nasty monopoly’’ (Reuters); ‘Japan Energy Plan Seeks to Back Pipelines Bypassing Hormuz’ (BBG); ‘Capacity Squeeze Looms as Panama Canal Restrictions Tighten’ (The Loadstar); ‘India turns to private sector to ramp up missile production’ (Defense News); ‘China’s actors written out of dramas as AI doubles ready to take their roles’ (FT); ‘China needs 600% child subsidy rise to prevent deeper birth crisis: scholars’ (SCMP); In politics, ‘Republicans Are Worried About the Midterms. Trump Is Focused on His Legacy.’ (WSJ); ‘Trump Postal Service board nominees held up by Republican senator over mail delay concerns’ (The Hill); ‘AOC shakes up team ahead of 2028 decision’ (Axios); ‘Germany’s far right taps nostalgia for communist East to propel election surge’ (Politico); In markets, ‘Hawkish Kevin Warsh hints Fed will raise rates if inflation does not fall soon’ (FT); ‘The case for the U.S. dollar's digital edge’ (Axios) - “research presented at Jackson Hole suggests financial innovation may tighten the dollar's grip on global finance”; ‘Hong Kong’s long-term wealth hub status safe from mainland investment curbs: JPMorgan exec’ (SCMP); ‘Yen Passes 160 Per Dollar to Hit Weakest Level in a Month’ (BBG); ‘Why the World Needs to Force China’s Yuan to Revalue’ (WSJ)