2026, day 238 Good morning from Asia. ‘U.S. Squeezes Iran but Avoids Targeting Its Biggest Lifeline: China’ (WSJ); ‘China defends cooperation with Iran, warns against disrupting it’ (BBG); ‘China warns US it could retaliate over Iran sanctions’ (FT); ‘Rubio tells allies U.S. shifting from strikes to sanctions on Iran’ (Axios); ‘U.S. Said to Be Returning Diplomats to Middle East Embassies’ (NYT); ‘Iran, Oman say discussed Hormuz temporary corridor, mine-clearing’ (AFP); ‘Iran says Hormuz remains closed despite Oman route deal’ (AJ); ‘New Tanker Strike in Hormuz as Iran Vows Retaliation for U.S. Economic Offensive’ (WSJ); ‘Iran is running out of money. Can Trump’s ‘economic D-Day’ force a deal?’ (Gulf News); ‘Analysis: Iraq may show how US can squeeze Iran’s trade partners’ (Reuters); ‘US envoy Barrack hails dissolution of Kurdish-led force in Syria’ (AFP); ‘Jordan’s Beijing pivot: what it really means for Israeli security’ (Ynet); ‘In rare warning, Board of Peace tells Israel to limit Gaza fire to ‘genuine’ threats’ (ToI); ‘Trump sends Saudi nuclear deal to Congress but says Riyadh must recognize Israel’ (JPost); ‘’Not going to sacrifice my life.’ Russia mobilisation fears grow’ (AJ); ‘Putin will soon order a full mobilisation. This may be his Afghan war moment’ (Telegraph); ‘CIA director travels to Moscow for secret talks’ (Telegraph) - “US tells Ukraine to halt air strikes on Russian capital as John Ratcliffe flies in on military plane”; ‘Vatican envoy, in Moscow, says Ukraine war must end urgently’ (AFP); ‘UK to warn citizens to stock up on food amid threat from climate crisis and hostile states’ (Guardian); ‘The Civil defence planning accelerated over threat from Russia’ (Telegraph); ‘Sweden revives frozen Russian assets row’ (Euractiv); ‘Trump's Arctic saber-rattling boosts Iceland's pro-EU campaign’ (Politico) - “Icelanders vote on Saturday in a referendum on resuming membership talks with the EU”; ‘Iceland could join EU by 2028, says enlargement chief’ (Euractiv); ‘Burnham faces Chagos showdown at UN’ (Telegraph); ‘Canadians are fighting for their sovereignty. Americans don’t even realize they’re in a war’ (Globe & Mail); ‘Trump Threatens to Rename Lake Ontario as Spat With Canada Escalates’ (WSJ); In geoeconomics, ‘Canada hits back with tariffs of up to 50% on US goods as trade war escalates’ (Euronews); ‘In the face of tough new tariffs, Carney doubles down on government spending’ (National Post) - “Canada needs icebreakers and electricity, but where's the plan to keep industry from fleeing?”; ‘U.S.-Canada Tariff War Jolts Korean Supply Chains’ (Business Korea); ‘US grain farmers face worst crisis in decades as Iran war sends costs spiralling’ (FT); ‘US robot curbs lay bare industry's dependence on Chinese parts’ (Nikkei Asia); ‘Nigel Farage wants to scrap GDPR for the U.K.’ (Politico); ‘Burnham mulls insolvency law shake-up to help bring utilities under public control’ (Guardian); In politics, ‘Judge issues setback to Trump administration plans to restrict mail-in ballots’ (WaPo) - “The ruling is not the final word in a fast-moving legal fight over the administration’s efforts to change voting rules before the midterms”; ‘Muslim Brotherhood networks embedded into Canadian politics, schools, report says’ (JPost); ‘Japan's PM. I'm so lonely I befriended a cockroach’ (Telegraph); ‘No immunity: how Xi’s anti-corruption fighters are zeroing in on fresh targets’ (SCMP); In markets, ‘Hong Kong’s property, financial markets face test under cross-border anti-corruption law’ (SCMP); ‘Asia's rising wealth to propel finance industry past US: report’ (Nikkei Asia); ‘Six months into Iran war, almost half of global oil flows from war zones’ (Reuters); ‘Short Squeeze in US Long Bonds Shows ‘Bessent Put’ at Work’ (BBG)