Quills and conflict: How protection in the Strait of Hormuz is bought and sold - CNN

Europe’s benchmark natural gas prices remain close to their highest levels since the end of 2022 as the lack of LNG supply from Qatar compounds the EU problem of filling depleted storage sites ahead of the winter. The front-month price at the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF), the benchmark for Europe’s gas trading, fell by 1% as of 9 a.m. Amsterdam time on Thursday, amid a slide in crude oil futures. But at $96.56 (86.03 euros) per megawatt-hour (MWh), the price is now at its highest levels since December 2022, when Europe faced the first winter without most of the Russian pipeline gas supply. EU storage sites were only 74% full as of October 14, per data from Gas Infrastructure Europe. That’s well below the five-year average of about 86% for this time of the year so close to the start of the heating season. With supply concerns growing, European gas prices remain at the levels seen in the 2022-2023 energy crisis as LNG supply from the Middle East has not recovered at the same pace oil flows have.

Tehran, Iran – Dozens of ships were attacked in or near the Strait of Hormuz in October as Iran and the United States compete to assert their authority over the waterway. At least 12 ships were attacked in the week ending on October 16, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported late Friday, with one important caveat. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Fighting in Yemen intensifies: What’s the latest on the battlefield?list 2 of 3Iraq devalues dinar to ease cash crunch, leaving traders in limbolist 3 of 3Containers and debris captured floating around the Strait of Hormuzend of list“UKMTO is struggling to accurately report true number of attacks with majority of vessels attacked refusing to report to UKMTO,” the maritime security organisation stated. It said it was aware of more incidents in the waterway via other sources but could not verify them due to a lack of information. The same pattern has been true for the first half of October. The month has seen the highest number of ship attacks since the start of the US-Israel war on Iran, which began on February 28.

The source of the apparent Apple devices remains unclear, but footage emerged after a Singapore-flagged vessel sank, with all 21 crew rescued; Iranian officials say attacks on Gulf shipping are designed to keep oil prices high ahead of US electionsMedia outlets across the Arab world circulated footage Thursday evening purportedly showing iPhones floating in the Strait of Hormuz following one of Iran's latest attacks on ships in the strategic trade route. The footage shows shipping containers floating at sea, surrounded by numerous small objects. People aboard small boats, whose identities remain unclear, can be seen collecting the valuable goods scattered in the water. One of the boats appears to be loaded with boxes of iPhones. One report claimed the devices were Apple's latest model, the iPhone 18.

Two container ships near the strait of Hormuz have ⁠sunk after being struck by missiles, amid the sharpest rise in Iranian attacks on shipping since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran. The increase in attacks suggests Iran is trying to fully close the strategic waterway in an attempt to frustrate Donald Trump’s efforts to bring down fuel prices before the US midterm elections on 3 November. The Trump administration has been attempting to deflect attention from the economic impact of the war on Iran by blaming Ukraine’s attacks on Russian refineries for increased fuel prices. On Wednesday, UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported at least five incidents including drone strikes in the previous 48 hours targeting tankers and other commercial ships around the Hormuz area. “There is a tempo increase in strikes, which looks deliberate,” one maritime security source said. The Singapore-flagged ​container ‌ship GFS Pride sank on Wednesday after an attack the previous day. Hours later, the Antigua- and Barbuda-flagged Cape Dao sank close to the strait, having been hit by a ​projectile ​on 23 September, according to data from ‌the ‌International Maritime Organization.