September 14: Hormuz Supply Shock and Sweden’s Unfinished Election

In Sweden Sweden’s centre-left bloc held a narrow lead with more than 90 percent of ballots counted, but the election was still too close to call. Regional authorities will automatically recount every vote, and a final result may take several days. Oil routes under pressure Brent crude climbed above $108 a barrel after a merchant vessel was struck in the Strait of Hormuz, killing one crew member. Saudi Arabia also shut its main pipeline bypassing the waterway, intensifying concerns over disruptions to a crucial global oil route. In Ukraine A Russian drone strike set a petrol station ablaze near the Yahodyn-Dorohusk border crossing with Poland, Ukrainian authorities said. Separately, President Trump said he had urged President Volodymyr Zelensky to stop Ukrainian attacks on Russian diesel refineries. In the West Bank Israeli human rights group B’Tselem says Israel has intensified restrictions affecting Palestinians’ work, education, healthcare, farming, family visits and municipal services across the occupied West Bank. The group says 1,107 Palestinians have been killed by Israel there since October 2023. In Louisiana A 47-year-old man has been taken into custody after four adults were found stabbed to death at two homes in Houma. A young child was also critically wounded.