Iraq Seeks IMF and World Bank Aid as Iran War Drains Economy

🏦 BAGHDAD — Iraq is bleeding cash from a war it didn't formally join. 📌 LOOK CLOSER: Iraq absorbs Iran war costs — covert Saudi strikes on its territory, IRGC militia operations, oil revenue disruption — without being a declared belligerent. An IMF/World Bank approach signals Baghdad's fiscal buffers are gone. That shifts Iraq from passive theater to active liability: a collapsing neighbor destabilizes Gulf coalition cohesion at the worst possible moment.

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Indian Rupee Slides to Record Low as Oil Costs and Bond Yields Surge

💱 RUPEE — Record lows when oil bills are priced in dollars that cost more. 📌 LOOK CLOSER: India imports 85% of its oil — every Hormuz-driven barrel costs more rupees as the currency slides. Bond yield contagion tightens RBI's room to cut rates defensively. A weaker rupee inflates import costs beyond

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White House: Rare Earths, Not Iran, Topped US-China Summit Agenda

⛏️ BEIJING — White House confirms rare earths, not Iran, topped the China agenda. 📌 LOOK CLOSER: If the summit's headline deliverable is mineral supply chains, Beijing extracted something concrete while offering nothing binding on Tehran. Xi trades a supply chain gesture for US acknowledgment of Chinese economic leverage — without moving

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Belarus Holds Nuclear Deployment Drills With Russian Warheads on Its Soil

☢️ MINSK — Belarus drills nuclear deployment while Europe watches the Gulf. 📌 LOOK CLOSER: Belarus practicing Russian nuclear deployment isn't a drill for Kyiv — it's a signal timed for when NATO capitals are absorbed by the Iran crisis. Moscow exploits the attention gap: any European response east complicates

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China's Oil Demand Hits Three-Year Low as Inventories Surge

🛢️ BEIJING — The world's top oil buyer is absorbing less crude precisely when the Gulf needs demand most. 📌 LOOK CLOSER: China's lowest throughput since Aug 2022 means rising inventories — weakening Beijing's incentive to pressure Tehran on Hormuz. If China isn't desperate for barrels,

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Indian Rupee Slides to Record Low as Oil Costs and Bond Yields Surge

White House: Rare Earths, Not Iran, Topped US-China Summit Agenda

Belarus Holds Nuclear Deployment Drills With Russian Warheads on Its Soil

China's Oil Demand Hits Three-Year Low as Inventories Surge