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ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari led a high-level consultative meeting at Aiwan-e-Sadr to assess the evolving economic and energy situation amid oil supply constraints and rising petroleum prices, as well as regional security developments, according to a press release issued by the President&#39;s Secretariat on Thursday.&nbsp; Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir also attended the meeting. Other participants included cabinet members and senior government officials. The meeting reviewed the impact of fluctuations in global oil and gas supplies and prices on Pakistan&rsquo;s economy, with particular focus on managing inflationary pressures and ensuring energy security.&nbsp; The ministers for finance and petroleum briefed the meeting on ongoing measures to stabilize petroleum prices, manage the effects of rising fuel costs on other sectors of the economy, and enforce fiscal discipline through austerity measures to reduce expenditure pressures.&nbsp; The broader regional situation also came under discussion, including its implications for Pakistan&rsquo;s security, economic outlook and food security.&nbsp; The meeting emphasized the need for a coordinated national response, noting that policy decisions must prioritize stability while safeguarding the public interest. The meeting underscored the importance of maintaining national consensus and strengthening institutional coordination in view of emerging regional challenges. It was agreed that economic management, energy planning, food security, and broader security concerns must stay closely aligned to address this challenging situation. The meeting also emphasized the need for public awareness to reduce fuel consumption, encourage the use of public transportation and promote shared ride systems.

President Asif Ali Zardari chairs a high-level meeting attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir at Aiwan-i-Sadr on March 26, 2026. — Photo courtesy President’s Secretariat

Security

Meeting highlights need for national consensus and stronger institutional coordination to tackle regional challenges. Economic management, energy planning, food security, and security issues must stay aligned.

Pakistan leaders review energy crisis, economy amid regional tensions

NEW YORK: Oil prices tumbled and stock markets rebounded Monday after US President Donald Trump suddenly ordered a halt to strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure after initially setting a 48-hour deadline, claiming &quot;very good&quot; talks with Tehran. Crude futures plunged more than 14% after Trump&#39;s comments on his Truth Social platform, but pared those losses after Iran denied any talks were taking place. Brent closed down 10.9 percent at $99.94 per barrel, while its US equivalent, West Texas Intermediate, lost 10.3% to $88.13. Sam Stovall of CFRA Research said the fact that Trump had specified a five-day pause on energy infrastructure strikes &quot;means we probably could see some additional strength through this week&quot; in the equity markets. Asian and European stock markets had kicked off the new week with sharp losses, but Trump&#39;s update, which came after the Asian close, saw European and US equities rally. The rebound lost some steam after Iranian media said there had been no talks between Tehran and Washington, and London&#39;s FTSE 100 ended the day lower as energy and defence stocks slumped. Wall Street&#39;s main stock indices closed up, with the S&amp;P 500, Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones all gaining more than one percent. &quot;It&#39;s incredibly difficult to trade these markets when Trump is swinging between massive escalation and declaring peace/victory... but the market is happy for now that we do not enter a new phase of danger,&quot; said Saxo UK investor strategist Neil Wilson. Stovall of CFRA Research said in an environment of such high uncertainty, investors were making decisions &quot;based on suppositions rather than facts.&quot; XTB research director Kathleen Brooks said that if Trump&#39;s comments pointed to be an off-ramp from the conflict, &quot;we could see a move back towards $90 per barrel for Brent in the coming days.&quot; But she added that oil would not quickly return to the pre-war levels of under $70 a barrel as it would take time to repair damaged energy infrastructure in the Gulf. Ahead of Trump&#39;s update, the International Energy Agency warned of the worst global energy crisis in decades. Iran warned the Hormuz Strait &quot;will be completely closed&quot; should Trump act on his threat to destroy its energy infrastructure. The 48-hour ultimatum came as the waterway -- through which a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flows -- remains effectively closed to all but Iranian oil. Analysts have warned of a potential inflation surge as oil prices remain far above pre-war levels despite Monday&#39;s plunge. That could prompt central banks hike interest rates, putting the brakes on the global economy. Trump&#39;s latest announcement sent the greenback lower against the euro, pound and yen. For the markets, Stovall warned that uncertainty remained the name of the game. &quot;We could just as easily fall tomorrow if the president says something else that contradicts what happened today,&quot; he said. &quot;But I don&#39;t think that&#39;s going to happen.&quot;

Pedestrians walk past an electronic signboard showing the closing price of the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong on March 23, 2026 (AFP)

Americas

Middle East

Asian and European stock markets had kicked off the new week with sharp losses, but Trump's update, which came after the Asian close, saw European and US equities rally.

Oil slides, stocks rebound on Trump's Iran remarks

HAVANA: US President Donald Trump vowed Monday to &quot;take&quot; Cuba as the communist island plunged into darkness under a total power blackout linked to a crippling oil embargo imposed by Washington. After nearly seven decades defying the United States, Havana&#39;s communist authorities are under massive pressure from a Trump administration determined to make history. &quot;You know, all my life I&#39;ve been hearing about the United States and Cuba. When will the United States do it?&quot; Trump told reporters at the White House. &quot;I do believe I&#39;ll be...having the honor of taking Cuba,&quot; Trump said. &quot;Whether I free it, take it -- think I could do anything I want with it, you want to know the truth. They&#39;re a very weakened nation right now.&quot; It was one of Trump&#39;s most explicit threats and came as the Caribbean island of 9.6 million people grappled with yet another major power cut. The blackout resulted from a &quot;complete shutdown of the national grid,&quot; Union Nacional Electrica de Cuba (UNE) said in a statement, adding that work had begun to restore electricity flow. Cuba&#39;s aging electricity generation system is in shambles, with daily power outages of up to 20 hours the norm in parts of the island. But since the US ouster of Cuba&#39;s top ally, Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, on January 3, the island&#39;s economy has been hammered further as Trump maintains a de facto oil blockade. No oil has been imported to the island since January 9, hitting the power sector while also forcing airlines to curtail flights to the island, a blow to the all-important tourism sector. In a bid to relieve economic pressure -- and meet US demands -- a senior economic official in Cuba announced Monday that Cuban exiles would now be able to invest and own businesses there. &quot;Cuba is open to having a fluid commercial relationship with US companies&quot; and &quot;also with Cubans residing in the United States and their descendants,&quot; Oscar Perez-Oliva, who is foreign trade minister and also deputy prime minister, told NBC News. The New York Times reported Monday, relying on anonymous sources, that Trump administration officials have signaled to Cuban officials that the US wants President Miguel Diaz-Canel to be removed from power. Popular unrest&nbsp;The blackouts, as well as regular shortages of food, medicine and other basics, are spurring frustrations. In a rare moment of violence, demonstrators vandalized a provincial office of the Cuban Communist Party last weekend. It was part of a new trend of protests in which people bang pots and pans at night, at times yelling &quot;Libertad,&quot; or freedom. Fourteen people have been arrested after the office assault in Moron, a town of around 70,000 people east of Havana, the regional party chief told state-run newspaper Invasor. The violence prompted Diaz-Canel to acknowledge in an X post &quot;the discontent our people feel because of the prolonged blackouts&quot;, including a major outage in early March. &quot;What will never be comprehensible, justified, or admitted is violence,&quot; Diaz-Canel said. The government has also rationed gasoline sales and some hospital services due to the fuel shortages. Diaz-Canel confirmed last week that his government had held talks with the United States. Trump has alleged the fuel blockade is a response to an &quot;extraordinary threat&quot; posed by Cuba to the United States. Trump said Sunday that Cuba &quot;wants to make a &quot;deal&quot;, which could come quickly after his administration has finished the war against Iran. &quot;I think we will pretty soon either make a deal or do whatever we have to do,&quot; Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.

US President Donald Trump signs an executive order during a ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House on March 16, 2026, in Washington, DC (AFP)

Donald Trump escalated pressure on Cuba amid a deepening energy crisis, threatening to “take” the island as US policies choke oil supplies, trigger blackouts, fuel unrest, and push Havana toward negotiations and economic concessions.

Trump vows to 'take' Cuba as island reels from oil embargo

WASHINGTON: Oil prices kept rising as markets opened Sunday, with both benchmarks higher as the war in the Middle East disrupts global supplies. At around 00:15 GMT, the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was up 0.01 percent at $98.72 a barrel, while the price of Brent, the international benchmark for oil, was up 0.6 percent to $103.76. On stock markets, South Korea&#39;s Kospi attempted a cautious rebound and was up 1.3 percent in early trade in Asia, while Japan&#39;s Nikkei was flat. With Gulf states slashing production and oil tankers stuck in the Gulf, oil prices have risen 40 to 50% since the United States and Israel first attacked Iran on February 28. Investors fear the higher costs will slow economic growth and stoke inflation. The Strait of Hormuz, which usually sees passage of 20 percent of global oil and gas exports, remains effectively shut. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Sunday that the closure was &quot;short-term pain&quot; causing higher prices, adding that the war could end &quot;in the next few weeks.&quot; The International Energy Agency has warned that the Middle East war &quot;is creating the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market.&quot; US and Israeli strikes on Iranian targets, including the oil export hub of Kharg Island, have also disrupted supplies.

An employee fills the tank of a motorcycle at a gas station in the Donkoi district of Vientiane on March 10, 2026, amid rising petrol prices (AFP)

Oil prices rise as Middle East war disrupts global supplies, with Brent above $103 and WTI near $99. Gulf production cuts and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz raise fears of inflation and slower economic growth.

Oil prices open higher as war in Middle East rages

Asfandyar Yahya

Whenever tensions rise in the Middle East, the Strait of Hormuz becomes the world&rsquo;s pressure point. About 21 million barrels of oil pass through it daily, but after the March 2026 strikes on Iran, shipping traffic collapsed.&nbsp;The Strait is more than an oil route. It also underpins Gulf drinking water through desalination plants and carries critical undersea cables moving trillions in global financial data.&nbsp;A 21-mile corridor now holding energy, water, trade, and the digital economy in one fragile space.

Tell Me Why

Whenever tensions rise in the Middle East, the Strait of Hormuz becomes the world’s pressure point. About 21 million barrels of oil pass through it daily, but after the March 2026 strikes on Iran, shipping traffic collapsed.

Oil, Water and Internet: How Strait of Hormuz controls global economy   

WASHINGTON:&nbsp;US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Venezuela&#39;s interim government will deliver up to 50 million barrels of oil to the United States, and that the proceeds &quot;will be controlled by me&quot; as president. &quot;The Interim Authorities in Venezuela will be turning over between 30 and 50 MILLION Barrels of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil, to the United States of America,&quot; Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. &quot;This oil will be sold at its market price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States.&quot;<div class="fr-embed" style="line-height: 2;"><iframe src="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115850817778602689/embed" class="truthsocial-embed" style="max-width: 100%; border: 0;" width="600" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" spellcheck="false">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div>&#39;No foreign power&#39; running countryVenezuela&#39;s interim president Delcy Rodriguez insisted Tuesday that no foreign power was governing her country, after US President Donald Trump said Washington would &quot;run&quot; it during a transition after ousting her predecessor. Rodriguez, who was vice president under toppled leader Nicolas Maduro, has given mixed signals about how much she is prepared to cooperate with Trump, at times sounding conciliatory, at others defiant. Speaking three days after US special forces snatched Maduro and his wife in a stunning raid in Caracas prefaced by airstrikes, Rodriguez said: &quot;The government of Venezuela is in charge in our country, and no-one else.&quot; &quot;There is no foreign agent governing Venezuela.&quot; Trump insists Washington is now &quot;in charge&quot; of the Caribbean country but says he is prepared to work with Rodriguez -- provided she submits to his demand for access to Venezuela&#39;s vast oil reserves. Rodriguez has offered an olive branch but also appeared anxious to keep on her side the hardliners who control the security forces and paramilitaries, which have patrolled the streets since Maduro&#39;s capture. &quot;We are a people that does not surrender, we are a people that does not give up,&quot; she declared, paying tribute to the &quot;martyrs&quot; of the US attacks. Confirmation of lossesIn its first confirmation of losses, Venezuela&#39;s military on Tuesday published a list of 23 troops, including five generals, killed in the US strikes. Top ally Cuba separately issued a list of 32 dead Cuban military personnel, included two colonels and a lieutenant colonel, many of whom were members of Maduro&#39;s security detail. Venezuela has not yet confirmed the number of civilian casualties in the operation in which US forces grabbed Maduro and Flores and took them to the United States to face trial. Attorney General Tarek William Saab spoke Tuesday of &quot;dozens&quot; of civilian and military dead, without giving a breakdown.

Post on Truth Social says ‘The Interim Authorities in Venezuela will be turning over between 30 and 50 MILLION Barrels of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil, to the United States of America.’ 

Trump says Venezuela 'turning over' up to 50M barrels of oil to US

TEHRAN: Iran&#39;s Revolutionary Guards confirmed on Saturday that they had seized an oil tanker in the Gulf as it sailed away from a UAE port, a day after security companies determined they were likely responsible. &quot;Yesterday morning at 7:30, after a judicial authority ordered the seizure of the cargo of an oil tanker with the trade name Talara and the flag of the Marshall Islands, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) rapid reaction units of the naval forces monitored its movements and intercepted and seized it,&quot; said the IRGC, the ideological arm of the Islamic republic&#39;s military. &quot;The tanker was found to be in violation of the law by carrying unauthorized cargo,&quot; the statement continued, adding it &quot;was carrying 30,000 tonnes of petrochemical cargo and was heading to Singapore.&quot; The Iranian news agency Fars said that action was not taken as a measure against any other nation but was a purely local matter. The seized cargo, the report said, was made up of Iranian-produced petrochemicals being illegally exported and &quot;the main culprit was an Iranian individual or business.&quot; The vessel had departed from Ajman in the United Arab Emirates and was heading south through the Strait of Hormuz when it was approached by three small boats, after which it made a &quot;sudden course deviation,&quot; maritime security company Ambrey said. The US Navy had earlier said it was &quot;actively monitoring the situation.&quot; &quot;Commercial vessels are entitled to largely unimpeded rights of navigation and commerce on the high seas,&quot; said the US 5th Fleet, which patrols the region. The Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global oil and liquefied natural gas, has previously been the scene of similar incidents. Last year, the Revolutionary Guards seized a container ship, saying it had links to Israel, following a deadly attack on Iran&#39;s consulate in Syria blamed on Israel.

File Photo - Iraq’s state ports company and naval forces carry out a joint operation in Iraqi territorial waters and the Khor Abdallah channel to ensure navigational safety and crack down on oil smugglers on August 7, 2025. 

Asia

Iran's Revolutionary Guards confirmed on Saturday that they had seized an oil tanker in the Gulf as it sailed away from a UAE port, a day after security companies determined they were likely responsible.

Iran Guards confirm they seized oil tanker in Gulf

NEW DELHI: India said Thursday that its energy priority was the interest of its citizens after US President Donald Trump said New Delhi had promised it would stop buying Russian oil. New Delhi neither confirmed nor denied that it was shifting policy toward Russia. In a recent statement from Russian state media, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that Russia is confident its energy partnership with India will continue. Earlier, US President Donald Trump had said India&#39;s prime minister Narendra Modi had promised him that India would stop buying oil from Moscow.&nbsp; Responding to Trump&#39;s statement, Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said,&nbsp;&ldquo;It has been our consistent priority to safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario.&rdquo; &ldquo;Our import policies are guided entirely by this objective,&rdquo; he said. <div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 2;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-2" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 803px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-2&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1978690629522653592&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=7c80ad9b4e0b40ca02cb968ad2ae8817c7f22a86&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div> &ldquo;Ensuring stable energy prices and secured supplies have been the twin goals of our energy policy,&rdquo; Jaiswal added. &ldquo;This includes broad-basing our energy sourcing and diversifying as appropriate to meet market conditions.&rdquo; Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi criticized Modi in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying the prime minister was &ldquo;frightened of Trump&rdquo; and listing what he described as examples of Modi yielding to US pressure, including the reported cancellation of a finance minister&rsquo;s visit to Washington. <div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 2;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 418px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1978669002798055695&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=7c80ad9b4e0b40ca02cb968ad2ae8817c7f22a86&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div> Major oil importer&nbsp;India, one of the world&rsquo;s largest crude oil importers, relies on foreign suppliers for more than 85% of its oil needs. It&nbsp;traditionally relied on Middle Eastern nations. But since 2022, it has shifted sharply toward discounted Russian crude, taking advantage of a buyer&rsquo;s market created by Western bans on Moscow&rsquo;s exports. &ldquo;Where the US is concerned, we have for many years sought to expand our energy procurement,&rdquo; Jaiswal said. &ldquo;This has steadily progressed in the last decade. The current administration has shown interest in deepening energy cooperation with India. Discussions are ongoing.&rdquo; In August, the US raised tariffs on Indian exports to the United States to 50%, with Trump&rsquo;s aides accusing India of fueling Russia&rsquo;s war in Ukraine. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has previously defended buying oil from Russia, a historic partner of India, despite Moscow&rsquo;s invasion of Ukraine.

Participants speak in front of an exhibition stand of Russia's power company Rosseti at the Russian Energy Week international forum in Moscow, Russia, October 15, 2025. 

According to an Indian foreign ministry spokesman: 'It has been our consistent priority to safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario.'

India says consumers on priority after Trump comments on stopping Russian oil

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump&#39;s second term has seen the United States go all-in to boost Big Oil and block renewables -- yet a wave of state and local climate-damage lawsuits against the fossil fuel industry continues to advance. Now Republicans are moving to shut them down with a two-pronged strategy: pushing for a federal shield law and urging the Supreme Court to intervene. &quot;The issue for the oil companies is that they know they did it,&quot; Richard Wiles, president of the nonprofit Center for Climate Integrity, told AFP. &quot;Their only avenue out of this is to get some kind of a waiver of liability, make the cases go away, bar the courthouse doors, get a &#39;get out of jail free card.&#39;&quot; Dozens of cases modeled on successful actions against the tobacco industry in the 1990s are playing out in state courts nationwide -- including claims of injuries, failure to warn, and even racketeering, meaning acting like a criminal enterprise. Some have been dismissed, and none have yet gone to trial -- though crucially, the conservative-dominated Supreme Court has repeatedly declined to intervene and block them. They have no shameIn June, 16 Republican state attorneys general urged the Trump administration to enact a shield law to end such cases. &quot;Under the banner of &#39;global climate change,&#39; they have effectively declared an all-out war on traditional American energy,&quot; their letter said, calling the lawsuits &quot;lawfare against the energy industry.&quot; It faulted the Supreme Court for not moving the cases to federal court, where companies believe they stand a better chance of winning, and cited a 2005 statute granting gunmakers a similar liability shield. &quot;They have no shame,&quot; said Pat Parenteau, an emeritus professor of environmental law at the University of Vermont, pointing to the epidemic of gun violence. &quot;I mean, come on, that&#39;s your argument?&quot; Congress has yet to act, but observers see worrying signs that it may be edging closer. A recent appropriations bill for the District of Columbia would bar the city from using funds to enforce consumer protection laws &quot;against oil and gas companies for environmental claims.&quot; And just last week, more than 100 House Republicans filed a friend-of-the-court brief in one Colorado case, urging the Supreme Court to &quot;put an end to these unconstitutional attempts to dictate national energy policy.&quot; AFP contacted Nebraska and West Virginia, which led the letter, as well as the Department of Justice, oil majors ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron, and BP, and the American Petroleum Institute. None responded. Coordinated campaign&nbsp;The Trump administration, for its part, has escalated attacks on Democrat-led states passing &quot;polluter pays&quot; laws -- suing for example, New York and Vermont to block &quot;Superfunds&quot; that would require companies to pay billions toward climate and extreme weather resilience. The Justice Department has also asked the Supreme Court to weigh in through a friend-of-the-court brief in the Colorado case, where the state&#39;s top court allowed Boulder County to proceed with its lawsuit against Suncor Energy. A constellation of conservative legal scholars has joined what appears to be a coordinated push, including a <a data-fr-linked="true" href="//FoxNews.com">FoxNews.com</a> op-ed by John Yoo -- author of the Bush-era &quot;torture memos&quot; -- urging the Supreme Court to &quot;reaffirm federal authority over national energy.&quot; Results in the cases have so far been mixed: oil firms have won dismissals in some states, while others have allowed cases to advance. &quot;There hasn&#39;t been a big verdict yet. It&#39;s not clear there&#39;s going to be a big verdict. And you&#39;ve always got the Supreme Court lurking in the background,&quot; said Parenteau. That may explain why Congress has hesitated to act, he added -- though &quot;given the craziness that&#39;s going on in America right now, anything&#39;s possible.&quot; Environmental groups have urged Democrats to hold firm, and this summer, the 3,000-member National Association of Counties passed a resolution opposing &quot;any legislation that would limit or preempt counties&#39; access to courts or give companies immunity from lawsuits.&quot; Brigid Shea, commissioner for Texas&#39; Travis County, who helped lead the resolution, told AFP local governments were being &quot;walloped&quot; by extreme weather. &quot;We have to protect our access to the courts,&quot; she said. &quot;This is fundamental to our democratic process.&quot;

Republicans are moving to protect oil giants as climate lawsuits gain traction, pushing for federal immunity and Supreme Court backing. Critics say it’s an effort to dodge accountability as local governments pursue damages for climate-related destruction.

US Republicans seek to shield oil giants as climate lawsuits advance

ISLAMABAD: Oil prices held steady Monday as markets weighed the impact of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries against expectations for U.S. fuel demand and a possible Federal Reserve rate cut this week. Brent crude rose 3 cents to $67.02 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate gained 8 cents to $62.77 by 12:09 a.m. GMT, the global standard for coordination. Ukraine strikes Russian infrastructureBoth benchmarks rose more than 1% last week after Ukraine struck key Russian energy infrastructure, including the Primorsk terminal and the Kirishi refinery. Primorsk, Russia&rsquo;s largest oil port in the west, can load about 1 million barrels per day, Reuters reported.&nbsp; The Kirishi refinery processes roughly 355,000 barrels per day, equal to 6.4 percent of Russia&rsquo;s refining capacity. Analysts at JPMorgan said the attacks signaled &ldquo;a growing willingness to disrupt international oil markets,&rdquo; which could put upward pressure on prices. In Russia&rsquo;s Bashkortostan region, local officials said production would continue despite a weekend drone strike.&nbsp; Impending US sanctionsThe pressure grew as U.S. President Donald Trump warned Sunday he was ready to impose tougher sanctions on Russia and urged European nations to match U.S. measures. &ldquo;Europe is buying oil from Russia. I don&rsquo;t want them to buy oil,&rdquo; Trump told reporters. He added that &ldquo;the sanctions they are putting on are not tough enough, and I am willing to do sanctions, but they are going to have to toughen up their sanctions commensurate with what I am doing.&rdquo; Federal reserve policy meetingInvestors are also watching U.S., China and rising inflation have raised concerns about economic momentum ahead of the Federal Reserve&rsquo;s policy meeting on September 16-17, where markets expect a possible interest rate cut to support growth, Reuters reported. The recent developments highlight how geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe, trade negotiations in Europe, and monetary policy in the United States are converging to shape the global oil market outlook.

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Oil prices held steady Monday as markets weighed the impact of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries against expectations for U.S. fuel demand and a possible Federal Reserve rate cut this week.

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