Since February 28 - the day of the US-Israeli strikes against Iran - the Strait of Hormuz has been effectively paralyzed. Traffic has collapsed by 81% compared with levels at the start of the year: from 10.3 million gross tons per day to around one million.
Brent opened on Monday, March 9, at $108.5 per barrel (at the time of publication it's quoted at $105.17 per barrel, the price is constantly being adjusted), up 17% from a week earlier. West Texas Intermediate stands at $104.9, +15%. These are the highest levels since 2022, when the Russian invasion of Ukraine disrupted global energy markets. This time around, the catalyst is the war in Iran.
Trust in cash is based on a silent equilibrium: each bill that passes from hand to hand carries with it an implicit pact between payer and receiver. When this pact breaks down, even for a fake 50 euro bill, you feel like you've been betrayed in a mundane, almost intimate daily action.
Pharmacies are absorbing the burden of this crisis in a silent but increasing manner. Today, a pharmacist spends an average of 12 hours a week managing stock-outs: finding alternatives, contacting prescribing doctors, supporting patients, preventing errors and dealing with administrative formalities. That's twice as much as five years ago.
When it comes to electric cars, public debate almost always revolves around range, charging stations or performance. But the real revolution - which determines whether the mobility of the future will truly be sustainable - takes place much earlier than the moment when a car goes out on the road.
The Strait of Hormuz, the maritime corridor between the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean, was officially closed by Iran following military attacks by the United States and Israel.
A Pokémon card has rewritten the history of the collecting world. The Pikachu Illustrator, rated PSA 10 - the highest possible rating assigned by the Professional Sports Authenticator - was hammered off for $16,492,000 at an auction organized by Goldin (one of the world's most renowned auction houses specializing in pop culture collectibles, from cards to sports memorabilia), setting the record, as set by the Guinness World Records, for the most expensive trading card ever sold at an auction.
Every morning, millions of people worldwide start their day with a cup of coffee. A seemingly mundane routine, behind which, however, lies an increasingly fragile chain. For behind the hot or cold drink is an economic ecosystem that runs on a large number of small farmers spread across a narrow tropical belt around the earth. And that system is cracking under the strain of increasing heat...
In Japan, where space is limited and roofs often bear witness to decades of history and structural fragility, someone decided to approach the problem from a different perspective.
The Trump administration has just dismantled the backbone of US climate regulation, removing the scientific assessment that recognizes greenhouse gases as a public health risk and ending federal standards on car and truck emissions.