Monday, June 29, 2026
Iraq’s 14 Million Barrels of Trapped Oil Escape Through Hormuz
Iraqi oil stranded by the Middle East conflict has escaped the Persian Gulf over the past 10 days as transit via the Strait of Hormuz eased during an uneasy US-Iran ceasefire.
Vessels carrying about 14 million barrels of Iraqi oil exited the Gulf in the latter part of June and are now carrying crude to buyers in Asia, Europe and the US, according to tanker tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. That's the equivalent of about 1.4 million barrels a day over the 10-day period.
All cargoes loaded since late February — and that were stuck inside the Gulf — have now sailed toward their final destination, the data show.
Hundreds of ships were blocked inside the Gulf after the US and Israel started attacks on Feb. 28, resulting in Iran's near closure of Hormuz, the vital choke point for about a fifth of the world's oil and gas supplies. Shipping has picked up after the US and Iran agreed to pause hostilities in an effort to reach a lasting peace deal.
Some vessels that loaded in February and March and had been blocked in the Gulf did manage to exit via Hormuz earlier in the conflict, tanker tracking data show.
Iraq's finances were among the hardest hit of Persian Gulf nations from the closure of Hormuz. That's prompted the government to step up its push for bigger OPEC production quotas as it seeks to recoup lost oil revenues.
Iraq has been loading additional tankers at its Basrah oil terminal in the northern Gulf, while trying to ramp up production as flows increase. Still, a lack of storage and limited access to tankers, forced the OPEC producer to again cut output.
Tankers have loaded about 6 million barrels of Iraqi crude so far this month, with one vessel currently moored at Basrah, according to Bloomberg tanker tracking. That's an increase over the last two months, but remains a fraction of the roughly 100 million barrels Iraq would normally export each month before the conflict.
https://finance.yahoo.com/energy/articles/iraq-14-million-barrels-trapped-142440761.html
'Burnham's 'Manchesterism' could change the UK, but is not yet a full economic plan'
"True to the motto of this city, I am going to do things differently," Andy Burnham declared, a reference to the film 24 Hour Party People.
His speech in Manchester did indeed show a rather different way of seeing and running the UK.
The departing Greater Manchester mayor presented a diagnosis of what has caused economic malaise, rooted in his own experiences running the city and when he was previously in Cabinet.
At its heart it is a critique of an unresponsive British state, adept at arguing with itself, rather than achieving real change and rebuilding the country.
His solutions were ambitious, and mostly rather general, taking power from the centre and giving it to regions and cities, as occurs routinely in other advanced countries.
Burnham tells a story of his time as chief secretary to the Treasury, two decades ago, wishing to build a northern equivalent to London's Crossrail, but being told it would not pass the Treasury cost benefit equation.
His speech today was not a detailed plan for the economy, with assessments of appropriate levels of tax, spend, investment and infrastructure and strategies for trade, AI and Europe.
Perhaps that is partly because this is still officially a Labour leadership campaign. It rather appears that he is trying to keep as much powder dry as possible on the precise trade-offs, for as long as possible.
There was general policy direction on changes to business rates, housebuilding, technical education, and infrastructure. The upbeat and optimistic tone was also notable.
In two specific areas Burnham appeared to want to communicate a capacity for being prudent on spending and borrowing. He confirmed he will stick to existing borrowing rules, and also backed the Milburn Review into young people's employment outcomes, which could lead to welfare savings.
These are two parts of what has been described to me as a broad five-part plan. Devolution, and industrial policy are two other legs. The remaining part was referred to by Burnham as quicker help on the cost of living.
How does this all square with sticking to the 2024 manifesto not to raise the major taxes and the fiscal rules?
Some of these changes will surely require extra spending. Perhaps devolution of decision-making will also require diverting actual capital spending, from the south east, to northern powerhouse rail.
In Europe this agenda normally means extra borrowing powers for regions to invest in their infrastructure. Can that be squared with keeping to existing borrowing rules?
There are many other questions about the detail, which may or may not get answered in the next three weeks. Here are just two:
Is Burnham fully backing potential tough policy choices on welfare spending which could emerge from the Milburn report? What does the "Makerfield Test" mean for the Brexit reset discussions on access to the single market?
The announcement on who will be chancellor will wait for three weeks too, with no decision made so far. The markets seem relaxed, much to the private satisfaction of some Burnham advisers.
A sense of direction, confidence and optimism, alongside promises of prudence, can go some distance. But even famous Mancunian swagger can only get you so far.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpq3yxdyx9do
Some of these changes will surely require extra spending. Perhaps devolution of decision-making will also require diverting actual capital spending, from the south east, to northern powerhouse rail.
In Europe this agenda normally means extra borrowing powers for regions to invest in their infrastructure. Can that be squared with keeping to existing borrowing rules?
There are many other questions about the detail, which may or may not get answered in the next three weeks. Here are just two:
Is Burnham fully backing potential tough policy choices on welfare spending which could emerge from the Milburn report? What does the "Makerfield Test" mean for the Brexit reset discussions on access to the single market?
The announcement on who will be chancellor will wait for three weeks too, with no decision made so far. The markets seem relaxed, much to the private satisfaction of some Burnham advisers.
A sense of direction, confidence and optimism, alongside promises of prudence, can go some distance. But even famous Mancunian swagger can only get you so far.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpq3yxdyx9do
Bloody riot at NYC youth facility exposes chaos at juvenile detention centers
It was a ticking timebomb.
A massive riot at an overcrowded Bronx juvenile detention center left more than a dozen staffers and youths injured — and exposed ongoing problems at Big Apple youth facilities, The Post has learned.
The NYPD was twice turned away at the door by staffers at the Horizons Juvenile Center during the outbreak on June 21, allowing both employees and facility residents to be slashed and beaten for hours before the melee was brought under control, sources and union officials said.
The violent outburst comes after years of warnings from critics that soft-on-crime state laws had turned the Big Apple’s youth detention facilities into a powder keg.
“The melee started at 4:49 p.m. when one unit was being escorted back to their unit from the courtyard,” according to one source. “Three other units — one was already opened without clearance — heard them in the hallway. Staff were assaulted and keys taken, and residents of these units ran out and started attacking each other and also staff members.
“One staff member was pushed up against a glass area with a knife held to her face,” the source said. “Another on the floor had an asthma attack with residents taunting her that she’s going to die.”
New York’s Finest were dispatched to the troubled facility at 5:25 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. to quell the unrest — but staffers from the city Administration for Children’s Services locked them out both times, allowing the violence to continue, union officials confirmed.
“The injuries sustained by staff included dislocated shoulders, head trauma, neck injuries, back injuries, knee injuries and deep lacerations requiring stitches,” said Darek Robinson, vice president of grievance and legal services for Local 371 of the Social Service Employees Union .
“This incident did not occur without warning,” he said in a statement. “For several weeks leading up to the riot, there were multiple assaults on supervisors and staff involving attempts by residents to seize facility keys.”
Robinson said 187 troubled youngsters were crammed into the 125-bed facility at the time.
The violent outburst comes as the city continues to struggle to control older and more violent residents at two overcrowded and understaffed juvenile detention centers — Horizons and Crossroads Juvenile Center in Brooklyn — thanks to a troubling change in state law.
The Post revealed in 2024 that the soft-on-crime “Raise the Age” law was allowing suspects as old as 21 to be housed with younger alleged delinquents — a recipe for trouble.
The controversial statute, which was implemented in two stages in 2017 and 2018, raised the age of criminal responsibility in the state to 18, and allowed for criminal defendants to remain in juvenile facilities as old as the age of 21.
Before, suspects as young as 16 could be automatically tried in adult criminal court.
A 2024 city Department of Investigation report determined that the resident population at the two detention facilities jumped from a manageable 52 in April 2018 to a 237 in May 2023.
A rep for ACS said Sunday that a total of seven residents and eight staffers were treated at the hospital following a brawl between two groups at the facility.
“The situation at Horizon Juvenile Center was resolved and the facility is secured,” the spokesperson said. “The safety and security of young people and staff in our secure detention facilities is our top priority.
“We greatly appreciate the efforts made by our dedicated staff, including those who helped de-escalate the situation,” the statement said.
The rep said the agency has beefed up staffing and security, stepping up efforts to keep contraband out of the facility and holding misbehaving residents more accountable.
However, claims of mismanagement and even corruption continue to dog the two facilities.
A confidential whistleblower report reviewed by The Post alleges that staffers allow some contraband to enter the detention centers, and charged that sexual abuse and favoritism exist behind the walls.
Workers who try to report misconduct are targeted for retaliation, the report claimed.
In addition, Horizon staffers purchased 100 water pistols for residents there, a questionable move given that most of those held at the facility face gun-related charges, the report said.
Meanwhile, the SSEU wants an investigation.
“The union is calling for a full and independent investigation into the June 21 riot, an immediate review of security protocols, accountability for all criminal acts committed during the disturbance, and urgent measures to address overcrowding and staff safety,” Robinson said.
The NYPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Nancy Pelosi’s post-Congress job revealed
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi already has her next act lined up after she ends her four-decade career in Congress in January 2027.
The California congresswoman will return to her home state to lead the newly created Nancy Pelosi Institute for Representative Democracy at the University of California, Berkeley.
“I think all of us in public service who have an opportunity to do so want to use our experience to train leaders for the future,” she told CNN.
She described the move as a chance to leave behind the partisan battles of Washington, DC without leaving public service altogether.
“I viewed this as a liberation for me from the political, not politics, but partisanship,” Pelosi said. “Because you’re going to an academic institution. It’s about what our founders had in mind with our Constitution, and it’s a beautiful story to tell.”
Pelosi announced in November 2025 that she would not seek reelection in 2026, bringing an end to her historic career representing California’s 11th Congressional District. She endorsed San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan as her preferred successor.
UC Berkeley announced Monday that it will launch the Nancy Pelosi Institute for Representative Democracy in January 2027 within the Charles and Louise Travers Department of Political Science.
Despite carrying her name, Pelosi stressed the institute will not be a traditional center with a dedicated building, office or campus landmark bearing her name.
Instead, she said it will function as what she described as a “programmatic” institute, using Berkeley’s existing classrooms, lecture halls and auditoriums to host courses, research and public events.
When asked whether students would one day walk past a building labeled the “Nancy Pelosi Institute,” she laughed.
“I hope not,” Pelosi said, adding that Berkeley already has “classrooms, they have auditoriums, they have theaters.”
She said the institute is meant to be an academic concept rather than a physical destination on campus, bringing together students, scholars and public officials through teaching, research and civic engagement.
The nonpartisan institute will focus on strengthening democratic institutions, addressing political polarization, advancing human and civil rights, and tackling major policy challenges ranging from climate change to artificial intelligence.
“The work of democracy is never finished, and securing its future is our greatest calling,” Pelosi said in UC Berkeley’s announcement.
“UC Berkeley has a long, proud history of challenging the status quo and producing leaders who run toward the greatest challenges of our time. I am honored to partner with this exceptional community of scholars and students so we can equip the next generation with the tools they need to strengthen our democratic institutions and forge a future that serves the public good.”
Pelosi said the proposal first came from Berkeley administrators and about eight faculty members nearly a year ago. Although honored by the offer, she said she did not immediately accept it.
She said the idea that ultimately convinced her was creating a bipartisan academic institute at Berkeley, which she described as “the epitome of public education.”
“I loved it because they talked about human rights in the US and in the world, talking about and addressing the challenges to our democracy, talking about challenges of the climate and economic income inequity,” Pelosi, 86, said.
The former Speaker of the House also said she plans to invite prominent Democrats and Republicans to Berkeley to speak with students and participate in discussions. She will also co-teach a course on Congress alongside political science professor Eric Schickler, one of the country’s leading scholars of the legislative branch.
UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons said the institute reflects the university’s mission to prepare future civic leaders.
“The purpose and impact of the NPI will be defined and strengthened by Berkeley’s ability to bring together world-class faculty and extraordinary students and by our commitment, as the country’s preeminent public university, to advancing the greater good,” Lyons said. “We intend to do more than simply study democracy; we are building this institute to strengthen it.”
The institute is expected to support hundreds of students each year through faculty research, undergraduate courses and a visiting fellows program featuring experienced public officials from across the political spectrum.
According to the university, the project has already secured more than $35 million in philanthropic commitments toward a broader $50 million fundraising campaign to establish permanent endowments and expand future initiatives.
Pelosi told CNN she had agreed to move forward only after committing to raise $25 million in private donations before the institute was publicly announced, adding that reaching that milestone came “quite easily.”
Reflecting on the next chapter of her career, Pelosi said she hopes the institute will help prepare future generations of public servants while preserving the principles she spent decades championing in Congress.
“I’m so proud of what I leave behind, and how they go on to what’s next,” she said.
Pelosi has represented San Francisco in the US House of Representatives since 1987. She made history as the first and only woman to serve as Speaker of the House, holding the position from 2007 to 2011 and again from 2019 to 2023, becoming the first speaker in more than 60 years to serve nonconsecutive terms.
https://nypost.com/2026/06/29/us-news/former-house-speaker-nancy-pelosis-post-congress-job-revealed/
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