Rio Times · Asia Intelligence Brief July 18
—Oil Shock Brent crude prices leapt by $18 in Asian trading to $139 after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard began controlling all shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
—Seoul Verdict A Seoul court sentenced impeached ex-President Yoon Suk-yeol to life imprisonment for insurrection, triggering a record 12% single-day plunge in the KOSPI index.
—Manila Talks US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and China’s Wang Yi met in Manila to prepare a Xi-Trump summit, even as a new collision inflamed South China Sea tensions.
—Kashmir Flare-up The India-Pakistan ceasefire collapsed into overnight artillery and missile fire, killing 18 and forcing both nations to place their nuclear forces on high alert.
