George Hay

The continent has finite resources and a 2,700 km front with its belligerent neighbour. Cheap sensors and unmanned aircraft can play a key defensive role. A smarter approach requires decoys, hard decisions over what to protect, and deterrence to stop an attack in the first place.

Doha’s GDP could sink ​13% in 2026, amid attacks that have taken out ‌17% of LNG capacity. Its local banks have faced big deposit outflows before. If Qatar has to cover lost revenue and liquidity, its $580 ​bln wealth fund can sell assets and its ​central bank can sell gold.

Gulf conflict has pushed European and Asian liquefied natural gas ​prices higher, but not American ones. Those with lots of ‌US supply, like Shell and TotalEnergies, can make tidy trading margins. And $41 bln Venture Global, with a boatload of un-contracted LNG, has struck gold.

Abu Dhabi deputy ruler Sheikh Tahnoon’s vehicle is ​buying UK venues like the Ivy and Annabel’s. Despite Iranian ‌drone strikes, Gulf money still covets the capital’s glitz. Even so, a $1.9 bln price tag is cheaper than Soho House’s 2025 deal, and there’s scope for ​US expansion.

Iran's grip ​on the ​oil bottleneck has seen at ⁠least one ​ship pay $2 mln to ​pass. Even if it charged a lower rate ​of $1 per barrel ​on half of prewar traffic, ‌the ⁠fee over 25 years in today's money is $54 bln. ​That’s ​close ⁠to the possible cost of ​new pipelines to ​bypass ⁠the strait.

Oil ​riches allowed Saudi Arabia ⁠and its ​neighbours to pump $150 bln ​a year into overseas assets. Blocked exports ​and new ​costs have interrupted these flows. ‌Even ⁠if the region's flagship wealth funds remain active, ​Western ​investors ⁠and dealmakers will find fewer ​eager buyers.

Brent ​crude fell to $83 a barrel after a 60-day ‌US ceasefire with Tehran. A calmer Strait of Hormuz makes the extreme spikes since March less likely. But uncertainty over how fast ​flows recover and whether the deal sticks means ​prices will stay more volatile than before the war.

Software-as-a-Service ​allows clients to ⁠rent IT instead ​of buying it. ​Applying this to the military – as in ​Ukraine, where ​private firms have downed 20 ‌Russian ⁠drones – has risks. But ‘DaaS’ also makes it easier ​for ​armies ⁠to keep pace with ​cutting-edge defence ​technology.

At $72 a barrel, Brent crude's level suggests the Gulf crisis ​is over. But the sugar ​rush from clearing stuck cargoes masks ⁠an oil supply deficit. Freight ​rates for shipping through the Strait ​of Hormuz, which have retreated but remain high, give a better sense of ​ongoing risks.

Abstract This article examines how colonial-era policies continued to shape the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's post-colonial work in Tanzania.