Food & Plastics Supply Shock: Cairo’s “Garbage City” recyclers are seeing factories call them first as Strait of Hormuz disruptions push manufacturers to buy locally recycled polyethylene. Energy & Consumer Costs: With US-Iran tensions flaring, fuel and power costs are rising; Visayan Electric in the Philippines deferred generation costs with the regulator to blunt a July rate jump. Retail & Household Budgets: Apple raised iCloud+ prices in Egypt, Türkiye and Nigeria, adding monthly costs for cloud storage and related services. Trade & Dairy: Türkiye exported $23.5m of ice cream in the first four months of 2026, with Iraq and the US among top markets. Corporate Restructuring: Merck plans cuts at two Israeli development centers, with some layoffs and a shift toward more AI-focused work. Regional Logistics: Iraq is trucking fuel oil through Syria to bypass Hormuz, using the corridor to move supplies in about four days. Consumer Law: Israel’s Knesset passed new economic/consumer measures, including a small-business credit database and tighter rules for telephone sales. Geopolitics & Shipping: Multiple reports track how renewed strikes and port disruptions are reshaping Hormuz and broader trade flows.