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July 18th - The 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference opened yesterday (July 17th) in Shanghai. At the sub-forum on "Artificial Intelligence and Energy: Two-Way Empowerment," an official from the National Energy Administration revealed that my country will accelerate the construction of a new energy system to provide a green foundation for the development of artificial intelligence. It is understood that during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, inference load will exceed the previous training load, becoming the main consumption of computing power. The characteristics of latency sensitivity, large load fluctuations, and concentrated demand require that computing power collaboration shift from "spatial collaboration" to "multi-dimensional collaboration" between computing power load and the new power system. This necessitates the integrated layout of core elements such as intelligent computing power, large models, and corpus resources. Wang Hongzhi, Secretary of the Party Group and Director of the National Energy Administration, stated that nearly four out of every ten kilowatt-hours of electricity consumed in the whole society is green electricity. Sufficient and high-quality green electricity supply will promote green computing power from concept to practice, from the laboratory to application scenarios, ensuring that every kilowatt-hour of electricity is used to its fullest potential and that every token is associated with green development.

1. The EU imposes sanctions on one Russian individual and five entities. 2. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy: Discussed the appointment of an acting defense minister with the new prime minister. 3. The commander of the Ukrainian drone force stated that Ukrainian drones have struck 12 Russian ships in the Black Sea. 4. The Ukrainian Port Authority: Russia attacked Ukrainian ports 23 times in the first two weeks of July. 5. Naftogaz: A Russian drone attack caused a gas production facility in Kharkiv Oblast to shut down. 6. The Russian Ministry of Defense: Russian forces struck 24 Ukrainian military vessels in the past week. 7. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy: Ukraine destroyed a Russian Tu-95 military aircraft at Engels Air Base.

According to Iranian media reports, an explosion was heard in the Khorramabad region.

According to the Iranian news agency IRNA, Arab media reported that Iranian missiles successfully penetrated Jordan's air defense system, claiming that the Patriot missile defense system failed to intercept them effectively.

Market news: Apple (AAPL.O) will raise the price of iPhones in Japan by 10%.

Iranian state television, citing Iranian military sources, reported that it had struck US camps and bases in Kuwait and Jordan.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard: Four "illegal" oil tankers attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz were intercepted in a joint missile and drone operation.

On July 18, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a statement saying that two oil tankers exploded and caught fire while passing through a mine-laying area in the southern part of the Strait of Hormuz. The statement emphasized that due to recent US military operations, the Strait of Hormuz is "completely closed," and oil and gas transport cannot proceed through the strait until the US ceases its military operations against Iran. Ships should avoid entering the mine-laying area. The statement did not specify the nationalities of the two oil tankers, the number of casualties, or the extent of damage.

On July 18, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced that its forces attacked US facilities in Bahrain, destroying a US unmanned surface vessel storage facility and striking an artificial intelligence center used to assist US forces in target acquisition. Iran stated that this action was a response to previous US attacks on Iranian infrastructure, including bridges, and warned that if the US continues to attack Iranian targets, Iran will expand its strikes to target US industrial, technological, and artificial intelligence-related assets in the Middle East.

July 18th - According to US media reports on the 17th, the US government has notified Israel that it will send dozens more refueling aircraft to Israel, potentially escalating military operations against Iran. Axios, citing Israeli officials, reported that the US hopes to send dozens more refueling aircraft to Israel in the coming days, restoring the number to the level at the beginning of the US-Israel conflict with Iran in late February. The report stated that the US government has requested Israel to accept the additional refueling aircraft, and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu will make the final decision. The US currently has approximately 30 refueling aircraft parked at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, and a similar number at Ramon Airport in southern Israel. The report suggests that US President Trump appears intent on escalating the conflict to create sufficient disruption to force Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz and accept US demands on the nuclear issue. According to US and Israeli officials, Trump may order an escalation of the situation in the coming days.

Lucid Group (LCID.O) rose 32%, marking its biggest single-day gain in nearly a year.

This week, the S&P 500 fell 1.55%, the Nasdaq fell 2.9%, and the Dow Jones fell 0.93%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 406.55 points, or 0.77%, at 52,146.42 on Friday, July 17; the S&P 500 closed down 76.11 points, or 1.01%, at 7,457.66; and the Nasdaq Composite closed down 361.70 points, or 1.40%, at 25,520.24.

Hang Seng Index futures closed up 0.54% at 24,602 points in overnight trading, a premium of 40 points.

U.S. Central Command: In the three days following the reinstatement of the Strait of Hormuz blockade, the U.S. military intercepted and forced four merchant ships to change course, rendered one merchant ship unable to navigate, and boarded another merchant ship for inspection to ensure it was in full compliance with regulations.

The Kuwaiti military stated that Iran used drones to attack several military facilities and camps.

According to the Iranian news agency IRNA: Iran claims to have launched cruise missiles in the northern Indian Ocean to strike US ships, initiating the thirteenth phase of "Operation Lightning".