The Strait of Hormuz — the two-mile-wide shipping lane at the mouth of the Persian Gulf that has dominated five months of war news, and whose closure has now pushed the world's attention to a second chokepoint.

Five stories from the past few days where geography, not politics, was the real subject. Everything below comes from the wires — BBC World, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, Deutsche Welle and The New York Times — with the map added.

1. The US–Iran war pauses, and the reason is inventory.

US strikes on Iran halted for a third consecutive day, with Washington saying the pause was meant to give talks "some space." BBC, Guardian, Al Jazeera and NYT all covered it; NYT and the Guardian report that senior military officials advised Trump to stop, citing dwindling stocks of interceptor and air-defence munitions in the Middle East. Trump said talks were underway and warned of a return to "strong military action" if they fail; Iran denies direct negotiations, and Qatar and Pakistan are mediating. Oil prices fell on the news. NYT reports nearly all 14 points of the earlier ceasefire have been violated. Five months in, the war's limiting factor is a supply chain, not a border.

2. A second chokepoint closes — and only Suez is left.

With the Strait of Hormuz shut, the Houthis have turned on Saudi oil exports in the Red Sea. Yemen's internationally recognised government, speaking in Riyadh, told Al Jazeera the group "wants to copy Iran's Hormuz control." The Guardian reports Japan, South Korea and the Philippines scrambling to avoid a second energy crisis in six months, with the Suez Canal now the only fully open route for Gulf oil. NYT frames it as the Houthis cornering a vulnerable Saudi Arabia into a new conflict, while Riyadh blames Iran-backed militias in Iraq for drone attacks. Two of the world's four great oil chokepoints, contested at once.

3. Ukraine strikes the Caspian, and two wars become one.

BBC reported Ukraine's strike on an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea — a body of water 1,500 km from the front line, and the first direct physical link between the Ukraine and Iran wars. Tehran's foreign minister said it "cannot go unanswered"; Kyiv dismissed the threat. Al Jazeera notes Zelenskyy heads to Washington as the two conflicts converge, with a US Senate vote on Russian sanctions expected. Separately, NYT reports Ukrainian drone attacks have cut power and water to towns in Crimea. Both Zelenskyy and Netanyahu are in Washington this week, per BBC — two theatres, one capital.

4. Fire redraws southwestern Europe.

BBC reports a single blaze near Bordeaux burned through more than 420 sq km in under four days, while the Madrid region is seeing its worst fires on record — NYT describes flames within a short drive of the capital and over 200 homes destroyed. Spain's interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska called Monday and Tuesday "absolutely crucial days" before a fresh heatwave, the Guardian reports. NYT attributes the conditions to a summer of extremes in already hot, dry regions, and documented a pyrocumulonimbus "fire cloud" over France. Deutsche Welle notes the Tour de France's final stage was shortened. The land-cover map of two countries changed this month.

5. The Andaman Sea, and a convention turning 75.

The Guardian reports that around 500 people are believed dead in shipwrecks off Myanmar, among them a 24-year-old Rohingya footballer, Siraz Ullah, who left a voice message to his family before boarding. Al Jazeera reports Malaysian police detained more than 100 Rohingya refugees and asylum seekers who had approached the UN for help. Al Jazeera also marked the 75th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention with an opinion piece arguing the promise is going unkept. The Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea have become one of the world's deadliest migration corridors — a route that exists precisely because the land borders around it are closed.

The data behind it

Our World in Data's map of refugees by country of origin, 2024, puts the fifth story in scale. It shades countries by how many of their people have fled abroad and cannot be protected at home — and only a handful of places reach the darkest band, above a million: Afghanistan, Syria, Sudan, South Sudan, DR Congo, Venezuela, Ukraine, and Myanmar. Myanmar's dark red stripe is the reason boats keep leaving the Rakhine coast. What the map makes plain is how concentrated displacement is: most of the world sits in the palest shades, while a narrow arc from West Africa through the Sahel and the Middle East to Southeast Asia produces almost all of it. Three of this week's five stories are set inside that arc. Data: Our World in Data (CC BY).

Sources: BBC World — Trump says Iran war talks taking place during lull in strikes, Oil price dives as US and Iran pause attacks, Ukraine dismisses Iranian threats as Caspian Sea strike directly links wars, Devastating European wildfires in maps, What to expect from Zelensky and Netanyahu's visit to Washington. The Guardian — US pauses Iran attacks after Trump advised to halt bombing, Trump warns of return to 'strong military action' if Iran diplomacy fails, Asia 'scraping the bottom of the barrel' as Red Sea oil blockade worsens energy crisis, France and Spain race to contain huge wildfires, Family of missing Rohingya footballer fear he is among 500 believed dead. Al Jazeera — Hopes of return to diplomacy as US, Iran hold fire for third day, Houthis want to copy Iran's Hormuz control in the Red Sea, Ukraine's Zelenskyy set to meet Trump as Iran and Ukraine wars converge, Malaysia detains more than 100 Rohingya seeking help from the UN, Refugee Convention at 75. Deutsche Welle — Tour de France final stage shortened due to wildfires. The New York Times — U.S.-Iran War Pauses for 2nd Straight Day, What's Left of the Cease-Fire Agreement Between the U.S. and Iran?, How the Iran-Backed Houthis Cornered Saudi Arabia Into a New Conflict, Saudis Blame Iran-Backed Militias Based in Iraq for Drone Attacks, Ukrainian Attacks in Crimea Deprive Towns of Power and Water, Massive Wildfires Draw Close to Madrid, Heat Wave Threatens Further Wildfire Spread in France and Spain, Conditions for European Wildfires Created by Summer of Extremes. Map: Our World in Data, "Refugees by country of origin" (CC BY).

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