META MAG

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans are invoking thewar in Iranand the prospect of retaliatory terrorist attacks as they tee up votes Thursday on a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security.

Congress Homeland Security

The House already approved a DHS spending bill in January, but it faltered in the Senate as Democrats insisted on changes to immigration enforcement operations following the shooting death of ICU nurseAlex Prettiin Minneapolis. As a result, funding for the departmentlapsedon Feb. 14.

Republicans are calling on Democrats to reconsider their vote in the wake of the conflict in Iran. Both the House and the Senate are expected to hold votes on the matter.

"The military action in Iran makes it all more urgent and crucial to have a fully funded, fully staffed DHS across all its departments," House Speaker Mike Johnson said.

It did not appear the GOP's strategy had changed the position of Democratic lawmakers, though. They said they are prepared to fund most of the agencies at the department, just not Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Customs and Border Protection.

"It's the same lousy, rotten bill that does not put any guardrails or constraints on ICE or CBP after federal agents shot American citizens in the street," said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass.

Workers are beginning to miss part of their paychecks

Following thelongestfederal shutdown in the country's history last year, Congress has completed work on 11 of this year's 12 appropriations bills. Only the bill for Homeland Security remains outstanding.

Republicans said the timing couldn't be worse for a Homeland Security shutdown. While a large majority of the department's employees are considered essential and continue to work, many will not receive a full paycheck this week.

Republicans said the prospect of an increase in unscheduled absences by the Transportation Security Administration's agents and screeners could lead to longer wait times at the nation's airports. Meanwhile, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has canceled various assessments to determine vulnerabilities to critical infrastructure. And training for first responders conducted through the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been canceled.

"Can we not understand America is under siege, now likely to be attacked because radical Islam is under siege, and they're going to hit back and we're sitting here looking at each other and not funding DHS," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said during a hearing Tuesday featuring DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

Democrats are seeking several changes at the department include prohibiting ICE enforcement operations at sensitive locations like schools and churches, allowing independent investigations into alleged wrongdoing, requiringwarrantsto be signed by judges before federal agents can forcibly enter private homes or other nonpublic spaces without consent, and requiring agents to wear identification and remove their masks.

Advertisement

Republicans note that the bill does include a bipartisan provision directing more resources for deescalation training and $20 million to outfit immigration enforcement agents with body-worn cameras.

Little to show from negotiations

The White House and congressional Democrats don't appear to have made significant progress in recent weeks resolving their differences after trading several offers.

"Look, we're still far apart but we're negotiating and exchanging paper back and forth," Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said.

Alabama Sen. Katie Britt, the Republican chairwoman of a panel that oversees homeland security funding, said she's been talking to Democrats about a possible pathway forward, but prospects are unclear.

She and other Republicans are citing last weekend's mass shooting inAustinas an example of the dangerous threat environment that's facing Americans following the attack on Iran.

"I think that it is incredibly irresponsible to not fund the agency that is supposed to keep us safe here at home," Britt said.

Democrats said they are ready to fully fund all the agencies within the department except for ICE and CBP.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, authored a proposal to do that, but it was blocked from consideration. She said Republican leadership was using Trump's "aimless, costly and illegal war with Iran to force through more funding for ICE and Customs and Border Protection without any of the substantial changes that the vast majority of Americans believe those agencies need."

"It is a cynical effort and it is one that will fail," DeLauro said.

Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.

THIKA, Kenya (AP) — When Mary Mwangi got her cancer diagnosis, she imagined death would follow shortly. She did not expect that her hobby of knitting, which she took up while recovering, would affect the lives of thousands of breast cancer survivors.

Kenya Knitted Prostheses

She now makes knitted prostheses for other breast cancer survivors inKenyawho who have had an entire breast removed, known as a mastectomy, without the reconstructive surgery common in higher-income countries.

Women say the affordable prostheses are a relief in Kenya where, as in most countries, breast cancer is the most diagnosed cancer among women. On average, 6,000 cases are diagnosed annually in Kenya, where 40% of the population lives below the poverty line.

'My dignity was restored'

Mwangi began in 2017 by knitting hats and scarves, then met a woman who was knitting a prosthesis.

Now, in her shared tailor shop in Thika, outside the capital of Nairobi, Mwangi shares her knowledge with other women, calling her group the New Dawn Cancer Warriors. Some make money from the art, while others use it as an outlet whenever they are overwhelmed by the grief of losing a breast.

"Knitting takes you through a process of healing. Once you are not thinking about your disease, you are positive and that positive mind helps you, because healing starts from your mind," she said.

For Nancy Waithera, a high school science teacher, meeting Mwangi before her surgery aided her recovery as she bought the prosthesis and started to picture life without one breast.

When she was diagnosed with breast cancer, "everything turned dark." Her husband had recently died, and the diagnosis crushed her further.

But her meeting with Mwangi restored hope, and after surgery she looked forward to her incision healing so she could try on the knitted prosthesis.

On the first day of wearing it, when she was going to church, "I felt like Nancy had come back," she said. "My ego was restored. My dignity was restored."

Filling a bra with clothing

Cancer remains a huge burden in developing countries like Kenya due to the high cost of treatment. Just over 50% of breast cancer patients in Kenya present with an advanced stage of the disease at diagnosis, according to the health ministry, which is working on standardizing early detection.

Mwangi's knitted prostheses cost $10 per breast, or one-sixth of the price of silicone ones in Kenya. Her group of women knit and sell them to organizations that donate to cancer survivors who cannot afford to buy them. Together, they have sold more than 600 pieces in the last three years.

Advertisement

The yarn-knitted prostheses are filled with the kind of fiber used in pillows. Women said it feels gentle on their skin.

Hannah Mugo, a housewife and mother, said she was lucky to upgrade from filling her bra with clothes, which left her looking rather unbalanced, to donning a knitted prosthesis filled with fiber that boosted her confidence.

"I used to stay indoors because I didn't want people to label me as the 'woman with one breast'," Mugo said. She met Mwangi and learned how to knit, not just for herself but for sale as well.

'There is life after cancer'

Experts say hobbies and support groups play a critical role in healing and recovery for cancer patients. Breast cancer survivor Eglah Wambui, who also knits with Mwangi, recalled that a woman she met during her treatment killed herself due to what doctors said was depression.

"Knitting is therapeutic and helps take away my thoughts," said the mother of two.

Surgeon Daniel Ojuka, who has seen some of the donated prostheses at the Kenyatta National Hospital cancer treatment center, said having a plan for life after surgery and a supportive community makes recovery "significantly easier."

Ojuka said having a mastectomy is the cheapest option for Kenyan women diagnosed with breast cancer, and reconstructive surgery for the affected breast is out of reach for many. It is not covered by the national health insurance system.

Even though surgeons prepare patients to wake up after surgery with a flat chest, the loss is deeply affecting, he said. He has watched patients weep after waking.

For Mwangi, cancer no longer feels like a death sentence. She said she is determined to train more women to knit the prostheses while keeping their hope alive.

"There is life after cancer, and cancer is not a death sentence, because I'm a living testimony," she said.

For more on Africa and development:https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse

The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP'sstandardsfor working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas atAP.org.

WASHINGTON (AP) — In their mostly white school district, Black students routinely heard racial slurs. White classmates hurled insults like "slave," "monkey" or worse. It often went unpunished.

Parents made those claims in a 2024 complaint asking the U.S. Education Department to investigate racial bullying at the Pennridge School District in Pennsylvania. They thought their complaint had the power to make things better. Instead, it became one of thousands sitting in a federal office withlittle hope of gaining attentionafter layoffs by the Trump administration.

Families say they've had nowhere else to turn.

"There was an expectation that something was going to happen," said Adrienne King, who has two daughters in the district and is president of the NAACP Bucks County chapter. When nothing did, "it's a very hollow, empty feeling."

One of the Education Department's biggest jobs is to police discrimination in America's schools. But amidmass firingsand shifting priorities, that role has waned. In its place, there's an emerging push for states to step up.

In Pennsylvania, a lawmaker is proposing a new state agency that would investigate schools and uphold students'civil rights— traditionally the role of the federal government. At the same time, advocates there and in other Democrat-led states are pressing existing state agencies to intervene when students face discrimination based on race, disability or sex.

The idea carries risk. Pushing the work to states could create a patchwork of systems with uneven protections. Some worry it will embolden the Trump administration to retreat further on civil rights.

Lawmakers propose more muscular state agencies

Pennsylvania Sen. Lindsey Williams offered a blunt message last fall when she proposed a new state civil rights office to be modeled after its federal counterpart. "If the federal government won't stand up for our most vulnerable students, I will," said Williams, a Democrat.

Her bill, to be introduced this spring, faces long odds in the state's Republican-controlled Senate. Yet even if it fails there, Williams believes it has potential to become a national model. She's already heard interest from lawmakers in other states, and similar proposals have been put forward in Maryland and Illinois.

More immediately, advocates in Pennsylvania are calling for heavier investment in an existing but often overlooked agency. The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission already has the power to investigate schools and enforce students' rights, but it's rarely used for that end. It's better known for handling employment disputes, with just 5% of its recent cases involving education.

Kristina Moon, a lawyer at the Education Law Center in Pennsylvania, has started encouraging families to take discrimination complaints to the commission instead of the federal government. She sees it as the next best option for families left in limbo amid federal turmoil.

"It's incredibly important for students and families to be aware of any other option available to them," said Moon, who represents families in the Pennridge complaint.

The commission is welcoming complaints that have stalled at the federal level. Yet officials are also realistic about their limitations. The agency has about 100 staff — down from more than 200 in the past — and some question its ability to handle a sharp increase in complaints.

The federal Education Department had more than 300 open investigations in Pennsylvania as of January 2025, according to the most recent federal data. Each is a possible candidate to be shifted to the state.

Advertisement

"It would be tough, I'll be totally honest," said Desireé Chang, the commission's education director. "A stark influx would definitely put some weight on our agency. But we would do it because that is what we are charged with doing."

Civil rights work has slowed under the Trump administration

Before President Donald Trump took office last year, the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights was already struggling under a heavy caseload. Work has slowed further aftersweeping layoffs, which closed entire offices in Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago and elsewhere. Some remaining staff say time-consuming investigations have become rare as they focus on the quickest complaints.

At the same time, Trump officials have used the office to go after schools that make accommodations fortransgender students and athletes, arguing that it discriminates against girls and women.

Trump officials blame the previous administration for leaving a backlog of complaints. Trump officials havebrought back some fired employeesto help clear cases.

The fallout is being felt across the country. In Maryland, a recently proposed bill would give the state's Commission on Civil Rights new power to investigate discrimination in schools. The office has long handled discrimination cases in areas like housing and employment, but students don't have a comparable option to file complaints.

At a hearing last week, officials at the commission supported the bill and said they can no longer rely on the federal government to defend students' rights.

"Offices have been closed, people have been fired, cases are piling up or not even moving — that's why we sought to step in that gap and provide Maryland students an option," said Glendora Hughes, general counsel for the commission.

In Massachusetts, advocates are turning attention to an existing office in the state's education department. The Problem Resolution System investigates complaints from families who say their schools violated state or federal law, but advocates say it's unclear what kinds of cases the office takes on and why. A coalition of advocates recently asked the office for clarity.

Some legal aid groups are also filling in gaps. The Southern Poverty Law Center is suing a Louisiana school district on behalf of a 10-year-old boy with autism. The suit says the St. Tammany Parish School District illegally cut the boy's classroom time to just two hours a day starting in 2024, down from a full day. The nonprofit said it's the kind of case that would have been handled by the federal government in the past.

One of the U.S. Education Department's most powerful tools is the ability to pull federal funding from schools that violate civil rights laws. Facing that threat, schools usually have agreed to make changes when pressed by the agency.

Proposals at the state level have varying enforcement powers. Some would allow states to mediate disputes between families and schools, and to issue legal orders. By contrast, a newly created Office of Civil Rights in California primarily aims to provide anti-discrimination guidance and training to local schools.

In Pennridge, families are weighing their next steps. King said she has little hope in the federal complaint, and the bullying hasn't stopped. Her daughters still hear racial slurs at school, and students make insensitive comments about their hair. She wonders how it will all shape her daughters' lives.

"I feel as though my girls have normalized a lot of this, but for the sake of survival — middle school is hard," she said. "You just want to be like everybody else."

The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP'sstandardsfor working with philanthropies, alistof supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Paul Cotter and Jesper Bratt scored in the shootout, Connor Brown forced overtime with a tying goal with 2:21 left in the third period and the New Jersey Devils beat Toronto 4-3 on Wednesday night, sending the Maple Leafs to their fifth straight loss.

Maple Leafs Devils Hockey

Timo Meier and and Arseny Gritsyuk also scored in regulation for the Devils, who have won three in a row and improved to 25-8-1 when scoring at least three goals. Jacob Markstrom made 24 saves.

William Nylander, Matias Maccelli and Matthew Knies had goals for the Maple Leafs, who haven't won since beating the Edmonton Oilers 5-2 on Feb. 3 — their last game before the Olympic break. Anthony Stolarz made 44 saves.

Cotter put a backhander past Stolarz to start the shootout for the Devils. After Nylander's wrister was stopped, Bratt also scored on a backhander to put New Jersey up 2-0 in the shootout. Auston Matthews' wrist shot was then stopped by Markstrom, giving the Devils the victory.

With the game tied at 2 in the third period, Knies batted in the rebound of John Tavares' shot past Markstrom to put Toronto ahead with 6:10 left.

Brown took a pass from Gritsyuk on a rush toward the net and roofed a quick shot in tight past Stolarz to tie it at 3 with 2:21 remaining.

Advertisement

The Devils outshot the Maple Leafs 47 to 27 in regulation.

New Jersey was without defenseman Brett Pesce, who suffered a lower-body injury against Florida on Tuesday night.

Up next

Maple Leafs: Play at New York Rangers on Thursday night.

Devils: Host the Rangers on Saturday.

AP NHL:https://apnews.com/NHL

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Jrue Holiday had 35 points and 11 assists, and Jerami Grant added 30 points as the Portland Trail Blazers snapped a two-game skid with a 122-114 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.

Trail Blazers Grizzlies Basketball

Portland (30-33), making a push to qualify for the postseason, used a 24-19 scoring edge over the final nine minutes to seal the win. The Trail Blazers had lost three of their last four and four of their last six games entering Wednesday.

Robert Williams III had 20 points and 11 rebounds for Portland. Matisse Thybulle contributed three rebounds, an assist and a steal on his 29th birthday.

The Grizzlies got double-figure scoring from seven players, but it wasn't enough against Portland as they lost their second straight and for the ninth time in 12 games. Memphis was playing the second game of a back to back after falling toMinnesota 117-110on Tuesday.

Jaylen Wells led the way with 24 points, and GG Jackson added 20 for Memphis. Forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper, who earlier in the day signed a multi-year contract, had 17 points and nine rebounds in his eighth start for the Grizzlies. Jahmai Mashack came off the bench to score 13 points, Cam Spencer scored all 12 of his points in the first half and added seven rebounds and seven assists, while Walter Clayton Jr. added 12 points and Javon Small 11.

Advertisement

Ja Morant missed his 18th straight game for Memphis due to a left elbow injury, and Zach Edey is out for the rest of the year after having surgery on his left ankle earlier in the week.

Up next

Trail Blazers: At the Houston Rockets on Friday.

Grizzlies: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday.

AP NBA:https://apnews.com/hub/nba

TheLos Angeles Ramsand Kansas City Chiefs have swung the first major trade of the NFL offseason.

The Chiefsare trading cornerback Trent McDuffieto the Rams in exchange for the No. 29 overall pick in April's NFL Draft, along with fifth- and sixth-round picks this year and a third-round pick in 2027, a person with knowledge of the deal told USA TODAY Sports' Tyler Dragon. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the trade could not become official until the start of the new league year on March 11.

The deal significantly changes the landscape for two teams desperate to claw back to the front of the pack in their respective conferences. For Los Angeles, it serves as the latest marquee veteran addition – at perhaps the most pressing area of need – for a team seeking to capitalize onNFL MVP Matthew Stafford's return. The Chiefs, meanwhile, receive more ammunition for resetting a roster that still has several needs and is undergoing some salary cap-related shifts.

But who came out ahead in the deal? Here are grades for each team:

Rams trade grade: B

Turns out Rams general manager Les Snead wasn't kidding about trying to maximize Stafford's competitive window.

After the 38-year-old quarterback announced after taking home the league's top individual award that he would be returning for the 2026 season, Snead later suggested that the team was intent on catering its offseason to "make the most of the time we have" with the passer. On Tuesday, Snead seemed to tease the possibility of using one of his two first-round picks to swing a splashy deal.

"Is there an All-Pro that you could add?" Snead told reporters. "That would be nice."

Less than 24 hours later, he has one in the former Chiefs standout.

McDuffie's arrival shores up the back end of a Rams defense that unraveled down the stretch, culminating with Sam Darnold torching the group for 346 yards and three touchdowns in Los Angeles' NFC championship game defeat. Coverage performance can be volatile, but the four-year veteran has reliably clamped down on opposing receivers. And parting with the latter of the Rams' two first-rounders and holding onto their payoff from the Atlanta Falcons' ill-conceived gamble last year was a nice touch from Snead.

Still, this is a fairly considerable compensation package – including the a likely extension that should be costly – for a player not in an elite tier at his position group. And there are at least a couple areas of concern.

At 5-11 and 193, McDuffie doesn't solve Los Angeles' lingering problem of matching up with bulkier receivers. Those size limitations led Kansas City to place the 2022 first-round pick in the slot early in his career, and the result was an All-Pro campaign in 2023. Staying there full-time with the Rams might be a non-starter given how much the team gave up to land him, but moving him inside at least occasionally should be a consideration.

McDuffie also struggled last season with the Chiefs tilting more toward zone coverages, allowing a career-worst catch rate of 67.9% and a passer rating of 96.3 when targeted, according to Next Gen Stats. That might seem like a bad fit for defensive coordinator Chris Shula's scheme, which tends to live in zone looks. Maybe the move indicates the team wants to deploy more man coverage to better combat the likes of Jaxon Smith-Njigba and other top-flight targets capable of burning the secondary.

Advertisement

There's plenty to like about the configuration the Rams have to make this work, including the presence of Jimmy Lake, McDuffie's college coach at Washington, as the newly appointed defensive backs coach and pass game coordinator. And perhaps this was merely an overdue investment for Snead, who had largely scoured the bargain bin at cornerback since parting with Jalen Ramsey in 2023.

Still, as Snead somewhat returns to his "(expletive) them picks" roots, it seems clear that the Rams paid a premium to address their most glaring deficiency with a proven entity rather than one of the draft's top cover men. Whether that apparent overpay will be justified in the end won't become clear until at least next January.

MORE:Latest NFL free agency news, rumors, trade buzz and more

Chiefs trade grade: A-

The knee-jerk reaction for many in Kansas City might be best summed up by Patrick Mahomes.

"Damn," the Chiefs quarterback wrote after news broke of McDuffie being sent packing.

Some disappointment is only natural for an organization attempting to reclaim its status as the AFC's alpha after falling to 6-11 last season, the franchise's worst mark in a decade-plus. Viewed through the proper lens, however, this deal might actually help fast-track a resurgence.

That general manager Brett Veach bailed on paying yet another standout cornerback should come as no surprise. Veach previously walked away from both L'Jarius Sneed and Charvarius Ward rather than pay them top-of-market contracts.

If McDuffie wasn't in Kansas City's long-term plans, offloading him before he reaches free agency might simply have been good business. Not only do the Chiefs not have to worry about fitting him into a cap-crunched roster this year and beyond, they can now focus on re-signing fellow cornerback Jaylen Watson, whoranked 13th on Nate Davis' top 100 free agent rankingsand likely would not have been able to return without the secondary's sea change.

But the big boon here is the draft picks. As Kansas City gets set to make its earliest selection (No. 9) since 2013, the breadth of the team's needs at premium positions is rather imposing. Yes, a wide receiver to assist Mahomes would be of massive value. Then again, a massively disruptive defensive end or defensive tackle could also be required. And don't forget about the lackluster outlook at running back, safety and potentially tight end if Travis Kelce retires.

With a second Day 1 selection and additional draft resources in hand, Veach now is well-positioned to build something formidable for the latter half of Mahomes' career rather than merely cling on to the vestiges of a bygone era. And going this route was necessary given what Kansas City faced with its salary cap.

Pressure on Veach, however, ramps up considerably in April. Describing the general manager's draft track record as uneven would be charitable, and his various missteps in evaluating young talent have played a central role in Kansas City's roster becoming so lopsided.

But Veach has also displayed a shrewd sense for when to sell high on his existing veterans, and he might have timed the market correctly again here.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Trent McDuffie trade grades: How Rams, Chiefs fared in huge NFL deal

BANGKOK (AP) — Global energy trade is in turmoil aswar around the Persian Gulfchokes off oil and natural gas shipments, causing prices to soar.

Indonesia US Israel Iran

Asia is the most exposed since it relies heavily on imported fuel, much of it shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow passageway that carriesa fifth of global tradein crude oil and liquified natural gas, or LNG.

About 13 million barrels of oil per day moved through the corridor in 2025, according to energy consultancy Kpler. That's about a third of all seaborne crude, the unrefined petroleum that is processed into fuels such as gasoline and diesel.

Roughly a fifth of the world's LNG, natural gas cooled into liquid form for easier storage and transport, also flows through the straits. More than 80% of the LNG shipped through the strait in 2024 went to Asia, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Since theIran warbegan, the price of Brent crude, the international standard, has jumped 15% to about $84 per barrel, the highest level since July 2024.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday the U.S. will offer risk insurance to shippers and may deploy its navy to protect vessels if needed. But the disruptions are cascading beyond the region. When supply tightens, richer nations outbid poorer ones for scarce cargoes, leaving more vulnerable economies short of fuel. This was seen during past energy shocks caused byRussia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

"The crisis, with the closure of the Hormuz Strait as the latest development, would not only raise oil and gas prices but also grind global economic activity to a halt," said Zulfikar Yurnaidi, with theAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations' Centre for Energy.

China and India potentially face big risks

For Asia's two most populous countries, their huge scale magnifies the risks.

China is the world's largest crude oil importer and India comes in third. Sustained spikes in oil prices would ripple through their broader economies, straining transport, industry and households.

China is the biggest buyer of Iranian oil, but Beijing has prioritized energy security and has alternatives, including majoruse of renewables. It imported about 1.4 million barrels per day from Iran last year, roughly 13% of its total seaborne crude imports, according to Kpler.

Most of those shipments are already at sea and will cover another four to five months of demand, Kpler estimates. China also has substantial strategic petroleum reserves, though the exact amount is a state secret.

It can buy more from Russia: China's independent refiners – also known in the industry as 'teapots' – have been the key buyers for Iranian, Russian and Venezuelan oil, often at big discounts due to risks associated with Western sanctions. Despite war-related disruptions, global supplies are sufficient overall.

"It is therefore unlikely that China would struggle to source enough crude to power its economy or meet domestic demand," said Muyu Xu, a senior crude oil analyst at Kpler. "The real question is at what price."

India might resume purchases of Russian crude oil,despite pressure from Trump not to.

It has enough crude reserves to last less than a month. The next two weeks will be critical and the situation could could deteriorate quickly, driving up fuel costs and broader inflation if the conflict drags on, according to energy analyst Vibhuti Garg with the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, or IEEFA, in Delhi.

"It is a very, very volatile situation," Garg said.

The main risk is higher prices for perishable foods vulnerable to supply shocks. At the same time, a weaker rupee and higher borrowing costs could slow the economy, she said.

Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are most exposed

Few regions are as exposed to Middle East energy flow disruptions as East Asia.

Advertisement

Japan imported 2.34 million barrels of crude per day in January, about 95% of its total imports that month, according to its Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Japan is often ranked as the world's second-largest LNG importer.

South Korea relies nearly entirely on energy imports. The Korea International Trade Association says it gets around 70% of its crude oil and 20% of its LNG from the Middle East.

Taiwan also imports nearly all of its LNG. It has been trying to reduce its reliance on the Middle East but still sources about one-third from Qatar,which halted LNG productionafter attacks on its facilities.

Japan and South Korea have large energy supply stockpiles. While Taiwan announced that it has enough supplies for March and contingency plans for the future.

But analysts say reserves are temporary buffers and energy-intensive industries, likeTaiwan's semiconductor industry, remain vulnerable.

Governments are in "hope for the best, prepare for the worst" mode, said Grant Hauber, with IEEFA, warning some may regret not diversifying sooner into renewables, a "natural hedge" against disruption.

Fossil fuels dominate the energy mix in all three East Asian economies. Renewables provide under 10% of power in South Korea and Taiwan and about 22% in Japan, according to the International Energy Agency.

Southeast Asia

braces for energy issues

Developing, energy-hungry countries in Southeast Asia face the risk of being outbid by richer nations as supplies tighten.

In Singapore, officials have warned businesses and households to brace for higher energy bills.

In Manila, authorities banned non-essential travel and personal use of government cars to cut fuel use.

In Thailand, officials have urged the public to save energy, as motorists lined up at filling stations as prices climbed.

Full-time delivery riders and drivers — essential to keeping goods and people moving through Thailand's congested urban centers — depend on fuel to earn a living. In the northern city of Chiang Rai, 64-year-old taxi driver Sommit Sutar said he can't see how to conserve fuel and still work.

"Gasoline was already expensive. This war will make the problem even worse," Sutar said.

The government has suspended petroleum exports to shore up domestic reserves, which it says can last up to 61 days while ramping up natural gas production from the Gulf of Thailand and Myanmar.

Thailand relies heavily on spot-market LNG, leaving it "highly exposed to price and geopolitical volatility," said Amy Kong, with the Brussels-registered research group Zero Carbon Analytics. That makes it vulnerable to bidding wars with wealthier nations.

Ghosal reported from Hanoi, Vietnam. Associated Press business writerChan Ho-himin Hong Kong contributed to this report.

The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP'sstandardsfor working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas atAP.org.