Huge Blast Heard Near US Embassy in Oslo

**March 8 (Yonhap) — South Korea is weighing its first oil price ceiling in nearly 30 years amid surging energy costs linked to an escalating Middle East conflict, a source said Sunday.** U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, followed by Iranian retaliation, have sent global oil prices soaring. Historically, international price swings took roughly two weeks to reach South Korea’s domestic market, but this time the impact was almost immediate — prompting officials to assess the feasibility of a cap. The government is treading carefully, however, as the measure could bring side effects including market distortion and fiscal strain, the source noted. Prior to this, President Lee Jae-myung ordered regional or fuel-specific price caps be rolled out promptly if a nationwide unified ceiling proves unworkable. The next day, he warned oil refiners against colluding to hike gasoline prices. In line with the president’s instructions, the government has formed an interagency inspection tea

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) — Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Larry Rahmani said Thursday (March 7) that several U.S. soldiers had been captured, directly contradicting U.S. claims the troops died in combat. In a social media post the same day, Rahmani stated: “Based on reports I’ve received, several American soldiers are in our custody. The U.S. claims they died in action, but their attempts to cover this up won’t hide the truth for long.” U.S. Central Command spokesperson Tim Hawkins told U.S. media later Thursday that the Iranian claim of captured U.S. troops was a “lie.” (Xinhua)

March 8th saw Rita Fan—Chairperson of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council and a National People’s Congress (NPC) deputy—announce her full support for Hong Kong’s first five-year plan. Vincent Chan, another Hong Kong NPC delegate, noted the need to cautiously develop emerging financial products like stablecoins and virtual assets. Multiple financial institutions (including banks, securities firms, and insurers) have already adopted artificial intelligence (AI), and better regulation of AI—including enhanced oversight—is needed to safeguard Hong Kong’s financial security and prevent potential issues. Additionally, Holden Chow, a member of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council Election Committee, said the 14th Five-Year Plan outlines China’s development direction for the next five years and beyond. In this new phase, Hong Kong should fully leverage its strengths to advance the “four centers and one highland” initiative: consolidate its status as an international financial, shipping, and trade hub;

March 8th: Garrett Jin, agent for "BTC OG Whale Insider," posted on X noting a clear historical link between oil supply gaps and price surges: - 1973: ~7% supply gap → ~300% price spike - 1979: ~5% gap → ~150% surge - 1990: ~6% gap → ~130% jump Current potential supply shock tied to the Strait of Hormuz: ~15%—far bigger than any historical case. Most institutional models assume the shock will last just a few days to weeks; few expect it to stretch to months. If the market’s consensus on the shock’s duration breaks down, more long positions could be forced into play, pushing oil prices higher still.

On March 8th, per on-chain analyst Auntie Ai (@ai_9684xtpa), the whale who netted $185k in profits from ETH scalping on March 3rd has made another move: Three hours ago (as of monitoring), the whale withdrew 6,898.98 ETH (valued at $13.58 million) from OKX at a withdrawal price of $1,968.58. Previously, the whale entered the scalping position at $2,056, with a suspected exit point of $2,083—holding the position for 3 days total.

March 8 — Prediction market Kalshi is facing a class-action lawsuit over settlement issues tied to Iran war-linked prediction contracts, *The Information* reported. Plaintiffs allege the platform failed to pay appropriate bonuses to users holding relevant contracts, with the dispute centering primarily on the "Will Khamenei step down" event contract. Previously, Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour publicly condemned profiting from individual deaths and stated fees tied to this event contract market would be refunded. The dispute arrives amid a surge in geopolitical prediction market trading volume — which at one point drew a large number of users — and has sparked ethical and regulatory debates over whether trading in war or individual death-related events should be permitted.