U.S. Treasury on Friday froze assets of offshore companies tied to Florida oil magnate and Republican donor Harry Sargeant III that participate in Venezuelan oil production, sources said, and issued a license allowing the liquidation of his interests in those entities. Sargeant has served as a confidential conduit between Washington and Caracas—meeting President Maduro and other senior officials—and used that role to pursue oil deals in Venezuela that most firms avoided due to political risk and

Turkey is restricting commercial vessels from entering the Black Sea, sources said, citing a rise in attacks on ships by Russian and Ukrainian forces. The Turkish Coast Guard has told multiple vessels bound for Russia’s Novorossiysk, a major oil and grain export hub, that it will not issue transit permits for such voyages and that Dardanelles transit applications will face extended review. Sources said some ships were told the restriction also applies to voyages to Ukraine. Turkish authorities did not comment. The move could add new complexity to global trade and oil flows already disrupted by the Iran war and reduced traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

According to Reuters sources, Canada is in intensive talks with the US to avert additional US tariffs scheduled to take effect on Aug 19. Ottawa has told US negotiators that if the sides cannot agree to delay the tariffs by Aug 19, Canada’s ability to continue negotiating afterwards will be constrained.