Thanadet Traiyot waited in line for hours at his local gas station, armed with containers and desperately hoping to secure much-needed diesel for his rice fields in Ayutthaya, central Thailand. He was third in the queue when the shop announced their supplies had run dry.
Cuba is reeling after US President Donald Trump cut off oil shipments from Venezuela, following the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by US forces during a bloody night raid in early January. Trump has also threatened to impose tariffs on other countries, including Mexico, if they continue to ship much-needed fuel to Cuba, which has already suffered under decades of punitive sanctions imposed by Washington.
Every day I see cars that ran out of fuel and were left on the curb, Ayder, a resident of Simferopol, Crimea's administrative capital, told Al Jazeera. His car runs on natural gas, which is more available these days. There are long lines and fistfights at gas stations after a limit of 20 litres (5.3 gallons) per car was introduced, he said, withholding his last name out of fear of punishment for talking to foreign media.
Petrol stations in several regions have run dry while prices have surged to record highs and motorists queue for hours. Over the summer, Kyiv has stepped up its drone campaign against Russia's energy infrastructure, a strategy designed to put pressure on Moscow and to signal that Ukraine still holds leverage in the peace talks led by the US president, Donald Trump.
