Page 25 - Middle East

Hamas war: Israel takes journalists on tour in Gaza - here's what they saw

An Israeli tank rolls across a sandy moonscape, surrounded by rubble. Damaged buildings are visible in every direction. Toppled trees lie along the Mediterranean shoreline. The Israeli military escorted international journalists into the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, giving them a glimpse of the aftermath of 12 days of heavy fighting in the area. Israel has been at war against Gaza's Hamas rulers since the Islamic militant group carried out a bloody cross-border attack on October 7, killing over 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping more than 240 others. Israel responded with weeks of intense airstrikes before launching a ground operation on October 27. "It's been a long two weeks of fighting," said Lt. Col. Ido, whose last name was withheld under military guidelines. We've lost some soldiers. The initial focus of the operation was northern Gaza, near the Israeli border, before troops moved in on Gaza City, which Israel says is the center of Hamas' military ...

Israel-Hamas war: Thousands of Palestinians flee south amid battle in Gaza

Thousands of Palestinians are fleeing south on foot with only what they can carry after running out of food and water in the north, a UN agency said Wednesday, as Israel said its troops were battling Hamas militants deep inside Gaza City. Over 70 per cent of Gaza's population of 2.3 million have already fled their homes, but the growing numbers making their way south point to an increasingly desperate situation in and around Gaza's largest city, which has come under heavy Israeli bombardment. The war triggered by Hamas' October 7 assault inside Israel has entered a second month, with an increasingly dire humanitarian situation inside the besieged Palestinian enclave and no end in sight. Israel has said its war to end Hamas' rule and crush its military capabilities will be long and difficult, and that it will maintain some form of control over the coastal enclave indefinitely. About 15,000 people fled northern Gaza on Tuesday, triple the number that left Monday, according to the UN .

Fertilisers & diamonds may be hit slightly due of Mideast crisis: Crisil

Domestic credit ratings agency Crisil on Tuesday said some sectors such as fertilisers and diamonds may be slightly impacted by the conflict in the Middle East. On a broader basis, the conflict has caused only a negligible disruption in India's trade so far, it said in a note. Some sectors such as fertilisers and diamonds both cut and polished may see a slight, but manageable, impact, while for most others impact will be insignificant, it said. However, it said that the conflict which started after the surprise October 7 attacks by Hamas against Israel has driven up prices of gold and crude oil which need to be watched. It said crude oil price movements are especially important for a country like India which depends on imports, and added that elevated crude oil prices have a cascading impact on a host of other sectors that consume the oil itself or linked raw materials. The agency said India's trade with Israel is relatively low, with the country accounting for only 1.9 per ce

Oil prices head for weekly loss as geopolitical risk premium wanes

On the supply side, Saudi Arabia is expected to reconfirm an extension of its voluntary oil output cut of 1 million barrels per day through December, based on analyst expectations

74 US dual nationals left Gaza Strip as Blinken goes to Mideast, says Biden

President Joe Biden said Thursday that 74 U.S. citizens with dual citizenship have left the Gaza Strip, announcing the development as he dispatched his top diplomat to the Middle East for consultation with Israeli and Jordanian leaders concerning the Israel-Hamas war. We got out today 74 American folks out that are dual citizens," Biden said in a brief exchange with reporters as he hosted Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader for an Oval Office meeting. The White House has previously said some 500 to 600 U.S. citizens had been trapped in Gaza since the start of the Oct. 7 Israel-Hamas war. Since then, the nearly four-week-old conflict continues to rage on with no end in sight. The administration said earlier this week that a handful of Americans were among dozens of dual citizens who were able to get out of the Strip where a humanitarian crisis is unfolding. Biden made the announcement as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken set off for another frenzied trip to the Middle Eas

US to send 300 additional troops to Middle East amid ongoing war: Pentagon

The region monitored by US encompasses 20 countries, including Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, the countries of the Arabian Peninsula and northern Red Sea, and the five republics of Central Asia

L&T bags ultra mega offshore project worth Rs 15k cr in Middle East

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Tuesday said it has bagged another ultra mega offshore project worth over Rs 15,000 crore in the Middle East. Projects worth over Rs 15,000 crore have been classified under the 'ultra-mega' category by the company. "The Hydrocarbon Business (L&T Energy Hydrocarbon LTEH) of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has secured a Letter of Intent for yet another Ultra-Mega Onshore project from a prestigious client in the Middle East further to the recent Ultra-Mega project award for a Gas Compression plant," the company said in a statement. The scope of work includes procurement and construction for a gas processing plant, consisting of inlet separation facilities and booster compression system, among others, in new onshore facilities and its integration with existing gas processing plants. Larsen & Toubro is a USD 23 billion Indian multinational, which operates in over 50 countries worldwide.

Sterlite Technologies expects growth in sales volume to return next fiscal

Broadband gear maker Sterlite Technologies expects optical business sales volume in the US to decline this fiscal due to inventory build-up and growth to return in the next fiscal, Managing Director Ankit Agrawal said. Speaking to PTI at the India Mobile Congress, Agrawal said that the company has about 20 per cent market share in Europe and between 10 to 12 per cent market share in the US. "We do see some inventory build-up in North America. We do expect probably another six to nine months for that inventory to reduce and then the demand to come back. Overall for this year, we do expect some volume decline. And probably from next year onwards, the volumes will come back," Agrawal said. STL in the September 2023 quarter posted a 20 per cent decline in consolidated profit at Rs 32 crore. Overall, the company has projected a dip in revenue during the current fiscal year but expects increased sales in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), India and Asia Pacific markets to fill the ..

Commodity outlook would darken if West Asia conflict escalates: World Bank

Report provides a preliminary assessment of the potential near-term implications of the conflict for commodity markets. It finds that the effects should be limited if the conflict doesn't widen

Oil prices rise 1% after paring earlier gains on mixed Middle East reports

Israeli forces carried out their biggest Gaza ground attack in their 20-day war with Hamas overnight

Unprecedented rise in India-Saudi strategic relations

India's trade with the Arab world has already surpassed an all-time high of $240 billion a year

ECB set to halt rate hikes as Mideast war casts a shadow over economy

The European Central Bank is ready to leave interest rates unchanged Thursday for the first time in over a year as the Israel-Hamas war spreads even more gloom over already downbeat prospects for Europe's economy. It would be the bank's first meeting with no change after a torrid pace of 10 straight increases dating to July 2022 that pushed its key rate to a record-high 4 per cent. The ECB would join the U.S. Federal Reserve, Bank of England and others in holding borrowing costs steady albeit at the highest levels in years as inflation has eased. In Europe, inflation peaked at a painful 10.6 per cent in October for the 20 countries that use the Euro currency as Russia's war in Ukraine took a toll. Those high prices have been poison for consumer spending, draining household finances with added costs for necessities such as food, heat and electricity. But with inflation now down to 4.3 per cent, analysts expect the ECB to hold off on more hikes during its meeting in Athens. It is on

Safe-haven gold gains buoyed by Middle East conflict; US data in focus

US business activity ticked higher in October while output in the euro zone took a surprise turn for the worse, surveys showed on Tuesday

Pentagon rushes defences, advisers to East as ground assault in Gaza looms

The Pentagon has sent military advisers, including a Marine Corps general versed in urban warfare, to Israel to aid in its war planning and is speeding multiple sophisticated air defence systems to the Middle East days ahead of an anticipated ground assault into Gaza. One of the officers leading the assistance is Marine Corps Lt. Gen. James Glynn, who previously helped lead special operations forces against the Islamic State and served in Fallujah, Iraq, during some of the most heated urban combat there, according to a US official who was not authorised to discuss Glynn's role and spoke on the condition of anonymity. Glynn will also be advising on how to mitigate civilian casualties in urban warfare, the official said. Israel is preparing a large-scale ground operation in an environment in which Hamas militants have had years to prepare tunnel networks and set traps throughout northern Gaza's dense urban blocks. Glynn and the other military officers who are advising Israel have ...

Ripple impact of Mideast conflict still not entirely clear: EAM Jaishankar

Any expectation that conflicts and terrorism can be contained in their impact is no longer tenable, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Sunday. In an address at an event, Jaishankar, delving into geopolitical upheavals witnessing the world, said the ripple impact of what is taking place right now in the Middle East is still not entirely clear. The external affairs minister said the consequences of various conflicts in a globalised world spread far beyond immediate geographies while citing the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war. "In different regions, there are smaller happenings whose impact is not inconsequential," he said. Talking about the challenge of dealing with various forms of violence, Jaishankar said, "There is also the less formal version that is very pervasive. I am speaking about terrorism which has long been honed and practised as a tool of statecraft." "The basic takeaway for all of us is that given the seamlessness of our existence, any expectation that ..

US sending additional air defence systems to Middle East: Lloyd Austin

The US has decided to send a Terminal High Altitude Area Defence system as well as additional Patriot battalions to the Middle East to increase its force posture there following recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces across the region, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said. These steps will bolster regional deterrence efforts, increase force protection for US forces in the region, and assist in the defence of Israel, he said. Following detailed discussions with President Joe Biden on recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces across the Middle East Region, today I directed a series of additional steps to further strengthen the Department of Defence posture in the region, Austin said. The US is on alert for activity by Iran-backed groups amidst escalating tension in the Middle East amid the Israel-Hamas war. First, I redirected the movement of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group to the Central Command area of responsibility. This carrier strike group is in

Bulletproof jackets shortage in Israel as 300,000 reserve troops mobilised

An Israeli company that makes bulletproof jackets told ANI about the current situation, stating that the bulletproof manufacturing companies are unable to meet the current demand

Israel clears regulations to shut Al Jazeera offices over security concerns

Israel Communication Minister has led the charge to pass these regulations in order to shut down the Al Jazeera news channel, which he claims has damaged national security

Fuel shortage unlikely but disruption in oil supplies, price hikes possible

Fifty years after the 1973 Arab oil embargo, the current crisis in the Middle East has the potential to disrupt global oil supplies and push prices higher. But don't expect a repeat of the catastrophic price hikes and long lines at the gasoline pump, experts say. The Israel-Hamas war is definitely not good news for oil markets already stretched by cutbacks in oil production from Saudi Arabia and Russia and expected stronger demand from China, the head of the International Energy Agency said. Markets will remain volatile, and the conflict could push oil prices higher, "which is definitely bad news for inflation, Fatih Birol, executive director of the Paris-based IEA, told The Associated Press. Developing countries that import oil and other fuels would be the most affected by higher prices, he said. International benchmark Brent crude traded above $91 a barrel on Thursday, up from $85 per barrel on Oct. 6, the day before Hamas attacked Israel, killing hundreds of civilians. Israel ...

US, its allies working to build better future for West Asia: Prez Biden

US President Joe Biden on Thursday said the US and its allies through innovative projects like the India Middle East Economic Corridor are working to connect the Middle East countries to a better future. As he addressed the nation on his just concluded trip to Israel, Biden asked Congress for financial aid to the country that has been hit by a terrorist attack by Hamas. The United States and our partners across the region are working to build a better future for the Middle East. One wherein the Middle East is more stable, better connected to its neighbours through innovative projects like the Indian Middle East Europe rail corridor that I announced this year at the summit of the world's biggest economies, Biden said in his Oval Office address to the nation. "More predictable markets, more employment, less rage, less grievances, less war when connected. The benefits of people would benefit the people of the Middle East and would benefit us. American leadership is what holds the world