Page 26 - Middle East

Mideast conflict impacting maritime safety in Indian Ocean: India to UNSC

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas is impacting the safety of maritime commercial traffic in the Indian Ocean, including some attacks in the vicinity of India, a top Indian diplomat told members of the UN Security Council on Tuesday. The ongoing conflict is also impacting the safety of maritime commercial traffic in the Indian Ocean, including some attacks in the vicinity of India, R Ravindra, the Deputy Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations said in his remarks during a UNSC Open Debate on the Middle East. This is a matter of great concern to the international community and has a direct bearing on India's own energy and economic interests. This fraught situation is not to the benefit of any party, and this must be clearly recognised, Ravindra said. Ravindra said the message that India has conveyed since the start of this conflict is clear and consistent it is important to prevent escalation, to ensure continued delivery of humanitaria

Hezbollah official killed, amid apparent Israeli shift to targeted killings

An Israeli airstrike hit two vehicles near a Lebanese army checkpoint in south Lebanon on Sunday, killing a Hezbollah member and wounding several other people, including civilians, Lebanese state media and health officials reported. The strike appeared to be part of a shift in Israeli strategy toward targeted killings in Lebanon after more than three months of near-daily clashes with Hezbollah militants on the border against the backdrop of the war in Gaza. Hezbollah announced that one of its members, identified as Fadel Shaar, had been killed in the strike in the town of Kafra. Local civil defense and hospital officials said seven people were wounded, including two women, one of whom was in critical condition. Video from the scene showed a passenger sedan in flames next to a small truck stopped in the middle of the road. The Israeli military did not comment on the strike. Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, Hezbollah forces have engaged in near-daily clashes wit

2 British warships collided in Bahrain, no injuries reported: Royal Navy

Two British warships collided in a harbour in Bahrain, causing damage to the vessels but no injuries, the Royal Navy said. The HMS Chiddingfold appeared to reverse into the HMS Bangor as it was at a dock, according to video posted on social media. Why this happened is still to be established," said Rear Admiral Edward Ahlgren. We train our people to the highest standards and rigorously enforce machinery safety standards, but unfortunately incidents of this nature can still happen. Ahlgren said an investigation is under way into what went wrong. The two minehunters have been based in the Middle East to help protect merchant vessels. The British military last week joined the US in bombing more than a dozen sites used by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, whose relentless attacks on cargo vessels and warships in the Red Sea have disrupted global shipping.

Oil mkt braces for a weeks-long disruption to shipping in southern Red Sea

Suezmax ships - so-called for their ability to sail full through the canal that links Asia and Europe - are up about 50% to almost $70,000 a day

Women, children main victims of Gaza conflict, with 16,000 killed: UN

Women and children are the main victims the Gaza war, with some 16,000 killed and an estimated two mothers losing their lives every hour since Hamas' surprise attack on Israel, the U.N. agency promoting gender equality said Friday. As a result of the more than 100-day conflict, UN Women added, at least 3,000 women may have become widows and heads of households and at least 10,000 children may have lost their fathers. In a report released Friday, the agency pointed to gender inequality and the burden on women fleeing the fighting with children and being displaced again and again. Of the territory's 2.3 million population, it said, 1.9 million are displaced and close to one million are women and girls seeking shelter and safety. UN Women's executive director, Sima Bahous, said this is a cruel inversion of fighting during the 15 years before the Hamas attack on Oct. 7. Previously, she said, 67% of all civilians killed in Gaza and the West Bank were men and less then 14% were women. Sh

What does disruption to shipping in Red Sea mean for Europe's economy?

For the European economy, already skirting a mild recession as it tries to shake off high inflation, prolonged disruption would be a new risk to its outlook

Iran-backed Houthis launch 2 anti-ship ballistic missiles at US Ship

Iranian-backed Houthis on Thursday (US local time) launched two anti-ship ballistic missiles at US Ship Chem Ranger, US Central Command said

IEA raises 2024 oil demand forecast again, this time by 180,000 bpd

IEA predicts that global oil consumption will rise by 1.24 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2024, compared with OPEC's 2.25 million bpd projection

Syria faces airstrikes likely conducted by Jordan's air force, 9 killed

An airstrike on southern Syria early Thursday killed at least nine people and was probably carried out by Jordan's air force, Syrian opposition activists said, the latest in a series of strikes in an area where cross-border drug smugglers have been active. There was no immediate confirmation from Jordan on the strike that hit the province of Sweida, The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said nine people, including two children and at least three women, were killed in the strike on the village of Orman. The head of the Observatory, Rami Abdurrahman, said the people killed had nothing to do with smuggling, suggesting that the Jordanian air force might have received incorrect intelligence from local residents. Smugglers have used Jordan as a corridor over the past years to smuggle highly addictive Captagon amphetamines out of Syria, mainly to oil-rich Arab Gulf states. The Jordanian authorities have managed to stop several smuggling attempts

Maersk sends two container ships carrying goods for US army through Red Sea

With a fleet of 20 smaller container vessels, the unit ships goods for U.S. agencies including the Department of Defense, State Department and USAID, Maersk said

Right time for Israel to scale back military offensive in Gaza: White House

The White House said on Sunday that it's the right time for Israel to scale back its military offensive in the Gaza Strip, as Israeli leaders again vowed to press ahead with their operation against the territory's ruling Hamas militant group. The comments exposed the growing differences between the close allies on the 100th day of the war. Also Sunday, Israeli warplanes struck targets in Lebanon following a Hezbollah missile attack that killed two Israeli civilians an older woman and her adult son in northern Israel. The exchange of fire underscored concerns that the Gaza violence could trigger wider fighting across the region. The war in Gaza, launched by Israel in response to the unprecedented October 7 attack by Hamas, has killed nearly 24,000 Palestinians, devastated vast swaths of Gaza, driven around 85 per cent of the territory's 2.3 million residents from their homes and pushed a quarter of the population into starvation. Speaking on CBS, White House National Security Coun

Houthi rebels fire missile at US warship, first after American-led strikes

Yemen's Houthi rebels fired an anti-ship cruise missile toward an American destroyer in the Red Sea on Sunday, but a US fighter jet shot it down in the latest attack roiling global shipping amid Israel's war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, officials said. The attack marks the first US-acknowledged targeting by the Houthis since America and allied nations began strikes Friday on the rebels following weeks of assaults on shipping in the Red Sea. The Houthis have targeted that crucial corridor linking Asian and Mideast energy and cargo shipments to the Suez Canal onward to Europe over the Israel-Hamas war, attacks that threaten to widen that conflict into a regional conflagration. The Houthis, a Shiite rebel group allied with Iran, did not immediately acknowledge the attack. The Houthi fire targeted the USS Laboon, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer operating in the southern reaches of the Red Sea, the U.S. military's Central Command said in a statement. The missile came from near Hodeid

US retailer Target sees disruption of India supplies due to Red Sea crisis

Many retailers around the globe are stocking up on goods and seeking air or rail alternatives in a bid to avoid empty shelves during spring

US sanctions Hong Kong, UAE firms over 'financial support' to Houthi rebels

The two companies sanctioned by the US Treasury Department on Friday were Hong Kong-based Cielo Maritime and UAE-based Global Tech Marine Services

Gold prices surge on Middle East tensions, Federal Reserve rate-cut bets

Bullion was mostly flat on the week, but extended its run above the $2,000 level to nearly a month. U.S. gold futures settled 1.6% higher at $2,051.60

Who are Yemen-based Houthis, attacked by US, UK over Red Sea tensions

Yemen strikes: US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak termed the air and sea strikes against Houthi military targets in war-raged Yemen as "acts of self defence"

Blinken sees path to Gaza peace, reconstruction after his West Asia tour

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up his latest urgent Mideast tour on Thursday in talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi as American officials claimed modest success in getting wide regional support for planning for reconstruction and governance in Gaza after Israel's war with Hamas ends. Blinken secured buy-in from previously reluctant Arab and Muslim nations to begin such planning in discussions with the leaders of Turkey, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain over the weeklong mission, his fourth to the Middle East since the war began in October. Each country along with Greece, which Blinken also visited pledged to participate in the general planning, although precise contributions have yet to be determined. On our previous trips here, I think there was a reluctance to talk about some of the day-after issues in terms of long-term stability and security on a regional basis, Blinken told reporters at Cairo's airport after his .

A complex region encounters bigotry and prejudice

Robert Kaplan's latest book aims to offer a fresh survey of the 'Greater Middle East', but in doing so, it grossly simplifies complex political issues, reflecting American interests and prejudices

Israel taps top legal minds, a Holocaust survivor, to battle genocide claim

Israel is sending top legal minds, including a Holocaust survivor, to The Hague this week to counter allegations that it is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The robust engagement with the International Court of Justice is unusual for Israel, which normally considers the United Nations and international tribunals as unfair and biased. The decision to participate rather than boycott reflects Israeli concerns that the judges could order Israel to halt its war against Hamas and tarnish its image internationally. Israel cannot run away from an accusation that is so serious, said Alon Liel, a former director general of Israel's Foreign Ministry and a former Israeli ambassador to South Africa. Israel, which as one of the parties in the case is entitled to send a judge, has tapped a former Israeli Supreme Court chief justice to join the court's 15 regular members who will rule on the accusation. It has also enlisted a British barrister and lauded international law expert as

India-Oman to begin next round of free trade discussions from Jan 16

The next round of talks for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between India and Oman will start from January 16 and the negotiations for the pact are progressing well, a senior official said on Tuesday. The talks on the text of most of the chapters have been concluded by both sides for the pact, officially dubbed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). "The negotiations are progressing well. Two rounds of in-person negotiations and many inter-sessional meetings have already been held. Good progress has been made on all the chapters covered under the CEPA," the official said. On certain media reports that the talks may get delayed, the official said that any talk of hindrances or bottlenecks is "speculative and presumptuous" as the negotiating process is currently underway. Currently, both sides are working towards conclusion of the negotiations with an objective of delivering a mutually beneficial agreement contributing to the welfare and development of the .