Page 15 - West Asia

West Asian countries to launch new climate initiatives at COP28 meeting

Although the contribution of Arab countries to carbon emissions is limited, the Arab region is one of the most affected by climate change, according to the Abu Dhabi-based Arab Monetary Fund

We share goal of preventing spread of conflict in West Asia: US official

India and the US share the goal of preventing the spread of the current conflict in the Middle East, a senior State Department official said on Thursday, underlining that this would be an important topic of discussion during the 2+2 ministerial meeting in New Delhi next week. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken along with Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin would be in New Delhi on November 10 for the 2+2 dialogue with their Indian counterparts External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The two sides would discuss the Indo-Pacific region, Russia and Ukraine along with the bilateral issues. They will be travelling to India for the annual 2+2 Dialogue, in which they have extended discussions with their ministerial counterparts. The 2+2 Dialogue was created in 2018," Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Donald Lu told reporters hours before Blinken left for a five-nation Asia trip. "(The 2+2 dialogue) allows our two countries to have ...

Crude oil rises over 2% of US Fed meet as West Asia conflict rages

Brent January crude futures were up about 2.5%, or $2.08, to $87.10 a barrel by 1316 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained roughly 2.8%, or $2.24, to $83.26 a barrel

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

Fiscal balance

Geopolitical tensions have increased risks

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

History, Hollywood won't be as charitable to Bibi as they are to Golda Meir

Future historians and moviemakers will need exceptionally powerful blinkers to miss the controversies that have attended Netanyahu's decades in politics

Larsen & Toubro's hydrocarbon business bags mega order in west Asia

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Wednesday said its hydrocarbon business has bagged a mega onshore project from a client in the Middle East. While L&T did not disclose the exact value of the contract, it counts an order as 'mega' when it is valued above Rs 7,000 crore. The scope of work involves engineering, procurement and construction of gas compression plants consisting of gas inlet facilities, compression system for gas compression facilities in new onshore facilities and its integration with existing plants, it said in a statement. The project has been bagged by L&T Energy Hydrocarbon. The company further said that in a bid to cater to the power supply requirements of the gas compression plants, three 230 kV extra high voltage substations will be set up by the power transmission and distribution arm of L&T Construction.

Israel-Hamas war: Here's what we know so far on the third day of battle

More than two days after Hamas launched its unprecedented incursion from Gaza, the Israeli military said the fighting had largely died down for now

At G20 India, US, Saudi, UAE may join hands to connect West Asia with rail

The deal will also connect the rail network to India through shipping lanes from ports in the Gulf region

China oils a West Asian deal

The US, currently obsessed with its campaigns against Russia and oil, may respond over time. But Iran and Israel are both capable of surprise manoeuvres

Quarter of Iraqi population beneath poverty line in 2022: Ministry

The Iraqi Ministry of Planning has said that the poverty rate in the country was 25 per cent in 2022

Argentina lifts WC and Qatar's building frenzy reaches its day of reckoning

As Qatar returns to its sleepier pace after Argentina triumphed in Sunday's final of a controversial, yet often breathtaking football World Cup, the next challenge is already upon the nation

Indian leather, footwear exports to WANA region up by 20% in 2022

Indian footwear and leather exports to West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region have registered an exponential growth of 20 per cent in the first half of 2022, officials said on Monday. Opening the India Footwear and Leather Products Show 2022 in Dubai on Monday as part of the Indian government's export promotion drive across global markets, Council for Leather Exports (CLE) Chairman Sanjay Leekha said the growth momentum for Indian exports to the region is all set to see a marked scaling up, particularly in the UAE. "Indian footwear and leather exports to West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region registered an exponential growth of 20 per cent in the first half of the 2022 fiscal, from April to September, with the UAE followed by Saudi markets leading the uptake," the CLE said in a press release. The India Footwear and Leather Products Show 2022 will run from December 13-14. As for footwear and leather exports, we are already on the road to a higher market share in WANA from the ..

Air India to spend $400 mn to refurbish Boeing 777s and 787 fleet

Carrier will add new seats and best in-flight entertainment across all classes

As West Asia looks beyond America, Xi may be headed to Saudi Arabia

Xi will visit Saudi Arabia from Dec. 7-9, when he will take part in a regional summit with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other Arab leaders

Russian army chief in Syria meets Kurdish commander amid threats by Turkey

The chief of Russian forces in Syria has met with a Kurdish commander over threats by Turkey to launch a new incursion into northern Syria, a Kurdish spokesman and an Arab TV station said Monday. Siamand Ali, a spokesman for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, confirmed to The Associated Press that Lt. Gen. Alexander Chaiko met Sunday with Kurdish commander Mazloum Abdi in northeast Syria, adding that he has no details about what they discussed. Chaiko's trip to the northeast came days after Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to order a land invasion of northern Syria targeting Kurdish groups following the Nov. 3, explosion in Istanbul that killed six people and wounded dozens. Russia has called for de-escalation along the Turkey-Syria border. Turkey has launched a barrage of airstrikes on suspected militant targets in northern Syria and Iraq over the past week, in retaliation for the Istanbul bombing that Ankara blames on the Kurdish groups. The groups have denied

Yemen's government signs $1 billion aid package with UAE-based fund

Yemen's internationally recognized government signed a deal with the Arab Monetary Fund on Sunday, state media said, paving the way for the Saudi-backed administration to receive USD 1 billion of economic aid. The Abu Dhabi-based fund, a sub-organization of the 22-member Arab League, will pay out the $1 billion program from 2022 to 2025. The economic deal aims to help the Yemeni government establish monetary and fiscal stability through wide-ranging economic reforms, Saba news agency said. Yemen's civil war, which is entering its eighth year, has decimated the country's economy and pushed half of the population to the brink of famine. More than 150,000 people have been killed in the conflict, including over 14,500 civilians. On average food is 60% more expensive than it was last year, largely due to the war in Ukraine that has cut off the country's critical wheat imports from Eastern Europe. The conflict began in 2014 when the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels seized the capital of Sanaa

Fifa World Cup: Official soundtrack showcases Asia's soft power, culture

Jung Kook's "Dreamers", performed jointly with Fahad Al Kubaisi, became the fastest official FIFA World Cup song to reach No. 1 on iTunes Charts in the US