NICOSIA, Cyprus (AFP) – The Middle East is heating at nearly twice the global average, threatening potentially devastating impacts on its people and economies, a new climate study shows. Barring swift policy changes, its more than 400 million people face extreme heatwaves, prolonged droughts and sea level rises, said the report released ahead of the UN’s COP27 climate summit in Egypt later this year. The study found an average increase of 0.45 degrees Celsius per […]
Tag: Middle East
Qatar says it will build world’s biggest blue ammonia plant
DOHA, Qatar (AFP) – Qatar announced Wednesday that it will build the world’s biggest plant making blue ammonia — one of the new fuels being touted as a cleaner energy source. Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi said the plant would cost $1.2 billion and start production in early 2026. State-owned Qatar Energy, a firm that is making huge profits from liquefied natural gas, said the plant would produce 1.2 million tonnes of ammonia a year “making […]
In risky recyling venture, Gazans burn plastic for fuel
JABALIA, Palestinian Territories (AFP) – Living in one of the poorest parts of the Middle East and facing some of the region’s highest fuel costs, Palestinians in Gaza are burning plastic to make affordable diesel. It’s an economic and practical solution in a territory blockaded by Israel for 15 years, but one which poses serious environmental and health risks, experts say. Standing before rusty metal machinery and fuel containers, Mahmoud al-Kafarneh described how he and […]
India reports first case of monkeypox
NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — India has reported its first confirmed case of monkeypox after a 35-year-old man with a history of travel to the Middle East showed symptoms, officials said. The federal government rushed a multi-disciplinary team to the southern state of Kerala in view of the confirmed case of monkeypox there, according to an official statement. The man, who travelled from the United Arab Emirates to Kerala on Tuesday, was in stable condition […]
PHL crude oil supplies primarily sourced from Middle East, but Ukraine crisis to still impact on oil prices – DOE
Long-term and short-term measures identified to address crisis (Eagle News) – The Philippines’ energy department admitted the country is “at the mercy of global price movements” and would be affected with the continuing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said that while the Philippines primarily gets its crude oil requirements from the Middle East, the impact of the Ukraine crisis will be felt in the international oil markets and thus have a direct impact […]
Climate change a double blow for oil-rich Mideast: experts
by Frank ZELLER Agence France-Presse PAPHOS, Cyprus (AFP) – The climate crisis threatens a double blow for the Middle East, experts say, by destroying its oil income as the world shifts to renewables and by raising temperatures to unliveable extremes. Little has been done to address the challenge in a region long plagued by civil strife, war and refugee flows, even as global warming looks likely to accelerate these trends, a conference heard last week. […]
Israel gov’t statement says “terrorist group” Hamas responsible for deaths, injuries of Israeli and Palestinian civilians
(Eagle News) – The Israel government press office (GPO) said the Palestine militant group Hamas which is currently occupying and ruling Gaza was “responsible for the death and injury of tens of thousands of Israeli and Palestinian civilians.” In a statement issued Wednesday, May 19 by the State of Israel’s Prime Minister’s office and the GPO, it said that Hamas — a Palestine Islamist group tagged as a terrorist organization by the United […]
Israel Prime Minister’s office issues Q & A statement to clarify latest Israel-Gaza conflict
PM Netanyahu’s office details how latest Israel-Gaza conflict started and clarifies alleged misinformation being circulated by the militant Palestine group Hamas (Editor’s note: Below is the Question and Answer format statement from the Israel government’s press office under the Office of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clarifying questions on the latest conflict between Israel and Hamas-ruled Gaza. We are publishing it in full) ——— “Everything you needed to know about the latest escalation in Israel” […]
Israeli strike puts sole Gaza Covid lab out of action: ministry
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) — The Palestinian enclave of Gaza’s only Covid-19 laboratory is no longer able to carry out testing due to an Israeli air strike Monday on the clinic housing it, local authorities said. Al-Rimal clinic, in the town of the same name in the Gaza Strip, was partly destroyed, while the territory’s health ministry and the office of Qatar’s Red Crescent were also hit, officials said. Medical personnel at the […]
Palestinian killed by Israeli soldiers in West Bank
NABLUS, Palestinian Territories (AFP) — A Palestinian man was killed during a confrontation with Israeli soldiers near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, the Palestinian health ministry said Thursday, as violence soars in the occupied territories. The death brings the number killed in clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces in the West Bank to three on Wednesday alone. The clashes come amid the most intense Israeli-Palestinian hostilities in seven years, which have killed […]
Trump says to host Mideast deal signing in three weeks
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump said Thursday he would host a summit for the signing of a historic peace accord between Israel and the United Arab Emirates in around three weeks. “I look forward to hosting them (the Israeli and UAE leaders) at the White House very soon to formally sign the agreement,” he told reporters. “We’ll probably be doing it over the next, I would say, three weeks.” © Agence […]
BRP Gabriela Silang to be used in repatriation efforts to secure OFWs in Middle East
(Eagle News)-The BRP Gabriela Silang, the newly acquired offshore patrol vessel of the Philippines, will be used in repatriation efforts to secure Overseas Filipino Workers who may be affected amid rising tensions in the Middle East. The Philippine Coast Guard said the 83.6-meter vessel was preparing to sail specifically to Oman or Dubai, to ensure the safety and security of OFWs through ferry missions. The PCG said the OPV can ferry approximately 500 people at […]





