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  • Experts React: Energy Implications of Escalating Middle East Conflict

    Even in an age of generative artificial intelligence, oil price estimates remain far from an exact science, and the impacts of supply disruptions can depend significantly on scope and duration. Back-of-the-envelope estimates by ClearView Energy Partners, LLC, gauged broad new sanctions (or strict enforcement of existing ones) at up to a roughly $7/bbl impact; attacks on Iran’s principal export facility at Kharg Island at up to around $13/bbl; and a three-to-seven-day retaliatory Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz between $13/bbl and $28/bbl.

  • Saudi Arabia executes Filipino convicted of murder despite Philippine presidential appeal

    A Philippine official with knowledge of the case, however, said the Filipino was arrested by Saudi Arabian authorities in 2020 after being accused of the killing. The death penalty was handed down with finality last year and the execution was carried out on Saturday, the official said. The Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila said the Philippine government provided legal help “and exhausted all possible remedies, including a presidential letter of appeal” to try to stop the execution, but that the victim’s family had refused to accept “blood money,” a financial settlement to secure forgiveness.

  • A year of escalating conflict in the Middle East has ushered in a new era of regional displacement

    Israel’s ongoing attacks have forced nearly 2 million Palestinians to flee their homes in Gaza over the past year, amounting to 9 in 10 inhabitants of the densely populated strip. What is unique about the scale of the displacement in Gaza is that nearly all internally displaced persons remain trapped, unable to leave the territory amid Israel’s ongoing border closure and bombardment. This has intensified cascading humanitarian crises, including famine and the spread of disease, along with countless other hardships that make normal life nearly impossible. For many Palestinians in Gaza, the yearlong bombardment has meant repeated displacement as Israeli attacks shift from area to area, amid shrinking humanitarian spaces.

  • Saudi Stocks Face Rising Risks as Regional Conflict Deepens

    The Tadawul All Share Index index slipped 3.7% in the first four trading days of October, as Israel intensified its campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah and weighed retaliation for Tehran’s missile attacks. While the gauge spent months shrugging off simmering tensions and weak oil prices, the latest setback has wiped out its entire year-to-date gain.

  • Middle East conflict triggers 12% plunge in global cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin falls to $60,750: Experts

    Escalating conflict in the Middle East has taken a heavy toll on the global cryptocurrency market, plunging total market volume by over 12 per cent over the last 24 hours to $81.11 billion. The crash in the market volume has brought the global cryptocurrency market cap to $2.11 trillion on Friday, close to a 1 per cent decline from the previous day and a massive 30 per cent fall from its all-time high of $3 trillion.

  • Gulf states sought to reassure Iran of their neutrality in Iran-Israel conflict, sources say

    Gulf Arab states sought to reassure Iran of their neutrality in the conflict between Tehran and Israel in meetings in Doha this week on the back of concerns that a wider escalation in violence could threaten their oil facilities, two sources told Reuters. Ministers from Gulf Arab states and Iran attending a meeting of Asian nations hosted by Qatar centred their conversations around de-escalation, the sources said.

  • Airlines Forced Into Saudi Airspace Amid Mideast Conflict

    Airlines connecting Europe with the Middle East and South Asia are being forced to fly a more circuitous path using Egyptian and Saudi Arabian airspace as the escalating regional conflict blocks of routes over Iran and Iraq for many carriers. Bloomberg's Leen Al-Rashdan reports.

  • Panic as Lebanese expats race to book flights for family out of Beirut amid escalating Lebanon-Israel conflict

    As most airlines suspend flights to and from Beirut, tickets on Lebanon’s national carrier MEA – the sole remaining operator – are sold out for weeks, stranding many seeking escape.

  • As Middle East conflict escalates, Muslim American voter group endorses Harris over Trump

    Vice President Kamala Harris has secured the endorsement of one of the nation’s largest Muslim American voter mobilization groups, marking a significant boost to her campaign since many Muslim and Arab American organizations have opted to support third-party candidates or not endorse. Emgage Action, the political arm of an 18-year-old Muslim American advocacy group, endorsed Harris’ presidential campaign on Wednesday, saying in a statement provided first to The Associated Press that the group “recognizes the responsibility to defeat” Donald Trump in November.

  • Israel and Hezbollah carry out new attacks amid fears of wider conflict

    Israel struck Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and its Iran-backed foe attacked military facilities in northern Israel on Tuesday, increasing fears of a full-blown conflict after Lebanon suffered its deadliest day in decades. Israel's military said it hit dozens of Hezbollah targets overnight, a day after carrying out airstrikes against the armed group which Lebanese authorities said killed 558 people, including 50 children and 94 women, and wounded 1,835. Tens of thousands more have fled for safety.