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Oil up over fears of widening conflict in oil-rich Middle East

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Oil prices increased on Monday over fears of a widening conflict in the oil-rich Middle East. International benchmark Brent crude traded at $80.67 per barrel at 09.51 a.m. local time (0651 GMT), an increase of 0.49% from the closing price of $80.28 per barrel in the previous trading session. The American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at $77.50 per barrel at the same time, a 0.44% rise from the previous session that closed at $77.16 per barrel. Both benchmarks started the week with upward movements following an attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Despite cease-fire negotiations, escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, home to a vast majority of global oil reserves, increases supply risk in the markets. On Saturday, a missile attack was carried out on a football field in the town of Majdal Shams in the occupied Golan Heights, killing 12 people. Israel blames Hezbollah for the attack, but the Lebanese group denied playing any role. Fear over a full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah has grown amid an exchange of cross-border attacks between the two sides. The escalation comes against the backdrop of a deadly Israeli onslaught on Gaza which resulted in the death of more than 39,300 people since last October. Meanwhile, negotiations regarding the cease-fire in Gaza and the exchange of prisoners between Hamas and Israel are currently stalled after the postponement of the Israeli delegation’s visit to next week, which was initially scheduled for Thursday. However, gains were weak as the outlook for crude demand in the world’s largest crude oil importer remained bleak. Prices continue to be depressed by concerns about demand in China as it grapples with a slowing economic recovery. This week, market players will be watching the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) meetings in a bid to gauge the oil market trajectory. Fed will review its policy on July 30-31. While investors expect the bank to keep rates unchanged, they will also look for further evidence that a rate cut will happen at the September meeting. Experts believe that reducing policy interest rates soon would support economic activity in the country, resulting in higher oil demand.

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UNRWA: 200 UNRWA workers killed in Gaza

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 Nearly 200 UNRWA workers have been killed in Gaza since the start of Israel’s ongoing offensive on Oct. 7, 2023, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said on Saturday. “When the war in Gaza started nearly 10 months ago, no one thought we will reach this grim milestone. Nearly 200 UNRWA team members have been killed in Gaza,” Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement on X. “These are not numbers, these are our colleagues and our friends,” said Lazzarini, noting that “this is by far the largest loss of personnel killed in a single conflict or natural disaster since the creation of the United Nations – a reality the world must never accept.” Lazzarini reiterated “the call of the UN Secretary General for a full accountability for each and every one of these deaths.” Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. More than 39,000 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children. Vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine. Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.

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Thousands demonstrate in Washington against Netanyahu visit

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Thousands of people, including Jewish Americans, demonstrated in Washington on Wednesday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint  session of the US Congress. They had descended on Capitol Hill, the seat of the US government, chanting “Free, Free Palestine” as some tried to block streets ahead of Netanyahu’s speech. Police wearing gas masks blocked the crowd, which was calling for an end to the war that has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians, from getting closer to the Capitol. Tall steel barriers ringed entrances to the complex, and security officers deployed by the score on foot, bicycle, and with dogs. Overnight, hundreds of protesters organised by a Jewish group staged a sit-in at a congressional office building, crying, “Not in our name.” The prime minister was greeted by Republican House Speaker, Mike Johnson, as he arrived in the afternoon at the Capitol, for a speech arranged weeks ago and instigated by the Speaker. “I think people are rageful that the United States government has the gall, after months and months of genocide, not to hold Benjamin Netanyahu accountable, but to continue to roll out the red carpet for him,” said demonstrator Zaid Khatib. Carrying posters saying “Wanted. War Criminal Benjamin Netayahu”, protesters demanded the prime minister’s arrest, as requested by the international criminal court’s chief prosecutor in May. One protester, who travelled from Maryland to take part in the demonstration, said it was important to show that not all US citizens support the government’s policies towards Israel. “They don’t support the policies of our elected officials. We are in a rogue kind of administration that are disconnected from the people,” said Michael Prentice. “I think it’s important to show, come out and show the world that the American people, our policies, are not popular with the American people, if that makes sense.” Inside Congress, dozens of high profile Democratic lawmakers decided not to attend Netanyahu’s speech, expressing their dismay over the civilian deaths and humanitarian crisis as a result of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. The most notable absence was behind him. Vice President Kamala Harris, who serves as president of the Senate and traditionally would sit behind whatever dignitary is speaking, said a long-scheduled trip would keep her away.

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UN says nearly 40 million people had HIV in 2023

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In a new report launched by the UN on Monday, it was revealed that nearly 40 million people were living with HIV/AIDS last year, with over 9 million not receiving any treatment. The report highlighted that someone died of AIDS-related causes every minute, underscoring the ongoing global impact of the disease. While progress has been made in combating the AIDS pandemic, the report noted a slowdown in advancements, accompanied by shrinking funding and rising new infections in specific regions: the Middle East and North Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and Latin America. In 2023, approximately 630,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses, marking a significant decrease from 2.1 million deaths in 2004. However, this figure still exceeds the 2025 target of fewer than 250,000 deaths set by UNAIDS. Gender inequality was identified as a critical factor exacerbating risks for girls and women, particularly in parts of Africa where HIV incidence among adolescents and young women remains disproportionately high. The report also highlighted an increasing proportion of new infections among marginalized communities facing stigma and discrimination, such as sex workers, men who have sex with men, and people who inject drugs. This proportion rose to 55% in 2023 from 45% in 2010. UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima emphasized the importance of upholding commitments made by world leaders to end the AIDS pandemic as a public health threat by 2030. She stressed the need for adequate resources for the HIV response and protection of human rights for all individuals. Despite progress in HIV treatments, including the development of long-acting injections, affordability remains a significant barrier. These injections, costing $40,000 annually for two doses, are inaccessible to all but the wealthiest individuals with HIV. UNAIDS has been advocating for reduced costs to make these treatments available in low and middle-income countries. Moreover, the report mentioned promising cases where individuals treated for leukemia showed no detectable HIV virus afterward, a development to be discussed at the 25th International AIDS Conference in Munich. Looking ahead, UNAIDS continues to advocate for the development of an AIDS vaccine as part of its efforts to prevent the spread of HIV globally.

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Palestinian factions pledge to ‘end divisions’ during Beijing talk...

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Palestinian factions have pledged to end divisions during their reconciliatory talks in Beijing, the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi announced on Tuesday. The representatives inked the declaration “pledging to end division and strengthen unity.” Representatives from 14 groups of Palestinians have held talks in Beijing since Sunday. Video footage released by Chinese state media showed Wang walking along with the representatives of the Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Fatah, after their meeting held in Beijing.

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Global IT outage causes chaos

World /

A massive technology outage has disrupted businesses and institutions in multiple countries, throwing airports, airlines, rail companies, government services, banks, stock exchanges, supermarkets, telecoms, health systems and media outlets into chaos. The cause of the outage was not immediately clear, but it came hours after Microsoft said it was addressing an issue affecting access to Microsoft 365 apps and services. Some experts attributed the disruption to CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm whose software is used by industries around the world to protect against hackers and outside breaches. The problem appeared to result in crashes of machines running the Microsoft Windows operating system. CrowdStrike said in a recorded phone message that it was aware of reports of Microsoft’s Windows operating system crashing. Reporting from London, Al Jazeera’s Jonah Hull said, “CrowdStrike seems to have had some sort of mandatory update to its software that went horribly wrong.” The company had reported that the issue was related to its Falcon sensor product, engineers identifying a “content deployment problem”, said Hull. “It has been a quite extraordinarily dysfunctional, disruptive morning from an IT point of view – or indeed mid-afternoon if you’re in Australia where the first signs of a real problem began to emerge, according to Hull. “Essentially it happens as you’re sitting in front of your terminal. If your terminal is a Microsoft Windows terminal, it suddenly goes to a blank blue screen. It’s called the ‘blue-screen-of-death’ error. You are locked out of your operating system,” Hull said. At the time of reporting, some of the malfunctioning business, companies and computer app systems were beginning to return to normal service, including Sky News in the United Kingdom, which was down for an hour in the morning. The outages rippled far and wide, with transport systems around the world among the hardest hit. In the United States, major airlines Delta, United and American Airlines were grounded on Friday morning due to a communication issue, according to an update by the Federal Aviation Administration. In Australia, flight information screens at Sydney airport went blank. The airport said that flights were arriving and departing but that travellers should expect delays. “We have activated our contingency plans and deployed additional staff to our terminals,” it said in a post on X. Melbourne airport said that check-in procedures for some airlines had been affected. “Passengers flying with these airlines this afternoon are advised to allow a little extra time to check-in. Please check with your airline for flight updates,” it said in a post on X.

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