flood

Lagos secures flood insurance for 4 million at-risk Nigerians

  • The coastal mega-city of Lagos and its estimated more than 22 million inhabitants are among those facing the brunt of climate change in coastal west Africa, where oceans are rising, rainfall is becoming erratic and urban populations are booming.
  • Nigeria's Lagos state has taken out a $7.5 million flood insurance policy to cover millions of people, the Insurance Development Forum said Thursday, as the country's economic capital faces rising sea levels and floods linked to climate change.
  • The coastal mega-city of Lagos and its estimated more than 22 million inhabitants are among those facing the brunt of climate change in coastal west Africa, where oceans are rising, rainfall is becoming erratic and urban populations are booming.
Nigeria's Lagos state has taken out a $7.5 million flood insurance policy to cover millions of people, the Insurance Development Forum said Thursday, as the country's economic capital faces rising sea levels and floods linked to climate change.
The coastal mega-city of Lagos and its estimated more than 22 million inhabitants are among those facing the brunt of climate change in coastal west Africa, where oceans are rising, rainfall is becoming erratic and urban populations are booming.
In a statement, Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu warned that inaction on climate change could cost the wider state government around $40 billion by 2050, "with severe consequences for our people, infrastructure and economy".
"Our wetlands and biodiversity are also under threat. These realities demand urgent action," he said.
The policy's premium was financed to the tune of 90 percent by InsuResilience Solutions Fund -- which is itself financed by Germany -- with Lagos state covering the remainder. 
It covers up to four million people across seven local government areas in the state, including for government disaster relief as well as direct cash transfers to affected communities.
The Lagos-funded portion is set to increase in the second and third year of the policy.
The scheme is a form of parametric flood insurance, which pays out under certain conditions -- such as a specific amount of rainfall, captured via satellite image -- instead of at a certain level of damage, which can take time to assess.
It wasn't immediately clear what the payout trigger would be, but the Insurance Development Forum -- a body affiliated with the United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank Group -- said the insurance was "a major milestone" in a state where 80 percent of households are low-income and "insurance penetration is below 0.5 percent".
Lagos, the most populous city in Africa's most populous country, is sinking, and is threatened by floods linked to climate change as well as poor management of waterways and expanding industry that eats up shorelines and wetlands.
nro/giv

diplomacy

US lays it on the line as WTO mulls future of global trading

BY AGNèS PEDRERO

  • The European Union said it was committed to an open, fair and rules-based trading system.
  • The United States launched a broadside at the hamstrung World Trade Organization as its main gathering opened Thursday, while China rushed to the WTO's defence, making the case for rules-based global trade.
  • The European Union said it was committed to an open, fair and rules-based trading system.
The United States launched a broadside at the hamstrung World Trade Organization as its main gathering opened Thursday, while China rushed to the WTO's defence, making the case for rules-based global trade.
The WTO's ministerial conference -- its supreme decision-making body -- got under way in Yaounde against a backdrop of war in the Middle East, heightened trade tensions and global economic turmoil.
"US trade policy measures are a corrective response to a trading system, embodied by the WTO, that has overseen and contributed to severe and sustained imbalances," said US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
The status quo "has become economically unworkable and politically unacceptable", Greer said in a video statement.
He insisted the "new order" would involve agreements between smaller groups of countries, rather than "wasting years and even decades to agree on a lowest-common denominator".
The 166-member WTO, which struggles to conclude agreements as they must be approved by consensus, is facing a crunch moment on reforming its ways and practices.
Over four days in Cameroon, trade ministers from around the world will try to revitalise an institution weakened by geopolitical strains, stalled negotiations and rising protectionism.

'Worst disruptions'

Yaounde marks the WTO's first ministerial conference since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year, unleashing a barrage of attacks on multilateralism and WTO rules with sweeping tariffs and bilateral trade deals.
The global trading system is experiencing the "worst disruptions in the past 80 years", WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala warned at the opening ceremony.
"The world order and the multilateral system we used to know has irrevocably changed," she said, adding: "We cannot deny the scale of the problems confronting the world today."
Cameroon's Trade Minister Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana said: "Reform must lead to a WTO... capable of meeting today's challenges and restoring confidence in the multilateral trading system."
While all WTO members agree that the global trade body must be reformed, they do not all agree on how to go about it, and the ideal end result.
Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said the WTO was facing an "unprecedented existential challenge" and urged countries to "jointly oppose acts of unilateralism and protectionism".
"We need to come together and stay on course to firmly support the rules-based multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core," he said, in a video statement.
The European Union said it was committed to an open, fair and rules-based trading system.
But EU trade ministers said the WTO was "at a critical juncture" and needed "deep and comprehensive reform" to avoid its relevance diminishing.

New ways of doing business

Washington is particularly critical of the WTO's "most-favoured nation" principle, which aims to extend any trade advantage granted to one trading partner to all others, seeking to avoid discrimination.
For now, only the EU has indicated it would be open to considering this issue.
China, like other developing countries, has said it wants this rule to "remain the bedrock of the WTO".
On the other hand, the EU, China and the United States agree on the need to consider a framework within which interested countries can move forward, including through agreements among groups of countries.
But India is opposed to this, preferring to stick with consensus.
No major new agreement is expected in Yaounde, but the WTO hopes that its members will succeed in adopting a roadmap on reform, with the aim of achieving something more concrete further down the line.
WTO ministerial conferences are usually held every other year. Yaounde is the 14th, and the second held in Africa.
apo/rjm/nl/pdw

US

Middle East war: global economic fallout

  • - Taiwan hit by gas supply fake news - Taiwan has been targeted by a wave of online disinformation claiming the island's gas supplies will soon be completely depleted due to disruptions from the Middle East war -- a false narrative officials say could cause panic and undermine confidence in the government. burs/rl/sbk
  • Here are the latest economic events in the Middle East war: - WTO says worst trade disruption in 80 years - The global trading system is experiencing the "worst disruptions in the past 80 years", World Trade Organization chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala warned Thursday at the opening of the WTO ministerial conference.
  • - Taiwan hit by gas supply fake news - Taiwan has been targeted by a wave of online disinformation claiming the island's gas supplies will soon be completely depleted due to disruptions from the Middle East war -- a false narrative officials say could cause panic and undermine confidence in the government. burs/rl/sbk
Here are the latest economic events in the Middle East war:

WTO says worst trade disruption in 80 years

The global trading system is experiencing the "worst disruptions in the past 80 years", World Trade Organization chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala warned Thursday at the opening of the WTO ministerial conference.
"The world order and the multilateral system we use to know has irrevocably changed," she said, adding: "We cannot deny the scale of the problems confronting the world today."

OECD cuts eurozone growth forecasts

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development cut its eurozone growth outlook and forecast higher inflation for 2026 after the Middle East war caused energy prices to skyrocket.
The Paris-based group lowered its growth forecast for the currency union by 0.4 percentage points to 0.8 percent. It largely maintained its 2026 forecasts for the United States and China, but warned of further fallout should hostilities continue.  

Oil up, markets fall

Oil prices rose and equities fell Thursday as confidence in a quick end to the Middle East war waned.
Brent was up 4.8 percent at nearly $102 a barrel around 1730 GMT. West Texas Intermediate rose five percent to just under $95 a barrel.

South Korea prepares 'wartime' budget

South Korea will roll out a $17 billion "wartime" supplementary budget and expand fuel tax cuts as the war in Iran pushes up energy prices, the government said Thursday.
"The government will draw up a supplementary budget worth 25 trillion won next month -- funded by excess tax revenue -- in response to the prolonged Middle East conflict," the government said in a statement.

Spain approves measures to curb Mideast war impact

Spain's parliament approved Thursday a sweeping package worth five billion euros ($5.8 billion) aimed at curbing the economic impact of the Middle East war, including steep cuts to energy taxes.

Cyprus support package

Cyprus on Thursday unveiled a 200-million-euro support package to shield households and businesses from the economic fallout of the Iran war, which has driven a spike in fuel prices.
The package combines tax relief, subsidies and targeted support for vulnerable sectors such as tourism and agriculture.

Poland cuts fuel taxes

Poland's prime minister announced Thursday a series of measures to cushion the impact of soaring fuel prices, including reduced taxes and price ceilings.
The value-added tax was being reduced on petrol and diesel from 23 percent to eight percent, and a maximum price would be set on a daily basis by the energy ministry, said Donald Tusk.

Japan releases oil reserves

Japan said it had started to release another part of its strategic oil reserves Thursday as it looks to temper the impact on the resource-poor nation from the surge in prices caused by the war.
Japan is the fifth-biggest importer of oil, with more than 90 percent of it from the Middle East.

German consumer confidence takes hit

German consumer sentiment fell heading into April due to the Middle East war, a survey showed Thursday, adding to the woes facing Europe's top economy.
"Consumers are expecting inflation to take off again and the economic recovery to be held back as a result of higher energy prices," said Rolf Buerkl, head of consumer climate at the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions.

Russian oil arrives in Philippines

A ship carrying more than 700,000 barrels of Russian crude oil has arrived in the Philippines, a source told AFP Thursday, days after the Southeast Asian country declared a national energy emergency over the Middle East war.
-  Germany unveils rescue plan for struggling chemical sector - 
The German government and the country's chemical industry on Thursday presented a sweeping plan to help the ailing sector as it faces new headwinds from the Middle East war energy shock, including subsidising power prices.

Taiwan hit by gas supply fake news

Taiwan has been targeted by a wave of online disinformation claiming the island's gas supplies will soon be completely depleted due to disruptions from the Middle East war -- a false narrative officials say could cause panic and undermine confidence in the government.
burs/rl/sbk

exports

Parmesan exports doing grate... but sales melt in Italy

  • Back home in Italy, Parmesan sales are declining as the population declines.
  • For the first time more than half of Parmesan cheese was exported, as Italy's population declines and consumers watch their spending, producers said Thursday.
  • Back home in Italy, Parmesan sales are declining as the population declines.
For the first time more than half of Parmesan cheese was exported, as Italy's population declines and consumers watch their spending, producers said Thursday.
Exports of the flavourful hard cheese produced around Parma in northern Italy rose by 2.7 percent to nearly 75,000 tonnes last year, the industry's trade association said.
Shipments of Parmesan Reggiano -- its full name -- even rose by 2.3 percent to the United States despite tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.
The tariffs, which currently stand at 25 percent, have slowed down orders in Parmesan's top export market, however.
Imports were down 16 percent year-on-year in January.
"The big problem in the United States is uncertainty," said the head of the Parmesan Reggiano Consortium, Nicola Bertinelli.
But she said the challenge was not insurmountable.
"We're not sitting around crying about it; we're ramping up our investments," Bertinelli said.
Parmesan has notably sponsored the Utah Jazz basketball team and the ATP tennis tournament in Miami at great expense.

Cheap competition

Parmesan producers plan to make further dents in the American market by increasing their visibility, particularly on supermarket shelves but also in restaurants, in order to differentiate themselves from local cheese labelled as "Parmesan" and sold at half the price.
Italy's Parmesan Reggiano carries the DOP certification to indicate "Protected Designation of Origin", but the name Parmesan is also used by lower-quality competitors abroad.
Back home in Italy, Parmesan sales are declining as the population declines.
Some 80 percent of Italians still consume it, but they are buying it less often and in smaller quantities, accounting for a 10-percent drop in sales by volume last year.
Bertinelli also acknowledged that Parmesan faced competition as Italians watch their spending.
"If you just need to grate some cheese over pasta, there are alternatives," she said.
Ranked among the kings of Italian cheese, with its cows fed on hay and grass, Parmesan has risen in price by three euros in a year to reach an average of 23.5 euros ($27.10) per kilo in Italy's supermarkets.
This widens the gap with Grana Padano, a competitor with less stringent production rules, as well as other cheeses meant for grating.
To stay competitive, Parmesan plans to position itself more as an appetiser cheese.
Producers also want to strengthen their tourism offerings for food enthusiasts, as Piedmont and Tuscany have already done for wine.
France, the second-largest export market, remained stable in 2025 as did Germany, the third-largest market.
In the longer term, Parmesan also plans to expand marketing in Northern European countries and Latin America, followed by Southeast Asia.
tsz/ams/rl-jj

US

US cannot meet Iran war-induced LNG shortfall: industry leaders

BY NINA ISENI

  • That has turned attention to the United States, which in recent years has become the world's leading LNG exporter.
  • Business leaders are warning that the United States lacks the infrastructure to alleviate a global LNG shortage caused by the US-Israel war on Iran, which has kept a fifth of the world's energy supplies from leaving the Gulf.
  • That has turned attention to the United States, which in recent years has become the world's leading LNG exporter.
Business leaders are warning that the United States lacks the infrastructure to alleviate a global LNG shortage caused by the US-Israel war on Iran, which has kept a fifth of the world's energy supplies from leaving the Gulf.
US President Donald Trump's commitment to fossil fuels has been typified by his "Drill, baby, drill" mantra and policies that have sidelined renewable energy.
At the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston this week, however, energy leaders said the US LNG industry has the reserves but not the capacity to quickly expand production.
"We will not be able to make that volume up," said Charles Reidl, chief of the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas (CLNG), which represents several US giants in the sector.
"It's not that we don't have the resources to do it," he told AFP at CERAWeek, dubbed the "Davos of energy," which runs through Friday in Houston. "We don't have the infrastructure to provide it."
In response to US-Israeli strikes launched on February 28, Iran has virtually blocked the Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly 20 percent of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas flows.
Qatar, the world's second-largest LNG producer, has seen exports hit a brick wall due to the blockade, with Iran also carrying out strikes on its energy facilities.
That has turned attention to the United States, which in recent years has become the world's leading LNG exporter.
Since 2016, the United States has ramped up LNG production and its exports have increased 30-fold, according to the US Energy Information Administration. 
Eight LNG export terminals are in operation, eight are under construction and nine more projects have been approved, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

European dependence

Reidl said facilities were running hard, "at about 135 percent" of their usual capacity. 
Still, "we have not reached a level of maturity in the US LNG space that we have extra supply available."
The crisis is causing concern in Europe -- the leading market for US LNG -- that it may not be able to build up gas reserves for next winter, or may have to do so at extremely high prices.
Europe has increased its dependence on US and Qatari LNG after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Asian nations -- the destination of 80 percent of oil and 90 percent of LNG that transits the Strait of Hormuz -- have been implementing demand conservation measures, said Jack Fusco, chief executive of major US LNG exporter Cheniere Energy.
"We're going to try to get as many molecules as we can to those countries in Asia that really need it," Fusco said Tuesday in Houston. "We're looking at our maintenance schedules really hard, but at the end of the day, we have to be safe and we have to be reliable." 

Permitting delays

One perceived obstacle keeps surfacing in conversations at CERAWeek: the process of obtaining permits for building or expanding energy infrastructure.
Trump returned to power in January 2025 promising to "unleash" US energy resources. But administrative delays and political gridlock have hindered the expansion of US LNG, said Dena Wiggins, president of the Natural Gas Supply Association.
"There has been so much litigation and so much effort to stop projects by people who are opposed to them that I think that it's the permitting process that has gotten off the rails," she told AFP.
Environmental lawsuits have targeted current terminal projects. In the US Congress, several bills aimed at speeding up permitting have failed to pass.
But Wiggins said the current geopolitical crisis has created a window of opportunity, with both Democrats and Republicans pushing for permit reforms.
If projects are held up by the permit process, US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum urged companies to contact relevant government officials. "There is an opportunity that we haven't had before for bipartisan support," he said Wednesday in Houston. 
Still, such reforms -- even with wider support -- cannot address the immediate shortages facing the world. 
ni/ico/cyb/aha/mjf/mlm

regulation

EU accuses four porn platforms of letting children access adult content

BY RAZIYE AKKOC

  • "Children are accessing adult content at increasingly younger ages and these platforms must put in place robust, privacy-preserving and effective measures to keep minors off their services," EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said in a statement.
  • The European Union accused four pornographic platforms on Thursday of allowing children to access adult content in breach of digital rules, putting the companies at risk of large fines.
  • "Children are accessing adult content at increasingly younger ages and these platforms must put in place robust, privacy-preserving and effective measures to keep minors off their services," EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said in a statement.
The European Union accused four pornographic platforms on Thursday of allowing children to access adult content in breach of digital rules, putting the companies at risk of large fines.
At the same time, Brussels also launched a separate wide-ranging probe into Snapchat over suspicions it is failing to adequately protect children online.
The move comes as pressure is piling up globally on social media to ensure children's safety, with a US ruling this week that found Meta and YouTube liable for harming a young woman because of their platforms' addictive design seen as a possible turning point. 
There are also expanding efforts, especially in Britain and France, to force porn sites to check users' age to prevent children from accessing online smut.
The European Commission said it preliminarily found Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos failed to protect children's rights and wellbeing in violation of the Digital Services Act (DSA) under the investigation launched in May 2025.
The EU said minors could access all four platforms by a simple click confirming they are over 18, and accused the companies of prioritising their reputation over children's safety.
The commission told the porn platforms they need to implement age verification measures that preserve privacy while preventing children from seeing harmful content.
"Children are accessing adult content at increasingly younger ages and these platforms must put in place robust, privacy-preserving and effective measures to keep minors off their services," EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said in a statement.
If confirmed to be in breach, the EU can fine the platforms up to six percent of their respective global turnover.
Pornhub is owned by Cyprus-based Aylo and Stripchat is also headquartered on the Mediterranean island. XNXX and XVideos are based in the Czech Republic.
XVideos told AFP that the EU was "asking us to commit suicide for nothing", adding that age checks would do "nothing to prevent minors from accessing adult content, as we know they will simply move to other, less safe sites that are completely out of reach of regulators".

Transatlantic alignment on minors?

As the EU announced its wide-ranging probe into Snapchat, the commission said it feared the platform was "exposing minors to grooming attempts" and information about the sale of illegal products like drugs.
"Snapchat appears to have overlooked that the Digital Services Act demands high safety standards for all users," Virkkunen said.
Snapchat has around 97 million monthly active users in the EU.
The company said its users' safety and well-being were a "top priority".
"We have fully cooperated with the commission to date -- engaging proactively, transparently and working in good faith to meet the DSA's high safety standards -- and we will continue to do so," a Snapchat spokesperson said.
The EU's actions come after a Los Angeles jury on Wednesday found Meta -- the American parent company of Facebook and Instagram -- and YouTube liable for harming a young woman through the addictive design of their platforms.
Virkkunen welcomed the verdict, which handed plaintiffs in more than a thousand similar pending cases significant leverage, saying it sent "a very clear message" that platforms need to take seriously "the risks they are posing".

More EU moves

Facebook and Instagram are also under investigation in the EU in two separate probes, one of which is focused on how the platforms protect children.
Virkkunen indicated there would be preliminary findings "soon" in the case, especially regarding the probe's focus on age verification.
In a watershed moment, the EU last month told Chinese-owned platform TikTok to change its "addictive design" or face heavy fines under the EU's DSA.
The EU is also developing an age verification app with pilot schemes ongoing in six member states including Denmark and France.
Brussels says when it is rolled out, it will be a "user-friendly and privacy-preserving age verification method".
raz/sbk

Global Edition

Oil climbs, stocks slide on uncertainty over US-Iran talks

  • "This is quite the shift in rhetoric from the President, and highlights how complex it will be" to reach a peace deal, said XTB's Brooks.
  • Oil prices jumped and equities slid Thursday as hopes for a peace deal between the US and Iran wavered after Tehran rejected Washington's bid to wind down the nearly four-week war.
  • "This is quite the shift in rhetoric from the President, and highlights how complex it will be" to reach a peace deal, said XTB's Brooks.
Oil prices jumped and equities slid Thursday as hopes for a peace deal between the US and Iran wavered after Tehran rejected Washington's bid to wind down the nearly four-week war.
Markets had been buoyed at the start of this week by US President Donald Trump's announcement that strikes targeting Iran's energy infrastructure would be postponed, adding that the two sides were in peace talks.
But uncertainty over the talks and the virtual closure of the Strait of Hormuz -- through which around 20 percent of oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes -- have cast a shadow over market sentiment.
"The market rollercoaster continues," said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets. 
Crude prices rallied more than four percent on Thursday, with Brent crude near $102 per barrel and WTI above $94. 
The dollar rose against its main rivals.
Wall Street's main stock indices were down around one percent in early afternoon trading. European and Asian markets ended in the red.
"When the oil price surges, the market playbook stays the same: stocks and bonds sell off," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.
The yield on government bonds rose across the board.
Conflicting messages from the US and Iran are "raising questions about whether there is really an off-ramp to the conflict in the days ahead", said Deutsche Bank's Jim Reid.

Rival plans

Washington was said to have presented a 15-point plan to end the war. Tehran's state-run TV reported officials had put forward their own five conditions for hostilities to end.
Trump on Wednesday threatened to "unleash hell" if Iran did not strike a deal, but Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his country did not intend to negotiate with the administration in Washington.
On Thursday, Trump said taking control of Iran's oil was an option, as the US had done with Venezuela.
"This is quite the shift in rhetoric from the President, and highlights how complex it will be" to reach a peace deal, said XTB's Brooks.
"The prospect of troops on the ground suggest a prolonged war and not one final blow at Iran," she added.
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar confirmed Thursday that indirect negotiations between the US and Iran were being held, using Islamabad as an intermediary.
"The tone taken by Iran may simply be posturing, but... there is a high likeliness they continue this conflict until energy prices reach uncomfortable levels," Mahony said.
"Pressure on energy prices, shipping flows and broader financial conditions remains one of the few meaningful sources of leverage (Iran) retains," said Saxo Markets' Charu Chanana.
"There is therefore little incentive to relinquish that leverage prematurely, particularly if market stress strengthens its negotiating position," she added.
The OECD on Thursday cut its eurozone growth outlook and forecast higher inflation for 2026 as energy prices have skyrocketed.
The conflict has also weighed on German consumer sentiment heading into April, a survey showed Thursday, adding to the woes facing Europe's top economy.
France, which holds the G7 Presidency, will on Monday host a meeting bringing together the group's finance ministers, energy ministers and central bank governors. 

Key figures at around 1630 GMT

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 4.8 percent at $101.91 a barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 4.6 percent at $94.44 a barrel
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.8 percent at 46,060.00 points
New York - S&P 500: DOWN 1.1 percent at 6,520.16
New York - Nasdaq: DOWN 1.4 percent at 21,613.41
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 1.3 percent at 9,972.17 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.0 percent at 7,769.31 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 1.5 percent at 22,612.97 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 53,603.65 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.9 percent at 24,856.43 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.1 percent at 3,889.08 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1534 from $1.1565 on Wednesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3340 from $1.3365
Dollar/yen: UP at 159.67 yen from 159.47 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.49 pence from 86.52 pence
burs-rl/jj

diplomacy

US flexes 'new order' trade policy as WTO meet kicks off

  • Greer, who is in Yaounde for the conference, said Trump was restructuring the trading system to base it on "reciprocity, fairness, and balanced trade".
  • US trade policy is a "corrective response" to the unbalanced rules of the World Trade Organization, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said as the WTO's ministerial conference opened Thursday.
  • Greer, who is in Yaounde for the conference, said Trump was restructuring the trading system to base it on "reciprocity, fairness, and balanced trade".
US trade policy is a "corrective response" to the unbalanced rules of the World Trade Organization, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said as the WTO's ministerial conference opened Thursday.
The status quo "has become economically unworkable and politically unacceptable", Greer said in a video statement as the global trade body's ministerial conference -- its supreme decision-making body -- kicked off in Cameroon's capital Yaounde.
Yaounde marks the WTO's first ministerial since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year, unleashing a barrage of attacks on multilateralism and WTO rules with sweeping tariffs and bilateral trade deals.
The WTO grew out of the post-WWII agreements that saw nations reduce tariffs and set up mechanisms to resolve trade disputes.
However over the past three decades there has been little progress on new trade deals and the WTO has had difficulty resolving trade imbalances and disputes, particularly those between emerging and developed nations.
For over a decade the US blocked the appointment of new judges, leading to the WTO's inability to resolve trade disputes.
Greer, who is in Yaounde for the conference, said Trump was restructuring the trading system to base it on "reciprocity, fairness, and balanced trade".
"US trade policy measures are a corrective response to a trading system, embodied by the WTO, that has overseen and contributed to severe and sustained imbalances," Greer said.
"They are a response to the failure of multilateral institutions and negotiations to achieve fairness in terms of market access and a level playing field," he said.
Greer said trade imbalances had damaged industries and their workforces, leading to "deindustrialisation, dependency, and despair".
"As ministers, our focus should be on reforms that would make the WTO more responsive to members and improve our ability to achieve outcomes that optimise our trading relationships."
Greer said the "new order" would involve agreements between smaller groups of countries, rather than "wasting years and even decades to agree on a lowest-common denominator".
Greer said he was looking forward to frank conversations on WTO reform, its future role, and what it "realistically can, and cannot, accomplish".
He urged WTO members to make the moratorium on e-commerce duty permanent.
"A permanent moratorium will ensure that WTO members maximise the benefits of our shared commitment to promote the growth of the digital economy and to promote the export competitiveness of all businesses," he said
"The United States is not interested in another temporary extension of the moratorium," which has been in place for nearly three decades.
If members cannot agree on this, "no-one can reasonably expect the WTO to deliver meaningful results in other sectors", Greer added.
bur/rjm/nl/rl

US

Bab al-Mandeb Strait: another key shipping route under threat

  • - Gateway to Red Sea - Known as the "Gate of Tears" in Arabic, the Strait of Bab al-Mandeb is a narrow waterway at the southern tip of the Red Sea, connecting it with the Gulf of Aden in the Indian Ocean.
  • Here are facts and figures about the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a crucial passage into the Red Sea that Iran has threatened to target if US forces launch a ground assault on its territory.
  • - Gateway to Red Sea - Known as the "Gate of Tears" in Arabic, the Strait of Bab al-Mandeb is a narrow waterway at the southern tip of the Red Sea, connecting it with the Gulf of Aden in the Indian Ocean.
Here are facts and figures about the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a crucial passage into the Red Sea that Iran has threatened to target if US forces launch a ground assault on its territory.

Gateway to Red Sea

Known as the "Gate of Tears" in Arabic, the Strait of Bab al-Mandeb is a narrow waterway at the southern tip of the Red Sea, connecting it with the Gulf of Aden in the Indian Ocean.
About 100 kilometres (62 miles) long and 30 kilometres (18 miles) wide, it separates Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula from Djibouti and Eritrea on the Horn of Africa.

Strategic trade route

With the Red Sea acting as a key link between Europe and Asia, the strait is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.
Oil tankers and cargo ships arriving from the Indian Ocean pass through it to reach the Red Sea and then the Suez Canal, where they enter the Mediterranean, and vice versa.
Around 26,000 ships transited through the Suez Canal in 2023, according to a Suez Canal Authority report -- but this fell to 12,700 by 2025 after Huthi rebels attacked ships in the Red Sea.

Key oil passage

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said 12 percent of world oil shipments passed through Bab al-Mandeb in the first half of 2023, before the Huthi attacks later that year.
Data published by the EIA indicates that the volume of oil transiting through Bab al-Mandeb in the first half of 2025 was less than half of the total volumes in 2023.
With Iranian forces closing off access to the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz, exports via the Saudi Red Sea port of Yanbu meanwhile have approximately tripled to a record high of around four million barrels a day, according to analysts, including research group Rystad Energy.

Militarised zone

The region is one of the most highly militarised zones in the world.
The United States and France have major military bases in Djibouti and China in 2017 also opened its first such overseas base there.
After the conflict between Israel and Hamas militants erupted in Gaza in October 2023, the Huthis threatened to attack any ship heading to Israeli ports and stepped up their raids.
In response the European Union in 2024 launched a naval operation dubbed Aspides to protect shipping in the Red Sea.
US and UK forces also carried out strikes on Huthi targets in response to their attacks.

Iranian threat

The latest Middle East war erupted on February 28 when the United States and Israel began bombing Iran, prompting Tehran to retaliate with strikes across the region.
Iran's threat to Hormuz has driven up tanker traffic slightly through Bab al-Mandeb, said Rico Luman, a transport economist at ING bank.
"We're talking about three to four tankers more per day, which is still a notable difference," he told AFP.
Iranian news agency Tasnim on Wednesday quoted an unnamed military official as saying that Iran would target shipping in the Red Sea if the United States "attempts a ground operation... or if it seeks to impose costs on Iran through naval manoeuvres" in the Gulf region.
"The Bab el-Mandeb Strait is among the most strategic straits in the world, and Iran has both the will and the capability to pose a fully credible threat against it," the official said.
bur-rlp/jj/cw

diplomacy

Africa sets out stall for cotton at the WTO

BY AGNèS PEDRERO

  • On Wednesday, these countries, together with the WTO, launched the Partnership for Cotton Investment Platform, showcasing investment opportunities.
  • African countries are taking a stand at the World Trade Organization to bolster their cotton sector, launching a platform tasked with mobilising investment to transform the cotton, textile and clothing value chain.
  • On Wednesday, these countries, together with the WTO, launched the Partnership for Cotton Investment Platform, showcasing investment opportunities.
African countries are taking a stand at the World Trade Organization to bolster their cotton sector, launching a platform tasked with mobilising investment to transform the cotton, textile and clothing value chain.
"The cotton sector represents one of the most promising drivers of industrialisation in Africa, particularly in West and Central Africa," said Cameroon's Trade Minister Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, at a meeting on cotton ahead of the WTO's ministerial conference, which opened Thursday in the Cameroonian capital Yaounde.
WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala explained: "Currently, 98 percent of the region's cotton is exported as raw fibre; the goal is to change that."
Cotton has been discussed at the WTO for more than 20 years, at the request of the so-called Cotton Four (C-4) group: Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali.
These countries, later joined by Ivory Coast to form the C-4+, want to see an end to US, Chinese and European subsidies in their cotton sectors, arguing that they create unfair competition.
"This request has never been met," WTO Deputy Director-General Jean-Marie Paugam told AFP.
"No partner country in Africa or the C-4 has been willing to negotiate solely on one sector.
"These countries maintain this demand as a priority, but while waiting for progress in these negotiations, they are focusing their efforts on developing the cotton sector by promoting the processing of cotton products," he added.
"The goal is to increase added value."

Vital role

According to 2024 WTO data, these countries -- the largest cotton producers in Africa -- generate more than one million tonnes of cotton per year, representing 50 percent of Africa's total production and four percent of global production.
West Africa is the fourth-biggest cotton exporter, behind Brazil, the United States and Australia, figures from the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) show.
Benin, the leading producer in West Africa, exported $505 million worth of raw cotton in 2024, ranking fifth globally among raw cotton exporters.
That year, raw cotton was Benin's most exported product, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC).
In Burkina Faso, around four million of the country's 23 million inhabitants depend directly or indirectly on the cotton sector.
According to the Burkinabe trade ministry, cotton represents four percent of GDP and about 14 percent of the country's export earnings.
Cotton thus plays a vital role in the C-4+ economies, but these countries primarily export raw cotton because they lack processing facilities.
As a result, the gains made by women and young people, who make up most of the workforce in this sector, remain marginal, according to the WTO.
- Open for business - 
It is in this spirit that the WTO and football's world governing body FIFA launched a cotton partnership at the last WTO Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi in 2024.
The initiative aims to support the participation of African countries in the cotton value chain -- from production to processing and the export of finished products -- particularly in the sportswear market.
Development banks and other organisations have since joined the initiative.
According to the WTO, the C-4+ countries would need to attract $12 billion in investments over 10 years to unlock the sector's full potential.
It is estimated that, if realised, these investments would generate approximately 500,000 direct jobs, as well as 1.5 million indirect jobs throughout the cotton value chain.
On Wednesday, these countries, together with the WTO, launched the Partnership for Cotton Investment Platform, showcasing investment opportunities.
"The C-4 and Ivory Coast are open for business here and now!" said Mali's trade and industry minister Moussa Alassane Diallo.
"Thanks to the cotton partnership, we now have a credible roadmap, feasibility studies, and a clear institutional framework" for investments, he said.
apo/rjm/jj

trade

EU parliament backs Trump tariff deal -- with conditions

BY FREDERIC POUCHOT AND RAZIYE AKKOC

  • US ambassador to the European Union Andrew Puzder also welcomed the vote.
  • European Union lawmakers on Thursday gave a green light -- with conditions -- to the bloc's tariff deal with US President Donald Trump, which Europe wants to salvage while it also races to diversify  trade ties around the globe.
  • US ambassador to the European Union Andrew Puzder also welcomed the vote.
European Union lawmakers on Thursday gave a green light -- with conditions -- to the bloc's tariff deal with US President Donald Trump, which Europe wants to salvage while it also races to diversify  trade ties around the globe.
Brussels and Washington last summer clinched a deal setting tariffs at 15 percent for most EU goods.
But Trump's 2025 tariff blitz, including hefty levies on steel, aluminium and car parts, jolted the 27-country bloc into cultivating trade ties around the world.
The EU has since signed deals from South America to Australia and continues to pursue others.
That doesn't mean it intends to walk away from its 1.6 trillion euro ($1.9 trillion) relationship with the United States, its largest trade partner.
A large majority of EU lawmakers agreed to cut EU tariffs on some US imports -- as a first step towards implementing the 2025 deal -- but with additional safeguards.
"Today's vote is an important procedural step and a political signal that the EU stands by its word," EU economy chief Valdis Dombrovskis said in a parliamentary debate Thursday before the vote.
EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic hailed the move as a "crucial step" and said he would meet US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on the sidelines of a World Trade Organization meeting in Cameroon on Friday.
US ambassador to the European Union Andrew Puzder also welcomed the vote.
"Thanks to your efforts, we're very close to a significant milestone in the US-EU trade relationship that will lock in transatlantic stability and economic opportunity for our businesses, workers, and consumers," he said on X.
Puzder had previously warned the EU to pass the deal without amendments.
Before the US tariff deal is implemented by the bloc, it still needs to be negotiated with EU states in talks expected to be difficult but which EU diplomats hoped would be concluded quickly.

Additional safeguards

The green light comes after months of delay as lawmakers resisted approving the accord due to transatlantic tensions over Greenland -- and then put it on hold again following the US Supreme Court's ruling striking down many of Trump's levies.
The ball started rolling again after the European Commission, in charge of EU trade policy, said it would stick to the pact despite the US ruling and called on lawmakers to do the same, having received reassurances from Washington.
Trump, however, came up with a new tariff regime after the verdict -- pushing EU lawmakers to tighten the existing agreement with numerous safeguards.
They inserted provisions making the EU's tariff reductions automatically lapse in March 2028, and tying tariff cuts on steel and aluminium goods to similar reductions by the US side.
"Let's not be naive. More Trump coercion and chaos will come, and that is exactly why we say today no free pass, no blank cheque," EU lawmaker Kathleen Van Brempt said during Thursday's debate.

'Trump factor'

It is the EU's vulnerability to the consequences of wars and other shocks that has pushed Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen to make diversifying trading partners a priority, to cut overdependence on the United States and China.
The frenzy began with a long-awaited accord signed with the South American Mercosur bloc in January. Weeks later, Brussels struck another pact with India and just this week clinched a stalled deal with Australia.
"The Trump factor sped up their conclusion, for us as well as for our partners," economist Andre Sapir said. 
Sapir says the EU is pushing to create the world's largest network of free trade areas -- a strategy with a "defensive dimension" allowing it to resist trade "coercion".
"This free trade network carries weight in our discussions with the two giants, the United States and China," he said.
"These agreements are part of our arsenal," Sapir, of the Bruegel think tank, added. "Our strategic weapons in the international order."
fpo-raz/ub/gv

economy

Germany unveils rescue plan for struggling chemical sector

  • But the sector is facing "the most severe crisis since the post-war period, and this crisis is unfortunately being further exacerbated by the current events we are witnessing in the Middle East", added Steilemann.
  • The German government and the country's chemical industry on Thursday presented a sweeping plan to help the ailing sector as it faces new headwinds from the Middle East war energy shock.
  • But the sector is facing "the most severe crisis since the post-war period, and this crisis is unfortunately being further exacerbated by the current events we are witnessing in the Middle East", added Steilemann.
The German government and the country's chemical industry on Thursday presented a sweeping plan to help the ailing sector as it faces new headwinds from the Middle East war energy shock.
Chemicals is one of the most important sectors in Europe's biggest economy but key industry players complain of high energy costs, onerous EU regulations and fierce foreign competition.
Germany's ruling coalition, chemical industry association VCI and chemical workers' union IGBCE together outlined a raft of measures to boost the sector.
These include subsidising power prices, seeking reforms to EU carbon pricing schemes that the energy-intensive sector complains unfairly burden them, and reducing regulations.
"I would like to emphasise how important the chemical industry is from both a national and a European perspective," said VCI president Markus Steilemann.
Chemical companies generate huge revenues and support hundreds of thousands of jobs, contributing to social cohesion and harmony, he said. 
But the sector is facing "the most severe crisis since the post-war period, and this crisis is unfortunately being further exacerbated by the current events we are witnessing in the Middle East", added Steilemann.
The surge in oil and gas prices since the start of the conflict last month, as well as supply chain snarls, are weighing heavily on the sector.
Economy Minister Katherina Reiche said the government would soon finalise the details of a previously announced plan to subsidise power costs for industry, including the chemicals sector.
"The biggest competitive disadvantage right now is energy prices," said Reiche. "That is why we are acting now with targeted relief."
Other measures in the plan include speeding up planning procedures, and pushing ahead with the digitisation and decarbonisation of the industry.
The crisis in the chemicals sector reflects a broader malaise in the German economy, whose growth has trailed behind other major economies.
sr/fz/gv

trial

UK PM 'very keen' to curb addictive social media after US ruling

  • "I'm very keen that we do more on addictive features within social media," he added.
  • UK leader Keir Starmer said Thursday he was "very keen" to tackle addictive features on social media following a landmark US ruling that found Meta and YouTube liable for harming a young woman.
  • "I'm very keen that we do more on addictive features within social media," he added.
UK leader Keir Starmer said Thursday he was "very keen" to tackle addictive features on social media following a landmark US ruling that found Meta and YouTube liable for harming a young woman.
Britain's government is currently considering new restrictions for popular social media apps, as countries around the world grapple with how to keep children safe online.
Starmer said officials would study "very carefully" Wednesday's decision by a jury in Los Angeles, which found that Meta and YouTube were negligent in the design and operation of their platforms.
The jurors ordered the companies to pay $6 million in damages, including $3 million in punitive damages, holding them accountable for the mental health toll of their design choices.
"The status quo isn't good enough. We need to do more to protect children," Starmer said during a visit to Finland.
"I'm very keen that we do more on addictive features within social media," he added.
The two chambers of Britain's parliament are currently in a stand-off over whether the government should follow Australia and issue a blanket ban on social media for children under 16.
The unelected upper House of Lords voted in favour of prohibiting social media for under-16s for a second time late Wednesday, piling pressure on the government to follow suit.
MPs in the House of Commons, where Starmer's Labour party enjoys a huge majority, have already rejected the proposal once.
Starmer has not ruled out a ban but is awaiting the outcome of a public consultation, due to close on May 26.
pdh/jkb/jj

environment

EU urged to broadly restrict 'forever chemicals'

  • Two committees of EU experts on Thursday published findings that highlighted their effects and that called for broad restrictions on the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). 
  • "Forever chemicals" pose a growing risk to health and the environment and should be broadly banned across the European Union, with some exceptions, EU experts said in findings published on Thursday.
  • Two committees of EU experts on Thursday published findings that highlighted their effects and that called for broad restrictions on the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). 
"Forever chemicals" pose a growing risk to health and the environment and should be broadly banned across the European Union, with some exceptions, EU experts said in findings published on Thursday.
Officially called PFAS, the substances are a group of more than 10,000 chemicals used in things like non-stick pans, stain-proof carpets, and other common products -- and often end up tainting food, water and wildlife.
Two committees of EU experts on Thursday published findings that highlighted their effects and that called for broad restrictions on the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). 
"PFAS pose growing risks to people and the environment. They are highly persistent, remaining in the environment for long periods, travelling long distances, contaminating groundwater and soil, while some cause serious health issues, such as cancer and reproductive harm," one of the committees said in a statement accompanying its findings.
The European Union is expected to put forward a proposal to ban PFAS, known as "forever chemicals", in everyday consumer products such as clothing and pizza boxes, with exemptions for strategic sectors, like the medical field.
A legislative proposal was initially promised for the end of 2025, but Brussels was waiting for opinions from the two committees set up by the European Chemicals Agency's (ECHA) -- one on the risks associated with 'forever chemicals', and one evaluating the economic and social impact of a ban.
The first committee, the Risk Assessment Committee (RAC), found the chemicals posed growing risks and said that the EU needed new regulations to address them.

Balancing act

But the two committees differed on how far the new restrictions should go.
Scientific risk assessment experts of the RAC said a total ban on "forever chemicals' would be the most effective way to minimise their impact, saying that exemptions would cause additional "emissions, leading to an uncontrolled risk." 
But, the Socio-Economic Analysis Committee (SEAC) said a blanket ban is "likely not proportionate," given the lack of alternatives to the chemicals in several fields.
The committee still supported a "broad restriction" but stressed the need for a "balanced approach" in light of the wide use of the chemicals, and recommended "targeted" exemptions.
It recommended that risks be minimised through clear labelling on products containing "forever chemicals" and site-specific management plans for each industrial facility.
Environmental NGO ClientEarth welcomed the findings.
"PFAS pollution is ubiquitous and the health impacts on EU citizens are becoming clearer every day," Helene Duguy, a lawyer working for the organisation, said in a statement.
"Our policymakers owe it to people and our ecosystems across Europe to act now and prevent this emerging large-scale public health disaster," she added.
The European Union has already taken sector-specific action against certain PFAS.
A directive imposed since January has set a maximum threshold of 0.1 micrograms per litre for the combined concentration of 20 PFAS for "water intended for human consumption".
The European Parliament has also adopted rules on food packaging, introducing maximum PFAS concentrations from August, and on toys, in which forever chemicals and endocrine disruptors will be banned by 2030.
Chronic exposure to even low levels of the chemicals has been linked to liver damage, high cholesterol, reduced immune responses, low birth weights and several kinds of cancer.
In Brussels, environmental organisations accuse the European Union of being slow to legislate, under pressure from industrial lobbies.
European Union environment chief Jessika Roswall also welcomed the findings.
"We support the transition away from forever chemicals. As always, any new rules need to be simple by design and give certainty, clarity and predictability for consumers as well as businesses," Roswall said in a statement to AFP.
In January, an EU-commissioned report found that continued use of PFAS could cost Europe up to 1.7 trillion euros ($2 trillion) by 2050 because of their impact on people's health and the environment.
adc-jll/yad

diplomacy

Global trading system hit by 'worst disruptions in the past 80 years': WTO chief

  • WTO ministerial conferences are typically held every two years.
  • The global trading system is experiencing the "worst disruptions in the past 80 years", World Trade Organization chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala warned as the WTO ministerial conference opened Thursday.
  • WTO ministerial conferences are typically held every two years.
The global trading system is experiencing the "worst disruptions in the past 80 years", World Trade Organization chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala warned as the WTO ministerial conference opened Thursday.
"The world order and the multilateral system we use to know has irrevocably changed," she said, adding: "We cannot deny the scale of the problems confronting the world today."
The World Trade Organization's 166 members appear deeply divided as trade ministers gather in the Cameroonian capital for the WTO's top conference, amid global economic turmoil linked to the Middle East war.
Over four days in Yaounde, WTO members will try to revitalise an institution weakened by geopolitical tensions, stalled negotiations and rising protectionism -- against the backdrop of the war in the Middle East, which poses a serious threat to international trade.
"The scale of the problems confronting the world today, even before the conflict in the Gulf, destabilised trade in energy, fertiliser and food," Okonjo-Iweala said.
"National governments and international institutions alike have been struggling to navigate rising geopolitical tensions, intensifying climate pressures and rapid technological change. 
"Accompanying these shifts has been an increasingly loud questioning of multilateralism."
Okonjo-Iweala said these disruptions were just one symptom of broader upheavals shaking the international order created after World War II to prevent a repeat of the disasters of the first half of the 20th century.
"It feels appropriate that at the moment when the world is in turmoil with conflict in the Middle East, Sudan, Ukraine, and elsewhere, at this time of great disruption and uncertainty, we have gathered in Africa to discuss the road ahead for the global trading system," she said.
"Africa is the continent of the future."
WTO ministerial conferences are typically held every two years. This is the second to be held in Africa, after Nairobi in 2015.
apo/rjm/nl/cw

US

War in the Middle East: latest developments

  • - 'Get serious soon' - US President Donald Trump said Thursday that Iran "better get serious soon" in US talks to end the Middle East war.
  • Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war: - Gulf involvement -  Gulf countries said that they wanted to be involved in any talks between the United States and Iran.
  • - 'Get serious soon' - US President Donald Trump said Thursday that Iran "better get serious soon" in US talks to end the Middle East war.
Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:
- Gulf involvement - 
Gulf countries said that they wanted to be involved in any talks between the United States and Iran.
"We emphasize the necessity of involving the GCC countries in any talks or agreements to resolve this crisis, in a way that contributes to strengthening their security and stability," Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary General Jasem AlBudaiwi said in a televised speech, adding that Iran had been asking vessels to pay sums of money to cross the Strait of Hormuz.

'Nothing from NATO'

"NATO nations have done absolutely nothing to help with the lunatic nation, now militarily decimated, of Iran," US President Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
"The USA needs nothing from NATO".

'Get serious soon'

US President Donald Trump said Thursday that Iran "better get serious soon" in US talks to end the Middle East war.
- 'Indirect talks' - 
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said that indirect negotiations were being held to end the war in Iran.
"In reality, US-Iran indirect talks are taking place through messages being relayed by Pakistan," he wrote on X.
"In this context, the United States has shared 15 points, being deliberated upon by Iran. Brotherly countries of Turkiye and Egypt, among others, are also extending their support to this initiative."

'De-escalate'

Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand told AFP in an interview that she had spoken to all countries impacted in the region and all G7 members "to ensure that we are all collectively advocating for de-escalation and for the opening of the Strait of Hormuz and for a path forwards for the Iranian people that preserves their lives."
- Guards' commander killed - 
Defence Minister Israel Katz said that an Israeli airstrike had killed Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' navy, along with other senior navy officers.
There was no comment from the Guards.
- Drone 'lies' - 
The Kremlin denied a report that it was close to completing a shipment of drones to Iran.
"There are so many lies being spread by the media... Do not pay attention to them," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

'Wartime' budget

South Korea's government said it aims to roll out a $17-billion "wartime" supplementary budget and expand fuel tax cuts to counter rising energy prices, in the latest example of how the war has affected countries across the globe.
- Israeli soldier killed - 
The Israeli military said that a soldier was killed in fighting against Iran-backed Hezbollah in south Lebanon.
- Deadly debris in Abu Dhabi - 
Two people were killed and three were wounded by falling debris after air defences intercepted a ballistic missile on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi, the government media office said.
- Wounded in Israel - 
Missile attacks from Iran left six people lightly injured in Israel, medics said.

New Iran strikes

Israel's military said its forces had carried out a wave of strikes across Iran, including in the central city of Isfahan.

War goals

Pakistan's defence minister, whose government has offered to host talks between Iranian and American envoys to stop the war, appeared to take a jab at the US operation that has led to the closure of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
"The goal of the war seems to have shifted to opening the Strait of Hormuz, which was open before the war," Khawaja Asif posted on X, alongside hand-clapping emojis.

Oil edges up

Oil prices jumped and equities fell Thursday as investors tracked developments in the Middle East.
With investors holding on to hope that a deal can be struck, oil prices have stabilised this week, with Brent just above $100 and WTI around $90. 
Stocks in Wall Street and Europe rose but Asian markets struggled after a two-day rally.

'Glimmer of hope'

China's top diplomat has said that a "glimmer of hope" has emerged due to moves to stop the war.
China's foreign minister Wang Yi urged dialogue in separate calls with his Turkish and Egyptian counterparts, suggesting that both Tehran and Washington had shown signals they were willing to return to the negotiating table.
burs/yad/st

aviation

Cathay Pacific raises fuel surcharge on all flights by 34%

  • It previously doubled fuel surcharges for most of its routes as a result of the war in the Middle East, and this week extended flight suspensions to and from Dubai and Riyadh until May 31.
  • Hong Kong aviation giant Cathay Pacific announced Thursday it was raising fuel surcharges on all flights by 34 percent as a result of increasing oil costs due to the Middle East war. 
  • It previously doubled fuel surcharges for most of its routes as a result of the war in the Middle East, and this week extended flight suspensions to and from Dubai and Riyadh until May 31.
Hong Kong aviation giant Cathay Pacific announced Thursday it was raising fuel surcharges on all flights by 34 percent as a result of increasing oil costs due to the Middle East war. 
"The price of jet fuel comprises both the crude oil component and the refinery component, both of which have increased significantly in recent weeks," the company said in a statement.
It also shared a list outlining surcharge increases on short-haul flights of 34.1 percent, while medium- and long-haul would increase by 34 percent exactly.
The hike in fees will apply to tickets from April 1, the statement added.
Average jet fuel prices increased globally to US$197 per barrel last week, up from US$95.50 a month ago, according to data by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). 
"If the steep increase of fuel costs cannot be effectively mitigated, we would not be able to sustain the effective operations of our network," Cathay said.
It previously doubled fuel surcharges for most of its routes as a result of the war in the Middle East, and this week extended flight suspensions to and from Dubai and Riyadh until May 31.
It also said Wednesday it will operate extra flights to London, Paris and Zurich "to cater for an upsurge in market demand for Europe".
Many global airlines have implemented fuel surcharges in response to the increase in oil costs.
Cathay said it will review and revise its fuel surcharge every two weeks as a temporary measure because fuel prices remain volatile.
Analysts told AFP that while carriers all hedge a portion of their fuel costs, their margins could still be affected.
Cathay said Thursday its hedging covers only around 30 percent of the crude oil component, but does not apply to the refinery component.
The measure is insufficient "given the scale of the recent surge in jet fuel prices", it said.
The airline "is determined to manage this significant cost challenge as best we could, in order to maintain our network and frequencies during these unprecedented times".
twa/mjw

tech

EU probes Snapchat over suspected child protection failings

  • US messaging app Snapchat has around 97 million monthly active users in the 27-nation bloc and is a wildly popular platform with teenagers and young adults.
  • The European Union launched an investigation on Thursday into Snapchat over suspicions the platform is not doing enough to protect children using the app.
  • US messaging app Snapchat has around 97 million monthly active users in the 27-nation bloc and is a wildly popular platform with teenagers and young adults.
The European Union launched an investigation on Thursday into Snapchat over suspicions the platform is not doing enough to protect children using the app.
US messaging app Snapchat has around 97 million monthly active users in the 27-nation bloc and is a wildly popular platform with teenagers and young adults.
The European Commission said it was looking into whether Snapchat breached digital content rules by "exposing minors to grooming attempts" as well as to information about the sale of illegal products like drugs.
The probe is the first into Snapchat under the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA) law, which has come under attack from President Donald Trump's administration.
Snapchat said the safety and wellbeing of its users was a "top priority".
"As online risks evolve, we continuously review, strengthen, and invest in these safeguards," a spokesperson said.
"We have fully cooperated with the commission to date -- engaging proactively, transparently and working in good faith to meet the DSA's high safety standards -- and we will continue to do so," the spokesperson added.
The commission -- the EU's digital watchdog -- said its broad investigation would focus on five areas to find out whether Snapchat ensures a high level of safety, privacy and security for children online.
Snapchat is for users aged 13 and over but the EU suspects the app does not have sufficient measures in place to stop younger children from accessing it.
Another fear is that Snapchat is "not adequately protecting" children from being contacted by users seeking to sexually exploit or recruit them for criminal activities, for example, by allowing adults to pretend to be minors.
The EU also suspects Snapchat's default settings do not provide "sufficient" privacy for children and that the platform's tools are ineffective in stopping minors from seeing the sale of age-restricted items like vapes and alcohol.
Finally the investigation will focus on Snapchat's mechanisms for notifying illegal content, which the commission said seem to be neither easy to access nor user-friendly.
"Snapchat appears to have overlooked that the Digital Services Act demands high safety standards for all users. With this investigation, we will closely look into their compliance," EU tech tsar Henna Virkkunen said in a statement.
Snapchat is among over 20 very large online platforms that must adhere to the DSA's tougher rules or risk fines that could reach as high as six percent of their global turnover, or even a ban for serious and repeated violations.
There is no deadline for the completion of the investigation but Snapchat can offer commitments to address the EU's concerns.
raz/ub/gv

environment

Venezuela oil reserves both entice and repel energy giants

BY NINA ISENI

  • Under pressure from Washington, Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez pushed through a major reform of the country's hydrocarbon laws in January, opening up the sector to private and foreign investment. 
  • President Donald Trump's administration is pushing to open Venezuela's untapped natural resources to US investment but the oil-rich Latin American country's outdated infrastructure is making energy giants think twice about going all-in. 
  • Under pressure from Washington, Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez pushed through a major reform of the country's hydrocarbon laws in January, opening up the sector to private and foreign investment. 
President Donald Trump's administration is pushing to open Venezuela's untapped natural resources to US investment
but the oil-rich Latin American country's outdated infrastructure is
making energy giants think twice about going all-in. 
Since US forces captured Venezuela's former leader Nicolas Maduro in a stunning raid on January 3, Trump officials have worked closely with Caracas to bang the drum for foreign investment in oil, gas and mining. 
The chief executives of energy companies, however, remain divided on the matter.
Mike Wirth, the CEO of Chevron -- the only international company to operate in Venezuela in recent years -- said at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston this week: "We're seeing signs of progress."
"There's still things that I think need to happen to encourage investment on the scale that people would like to see," he added.
Shell chief Wael Sawan said he was "encouraged," but cautioned "we still have a long way to go" on oil projects.
He said the company was in talks for gas-related endeavors.
While ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods has previously dismissed Venezuela as "uninvestable," his fellow executive Dan Ammann said a team for the company is assessing options, though he noted it would require "probably hundreds of millions of dollars of investment." 
Chevron's Wirth went further, suggesting it would take "tens of billions of dollars" to get Venezuela's oil production up to the three million barrels of oil per day it produced during its peak two decades ago.

'Kick the tires'

Jorge Pinon, a researcher at the University of Texas at Austin's Energy Institute, said oil giants were sending small teams to Venezuela to "kick the tires." 
"They're trying to find out what the state of the pipeline is," he told AFP.
"How much money is it going to take to be sure that the existing infrastructure is ready for delivery?"
"Do we have the logistics? Do we have the pipeline? Do we have the wealth? Who owns them? Remember that the Chinese and the Russians still have joint ventures in Venezuela," he continued.
Despite having the largest known oil reserves in the world, years of underinvestment, lack of maintenance and US sanctions have strangled oil production in the South American country. 
Under pressure from Washington, Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez pushed through a major reform of the country's hydrocarbon laws in January, opening up the sector to private and foreign investment. 
US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told industry leaders at CERAWeek on Wednesday: "They (Venezuela) want to be competitive to attract investment from all of you."

Millions of barrels?

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado told AFP on Tuesday: "The opening of the oil sector, as we're proposing it, has never been seen in the country." 
"That is, going 100 percent private, where the state assumes a regulatory role and incentivizes, promotes and protects foreign investment," she said. 
Machado said in a speech at CERAWEEK on Wednesday that Venezuela's oil production capacity could reach as high as five million barrels per day.
"And reaching that potential certainly requires a lot of resources, which we estimate above $150 billion in the next 10 years," she added. 
"This is the kind of long-cycle, large-scale commitment that the companies in this room are built to make when the right conditions are in place." 
Machado said she was willing to participate in Venezuela's next election cycle. 
But researcher Pinon warned that Venezuela's hydrocarbons law could be amended by a future government.
Lawmakers could argue that "the last assembly that was there and put these new rules into place was not a legitimate assembly. They were not really elected by the people of Venezuela," he said.
mav/nn/jgc/lkd/cms

US

Israel strikes Iran as Trump says Tehran wants deal to end war

BY AFP TEAMS IN TEHRAN, WASHINGTON, JERUSALEM, BEIRUT, DUBAI AND ISLAMABAD

  • Trump, whose daily statements have swung wildly from threatening to conciliatory, said talks to end the war were ongoing with Iran, but that officials in Tehran were covering them up out of fear.
  • Israel launched strikes across Iran on Thursday, hours after US President Donald Trump said Tehran wanted a deal to end the nearly four-week war despite its top diplomat rejecting any talks with Washington.
  • Trump, whose daily statements have swung wildly from threatening to conciliatory, said talks to end the war were ongoing with Iran, but that officials in Tehran were covering them up out of fear.
Israel launched strikes across Iran on Thursday, hours after US President Donald Trump said Tehran wanted a deal to end the nearly four-week war despite its top diplomat rejecting any talks with Washington.
The conflict has mushroomed to draw in nations around the Middle East, sending energy markets into a tailspin and threatening to torpedo the global economy.
Iran, under near-daily bombardment since a joint US-Israeli attack started the war on February 28, was hit early Thursday by what the Israeli army said was "a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting infrastructure", including in the central city of Isfahan.
In turn, an Iranian missile attack activated sirens across central Israel including Tel Aviv and parts of Jerusalem on Thursday morning, according to the Israeli military, the first launches it identified from Iran in more than 14 hours.
Trump, whose daily statements have swung wildly from threatening to conciliatory, said talks to end the war were ongoing with Iran, but that officials in Tehran were covering them up out of fear.
"They are negotiating, by the way, and they want to make a deal so badly," Trump told a dinner for Republican members of Congress.
"But they're afraid to say it, because they figure they'll be killed by their own people," he said. "They're also afraid they'll be killed by us."
The Islamic republic's top diplomat slapped down Trump's comments, saying the country did not intend to negotiate.
"We seek an end to the war on our own terms, of course, and in a way that it will not be repeated here again," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told state TV.
Pakistan has passed on a 15-point US plan to stop the fighting to Tehran, two officials in Islamabad said. 
But Iran's state-controlled Press TV cited an unidentified official saying Tehran had "responded negatively" to the proposal.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump "does not bluff and he is prepared to unleash hell" on Iran if no deal is struck.
China's top diplomat Wang Yi meanwhile said Thursday that signs both sides could be open to talks offered a "glimmer of hope" for peace.

Iranian conditions

According to The New York Times, the 15-point US plan touches on Iran's contested nuclear and missile programs as well as "maritime routes".
Tehran has largely blocked the vital Strait of Hormuz oil route in retaliation for the US-Israeli attacks, pushing up global energy prices.
The Iranian official quoted by Press TV said Tehran had put forward its own five conditions for hostilities to end.
These include guarantees that the United States and Israel do not resume the war and compensation for war damages.
Iranians marched in support of the country's military in the capital Tehran on Wednesday, waving the country's flag and holding pictures of new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
The head of the US Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, said on Wednesday that Washington has hit two-thirds of Iran's production facilities for missiles and drones, and a similar proportion of its naval production.
Iran has still kept up retaliatory attacks on Israel and Gulf nations that it accuses of serving as launchpads for US strikes.
Saudi Arabia said it intercepted at least 18 drones, while the United Arab Emirates responded to a new missile and drone attack and Bahrain reported a fire at a facility caused by "Iranian aggression", without providing further details.
Kuwait also reported a new missile and drone attack on Thursday, a day after a drone hit a fuel tank and sparked a fire at Kuwait International Airport.

No Lebanon 'surrender'

The war has also drawn in Lebanon after pro-Iran Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on March 2 to avenge Khamenei's killing.
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said negotiations with Israel would amount to "surrender", before the group launched missiles early Thursday at military sites in central Israel, where air raid sirens sounded.
The militant group said its fighters launched more than 80 attacks against Israel on Wednesday, the largest daily number in the current war, and attacked Israeli forces in nine border towns.
As the fighting showed little sign of respite, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military had "created a genuine security zone" in southern Lebanon and was expanding it.
"We are simply creating a larger buffer zone" that could prevent a ground invasion of Israel and missile attacks, he said in a video shared by his office.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on both sides to stop fighting.

Markets mixed

With thousands more US troops reportedly headed to the Middle East, Iran also threatened to open a new front by targeting Red Sea shipping should the United States launch a ground invasion.
In the event of a US ground invasion, Iran would block the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, an unnamed military official told local media.
The divergent messages on talks and de-escalation saw oil prices rise Thursday and equities mixed as developments were tracked by investors recently buoyed by Trump appearing to step back from the goal of regime change earlier in the week.
But while crude prices are down from last week, uncertainty and the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz -- through which 20 percent of oil and gas passes -- continued to cast a shadow.
Araghchi assured the strait was "closed only to enemies" of Iran.
"There is no reason to allow the ships of our enemies and their allies to pass," he said.
Pakistan's defence minister, whose government has offered to host talks between Iranian and American envoys to stop the war, appeared to take a jab at the US operation that has closed the key waterway.
"The goal of the war seems to have shifted to opening the Strait of Hormuz, which was open before the war," Khawaja Asif posted on X, alongside hand-clapping emojis.
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