Israel

Mideast war revs up electric car demand in Asia

BY JULIEN GIRAULT IN TOKYO AND AFP TEAMS IN BANGKOK, MANILA AND JAKARTA

  • Crude oil prices have soared by around 50 percent since the start of the Middle East war and again exceeded $100 per barrel on Monday, driving up the cost at the pump.
  • Electric vehicle sales have jumped in Southeast Asia as cost-conscious buyers have poured into dealerships looking to dodge the fuel price spikes driven by the Middle East war.
  • Crude oil prices have soared by around 50 percent since the start of the Middle East war and again exceeded $100 per barrel on Monday, driving up the cost at the pump.
Electric vehicle sales have jumped in Southeast Asia as cost-conscious buyers have poured into dealerships looking to dodge the fuel price spikes driven by the Middle East war.
Asian nations have been particularly hard hit due to a sharp fall in the crude shipments they rely on -- and have few alternatives to replace them.
Yet the energy crisis has been a windfall for Vietnam's leading electric vehicle maker Vinfast as well as Chinese manufacturers. 
Vietnamese office worker Do Thi Lan explained the simple math of the cars' appeal at a Vinfast showroom in Hanoi.
"We have to calculate our monthly expenses, as the money we spend on petroleum has been on the rise," she said. 
She said her family owns a car that runs on petrol but was considering buying an electric vehicle to save money.  
Dao Thi Hue, also at the showroom, was looking to go electric too.
"Driving an EV is so much better than driving a petroleum vehicle, in terms of costs and also in terms of saving fuel, queuing to fill up," the school teacher said.
Crude oil prices have soared by around 50 percent since the start of the Middle East war and again exceeded $100 per barrel on Monday, driving up the cost at the pump.
Vinfast, listed on the Nasdaq, saw a 127 percent surge in annual sales in Vietnam in March, reaching 27,600 cars.
About 40 percent of cars sold in Vietnam in 2025 were electric, but the trend has been accelerating.
"At this point in time, clients consider fuel costs a lot when making a decision on which cars to buy," said Pham Minh Hai, deputy head of sales at a Vinfast showroom.
"In March we sold 300-400 cars," he said, noting that the showroom normally sells between 200 and 250 cars a month. 
Hai said more than 50 percent of his clients changed from petroleum to electric cars last month, while the number of customers at the showroom was up by around 30 percent.
He added that opening hours had been extended to deal with the rush.
Outside Vietnam, Chinese manufacturers specialising in electric vehicles, particularly Tesla's main rival BYD, are booming.

'Punished by gas prices'

At the Bangkok Auto Show earlier this month, BYD secured the most orders of any manufacturer, surpassing Japan's Toyota for the first time.
"I drive a lot, nearly 100 kilometres (60 miles) a day... with the current fuel situation and no idea how long it will last, it's become a major factor pushing me to make the switch," said Pleng Nawintham, a 36-year-old pharmacist from Thailand.
BYD was also seeing increased sales in the Philippines.
Mae Anne Clarisse Bacquiano, manager of a BYD showroom in the suburbs of Manila, said foot traffic at the dealership was "at another level". 
"It was all because of the rise in fuel prices," she said. "Earlier today, I had a customer, a doctor who was ranting to me about how he is being punished by gas prices... He was in a hurry to go full electric. There'd be a huge difference in expenses."
She added that all of her stock for the month had already been reserved by buyers. 
"I don't expect the gas (prices) to go back down over the next couple of months," said Arlone Abello, an entrepreneur who was browsing BYD models at the showroom.
As BYD sales decline in China due to fierce local competition, the manufacturer hopes to gain international momentum.
The company told analysts that it now expects to exceed 1.5 million exported vehicles in 2026, well above the 1.3 million target announced in January.

Structural change

Exports of Chinese electric vehicles -- for which Southeast Asia is a major market -- doubled in March, compared to the same month last year across all manufacturers, according to the industry association CPCA.
Economic factors are at the forefront of the increased demand for greener vehicles. 
"You have the individual consumer response to what they are seeing in terms of the price of petrol or diesel suddenly surge," said Euan Graham, an electricity and data analyst at energy think tank Ember.
The installation of charging stations in the region is also growing rapidly. 
Jakarta promised last week to take "more serious steps to accelerate the development of a national electric vehicle ecosystem" to combat its "high level of energy consumption".
Electric vehicles are gaining momentum beyond Southeast Asia.
"There are signs that global demand has already picked up substantially," Capital Economics said, adding that registrations of electric vehicles in Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand more than doubled in March, and rose by over 50 percent in India, Australia.
burs-tmh-jug/lkd/jm

US

'Blindsided': US farmers strained as fertilizer costs surge on war

BY BEIYI SEOW

  • - 'Gut shot' - Russell Hedrick, who farms up to 1,000 acres including corn and soybeans around Hickory, North Carolina, said around 75 percent of his fertilizer purchases were made after prices rocketed.
  • On Andy Corriher's farm in North Carolina, planting and preparations are underway for his corn and soybean crops -- but fertilizer costs have surged on war in the Middle East, and orders he placed weeks ago have yet to arrive.
  • - 'Gut shot' - Russell Hedrick, who farms up to 1,000 acres including corn and soybeans around Hickory, North Carolina, said around 75 percent of his fertilizer purchases were made after prices rocketed.
On Andy Corriher's farm in North Carolina, planting and preparations are underway for his corn and soybean crops -- but fertilizer costs have surged on war in the Middle East, and orders he placed weeks ago have yet to arrive.
The 47-year-old is among US farmers facing a double whammy of soaring fertilizer and diesel prices after US-Israeli strikes on Iran triggered Tehran's blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for such shipments.
"This time of year is when the majority of fertilizer is put out in this country," Corriher told AFP.
"We got hit at the worst possible time, because we're trying to buy fertilizer when it skyrockets and when the supply also gets cut."
The cost hikes strike at a major support base for President Donald Trump, who won 78 percent of the 2024 vote in farming-dependent counties, said news service Investigate Midwest.
Trump blamed "price gouging from the fertilizer monopoly" on Saturday, vowing: "American Farmers, we have your back!"
But spring planting is already ongoing, with Corriher loading bags of dry fertilizer onto a tractor, hauling them to his fields.
"I've ordered several loads of liquid nitrogen a few weeks ago, and they're still saying they're not sure when it'll be delivered," Corriher said.
Since the war, Corriher estimates that the nitrogen fertilizer he uses rose by at least 40 percent in price.
The cost of urea -- a common nitrogen-based fertilizer -- had jumped by around 50 percent at the port of New Orleans.
Corriher has reduced usage by a third, a decision he worries might hurt his yields.

'Gut shot'

Russell Hedrick, who farms up to 1,000 acres including corn and soybeans around Hickory, North Carolina, said around 75 percent of his fertilizer purchases were made after prices rocketed.
Like himself, many US farmers lack storage to stock up far ahead of planting, the 40-year-old told AFP, after blending fertilizers and nutrients to be sprayed on his fields.
He has cut fertilizer use to the "bare minimum," with an option to add more later.
Even before the war, rising costs meant "farmers have essentially become like Breaking Bad chemists with fertilizer, to get the most out of it," he said.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said 80 percent of American farmers had bought fertilizer for the spring planting season before the conflict. But that's cold comfort to those who lacked funds and capacity to do so.
Those remarks were "a gut shot," said Marshville-based farmer Derrick Austin.
Austin, 55, called his supplier upon learning of the strait's blockage, knowing that costs would jump.
"Thankfully, he let me buy three loads of nitrogen at the old price per ton so I could at least fertilize my wheat crop," he said. "It was devastating."
Fertilizer supply has diminished before, like in 2021 when China restricted phosphate exports to prioritize domestic needs.
Usually, farmers can see that coming, Hedrick said.
"This year, we just kind of got blindsided."

'Collateral damage'

Corriher said he has been a supporter of Trump, but added of the war: "It didn't seem like we had really thought out all the consequences to the American people."
"I feel like these things were kind of overlooked as part of collateral damage," he said.
The surge in gas and diesel prices have hit farmers and other American households: "Everybody seems to be suffering."
Asked if the war has changed perceptions of Trump, Austin said: "I'm starting to question some of his reasoning."
But to him, the Trump administration "still beats some of the alternatives."
Hedrick said he has voted for Trump thrice: "He's human like the rest of us. I think he makes good calls, I think he makes mistakes."
He said if the conflict's resolution brings "long-term peace" and a reopened Strait of Hormuz, "that's all I can hope for."
The US agriculture economy has "been in a recession for the last couple of years," said Iowa State University professor Chad Hart.
Net farm income has declined while business costs remain high.
Although margins are squeezed this year, the hit may be less than anticipated as many farmers managed to apply fertilizer last fall or earlier this spring.
But the 2027 crop would be "a big concern" if fighting persists, Hart said.
bys/sla/dw 

climate

Greece's ancient sites get climate-change checkup

BY JOHN HADOULIS

  • Exposure to fire, floods, heatwaves and rising sea levels were studied by a team of climatologists, geologists, engineers, conservators, architects and building material experts.
  • Worsening wildfires, soaring heatwaves and rising water levels have prompted Greek officials to take a closer look at protecting priceless archaeological sites that draw hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.
  • Exposure to fire, floods, heatwaves and rising sea levels were studied by a team of climatologists, geologists, engineers, conservators, architects and building material experts.
Worsening wildfires, soaring heatwaves and rising water levels have prompted Greek officials to take a closer look at protecting priceless archaeological sites that draw hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.
The monuments, scattered across the country, earn Greece millions of dollars in tourism revenue.
But many of the sites are in rural areas and officials believe better planning is needed in case large crowds of tourists need to be evacuated in an emergency.
After a three-year study by some of the country's leading scientific institutions, the Greek culture ministry has earmarked 19 monuments that most urgently need protection against natural threats, with several more to be bolstered by 2030.
The ministry says it is the first time a nationwide evaluation of this scope has been attempted.
The sites under scrutiny include Olympia, habitually threatened by forest fires, the ancient theatre of Delphi, where rockslides are a concern, and the sanctuary of Dion which is prone to flooding.
Olympia Mayor Aristides Panagiotopoulos told AFP that protecting the birthplace of the Olympics, which houses the ancient stadium, a sprawling sanctuary and two museums, requires "constant vigilance".
"Our concern remains acute, as the area of Ancient Olympia is extensive, with a large expanse of greenery and dense, often unregulated, spontaneous vegetation," Panagiotopoulos said in an email.
"Despite the significant interventions that have been carried out, it is clear that they are not sufficient on their own to cover all needs."
In 2007, wildfires in Olympia decimated the natural environment around the archaeological site and left over 40 dead in the broader region of Elis.
Panagiotis Lattas, the head forester for the region of Elis, told AFP that more recently, major fires have broken out in the area in 2021, 2022 and 2024.
Lattas noted that significant rainfall this year generated additional vegetation that must be cleared in both urban and agricultural areas before wildfire season.
"This year, after a very large amount of rainfall—about 40 percent above the annual average—and with the hot and dry conditions expected during the dry season, vegetation will be particularly abundant," he said.

Long-term plan

Greece has already reduced visiting hours at its most popular archaeological site, the Acropolis in Athens, to shield visitors from heatwaves during the warmest hours of the day.
But the increasing frequency of extreme events calls for something more extensive.
From 2022 to 2025, scientists at the National University of Athens and the National Research Foundation examined past and present climate and geological conditions at the 19 sites, looking at prior damage to help determine future vulnerability to extreme events.
Exposure to fire, floods, heatwaves and rising sea levels were studied by a team of climatologists, geologists, engineers, conservators, architects and building material experts.
In addition to Olympia, Delphi and Dion, they scrutinised Brauron near Athens, Philippi in the north, Mycenae, Messene, Mystras and the temple of Apollo Epicurius in the Peloponnese, Minoan palaces including Knossos in Crete, the ancient city of Rhodes, and Delos and the Heraion in Samos, which face coastal erosion.
The National Observatory of Athens and the capital's Demokritos research centre also contributed research on weather, wildfires and building resilience to the project, which was budgeted at over 20 million euros ($23 million) in EU and national funding.
The plan is to cover a network of 40 sites by 2030, Culture Minister Lina Mendoni told a conference in Athens last month.

'Exposed' landscape

"Our homeland has a uniquely high density and wide geographical distribution of outdoor monuments, inextricably tied to the landscape, which are exposed to fluctuations in temperature, increased humidity, heavy rainfall, and wind," Mendoni told the conference.
"Climate change does not necessarily create entirely new risks from scratch. It usually intensifies existing ones, increasing the frequency and severity of such phenomena."
According to the culture ministry, new fire sensors at 21 sites are to be delivered this year, and fire protection plans drawn up for over 60 archaeological sites, the ministry said.
According to official statistics, Ancient Olympia in 2024 drew over 300,000 visitors. Knossos had over a million, and Delphi over 290,000. 
The mayor of Delphi, Panagiotis Tagalis, told AFP that rockfalls on the Amfissa-Livadeia road in November 2024 caused "serious problems for access to the archaeological site and museum of Delphi, as well as for the residents, employees, businesses, and visitors of the wider area".
The culture ministry installed wire mesh to the side of cliffs overlooking the archaeological site, and the municipality said it had cleared a nearby rural road as a backup emergency route for small vehicles.
"Twenty years ago it was absolutely forbidden to create firebreaks...in protected areas," Mendoni said.
"Fortunately, the mentality has changed."
jph/jxb/ceg

US

China's energy strategy pays off as Mideast war cramps supplies: analysts

BY PETER CATTERALL

  • Li Shuo, director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society, told AFP that the current energy crisis "vindicates China's long-standing 'all-of-the-above' strategy".
  • China's long-term strategy of diversifying energy sources and building stockpiles is helping it weather disruptions from the Iran war, although some sectors still face major snags, analysts say.
  • Li Shuo, director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society, told AFP that the current energy crisis "vindicates China's long-standing 'all-of-the-above' strategy".
China's long-term strategy of diversifying energy sources and building stockpiles is helping it weather disruptions from the Iran war, although some sectors still face major snags, analysts say.
China is a net importer of oil and more than half of its seaborne crude came from the Middle East last year, according to analytics firm Kpler.
The conflict triggered by Israel and the United States against Iran has halted almost all shipments from the Gulf area for six weeks now, with a shaky ceasefire deal struck this week extremely unlikely to lead to an immediate recovery. 
However, Beijing's long-running prioritisation of energy security has left it well-prepared for such shocks, analysts told AFP.
A "general concern about the geopolitical situation" in recent years has spurred Chinese leaders to ensure sufficient storage construction and stockpiling of strategic reserves, said Muyu Xu, senior oil analyst at Kpler.
Those efforts mean China now sits in a far better position than several of its Asian neighbours, such as Japan and the Philippines, she said.
But so far Beijing has not been "in a rush" to initiate releases from its substantial strategic reserves, said Xu.

'Vindicated'

This is partly because China's decades-long mission to diminish its traditional reliance on coal and fossil fuels is beginning to flourish.
The large-scale efforts to transition to renewable energy mean "China is relatively well placed" to deal with the current situation, said Lauri Myllyvirta, co-founder of the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
Wind, solar and nuclear capacity has been added to China's populous coastal provinces, while improved grid infrastructure carries electricity to them from inland. 
"There would be much more oil and gas imports needed to power those provinces" otherwise, said Myllyvirta.
While dependencies still exist -- including in the vast manufacturing sector -- renewable energy is "helping a lot on the margin", he said.
Li Shuo, director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society, told AFP that the current energy crisis "vindicates China's long-standing 'all-of-the-above' strategy".
President Xi Jinping is seeking to leverage the renewables build-out even further as geopolitical turmoil mounts.
State broadcaster CCTV aired a segment on Monday in which Xi was quoted as calling for accelerated construction of a "new energy system" to safeguard energy security, although it did not mention the Middle East war.

'Teapot' trouble brewing

For Beijing, the "more serious risk" is not immediate energy shocks but a potential global economic downturn caused by the conflict, the Asia Society's Li said.
Some sectors will inevitably feel the pinch, presenting new hurdles for leaders struggling to jumpstart sluggish activity.
Among them are "teapot" oil refineries -- small, private outfits that have historically benefited from access to sanctioned Iranian and Venezuelan crude acquired at a discount.
The loss of Iranian crude could be a death knell for many of these operations, which are mainly concentrated in the eastern province of Shandong and are already reeling from Washington's military intervention in Venezuela this year.
Beijing likely has "mixed feelings" about that, Kpler's Xu told AFP.
On the one hand, teapots account for around one-fifth of China's refining capacity, also providing substantial employment, she said.
However, their lax environmental standards, less predictable tax generation and competition with state-owned giants means that their shutting down is "not entirely bad news for China", said Xu.
Chipmaking, which Xi has declared a strategic priority, is another sector likely to encounter challenges as the Strait of Hormuz remains shut.
Qatar is one of the world's few large-scale producers of helium -- vital for semiconductor manufacturing -- and supplies have ground to a halt since the war began.
The chemicals industry could also face "significant pressure" from the disruption, Michal Meidan from the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies wrote in a recent report.
On a national level though, she said, "the impacts can be smoothed out".
"While the economy will not be immune to higher prices and reduced economic activity, stakeholders are already taking pre-emptive measures in case the disruption is protracted," she wrote. 
pfc/reb/ane/pbt

children

Escaped wolf forces school closure in South Korea

  • It remained at large Thursday, authorities said, with a nearby school closing for safety.
  • A wolf that escaped from a zoo in South Korea remained at large Thursday, authorities said, prompting a local school to close over safety concerns as the search continued.
  • It remained at large Thursday, authorities said, with a nearby school closing for safety.
A wolf that escaped from a zoo in South Korea remained at large Thursday, authorities said, prompting a local school to close over safety concerns as the search continued.
The male wolf -- born in 2024 and weighing about 30 kilogrammes — escaped from a zoo at a theme park in Daejeon, about 150 kilometres (93 miles) south of Seoul, on Wednesday, triggering a wide search in surrounding areas.
It remained at large Thursday, authorities said, with a nearby school closing for safety.
"Daejeon Sanseong Elementary School is closed today following the escape of a wolf from a zoo yesterday," a spokesperson for the Daejeon Metropolitan Office of Education told AFP.
More than 300 people -- including firefighters, police officers and military troops -- are taking part in the search operation, an official from the Daejeon Fire Headquarters said. 
"We deployed drone cameras early in the morning but had to pull them back due to the ongoing rain," he told AFP.
The wolf dug into the ground and damaged the zoo's installed fence before escaping, according to the fire official. 
Images released by local media showed it wandering in the middle of a road.
In 2023, a male zebra became a global sensation after escaping from a zoo in Seoul and was seen roaming through the streets. 
The zebra — named Sero — was eventually cornered in a narrow alley, safely tranquilised and returned to his enclosure without any injuries.
kjk/cdl/lga

US

War's impact on fertilisers stirs food producer fears

BY CATHERINE HOURS

  • - Price breaks - Even if production and shipping resumes in the Gulf, prices for nitrogen fertilisers will fall slowly and unevenly, warned Torero.
  • Even as Gulf tanker traffic slowly resumes, the road back to normal food production will be long and arduous, given the war's impact on fertiliser supplies, the UN has warned.
  • - Price breaks - Even if production and shipping resumes in the Gulf, prices for nitrogen fertilisers will fall slowly and unevenly, warned Torero.
Even as Gulf tanker traffic slowly resumes, the road back to normal food production will be long and arduous, given the war's impact on fertiliser supplies, the UN has warned.
With factories shuttered and soaring gas prices driving up production costs around the world, fertiliser prices have risen across the board and are unlikely to fall back easily.
"If the Strait of Hormuz reopened immediately, i.e. not only a ceasefire but vessels moving, the impact would be significantly positive -- but incomplete and uneven," the Food and Agriculture Organization's chief economist Maximo Torero told AFP.
"The FAO is clear that damage has already been done." 
According to Argus Media, the price of urea from the Middle East has, for example, risen by 70 percent in a matter of weeks.
Gulf countries are major exporters of nitrogen fertilisers like urea -- which provides plants with nitrogen to aid green leafy growth -- as well as ammonia and phosphate.
Italy notably called last week for a "humanitarian corridor" in the Strait of Hormuz for fertiliser as Torero warned that if high prices continue, farmers would face a stark choice: "Farm the same with fewer inputs, plant less, or switch to less intensive fertiliser crops," which would reduce food supply well into 2027.

Lasting blow to supplies

Torero warned the bottleneck in marine traffic since the conflict began on February 28 meant even if Hormuz were to reopen immediately "infrastructure damage is not fully reversible in the short term."
According to Kpler data, around 1.9 million tonnes of fertiliser are trapped on 41 vessels, equal to 12 percent of all produce shipped out of the strait in 2024.
On March 2, the ammonia plant at the Ras Laffan refinery in Qatar was attacked. Plants have also suspended or reduced production in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Jordan and Qatar, whose Qafco complex accounted for 14 percent of global trade in urea. 
Overall, about one third of urea trade has been choked off, says the FAO.
In India and Bangladesh, nitrogen fertiliser plants have slowed down, unable to cope with the soaring cost of the gas required to operate.

Price breaks

Even if production and shipping resumes in the Gulf, prices for nitrogen fertilisers will fall slowly and unevenly, warned Torero.
"Unlike oil, the fertiliser sector does not have internationally coordinated strategic reserves, making supply disruptions more difficult to manage.
"Repair timelines are measured in months, not days."
Purchasers have also been hit by the fact that many pre-war contracts governing prices have been suspended as producers cite "force majeure," forcing reliance on higher spot market prices.
The FAO forecasts global fertiliser prices could average 15–20 percent higher in the first half 2026.
"A meaningful decline would likely take four to eight weeks after reopening, as production ramps up and shipping reschedules," says Torero. "Prices are unlikely to return to February 2026 levels before the third quarter of 2026, if at all this year."

Too late for some

He added many crop planting decisions have already been missed with the Northern Hemisphere already in planting seasons, meaning those yields will not be recovered.
"It's too late" in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Kenya, Somalia, Turkey, and Jordan, all heavily reliant on Gulf fertilizers. But perhaps not for second harvests in Asia if fertilizers arrive within 4 to 6 weeks."
He explained that "the time between a fertiliser shock and a harvest failure is measured in months. The time between a harvest failure and a food price surge is measured in months more. We are already inside that window."

"Ripple effect"

Prices spiked following previous disruptions during the financial crisis of 2008 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
"I think what makes this one potentially more critical is the number of production hubs that are involved and countries that are involved," says Sarah Marlow, global editor for fertiliser at Argus Media.
"And then the ripple effect has spread out from the Gulf to other countries, which have also been affected by a lack of raw materials, a lack of gas."
cho/sb/cw/gv

pollution

Antwerp port reopens to North Sea shipping after oil spill

BY MAUDE BRULARD

  • By early Friday afternoon the port said its main maritime access route via the Scheldt estuary had "been reopened to shipping" but that Deurdanck Dock "remains closed until further notice".
  • Belgium's Antwerp port said Friday that it had reopened to North Sea shipping after an oil spill brought traffic to a near-halt in Europe's second-largest port.
  • By early Friday afternoon the port said its main maritime access route via the Scheldt estuary had "been reopened to shipping" but that Deurdanck Dock "remains closed until further notice".
Belgium's Antwerp port said Friday that it had reopened to North Sea shipping after an oil spill brought traffic to a near-halt in Europe's second-largest port.
The overnight spill occurred during a "bunkering operation" -- the process of filling a ship with fuel -- in the Deurganck Dock, used by some of the largest vessels in the world to load and unload goods in Antwerp.
The accident badly disrupted shipping as authorities raced to contain the risks of pollution and economic damage.
By early Friday afternoon the port said its main maritime access route via the Scheldt estuary had "been reopened to shipping" but that Deurdanck Dock "remains closed until further notice".
"Specialised vessels are actively engaged in cleaning up the oil," said a port statement, while working to "fully clear" the dock as well as several container terminals and locks affected by the spill.
"We are making every effort to safely and swiftly resume operations at these key locations and to minimise and resolve disruptions," Antwerp port said.
Belgian media reported that several dozen container and cargo ships had been affected by the traffic shutdown.
The port said that the source of the spill had been stopped, but that pollution had spread towards the Scheldt river with civil protection and maritime and coastal services closely monitoring the "potential impact on riverbanks and surrounding nature areas".
"The focus is on preventing further spread and on targeted clean-up of vulnerable zones," its latest statement said.
There was no official word on the scale of the spill, but local media VRT said the oil slick had spread over at least three kilometres -- almost two miles.
Local media reported that the spill occurred during the refuelling of the container ship MSC Denmark VI.
The ship's operator, MSC, confirmed the vessel was involved in the incident but declined to provide additional information. 
"Our priority is safety," a spokeswoman for the company's Belgian office told AFP, adding that they were focused on safeguarding "the crew, the terminal, the nature". 

Key gateway

The tidal Scheldt river estuary is the main maritime access route to Antwerp port, along with several narrower canals primarily used for inland navigation. 
The port said it was "doing everything possible to minimise both operational and ecological damage".
The Pieter Coecke, a Belgian-flagged pollution control vessel, was operating in the area of the spill Friday, according to the Marine Traffic website.
Flemish environmental group Climaxi said ship refuelling operations were the main cause of oil spills in the region, often contaminating the local bird and amphibian populations.
The latest incident appeared to have impacted several natural reserves, including the Doelpolder wetlands, that are key bird breeding grounds, it said.
Larger than 22,000 football fields, Antwerp port is a key gateway for goods coming into Europe from the United States, China and elsewhere.
Europe's largest after Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the port handles transit each year of around 267 million tonnes of goods and is used by around 20,000 seagoing vessels and 50,000 inland vessels, according to its website.
mad-ec/fpo/gv

animal

Emperor penguins listed as endangered species: IUCN

BY JULIEN MIVIELLE

  • Emperor penguins now rank two steps below "extinction in the wild" -- a species surviving in captivity only, and not in nature.
  • The emperor penguin has been declared an endangered species as climate change pushes the icon of Antarctica a step closer to extinction, the global authority on threatened wildlife announced on Thursday.
  • Emperor penguins now rank two steps below "extinction in the wild" -- a species surviving in captivity only, and not in nature.
The emperor penguin has been declared an endangered species as climate change pushes the icon of Antarctica a step closer to extinction, the global authority on threatened wildlife announced on Thursday.
Its change of status from "near threatened" to "endangered", made by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), underscores the existential threat for ice-dependent species as global warming profoundly reshapes the frozen continent.
Emperor penguins rely on stable sea ice -- essentially platforms of frozen ocean water -- to live, hunt and breed.
Their numbers have plummeted as warming driven by greenhouse gas emissions has caused sea ice to break up earlier in the year. 
The IUCN -- a global network of scientists, governments and conservation groups -- said changes in sea ice were expected to halve the emperor penguin population by the 2080s.
They "concluded that human-induced climate change poses the most significant threat to emperor penguins", Philip Trathan, part of the IUCN expert group who worked on the Red List assessment, said in a statement.
The Red List of Threatened Species is maintained by the IUCN and is the global reference on the extinction status of plants, animals and fungi.
There are six classifications from "least concern" to "extinct". 
Emperor penguins now rank two steps below "extinction in the wild" -- a species surviving in captivity only, and not in nature.
The Antarctic fur seal -- once hunted to near extinction for their pelts -- was also moved to "endangered", their numbers having dropped more than 50 percent since 1999.
"The ongoing decline is due to climate change, as rising ocean temperatures and shrinking sea ice are pushing krill to greater ocean depths in search of colder water, reducing the availability of food for seals," the IUCN said.
- 'Icons on ice' - 
The largest and heaviest of the penguin species, boasting a brilliant golden-orange streak on the neck, emperor penguins have become symbolic of the fight to survive in Antarctica's harsh climes.
They breed on the sea ice in the dead of winter, the males keeping their eggs warm beneath their feet. 
The frozen surface also provides a habitat for their chicks during moulting season before they are waterproof.
Antarctic sea ice undergoes huge seasonal changes, expanding during winter and shrinking in summer.
But as global temperatures have reached new highs, sea ice has retreated earlier in the spring and become less stable. 
Sea ice has been at record low levels since 2016 and the impact on emperor penguins has been well documented.
Satellite imagery indicates around 20,000 adults -- some 10 percent of the population -- disappeared between 2009 and 2018 alone, the IUCN said.
"This species is closely associated with sea ice and ice packs," Christophe Barbraud, a scientist at French research institute CNRS, told AFP.
"However, since 2016-2017, there has been a significant decrease in the extent of sea ice around Antarctica, and therefore without sea ice, it will have great difficulty surviving." 
"The fate of these magnificent birds is in our hands," Rod Downie from conservation group WWF said in a statement.
"With the shocking decline in Antarctic sea ice that we are currently witnessing, these icons on ice may well be heading down the slippery slope towards extinction by the end of this century -- unless we act now."  
The IUCN also moved the southern elephant seal from "least concern" to "vulnerable" following sharp population declines caused by a deadly contagious pathogen.
jmi-np/gil

Climate and Environment

Shallow Indonesian quake damages houses, injures residents

  • Two villages on the small island of Adonara felt the biggest impact, with more than 100 houses damaged and at least 20 people injured, according to local official Ismail Daton Ban. 
  • A shallow 4.9-magitude earthquake struck eastern Indonesia overnight, damaging dozens of homes and injuring multiple people, an official said Thursday. 
  • Two villages on the small island of Adonara felt the biggest impact, with more than 100 houses damaged and at least 20 people injured, according to local official Ismail Daton Ban. 
A shallow 4.9-magitude earthquake struck eastern Indonesia overnight, damaging dozens of homes and injuring multiple people, an official said Thursday. 
The jolt struck at a depth of 10.4 kilometres (6.46 miles), some 104 kilometres east of Maumere, East Nusa Tenggara, shortly before midnight on Wednesday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said. 
Two villages on the small island of Adonara felt the biggest impact, with more than 100 houses damaged and at least 20 people injured, according to local official Ismail Daton Ban. 
Indonesia and neighbouring countries experience frequent earthquakes due to their location in the Pacific "Ring of Fire" -- an arc of intense seismic activity stretching from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.
A 9.1-magnitude quake struck the westernmost Aceh province in 2004, causing a tsunami and killing more than 170,000 people in Indonesia.
Shallow quakes tend to be more damaging, with seismic waves travelling a shorter distance through the ground and reaching the surface with more energy.
str/dsa/mlr/lga

law

Argentine MPs approve bill to allow mining in glaciers

BY PHILIPPE BERNES-LASSERRE

  • "Environmentalists would rather see us starve than have anything touched," Milei has argued. 
  • Argentine MPs approved a bill early Thursday promoted by President Javier Milei that authorizes mining in ecologically sensitive areas of glaciers and permafrost, and has outraged environmentalists.
  • "Environmentalists would rather see us starve than have anything touched," Milei has argued. 
Argentine MPs approved a bill early Thursday promoted by President Javier Milei that authorizes mining in ecologically sensitive areas of glaciers and permafrost, and has outraged environmentalists.
The amendment to the so-called Glacier Law, which was already approved by the Senate in February, would make it easier to mine for metals such as copper, lithium and silver in frozen parts of the Andes mountains.
The Chamber of Deputies, Argentina's lower house of Comgress, approved the amendment with 137 votes in favor, 111 against and three abstenations after nearly 12 hours of debate.
Environmentalists say the reforms will weaken protections for crucial water sources. 
Thousands of people took part in a demonstration on Wednesday afternoon outside parliament, marked by isolated skirmishes with police.
Some held aloft banners with slogans such as "Water is more precious than gold!" and "A glacier destroyed cannot be restored!"
Seven Greenpeace activists were arrested earlier in the day after scaling a statue outside parliament and unfurling a banner urging lawmakers "not to betray the Argentine people." 
The passage of the amendment is a new coup for Milei, who pushed through looser labor laws in February despite repeated street protests.
Nicolas Mayoraz, an MP from Milei's ruling La Libertad Avanza party, assured lawmakers that combining "environmental protection and sustainable development is possible."
Environmental activist Flavia Broffoni rubbished the government's position.
"The science is clear...there is absolutely no possibility of creating what they (the government) call a 'sustainable mine' in a periglacial environment," she told AFP after addressing the protest outside parliament.

Lithium race

There are nearly 17,000 glaciers or rock glaciers -- a mix of rock and ice -- in Argentina, according to a 2018 inventory.
In the northwest of the country, where mining activity is concentrated, glacial reserves have shrunk by 17 percent in the last decade, mainly due to climate change, according to the Argentine Institute of Snow Science, Glaciology and Environmental Sciences.
Milei, a free-market radical who does not believe in man-made climate change, argues the bill is necessary to attract large-scale mining projects.
Argentina is a major producer of lithium, which is critical to the global tech and green energy sectors.
The Central Bank has estimated, based on industry forecasts, that the country could triple its mining exports by 2030.
"Environmentalists would rather see us starve than have anything touched," Milei has argued. 
Supporters of the reform argue that it will clear up ambiguities in the current law, from 2010, on which periglacial areas -- areas on the edges of glaciers -- can be economically developed.
"We want legal certainty, we want clear definitions," Michael Meding, director of the Los Azules copper mining project in San Juan, told AFP. 
Enrique Viale, president of the Argentine Association of Environmental Lawyers, told AFP that the reform threatened the water supply of "70 percent" of Argentines.
Under the current law, a scientific body designates protected glaciers and periglacial environments.
The reform would give individual provinces more powers to decide which areas need protection and which can be exploited for economic purposes.
It has been backed by the governors of northern Andean provinces with strong mining sectors, namely Mendoza, San Juan, Catamarca and Salta.
tev-sa/lb/cb/acb/msp/aks/fox

indigenous

Brazil's Chief Raoni backs Lula in elections

  • "I am going to support him," in October, Raoni told AFP in the Kayapo language through an interpreter on the sidelines of a gathering of Indigenous people in Brasilia.
  • Brazil's renowned Amazonian tribal chief Raoni Metuktire told AFP on Wednesday he supported the reelection bid of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in October polls, despite criticizing him for expanding oil exploration.
  • "I am going to support him," in October, Raoni told AFP in the Kayapo language through an interpreter on the sidelines of a gathering of Indigenous people in Brasilia.
Brazil's renowned Amazonian tribal chief Raoni Metuktire told AFP on Wednesday he supported the reelection bid of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in October polls, despite criticizing him for expanding oil exploration.
Now in his nineties, the Indigenous leader who has spent decades rallying the world to protect the rainforest has forged close ties with the president, known widely as Lula.
At the start of Lula's third term, Raoni -- instantly recognizable with his large wooden lip plate -- walked alongside him up the ramp of the presidential palace for his inauguration.
"I am going to support him," in October, Raoni told AFP in the Kayapo language through an interpreter on the sidelines of a gathering of Indigenous people in Brasilia.
The Kayapo chief last year said he was prepared to give the president a "talking-to" if he ignored concerns over oil exploration near the mouth of the Amazon River.
He demanded the veteran leftist "listen to us...he must respect us."
Lula is seeking a fourth term in October and his main rival is Flavio Bolsonaro, son of the far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro whose government froze land demarcations -- official recognition of Indigenous land -- and facilitated deforestation in the Amazon.
Lula "has already demarcated some Indigenous lands, so I support him so that he may continue to be president," said Raoni.
Since 2023, Lula has approved the official demarcation of some 20 territories for the exclusive use of Indigenous communities, and has overseen a dramatic decline in deforestation in the Amazon.
Nevertheless, he has come under increasing pressure to do more from Indigenous groups who are protesting in Brasilia this week to demand the protection of more of their ancestral lands.
In recent months Indigenous groups have also protested the expansion of ports for grain transport along Amazon rivers, as well as plans to build a railway line through the world's largest forest.
"You non-Indigenous people harbor this destructive mindset of destroying nature and polluting rivers, which is what causes this climate crisis," said Raoni.
"This harms all of us in Brazil. It is not only Indigenous people who will feel the effects of climate change."
rsr/app/fb/pnb/jgc

law

Argentine MPs to debate watered-down glaciers protection

  • - Support from governors - Milei argues the bill is necessary to attract large-scale mining projects.
  • Argentine MPs on Wednesday were set to begin debating a bill promoted by President Javier Milei which authorizes mining in ecologically sensitive areas of glaciers and permafrost.
  • - Support from governors - Milei argues the bill is necessary to attract large-scale mining projects.
Argentine MPs on Wednesday were set to begin debating a bill promoted by President Javier Milei which authorizes mining in ecologically sensitive areas of glaciers and permafrost.
The amendment to the so-called Glacier Law, which was approved by the Senate in February, would make it easier to mine for metals such as copper, lithium and silver in permanently frozen parts of the Andes mountains.
Argentina is a major producer of lithium, which is critical to the global tech and green energy sectors.
If adopted by the Chamber of Deputies in a vote expected late Wednesday, it will become law once signed by Milei.
The amendment has outraged environmentalists, who say it will weaken protections for crucial water sources.  
Greenpeace activists scaled a monument in front of Congress at dawn on Wednesday and unfurled a banner urging lawmakers "not to betray the Argentine people." 
Seven people were arrested, AFP reported.
Diego Salas, communications director for Greenpeace Argentina, told AFP that the amendment was not only a "betrayal of Argentines" but "a betrayal of humanity because glaciers protect us, they give us life."
There are more than 16,000 glaciers in Argentina. 
In the northwest of the country, where mining activity is concentrated, glacial reserves have shrunk by 17 percent in the last decade, mainly due to climate change, according to the Argentine Institute of Snow Science, Glaciology and Environmental Sciences.

Support from governors

Milei argues the bill is necessary to attract large-scale mining projects.
According to a Central Bank projection, Argentina could triple its mining exports by 2030. 
"Environmentalists would rather see us starve than have anything touched," Milei said when announcing the amendment. 
Supporters of the amendment argue that it will clear up ambiguities in the current law.
"We want legal certainty, we want clear definitions," Michael Meding, director of the Los Azules copper mining project in San Juan, told AFP. 
The reform has the backing of governors from the Andean provinces, who would have greater latitude to green-light mining projects.
Enrique Viale, president of the Argentine Association of Environmental Lawyers, told AFP that the reform threatened the water supply of "70 percent of Argentinians." 
Under the current law, he said, "a scientific body determines the location of glaciers and periglacial environments."
Under the amendment, their location would be "a discretionary decision for each province."
tev-sa/lb/cb/acb

US

Nigeria sweats in heatwave as Iran war drives up costs to stay cool

BY TONYE BAKARE WITH NICHOLAS ROLL IN ABUJA

  • "The sun is too hot," Akanni told AFP, wedged between two equally sweaty passengers.
  • Azeez Akanni hopped on a yellow bus heading for the central business district on Lagos Island, beads of sweat rolling down his neck and arms. 
  • "The sun is too hot," Akanni told AFP, wedged between two equally sweaty passengers.
Azeez Akanni hopped on a yellow bus heading for the central business district on Lagos Island, beads of sweat rolling down his neck and arms. 
The 32-year-old clothier regularly navigates chaotic traffic to deliver luxury clothes and footwear to customers across the megacity of Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital. 
But his and millions of others' commutes have been snarled by brutal temperatures as Africa's most populous country fights a heatwave. 
Adding to the pain, a spike in fuel prices from the Iran war has sent costs for air conditioning and back-up generators shooting up alongside the mercury.
"The sun is too hot," Akanni told AFP, wedged between two equally sweaty passengers.
High temperatures are nothing new in the west African nation, perched just above the equator. 
But according to the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), things are getting worse: it warned in a 2025 report that in the decade from 2016-2025, nine out of the 10 years were "among the 12 warmest on record".
Last week, UK-based Korean DJ JinseoulMusic, who is currently touring Nigeria, shared her struggles in a post on Instagram to her more than 430,000 followers. 
"Surviving Nigerian heat with no light," she wrote, using the colloquial term for electricity. "Heat woke me up in the middle of the night."
Analysts blame the rising temperatures in Lagos on climate change, its coastal location, dense population, limited greenery and heavy traffic. 
The constant use of generators compounds the issue, as the petrol-guzzling machines release heat and greenhouse gases.
Public transport meanwhile is shambolic, with most commercial vehicles dilapidated and lacking working air conditioning. 
Temperatures peaked in Lagos at 35C at the end of March, according to NiMet.
They reached 38C in the capital Abuja, while Sokoto in the northwest hit 44C, with NiMet describing the conditions as "unhealthy".

Rising fuel prices

Nigeria's unique economic situation as Africa's fourth-largest economy, but with a dilapidated power grid much less stable than some of its poorer neighbours, has led to the widespread use of private generators, at least among those who can afford them.
That number may be dwindling as fuel prices soar due to the Iran war.
"I no longer use it because of the hike in price," Emmanuel Chinonso, 40, a ride-share driver in Abuja, told AFP.
When the grid goes out on a sweltering night, so does his fan, he said.
Like elsewhere in the country, gasoline prices have nearly doubled in the capital, from around 850 naira per litre to more than 1,300 -- a record high in a country where petrol sold for around 195 naira at the start of 2023. 
Many drivers, like Chinonso, keep their car air conditioning off to conserve fuel -- and "plead" for a tip from customers in return for switching it on.
"If you explain to them, some of them are very understanding and kind," he said.

Health warnings

Despite humid air thick with dust and vehicle fumes, and engines idling as vehicles waited for passengers on a recent Wednesday, thousands of Lagos traders continued to display their goods under direct sunlight, despite warnings against prolonged exposure. 
Hawkers balancing basins of iced fizzy drinks moved through traffic, offering quick relief to commuters.
With the cost of living on the rise following years of high inflation, many traders exposed to the sun and polluted air are more concerned about putting food on the table than air quality. 
"The weather is not good," Aminat Jimoh told AFP as he fried tofu by a cluttered roadside. "But we have to endure because we cannot eat if we don't come here."
The heatwave could also worsen Nigeria's malaria burden. According to the World Health Organization, climate change -- through increased rainfall, temperatures and humidity -- can in some cases accelerate malaria transmission by enabling mosquitoes to breed faster.
Nigeria recorded about a quarter of the world's malaria cases and 30 percent of global deaths in 2024, according to the WHO.
The approaching rainy season offers some relief as storms tamp down temperatures.
But it will also bring its own challenges, such as flooding.
"I know that rain has its own problem but I can't wait for this heat to go," Akanni said. 
tba-nro/sn/sbk

US

Solar push helps Pakistan temper Gulf energy shock

BY SOHAIL ABBAS WITH MUHAMMAD DAUD IN ISLAMABAD

  • "Had we not adopted solar in the first place to the extent that we have, the impacts in the power sector would be much worse."
  • Pakistan's solar power push has cushioned the full impact of the war in the Middle East, analysts said, despite lingering concerns over fuel supplies and rising prices.
  • "Had we not adopted solar in the first place to the extent that we have, the impacts in the power sector would be much worse."
Pakistan's solar power push has cushioned the full impact of the war in the Middle East, analysts said, despite lingering concerns over fuel supplies and rising prices.
A study published last month assessed that the uptake of solar around 2018 helped the country avoid more than $12 billion in oil and gas imports up to February this year.
At projected market prices, it could save a further $6.3 billion by the end of 2026, said Renewables First and the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
In the bustling side streets of Lahore, in northeast Pakistan, shopkeeper Aftab Ahmed, 49, was out shopping for solar panels to install at home to help him cut costs.
"The current fuel situation in our country is such that fuel has gone beyond the reach of the common person," he told AFP last Friday.
"It has become so expensive that an average person can no longer afford fuel for a motorcycle or a car. Fuel prices are also affecting electricity bills, leading to further increases.
"If we shift towards solar energy, at least some savings can be achieved from one side."
Hours earlier, the government in Islamabad announced an eye-watering 42.7-percent hike in the price of petrol and 54.9 percent on diesel.
That brought protesters onto the streets, sparked queues at fuel stations, and led the government to announce free state-run public transport for a month.

Boom

Rooftop solar panels are everywhere in Pakistan, helping to provide uninterrupted power and avoid often lengthy cuts in grid supply, particularly when temperatures soar.
Nabiya Imran, an energy analyst with Renewables First in the capital Islamabad, said they have also helped ease the burden caused by the disruption to shipping in the Gulf.
"Because people in Pakistan have adopted solar over the past several years, this... is providing a cushioning effect against the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, particularly in the power sector," she said.
"Had we not adopted solar in the first place to the extent that we have, the impacts in the power sector would be much worse."
Pakistan's solar surge does not mean it is immune to the supply shortages that have hit countries across Asia.
Last month, the government introduced austerity measures. The working week for public sector employees was cut to four days and schools were shut.
The Pakistan Super League cricket tournament was also cut from six venues to two, and crowds were banned, to save fuel.
But solar has made working from home more viable and affordable for Pakistanis because it cuts reliance on the grid and imported gas.
Market forces have largely driven the uptake, which the study called "one of the fastest consumer-led energy transitions on record".
Unlike western economies, Pakistan did not impose tariffs on Chinese solar technology from 2013 until last year. As a result, imports jumped from 1 gigawatt in 2018 to 51 gigawatts early this year.
Oil and gas price rises after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 also forced consumers to look for alternatives, as did hefty increases in domestic energy tariffs.
Between 2022 and 2024, Pakistan saw a 40-percent drop in oil and gas imports, the study said.

Security

The International Energy Agency has estimated that more than 40 million of Pakistan's more than 240 million people do not have access to electricity.
Manzoor Ishtiaq, whose shop in Lahore sells and installs solar panels, believes making the technology affordable for everyone could help.
"There should be a plan that encourages every household to adopt solar energy. This way, both the government and the public will get relief and long-term benefits," he said.
For Renewables First's Nabiya Imran, the Gulf crisis has shown the need for less reliance on fossil fuels and energy security using renewable sources.
She noted that Pakistan spent around 11 percent of its GDP on fossil fuel imports including oil, coal and liquefied natural gas in the 2024 fiscal year.
"That is a big chunk of money to be spending for a country like Pakistan, which could be going towards other aspects of development."
The key now, she added, would be to push take-up of solar battery storage to prevent the use of fossil fuel-powered thermal plants to keep the lights on at peak times. 
Policymakers should also look at the transportation sector to reduce its exposure to global fuel and price shocks and cut emissions through initiatives such as electric vehicles, she added. 
video-phz/mjw/lga