News

Iran War Cost Spike Straining Farmers Ahead of Midterm Elections  Bloomberg.com

National security experts have warned about the lack of communication to the public about potential terror threats on home soil amid the Iran War

By Nidal al-Mughrabi CAIRO, March 17 (Reuters) - An Israeli airstrike killed at least three people including a child in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, local health authorities said, the latest violence jeopardising the ceasefire which has been under strain during the Israeli-U.S. war against Iran. Medics said the airstrike targeted a vehicle in the western area of Khan Younis, south of the enclave, killing three people, including a child, and wounding 12 other people. There was no immediate Israeli comment.

Iran war could plunge 45 million into acute hunger, says UN agency Peter McNamara on Tue, 03/17/2026 - 11:48 Spiralling costs and choked aid routes are likely to affect the most vulnerable as the war's end edges no closer Afghan men queue to receive packages of fortified biscuits distributed by the United Nations World Food Programme in the Laja Mangal district of Paktia province on 16 March 2026 (AFP) Off The number of people who experience acute hunger could leap to 364 million globally if the war on Iran continues until June, the World Food Programme said on Tuesday. "This would take global hunger levels to an all-time record and it's a terrible, terrible prospect," the WFP’s deputy executive director Carl Skau said in Geneva. Analysis by the UN agency has shown that since US and Israeli attacks on Iran began at the end of February, valuable aid routes to countries already suffering from chronic food insecurity have been blocked and shipments have been delayed. If the war persists through to June, the number experiencing hunger worldwide could rise by 45 million. The WFP had previously warned that increases in the price of fuel and scarcity of food due to the Middle East war had driven up costs for already vulnerable populations. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); In the Middle East, the conflict is having immediate food security impacts, the UN agency said. Countries in the region are particularly reliant on imports, and raw materials like fertiliser have rocketed in price. In Lebanon, where around a million people have been displaced by Israel's attacks and the population had been grappling with high levels of food insecurity for years, the government introduced an emergency cash assistance programme and the WFP stepped up its food aid. In Iran, economic stagnation, high food inflation and rapid currency depreciation were already driving food insecurity before the current conflict, leaving households with limited capacity to absorb further shocks. In war-torn Gaza, while some border crossings have reopened since the ceasefire reached in October, food prices remain high, continuing to constrain access to affordable food, the WFP warned. In Afghanistan, 17.4 million people are in urgent need of food assistance as the country receives 80 percent of its food supply from imports, much of it from Iran. War on Iran News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

Venice Biennale artists demand Israel's exclusion from renowned festival Oscar Rickett on Tue, 03/17/2026 - 12:01 A letter from the Art Not Genocide Alliance to the Biennale's directors has been signed by 178 participants in this year's exhibition An Italian soldier stands guard in front of Israel's pavilion during the pre-opening of the Venice Biennale art show, on 16 April 2024 (AFP) Off A group of artists, curators and art workers participating in the 2026 Venice Biennale have written to the festival’s organisers demanding Israel’s exclusion from the international exhibition. Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA) says it is standing “in a collective refusal to allow you to platform the Israeli state as it commits genocide”. Palestinian life must end”. Well-known signatories include the Chilean artist Alfredo Jaar, the Moroccan Yto Barrada, and Cauleen Smith, a Black American filmmaker and multimedia artist. The world-famous Biennale, which alternates every year between an art exhibition and an architecture one, hosts 29 permanent national pavilions in the Venice Giardini, where artists chosen by their countries exhibit. Israel’s pavilion, which was opened in 1952, is one of these permanent sites. At the last art Biennale in 2024, many months after Israel’s genocide in Gaza had begun, ANGA launched a campaign against Israel’s participation with an open letter that was signed by over 24,000 people. The pavilion was eventually shut down by Ruth Patir, the Israeli artist due to show work at it. In 2025, Israel did not participate in the architecture Biennale, with its culture ministry saying they needed to renovate the pavilion. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Patir’s closure of the national pavilion in 2024 prompted the Israeli government to introduce a clause into the contract for the 2026 Biennale requiring the selected artist to ensure that the pavilion stays open. But this year’s Israeli entry will not be exhibited at the pavilion. Ordinarily, this would mean it would have to rent a space on the private market, but the Biennale has allowed Israel to move to a temporary space at the Venice Arsenale, a complex of former shipyards and armouries that serves as an exhibition space. Venice Biennale under pressure over Israel and Russia The president of the Venice Biennale, Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, a right-wing Sicilian journalist who converted to Islam in 2015, has been filmed wishing a reporter a happy Ramadan while refusing to answer questions about Israel’s involvement.  Buttafuoco is under fire across Europe for allowing Russia to return to the Biennale for the first time since the invasion of Ukraine. The Russian entry is being led by Anastasia Karneeva, the daughter of a former intelligence officer, and Ekaterina Vinokurova, the daughter of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.  'We remind you that Israeli violence also targets the art and culture supposedly held sacrosanct by the Biennale' - Art Not Genocide Alliance The Italian culture ministry has condemned the return of Russia to the Biennale but said nothing about Israel. In 2024, the ministry backed Israel's participation in the exhibition.  Middle East Eye has written to the Biennale requesting comment. Palestinian artists killed by Israel in Gaza Scores of Palestinian artists have been killed by Israel during its genocide in Gaza.  Dorgham Qareqa, a Palestinian artist nicknamed “Van Gogh’s grandson”, died alongside his wife and siblings after Israel violated a ceasefire in March 2025.  Heba Zagout, a Palestinian artist and educator described as a “one in a million talent”, was killed along with her two children in an October 2023 air strike.  The visual artist Frans al-Salmi was killed along with dozens of other Palestinians when Israel bombed a beachfront cafe in June 2025.  Dorgham Qareqa: Another Palestinian artist killed by Israel Read More » “We remind you that Israeli violence also targets the art and culture supposedly held sacrosanct by the Biennale,” the letter to the Biennale’s directors reads, referencing the destruction of centres of art and learning as well as the killing of Palestinian artists. ANGA said that the Biennale’s decision to include Israel was “particularly striking” given the festival’s history. The institution excluded apartheid South Africa for decades, and its 1974 edition denounced the CIA-backed coup that overthrew Salvador Allende in Chile. “The refusal to condemn and exclude Israel contributes to the reproduction of a narrative that continues to frame the Israeli state primarily as a victim while obscuring the structural violence on which it is built,” ANGA said. The group pointed out that its demand was directed at “state representation, not at individuals”, including Israeli artists.  “A national pavilion at the Venice Biennale is an official cultural representation of that state,” ANGA said, adding that they did not believe artists who oppose Israel’s genocide in Gaza and aggressive expansion in the occupied West Bank “should be used as cultural cover for state violence”.  “In fact, the current arrangement places artists in an impossible position by asking them to legitimise Israel’s presence regardless of their personal views,” the group said. Arts News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:29 Update Date Override 0

The French president described his plans for expansion as forward deterrence. What's behind his move?

The conflict has mutated into a zero-sum collision of competing messianic frameworks.

From sea turtles to birds and the gentle dugong, the Persian Gulf's diverse but fragile marine life is threatened by the bombs and oil of the war in the Middle East. The ecosystem was already under pressure from climate change and maritime traffic before the United States and Israel launched their war on Iran at the end of February, leading to Tehran's region-wide retaliation.

The Middle East conflict risks adding a staggering 45 million to acute hunger, warns the UN's World Food Programme.

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US seeks fertilizer from Venezuela and Morocco amid Iran war The Trump administration is exploring alternative fertilizer supplies as the war with Iran disrupts global markets. White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett told CNBC on Tuesday that Washington is looking to Venezuela and potentially Morocco to ease shortages and stabilise supply for American farmers. Hassett said the move is designed to cushion the impact of the conflict on agricultural production and food prices.

By Olivia Le Poidevin GENEVA, March 17 (Reuters) - Israeli airstrikes on residential buildings, displaced people and healthcare workers in Lebanon raise concerns under international law and may amount to war crimes, the United Nations human rights office said on Tuesday. The Israeli military has been carrying out airstrikes in Lebanon since the Iran-backed Shi'ite Muslim group Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel from Lebanon early in the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.

Iran says at least 56 of its heritage sites damaged or destroyed in war.

Probe says Israel guilty of 'intentionally directing attacks against civilian object'; IDF: Strike carried out in precise manner to mitigate harm to imprisoned civilians The post UN report: Israeli strike on Iran’s notorious Evin Prison last year was a war crime appeared first on The Times of Israel.

At least 2,000 people have killed as the war enters a third week

Exclusive: EU foreign policy chief Kallas calls on US, Israel to end Iran war  Reuters

By Emma Farge GENEVA, March 17 (Reuters) - Tens of millions more people will face acute hunger if the Iran war continues through to June, according to analysis from the World Food Programme released on Tuesday. The U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran that began on February 26 have choked up key humanitarian aid routes, delaying life-saving shipments to some of the world's worst crises.

UN warns Israeli-US war on Iran could push 45 million into hunger The World Food Programme warns that the widening Iran war risks deepening global food insecurity. The UN agency says as many as 45 million more people could face acute hunger if the conflict drags on, raising alarm over supply disruptions, rising prices and growing pressure on already fragile food systems.

The role of diplomacy in the war with Iran  1A | Speak Freely