Middle East Crisis

Oil Market
Iran: Has sold oil for $18 billion during the war

Iran has sold oil for about $18 billion, equivalent to 175 billion kronor, since the war began. This is claimed by the country's Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad according to Reuters.

According to Paknejad, Iran sold oil for the equivalent of 110 billion kronor during the war, and 54 billion during the ceasefire, when exports increased due to reduced risk in the Strait of Hormuz.

This accounts for just over 60 percent of what Iran is expected to earn from oil in its annual budget, says the minister.

Gaza War
Gaza swimming school opens: "Reclaiming their stolen childhood"

Hundreds of children gather down on the beach in Gaza to learn to swim, reports The Guardian.

The part of the sea where the swimming school is located has been marked off with sandbags and pieces of bombed-out houses. The organizers have built everything by hand, as some excavators or cranes are not available.

“It is a rare opportunity for the children to have fun, relax and reclaim a part of their stolen childhood,” says organizer and journalist Amjed Tantesh, who founded Gaza’s first swimming school more than 20 years ago.

In a survey by the UN in March, 96 percent of children in Gaza said they feel like they could die at any time. After three years of war, there are no playgrounds or proper schools left.

“Swimming gives me a chance to escape the war and the anxiety I live with,” says 13-year-old Alma Shabat.