WIRED Middle East

The day before the war started, I was agonising over reusable straws. I had multiple tabs open, reading reviews and weighing my options. After seeing the utter devastation that militaries have visited upon the region since then, my dilemma seems trivial. With a ceasefire in place, I started looking into the environmental cost of the war. In any official ledger, there is none. Militaries are not required to report their emissions. Not a single tonne. This is built into climate frameworks, all the way back to Kyoto in 1997. This matters because they are among the largest emitters – outside of actual war, militaries account for an estimated 5.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. I asked my team to start working on it – we could put together a series of articles on the environment ourselves, talking to scientists, climate experts, and international organisations about the hidden cost of war, just in time for Earth Day. Read my editor's letter for WIRED Middle East and learn more about the war on the environment. https://lnkd.in/dwFUrtS4

Today is Earth Day. But for ecosystems caught in conflict, it is no holiday. Forests burn. Seas absorb oil, smoke and noise. Soil is contaminated with chemicals that  will outlast the people who deployed them. Animals flee, starve or die unnoticed. Nature is war’s quietest casualty: damaged first, restored last and never counted in the final toll. For our April digital cover, WIRED Middle East reports on what the official record leaves out – the food systems breaking under the weight of conflict, the marine life that gets no ceasefire, and the wildlife and habitats torn apart by wars with no end date. Conflict can redraw borders overnight. The environmental damage lasts for generations. Read the articles in our Environment Under Fire series: https://lnkd.in/e8ptT5j2 Visuals: Nadia Mendez

Your carbon footprint is counted. The military's is missing. Climate frameworks have never required militaries to report their emissions, and they are responsible for an estimated 5.5% of total greenhouse gas emissions, excluding warfighting itself. In the first 14 days of the US-Israel war on Iran alone, an estimated 5 million tonnes of CO₂ were released. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has produced 230 million tonnes over three years. None of it is in the official record. Some argue that requiring militaries to report emissions would threaten operational security – fuel and logistics data could reveal sensitive information. But disclosure does not need to be real time or operationally detailed. Aggregated, independently verified annual reporting on a delay already works: UN peacekeeping missions report their emissions and have reduced them as a result. For Earth Day, we wrote a series of articles exploring what the climate crisis looks like when you count the wars. Read the Editor's Letter by Carla Sertin, Head of Editorial Content at WIRED Middle East: https://lnkd.in/dsqPKKcc

Tim Cook is stepping down as CEO of Apple after a 15-year tenure. John Ternus, the company’s senior vice president of hardware engineering, will succeed him. Cook leaves behind a legacy as a master of operations, helping grow the tech giant’s market capitalisation from $350 billion to $4 trillion. Ternus’ appointment could signal a more engineering-led direction for Apple’s next chapter. Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/eYdvNRBm Words: Dana Alomar Producer: Tamanna Sajeed

The US seizure of a vessel linked to Iran this week renewed concerns over shipping routes and the cost of imported goods across the Gulf. With about 80% of the UAE’s agricultural products imported, disruption in the Strait of Hormuz can quickly be felt in grocery prices. The UAE has launched a digital tracker for essential goods, allowing residents to compare prices across 12 retailers in real time, report discrepancies, and build a weekly shopping basket to find the best deal. Authorities have also cracked down on unjustified price rises, issuing more than $54,000 in fines and referring a poultry cartel case to federal prosecutors. Read the full story: https://lnkd.in/ej54Wbet Words: Dana Alomar

When war breaks out, the internet makes memes. But who’s making them, and what do they do to the way we understand conflict? Dark humour is one of humanity’s oldest coping mechanisms. Social media simply gave it a global stage. The problem: algorithms don’t reward accuracy, they reward engagement. And when context disappears, one crisis can start to look like any other. What’s harder to spot is who else is posting. Governments, political groups, and propagandists now speak meme too, because messages travel faster when they make you laugh. Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/euxiZ749 Words: Rand Al-Hadethi

WIRED Middle East initially began reporting on how Lebanese paramedics use technology to save lives under fire – relying on calls, WhatsApp, and live location pins to coordinate rescues with limited resources. Then, on Thursday, three paramedics were killed in successive Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon. Their deaths have renewed scrutiny over attacks on healthcare workers and emergency crews. What began as a story about survival systems became one about the people behind them. Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/eBVmeYEk Words: Hanan Hamdan

After Lebanon’s 2019 financial collapse, trust in banks was shattered. Now, as conflict forces fresh displacement, even cash no longer feels simple to protect. Some families are turning to platforms like Sovra to convert part of their savings into stablecoins – digital money pegged to existing currencies like the US dollar and stored through a wallet. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e4K-2DUS Words: Anna Wolfe

A new blockade is turning the Strait of Hormuz into the latest front in the US-Iran standoff. Iran says ships must pay $2 million per vessel to pass, while the US says it will block vessels that comply. Experts say there is no clear legal basis for charging transit fees through a natural international waterway. Even the threat of disruption can raise shipping costs, delay cargo, and ripple through global markets. Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/dTTnRzst Words: Jumana Naim Abdel-Razzaq

Years of war, economic collapse, and displacement changed how people in Lebanon talk about mental health. The latest wave of Israeli strikes and 1.3 million people forced from their homes has made that conversation impossible to ignore. Now, a new generation is building digital tools designed for the realities of the region. From AI journaling to therapist-led support, platforms like areeka care and Elggo are helping turn Lebanon’s mental-health tech ecosystem into a blueprint for more culturally rooted care across the Arab world. Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/e9TdgNBc Words: Tamara Davison