Qatar gas explosion at Ras Laffan complex kills 13, injures 66
via Business News2 min read
An explosion at Qatar's Ras Laffan gas complex on Sunday evening resulted in 13 deaths and 66 injuries, according to an updated toll provided on Monday, June 22, 2026, by Qatari Minister of Energy Saad Al-Kaabi. The minister stated that none of the injured were in critical condition and emphasized that the incident was accidental, not an act of sabotage or hostility. Qatari authorities attributed the explosion to a technical malfunction during the restart of operations in the industrial city of Ras Laffan, which hosts the world's largest liquefied natural gas LNG production center. The blast occurred at the local gas supply facility of Barzan, followed by a significant fire that was later brought under control by emergency teams. The Barzan facility is crucial to Qatar's energy supply, with a production capacity of 1.4 billion standard cubic feet of marketable gas per day for power plants, desalination plants, and local industries. It also produces ethane, condensates, liquefied petroleum gas LPG, and sulfur for local and export markets. QatarEnergy owns 93% of the project, with ExxonMobil holding 7%. The Ras Laffan complex had previously sustained damage from Iranian attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure in response to the Israeli-American offensive, leading to a suspension of gas production from March 2 and a 17% reduction in export capacity by March 18. Despite the recent explosion, Saad Al-Kaabi affirmed that the incident would not affect Qatar's exports to the rest of th
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Mohamed Ali Nafti, Tunisia's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Migration, and Tunisians Abroad, met with his Algerian counterpart, Ahmed Attaf, Minister of State, Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, National Community Abroad, and African Affairs, on June 22, 2026, in Amman. The meeting, held on the sidelines of an Arab ministerial gathering, focused on Tunisian-Algerian cooperation. Discussions centered on preparing for the upcoming Tunisian-Algerian Follow-up Commission, scheduled for next month. Key areas of cooperation reviewed included trade, industry, and energy. The ministers also addressed improving consular services and facilitating the movement and residency of Tunisian and Algerian nationals across the border. Beyond bilateral issues, Nafti and Attaf exchanged views on regional and international matters, reaffirming their commitment to strengthening consultation and coordination between Tunis and Algiers to address common challenges and regional developments. This meeting highlights the ongoing cooperation between the two countries, aiming to consolidate their partnership in economic, energy, and security sectors, while also facilitating exchanges between their citizens.
Tunisia's food trade balance recorded a surplus of 943.4 million dinars by the end of May 2026, an increase from 745.7 million dinars during the same period last year, according to data from the National Observatory of Agriculture Onagri. This 26.5% progression resulted in a coverage rate of 127.1%, up from 125.7% a year prior. The improvement is primarily attributed to a 43.9% rise in olive oil exports, which generated 3.05 billion dinars, despite a 14.4% increase in cereal imports. Exported olive oil volumes reached 247,700 tons, a 49.9% increase, though the average export price decreased by 4% to 12.31 dinars per kilogram. Excluding olive oil, food exports declined by 9.7%. While average export prices for olive oil, tomatoes, and citrus fruits decreased, prices for fishery products and dates increased. On the import side, cereal prices generally continued to fall, with durum wheat down 13.6%, soft wheat down 7.7%, and corn down 5.2%, while barley prices rose by 3.1%. Sugar prices increased by 11%, and vegetable oil prices decreased by 2.1%. Food remains the only major surplus sector in Tunisia's foreign trade, contributing to offsetting the overall trade deficit, which reached 10.42 billion dinars by May 2026, an increase from 8.37 billion dinars a year earlier. Food exports represented 15.7% of total exports, and food imports accounted for 9% of total imports. The food trade surplus helped compensate 9.1% of the overall trade deficit.
Must ReadRiadh Jaidane, a member of parliament and president of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation, Tunisians Abroad, and Migration, stated on June 22, 2026, that the increasing emigration of highly skilled professionals, including doctors and engineers, poses a national security threat to Tunisia. Speaking on Jawhara FM's Sbeh El Ward, Jaidane highlighted that this "hemorrhage of skills" weakens strategic sectors and jeopardizes the country's development prospects. He emphasized that the brain drain is not merely a migratory phenomenon but a significant loss for national development, affecting sensitive sectors. Jaidane noted that Tunisia is losing its elite, trained at public expense, who then contribute their expertise to other economies, particularly in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Gulf countries. He cited that approximately 7,000 engineers leave Tunisia annually, with the state spending around 650 million dinars on their training. This aligns with alerts from the Order of Engineers, which reported 46,000 engineers left in ten years, with 6,700 departures in 2022 alone. In the medical sector, about 4,000 doctors emigrated between 2022 and 2026, adding to the 6,000 who left between 2017 and 2024, according to the Order of Physicians. These departures are attributed to insufficient public sector recruitment, blocked career prospects, deteriorating working conditions, and the private sector's inability to absorb new graduates. Jaidan