LIVE UPDATES: Conflict in the Middle East (May 7, 2026)

The Philippines is now looking into possibly lifting a ban on new coal-fire power plants, as the country—which remains under a national state of energy emergency—works to diversify its sources for stable and affordable electricity amid global uncertainties.

According to Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DepDev) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, the possible ban lift was suggested during discussions of the Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport (UPLIFT).

“That’s floated as part of the discussions in the UPLIFT because you know, this Middle East conflict brought the realization that you have to diversify your sources of your energy, particularly reducing your dependence for imported fuel,” he said on Thursday.

With the standoff over the frozen Iran war threatening a global economic meltdown, Washington and Tehran have scaled back their efforts to agree on a comprehensive peace deal and now seek a limited pact putting off the harder issues.

This is what we know about the proposals under discussion and where they leave the big unresolved disputes behind the war.

The United States and Iran are edging toward a limited, temporary agreement to halt their war, sources and officials said on Thursday, with a draft framework that would stop the fighting but leave the most contentious issues unresolved.

The emerging plan centers on a short-term memorandum rather than a comprehensive peace deal, underscoring deep divisions between the two sides and signaling that it would be an interim step.

Hopes that even a partial deal could lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz have already moved markets, with global stocks approaching record highs on Thursday and oil prices nursing steep losses on bets that supply disruptions could ease.

The Philippine peso regained its footing against the US dollar on Thursday, exiting the P61-to-one dollar level, amid optimism that the US and Iran could reach a peace deal to end the Middle East crisis.

The local currency gained 88.5 centavos to close at P60.42:$1 from Wednesday finish of P61.305:$1.

This is the strongest for the peso since April 22, 2026 when it closed at P60.13:$1.

ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON/TEL AVIV — Iran said on Wednesday it was reviewing a new US proposal, after sources said Washington and Tehran were closing in on a one-page memorandum to end the war in the Gulf while leaving tricky issues such as Iran's nuclear program for later.

An Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, cited by Iran's ISNA news agency, said Iran would convey its response soon via Pakistan, which hosted the war's only peace talks and has since served as the main conduit for messages between the sides.

In an early morning social media post, US President Donald Trump gave no details of any specific proposal but said the war could end if "Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to." He later told the New York Post it was still too soon to consider face-to-face meetings to sign an agreement.

A Pakistani source and another source briefed on the mediation confirmed information initially reported by the US media outlet Axios about a proposed 14-point, one-page memorandum that would formally end the war.

ROME — A senior Vatican cardinal on Wednesday called US President Donald Trump's disparaging attacks on Pope Leo over the Iran war "strange," a day before the US Secretary of State is due to hold talks with the pope.

Asked how he evaluated the attacks by Trump of Leo, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin responded: "For me it seems a bit strange, to say the least."

"I wouldn't want to get into judgments or personal evaluations about this," the cardinal told journalists outside an event near the Vatican.

Leo, who will welcome US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to the Vatican for a meeting on Thursday, drew Trump's ire after becoming a firm critic of the US-Israeli war on Iran and the Trump administration's hardline anti-immigration policies.