Skip to main content

'One war too many': Lebanese angry with Hezbollah for attacking Israel

When an air strike hit their Beirut neighbourhood, people were angry with Israel, but they reserved their deepest rage for Hezbollah, for dragging Lebanon into the Middle East war.

Israel and the United States launched huge strikes on Iran on February 28, killing its supreme leader and sparking a massive retaliatory campaign.

Iran-backed Hezbollah, already weakened by war, attacked Israel in support of its sponsors, pulling Lebanon into a new cycle of strikes, death and mass displacement.

The strike wounded four people

Mideast war risks dramatically deepening Myanmar crisis: UN expert

Myanmar's spiralling rights and humanitarian crises risk getting "much worse" as global attention focuses on the Middle East war and aid dwindles further, the top United Nations expert on the Asian country warned.

More than five years after Myanmar's military snatched power in a coup, the junta is relentlessly continuing to attack civilians and obstruct desperately needed humanitarian aid, Tom Andrews, the UN special rapporteur on rights in Myanmar, told AFP in an interview this week.

A world where global powers accept that 'might makes right' is 'extraordinarily dangerous', Andrews says

Turkey talking to US, Iran in bid to end war: minister

Turkey is talking to both Washington and Tehran in a bid to end the Middle East war, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Thursday as the conflict raged for a 13th day.

"We have been experiencing the most intense moments of the war in the last few days," he told a news conference in Ankara alongside his German counterpart Johann Wadephul.

"The question is, what chances are there for negotiation, to what extent is it possible?" he added.

"This war should end as soon as possible... We are talking to the Iranian side, and we are talking to the American side," he said.

'This unprovoked attack on Iran is as unjust and unlawful as Iran's attacks on Gulf countries,' said Fidan

US military 'not ready' to escort tankers through Hormuz Strait: energy secretary

The US military is currently "not ready" to escort tankers through the critical Strait of Hormuz because all its assets are focused on striking Iran, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Thursday.

Wright's comments came as an attack on two oil tankers off Iraq killed at least one person, and oil prices briefly soared past $100.

Since launching the war on Iran, US President Donald Trump has sought to calm the markets by offering US Navy escorts for oil tankers and reinsurance facilities for shipping companies -- but no escorts have so far taken place.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright (C) has vehemently defended President Donald Trump's (R) policies in the wake of the Iran war

Muslim nations criticise Israel for Al-Aqsa Mosque Ramadan closure

Eight Islamic and Arab countries on Thursday condemned Israel for keeping Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem closed during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Israel has shut all holy sites in east Jerusalem's Old City for security reasons after it began airstrikes with the United States against Iran that have sparked a regional war.

The closure coincides with Ramadan, when tens of thousands of Palestinian Muslims would normally pray every Friday at the mosque -- the third holiest site in Islam.

A resident walks on a street near Ras al-Amud Mosque in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, overlooking the Al-Aqsa compound and the Dome of the Rock on March 6

Back to work for Bangladesh migrants as Mideast war grinds on

Tens of thousands have fled the Gulf to escape the Middle East war, but Bangladeshi migrant workers say they have little choice but to return to earn a living.

At Dhaka airport, lines of workers hugged family members and said tearful goodbyes before boarding flights back to their jobs abroad.

"It's natural to be scared, to feel sad as I am going back," said Mohammed Sakib, 28, flying to Saudi Arabia, leaving his new wife and extended family behind.

"Who knows what might happen?"

People queue up to refuel their motorbikes at a gas station in Dhaka. Around seven million Bangladeshis work overseas -- the majority in the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia hosting around two-thirds of the total

World faces largest-ever oil supply disruption on Middle East war, IEA says

LONDON, March 12 (Reuters) - The war in the Middle East is creating the biggest oil supply disruption in the history of the global market, the International Energy Agency said on Thursday, a day after the agency agreed to release a record volume of oil from strategic stockpiles.

Middle East Gulf countries have cut total oil production by at least 10 million bpd - a volume equal to almost 10% of world demand - as a result of the conflict, the agency said in its latest monthly oil market report. Without a rapid restart of shipping flows, these losses are set to increase, IEA said.

FILE PHOTO: A pump jack is seen at sunrise near Bakersfield, California October 14, 2014.  REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo/File Photo

Italian base in Iraqi Kurdistan hit by missile, defence ministry says

ROME, March 12 (Reuters) - An Italian military base in Iraqi Kurdistan was struck by a missile overnight though no injuries were reported, the Italian defence ministry said on Thursday.

"A missile hit our base in Erbil. There are no casualties or injuries among the Italian personnel. They are all fine," the ministry said on X shortly after midnight on Thursday.

Defence Minister Guido Crosetto has been in constant contact with senior military commanders over the incident, the ministry added.

Italy's Defence Minister Guido Crosetto looks on during an interview with Reuters, in Rome, Italy, April 14, 2025. REUTERS/Remo Casilli

Checkpoints, air strikes and hope: a Tehran resident tells her story

Torn between hope and fear, a Tehran resident in her 30s agrees to share her thoughts with AFP about the ongoing war and daily life.

We are withholding her identity for her protection. Here is an edited transcript of the conversation:

- How is daily life in Tehran? -

People left in waves, especially those who were next to targets.

The strikes have caused damage in Iran, including the capital Tehran

Kharg Island bombed, Trump says US to escort ships through Hormuz soon

President Donald Trump said Friday that the United States had heavily bombed military targets on Iran's oil hub Kharg Island and the US Navy would soon begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.

Several top Iranian officials joined a defiant pro-government rally in Tehran, meanwhile, marching alongside demonstrators waving banners reading "Death to America" and "Death to Israel."

As the United States intensified its bombing of Iran, Tehran launched a new wave of drone and missile attacks on Israel and its Gulf neighbours.

Iran's Kharg Island, which hosts the country’s main crude export terminal and is responsible for the overwhelming majority of its oil shipments to the world, about 30 kilometres south of the mainland