Central Asian forecasters dismiss Iran 'acid cloud' rumours
Reports of so-called “acid clouds” moving from Iran towards Central Asia are not supported by scientif...
Israel’s far-right politician and leader of the Otzma Yehudit party, Itamar Ben-Gvir, is set to return to Benjamin Netanyahu’s government amid an intensification of the war in the Gaza Strip.
Otzma Yehudit chairman Itamar Ben-Gvir will return to his previous position as national security minister, while the party’s number two, Yitzhak Wasserlauf, will resume his role as minister for the development of the Negev and Galilee and national resilience. Additionally, Amichai Eliyahu will return as heritage minister.
“The government unanimously approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposal to reappoint MK Itamar Ben Gvir to the position of Minister of National Security,” the PM’s office said in a statement.
In January, when he was national security minister, Ben-Gvir resigned from the government over disagreements about the ceasefire. His return strengthens a coalition that had been left with a thin parliamentary majority when he departed.
Ben-Gvir, 48, was known as a hardline extremist even before he helped Netanyahu form the most right-wing coalition in Israel's history. Burly, bespectacled and outspoken, Ben-Gvir heads the pro-settler, nationalist-religious Jewish Power party.
Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is a hardline cleric with strong backing from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. His rise signals continuity in Tehran's anti-Western policies.
Global oil prices surpassed $119 a barrel on Monday (9 March, 2026), an almost four year high, as the Middle East conflict rumbled on.
China has urged Afghanistan and Pakistan to resolve their dispute through dialogue after Chinese envoy Yue Xiaoyong met Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, as fighting between the two neighbours entered its eleventh day.
Welcome to our live coverage as the conflict involving Iran enters its 11th day. Tensions in the region remain high as the United States and Iran exchange increasingly sharp warnings over the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery for global oil supplies.
Entry and exit across the state border between Azerbaijan and Iran for all types of cargo vehicles, including those in transit, will resume on 9 March, according to a statement by the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan.
Reports of so-called “acid clouds” moving from Iran towards Central Asia are not supported by scientific data, national hydrometeorological services in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan say, adding there is no threat to the region.
A senior delegation from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly has been holding meetings with Georgian government officials, opposition leaders and security authorities this week, as international observers attempt to gauge the country’s political climate following last year’s contentious elections.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has told Masoud Pezeshkian, his Iranian counterpart, that violations of Turkish airspace by Iran could not be justified “for any reason whatsoever.”
The Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan has approved a new programme aimed at developing educational courses and training sessions for young parents.
Kazakhstan has evacuated 8,585 citizens from Middle Eastern countries as regional tensions escalate. Authorities are coordinating air and land evacuations while analysts warn the crisis could reshape security and energy risks across the Caspian region.
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