Oil prices hit four year high: Latest news on the Middle East conflict on 9 March
Global oil prices reached a four year high on Monday (9 March), surpassing $...
Nigeria’s army says troops have rescued 11 kidnap victims during a late-night operation on the Kaduna–Abuja highway after tracking militants moving captives through forested terrain.
The five men, three women and three children had been held for 92 days after being abducted from the Gada Mallam Maman community in Kaduna state in October.
According to the army, troops from the forward operating base in Doka detected movement on 26 January using long-range surveillance systems and observed armed militants pushing the group along a narrow bush track.
Soldiers moved in once the pattern became clear, intercepting the kidnappers and freeing the captives.
The Kaduna–Abuja corridor has become one of the most vulnerable stretches of road in the country, with kidnappings for ransom now a persistent threat across northwestern and central Nigeria.
Security concerns have drawn international attention in recent weeks, not least from U.S. President Donald Trump, who ordered a Christmas Day airstrike citing the persecution of Christians.
The sense of pressure intensified after more than 160 worshippers were seized from two churches in Kaduna last week, reinforcing fears that the region’s crisis is deepening despite ongoing military operations.
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.
Trump says the United States "don’t need people that join wars after we’ve already won," targeting his criticism at UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Israel continues to fire missles at strategic sites in Iran and Gulf regions report more strikes from Iran.
Global oil prices surpassed $119 a barrel on Monday (9 March, 2026), an almost four year high, as the Middle East conflict rumbled on.
Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father Ali Khamenei as supreme leader on Monday (9 March), signaling that hardliners remain firmly in charge, as the week-old U.S.-Israeli war with Iran pushed oil above $100 a barrel.
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.
U.S. President Donald Trump and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke by phone on Sunday as tensions between Washington and Westminster deepened over the conflict involving Iran. The call came less than a day after Trump criticised Britain’s response to U.S. strikes on Iranian targets.
Norwegian police are searching for a suspect after an explosion at the U.S. embassy in Oslo on 8 March caused minor damage but no injuries, in what authorities say may have been a deliberate attack linked to the Middle East crisis.
An explosion damaged a synagogue in the Belgian city of Liège early on Monday (9 March) in what authorities said was an antisemitic attack that caused damage but no injuries.
The Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers will meet on Monday to discuss a global rise in oil prices and a joint release of oil from emergency reserves coordinated by the International Energy Agency, the Financial Times reports.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 9th of March, covering the latest developments you need to know.
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