Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 27th of February, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Following the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has formally condemned the operation in a letter to the United Nations, describing the assassination as an "unjustified act of aggression" and a blatant violation of international law. As Tehran declares a 40-day mourning period and vows that it will not negotiate with Washington, Iranian armed forces have launched a wave of retaliatory missile and drone attacks targeting U.S. and Israeli interests across the Middle East, escalating fears of a widespread regional conflict.
The Israeli military launched heavy airstrikes on the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut on Monday, ordering residents of dozens of Lebanese villages to evacuate from the area amid the most intensive bombardment of the capital since 2024. The escalation follows a barrage of missiles and drones fired by the Iran-backed militant group into Israel, with Hezbollah stating the assault was a direct retaliation for the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has confirmed that the UK has granted the United States permission to use British military bases in southern Cyprus for "specific and limited" defensive operations to intercept Iranian missiles aimed at allied targets. Starmer stressed that Britain was not involved in the offensive strikes that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader. He said the decision follows a suspected drone attack on the RAF Akrotiri base in southern Cyprus, which caused limited damage and prompted the temporary dispersal of non-essential personnel.
Türkiye has raised the security level for its flagged vessels navigating the Strait of Hormuz to Level 3, following explicit radio warnings from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that "no ship is allowed to pass" the critical waterway. The heightened maritime alert, issued in the wake of the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes and the confirmation of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s death, has prompted major carriers to suspend transits and insurers to cancel war risk cover, threatening to severely disrupt global oil and LNG shipments through a chokepoint that handles approximately 20% of the world's crude flows.
Tens of thousands of passengers remain stranded as major Gulf aviation hubs, including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha, stayed closed or heavily restricted for a third consecutive day following the escalation of the Iran-U.S. conflict. The unprecedented disruption to one of the world's most vital transit corridors has forced major carriers such as Emirates, British Airways, and Lufthansa to cancel or drastically reroute flights, with experts warning that the logistical fallout and subsequent strain on international travel networks could take weeks to fully resolve.
Maritime traffic in and out of Iran will be controlled by the U.S. military Washington said. Iran warns of harsh response to the blockade. A two-we...
The U.S. military said it will begin a blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports and ...
Centre-right Peter Magyar's Tisza Party has won a landslide in Hungary after a night of counting in the Hungarian e...
Oil tankers are steering clear of the Strait of Hormuz ahead of a U.S. blockade later on Monday following faile...
U.S. Vice President JD Vance said the United States and Iran left peace talks in Islamabad without reaching an agreement early on Sunday, as negoti...
Maritime traffic in and out of Iran will be controlled by the U.S. military Washington said. Iran warns of harsh response to the blockade. A two-week ceasefire was announced on Tuesday last week but peace talks over the weekend in Pakistan failed to reach an agreement.
The U.S. military said it will begin a blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports and coastal areas on Monday after weekend talks failed to reach a deal to end the war with Iran at the weekend in Pakistan, jeopardizing a fragile two-week ceasefire.
Centre-right Peter Magyar's Tisza Party has won a landslide in Hungary after a night of counting in the Hungarian election. Viktor Orbán has conceded defeat after 16 years in power. "We have done it. Tisza and Hungary have won this election", Magyar said to cheering supporters in Budapest.
Oil tankers are steering clear of the Strait of Hormuz ahead of a U.S. blockade later on Monday following failed peace talks between the U.S. and Iran over the weekend, shipping data showed.
Hungarians vote in elections on Sunday that could see the end of hard right nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s more than 15 year rule. Opinion polls show Orbán’s Fidesz party trailing 45-year-old Péter Magyar’s centre-right opposition Tisza party.
U.S. and Iranian negotiators held their highest-level talks in half a century in Pakistan on Saturday in an effort to end their six-week war, as President Donald Trump said the U.S. military had begun the process of clearing the Strait of Hormuz.
At least 30 people were killed on Saturday in a stampede at Haiti’s Laferrière Citadel World Heritage Site, with authorities warning that the death toll could rise.
Israel has reprimanded Spain’s most senior diplomat in Tel Aviv after a giant effigy of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was blown up in a Spanish town.
The U.S., EU and their allies are racing to secure supplies of rare earth elements - essential materials for electric vehicles, wind turbines and advanced technologies - as China maintains a dominant position in processing.
Centre-right Peter Magyar's Tisza Party has won a landslide in Hungary after a night of counting in the Hungarian election. Viktor Orbán has conceded defeat after 16 years in power. "We have done it. Tisza and Hungary have won this election", Magyar said to cheering supporters in Budapest.
Hungary’s opposition Tisza party is on course for a decisive election victory, with partial official results indicating it could secure a two-thirds parliamentary majority and end Viktor Orbán’s 16-year rule.
Millions of Orthodox Christians across the globe celebrated Easter, known as Holy Pascha, on Sunday (12 April) with midnight liturgies, candlelight processions and deeply rooted local traditions reflecting centuries of faith.
Israel has reprimanded Spain’s most senior diplomat in Tel Aviv after a giant effigy of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was blown up in a Spanish town.
Russia and Ukraine accused each other of violating a 32-hour ceasefire introduced to mark Orthodox Easter on Saturday (11 April). Russian officials said Ukrainian drones attacked targets in the Kursk and Belgorod border regions, injuring five people.
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