live Houthi attacks target Riyadh as Iran sets conditions for reopening Strait of Hormuz
Houthi attacks target Riyadh amid concerns over Saudi oil supplies, as Iran says it will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until its conditions are m...
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 4th of February, covering the latest developments you need to know.
The escalating conflict between the U.S., Israel, and Iran is causing widespread disruption across the Middle East, with Washington officially confirming its first military casualties. Four American army reservists were killed when an Iranian drone struck an unfortified military facility in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, prompting warnings from the Trump administration of further losses. Thousands of civilians remain stranded amid grounded Gulf flights, whilst international powers, including China and Türkiye, are urgently calling for diplomatic negotiations to halt the widening war.
Hostilities have sharply escalated along the Lebanese-Israeli border, with an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in Baalbek leaving at least four dead and six wounded as rescue workers scramble through the rubble. The strike follows a wave of Hezbollah rocket attacks on northern Israel, launched in retaliation for the weekend's joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes and the killing of Iran's supreme leader. The Israeli military has ordered the evacuation of 16 Lebanese villages and deployed additional forces into southern Lebanon, displacing an estimated 30,000 civilians so far.
The sheer scale of the regional warfare continues to expand, with the U.S. Central Command reporting that Iran has launched over 500 ballistic missiles and 2,000 drones in retaliation to U.S. and Israeli strikes. During a closed-door briefing, military leaders conceded that more U.S. forces will died, after an assessment that followed the recent deaths of four American army reservists in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait. The soldiers, were killed on Sunday when an Iranian drone struck their facility, which reportedly lacked a fortified roof and failed to trigger any air defence alarms.
The United Nations has demanded a prompt and impartial investigation into an "horrific" airstrike on a girls’ primary school in southern Iran, which Iranian officials claim has cost the lives of more than 100 children. The attack, which occurred in Minab during the first wave of U.S.-Israeli bombardments, has drawn fierce condemnation from Tehran, whose UN ambassador branded the strike an unjustifiable criminal act. Whilst the UN human rights office has not formally attributed blame, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has maintained that American forces would not deliberately target educational facilities, and Israel has stated it is currently investigating the incident.
The UK government is taking immediate steps to protect its regional interests and citizens. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has ordered the deployment of HMS Dragon and counter-drone helicopters to southern Cyprus to defend the Royal Air Force's Akrotiri base from potential aerial threats. Concurrently, the Foreign Office is coordinating with commercial airlines to increase flight capacity out of Oman, prioritising the rapid evacuation of vulnerable British nationals caught in the crossfire.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards Navy said a Togo-flagged oil tanker was struck while attempting to make an “illegal passage” through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media said early on Friday.
Saudi civil defence sent an all-clear on Saturday after issuing alerts for a second time for potential danger in Riyadh and the city of Al-Kharj east of the capital, amid an uptick in attacks by Iran-aligned Houthis on the Gulf country.
The European Union will disburse €3.3 billion ($3.8 billion) to Ukraine for missiles and drones, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The U.S. State Department approved a $2.7 billion military sale to Ukraine for air-defence development upgrades, along with related equipment and services, the department said. Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities reported at least 10 people had died in Russian attacks over the last 24 hours.
Three students were killed in a school shooting in the southern Philippines on Friday, including a 16-year-old suspected gunman who turned the gun on himself, provincial officials said.
The death toll from an overnight Russian attack on the Kyiv region rose to four, including three children, Kyiv regional authorities said on Sunday. A mother and her two 3-year-old children were killed when a Russian drone strike hit a private home, the emergency service said.
A small container of lunar soil travelled more than 380,000 kilometres from the far side of the Moon to Earth two years ago. It recently made one more journey - from Beijing to Vienna, where China officially handed it over to the United Nations.
Russian authorities have reported attacks on voting systems and communication lines as the country’s parliamentary election entered its second day on Saturday (19 September).
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has launched a new eight-nation grouping aimed at boosting trade, energy and security cooperation across central and eastern Europe. Here's what you need to know.
The U.S. State Department approved a $2.7 billion military sale to Ukraine for air-defence development upgrades, along with related equipment and services, the department said. Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities reported at least 10 people had died in Russian attacks over the last 24 hours.
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