Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 12th of March, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Iran has officially pulled out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali declaring that the national team will not compete in a tournament co-hosted by a "corrupt" U.S. regime. Citing the recent assassination of the Supreme Leader and the deaths of over 1,300 Iranian civilians during the ongoing allied bombardment, Tehran stated that basic conditions for participation and safety "do not exist". The unprecedented withdrawal disrupts Group G, where Iran was scheduled to face Belgium, Egypt, and New Zealand, and comes despite earlier assurances from FIFA President Gianni Infantino that the squad would be welcome to compete in the United States.
The Middle East conflict has escalated further on its twelfth day, with Iranian forces setting two oil tankers ablaze in Iraqi waters and drone strikes injuring two people in a residential building in southern Kuwait. Tehran has also reportedly denied passage to Indian-flagged vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, aggressively defying U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent claims of an imminent military victory. Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes have hit an apartment building in central Beirut for the second time in recent days, as Iran's UN Ambassador accuses the U.S. and Israel of destroying nearly 10,000 civilian sites since the campaign began.
In an extraordinary bid to stabilise volatile energy markets, all 32 members of the International Energy Agency have agreed to release a record 400 million barrels of emergency crude reserves. The coordinated intervention comes as global oil prices hover around $100 a barrel, prompting severe knock-on effects worldwide, including the two-week closure of schools and the implementation of a four-day working week for government departments in Pakistan. Despite the emergency release, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has warned that prices could still skyrocket to $200 a barrel, vowing to target any U.S. or allied shipping attempting to navigate the highly contested Strait of Hormuz.
French President Emmanuel Macron has firmly ruled out lifting international sanctions against Russia as a mechanism to alleviate the mounting global energy crisis triggered by the Middle East conflict. Describing the Strait of Hormuz as an active "theatre of war", Mr Macron stressed that the conditions for Russian sanctions relief remain unmet. Instead, he called for a coordinated international effort to escort commercial shipping through the strategic waterway and maintain a robust naval presence across the eastern Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
The United Nations children’s agency has issued a stark warning regarding the severe humanitarian toll of the escalating Middle East conflict, reporting that more than 1,100 children have been killed or injured since hostilities erupted on 28 February. Describing the rapidly deteriorating situation as "catastrophic for millions of children across the region", UNICEF’s urgent appeal highlights the devastating, disproportionate civilian cost of the continuous missile and drone exchanges currently ravaging the Middle East.
One person was killed and nearly a dozen hurt in a new attack Riyadh's international airport on Sunday, Saudi ...
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The Kremlin on Monday rejected a 60-day ceasefire idea proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to...
The explosion at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday afternoon killed at least 12 people and injured a further 309, according to Saudi Arabia’s Civil Aviation Authority. The airport remains closed until further notice.
One person was killed and nearly a dozen hurt in a new attack Riyadh's international airport on Sunday, Saudi authorities reported, a day after a strike claimed by Yemen's Houthis that killed 13 people and wounded more than 300.
Yemen's Houthis renewed warning to airlines, airport workers, and travellers against using Saudi airports, saying the warning should be taken seriously and that the kingdom “bore responsibility for failed interceptions”, a day after an attack on Riyadh's international airport that killed 12 people.
The Houthi movement has escalated their attacks on Saudi Arabia, targeting the airport in Riyadh and other cities, killing more than a dozen people.
Ukraine is ready to stop attacks on Russian oil refineries if Moscow also halts strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday.
The Kremlin on Monday rejected a 60-day ceasefire idea proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to allow his country to hold presidential elections, saying it wanted an overall peace deal instead.
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The Houthi movement has escalated their attacks on Saudi Arabia, targeting the airport in Riyadh and other cities, killing more than a dozen people.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that Ukraine is ready to respect the energy ceasefire announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, but only if Russia does the same, saying Moscow has already violated the agreement.
China has announced sanctions against Belize’s foreign minister and Paraguay’s communications minister over their countries’ diplomatic ties with Taiwan. The move comes as Beijing continues to pressure the few remaining nations that maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taipei.
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