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.
President Ilham Aliyev is holding his annual question-and-answer session with international journalists at the 4th Shusha Global Media Forum in Azerba...
The United States and Iran have significantly escalated their conflict, exchanging heavy missile and drone strikes across the Gulf region. Iran claim...
Tajikistan will reduce electricity exports and increase water reserves ahead of winter as the government seeks to improve domestic power supplies afte...
President Ilham Aliyev is holding his annual question-and-answer session with international journalists at the 4th Shusha Global Media Forum in Azerbaijan.
The United States and Iran have significantly escalated their conflict, exchanging heavy missile and drone strikes across the Gulf region. Iran claims it has once again closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global shipping route.
Tajikistan will reduce electricity exports and increase water reserves ahead of winter as the government seeks to improve domestic power supplies after last year’s seasonal shortages.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 13th of July, covering the latest developments you need to know.
The 4th Shusha Global Media Forum will bring together nearly 160 media leaders, experts and officials from 54 countries in Azerbaijan's historic city of Shusha on 13-14 July, to discuss journalism’s role in peacebuilding, restoring public trust and tackling challenges.
The U.S. has launched fresh strikes on Iran after Tehran targeted a container ship and said it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz. Iran also claimed to have expanded attacks on U.S. military facilities across the Gulf.
Iran's Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has promised to avenge the killing of his father, while U.S. President Donald Trump said Tehran and Washington had agreed to continue talks despite an escalation of hostilities this week.
Typhoon Bavi, the strongest storm to hit the eastern coast of mainland China this year, brought heavy rain, strong winds, flooding and landslides after making landfall in Zhejiang province on Sunday. More than 2.8 million people were evacuated to safety ahead of the storm.
China has maintained its highest-level rainstorm warning after Typhoon Bavi made landfall on the country's eastern coast, urging large-scale evacuations and emergency preparations across several provinces amid fears of severe flooding and landslides
A 93-year-old British woman has died after being injured in wildfires that swept through southeastern Spain's Almeria province, regional authorities said, bringing the confirmed death toll to 13 people.
More than 10,000 excess deaths were recorded across 27 European countries during a record-breaking heatwave in late June, with older people accounting for the vast majority of the toll, according to official mortality data.
An overnight fire at a popular bar in Bangkok has killed at least 27 people and injured 63 others, making it one of the deadliest pub disasters in the Thai capital in recent years. Authorities say the venue quickly filled with thick smoke, trapping patrons inside.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 13th of July, covering the latest developments you need to know.
The United States and Iran have significantly escalated their conflict, exchanging heavy missile and drone strikes across the Gulf region. Iran claims it has once again closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global shipping route.
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