Kazakhstan vows to fast-track AZAL crash investigation amid rising diplomatic tensions
Kazakhstan has vowed to speed up its investigation into the Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) crash near Aktau, as mounti...
Sudan has reached an agreement with Russia to establish a naval base, Foreign Minister Ali Yusef Sharif announced in Moscow. The deal follows years of discussions and comes as Russia strengthens ties in the region.
Sudan has agreed to the creation of a Russian naval base, Foreign Minister Ali Yusef Sharif confirmed in a televised press conference in Moscow on Wednesday.
"We are in complete agreement on this issue, and there are no obstacles," Sharif said after talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. He did not provide further details on the deal.
Plans for a base were first signed under former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, but after his ousting in 2019, Sudanese military leaders said the project was under review. The base never materialised.
Russia has maintained ties with both sides in Sudan’s civil war, which has been ongoing for nearly two years. Russian officials have visited Port Sudan—the army’s wartime capital—several times in recent months.
In 2023, a senior Sudanese general said Russia had requested a Red Sea fuelling station in exchange for weapons and ammunition. Such a station would provide strategic advantages for Russia, particularly after uncertainty over its bases in Syria.
Sudan’s Red Sea coastline and gold resources have drawn competing regional and global interests throughout the war.
The Kremlin is utilising the recent United States and Israeli military strikes on Iran to validate its ongoing war in Ukraine. Russian officials are pointing to the escalation in the Middle East as evidence that Western nations do not adhere to international rules.
Saudi Arabia’s state oil giant Saudi Aramco closed its Ras Tanura refinery on Monday following an Iranian drone strike, an industry source told Reuters as Tehran retaliated across the Gulf after a U.S.-Israeli attack on Iranian targets over the weekend.
The Middle East crisis intensifies after the deadly attack on the compound of the Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei on Saturday that killed him, other family members and senior figures. Iran has launched retaliatory strikes on U.S. targets in the region.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. military has enough stockpiled weapons to fight wars "forever"; in a social media post late on Monday. The remarks came hours before conflict in Iran and the Middle East entered its fourth day.
Türkiye raised its security level for Turkish-flagged vessels in the Strait of Hormuz to Level 3 on Sunday (2 March). The development follows Iranian restrictions on shipping after U.S. and Israeli strikes and confirmation of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s death.
Strikes across the Middle East are intensifying, fuelling travel disruption, driving up global energy prices and forcing diplomatic missions to shut their doors as tensions continue to rise.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said the United States has a “virtually unlimited supply” of munitions and is capable of sustaining military action indefinitely, as the conflict with Iran entered its fourth day.
The United Nations has called for an investigation into a deadly attack on a girls’ primary school in Iran, which Iranian officials say has killed more than 100 children. The U.S. has said its forces “would not” deliberately target a school.
U.S. first lady, Melania Trump chaired a UN Security Council meeting on children and education in conflict on Monday (2 March), a move criticised by Iran as hypocritical following U.S. and Israeli strikes that triggered a UN warning about risks to children.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 3rd of February, covering the latest developments you need to know.
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