Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has indicated that Saudi Arabia is likely to join the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), a collaborative project involving Italy, Britain, and Japan to develop an advanced front-line fighter jet. The announcement came on Wednesday, following discussions among the three countries.
The GCAP, which was established in December 2022, represents a significant step in defence industry collaboration, combining the separate next-generation fighter initiatives of the three nations. Tajani confirmed that the partnership, initially limited to Italy, Britain, and Japan, is expected to be expanded to include Saudi Arabia.
Earlier this month, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met with her Japanese and British counterparts, Shigeru Ishiba and Keir Starmer, in Brazil, where discussions centred on extending the project. The collaboration aims to have the new combat aircraft in flight by the middle of the next decade, with companies such as Leonardo, BAE Systems, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries involved in its development.
Saudi Arabia’s potential inclusion in the GCAP is seen as a strategic move, bringing both financial investment and access to a lucrative market to a project expected to cost billions of dollars.
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Two people were killed and around 40 injured when a tram derailed in central Milan on Friday (27 February), a spokesperson for the local fire service said.
Switzerland said on Wednesday (25 February) it would make a one-off payment of 50,000 Swiss francs ($56,000) to each severely injured survivor and to the bereaved families of those killed in the New Year bar fire at the ski resort of Crans-Montana.
Day 14 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics delivered high-flying finals and emotional podium celebrations. From the halfpipe in Livigno to the hockey rink in Milan, athletes continued their push for medals as the Games continued.
Ukraine’s National Paralympic Committee has announced it will boycott the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympics in Verona on 6 March, citing the International Paralympic Committee’s decision to allow some Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flags.
Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is a hardline cleric with strong backing from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. His rise signals continuity in Tehran's anti-Western policies.
Global oil prices surpassed $119 a barrel on Monday (9 March, 2026), an almost four year high, as the Middle East conflict rumbled on.
Trump says the United States "don’t need people that join wars after we’ve already won," targeting his criticism at UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Israel continues to fire missles at strategic sites in Iran and Gulf regions report more strikes from Iran.
Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father Ali Khamenei as supreme leader on Monday (9 March), signaling that hardliners remain firmly in charge, as the week-old U.S.-Israeli war with Iran pushed oil above $100 a barrel.
China has urged Afghanistan and Pakistan to resolve their dispute through dialogue after Chinese envoy Yue Xiaoyong met Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, as fighting between the two neighbours entered its eleventh day.
U.S. President Donald Trump and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke by phone on Sunday as tensions between Washington and Westminster deepened over the conflict involving Iran. The call came less than a day after Trump criticised Britain’s response to U.S. strikes on Iranian targets.
Norwegian police are searching for a suspect after an explosion at the U.S. embassy in Oslo on 8 March caused minor damage but no injuries, in what authorities say may have been a deliberate attack linked to the Middle East crisis.
An explosion damaged a synagogue in the Belgian city of Liège early on Monday (9 March) in what authorities said was an antisemitic attack that caused damage but no injuries.
The Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers will meet on Monday to discuss a global rise in oil prices and a joint release of oil from emergency reserves coordinated by the International Energy Agency, the Financial Times reports.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 9th of March, covering the latest developments you need to know.
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