Iran claims control of key waterway for energy transit
CNA
Major shipping firms have already suspended transit through the Strait of Hormuz, with maritime agencies reporting several ships attacked.
TEHRAN: Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday (Mar 4) they had total control of the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global energy transit, as Israel launched a new wave of strikes on the Iranian capital.
In Lebanon, the Israeli military told residents south of the Litani River to move north, warning that the army was "compelled to take military action" against Hezbollah in the area.
Governments around the world scrambled to evacuate citizens stranded by the war in the Middle East, with Iran expanding a missile and drone barrage on the fifth day of a war that sent global shares sinking.
The war sparked by a US-Israeli attack that killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has seen Iran lash out with missile and drone strikes from Israel across the Gulf, and has also drawn in Tehran's proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Cities like Dubai and Riyadh, which have long taken pride in their safety from the tumult of the region, have been drawn in, with the growing chaos sparing few countries in Iran's vicinity.
BAGHDAD: Israel said the war against Iran was entering its "decisive phase" on Saturday (Mar 14), as explosions rocked cities across the Middle East, with strikes on the US embassy in Baghdad and a major Emirati energy facility.Black smoke rose above Washington's embassy in Iraq, AFP journalists saw, the seco
TOKYO: The United States can provide "reliable" energy supplies to Asia-Pacific, US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said on Saturday (Mar 14), as the Middle East war cripples the region's oil and gas flow.
The oil will be released in the form of loans that companies will return with extra barrels as a premium, the US Energy Department said.
SHANGHAI: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Afghan counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi in a phone call that disputes between Afghanistan and Pakistan should be resolved through dialogue and consultation, not
SEOUL/TOKYO: North Korea fired a projectile towards the sea on Saturday (Mar 14), South Korea and Japan said, with Tokyo saying it may have been a ballistic missile, while the US and South Korea conducted military drills.The projectile was fired toward the sea off North Korea's east coast, the South Korean mi
JAKARTA: Indonesia's senior economic minister said on Friday (Mar 13) that the country may impose additional taxes on certain commodities, such as palm oil, if the government needs to reduce the impact on the budget from risin
The United States has deployed its USS Tripoli amphibious assault ship to the Middle East, reports say, as the war with Iran enters its third week.
JAKARTA: Two men on a motorbike threw acid in the face of an Indonesian rights activist, leaving him badly hurt and prompting calls on Friday (Mar 13) for a thorough investigation amid concerns of democratic backsliding in the country.Andrie Yunus, deputy coordinator of the KontraS rights group, sustained se
The Malaysian government is in a strong position to absorb the higher costs due to the various fiscal reforms and consolidation measures implemented over the past three years, said Finance Minister II Amir Hamzah Azizan.
A second arms package, worth around US$14 billion, could be approved for Taiwan after US President Donald Trump visits Beijing later this month.
TEHRAN: Fresh strikes rocked Iran and several Gulf countries on Friday (Mar 13), as Israel and the Islamic Republic unleashed a new wave of attacks in a war that has ignited the Middle East and threatens to torpedo the wor
Thailand alleges that the area had been used as a base of operations by the Cambodian military as well as criminals running transnational scams.
"While starting a war is easy, it cannot be won with a few tweets. We will not relent until making you sorry for this grave miscalculation," says Iranian security chief Ali Larijani.