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Non-essential personnel to leave UK airbase in Cyprus after drone strike

Non-essential personnel will leave the UK’s RAF Akrotiri base in Cyprus after it was hit by a drone strike, causing limited damage and no casualties, Cypriot authorities and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said. A security alert put out to residents in the vicinity of Akrotiri by the British base’s administration advised residents to shelter in place until further notice “following a suspected drone impact”. An MoD spokesperson said: “Our armed forces are responding to a suspected drone strike at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus at midnight local time. Our force protection in the region is at the highest level and the base has responded to defend our people.” A statement later from the Sovereign Bases Administration said the authorities “have planned the temporary dispersal of non-essential personnel as a precautionary measure after an incident with an unmanned drone overnight”. It said: “We understand in the wider British bases community that people are concerned and that some residents have decided to leave Akrotiri village. “While we appreciate people may be worried, we do not believe this is necessary and temporary dispersal only applies to RAF Akrotiri station.” It said other facilities on the island would operate “as normal”. On Monday morning, the president of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, said the Akrotiri base was hit overnight by an unmanned Shahed drone which caused minor material damage. “I want to be clear: our country does not participate in any way and does not intend to be part of any military operation,” Christodoulides said in a statement. The apparent attack took place hours after the UK agreed to let the US use British military bases to attack Iranian missile sites. The UK has so far not been involved in the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, but in a recorded statement on Sunday evening, the prime minister said that Iran’s approach was becoming more reckless and putting British lives at risk, leading to the decision to allow the US to use two of its military bases. Britain retains sovereignty over the territory of two bases on Cyprus, which is a member of the EU. RAF Akrotiri covers a sprawling, square-shaped peninsula on the southern tip of the eastern Mediterranean island. The last time it was directly attacked was by Libyan militants in the mid-1980s. According to the MoD’s website, the joint operating base is “used as a forward mounting base for overseas operations in the Middle East and for fast jet training”. It is understood the UK government recently moved additional resources to bases in Cyprus as part of its operations in the Middle East. Hostilities in the Middle East entered their third day on Monday, with the US and Israel continuing to strike Iran after the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in an airstrike. In his announcement on Sunday, Starmer said that 200,000 British nationals, including military personnel, were thought to be at risk in the Gulf as Iran launched further missiles at its neighbours. Starmer said British forces would not be directly involved in the strikes, and the bases would only be used for the “specific and limited defensive purpose” of targeting missile storage depots and launchers being used to attack Iran’s neighbours. It was not clear which bases would be used, but the US president, Donald Trump, had previously referred to asking to use Diego Garcia, one of the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean. Reuters and the Press Association contributed to this report

US-Israel war on Iran live updates: conflict spreads to Lebanon as IDF strikes Hezbollah after attack on Israel

Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed 31 people and wounded 149, AFP is citing a Lebanese ministry as saying. More on this soon.

Thousands flee Beirut and southern Lebanon amid Israeli strikes: what we know so far on day three of the Iran war

The Israeli military said early on Monday it was striking Hezbollah across Lebanon, after the militant group launched missiles and drones towards Israel in retaliation for the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader. The Shia Muslim group has long been one of Tehran’s principal allies in the Middle East. Explosions were heard in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, according to witnesses. Lebanese security sources told Reuters that Israel had struck the city’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold. The Israeli military urged people in nearly 50 villages in eastern and southern Lebanon to evacuate ahead of possible retaliatory strikes after Hezbollah fired into Israel. Roads in southern Lebanon and leading out of Beirut’s southern suburbs were gridlocked early Monday with people fleeing. Trump warned on Sunday that combat operations in Iran were continuing and would carry on “until all of our objectives are achieved”. He continued to justify the operation, saying “an Iranian regime armed with long range missiles and nuclear weapons would be a dire threat to every American … I once again urge the Revolutionary Guard, the Iranian military police, to lay down your arms and receive full immunity or face certain death.” The US president told Fox News that 48 leaders have been killed in US and Israeli strikes on Iran. “It’s moving along. It’s moving along rapidly. This has been this way for 47 years,” Trump said. “Nobody can believe the success we’re having, 48 leaders are gone in one shot.” A suspected drone strike hit RAF Akrotiri – a UK base in Cyprus – the British Ministry of Defence confirmed. There were no casualties in the incident at the base. The suspected strike came hours after Keir Starmer said the UK had allowed the US to strike Iranian missile sites from British bases as officials plan an unprecedented rescue operation for UK citizens in the Gulf. Oil prices have soared and stock markets came under pressure on Monday after the US-Israeli strikes on Iran prompted fears of significant global economic disruption. Brent crude jumped by as much as 13% during early trading – to hit $82 per barrel, a 14-month high – as the effective closure of the strait of Hormuz, one of the most important arteries for global trade, intensified concerns over oil supplies. Three US service members have been killed in action as part of US military operations against Iran, the US Central Command said on Sunday. They were the first confirmed deaths since the US began launching strikes against Iran on Saturday. Trump warned in a Truth Social video that there would probably be more casualties. The death toll from a missile strike on a girls’ school in southern Iran has risen to almost 165, according to Iranian state media. The school, which was struck on Saturday morning, appears to be the worst mass casualty event of the US-Israeli-led bombing campaign on Iran so far. Trump said earlier that Iran’s new leadership wanted to talk to him and that he had agreed, according to an interview with the Atlantic. “They want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them. They should have done it sooner,” he said. Iran’s security chief, Ali Larijani, said Tehran would “not negotiate with the United States,” in response to reports that Iran is trying to revive negotiations with Washington. Just 27% of Americans approve of the US strikes that killed Iran’s leader, while about half – including one in four Republicans – believe Trump is too willing to use military force, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that concluded on Sunday. The war led to major disruption to the airline industry and the plans of hundreds of thousands of travellers in the Middle East and beyond as countries across the region closed their airspace and three of the key airports that connect Europe, Africa and the west to Asia halted operations.

Afghanistan says it thwarted Pakistan airstrikes on Bagram airbase

Afghanistan has said it had thwarted Pakistan’s attempted airstrikes on Bagram airbase, the former US military base north of Kabul, as cross-border fighting between the two countries stretched into a fourth day. Months of clashes have flared up again since Thursday, when Afghanistan launched attacks along the frontier and Pakistani forces hit back on the border and from the skies. Pakistan has declared it is in “open war” with Afghanistan. On Sunday, the police headquarters of Parwan province, where Bagram is located, said in a statement that several Pakistani military jets entered Afghan airspace “and attempted to bomb Bagram airbase” at about 5am. The statement said Afghan forces responded with “anti-aircraft and missile defence systems” and had managed to thwart the attack. There was no immediate response to the claim from Pakistan. Diplomatic efforts have failed to secure a truce, with Saudi Arabia and Qatar among those engaged in efforts to halt the fighting. The conflict has alarmed the international community, particularly as the area is one where other militant groups, including al-Qaida and Islamic State, still have a presence and have been trying to resurface. Islamabad has accused Afghanistan of failing to act against militant groups that have been carrying out attacks in Pakistan, which the Taliban government has rejected. Many attacks have been claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a militant group that has stepped up assaults in Pakistan since 2021, the year the Taliban authorities returned to power in Kabul. Pakistan acknowledged bombing key cities on Friday – including Kabul and Kandahar, which is home to Afghanistan’s supreme leader. There was an increased presence of security forces in Kabul on Sunday, with more checkpoints than usual in the city centre. The Taliban government’s deputy spokesperson, Hamdullah Fitrat, said Pakistani fire had killed 36 civilians across multiple provinces since Thursday, which Islamabad has not commented on.Multiple residents in Afghanistan’s Khost and Nangarhar provinces told AFP that the two sides were engaged in sporadic clashes on Sunday afternoon. At Torkham border crossing – a key gateway for Afghans returning from Pakistan – overnight fighting was reported by the Nangarhar province information department. The spokesperson for a military unit reported heavy fighting overnight in Paktia province. Afghan officials said Thursday’s border offensive was a response to earlier airstrikes that killed civilians, which Pakistan said targeted militants. This week’s escalation marked the first time that Pakistan has focused its airstrikes on Afghan government facilities, analysts noted, a stark change from previous operations that it said targeted militants. Pakistan’s information minister, Attaullah Tarar, said 46 locations across Afghanistan had been hit by airstrikes since its operation began. Pakistan has killed 415 Afghan soldiers, the minister said. Islamabad said earlier that 12 of its soldiers had been killed. Fitrat said more than 80 Pakistani soldiers were killed and 27 military posts captured. The Afghan government earlier put the death toll among its troops at 13. Casualty claims from both sides are difficult to verify independently. Associated Press and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report

Wong warns ‘there are limits’ to helping Australians affected by flight cancellations amid Iran conflict

The Australian government says travellers should be prepared for “serious” disruptions in coming days amid the turmoil in the Middle East, saying there are limits to what the government can do to help those stranded in the region. The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, said many Australians would be affected as countries shuttered their airspace amid the US and Israel’s attacks on Iran. Three major airports that connect Europe and Africa to Asia, in Qatar, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, halted operations as the latter two suffered damage during the conflict. Sign up: AU Breaking News email “We understand this will be a challenging time for many people, particularly those with family in the region or travel plans,” Wong said on Monday morning. “The Albanese government’s priority is the safety and security of Australians. “We will continue to support Australians to navigate the disruption ahead, providing regular travel advice updates and consular assistance where we can, noting there are limits to what any government can do in a fast-moving and uncertain environment.” Smartraveller recently updated its list of countries with “do not travel” advice to include many in the Middle East, including Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Palestine, Qatar, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Australians are encouraged to reconsider the need to travel to Jordan, Oman and Saudi Arabia. Major airlines, including Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways, transit through those nations. All three airlines suspended operations, offering those on flights in the coming days options to rebook or request a refund. Monday morning flight data on flightradar24 showed no commercial aircraft in the airspace over the United Arab Emirates or Qatar. Virgin Australia, which has a partnership with Qatar Airways, urged passengers on upcoming flights to “closely monitor their flight information and visit the Smartraveller website for the latest travel advice”, adding “the safety of our guests and crew is always our top priority”. Qantas flights remained unaffected by the turmoil on Monday morning as the flag carrier does not operate any aircraft into Middle Eastern airports. The airline has a number of flight path options into Europe to avoid airspace if needed. Wong said on Monday morning that there were about 115,000 Australians in the region, with about 11,000 travelling regularly in and out of Australia on Etihad, Emirates and Qatar Airways. “It’s very difficult at the moment for government to provide a great deal of assistance in circumstances where flights are being cancelled, disrupted and their space is closed,” she told ABC News Breakfast. “First we need to see if commercial flights will restart.” She would not yet commit to repatriation flights, saying the government believed the fastest way to see people return home would be the resumption of commercial options. “There’s conflict in the region, we’ve seen loss of life across the region, and airspace is not open,” she told reporters in Canberra on Monday morning. “So whether or not it is an Australian flight or a commercial flight, the flights are not able to occur.” ABC producer Lisa Needham told Radio National on Monday morning that she was stuck in Dubai while en route from Melbourne to the UK for a funeral. After passing through Dubai as the conflict broke out, she said she had now been in the UAE for nearly 30 hours, adding that she was bused to a hotel but had trouble getting any information from her airline, Emirates, or hotel staff. “It’s just really a case of sitting and waiting,” she said. She, and hundreds of other stranded travellers, were told everything had been cancelled. “We’ve definitely had quite a lot of, we believe, missiles being intercepted in the sky above us. You can hear it,” she said. “People become very uneasy, then they settle again. “A lot of people are feeling pretty resigned, I think … that we’re not going to go anywhere anytime soon.” Social media accounts for the UAE’s Australian embassy indicated many similar experiences, with citizens reporting difficulties getting through to consular staff. The embassy continued to urge any Australians there to shelter in place and follow instructions from local authorities. ‘Everything was dust’ Navid Saba, a 42-year-old Iranian-Australian in Sydney, said his parents were visiting from Tehran and boarded a flight back to the Middle East last week. While in the air over India, the first strikes landed in Iran. When they disembarked for a two hour layover in Dubai, everything was “chaos”. Saba said his parents, in their 60s and 70s, were in the airport for two sleepless nights before they were able to get a room booked at a hotel in the airport. While they were traveling to that room, the airport was hit. “Once they were moving to that hotel, at that exact time that one of the missiles hit the airport, at one of the gates close to them,” Saba recounted. “My dad said ‘I saw the flash, I heard the sound, everything was dust.’ Everyone was panicked and shocked.” His parents were eventually evacuated by military officials to central Dubai. Sydney airport chaos Disrupted travellers were forced to sleep at Sydney Airport over the weekend, with the airport keeping terminals open overnight as airlines and staff worked to accommodate them during the city’s busy Mardi Gras weekend. The airport is now largely back to normal, although passengers with flights scheduled to the Middle East in the coming weeks are encouraged to stay in contact with their airlines. “While some international services have been disrupted, the airport is operating as normal. Our teams are working closely with airlines to support passengers affected by cancellations,” a spokesperson for Sydney Airport said in a statement. “There has been no change to Sydney Airport’s security posture. Safety and security arrangements remain in place as part of our standard operating environment.”

Shark culls brought in after fatal attack cause division and anger in New Caledonia

Some beaches in areas of New Caledonia are closed to swimming and the authorities have begun shark culling off the capital, Nouméa, after a fatal attack in the popular tourist spot – prompting a legal challenge to stop the operation and reigniting debate over public safety and marine conservation. The culling operation began on 23 February, after a man from New Caledonia riding a wing foil in a recreational area was attacked and killed. Preliminary investigations indicate the victim was attacked by a tiger shark that measured at least three metres. The cull targets tiger and bull sharks in off Nouméa’s coastline, which is heavily used for swimming, boating and water sports by residents and tourists. The authorities said the operation was necessary to “protect human lives” in the face of increasing threats from sharks. Swimming and water-based activities outside protected areas have been banned along a 300-metre coastal strip, with the restrictions due to remain in place until the end of the culling campaign on Wednesday. Shark risk management has emerged as a sensitive issue across the French Pacific territory, where local elections are due to be held this month. The mayor of Nouméa, Sonia Lagarde, has defended the policy , rejecting the term “cull” in favour of “regulation” at a council meeting on 25 February. “When you have sharks of exceptional size approaching the coast, the question of regulation has to be asked,” Lagarde said. “The danger is there.” On Monday, a court in Nouméa was due to consider an application from the marine conservation organisation Ensemble Pour La Planète (EPLP) to stop the shark cull. “No new independent scientific studies demonstrate that shark culls reduce the risk of attacks,” the organisation said, adding that the targeted species are legally protected in the waters off Nouméa. EPLP succeeded in a similar court challenge to a shark cull in 2023. The local authorities launched shark culls after series of attacks, including the fatal attack of an Australian tourist in February 2023. The operation captured 127 sharks, mostly tiger sharks, but the court later ordered the authorities to stop the cull, describing it as “disproportionate”. Since the new cull started, seven tiger sharks and one bull shark have been caught, the authorities said. Sharks measuring under 2.1 metres in length are being released. Lagarde said the operation was necessary based on what she described as a sharp increase in shark sightings close to shore, adding that large sharks were now being observed in areas used daily for swimming and surfing. Lagarde also argued that alternative measures such as permanent drone surveillance or additional exclusion nets were too costly and technically complex. “New Caledonia is not Australia. These systems are extremely expensive, and we simply cannot afford them,” she said. The main pro-independence coalition has condemned the culling operation, and called for non-lethal prevention measures, including enhanced surveillance and public information. Aile Tikoure, from the civil society group Nyiimié kââ, which brought together mostly young people from southern island of Grande Terre, protested against the cull to highlight the Indigenous Kanak relationship with the marine environment. On Friday, the collective staged a demonstration outside Nouméa’s city hall, calling for the authorities to stop the cull, and said that further actions could follow in the coming days. “Our origins bind us to sharks,” Tikoure said. “They are considered ancestral species.”