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The UK has agreed to a US request to use British military bases for "defensive" strikes on Iranian missile sites, Sir Keir Starmer has said. But the prime minister said the UK had learned lessons from the "mistakes of Iraq", and was not involved in the initial strikes on Iran and "will not join offensive action now". The BBC understands the US is likely to use RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean for strikes on Iranian missile sites. The PM made the announcement just hours before a British RAF base in Cyprus was hit by a drone strike  on Sunday night with no casualties reported. Investigations are under way to establish where it was fired from. The attack at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus took place at around midnight local time (22:00 GMT) with the MoD later saying that "minimal damage" was caused. In a video statement released earlier on Sunday, Sir Keir said the basis of the decision to accept the US request...

In the early hours of Saturday morning, President Donald Trump announced that the US had launched military strikes on Iran. In an eight-minute video statement posted to social media, he said the US was undertaking a "massive and ongoing operation" to end the Iranian threat and he called for regime change in Tehran. "It's a very simple message," the president said from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. "They will never have a nuclear weapon." The BBC's State Department correspondent Tom Bateman and Washington correspondent Daniel Bush break down the president's words line by line to explain how he is justifying the action and assess the risks ahead. Trump's basis for strikes "Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people. Its menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas, and our a...

It's been nearly a decade since Rihanna  last released a solo single not attached to any film project, and yet the superstar manages to regularly appear on  Billboard  charts with multiple songs. As a handful of the superstar's most popular tunes continue to live on a number of different tallies – both those that look only at American consumption, as well as globally – one of Rihanna's most famous singles finally lands on a competitive worldwide list. Rihanna's "Don't Stop the Music" debuts on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S . this week. The cut starts at No. 198, in third-to-last place, on the chart company's ranking of the most consumed songs all around the planet, with American consumption excluded. That last detail is what separates the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. from the Billboard Global 200, which is a completely worldwide ranking. Rihanna Hits a New Career Low " Dont STOP the Music " marks Rihanna's first new hit on the...

Oil futures surged in the first trades since the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran  over the weekend. US crude rose as much as 8%, to around $72 on Sunday evening and dropped to $71 later. Brent crude, the international benchmark, initially rocketed more than 12% higher to about $82 a barrel but fell below $78 later in the evening. Brent settled at just over $73 a barrel on Friday. Meanwhile, stock futures fell . Futures for the S&P 500, the Nasdaq and the Dow were all down about 1%. But futures for Exxon, Chevron and many other oil companies rose about 2% each. Defense stocks, like Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin, were up marginally. The initial oil futures move, though steep compared to typical crude trades, was largely telegraphed and within analysts’ expected range for a rattled but not overly concerned market. Oil prices had already been rising in anticipation of an attack on Iran. Traders are betting that the current disruption t...

The United States and Israel have launched a major attack on Iran, which President Donald Trump said would lay waste to the country’s military, obliterate its military program, and could even topple its regime. In a video on Truth Social, Trump accused Iran of rejecting “every opportunity to renounce their nuclear ambitions,” and said the US “can’t take it anymore.” Unlike the last time the US and Israel struck Iran, in June, these strikes began in daylight on Saturday morning – the first day of the week in Iran – as millions went to work or school. And whereas the US strikes in June were over within a few hours, sources have told CNN that the US military is this time planning for several days of attacks, suggesting broader objectives. In response, the Iranian regime has launched an unprecedented wave of strikes across the Middle East, targeting several countries that host US military bases. Blasts have been heard from the beaches of Dubai to the streets of Doha, in what co...

WASHINGTON, Feb 26 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund's executive board on Thursday approved an $8.1 billion, four-year loan for Ukraine, with $1.5 billion to be disbursed immediately to help keep the government running as its war against Russia's invasion drags into a fifth year. The IMF said the new Extended Fund Facility arrangement for Ukraine would help anchor a $136.5 billion international support package for the war-torn country, which this week marked the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion. The new loan, which replaces a $15.5 billion program that was approved in 2023, will help Kyiv to maintain economic stability and keep public spending flowing, the IMF said. Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko hailed the IMF loan as part of a broader financial framework that would cover an estimated budget shortfall of $136.5 billion over four years, including a 90 billion euro loan from the European Union. "It is very important for...

The richest man in Africa works from a construction trailer in a dusty parking lot. The billionaire, Aliko Dangote, said he once had multiple homes in several countries, a nightlife of fancy parties, a Rolls-Royce and a Ferrari. Then, roughly two decades ago, he got serious about industrialization, he said. Mr. Dangote, now 68, said he sold the cars and the homes abroad and built sugar refineries. He bought a majority stake in a salt-refining company. He built cement factories, first across Nigeria, then in Senegal, Ethiopia, Tanzania and beyond. Then came fertilizer and polyurethane factories. This work of proving the continent is capable of large-scale industrialization done by one of its own was much more important to him than the life of luxury. “Some of us,” he said, “need to rescue the country.” Now, Mr. Dangote’s latest achievement is finally up and running: a sprawling new refinery in Nigeria, a nation that for decades has exported the vast majority of i...