A little while ago we learnt that the UK government has chartered a commercial flight out of Oman to help British nationals who want to leave the Middle East.

The flight is scheduled to leave Muscat on 4 March at 23:00 local time (19:00 GMT), and will take the most vulnerable people first.

The Foreign Office says British nationals who have registered their presence in the UAE and are currently in Oman should urgently fill out this form, external if they would like a seat on the flight.

It urged people not to make their way to the airport unless they have been called by the Foreign Office.

It adds that it will continue to work with airlines to find more routes for people to return to the UK.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC there were an estimated 300,000 British citizens in Gulf countries, where much of the air space is closed.

Stock markets across Asia are seeing red this morning, but South Korea is having an especially tough time.

Its Kospi exchange was forced to halt trading for 20 minutes on Wednesday after stocks fell by more than 8%. Trading has since resumed but the Kospi is more than 10% lower.

The pause is part of an automatic mechanism called the circuit breaker, designed to prevent extreme market volatility if share prices fall drastically.

It was the first time the country's index circuit breaker was activated since August 2024.

A circuit breaker will kick in again if share prices fall by 15%.

Seoul is a big importer of Middle Eastern oil and its export-reliant economy is especially vulnerable to geopolitical shocks that can put shipments at risk.

Click here for details about today's trading

Image source, Getty Images

Saudi Arabia's defence ministry has said it intercepted two cruise missiles south of its capital, Riyadh, news agencies Reuters and AFP are reporting.

Separately, the official Saudi Press Agency is reporting that nine drones have been intercepted.

Saudi officials did not say where the missiles and drones were launched from.

Israel has launched new strikes on targets in Iran, and warned of retaliatory attacks.

Several people were also reportedly killed in Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon. Israel says it was targeting Hezbollah operatives and facilities.

And the UK government has chartered an evacuation flight out of Oman on Wednesday to help British nationals who want to leave the Middle East.

The flight, the first specifically arranged by the UK government, is currently scheduled to leave Muscat International Airport on Wednesday night at 23:00 local time (19:00 GMT) - and will prioritise the most vulnerable people.

Stay with us as we bring you the latest updates.