AnewZ Morning Brief

Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 23rd of July, covering the latest developments you need to know.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a meeting on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers Meetting in Pasay, Manila on Thursday, the TASS news agency reported. The meeting lasted more than half an hour, it added. Lavrov and Rubio planned to discuss issues relating to the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine.

Wildfires raging across Europe have killed two firefighters in France and one in Italy. The two French firefighters died while battling a blaze near the southwestern city of Bordeaux’s airport while the italian firefighter died after taking ill while tackling a fire on the island of Sicily. Unprecedented heat and rising temperatures have been fuelling wildfires across Europe burning an estimated 200,000 hectares since the start of the year.

The Iran-backed Houthis said they had attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, which they accused of breaking a naval blockade against the Gulf kingdom announced on Monday. Saudi news agency SPA later reported that one of the two vessels suffered a fire during an attack, but didn’t say who targeted the tanker.

A deal which would allow Saudi Arabia to develop a civilian nuclear programme has been signed by Washington and Riyadh, the U.S. Department of Energy said. The agreement would involve a decades-long, multi-billion dollar partnership, whereby American firms work alongside the Saudi nuclear energy programme. The deal must still be reviewed by the U.S. Congress before coming into force.

The owner of a Michelin two-star restaurant in the South Korean capital Seoul could be jailed for a year for serving a dish topped with black ants. The species are not approved for human consumption in the country. Prosecutors estimate 49,000 ants were given to diners. The restaurant owner has admitted the charges, but disputes the number of ants served.