{"text":[[{"start":0,"text":"The US state department has ordered some personnel to leave Saudi Arabia amid increasing attacks from Iran-backed Houthi militants on the kingdom."}],[{"start":18.16,"text":"The order came as two people were killed in a drone attack that targeted Saudi Aramco’s giant Shaybah oilfield, the latest in a series of assaults on the nation’s oil infrastructure as the impact of the Iran war spreads across the region."}],[{"start":32.518,"text":"The US state department cited the Houthi attacks in its decision regarding “non-emergency US government employees and their family members in Saudi Arabia”, according to a spokesperson on Wednesday."}],[{"start":42.96,"text":"“Iranian-supported Houthis have increasingly engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia, including attacks on civilian airports and other critical infrastructure resulting in civilian casualties and severe travel disruptions,” the spokesperson added."}],[{"start":57.8,"text":"“The hostilities have the potential to escalate rapidly, including beyond that immediate area.”"}],[{"start":63.733,"text":"The US embassy in Riyadh said government personnel needed special permission to use the kingdom’s airports."}],[{"start":69.28,"text":"Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry said air defences intercepted a drone that attempted to target a processing facility at the oilfield, located in the Empty Quarter desert region in the kingdom’s south-east, near the border with the United Arab Emirates."}],[{"start":82.8,"text":"“The incident resulted in a fire in a vehicle belonging to a contractor operating at the oilfield, outside the facility’s perimeter,” the ministry said, adding that there was no impact on operations."}],[{"start":94.36,"text":"Falling debris from the interception resulted in the death of two individuals from the Philippines and Nepal, the ministry said. Two more people, a Pakistani and an Indian, were injured."}],[{"start":104.52,"text":"Hours later, the kingdom’s General Authority of Civil Aviation said one person was killed and eight were injured in an attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam on Wednesday. It added that it was assessing damage to the airport in the Eastern Province."}],[{"start":118.96,"text":"The Houthis have launched multiple attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure, but there was no immediate claim of responsibility for either strike on Wednesday."}],[{"start":127.16,"text":"West Texas Intermediate, the US crude oil benchmark, was up 0.9 per cent at about $98 per barrel on Wednesday evening in New York. The price of Brent crude, the international benchmark, opened 1 per cent higher at nearly $110 a barrel."}],[{"start":143.92,"text":"Recent Houthi attacks on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport killed at least 18 people, including a US citizen, and left more than 300 injured."}],[{"start":153.04,"text":"The strikes disrupted air travel in the kingdom and forced authorities to cancel or postpone many events, including a flagship economic conference that was scheduled to take place later this month."}],[{"start":168.28,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1792638351_9880.mp3"}