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Pirhossein Kolivand, the head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society has detailed extensive damage to civilian infrastructure caused by recent attacks, describing them as “alarming acts and war crimes” by Israeli and U.S. forces.

He urged international bodies to take immediate action to halt assaults on civilians, medical personnel, relief workers, schools, and critical infrastructure, and to ensure legal accountability for perpetrators.

According to Kolivand, field assessments indicate that 81,365 civilian units have been damaged across Iran, including 61,555 residential units and 19,020 commercial units. “These figures are not just numbers,” he said.

“Behind each unit is a family, a life, a livelihood, a memory, and a future destroyed under the weight of war and violence.” In Tehran province alone, 24,605 units have been affected.

The attacks have also targeted essential services. Kolivand reported damage to 275 medical and emergency centers, 498 schools, 17 Red Crescent centers, three helicopters, and 48 operational vehicles, including ambulances, rescue, and support vehicles. “Attacks on these facilities, helicopters, and equipment are not simply destruction of property,” he emphasized. “They represent direct assaults on the lifelines that save human lives.”

Kolivand stressed that under international humanitarian law, civilians, healthcare personnel, aid workers, hospitals, schools, medical and rescue transport — including helicopters — are afforded special protection and must not be targeted.

He warned that damaging medical centers, schools, ambulances, rescue helicopters, and aid bases is not merely a material loss; it undermines fundamental principles such as the distinction between military and civilian targets, proportionality, and precaution in attacks.

“Any assault on aid workers, patients, students, teachers, and civilian families must be investigated thoroughly, independently, and transparently by competent international bodies, with perpetrators held accountable for the legal and humanitarian consequences,” he said.

Kolivand emphasized that the Iranian Red Crescent, within its humanitarian mandate, conducts continuous international follow-ups, reporting damages to civilians, medical centers, schools, aid workers, and relief infrastructure through official channels of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and other relevant institutions.

In conclusion, Kolivand called on the international community to act decisively: “Silence in the face of civilian suffering, normalization of attacks on hospitals, schools, ambulances, and aid workers, and indifference to the lives of children and patients is not only a moral failure but a direct weakening of the foundations of international humanitarian law. Today is the time for responsible, transparent, and decisive action to protect humanity.”

Source:adaderana.lk

Gold prices in Sri Lanka have recorded a notable decline, reflecting the ongoing downward movement in global markets.

According to market data, local gold rates dropped by Rs. 5,000 today, bringing the total decrease over the past week to around Rs. 38,000.

As a result, the price of a 24-carat gold sovereign has fallen from Rs. 408,000 on March 17 to Rs. 370,000 as of today (24). Similarly, the 22-carat gold sovereign has seen a reduction from Rs. 375,300 to Rs. 340,400 during the same period.

Meanwhile, international gold prices have also continued to decline compared to the previous day, with the global rate currently standing at approximately USD 4,344 per ounce.

Market analysts note that fluctuations in global demand and broader economic conditions are contributing to the ongoing decrease in gold prices both locally and internationally.

Approximately 1,000 US soldiers with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division are expecting to deploy in coming days to the Middle East, according to two sources familiar with the matter, adding to the growing military firepower in the region as the Trump administration says it is in talks with Iran to end the conflict.

The contingent includes Maj. Gen. Brandon Tegtmeier, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, and division staff, as well as a battalion of the 1st Brigade Combat Team which is currently acting as the division’s Immediate Response Force (IRF), the sources said. The initial elements of the division staff and battalion are expected to begin deploying within a week, one of the sources familiar said; other elements within the brigade are also expecting to deploy at a later date, though those expectations could change as the situation develops.

The brigade will be the “ready unit” in the Middle East, prepared to be called upon if needed, the source said. The 82nd Airborne Division made a similar movement in 2020 after the killing of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani.

The IRF is a brigade that is ready to move with limited notice, acting as a rapid response force able to deploy within hours when called upon. The designation of the IRF rotates between teams in the Army brigade.

The first source familiar said there had not yet been official orders to deploy, though they were expected imminently.

President Donald Trump said Monday that the US and Iran had reached 15 points of agreement in conversations to end the conflict, and that Iran would “very much” like to make a deal. Iran previously denied there was any dialogue happening with the US, but on Tuesday, an Iranian source told CNN that there was “outreach” between the two countries and that Iran was willing to listen to “sustainable” proposals to end the war.

Still, amid the talks, thousands more US forces are coming to the region in addition to the 82nd Airborne.

Two Marine Expeditionary Units and Amphibious Ready Groups have also recently deployed to the region, bringing significant firepower and military options. CNN reported last week that the 11th MEU and Boxer Amphibious Ready Group were having their scheduled deployments accelerated and rerouted from the Indo-Pacific to the Middle East, where the 31st MEU and Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group were also deploying.

The ARG-MEUs come with roughly 4,500 Marines and sailors each and bring a range of capabilities outside of on-the-ground support, including substantial aviation and logistics components.

Source:adaderana.lk

Iran launched multiple waves of missiles at Israel, the Israeli military said, after U.S. President Donald Trump postponed a threat to bomb the Islamic Republic’s power grid because of what he described as productive talks with Iranian officials.

The missiles triggered air raid sirens in parts of Israel, including Tel Aviv where blasts from interceptions were heard. In one attack, homes in northern Israel were damaged by falling debris following an interception. No deaths were reported.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Monday that the U.S. and Iran had held ‘‘very good and productive’‘ conversations about a ‘‘complete and total resolution of hostilities in the Middle East."

As a result, he said, he was postponing for five days a plan to hit Iran’s energy grid. His announcement sent share prices higher and oil prices sharply lower to below $100 a barrel, a sudden reversal to a market swoon caused by his weekend threats and Iran’s vows to respond.

Those gains were in jeopardy on Tuesday however, after Iran’s powerful parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf - who an Israeli official and two other sources familiar with the matter said was the interlocutor in the talks on the Iranian side - said no negotiations had taken place.

‘‘No negotiations have been held with the U.S., and fakenews ⁠is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped,’‘ he wrote on X.

Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said they were launching fresh attacks on U.S. targets, and described Trump’s words as ‘‘psychological operations’‘ that were ‘‘worn out’‘ and having no impact on Tehran’s fight.

Global markets rallied in relief overnight Monday after Trump added five days to his Saturday ultimatum for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz - a conduit for about 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas - within 48 hours.

But on Tuesday those gains were under threat as markets weighed the conflicting messages from Tehran and Washington. U.S. Treasury yields pushed higher and the dollar regained lost ground as the world continues to grapple with an energy shock triggered by Iran’s threat to shipping in the strait.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up 4.2% to $104.21 a barrel, reversing some of their 10% slide from Monday, while U.S. crude CLc1 rose 4.3% to $91.93 per barrel.

‘‘The underlying situation is still incredibly fragile or flammable,’‘ said IG market analyst Tony Sycamore.

‘‘MAJOR POINTS OF AGREEMENT"

Trump told reporters his special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who had been negotiating with Iran before the war, had held discussions with a top Iranian official into the evening on Sunday and would continue on Monday.

‘‘We have had very, very strong talks. We’ll see where they lead. ⁠We have major points of agreement, I would say, almost all points of agreement,’‘ he said on Monday.

A European official said that while there had been no direct negotiations between the two nations, Egypt, Pakistan and Gulf states were relaying messages.

A Pakistani official and a second source told Reuters that direct talks on ending the war could be held in Islamabad as soon as this week.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement that he spoke with Trump on Monday and that Israel would press on with attacks in Lebanon and Iran.
But Netanyahu said Trump believed there was a possibility of ‘‘leveraging the mighty achievements obtained by the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) and the U.S. military, in order to realize the goals of the war in ⁠a deal - a deal that will preserve our vital interests."

Although there was no immediate confirmation that talks had taken place as described by Trump, Iran’s foreign ministry described initiatives to reduce tensions.

It said Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi had reviewed developments related to the Strait of Hormuz with his Omani counterpart and agreed to continue consultations between the two countries.

The Pakistani official said U.S. Vice President JD Vance, as well as Witkoff and Kushner, were expected to meet Iranian officials in Islamabad this week, following ⁠a call between Trump and Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir.

The White House confirmed Trump’s call with Munir. The Pakistani prime minister’s office and foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Iranian media reported that Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif discussed the impact of the war on regional and global security.

Iran has effectively closed the key Strait of Hormuz since the United States and Israel launched their war on the ⁠country on February 28. More than 2,000 people have been killed in the war.

Iran had responded to Trump’s threats to strike its power plants by saying it would hammer the infrastructure of U.S. allies in the Middle East, raising the prospect that an extreme disruption to global energy supplies could last longer than previously expected.

Source:adaderana.lk

Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said that US and Israel attacked the vicinity of Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant on Tuesday evening, IRNA reported.

It said the attack caused no technical damage or human casualties based on initial reports.

Meanwhile, the head of an intergovernmental nuclear safety agency is raising the alarm after Iran reported a strike near its Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant on Tuesday. 

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi called for “maximum restraint to avoid nuclear safety risks during conflict” in a post on the social platform X.

The IAEA is headquartered in Vienna, Austria, and seeks to promote the safe operation of nuclear technology around the world. 

Iran’s nuclear power plant was not damaged during the attack, nor were any of the plant’s employees, according to Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization. The country said the U.S. and Israel launched the strikes around Bushehr. 

“Targeting peaceful nuclear facilities is a blatant violation of international rights and regulations and a serious threat to regional security,” the Atomic Energy Organization wrote in a Tuesday post on X. 

The reported strikes follow President Trump’s statement Monday that there have been “good and productive” peace talks with Iran, and a senior Iranian official said Iran’s leaders were reviewing a U.S. proposal. 

The U.S. and Israel initiated joint military operations against Iran after negotiations on a nuclear deal failed.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reiterated the Trump administration’s commitment to preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, saying he sees the Pentagon as “part of this negotiation as well.”

“We negotiate with bombs,” he said during an Oval Office press conference with Trump on Tuesday. 

“You have a choice, as we loiter over the top of Tehran, as the president talked about, about your future,” Hegseth continued. “The president has made it clear that you will not have a nuclear weapon, the War Department agrees, our job is to ensure that, and so we’re keeping our hand on that throttle as long, as hard as is necessary to ensure the interests of the United States of America are achieved on that battlefield.”

Source-Adaderana.lk

The price of Brent crude has moved back above $100 a barrel, after plunging on Monday.

On Tuesday morning in Asia, the oil benchmark was up by 3.75% at $103.69 (£77.42), while Nymex Light Sweet was 3.42% higher at $91.55.

The price of Brent fell by more than 10% on Monday after US President Donald Trump delayed fresh strikes on Iran that were seen as an escalation of the conflict and said a peace deal could be reached soon.

But now investors are weighing that against Tehran’s denials that it had held talks with the US.

Source:adaderana.lk

Oil prices have fallen sharply in early trade in Asia after US President Donald Trump said negotiations to end the war are in progress - a claim disputed by Iranian officials.

Brent crude fell by 6.6% to $97.56 (£72.65) a barrel, while US-traded oil fell by more than 5.5% to $87.20.

Trump said on Tuesday that talks to end the war are happening “now” and that the people the US were in discussions with “want to make a deal so badly”.

On Monday, official in Tehran said claims of talks between the US and Iran were “fake news”, as strikes between Israel and Iran continued to be exchanged.

Trump said Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were involved in the discussions to end the war.

The president added that the US-Israeli strikes on Tehran have led to “regime change”, repeating his claim that Iranian leaders have agreed that they will never have a nuclear weapon.

But Tehran has previously rejected claims that it had been in contact with the US, calling it an attempt to manipulate markets.

The price of Brent crude rose back above $100 a barrel on Tuesday and even after the latest falls remains much higher than before the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on 28 February.

The conflict has triggered a global energy crisis with governments around the world announcing measures in recent weeks aimed at easing the impact on their economies.

On Tuesday, the boss of energy giant Shell warned that shortages could hit Europe next month.

Wael Sawan, chief executive of Shell, told an energy industry conference in Houston: “South Asia was first to get that brunt. That’s moved to South East Asia, North East Asia and then more so into Europe as we get into April.”

Oil and gas prices have soared since the war, with Iran effectively blocking the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway which usually sees about 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas pass through each day.

Source:adaderana.lk

The Air India Group said it will operate a total of 24 scheduled and non-scheduled flights to and from the West region on Tuesday, while services to several destinations remain temporarily suspended, according to an Air India press release.

The airline said Air India and Air India Express together will run the flights, including scheduled services to Jeddah and Muscat, along with additional non-scheduled operations to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Both carriers will continue operating their scheduled services to and from Jeddah, with a total of 10 flights between India and Jeddah. Air India will operate one return service from Delhi and two return services from Mumbai. Air India Express will operate one flight each from Hyderabad and Kozhikode.

Air India Express will also operate four scheduled flights to and from Muscat, including services from Delhi and Mumbai.

In addition to the scheduled services, the Air India Group said it will operate 10 non-scheduled flights to and from the UAE, subject to the availability of slots and prevailing conditions at departure stations. 

The airline said these flights are being operated with the requisite permissions from Indian and local regulatory authorities.

In the case of the UAE, in Dubai, no regular scheduled operations, but ad hoc flights are running by Air India and Air India Express to Delhi, while in Abu Dhabi, no scheduled services; ad hoc flights by Air India Express are operating to Delhi, Kozhikode and Mumbai.

All operations are suspended for Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah and Al Ain, according to the press release.

In the case of Oman, in Muscat, regular scheduled operations are active, with Air India Express operating flights to Delhi and Mumbai, while in Salalah, all operations are suspended.

In the case of Saudi Arabia operations in Jeddah, scheduled services remain active. Air India is flying to Delhi and operating two flights to Mumbai. Air India Express is operating flights to Hyderabad and Kozhikode.

In Riyadh and Dammam, all operations are suspended.

There are no scheduled or ad hoc operations for Bahrain, Doha, Kuwait City and Tel Aviv.

The airline said all Air India flights to and from North America, Europe, Australia and other regions continue to operate per schedule.

Passengers booked on suspended routes can rebook to a future date at no additional charge or opt for a full refund, the airline said.

Air India passengers can submit rebooking or cancellation requests on the airline’s website at (https://airindia.com) or contact the 24x7 customer support hotline at +911169329333 or +911169329999.

Air India Express passengers travelling from the UAE can rebook flights without additional charges on additional commercial flights from any UAE station to any destination in India.

The airline also said passengers can rebook through the AI-powered digital assistant Tia on WhatsApp at +91 63600 12345.

According to the press release, Air India Group is exploring opportunities to operate additional ad-hoc flights to and from destinations in West Asia. 

Source:adaderana.lk

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (Mar 24) the US was making progress in its efforts to negotiate an end to war with Iran, including winning an important concession from Tehran, while a source confirmed that Washington had sent Iran a 15-point settlement proposal.

Trump told reporters at the White House the US was talking to “the right people” in Iran in order to reach a deal to end hostilities, adding the Iranians wanted to reach a deal very badly.

“We’re in negotiations right now,” he said.

Tehran has denied that direct talks have taken place. Iran’s powerful parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, on Monday dismissed the reports as “fake news”.

The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Washington sent Iran a 15-point plan to end the war in the Middle East. Israel’s Channel 12, quoting three sources, said the US was seeking a month-long ceasefire to discuss the 15-point plan.

A source familiar with the matter confirmed that the US had sent a plan to Iran but provided no further details.

The Israeli media outlet said the plan would include the dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear program, ceasing support for proxy groups, and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Republican president told reporters at the White House that Iran had made a valuable concession related to non-nuclear energy and the Strait of Hormuz, although he did not elaborate.

Iran has told the United Nations Security Council and the International Maritime Organization that “non-hostile vessels” may transit the Strait of Hormuz if they coordinate with Iranian authorities, according to a note seen by Reuters on Tuesday.

Iran has effectively shut the waterway, where 20 per cent of the world’s oil normally transits, since the US and Israel launched attacks four weeks ago, creating the worst energy supply shock in history and sending fuel prices soaring.

“It was a very big present, worth a tremendous amount of money,” Trump said in his comments on Iran, adding: “It was a very nice thing they did.”

But US, Israeli and Iranian strikes continued and sources said Washington was preparing to send more troops to the region. Two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday that the US was expected to send thousands of soldiers from the Army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East.

The forces will add to the 50,000 US troops already in the region and accelerate Washington’s massive US military buildup there, fuelling fears of a longer conflict.

Pakistan’s prime minister said on Tuesday that he was willing to host talks between the US and Iran on ending the war, a day after Trump postponed threats to bomb Iranian power plants, saying there had been “productive” talks.

In a post on X, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan fully supported ongoing efforts to pursue dialogue and was ready to host “meaningful and conclusive talks for a comprehensive settlement”.

A Pakistani government source said discussions on a meeting were at an advanced stage and if it did happen, “a big ‘if’”, it would take place within a week. Pakistan has long-standing ties to neighbouring Iran’s Islamic Republic and has been building a relationship with Trump.

The US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Feb 28 after saying they had failed to make enough headway in talks aimed at ending Iran’s nuclear program, although mediator Oman said significant progress had been made.

Source:adaderana.lk

On March 23, 2026, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) delivered a stark warning: Earth’s climate has entered uncharted territory, with heat accumulating at record rates and the consequences expected to last for centuries, if not millennia. 

According to BBC and other global news outlets, the WMO’s annual State of the Global Climate report paints a dire picture of a planet pushed far beyond its natural limits by human-induced greenhouse gas emissions, particularly carbon dioxide.

In a year marked by extreme weather and mounting climate anxiety, the numbers are unequivocal. The 11 hottest years ever recorded have all occurred between 2015 and 2025, with 2025 itself ranking as either the second or third warmest year since records began in 1850. The global average temperature last year was about 1.43°C higher than the pre-industrial baseline, a figure that underscores the relentless upward march of planetary warming.

But temperature alone doesn’t tell the whole story. The WMO’s report, as detailed by Agence France-Presse and other sources, introduces for the first time a comprehensive metric known as the planet’s “energy imbalance.” In a stable climate, the energy Earth receives from the Sun is roughly equal to the energy it radiates back into space. However, the rapid increase in atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide—now at their highest levels in at least 800,000 years—has upset this equilibrium. As a result, Earth is now absorbing more heat than it can emit, a phenomenon with profound implications for every aspect of life on the planet.

“The global climate is in a state of emergency. Planet Earth is being pushed beyond its limits. Every key climate indicator is flashing red,” declared UN Secretary-General António Guterres in a video address responding to the WMO’s findings. He added, “Humanity has just endured the 11 hottest years on record. When history repeats itself 11 times, it is no longer a coincidence. It is a call to act.”

This energy imbalance is not just a theoretical concept—it has tangible, and often devastating, consequences. More than 91% of the excess heat is absorbed by the world’s oceans. That heat content reached a new record high in 2025, with the rate of ocean warming more than doubling in the past two decades compared to the late 20th century. According to the WMO, this unprecedented ocean heating harms marine ecosystems, accelerates the loss of biodiversity, and reduces the ocean’s ability to absorb carbon dioxide. It also fuels more intense tropical and subtropical storms, while exacerbating the ongoing loss of sea ice in polar regions.

The evidence is visible from the poles to the equator. The Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets have both lost considerable mass, and the annual average extent of Arctic sea ice in 2025 was the lowest or second-lowest ever recorded in the satellite era. Sea levels are also rising at an alarming pace: the global mean sea level in 2025 was about 11 centimeters higher than in 1993, when satellite monitoring began. The WMO projects that both ocean warming and sea-level rise will continue for centuries, locking in long-term risks for coastal communities and low-lying nations.

“Human activities are increasingly disrupting the natural equilibrium and we will live with these consequences for hundreds and thousands of years,” explained Prof. Celeste Saulo, secretary-general of the WMO, as quoted by BBC. The agency’s scientific officer, John Kennedy, added that recent rapid analyses show the intensity of recent heatwaves would have been “virtually impossible” without human-caused climate change.

Complicating matters further is the looming threat of El Niño, a naturally occurring climate phenomenon characterized by the warming of surface waters in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. While the world is currently under the influence of La Niña—a pattern that typically brings cooler global temperatures—forecasts indicate a transition to neutral conditions by mid-2026, with a possible El Niño developing before the end of the year. If that happens, scientists warn, global temperatures could surge even higher in 2027, potentially setting new records and compounding the impacts of human-driven warming. “If we transition to El Niño, we will see an increase in global temperature again, and potentially to new records,” said Dr. John Kennedy of the WMO.

The WMO’s deputy chief, Ko Barrett, did not mince words about the gravity of the situation, describing the outlook as a “dire picture.” She emphasized the hope that clear scientific evidence will spur urgent action, but admitted, “There is no denying that these indicators are not moving in a direction that provides for a lot of hope.”

Meanwhile, the consequences of this warming are already being felt around the globe. Stronger storms, more intense heatwaves, accelerated glacier melt, and record-low sea ice levels are just some of the observable impacts. Rising sea levels threaten major cities and small island nations alike, while the degradation of marine ecosystems jeopardizes food security for millions who depend on the ocean for sustenance and livelihoods. The loss of biodiversity, both on land and in the sea, further undermines the planet’s resilience to future shocks.

In his remarks, Secretary-General Guterres linked the climate crisis to broader issues of global security, noting, “In this age of war, climate stress is also exposing another truth: our addiction to fossil fuels is destabilizing both the climate and global security.” He urged world leaders to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy sources, calling it essential not just for climate stability but for energy and national security as well. “Today’s report should come with a warning label: climate chaos is accelerating and delay is deadly,” Guterres said, underscoring the urgency of immediate and coordinated global action.

Despite the bleak outlook, the WMO and the United Nations continue to stress the importance of evidence-based policymaking and international cooperation. The hope is that the mounting scientific consensus and the undeniable reality of climate impacts will galvanize governments, industries, and individuals to take the bold steps needed to avert even greater catastrophe. As Prof. Saulo put it, “Scientific advances have improved our understanding of the energy imbalance and its implications for the climate,” but knowledge alone is not enough—action must follow.

With the world at a crossroads, the message from the WMO and the UN is clear: the time for complacency has passed. Every fraction of a degree matters, and every delay in action increases the risks for current and future generations. The planet is flashing red, and the window for meaningful change is rapidly closing.

Source:adaderana.lk

Airstrikes targeting a site belonging to Iraq’s Shi’ite Popular Mobilization Forces in the western province of Anbar killed at least 15 fighters, including the PMF’s Anbar operations commander, and wounded 30 others, security and health sources told Reuters early on Tuesday.

The PMF confirmed in a statement the death of its Anbar commander, Saad al-Baiji, and 14 of his companions. ⁠It accused the United States of carrying out the attack, saying a U.S. airstrike targeted a command headquarters while personnel were on duty.

Health sources said some of the wounded were in critical condition and the death toll could rise.

The strikes targeted the PMF headquarters during a security meeting attended by senior commanders, the sources added.

The PMF, known in Arabic as Hashd ⁠al-Shaabi, is an umbrella group of mostly Shi’ite paramilitary factions that was formally integrated into Iraq’s state security forces and includes several groups aligned with Iran.

Tehran-backed armed groups have launched attacks on U.S. ⁠bases in Iraq since the outbreak of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran in February, raising fears of a wider regional escalation.

The conflict ⁠has spilled beyond Iran’s borders, with Tehran launching strikes on Israel and Gulf Arab states hosting U.S. military installations, ⁠while Israel has carried out attacks in Lebanon following cross-border fire by Iran-aligned Hezbollah.

Source: adaderana.lk

The Department of Meteorology has forecast showers and thundershowers in several parts of Sri Lanka after 2.00 p.m. today (24).

Rainfall is expected in the Western Province, Southern Province, Uva Province and Sabaragamuwa Province, as well as in the Kandy District and Nuwara Eliya District.

The department also warned that fairly heavy showers exceeding 50 mm could occur in parts of the Ratnapura District, Galle District and Matara District.

Meanwhile, most other areas of the island are expected to experience mainly dry conditions.

Misty weather is likely during the early morning hours in parts of the Western Province, Central Province, Sabaragamuwa Province and Uva Province, along with the Galle District, Matara District and Kurunegala District.

The public has been advised to take necessary precautions to reduce the risk of damage from sudden strong winds and lightning that may accompany thundershowers.