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Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi says the deaths of three journalists in Lebanon are “not only a deep loss for the media community in the region and the world, but also a serious wake-up call for the global conscience”.

Ali Shoeib, a reporter for Al Manar TV - a network run by the militant group Hezbollah - and Al Mayadeen reporters Fatima and Mohamed Fetoni were killed in an Israeli air strike in the town of Jezzine.

In a post on social media, Araghchi called the strikes “clearly a targeted assassination” and an attempt to “silence the voices of truth-tellers”.

Israel’s military has confirmed it killed Ali Shoeib in a strike, but accuses him of being a Hezbollah operative posing as a journalist.

This is the second time Israel has been accused of targeting journalists in Lebanon since the war began, writes our Middle East correspondent.

Meanwhile, Qatari news channel Al Araby has said that its Tehran office was damaged in an Israeli strike.

“An Israeli missile targets the Al Araby TV channel building in the capital, Tehran… extensive damage and the suspension of live broadcasting,” the channel said in a post on X.

Video posted by the channel showed the office strewn with broken furniture, its windows shattered.

The street outside was extensively damaged, with cars destroyed and debris over a wide area.

Source:adaderana.lk

The risk of an expanded Iran war grew as Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis on Saturday launched their first attacks on Israel since the start of the conflict, even as additional U.S. forces reached the Middle East.

Washington has dispatched thousands of Marines to the Middle East. The first of two contingents arrived on Friday on an amphibious assault ship, the U.S. military said on Saturday.

On Saturday, the Washington Post reported U.S. officials said the Pentagon is preparing for weeks of ground operations in Iran. Whether President Donald Trump would approve plans for deploying ground troops remained uncertain, the Post reported.

The war, launched on February 28 with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, has spread across the Middle East, killing thousands and hitting the world economy with the biggest-ever disruption to global energy supplies.

On Friday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. could achieve its aims without ground troops. But he acknowledged it was deploying some to the region so Trump would have “maximum” flexibility to adjust strategy.

The Pentagon was also expected to deploy thousands of soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian spoke to Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose government hosts a meeting with the Turkish and Saudi foreign ministers on Sunday to seek ⁠to ease regional tensions.

LEBANESE JOURNALISTS, RESCUE WORKERS HIT

On Saturday, Israel said it had carried out a wave of attacks on Tehran, targeting what the military said were infrastructure sites belonging to Iran’s government.

It also hit targets in Lebanon, where it has resumed its war against Iran-backed Hezbollah, killing three Lebanese journalists in a strike on a media vehicle, Lebanon’s Al Manar TV reported, as well as a Lebanese soldier. A follow‑up strike on the rescue workers sent to assist them also caused fatalities.

Israel’s military said it had targeted one of the journalists, accusing him of being part of a Hezbollah intelligence unit, and saying he had reported on locations of Israeli soldiers.

Iran kept up attacks on Israel and several Gulf states after hitting an air base in Saudi Arabia on Friday and wounding 12 U.S. military personnel, two of them 
seriously, in one of the most serious breaches of U.S. air defences so far.

Air defences shot down a drone near the residence of the leader of the Iraqi Kurdish ruling party, Masoud Barzani, in Erbil, security sources told Reuters early Sunday.

Security sources said on Saturday that a separate drone attack targeted the home of the president of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region.

Israel, which regularly faced missile attacks from the Houthis before the war, confirmed a missile had been fired at it from Yemen. There were no reports of casualties or damage.

The attack pointed to a potential new threat to global shipping, already ⁠hit by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the conduit for about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree later said the group carried out a second attack on Israel in less than 24 hours and vowed more strikes to come.

The Houthis have shown an ability to strike targets far beyond Yemen and disrupt shipping lanes around the Arabian Peninsula and the Red Sea, as they did in support of Hamas in the Gaza war.

MARKETS ALARMED BY PROSPECT OF ONGOING WAR

With U.S. midterm elections due in November, the increasingly unpopular war has weighed on President Donald Trump’s Republican Party and he has appeared eager to end it soon, while also threatening escalation.

Demonstrators took to city streets across the U.S. on Saturday in anti-Trump rallies described by organizers as a call to ⁠action against the war on Iran.

Trump has threatened to hit Iranian power stations and other energy infrastructure if Iran does not open the Strait of Hormuz. But he has extended a deadline he had imposed for this week, giving Iran another 10 days to respond.

Iranian threats to attack ships in the strait have kept most oil tankers from attempting the waterway. A few vessels have traversed the strait without issue, including ships under the flags of Pakistan and India, after Iranian assurances of safe passage. 

Iran has agreed to allow an additional ⁠20 Pakistani-flagged vessels to pass through the strait, with two ships permitted to transit daily, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said.

Israel has targeted Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, and the head of Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom, which has evacuated staff from the Bushehr nuclear power plant on the Gulf coast, said the attacks threatened nuclear safety.

Pezeshkian said Iran would “retaliate strongly if our infrastructure or economic centers are targeted”.

Iranian attacks were reported in multiple areas across the Gulf, including Kuwait, the United Arab ⁠Emirates and Oman.

An Iranian airstrike hit the Israeli village of Eshtaol, near Jerusalem. Seven people were hospitalized, Israel’s ambulance service said. Aluminium Bahrain, also known as Alba, confirmed that its facilities were targeted in an Iranian attack on Saturday, Bahrain’s state news agency reported.

In Iran, media said at least five people were killed in a U.S.-Israeli attack on a residential unit in the northwestern city of Zanjan, and in Tehran, the Iran University of Science and Technology was struck.

Source:adaderana.lk

Travelers stranded across the Gulf by airspace closures and airport disruptions are receiving crucial visa relief, as Saudi Arabia joins Qatar and Kuwait in extending deadlines and relaxing penalties for visitors whose permitted stays are expiring mid-crisis.

Coordinated Gulf Response to an Escalating Regional Crisis

The latest visa steps from Saudi Arabia follow earlier measures in Qatar and Kuwait, forming a patchwork of relief across the Gulf Cooperation Council as the conflict involving Iran, Israel and regional allies continues to disrupt aviation. Airspace closures, cancelled flights and damage or security scares at major hubs have left passengers stuck in transit cities with little warning and limited onward options.

Publicly available travel advisories and media coverage describe a sharp spike in cancellations and diversions from late February 2026 onward, particularly through Doha and Kuwait City, and increasingly through Saudi hubs as airlines reroute via Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam. In many cases, travelers arrived on short-stay visit visas that were never intended to cover week-long or open-ended delays.

Officials across the region have been under pressure to clarify whether stranded foreigners would face fines or immigration violations if their visas expired before they could secure a way out. Recent policy moves in Qatar, Kuwait and now Saudi Arabia indicate a shared attempt to prevent large-scale overstays from being treated as deliberate infractions when they are directly tied to the regional emergency, according to industry specialists.

The emerging Gulf approach mirrors ad hoc relief adopted by other countries outside the region, such as Sri Lanka and India, which have also issued temporary visa extensions and fee waivers for travelers trapped by Middle East flight cancellations.

Qatar’s Automatic One-Month Visa Extension Sets the Template

Qatar was among the first Gulf states to formally address the visa status of stranded visitors after its airspace was closed and commercial operations at Doha’s Hamad International Airport were heavily curtailed. Government notices and specialist immigration briefings indicate that, as of 28 February 2026, all categories of entry visas that had expired or were due to expire inside Qatar were granted an automatic one-month extension.

This automatic extension covers short-stay tourists, business visitors and many other temporary entrants who found themselves unable to depart.

Kuwait Offers Extra Time as Airport Operations Are Hit

In Kuwait, aviation and security incidents at Kuwait International Airport have produced their own set of complications for travelers. Media reports from late March describe a drone attack that triggered a fire near airport fuel facilities, prompting further cancellations and an extended period of reduced commercial operations. Combined with earlier disruptions linked to the broader regional conflict, these events have stranded both residents and visitors inside and outside the country.

Public discussion of Kuwait’s response references a temporary relaxation of residency and re-entry rules, including additional time for foreign residents who were unable to return before standard six-month cutoffs. Travelers and expatriates have circulated accounts of a three-month grace period being applied to those stuck abroad by flight unavailability, a significant buffer in a system that normally applies strict timelines.

Saudi Arabia Moves to Protect Stranded Visitors and Transit Passengers

Saudi Arabia, which has seen its own airports and land borders absorb diverted traffic and overland evacuees from Qatar and Kuwait, is now adopting targeted visa relief measures of its own. While the country has not closed its airspace to the same degree as some neighbors, reduced frequencies, regional detours and the influx of travelers seeking alternative routes have all combined to increase the number of foreign visitors staying longer than planned.

Recent travel-advisory summaries and regional news coverage indicate that Saudi authorities have introduced deadline extensions and fee relief for certain categories of visit visa holders whose authorized stays expired after the onset of the crisis. These measures reportedly focus on travelers whose exit plans were derailed by cancelled flights, closed transit hubs or suspended cross-border services, reflecting patterns seen in Qatar and Kuwait.

Source:adaderana.lk

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRCG) has threatened to target Israeli and American universities in the Middle East, following the attack on the University of Science and Technology in Tehran.

The IRCG says all universities in the region are considered legitimate targets ‘‘until two of their universities are struck in retaliation for the Iranian universities that were attacked’‘.

‘‘We advise all staff, faculty, and students of American universities in the region, as well as residents in their vicinity, to maintain a distance of 1km from these universities to ensure their safety’‘.

The statement adds that the US must condemn the bombing of Iranian universities to avoid retaliation at US institutions in the region, giving a deadline of 12:00 local time on Tuesday, 30 March to do so.

Source:adaderana.lk

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday expressed gratitude towards Gulf nations for assistance to Indians residing there amid the West Asia conflict and noted that India is facing the global fuel crisis resolutely.

In the 132nd episode of his radio show Mann Ki Baat, PM Modi asked political parties and citizens not to politicise the West Asia conflict and avoid spreading rumours.

Noting the global turbulence amid the conflict between US-Israel and Iran, he said, ‘‘The month of March has been eventful at a global level. In the past, the entire world faced numerous problems for a long time due to the COVID. We all expected that after emerging through the COVID crisis, the world would move forward on the path of progress with a fresh start. But conditions of war and conflict continued to emerge in different regions of the world. Currently, a fierce war has been going on for a month in our neighbourhood. Relatives of lakhs of families reside in these countries, and particularly work in the Gulf countries. I am grateful to Gulf countries for providing every kind of assistance to over one crore Indians there.’‘

‘‘A crisis is developing around the world regarding petrol and diesel. Our global relations, the support we receive from various countries, and the strengths we have built over the past decade have enabled India to face these challenges resolutely. These are certainly challenging times. Today, through ‘Mann Ki Baat,’ I will once again urge all my countrymen that we must unite and overcome this challenge,’‘ the Prime Minister added.

Further, in a veiled jibe at the opposition, he said that there is ‘‘no place for self-serving politics.’‘

‘‘All those politicising the issue should not do it. This issue is connected to the interests of 140 crore Indians, and there is no place for self-serving politics. All those spreading rumours are causing great harm to the country. I would also like to appeal to all countrymen to remain vigilant and not be misled by rumours. Trust the constant information provided by the government and take action based on that,’‘ he said.

The conflict in West Asia began with Israel-US strikes on Iran on February 28, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. As Iran retaliated, it widened the ambit of the conflict, affecting its neighbours in the region. While the crude oil prices increased in the global markets, the Centre has decided to slash the excise duty on petrol and diesel.

Amid the reported LPG crisis, the government has decided to move to Piped Natural Gas (PNG), fast-tracking the infrastructure for laying the pipelines.

PM Modi on Saturday held a telephonic conversation with Crown Prince and PM of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, during which both leaders discussed the ongoing conflict in West Asia. 

He has held conversations with several global leaders, including US President Donald Trump, amid the tensions in the region. 

Source: adaderana.lk

The Pentagon is preparing for weeks of ground operations in Iran, the Washington Post reported Saturday, citing U.S. officials.

The plans could ⁠involve raids by Special Operations and conventional infantry troops, the Post reported. Whether President Donald Trump would approve any of those plans remains uncertain, according to the Post.

The Trump ⁠administration has deployed U.S. Marines to the Middle East as the war in Iran stretches ⁠into its fifth week, and also has been planning to send thousands ⁠of soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne to ⁠the region.

Source: adaderana.lk

Large protests against the Trump administration are taking place in cities across the US, marking the third iteration of No Kings rallies that have previously drawn crowds into the millions.

Organisers say they are protesting against policies imposed by US President Donald Trump, including the war in Iran, federal immigration enforcement and the rising cost of living.

‘‘Trump wants to rule over us as a tyrant. But this is America, and power belongs to the people - not to wannabe kings or their billionaire cronies,’‘ organisers said.

A White House spokesperson called the protests ‘‘Trump Derangement Therapy Sessions’‘ and said the only people who care ‘‘are the reporters who are paid to cover them’‘.

Throughout the day on Saturday, demonstrations took place in nearly every major US city, including New York, Washington DC, and Los Angeles.

Rallies took over the streets of downtown Washington DC throughout the afternoon, with throngs of people marching through the nation’s capital. Protestors lined the steps of the the Lincoln Memorial and packed the National Mall.

Like in previous iterations of No Kings, protesters held up effigies of Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other officials in the administration, calling for their ousting and arrest.

One of the flagship No Kings protests on Saturday took place in Minnesota, where two American citizens - Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti - were killed by federal immigration agents in January. Their deaths sparked outrage and nationwide protests against the Trump administration’s immigration tactics.

Thousands on Saturday filled the streets with signs and a plethora of high-profile Democrats also took a stage outside the State Capitol building in St Paul.

Bruce Springsteen also took the stage and performed his anti-immigration enforcement song titled, ‘‘Streets of Minneapolis’‘.

Thousands also crowded New York City’s Times Square, marching through Manhattan’s Midtown neighbourhood. Police had to shut down the normally busy streets to make way for crowds. In October, the New York Police Department said more than 100,000 people had gathered across all five of the city’s boroughs.

The last No Kings rally in October drew crowds of nearly seven million people nationally.

Several US states mobilised the National Guard, but organisers have maintained that the events are peaceful.

Since returning to the White House in January 2025, Trump has expanded the scope of presidential power, using executive orders to dismantle parts of the federal government and deploying National Guard troops to US cities despite objections by state governors.

The president has also called on the administration’s top law enforcement officials to prosecute his perceived political enemies.

The president says his actions are necessary to rebuild a country in crisis and has dismissed accusations that he is a behaving like a dictator as hysterical. ‘‘They’re referring to me as a king. I’m not a king,’‘ he said in an interview with Fox News in October.

But critics warn some of the moves by his administration are unconstitutional and a threat to American democracy.

Crowds have gathered both in big cities and small towns. No Kings rallies are kicking off in Boston, Massachusetts, Nashville, Tennessee, and Houston, Texas. More big city protests are expected to kick off throughout the day.

The streets are also lined with people in cities like Shelbyville, Kentucky and Howell, Michigan, which has a population of just about 10,000.

People are holding signs protesting against the war in Iran and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in neighbourhoods.

American expats abroad are also gathering to protest. Crowds have formed in Paris, London and Lisbon, where many hold signs calling the president a ‘‘fascist’‘ and a ‘‘war criminal’‘, as well as calling for his impeachment and removal from office.

Source:adaderana.lk

Australians in two states will be able to travel on public transport for free to take pressure off household budgets as fuel costs surge.

Tasmanians and Victorians will be given a temporary fare reprieve in response to ongoing price pain at the petrol pump.

Uncertainty and crimped oil supplies due to the Iran war have driven up costs and led to fuel shortages at some service stations.

In Victoria, the state government will make public transport free for a month to help people feeling the pinch when filling up their cars.

Passengers won’t have to touch on their Myki travel cards and all public transport gates will be open from Tuesday.

Trains, trams and buses are expected to get busier but the government said thousands of extra services had been added to the network to meet demand.

‘‘This is a temporary measure to help with the cost of living; it will take pressure off the pump and help you save,’‘ Premier Jacinta Allan said.
The move was welcomed by Victorian Farmers Federation president Brett Hosking.

‘‘Every commuter who leaves their car at home frees up fuel for the essential, time-critical work that keeps Victorians fed, whether that’s ensuring livestock are fed and cared for, or getting crops in the ground,’‘ he said.

In Tasmania, travel on buses and ferries will be free from Monday until July 1.

‘‘For an adult catching the bus from Dodges Ferry into Hobart for work each day, they’ll be spending $88 less a week than if they were paying the full fare,’‘ Transport Minister Kerry Vincent said.

The federal government will also introduce emergency laws to parliament on Monday allowing it to underwrite fuel suppliers purchasing and transporting international stocks to Australia.

The government won’t pay for the fuel but will use public funds as insurance for companies facing sky-rocketing prices.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia’s fuel supplies were stable and would remain so for the coming weeks.

‘‘This isn’t about dealing with something that will happen next week, this is prudent planning, this is about being over prepared,’‘ he said.

‘‘It’s a really practical measure so that if there’s a cargo ship out there available from a nation like Korea that is being bid upon, then the private sector can do that with the confidence that comes from government support in order to secure that additional supply.’‘

Australia has 39 days of petrol, 30 days of diesel and 30 days of jet fuel on hand.

But people shouldn’t stockpile fuel, with Albanese calling on individuals and businesses to use common sense.

‘‘People need to take what they need and no more,’‘ he said.

‘‘I don’t want things to be mandated but common sense should apply as well.

‘‘There are more people working from home who are able to do so, that makes sense. There are more people catching public transport than before (and) that also makes sense."

Source: adaderana.lk

Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) says two of its workers sustained minor injuries in an Iranian attack on its smelter, one of the world’s biggest, on Saturday.

The company was still assessing the extent of the damage, according to a statement reported by the Bahrain News Agency. ‘‘The safety and security of Alba’s people remain its top priority,’‘ Alba said.

Earlier this month Alba said it had shut down three of its reduction lines, representing 19% of its total production capacity, in a bid to ‘‘preserve business continuity’‘ amid disruption caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Saturday they had targeted Alba and Emirates Global Aluminium in response to attacks on two Iranian steel plants, according to Reuters.

The UAE company confirmed on Saturday it had sustained ‘‘significant damage’‘ in an attack on Saturday and that a number of employees were injured, though none of the injuries were ‘‘life threatening’‘.

Source:adaderana.lk

Iran-linked hackers have publicly claimed the breach of FBI Director Kash Patel’s personal inbox, publishing photographs of the director and his purported resume to the internet.

On their website, ⁠the hacker group Handala Hack Team said Patel ‘‘will now find his name among the list of successfully hacked victims.’‘

Reuters was not able to immediately authenticate the emails published by Hanadala, but a sample of the material uploaded by ⁠the hackers and reviewed by Reuters appears to show a mix of personal and work correspondence dating between 2010 ⁠and 2019.

A Justice Department official confirmed to Reuters that Patel’s emails were compromised but did ⁠not go into detail. The FBI did not immediately respond to ⁠a request for comment. The hackers did not immediately respond to messages.

Source: Reuters

Former parliamentarian Tissa Kuttiaarachchi says political circles are buzzing with talk that former President Ranil Wickremesinghe is positioning himself to take over should President Anura Kumara Dissanayake fail to govern effectively.

Kuttiaarachchi said that given the current economic, social and political climate, President Dissanayake would be unlikely to complete his full term, and that a change at the top could come before 2029.

He said Wickremesinghe was already making preparations to that end.

He noted that the former President, as an internationally recognised leader who had previously steered the country through economic crisis, remained well placed to step in once again if circumstances demanded it.

On the political future of Namal Rajapaksa, Kuttiaarachchi said the Rajapaksa camp was not interested in coming to power through any interim arrangement, but rather through a clear electoral mandate from the people.

He said they believed 2029 was the right moment for that bid.

The former parliamentarian also pushed back on allegations that the Rajapaksas had hidden money in Uganda, challenging the current government to prove its claims.

He said the government had so far failed to produce evidence of even a single rupee being stolen, and added that if such proof were ever established, he would distance himself from the Rajapaksa camp that very day.

A suspect has been arrested in the Sapugaskanda area for the possession of a large consignment of narcotics valued at over Rs. 50 million. 

Officials from the Kalutara District Criminal Investigation Department (CID) stated that the suspect was found in possession of heroin, Crystal Methamphetamine (commonly known as ‘Ice’), cocaine, and other narcotics.

Further investigations revealed that the seizure included over a kilogram of heroin, 515 grams of ‘Ice,’ and 565 grams of cocaine.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that the drugs were supplied to the suspect by two drug traffickers based in Dubai.

The incident is being further investigated under the supervision of the Kalutara District CID.

(Adaderana.lk)