News

Britain will on Thursday (Apr 2) hold a virtual meeting of about 35 countries to discuss how to reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz which has been crippled by the Middle East war.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the meeting earlier Wednesday, while a UK official told AFP the meeting would be virtual and held on Thursday.

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will host the discussions, Starmer told reporters during a Downing Street news conference. 

The meeting will “assess all viable diplomatic and political measures that we can take to restore freedom of navigation, guarantee the safety of trapped ships and seafarers and resume the movement of vital commodities”, he added.

“Following that meeting, we will also convene our military planners to look at how we can marshal our capabilities and make the strait accessible and safe after the fighting has stopped,” he added.

The discussions will include countries who recently signed a statement saying they were ready “to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz”, said Starmer.

Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands are among those to have signed it.

“WILL NOT BE EASY”

Iran has virtually closed the vital strait since the US-Israeli strikes that started the war on Feb 28, causing global oil and gas prices to soar.

A fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes through the strait in peacetime.

“I do have to level with people on this. This (reopening) will not be easy,” Starmer said.

The UK leader also backed NATO following renewed criticism of the eight-decade-old alliance by US President Donald Trump.

“NATO is the single most effective military alliance the world has ever seen, and it has kept us safe for many decades, and we are fully committed to NATO,” Starmer said.

Trump told Britain’s Telegraph newspaper in an article published Wednesday that NATO was a “paper tiger”.

Asked whether he would reconsider US membership, he replied: “Oh yes, I would say (it’s) beyond reconsideration,” the paper reported.

Last month, Trump told the Financial Times that it would be “very bad for the future of NATO” if members fail to help reopen the vital waterway.

On Tuesday, he said that countries which had not joined the war but were struggling with fuel shortages should “go get your own oil” in the Strait of Hormuz, adding that the US would not help them.

Source:adaderana.lk

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has called for a comprehensive nationwide drive to restore infrastructure and address the destruction caused by ‘‘unprovoked American-Zionist aggression,’’ state broadcaster Press TV reported.

The Leader’s appeal was part of a broader message issued on Wednesday to mark Islamic Republic Day and National Nature Day. He stressed that national efforts must now focus on ensuring the country’s continued prosperity in the wake of the recent conflict.

According to Press TV, the Supreme Leader, who is the son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, noted that the recent external hostilities had not only impacted the population but had specifically ‘‘targeted its land and natural environment.’’ He condemned the actions of the opposition, stating that at a time when the ‘‘vile and ruthless American and Zionist enemy knows no human, moral, or existential limits in its savagery,’’ the nation must remain focused on internal growth.

The Leader further observed that the enemy ‘‘has even attacked and damaged the natural and environmental spaces of our beloved homeland.’’ Consequently, he asserted that ‘‘every effort aimed at expanding development and building Iran’s bright future is both worthy and necessary.’’

Reflecting on the resilience of the public, the Supreme Leader described the nation as having maintained a spirit of ‘‘steadfastness and dignity’’ throughout the recent spring commemorations. Press TV noted his remarks that the ‘‘heroic nation of Iran has intertwined this year’s Nowruz with epic resolve and honour,’’ despite the ongoing regional pressures.

A significant portion of the address was dedicated to those who lost their lives during the hostilities that commenced on 28 February. As reported by Press TV, the Leader highlighted a specific strike on a girls’ school in the southern city of Minab, which resulted in 186 fatalities.

Referring to the young victims of the school attack, he stated that ‘‘the child-killing, monstrous American and Zionist fiends brutally martyred the young saplings of the school.’’ In light of these events, he urged citizens in both urban and rural areas to participate in a coordinated tree-planting initiative.

The Supreme Leader stated that the Iranian people are ‘‘planting the sapling of hope across its land’’ as a tribute to those lost in the ‘‘ongoing war.’’ He expressed confidence that, through these efforts, ‘‘each of these saplings may, in the years ahead, grow into a blessed tree and a fruitful one,’’ according to Press TV. 

Source:adaderana.lk

The US embassy in Iraq has warned that Iran-aligned militant groups may conduct attacks in central Baghdad in the next 24-48 hours, again urging Americans to leave the country.

Iran and its proxies have already attacked US citizens and US-associated targets in neighboring Iraq, the embassy said in a post to X on Thursday.

“They may intend to target US citizens, businesses, universities, diplomatic facilities, energy infrastructure, hotels, airports, and other locations perceived to be associated with the United States, as well as Iraqi institutions and civilian targets. Terrorist militias have targeted Americans for kidnapping,” the post said. “US citizens should leave Iraq now.”

American journalist Shelly Kittleson was kidnapped in the capital on Tuesday, her media outlet said. The US government is currently working to secure her release.

The US embassy in Iraq has repeatedly warned US citizens to leave the country since the conflict with Iran began in late February.

Source:adaderana.lk

Four astronauts blasted off from Florida on Wednesday (Apr 1) on NASA’s Artemis II mission, a high-stakes 10-day trip around the moon that marks the United States’ boldest step yet toward returning humans to the lunar surface this decade before China’s first crewed landing.

NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, topped with its Orion crew capsule, roared to life just before sunset at 10.35pm GMT (4.05am, Thursday, Sri Lanka time) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center to lift its first crew of three US astronauts and a Canadian astronaut off Earth, a thunderous ascent leaving behind a towering column of thick white vapour.

The Artemis II crew of NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen are poised for a nearly 10-day expedition around the moon and back, taking them deeper into space than humans have ever gone.

“This is Jeremy, we are going for all humanity,” Hansen, strapped inside Orion, told launch control minutes before liftoff.

“Reid, Victor, Christina and Jeremy, on this historic mission you take with you the heart of this Artemis team, the daring spirit of the American people and our partners across the globe, and the hopes and dreams of a new generation,” launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson told the crew through a communications line from launch control.

“Good luck, godspeed, Artemis II. Let’s go,” she added.

After nearly three years of training, they are the first group to fly in NASA’s Artemis program, a multibillion-dollar series of missions created in 2017 to build up a long-term US presence on the moon over the next decade and beyond.

The launch was a major milestone more than a decade in the making for the US space agency’s SLS rocket, handing its core contractors Boeing and Northrop Grumman long-sought validation that the 30-story-tall system can safely loft humans into space, as NASA increasingly relies on newer, cheaper rockets from Elon Musk’s SpaceX and others.

The crew’s gumdrop-shaped Orion capsule, built for NASA by Lockheed Martin, will separate from the SLS upper stage three-and-a-half hours into flight in Earth’s orbit. The crew will then take manual control of Orion to test its steering and manoeuvrability around the detached upper stage, attempting the first of dozens of test objectives planned throughout the mission.

The Artemis II mission is a key early step in the flagship US moon program, which is targeting its first crewed landing on the lunar surface in 2028 in the Artemis IV mission.

NASA is pressed to achieve that lunar landing - its first since the final Apollo mission in 1972 - as China expands its own lunar program with a planned astronaut landing as soon as 2030.

FARTHEST TRIP IN HISTORY

The Artemis II mission will send the crew some 406,000km into space - the farthest humans have ever travelled.

The current record for the farthest spaceflight at roughly 399,117km is held by the three-man crew of the Apollo 13 lunar mission in 1970, which was beset by technical problems after an oxygen tank exploded and was unable to land on the moon as planned.

NASA launched its first Artemis mission without crew in 2022, sending the Orion spacecraft on a similar path around the moon and back.

Artemis II will pose a greater test of Orion and the SLS rocket. Boeing and Northrop Grumman have led the development of SLS since 2010, a program partly known for its ballooning costs at an estimated US$2 billion to US$4 billion per launch.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin are racing to develop the landers that NASA will use to put its astronauts on the lunar surface.

Artemis III had been set to be the agency’s first astronaut moon landing, but new NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman in February added an extra test mission before the landing.

Source: adaderana.lk

The central government on Thursday exempted a wide range of critical petrochemical products till June 30th, in light of the ongoing war in the Middle East and the consequent disruptions in global supply chains.

The exemptions, effective from April 2, apply to imports ⁠of products such as ammonium nitrate, methanol, styrene, acetic acid and polyvinyl chloride, the government order said. 

The government also exempted ammonium nitrate from ⁠the Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess for the same period. 
Detailed list of the products exempted 

• Anhydrous ammonia
• Toluene
• Styrene
• Dichloromethane (methylene chloride)
• Vinyl chloride monomer
• Methanol (methyl alcohol)
• Isopropyl alcohol
• Monoethylene Glycol (MEG)
• Phenol
• Acetic acid
• Vinyl acetate monomer
• Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA)
• Ethylenediamine
• Di Ethanolamine and Mono Ethanolamine
• Toluene di-isocyanate
• Ammonium nitrate
• Linear alkylbenzenes
• Polymers of ethylene (including Ethylene-vinyl acetate)
• Polypropylene
• Polystyrene
• Styrene-acrylonitrile (SAN)
• Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS)
• Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
• Polytetrafluoroethylene
• Polyvinyl acetate
• Polyvinyl alcohol
• Poly (methyl methacrylate)
• Polyoxymethylene (POM - acetal)
• Polyols
• Polyether Ether Ketone (PEEK)
• Epoxy resins
• Polycarbonates
• Alkyd resins
• Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) chips
• Unsaturated polyester resins
• Polybutylene terephthalate
• Formaldehyde, Urea formaldehyde, Melamine formaldehyde, Phenol formaldehyde
• Polyurethanes
• Polyphenylene sulphide (PPS)
• Polybutadiene, Styrene butadiene

A clutch of industries that use petrochemicals as inputs, from pharmaceuticals and paints to textiles and toys, is facing the brunt of the Iran conflict as refiners have passed on the surge in crude oil and natural gas prices. Some of the downstream sectors in the petrochemicals complex are labour-intensive small enterprises with low pricing power, such as textile units where distress is showing up in employment figures.

These industries were looking at an extended spell of margin pressure as input costs are unlikely to subside till global petrochemicals supply chain recovers, possibly only months after hostilities end in the Persian Gulf. India’s Goldilocks economic scenario of strong growth and low inflation is over. 

Effects of petrochem inflation are not as immediate as fuel - these appear with a lag. Packaging price rises show up in new inventory that arrives in the market with a delay. Petrochem use is almost universal in consumer goods, and the ticket shock, though slow and imperceptible, shows up over time. The price transmission works through labour-intensive industries and affects lower-income consumers.

Source:adaderana.lk

India will, on Wednesday (April 1, 2026), begin the first phase of its Census 2027, marking the start of what is set to be the world’s largest population exercise and the first to be conducted digitally.

The exercise signals a major shift in how data will be collected, with officials using mobile apps and citizens also getting a chance to fill in their own details online. It is the country’s 16th Census and the eighth since independence, but the scale and method this time make it markedly different.

How the Census will be conducted in two phases

The Census will take place in two stages. The first phase, known as the House Listing and Housing Census, will run from April to September 2026. During this period, officials will visit homes to get a basic picture of everyday living. They will note the condition of houses, what facilities families have, and the kind of assets they own.

States and Union Territories will carry out this exercise over a 30-day window, based on their convenience. A 15-day self-enumeration period will precede this, allowing households to submit details on their own before officials begin door-to-door visits.

The second phase, Population Enumeration, is scheduled for February 2027. In certain regions such as Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir’s snow-bound areas, and parts of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, this phase will take place earlier, in September 2026.

After that, the exercise moves from homes to people. In the second stage, enumerators will gather detailed information about individuals, including their age, education, work, migration history, family details and overall socio-economic background. The government has also decided that caste details will be recorded during this phase.

State-wise rollout and key dates

The rollout will not be the same everywhere. Some regions, including Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Delhi (NDMC and Cantonment areas), Goa, Karnataka, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Odisha and Sikkim, will carry out houselisting between April 16 and May 15. Before that, residents in these areas can fill in their details on their own between April 1 and April 15.

Another set of states, including Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, and Haryana, will begin houselisting from May 1 to May 30, with self-enumeration scheduled from April 16 to April 30.

The reference date for Census 2027 has been fixed as midnight of March 1, 2027. For snow-bound and non-synchronous areas, it will be October 1, 2026.

Digital-first Census with multilingual access

For the first time, enumerators will use smartphones to collect and upload data directly through a mobile application. Alongside this, a dedicated online portal will allow people to complete self-enumeration in both phases.

The digital system will be available in 16 languages, including Hindi and English, making it easier for people across the country to take part without language being a hurdle.

The Union government has approved a budget of ₹11,718.24 crore for the exercise. 

Source: Statesman

Trump’s address appears to have done nothing to reassure global oil markets that disruption to the key Strait of Hormuz shipping route will ease anytime soon.

The price of benchmark Brent crude was trading at about $100 a barrel before the president started speaking.

It fluctuated during the address but is now heading higher and is currently up by around 4% at $105.38.

The strait is crucial to the global economy as around 20% of the world’s energy usually passes through the narrow shipping lane.

It has been effectively shut since the conflict started on 28 February as Iran retaliated to US and Israeli airstrikes by threatening to attack ships using the waterway.

Source:adaderana.lk

The Department of Examinations has officially released the names of the students who secured the highest ranks in the 2025 General Certificate of Education (GCE) Advanced Level Examination across all subject streams.

The full list of top achievers across all streams is as follows:

Biological Science stream: 

•  First Place: Dilan Sanjana (Royal College, Colombo)

•  Second Place: Krishan Sasidu Namthara (Taxila Central College, Horana)

•  Third Place: Darshana Konesh (Sri Shanmuga Hindu Ladies’ College, Trincomalee)

Physical Science Stream

•  First Place: Devendan Thirukumaran (Kilinochchi Maha Vidyalaya)

•  Second Place: Tharusha Gimhana Gamlath (Maliyadeva College, Kurunegala)

•  Third Place: Vinura Prasad de Mel (Sri Sumangala Boys’ College, Panadura)

Commerce Stream

•  First Place: Subaideen Mohamed Fardhan (Kattankudy Central College)

•  Second Place: Senadi Dihasna Sumanasekara (Musaeus College, Colombo)

•  Third Place: Dileepa Sandaras Karunaratne (Bandaranayake College, Gampaha)

Arts Stream

•  First Place: Achintha Mihiranga Rathnayake (Wayamba Royal College, Kurunegala)

•  Second Place: Aaliyah Zainab (Devi Balika Vidyalaya, Colombo)

•  Third Place: Methusari Dinethya Ranatunga (Musaeus College, Colombo)

Engineering Technology Stream

•  First Place: Heshan Anujaya Wanigasooriya (Bandaranayake College, Gampaha)

•  Second Place: Sithija Dulan Bandara (Vijayaba National School, Mahawa)

•  Third Place: Riween Winsara (C.W.W. Kannangara Maha Vidyalaya, Matugama)

The Commissioner General of Examinations, A.K.S. Indika Kumari Liyanage also announced that 62.64% of candidates who sat for the 2025 Advanced Level Examination have qualified for university entrance.

The A/L exam results were released yesterday (31).

Out of a total of 281,810 candidates who sat for the examination, 176,527 qualified for university admission. Additionally, the Department of Examinations stated that the results of 111 candidates have been withheld.

Meanwhile, a total of 7,477 school candidates, representing 3.38% of the total number of school applicants, obtained ‘A’ grades in all subjects. Furthermore, 823 private candidates also secured ‘A’ passes across all subjects.

The percentage of university admission eligibility by subject stream are as follows:

1. Biological Science – 59.56% (school candidates) and 58.43% (private candidates) 

2. Physical Science – 63.96% and 61.59% respectively 

3. Commerce – 72.02% and 66.29% 

4. Arts – 67.57% and 63.57% 

5. Engineering Technology – 64.85% and 62.65% 

6. Bio Systems Technology – 71.76% (school candidates) and 70.24% overall 

7. Other Subjects – 55.39% and 51.45% 

Provincial distribution of candidates qualifying for university admission is as follows:

1. Western Province – 69.42% 

2. North Western Province – 68.48% 

3. Northern Province – 66.91% 

4. Eastern Province – 66.32% 

5. Southern Province – 65.69% 

6. Sabaragamuwa Province – 64.97% 

7. Uva Province – 63.53% 

8. Central Province – 63.04% 

9. North Central Province – 60.91%

(Adaderana.lk)

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte will visit Washington next week for what a spokesperson for the military alliance called a ‘‘long-planned visit’’ that comes after President Donald Trump blasted European allies over differences on the Iran war.

‘‘I can confirm that the Secretary General will be in ⁠DC next week for a long-planned visit,’’ NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said. A White House official also confirmed the visit.

No further details of the trip were immediately available.

Trump said he was considering pulling the U.S. out of the Western military alliance due to the refusal of European members to send ships to unblock the Strait of Hormuz.

In ⁠remarks on Wednesday to allies gathered for an Easter lunch at the White House, Trump criticized France and the United Kingdom, among other U.S. allies, as a ‘‘paper tiger.’’

NATO, which ⁠includes European countries, the U.S. and Canada, was formed in 1949 with the aim of countering the risk of Soviet attack ⁠and has been the cornerstone of the West’s security ever since.

‘‘We’ve had some very bad allies in ⁠NATO,’’ Trump said. ‘‘Hopefully, we’re never going to need them. I don’t think we will need them.’’

Source: adaderana.lk

The 24-hour token strike launched by the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) concluded at 8:00 a.m. today (01).

GMOA Media Spokesperson Dr. Chamil Wijesinghe said that a decision on the union’s next course of action will be taken at an emergency executive committee meeting scheduled for later today.

The token strike was launched based on several demands, including the alleged illegal transfers of doctors.

The GMOA also warned that if the government fails to respond to their concerns, trade union action will be intensified in the future.

(Adaderana.lk)

Australia’s Prime Minister has warned the economic shock from the war involving Iran will “be with us for months”, as he delivered a rare televised address to the nation.

Speaking on Wednesday, Anthony Albanese said the conflict had driven the biggest spike in petrol and diesel prices in history, and households were already feeling the strain.

“Australia is not an active participant in this war. But all Australians are paying higher prices because of it,” he added.

Addresses of this kind have been used at moments of international importance, last seen in the country during the Covid pandemic and before that the 2008 financial crisis.

Australia is among a host of nations that have seen fuel prices increase sharply since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

The near-total blockade of international shipping in the vital waterway - through which around 20% of the world’s oil and natural gas flows - has led governments around the world to begin implementing measures to conserve fuel.

Albanese has previously sought to reassure motorists following reports of panic-buying and petrol stations running dry.

During the address, he acknowledged that the “months ahead may not be easy”, and said that no government could fully shield Australians from the global pressures.

The Australian government has announced a series of temporary measures aimed at easing immediate cost pressures, including halving fuel excise - a sales tax - and scrapping road user charges for heavy vehicles for three months.

Officials are also seeking to shore up domestic supply and increase fuel imports through regional partners as part of a newly agreed National Fuel Security Plan.

Alongside government action, Albanese urged Australians to limit unnecessary usage of fuel, including switching to public transport where possible to preserve supplies for essential industries.

“You should go about your business and your life, as normal”, he said.

“Enjoy your Easter. If you’re hitting the road, don’t take more fuel than you need - just fill up like you normally would. Think of others in your community, in the bush and in critical industries.

“And over coming weeks, if you can switch to catching the train or bus or tram to work, do so”.

The address ended on a note of unity and said the country will “deal with these global challenges, the Australian way”.

“Working together - and looking after each other. As we always have”.

Source: adaderana.lk

President Donald Trump will give an update on the Iran war on Wednesday, April 1, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

“TUNE IN: Tomorrow night at 9PM ET, President Trump will give an Address to the Nation to provide an important update on Iran,”Leavitt said on X Tuesday evening.

The news comes after Trump shared an updated timeline for the end of the war on Tuesday, telling reporters in the Oval Office that he expects it to be over within “two weeks, maybe three.”

“I would say within two weeks, maybe, two weeks, maybe three,” Trump said when asked about how much longer it would take for the war to end. “I think within two or three weeks, we’ll leave. There’s no reason for us to do this.”

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth on Tuesday said the coming days in the Iran war will be “decisive,” as the Islamic Republic’s armed forces threatened to strike U.S. tech companies in the Middle East and Americans at home saw higher prices at the pump.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened to attack U.S. companies in the region, including Oracle, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Meta, Palantir, Nvidia and Tesla, among others. The IRGC said strikes could begin as soon as Wednesday and urged those near U.S.-owned facilities to leave. The White House said the U.S. would be ready to respond. In Saudi Arabia, the State Department advised all Americans to shelter in place, citing threats against U.S. citizens.

Trump signaled that the U.S. might abandon its efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, telling allied countries to “start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore.” A day earlier, he threatened to bomb civilian infrastructure in Iran if peace talks fail. Iranian officials maintain that they are not involved in negotiations with Washington and vowed to “severely punish aggressors.”

As Iran tightened its control over the strait, which carries one-fifth of the world’s oil exports, average gasoline prices in the U.S. rose above $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022.

Source: USA Today