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Gold prices rose more than 1% today, recouping losses from the previous session, as a drop in oil prices following a U.S.-Iran interim agreement dampened inflation expectations and supported bullion.

Spot gold was up 1.4% at $4,316.42 per ounce, as of 0242 GMT, after declining 1.7% on Wednesday. U.S. gold futures for August delivery fell 1% to $4,336.70.

"It's a bit of short position unwinding (in gold) given yesterday's steep fall and the reason for the ⁠short unwinding is also due to the positive news coming out from the Middle East, which has caused oil prices to fall," said Kelvin Wong, a senior market analyst at OANDA. The United States and Iran released the text of their interim agreement on Wednesday, with U.S. President Donald Trump threatening to resume attacks and kill Iranian officials if they failed to honour their commitments.

The 14-point agreement extends the ceasefire announced in April by another 60 days to allow the two sides to negotiate a final truce.
Oil prices fell, reversing gains made on Wednesday after Trump said he could ⁠resume his bombing campaign if Iran's leaders "don't behave".

Elevated oil prices stoke inflation concerns and raise expectations of higher interest rates. Gold tends to lose appeal when rates are high, as it does not yield interest. "I expect gold prices to remain muted on the upside, given the fact that market participants now have ⁠repriced a higher possibility of the Federal Reserve to kind of kickstart an interest rate-hike cycle," Wong said.

Nine of the U.S. central bank's 19 policymakers now believe they will need to raise the policy rate this year, ⁠according to projections published on Wednesday after the Fed announced its decision to leave the policy rate in its current 3.50%-3.75% range.

Traders now see an 85% chance of a U.S. rate hike ⁠in December, jumping from 61% prior to the Fed decision, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. 

Spot silver rose 1.8% to $69.18 per ounce, platinum gained 1.2% to $1,757.53, and palladium was up 1.3% at $1,329.99.

Source: Reuters

Yoshitha Rajapaksa, son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, appeared before the Court of Appeal today to take part in proceedings related to an ongoing legal challenge connected to a money laundering case.

The matter before the court concerns a petition filed seeking a determination that the charge of “conspiracy,” included in the case instituted by the Attorney General under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, cannot be sustained.

The hearing was scheduled to take place before a Court of Appeal bench comprising Justices Amal Ranaraja and Dr. Sumudu Premachandra.

Today’s proceedings focused on the legal arguments surrounding the validity of maintaining the conspiracy-related charge within the broader case framework.

Further developments are expected following the court’s consideration of submissions presented during the hearing.

Former Director of the State Intelligence Service (SIS), Major General (Retired) Suresh Sallay, has reportedly reaffirmed his decision to continue his ongoing hunger strike while remaining under the custody of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and receiving treatment at the Colombo National Hospital.

According to reports, Sallay conveyed his position during a visit by his personal lawyer, stating that he would not agree to return to the CID detention facility. He was also reported as describing the detention conditions in severe terms and expressing strong objections to returning. During the exchange, he further alleged that the Director of the CID held personal hostility toward him.

The lawyer is said to have briefed Sallay on recent developments surrounding the wider investigation process, including matters currently under review by the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, discussions relating to the government’s stance on the possible repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, and a request reportedly submitted to the President by the Chief Prelate of the Asgiriya Chapter.

Despite being urged to end the protest, Sallay reportedly maintained that he would continue the hunger strike.

Meanwhile, the CID has informed the Human Rights Commission that video footage linked to an alleged physical inspection conducted on March 8 is unavailable, explaining that its recording system stores footage for only one month.

In response, the Human Rights Commission is reportedly exploring the possibility of obtaining external technical assistance to recover or retrieve the missing recordings.

The CID has also been directed to provide additional reports connected to the ongoing investigations, with submissions expected before the June 26 deadline.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Slovakia for the second leg of his three-nation European tour, marking the first visit by an Indian prime minister to the country since it gained independence in 1993.

During his two-day stay in Bratislava, Modi is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Slovak President Peter Pellegrini and Prime Minister Robert Fico. He will also engage with leading Slovak business executives to explore opportunities for expanding economic cooperation between the two countries.

Soon after his arrival, Modi said the visit would help deepen India-Slovakia ties and open new avenues of cooperation. “This visit provides an opportunity to deepen India-Slovakia relations and explore new avenues of cooperation. Looking forward to productive meetings with President Pellegrini and Prime Minister Fico,” he posted on X.

The prime minister arrived in Slovakia after concluding engagements in France, where he held bilateral discussions with French President Emmanuel Macron and attended the inauguration of the Bharat Innovates event in Nice.

According to India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Modi was welcomed by Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Minister Juraj Blanr and received a traditional bread-and-salt welcome, a symbol of hospitality, respect and goodwill in Slovakia.

Ahead of the visit, Modi described the trip as historic and said it builds on the growing momentum in bilateral relations. He expressed confidence that discussions with Slovak leaders and business representatives would further strengthen cooperation in key sectors.

The MEA said the visit follows a series of high-level exchanges between the two countries, including President Droupadi Murmu’s state visit to Slovakia in April 2025 and President Pellegrini’s visit to India for the AI Impact Summit in February 2026.

India and Slovakia are expected to discuss expanding cooperation in trade, investment, automobile manufacturing, railway production and emerging technologies. New Delhi also views the visit as an opportunity to further strengthen its engagement with the European Union, of which Slovakia is a member.

After concluding his Slovakia visit, Modi will travel to France to participate in the G7 Summit in Evian on June 16-17. He is expected to hold discussions with G7 leaders and partner countries on global issues such as international cooperation, economic growth and artificial intelligence, besides holding a series of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit.

The final leg of his tour will take him to Paris on June 18, where he will attend VivaTech 2026, Europe’s largest technology and startup event, alongside French President Emmanuel Macron.

Source: India Today

Almost all of the world’s children are exposed to at least one climate hazard, with as many as 1.8 billion put in danger ​by droughts and 1.2 billion by extreme heat, the United ‌Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in a report on Tuesday.

UNICEF said children were “disproportionately affected” by a range of intensifying climate-related risks and governments urgently needed to invest in infrastructure, adaptation and ​disaster management capabilities to reduce their exposure.

Here are some of the ​details of UNICEF’s Children’s Climate Risk Report.

The report looked at ⁠a broad range of climate hazards, as well as the impact of air ​pollution and the risks of vector-borne diseases like malaria. It also factored in ​data about access to water, healthcare and social services across the world.

As many as 1.1 billion children globally were exposed to at least three overlapping climate risks, the report ​said, warning of a “dangerous cascade of multiple, overlapping hazards” that could overwhelm governments ​and social services.

“It’s not just the exposure to the single hazards like floods or droughts ‌or ⁠heat waves and extreme heat that children face, but it is the exposure to multiple hazards,” said Rohini Sampoornam Swaminathan, UNICEF statistics manager and one of the authors of the report.

As many as 662 million children were at ​risk from tropical storms, ​337 million from ⁠riverine floods and 33 million from coastal floods, with 1 billion children also exposed to malaria, mostly in Africa.

In ​2024, 242 million children in 85 countries saw their schooling ​disrupted by ⁠climate hazards.

UNICEF identified Somalia, Madagascar, Myanmar, Cambodia and Pakistan as the most vulnerable countries.

The highest numbers of drought-exposed children live in agriculture-dependent economies like Bangladesh, Indonesia, ⁠Nigeria, Pakistan ​and Tanzania.

Children in landlocked nations were also ​facing “disproportionate” risks of drought, desertification, heat stress and flash floods, with water stress set to intensify in ​countries like Botswana and Burkina Faso.

Source: Reuters

Oil prices slipped to their lowest since March on Monday after U.S. President Donald ‌Trump and Iran's deputy foreign minister said they had reached an initial deal to end the war and to resume traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude futures fell $3.58, or 4.10%, to $83.75 a barrel by 0004 GMT and U.S. West Texas ​Intermediate was at $80.87, down $4.01, or 4.72%. Both contracts tumbled more than 3% on Friday.

The U.S. and Iran ​will sign a memorandum of understanding in Switzerland on Friday, said the prime ⁠minister of Pakistan, whose country has served as a mediator. Trump said on Sunday that the Strait ​of Hormuz would be open "toll free" and that a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports would also end.

Iran's ​semi-official Mehr news agency said the draft deal called for reopening the Strait of Hormuz within 30 days under Iranian arrangements.

"The geopolitical risk premium that had been built into crude is now being unwound quite aggressively as traders price in the ​prospect of restored oil flows," said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.

The world has lost ​millions of barrels of oil and gas supply since the war closed the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for a ‌fifth of ⁠the world's oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, for more than three months.

Investors are also watching cautiously how quickly Middle Eastern producers can resume oil production and exports following damage from the war and whether more ships will enter the region.

"While these uncertainties suggest upside risks to our forecast for Brent oil futures ​to reach $80/bbl by the end ​of the year, it's ⁠worth noting that oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz just needs to reach 60-70% of pre-war levels to return oil markets to pre-war oversupply expectations," ​Vivek Dhar, a commodities strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said in a ​note.

Iran's deputy ⁠foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, said a more expansive agreement would be negotiated during a 60-day ceasefire period.

E4 nations, which include the UK, France, Germany and Italy, said on Sunday the countries were prepared to lift sanctions on Iran in ⁠response ​to steps on its nuclear programme.

"Given the uncertainties around the next ​round of negotiations over the next 60 days, particularly around the nuclear aspect, it’s hard to see crude oil prices falling too ​much further from here immediately," IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said.

Source: Reuters 

Several parts of the country are expected to experience spells of showers today (16), while certain areas may also see afternoon thundershowers accompanied by localized strong winds, according to the Department of Meteorology.

Weather conditions are forecast to bring intermittent rainfall to the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces, along with the districts of Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya.

Meanwhile, the department noted that a few locations in Uva and Eastern provinces, as well as the Mullaitivu district, could experience showers or thundershowers after 2.00 p.m.

In addition to rainfall activity, fairly strong winds ranging between 30 and 40 kilometres per hour are expected at times over the western slopes of the central hills, Southern Province, North-central Province and the Trincomalee district.

Authorities have advised the public to remain cautious and take appropriate precautions to reduce the risk of damage caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning associated with thundershowers.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has declined a request seeking daily access for legal counsel to former State Intelligence Service (SIS) Chief Major General (Retired) Suresh Sallay, who is currently receiving treatment at the National Hospital in Colombo.

Sallay was admitted to hospital after commencing a hunger strike while being held in CID custody under a detention order.

The decision was formally conveyed by CID Director Shani Abeysekara in a written response addressed to Sallay’s wife, Manori Sallay.

According to reports, Manori Sallay had requested permission for her husband’s lawyer, Asitha Siriwardena, to meet him five days each week. In response, the CID stated that Sallay is presently undergoing treatment and is not actively participating in investigative proceedings, making daily legal consultations unnecessary at this stage.

The communication further explained that repeated meetings with legal counsel could reduce the mental rest considered necessary for recovery and may negatively affect his current health condition.

The CID also noted that an existing court order already permits legal access once each week, specifically on Wednesdays.

As a result, authorities confirmed that lawyer visits will continue under the existing arrangement, while daily visitation remains available to close family members, including his wife, daughter and son.

The request for additional legal meetings has therefore been rejected.

A 45-year-old man lost his life after being swept away by strong sea currents while bathing at Moragalla in Aluthgama, according to police.

The victim was identified as a resident of Eheliyagoda.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the man had entered the sea with a group of friends when strong currents pulled him away from shore. Despite the circumstances, the incident ended in tragedy.

Police said the body was later recovered from the sea.

Authorities have launched further investigations into the incident to determine all surrounding circumstances.

Sri Lanka Police are continuing inquiries into the drowning.

The bodies of a married couple have been discovered inside a clothing store in Bulathsinhala, prompting a police investigation into the circumstances surrounding their deaths.

Police said officers from the Bulathsinhala Police Station reached the location after receiving information and recovered the bodies during initial inspections.

The deceased have been identified as a 55-year-old woman and her 61-year-old husband.

Authorities have not yet determined the cause of death.

Police have launched a comprehensive investigation to establish whether the incident was the result of a homicide or due to other possible circumstances.