Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with the head of Pakistan’s military, Asim Munir, the Iranian embassy in Pakistan said in a post on X on Saturday, as prospects for a second round of direct talks between Iran and the U.S. over the weekend appeared unlikely. A senior Iranian official said his government’s representatives have no plans to meet with senior U.S. negotiators …
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Fitch Ratings-Singapore/Hong Kong-23 April 2026: Emerging markets in Asia would see rising cost pressure across agribusiness and food supply chains if a prolonged US-Iran war pushes fertiliser supply disruption deeper into the planting season, Fitch Ratings says. For these sectors, reduced fertiliser availability and higher prices would raise production costs, discourage application rates and weaken crop yields, which would lead …
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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Friday dismissed a Reuters report that an internal Pentagon email explored adverse ways for the United States to deal with Nato allies who Washington believes failed to support the US’s military campaign against Iran, with one of the options being suspension of Spain’s membership of the military coalition. He reportedly said that Madrid does …
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Two High Commissioners, three Ambassadors and an Apostolic Nuncio-designate of the Holy See presented their credentials to Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the Presidential Secretariat this morning (20). The ceremony, held at 10.00 a.m., followed the formal order of precedence, with the envoys representing Papua New Guinea, Somalia, Luxembourg, the Holy See, Pakistan and Kuwait. Accordingly, diplomats who presented their credentials …
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Iran says it is closing the Strait of Hormuz again to commercial vessels and that any ship that approaches it will be targeted. The closure came as reports emerged of vessels in or near the strait, including a tanker, were targeted by Tehran on Saturday. The Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) blamed a continuing US blockade for its decision, which …
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The report published by the United Nations Development Programme, released on Thursday, provides a preliminary assessment on how the ongoing conflict is destabilising global trade, energy markets, and financial systems. The report titled “Military escalation in the Middle East: Human Development Impacts Across Asia and the Pacific” shows that Sri Lanka is highly exposed, as 80.2 per cent of migrant-worker …
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Oil prices have plummeted after Iran said the Strait of Hormuz would be “completely open” to commercial ships for the remainder of the ceasefire in the US-Israel war with Iran. The cost of a barrel of Brent crude fell to $88 (£65) a barrel after the announcement, having been above $98 earlier on Friday. The Strait of Hormuz is a …
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The U.S. will not renew a 30-day waiver of sanctions on Iranian oil at sea that expires this week, and quietly let a similar waiver on sanctions on Russian oil expire over the weekend, two administration officials told Reuters on Tuesday, as the U.S. imposes a blockade on shipments from Iranian ports. Tuesday’s move signals that “Treasury is going full …
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Faced with growing backlash, US President Donald Trump appears to have removed a controversial Truth Social post depicting himself as a Jesus-like figure. The AI-generated image, which showed Trump appearing to heal a sick man in a hospital bed, sparked fierce backlash from both sides of the US political spectrum, including from some of Trump’s most ardent supporters. The post …
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By – Ruki Fernando On March 24, 2025 President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in his capacity as the Minister of Defense signed a detention order to detain Mohamed Rusdi under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). He was released on bail after more than two weeks in detention with police acknowledging they had no evidence he has committed any offence. But …
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