Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he has received intelligence on Russia conducting surveillance of US bases in the Middle East and Gulf regions. He claimed yesterday that seven areas had been surveilled or photographed this week — including a mix of US, Middle Eastern and British bases in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar, and the US-British base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. CNN has reached out to the Russian Embassy in the US for comment. US officials told CNN that last week Iran launched two intermediate-range ballistic missiles at Diego Garcia, a joint US-UK military base in the Indian Ocean. While neither of the missiles struck the base, the attack revealed Iran’s long-range capabilities. “It’s strange,” Zelensky said in a post on Telegram. “Sanctions are being lifted, and the aggressor is providing information to target objects, including those of the countries that are talking about lifting sanctions or are already lifting them.” Zelensky was likely referring to the US temporarily lifting sanctions on Russian oil. The US Department of Defense, when approached by CNN, said it does not comment on intelligence matters. Multiple people familiar with US intelligence reporting on the issue have said that Russia is providing Iran with intelligence on the location and movement of US military assets. According to a Western intelligence official, Russia is also giving Iran tactical advice on targeting with its Shahed drones. Source: CNN

Ukrainian President says Russia conducted surveillance on US military bases for Iran

The government has launched the ‘Surakimu Lanka’ national programme to promote energy conservation amid potential supply disruptions. The initiative encourages the public to reduce electricity use during peak hours (6–10 pm) and adopt efficient energy habits. The five-month programme will be implemented with public and private sector participation, without imposing restrictions.

‘Surakimu Lanka’ programme launched to boost energy conservation

High-level talks between the foreign ministers representing Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have begun. The regional powers are gathering in Islamabad, Pakistan today and tomorrow to discuss de-escalating the US and Israel’s war with Iran as well as other regional issues. Due to its cordial ties with the US and Iran, Pakistan has emerged as a key intermediary in any diplomatic efforts, delivering a 15-point peace plan proposed by Washington to Tehran. Source: CNN

Talks begin between Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan to discuss de-escalating war

Iran’s parliament speaker on Sunday (Mar 29) accused the United States of plotting a ground attack despite talking about diplomacy, after a US warship with around 3,500 military personnel arrived in the Middle East. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf’s comments come after more than a month of aerial bombardment of Iran by US and Israeli forces and ahead of talks between key regional players on Monday. The war has escalated into a regional conflagration as Iran has retaliated with attacks on Gulf states, sending energy markets into a tailspin and threatening the world economy. “The enemy publicly sends messages of negotiation and dialogue while secretly planning a ground attack,” Ghalibaf said in a statement carried by the official IRNA news agency.&nbsp; “Our men are waiting for the arrival of the American soldiers on the ground to set them on fire and punish their regional allies once and for all,” he added. The USS Tripoli, an amphibious assault ship carrying around 3,500 Marines and sailors, arrived in the Middle East on Friday. The Washington Post reported the Pentagon was preparing plans for weeks of ground operations - potentially including raids on Kharg Island and sites near the Strait of Hormuz - though US President Donald Trump has yet to approve any deployment. Iran says it has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane which accounted for a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil trade, to hostile shipping. Trump has repeatedly spoken of diplomatic contacts with Iran, although these claims have been denied by Tehran.Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff has said a US-Iran meeting could take place soon, and promoted a 15-point plan that Washington says “could solve it all”. Pakistan, acting as a go-between for Washington and Tehran, will host foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Egypt in Islamabad on Monday for talks on the crisis. “ALL OF TEHRAN WAS SHAKING” In Tehran, two blasts shook the city early on Sunday, an AFP journalist said, although it was not clear what was targeted. The Qatari news channel Al Araby said an Israeli missile hit the building housing its office in the city. Footage from inside the office showed broken windows and shattered glass. Outside, images showed the streets covered in debris and damage to surrounding buildings.&nbsp; “I miss a peaceful night’s sleep,” an artist in Tehran told AFP, saying night-time strikes were “so intense it felt like all of Tehran was shaking”. Farzaneh, a 62-year-old woman in Iran’s western city of Ahvaz, contacted by AFP from Paris, said: “People wake up each day worried about an uncertain future.” “War in today’s world and even in the future is not something that can be considered a real solution to problems. No one truly desires war,” she said. Iranian state media reported that US-Israeli strikes also hit a quay in the port city of Bandar Khamir, near the Strait of Hormuz. Ghalibaf on Sunday called for unity among Iranians, saying the country was in “a major global war” that was “at its most critical stage”.&nbsp; “We are certain that we can punish the United States, make it regret attacking Iran, and firmly secure our legitimate rights,” he said. STRIKES ON INDUSTRY IN GULF Iran fired a volley of missiles and drones at plants belonging to two of the world’s largest aluminium producers in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, the Revolutionary Guards said Sunday, targeting what they described as industries linked to the US military. Emirates Global Aluminium said an Iranian attack wounded six and caused significant damage to its plant, while Bahraini state media said two Aluminium Bahrain employees were injured in a second attack. As the spectre of a widening conflict grew, Yemen’s Houthis on Saturday claimed their first attack of the war, firing “a barrage of cruise missiles and drones” at strategic sites in Israel. The attacks raised concern about the war spreading to the Red Sea, with Saudi Arabia rerouting much of its oil exports there to avoid Hormuz. During Israel’s recent war in Gaza, the Houthis, claiming solidarity with the Palestinians, attacked shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, forcing companies to take costly detours. Iran’s neighbour Iraq has also increasingly been drawn into the conflict. In Syria, authorities said Sunday they had repelled a drone attack from Iraq targeting a US military base, which comes after a series of strikes that have been claimed by pro-Tehran Iraqi groups. THREE JOURNALISTS KILLED On another front, Israeli attacks have continued in Lebanon, which was drawn into the war when Tehran-backed Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel on Mar 2.&nbsp; On Saturday, the Israeli military killed three journalists in the south. Lebanese authorities, including President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, condemned the killings as war crimes. Israel also carried out raids in southern Lebanon that killed nine paramedics, the health ministry in Beirut said.On Sunday, the Israeli army announced the death in combat of a soldier in south Lebanon. At a vocational institute north of Beirut, displaced mother Nasima Ismail signed up her children for services despite few resources as the war interrupts education for hundreds of thousands of students. “I want them to complete their education, even if we are left with nothing,” she said.&nbsp; “I wish them days better than ours.”&nbsp; Source: AFP

Iran parliament speaker says US planning ground attack

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is days away from hitting all the targets in Iran it classes as “top priority,” a spokesperson said today. Targets are broken down into different groups, “it could be ballistic missiles, (weapons) production, nuclear, command and control centers, and so on,” said Nadav Shoshani, the IDF’s international spokesperson. Within each group, there are different categories – “essential, important and additional,” Shoshani explained. And in a few days, “we will be able to finish the job against the top priority targets in the family group of production,” he said. “(That) doesn’t mean we’re exhausting our targets … but talking about the top priority of what we marked as top priority, we will be able to achieve that within a few days.” Shoshani was reluctant to put a detailed timeline on that in case “operational conditions” changed. Over the weekend, the IDF struck two steel plants in Iran, including one that uses radioactive material, the UN’s nuclear watchdog said, as well as a heavy water plant in Arak, which includes key production sites for plutonium. Shoshani said the IDF hit that heavy water plant during its offensive last June too “but intelligence identified attempts to rebuild it.” As well as destroying military targets, the joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 1,900 people in Iran, and damaged much civilian infrastructure including hundreds of medical facilities and schools, according to the Iranian Red Crescent. Source: CNN

Israeli military days away from hitting all its “top priority” targets in Iran

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: BBC

Bahrain aluminium smelter confirms Iranian attack

The Department for Registration of Persons announced that NIC one-day services will resume from 31 March after ongoing system restoration. A special one-day service will be held tomorrow (30) for applicants who missed earlier dates. Other services will continue with limited capacity, while full operations are expected to resume by 6 April.

Registration Dept. announces NIC service resumption plan

Music superstar Taylor Swift scored a leading seven trophies at the iHeartRadio Music Awards on Thursday including artist of the year and best pop album for the upbeat record ‘‘The Life of a Showgirl.’’ In one of her moments on stage at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, Swift encouraged artists to give themselves time to learn a craft without seeking immediate feedback on ⁠the Internet. The singer said she had spent ‘‘thousands of hours’’ as a teenager playing her guitar, writing songs, making mistakes and learning from them - in private. ‘‘I’m a firm believer that anything you feed your mind, it will internalize, and anything you feed the Internet it will attempt to kill,’’ she said as she held the album of the year trophy. ‘‘And I don’t want that for your dreams.’’ Swift, who wore a seafoam green velvet corset and matching miniskirt with light pink bead accents, also took ⁠home awards including song of the year and best music video for ‘‘The Fate of Ophelia.’’ Olympic figure skating gold medalist Alysa Liu presented the artist of the year award to Swift, who gushed about Liu’s Olympic performance. ‘‘You brought me so much happiness,’’ Swift said. Earlier, Swift told the ⁠crowd that ‘‘Showgirl’’ was inspired by the positivity she felt from fans on her record-breaking Eras Tour. ‘‘The album came out with this energy of just feeling really happy and strong and confident ⁠and free. And so I want to say thank you to the fans for giving me that feeling,’’ Swift said. Her daily life with fiance Travis Kelce provides ⁠similar energy, Swift said. ‘‘So thanks for all the vibes,’’ she said to the NFL star, who was seated in the front row wearing a brown leather jacket. The pair announced their engagement in August. Source: Reuters

Taylor Swift and ‘Showgirl’ dominate iHeartRadio Music Awards

Austria has announced plans to ban social media for children aged under 14, becoming the latest country to consider introducing restrictions for children online. It follows lengthy negotiations within the conservative-led three-party coalition government, but it is not yet clear how or when the ban will be implemented. Announcing the plans, Vice-Chancellor Andreas Babler of the Social Democrats said the government could not stand by and watch as social media made children “addicted and also often ill”. He said it was the responsibility of politicians to protect children and argued that the issue should be treated no different to alcohol or tobacco: “There must be clear rules in the digital world too.” In future, said Babler, children under 14 would be protected from algorithms that were addictive. “Other information providers have clear rules to protect young people from harmful content.” These, he said, should now be implemented in the digital space. Austria is the latest among a growing number of countries to consider restricting social media access for children, citing concerns about potentially harmful content made available to them on the platforms. In a landmark case in the US on Wednesday, a jury found two social media giants had intentionally built addictive algorithms that harmed young people’s mental health. Social media companies point to under-13s being disallowed from joining their platforms - though questions remain about how strictly this is enforced - and versions of their sites with parental controls when challenged on questions of harm. Australia introduced a ban for under-16s in December, becoming the first nation to do so. France’s lower house approved a ban for under-15s in January. In a post on X French President Emmanuel Macron thanked Austria for “joining the movement”. The UK government has launched a consultation on banning social media for under-16s, while Denmark, Greece, Spain and Ireland are also considering similar moves: Spain and Ireland for under-16s, and Denmark and Greece for under-15s. Austrian Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr, from the liberal Neos party, stressed the “harmful” nature of social media, adding: “People need to learn how to use it responsibly.” The state secretary for digitalisation, Alexander Pröll, from the conservative ÖVP, said that a draft bill codifying the ban would be presented by the end of June. The bill is expected to contain technical details of an agreed mechanism to verify people’s ages when accessing social media platforms. Babler said Austria could use an EU system if it was ready, but that it would pursue a national plan if not. The general secretary of the far-right opposition Freedom Party, Christian Hafenecker, condemned the plans as “a direct attack on young people’s freedom of expression and freedom of information”. However, Austrian political analyst Thomas Hofer said the proposed ban seemed to be proving popular. “The government is trying to evoke the feeling that, in turbulent times, they have at least something under control,” he told the BBC. “Such a ban is very popular, also among parents. So, it’s one of the easy points that they can make across party lines.“In most other fields, the governmental parties are on the defence, though, be it the economy, the budget deficit or rising prices.” The coalition government’s proposed social media ban has been agreed alongside controversial reforms to secondary schools, which include more lessons on democracy and artificial intelligence, and a cut in the number of Latin lessons. Source: BBC

Ukrainian President says Russia conducted surveillance on US ...

‘Surakimu Lanka’ programme launched to boost energy conservation

‘Surakimu Lanka’ programme lau ...

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Talks begin between Egypt, Tur ...

Iran parliament speaker says US planning ground attack

Iran parliament speaker says U ...

Israeli military days away from hitting all its “top priority” targets ...

Israeli military days away fro ...

Bahrain aluminium smelter confirms Iranian attack

Bahrain aluminium smelter conf ...

Registration Dept. announces NIC service resumption plan

Registration Dept. announces N ...

Taylor Swift and ‘Showgirl’ dominate iHeartRadio Music Awards

Taylor Swift and ‘Showgirl’ do ...

Austria becomes latest to propose social media ban for children

Austria becomes latest to prop ...

‘Surakimu Lanka’ programme launched to boost energy conservation

‘Surakimu Lanka’ programme lau ...

Talks begin between Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan to discus ...

Talks begin between Egypt, Tur ...

Iran parliament speaker says US planning ground attack

Iran parliament speaker says U ...

Israeli military days away from hitting all its “top priority” targets ...

Israeli military days away fro ...

Bahrain aluminium smelter confirms Iranian attack

Bahrain aluminium smelter conf ...

Registration Dept. announces NIC service resumption plan

Registration Dept. announces N ...

Taylor Swift and ‘Showgirl’ dominate iHeartRadio Music Awards

Taylor Swift and ‘Showgirl’ do ...

Austria becomes latest to propose social media ban for children

Austria becomes latest to prop ...

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‘Surakimu Lanka’ programme launched to boost energy conservation

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Iran parliament speaker says US planning ground attack

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Israeli military days away from hitting all its “top priority” targets ...

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Bahrain aluminium smelter confirms Iranian attack

Bahrain aluminium smelter conf ...

Registration Dept. announces NIC service resumption plan

Registration Dept. announces N ...