The U.S. and Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis reported separate attacks on shipping on Tuesday as prospects for ending the Iran war appeared to dim, with Tehran saying the Strait of ​Hormuz would remain closed unless Washington accepts its conditions.&nbsp;The attacks, in the Gulf of Oman leading to the strait and at the entrance to the Red Sea — both vital chokepoints ‌for global oil supplies — come as the war shows no signs of ending despite repeated assertions from U.S. President Donald Trump of a deal being imminent.&nbsp;Oil prices gained and global shares retreated amid renewed pessimism about a quick end to the conflict. Brent crude futures climbed 1.4% to settle at $88.91 per barrel and U.S. crude rose 1.3% to $83.20.&nbsp;At the southern end of the Red Sea, four crew members were killed in a suspected Houthi attack on a small cargo vessel in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Tuesday, Yemen's Transport ​Ministry said. Two Yemeni rescuers from an anti-Houthi military group were also killed, Yemen's Coast Guard said.&nbsp;The fatalities aboard the Egyptian-owned Tihamah, if confirmed, would be the first deaths on shipping by Yemen's ​Iran-aligned Houthis since the Iran war began.&nbsp;The Houthi-run news agency Saba reported that the group, which said last month it would impose a naval blockade on Saudi ⁠Arabia in the Red Sea, attacked a Saudi ship they said was carrying military equipment in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. It did not name the ship, and there was no immediate Saudi response to the report.&nbsp;The U.S. military, ​meanwhile, said a U.S. Navy MH-60 helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles to disable the steering gear of a Panama-flagged cargo ship.&nbsp;The ship ignored repeated warnings to stop violating a naval blockade on Iranian ports, the U.S. Central Command said. ​Maritime sources told Reuters the ship was hit off Pakistan while sailing into the Gulf of Oman.&nbsp;STEPPED UP RHETORIC&nbsp;Both Iran and the United States have stepped up rhetoric in the past two days.&nbsp;Iran's top security official, Mohsen Rezaei, said on Tuesday that the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping route will remain closed unless the U.S. accepts Iran's conditions to end the war – the release of Iran's frozen assets and an end to conflicts throughout the region, including in Lebanon and Gaza.&nbsp;That followed a new demand from Trump ​on Monday that Iran should pay compensation for people killed in 50 years of wars, attacks and protests.&nbsp;Throughout the conflict, Trump has alternated between threats of escalation and claims that a peace deal is imminent.&nbsp;In an interview ​released late on Monday, he suggested the uncertainty could last for a while, saying he might just "bop along" and let Tehran fail economically, or hit them "really, really hard."&nbsp;"I'm sort of negotiating," Trump told Real America's Voice. "They're very devious negotiators."&nbsp;Speaking to ‌reporters after a ⁠visit to Ohio on Tuesday, Trump said "Iran is going fine, going just absolutely fine."&nbsp;"We totally control the Strait of Hormuz ... Nobody else, only us," he said.&nbsp;"At some point, maybe they'll do something and then they get blown away," he said of Iran. "But right now, we're in a very good position. We have a country that has been the bully of the Middle East for 50 years, really 51 if you think about it ... and they're no longer the bully of the Middle East."&nbsp;Asked about an incident in which he switched planes in Turkey last month because of worries over reports of a potential Iranian assassination threat, Trump suggested the alternative aircraft may have ​faced greater risk.&nbsp;"That would be the plane I think ​that they would be more likely to go ⁠for," he told reporters after The Washington Post broke the story about him secretly taking a military flight instead of Air Force One in an operation involving him being moved between aircraft in a catering truck.&nbsp;"Any consequential president has a lot of threats," Trump added. "I don't worry about anything."&nbsp;The comments from Rezaei, appointed on Sunday ​as second-in-command of the body that coordinates Iran's security and foreign policy, were the strongest indication the Strait of Hormuz would not reopen to shipping anytime ​soon. The waterway handled a fifth ⁠of global oil and liquefied natural gas flow before the war.&nbsp;"As long as America does not change its behaviour and does not accept Iran's conditions, the Strait of Hormuz will not be opened," Rezaei said, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.&nbsp;There was no immediate comment from Washington on Iran's latest comments.&nbsp;Thousands of people have been killed in the conflict since the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28.&nbsp;Iran has struck U.S. assets and infrastructure in ⁠countries including Oman, ​Jordan, Kuwait, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.&nbsp;Raising the prospect of further escalation, Mohammad Reza Naqdi, an adviser to the ​commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, said on Iranian state TV on Tuesday that the corps was developing the ability to carry out operations "on enemy soil."&nbsp;"We need to be able to move the operations to the enemy's soil, whenever this is needed and ordered," he said. "This ​is the characteristic of the offensive doctrine that has to be attained."&nbsp;Source: Reuters

New attacks on shipping as Iran war talks hit fresh impasse

The Sri Lanka Railway Station Masters’ Association has warned of trade union action over unresolved administrative, service and audit-related issues. The association stated that delays in appointing District Transport Inspectors and implementing service provisions have affected railway administration. It noted that discussions with relevant authorities have yet to produce adequate solution

Railway Station Masters warn of trade union action

Oil prices rose on Wednesday morning as doubts about a U.S.-Iran peace deal and attacks on two ships fuelled concerns about Middle East supply disruptions, even as industry data showed U.S. crude inventories expanded.&nbsp;Brent futures gained 72 cents, or 0.81 per cent, to $89.63 a barrel by 0053 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed 71 cents, or 0.85 per cent, to $83.91.&nbsp;Both benchmark contracts settled more than $1 higher on Tuesday, marking their highest closes since July 31 and extending gains after jumping about 5 per cent on Monday as hopes for a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran began to fade.&nbsp;The United States and Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis reported separate attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Tuesday.&nbsp;Iran's top security official, Mohsen Rezaei, said on Tuesday that the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping route would remain closed unless the U.S. accepted Iran's conditions for ending the war, including the release of frozen Iranian assets and an end to other conflicts across the region.&nbsp;Shipping data showed that traffic through the Strait of Hormuz dropped to six vessels on Monday, compared with a 10-day average of about 11. Before the war, daily traffic through the waterway averaged 125 to 140 vessels.&nbsp;On the supply front, a Reuters poll showed on Tuesday that U.S. crude oil and fuel inventories were expected to have fallen last week.&nbsp;However, market sources citing American Petroleum Institute data said U.S. crude inventories rose sharply in the week ended August 7, while gasoline and distillate stocks fell.&nbsp;Crude stocks rose by about 9.1 million barrels, while gasoline and distillate inventories fell by 1.5 million barrels and 596,000 barrels, respectively, from the previous week, the sources said.&nbsp;The crude build far exceeded expectations and, if confirmed by the EIA report later on Wednesday, could ease market concerns about supply tightness, Haitong Futures said in a note.&nbsp;Official numbers from the EIA, the statistical arm of the U.S. Department of Energy, are due at 10:30 a.m. ET (1430 GMT) on Wednesday.&nbsp;As for longer-term supply, the EIA expected disruptions of about 600,000 barrels per day to Middle East crude oil supplies to persist through the end of 2027.&nbsp;Source: Reuters

Oil prices rise as doubts over US-Iran deal heighten supply concerns

President Donald Trump has confirmed that he secretly swapped planes as he left a Nato summit in Turkey last month due to a possible threat.&nbsp;"I go by Secret Service and the military. They wanted me to go in a different flight, different plane," Trump told reporters. “I just have to do what they say.”&nbsp;The revelation comes after reports that Trump boarded Air Force One on 8 July in view of television cameras before being transported to a military aircraft with the help of a catering truck.&nbsp;The last-minute switch has raised questions about whether those left on the decoy plane were placed in danger, but Trump maintained on Tuesday the military jet he boarded instead was at "greater risk".&nbsp;Officials told the BBC's US partner CBS News that the US had detected a credible Iranian threat to fire a missile at the plane. The New York Times reported that US intelligence had information of a person near the Nato summit who had been seen with a shoulder-fired missile.&nbsp;Journalists and some White House staff on board did not know the US president had been smuggled out as part of an elaborate ruse in response to a possible Iranian threat.&nbsp;Trump has previously said he was Iran's "number one target" during the summit in Ankara.&nbsp;"I guess there was a threat out there," the president said during a visit aboard Air Force One to an event in Ohio on Tuesday. “I didn't really ask too much about it. I get a lot of threats.”&nbsp;He added: “I have a lot of threats that you don't know about.”&nbsp;The clandestine manoeuvre last month came a day after the US renewed military strikes on Iran following a breakdown of negotiations between Washington and Tehran to end the war.&nbsp;Trump had arrived in Turkey aboard a newer Boeing 747-8 donated by Qatar, but announced that he would leave on the old Air Force One "for old time's sake".&nbsp;On 8 July, footage showed him boarding the presidential jet at Ankara airport.&nbsp;But according to the Washington Post, he slipped off Air Force One on to a catering truck that had been elevated to plane level on the opposite side to where he had boarded.&nbsp;He was then secretly taken to a smaller C-32A military aircraft - a modified Boeing 757 often used by the vice-president.&nbsp;Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth boarded the C-32A separately using external stairs in an effort to make the flight appear normal, according to the newspaper.&nbsp;Journalists and some White House staff boarded Air Force One and were reportedly told to close their window shades. They were unaware the president was no longer on board.&nbsp;A media pool producer who was on the plane said they found it unusual when they were told to keep the window shades down. A photographer briefly opened a shade and reportedly was quickly told to close it.&nbsp;The producer's comments were detailed in a report from the White House Correspondents' Association on Tuesday.&nbsp;They also noted there appeared to have been two catering trucks at both the front and back of the plane when the press arrived, and that the media van had been too far back in the motorcade at the airport be able to take a photo of the president boarding.&nbsp;Technically "Air Force One" is the call sign for any aircraft carrying the US president.&nbsp;But on this occasion, the C-32A used the call sign "Reach 18", while the aircraft carrying the journalists continued to use "AF1" in order to keep up the ruse.&nbsp;Remaining on the original aircraft were members of Trump's cabinet, according to the New York Times. The outlet, citing two anonymous officials, reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent were on board.&nbsp;Trump then flew to the UK en route to the US, where he reboarded the old Air Force One and was seen descending from the aircraft after it landed at RAF Mildenhall.&nbsp;It is unclear how he moved from the C-32A back to the legacy jet.&nbsp;The president then transferred to the new Qatari-donated Air Force One to travel back to Washington.&nbsp;During that flight, Trump spoke to reporters on board where he noted the threats posed by Iran but did not mention the earlier plane swap.&nbsp;Asked why reporters had been told to lower the window shades on the plane from Turkey, Trump said at the time: “Because you're probably on a dangerous flight because of the sleazebags we have to deal with.”&nbsp;He said he had a "threat all the time" on his life, and that he is "number one" on Iran's "list".&nbsp;Jose Zamora, regional director for the Americas for the Committee to Protect Journalists, said in a statement that the Trump administration "has a responsibility to ensure that journalists covering the president are not unnecessarily exposed to danger".&nbsp;"Reporters should be informed of credible security threats so they can make informed decisions about their safety," he added.&nbsp;Source: BBC

Trump says he switched planes after Nato summit because of possible threat

North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Wednesday (Aug 12) toward the sea off the Korean Peninsula's east coast, South Korea's military said.The missile appeared to have landed outside Japan's exclusive economic zone in the sea, NHK reported.&nbsp;North Korea fired the missile from the Wonsan area at around 6am (5am, Singapore time), South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.&nbsp;South Korea's military had stepped up surveillance and was maintaining readiness for possible additional launches, while closely sharing information with the United States and Japan, it said.&nbsp;The launch comes as South Korea and the United States plan to conduct major joint military drills from Aug 17 to 27 to counter North Korea's evolving nuclear and weapons capabilities. Pyongyang has in previous years denounced the annual drills as a provocation.&nbsp;On Tuesday, North Korean state media condemned Japan's latest defence white paper as a document aimed at reviving militarism, saying Tokyo was using what it called an unfounded portrayal of Pyongyang as a security threat to justify an arms buildup.&nbsp;North Korea has conducted ⁠a series of tests this year, including short-range ballistic missiles, artillery rockets and other tactical weapons.Last week, North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile towards the sea, according to the South Korean military.&nbsp;Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Moscow used a North Korean ballistic missile during a Russian attack on Tuesday that killed seven workers at a Ukrainian steel plant in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia.&nbsp;Source: Reuters

North Korea fires ballistic missile: South Korean military

Rescue crews on Tuesday dug through mountains of rubble in western Colombia, shouting for quiet so they could listen for survivors still trapped under the buildings that collapsed in a powerful earthquake estimated to have killed at least 250 people.&nbsp;The 7.4-magnitude quake, the most devastating to strike Colombia this century, tore through its coffee-growing heartland early on Monday, leaving apartment blocks, homes, schools and health centers cracked, leaning or flattened.&nbsp;Separate reports from affected cities put the death toll at 254 on Tuesday morning, with 101 people killed in Pereira, deep in coffee country, and 95 in Cali, the country's third-biggest city.&nbsp;Many Indigenous communities in the forested Pacific-facing region of Choco close to the quake epicenter are still without power or basic services, complicating rescue efforts.&nbsp;The earthquake struck just days after the inauguration of new President Abelardo De La Espriella, who traveled to the affected regions and promised economic support to people who lost their homes.&nbsp;The government, which announced immediate austerity measures as it came into power, is currently preparing to revise a more than $180 billion budget prepared by their leftist predecessors.&nbsp;The National Coffee Federation was working on the ground with families to assess damage to farms and rural ⁠infrastructure, its chief German Bahamon said on social media.&nbsp;Meanwhile, rescuers worked through Monday night and Tuesday with cranes, excavators and their bare hands, creating human chains and passing buckets filled with debris as they searched for people still trapped.&nbsp;NIGHTMARE SCENES&nbsp;Rosa Gonzalez described how she escaped the guest house she ran in Pereira with her husband and 10-month-old baby.&nbsp;"The structure started creaking and just as we ran outside the building collapsed," she said, speaking to Reuters as she stroked her cat, who was rescued during the night. Though eight made it out alive, an elderly man was trapped on a terrace and she feared he may be among the people killed.&nbsp;Social media influencer Jose Gallego had just arrived at Pereira airport when the earthquake struck. He was recording a live video, capturing footage of violent shaking as he crouched under a table and parts of the ceiling fell.&nbsp;"There were people injured, bleeding, screaming and trying to reach their families," he said. Unable to sleep, Gallego said he was staying in open spaces in case of aftershocks. Over 100 aftershocks had been recorded as of Tuesday afternoon.&nbsp;"I crossed the city on foot; it took two hours and the scenes were devastating," he told Reuters. “It was like a nightmare come to life.”&nbsp;Thousands of people were left homeless as the earthquake brought down apartment complexes and left deep cracks in homes, leaving families to await safety assessments outside.&nbsp;Alberto Machado, 34, told Reuters the quake struck after he dropped off ⁠his son at school. It destroyed their Cali home, leaving his wife, mother-in-law and two young children to spend the night at a neighbor's house, unsure of their next steps.&nbsp;He spoke outside a sports center that prepared to host 60 people overnight, including 30 elderly people from a damaged nursing home.Dog and cat shelters also put out calls for food, medicine and helping hands.&nbsp;CHEERS FOR RESCUES&nbsp;In Cali, residents cooked on the streets and salvaged what they could from the wreckage.&nbsp;Rescue workers, civilian volunteers and local officials gathered outside the destroyed Torres del Limonar apartment complex, once a pair of multi-story towers in a genteel, tree-lined neighborhood. Crowds cheered as rescuers pulled a woman alive from the rubble and she was taken away on a stretcher.&nbsp;Others were less fortunate. Cali's public health secretary ⁠German Escobar said the city's morgue was now full and authorities were bringing more bodies off the streets.&nbsp;Cali mayor Alejandro Eder, one of several to impose militarized overnight curfews to prevent looting, was shouted out of a hard-hit neighborhood, footage on social media showed.&nbsp;In Choco, towns close to the epicenter told local outlets they had yet to receive government help.&nbsp;Andres Caicedo, a community leader in Sipi, a small woodland community an 11-hour road and river journey from Choco's capital, told Caracol TV residents were struggling in a community already ⁠ravaged by attacks from armed groups.&nbsp;"We're going up trees for scraps of internet connection," Caicedo said. “We have children and older people who still haven't gotten over the shock ... We don't have a health center or medical supplies, we've done what we can with our own hands.”&nbsp;On Tuesday afternoon, three airports remained closed and many areas - especially Choco - still lacked access to gas, water, electricity and some major highways remained closed off.&nbsp;Though De La Espriella offered a national death toll around midday ⁠on Monday and government entities said they had been ordered not to share their own, the national government has not given another, drawing criticisms from commentators and creating confusion about the number of dead.&nbsp;With communications still patchy in some of the worst-hit areas, officials said the full extent of the damage and the final death toll could take days to establish.&nbsp;Source: Reuters

Colombia earthquake death toll tops 250 as rescuers race to find survivors

The Agricultural and Agrarian Insurance Board has introduced an insurance scheme covering farm houses used for cattle, buffaloes, goats and pigs. The scheme provides compensation of up to Rs. 2.5 million for damage caused by floods, storms, lightning, landslides and wild animals. Farmers will pay a basic premium of 2.5% of the insured amount, with an additional 1% for fire-related coverage.

Rs. 2.5 mn Insurance Coverage introduced for farm houses 

The Sri Lanka Coast Guard and Sri Lanka Navy have seized over 1,302 kg of Kendu leaves illegally smuggled into Sri Lanka by sea. The operation was conducted near the Deduru Oya Bridge in Chilaw on 10 August, based on intelligence received by the Coast Guard. Two dinghy boats and a box containing 60 bars of soap were also seized and handed over to the Biyagama Excise Special Operations Unit for further action.

Kendu leaves worth over Rs. 9 mn seized

An Amber-level advisory has been issued for strong winds and rough seas in several sea areas, including Matara to Pottuvil and Chilaw to Kankesanthurai. The Department of Meteorology stated that gusty winds could reach up to 50 kmph, with seas expected to be rough at times. The advisory is in effect until noon tomorrow (13). Naval personnel and fishing communities have been urged to remain cautious.

New attacks on shipping as Iran war talks hit fresh impasse

Railway Station Masters warn of trade union action

Railway Station Masters warn o ...

Oil prices rise as doubts over US-Iran deal heighten supply concerns

Oil prices rise as doubts over ...

Trump says he switched planes after Nato summit because of possible th ...

Trump says he switched planes ...

North Korea fires ballistic missile: South Korean military

North Korea fires ballistic mi ...

Colombia earthquake death toll tops 250 as rescuers race to find survi ...

Colombia earthquake death toll ...

Rs. 2.5 mn Insurance Coverage introduced for farm houses

Rs. 2.5 mn Insurance Coverage ...

Kendu leaves worth over Rs. 9 mn seized

Kendu leaves worth over Rs. 9 ...

Amber advisory issued for strong winds and rough seas

Amber advisory issued for stro ...

Railway Station Masters warn of trade union action

Railway Station Masters warn o ...

Oil prices rise as doubts over US-Iran deal heighten supply concerns

Oil prices rise as doubts over ...

Trump says he switched planes after Nato summit because of possible th ...

Trump says he switched planes ...

North Korea fires ballistic missile: South Korean military

North Korea fires ballistic mi ...

Colombia earthquake death toll tops 250 as rescuers race to find survi ...

Colombia earthquake death toll ...

Rs. 2.5 mn Insurance Coverage introduced for farm houses

Rs. 2.5 mn Insurance Coverage ...

Kendu leaves worth over Rs. 9 mn seized

Kendu leaves worth over Rs. 9 ...

Amber advisory issued for strong winds and rough seas

Amber advisory issued for stro ...

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Railway Station Masters warn of trade union action

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Oil prices rise as doubts over US-Iran deal heighten supply concerns

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Trump says he switched planes after Nato summit because of possible th ...

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North Korea fires ballistic missile: South Korean military

North Korea fires ballistic mi ...

Colombia earthquake death toll tops 250 as rescuers race to find survi ...

Colombia earthquake death toll ...

Rs. 2.5 mn Insurance Coverage introduced for farm houses

Rs. 2.5 mn Insurance Coverage ...