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Netanyahu says Israel ‘acted alone’ in attack on Iranian gas field
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel “acted alone” in attacking an Iranian gas field, as tensions mount over strikes on energy infrastructure across the region.
Israel hit Iran’s South Pars – part of the world’s largest natural gas field – and Tehran retaliated by striking an energy complex in Qatar and attacking other energy targets in the Gulf.
The attacks led to a spike in energy prices and US President Donald Trump later posted he had not known about them in advance.
The fallout has raised questions over how united Israel and the US remain in their war aims.
Speaking at a news conference on Thursday, the Israeli leader said Trump had requested that there be no further such attacks on energy targets.
Earlier on Thursday Reuters news agency quoted three unnamed Israeli officials as saying that that attack on South Pars had been coordinated with the US in advance but that they were not surprised by Trump’s reaction.
Netanyahu also denied that his country had dragged the US into the war or “misled” Trump, saying that no one could tell the US leader what to do.
The attacks on energy infrastructure marked an escalation in the war launched by the US and Israel against Iran, which had already responded by restricting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
About a fifth of the 100m barrels of oil that the world consumes every day usually travels via the Strait of Hormuz, which runs along part of Iran’s coast.
Following the Iranian attack on Qatar’s Ras Laffan industrial area, which includes the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing plant, QatarEnergy said about 17% of its export capacity would be affected.
Qatar’s prime minister, Mohammed bin Abdurrahman Al-Thani, warned the attack would have “significant repercussions for global energy supplies” and called it a “very dangerous escalation”.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Iran would show “zero restraint” if its infrastructure was struck again.
Gas prices, which had already been rising since the start of the conflict, surged in response to the Iranian attack on Qatar. The UK benchmark peaked briefly at almost 183p per therm on Thursday before easing back to 154.8p, an 11.3% increase from Wednesday’s level. European prices also rose by more than 10%.
Meanwhile the US is weighing lifting sanctions on some Iranian oil, as it scrambles to contain the impact on energy markets.
At his news conference, Netanyahu insisted that Israel was inflicting massive damage on Iran’s military capacity and had attacked Iran’s navy in the Caspian Sea.
He said Israel was working to weaken the Iranian regime but said it was up to Iranians to act if they wanted to overthrow their government.
“We can create the conditions, but they have to exploit those conditions at a certain point,” he said.
“If [the regime] survives it will be a lot weaker, shorn of industries it built over decades.”
Also on Thursday verified footage showed fire and smoke at an oil refinery in Haifa in northern Israel after a reported Iranian missile attack. Israel’s energy minister Eli Cohen said damage to the country’s electricity grid in the north was “localised and not significant”.
(BBC)
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Heat Index likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, North-western, Northern and North- central provinces and in Monaragala district
Warm Weather Advisory
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre of the Department of Meteorology
Issued at 3.30 p.m. on 26 March 2026, valid for 27 March 2026.
Thw Heat index, the temperature felt on human body is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, North-western, Northern and North-
central provinces and in Monaragala district.
The Heat Index Forecast is calculated by using relative humidity and maximum temperature and this is the condition that is felt on your body. This is not the forecast of maximum
temperature. It is generated by the Department of Meteorology for the next day period and prepared by using global numerical weather prediction model data.
Effect of the heat index on human body is mentioned in the above table and it is prepared on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services.
ACTION REQUIRED
Job sites: Stay hydrated and takes breaks in the shade as often as possible.
Indoors: Check up on the elderly and the sick.
Vehicles: Never leave children unattended.
Outdoors: Limit strenuous outdoor activities, find shade and stay hydrated.
Dress: Wear lightweight and white or light-colored clothing.
Note:
In addition, please refer to advisories issued by the Disaster Preparedness & Response Division, Ministry of Health in this regard as well. For further clarifications please contact 011-7446491
Israel says it has killed the Iranian navy chief overseeing what is a near-total blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Alireza Tangsiri, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) navy, was “directly responsible for the terrorist act of bombing and blocking the Strait of Hormuz”, and has been “blown up”, according to Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz.
He added that a number of other “senior Navy command officials” have also been killed. Iran has not yet commented.
Since the start of the war on 28 February, Israel has assassinated several top Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and security chief Ali Larijani.
Effectively blockading the Strait of Hormuz – the thin waterway between Iran, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman, through which around 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes – has been a key pillar of Iran’s strategy in the war.
Oil prices have consequently shot up, placing a direct price of the war on consumers in not only the US and Israel but across the world.
In recent weeks, an X account attributed to Tangsiri and cited by Iranian media has posted frequently about the Hormuz blockade, writing that “no vessel associated with the aggressors against Iran has the right to pass through”.
Tangsiri was appointed as the commander of the Navy in 2018, having previously served as deputy commander since 2010. In 2019, he was sanctioned by the US Treasury along with other IRGC commanders after Iran shot down a US surveillance drone near the strait.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described Tangsiri as an individual with “a great deal of blood on his hands” and said his assassination was “yet another example of the co-operation between us and our friend, the United States, toward the common goal of achieving the objectives of the war”.
US Central Command said in a statement Tangsiri’s death “makes the region safer” and that the IRGC’s navy “is on an irreversible decline”. It also called on serving members of the IRGC to abandon their posts and return home “to avoid further risk of unnecessary injury or death”.
Israel’s military said in a statement posted on X that the head of the IRGC Navy’s intelligence directorate, Behnam Rezaei, was also “eliminated”.
(BBC)
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A strong Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system equips individuals with practical, relevant, and future-oriented skills helping to innovate responsibly towards a greener and sustainable future – PM
The Prime Minister, Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education Dr. Harini Amarasuriya participated as the Chief Guest in the international conference on ’Transforming TVET Systems for climate resilience and green jobs’ organized by Colombo Plan Staff College, Philippines together with the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education Sri Lanka on 24 th of March at Courtyard by Marriott Colombo, Sri Lanka.
The Conference serves as the flagship event of the five-day Regional Programme on “Transforming TVET for a Digital, Green, and Inclusive Economy” (23-27 March 2026), which continues throughout the week, bringing together representatives from CPSC member countries including Bhutan, Fiji, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, fostering high-level dialogue and knowledge sharing on climate-resilient and green skills development.
The Conference features technical and plenary sessions on climate-responsive TVET systems, green skills development, national policy frameworks, and emerging technologies shaping industry transformation.
Addressing at the event, the Prime Minister emphasized the role of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) that equips individuals with practical, relevant, and future-oriented skills in addressing climate change and shaping a sustainable future.
The Prime Minister reaffirmed that this transformation remains a national priority for Sri Lanka. She stressed that education must go beyond knowledge dissemination to empower individuals with opportunities, dignity, and the capacity to contribute meaningfully to society.
She further emphasized the need to integrate environmental sustainability into education and training systems by embedding green skills in curricula, investing in modern training facilities, promoting innovation, and fostering collaboration between training institutions and emerging green industries.
Highlighting the importance of ensuring equity the Prime Minister further stated, that opportunities arising from the green transition must be accessible to all, including youth, young women, people with special needs, and marginalized communities.
Reaffirming Sri Lanka’s commitment to working closely with regional and international partnerships, the Prime Minister emphasized the importance of transforming them to actual benefits and partnerships.
The occasion was attended by the Secretary to the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education Nalaka Kaluwewa, Additional Secretary (Vocational Training) Ms. Samanthi Senanayake Director General Colombo Plan Staff College Prof. Dr. Suresh K. Dhameja , TVET administrators, institutional leaders, policymakers, instructors, industry representatives, and international delegates from across the region and seniors officials and officials from Ministries.
(Prime Minister’s Media division)
Showers may occur at a few places in the Sabaragamuwa province and in Galle, Matara, Kalutara and Nuwara-Eliya districts in the evening
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