Airlines suspend flights and some countries close airspace after Israel launches attacks on Iran

Published

1 month ago

2025/06/13

Priyan

(File pic) Aeroplanes are parked on the tarmac at Israel's Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv (Aljazeera)

Several airlines have suspended or cancelled flights in the Middle East and some countries have shut their airspace after Israel launched a wave of air strikes on Iran.

The Israeli attacks targeted military facilities, nuclear sites and residential areas, killing two senior military commanders and nuclear scientists.

Here is a list of suspended and rerouted flights:

Emirates, the Middle East’s largest airline, said it had cancelled flights to and from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Iran. Several flights scheduled for Friday and one Tehran flight on Saturday were listed as cancelled on the airline’s website.
Qatar Airways, the country’s national carrier and one of the Middle East’s largest, said it had “temporarily cancelled flights to Iran and Iraq due to (the) current situation in the region”.
El Al Airlines, an Israeli flag carrier, said it had suspended flights to and from Israel and was moving some of its planes out of the country.
Israir, a budget Israeli carrier, said it was evacuating its planes from Tel Aviv airport, which it said was expected to remain closed through the weekend.
Flydubai, or the Dubai Aviation Corporation, a budget carrier, said it had suspended flights to Amman, Beirut, Damascus, Iran and Israel and a number of other flights had been cancelled, rerouted or returned to their departure airports.
Etihad Airways and Turkish Airlines diverted some flights to Baku, Azerbaijan, according to Heydar Aliyev International Airport.
Pegasus Airlines, a Turkish carrier, has cancelled its flights to Iran until June 19 and flights to Iraq and Jordan until June 16. The company said in a statement that it will operate flights to Lebanon only during daylight hours.
Lufthansa, the largest airline in Germany, has suspended all flights to and from Tehran. In a statement, the company added that it would also avoid “Iranian, Iraqi and Israeli airspace for now”.
Air France, the country’s national carrier, has suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv “until further notice” following the closure of Israeli airspace.
KLM, a Dutch airline in partnership with Air France, has cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv until at least July 1, reported Dutch news agency ANP.
SWISS, which is owned by Lufthansa and is Switzerland’s national carrier, has suspended its Tel Aviv flights until October 25 while those to Beirut will be suspended until the end of July.
LOT Polish Airlines announced it will not be using Iranian airspace for flights to Asia, a spokesperson told state news agency PAP.
Wizz Air, a Hungarian budget airline, has suspended flights to Tel Aviv and re-routed flights affected by closed airspace in the region for the next 72 hours, it said in a statement through its Cyprus-based publicist.
Air India, a flag carrier of the subcontinent which overflies Iran for its Europe and North American flights, said several flights were being diverted or returned to their origin, including ones from New York, Vancouver, Chicago and London.
Aeroflot, Russia’s flagship airline, cancelled flights between Moscow and Tehran. In a statement, the airline said that flights to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and the Maldives have been rerouted through Pakistani airspace.

INTERACTIVE - Airlines divert flights airspace closed-1749787704

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The goal is to limit the number of students in a classroom to 25 or 30- Prime Minister

Published

3 hours ago

2025/07/20

Priyan

The Minister of Education, Higher Education, and Vocational Education, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, stated that the goal is to limit the number of students in a classroom to 25–30, emphasizing that it is not possible to deliver quality education in classrooms with around 50 or 60 students.

The Prime Minister made these remarks while participating in a program held on July 19 at the Dakshinapaya Auditorium in Galle, organized to raise awareness among education authorities in the Southern Province regarding the new education reforms.

Addressing the fourth provincial awareness program on the new education reforms, the Prime Minister further stated:

“First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude for the cooperation you extend toward the education reforms. Implementing a new education reform was something we discussed and planned even before our government came into power.

In line with government policy, we held discussions with experts, gathered opinions from various sectors, and have formulated the relevant policies.

The new education reform is not only about updating the curriculum but also about enhancing teacher professionalism, reforming the educational administrative structure, and developing the necessary infrastructure to ensure all children have access to equal and quality education.

This is not something we are doing for personal gain, it is a responsibility we must fulfill with an understanding of the needs of the country.

There are people in society who initiate constructive dialogue about this with genuine intent, and there are also others who criticize it without proper understanding. Some even critique it for political gain. We know this reform process is a challenge and it is not easy. However, it cannot be ignored. The people gave us their mandate to correct these issues.
⁣
There’s a lot to be done in terms of reforming education. The curricula in teacher training colleges have not changed in 16 years. These must be revised. Teachers and education professionals must be provided with continuous training. From August onwards, steps will be taken to train the teacher trainers in order to deliver proper teacher training”.

Addressing the event, the Deputy Minister of Vocational Education Mr. Nalin Hewage said that at present, steps are being taken to integrate vocational education institutions with the new education reform, which will create an opportunity for students to enter vocational education with dignity based on talent and skills, during their school years, instead of directing only under-performing students toward vocational paths.

The event was attended by Southern Province Governor Bandula Harischandra, Member of Parliament Nihal Galappaththi, Secretary to the Ministry of Education Nalaka Kaluwawa, Southern Province Chief Secretary Sumith Alahakoon, officials representing the Ministry of Education, the Department of Examinations, the National Institute of Education, the Southern Provincial Department of Education, Zonal Education Directors, and education authorities from the Southern Province.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division]

Latest News

Usyk blows Dubois away to reclaim undisputed crown

Published

10 hours ago

2025/07/20

Priyan

Oleksandr Usyk (right) has won all four fights as a professional on UK soil [BBC]

Oleksandr Usyk further cemented his place as one of boxing’s greats by stopping Daniel Dubois in round five to become a two-time undisputed heavyweight champion.

The Ukrainian put on a masterclass in front of 90,000 fans at Wembley Stadium to dash Dubois’ dreams of being the first Briton to unify the division in the four-belt era.

Usyk, 38, put Dubois down twice in the fifth and the Londoner was unable to return to beat the count the second time round.

He also stopped Dubois in 2023 and extends his perfect record as a professional to 24 victories.

“I’m sorry Dubois, it’s sport. My people wanted this win,” Usyk told DAZN.

“Nothing is next. It’s enough. Next, I want to rest. My family, my wife, my children, I want to rest now. Two or three months, I want to just rest.”

Dubois – who beat Anthony Joshua to defend his IBF title in September – tastes defeat for the third time in 25 contests as a professional, with each of those losses coming inside the distance.

Usyk reclaimed the IBF title, which was stripped from him just weeks after unifying the division in 2023, and added it to his WBA (Super), WBO and WBC belts.

“I have to commend him on the performance, I gave everything I had. Take no credit away from that man, I’ll be back,” Dubois told DAZN.

“I was just fighting, trying to pick up round by round. It is what it is.”

[BBC]

Foreign News

Sectarian clashes erupt in Syria despite ceasefire announcement

Published

10 hours ago

2025/07/20

Priyan

Suweida has seen a week of bloody sectarian violence [BBC]

Sectarian clashes have continued in southern Syria despite an “immediate ceasefire” announced by the country’s president.

Over the past week fighters from the minority Druze community have been battling armed Bedouins in Suweida Province, with both sides accused of atrocities.

Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa deployed troops but the government forces were accused of joining in attacks on the Druze. More than 900 people are reported to have been killed in the violence.

Israel declared support for the Druze earlier this week and intervened, hitting government forces and the defence ministry in the capital Damascus.

A BBC map showing Suweida and Damascus in Syria, and neighbouring countries Israel, Lebanon and Jordan

Sharaa announced the ceasefire on Saturday as Syrian security forces were deployed to Suweida to end the clashes. The deal included a halt to Israeli military strikes and was approved by Israel as part of US-brokered pact, as long as the Druze citizens were protected.

Government troops have set up checkpoints to try to prevent more people joining the fighting. But gunfire was reported from inside the city of Suweida later on Saturday.

A correspondent for AFP news agency said they had seen armed men looting shops and setting fire to them.

Also on Saturday, Israel’s foreign minister cast doubt on the renewed pledge by the president to protect minorities and all Syrians.

Suweida’s Druze community follows a secretive, unique faith derived from Shia Islam, and distrusts the current government in Damascus. They are a minority in Syria, as well as in neighbouring Israel and Lebanon.

In a social media post, Gideon Saar said it was “very dangerous” to be part of a minority in Syria, and “this has been proven time and again over the past six months”.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to prevent harm to the Druze in Syria because of their ties to those living in Israel.

Long-running tensions between Druze and Bedouin tribes in Suweida erupted into deadly sectarian clashes last Sunday Sunday, following the abduction of a Druze merchant on the highway to the capital, Damascus.

According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory of Human Rights (SOHR), 940 people have been killed since then.

The ceasefire between Israel and Syria on Friday was announced by US special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack on Friday.

“We call upon Druze, Bedouins, and Sunnis to put down their weapons and together with other minorities build a new and united Syrian identity in peace and prosperity with its neighbours,” he said.

The BBC’s Middle East correspondent Lina Sinjab, reporting from Syria, said violence towards the Druze has been spreading across the country.

Earlier this week, UN human rights chief Volker Türk said his office had received credible reports indicating widespread violations and abuses during clashes, including summary executions and arbitrary killings in Suweida.

Among the alleged perpetrators were members of the security forces and individuals affiliated with the interim government, as well as local Druze and Bedouin armed elements, Türk said in a statement. “This bloodshed and the violence must stop,” he warned, adding that “those responsible must be held to account”.

In his comments on Saturday morning, the Syrian leader said that his government “is committed to protecting all minorities and sects in the country and is proceeding to hold all violators accountable from any party. No-one will escape accountability.”

[BBC]