
Austria’s Chancellor Karl Nehammer says he will resign in the coming days, both as chancellor and party leader, after talks about forming a coalition government collapsed.
The chancellor said his party – the conservative People’s Party (ÖVP) – and the Social Democrats had failed to agree on key issues.
The liberal Neos, another party involved in the talks, also pulled out on Friday.
In September the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) won an unprecedented victory in Austria’s general election, but the other parties ruled out forming a coalition with the FPÖ’s leader Herbert Kickl.
The collapse of the talks could lead to the conservatives negotiating with the far-right, or to a new election taking place, analysts have said.
The Russia-friendly FPÖ has been in a ruling coalition before. It would likely welcome a new election as opinion polls suggest its popularity has grown further since September.
The FPÖ has said in a statement on X that three months have been lost by the coalition talks and adds that “instead of stability, we have chaos”.
The party has called for Social Democrat leader Andreas Babler to also resign and said President Alexander Van der Bellen bears “a significant share of responsibility for the chaos that has arisen and the lost time”.
The FPÖ won almost 29% of the vote in September’s election, the People’s Party came second with 26.3% and the Social Democrats third, with 21%.
There was a high turnout of 77.3% as Austrian voters took part in an election dominated by the twin issues of migration and asylum, as well as a flagging economy and the war in Ukraine.
The FPÖ’s Kickl promised to build “Fortress Austria”, to restore Austrians’ security and prosperity.
The party wants firm rules on legal immigration and it has promoted the idea of remigration, which involves sending asylum seekers to their original countries.
The FPÖ was founded by former Nazis in the 1950s.
Two days before last year’s general election vote some of its candidates were caught on video at a funeral where an SS song was sung.
The party later denied the song, dating back to 1814, had any link to “National Socialist sentiments”.
[BBC]
Kuwait says a power and desalination plant has been hit by an Iranian attack.
Gulf countries continue to face retaliatory strikes on the 35th day, of the United States and Israel’s war on Iran.
Kuwaiti authorities said the plant was struck before midday local time on Friday. The extent of the damage is not yet known.
The attack came hours after the Mina al-Ahmadi oil refinery was targeted in early morning drone strikes. State news agency KUNA said the attack caused fires in a “number of operational units,” and no employees were injured.
Emergency and firefighting teams were sent with environmental experts monitoring air quality.
Al Jazeera’s Malik Traina, reporting from the capital, Kuwait City, said this was the third time the refinery’s been hit and that people across the country are on “high alert”.
“It’s one of the biggest refineries in the Middle East and it is also critical for local consumption,” he said.
Kuwait “is the closest country to Iran – just 80 kilometres separates Kuwait from Iran’s coastlines, so it’s perhaps the most easily targeted from these attacks from Iran,” he added.
In an early post on X, KUNA warned that “hostile missile and drone attacks” on Kuwait were under way. Sirens sounded during midair explosions as interceptions of Iranian missiles were heard across the country, the agency reported.
Kuwait and much of the Gulf are highly dependent on desalinated water. An Indian national was killed on March 30 after a Kuwaiti power and desalination plant was hit. Iran denied claims it launched the attacks and blamed Israel.
Elsewhere, the United Arab Emirates’ defence ministry said the country was battling a new wave of suspected Iranian missile and drone attacks.
[Aljazeera]
The Sri Lanka Cricket Selection Panel has named a 15-member squad for the upcoming Tri- Series tour of Australia, which will also feature England.
During the tour, the team will play a total of six matches, comprising two One Day and four T20 games, scheduled for the 7th, 8th, 12th, 13th, 17th, and 18th of April.
The squad is scheduled to depart for Australia today [3rd April 2026.]
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has announced the following appointments to the National High Performance Center:
Ryan van Niekerk, who served as the bowling coach and interim head coach of the Netherlands national team from 2023 to 2026, was appointed as the national bowling coach of Sri Lanka Cricket.
In this role, he will oversee fast bowling across all national teams, including the national men’s team.
Before taking over the interim role, he worked as the assistant coach and bowling coach of the Netherlands national men’s team.
During his stint with the Netherlands team, Ryan has contributed to the team’s participation in major international tournaments such as the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, and ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.
He was appointed for a two-year tenure, commencing on 15th April 2026.
Jordan Gregory, who has worked as a fielding consultant for Netherlands Cricket, was appointed as the national fielding and spin bowling coach.
He will be responsible for overseeing fielding and spin bowling across all national teams at the High Performance Center, including the national men’s team.
During his time with Netherlands Cricket, Gregory has contributed to several bilateral and multinational tournaments, including the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2023.
Jordan will begin his two-year tenure on 15th April 2026.
A World Order in Crisis: War, Power, and Resistance
Tariff shock from 01 April as power costs climb across the board
Minister Jayakody indicted in Colombo High Court over alleged corruption
Inquiry into female employee’s complaint: Retired HC Judge’s recommendations ignored
Police look for male partner of Chinese woman found stabbed to death at an apartment in Kohuwala
2025 GCE AL: 62% qualify for Uni entrance; results of 111 suspended
New arithmetic of conflict: How the drone revolution is inverting economics of war
Hour of reckoning comes for SL’s power sector