LivePM Wong thanks Saudi Arabia, regional partners for helping to facilitate safe return of S’poreans
18:20
British police ban pro-Iranian London march over fears of ‘extreme tensions’
The British police have banned a pro-Iranian march slated to take place in London on March 15, due to the possibility of “extreme tensions” with counter-protesters and the risk posed by Tehran during the conflict in the Middle East.
The al-Quds march in central London is organised annually by the Islamic Human Rights Commission, which the police said was supportive of the Iranian regime.
The threshold police have to meet to ban a protest is high in Britain. Police said this is the first time the power has been invoked in 14 years, but the risks of public disorder were “so severe” it was right to block it. The ban also applies to any counter-protest marches.
18:00
G-7 energy ministers support principle of using oil reserves, ready to take ‘necessary measures'
The Group of Seven (G-7) nations support, in principle, the implementation of proactive measures to address the Iran crisis and rising energy prices, including using strategic reserves.
G-7 energy ministers on Wednesday said they “stand ready” to take “all necessary measures” in coordination with the International Energy Agency (IEA) to tackle the rise in crude oil prices due to the Middle East war.
Leaders of the G-7 nations are also due to convene for a call on Wednesday, hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron. The G-7 comprises the United States, Canada, Japan, Italy, Britain, Germany and France.
Benchmark oil prices surged to nearly four-year highs on March 9 but plummeted 11 per cent on March 10 after US President Donald Trump said the war in the Middle East could end “very soon”.
The energy ministers stopped short of agreeing on a release of strategic oil reserves on March 10 and instead asked the IEA to assess the situation before acting.
The IEA has proposed the largest release of oil reserves in its history to restrain soaring crude prices amid the US-Israel war with Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported.
PHOTO: AFP
17:50
Three vessels hit by projectiles in Strait of Hormuz, say maritime security experts
Three vessels were hit by unknown projectiles in the Strait of Hormu, said maritime security agencies and sources on Wednesday.
The Thailand-flagged bulk carrier Mayuree Naree was targeted and damaged about 11 nautical miles north of Oman, two maritime security sources said.
Earlier, the Japan-flagged container ship One Majesty sustained minor damage from an unknown projectile 25 nautical miles north-west of Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates.
A third vessel, a bulk carrier, was also hit by an unknown projectile about 50 miles north-west of Dubai, maritime security firms said.
Traffic through the war-choked Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes, has virtually ground to a halt since the beginning of the Iran war.
PHOTO: REUTERS
17:40
Sri Lankan court orders 84 Iranian sailors’ bodies be handed to Iran embassy, local media says
The bodies of 84 sailors killed in an attack on an Iranian warship off the island nation’s coast last week must be handed over to the Embassy of Iran, a Sri Lankan court has ruled.
The warship IRIS Dena was hit by a torpedo fired from a US submarine while it was returning from a naval exercise organised by India.
The court order was issued on Wednesday after a request from the harbour police in the southern port city of Galle, local media reports said.
The bodies are now at the morgue in Galle’s National Hospital.
17:30
Israeli strike hits central Beirut: State media
An Israeli strike hit an apartment in central Beirut on Wednesday – marking the second time Israel has hit targets in the heart of the Lebanese capital since the Iran war began.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said the “enemy targeted an apartment in the Aisha Bakkar area” in central Beirut, a densely populated neighbourhood close to one of the city’s biggest shopping malls.
The airstrike was aired on media outlet AFPTV’s live broadcast, and bombing sounds could be heard. It was followed by a fireball erupting in an apartment, located in a multi-story residential building in Beirut.
There was no immediate confirmation of any casualties.
There was damage to the building’s seventh and eighth floors as well nearby cars and security forces who were there.
Last week, the Israeli army targeted a hotel in central Beirut. Iran’s permanent mission to the United Nations said four of its diplomats where killed in the attack.
PHOTO: REUTERS
17:20
Japan’s weak spot on energy in focus as Middle East crisis worsens
Japan should do more to reduce its reliance on imported fossil fuels, the chair of the Renewable Energy Institute (REI) said, after the escalating Middle East conflict halted tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
Japan relies on the region for about 95 per cent of its crude oil and 11 per cent of its liquefied natural gas imports, with roughly 70 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively, shipped through the Strait.
The channel’s closure has triggered sharp spikes in fuel prices, hitting energy-importing economies, such as Japan, the hardest.
Mr Tomas Kaberger, the chair of the Tokyo-based REI’s executive board, cautioned that nuclear power was not a solution for the country, urging it to recognise its strength in renewables.
“In the 20th century, Japan was resource-poor because the dominant energy sources were oil, coal, gas and uranium. In the 21st century, with solar, wind and battery technologies becoming the world’s cheapest forms of power generation, Japan is resource-rich,” he said
17:11
Hawkers, drivers in Asia brace themselves for fuel shortage amid Iran war
Families and businesses across Asia are feeling the pinch as US-Israeli attacks on Iran and its retaliatory actions across the Persian Gulf, including on oil fields, have significantly disrupted fuel production and supply.
Around a fifth of global crude and natural gas supply is already suspended, throwing oil markets into turmoil, especially in Asia, which buys close to 90 per cent of Middle Eastern oil exports.
There are concerns that the fuel shortages could also mean higher inflation and rising interest rates.
Hawkers and drivers in countries like India and the Philippines are bracing themselves for lower earnings amid rising costs. Meanwhile, countries like Bangladesh, Indonesia and Australia have started rationing or stockpiling fuel.
ST PHOTO: DEBARSHI DASGUPTA
17:00
News analysis: Iran might have a few military surprises in store as US’ hopes of a swift victory fade
America and Israel have superior firepower, but Iran’s capabilities remain more of a mystery. They claim extensive weaponry, including hypersonic or near-hypersonic missiles that can evade US and Israeli anti-missile batteries. But much of their attacks so far have been predictable, involving short-range and medium-range missile launches and drones.
“Everything they are doing from from disrupting shipping in the Strait of Hormuz to hitting the energy infrastructure around the Persian Gulf is all about imposing costs on the United States in order to change the United States’ calculations,” Dr Hamidreza Azizi, a scholar at the German Institute for International and Strategic Affairs, told The Straits Times.
But Iran could simply be holding its fire. Two former Iranian military personnel who spoke on condition of anonymity said Tehran’s measured response is strategic, as it could be concentrating on damaging America’s expensive but highly exposed system of radars and early detection systems in the Gulf, including THAAD missile detection facilities that provided real-time data on Iranian launches.
Above all, Iran has yet to use its potentially most devastating gambit: crippling the world economy by mining or raining rockets down on the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint through which roughly 20 per cent of the world’s oil flows.
16:40
Four injured after drones fall near Dubai airport
Four people were injured after drones fell near Dubai airport on Wednesday, the country's government said. Air traffic continued as normal, it added.
A statement from the Dubai Media Office said: “The authorities confirm that two drones fell in the vicinity of Dubai International Airport a short while ago, resulting in minor injuries to two Ghanaian nationals and one Bangladeshi national, and moderate injuries to one Indian national. Air traffic is operating as normal."
The attacks come as Iran presses on with attacks against Gulf countries.
PHOTO: REUTERS
16:20
Netanyahu’s Cabinet to expand budget by $16.5b to fund war
Israel is set to expand its defence budget by almost 40 billion shekels (S$16.5 billion), about 2 per cent of its gross domestic product, to fund the war with Iran, according to a finance ministry official, who requested anonymity discussing plans that are not yet public.
The supplement is part of a revised 2026 budget that will be debated and possibly voted on by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Cabinet. It will then need a sign-off from Parliament by the end of the month.
The defence budget will be expanded by 28 billion shekels, with an additional 10 billion shekels put aside as reserves for possible military needs, said the official.
The extra money is mostly for replenishing military inventory and to pay reserve soldiers.
The previous budget proposal set a limit of 40,000 reserve soldiers for 2026, with a maximum 55-day service for each person. However, since the start of the Iran war at the end of February, the military has called up more than 100,000 reservists.
