LiveTwo US pilots rescued after US warplanes shot down over Iran, third crew member missing
12:00
Fuel shock bites in China, but no panic yet
As the world’s largest oil importer, China is acutely exposed to shocks from the Iran war. It relies on imports for 70 per cent of the oil it consumes, with roughly half of these supplies passing through the war-choked Strait of Hormuz.
But Beijing appears poised to weather the shock.
On March 23, China's National Development and Reform Commission invoked a 13-year-old emergency provision to cap the rise in retail fuel prices.
Beyond the emergency price cap lies a decades-long effort by Beijing to insulate the world’s second-largest economy from the volatility of global energy markets.
Its strategy includes stockpiling supply, diversifying its sources, and reducing reliance on oil altogether.
Taken together, these measures help explain the orderly queues that formed at petrol stations on the evening of March 23, with no scramble to hoard fuel.
For now, the impact of the global oil shock has yet to cascade throughout wider Chinese society. Most urban commuters find the higher fuel cost tolerable.
PHOTO: AFP
11:30
From full houses to 5 customers a day: How the Iran conflict has hollowed out Bangkok tourism
Retail assistants sat idly on stools outside their stores, scrolling on their mobile phones, while hotel receptions fell silent, with barely any guests checking in.
This scene in Nana, a downtown Bangkok neighbourhood popular among Middle Eastern tourists, was a telling snapshot of the toll the US-Israel strikes on Iran had taken on Thailand’s vital tourism sector.
The conflict that began on Feb 28 sent booking cancellations soaring and foot traffic plummeting, not only in establishments catering to Middle Eastern visitors but across the broader industry.
Thailand’s Tourism Ministry said Middle Eastern visitor numbers more than halved in February alone, from 32,831 the previous year to 16,080.
11:00
Israel says striking Hezbollah sites in Beirut after destroying bridge
The Israeli military said on Saturday it had begun striking “Hezbollah infrastructure” in Beirut after destroying a bridge in eastern Lebanon to prevent the Iran-backed group’s reinforcements from crossing.
Local media reported two strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, which has been a target of Israeli strikes in recent days as the military presses on with its ground invasion in the country’s south.
Israel’s military had warned that it would target two adjacent bridges over the Litani River in the area “to prevent the transfer of reinforcements and military equipment”.
The river runs around 30km north of the Israeli border, an area where Israel has said it wants to maintain “security control”.
10:00
S'poreans feeling pinch of Iran war despite contained impact
While the impact of the Iran war has so far been relatively contained in Singapore, residents are beginning the feel the pinch of higher prices across the broader economy.
Electricity tariffs rose for the quarter starting April 1, with the authorities warning of sharper increases to come.
Cooking gas prices have also increased, although providers said they may absorb costs for hawker centres.
Though petrol prices have pulled back slightly, they remain around the highs seen during the 2022 Ukraine crisis. Meanwhile, the diesel price spike has yet to ease.
The Government warned of a “bumpier ride ahead”, though it has yet to dip into its energy stockpiles of liquified natural gas and diesel, which are enough to last for months.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Thursday said that some support measures announced at the Budget will be brought forward.
READ MORE: What’s become more expensive in Singapore?
PHOTO: ST FILE
09:30
Hide, find water: US ex-pilot on how to survive after being shot down
As US forces race against time and Iran’s military to locate a missing fighter jet crew reportedly shot down on Friday, a retired Air Force general told AFP what it takes to hide and survive if parachuted into enemy territory.
“The best intelligence you’re going to get is as you’re floating to the ground,” said retired brigadier general Houston Cantwell, who is now at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
“Your best view of where you may want to go or where you may want to avoid is while you’re coming down in your parachute.”
On the ground, “my priority would be, first of all, concealment, because I don’t want to be captured,” he said.
PHOTO: AFP
09:00
US intelligence warns Iran unlikely to ease Hormuz Strait chokehold soon: Sources
Recent US intelligence reports warn that Iran is unlikely to open the Strait of Hormuz any time soon because its grip on the world’s most vital oil artery provides the only real leverage it has over the United States, according to three sources familiar with the matter.
The finding suggests that Tehran could continue to throttle the strait to keep energy prices high as a means of pressuring US President Donald Trump to find a quick off-ramp to the nearly five-week-long war that remains unpopular with US voters.
The reports also provide the latest indication that the war, intended to eradicate Iran’s military strength, may actually increase its regional sway by showing Tehran's ability to threaten the key waterway.
Analysts have long warned that trying to use force against Iran, which controls one side of the strait, could prove costly and draw the US into a protracted ground war.
08:00
Israel strikes Beirut, US warns Iran may hit Lebanese universities
Israel pounded Beirut with airstrikes on Friday that the military said had targeted militant "infrastructure" in Lebanon's capital, as the US warned that Iran may target universities in the country.
Lebanese media outlets said the strikes had hit the southern suburbs. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
On Friday, the US embassy in Beirut warned that "Iran and its aligned terrorist militias may intend to target universities in Lebanon". It repeated a warning for US citizens to leave the country.
PHOTO: REUTERS
07:30
'No impact' on negotiations with Iran, says Trump
US President Donald Trump in an interview with NBC News on Friday declined to discuss the ongoing search-and rescue efforts of the second crew member of a US fighter jet downed by Iran.
He said that the events would not impact negotiations with Iran, according to a reporter who spoke to him in a call.
“No, not at all. No, it’s war,” Mr Trump said, according to the report.
In a separate phone interview on Friday with The Independent, Mr Trump said he couldn’t comment on what he would do if the second crew member of the downed F-15 is captured or harmed by the Iranians.
“We hope that’s not going to happen,” he said.
Iran has offered a bounty for anyone who captured a US crew member alive.
PHOTO: DOUG MILLS/NYTIMES
07:00
Downed jets raise new perils for Trump, as Tehran hunts for missing US pilot
Two US warplanes were downed over Iran and the Gulf, Iranian and US officials said on Friday, with two US pilots rescued and a third still missing and being hunted by Tehran’s forces.
The incidents show the risks still faced by US and Israeli aircraft over Iran despite assertions from US President Donald Trump and his Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth that their forces had total control of the skies.
The first plane, a two-seat US F-15E jet, was shot down by Iranian air defences, officials in both countries said.
The second plane, an A-10 attack aircraft, was hit by Iranian air defences over southern waters near the Hormuz Strait before crashing, according to Iranian state media, which cited the Iranian army.
US officials confirmed that the plane had been shot down and said the pilot had been rescued.
The status and whereabouts of the missing F-15E pilot are not publicly known.
An Iranian television reporter on a local official channel said anyone who captured a crew member alive would “receive a valuable reward”.
PHOTO: REUTERS
06:55
The situation so far
Iran shot down a US warplane on Friday in the first such known incident since the war started on Feb 28, with one of the crew members rescued after ejecting and the other still missing, according to a US source.
Meanwhile, a second US Air Force plane crashed near the Straits of Hormuz, the New York Times reported, and the lone pilot was safely rescued.
The first known combat loss of a US fighter jet would mark a significant escalation in the five-week war that already has triggered a global energy crisis.
Here is an update on the latest developments:
- Lebanon university warning
The US embassy in Lebanon said that Iran and allied groups could seek to target universities in the country, and repeated a warning for US citizens to leave the country. - Trump seeks US$1.5 trillion (S$1.93 trillion) defence budget
Mr Trump asked lawmakers to approve a massive US$1.5 trillion defence budget for 2027, as the US faces rising costs from its war with Iran and mounting global security commitments. - UN peacekeepers wounded
The United Nations force in Lebanon said a blast at one of its positions had wounded three peacekeepers, two of them seriously – the third such incident in a week. - ‘Immediate ceasefire’ urged
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East war during a phone call, the Kremlin said. - Fresh strikes on Beirut
Fresh strikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs as the Israeli army said it was targeting “terror infrastructure”, hours after having issued an evacuation warning for the area. - Tankers cross Hormuz
A French container ship and a Japanese-owned tanker crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, in what appears to be the first such transits since the war in Iran shuttered the crucial waterway.
