Global oil prices jumped after Israel said it had struck Iran, in a dramatic escalation of tensions in the Middle East.

Benchmark oil contracts Brent Crude and Nymex light sweet were up by more than 10% after the news emerged.

Traders are concerned that a conflict between Iran and Israel could disrupt supplies coming from the energy-rich region.

The cost of crude oil affects everything from the price of food at the supermarket to how much it costs to fill up your car.

Analysts have told the BBC that energy traders will now be watching to see whether Iran retaliates in the coming days.

“It’s an explosive situation, albeit one that could be defused quickly as we saw in April and October last year, when Israel and Iran struck each other directly,” Vandana Hari of Vandana Insights told the BBC.

“It could also spiral out into a bigger war that disrupts Mideast oil supply,” she added.

In an extreme scenario, Iran could disrupt supplies of millions of barrels of oil a day if it targets infrastructure or shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

The strait is one of the world’s most important shipping routes, with about a fifth of the world’s oil passing through it.

At any one time, there are several dozen tankers on their way to the Strait of Hormuz, or leaving it, as major oil and gas producers in the Middle East and their customers transport energy from the region.

Bounded to the north by Iran and to the south by Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Strait of Hormuz connects the Gulf with the Arabian Sea.

“What we see now is very initial risk-on reaction. But over the next day or two, the market will need to factor in where this could escalate to,” Saul Kavonic, head of energy research at MST Financial said.

(BBC News)

The Ministry of Public Security says that 28 Criminal Investigation Department (CID) teams have begun inspections at all prisons across the country yesterday (June 12), with the operation continuing today (June 13) due to its scale.

These inspections focus particularly on reviewing prison documents, as part of the ongoing investigation into the alleged misuse of presidential pardons to unlawfully release inmates.

Commissioner General of Prisons – Thushara Upuldeniya, who was arrested over the unauthorized release of an Anuradhapura Prison inmate on Vesak Poya Day, remains in custody at a Colombo prison under special protection.

Meanwhile, Anuradhapura Prison Superintendent – Mohan Karunaratne, who has also been remanded, is to be produced before court again today.

The Wellawatte Police arrested a man on June 11 for allegedly making hoax calls claiming that a SriLankan Airlines flight from Indonesia had been hijacked.

The calls were made to SriLankan Airlines, the Presidential Secretariat, Police, and Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake.

Authorities have traced the calls to a hotel in Wellawatte where police had forcibly entered a room when the suspect refused to open the door.

He had booked the hotel room for 03 months and had previously stayed at a hotel in Colombo 02.

Items including a Tablet, iPhone, router, headphones, and foreign currency receipts were seized.

The Tablet reportedly contained photos of LTTE leaders and flags, political figures, and images of airports and aircraft, Wellawatta police say.

Investigations have further revealed that the suspect, believed to be a crystal methamphetamine (ICE) addict, operates a foreign employment agency and receives funds from abroad.

Police suspect the threats were made under drug influence to incite public fear. He was handed over to Katunayake Airport Police yesterday (June 12).

Further investigations are underway.

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