SL protesters surround Parliament as hartal brings country to standstill

Colombo (IANS) Burdened by growing food crisis and shortages of fuel and gas, Sri Lankans launched an island-wide 'hartal' on Friday, giving ultimatum to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his government to resign by March 11.

Organised…

UNSC agrees first time on statement on Ukraine, but it's toothless

United Nations (IANS) After an acrimonious informal meeting on Ukraine, the UN Security Council came together formally for the first time to issue a statement that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said "spoke with one voice for peace in Ukraine".

IS-K attacks puncture Taliban's claim of restoring order in Afghanistan

Kabul (IANS) A spate of high-profile attacks claimed by IS-K militants in recent weeks has punctured the Taliban's narrative that it has restored law and order in the war-wrecked country, RFE/RL reported.

Since seizing power in August 2021,…

Sri Lanka's useable foreign reserves drop below $50mn

Colombo (IANS) Sri Lankan Finance Minister, Ali Sabry told parliament on Wednesday that the country's current useable foreign reserves were less than $50 million.

Sabry told parliament that Sri Lanka should have sought assistance from the…

NYC raises Covid alert level to medium

New York (IANS) New York City has adjusted up its Covid-19 alert level from low to medium, indicating the presence of medium community spread of the virus, according to the official data.

The accumulated new cases per 100,000 people in the…

Pentagon, US companies involved in Ukraine military biolabs: Russia

Moscow (IANS) The head of Russia's Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin has said that his team is making progress in a criminal probe into Ukraine's alleged Pentagon-funded bioweapons programme.

"The analysis of the obtained…

Indian Consulate condemns Connecticut statement on 'Sikh Independence' as promoting hatred

New York (IANS) The Indian Consulate General in New York has condemned a statement by the Connecticut State General Assembly purporting to show support for what it called the "Declaration of Sikh Independence".

Calling it an attempt to use…

China silences prominent market analyst

Hong Kong (IANS) Chinese social media have shut down the accounts of a prominent market analyst who drew attention in recent weeks to the dramatic slowdown in the country's economy and the effects of government policies on the tech industry, media…

PTV fails to ensure coverage for PM due to non-availability of laptop

Islamabad (IANS) PTV, Pakistan's state-owned broadcaster, has suspended 17 officials for failing to ensure "proper" coverage of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's Lahore visit on the channel last week, according to a media report.

Strangely,…

Saudi Arabia pledges $8bn package to Pak

Islamabad (IANS) Saudi Arabia has agreed to provide Pakistan a "sizeable package" of around $8 billion to help revive the country's ailing economy amid the maiden trip of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to the kingdom.

The package includes…