Dinesh Gunawardena sworn in as new Sri Lankan PM

Colombo (IANS) Dinesh Gunawardena was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka by President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday.

Gunawardena, parliamentarian of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party, took his oath in the capital Colombo…

Mali asks spokesperson of UN peacekeeping mission to leave amid friction over tweets

Bamako (IANS) Malian Foreign Ministry has asked the spokesperson of MINUSMA, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali, to leave the country in 72 hours as tweets about a diplomatic incident has escalated tensions between the two sides.

Voting begins to elect Sri Lanka's new President

Colombo (IANS) A week after people's elected President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country amid massive public protests and protesters storming his house and office, the 225-member Sri Lankan Parliament is voting to elect a new President.

11 injured, 3 missing in gas explosion in Beijing

Beijing (IANS) A gas explosion in an apartment building in north China's Tianjin has left 11 people injured and three others missing on Tuesday, local authorities said.

The explosion, which took place at around 7:15 a.m. in Beichen District,…

Wickremsinghe among 3 leaders in race for Sri Lankan President post

Colombo (IANS) Three leaders, including Prime Minister-turned-acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe, are to contest in the first-ever race for Sri Lanka's Presidency on Wednesday.

Wickremesinghe is to compete with the support of the section…

Ukraine war: Zelenskyy suspends security chief, top prosecutor

Kiev (IANS) Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has suspended the head of Ukraine's spy agency (SBU) and the prosecutor general in the wake of treason cases in the two organisations.

President Zelenskyy on Sunday suspended Ivan Bakanov…

Emergency declared in Sri Lanka

Colombo (IANS) Sri Lanka's acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe declared a nationwide state of emergency with effect from Monday.

Acting President Wickremesinghe declared the emergency in the interests of public security, the protection…

Nepal extends ban on import of 10 types of goods to save forex

Kathmandu (IANS) The Nepali government is extending a complete ban on the import of 10 types of products till the end of August, as the country still struggles against a dwindling foreign exchange reserve.

As per the notice published in Nepal…

Pakistan blocks India's attempt for UNSC membership

Islamabad (IANS) Pakistan has again blocked India's attempt to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), which it is showcasing as its diplomatic success against New Delhi.

India lacked minimum support from…

SL's acting President says he would limit powers of future Presidents

Colombo (IANS) Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was sworn in as Acting President of Sri Lanka, on Friday assured that he would reintroduce the 19th Amendment to the Constitution to clip extraordinary powers of future Presidents.

Wickremesinghe, who…