Sri Lanka's President Ranil Wickremesinghe

Sri Lanka needs well-designed political and economic policy changes for long-term recovery

The government has taken steps to address shortages of fuel and gas to some extent when compared to the earlier situation which had long queues that stretched for kilometres outside fuel and gas stations. But a well-planned recovery plan still cannot be seen that can address the long-term food security issues. 

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Jaishankar’s Maldives visit: Growing economic and defense cooperation undeterred by anti-India campaign

Decided at short notice, the weekend visit of Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to the Maldives has been significant in many ways, given the anti-India protests led by former President Abdullah Yameen which the Maldivian government appears struggling, at least politically, to contain

‘Open the doors of girls’ schools’, chant Afghan women, protesting Taliban ban

Over two dozen protesters, mainly women, and girls, on Saturday took out a rally in Kabul and marched to the Taliban’s Ministry of Education, demanding of their rulers not share in power or representation—something witnessed in previous protests - but only reopening of schools for girls

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa reaches out to Tamil leaders, promises prisoners’ release, truth-finding mechanism among other measures

The Friday meeting was significant as this is the first time when the present government reached out to Tamil leaders and assured measures to address their concerns

Pakistan parliament session adjourned for three days as PM Imran Khan faces no-confidence motion; opposition critical

Calling the decision of adjourning the house “partisan”, Shehbaz Sharif, the president of opposition parties PML-N, accused the speaker of conducting the house proceedings as a ruling PTI worker

Former Maldives president Yameen calls for demilitarized IOR; seeks to make political capital of negligible Indian military presence

The Indian Ocean Region (IOR) should remain a demilitarized zone, former Maldivian President Abdullah Yameen said, opposing the alleged presence of Indian military personnel in the strategically located archipelago, which has lately emerged as a key battleground for influence between the two big Asian powers, India and China

Nepal to excavate sites in search of people gone missing during Maoist insurgency

Excavation will take place under the supervision of international forensic experts provided by the International Committee for the Red Cross

Nepal's Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba likely to visit India early April

The visit is considered significant as there appear signs that the two countries are ready to make some course corrections in their approach to each other as bilateral cooperation suffered in the wake of the boundary row

India played a key role in Maldives' independence, says former president, as opposition plans massive anti-India rally

Yameen, who was the country’s president between 2013-2018, has been spearheading the “India-Out” campaign, seeking withdrawal of what he says is the “presence of Indian military personnel.”

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan fined for violating poll code by country's Election Commission

Political leaders, including those from opposition parties, are holding massive rallies across the country as the Imran Khan government faces the prospect of losing its majority in the face of a no-confidence motion in Parliament

Hardliners triumph: Taliban backtracks on its promise, orders closure of girls' high schools

Multiple media reports said girls in Kandahar and other provinces were not allowed to enter their schools on Tuesday by local Taliban leaders, despite a clear order from the central authority

A refugee problem in the making from crisis-hit Sri Lanka?

There is no quick fix for the dire problems Sri Lanka is facing as the crisis has been building up for over a decade now, signs of which were ignored by successive governments

OIC a divided house, failed both Palestinians and Kashmiris, says Pakistan PM Imran Khan

The Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC), a grouping representing 57 Muslim countries, has “failed both the Palestinians and the people of Kashmir”, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran said on Tuesday, admitting that the group has not been able to make any “impact”

Sri Lanka deploys troops at fuel stations amid crippling fuel shortage

Sri Lanka on Tuesday deployed military personnel at fuel stations across the country as the government struggles to contain the ongoing crippling fuel shortage, leaving thousands of people to stand in long queues to wait for hours to get a few litres of fuel

China’s Wang Yi reaches Pakistan to attend OIC meet; Bangladesh foreign minister to skip meet

The participation of the Chinese Foreign Minister as a special guest at the OIC conference also drew some criticism from rights activists as Beijing faces allegations of widespread rights violations of its own ethnic Uyghurs Muslim community

At India-Australia virtual summit, 'understanding' of India's position on Ukraine conflict, intensification of economic ties

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday held a virtual summit with his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison,  talks that were marked by implicit understanding by Australia of India's neutral position on the Ukraine war as the two countries sought intensification of their growing strategic and economic ties