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. 

More on REGION

Airbus team scours Karachi crash site

Airbus experts continued to examine and collect evidence about the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane crash on May 22 at a residential area in the port city that killed 97 people

Senior journalist Fakhruddin Syed passes away due to coronavirus in Peshawar

Senior journalist Fakhruddin Syed passed away due to the coronavirus, early on Thursday morning at Peshawar's Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC)

Chaotic situation amid shortage of ventilators in Pakistan's Punjab

State-run hospitals of Faisalabad are facing an acute shortage of ventilators so much so that a lady doctor and her colleagues had recently failed to arrange a ventilator for her uncle

Afghan government, Taliban resume prisoner swap talks

The Afghan government and the Taliban on Thursday resumed prisoner swap talks after weeks of deadly violence and an impasse that delayed the beginning of peace negotiations for nearly two months

Timelines issued to resume activities in Sri Lanka

The Sri Lankan Health Ministry has issued a comprehensive set of guidelines focused on the "new normal" with timelines on when most activities can resume in the island nation amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Bangladesh reports 15 new virus deaths, daily caseload tops 2,000 for first time

The tally of coronavirus infections in Bangladesh has surged to 40,321 after the daily caseload crossed 2,000 for the first time

Bangladesh won't extend COVID-19 shutdown

The Bangladesh government has decided not to extend the ongoing shutdown over the coronavirus pandemic, allowing offices to reopen on May 31, the media reported

Domestic flights to resume on ‘limited scale’ from June 1

Bangladesh's civil aviation ministry today decided to resume domestic passenger flights on a limited scale from June 1, more than two months after imposing a suspension on almost all international and domestic flights to contain outbreaks of COVID-19

Nepal’s COVID-19 tally races past 1,000

Nepal's Ministry of Health and Population on Thursday confirmed that 156 people tested positive for COVID-19, as the national tally jumps to 1,042

Nepal airport under renovation amid lockdown

While Nepal is under lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) here is being renovated to resume flight operations soon, a spokesperson said

10,000 needy students to get ration in COVID-19 response

The education ministry will cater dry ration to more than 10,000 vulnerable children identified by the government across Bhutan from this month

State of public health emergency extended till June 29

Minister of Health Abdulla Ameen announced an extension to the state of public health emergency declared in the Maldives over the COVID-19 pandemic

Japan and Bhutan sign grant worth 174 million Japanese Yen

Ambassador of Bhutan to Japan Vetsop Namgyel and the Ambassador of Japan to Bhutan Satoshi Suzuki signed the exchange of notes for a project grant in New Delhi yesterday

Almost 80% of COVID cases in India asymptomatic: Health Minister

India's Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday said almost 80 per cent of the COVID-19 cases in India are asymptomatic or at best with very mild symptoms

Testing 1.3 bn people neither possible nor feasible: Harsh Vardhan

Testing 1.3 billion people for COVID-19 is neither possible nor feasible, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said in an exclusive interview with IANS on Thursday