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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Maharashtra records new high of COVID-19 deaths, over 2,000 new cases

Maharashtra - the country's most industrialised state - on Tuesday recorded 76 Covid-19 deaths - the highest single-day surge - and 2,127 new cases, officials said here

Indian scientist makes robot to take care of corona patients

A scientist of Tripura University in Agartala, Northeast India, has made a robot from locally available and scrap materials to assist frontline health workers, including doctors, to take care of the coronavirus patients from a distant place

Nearly 20 million jobs in tourism at risk in India

India's vibrant tourism industry is staring at a 2 crore (20 million) job losses as industry insiders cite government apathy and a predictably long recovery period. Accordingly, the industry is left with a tough choice between downsizing and survival given that no stimulus measure has been given so far

Government's relief packages to be sustainable, realistic

Amid the business community criticising the government for not introducing concrete relief packages for businesses affected by the COVID-19, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli said that necessary relief packages based on availability of resources would be brought after detailed assessment of the impact of the pandemic on businesses

Pakistan to seek $2b in new international loans

Pakistan has planned to seek $2 billion in six new foreign loans for activities like garbage collection, pension and fiscal reforms, and ending market distortion amid the rapid deterioration of public debt indicators

Mad rush in markets as businesses reopen in Pakistan

With the opening of businesses after many weeks, markets and shops were seen flooded with unrestrained mobs in Lahore on Monday and Tuesday

Pakistan Railways resumes operations

The Pakistan Railways is resuming limited train operations from today (Wednesday) after easing of the two-month-long restrictions, which were imposed to stop the novel coronavirus from spreading in the country

U.S. provides more than $5.8 million in total COVID-19 assistance to Sri Lanka

The United States is providing more than $5.8 million assistance to Sri Lanka through the State Department and the U.S Agency for International Development (USAID) as part of its global COVID-19 assistance

India repatriates nationals stranded in Sri Lanka, by air and ship

India has made arrangements to repatriate the Indian nationals stranded in Sri Lanka with the restrictions imposed on international travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the High Commission of India in Colombo said

EU provides Tk 428 crore to Bangladesh for reforms in education sector

The European Union HAS  transferred EUR 46.125 million (Tk 428 crore) to the Bangladesh government to support key national reforms in the education sector

Gunmen storm mosque in Parwan, 7 killed: Police

At least seven people were killed and 12 others were wounded in an attack by armed men on worshippers at a mosque in Parwan on Tuesday, the provincial police chief Haroon Mubariz said

Nasheed calls on countries to reopen borders

Speaker of the Maldivian Parliament Mohamed Nasheed has called on larger nations to open their borders for small island nations

ADB okays $300m loan for Pakistan virus relief

The Asian Development Bank on Tuesday approved a $300 million emergency assistance loan for Pakistan to strengthen its health response to the COVID-19 pandemic amid the climate change ministry’s bid to divert some of the funds to non-coronavirus activities

Low mortality, higher recovery rate in India: Niti Aayog CEO

Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on Tuesday emphasised that total number of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) positive cases is not much important as rate of mortality and recovery rate are critical. He also said that India has constantly improved the recovery rate as it is 38 percent now

40% Indian startups halt operations amid COVID-19: Nasscom

While 90 percent tech startups in India are facing a decline in revenues due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, about 30-40 percent have temporarily halted their operations or are in the process of closing down, a Nasscom survey warned on Tuesday