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

Bangladesh is scaling new heights, says Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said India and Bangladesh have given a new dimension and direction to their partnership due to growing trust between the two nations.  India and Bangladesh “have a golden chapter of bilateral ties,” he said

Centenary celebrations of Bangladesh's founder's amid Covid 19 scare

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina pledged to make Bangladesh a land of gold (Sonar Bangla) as the country celebrated the birth centenary of its founder, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, amidst public health scare over COVID-19 pandemic

No need for total lock-down, says Sri Lankan president

As a country which did not go through a lock-down even during the 30-year war, there is no need to do so now in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, said Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. He said while the other countries had recorded a large number of deaths in the wake of the COVID-19 infection, Sri Lanka had managed to mitigate such a situation

COVID-19: Maldives government to arrange loans for fish exporters

The Maldivian government has announced that they will arrange a loan facility for the fisheries sector to ease the challenges faced by the sector due to COVID-19

SAARC: Covid cooperation should include Iran

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to be commended for taking the initiative in enabling a cyber SAARC summit on Sunday (March 15) to deal with the growing COVID 19 challenge. Leaders of all the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries, barring Pakistan, which was represented by an official,  were linked through video and the deliberations indicated high-level political resolve to deal with this pandemic

Over 25,000 who entered India 2015-19 can avail citizenship

Over 25,782 foreigners from minority communities in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh entered India between 2015 and 2019, and they are authorised to get Indian citizenship as per the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019

Pakistan PM Imran Khan rules out lockdown

Prime Minister Imran Khan asked Pakistanis to prepare for a coronavirus epidemic in the country but ruled out locking down cities to fight the disease

Bhutan will quarantine all travellers

All travellers, including Bhutanese, coming to Bhutan will be quarantined in a designated quarantine facility for two weeks. However, minors below 18 years would be sent for home quarantine. Health minister Dechen Wangmo, announced this during the press briefing on COVID-19 Tuesday

India slams China-Pakistan for reference to J&K in joint statement

India excoriated China and Pakistan for reference to Jammu and Kashmir in a joint statement released by them and said it expects other countries not to comment on its internal matters and respect its sovereignty

Indian American heads US telemedicine push

Seema Verma, a top Indian American official, is leading a major US push for a path-breaking telemedicine initiative using laptops and phones and apps like Skype to ease the burden of growing coronavirus cases and the threat of infections

India's efforts against novel coronavirus praised by WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) has praised India for its efforts to fight against the novel coronavirus, which has killed and infected thousands in more than 100 countries across the world

India to help build three new schools in Nepal

India will provide 107.01 million Nepali Rupees for the construction of three new school buildings. These schools will be built in Darchula, Dhanusha and Kapilvastu districts. The MoU was signed on March 16, 2020 in Kathmandu between the bodies of India, Nepal and allied districts

Cross-border trade with Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh feels coronavirus pinch

The coronavirus outbreak is yet to significantly impact international trade along India’s land border. However, passenger movement is  down at most border gates following an embargo on the fresh issue of visas

'India constitutionally secular; CAA doesn't violate fundamental rights'

The Indian government, in a point-by-point response to the criticism against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), said India is constitutionally secular, and also told the Supreme Court that the CAA does not violate any fundamental right provisions of the Constitution

Food prices spike in Afghanistan

With the number of coronavirus cases increasing and also due to its border closures with Pakistan and Iran, the prices of food and other essentials in Afghanistan have doubled, causing hundreds of residents to stockpile on supplies