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'Amphan' intensifies into super cyclone over eastern India, Bangladesh

The India Meteorological Department on Monday said that extremely severe cyclonic storm Amphan over the west and central parts of Bay of Bengal has intensified into a "super cyclone" with wind speed above 200 km per hour

India says no plan to extend coronavirus lockdown

India has no plans to extend a 21-day lockdown to contain the spread of the deadly COVID-19 virus in the country. The announcement came on Monday from the government's top bureaucrat

Bhutan’s bureaucrats to contribute 5 to 10% of salary for COVID-19 fund

Bureaucrats in Bhutan will be contributing five to 10 percent of their salaries for the COVID-19 relief fund set up by the government, the Royal Civil Servant Commission (RCSC) has said

Bhutan announces physical distancing measures for public transport

The Bhutanese government has announced several physical distancing measures to be followed in all public transport facilities, including taxis, in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic

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Pompeo in Kabul on surprise visit

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Kabul on Monday on a surprise visit amid a stalemate in the intra-Afghan talks between the government and the Taliban as it was agreed in the peace deal signed by the militats with Washington

Shopping malls to shut from Mar 25 to 31 in Bangladesh

Bangladesh Shop Owners’ Association has decided to keep the shutters down from Mar 25 to Mar 31 as the shopping malls are shorn of shoppers due to fears of coronavirus, bdnews24.com reported

Nepal closes borders with India, China for a week

Nepal Sunday closed all borders with India and China for a week from Monday. A meeting of the Council of Ministers held at the official residence of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in Baluwatar  took the decision to bar the human movements across the borders

5,000-bed quarantine facilities to be set up in Kathmandu valley

Nepal is building public quarantine facilities with a capacity to accommodate at least 5,000 individuals in Kathmandu valley

Six officials suspended in Pakistan for selfie with virus-hit colleague

Six officials of the district administration in Khairpur in Pakistan were suspended for having a selfie with their colleague who tested positive for coronavirus, according to officials and a document issued on Sunday

Person who hosted Swiss Pastor infected with COVID19

Among the four new cases of COVID19 detected today in Sri Lanka is a person who associated with the Switzerland-based Christian Pastor who conducted a service at the Philadelphia Church in Ariyalai, near Nallur in the Jaffna District last week

Islandwide curfew for 8 districts extended in Sri Lanka

Islandwide curfew imposed by the Sri Lankan government is being lifted for eight hours March 23 except for five districts in the Northern Province, and the Colombo, Gampaha, and Puttalam Districts

Pakistan PM rules out nationwide lockdown, appeals for self-quarantine

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan appealed to all the citizens of the country to self-quarantine, saying this was the best precautionary measure to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus since the government could not impose a nationwide lockdown keeping in view multiple problems the move would create, the media reported on Monday

75 US embassy staff from Islamabad return home

A group of 75 staff members of the US embassy in Islamabad have returned to the US aboard a special flight amid the coronavirus pandemic

KLM flight with 113 Indians finally lands in Delhi

A day after being denied permission to land in India, a KLM flight with 113 Indians who were stranded in Amsterdam landed in New Delhi on Sunday evening

Afghanistan reports first confirmed death from coronavirus

Afghanistan’s health ministry has reported the country’s first confirmed death from the coronavirus. A 40-year old man died in the northern Balkh province, Ministry of Public Health spokesman Wahidullah Mayar said

India reports seven coronavirus deaths

Three coronavirus deaths were reported from Maharashtra's Mumbai,  Bihar and Gujarat today, which takes the total number of deaths linked to COVID-19 in India to seven

Maoists kill 17 security personnel in Chhattisgarh in bloodiest hit since 2017

In one of the biggest setbacks for security forces in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh,  ultra-left Maoist rebels killed 17 troopers in Sukma, police said Sunday

Two mosques in Islamabad sealed after foreigner tests positive

Two mosques in the Pakistani capital have been vacated and sealed by authorities after a foreigner, who was part of the Tableghi Jamaat, tested positive for the novel coronavirus

Passenger flights, cruise ships barred from entering Sri Lanka

The Sri Lankan President’s Media Division says that all passenger flights and cruise ships have been barred from entering the country