World

Geneva, July 23: The World Health Organisation said the expanding monkeypox outbreak in more than 70 countries is an “extraordinary” situation that now qualifies as a global emergency, a declaration Saturday that could spur further investment in treating the once-rare disease and worsen the scramble for scarce vaccines. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the decision to issue the

For the first time on record, Britain suffered under temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius — 104 Fahrenheit — on Tuesday, as a ferocious heat wave moved northwest, leaving a trail of raging wildfires, lost lives and evacuated homes across a Europe frighteningly ill-equipped to cope with the new reality of extreme weather. While the heat’s effects cascaded from Greece to Scotland, the greatest

Colombo, July 18: Sri Lanka's acting president Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday declared a state of emergency in the country with immediate effect, ahead of the July 20 election for the post of the president which fell vacant after Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s resignation following the popular public uprising against him. The government gazette number 2288/30 dated Jul 17 was issued Monday morning. The 225

An acquitted suspect in the 1985 Air India bombings that killed 331 people was shot dead Thursday, July 14, in an apparent targeted shooting in westernmost Canada, local media reported. Ripudaman Singh Malik was acquitted in 2005 in the Air India mass murder plot for lack of evidence, was reportedly shot outside his clothing business in the area of Vancouver, British Columbia. The Royal Canadian

Colombo, July 13: Protesters in Sri Lanka defied tear gas, water cannon and a state of emergency to storm the prime minister's office on Wednesday after the president fled overseas, with the crowd demanding both men step down in the face of an economic crisis. In a televised statement Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said he had instructed the military and police to do "what is necessary to

Colombo, July 12: Basil Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka’s former finance minister and younger brother of embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, was turned back at Colombo airport on Tuesday as he attempted to leave the country through the VIP terminal, an immigration officer said, amid mounting anger against the powerful family for mishandling the worst economic crisis. Basil Rajapaksa, 71, tried to leave

Colombo, July 9: Hours after storming into Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's house, angry protesters on Saturday evening broke into the private residence of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and set it on fire. This comes amid an unprecedented economic crisis that has brought the country to its knees. "Protesters have broken into the private residence of Prime Minister Ranil

Colombo, July 9: Thousands of protesters broke through police barricades in Colombo and barged into the president's official residence today, the latest expression of public anger in the nation of 22 million people battling an unprecedented economic crisis. Latest Developments >> Beleaguered President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled his official residence in Colombo before protesters gathered to demand

Tokyo, July 8: Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe died in a hospital, after being shot and critically wounded during a campaign speech in the city of Nara. He was 67. Doctors tried in vain to revive Abe, who was wounded on the right side of his neck and left clavicle. An official said earlier that Abe appeared to be in a state of cardiac arrest when airlifted to hospital. Police raid

London, July 7: Boris Johnson resigned on Thursday as leader of Britain's Conservative party, paving the way for the selection of a new prime minister after dozens of ministers quit his scandal-hit government. "It is clearly the will of the parliamentary Conservative party that there should be a new leader of that party, and therefore a new prime minister," Johnson said outside 10 Downing Street