Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena on Saturday suspended Parliament, a day after he sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and replaced him with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, plunging the island nation into political turmoil. Through an extraordinary gazette, President Sirisena said Parliament was prorogued until November 16. The announcement came just …
Read More »Israel, India sign $777 mn missile deal
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has signed a $777 mn deal with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) to supply additional Barak-8 Long Range Surface to Air Missile (LRSAM) systems for seven warships of the Indian Navy. “IAI’s partnership with India dates many years back and has culminated in joint system development and …
Read More »Bangladesh question looms over Citizenship Bill
As the deadline for a joint committee of Parliament on the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, nears an end, some members asked whether it was possible to present the Bill in a truncated form by excluding Bangladesh. The Bill proposes citizenship to persecuted Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Parsis, Christians and Buddhists …
Read More »India, Pak. commit to Kartarpur corridor
A Cabinet meeting in Delhi proposed building a passage for the pilgrims accessible “365 days and 24 hours”, sources told The Hindu . Hours later, the Cabinet decision was conveyed by Ministry of External Affairs in a letter to the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi. “The government of India urges …
Read More »Row over Iran Gandhi Jayanti event
Indians divided over paying homage to the Mahatma on a cremation ground A fortnight after the Indian Embassy in Tehran was forced to cancel a Gandhi Jayanti event on the Indian Community Cremation Ground of the city, the Ambassador has triggered a fresh controversy after he presided over a “tree …
Read More »‘Maldives is my home, no one has a right to tell me not to go’
Mohamed Nasheed is determined to return to the islands on November 1, despite his fear that President Yameen will try to hang on to power It is very likely that power will be transferred in the Maldives, even if outgoing President, Abdulla Yameen, attempts to influence the Supreme Court’s deliberations …
Read More »3 Indian students in finals of global science contest
Three Indian students have made it to the finals of the prestigious annual Breakthrough Junior Challenge, a global science competition for teenagers to share their passion for mathematics and science. The three Indian students are among 15 finalists, chosen from 12,000 students who had submitted engaging and imaginative videos to …
Read More »Yameen blames defeat on ‘disappearing ink’
Outgoing Maldives President Abdulla Yameen has told the Supreme Court that disappearing ink and specially treated ballot papers were to blame for his heavy election defeat last month. The comments came as the court considered a petition by Mr. Yameen to have the September 23 election result annulled due to …
Read More »Uncertainty plagues U.K. talks with EU over Brexit
The status of Britain’s Brexit talks with the EU continue to be governed by uncertainty as Prime Minister Theresa May stood by her rejection over the weekend of a deal being negotiated with the EU by her own officials. Speaking in Parliament on Monday, the British Prime Minister insisted that …
Read More »Bhutan’s not-so-happy evicted minority
The Himalayan nation of Bhutan, often described as a “Shangri-La” where happiness is equated to wealth, is holding elections this week. But the Lhotshampa people, brutally driven out of the small kingdom in the 1990s, won’t be voting. The Nepali-speaking Lhotshampa were branded as immigrants and stripped of citizenship rights …
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