The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka has given permission for legal proceedings against former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is among those blamed for the unprecedented economic crisis that has gripped the country. The court also allowed proceedings against his brothers Mahinda and Basil, who served as prime minister and finance minister, respectively as also former […]Read More

Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing has consolidated his control of the military proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), with the installation of his henchman, former Police Chief U Khin Yi, as the party chair. The appointment of the new USDP leader came ahead of the election the regime plans to hold next year […]Read More

China’s top cyberspace watchdog has labelled some 80,000 online posts as “rumours” since August in a campaign targeting “online rumours and false information”. According to the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), it has organised 12 major Chinese digital news portals and social media platforms to “refute and label rumours” related to “key social and livelihood […]Read More

Former finance minister Miftah Ismail has termed Pakistan a “one-per cent republic” that offers no upward social mobility to an overwhelming majority of its citizens. Speaking at an awards ceremony organised by the Management Association of Pakistan (MAP), he said there’s “something very wrong” with Pakistan. “The 1pc elite controls this country,” said Ismail who was in […]Read More

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that by building a deceitful narrative of conspiracy against his government, former premier and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan committed “treason against Pakistan” and its people and inflicted irreparable damage to the country’s reputation. PM Shehbaz, while referring to an audio leak revealing a conversation between then prime […]Read More

Beijing has arrested 1.43 million people in a three-month security campaign ahead of the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), scheduled later this month. However, not all those arrested in the 100-day operation that began on June 25 are criminals. The Ministry of Public Security has claimed that the campaign was a […]Read More

Pakistan’s National Security Committee has approved the formation of a body to investigate the recently emerged audio leaks from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in which the conversations of central leaders in the coalition government can be heard. Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah will head the panel. A number of tapes doing the rounds on social […]Read More

Sri Lankan importers, manufacturers, service providers, wholesalers and retailers whose total turnover exceeds Rs 120 million per annum will be charged an additional tax of 2.5 per cent effective today. The Social Security Contribution Tax is expected to generate revenue of Rs 140 billion annually. The measure aims at raising the government’s revenue and rebuilding the […]Read More

A UN Security Council draft resolution condemning Russia’s “illegal referenda” and annexation of four Ukrainian territories has failed to go through. Russia vetoed it while 10 of the 15 members of the council voted for the resolution. Four countries—India, China, Brazil and Gabon—abstained. The resolution said Russia’s “unlawful actions” with regard to the “illegal so-called […]Read More

After revoking the licences of several media outlets and putting scores of journalists and dissidents behind bars over the past year, Myanmar’s military regime has imposed further restrictions on freedom of speech. The junta-controlled Information Ministry has now decided to impose pre-broadcast censorship on local and foreign television serials. The ministry will ban any content […]Read More