Droupadi Murmu set to become India’s first Santal president

India’s ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance’s Presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu led by securing 540 of the 748 votes of the members of both houses of parliament while joint opposition nominee Yashwant Sinha got 208 votes after the first round of counting today (July 21, 2022).
21 July 2022

“Jihad against India”: Man with JMB connections arrested in Bihar

National Investigation Agency (NIA) of India, while probing activities of the banned militant group Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), has arrested a man for allegedly propagating “jihad against India”.
21 July 2022

Sri Lanka’s newly elected president sworn into office

Sri Lanka's six-time prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in Thursday as president of the crisis-hit South Asian nation, as officials said he was looking to form a unity government to manage the turmoil. 
21 July 2022

Sri Lanka may be in more turmoil after election of unpopular PM

Sri Lankan lawmakers on Wednesday elected the unpopular prime minister as their new president, a choice that risked reigniting turmoil in the South Asian nation reeling from economic collapse and months of round-the-clock protests.
21 July 2022

Rajapaksa ally elected Lanka president

Six-time prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was elected as crisis-wracked Sri Lanka’s new president by the country’s parliament yesterday, with the backing of the party of the ex-leader -- who fled abroad after his palace was stormed by protesters.
20 July 2022

Twitter post: Alt News co-founder gets interim bail

India’s Supreme Court yesterday ordered the release on bail of a prominent journalist arrested last month over what police said was a “highly provocative” 2018 tweet aimed at straining ties between majority Hindus and minority Muslims.
20 July 2022

More cunning than the ‘old fox’

New Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s election yesterday is the fulfilment of a lifetime’s ambition for a veteran political operator who is the nephew of one of his predecessors.
20 July 2022

PM Hasina’s anti-terrorism steps key in ensuring peace in and out of Bangladesh: Assam CM

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s determined steps against terrorism and extremism have been instrumental in ensuring peace both “inside and outside” Bangladesh, Himanta Biswa Sarma, chief minister of the Indian state of Assam, has said.
20 July 2022

India’s Supreme Court grants bail to Mohammed Zubair, orders release by this evening

India’s Supreme Court today (July 20, 2022) granted interim bail to fact-checking portal Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair in all six FIRs registered against him in Uttar Pradesh state – for allegedly hurting religious sentiments through tweets – and ordered his release by this evening.
20 July 2022

Sri Lankan lawmakers choose 6-time PM Ranil Wickremesinghe as president

Sri Lankan lawmakers chose six-time Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as president Wednesday to succeed the ousted leader who fled the country in a vote that risks reigniting political turmoil in the troubled South Asian island nation.
20 July 2022

Kaleem Ullah: Father of 300 mango varieties in India

Every day, Indian octogenarian Kaleem Ullah Khan wakes at dawn, prays, then ambles a little over a kilometre to his 120-year-old mango tree, which he has coaxed into producing more than 300 varieties of the beloved fruit over the years.
20 July 2022

Sri Lanka’s parliament to vote today for a new president

Sri Lanka’s Parliament will vote by secret ballot Wednesday for a new president to lead the country out of the deep political, economic and humanitarian crisis that toppled the previous leader and has left simmering tensions in the island nation.
20 July 2022

Three-way fight for Lanka presidency

Three candidates were nominated yesterday to replace former Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the country and resigned last week after protesters overran his residence.
19 July 2022

Myanmar rebels claim killing junta troops

A Myanmar ethnic rebel group said yesterday it had captured 14 junta troops and killed an unspecified number, in the latest blow to a fragile peace in the only
19 July 2022

1.70 lakh Indians gave up citizenship to become US citizens in last 3 years

Over 3.92 lakh Indians gave up their citizenship in last three years and 1.70 lakh of them – the highest – took up US citizenship, the Lok Sabha (lower house of Indian parliament), was informed today (July 19, 2022).
19 July 2022

Lawmakers prepare to choose successor to Sri Lanka’s ousted president

The leader of Sri Lanka’s main opposition party withdrew his candidacy for president on Tuesday, throwing his support to another contender as lawmakers prepared to choose a successor to the ousted leader who fled the country last week.
19 July 2022

Sri Lanka crisis a warning sign for many

IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva has cited the example of the unprecedented economic crisis in Sri Lanka to warn other countries that they could also face a similar situation in the face of high debt levels and limited policy space.
18 July 2022

Sri Lanka renews state of emergency

Sri Lanka’s acting president renewed the country’s state of emergency yesterday ahead of a parliamentary vote to pick a new head of state -- a poll in which he is a leading candidate.
18 July 2022

Thai activists targeted by Pegasus spyware

Dozens of Thai democracy activists were targeted by the controversial Israeli spyware known as Pegasus during the height of intense anti-government protests, according to an international digital rights group report.
18 July 2022

18 women killed in Pak wedding boat capsize

At least 18 women drowned and dozens more people are missing after an overcrowded boat carrying a Pakistan wedding party capsized yesterday, officials said.
18 July 2022