COLOMBO:The US embassy in Sri Lanka issued a travel warning Wednesday to citizens visiting a popular surfing resort in a rare notice of a possible attack.
The embassy said it had “received credible information warning of an attack targeting popular tourist locations” in eastern Arugam Bay.
The warning comes after social media posts called for a boycott of Israeli-owned businesses in the area.
Protests by local Muslim groups against Israel’s war in Gaza and Lebanon have drawn support from the wider community in the predominantly Buddhist South Asian nation.
There was no immediate reaction from Sri Lankan authorities, but police have stepped up security in the area.
There have been no attacks in Sri Lanka since the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that killed 279 people, including 45 foreign nationals.
The coordinated attack against three hotels and three churches was blamed on a local jihadi group.
Tourism has been recovering since the island’s economic collapse in 2022, with some 1.48 million tourists visiting so far this year.
US embassy warns of attack threat in Sri Lanka
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US embassy warns of attack threat in Sri Lanka
- The embassy said it had “received credible information warning of an attack targeting popular tourist locations” in eastern Arugam Bay
Building collapses during heavy rains in southern India city, killing at least 5 workers
- Such accidents are common in India during the monsoon season from June to September
Police said in a statement that 13 people have been rescued so far by fire and disaster response teams. The entire building collapsed Tuesday in the Babusapalya area of Bengaluru, one of India’s information and technology hubs.
The cause of the collapse is still being investigated.
Such accidents are common in India during the monsoon season from June to September. Regulations are poorly enforced, and some builders cut corners, use substandard materials, or add unauthorized extra floors, leading to structural collapses.
German minister in Beirut urges ‘viable’ solution for Israel and Lebanon
BERLIN: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock arrived in Beirut for talks on Wednesday and said the task was to find a viable diplomatic solution between Israel and Lebanon after Israel succeeded in weakening Hezbollah.
“The task now is to work with our partners in the US, Europe and the Arab world to find a viable diplomatic solution that safeguards the legitimate security interests of both Israel and Lebanon,” Baerbock said in a statement.
Ukraine FM to visit Africa, Oman to gain backing for peace plan
- The visits to Oman, Angola, Egypt and South Africa come after Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky unveiled his “Victory Plan”
KYIV: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga on Wednesday starts a tour of African countries and Oman to drum up support for Kyiv’s plan to end the grinding war with Russia.
The visits to Oman, Angola, Egypt and South Africa come after Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky unveiled his “Victory Plan” and called for immediate NATO membership.
Sybiga’s visits beginning Wednesday and ending Monday would “promote the Peace Formula, develop political dialogue, consolidate humanitarian and energy support for Ukraine, and develop trade and economic cooperation,” the foreign ministry said.
In June, almost 80 countries endorsed a 10-point “peace formula” proposed by Zelensky that said Ukrainian territorial integrity must be respected and called for Russian troops to leave Ukraine.
Kyiv has been urging more countries to endorse the agenda.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Kyiv has been stepping up diplomatic ties with Moscow’s traditional allies in Africa and Asia.
Sybiga’s departure coincides with the visit of around 20 world leaders — including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — to Russia for a three-day gathering of the BRICS group in the central city of Kazan.
Fresh tension grips Bangladesh as student protesters demand president’s resignation
- The interim government was expected to hold a Cabinet meeting to discuss the issue on Thursday
- Student group sets a two-day deadline for President Mohammed Shahabuddin to step down
DHAKA: Political tension in Bangladesh was growing anew on Wednesday after a leading student group called for the country’s figurehead president to resign over comments he made that appeared to call into question former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation in August.
The interim government was expected to hold a Cabinet meeting to discuss the issue on Thursday.
The student group, known as the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, set a two-day deadline for President Mohammed Shahabuddin to step down. Hundreds of protesters rallied in the capital, Dhaka, on Tuesday while hundreds of others attempted to storm the presidential palace, Bangabhaban.
Police and witnesses said security officials charged at protesters with batons and used stun grenades to disperse people late Tuesday. Media reports said at least two protesters were injured by bullets.
The new political turmoil began after Shahabuddin told a Bengali-language newspaper earlier this week that he had not seen Hasina’s resignation letter as she fled to India in August amid a student-led uprising. An interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took power and formed a government after Hasina stepped down on Aug. 5.
Shahabuddin said in his interview with the Manab Zamin daily that he only heard about Hasina’s resignation but had not seen the actual letter, a statement that infuriated the Yunus-led government and student activists, prompting them to call for his resignation.
“I tried (to collect the resignation letter) many times but failed,” the president was quoted as telling the news outlet about the events of Aug. 5. “Maybe she did not have the time.”
Hasina fled the country as thousands of protesters moved toward her official residence.
Shahabuddin, in an earlier address to the nation on Aug. 5, said that Hasina tendered her resignation letter to the president and that he received it.
Asif Nazrul, the country’s law adviser, recently accused Shahabuddin of spreading falsehoods and questioned if he was fit to remain in office as head of state.
Under Bangladesh’s constitution, an elected prime minister must submit his or her resignation in writing to the president. Shahabuddin was appointed president by parliament after Hasina was elected prime minister for a fourth consecutive term in an election in January.
Shahabuddin dissolved parliament before the interim government took power on Aug. 8.
On Tuesday, some 200 student protesters demonstrated at a monument in Dhaka and described Shahabuddin as a collaborator with Hasina’s “fascist” regime.
Separately, a few hundred protesters attempted to break through a security barricade to enter the presidential palace late Tuesday. The protests continued past midnight into Wednesday.
Experts say the resignation or removal of the president could create a constitutional vacuum.
Under the constitution, only parliament can impeach the president for misconduct or other inabilities.
Hasina is now in India, but the Yunus-led government has said it would seek her expatriation to try her for alleged crimes against humanity.
UN chief in Russia for Putin’s BRICS summit
- Moscow sees the BRICS platform as an alternative to Western-led international organizations like the G7
- UN chief Antonio Guterres’s visit to Russia has drawn scorn from Ukraine
KAZAN, Russia: UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres arrived in Russia on Wednesday to attend the BRICS summit, his first visit to the country for more than two years that has drawn scorn from Ukraine.
The gathering is the largest diplomatic forum in Russia since launching its full-scale military offensive on Ukraine in 2022 and President Vladimir Putin wants to use it to demonstrate that attempts to isolate him on the world stage have failed.
Around 20 world leaders, including China, India, Turkiye and Iran, are in the central city of Kazan, where they will address topics such as developing a BRICS-led international payment system and the conflict in the Middle East.
Moscow sees the platform as an alternative to Western-led international organizations like the G7 — a position supported by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
In bilateral talks on Tuesday, including with Xi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Putin hailed Moscow’s close ties and “strategic partnerships” with its partners.
Xi, meanwhile, praised China’s “profound” ties with Russia in what he called a “chaotic” world.
Russia and China’s relations have “injected strong impetus into the development, revitalization and modernization of the two countries,” Xi said.
Putin said he saw relations between Beijing and China as a foundation of global “stability.”
“Russian-Chinese cooperation in world affairs acts as one of the stabilising factors in the global arena. We intend to further increase coordination in all multilateral platforms to ensure global security and a just world order,” he told Xi.
The leaders will hold a summit session on Wednesday where they are expected to tout the organization’s role in bolstering what Moscow and Beijing regularly refer to as a “multipolar world order.”
Underpinning his vision of the BRICS challenge to the West, Putin will hold separate talks with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian and Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday.
He will also meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Turkiye, a NATO member, is also casting itself as a possible mediator between Russia and Ukraine and strives for warm relations with Moscow.
Guterres will hold talks with Putin on Thursday, where the pair will discuss the Ukraine conflict, the Kremlin said.
Kyiv has railed against UN chief Guterres’ trip.
“The UN Secretary General declined Ukraine’s invitation to the first Global Peace Summit in Switzerland. He did, however, accept the invitation to Kazan from war criminal Putin,” its foreign ministry said in a post on X.
Guterres’ spokesperson said the trip was part of the UN chief’s regular attendance at “organizations with large numbers of important member states,” and said it offered a chance to “reaffirm his well known positions” on the Ukraine conflict “and the conditions for just peace.”
Modi, who is also casting himself as a possible peacemaker, called for a quick end to the conflict during talks with Putin on Tuesday.
“We have been in constant touch over the conflict between Russia and Ukraine,” Modi told Putin after the two shook hands and embraced.
“We believe that disputes should only be resolved peacefully. We totally support efforts to quickly restore peace and stability,” the Indian leader added.
India has walked a delicate tightrope since the Ukraine conflict began, pledging humanitarian support for Kyiv while avoiding explicit condemnation of Moscow’s actions.
Moscow has been steadily advancing on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine this year as it strengthens ties with the likes of China, Iran and North Korea.
