Live: Sri Lanka PM quits, MP dies in standoff, Rajapaksa property attacked

LIVE news updates: Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa's resignation came hours after clashes broke out in Colombo

11:31 PM

Shots fired in air from outgoing Sri Lanka PM's residence; protesters breach gate

Shots were fired from inside the Sri Lankan prime minister's official residence Monday, as thousands of protesters breached the main gate and torched a parked truck, an AFP reporter said. Police also fired tear gas to push back protesters retaliating against an attack on them earlier in the day by those loyal to the outgoing premier Mahinda Rajapaksa. Police sources said that shots were fired in the air to prevent the mob breaching the inner security ring of the residence where Rajapaksa, who resigned as premier earlier in the day, was still holed up with loyalists.

9:53 PM

Sri Lanka protesters set fire to Rajapaksa family memorial

NDTV.com reports protesters in Sri Lanka set fire to buses, destroyed the memorial built for the parents of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa and their family home around 250 km from Colombo. The houses of two former ministers were also set ablaze.

9:44 PM

Sri Lanka ruling party MP dies after standoff

Sri Lanka ruling party parliamentarian Amarakeerthi Athukorala died after a standoff with anti-government protesters in the town of Nittambuwa near Colombo, a police source told Reuters without giving details. At least three others were wounded and the area remained tense with dozens of protesters still at the location, Reuters reported.

8:08 PM

Mahinda Rajapaksa urges all all-party government in Sri Lanka

Mahinda Rajapaksa, in his resignation letter as Sri Lanka’s premier, said he was quitting to help form an interim, unity government. "Multiple stakeholders have indicated the best solution to the present crisis is the formation of an interim all-party government," the letter said, according to Reuters.

7:01 PM

Sri Lanka MP found dead as violence engulfs nation

Amarakeerthi Athukorala, a lawmaker of Sri Lanka’s ruling opened fire and critically wounded two people blocking his car in Nittambuwa. He was later found dead after trying to take refuge in a nearby building, NDTV.com reported quoting Sri Lanka government officers said. Protesters set fire to a former minister's houses.

6:23 PM

Ukrainians report fierce fighting as Russia marks Soviet WW2 victory

Russian forces stormed the Azovstal steel plant in Ukraine's strategic port of Mariupol on Monday and stepped up missile strikes elsewhere, Ukrainian officials said, as President Vladimir Putin oversaw a parade of military firepower in Moscow. Putin marked the anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two by telling his armed forces they were fighting for their country. But he did not say how much longer their assault on Ukraine, now in its 11th week, would last or how it would end, Reueters reported.

5:26 PM

Ruling party MP in Sri Lanka dies in clash

Ruling party MP in Sri Lanka dies in clash with anti-government protesters, reports news agency AFP

 

5:11 PM

Shops, schools and businesses close in Sri Lanka

Thousands of shops, schools and businesses closed on Friday as public and private sector workers in Sri Lanka went on strike, demanding that the country's president stepped down. A curfew has been imposed across the island nation of 22 million people after the violence in Colombo, a police spokesman said, as President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appealed for calm.

3:33 PM

Sri Lanka's Rajapaksa brothers face growing public anger

Sri Lanka's Rajapaksa brothers--- President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa--have so far defied calls for their resignation. In a special Cabinet meeting on Friday, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared a state of emergency with effect from Friday midnight. This is the second time that an emergency was declared in Sri Lanka in just over a month as the island nation was in the grip of the worst economic crisis, PTI reported.

3:13 PM

Ukrainians report fierce fighting as Russia marks Soviet WW2 victory

Russian President Vladimir Putin told his armed forces they were fighting for their country at a parade of Russian firepower in Moscow while his troops stepped up their 10-week-old assault on Ukraine. Ukrainian officials said heavy fighting was underway in eastern Ukraine and warned people to take cover from expected missile strikes as Moscow marked the anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two.

2:59 PM

ED summons Jharkhand IAS officer Pooja Singhal in money laundering probe

The ED has summoned Jharkhand mining secretary Pooja Singhal for questioning on Tuesday in Ranchi in connection with a money laundering probe linked to alleged embezzlement of MGNREGA funds and other charges, officials said.

They said the 2000-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) has been asked to depose before the investigation officer of the case at the federal agency's zonal office in Ranchi.

2:25 PM

6 shot, 3 fatally at a greater Atlanta condo complex: Police

A shooting at a greater Atlanta condominium complex has left three people dead and three others wounded, police said, adding no arrests were immediately made.

Police in Dekalb County said the six people were shot on Sunday night at the complex near Clarkston, a community in a suburb east of Atlanta.

1:51 PM

Cancer Care Centre in Ambala will benefit Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand, UP: Nadda

1:20 PM

SC to hear CPI(M)'s plea against building demotions in Shaheen Bagh

Supreme Court agrees to hear the Communist Party of India (Marxist) plea against the demolition of buildings in the South Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area at 2pm today, ANI reported

1:02 PM

Shah reviews Indo-Bangla border situation in Assam, interacts with locals

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday reviewed the situation along the Assam-Bangladesh border from the Mankachar sector of the state.

Shah, who arrived at the Kamakhya Hilltop via a chopper earlier in the day, offered prayers at the temple there before leaving for the Mankachar.

12:17 PM

AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan joins locals protesting anti-encroachment drive in Shaheen Bagh

Locals sit on roads and stop bulldozers that have been brought for the anti-encroachment drive in the Shaheen Bagh area on Monday, ANI reported.

 

Meanwhile, AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan has joined the protest.

12:10 PM

Shah, Biswa offer prayers at Kamakhya Temple in Assam

11:57 AM

Severe cyclone Asani rages in Bay of Bengal; Odisha plans evacuation

With severe cyclonic storm Asani packing gale-force winds up to 120 kmph and moving towards the east coast bringing along heavy rain, the Odisha government on Monday planned evacuation of people residing in four coastal districts. The system lays centered around 550 km southeast of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and 680 km south-southeast of Puri in Odisha at 5.30 am on Monday and was moving towards the coast at 25 kmph, a bulletin issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) at 8.45 am said.

Distant warning signal 2 (asking ships not to come near the coast) has been hoisted in all ports in Odisha in view of the approaching severe cyclone. "The system is very likely to move northwestwards till Tuesday and reach westcentral and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal off north Andhra Pradesh & Odisha coasts," the weather office said.

11:41 AM

Pak PM Sharif warns of legal action against Imran for statements against institutions

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has accused his predecessor Imran Khan of planning to trigger a civil war in the country and warned of legal action for concocting a narrative against the country's national institutions.

His remarks came on the heels of Pakistan's powerful army warning its critics to avoid throwing dirt on the premier institution as it took "strong exception" to "intensified and deliberate attempts" to drag it into politics after the removal of the Khan-led government last month.

11:30 AM

Sri Lanka PM Rajapaksa may offer resignation today

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa may offer to stand down as the prime minister on Monday, political sources said, as pressure mounts on the embattled government led by his younger brother and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to form an interim administration to overcome the worst economic crisis facing the country.

Rajapaksa, 76, under intense pressure from within his own Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) ranks to resign was gathering his supporters to apply counterpressure not to stand down.

11:08 AM

Central Railway hikes platform ticket price to Rs 50 for 15 days in Mumbai region

In a bid to control crowding at stations in the summer season and curb misuse of alarm chain pulling, the Central Railway has increased the platform ticket rates from Rs 10 to Rs 50 on a temporary basis from May 9 to 23 at some stations in Mumbai and neighbouring cities, an official said on Monday.

The platform ticket price is proposed to be increased as a temporary measure at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Dadar station and Lokmanya Tilak Terminus in Mumbai, as well as neighbouring Thane, Kalyan and Panvel stations for 15 days with effect from Monday, he said.

10:08 AM

Scindia says no human being should have to go through this

A day after it came to light that IndiGo barred a specially-abled child from boarding a flight at the Ranchi airport as he was in "a state of panic", Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Monday that no human being should have to go through this and he himself is investigating the incident.

As the boy was prohibited from boarding the airline's Ranchi-Hyderabad flight on Saturday, his parents -- who were with him -- also decided to not enter the plane.

9:51 AM

V-P, PM condole loss of lives in Telangana accident, ex-gratia announced

Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have expressed deep grief over the loss of lives due to an accident in Kamareddy district, Telangana.

The Prime Minister announced an ex-gratia from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for the families of victims.

9:40 AM

29 injured in Bengaluru KSRTC bus accident; 4 seriously injured

As many as 29 people were injured after a Karnataka State Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus with 45 passengers on board met with an accident in Bengaluru. Four people sustained severe injuries, police said.

The accident took place early this morning at 1:30 am under the Kengeri Police Station limits in Bengaluru.

9:23 AM

India reports 3,207 new cases, 29 deaths

India on Monday reported 3,207 new cases, 3,410 recoveries, and 29 deaths in the past 24 hours, the health ministry data said.

 

Active cases at 20,403.

9:21 AM

Super Cyclonic Storm Asani weaken gradually into a Cyclonic Storm in next 48 hrs: IMD

8:47 AM

64 school students test Covid-19 positive in Odisha's Rayagada district

As many as 64 school students living in two hostels in Odisha's Rayagada district have tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday, officials said.

The students were found positive after the random testing was done but they have no symptoms of Covid-19 and have been isolated.

According to Rayagada District Magistrate Saroj Kumar Mishra precautions have been taken and the situation is under control.

8:23 AM

NIA conducts raids at more than a dozen locations in Mumbai

National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducts raids at more than one dozen locations in Mumbai against Pakistan-based gangster Dawood Ibrahim's associates and a few hawala operators, reported ANI

8:02 AM

More than 60 feared dead in bombing of Ukrainian school

More than 60 people were feared dead Sunday after a Russian bomb flattened a school being used as a shelter, Ukrainian officials said, while Moscow's forces pressed their attack on defenders inside Mariupol's steel plant in an apparent race to capture the city ahead of Russia's Victory Day holiday.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was appalled by the reported school bombing Saturday in the eastern village of Bilohorivka and called it another reminder that it is civilians that pay the highest price in war.

7:54 AM

China reports 401 new local Covid-19 cases

Witnessing a surge in Covid-19 cases, China on Sunday reported 401 confirmed local Covid-19 cases, of which 322 were in Shanghai, the National Health Commission said on Monday.

Apart from Shanghai, six other provincial-level regions on the Chinese mainland saw new locally transmitted Covid-19 cases, including 33 in Beijing and 28 in Guangdong, Xinhua reported.

According to Xinhua, China's financial hub Shanghai reported 3,625 locally transmitted asymptomatic infections. On Sunday, 11 deaths were reported in Shanghai.