Sri Lanka is considering a USD 300 million loan offer from the Bank of China as it prepares to repay foreign debts this year, a finance ministry official said Wednesday.
The government has appointed a three-member committee to negotiate the deal, according to Finance Ministry Spokesman M R Hasan.
The loan is repayable in three years, he said.
Sri Lanka must repay USD 5.9 billion in foreign loans this year of which 40 per cent needs to be serviced during the first three months. It paid back USD 1 billion this week.
A large chunk of Sri Lanka's foreign debit is from China, which considers the island nation to be part of its "One Belt One Road" initiative. China has heavily invested in Sri Lanka infrastructure such as a seaport, airport and highways.
It has invested USD 1.5 billion in a port city being built on reclaimed land off the island's west coast.
President Maithripala Sirisena's government had criticized the previous administration for leading the country into a Chinese debt trap 

Sri Lanka considers big China loan to repay foreign debts

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A new organisation aimed at increasing the participation of Indian-Americans in the election process has been launched by some eminent community members in Chicago.
The Voice of Indian-American Voters, with its first chapter in Chicago intends to organize seminars & debates of public office candidates to create a more informed voter base, create a national list of Indian-Americans and start local chapters in other cities that have a sizable Indian population like New Jersey, New York, Dallas and Los Angeles, a media release said Wednesday.
Observing that the participation of Indian-Americans in the election process is sadly much below the national average, one of its founding members and eminent Indian-American Bharat Barai said the community needs to be more involved in the voting process.
"The time has come to engage more seriously in our civic responsibility in keeping with our economic & social success," Barai said.
"Indian-Americans are the most successful minority in the ...

New group launched in Chicago to increase civic engagement of Indian- Americans

Indian-American Raja Krishnamoorthi on Monday was appointed as the member of a key US House committee handling intelligence related issues.
Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, appointed Krishnamoorthi, 45, to the panel.
Krishnamoorthi from Illinois, Congresswoman Val Demings of Florida, Sean Patrick Maloney of New York and Peter Welch of Vermont are the four new Democratic members of House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence for the 116th Congress.
"Members of Congress take a solemn oath to protect the American people and support and defend the Constitution," said Pelosi in a statement.
"Our new Members of the Intelligence Committee bring exceptional judgment, expertise and determination to our mission to honour that oath and, guided by the strong, principled leadership of Chairman Adam Schiff, will restore the long tradition of bipartisanship and integrity of this critical committee," she said.
Krishnamoorthi was born into a Tamil-speaking family in New ..

Raja Krishnamoorthi appointed to key House committee

Fake editions of The Washington Post claiming that President Donald Trump has resigned was distributed  freely on Wednesday across downtown Washington DC including near and around the White House.
The fake newspaper with six column large headline 'Unpresidented: Trump hastily departs White House, ending crisis' was dated May 1, 2019.
"Grab this special edition of The Washington Post. This is free. You will never get this," a middle-aged lady told PTI outside the White House on the corner of 17th and Pennsylvania Avenue.
She had a stack of newspaper in blue plastic bag and distributing it to passers by and office goers.
The Washington Post, which has been often described as fake news media by President Trump, was quick to dismiss the newspaper.
"There are fake print editions of The Washington Post being distributed around downtown DC, and we are aware of a website attempting to mimic The Post's. They are not Post products, and we are looking into this," The Washington Post said in a ...

Fake edition of Washington Post distributed

Vice President Mike Pence said the United States would fight to ensure the defeat of the Islamic State movement but reiterated plans to pull troops out of Syria after an attack there killed US service members.
"We'll stay in the region and we'll stay in the fight to ensure that ISIS does not rear its ugly head again," Pence told a gathering in Washington of US ambassadors stationed around the world.

Pence: US will ensure 'ISIS does not rear its ugly head again'

The UN's Libya mission warned against clashes in the country's capital on Wednesday as tensions rose between rival militias, four months after clashes that left over 100 people dead.
"The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) strongly condemns the recent military mobilisation of forces in southern Tripoli and is monitoring the situation closely," it said in a statement.
"UNSMIL warns parties against any breach of the ceasefire agreement concluded on 04 and 09 September 2018." Fierce battles between militias from the capital and from other areas in the west of the country rocked Tripoli between the end of August and early September, leaving at least 117 dead and hundreds wounded.
The UN brokered the September truce deal that helped end the violence.
But witnesses reported sporadic shooting and road closures on Wednesday after the Tripoli Protection Force alliance warned on Facebook it would "repel an attack" by a rival group that had failed to withdraw from the capital.
The .

UN warns against new clashes in Libya capital

US service members were among those killed Wednesday in a fiery explosion at a market in the northern Syria town of Manjib, the US military officials said.
US-led coalition Operation Inherent Resolve did not mention how many service members were killed. Prior to Wednesday's attack, only two US service members had been killed in action in Syria since the start of the campaign in 2014.
"US service members were killed during an explosion while conducting a routine patrol in Syria today. We are still gathering information and will share additional details at a later time," according to a tweet from the spokesperson for the Operation Inherent Resolve.
ISIS has claimed responsibility for the deadly explosion.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group, at least 15 people, including a US serviceman, were killed in the rare attack in Manbij. It said the cause of the explosion was a suicide bomb outside a restaurant.
"The President has been fully briefed and we will .

US service members killed in ISIS-claimed attack in Syria

The Security Council has voted unanimously to authorise a UN mission to monitor implementation of a cease-fire and the withdrawal of rival forces from Yemen's key port of Hodeida.
The British-drafted resolution adopted Wednesday gives a green light for up to 75 UN monitors to be deployed for six months to oversee implementation of the cease-fire and redeployment agreement between Yemen's government and Houthi Shiite rebels signed in Stockholm on December 13.
The council previously agreed to the 30-day deployment of monitors and the UN said last week about 20 are on the ground.
The Stockholm agreement, if fully implemented, could offer a potential breakthrough in Yemen's four-year civil war, which has brought the Arab world's poorest country to the brink of starvation and created the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

UN authorises monitoring of Yemen cease-fire in key port

A prominent American anchorwoman on Iranian state television's English-language service has been arrested by the FBI after flying into the US, the broadcaster reported Wednesday. The FBI did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The reported detention of Press TV's Marzieh Hashemi, born Melanie Franklin of New Orleans, comes as Iran faces increasing criticism of its own arrests of dual nationals and others with Western ties, previously used as bargaining chips in negotiations with world powers.
Iran's state broadcaster held a news conference and launched a hashtag campaign for Hashemi, using the same techniques families with loved ones held in the Islamic Republic use to highlight their cases.
"We will not spare any legal action" to help her, said Paiman Jebeli, deputy chief of Iran's state IRIB broadcaster.
Press TV said Hashemi, who has worked at the state broadcaster service for 25 years, had been arrested after arriving at St Louis Lambert International Airport on ...

Iran state TV's English channel says anchorwoman held in US

In an unprecedented move, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi Wednesday urged President Donald Trump to reschedule his annual State of the Union address slated for January 29, citing security concerns triggered by the ongoing government shutdown which has "hamstrung" the critical departments.
Pelosi in a letter to Trump suggested that the State of the Union address to a Joint Session of Congress be delayed until government re-opens.
The current partial government shutdown, now into its 25th day, has rendered more than 800,000 federal employees without work, crippling the functioning of several key wings of the government including Security and State department.
The longest-ever government shutdown is a result of the bitter political divided over birder security issue as the Democrats who now enjoy majority in the House have refused to approve a legislation approving USD 5.7 billion in federal funding to construct a wall across the US-Mexico border.
Trump insists that ...

Pelosi writes to Trump, urges him to reschedule his State of the Union address

Malaysia's foreign minister said Wednesday the Muslim-majority country will not host any more events involving Israel, as he reiterated that swimmers from the Jewish state were barred from a forthcoming competition.
Malaysia is one of several predominantly Muslim states that have no formal diplomatic ties with Israel, with entry to the country on an Israeli passport forbidden.
Last week Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Israeli swimmers would not be allowed in for a tournament later this year in eastern Sarawak state, which will serve as a qualifying event for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.
Despite a plea from the International Paralympic Committee to find a solution to the row, Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah doubled down on Malaysia's opposition to the Jewish state.
The cabinet has decided that "Malaysia will not host any event which has Israel participation or representation," he said.
"This is a decision by the government to demonstrate our tough stance over the issue of ...

Malaysia says won't host any more events with Israel

Gaganjeet Bhullar was the best placed Indian at Tied 38th after returning a two-under 70 in the opening round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, here Wednesday.
Bhullar, who made his way into the European Tour with a breakthrough win last year at Fiji International, started from the back-nine and had five birdies against three bogeys.
Bhullar was eight shots behind the leader, Shane Lowry, who carded a course-record equalling 62 to take a three-shot lead.
Shubhankar Sharma, also starting from back-nine, shot an even par 72, with two birdies on 13th and 18th and two bogeys on 18th and the fifth and he is Tied-79th.
SSP Chawrasia after shooting three-over 75, will need a low second round to stay on for the weekend.
Lowry will take a three-shot lead into the second round after his sparkling 62 on Wednesday. The Irishman became the first man to match Henrik Stenson's 13-year-old record after firing 10 birdies and no bogeys.
Louis Oosthuizen, Richard Sterne and Mike Lorenzo-Vera were in a 

Bhullar best Indian at 38th in Abu Dhabi

Aasia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian acquitted of blasphemy, still lives the life of a prisoner, nearly three months after her release from death row, awaiting a final ruling on her fate.
She spends her days in seclusion for fear of being targeted by angry mobs clamoring for her death. In her hideout, she longs for her children who were taken to Canada for their safety.
Pakistani security forces guarding the 54-year-old Bibi prevent her from opening a window in her hiding place, let alone go outside, a friend said.  Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is weighing a petition by Islamist extremists and right-wing religious parties that rallied against her acquittal and demand her execution.
Her case goes to the core of one of Pakistan's most controversial issues  the blasphemy law, often used to settle scores or intimidate followers of Pakistan's minority religions, including minority Shiite Muslims. A charge of insulting Islam can bring the death penalty.
Just making an accusation is sometimes ..

Freed by court, Pakistani Christian woman still a prisoner

A top Kremlin aide on Wednesday dismissed as ridiculous claims that US President Donald Trump has acted as an agent for Russia amid mounting controversy over his alleged ties to Moscow.
"Why comment on something stupid? How can the US president be an agent of another country?" President Vladimir Putin's foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov told a briefing after a journalist if Trump was a Russian agent.
Ushakov said Russia's relations with the US were "at rock bottom" and "nothing has happened in the context of developing them." Trump himself said on Monday that he "never worked for Russia" and told reporters: "It's a disgrace that you even ask that question." The US president was responding to a report in The New York Times that said the FBI had opened an investigation into whether he was acting on Russia's behalf soon after he became president.
In addition, The Washington Post reported on what it said were unusual lengths taken by Trump to hide details of his conversations with ...

Kremlin says 'stupid' to suggest Trump a Russian agent

The Islamic State jihadist group claimed responsibility for a deadly suicide attack that targeted the US-led coalition in the northern Syrian city of Manbij on Wednesday.
"Suicide attacker Abu Yassin al-Shami wearing an explosive vest set off towards a patrol including members of the Crusader coalition and the PKK apostates near the Palace of Princes restaurant in the city of Manbij," a statement posted on the group's usual social media channels said.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group, at least 15 people, including a US serviceman, were killed in the rare attack in Manbij.
The name provided by IS suggests the bomber was Syrian and the term "PKK apostates" is used by the jihadists to refer to Kurdish forces from the People's Protection Units (YPG).
The YPG, a Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which has waged a decades-old insurgency against the Turkish state, is a key component of a local force that often carries out joint patrols .

IS claims Syria attack on US-led coalition

The United States and Canada on Wednesday promised an "unbiased" legal process for a Chinese executive whose arrest in Vancouver at US request has riled Beijing.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland discussed the arrest Tuesday in a phone call in which they also voiced concern about the "arbitrary detentions" of Canadians in China, the US State Department said.
"They noted their continued commitment to Canada's conduct of a fair, unbiased and transparent legal proceeding and US extradition request with respect to Ms. Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Huawei," a State Department statement said.
Meng was detained last month as she switched planes, on a request by the United States, which says she violated Washington's sanctions on Iran.
Soon afterward, China detained two Canadians, a former diplomat and a businessman, on accusations of endangering national security, moves seen in Ottawa and Washington as retaliatory.
A Chinese ...

US, Canada promise 'unbiased' process for Chinese executive

Scientists say the world's permafrost is getting warmer, with temperatures increasing by an average of 0.3 degrees Celsius over a decade.
A study published Wednesday found the biggest rise in Siberia, where frozen soil temperatures rose by 0.9 degrees Celsius (1.62 Fahrenheit) between 2007 and 2016.
Researchers working on the Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost collected usable data for the entire period from 123 boreholes in the Arctic,
Antarctic and high mountain ranges of Europe and Central Asia.
The temperature rose at 71 sites, sank at 12 and remained unchanged at 40.
Scientists say the increases track global warming generally. They noted that thawing permafrost  already recorded at five of the sites  contains organic matter that can release greenhouse gases, further stoking climate change.

World's permafrost gets warmer; Siberia rises the most

Pope Francis is insisting that bishops attending his high-stakes sex abuse prevention summit will learn the laws to use against predators, how to care for victims and will make sure that no cleric abuse cases are covered up again.
The Vatican on Wednesday provided details about the Feb. 21-24 meeting, saying its main aim is to guarantee that bishops around the world "clearly understand what they need to do to prevent and combat the worldwide problem of the sexual abuse of minors."
Francis will attend the full summit, which includes plenary meetings, working groups, witness testimony, a penitential service and a final Mass on February 24.
The pope appointed the Rev. Federico Lombardi to moderate the plenary meetings. The Italian Jesuit was Vatican spokesman during the last big explosion of sex cases in 2010 and recently penned a lengthy article in a Jesuit magazine about the Catholic Church's response to the scandal to date.
Francis announced in September that he was inviting ...

Pope wants bishops to punish sex abusers, not cover up cases

At least 1,300 Rohingya Muslims have crossed into Bangladesh from India since the start of the year, an official said Wednesday, as fears of deportation to Myanmar spark an exodus.
New Delhi has faced sharp criticism for turning members of the persecuted minority over to Myanmar in recent weeks, despite the army there being accused of atrocities against the Rohingya.
The United Nations and rights groups accused India of disregarding international law and returning the Rohingya to possible danger in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.
India, which is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention, arrested 230 Rohingya in 2018 -- the most in years as Hindu hardliners called for the displaced Muslims to be deported en masse.
The round-ups in India, and fear of deportation to Myanmar, have driven even more of the stateless Muslims into Bangladesh, where a million Rohingya live in giant refugee camps in the country's southeast.
Nayana Bose, a spokeswoman for the Inter Sector Coordination Group ...

Rohingya exodus from India to Bangladesh hits 1,300: official

Egyptian police killed five suspected Islamic militants in North Sinai, where security forces are fighting an insurgency led by an affiliate of the Islamic State group, the government said Wednesday.
The interior ministry said in a statement that a shootout broke out between the police and militants during a raid on their hideout in the provincial capital El-Arish.
It alleged the militants, who had been under surveillance, had been planning attacks on "important and vital facilities" as well as prominent figures in the city.
The ministry did not say when the shootout occurred.
Egypt has for years been battling an insurgency in North Sinai, which escalated following the 2013 military ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.
Since then, hundreds of police and soldiers have been killed in militant attacks.
Egypt launched a nationwide operation against militants in February 2018, mainly focused on the turbulent northern Sinai region.
Some 500 militants and 30 soldiers have been killed .

Egypt kills 5 suspected militants in Sinai: ministry

British lawmakers have outlawed the practice of "upskirting" -- secretly taking pictures up women's skirts -- following an 18-month campaign by a victim.
Those found guilty face up to two years in jail, leading campaigner Gina Martin to praise the bill as "politics and society at its best".
Members of the upper House of Lords on Tuesday gave the bill the final seal of approval, and it now only requires the formality of Royal Assent.
Prime Minister Theresa May personally backed the legislation, saying the practice left victims "feeling degraded and distressed".
The bill was briefly held up last year when a single MP blocked it by shouting "Object!" during a parliamentary vote.
Christopher Chope, a member of May's Conservative Party, claimed he was objecting to the manner in which the bill was introduced, but was met with cries of "shame" from MPs.
Martin tweeted that she was "over the moon" about the vote, adding "I AM EXHAUSTED AND SO HAPPY!".
From Liverpool in northwest England, ...

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