Rajapaksa, who oversaw the military defeat of Tamil separatists under his brother and then president Mahinda Rajapaksa 10 years ago, has promised strong leadership to secure the island of 22 million people.

Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng, who was in London to promote Hong Kong as a dispute resolution and deal-making hub, was targeted by a group of protesters who shouted “murderer” and “shameful”.

The country's weather bureau warned that winds and lightning strikes increase the threat to communities across two states on the country's east coast, which have been ravaged by fire since last Friday.

Thousands of students hunkered down inside several campuses, surrounded by piles of food, bricks, petrol bombs, arrows with heads wrapped in cladding, catapults and other homemade weapons.

Authorities in Australia's Queensland and New South Wales states declared a state of emergency on Monday, urging residents in areas deemed at most risk of fires to evacuate.

Hindus say the site is one of their most sacred places - as sacred as Mecca is for Muslims.

China and France pledged at this year's G20 summit to "update" their contributions against climate change beyond their current ones to reflect "their highest possible ambition."

Children, many wearing face masks, returned to schools in New Delhi and its surrounding cities even as air pollution stayed at "unhealthy" levels.

An index measuring the level of a deadly air pollutant hit 484 on a scale of 500 on Friday.

Zuckerberg said Facebook would insist on U.S. regulatory approval before launching Libra, which is being established by a Switzerland-based consortium including venture capital firms and nonprofits.

The Swedish campaigner’s brief address electrified the start of a summit aimed at mobilising government and business to break international paralysis over carbon emissions.

Liverpool ended an incredible season by winning Europe’s biggest prize after beating Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in Saturday’s all-English Champions League final, earning sweet redemption after agonizingly missing out on the Premier League title.

The mood was upbeat at BJP headquarters in New Delhi, with party workers setting off firecrackers and cheering as TV channels reported the margin of victory.

Two Reuters journalists jailed in Myanmar after they were convicted of breaking the Official Secrets Act walked free from a prison on the outskirts of Yangon on Tuesday after spending more than 500 days behind bars.

The blasts at three Sri Lankan churches and three luxury hotels killed about100 people and wounded more than 400, a hospital director and police officials said, following a lull in major attacks since the end of the civil war 10 years ago.