Sri Lanka yesterday urged its citizens overseas to send home money to help pay for desperately needed food and fuel after announcing a default on its $51 billion foreign debt.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has reiterated the need for cooperation with the United States and India, while assuring Beijing of further deepening of relations.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has congratulated Shehbaz Sharif on his election as the new Prime Minister of Pakistan.

Sri Lanka urged its citizens overseas to send home money to help pay for desperately needed food and fuel Wednesday after announcing a default on its $51 billion foreign debt.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is facing a major backlash over her remarks casting doubts on the alleged gang-rape, murder of a 14-year-old girl in Nadia district, seeking to know whether the teenager was "raped or she was in a relationship and already pregnant".

When Bangladesh agreed to provide $250 million to Sri Lanka last year, little did it think that it would become a side character in the horror show that is unfolding in the island nation.

India hopes that Pakistan’s new prime minister will herald a diplomatic thaw between the two nuclear-armed foes after years of tensions, analysts say.

A meeting of Pakistan Army officials yesterday took note of the recent criticism directed at the institution on social media and expressed complete confidence in the leadership’s “well-considered stance to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law”.

Taiwan’s military published a handbook yesterday advising civilians on how to prepare for a potential Chinese invasion, including where to find bomb shelters and how to stockpile emergency supplies.

The government of the northeastern Indian state of Mizoram has begun issuing identity cards to refugees from Myanmar who have fled their country post-military coup to take shelter in the state.

Crisis-stricken Sri Lanka defaulted on its $51 billion external debt on Tuesday, calling the move a "last resort" after running out of foreign exchange to import desperately needed goods.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi last night congratulated new Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif soon after the latter was sworn in and said India desired peace and stability in a region free of terrorism.

Pakistan lawmakers yesterday elected Shehbaz Sharif as the country’s new prime minister following the weekend ouster of Imran Khan, who resigned his national assembly seat -- along with most of his party members -- ahead of the vote.

Three political parties that recently withdrew from Sri Lanka’s ruling coalition have proposed forming an interim government with a new prime minister replacing President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s older brother, they said yesterday.

Shehbaz Sharif, who became Pakistan’s new prime minister yesterday after leading the opposition alliance that ousted Imran Khan, is a tough administrator with a penchant for quoting revolutionary poetry.

Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Monday said the country had reached a decisive juncture and called for patience as protests continued over the government's handling of a deepening economic crisis.

Mian Mohammad Shehbaz Sharif was elected as the 23rd prime minister of Pakistan on Monday, receiving 174 votes in the 342-strong National Assembly after the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, which is the largest party in the lower house with 155 seats, boycotted the session and also decided to resign from the assembly.

PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif was elected as the 23rd prime minister of Pakistan after 174 lawmakers voted in his favour as Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf MNAs boycotted the election.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf MNAs walked out of the National Assembly (NA) on Monday, boycotting the election for the country's new prime minister.

Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan has reportedly decided to resign from National Assembly membership.