Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has defended his government’s response to two catastrophic earthquakes, saying it was impossible to prepare for the scale of the disaster. At least 15,000 people are confirmed dead in Turkey and northern Syria. Critics claimed the emergency services’ response was too slow and the government was poorly prepared. Mr Erdogan […]

The mayor of Paris does not want Russia to compete at the 2024 Olympic Games while the war in Ukraine continues. Anne Hidalgo said last month she was in favour of Russia competing under a neutral banner, but has changed stance. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said Russians and Belarusians may be allowed to compete […]

The Olympic committees of five Nordic nations have backed calls for the ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes to be upheld for the Paris 2024 Games. In a joint statement the Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish and Danish committees said: “Now is not the right time to consider their return.” The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has […]

The death toll from a strong earthquake in south-eastern Turkey, near Syria’s border, could rise eight-fold, the World Health Organisation has warned. The toll, which currently stands at more than 3,400 people, has increased rapidly since the first earthquake struck early on Monday morning. About 12 hours later, a second powerful tremor hit further north. […]

Former Australia white-ball captain Aaron Finch has announced his retirement from international cricket. Opening batter Finch, 36, was Australia’s T20 captain, having retired from one-day internationals in September. He represented Australia in five Tests, 146 one-day internationals and 103 T20s, leading them to their first T20 World Cup title in 2021. Finch said it had been […]

Surrey have re-signed West Indies all-rounder Sunil Narine for the 2023 T20 Blast campaign. The 34-year-old will be available for all games that do not clash with his commitments with the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in International League T20. The white-ball specialist took 14 wickets in 14 games for Surrey last season and hit 199 […]

The death toll has risen to at least 87 people after a mosque suicide bombing which targeted policemen in the Pakistan province of Peshawar. The mosque is within a high-security police headquarters area and a probe is under way into how the bomber got in. Pakistan’s PM and other leaders have condemned the attack – […]

Rebel police officers rioted in Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince on Thursday following the killing of more than a dozen colleagues by criminal gangs. The rioting officers blame the government for not taking action. More than 100 demonstrators blocked streets, burned tyres, broke security cameras and damaged vehicles. Local media said several officers broke through the gates […]

Ukraine could boycott the 2024 Paris Olympics if Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to compete, says the country’s sports minister. The International Olympic Committee said on Wednesday it would “explore a pathway” for athletes from the two countries to take part as neutrals. The UK Government has condemned the plan as a “world away from […]

World Athletics has proposed continuing to allow transgender women to compete in female international track and field events. In a statement it said its “preferred option” was to tighten the sport’s eligibility rules, but still use testosterone limits as the basis for inclusion. A policy document suggesting the amendments has been sent to World Athletics’ […]

The Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka today slammed the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Julie Chung, calling her a hypocrite for the comments she had made in a recent interview. The embassy was angered over her view that China was the “spoiler” in Sri Lanka’s efforts to reach a deal with the International Monetary Fund […]

Nepalis are observing a day of mourning for victims of the country’s worst air disaster for some three decades. At least 68 people died when a flight from Kathmandu to the tourist town of Pokhara crashed and caught fire on Sunday morning. Mobile phone footage showed the Yeti Airlines flight rolling sharply as it approached […]

Chelsea are “close” to signing forward Mykhailo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk, the Ukrainian club says. Chelsea have agreed a fee of €70m (£62m) plus add-ons for the 22-year-old, who was a January target for Premier League rivals Arsenal. A Chelsea delegation met with Shakhtar officials, who say talks went well. Mudryk has scored seven goals […]

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) bank has urged China and India to agree a write-down of their loans as soon as possible.The post Central Bank Governor urges China and India to reduce Sri Lanka’s debts soon appeared first on Sri Lanka News - Latest Breaking News in Sri Lanka - ONLANKA News.

Sri Lanka’s central bank has urged China and India to agree a write-down of their loans as soon as possible. The crisis-hit Indian Ocean state defaulted on its debt repayments and negotiated a $2.9bn (£2.4bn) bailout. But the International Monetary Fund will not release the cash until China and India first agree to reduce Sri […]

Wales captain Gareth Bale has announced his retirement from football at the age of 33 after a glittering career. The nation’s most-capped male player and record men’s goalscorer announced his decision on social media. Bale, a five-time Champions League winner with Real Madrid, is arguably Wales’ finest ever footballer. “After careful and thoughtful consideration, I […...

The New Year 2023 is definitely going to be a significant year for India’s leadership ambitions. India’s presidency of the G20 forum as well as the Shanghai Corporation Organization (SCO), brings with itself the rare opportunity to present to the world that India is well-prepared and well-equipped to clinch its position as an emerging power. […]

Pakistan captain Babar Azam broke a 16 year record as he became his country’s highest run scorer in a calendar year. He was 161 not out at the end of the first day of the two-Test series with New Zealand in Karachi to take his 2022 tally to 2,485 runs across all formats. In doing […]

A boat carrying more than 180 Rohingya asylum seekers which has been drifting without power for weeks has been allowed to land some of the passengers in the Indonesian province of Aceh. This is the second boat carrying Rohingyas to have arrived in Aceh in the past two days. Another boat with 180 on board […]

England bowled out the West Indies for just 43 on their way to completing a 5-0 clean sweep in the T20 series with an eight-wicket win in Barbados. The hosts were bowled out in 16.2 overs for their lowest-ever total in T20 internationals. Seamers Freya Davies and Alice Davidson-Richards starred with the ball, claiming 3-2 […]

President Joe Biden has told President Volodymyr Zelensky the US will stick by Ukraine “for as long as it takes” in its war with Russia. “You will never stand alone,” Mr Biden told Mr Zelensky as he visited the White House on his first overseas trip since the Russian invasion began. Mr Biden confirmed a […]

Iran says it has publicly hanged a 23-year-old in what is the second execution linked to the recent anti-government protests. Majidreza Rahnavard, 23, was hanged early on Monday in the city of Mashhad, the judiciary said. A court convicted him of “enmity against God” after finding he had stabbed to death two members of the […]

Morocco became the first African nation to reach a World Cup semi-final and ended the hopes of Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal. Striker Youssef En-Nesyri scored the winning goal in the first half, leaping highest to beat goalkeeper Diogo Costa to the ball and heading in to spark pandemonium at Al Thumama Stadium. The north African side’s […]