The emergency was imposed because of the mass scale protests planned for April 3 against the current economic hardships faced by the people.

Sri Lanka's new Finance Minister Ali Sabry on Tuesday resigned, a day after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed him after sacking his brother Basil Rajapaksa amidst the island nation's worst economic crisis.

The dissidents, led by former president Sirisena's Sri Lanka Freedom Party, would leave the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna coalition with its 14 Members of Parliament, party sources said after their meeting with the President on Monday.

'The economic crisis hit us from nowhere. No one saw it coming.'

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Monday fired Basil Rajapaksa from his post and invited the Opposition parties to join a unity Cabinet to tackle the raging public anger against the hardships caused by the economic crisis.

Basil had negotiated the Indian economic relief package to help Sri Lanka tackle the current foreign exchange crisis.

Ppolitical experts in Colombo said the ministers came under intense pressure from the public over the government's alleged "mishandling" of the economic crisis, triggered by the shortage in the foreign exchange reserve.

The government's poor handling of the economic crisis where people currently endure long hours of power outages and scarcity of essentials has angered the public which planned country-wide protests on Sunday.

The Sri Lankan government on Sunday lifted the ban it had imposed on social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram after declaring a nationwide public emergency and effecting a 36-hour curfew ahead of a planned anti-government rally over the worst economic crisis in the island nation.

The move is aimed at preventing masses from gathering in Colombo to protest the government's failure to provide relief to the public suffering from shortages of food, essentials, fuel and medicine amidst hours-long power cuts, the Colombo Page newspaper reported.

Sri Lanka has also imposed a police curfew in Western Province for six hours.

A statement issued by the presidential media division on Friday said an extremist group was behind the unrest near President Rajapaksa's residence in Mirihana.

"No petrol, no gas, no milk powder, no electricity", "Go home Gota", placard carrying protestors were then seen walking towards the Rajapaksa private residence in Colombo at Pangiriwatte Lane.

Sri Lanka on Tuesday deployed military personnel at State-run petrol pumps to monitor and manage fuel distribution amidst a shortage that led to serpentine queues of consumers outside filling stations.

India is ready, after battling the pandemic for two years, to travel once again.

England fell short of victory as West Indies survived for a tense draw despite a top-order collapse on the final day of the first Test in North Sound on Saturday.

'Jail was very crowded, we were 56 people crammed together. All 56 of us had to use only one toilet'

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday met Sri Lanka's top leadership and discussed a host of issues, including the debt crisis faced by the island nation, investments, promoting tourism and the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic as the two countries marked the 65th anniversary of diplomatic ties.

Where paneer came to India from... How sambar got its name... Gulab jamun does not have Indian roots...

Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh have emerged as the poorest states in India, according to Niti Aayog's first Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) report. As per the index, 51.91 per cent population of Bihar is poor, followed 42.16 per cent in Jharkhand, 37.79 per cent in Uttar Pradesh. While Madhya Pradesh (36.65 per cent) has been placed fourth in the index, Meghalaya (32.67 per cent) is at the fifth spot. Kerala (0.71 per cent), Goa (3.76 per cent), Sikkim (3.82 per cent), Tamil Nadu (4.89 per cent) and Punjab (5.59 per cent) have registered the lowest poverty across India and are at the bottom of the index.

According to the Singapore Post, Kiribati a Micronesian country is discussing opening up its largest marine reserves to commercial fishing which may serve a dual purpose like a naval base for the Chinese as well.

More emotions, less action! Ajay Devgn shows his vulnerable side while trying to survive on an uninhibited Island with Bear Grylls, observes Namrata Thakker.

'My husband is no longer an Indian citizen. 'In 2017, he ceased to be an Indian citizen.' 'The safest place on earth for him is Antigua'

Hitting out at Union Home Minister Amit Shah's 'Didi-Bhaipo' jibes, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday challenged him to contest an election against her nephew Abhishek Banerjee and then think of fighting her.

With pacer Jofra Archer, opener Rory Burns and star all-rounder Ben Stokes back in the England squad, the visitors are likely to have some competition for spots in the team for the 1st Test against India.

We got your Christmas celebrations covered with Taruna Bakshi's impressive recipes.

Was Kerkar duped by his employees, as he claims, or did a cocktail of greed, poor cost control and bad management bring the travel firm down, wonder Pavan Lall and Aneesh Phadnis.

Air Commodore Nitin Sathe reveals what he learnt from the Indian Air Force, which he served for 35 years. An Air Force Day Special.

Intimate getaways offered in the form of homestays by hotels are proving to be the flavour of this extraordinary and difficult time. Not far from cities, they offer a pleasant respite from homebound lives, says Pavan Lall.

Ambassador Natarajan Krishnan and Ambassador Shankar Bajpai helped shape Indian foreign policy at a glorious, but difficult, time in history, recalls Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.

The fatality rate is down to 3.1 per cent and the recovery rate has improved to 37.5 per cent, he said.

The US became the first country in the world to have more than one million cases of coronavirus. It accounts for nearly one-third of the 3.1 million cases globally.

Nikita Puri lists ways to keep yourself entertained during the lockdown.

Whadya gonna do? Some options for you, folks!

The athletes were unable to enter Australia due to government restrictions on foreign nationals travelling from China.

Here's the full text of President Ram Nath Kovind's address to the nation on the eve of 71st Republic Day.

Stressing that both the government and the opposition have 'important roles to play', the President said, "While giving expression to their political ideas both must move forward in tandem to ensure that development of the country and welfare of its people are promoted consistently."

Tailored luxury experiences with the most minute of details charted out for discerning travellers is the way forward, says Nikita Puri.

Residents of Ghoramara Island want to leave their home as it shrinks every year due to rising seas, but many say they can't afford it.

Sheep eyeball juice, frog smoothies and fruit bat soup... Which one do you find yucky?