Sri Lanka's Central Bank has raised its key interest rates to 14.50% and 15.50% to try to contain inflation that has added to the country's economic woes. Sri Lankans have suffered months of acute shortages of essentials such as food, fuel, cooking gas and medicines. The central bank said it had raised its Standing Deposit Facility Rate and the Standing Lending Facility Rate that it charges commercial banks by 100 basis points each to 14.50% and 15.50%, respectively.

Following mass resignations by Cabinet members which started on Wednesday and the numbers of resignations were increased to more than 50 on the second day that compelled Boris Johnson to step down as British Prime Minister. However, Johnson could continue to remain in office until October when the Conservative party meets for its annual conference so that his replacement is found. Almost 30 UK government officials, including key figures like UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, have already submitted their resignations over the recent scandal involving f

The man charged with killing seven people at an Independence Day parade confessed to police that he unleashed a hail of bullets from a rooftop in suburban Chicago and then fled to the Madison, Wisconsin, area, where he contemplated shooting up an event there. That's according to authorities who spoke Wednesday. Robert Crimo III turned back to Illinois, where he was later arrested after deciding he was not prepared to pull off a shooting in Wisconsin. An Illinois judge ordered Crimo to be held without bail. A prosecutor said police found the shells of 83 bullets and three ammunition magazines

China on Wednesday enforced a lockdown in Xian, home to 13 million people after the city reported the first cases of a new Omicron subvariant. The lockdown was implemented after Xian reported 18 COVID-19 infections from Saturday to Monday, all of which are of the Omicron BA.5.2 subvariant, according to local disease control officials, reported CNN. BA.5.2 is a sub-lineage of BA.5, which is already dominant in the US and appears to escape antibody responses among both people previously infected with COVID-19 and those who have been fully vaccinated and boosted, according to researchers. It is

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he plans to stay in power despite the resignations of two top Cabinet ministers and a slew of more junior officials. Johnson told lawmakers Wednesday that “the job of a prime minister in difficult circumstances when you’ve been handed a colossal mandate is to keep going.” Johnson’s hold on power has been shaken by the resignations of Treasury chief Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid. They quit Tuesday saying they could no longer support Johnson because of his handling of ethics scandals including the case of a senior official accused

The man charged with killing seven people when he unleashed a hail of bullets on an Independence Day parade from a rooftop in suburban Chicago legally bought the high-powered rifle used in the shooting and four other weapons, despite threatening violence, police said. Robert E. Crimo III was charged with seven counts of murder Tuesday in the shooting that sent hundreds of marchers, parents and children fleeing in fear and set off an hourslong manhunt in and around Highland Park, an affluent community on the shores of Lake Michigan. Investigators have yet to identify a motive. Prosecutors have

US President Joe Biden can lift the tariff on some Chinese imports in an effort to slow down the soaring rates of inflation. The Biden administration is wrapping up a mandatory review of tariffs on Chinese imports, which were earlier imposed by former President Donald Trump, The New York Post reported. American businesses and labour unions that have favoured keeping the tariffs in place will have to give their comment by Tuesday before the administration announces a final decision on this. Biden has repeatedly postponed plans to cut tariffs due to policy disagreements among his own senior aid

Two of Britain’s most senior Cabinet ministers have quit, a move that could spell the end of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s leadership after months of scandals. Treasury chief Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid resigned within minutes of each other. Javid said “I can no longer continue in good conscience.” Johnson has been hit by allegations he failed to come clean about a lawmaker who was appointed to a senior position despite claims of sexual misconduct. A former top British civil servant said Tuesday that Boris Johnson’s office wasn’t telling the truth about sexual mi

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's (NATO) 30 allies signed accession protocols for Sweden and Finland on Tuesday, kickstarting the process to admit the two Nordic countries into the alliance. Foreign Minister of Finland Pekka Haavisto and Foreign Minister of Sweden Ann Linde attended the signing ceremony, Xinhua reported. "With 32 nations around the table, we will be even stronger and our people will be even safer, as we face the biggest security crisis in decades," declared NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in a press conference after the signing ceremony. This summit comes as Turkey