Indian Sub-continent

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Thousands of Sri Lankans held a protest in the capital on Friday, demanding justice for the victims of the 2019 Easter Sunday bomb attacks that killed nearly 270 people.

The protesters demanded that the government uncover who they said were the real conspirators behind the attacks on three churches — two Catholic and one Protestant — that included simultaneous suicide bombings during Easter celebrations on April 21, 2019. Three tourist hotels were also targeted, killing 42 foreigners from 14 countries.

Gondia, Apr 20 (PTI) A court in Gondia in Maharashtra on Thursday sentenced a man to 40 years in jail for raping a minor girl in November 2018.

Mukesh Shende (28) had lured the 4-and-half-year-old girl to an isolated spot under Salekasa police station limits and raped her, an official said.

New Delhi, Apr 20 (PTI) Ending their over 50-year-old border dispute, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday signed an agreement in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah here which will bring settlement to 123 villages located along areas the two northeastern states share.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Arunachal Pradesh counterpart Pema Khandu signed the agreement.

Bengaluru, Apr 20 (PTI) Over 3,600 candidates have filed a total of 5,102 nominations for the May 10 Assembly polls in Karnataka till Thursday, the last day for filing of the papers, election officials said here.

The process of filing nominations papers began on April 13 with the election notification being issued.

New Delhi, Apr 20 (PTI) The new Indian Space Policy, which was made public on Thursday, has said the Indian Space Research Organisation shall transition out from manufacturing operational space systems and focus its energies on research and development in advanced technologies.

Poonch, Apr 20 (PTI) Five army personnel were killed after seperatist ambushed their vehicle in Poonch area of Jammu and kashmir taking advantage of heavy rains and low visibility, officials said on Thursday.

Another soldier was seriously injured in the incident and was evacuated immediately to the Army Hospital at Rajouri, they said.

ISLAMABAD, April 20 (Reuters) - Pakistan has placed its first order for discounted Russian crude oil under a deal struck between Islamabad and Moscow, the country's petroleum minister said, with one cargo to dock at the port of Karachi in May.

Pakistan's purchase gives Russia a new outlet, adding to Moscow's growing sales to India and China, as it redirects oil from western markets because of the Ukraine conflict.

NEW DELHI (AP) — An Indian court on Thursday dismissed opposition leader Rahul Gandhi’s plea to stay his conviction in a criminal defamation case that resulted in his expulsion from Parliament.

Gandhi, a fierce critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his main challenger in 2024 polls, was ousted after a court last month sentenced him to two years in prison for defamation for mocking Modi’s surname in a 2019 election speech.

A court in Modi’s home state of Gujarat suspended the prison sentence earlier in April for the duration of the appeal process.

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — An Indian climber who fell into a 300-meter (980-foot) crevasse on Mount Annapurna on Monday was rescued Thursday but his condition is unknown, an expedition organizer in Nepal’s capital said.

Several rescue attempts were made after Anurag Maloo fell on the world’s 10th highest mountain. When he was finally rescued, he was flown to a hospital in the resort town of Pokhara, Thaneswar Guragai of Kathmandu-based Seven Summit Treks said.

He was being treated at the hospital, but his condition was still unknown.

MUMBAI, April 19 (Reuters) - Indian buyers have opted to cancel 75,000 tonnes of palm oil purchases for the first time in many years and switch to rival soft oils, such as sunflower oil and soyoil, five industry officials told Reuters.

Palm oil usually trades at a discount to soft oils, but import restrictions by top producer Indonesia have helped to push palm oil to a premium, making sun oil and soyoil more attractive to buyers.