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Sri Lanka's new prime minister won crucial support from two main opposition parties Monday, easing the pressure on the ruling Rajapaksa clan in the face of the island's worsening economic crisis.

Angelo Mathews missed out on his second double hundred by one run as Bangladesh bowled out Sri Lanka for 397 runs in the first Test in Chittagong on Monday.

Saudi Arabia expects to ramp up its daily oil production capacity by more than one million barrels to exceed 13 million barrels by early 2027, the kingdom's energy minister announced Monday.

Russia warned Finland and Sweden Monday they were making a "grave mistake" in their moves to join NATO as Ukraine braced for a new push by Moscow's forces in its eastern Donbas region.

Nepal on Monday opened a Chinese-built airport intended to capitalise on Buddhist tourism as India's prime minister landed a few kilometres away to mark the birth, enlightenment and death of the religion's founder.

Stock markets were steadier Monday after last week's volatility, with traders assessing recession risks as high inflation causes central banks to hike interest rates.

Another sandstorm that descended Monday on Iraq sent at least 2,000 people to hospital with breathing problems and led to the closure of airports, schools and public offices across the country.

Wheat prices surged to a new record high in European trading on Monday after India decided to ban exports of the commodity as a heatwave hit production.

Angelo Mathews missed out on his second double hundred by just one run as Bangladesh bowled out Sri Lanka for 397 runs in the first Test in Chittagong on Monday.

American fast-food giant McDonald's will exit the Russian market and sell its business in the increasingly isolated country, the company said Monday.

By the time Pakistani schoolboy Saeed Ali arrived at hospital in one of the world's hottest cities, his body was shutting down from heatstroke.

A French association fighting homophobia in sport asked Paris Saint-Germain for a second time on Monday whether Idrissa Gana Gueye refused to wear a 'rainbow' jersey in Saturday's Ligue 1 match against Montpellier.

The Catholic archbishop in Jerusalem on Monday strongly criticised Israel's "police invasion" last week of a Christian hospital ahead of the funeral of slain Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh.

American low-cost carrier JetBlue Airlines announced on Monday a hostile takeover bid for its rival Spirit Airlines, which had rejected a previous bid in favour of a merger with Frontier.

Lawmakers in Finland and Sweden on Monday debated their respective NATO bids, as the two neighbours prepare to submit applications this week as a deterrent against Russian aggression.

A new statue of Britain's late former prime minister Margaret Thatcher was fenced off on Monday following an egg-throwing protest shortly after it was installed in her hometown.

A raid on a Hong Kong triad leader's birthday party resulted in police issuing more than HK$1 million ($127,388) in fines for breaching the city's strict coronavirus rules, local media and official reports revealed Monday.

French automaker Renault has handed over its Russian assets to the Russian government, both parties announced Monday, marking the first major nationalisation since the onset of sanctions over Moscow's military campaign in Ukraine.

Iran said on Monday it awaited the US response to "solutions" discussed with the EU envoy for breaking a stalemate in talks aimed at restoring the 2015 nuclear deal.

Virginia Mutsamwira says she treats four times the number of patients she should ideally handle at a township clinic in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe.

EU foreign ministers on Monday sought to break through Hungary's opposition to an embargo on Russian oil over the Ukraine war, but warned little progress was expected.

The last touches were being laid in Cannes on Monday for the 75th anniversary edition of the world's leading film festival, promising a return to its full glitz.

Sceptics say that far from helping save the planet, electric cars are a liberal pipe-dream whose environmental benefits are exaggerated.

Angelo Mathews closed in on a double hundred as Sri Lanka frustrated Bangladesh to reach 375-8 at tea on day two of the first Test in Chittagong on Monday.

Their menfolk are the last pocket of resistance in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, holed up in a warren of underground tunnels and bunkers at the vast Azovstal steelworks under heavy Russian bombardment.

Another sandstorm descended Monday on Iraq forcing the closure of airports, schools, universities and public administrations across the country, officials said.

Thousands of money exchangers in Afghanistan ended their strike on Monday, the brokers commission said, a day after they shut their shops to protest a steep hike in licence fees imposed by Taliban authorities.

Somalia's international partners on Monday welcomed the election of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who takes office after months of political instability and faces crises including a violent insurgency and devastating drought.

A smiling Queen Elizabeth II attended a Platinum Jubilee celebration at Windsor on Sunday, days after ill health and old age forced her to pull out of the opening of the UK parliament for the first time in nearly 60 years.

Asian equities retreated Monday following last week's temporary rally on Wall Street due to fears of surging inflation and supply chain woes inflicted by Beijing's punishing zero-Covid policy.

North Korea's Kim Jong Un criticised "irresponsible" officials over the country's pandemic response and ordered the army to help distribute medicine, state media said on Monday, as Seoul offered Covid-19 aid.

The giant policeman in military fatigues and combat helmet was losing patience with the tiny woman staring at his chest and flatly refusing to evacuate from the Ukrainian front.