207 dead in serial blasts in Sri Lanka’s worst violence since Civil War

  • A series of eight devastating bomb blasts ripped through high-end hotels and churches holding Easter services in Sri Lanka on Sunday, killing 207 people, including dozens of foreigners.
  • The powerful blasts - six in quick succession and then two more hours later - left hundreds injured and wrought devastation, including in Colombo’s St Anthony’s Shrine on Easter

India asks China to be sensitive to its concerns as crucial bilateral talks begin

  • India and China need to be sensitive to each other’s concerns, foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale has told Chinese state councilor and foreign minister, Wang Yi, at the beginning of crucial bilateral talks in Beijing on Monday.
  • The Indian foreign secretary is visiting Beijing days ahead of the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF), which India will skip because of concerns over territorial sovereignty related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Ukraine comedian Volodymyr Zelensky wins presidency in landslide

  • A comedian with no political experience won a landslide victory in Ukraine’s presidential election on Sunday, drawing congratulations from global leaders while dealing a stunning rebuke to his country’s political establishment.
  • Volodymyr Zelensky, whose only previous political role was playing the president in a TV show, trounced incumbent Petro Poroshenko by taking 73 percent of the vote, according to partial official results.
  • It was an extraordinary outcome to a campaign that started as a joke but struck a chord with voters frustrated by social injustice, corruption and a war with Russian-backed separatists.