Colombo, Apr 22: An improvised pipe bomb discovered close to Colombo’s main airport was successfully defused by the Sri Lanka airforce, police said.
A police source told news agency that a “homemade” pipe bomb had been found late Sunday on a road leading towards the main terminal, which remains open with heavy security after deadly attacks on churchs and hotels.
Airforce spokesperson Group Captain Gihan Seneviratne said the IED was believed to be locally manufactured.
Six months since the new coronavirus outbreak, the pandemic is still far from over, the World Health Organization said Monday, warning that "the worst is yet to come".
Reaching the half-year milestone just as the death toll surpassed 500,000 and the number of confirmed infections topped 10 million, the WHO said it was a moment to recommit to the fight to save lives.
"Six months ago, none of us could have imagined how our world -- and our lives -- would be thrown into turmoil by this new virus," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual briefing.
"We all want this to be over. We all want to get on with our lives. But the hard reality is this is not even close to being over.
"Although many countries have made some progress, globally the pandemic is actually speeding up.
"We're all in this together, and we're all in this for the long haul.
"We will need even greater stores of resilience, patience, humility and generosity in the months ahead.
"We have already lost so much -- but we cannot lose hope."
Tedros also said that the pandemic had brought out the best and worst humanity, citing acts of kindness and solidarity, but also misinformation and the politicisation of the virus.
In an atmosphere of global political division and fractures on a national level, "the worst is yet to come. I'm sorry to say that," he said.
"With this kind of environment and condition, we fear the worst."
Chennai, Feb 20: Three people, including an assistant director were killed and 9 others injured when a crane used for the shooting of “actor Kamal Haasan starrer “Indian 2” film crashed down at Nazarathpet near Poonamallee here late on Wednesday night.
Police said the accident occurred when a group of workers were engaged in erecting a set for a scene at EVP film city, private studio. As the crane crashed down, a heavy-duty light stand that was mounted on it also fell on the workers.
Mr Haasan and the film director S.Shankar escaped unhurt in the accident.
The deceased were identified as Krishna (34), an assistant director of the film, Madhu (29) and Chandran (60), who was part of the catering team.
Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services personnel, along with a fire tender from Irungattukottai rushed to the spot and retrieved the bodies from the spot.
Mr Haasan, who was at the accident spot, also helped to transport the injured people to a private hospital near Poonamallee.
The bodies were sent to the Government General Hospital for post-mortem.
The Nazarathpet police have filed a case and are investigating the cause of the accident.
Meanwhile, Mr.Haasan condoled the death of three people during the film shoot. “The accident is the most horrific I have seen in my film career. I have lost three colleagues, but my pain pales in comparison to the grief of those who have lost their loved ones.
My deepest sympathies to them, he tweeted.
The Lyca productions also expressed condolences over the tragic accident. “We are extremely saddened with the unfortunate accident happened at the sets of Indian 2. We have lost three of our most hardworking technicians, it tweeted.
Mumbai, Jan 19: After Kerala and Punjab, the Maha Vikas Agadi (MVA) government is also mulling over a resolution against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 in Maharashtra Assembly.
Speaking to news agency, Congress spokesperson Raju Waghmare said: "Our senior party leader Balasaheb Thorat has also shared his stand on the CAA. Even Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has said that we are against the CAA. As far as the resolution against CAA is concerned, our senior leaders of MVA will sit together and decide."
If this happens, then Maharashtra will be the third state to pass a resolution against CAA, which grants citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, who came to India on or before December 31, 2014.
Emphasising that CAA is 'unconstitutional,' senior lawyer and Congress leader Kapil Sibal has said that every state Assembly has the constitutional right to pass a resolution and seek CAA's withdrawal.
He added that it would be problematic to oppose the CAA if the law is declared to be 'constitutional' by the Supreme Court.
"I believe the CAA is unconstitutional. Every State Assembly has the constitutional right to pass a resolution and seek its withdrawal. When and if the law is declared to be constitutional by the Supreme Court then it will be problematic to oppose it. The fight must go on!" Sibal tweeted.
Earlier speaking at the Kerala Literature Festival on Saturday, the Congress leader had said that constitutionally no state can say that it will not implement the amended Citizenship Act, as doing so will be "unconstitutional".
Kerala government has also approached the Supreme Court against the CAA following the passage of a resolution against it in the state Assembly.
Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh has also announced that the Congress state government is going to join Kerala in the Supreme Court in the case.
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