July 18, 2022

Daily News Brief

*) Sri Lanka's interim president declares emergency Sri Lanka's acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe has declared a state of emergency as his administration seeks to quell social unrest and tackle the country’s economic crisis. Ousted president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled overseas to escape an uprising against his government, has said he took "all possible steps" to avert the economic crisis. Sri Lanka’s parliament is meeting on Tuesday to accept nominations for the post of president. A vote to decide the country's leader is set to take place on Wednesday. *) Ukraine's Zelenskyy sacks top officials as Russia warns of 'doomsday' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has fired the head of the country's security service and its prosecutor general, citing criminal proceedings into treason and collaboration by people within their departments. He said over 650 cases of suspected treason and aiding and abetting Russia by Ukrainian security officials are currently being investigated. Meanwhile, Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia's Security Council, responded to Ukrainian officials' statements that Kiev may strike the bridge linking Moscow-annexed Crimea and Russia. Medvedev warned that it would trigger devastating consequences for Ukraine. *) ​​US probe cites 'systemic failures' in Texas school massacre A US probe of the Texas school shooting that left 21 dead has blamed "systemic failures" and poor leadership for contributing to the death toll. The report investigated why it took more than an hour for police to confront and kill the 18-year-old gunman at Robb Elementary School on May 24. Meanwhile, the latest gun violence at a US mall in Indiana state has left four people dead, including the gunman. The attacker opened fire with a rifle in a food court, and an armed civilian shot him, US police said. *) Ex-PM Khan's party scores landslide win in key Pakistan state by-election Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan has called again for an early national election after his party seized control of the state assembly in Punjab province. The opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party won 15 out of 20 provincial assembly seats, consolidating its lead for the post of the chief minister of Punjab, local media reports. Khan tweeted early on Monday after the Punjab votes were tallied that “the only way forward from here is to hold free and transparent elections.” *) Wildfires rage across southwest Europe amid scorching weather Wildfires across southwest Europe have shown no signs of abating, as parts of the continent readied for new temperature records early next week. Firefighters in France, Portugal, Spain and Greece continued to battle forest blazes on Sunday. Thousands of hectares of land have been ravaged, several personnel have been killed and thousands of people have been forced to decamp since the start of the week.