- Liverpool boss Slot praises Alexander-Arnold's defensive work
- Barca coach backs Pena but will debate new goalkeeper signing
- UN says tens of thousands flee Lebanon strikes
- Asian stock markets lead rally on China stimulus
- Arteta stands by defensive tactics in fiery Man City clash
- Tropical Storm John hits Mexico's Pacific coast
- Sri Lanka's new leader appoints cabinet ahead of expected snap polls
- Singapore ex-minister convicted in rare graft trial
- UK town catches Subbuteo fever
- France facing 'one of worst deficits' in its history: minister
- China's Olympic champ Zheng embraces big home expectations
- Biden bids farewell to UN, in shadow of Trump
- All Blacks seek to end Wellington jinx, with Cane poised for 100th cap
- Postbank (Постбанк) анулює рахунки українців у Німеччині
- Meryl Streep says a 'squirrel has more rights' than an Afghan girl
- Postbank terminates accounts of Ukrainians in Germany
- Hong Kong, Shanghai lead markets rally after China stimulus
- Dutch paint giant Akzonobel slashes 2,000 jobs worldwide
- Sri Lanka's new leader to call snap parliamentary polls
- In Ukraine's Pokrovsk, some quietly waiting for Russian troops
- Singapore ex-minister pleads guilty in rare graft trial
- Fishy business caught by fraying India-Bangladesh ties
- US Open champion Sabalenka chases year-end number one ranking
- New Zealand scientists discover ghostly 'spookfish'
- Trump slams early voting, even while urging Pennsylvanians to do so
- Singapore ex-minister pleads guilty to bribery in rare graft trial
- Major Hurricane John hits Mexico's Pacific coast
- IMF says ready for talks with Sri Lanka's new leftist government
- Phillies clinch division title, eye top seed
- Bills trample Jaguars, Commanders claw Bengals
- China unveils fresh stimulus to boost ailing economy
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally on China stimulus on mixed day for markets
- Back to death row? Retrial verdict due in Japan murder saga
- Rare corruption trial of Singapore ex-minister begins
- Ghana a long way off from gender equality despite new law
- China unveils fresh stimulus to boost economy
- Hamas weakened, not crushed a year into war with Israel
- Israeli economy struggles under weight of Gaza war
- Israelis united in trauma, divided by war after October 7
- New York Liberty riding WNBA boom into playoffs
- Union says new Boeing pay offer 'missed the mark'
- Environmental groups urge EU 'high risk' label for Sarawak
- Argentina seeks Maduro's arrest for crimes against humanity
- Morales issues Bolivian president 24-hour ultimatum to shake up cabinet
- Armenia and Azerbaijan see progress, but peace treaty seems distant
- World leaders gather at UN as Mideast tensions explode
- Biden's UN goodbye aims to 'Trump-proof' legacy
- Singapore ex-minister set for high-profile corruption trial
- Man Utd, Spurs eye respite from domestic woes in Europa League
- Guatemala picks Supreme Court judges with focus on anti-graft fight
Sri Lankan town under curfew after police kill protester
Police enforced a curfew on Wednesday in a Sri Lankan town where an anti-government demonstrator was killed, a death that triggered international condemnation just as the crisis-hit country seeks an IMF bailout.
Regular blackouts and acute shortages of food and fuel have sparked increasing public discontent in the island nation, which is dealing with its worst economic downturn since independence in 1948.
Huge protests have demanded the government's resignation, including the Tuesday blockade of a key highway and railway line on the day Sri Lanka's main petrol retailer announced another sudden price rise.
Police dispersed the crowd in the town of Rambukkana with tear gas and a volley of live rounds that left a 42-year-old father of two dead, with nearly 30 others wounded in the confrontation.
"I was hit with a baton on my leg and hand," Vasantha Kumara, a local chef, told AFP on Wednesday. "I begged the cops not to beat me, but they didn't listen."
"People are angry. We are all poor people fighting for basics."
Authorities extended the curfew in Rambukkana, around 95 kilometres (60 miles) east of the capital Colombo, into Wednesday with shops closed through the morning.
Spent bullet cartridges littered the road hours after the previous evening's protest, which saw thousands of people blocking rail tracks and the highway to the central city of Kandy.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said he was "deeply saddened" by the police shooting and promised the public's right to peacefully protest against his government would not be hindered.
Sri Lanka's police force "will carry out an impartial and transparent inquiry", he wrote on Twitter.
Police said they were forced to act when the crowd was about to set alight a fuel tanker -- a claim dismissed by Sri Lanka's political opposition.
"These people are not suicidal to burn a tanker and get killed in the process," lawmaker Rohini Kumari Wijerathna said in parliament.
- International concern -
Tuesday's incident was the first fatal clash since widespread anti-government protests began this month.
At least 29 people, including 11 police officers, were wounded in Rambukkana, according to official figures.
Later that night, police fired tear gas to break up another protest in Sri Lanka's south, one of the dozens of demonstrations staged simultaneously across the country.
Colombo-based diplomats have expressed concern over the police shooting.
"A full, transparent investigation is essential and the people's right to peaceful protest must be upheld," US ambassador Julie Chung said.
British High Commissioner Sarah Hulton condemned the violence and "call[ed] for restraint."
- IMF talks -
Sri Lanka opened talks with the International Monetary Fund in Washington this week after announcing an unprecedented default on the government's $51 billion foreign debt.
The IMF said it had asked Sri Lanka to restructure its borrowings before the lender finalises a bailout programme.
Talks with Sri Lanka were still at an "early stage", the IMF said, expressing concern over the hardships suffered by the country's people.
Sri Lanka's economic meltdown began after the coronavirus pandemic torpedoed vital revenue from tourism and remittances.
The country is short of dollars to finance even the most important essentials, including food, fuel and medicines. Runaway inflation has worsened the population's hardships.
A large crowd has been camped outside President Rajapaksa's seafront office in Colombo since April 9, demanding the leader step down.
Rajapaksa has acknowledged public anger over the ruling family's mismanagement and appointed a new cabinet to navigate the country out of the crisis, but has refused to entertain calls for his resignation.
J.Bergmann--BTB