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The son of Sri Lanka’s former president Mahinda Rajapaksa was banned Monday from leaving the island nation following his arrest for alleged money laundering.The case against Yoshitha Rajapaksa dates back years, but has received renewed impetus since President Anura Kumara Dissanayake — who has vowed to fight endemic corruption — won a landslide election victory.Several members of the powerful Rajapaksa family and close associates have been charged with an array of offences over the years, including corruption and even murder — all of which are still pending in the courts.A former junior naval officer, Yoshitha Rajapaksa, 36, was hit with the travel ban after police said he was unable to explain the sources of income used to purchase a home while his father was in power from 2005 to 2015.He was arrested and spent two days in detention before being released Monday by a magistrate in Colombo on a bond of 100 million rupees ($344,000).Yoshitha had told investigators that he raised money to buy the property by selling a small bag of gems his grand-aunt had given him. She was unable to recall how she acquired the precious stones when asked.He was arrested in 2016 on a separate money laundering charge related to his purchase of a television network. Both cases have sat dormant for years. His older brother Namal, a lawmaker in Sri Lanka’s parliament, also faces separate money laundering charges which have not yet gone to trial. Dissanayake came to power in September 2024 after pledging to expedite the pending criminal cases and bring back stolen assets allegedly stashed abroad.Cabinet spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa told reporters in Colombo over the weekend that the new government was providing more resources to the criminal investigations department to speed up prosecution.”This is not a political witch hunt, but people voted us in to ensure that these dragging cases are concluded,” Jayatissa said.Mahinda Rajapaksa’s younger brother Gotabaya became president in 2019 but was forced out of office in 2022 after a popular revolt, sparked by a ruinous economic crisis.Gotabaya Rajapaksa also faces corruption charges over military procurements when he was a top defence official during Mahinda’s presidency at the tail end of Sri Lanka’s civil war.

Spinner Jomel Warrican took five wickets as the West Indies won a Test match in Pakistan Monday for the first time in nearly 35 years.The West Indies won the second Test in Multan by 120 runs on day three to draw the series 1-1.Pakistan triumphed in the first Test by 127 runs, also in Multan. Warrican finished with nine wickets in the match — 19 in the series — to give the hosts a taste of their own medicine on sharply spinning pitches. The last time the West Indies won a Test in Pakistan was in Faisalabad in November 1990, having gone winless on their 1997 and 2006 tours.”We haven’t played in Pakistan for a number of years, but we haven’t won here in a while, so to come here and do it as a young group is incredible,” said West Indian skipper Kraigg Brathwaite. He praised the performance of star player Warrican, who scored 36 not out in the West Indies’ first innings of 163 and took both the man of the match and player of the series awards.”Apart from his excellent bowling, he always says he’s one of the best players of offspin in the Caribbean, so it’s good to see him get some runs along with wickets.”Pakistan skipper Shan Masood defended his side’s spin ploy. “On the first day we were in the position we wanted — even better, maybe, when we had them eight down,” he said.Resuming on 76-4 and chasing 254, Pakistan’s hopes of victory rested on Saud Shakeel, but Kevin Sinclair had the left-hander caught in the slips for 13 to further dent the home team’s fading chances.Babar Azam top-scored with 31 while Mohammad Rizwan made 25 as Pakistan were bundled out for 133. Warrican bowled nightwatchman Kashif Ali with a straighter ball for one, leaving Pakistan in tatters at 76-6. Rizwan added 39 for the seventh wicket with Salman Ali Agha before Warrican dismissed the latter leg before for 15 and then bowled Rizwan to bring the tourists within two wickets of victory. Gudakesh Motie, who took 2-35, removed Noman Ali for six while Warrican deservedly took the last wicket, bowling Sajid Khan for seven to seal the victory. The defeat sent Pakistan crashing to ninth and last in the World Test Championship table, while the West Indies finished eighth. Title-holders Australia face South Africa in the WTC final at Lord’s in June.

India’s efforts to pare back a longstanding reliance on Russian military hardware is bearing fruit after the courting of new Western allies and a rapidly growing domestic arms industry, analysts say.At a time when Moscow’s military-industrial complex is occupied with the ongoing war in Ukraine, India has made the modernisation of its armed forces a top priority.That urgency has risen in tandem with tensions between the world’s most populous nation and its northern neighbour China, especially since a deadly 2020 clash between their troops. “India’s perception of its security environment vis-a-vis China has been dramatically altered,” Harsh V Pant, of the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation think-tank, told AFP.Relations between the two neighbours went into freefall after the clash on their shared frontier, which killed 20 Indian and at least four Chinese soldiers. “It has sort of shaken the system and there’s a realisation that we have to do whatever is best now, and very fast,” Pant said of the incident. India has become the world’s largest arms importer with purchases steadily rising to account for nearly 10 percent of all imports globally in 2019-23, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said last year.More is in the pipeline, with orders worth tens of billions of dollars from the United States, France, Israel and Germany in coming years.Modi will be in France next month where he is expected to sign deals worth about $10 billion for Rafale fighter jets and Scorpene-class submarines, Indian media reports say.- ‘Not easy to switch’ -Defence minister Rajnath Singh has also promised at least $100 billion in fresh domestic military hardware contracts by 2033 to spur local arms production. “India has been traditionally an importer for decades and only switched to emphasising on indigenous manufacturing… in the last decade,” strategic affairs analyst Nitin Gokhale told AFP.”It is not easy to switch, not everything can be manufactured or produced here,” he said, saying the country lacked the ability to manufacture “high-end technology” weapons systems.But its efforts have still seen numerous impressive milestones.  This decade India has opened an expansive new helicopter factory, launched its first homemade aircraft carrier, and conducted a successful long-range hypersonic missile test.That in turn has fostered a growing arms export market which saw sales last year worth $2.63 billion — still a tiny amount compared to established players, but a 30-fold increase in a decade.India is expected in the coming weeks to announce a landmark deal to supply Indonesia’s military with supersonic cruise missiles in a deal worth nearly $450 million. The government aims to triple this figure by 2029, with a significant chunk of the $75 billion it spent on defence last year aimed at boosting local production. – ‘Spread risks’ -India has deepened defence cooperation with Western countries in recent years, including in the much-feted Quad alliance with the United States, Japan and Australia.This reorientation has helped India sign various deals to import and locally co-produce military drones, naval ships, fighter jets and other hardware with suppliers from Western countries.It has also led to a precipitous drop in India’s share of arms from longstanding ally Russia, which supplied 76 percent of its military imports in 2009-13 but only 36 percent in 2019-23, according to SIPRI data. New Delhi has nonetheless sought to maintain the delicate balance between India’s historically warm ties with Moscow while courting closer partnerships with Western nations.Modi’s government has resisted pressure from Washington and elsewhere to explicitly condemn Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, instead urging both sides to the negotiating table.Gokhale said that India was not in the position to abandon its relationship with Russia, which still plays an important role as a supplier of advanced weaponry including cruise missiles and nuclear submarine technology.”India has certainly spread its risks by sourcing from other countries,” he said. “But Russia remains a very important and dependable partner.”

Iran and Afghanistan called for increased cooperation during a trip to Kabul on Sunday by Tehran’s foreign minister, the highest-level Iranian official to visit the Afghan capital since the Taliban’s takeover in 2021.Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with his Afghan counterpart, Amir Khan Muttaqi, and Taliban government Prime Minister Hassan Akhund during a one-day visit to discuss relations between the neighbouring countries that spar over issues including migration and water resources.The two sides covered economic cooperation, the situation of Afghan migrants in Iran, border issues and water rights, an Afghan foreign ministry statement said.Araghchi praised the countries’ economic, trade and political relations in his talks with Muttaqi, according to an Iranian statement, adding he hoped that “during this trip we will be able to further expand the ties in line with the national interests of both sides”, emphasising security and economic arenas.Muttaqi “expressed hope that (Araghchi’s) visit to Kabul would create further momentum in relations between the two countries and they would enter a new phase of bilateral relations”, the Afghan foreign ministry said.Many countries closed their embassies in Kabul or downgraded diplomatic relations after the Taliban takeover that ousted the US-backed government, but Iran has maintained active diplomatic ties with Afghanistan’s new rulers, though it has yet to officially recognise the Taliban government. Several Iranian delegations have visited Afghanistan over the years, including a parliamentary delegation in August 2023 to discuss water rights. – Water and migration -Tensions between the countries have intensified in recent years over water resources and the construction of dams on the Helmand and Harirud rivers. Araghchi said the issues of water and migration demanded expanded cooperation and called for the full implementation of bilateral water treaties, according to an Afghan foreign ministry statement.Muttaqi said the region was suffering from climate change-induced drought and that Taliban authorities were “trying to ensure that water reaches both sides” of the Iran-Afghanistan border.Muttaqi and Akhund also called for the situation of Afghan migrants in Iran to be improved and for their “dignified” return to Afghanistan.Afghans returning from Iran have accused Iranian authorities of harassment, wrongful deportation and physical abuse.Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says Tehran is repatriating illegal nationals to their country “in a respectful manner”. Iran shares more than 900 kilometres (560 miles) of border with Afghanistan, and the Islamic republic hosts one of the largest refugee populations in the world — mostly Afghans fleeing decades of war.The flow of Afghan immigrants has increased since the Taliban took power.Iranian media announced in September the building of a wall along more than 10 kilometres of the eastern border with Afghanistan, the main entry point for migrants.Officials said at the time that additional methods to fortify the border including barbed wire and water-filled ditches to counter the “smuggling of fuel and goods, especially drugs”, and to prevent “illegal immigration”.

Kevin Sinclair led a West Indian spin trio to give the tourists a sniff of a series-levelling win in the second Test Sunday with Pakistan on the ropes at 76-4 after day two in Multan.Skipper Kraigg Brathwaite hit a half-century as the West Indies scored 244 in their second innings to set the hosts a daunting 254-run target on a spinning Multan Stadium pitch.At stumps Saud Shakeel was unbeaten on 13 and nightwatchman Kashif Ali on one. The West Indies need only six more wickets to draw the series 1-1.Pakistan need 178 runs for victory. They won the first Test by 127 runs, also in Multan.Sinclair (2-41) opened the floodgates by trapping Pakistan skipper Shan Masood leg before for two and then had the prized wicket of Babar Azam caught for a dour 31.Azam had added 43 with Kamran Ghulam, who was dropped twice, on two and six, but the lapses did not prove costly to the West Indies.Gudakesh Motie had Muhammad Hurraira for two and Jomel Warrican dismissed Ghulam for 19.The day saw 14 wickets fall, after 20 on day one.”Our captain set the stage and infused confidence in the batters to follow,” Warrican said of Brathwaite.”We have the confidence to pull off this victory, which would be a big win in these challenging conditions.”Pakistan still believe.”There is nothing impossible in this game,” said spinner Sajid Khan.”Shakeel has batted well on such pitches and then we have other batters also, so if we have that belief then we can score the required runs.”In the morning opener Brathwaite led the fight for the visitors with a gritty 52.The last four wickets added an invaluable 99 runs before the tourists were dismissed for 244 in their second innings at tea.Left-arm spinner Noman Ali finished with 4-80 — 10 wickets in the match — while partner Sajid took 4-76, six in the match.The West Indies were 129-5 at lunch when Noman dismissed Alick Athanaze for six, before the visitors put up a fight that could prove decisive.Tevin Imlach scored 35 and Sinclair 28 to boost their team’s lead during a stubborn stand of 51 for the seventh wicket, before Sajid accounted for Sinclair and Motie for 18.Pacer Kashif had Imlach but the last pair of Warrican and Kemar Roach took the total past 240, before Sajid had Warrican caught for 18.Earlier, Brathwaite led the way with two sixes and four boundaries in his 31st Test half-century.Noman broke a solid 50-run opening stand by dismissing Mikyle Louis for seven after the tourists started their second innings in the morning.Brathwaite overturned two leg-before decisions against him before he was stumped by Mohammad Rizwan off Noman.Debutant Amir Jangoo also batted well for his 30 with three boundaries, before Sajid had him caught in the slips by Salman Agha.Kavem Hodge was stumped by Rizwan off Noman for 15 as the West Indies slumped from 92-1 to 129-5.

The West Indies batted with guts and aggression against Pakistan on Sunday to set the hosts a target of 254 to win the second Test in Multan.Skipper and opener Kraigg Brathwaite led the fight for the visitors on day two with a gritty 52.The last four wickets added an invaluable 99 runs before the tourists were dismissed for 244 in their second innings at tea.The West Indies are chasing a series-levelling win on a weary Multan Stadium pitch, having lost the first Test by 127 runs at the same venue.Left-arm spinner Noman Ali finished with 4-80 — 10 wickets in the match — while partner Sajid Khan took 4-76, six in the match.The West Indies were 129-5 at lunch when Noman dismissed Alick Athanaze for six, before the tourists put up a fight.Tevin Imlach scored 35 and Kevin Sinclair 28 to boost their team’s lead during a stubborn stand of 51 for the seventh wicket, before Sajid accounted for Sinclair and Gudakesh Motie for 18.Pacer Kashif Ali had Imlach but the last pair of Jomel Warrican and Kemar Roach took the total past 240, before Sajid had Warrican caught for 18.Earlier, Brathwaite led the way with two sixes and four boundaries in his 31st Test half-century.Noman broke a solid 50-run opening stand by dismissing Mikyle Louis for seven after the tourists started their second innings in the morning.Brathwaite overturned two leg-before decisions against him before he was stumped by Mohammad Rizwan off Noman.Debutant Amir Jangoo also batted well for his 30 with three boundaries, before Sajid had him caught in the slips by Salman Agha.Kavem Hodge was stumped by Rizwan off Noman for 15 as the West Indies slumped from 92-1 to 129-5.

After working for years alongside the United States to combat the Taliban in Afghanistan, Zahra says she was just days from being evacuated to America when President Donald Trump suspended refugee admissions.She sold her belongings as she awaited a flight out of Pakistan, where she has been embroiled in a three-year process applying for a refugee scheme Trump froze in one of his first acts back in office.”We stood with them for the past 20 years, all I want is for them to stand up for the promise they made,” the 27-year-old former Afghanistan defence ministry worker told AFP from Islamabad.”The only wish we have is to be safe and live where we can have peace and an ordinary human life,” she said, sobbing down the phone and speaking under a pseudonym to protect her identity.The 2021 withdrawal of US-led troops from Kabul ended two decades of war but began a new exodus, as Afghans clamoured to escape Taliban government curbs and fears of reprisal for working with Washington.Trump’s executive order to pause admissions for at least 90 days starting from January 27 has blocked around 10,000 Afghans approved for entry from starting new lives in the United States, according to non-profit #AfghanEvac.Tens of thousands more applications in process have also been frozen, the US-based organisation said.”All sorts of people that stood up for the idea of America, now they’re in danger,” #AfghanEvac chief Shawn VanDiver told AFP. “We owe it to them to get them out.”- ‘Hopes are shattered’ – Trump’s order said “the United States lacks the ability to absorb large numbers of migrants, and in particular, refugees”, and stopped the relocation scheme until it “aligns with the interests of the United States”.But campaigners argue the country owes a debt to Afghans left in the lurch by their withdrawal — which Trump committed to in his first term but was overseen by his successor president Joe Biden.A special visa programme for Afghans who were employed by or on behalf of the United States remains active.But the more wide-reaching refugee scheme was relied on by applicants including ex-Afghan soldiers and employees of the US-backed government, as well as their family members.With America’s Kabul embassy shut, many travelled to neighbouring Pakistan to enter paperwork, conduct interviews and undergo vetting.Female applicants are fleeing the country where the Taliban government has banned them from secondary school and university, squeezed them from public life and ordered them to wear all-covering clothes.”I had a lot of hopes for my sisters, that they should graduate from school and pursue education,” said one of five daughters of an ex-government employee’s family seeking resettlement from Pakistan.”All my hopes are shattered,” said the 23-year-old. “I have nightmares and when I wake up in the morning, I feel like I can’t fall asleep again. I’m very anxious.”The European Court of Justice ruled last year that Afghan women have the right to be recognised as refugees in the EU because Taliban government curbs on women “constitute acts of persecution”.This week, the International Criminal Court chief prosecutor said he was seeking arrest warrants for Taliban government leaders because there are grounds to suspect they “bear criminal responsibility for the crime against humanity of persecution on gender grounds”.Moniza Kakar, a lawyer who works with Afghan refugees in Pakistan, said some women told her they “prefer suicide than going back to Afghanistan”.The Taliban government has announced an amnesty and encouraged those who fled to return to rebuild the country, presenting it as a haven of Islamic values. But a 2023 report by UN rights experts said “the amnesty for former government and military officials is being violated” and there were “consistent credible reports of summary executions and acts tantamount to enforced disappearances”.- ‘No life left for me’ – Last summer, Pakistan’s foreign ministry complained as many as 25,000 Afghans were in the country awaiting relocation to the United States.Islamabad announced a sweeping campaign in 2023 to evict undocumented Afghans , ordering them to leave or face arrest as relations soured with the Taliban government.At least 800,000 Afghans have left since October 2023, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council. But Afghans awaiting refugee relocation have also reported widespread harassment to leave by authorities in Pakistan.A foreign ministry spokesman told reporters this week Trump’s administration had not yet communicated any new refugee policy to Pakistan.Islamabad is following “the same old plan” where Washington has committed to taking in refugees this year, Shafqat Ali Khan said.Afghans awaiting new lives abroad feel caught between a cancelled future and the haunting prospect of returning to their homeland.”I don’t have the option of returning to Afghanistan, and my situation here is dire,” said 52-year-old former Afghan journalist Zahir Bahand.”There is no life left for me, no peace, no future, no visa, no home, no work: nothing is left for me.”

Some 200 Taliban supporters rallied in central Afghanistan on Sunday against the International Criminal Court chief prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants for two Taliban leaders. The rally followed the announcement by the ICC on Thursday that chief prosecutor Karim Khan was seeking arrest warrants for Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani over the persecution of women.The Taliban government has imposed a raft of restrictions on women and girls, which the United Nations has described as “gender apartheid”, since sweeping back to power in 2021. Demonstrators in Ghazni city condemned Khan’s move, chanting slogans that included “Death to America” and “long live the Islamic Emirate” — the Taliban authorities’ name for their government. “We have gathered here to show the West that their decision is cruel and rejected by Afghans,” said Ghazni resident Noorulhaq Omar.”It will never be accepted because the Afghan nation will sacrifice their life for their emir,” he said, referring to Akhundzada.Hamidullah Nisar, Ghazni province’s head of the information and culture department, joined residents at the rally.”We totally reject what the ICC has said against the leadership of the Islamic Emirate, and we want them to take back their words,” he said.Most demonstrations have been suppressed in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover, with the exception of those by the authorities’ supporters.Afghanistan’s Taliban government dismissed Khan’s arrest warrant requests on Friday as “politically motivated”.Rights groups and activists have praised the ICC move. 

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto looked on as guest of honour at India’s annual military and cultural parade in New Delhi held to mark the country’s 76th Republic Day on Sunday.Republic Day marks the adoption of India’s post-independence constitution in 1950 with the parade being held at a revamped colonial-era boulevard that also hosts important government buildings.”May this occasion strengthen our efforts towards preserving the ideals of our Constitution and working towards a stronger and prosperous India,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Sunday on social media platform X.The annual show is a colourful and tightly choreographed spectacle featuring the country’s missile systems, fighter jet fly pasts, motorbike stunts and floats representing different Indian states.An Indonesian military marching contingent also took part in the celebrations.The event coincided with Prabowo’s two-day state visit to India, his first to the country since becoming president in 2024.Indonesia was the guest nation at India’s first Republic Day, Modi said Saturday, adding that it was a matter of “great pride” to have the country part of the parade again.India and Indonesia signed a series of agreements on cooperation on health, maritime security, digital technology with both leaders calling each other “brother”.”To increase cooperation in the defence sector, we have decided we would work together on defence manufacturing and supply chain,” Modi said in a joint press statement on Saturday. Prabowo said his administration would send “a high-level defence delegation” soon.India’s arms exports were worth $2.63 billion last year, a tiny amount compared to established players but a 30-fold increase over a decade.

Skipper Kraigg Brathwaite hit a fighting half century Saturday to lead the West Indies to 129-5 at lunch on the second day of the second Test against Pakistan in Multan.The tourists negotiated Pakistan’s spin attack aggressively to take their slender nine-run first-innings lead to 138 at the break in their bid to pull off a series-levelling win.Pakistan lead the two-match series 1-0 after winning the first Test by 127 runs, also in Multan.Left-arm spinner Noman Ali brought Pakistan back in the game with 4-59, trapping Alick Athanaze leg before for six on the cusp of lunch, while Justin Greaves was unbeaten on five.With the Multan Stadium pitch offering slow spin in comparison to day one, Brathwaite led the way with two sixes and four boundaries in his 31st Test half century.Noman broke the solid 50-run opening stand by dismissing Mikyle Louis for seven after the tourists started their second innings in the morning.Brathwaite overturned two leg before decisions against him before he was stumped by Mohammad Rizwan off Noman for a well-made 52.Debutant Amir Jangoo also batted well for his 30 with three boundaries, before Sajid Khan had him caught in the slips by Salman Agha.Kavem Hodge was stumped by Rizwan off Noman for 15 as the West Indies slumped from 92-1 to 129-5.