Sri Lanka’s new president says his government is preparing a national policy roadmap for the next 25 years that aims to cut public debt and turn the country into a competitive export economy as it seeks a way out of its worst economic disaster.

China has blocked imports of citrus and fish from Taiwan in retaliation for U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the self-ruled island but avoided disrupting one of the world’s most important technology and manufacturing relationships.

ISTANBUL/LONDON – Russia on Tuesday accused the United States of direct involvement in the Ukraine war, while the first ship carrying Ukrainian grain to world markets since Moscow’s invasion continued its passage to Lebanon without problems.

KUWAIT – Kuwait formally dissolved parliament in a decree issued on Tuesday, state news agency KUNA said, as the Gulf Arab state’s crown prince moved to resolve a standoff between the government and elected parliament that has hindered fiscal reform.

The world is one misstep from devastating nuclear war and in peril not seen since the Cold War, the UN Secretary General has warned.

TAIPEI – Taiwan’s defence ministry has ‘reinforced’ its combat alertness level from Tuesday morning to Thursday noon, the island’s official central news agency reported, citing unidentified sources.

MITROVICA, Kosovo – The Kosovo government postponed implementation of a decision that would oblige Serbs in the north of the country to apply for car license plates issued by Pristina institutions over tensions between police and local communities that set roadblocks.

ST PETERSBURG, Russia – President Vladimir Putin on Sunday signed a new naval doctrine which cast the United States as Russia’s main rival and set out Russia’s global maritime ambitions for crucial areas such as the Arctic and in the Black Sea.

Sri Lanka’s president says an agreement with the International Monetary Fund to help pull the bankrupt nation out of its economic crisis has been pushed back to September because of unrest over the past weeks.

DUBAI – Iran has responded to top European Union diplomat Josep Borrell’s proposal aimed at salvaging Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, and seeks a swift conclusion to negotiations, the top Iranian nuclear negotiator said on Sunday.