Asia & Pacific

A rare, 28.84-carat white diamond was recently discovered in the Argyle Diamond Mine, located in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia.

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) – The UN Peacebuilding Commission urges the international community to take collaborative action to support peace efforts in Sri Lanka following the series of terrorist attacks that rocked the South Asian nation on Easter Sunday, a statement issued by the commission said on Tuesday.

A strong earthquake of magnitude 6.1 struck northeast India's Assam region on Wednesday, Reuters reports citing the US Geological Survey.

The first Type 055 guided missile destroyer, Nanchang, was also presented to the public at the parade for the first time by Chinese military.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - President of Sri Lanka Maithripala Sirisena announced that he would carry out changes among the heads of the country’s security forces within the next 24 hours following the deadly bombings that left at least 321 people dead and 500 wounded, Ada Derana said Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Tuesday he would send back garbage that came to the Philippines from Canada and threatened to declare war against Ottawa.

The Prime Minister of Pakistan's knowledge of geography was called into question after he spoke about Germany and Japan sharing a border.

The research vessel, which belongs to the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, is fitted with advanced scanning equipment and is carrying an unmanned submarine capable of operating hundreds of meters below the ocean surface.

The death toll from Sunday's attacks on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka has risen to 321, while the number of injured stands at about 500, local police have said.

Two Muslim brothers played a key role in the Easter Sunday Sri Lanka blasts that killed more than 320 people, police sources told AFP.

The dispute over a group of four Kuril islands — Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai — has been souring Moscow-Tokyo relations for decades and serves as the main stumbling block to signing a permanent World War II peace treaty.

India is using Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail Electronic Voting Machines (VVPAT EVMs) to conduct national elections. These are stand-alone non-network connected machines and are therefore immune to remote hacking or tampering.

With the US sanctions waiver set to expire in early May, ending oil imports from Iran, India's petroleum ministry is making arrangements to address its supply deficit by calling upon other oil-producing countries to meet the country’s demand for petrol, diesel and other petrochemical products.

The country is in a heightened state of alert after the newest intelligence inputs from India. Police suspect that explosive-laden vehicles may have already entered Colombo. Important areas of the island nation are being cordoned off to ensure their security.

On Sunday, Sri Lanka was hit by a series of coordinated bombing attacks targeting churches and hotels across the country, that claimed lives of at least 321 and wounded about 500 more. The country's defence minister recently stated that the series of blasts was a response to the Christchurch mosque attack in New Zealand, which targeted Muslims.

At least 45 children were among the more than 320 people killed in Sri Lanka's suicide bomb attacks, AFP has reported quoting UNICEF spokesman Christophe Boulierac.

Indonesia held the world's largest single-day vote on April 17, 2019; those involved in the process faced tremendous logistical challenges.

Bollywood actress who first began her career in porn films came clean on her life at a talk show saying that she does not regret any of her past decisions. She also gave back to social media trolls in her indomitable style.

On Sunday, Sri Lanka’s Capital Colombo was hit by a series of coordinated bombings in churches and hotels that killed at least 310 people and left another 500 injured.

Modi's constituency went to the polls on Tuesday. Hailing from the Indian state of Gujarat; his Bharatiya Janata Party currently controls his state and controls the majority of the seats in the lower house of the national legislature. He is currently seeking re-election.