Russia expels 2 UK diplomats over espionage claims
Moscow, March 10: An armed man believed to Russia said on Monday it was expelling two British diplomats based at the embassy in Moscow over spying allegations. Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, said in a statement quoted by the state news agency RIA Novosti that the two diplomats had provided false personal data while seeking permission to enter the country and had engaged in alleged intelligence and subversive activities that threatened Russia’s security. It didn’t offer any evidence. According to the RIA Novosti report, a decision has been made to revoke the diplomats’ accreditations and they have been ordered to leave Russia within two weeks. The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a separate statement that it summoned a British embassy official. (AP)
Lanka’s fugitive police chief petitions court to prevent arrest
Colombo, March 10: Deshabandu Tennakoon, Sri Lanka’s suspended police chief, has petitioned the Court of Appeal to stay his arrest in connection with a shooting incident in which an officer was killed. The two-member Court of Appeal decided to take up the case on March 12. Tennakoon remains a fugitive and has been hiding since a court last month ordered his arrest over the December 2023 incident in the resort of Weligama. Tennakoon, the then Inspector General of Police, had sent Colombo Crime Division (CCD) officers to raid the resort hotel of Weligama over illegal drugs. However, the Weligama police, unaware of the undercover operation, opened fire at the CCD vehicle and killed an officer. (PTI)
Rescue operation underway after vessels collide in North Sea
London, March 10: An oil tanker and a cargo ship collided off the coast of eastern England Monday, setting both vessels on fire and triggering a major rescue operation, emergency services said. At least 32 casualties were brought ashore, but their condition was not immediately clear. Britain’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency said several lifeboats and a coast guard rescue helicopter were dispatched to the scene, along with a coast guard plane and nearby vessels with firefighting capability. (AP)
Pakistan rated ‘repressed’ in civic freedom report
Islamabad, March 10: A global alliance of civil society organisations and activists, working to strengthen citizen action and civil society throughout the world, has expressed serious concerns regarding the exercise of civic freedom in Pakistan in its latest report released on Monday. Adding Pakistan to its monitor watchlist, Civicus highlighted the escalating criminalisation of human rights defenders and journalists, crackdown on human rights movements and protests and digital restrictions in the country. As per Civicus monitor’s human rights watchlist 2025, Pakistan’s status has now been classified as “repressed” which means that the civic space in the country is significantly constrained. (IANS)