Embattled Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has faced flak from the Opposition and foreign envoys for his decision to impose a state of emergency for a second time in just over a month which gives security forces power to crack down on peaceful protests.

Colombo: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared a state of emergency with effect from Friday midnight, according to the presidential media division.

Beijing, May 6 (AP) Chinese state media say 53 people died in a building collapse one week ago in central China and 10 were rescued. Authorities said Friday the search had ended for people trapped from the collapse.

The WHO on Thursday said that 14.9 million people were killed either by COVID-19 directly or due to the pandemic's impact on health systems and society, with the global health agency estimating that India had 4.7 million fatalities.

Expressing "serious concern" over the Russia-Ukraine conflict, India and France have called for an immediate cessation of hostilities to bring parties together to promote dialogue and diplomacy for finding an immediate end to the suffering of the people.

The United Nations has said that the number of people without enough to eat on a daily basis reached an all-time high last year and is poised to hit "appalling" new levels as the Ukraine war affects global food production.

Around the world, Muslims are being targeted with violence, US President Joe Biden said on Monday asserting that Muslims make America stronger every single day even as they still face real challenges and threats in the society that they live in.