The political crises in Sri Lanka took an ugly turn on Sunday when bodyguards of Petroleum Minister Arjuna Ranatunga, a loyalist of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, fired live rounds at the supporters of the new premier Mahinda Rajapaksa, leaving one person dead.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe held informal talks at a picturesque resort near Mount Fuji and visited a factory of industrial robot manufacturer on Sunday as they spent about eight hours together on the first-day of a two-day summit.

Nearly 7,000 people gathered in Northern Indonesia Sunday to witness the inauguration of 'Little India Gate', the first-of-its-kind structure in the country which recognises the contribution of Indian community in the development of Medan city.

India played a "positive" role in restoration of democracy in Maldives by "exerting pressure" on the ruling regime, and the new government in the island nation would be "sensitive" towards New Delhi's "concerns", former Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom said Sunday.

Sri Lankan Parliament's speaker on Sunday recognised Ranil Wickremesinghe as the country's prime minister, saying he has "obtained a mandate to secure democracy and good governance , in a major relief to the embattled UNP leader who was sacked by President Maithripala Sirisena in a dramatic move on Friday night.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday presented his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe two handcrafted stone bowls, made from rose quartz and yellow quartz stone sourced from Rajasthan, and dhurries woven by master weavers of Uttar Pradesh.

Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe Sunday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was one of his most "dependable" friends and together with the Indian leader, he would like to strengthen bilateral cooperation to realise a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Pakistan President Arif Alvi on Sunday ruled out establishing any kind of relations with Israel as he strongly rejected reports that an Israeli aircraft carrying some officials secretly landed in Islamabad and flew away after several hours at the airport here.