Sudan frees several civilian leaders held since coup

Sudanese authorities yesterday released several civilian leaders detained since last month's coup, a key plank in a deal aimed to restore a fragile transition process towards full democracy. "I was released late yesterday evening," the head of Sudan's Congress Party Omar al-Degeir told AFP. "I was in solitary confinement and completely cut off from the world throughout this period." Other civilian politicians, including from the Umma party, were also released. Top general Abdel Fattah al-Burhan last month declared a state of emergency and ousted the government, in a move that upended a two-year transition to civilian rule. It triggered a wave of mass street protests in which at least 41 people were killed.

Delhi lifts ban on construction as air quality improves

New Delhi has lifted a ban on construction activities as air quality improved marginally, but schools and offices will remain closed until at least Wednesday, its environment minister said yesterday. Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) dropped to 303 on a scale of 500, down from 499 nearly a week ago, when a thick haze hung over the city of more than 200 million people. The current AQI levels still indicate "very poor" conditions, according to government monitoring agencies. "Air quality is slowly improving," Gopal Rai, the capital's Minister for Environment, Forest and Wildlife Development, told a news conference. "Labourers were facing difficulties, and that is why we have decided to resume construction activities." He said the authorities would monitor construction sites to ensure that builders follow dust-control measures set out by the government.

Lanka begins trials linked to 2019 Easter bombings case

A Sri Lankan court yesterday began the first of three trials connected to bombings that killed nearly 270 people on the island in 2019, amidst appeals for greater accountability from victim support groups. In this trial, former national police chief Pujith Jayasundara is charged with failing to act on repeated intelligence warnings of a possible terror attack. A total of 855 charges of murder and attempted murder were read out as Jayasundara stood in the dock at the back of the courtroom. A total of 1,215 witnesses have been listed to give evidence but not all may be called, his lawyer said. "Our position is the former police chief is not guilty. He did not intentionally aid or abet the attacks and there was no omission on his part that caused the attacks," attorney Ranjith Dehiwala told Reuters. Ex-Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando, the top official in the defence ministry at the time, faces similar charges in a trial that began later yesterday.