News in Brief-(2022-07-06)

Talks with IMF difficult, says Sri Lanka PM

COLOMBO, July 05: Sri Lanka's negotiations with the International Monetary Fund are more complex and difficult than in the past because it is a bankrupt nation, the country's prime minister said Tuesday. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told lawmakers that recent discussions with a visiting IMF mission were fruitful but not as straightforward as in the past. "Our country has held talks with the IMF on many occasions before. But this time the situation is different from all those previous occasions. In the past, we have held discussions as a developing country," Wickremesinghe said. — AP

Finland, Sweden sign protocol to join NATO

HELSINKI, July 05: NATO's 30 allies signed an accession protocol for Finland and Sweden on Tuesday to allow them to join the nuclear-armed alliance once allied parliaments ratify the decision, the most significant expansion of the alliance since the mid-1990s. "This is truly an historic moment," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said alongside the foreign ministers of the two countries. "With 32 nations around the table, we will be even stronger." The protocol means Helsinki and Stockholm can participate in NATO meetings and have greater access to intelligence but will not be protected by the NATO defence clause. That is likely to take up to a year. — Reuters

Biden tries to sound upbeat

WASHINGTON, July 05: US President Joe Biden sought to strike an optimistic note of unity in an Independence Day speech on Monday overshadowed by a mass shooting at a holiday parade in a Chicago suburb. Addressing a July 4 barbeque for military families at the White House, Biden said he was confident America could pull through what he acknowledged were "unsettling" times. — AFP

Putin declares victory in Luhansk

POKROVSK, July 05: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday declared victory in the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk, one day after Ukrainian forces withdrew from their last remaining bulwark of resistance in the province. Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to Putin in a televised meeting Monday that Russian forces had taken control of Luhansk. — AP