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Sri Lanka’s former president was admitted to hospital on Saturday, a day after he was charged with using public funds to finance private international travel, as the government intensified its crackdown on corruption, The Guardian reported.

Ranil Wickremesinghe, 76, was remanded in custody on Friday after being accused of using taxpayers’ money to pay for a two-day visit to the UK in September 2023 to attend a ceremony at the University of Wolverhampton granting an honorary professorship to his wife.

Wickremesinghe has denied the misuse of state money, and said his wife paid her own travel expenses. The visit took place upon Wickremesinghe’s return from the G77 summit in Havana and the UN general assembly in New York, according to The Guardian.

The offences carry a maximum punishment of 20 years in jail and an estimated fine of 16.6m rupees (£41,000).

Viktor Gyokeres opened his Arsenal account with a brace as the Gunners swept Leeds aside 5-0 at the Emirates, after Manchester City succumbed 2-0 to Tottenham Hotspur at home on Saturday, Xinhua reported.

The atmosphere was electric from the start and Arsenal wasted little time asserting control. Jurrien Timber powered in a header from a set piece before turning provider for Bukayo Saka to smash home a second before half-time.

Saka's strike came at a cost, though, with the England winger later forced off injured. Martin Odegaard also limped out on his 200th Arsenal appearance, adding to Mikel Arteta's concerns despite the emphatic win, according to Xinhua.

Gyokeres made his mark after the break, weaving into the box to fire low for Arsenal's third before Timber grabbed his second of the game from another corner.

US defence secretary Pete Hegseth has fired the Pentagon's intelligence agency chief, just weeks after a White House rebuke of a review assessing the impact of American strikes on Iran, BBC reported.

Lt Gen Jeffery Kruse will no longer serve as head of US Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), the Pentagon said in a statement. Two other senior military commanders have also been ousted by the Pentagon.

The defence department has not offered any immediate explanation on the firings, according to BBC.

In June, President Donald Trump had pushed back strongly on a leaked DIA report that found that attacks on Iran had set back its nuclear programme by months only. The White House declared the agency's assessment "flat out wrong".

The price of gold has increased by Rs 2, 300 per tola in the domestic market on Sunday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 197, 500 per tola today. 

Similarly, the price of silver has increased by Rs 40 and is being traded at Rs 2, 350 per tola today.

The UK government has agreed to pay compensation to thousands of Kenyans who were affected by a fire caused by a British military training exercise four years ago, BBC reported.

The out-of-court settlement follows a lengthy legal battle in which 7,723 claimants said they had lost property and suffered health complications because of the 2021 fire in the Lolldaiga conservancy in Kenya's Rift Valley.

A spokesperson from the British High Commission in Nairobi said the UK "accepts responsibility for the fire and that is why compensation has been paid", adding "it is the right thing to do".

The British government has not confirmed how much was paid out, but the lawyer in the case told the BBC it was £2.9 million, according to BBC.

In a modest-sized university lab in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, researchers are using a tiny drill to scrape away enamel from a 2,500-year-old tooth, BBC reported.

Researchers at Madurai Kamaraj University say the tooth belongs to one of two human skulls that they have used as models to digitally reconstruct faces to understand what the region's early inhabitants might have looked like.

The skulls, both belonging to men, were excavated from Kondagai, an ancient burial site about 4km (2.5 miles) from Keeladi - an archaeological site that has become a political flashpoint in India.

Tamil Nadu state department archaeologists say an urban civilisation dating back to 580BC existed in Keeladi, a claim that adds a new dimension to the story of the Indian subcontinent, according to BBC.

North Korean state media has said two new air defence missiles have been fired in a test overseen by the country's leader Kim Jong Un, BBC reported.

The weapons had "superior combat capability" and used a "unique technology", the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, without adding details. 

The launches, carried out on Saturday, "proved that the technological features of two types of projectiles are very suitable for destroying various aerial targets" including drones and cruise missiles, KCNA said.

The test comes hours after South Korea confirmed it fired warning shots on Tuesday at North Korean soldiers who briefly crossed the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) separating the countries, according to BBC.

The UK is planning an overhaul of the asylum appeals system, as it tries to cut the number of migrants staying in hotels while they await a ruling, BBC reported.

A new, independent body will be established, staffed by independent adjudicators, with the aim of hearing cases more quickly.

The Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, said she was taking practical steps to end unacceptable delays.

The government has been under increasing pressure to reduce its reliance on asylum hotels. It now wants to regain the initiative, according to BBC.