International news brief: IMF delegation to visit Sri Lanka next week

Colombo, Aug 21: A delegation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is all set to visit Sri Lanka next week.

The IMF said that the visit will be from August 24 to August 31 and the main focus will be to continue discussions with the Sri Lankan authorities on economic and financial reforms and policies, reported Colombo Gazette.

2 Russians, 1 Ukrainian arrested as alleged spies in Albania

Two Russians and a Ukrainian were arrested for alleged espionage at a military plant in southern Albania, the Albanian Defense Ministry said late Saturday. The Russian man identified only as M.Z., 24, was detained after entering the plant's grounds in Gramsh, 80 kilometers south of the capital, Tirana, and taking photos, the ministry said in a statement. Two military guards were injured by a "neo-paralysing spray" used by the Russian while resisting arrest, it said.

Daughter of 'Putin's brain' dies in Moscow car explosion: Reports

Darya Dugin, the 29-year-old daughter of Russian philosopher Aleksandr Dugin, is believed to have been killed in a car explosion in Moscow, reports claimed. Aleksandr Dugin is known as 'Putin's brain' and has been the man behind Russia's military operations in Ukraine, as was in Crimea. His daughter Darya, a journalist, also supported Moscow's attack on Ukraine.

According to Russian media, the father-daughter duo were scheduled to travel back from an event on Saturday evening in the same car but Aleksandr made a last-minute change and travelled in a separate car. Whether the target of the attack was 'Putin's brain' is not yet confirmed, BBC reported.