India's Foreign Minister holds bilateral meetings ahead of G20 meet

India's Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar on Tuesday held a series of bilateral meetings with his counterparts from countries including Russia, Mexico and Turkey on the eve of the key G20 foreign ministers meeting in New Delhi. The year-long Russian war in Ukraine and its impact is likely to take centrestage during the crucial summit. School students in the illegally-occupied Pakistan-administered Kashmir held a protest march against the inconsistencies in their textbooks and syllabus. They complained it is a move to make them unable to compete with students in other regions of Pakistan.Thousands of workers in Sri Lanka on Wednesday staged a one-day strike in the capital Colombo to protest against massive increases of taxes and electricity rates by the government. Most banks across the country were closed for the day, and parts of a hospital were closed as other unions participated in the strike. Local media reported that protesters had declared a black week from February 22,where employees of public and private institutions reported for duty in black attire, wore black armbands, and black flags and banners were hoisted at the premises of several government buildings.The island nation had raised electricity prices by 66% on February 16, in a move the government hopes will persuade the IMF to provide a bailout for its crisis-stricken economy. It also introduced new income taxes in January for professionals, ranging from 12.5% to more than 36%.