International Affairs

The United States and the European Union imposed sanctions on top officials in Myanmar who are linked to last month's military coup, as anti-coup protesters took to the streets again, despite the regime’s violent and increasingly deadly pushback.

පාකිස්තාන අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ඉම්රාන් ඛාන්ට කොවිඩ්-19 වෛරසය ආසාදනය වී තිබේ.

Xinhua: Anti-epidemic materials donated by the local governments of Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu have been handed over to the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) at an official ceremony.

KUALA LUMPUR - Scientists hunting the origins of the virus behind COVID-19 and clues for how to prevent the next pandemic say a growing body of evidence argues for expanding the search beyond China into Southeast Asia.

BANGKOK - Police in the Thai capital used water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets Saturday night to break up a rally by pro-democracy protesters calling for the release of detained activists, constitutional changes and reform of the nation's monarchy.

France, Germany and Italy resumed use Friday of a coronavirus vaccine made by AstraZeneca after health officials sought to allay concerns it might cause blood clots.

PARIS, AFP: The novel coronavirus has killed at least 2,710,382 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP at 1100 GMT on Sunday.

After two days of tense talks with his Chinese counterpart, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that despite their differences, there are places where the interests of the two nations intersect. On Saturday, China acknowledged as much, a sign of possible progress.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the continuing brutality of the Myanmar military, as at least eight anti-coup demonstrators were killed Friday in the central town of Aungban in eastern Shan state.

The resolution on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) will be taken up for a vote tomorrow, even as the Government stepped up efforts to shore up support internationally to defeat the move that will maintain international oversight on the island’s human rights for years to come.

බංග්ලාදේශයේ දෙදින රාජ්‍ය සංචාරයක නිරතවන අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතා අද(20) එරට අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ශේයික් හසීනා මහත්මිය සමග ද්විපාර්ශවික සාකච්ඡා පවත්වා තිබේ.

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa left for Bangladesh a short while ago on a two-day state visit, the Prime Minister media division said.

Germany will likely institute another lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus, which would make it the latest European country enacting fresh restrictions.

Sri Lanka ranked 129 out of 149 countries in the World Happiness Report 2021, released by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network on Friday.

Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena yesterday hit out at the resolution pending before the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Sri Lanka, calling it a political move by the core group of countries and not one put forward to assist the country in its efforts to address accountability and human rights-related issues.

ISLAMABAD - U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Sunday made his first visit to Afghanistan since taking up his post, as Washington considers whether to comply with a May 1 deadline for pulling out all troops from the country under a year-old deal it signed with the Taliban.

Army Commander and Chief of Defence Staff General L. H. S. C. Silva WWV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP yesterday called on Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa at GHQ.

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) director for Europe said Thursday that the COVID-19 situation in the continent has taken a step backward, with more people dying from the disease than at this time last year.