International Affairs
GENEVA - More than 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been disbursed in 212 countries. However, the World Health Organization said the distribution has been far from equal. It notes 75% of doses have gone to just 10 countries, with three countries — China, the United States and India — accounting for 60% of all doses.
The Foreign Ministry said that it has taken note of Resolution No. H.RES.413 introduced in the United States House of Representatives by Representative Ms. Deborah K. Ross on 18 May 2021, along with four other Representatives, namely Bill Johnson, Danny K. Davis, Brad Sherman and Ms. Kathy Manning, who had submitted the said Resolution.
Reuters: The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday it has approved a COVID-19 vaccine made by drugmaker Sinovac Biotech (SVA.O) for emergency use listing, paving the way for a second Chinese shot to be used in poor countries.
කොරෝනා වෛරසයේ ව්යාප්තිය හමුවේ බ්රිතාන්යය මගින් ශ්රී ලංකාව රතු ලැයිස්තුවට ඇතුළත් කර තිබෙනවා. ඒ අනුව බ්රිතාන්යය රජය විසින් එරට පුරවැසියන්ට දැනුම් දී ඇත්තේ අත්යවශ්ය කරුණකට හැර ශ්රී ලංකාවේ සංචාරය නොකරන ලෙසයි.
A former member of a UN expert panel on Sri Lanka, Yasmin Sooka, has questioned the appointment of former Inspector General of Police (IGP), Jayantha Wickremaratne to the Office on Missing Persons (OMP).
Member nations of the World Health Organization have approved a plan to negotiate the terms of an international pandemic response treaty.
The owners of Singapore-registered MV X-press Pearl which caught fire off Colombo Port have agreed to make an interim payment to Sri Lanka for the damage done to the marine environment of the country, an official said.
Thomson Reuters Foundation: Taller buildings are key to enhancing quality of life as the world’s urban population grows, but cities should not become obsessed with skyscrapers and must prepare for horizontal expansion as newcomers arrive, the World Bank said yesterday.
In what appeared to be another radical step in global vaccine development, Russia informed Sri Lanka that its Sputnik V could even be used as a single shot vaccine following new clinical data about the development of 70-80 percent efficacy level after the first jab, an official said.
Sri Lanka is among the Asian countries the United States of America has allocated approximately seven million vaccine doses as per the strategy for global vaccine sharing unveiled by the Biden-Harris administration yesterday.
Following the approval of the Colombo Port City Commission Bill by Parliament, China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) has kicked off a global blitz of the venture. It took to the famous Times Square in New York City to advertise the project over the weekend and spread the message “Port City Colombo, Sri Lanka. The gateway to South Asia.”
The White House celebrated Vesak for the first time on Tuesday (25 May). The ceremony was attended by Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff, husband of Vice President Kamala Harris.
The Biden administration on Thursday announced it will share 80 million excess doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of June, with specific plans on sharing the first 25 million doses to areas in need.
The Bangladesh Prime Minister’s Special Assistant Shah Ali Farhad has confirmed his country’s decision to buy 15 million doses of Sinopharm from China at $ 10 each in a full contract worth $ 150 million.
The Australian Government handed over 6,300 kilograms of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to Sri Lanka today.
Five million doses of the Pfizer vaccine will be imported to the country this year, state minister Channa Jayasumana says.
In recognition of his extraordinary contribution to combatting harmful tobacco use, Dr. Palitha Abeykoon, Former Chairman of the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol in Sri Lanka, International Public Health Expert, and WHO Director-General Special Envoy for COVID-19 Preparedness and Response for SEAR, was named one of the South East Asian region’s WHO World No Tobacco Day 2021 awardees.
Page 226 of 374