International Affairs

China expects a key announcement on vaccines for Sri Lanka during the next few days.

WASHINGTON - Israel’s air and artillery assaults against Palestinian militants will “continue as long as needed,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday.

PARIS - After dark months struggling with the coronavirus pandemic, Europe is finally hitting its stride, with vaccinations and economies picking up, countries emerging from lockdowns, and even opening their borders to foreign tourists.

The British government is hoping to vaccinate up to a million people a day in a bid to keep the country on track for a gradual relaxation of coronavirus pandemic restrictions.

චීනයෙන් ගෙන්වන ,අමුද්‍රව්‍යවල මිල ඉහළයාම හේතුවෙන් කොරෝනා පාලනයට යොදාගන්නා ඖෂධ නිෂ්පාදනයට බාධා පැමිණ ඇතැයි වාර්තා වේ.

BANGKOK - Thailand recorded its highest number of coronavirus infections Thursday since the pandemic began after Bangkok prisons were found riddled with COVID-19, threatening an extension of a partial lockdown of the country that is hammering the economy.

VATICAN CITY - The people of Myanmar must not despair in the face of evil or allow themselves to be divided, Pope Francis said on Sunday at a special Mass for the Myanmar community in Italy.

මෙරට ජනතාවට දෙවන මාත්‍රාව ලෙස ඔක්ස්ෆර්ඩ් ඇස්ට්‍රාසෙනිකා එන්නත ලබාදීම සඳහා එන්නත් සොයා ගැනීමේ කටයුතු ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජය තවදුරටත් සිදුකරමින් තිබෙනවා. ඒ අනුව ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට හිග වී ඇති ඔක්ස්ෆර්ඩ් ඇස්ට්‍රාසෙනිකා එන්නත් මාත්‍රා ප්‍රමාණය මෙරටට ලබාගත හැකිද යන්න සම්බන්ධයෙන් අවසන් තීරණය අදින් පසුව ලැබීමට නියමිතයි. ඒ, රටවල් කිහිපයක් සමග සිදුකළ සාකච්ඡාවල ප්‍රතිපල ලැබීමට නියමිත බැවින්.

Ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha attended the inauguration ceremony of Admiral John Aquilino as the Commander of the Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), presided over by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, last weekend.

The Maldives Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued an advisory for Maldivians traveling to Sri Lanka, as the country now requires all in-bound travelers to complete a 14-day quarantine at a location of the Sri Lankan government’s choosing, Raajje TV reported.

The World Health Organization Friday questioned wealthy nations moving to vaccinate low-risk groups, such as children, against COVID-19, while some poor and middle-income countries do not have enough vaccine for health care workers.

The leaders of independent panel charged with examining the cause and response of the COVID-19 pandemic Wednesday called for a better, more cooperative and transparent global system for dealing with future worldwide health emergencies.

All Sri Lankans residing and working in Israel have been advised to be vigilant and to avoid large gatherings and unnecessary travelling considering the growing tensions due to the riots and clashes between Israel and Palestine in the Gaza Strip, Sri Lankan embassy in Tel Aviv announced.

The World Health Organization appealed to wealthy countries Friday to scrap plans to vaccinate young people with COVID-19 vaccine in favor of donating it to poorer countries.  

A day after declaring the COVID-19 variant first detected in India as one of global concern, the World Health Organization announced Wednesday that the variant has spread to 49 countries.

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - An explosion inside a mosque on the outskirts of the Afghan capital, Kabul, killed at least 12 people during Friday prayers as worshippers gathered for the Eid al-Fitr holiday during a cease-fire.

MALE (AFP): Rich Indians can no longer escape their country’s raging pandemic by holidaying in the Maldives, after the island paradise said on Wednesday it would ban travel from South Asia as it battles a surge in COVID-19 infections.

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්‍ෂ මහතා සහ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ චීන තානාපතිවරයා අතර හමුවක් මේ වනවිට පැවැත්වෙනවා.