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New Delhi: India has reported 109 new covid cases in the last 24 hours, with active cases declining to 1,781, the union health ministry data on Thursday showed. ' The total number of covid cases has reached 4.47 crore, and covid related deaths stood at 530,748 since the onset of covid pandemic. Covid cases are declining across the country with daily and weekly positivity recorded at 0.08%.

Under the Covid vaccination drive, more than 220.56 crore vaccine doses have been administered to people across the country so far. In the last 24 hours, around 1,60,769 vaccine doses were administered New Delhi India has reported 128 new Covid cases in the last 24 hours, according to the union health ministry data. The total number of Covid cases reached 4.47 crore, with 530,745 Covid-related deaths since the onset of the Covid pandemic.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning has retaliated to comments made by US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland during her visit to Sri Lanka that terms extended by China to Sri Lanka for getting IMF debt relief are not enough."Rather than jabbing fingers at China’s close cooperation with Sri Lanka, the US might as well show some sincerity and actually do something to help Sri Lanka weather through the current difficulties," Ning said responding to journalists at a regular press conference on Thursday (02)."What was said by the US side does not reflect the truth. The Export-Import Bank of China has already provided Sri Lanka with the letter to express support for its debt sustainability.

(Reuters) – The Paris Club of creditor nations is ready to provide financing assurances to Sri Lanka, a key step needed to unlock a $2.9 billion bailout by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.The informal group of bilateral lenders is set to "soon" announce its support to the crisis-hit nation on a debt overhaul, said one of the people, who asked not to be named because talks are private.The Asian island nation, which is grappling with soaring inflation, a recession and currency depreciation, entered into a staff level agreement with the IMF last September.But it needs financing assurances from key bilateral lenders before the fund's executive board approves the programme.Sri Lanka's public debt stood at 122% of GDP, of which 70% is denominated in foreign currency, according to data in a country presentation to investors in November.China and India, both non-Paris Club members, are the top bilateral lenders. "Paris Club assurance is not reliant on China," said the source.Another source said the informal group is currently reaching out to other non-Paris Club besides China on financing assurances, but did not provide any further details.India previously committed to help ease the debt burden of neighbour Sri Lanka as part of the IMF programme, and China's Eximbank offered a two-year moratorium in a letter sent to the island nation in January.While the IMF has not yet provided any guidance on where the lender stands regarding China's assurances to Sri Lanka, a U.S.

 – News 1st's Naveksha Gunasekera contributed to this report.

SHAZHOU (CHINA) : For years, thousands of tourists flocked almost daily to this village in China’s southern Hunan province—an early stronghold of the Communist forces during the country’s civil war—to steep themselves in revolutionary history. Pandemic-related travel restrictions and lockdowns over the past 12 months slowed that flow to a trickle.

COLOMBO (News 1st) : The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka has filed a Contempt of Court case with the Supreme Court against the Secretary to the Ministry of Power and Energy, Chairman of the Ceylon Electricity Board, and the Chairman of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation.The Human Rights Commission (HRC) has determined that the Secretary to the Ministry of Power and Energy, Chairman of the Ceylon Electricity Board, and the Chairman of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation have failed to abide by the settlement arrived at before the commission with regard to the continuous supply of power during the period pertaining to the Advanced Level Examination commencing from 23rd January to 17th February 2023.The HRC notes that the Chairman of the Ceylon Electricity Board is guilty of the offence of contempt under the provisions of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka Act No.

Diversification, not decoupling  For now, US government figures through to November show total US-China trade could approach or hit a high in 2022. "Going forward, you're going to see more diversification," as opposed to a complete cut-off of shipments from China, said Sweet. Auto manufacturers, for example, experienced supply chain problems during the pandemic.

World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday notified that in the past week, almost 40,000 deaths were reported, more than half were reported from China alone.  WHO chief notified, in total, over the past 8 weeks, over 170 thousand deaths have been recorded, actual numbers are higher.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – Sri Lanka's Human Rights Commission has received a letter bearing the signature of the Managing Director of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation stating that the present financial situation at the CPC could lead to a disruption of operations at the country's oil refinery.The letter noted that the CPC is heading towards a situation where future fuel imports will be in jeopardy as fuel is continuously provided on credit.The letter from the CPC Managing Director warns that this could lead to another fuel crisis in the country.The letter bearing the signature of the Managing Director of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation states that it is paramount to ensure the continuous operation of the country's oil refinery when providing a continuous supply of fuel.It noted that though the CPC can provide furnace oil and naphtha to the Ceylon Electricity Board at a cost that is less than what is incurred when importing fuel, an issue is likely to arise in importing new stocks of crude oil and refined petroleum products as the existing stocks are provided on credit, despite the CEB still not settling its dues. The Managing Director of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation states that several rounds of discussions revealed that the Ceylon Electricity Board does not have the funds to procure the fuel.It notes that despite the difficulties experienced, as the supply of electricity is a national requirement, fuel worth Rs.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – Sri Lanka's Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe is hopeful that assurances from creditors can be obtained within the 1st quarter of the year.Speaking at the Monetary Policy Review No. 01 of 2023, the governor said that he is hopeful that the International Monetary Fund would be able to receive necessary financing assurances from all the creditors in a very short period."India has clearly given the financial assurances which are acceptable to the International Monetary Fund.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – The National Election Commission in a letter to the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has inquired over the possibility of making available the facilities required for the upcoming election.The letters inquired the Central Banks' position to provide US dollars for the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation and the Ceylon Electricity Board to supply electricity and fuel for the election.At the recent meeting with the National Election Commission, the CPC and the CEB had pointed out that they are short of US Dollars to ensure a continuous supply of electricity.They had requested the National Election Commission to inquire from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka on supporting them to avert a dollar crisis.

(Reuters) – The Export-Import Bank of China has offered Sri Lanka a two-year moratorium on its debt and said it will support the country's efforts to secure a $2.9 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, according to a letter reviewed by Reuters.India wrote to the IMF earlier this month, saying it would commit to supporting Sri Lanka with financing and debt relief, but the island nation also needs the backing of China in order to reach a final agreement with the global lender.China's Jan.

 (Reuters) – Sri Lanka is committed to meeting all its debt repayments and is hoping to complete debt restructuring negotiations in the next six months, the country's central bank chief P. Nandalal Weerasinghe said on Tuesday."There has been good progress this month with India already pledging financing assurances.

(Reuters) – India has committed to help ease the debt burden of its crisis-stricken neighbor Sri Lanka as part of a possible International Monetary Fund-supported program, the IMF said on Monday.The island nation of 22 million people has grappled with challenges during the past year ranging from a shortage of foreign currency to runaway inflation and a steep recession – the worst such crisis since independence from Britain in 1948.Reuters reported last week that India had told the IMF it strongly supports Sri Lanka's debt restructuring plan as the island seeks a $2.9 billion loan from the global lender, according to a letter."Sri Lanka is engaged with other official bilateral creditors to obtain similar assurances," an IMF spokesperson said in a statement on Monday."As soon as adequate assurances are obtained and remaining requirements are met, including by the Sri Lankan authorities, a Fund-supported program for Sri Lanka can be presented to the IMF's Executive Board for approval that would unlock much needed financing."Sri Lanka requires the backing of China and India – its biggest bilateral lenders – to reach a final agreement with the IMF that is essential to help the country emerge from its worst financial crisis in seven decades.

People in one travel hotspot of Spain are being asked to wear face masks to help reduce the spread of new Covid-19 variants.

Holidaymakers who plan to go abroad this year will need to keep up to date about the rules and laws for the destination that they will be visiting.

New Delhi: India reported 94 new covid cases and two deaths in the last 24 hours, the union health ministry data on Monday showed New Delhi: India reported 94 new covid cases and two deaths in the last 24 hours, the union health ministry data on Monday showed. While active cases have declined to 1,934, the country’s total covid cases have reached 4.47 crore so far. The overall death toll stood at 5,30,735 since the onset of covid pandemic.

China said on Saturday that the Covid outbreak has infected 80 per cent of its population The possibility of a big COVID-19 rebound in China over the next two or three months is remote as 80% of people have been infected, a prominent government scientist said on Saturday. The mass movement of people during the ongoing Lunar New Year holiday period may spread the pandemic, boosting infections in some areas, but a second COVID wave is unlikely in the near term, Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said on the Weibo social media platform.

'Gloomy emotions'  China's leader has expressed similar concern about the impact of the outbreak on rural areas during the holidays. "Xi said he was primarily concerned about rural areas and rural residents after the country adjusted its Covid-19 response measures," state news agency Xinhua reported Wednesday -- a reference to the relaxing of China's strict virus curbs last month. He "stressed efforts to improve medical care for those most vulnerable to the virus in rural areas", Xinhua said.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – India has told the International Monetary Fund that it confirms its strong support for Sri Lanka's prospective EFF-supported program.According to a letter seen by News 1st from Indian authorities to IMF Chief Kristalina Georgieva, India had noted it will commit to supporting Sri Lanka with financing/ debt relief consistent with restoring Sri Lanka's public debt sustainability under the IMF -supported program and ensuring that the program is fully financed as projected by IMF staff."In this context, we commit to continuing negotiations with the Sri Lankan government along with the Paris Club on a medium-to-long term debt treatment through maturity extension and interest rate reduction or any other financial operations that would deliver similar financing/ debt relief," noted the letter.According to this letter seen by News 1st, India says that the financing/ debt relief provided by Export-Import Bank of India will be consistent with restoring debt sustainability under the IMF-supported program."We look forward to continuing cordial and in-depth discussions with the Sri Lankan authorities, IMF and the Paris Club with a view to finalizing the specifics of this financingj debt relief in the coming weeks," the letter added. However, it had noted that the Sri Lankan authorities are expected to seek equitable debt treatments from all commercial creditors and other official bilateral creditors, as well as adequate financing contributions from the multilateral development banks. Sri Lanka requires the backing of China and India – its biggest bilateral lenders – to reach a final agreement with the IMF on the $2.9 billion loan that is essential to help the country emerge from its worst financial crisis in seven

COLOMBO (News 1st) – China has expressed opposition over the invitation extended to the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. Chargé d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka Hu Wei recently called on the Mahanayake Thero of the Malwathu chapter of Siam Nikaya, Most Venerable Thibbatuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Theroand stated that the government and people of China including in the Tibet Autonomous Region strongly oppose any foreign country to receive the Dalai Lama in any name.A statement from the Chinese Embassy on twitter noted that this is because the 14th Dalai Lama is absolutely not a "simple monk" as he self-claimed, but the head of the feudal serfdom and the theocracy in Tibet prior to 1951, a political exile disguised as a religious figure who has long been engaging in anti-China separatist activities and attempting to split Tibet from China.Chargé d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka Hu Wei has emphasized that China and Sri Lanka have been firmly supporting each other on issues concerning each other's core interests, including the Tibet related issue. He had noted that both sides especially the Buddhist communities must prevent a sneaky visit of the Dalai Lama to the island to promote "Tibetan independence" and safeguard the China-Sri Lanka historical relations from being damaged.Sri Lankan Buddhist monks recently invited exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama to make his first visit to the island

The Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka has responded to the comments made by US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung in a recent interview with the BBC.The Chinese Embassy in a statement said that their US colleague should commit to self-examination rather than play the blame game.Full Statement: “China, China, China!”, our US colleague starts chanting this infamous mantra and blaming China as a “spoiler” to the island’s negotiation with the IMF during her recent interview with a UK television program on Sri Lanka’s debt issue. Before her baseless accusing and lecturing, our US colleague should have at least asked herself: Who is the single largest shareholder of the IMF with a veto power over major policy decisions? Who is keeping printing US dollar, with more than $3 trillion in 2020 alone? Who are those private creditors owning 40% of Sri Lanka’s total external debt stock with the highest interest rates? Who sued Sri Lanka in its federal court immediately after the island’s default?The public may also like to know how the US have walked the talk to help the Sri Lankan people when they have already received 10000 MT of rice, 9000 Liters of diesel, 5 billion LKR of medicines and 3 million fabric meters of school uniform materials gifted by China?  They may also question what are the political pre-conditions of the US Aid, while being assured by China’s “No strings attached” commitment and practice.Isn’t it hypocrisy at its finest for our US colleague to play the blame game instead of a self-examination? After all, why didn’t the US take decisive actions in the IMF for a more comfortable solution for Sri Lanka?or extend grant to the island with the rocket amount of US dollars they print every year, instead of sowing discord

COLOMBO (News 1st) – The visiting high level delegation of China’s Communist Party (CPC) led by Vice Minister Chen Zhou told Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena that Sri Lanka would have “some good news soon” with regard to debt restructuring.The visiting high level delegation of China’s Communist Party (CPC) led by Vice Minister Chen Zhou, Head of the CPC International Department assured Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena that China would stand by Sri Lanka in the current economic crisis.He told the Prime Minister that Sri Lanka is a very special friend of China and they are considering how China could assist Sri Lanka to get over the current crisis.Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena had noted that Sri Lanka was looking forward to China’s support in restructuring its debt at the moment and further strengthening its economy in the near future.The Prime Minister's Media Division said that Vice Minister Chen Zhou had assured China’s assistance to Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring.Vice Minister Zhou had noted that Several Ministries and financial institutes of China are working closely on this issue for quite a long period, and he is confident that Sri Lanka will have good news very soon.

COLOMBO (News 1st) –  A high-level delegation of the Communist Party of China (CPC), led by International Department Vice Minister Chen Zhou called on Former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo on Sunday (15).Former Minister Pavithra Vanniarachchi, MP Namal Rajapaksa, State Minister Tharaka Balasuriya, and SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam attended the meeting as well.A high-level delegation of the Communist Party of China (CPC), led by International Department Vice Minister Chen Zhou landed at the Bandranaike International Airport, on Saturday (Jan.

The World Health Organization expressed appreciation for China’s sharing of Covid-19 data after Beijing reported around 60,000 Covid-related deaths over the past month, providing the first major accounting of the death toll since the country lifted pandemic restrictions.

Edited excerpts: There is a lot of talk of a possible fourth wave as China is seeing sudden surge. What is the situation in India? We have observed during the last six weeks, the covid-19 cases have not increased. In fact, as a result of enhanced testing from the middle of December, the number of testing is now between 200,000 to 250,000 per day.

BEIJING : The World Health Organization has appealed to China to keep releasing information about its wave of COVID-19 infections after the government announced nearly 60,000 deaths since early December following weeks of complaints it was failing to tell the world what was happening. The announcement Saturday was the first official death toll since the ruling Communist Party abruptly dropped anti-virus restrictions in December despite a surge in infections that flooded hospitals. That left the WHO and other governments appealing for information, while the United States, South Korea and others imposed controls on visitors from China.

₹2,400 per tonne from the previous week to align with global prices, while India rebar prices rose by ₹1,800 a tonne. However domestic HRC prices are at modest discounts to Chinese imports, but at a premium to the imports from South Korea and Japan.

BBC – Sri Lanka's central bank has urged China and India to agree a write-down of their loans as soon as possible, reported the BBC on Thursday (12).The crisis-hit Indian Ocean state defaulted on its debt repayments and negotiated a $2.9bn (£2.4bn) bailout.But the International Monetary Fund will not release the cash until China and India first agree to reduce Sri Lanka's billions of dollars of debt.The governor of Sri Lanka's central bank told BBC Newsnight it was in the interest of all parties to act quickly.Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe said: "The sooner they give us finance assurances that would be better for both [sides], as a creditor, as a debtor.""That will help us to start repaying their obligations," he added."We don't want to be in this kind of situation, not meeting the obligations, for too long.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe held talks with the Chairman of the Export-Import Bank of China Wu Fulin on Tuesday (10).During the video conference both sides exchanged views on bilateral cooperation and Sri Lanka's current debt issues, said the Chinese Embassy in Colombo.The two sides agreed to further strengthen exchanges and collaboration on the resolution of Sri Lanka's debt issues, and help the island's economic recovery and sustainable development

Over 15 lakh passengers have been traced & out of them over 200 passengers have been detected as Covid positive. Owing to the sudden COVID surge globally, Centre is tracing all the airports to ensure that no new variant enters the country.

Given the fresh surge in infections some countries, RT-PCR tests have been made mandatory for flyers coming from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand from 1 January NEW DELHI: India reported 170 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, the Union health ministry said in an update on Monday. The country’s active caseload has declined to 2,371, with total reported cases since the pandemic hit in 2020 stands at 4,46,80,094 and death toll at 530,721. Active cases comprise 0.01% of the total infections, and the recovery rate has risen to 98.80%, according to the health ministry.

(With inputs from agencies)  

Here’s a list of the new measures different regions are imposing: Hong Kong People traveling from the mainland will need to show a 48-hour negative PCR test result. Traveling via land borders is capped at 50,000 people per day while some land control points, including Lo Wu, will stay shut initially, Chief Executive John Lee said at a briefing Thursday. Thailand Thailand is mandating Covid insurance for foreign visitors from countries that require negative PCR test results before returning home.

Terrifying images from China appear to show families burning the bodies of loved ones as Covid infections overwhelm hospitals in the country.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday that China's recent Covid-19 outbreak is predominantly led by the Omicron subvariants BA.5.2 and BF.7, which together account for 97.5% of all local infections, while urging Beijing to deliver rapid and regular data on hospitalisation and death.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has instructed the Chairmen of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and SriLankan Airlines to submit a report on awarding bonuses to employees, despite making losses.The President has requested their reasons to justify the payment of bonuses despite the Ministry of Finance having informed not to pay bonuses to loss-making corporations and boards.The President's Secretary Saman Ekanayake said that the chairpermen of the two institutions are expected to submit their justifications.The President's Secretary also said that the President received information that the awarding bonuses to employees was done in violation of the Finance Ministry circular.The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation has paid two months’ salaries to its employees as bonuses and SriLankan Airlines has paid 100,000 rupees as bonus to each of its employees as bonus for 2022.

India on Tuesday reported 134 new coronavirus infections and no deaths in the last 24 hours, as per the health ministry. New Delhi: Protected by herd immunity and early vaccination, Indians appear to have escaped the havoc being wreaked by the BF.7 Omicron sub-variant in China and some other countries. At the moment, the most prevalent variant in India is the XBB, accounting for 63.2% of cases, according to the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics (INSACOG).

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

On Friday, Covid guidelines were revised by the Centre for passengers arriving on international flights. Negative RT-PCR tests will be mandatory from January 1 to enter India from countries that are seeing massive COVID surge currently. These countries include China, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Republic of Korea, Thailand and Japan.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

TESTS Not all countries are imposing tests. European Union members, in particular, are divided. Over the past days, officials in France, Germany and Portugal have said they saw no need for now for new restrictions, while Austria has stressed the economic benefits of Chinese tourists' return to Europe.

The civil aviation ministry has asked the airlines to modify check-in systems ahead of new Covid norms for travellers from China, 5 other countries The civil aviation ministry on Friday asked airlines to modify their check-in systems for international passengers coming into India as part of the revised Covid guidelines, which makes a negative Covid test report a must for travellers coming from China and five other countries from Sunday. The ministry's direction comes a day after the health ministry decided to make RT-PCR negative test reports compulsory for passengers coming on all international flights from six high-risk countries --China, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Republic of Korea, Thailand and Japan.

Indonesia has decided to scrap the mask mandate, ending the coronavirus pandemic restrictions Indonesia will do away with indoor mask mandates and remove the requirement to show proof of vaccination when entering buildings, becoming one of the last few countries to completely end Covid-19 restrictions.  The changes will take effect from Friday and decision was taken as almost all of Indonesia’s population had immunity against the virus, said President Joko Widodo, who is popularly known as Jokowi.   “We once failed in containing Covid, but now we are among the few countries that did not experience a pandemic wave in past 10 to 11 consecutive months," he told a media briefing in Jakarta.

BBC – A Myanmar military court has sentenced Aung San Suu Kyi to a further seven years in prison, taking her overall jail time to 33 years.The country's former democratically-elected leader has been under house arrest since a military ousted her government in a coup in February 2021.Since then she's faced 18 months of trials on 19 charges – which rights groups say are a sham.The UN Security Council called for her release last week.On Friday she was sentenced on the final five charges she faced. A court found her guilty of corruption because she had not followed regulations in renting a helicopter for a government minister.She had already been convicted of 14 different crimes including breaching Covid public safety rules, importing walkie-talkies and violating the official secrets act.Her trials this year have been set behind closed-doors where the public and media are barred access and her lawyers are also banned from speaking to journalists.