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President returns to the island concluding State visit to the Maldives
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake returned to the island on Wednesday (30) night, successfully concluding his state visit to the Maldives.
The President undertook this state visit at the invitation of Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, President of the Maldives.
During this state visit, President Dissanayake held extensive discussions with President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, as well as with the Cabinet Ministers and high-ranking state officials of the Maldives, on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual importance.
Two key agreements were exchanged during the visit were a Mutual Legal Assistance Agreement between Sri Lanka and the Maldives and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Foreign Service Institute of Maldives (FOSIM) and the Bandaranaike International Diplomatic Training Institute of Sri Lanka (BIDTI).
President Muizzu also hosted a special state banquet in honour of President Dissanayake at the ‘Kurumba Maldives’ Resort.
To mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations, President Dissanayake planted a sapling at Sultan Park in Male.
The President also addressed the Business Forum jointly organized by the Sri Lanka High Commission in the Maldives and the Sri Lanka–Maldives Business Council of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, as well as a gathering of Sri Lankan expatriate community, organized by the Sri Lanka High Commission.
President Dissanayake highlighted the significance of further strengthening the enduring friendship and diverse collaboration that have evolved over the last sixty years, founded on political trust and robust connections between people.
Both countries expressed their mutual commitment to further strengthen and expand their close friendship and cooperation.
The President was accompanied on this visit by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath, along with several senior government officials.
Latest News
Over 1,500 flights cancelled as winter storm Devin hits US holiday travel
Thousands of flights have been cancelled and delayed in the United States due to winter storm Devin, airline monitoring website FlightAware reports, dealing a blow to air travel during peak holiday time.
A total of 1,581 flights “within, into or out of the” US were cancelled and 6,883 delayed as of 4pm US Eastern Time (21:00 GMT) on Friday, according to FlightAware, which describes itself as the world’s largest flight tracking data company.
The delays and cancellations came as the US National Weather Service warned of winter storm Devin causing “hazardous travel conditions” and heavy snow forecast across parts of the Midwest and northeast.
More than 40 million Americans were under winter storm warnings or weather advisories on Friday, plus another 30 million under flood or storm advisories in California, where a so-called atmospheric river has brought a deluge of rain.
New York City, the largest US city, was bracing for up to 250mm (10 inches) of snow overnight on Friday, the most expected in four years. Temperatures were forecast to drop into the weekend when an Arctic blast is expected to swoop down from Canada.
New York’s John F Kennedy airport, Newark Liberty international airport and LaGuardia airport warned travellers of potential delays or cancellations. More than half of the flight cancellations and delays took place at these three airports, according to FlightAware.
[Aljazeera]
Foreign News
Thailand and Cambodia agree on ceasefire to end weeks of deadly fighting
Thailand and Cambodia said they have signed a ceasefire agreement to end weeks of fierce fighting along their border that has killed more than 100 people and displaced more than half a million civilians in both countries.
“Both sides agree to an immediate ceasefire after the time of signature of this Joint Statement,” the Thai and Cambodian defence ministers said in a statement on Saturday.
“Both sides agree to maintain current troop deployments without further movement,” the ministers said.
The ceasefire took effect at noon local time (05:00 GMT) on Saturday [27] and extends to “all types of weapons” and “attacks on civilians, civilian objects and infrastructures, and military objectives of either side, in all cases and all areas”.
Al Jazeera’s Assed Baig, reporting from the Cambodian border city of Poipet, said the “guns seem to have fallen silent” as both sides adhered to the truce.
“But I must tell you, right up until the point of that ceasefire being implemented, there was some intense firing going on… really, really intense – right up until that moment. And it kind of gives you the idea of how fragile this actually is,” Baig said.
“That doesn’t instil a great deal of confidence in people here who want to return home and will be watching if this ceasefire will hold,” he said.
[Aljazeera]
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