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The Sri Lankan High Commissioner pays a courtesy call on the Vice President

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The High Commissioner of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka to the Republic of Maldives, H.E. Adam Maznavee Jaufer Sadiq, paid a courtesy call on Monday on H.E. Vice President Faisal Naseem. The meeting was held at the President’s Office.

Speaking at the meeting, the Vice President emphasised the strong relations between the two countries and thanked the Sri Lankan government for continuous support for the Maldives. He also emphasised the strong bonds between the people of the Maldives and Sri Lanka.

The Vice President and the High Commissioner also spoke about ways to further expand relations between the two countries, especially in investment and trade. The Vice President also expressed hope that the Sri Lankan government would consider easing visa arrangements for Maldivian students, which he noted would provide significant relief for Maldivian families residing in Sri Lanka.

Other topics discussed at the meeting included expanding the fisheries cooperation between the two countries and supporting Sri Lanka to alleviate its economic challenges. The Vice President and the High Commissioner also discussed the exchange of technical and professional expertise between the two countries.

At the meeting, the Vice President also underlined that one of the most cherished goals achieved at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) was the commitment to establish a “loss and damage” fund to compensate vulnerable developing countries for the losses and damages they face as a result of climate impacts. He also shed light on the efforts by the Maldives on global forums to raise awareness about the financial strain and climate vulnerabilities faced by Small Island Developing States (SIDS). He added that the fund would benefit the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and other climate-vulnerable countries.

The Maldives and Sri Lanka established diplomatic relations in 1965.

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UN court orders Israel to stop Gaza famine, Hamas urges ceasefire

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The International Court of Justice on Thursday unanimously ordered Israel to take all necessary and effective action to ensure basic food supplies to Gaza’s Palestinian population and stop the spread of famine.

The ruling is an addition to a January 26 verdict, in which the ICJ ordered Israel to take all possible measures to prevent acts of genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, to halt incitement against Palestinians as a group, to preserve evidence and to take immediate measures to ensure humanitarian aid.

The order from the ICJ came as Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters battled in close combat around Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital, where the armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad said they attacked Israeli soldiers and tanks with rockets and mortar fire.

Judges at the court said the people in the coastal enclave face worsening conditions.

“The court observes that Palestinians in Gaza are no longer facing only a risk of famine, but that famine is setting in,” the judges said in their order.

The new measures were requested by South Africa as part of its case that accuses Israel of state-led genocide in Gaza.

Senior Hamas official Basem Naim said the ruling did not go far enough and Israel must be ordered to end its military offensive to halt the suffering.

“We welcome any new demands to end this humanitarian tragedy in Gaza and especially in the northern Gaza Strip, but we hoped the court ordered a ceasefire as an absolute solution to all the miseries our people in Gaza are living through,” Naim told Reuters.

There was no immediate comment from Israel’s Foreign Ministry on the ICJ ruling. Israel has said it is making efforts to expand access for humanitarian groups to Gaza overland, through air drops and by ship.

Shortages of food, water and medicine

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Thursday that more than 1.1 million people in the Gaza Strip are facing “an extreme level of food insecurity,” as Israel prevents aid from entering the enclave.

The statement, posted on social media platform X, emphasized the need to distribute sufficient food aid via land routes to save lives, especially in the northern areas of the Strip.

However, “access impediments persist, and time is running out,” the OCHA said.

Meanwhile, medical sources announced on Thursday the death of a child in the northern Gazan city of Beit Lahia due to famine and lack of available treatment, raising the number of deaths due to malnutrition in the enclave to 30.

The Israeli army said it continued to operate around the Al-Shifa Hospital complex in Gaza City after storming it more than a week ago. Its forces had killed around 200 gunmen since the start of the operation, “while preventing harm to civilians, patients, medical teams and medical equipment,” it said.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said wounded people and patients were being held inside an administration building in Al-Shifa Hospital complex, which the Israeli army has stormed more than a week ago. Five patients had died since the Israeli raid began due to shortages of food, water and medical care, the Hamas-run ministry said.

Al-Shifa, the Gaza Strip’s biggest hospital before the Israel-Hamas conflict, had been one of the few healthcare facilities even partially operational in north Gaza before the latest fighting. It had also been housing displaced civilians.

Source(s): CGTN

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Russia says NATO preparing for potential conflict in Eastern Europe, Black Sea

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NATO’s activities in Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region are focused on preparing its allies for a potential confrontation with Russia, said the Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday, citing militarization activities in the region.

The Romanian authorities have previously announced their readiness to invest 2.5 billion euros ($2.7 billion) into modernizing the Mihail Kogalniceanu air base in Constanta County. The base is set to expand into a military town capable of accommodating the families of 10,000 military personnel, with plans to create urban infrastructure, said the ministry.

Construction has begun in the southern part of the future military town, where access roads and a robust power grid are currently being built. The modernization of the air base could make it the largest North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) base in Europe by 2040. The U.S. military has been using this base since 1999, it said.

“The expansion of the Romanian air base is yet another proof that the North Atlantic bloc continues its unrestrained militarization of Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region,” said the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The ministry added that “the forced enhancement of coalition capabilities is also taking place in Poland and the Baltics.”

“Such activity by NATO members is provocative, exacerbates military tension along our borders and creates additional security threats to Russia. All this is aimed at preparing the bloc’s allies for a potential collision with our country,” the ministry said.

“We will monitor the developments in Romania, assess the emerging risks and take them into account during military planning,” the ministry added.

Source(s): CGTN

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Usable reserve will exceed USD 100 million by the end of this month: MMA

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Immigration Controller Mohamed Shamman, on Thursday, revealed over 900 undocumented immigrants have been deported as part of efforts to decrease the number of foreigners living in the Maldives unlawfully.

Speaking at a joint press conference held by Local Governance Ministry, Home Ministry, Maldives Immigration and Department of National Registration on Thursday – Shamman said two to three major operations are conducted every week to identify undocumented immigrants.

“We are removing them based on the capacity available at the detention centre. After their removal – the deportation of such individuals from the Maldives is proceeding at a fast pace,” he said.

Speaking further, Shamman underscored that there is a large number of foreigners involved in black market sale of US dollars in the Maldives – which he detailed is carried out near ATMs and through Viber groups.

Seven foreigners unlawfully selling US dollars in the black market were detained on March 15th in an operation carried out by Immigration’s Risk Intelligence and Legal Affairs and Enforcement and Compliance Division.

Shamman noted that some of these detainees have been deported already. Underscoring that some of the detainees lacked the necessary documentation – he said the documents have been requested from the embassy.

“As soon as the documents are received, they will be deported,” he added.

Source(s): sun.mv

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