A bejeweled cannon and other art will head home to Sri Lanka from Netherlands museum
Sri Lanka's foreign minister says his country welcomes the Netherlands' plan to return a bejeweled ceremonial cannon and other colonial-era artifacts from the Netherlands and is working through how to preserve the items.
Sri Lankan court orders ex-leader to pay victims of bombings
Sri Lankaโs Supreme Court has ruled that inaction by the countryโs former president and four others led to Easter Sunday bomb attacks in 2019 that killed nearly 270 people and ordered them to pay compensation for violating the basic rights of the victims and their families.
The Latest: Gov. hopes to up number of Texans getting shots
Brian Kemp said all Georgians 16 and older will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Greg Abbott said Thursday that heโs hoping to increase the number of Texans getting COVID-19 vaccines after seeing a drop in people showing up for the shot. Thatโs a big jump from the roughly 1.8 million doses a week the state is currently getting. ___PHOENIX โ Arizona on Thursday reported 138 confirmed coronavirus cases, the smallest daily increase reported in more than six months. The U.K. says its vaccination program has given at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to more than half the adult population.
The Latest: Ireland reaches half million vaccinations
(AP Photo/Christophe Ena)LONDON โ Ireland has given out half a million coronavirus vaccinations about two months after the first inoculation. Evidence suggests this variant can spread more easily than most currently circulating strains of the coronavirus, health officials say. State health officials urge people to maintain precautions, particularly during spring break and Easter gatherings, as the state tries to ramp up vaccinations. Sri Lanka has so far received 1 million doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines manufactured in neighboring India, which donated half of the doses. The Missoulian reported Friday that in Missoula County, Granite Pharmacy has enough vaccine doses to vaccinate all 2,000 county teachers.
The Latest: San Diego zoo vaccinates 9 great apes for virus
(AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego Zoo has vaccinated nine great apes for the coronavirus after a troop of gorillas in its Safari Park became infected. AdThere have been no new community cases of the virus found in Auckland or elsewhere in New Zealand for the past five days. Ad___SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah will open up COVID-19 vaccine appointments to people ages 50 and older on Monday. ___JACKSON, Miss.-- People ages 50 and older in Mississippi are now eligible to receive the coronavirus vaccine, Gov. โ Arkansasโ highest court and the governor are at odds over whether judges, prosecutors and other court employees should be immediately eligible for the coronavirus vaccine.
The Latest: Nevada has 1st confirmed case of SAfrica variant
Wayne Pollard receives a COVID-19 vaccine at the Martin Luther King Senior Center, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021, in North Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)RENO, Nev. โ Nevada health officials have confirmed the stateโs first known case of a coronavirus variant that was originally identified in South Africa. AdNevada has also reported six known cases of a more contagious coronavirus variant that first originated in the United Kingdom. ___ALGIERS, Algeria โ President Abdelmadjid Tebboune says Algeria will start producing Russiaโs Sputnik-V coronavirus vaccine in six or seven months. ___CARSON CITY, Nevada โ Health officials have confirmed the first known case in Nevada of a coronavirus variant that was first identified in South Africa.
The Latest: Miss. says out-of-staters showing up for vaccine
A member of the medical staff administrates the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine to a colleague at the South Ile-de-France Hospital Group in Melun, in the outskirts of Paris, Monday Feb. 8, 2021. The stateโs top public health officials said Monday that the vaccination is supposed to be limited to Mississippi residents, or to people from other states who work in Mississippi. The change means as many as 1.5 million people in the state now qualify for shots, up from about 700,000. Ad___PORTLAND, Ore. โ Appointments to receive the coronavirus vaccine in Oregon have been quickly booked as residents who are 80 years and older are now eligible to receive doses. Seniors in Oregon have waited weeks to receive the vaccine, after the original eligibility date was delayed and then Gov.
Asia Today: Sri Lanka vaccinates 1st health workers, troops
(AP Photo/Aaron Favila)COLOMBO โ Sri Lanka on Friday began inoculating front-line health workers, military troops and police officers against COVID-19 amid warnings about infections among medical workers. The government says 150,000 health workers and 115,000 selected military and police will be the first recipients. The health ministry said it will expand to other parts of the country by next week. AdMost of Sri Lanka's COVID-19 cases and deaths have occurred since October when clusters centered on a garment factory and a fish market emerged in the capital Colombo and its suburbs. The health ministry said more than 113,000 people had received their first dose of Pfizerโs COVID-19 vaccine and 432 of them reported side effects.
The Latest: Louisiana congressman-elect dies from COVID-19
State health officials said Tuesday that the variant was found in a man in his 20s who is in isolation southeast of Denver and has no travel history. Health officials have said the vaccines being given now are thought to be effective against the variant. โ A former Louisiana state lawmaker and his wife died from COVID-19 on the same day. ___OKLAHOMA CITY โ The Oklahoma City fire department says a firefighter, whose nephew became the first department employee to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, died of the virus after being infected while responding to a call. In the Upstate area of the state, COVID-19 infection rates continue to outpace every other part of South Carolina.
Asia Today: Tokyo's daily infections top 600 for first time
TOKYO โ The number of new coronavirus infections in Japanโs capital topped 600 in a day for the first time Thursday, while experts warned of the increased burden on hospitals. Sri Lanka has reported 30,075 coronavirus cases, including 144 deaths. The health ministry later the same day retested the manโs original sample as well as a new sample and found them negative. โ India is reporting 31,521 newly coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours, dropping to just over a third of the peak seen in mid-September. โ South Korea has reported 682 new cases of the coronavirus, as officials work to expand testing to slow infections.
Asia Today: South Korea capital announces new virus controls
SEOUL โ Authorities in the South Korean capital on Monday announced a tightening of social distancing regulations, including shutting nightclubs, limiting service hours at restaurants and reducing public transportation. South Korea has saw the virus spread faster after authorities eased social distancing restrictions to the lowest level in October amid concerns about a weak economy. Many experts and government officials have warned that the chance of the virus spreading will be greater during the cold weather. The Health Ministry reported 4,442 new cases on Monday to bring the countryโs total to 502,110, the highest toll in Southeast Asia and second in Asia only to Indiaโs more than 9.1 million confirmed cases. India has reported more than 9 million cases since the pandemic began, second behind the United States.
Asia Today: Sri Lanka shuts Parliament after case detected
Parliament was closed for two days as a precautionary measure so the premises can be disinfected, said Narendra Fernando, the Parliament's sergeant of arms. Sri Lanka has seen a fresh outbreak of the virus since early this month, when a new cluster emerged centered at a garment factory near Colombo, the capital. Most of the new infections are related to the garment factory cluster, which has grown to 4,400 cases, more than half the countryโs total of 7,872. One fatality was reported on Sunday, raising Sri Lanka's death toll to 16. The Health Ministry said that 45,148 new cases raised the country's overall toll to over 7.9 million.
The Latest: Sri Lanka orders more curfews over virus cluster
(AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)COLOMBO, Sri Lanka โ Authorities in Sri Lanka have closed the countryโs main fish market and widened the curfew in many parts of the island nation following a surge of coronavirus infections related to a new cluster centered on a garment factory. โ Boston schools will switch to all-remote learning in response to rising coronavirus cases in the city. Kelly said Wednesday that two-thirds of the stateโs confirmed cases now are outside the Wichita and Kansas City region. On Wednesday, the state reported its first patient to the field hospital on the state fairgrounds in West Allis outside of Milwaukee. ___ROME โ The Italian region of Lazio, which includes Rome, is imposing an overnight curfew to combat surging coronavirus infections.
Sri Lanka widens curfew, bans gatherings as virus surges
Employees of Colombo municipal council crowd around a table to give their swab samples to test for COVID-19 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020. Authorities in Sri Lanka on Wednesday widened a curfew and warned of legal action against those evading treatment for COVID-19 after reporting an escalating cluster centered around a garment factory in the capital's suburbs. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)COLOMBO โ Authorities in Sri Lanka on Wednesday widened a curfew and warned of legal action against those evading treatment for COVID-19 after reporting a growing cluster centered around a garment factory in the capital's suburbs. The new cluster at the garment factory is the biggest reported in Sri Lanka. Local media reported that police and health workers were visiting the homes of factory workers on leave and were testing them as well.
Asia Today: Sri Lanka confirms 321 cases in factory cluster
The health ministry said 321 cases have been identified in the factory cluster after the first patient was diagnosed at a hospital two days ago. The last three weeks have seen a gradual decline in its reported infections. โ South Korea has reported 75 new cases of the coronavirus as infections steadily rise in the greater capital area. โ Japan and South Korea have agreed to resume business travel between them starting Oct. 8, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry. South Korea has reported slightly more than 400 deaths from the coronavirus, while Japan has confirmed about 1,600.
Case by case: How nations are going back to school -- or not
Despite a spike in coronavirus infections, authorities in Europe are determined to send children back to school. At an elementary school in Tokyo, mask-wearing children held a opening ceremony in classrooms instead of the school gym for better social distancing. PHILIPPINESThe Philippines has been repeatedly postponed reopening schools and that is now scheduled for Oct. 5. All teachers, middle school and high school students will have to wear masks all day, and schools will have one-way corridors and limited gatherings. GERMANYMost German students are already back in school and at least 41 of Berlins 825 schools have reported virus cases.
Elephant whose emaciated appearance sparked international outrage has died
Animal rights campaigners have called on tourists in Sri Lanka to boycott elephant attractions after photographs of a malnourished female used in a festival were circulated online. (CNN) - An elephant from Sri Lanka whose skeletal appearance led to a global outcry has died, the animal rights charity that exposed its condition says. Images of the emaciated elephant were shared in August by the Thai-based Save Elephant Foundation (SEF) to raise awareness of the exploitation of elephants in captivity. After the outrage sparked by her appearance, the festival organizers decided to withdraw her from this year's closing parade. She told CNN that she learned of the death from contacts in Sri Lanka.
Elephant stampede during religious parade injures 17
Ian Walton/Getty Images(CNN) - At least 17 people were injured after two elephants became restless and stampeded down a street during a religious parade in Sri Lanka. The elephants were part of the procession when one got distressed and began to get restless, according to local news source Adaderana. Then the second elephant began to exhibit signs of restlessness after seeing the first in distress. According to the news source, twelve of the seventeen people injured are women. The parade is an annual Buddhist processional that marks important moments in Buddha's life, and its ceremonies are known for being elaborate and highly decorated.
Sri Lanka is measles-free, World Health Organization says
(CNN) - Sri Lanka has defied the global trend in the battle against measles, with the country declared free of the highly infectious disease by the World Health Organization on Tuesday. Sporadic cases reported in the last three years were imported from abroad but were quickly detected, investigated and received a rapid response, WHO added. This year, the United States, where measles was declared eliminated in 2000, has experienced the highest number of measles cases since 1992. However, the global health body said that Sri Lanka would have to remain vigilant to keep its measles-free status. "The risk of importations of measles virus from countries near and far will remain, specially from those that have significant population movement with Sri Lanka," Singh said.