Republicans seize on immigration as border crossings surge

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that ONLY a limited number of pilgrims will be allowed to attend the Katchatheevu Festival in the north of Sri Lanka.The number of pilgrims from India and Sri Lanka will be LIMITED due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation in the island nation, the Foreign Ministry confirmed this EXCLUSIVELY to News 1st.The Katchatheevu festival is set to take place on March 11 and 12, 2022.

Freedom Convoy” blockade that has paralyzed the nation’s capital for the past three weeks.On Sunday morning, officers were back at the protest site near Parliament Hill, where a convoy of protesters, many of them truckers, have been demonstrating against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other public health measures.At total of 191 people have been arrested since Friday, while dozens of vehicles, including many large trucks, either pulled out on their own or were towed away. Ottawa police use anti-riot weapons on convoy protesters, arrest 170 In a series of Tweets on Sunday, Ottawa police warned protesters they “will actively look to identify” them and follow up with financial sanctions and criminal charges.It urged residents to avoid the downtown area and to remove all vehicles parked on streets between Metcalf and Bay, and Albert and Gloucester.To prevent protesters from reclaiming territory, officers installed fencing around the demonstration site on Sunday.“We continue to maintain a police presence in and around the area of the unlawful protest occupied,” Ottawa police said in a Tweet.“We are using fences to ensure the ground gained back is not lost.”Things had been very quiet here downtown.

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Piers Morgan and Gary Lineker have led the celebrity well wishes to Queen Elizabeth II following the news that she has contracted Covid.It was announced on Sunday that Her Majesty, 95, has contracted the virus and is experiencing ‘mild cold-like symptoms’, but expects to carry out ‘light duties’ this week.The Queen’s positive test comes after it was confirmed she had been in direct contact with her eldest son and heir, the Prince of Wales, the week he had the disease.Former Good Morning Britain presenter Piers wished the head of state a ‘full and speedy recovery’ on Twitter.‘Worrying for any 95-year-old person to catch this virus, and a very worrying time for Britain when it’s our Monarch,’ he penned. ‘Good luck, Ma’am.’Match Of The Day’s Gary added: ‘The Queen has tested positive for Covid.

LONDON :

Coronavirus, aka COVID-19, continues to impact us all around the world.

Queen Elizabeth has COVID-19.

Mumbai, taking the cumulative tally to 10,55,561, said the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Sunday.

₹2,100 crore), Hinduja Global Solution said in a regulatory filing that this is its biggest-ever win in the public sector to date. As part of the contract, the company will employ over 2,000 work@home positions across the UK.

Feb. 6 marks 70 years since British monarch Queen Elizabeth II took the throne following the death of her father, King George VI. Redmond Shannon has the story.

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Queen Elizabeth, the world’s longest-reigning monarch, tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday and is experiencing mild symptoms but expects to continue light duties this week, Buckingham Palace said.The health of the 95-year-old queen, who has been fully vaccinated against coronavirus, has been under the spotlight since she spent a night in hospital last October for an unspecified ailment and was advised by her doctors to rest. Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee: A look at her legacy in Canada “The Queen has today tested positive for COVID,” the Palace said.

Delhi in the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative tally to 18,56,071, said the state health department on Sunday. The positivity rate has fallen to 1.04%.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has denied throwing "caution to the wind" as he prepares to end all pandemic-related legal restrictions in England, amid a political backlash and scientific unease.

COVID.Downing Street has said that Prime Minister Boris Johnson will reveal details of his “living with COVID” plan on Monday (February 21) – outlining that factors such as vaccination, testing, and anti-viral drugs will be enough to keep people safe, rather than expecting infected people to stay at home.Self-isolation regulations for those who test positive and their close contacts are expected to cease by the end of this week.“COVID will not suddenly disappear, and we need to learn to live with this virus and continue to protect ourselves without restricting our freedoms,” said Johnson. “We’ve built up strong protections against this virus over the past two years through the vaccine rollouts, tests, new treatments and the best scientific understanding of what this virus can do.”He added: “Thanks to our successful vaccination programme and the sheer magnitude of people who have come forward to be jabbed, we are now in a position to set out our plan for living with COVID this week.”Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary told BBC‘s Sunday Morning today (February 20) this was “declaring victory before the war is over”, that ending mandatory self-isolation was “not the right thing to do” and that this was a distraction from the ongoing ‘partygate’ scandal.“At this stage the PM risks muddying the waters,” he said. “We want to see the government publish the scientific advice because at the moment this seems very premature.”“He continued: It seems like Boris Johnson is keen to declare victory before the war is over in the hope he gets some headlines about ‘victory day on COVID’ instead police officers asking questions about actions in Number 10.”Labour Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting tells #Raworth that dropping remaining

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Britain's Queen Elizabeth has tested positive for Covid-19, Buckingham Palace has announced.

COLOMBO (News 1st); The Ceylon Electricity Board states that it will be possible to provide electricity on Sunday (20) without any interruptions.Its Media Spokesperson, Andrew Nawamani stated that the demand for electricity has reported a decrease as it is a holiday.Accordingly, the expected electricity demand is 2,300 MW.However, he urged consumers to use electricity sparingly between 6:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.

Queen Elizabeth has tested positive for coronavirus and is "experiencing mild cold symptoms", Buckingham Palace have confirmed.The monarch, 95, is expected to continue to undertake "light duties", palace officials say. Buckingham Palace said in a statement: "Buckingham Palace confirm that The Queen has today tested positive for Covid.

The Queen has contracted Covid-19, Buckingham Palace has announced.

Queen has tested positive for Covid-19 and is experiencing symptoms, Buckingham Palace has confirmed.The 95-year-old monarch is said to be experiencing mild symptoms and continuing with her royal duties from isolation at Windsor Castle.Her Majesty was being closely monitored after news emerged of Charles' had caught the virus just days after the pair had been in close contact earlier this month.At the time, Buckingham Palace refused to confirm the monarch's test results, fuelling fears for her health, but palace sources insisted she was not displaying symptoms.Palace doctors had been testing the Queen frequently since her son tested positive and it has now emerged that she is mildly symptomatic.It is understood that the Queen was in contact with the Prince of Wales on several occasions before he was required to isolate on February 10.The Queen has been triple-vaccinated.

Canadian police are making possibly the final push to clear the capital city of demonstrators who have paralysed it by parking and camping on the streets for more than three weeks to protest against Covid pandemic restrictions.

Australia will welcome international tourists tomorrow after nearly two years of sealing its borders, relying on high Covid-19 vaccination rates to live with the pandemic as infections decline.

WHO's emergencies chief Mike Ryan recently said. 

Private schools were not prioritised in Manchester's Covid vaccination programme, the organisation responsible for the rollout has confirmed.

COLOMBO (News 1st); The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) states that 5 ships carrying fuel will arrive in the island within the upcoming week.Its Chairman, Sumith Wijesinghe stated that diesel, petrol and jet fuel will be brought to Sri Lanka by these ships.Accordingly, he assured that there are sufficient stocks of fuel in the country while adding that the CPC is ready to provide the necessary stocks of fuel to the Ceylon Electricity Board as well.However, Wijesinghe stated that the CEB must pay in rupees for the stocks of fuel.Meanwhile, the daily fuel demand has reported a rapid increase within the last few days.The Chairman of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation stated that the average daily fuel demand in the country is 6,000 metric tons, however, on Saturday (19) the demand recorded an increase of 9,000 metric tons.

COLOMBO (News 1st); The report on Sri Lanka compiled by the Human Right’s High Commissioner will be debated at the 49th sessions of the Human Rights Council Sessions  due to be held on 3rd of March.According to an article published on the Sunday Times, the UNHRC report has scrutinized the conduct of the Attorney General’s Department in Sri Lanka.The report was forwarded to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday (14).Ministry officials had then studied the reports and sent to Geneva the Government’s observations and explanations on several issues raised.The article on the Sunday Times highlights that this year’s report delves at length with the Government’s failure to make changes to the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) to meet international standards.It adds that the UNHRC is not pleased with the amendments that are now pending before Parliament and is displeased that necessary changes have not been effected despite repeated assurances by the Government.According to the Article, another area dealt with in the report is the April 21st attacks.It also includes a call for the Attorney General’s Department to function independently.There will be no voting at the UNHRC’s 49th sessions which begin on February 28th. However, the meeting is a precursor to another Resolution on Sri Lanka in September, due this year.

One of Canada’s busiest commercial truck border crossings was closed again Saturday as anti-mandate protesters swarmed the route leading to the Pacific Highway crossing in Surrey. Kamil Karamali reports.

Ukraine has received a plane load of machine guns, surveillance gear and rifles as part of a Canadian military assistance package, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on Saturday.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney tweeted Saturday the province will file a court challenge of the federal government’s Emergencies Act in the wake of convoy protests in Ottawa.

A protest that closed the main crossing between Alberta and the United States may have ended this week, but there’s some concern it has created a different kind of division in the border community caught in the middle of the dispute.

Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, according to updated data by Union Health Ministry. The number of recoveries reported in the last 24 hours stood at 48,847, taking the total recoveries to 4,20,86,383. The number of Covid-19 deaths reported in last 24 hours stood at 673, taking the total death toll to 5,11,903. 

COLOMBO (News 1st): It is important to introduce ethics for social media usage, Shehan Semasinghe, the State Minister of Samurdhi, Household Economy, Micro Finance, Self Employment, and Business Development said. He pointed out that social media is being used to circulate misinformation.“Certain people have taken the lead in tarnishing Sri Lanka’s reputation with regard to Human Rights, every time the Geneva Human Rights Council session is there. This is because they cannot stand the revival of a collapsed economy,” State Minister Semasinghe emphasized.Thereby, he highlighted the need to introduce social media ethics, since the use of social media for personal gains may negatively impact the country on the diplomatic front.He shared these remarks at an event held in Anuradhapura.

Police officers appeared to be shifting strategy Saturday in Ottawa as they worked to clear the remaining protesters from the area, arresting 170 over two days. The slow methodical approach that we saw from police Friday seemed to be replaced with a much tougher line today.

The streets in Ottawa are starting to look more bare and normal. Police warned demonstrators in the evening that it is “unsafe to stay.” “Get out of the cold and cease further unlawful activity.

Police and protesters faced off for a second straight day in the nation’s capital and at times those tensions erupted into violence, but tonight it appears the Ottawa occupation is into its final hours. Police and protesters are accusing each other of abusive behaviour after a day that saw officers reclaim the street in front of Parliament Hill.

EU plodding stirs ECB concernsThe European Union’s path to joint fiscal stimulus is looking less assured than its monetary guardians would like, casting further clouds over an outlook already stunted by the bloc’s botched vaccination drive, reports Bloomberg. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde last week gave a hint of alarm to lawmakers on the slow rollout of the 750 billion-euro pandemic recovery fund, building on the warning of colleagues.

Biden administration is scrambling to manage a growing humanitarian and political challenge at the U.S.-Mexico border that threatens to overshadow its ambitious legislative agenda.With the number of migrants surging, administration officials say Biden inherited an untenable situation that resulted from what they say was President Donald Trump’s undermining and weakening of the immigration system.But as Congress pivots to immigration legislation, stories of unaccompanied minors and families trying to cross border have begun to dominate the headlines, distracting from the White House’s efforts to promote the recently passed $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill.

WASHINGTON – As migrants surge at the U.S.-Mexico border, President Joe Biden’s administration has been caught on its heels and is now scrambling to manage a humanitarian and political challenge that threatens to overshadow its ambitious agenda.

TIJUANA – It took less than a month for 200 tents to fill every spot in a Mexican plaza at the busiest border crossing with the United States.

WASHINGTON – House Republicans narrowly voted Wednesday to allow their members to seek earmarks under certain conditions, making a clean break from a decade-long ban against seeking money for specific projects back home.

WASHINGTON – A surge of migrants on the Southwest border has the Biden administration on the defensive, with the head of Homeland Security acknowledging the depth of the problem but insisting it’s under control and saying he won’t revive a Trump-era practice of immediately expelling teens and children.

WASHINGTON (AP) - A surge of migrants on the Southwest border has the Biden administration on the defensive, with the head of Homeland Security acknowledging the depth of the problem Tuesday but insisting it’s under control and saying he won’t revive a Trump-era practice of immediately expelling teens and children.The number of migrants being stopped at the U.S.-Mexico border has been rising since last April, and the administration is still rapidly expelling most single adults and families under a public health order issued by President Donald Trump at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

FRONT ROYAL, Virginia - In this rural swath of Virginia's Shenandoah valley, former President Donald Trump remains deeply admired, with lawn signs and campaign flags still dotting the landscape. The vaccines aimed at taming the coronavirus, however, aren't so popular.Laura Biggs, a 56-year-old who has already recovered from the virus, is wary of taking the vaccine.

Justin Trudeau is waving off suggestions that the Canada-U. S.