Colombo: China's embassy here has sought an urgent meeting with senior Sri Lankan authorities after Colombo sought a deferment of the planned docking of a high-tech Chinese research vessel at the strategic Hambantota port over which India raised concerns, sources said.

China said Friday that more than 100 warplanes and 10 warships have taken part in live-fire military drills surrounding Taiwan over the past two days, while announcing sanctions on US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over her visit to the self-governing island earlier this week.

The federal government declared a public health emergency Thursday to bolster the response to the monkeypox outbreak that has infected more than 7,100 Americans.

Beijing, Aug 2: China on Tuesday warned that US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan disregarding its stern warnings will have a "severe impact" on bilateral ties and it "gravely undermines" regional peace and stability, as the official media here said that the military will launch a series of "targeted" operations to counter her trip.

 Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri, who played central role in 9/11 attacks and later created the terror group's regional affiliate in the Indian subcontinent, has been killed in a US "precision strike" in Afghanistan's capital Kabul, in the biggest blow to the global terror network since killing of its founder Osama bin Laden in 2011 in Pakistan.

Washington: President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 again Saturday, slightly more than three days after he was cleared to exit coronavirus isolation, the White House said, in a rare case of rebound following treatment with an anti-viral drug.

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has written to members of Parliament, inviting them to form an all-party national government to help the bankrupt country to recover from the worst economic crisis.

Sri Lanka's former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa is not in hiding and is expected to return to the country from Singapore, Cabinet spokesman Bandula Gunawardena said on Tuesday.