Sri Lankan Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya visited the Chinese Navy hospital ship "Peace Ark" at the Port of Colombo on Tuesday (local time) as part of the "Mission Harmony-2024".
The ship arrived at the Port on Dec 21 and will provide free medical examination and treatment services to Sri Lankan people around the clock during its 7-day friendly visit. Training sessions and exchange activities will also be conducted on board with Sri Lankan navy and hospitals.
As of Tuesday, the ship's medical team had carried out a total of 2,077 diagnoses, 1,076 auxiliary examinations and 19 surgeries in Sri Lanka.
This is the second visit to Sri Lanka by the ship after its visit in 2017.
During the Mission Harmony-2024, the ship will visit 13 countries from June to January 2025 and make port calls to France and Greece.
This is the 10th Mission Harmony for Peace Ark since its commissioning in 2008 and is a solid step taken by the Chinese navy to implement the Global Security Initiative and contribute to the establishment of the maritime community with a shared future.
Sri Lanka's prime minister visits China's hospital ship "Peace Ark"
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Monday that the situation in Iran is "under total control" following violence linked to protests that spiked over the weekend.
Addressing foreign diplomats in Tehran, the foreign minister noted that armed terrorist groups had infiltrated the protests, attempting to divert them from their legitimate course. He claimed that evidence has been gathered showing Iranian security forces being shot at, with the aim of causing further casualties. He accused the United States and Israel of exploiting the unrest to interfere in Iran's internal affairs.
Araghchi further stated that the government is closely monitoring developments on the streets, emphasizing that "the situation has come under control." He also affirmed that internet services, curtailed during the unrest, would be restored after coordination with security agencies.
The government has engaged in dialogue with merchants and protest representatives and initiated reforms to address grievances related to price hikes and currency depreciation. Iran has taken a series of actions and measures to respond to the demands of peaceful demonstrators, the foreign minister said.
Earlier on Sunday, Araghchi said that clear evidence links recent riots and vandalism of public facilities in Iran to the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. This came after former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo mentioned Mossad agents operating on Iran's streets in a social media post. The Iranian foreign minister asserted that police are being attacked by "terrorists" acting under the direction of Israeli operatives, whom Pompeo publicly acknowledged.
The protests initially erupted over a sharp depreciation of the rial and sweeping subsidy reforms. Iranian authorities have blamed the unrest on foreign-linked agents and U.S. sanctions.
Iranian foreign minister says situation "fully under control," accuses Israeli intelligence of stoking unrest
