International News
Emergency declared in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe declared a nationwide state of emergency with effect from Monday.
Acting President Wickremesinghe declared the emergency in the interests of public security, the protection of public order and the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the life of the community, a special gazette notification said.
The emergency has been declared in a proclamation by Acting President Wickremesinghe in terms of Article 40(1)(C) of the Constitution, by virtue of the powers vested in him by Section 2 of the Public Security Ordinance (Chapter 40), as amended by Act No. 8 of 1959, Law No. 6 of 1978 and Act No. 28 of 1988, Daily Mirror reported.
Nominations for the presidential candidates will be held on Tuesday and the new President of Sri Lanka will be elected on July 20.
Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned after fleeing the country to Singapore via the Maldives, amid a severe crisis in the island country.
Crime
Israeli army kills four Palestinians in Gaza: Health authorities

Gaza, Feb 10: Israeli troops killed four Palestinians, including an elderly woman, in two separate incidents in the north and south of the Gaza Strip, the Gaza-based health authorities said.
“Three Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces while returning to their homes near the Kuwait Roundabout, east of Gaza City. Their bodies were transferred to the Baptist Hospital,” the health authorities said in a press statement.
In a separate incident, the health authorities reported that an elderly woman from the Mahna family was shot dead by Israeli forces east of the town of Al-Qarara, near Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday.
The killings follow the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Netzarim Corridor — a strip of land that bisected Gaza from north to south.
Meanwhile, the health authorities announced that the death toll from Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, 2023, has risen to 48,189, with 111,640 others injured.
Gaza’s health authorities reported eight deaths and two injuries in the past 24 hours, including seven bodies recovered from the rubble and one additional fatality.
They warned that more victims remain trapped beneath the debris in areas that are difficult to access due to ongoing shelling.
On Sunday, the health authorities urged Palestinian residents to donate blood, warning that supplies have been completely depleted after 15 months of war.
“Our blood bank is empty, and we need immediate donations to save lives,” they said.
International News
Plane with 10 onboard missing in Alaska

San Francisco, Feb 7: A plane with 10 people onboard was reported missing near Nome, Alaska’s westernmost major city, according to officials.
Alaska State Troopers reported that the flight had nine passengers and one pilot onboard, adding that they were contacted by the Alaska Rescue Coordination Centre at 4 p.m. (0100 GMT Friday) regarding the missing plane.
The Cessna 208B Grand Caravan aircraft owned by Bering Air was reported to have been flying from Unalakleet to Nome, according to the Nome Volunteer Fire Department.
Data from FlightRadar shows the flight last reported information at 3:16 p.m. over Norton Sound.
The White Mountain fire chief, Jack Adams, said that the plane disappeared from the radar somewhere along the coast of Nome to Topkok.
Rescuers were actively searching a roughly 30-mile (50-km) stretch in that area, according to Adams.
“If they don’t find anything, we’ll probably rally another crew to go and help,” he said.
The Nome Volunteer Fire Department asked the public not to form individual search parties due to weather and safety concerns, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Coast Guard is scoping out the area and the C-130 will be flying in a grid pattern in attempts to locate the missing place, the department said on its social page.
Senator Dan Sullivan of Alaska shared information regarding the incident on Facebook, stating: “We are receiving reports of a potential missing aircraft on its way to Nome. Our thoughts and prayers are with the passengers, their families, and the rescue team.”
The search for the aircraft is taking place as US air safety investigators are still examining two tragic events from recent weeks. These include a midair collision involving a Black Hawk helicopter and a passenger jet near Washington, DC, which resulted in the loss of 67 lives, as well as the crash of a medevac jet in Philadelphia that claimed the lives of seven individuals.
disaster
Los Angeles wildfires cost up to $164 billion in property and capital losses: Report

Los Angeles, Feb 6: The two largest wildfires that recently ravaged Los Angeles County may have caused total property and capital losses of as much as 164 billion US dollars, according to a new report.
The report published on Tuesday by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) suggests total property and capital losses caused by the Palisades and Eaton fires could range between 95 billion dollars and 164 billion dollars, with insured losses estimated at 75 billion dollars.
The report, authored by UCLA Anderson Forecast economists Zhiyun Li and William Yu, predicts a 0.48-percent loss in county-level GDP for 2025, amounting to approximately 4.6 billion dollars, and a total wage loss of 297 million dollars for local businesses and employees in the affected areas.
“Without substantial and effective wildfire mitigation efforts and investments, Californians will face increasingly higher insurance premiums and growing health risks from wildfire-related pollution,” said the report, adding that Los Angeles housing markets, “in particular for rental units, will become increasingly unaffordable.”
UCLA Anderson Forecast is one of the most widely watched and often-cited economic outlooks for California and the nation, according to UCLA Anderson School of Management’s website.
Last month, Los Angeles County, the most populated county in the United States, experienced the most catastrophic wildfires in its history. The two deadly major wildfires killed at least 28 people and destroyed over 16,000 structures. The Palisades and Eaton fires scorched over 23,700 acres (95.9 square km) and 14,000 acres (56.7 square km), respectively.
Additionally, the devastating wildfires that began sweeping through Southern California on January 7 have left the region’s education system reeling, with over a dozen schools severely damaged or destroyed.
As school officials begin the daunting task of rebuilding, they face an estimated cost of hundreds of millions of US dollars, with recovery expected to take years.
At least 12 schools in Los Angeles County have suffered significant damage, with five campuses destroyed, according to CalMatters, a nonprofit news organisation focusing on local agendas in California. Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second-largest school system, lost two elementary schools in Pacific Palisades, while Palisades Charter High School was heavily damaged. In Pasadena and Altadena, three additional elementary schools were destroyed.
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