COLOMBO: Sri Lankan authorities arrested four Maldivian nationals, including a woman, for illegally operating a drone near the country’s main international airport, police said Sunday.
The suspects were taken into custody on Saturday night after they were seen using a drone within the high security zone of the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), police said in a statement.
“They were filming the airport area with the drone. Investigations are continuing,” police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said. “The suspects — aged between 19 and 23 — will be produced before a magistrate today.”
It was the first arrest in the country in connection with an illegal operation of a drone near an airport.
The incident came hours before Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih was due to arrive in Sri Lanka to attend the country’s 71st national day ceremony in Colombo.
Operating any kind of drone near airports is banned while drone photography and aerial mapping are also highly regulated by civil aviation authorities.
Air traffic controllers at the BIA said there were no disruptions to international flights on Saturday.
However, drones have caused flight disruptions in recent weeks in London and New York.
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Sri Lanka arrests Maldivians flying drone near airport
Sri Lanka arrests Maldivians flying drone near airport
- It was the first arrest in the country in connection with an illegal operation of a drone near an airport
- The incident came hours before Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih was due to arrive in Sri Lanka to attend the country’s 71st national day ceremony in Colombo
Kremlin says Ukraine talks to take place ‘next week’
- Two previous rounds of US-brokered talks have failed to lead to a breakthrough
- Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart on the key issue of territory
MOSCOW: Russia said on Friday that a new round of talks with US and Ukrainian officials seeking to broker an end to the four-year war would take place next week.
Two previous rounds of US-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi have failed to lead to a breakthrough, with Moscow and Kyiv remaining far apart on the key issue of territory.
“There is an agreement that it will indeed take place next week. We will inform you about the venue and dates,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about whether a new meeting had been planned.
US President Donald Trump is pushing to end the conflict, unleashed when Russia launched its full-scale military offensive in February 2022.
Moscow has stuck to its demands for sweeping territorial and political concessions from Ukraine — rejected by Kyiv as tantamount to capitulation.
Russia is pushing for Ukraine to pull out of the eastern Donetsk region — around one-fifth of which Kyiv’s forces still control.
Ukraine has rejected a unilateral pull-back and wants robust Western security guarantees to deter Russia from re-launching its offensive following any ceasefire.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier this week that he had accepted a US proposal to hold a round of talks in Miami next week.
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and tens of thousands of civilians have been killed in the four-year conflict, Europe’s deadliest since World War II.
Russia occupies around one-fifth of Ukrainian land — including the Crimean peninsula it seized in 2014 and areas that Moscow-backed separatists had taken prior to 2022.
Two previous rounds of US-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi have failed to lead to a breakthrough, with Moscow and Kyiv remaining far apart on the key issue of territory.
“There is an agreement that it will indeed take place next week. We will inform you about the venue and dates,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about whether a new meeting had been planned.
US President Donald Trump is pushing to end the conflict, unleashed when Russia launched its full-scale military offensive in February 2022.
Moscow has stuck to its demands for sweeping territorial and political concessions from Ukraine — rejected by Kyiv as tantamount to capitulation.
Russia is pushing for Ukraine to pull out of the eastern Donetsk region — around one-fifth of which Kyiv’s forces still control.
Ukraine has rejected a unilateral pull-back and wants robust Western security guarantees to deter Russia from re-launching its offensive following any ceasefire.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier this week that he had accepted a US proposal to hold a round of talks in Miami next week.
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and tens of thousands of civilians have been killed in the four-year conflict, Europe’s deadliest since World War II.
Russia occupies around one-fifth of Ukrainian land — including the Crimean peninsula it seized in 2014 and areas that Moscow-backed separatists had taken prior to 2022.
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