COLOMBO: Sri Lanka is deploying 10,000 troops to tackle areas of stagnant water and other mosquito-breeding grounds in an effort to contain the dengue virus, the island’s health minister said Monday.
Maithripala Sirisena said the troops will join a clean-up operation this week to fight dengue, which is spread by mosquitoes, after 75 deaths from the disease this year.
Stagnant water is a key breeding ground for mosquitoes and the authorities have begun prosecuting people who leave out containers which collect standing water. The forces will be helping to identify and remove such containers.
“Security forces will assist the national campaign against dengue,” Sirisena said in a statement. “It will also be compulsory for all schools to spend one hour on Friday to clean up their premises.”
Official figures show that 15,000 people were infected with dengue in the first five months of this year compared to 10,300 in the corresponding period last year.
However, health officials say the numbers could be much higher because many sufferers are not counted or seek treatment from private hospitals.
Dengue fever causes severe flu-like symptoms and there are no specific medications available to treat the disease.
Most people recover within two weeks, but it can be fatal if it leads to hemorrhaging.
Sri Lanka deploys troops to battle dengue fever
Sri Lanka deploys troops to battle dengue fever
Pope Leo XIV calls for global truce on Christmas Day
- Pope Leo expressed “great sadness” that “apparently Russia rejected a request” for truce
CASTEL GANDOLFO: Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday called for a global truce on Christmas Day, expressing “great sadness” that “apparently Russia rejected a request” for one.
“I am renewing my request to all people of good will to respect a day of peace — at least on the feast of the birth of our Savior,” Leo told reporters at his residence in Castel Gandolfo near Rome.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and has repeatedly rejected calls for a ceasefire saying it would only give a military advantage to Ukraine.
“Among the things that cause me great sadness is the fact that Russia has apparently rejected a request for a truce,” the pope said.
Referring to conflicts in general, Leo said: “I hope they will listen and there will be 24 hours of peace in the whole world,” he added.
Ukraine on Tuesday pulled out troops from a town in the east of the country after fierce battles with Russian forces as relentless strikes by Moscow killed three civilians and cut power to thousands in freezing winter temperatures.
There was no sign of an imminent breakthrough after top negotiators from both Russia and Ukraine were in Miami last weekend for separate meetings with US officials seeking a deal to end almost four years of fighting.
Pope Leo met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier this month.
Asked if he would accept Zelensky’s invitation to visit Ukraine, Leo later said “I hope so,” but cautioned it was not possible to say when such a trip would be possible.
He also said that seeking peace in Ukraine without European diplomatic involvement was “unrealistic” and warned US President Donald Trump’s proposed peace plan risked a “huge change” in the transatlantic alliance.
