Seoul. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and other top officials discussed amendments to stringent anti-epidemic sanctions during a meeting on Sunday. Government media gave this information. However, he reiterated the claim that the outbreak of the Covid-19 wave that hit the country for the first time is decreasing. A meeting of North Korea's politburo suggested that harsh sanctions imposed after the Omicron outbreak this month be eased soon to deal with food and economic conditions.

The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said that during the meeting, Kim and other members of the bureau "made a positive assessment of controlling and improving the pandemic situation across the country". Given the current situation, studied the issue of implementing anti-epidemic rules and guidelines effectively and quickly coordinating them.

North Korea reported 89,500 new patients with fever symptoms on Sunday, bringing the total number of such patients in the country to 3.4 million. However, it did not say how many people died due to infection. The number of people who lost their lives due to infection in the country on Friday was 69 and the death rate was 0.002 percent. Many outside experts say North Korea is lowering the death toll in the country to save Kim from a political crisis, while the death toll is expected to be much higher.

Troubled Sri Lanka is exploring options to buy oil from Russia. A senior minister said on Sunday. Sri Lanka is desperate to replenish its dwindling fuel stocks amid an unprecedented economic crisis due to a severe shortage of foreign exchange reserves. On Sunday, the price of petrol was hiked by LKR 50 and diesel by LKR 60 respectively, which is the third price revision in two months.

State-owned refinery Ceylon Petroleum Corporation on Saturday informed the Sri Lankan government that the move was necessitated after the arrival of fuel shipments was delayed due to banking and logistical reasons. Given the dire scenario, Sri Lanka's Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera stressed that the government is exploring options to buy oil from Russia. He said, “We are looking for diplomatic channels. The last ship to arrive was a Russian ship."

Two ministers to visit Russia on Monday
Wijesekera said on Sunday that our first letter of credit was rejected by international banks because the ship was owned by a Russian company. He said the two ministers are scheduled to visit Russia on Monday to discuss fuel and other diplomatic matters. Let us tell you that last week, the Sri Lankan government approached several companies suggested by the Russian Embassy in Colombo for the purchase of crude oil.

"Meanwhile, the government has also decided to implement a token system for the supply of fuel to the people waiting in the queue at the filling station," Wijesekera said. The minister said, “This program will be implemented from Monday, for which the government has sought the help of the soldiers from the police and the army.”

shortage of essentials in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is facing the worst economic crisis since independence in 1948, due to which food, medicine, cooking gas, and fuel are being sold across the country. There has been a severe shortage of essential commodities like