Israel Issues Travel Warning to Parts of Sri Lanka over Terror Threat

A view shows graffiti, partially painted over, on a bridge overlooking the city's main highway, near a building with a light display commemorating the deadly October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 22, 2024. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura
A view shows graffiti, partially painted over, on a bridge overlooking the city's main highway, near a building with a light display commemorating the deadly October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 22, 2024. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura
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Israel Issues Travel Warning to Parts of Sri Lanka over Terror Threat

A view shows graffiti, partially painted over, on a bridge overlooking the city's main highway, near a building with a light display commemorating the deadly October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 22, 2024. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura
A view shows graffiti, partially painted over, on a bridge overlooking the city's main highway, near a building with a light display commemorating the deadly October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 22, 2024. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura

Israel's national security council on Wednesday called on Israelis to immediately leave some tourist areas in southern Sri Lanka over the threat of a possible terrorist attack.

The agency said the warning pertained to the area of Arugam Bay and beaches in the south and west of Sri Lanka, and stemmed from "current information about a terrorist threat focused on tourist areas and beaches.”

The security council did not specify the exact nature of the threat and called on Israelis in the rest of Sri Lanka to be cautious and refrain from holding large gatherings in public areas.

"The Israeli security establishment ... is in close contact with the security authorities in Sri Lanka and is following the developments," it said. 
 



NATO Boss Held Talks with Trump in Florida, Alliance Says

FILE PHOTO: New NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte attends a press conference, at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium October 1, 2024. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: New NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte attends a press conference, at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium October 1, 2024. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
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NATO Boss Held Talks with Trump in Florida, Alliance Says

FILE PHOTO: New NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte attends a press conference, at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium October 1, 2024. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: New NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte attends a press conference, at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium October 1, 2024. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte met US President-elect Donald Trump in Palm Beach, Florida, on Friday, a spokesperson for the transatlantic military alliance said on Saturday.
"They discussed the range of global security issues facing the Alliance," the spokesperson, Farah Dakhlallah, said in a brief statement.
On its website, NATO said Rutte and his team also met with Congressman Mike Waltz, Trump's pick to be his national security adviser when he returns to the White House, and other members of the president-elect's national security team.
On Friday, NATO did not respond to requests for comment on Dutch media reports that Rutte - a former prime minister of the Netherlands - had flown to Florida on a Dutch government plane to meet Trump.
Rutte, who took office as NATO chief last month, was widely regarded as one of the best European leaders at forging a good working relationship with Trump during his first, 2017-21 term as US president.