Courtesy The Daily Mirror

The Galle Chief Magistrate Harshana Kekunawela today ordered health authorities to hand over the list of persons who were given the second dose of AstraZeneca vaccine at the Galle Health Services Director’s Office on June 5 and 7, to the police.

The orders were issued after considering the facts provided by the Police over the investigation that a large number of people from the Western Province had arrived in Galle on the Southern Expressway in vehicles on the 5th and 7th June to receive the second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The Magistrate also ordered the Director of Health Services of the Southern Province and the Controller of the Unawatuna Drug Store to hand over the details of the number of Covishield does received at the Unawatuna drug store, the number of doses administered and the remaining number of doses to the Galle Divisional Crime Investigation Division.

The Magistrate also directed to hand over CCTV footage at the scene and the telephone companies to provide telephone records of a person who has given a statements in this regard.

Police recorded a statement from a person suspected to have acted as a third party in the incident.(D.G. Sugathapala)

Courtesy Adaderana

The Director-General of Health Services confirmed that Sri Lanka has reported 57 more deaths related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As per the Department of Government Information, the reported deaths had occurred on June 13.

Among the deceased are 32 male patients and 25 female patients.

Accordingly, the total number of deaths due to Covid-19 infection in Sri Lanka has risen to 2,260.

Courtesy Adaderana

Sri Lanka on Sunday (June 12) registered 67 more victims of COVID-19, the Director-General of Health Services.

The latest fatalities have moved the death toll from the virus infection to 2,203, according to Government Information Department’s data.

Meanwhile, Director General of Health Services Dr. Asela Gunawardena says that COVID-19 deaths will be reported under a new methodology here on.

Accordingly, all future COVID-19 deaths will be reported within a period of 24-48 hours.

Courtesy Adaderana

The Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry reports that another 479 persons have tested positive for COVID-19 in Sri Lanka, moving the daily total of new cases to 2,259.

This brings the total number of confirmed cases of coronavirus reported in the country to 225,922.

As many as 190,464 recoveries and 2,203 deaths have been confirmed in Sri Lanka since the outbreak of the pandemic.

The Epidemiology Unit’s data showed that 33,255 active cases are currently under medical care.

Media Release

We, hereby, vehemently condemn the derogatory and misleading remarks made by Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya – who seems to be a consummate politician and is a medical trade union leader – during a recent media release, in which he challenged the Agricultural officers’ knowledge on organic agriculture. Furthermore, we believe that his conduct is highly unethical, unprofessional, and amounts to crossing someone else’s border to a field in which he is not at all an expert. Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya, not only shows and challenges his own understanding on agriculture at this vital point, but also dishonours his own professionalism. However, his baseless remarks don’t appear to have had any impact on men and women who are attentively serving in the agricultural sector in the country with a view to making Sri Lanka self-sufficient in food.

We wish to question and challenge Dr. Padeniya’s knowledge as to how he can comment on the knowledge of agricultural specialists on organic agriculture as his immature and irresponsible behaviour may establish a bad precedent for other professionals as well in the country. Therefore, we take this opportunity to categorically condemn the unfounded claims made by a trade union leader against other reputed professionals in order to obtain cheap popular political mileage.

It appears that Dr. Padeniya is unaware of the Green Revolution which occurred in 1950/1960 in the world. During the green revolution, the crop/food production was increased significantly by introducing high-yielding crop varieties (HYVs) which replaced the low yielding traditional varieties. These HYVs, which is grown today across the globe, need chemical fertilizers and pesticides and, otherwise, they do not give the expected yields no matter what measures we take. If we want to stop the use of chemical fertilizers/agrochemicals, we need to have a holistic approach and design an operational model. This cannot be accomplished in a few months/years. We are not surprised to observe that Dr. Padeniya cannot understand simple facts like these as they have no qualification/training what-so-ever in Agriculture. The unscientific and sudden ban of chemical fertilizers/pesticides in the country will undoubtedly push the country to a chaotic situation soon where the prices of food will skyrocket and the poor and vulnerable communities would even starve.

We, hereby, dispute Dr. Padeniya’s baseless allegations inferring that the recommendations made by the agricultural specialists in state agencies/departments are made with a strong bias towards such companies, because the agricultural specialists get direct benefit from chemical fertilizer and pesticide companies. As we clearly described earlier, the present crop varieties cannot simply grow and give anticipated high yields without chemical fertilizers and pesticides. In this backdrop, the remarks of Dr. Padeniya are highly deceiving and can mislead the general public, thereby jeopardizing the dignity and integrity of agricultural specialists. Their apparent motive of gaining cheap fame and personal benefits amounts to low-quality and unprofessional ethical wrongdoing. Further, it is pitiful that Dr. Padeniya is deliberately ignoring and tarnishing the good name of agriculture professionals who have guided the Sri Lankan farming community to nourish this proud nation for centuries in the past. According to his misleading statement at a media briefing, all agricultural teaching and training institutes, agriculture faculties, and research institutes in Sri Lanka are no longer necessary. Dr. Padeniya should better understand the difference between “ගොවිතැන” and the science behind agriculture before making false statements about reputable professionals in the country.

We wish to remind him that, at this critical point, the country’s most vulnerable and pressing worry is not the knowledge of agricultural officers on organic agriculture, but the rising COVID-19 pandemic, in which Dr. Padeniya is also deliberately misleading the wider public and concealing the dire situation in his sector. Therefore, we respectfully suggest that he focuses more on COVID-19 pandemic, smoking, drug addiction and the non-communicable disease incidences occurring throughout the country, without making false and unconfirmed references and links to agricultural inputs in relation cancer, CKDu, etc. We believe that he can act more confidently in his designated profession rather than making derogatory remarks on other reputed professions. Further, we would like to ask and invite Dr. Padeniya to accept full responsibility for the country’s possible future food crisis, which may occur in the near future as a result of assertions of this nature, rather than blaming the agricultural professionals who have helped feed the nation for millennia. Finally, we respectfully suggest that Dr. Padeniya devotes more time on his own profession rather than commenting on skills and talents of other professions, thereby, causing problems to the society and destroying his own credibility.

KAMALIKA PIERIS

The main charge against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC is that they deliberately killed thousands of civilians in the last phase of Eelam War IV. Rajiva Wijesinha was Secretary-General of the Sri Lankan Government Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP) from 2007–2009. In that capacity Rajiva had access to war data.

Rajiva found that very few allegations of civilian deaths were made to the Peace Secretariat until the end of January 2009, when for the first time there was allegations of hundreds killed. In 2008 when forces took Kilinochchi, the total civilian deaths according to Tamilnet was only 78.  It was only on Jan 26^th 2009 that a massive number of civilian deaths were announced, just after the first No Fire Zone was declared.  UN Resident Coordinator Neil Buhne said he thought most of the firing in the NFZ came from LTTE, said Rajiva. 

Analysts observed that the government’s offensive in the Eastern   Province had succeeded without civilian casualties.  The army would have followed a similar policy in the North. Analysts noted that the international community has been closely watching the conduct of the war. Had there been any loss of civilian lives the     international    community would have definitely tried to stop the offensive.

The intelligentsia in Sri Lanka took a similar position. If the army had targeted civilians outside the conflict area, then we would have known, said Lalith de Mel, former head of Reckitt and Colman. There would have been some information.  But there was none. There can be no truth in this story. (Lalith” p 151-2)

Rajiva commented on the paucity of civilian casualties in the war. The reports of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission   indicated that there were hardly any civilian casualties. This is almost unique in the history of this type of military operation. Western nations are much less cautious, Rajiva observed. In Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004, the US army completely destroyed homes, schools, hospitals and killed civilians in droves, said analysts.

I have been able to establish that the armed forces have been concerned only with military targets. There certainly had not been wanton attacks on civilians, said Rajiva.  Air Force gave me full accounts of whatever they had targeted, and their record was impressive. In the period preceding the last phase there has been allegations of just 76 civilian deaths arising from over  air force 500 sorties     Air force had refused to take certain targets saying it would lead to civilian casualties. 

We took our targets in the air force when we were 100 percent certain   that they were solely LTTE targets, Air Force said. We abandoned over 150 targets where we could inflict massive destruction on LTTE as they were close to civilians. LTTE lasted two years and ten months only because the Air Force had gone out of their way to avoid civilian casualties. 

IDAG-S [1] in its book The Numbers Game”  , stated that high resolution satellite imagery  of the second and third No Fire Zones, showed that shells fired by the army, during the months of February to May, 2009  avoided  civilian settlements.

IDAG-S found that the aerial photographs of the   zone confirmed this. The Tamil civilian camp, their ‘tent city’, was vast and stretched for several hundreds of miles. The tents were so densely packed together that if the area had been attacked by army mortars, the resulting fires would have destroyed vast swathes of tents.  But the photographs show the tents practically untouched. The majority of the permanent structures in this zone were also intact.

[1] Independent  Diaspora Analyst Group, Sri Lanka . IDAG-S is a think tank of academics, professionals and analysts from  the Sri Lankan diaspora in Europe, North America and Australia. The lead author is an aerospace engineer who was able to bring a wide range of multidisciplinary skills to the task. https://groundviews.org/2013/05/28/sri-lankas-numbers-game/

සමස්ත ලංකා හෙද සංගමය

හෙද ගැටළු නොවිසදන්නේ නම් ඉදිරි සතිය තුළ නැවතත් වෘත්තීය ක්‍රියාමාර්ගයන්ට.

#කොවිඩ් වසංගත තත්වය හමුවේ ඉතා අවධානම් සහ භාරධූර රාජකාරියක නිරතව සිටින මෙරට 38000ක පමණ හෙද කාර්ය මණ්ඩලයට බලපා තිබෙන වෘත්තීය ගැටලූ ගණනාවක් විසඳාගැනීම අරමුණු කොට පසුගිය මැයි 31වන දා තෝරාගත් රෝහල් ගණනාවක හෙද කාර්ය මණ්ඩලය එක්දින අසනීප නිවාඩු වාර්ථා කිරීමේ වෘත්තීය ක්‍රියාමාර්ගයක නියැලෙන ලදි.

එහි දී ශ්‍රී ලංකා ජාතික රෝහල, ජාතික අක්ෂි රෝහල, මහනුවර ජාතික රෝහල ඇතුලූ දිවයිනේ රෝහල් ගණනාවක හෙද කාර්ය මණ්ඩලය එම වෘත්තීය ක්‍රියාමාර්ග හා සම්බන්ධ විය. එහි ප්‍රථිඵලයක් ලෙස 2021.06.01 දින සෞඛ්‍ය සේවා අධ්‍යක්ෂ ජෙනරාල්වරයා විසින් හෙද ගැටලූ සම්බන්ධව විධිමත් සාකච්ඡාවක් සංගමයට ලබා දෙන ලදි.

එහි දී ඉදිරිපත් කළ ගැටලූ ගණනාවකට විසඳුම් වෘත්තීය ක්‍රියාමාර්ගය අතරතුරත්, සාකච්ඡාවෙන් පසුවත් ලබාදෙන ලදි. නමුත් සාකජ්චාවේ දී එකඟ වූ තවත් ගැටලූ කිහිපයකට විසඳුම් මේ දක්වා ලබා දීමට සෞඛ්‍ය අමාත්‍යාංශය කටයුතු කර
නොමැත. සාකච්ඡාවේ දී අප දැණුම් දී සිටියේ දින 14ක් ඇතුලත අදාල ගැටලූ සඳහා විසඳුම් ලබා දෙන ලෙසත් එසේ නොවන්නේ නම් නැවතත් වෘත්තීය ක්‍රියාමාර්ගයන්ට යොමුවන බවයි.

01. 2015 වසරේ දී හෙද සේවාවට ලබා දීමට පොරොන්දු වී ඇති රු 15000ක අනතුරු දීමනාවෙන් එකඟ වූ රු 5000ක මුදල ඉතා කඩිනමින් සියලූම හෙද හෙදියන් වෙත ලබා දීම,

02. හෙද නිළධාරීන්ගේ සහ සියලූ සෞඛ්‍ය කාර්ය මණ්ඩලවල සාමාජිකයින්ට #කොවිඩි එන්නත ලබා දීමට අවශ්‍ය කටයුතු කඩිනමින් ඇරඹීම,

03. 2016 වසරේ සිට නිලවරණය නොපැවැත්වීම හරහා අක්‍රිය වී තිබෙන හෙද සභාව නැවත සක්‍රිය කිරීම සඳහා හෙද සභා නිලවරණය එකඟ වූ ආකාරයට ඉතා කඩිනමින් පැවැත්වීම,

04. හෙද සේවා ව්‍යවස්ථාව සංශෝධනය කිරීම සඳහා නම් කර ඇති ව්‍යවස්ථා කමිටුව කැදවා එම කටයුත්ත වහා නිම කිරීම,

05. මේ වන විට වෛද්‍ය නිළධාරීන්ට පමණක් ලබා දීමට යෝජනා කර ඇති #කොවිඩ් අමතර රාජකාරී දීමනා ව හෙද හෙදියන් ඇතුලූ සියලූ සෞඛ්‍ය කාර්ය මණ්ඩල වෙත සාධාරණව හා යුක්ති සහගතව ලබා දීම.

06. හෙද කාර්ය මණ්ඩලය අනාරක්ෂිතව රාජකාරියේ යෙදවීම නවතාලීම හා පොදු පහසුකම් ගැටලූ විසඳීම,

07. #කොවිඩ් වසංගතය සමඟ ආණ්ඩුව සිදුකරන ජාවාරම් නවතා ජනජීව්තය සුරක්ෂිත කිරීම සඳහා අවශ්‍ය පියවර ගැනීම.

ඒ අනුව ඉහත ගැටලූ විසඳීම කඩිනම් නොකරන්නේ නම් එළඹෙන සතිය තුළ රටපුරා සියලූ රෝහල්වල හෙද හෙදියන් සම්බන්ධ කර ගනිමින් දැඩි වෘත්තීය ක්‍රියාමාර්ගයකට යාමට කටයුතුකරන බව සංගමය සෞඛ්‍ය බලධාරීන් වෙත ලිඛිතව
දැණුම් දී ඇත.

මේ සම්බන්ධයෙන් දැණුවත් කිරීමේ මාධ්‍ය සාකච්ඡාවක් 2021.06.13වන දින පස්වරු 03.00ට සමස්ත ලංකා හෙද සංගමයේ ප්‍රධාන කාර්යාලය අංක 949/4,මරදාන පාර, බොරැල්ල, කොළඹ 08 (උදේනි මල්ශාලාව ඉදිරිපිට) යන ස්ථානයේ දී පැවැත්වේ. එම අවස්ථාව සඳහා ඔබ ආයතනයේ නියෝජිතයෙක් සහභාගී කරවීමට කටයුතු කරන ලෙස කාරුණිකව ඉල්ලා සිටිමු.

ස්තූතියි.

මෙයට,
එච්. එම්. එස්. බී. මැදිවත්ත
ප්‍රධාන ලේකම්
සමස්ත ලංකා හෙද සංගමය.

By Dr.Nirmala Chandrahasan/The Island Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

Colombo, June 9: The recent discovery of name- boards in public institutions which have omitted one of the national languages, namely Tamil, only to replace it with Mandarin Chinese has caused a furor with Tamil members of Parliament and other politicians voicing their protests.

Certainly, this is most unfortunate but rather than blame the Chinese it is the Government Authorities in charge of the implementation of the Official languages policy who should be blamed. They have been remiss in this instance which is only a small part of the general malaise in respect of the implementation of the official languages policy.

This however is not within the remit of this article. In this article, I would like to focus on another trilingual inscription on a stone tablet stele, left by the Chinese Admiral Zheng He, and dated 15th February 1409, in Sri Lanka.

It was originally inscribed in Nanjing in China itself and discovered in 1911 in Galle, and now preserved in the Museum in Colombo. This stone tablet with inscriptions in Chinese, Persian and Tamil signals the arrival of the Chinese fleet and invokes the blessings of Buddha and the Hindu God Vishnu whom the inscription mentions as Thenavaran Nayanar” and refers to an endowment that Zheng He, had presented to the Vishnu Devale at Devinuwara and to a Mosque.

Prof. Sasanka Perera in a very interesting and historically researched article titled Veera Alakeshvaras Phlight signals from the past,” published in The Island of 28th April 2021, to which I am indebted, refers to this inscription as a subtle but obvious way of appealing to the socio political sensibilities of large and important communities in The Island at the time”.

So it would appear that the Tamils were an important community in the island at the time. Sinhala does not feature in the inscription.

Veera Alakeshwarar’s clash with the Chinese which I refer to in my article is part of the historical perspective which I wish to draw attention to. It has many lessons for the present , and brings to light the Chinese presence in this country many centuries ago.

To continue with the purpose of Admiral Zheng He’s naval journey, it was part of what was known as the Ming Treasure voyages”. To quote Prof. Perera, the seven voyages under this naval scheme took place between 1405 -1433 AD and was the brainchild of the Ming Emperor Yongle. These voyages were undertaken to expand China’s military, political and commercial Authority across the oceans and to find local allies and establish Chinese spheres of influence in different parts of Asia, parts of the Middle East and places like Mogadishu and Mombasa in Africa.

Before arriving in Sri Lanka Zheng He’s fleet had visited other south east Asian countries where also steles were left behind. All these interventions were made to ensure the stability of maritime routes for Chinese vessels. This is very much in line with what is happening today, with the Chinese Belt and Road initiative”.

The Chinese of that era were aware of the Tamil language and culture both because of the maritime traditions of the Tamils during the era of the great Chola empire but also because Tamil Buddhist monks from Kancheepuram had brought Buddhism to China. The Chola empire in South India which held sway over Sri Lanka also included parts of south east Asia, and had a large maritime fleet and merchant navy. Furthermore, Tamil traders and merchant guilds were active in the Indian ocean and in south east Asia. With the decline of the Chola empire the seas were open for a new naval power and we find the Ming emperor making a strategic move.

To turn to Sri Lanka and Veera Alekeshvara’s encounter with the Chinese, I will have to go back in time to the Alagakkonara/Allagakone family, of which he was a member. This feudal family originally from Madurai or Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu, settled down in Lanka and became very powerful in the Gampola Kingdom. The father of Veera Alakeshvara also known as Alakeshvara became a Minister in the Kingdom. He fortified a marshy region around the present city of Colombo and called the fortress he built there Jayawardenepura, and the area around became known as Kotte, (which means ‘fort’ in Tamil).

From his fortifications he drove out the northern army of the Arya Chakraverti, who ruled the kingdom of Jaffna, and the tax collectors from this kingdom who were raiding the south western region. Thus, he came to overshadow King Vikramabahu I11rd of Gampola. Subsequently after some infighting with family members Veera Alakeshvara, his son, became king of the Gampola kingdom as Vijayabahu VI , and ruled from 1397- 1411 AD.

However, Veera Alakeshvara like some of our present China critics, was hostile to Chinese intentions in Sri Lanka and launched piracy attacks on the Chinese fleet in Sri Lankan waters with the help of some Muslim chieftains. As a consequence, Zheng He, left Sri Lankan waters as he had other ports of call, but returned to take revenge on Alakesvara.

In 1410/11 Zheng He and his troops attacked Kotte and captured Veera Alakeshvara and his family together with other key political figures allied with him. He was taken as a prisoner to China. In the collected works of Yong Rong 1515, his capture is described as well as his subsequent pardon by the Emperor as follows: thus the August Emperor spared their lives and they humbly kowtowed making crude sounds ( a reference to their language) and praising the sage like virtue of the Imperial Ming ruler.”

But this was not the end of the matter. As Prof. Sasanka points out regime change was the object, and Parakramabahu the Sixth ascended the throne. Chinese records reveal that the new king was chosen by Sinhalese emissaries present at the Ming Court, nominated by the Emperor and installed by Zheng He, using the Chinese military and naval power at his disposal, as a ruler more amenable to Chinas intentions. Parakramabahu VI  created a political alliance with the Chinese that allowed expansive political projects such as the Ming Treasure fleet easy access to local waters as well as local political support.”

It is also of interest to note that Sembagha Perumal alias Sapumal Kumaraya, an ethnic Tamil and adopted son of Parakramabahu the Sixth, subsequently conquered the northern Jaffna Kingdom and built the Nallur Kandasamy kovil in Jaffna. His exploits are commemorated by the poet Sri Rahula thera in the Kokila Sandesaya and the Selahini Sandesaya.

Aside from the sense of ‘deja vu’, which Prof. Perera remarks upon, Alakeshvarar’s story has many lessons for us today. We learn that the Tamil community in Sri Lanka was a powerful and respected one, hence the inscriptions in Mandarin along with Tamil and Persian. In the north the Kingdom of Jaffna under the Arya Chakravarti dynasty was as powerful as the other kingdoms and at that time was threatening Kotte and even extracting taxes from regions in the South.

Here too it was ethnic Tamils such as Alakeshvara senior who led the defense of the Kotte and Gampola kingdoms, and built Jayawardenapura, and it was Sembagha Perumal who later defeated the Arya Chacraverti and brought the Jaffna kingdom under the rule of Parakramabahu VI.

Ethnic differences were subsumed, and Sinhalese and Tamils worked together as one people. The wars were for territory, with kings fighting kings and not between ethnic groups. It was only with the arrival of the Western colonial powers starting with the Portuguese that ethnic differences surfaced, perhaps as a consequence of a divide and rule policy.

Another lesson we learn is that the Chinese political presence in the island is not something new. Furthermore Chinese trade was a key factor in the Sri Lankan economy as vindicated by the large collection of Chinese coins in Yapahuwe, which fact is adverted to in Prof. Perera’s article citing Prof. Sudarshan Senviratne. So, the resumption of Chinese political and economic activity in the island is not suprising.

Chinese history records that after the great naval expeditions of Zheng He, there was a change in China’s policy and internal constraints made the country turn inwards. It is now clear that China is resuming its old policy as evidenced by Admiral Zheng He’s naval expeditions, and is once again engaging in expanding its military, political and commercial authority across the globe vide the Belt and Road Initiative.

The Port City project in Sri Lanka is part of this grand design. The Port City project can bring benefits to Sri Lanka too, but it is the responsibility of the Sri Lankan Government and people to see that Sri Lanka’s interests are adequately protected and they cannot fault China for any short fall as every country looks after its own interests.

In the context of the lessons we learn from the Veera Alakeshvara episode, Tamil politicians would be well advised to be more mindful when making protests at what they perceive to be Mandarin taking precedence over Tamil. We do not have to kowtow to the new Emperor in Beijing, and protests must surely be made when called for, but made courteously, recognizing that our cultures Tamil and Chinese, have co -existed enriching each other over many centuries as in the spreading of Buddhism by monks from the Tamil country, and the extensive trade as in the exchange of cotton goods for silk between the two civilizations.

We have seen from the Galle Inscription that China gave the Tamil language pride of place in Sri Lanka at a certain point of time, and I may mention similar inscriptions have also been left by them in other south Asian countries. At that time Tamil was a language of commerce and trade in the Indian Ocean region and the Tamil Kingdoms of South India were powerful entities.

Similarly, the Persian language held sway for these reasons. Interestingly we learn from the Moroccan Traveller of the 14th Century, Ibn Batuta, who visited the kingdom of Jaffna, that the king Arya Chackraverti held control of the trade in pearls, had contact with foreign merchants and could speak Persian.

It remains to be seen whether the Tamil language once again regains its lost position and the respect that entails. The Trilingual stele in Galle invokes the blessings of the Hindu deity the Thenavaran Nayanar” Vishnu, for a peaceful world built on trade.

For the present. we have to recognize that China has come to stay as a power in the region, in a world built on trade. We can be proud that two Asian nations India and China are emerging as the super powers of the 21st century and go with the trend giving due consideration to both countries in our political and economic policies.

Courtesy Gulf Times

The Federation of Sri Lankan Muslim Associations Qatar (FSMA-Q), under the guidance of the Sri Lankan embassy in Qatar, has provided 60 medical oxygen cylinders to help in the fight against Covid-19 back in Sri Lanka.

The Federation of Sri Lankan Muslim Associations Qatar (FSMA-Q), under the guidance of the Sri Lankan embassy in Qatar, has provided 60 medical oxygen cylinders to help in the fight against Covid-19 back in Sri Lanka.The support from FSMA-Q came in response to the call of the Sri Lankan government to expatriate Sri Lankans across the world in the fight against the pandemic by way of assisting in the provision of emergency medical supplies.
In a statement yesterday, FSMA-Q, the apex body of all Sri Lankan Muslim organisations in Qatar affiliated to the embassy, said it rallied all its member organisations to “support this noble cause by answering the government’s call to help their motherland during this hour of need”.
With the generous assistance of its member organisations, FSMA-Q was able to donate 60 medical oxygen cylinders through the embassy, to be airfreighted to Sri Lanka as urgent medical relief supplies. This will be a significant addition to the medical supplies that have already been provided as donations by other community organisations and well-wishers in Qatar, the statement notes.
A ceremony was held observing Covid-19 precautionary protocols to hand over the oxygen cylinders to the Sri Lankan ambassador to Qatar, Mohamed Mafaz Mohideen, on June 11.
Besides the ambassador, present on the occasion were FSMA-Q president Mohamed Rinoz, vice-president and project co-ordinator Mohamed Lafir and Executive Committee members.
Mohideen thanked FSMA-Q and its member associations for giving their support and co-operation to help their motherland during this time of need by providing 60 medical oxygen cylinders, which will go a long way in saving the lives of fellow Sri Lankan citizens back home.
The FSMA-Q president thanked all the members for giving their full support to this initiative in addition to focusing on the projects of their respective associations. He added FSMA-Q has always been at the forefront of supporting the Sri Lankan community back home during any calamity or disaster in the past, and thanked the ambassador as well as the embassy for the encouragement and guidance
provided in making this project a success.

Courtesy NewsX

The Tamil Nadu state police and Central intelligence agencies have been on their feet and high vigilance after threats of an armed group trying to infiltrate from Sri Lanka were received.

The Tamil Nadu state police and Central intelligence agencies have been on their feet and high vigilance after threats of an armed group trying to infiltrate from Sri Lanka were received. Security has been tightened along TN coastal areas after receiving news of infiltrators attempting to enter with rifles.

According to sources, an alert was issued by a Central intelligence agency on Saturday evening and the police have stepped up vigil in the towns of Kanyakumari, Toothukudi, Rameswaram, as well as in Chennai.

According to informed intelligence sources, a boat carrying armed operatives was seen heading towards Rameswaram coast. However, the sources revealed to one media houses that the exact identity of these people are not known and no details also of the organization that they belong to.

According to inputs received, security has been beefed up and an intense vigil is being maintained in the border areas with Karnataka as well. On other hand, recently Tamilian leaders called upon the state government to urge the Centre to pursue legal action over Chinese domination and not to allow a Galwan like situation to develop in the state.

Courtesy The National News

Citizens from India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are affected

Bahrain has indefinitely suspended giving work permits to people from coronavirus red list countries who are outside the kingdom, a representative of the Labour Market Regulatory Authority told The National on Sunday.

For the time being, individuals who are in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal are not able to gain work permits in Bahrain,” he said.

“The decision was put in place on May 24, and we are still unsure of when it will be lifted.”

Near the end of May, Bahrain suspended the entry of travellers from countries on its red list in response to the rising number of Covid-19 infections and deaths.

If individuals holding citizenships from countries that are on the red list are inside of Bahrain then they can apply or renew their work permits,” the representative said.

Bahrain’s national medical committee, established to address the pandemic, will assess which countries will be added to or removed from the list according to certain criteria, he said.

Bahraini citizens and residency visa holders arriving from red list countries are allowed in but must present a negative PCR test taken no more than 48 hours before flying.

The kingdom also reintroduced mandatory quarantine for all non-vaccinated travellers arriving in Bahrain.

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Travellers now have to take a PCR test before flying and on arrival, and then complete a 10-day home or hotel quarantine.

Last week, the government announced an extension of its measures put in place to curb the spread of the pandemic.

Shopping malls, stores, restaurants, coffee shops, swimming pools, beauty salons and barber shops will be closed for another two weeks.

“In order to achieve the goals set and based on positive results, we have decided to extend the national lockdown for a period of two weeks starting from Friday, June 11, to Friday, June 25,” the medical committee said.

Authorities first announced the closures on May 27.

Courtesy Adaderana

Courtesy Adaderana

Minister of Energy Udaya Gammanpila, addressing the criticisms over the recent price hike of fuel, says that all he did was informing the public of a collective decision made by the government including the President and the Prime Minister.

Holding a press conference today (June 13), the Minister of Energy responded to the heavy criticisms and calls to step down from his position over the fuel price hike.

On Friday (June 11) the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CEYPETCO) and Lanka Indian Oil Corporation (LIOC) announced an increase in fuel prices.

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) General Secretary MP Sagara Kariyawasam, yesterday (June 12) issued a statement that the subject minister must take complete responsibility for pushing the people into more difficulties with a fuel price hike amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The statement called the subject minister to step down from his position.

Explaining the process behind the increase in fuel prices, Minister Udaya Gammanpila stated that the decision was taken on June 09 by the Cabinet Sub Committee on Cost of Living following lengthy discussions.

The Minister further pointed out that the Sub-Committee consisted of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, Minister of Trade Bandula Gunawardena, Minister of Agriculture Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Minister of Power Dullas Alahapperuma, Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs Namal Rajapaksa, State Minister of Finance Ajith Nivard Cabraal, and State Minister of Consumer Affairs Lasantha Alagiyawanna in addition to himself, as the Minister of Energy.

He further said that he received written consent from the Prime Minister on June 10 regarding the price hike.

All I did was inform the public of a collective decision made by the government including the President and the Prime Minister,” he said.

Gammanpila pointed out that, while a fuel price hike is usually announced by the Ministry of Finance, volunteered for this task in order to ‘protect the President and the Prime Minister’.

Sagara Kariyawasam did not attack me; he attacked the only President made from his party, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and his party leader Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa,” he said.

The Energy Minister says that the SLPP General Secretary inconvenienced the Prime Minister by inflicting a blow on the Prime Minister using a statement issued with the letterhead containing the Prime Minister’s photograph.

Kariyawasam has committed a grave mistake by inflicting a heavy blow on their decision, Gammanpila said.

Minister Udaya Gammanpila further said, The intelligent people of this country will decide whether it is I or Sagara Kariyawasama who should resign from their post”.

The Energy Minister also revealed that many senior members of SLPP had informed him that there had been no internal party decision to issue such a statement against him. Further, neither party leader Mahinda Rajapaksa nor party chairman Prof. G. L. Peiris had been aware of such a statement, he added.

Thereby, Gammanpila says that he challenges Kariyawasam to reveal the names of the senior members of SLPP who took part in making a decision to issue the relevant statement.

Further, Gammanpila also publicly challenged Kariyawasam to a public debate if he is able to prove that Gammanpila is behind the country’s energy crisis.

Courtesy Adaderana

Daily COVID-19 cases count hit 2,329 on Sunday (June 13) as 443 more people were tested positive for the virus in Sri Lanka.

The new development brings the total number of confirmed cases of coronavirus reported in the country to 223,606.

As many as 188,547 recoveries and 2,136 deaths have been confirmed in Sri Lanka since the outbreak of the pandemic last year.

According to official data, up to 32,923 active cases are currently under medical care at designated hospitals and treatment centres.

Courtesy Adaderana

The construction work on the Central Expressway in the Gampaha District will be temporarily suspended, said Minister of Tourism Prasanna Ranatunga.

The work will be suspended until a final decision is reached after reviewing the construction plan, he said.

A number of areas in the Gampaha District have been inundated due to the recent heavy rains and there have been allegations from various parties that such a situation has arisen due to the construction of the Central Expressway.

Courtesy Adaderana

The latest fuel price hike is a step taken to stabilize the national economy, bank interest rates, and foreign reserves as well as to secure and improve the health and welfare of the public, President’s Media Division said.

Issuing a statement, the PMD stated that the Cabinet Sub Committee on Cost of Living chaired by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, with the participation of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Ministers in charge of the subject, focused on a number of key reasons for the increase in fuel prices.

These price increases are just one key factor in a common plan to strengthen the local economy, the PMD said.

It is a decision to strengthen the country’s banking system, maintain low interest rates, reduce foreign exchange spending, strengthen the exchange rate, secure the health and well-being of the people, and transform the import-dependent consumer economy into an investment and consumption economy based on domestic production, PMD further said.

Courtesy Adaderana

World leaders meeting in Cornwall are to adopt strict measures on coal-fired power stations as part of the battle against climate change.

The G7 group will promise to move away from coal plants, unless they have technology to capture carbon emissions.

It comes as Sir David Attenborough warned that humans could be on the verge of destabilising the entire planet”.

He said G7 leaders face the most important decisions in human history.

The coal announcement came from the White House, which says it is the first time the leaders of wealthy nations have committed to keeping the projected global temperature rise to 1.5C.

That requires a range of urgent policies, chief among them being phasing out coal burning unless it includes carbon capture technology.

Coal is the world’s dirtiest major fuel and ending its use is seen as a major step by environmentalists, but they also want guarantees rich countries will deliver on previous promises to help poorer countries cope with climate change.

The G7 will end the funding of new coal generation in developing countries and offer up to £2billion for poorer nations to stop using the fuel.

Climate change has been one of the key themes at the three-day summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwall.

Leaders of the seven major industrialised nations – the UK, US, Canada, Japan, France, Germany and Italy – are expected to set out global plans to reduce emissions from farming, transport, and the making of steel and cement.

And they will commit to protecting 30 percent of global land and marine areas for nature by 2030.

They are also expected to pledge to almost halve their emissions by 2030, relative to 2010 levels.

The UK has already surpassed that commitment, previously promising to cut emissions by the equivalent of 58% on 2010 levels.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will hold a press conference on Sunday afternoon, the final day of a summit where he has clashed with EU leaders over the Brexit deal’s requirements for checks on goods from Britain to Northern Ireland.

And after the summit, US President Joe Biden will be met by a Guard of Honour at Windsor Castle, where he will have tea with the Queen.

‘Plain to see’
A video message from Sir David Attenborough will be played to world leaders in Cornwall at the summit on Sunday as they set out their plans for meeting emissions targets.

Speaking beforehand, Sir David said: The natural world today is greatly diminished. That is undeniable.

Our climate is warming fast. That is beyond doubt. Our societies and nations are unequal and that is sadly plain to see.

But the question science forces us to address specifically in 2021 is whether as a result of these intertwined facts we are on the verge of destabilising the entire planet.

If that is so, then the decisions we make this decade – in particular the decisions made by the most economically advanced nations – are the most important in human history.”

As well as the measures on coal and ending almost all direct government support for the fossil fuel sector overseas, the G7 are expected to phase out petrol and diesel cars.

BBC environment analyst Roger Harrabin said there had been a crucial lack of detail on two questions so far: the proposed green masterplan to help developing countries get clean technology and the amount of cash richer [countries] will hand to the poorer to tackle the climate crisis.”

China, which according to one report was responsible for 27% of the world’s greenhouse gases in 2019 – the most of any country – is not part of the G7.

The G7 leaders will endorse a plan aimed at reversing the loss of biodiversity – a measure of how many different species live in ecosystems – by the end of the decade.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is hosting the summit, is also launching a £500m fund to protect the world’s oceans and marine life.

The blue planet fund” will help countries including Ghana, Indonesia and Pacific island states, tackle unsustainable fishing, protect and restore coastal ecosystems like mangroves and coral reefs, and reduce marine pollution.

Hundreds of protesters brought streets to a standstill in Cornwall on Saturday, with many campaigning for cleaner seas and action on climate change.

A major UN report from 2019 said that global emissions of carbon dioxide must peak by 2020 to keep the planet from warming more than 1.5C – the so-called safe limit.

Mr Johnson said protecting the planet was the most important thing we as leaders can do for our people”.

There is a direct relationship between reducing emissions, restoring nature, creating jobs and ensuring long-term economic growth,” he said on Saturday.

Source: BBC
-Agencies

S.AKURUGODA

As per the main news item that appeared in The Island dated 9/06/2021 under the title ‘Covid time bonanza: Luxury SUVs for MPs coming, after all!’, the government was not in a position to cancel the order placed for the import of luxury vehicles for the 225 MPs as the opening of Letters of Credit meant guaranteed payment and Letters of Credit had been opened through a State Banks, Sri Lanka faced the prospect of being blacklisted if a unilateral decision was taken on the matter.

The above reveals expressed by the Media Minister and co-Cabinet spokesperson Keheliya Rambukwella is in contrary to what we learned earlier after reading a statement issued from The Prime Minister’s Office in the last week of May which stated that the previous cabinet paper for the import of 399 vehicles at a cost of Rs 3.7bn had been withdrawn as the financial situation was not conducive to import vehicles. It is also in contrary to the SLPP’s 2019 presidential election manifesto which assured that vehicles wouldn’t be imported for members of parliament for a period of three years.

It is interesting to note how the current opposition politicians who were barking at every and each move made by the government, since its inception, have gone dumb and deaf when the government move on vehicles made at a time the country was struggling to cope with Covid-19 fallout.

It is hard to believe that a single MP, including new MPs, in the current Parliament does not possess his/her own vehicles.  Unlike during 1950s, it is also hard to believe that any one of the current MPs uses public transport or hire vehicles to attend parliamentary sessions or any of their activities. We remember how the government Ministers like D.S. Gunasekera , W. Dahanayake etc who were MPs in the 1956-1960 Parliament used public transport when attending Parliamentary sessions. We also remember, around 1959, how Minister Gunasekera was fined by the railway ticket checkers for his failure to show his railway pass issued for MPs.

On the other hand, as per media reports, the Government, including the Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi, has requested affluent locals, INGOs, local NGOs and Sri Lankan living in foreign countries to donate their allocated funds for the remaining quarters of the year for the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic which has surged to critical proportions in recent weeks.

While our politicians are attempting to import luxury vehicles costing billions of Rupees at this crucial stage, New Zealand’s Parliamentarians, including PM, ministers and public service chief executives made an example to the entire world by making a commitment to take a 20% pay cut lasting six months to show solidarity with those affected by the corona virus outbreak.

What the government should do at this stage, if the withdrawal of the said cabinet paper is not preventing the import of luxury vehicle for MPS and the Prime Minister’s office is really keen in avoiding the waste of money, is to auction the vehicles soon after arrival (or if already arrived) and use proceeds to counter the epidemic, as the death toll continues to rise.

S.AKURUGODA

KAMALIKA PIERIS

The Darusman Report (2011) which was commissioned by the UN Secretary-General pointed out that that there was a need for the UN to review its actions in the Eelam War IV. Clearly, it was felt that the UN had failed in its task of manipulating the Eelam war. Sri Lanka had won the Eelam war.

UN Secretary-General then established an Internal Review Panel under Charles Petrie, to review UN actions in Sri Lanka during the final stages of the war in Sri Lanka and after. The Petrie report stated that from 2003 to 2007, the UN had wanted to establish a human rights operation in Sri Lanka, but failed.

In 2007 and 2008, the UN Department of Political Affairs (DPA) in New York, considered various tactics in Sri Lanka, which included a political solution to the conflict, a special envoy, establishing a human rights field presence and ensuring accountability for past human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law.

Out of these, UN  decided  in 2007, to focus on high-level visits by senior UNHQ officials who could present UN concerns and suggestions to the government .In 2007 alone Sri Lanka was visited by  * USG-Humanitarian Affairs , *Head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs  *the Under Secretary-General (USG)-Humanitarian Affairs, *Head of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights  and *the Representative of the Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons (RSG-IDPs).

USG-Humanitarian Affairs, conducted more visits to Sri Lanka than any other official, the Petrie Report   said.  However, the Government rejected most of the proposed initiatives, including the appeal by the UN for a field operation,  which meant a sort of peacekeeping mission.

The UN’s relationships with the Government were difficult, said Petrie Report, due to the Government stratagem of UN intimidation.”  Government of Sri Lanka had used visas to control UN staff critical of the government. The Government declared several Resident Coordinators persona non grata, or made them understand that their visas were at risk of being withdrawn, while also rejecting proposed replacements with previous experience in crisis situations.  The Government refused to give them visas when UN tried to send in more staff to deal with the humanitarian aspect of the War, continued Petrie Report.

In 2007 the Government formally launched its military campaign in the Wanni against the last remaining area under LTTE control. Over the following 18 months, the fighting gradually intensified and in September 2008, as the conflict entered its final stages, the Government officially informed the UN it could no longer guarantee the safety of staff in the Wanni.

 Within three weeks, the UN withdrew all international staff, effectively ending UN assistance operations from within the Wanni. The UN also tried to withdraw its entire national staff, but the LTTE prevented staff dependents from leaving, and many national staff consequently chose to remain behind.

The Petrie report also looked at developments at the apex of the UN system. By 2007, UN was discussing Sri Lanka at its Headquarters in New York. At UNHQ Sri Lanka was on the agenda not just of the Policy Committee but also of the Executive Committee on Humanitarian Affairs (ECHA), and an Inter-Agency Working Group on Sri Lanka (IAWG-SL), said Petrie Report.

But Sri Lanka was never formally considered by Member States at the UN, whether at the Security Council, the Human Rights Council, or the General Assembly, the report said. From late 2008, a small group of non-permanent members of the Security Council had become deeply concerned by events and by early February 2009 wished the Security Council to formally consider the situation in Sri Lanka. However, they did not have sufficient support within the Security Council for this.

Sri Lanka was discussed in ‘informal interactive dialogue’ at the Security Council, but this had no formal status, led to no outcomes and left no formal minutes of its deliberations. The Sri Lankan ambassador to the UN participated in the meetings, providing the Government’s version of events and potentially influencing discussions.

Foreign Ministers from two member countries of the Security Council went to Sri Lanka in late April 2009.  On 12^th May, 2009 they called for Sri Lanka to be placed on the Security Council’s agenda. But this came too late to change the course of events, said Petrie Report.

Above all, UN action in Sri Lanka was not supported by Member states, said Petrie Report. In the absence of clear Security Council backing, the UN’s actions lacked adequate purpose and direction. Member States failed to provide the Secretariat and UN Country Team in Colombo with the necessary support.

Petrie report said that the UN office in Colombo had insufficient political expertise and experience in armed conflicts, human rights and humanitarian law issues to deal with the extraordinary challenge” that Sri Lanka presented.

A UN staffer had told Rajiva Wijesinha that the UN had ‘got this wrong.’ Most of the UN staff had worked in countries with no established government and no regular provision of basic social services.  They did not know how to negotiate with a strong government.

The UN representation in Sri Lanka was too weak to be effective, said Petrie Report. The UN office in Sri Lanka was headed by Resident Coordinator who reported to the Secretary-General through the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

The Resident Coordinator   was supported by a Human Rights Adviser who provided a link to OHCHR, a Reconciliation and Development Adviser who provided a link to DPA, a communications adviser who was also a spokesperson, and a gender adviser.

 As the Eelam issue escalated a Crisis Management Group was established with Resident Coordinator,   the country heads of UNICEF, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and UN office for the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs, (OCHA). The group’s initial focus was on the logistical and operational aspects of UN action in the war area.

The events in Sri Lanka highlight the urgent need for the UN to update its strategy for engagement with Member States in situations where civilian populations caught up in the midst of armed conflicts are not protected in accordance with international human rights and humanitarian law, said Petrie Report. The International Resource Panel of the UN found a systemic failure” in the UN response during the final months of Sri Lanka’s conflict, evoking comparisons to UN failures in Rwanda in 1996 and Srebrenica in 1995, said Petrie Report.

The report was presented to the Secretary General in November 2012, and led to a new policy within the UN called Rights-up-Front. In 2013, in direct response to the Petrie Report, the Secretary-General launched the Human Rights Up Front initiative. He issued a Human Rights Up Front Detailed Action Plan (updated March 2014). This called on the UN system to play a strong role to prevent human rights crises.

There has been a new development in the role of the UN Resident Coordinator, observed Leelananda de Silva writing in October 2019. For the past 50 years or so, the UNDP Resident Representative has also been the UN Resident Coordinator. It was an office involved with development”. The UNDP funded the post of UN Resident Coordinator in all developing countries where they were present. 

A few months ago, the UN Secretary General delinked the role of the UN Resident Coordinators from the UNDP and brought it under Secretary General. The office of Secretary General of the UN is a political one. By changing the role of the RC, the Secretary General has now a largely political representative in Colombo.

Sri Lanka needs to be more aware of this changed role of the UN Resident Coordinator. What does this official do? And what kinds of reports does this official send to the Secretary General?

I understand that recently there was a request from the UN Human Rights office in Geneva, to appoint a representative in Colombo, and that was turned down by the Government. Now with this appointment, the UN has got a political office on the ground here. The government should be aware of his precise role in this country.

Leelananda also looked at protocol. UN personnel in Colombo are expected to meet government officials at an appropriate level. In the 1970s, when I was Director of Economic Affairs in the Planning Ministry, I met the UN Resident Coordinator and the UN Resident Representative in my office from time to time. The RC hardly met the Permanent Secretary or a Minister.  The Prime Minister they never met unless on some ceremonial occasion. In New York or Geneva, High level UN officers   meet our Ambassador. They do not meet first or second secretaries of our Embassy.

Now, the practice has changed. Recently I saw some photographs of the UNDP Resident Representative (not the UN Resident Coordinator) meeting the President and the Prime Minister. This UNDP representative is a mid-level official of the UN. He does not have official access to President and the Prime Minister. This means that   High level UN officers do not need to seek an appointment with Head of state, the junior officials can attend to the matter for them.

There is another problem when protocol is discarded, said Leelananda. When UN officials in Colombo can conduct their business at the ministerial level, why should they bother with officials? They can go above their heads.

Leelananda   also looked at UN aid.  Initially, there was a certain amount of development aid, especially in the form of technical assistance from UN bodies. Now that has ceased, as Sri Lanka is no longer eligible for concessional assistance.

UNDP offices are now channeling aid from various bilateral donors. The aid funds come from bilateral donors to UN bodies and these UN bodies fund projects in Sri Lanka. These UN bodies have to report to these bilateral donors. In fact, their very existence in a country now depends on bilateral funding of projects. These UN bodies are no longer independent aid donors, as they used to be, warned Leelananda. (Continued)

මාධ්‍ය ඒකකය, තරුණ හා ක්‍රීඩා අමාත්‍යංශය

සියලුම නිදහස් වෙළඳ කලාපවල සේවක සේවිකාවන් සඳහා ජූලි මස මුල් සතියේ පළමු එන්නත් මාත්‍රාව ලබාදෙන බව තරුණ හා ක්‍රීඩා අමාත්‍ය නාමල් රාජපක්ෂ මහතා අද (12) දින පැවසීය.

තිස් වැනි සංවත්සරය සමරන කොග්ගල නිදහස් වෙළද කලාපයේ කර්මාන්තශාලාවන්හි ආයෝජකයන් සහ එහි කළමණාකරුවන් සමඟ එම වෙළඳ කලාප පරිශ්‍රයේ පැවති හමුවකට එක්වෙමින් අමාත්‍යවරයා මේ බව සඳහන් කළේය.

අමාත්‍යවරයා මෙම හමුවට සමගාමීව කොග්ගල නිදහස් වෙළඳ කලාපයේ නිරීක්ෂණ චාරිකාවකට ද එක්විය.

ආයෝජකයින් සමඟ පැවති සාකච්ඡාවේ දී නිෂ්පාදන හා අපනයන කර්මාන්තයේ දී  ඔවුන්   මුහුණ දෙන ගැටලු සහ ඒවාට ලබාදිය හැකි විසඳුම් පිළිබඳව සාකච්ඡා කෙරිණි.

කොග්ගල ආයෝජන කලාපයේ හඳුනාගත් පොදු ගැටලු  සහ එවාට ලබාදිය හැකි විසඳුම් පිළිබඳව ද මෙහි දී අමාත්‍යවරයාගේ අවධානය යොමු විය.

ආයෝජන කලාපයට ලැබෙන ජල පරිමාණය වැඩි කරදෙන ලෙස ඉල්ලීමක් ඉදිරිපත් වූ අතර ඒ සඳහා කඩිනම් පියවර ගැනීමට අමාත්‍යවරයා නිලධාරීන්ට උපදෙස් දුන්නේය.

එහිදී අමාත්‍යවරයා මෙසේ ද කීවේය.

පසුගිය දිනක සෞඛ්‍ය අමාත්‍යාංශ නිලධාරීන් සමඟ කළ සාකච්ඡාවක දී  වෙළඳ කලාපවල සේවක සේවිකාවන්ට එන්නත ලබාදීමේ අවශ්‍යතාව පැහැදිලි කිරීමෙන් අනතුරුව ලංකාවේ සියලුම වෙළඳ කලාප වෙත එන්නත් ලබාදීමට අවශ්‍ය අනුමැතිය ලැබී තිබෙනවා.

ඒ අනුව කොග්ගල නිදහස් වෙළද  කලාපය ඇතුලුව සෑම ආයෝජන කලාපයකටම ජූලි මස පළමු සතියේ සිට කොවිඩ් – 19 සඳහා වූ පළමු ප්‍රතිශක්තිකරණ එන්නත් මාත්‍රාව ලබාදීමේ කටයුතු ආරම්භ වනවා.

එය නිෂ්පාදන හා අපනයන කර්මාන්තය වෙත හිමි වූ සුවිශේෂ වරප්‍රසාදයක් යැයි අමාත්‍යවරයා පෙන්වා දුන්නේය.

කොග්ගල නිදහස් වෙළඳ කලාපය තුළ ඇගලුම්, ඉලෙක්ට්‍රොනික් උපාංග, රබර් නිෂ්පාදන ඇතුලු විව්ධ ක්ෂේත්‍රයන්ට අදාළ  කර්මාන්ත ශාලා 21ක් දැනට ක්‍රියාත්මක බව ශ්‍රී ලංකා ආයෝජන මණ්ඩලයේ කොග්ගල කලාප අධ්‍යක්ෂ සිසිල් ප්‍රනාන්දු මහතා මෙහි දී ප්‍රකාශ කළේය.

මෙම වෙළඳ කලාපය හරහා 12840කට සෘජු රැකියා අවස්ථා හිමිව ඇති බව හෙතම කියා සිටියේය.

මෙම සාකච්ඡාවට වැවිලි කර්මාන්‍ත අමාත්‍ය රමේෂ් පතිරණ, ගුවන් සේවා හා අපනයන කලාප සංවර්ධන රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය ඩී.වී.චානක, ගාල්ල දිස්ත්‍රික් සංවර්ධන කමිටු සභාපති පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී  සම්පත් අතුකෝරල, ශ්‍රි ලංකා ආයෝජන මණ්ඩලයේ සභාපති සංජීව මොහොට්ටාල මහත්වරු සහ ගාල්ල දිස්ත්‍රික් ලේකම්තුමා, පළාත් ප්‍රධාන ලේකම්තුමා, කොග්ගල ආයෝජන කලාපයේ කර්මාන්ත ශාලාවල හිමිකරුවන් හා කළමණාකරුවන් ඇතුළු රාජ්‍ය නිළධාරීන් පිරිසක් සහභාගී වූහ.

මාධ්‍ය ඒකකය, තරුණ හා ක්‍රීඩා අමාත්‍යංශය

මාධ්‍ය ඒකකය,තරුණ හා ක්‍රීඩා අමාත්‍යංශය

කොවිඩ් වසංගත තත්ත්වය හේතුවෙන් මාර්ගගත (Online) ක්‍රමවේදය ඔස්සේ අධ්‍යයන කටයුතුවල නිරතවන රටේ සියලුම දරුවන්ට අන්තර්ජාල සේවා ගාස්තුවකින් තොරව e-තක්සලාව හරහා නොමිලේ අධ්‍යාපන වරම් ලබාදීමේ ව්‍යාපෘතිය කඩිනම් කරන්නැයි තරුණ හා ක්‍රීඩා අමාත්‍ය, ඩිජිටල් තාක්ෂණ හා ව්‍යවසාය සංවර්ධන රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය නාමල් රාජපක්ෂ මහතා පැවසීය.

E-තක්සලාව ක්‍රමවේදයේ දැනට පවතින දුෂ්කරතා අවම කරගනිමින් වඩාත් සුදුසු ක්‍රමවේදයක් හඳුන්වාදිම සඳහා අරලියගහ මන්දිරයේ දී ඊයේ (11) පැවති සාකච්ඡාවකට එක්වෙමින් අමාත්‍යවරයා මේ බව අවධාරණය කළේය.

2021 ජුලි 21 දින වන විට මුල් අදියර ලෙස පාසල් 200ක සිසුන්ට අන්තර්ජාල සේවා ගාස්තුවකින් තොරව මාර්ගගත (Online)  පන්ති e-තක්සලාව හරහා ආරම්භ කිරීමට අවශ්‍ය පියවර ගන්නැයි අමාත්‍ය නාමල් රාජපක්ෂ මහතා මෙහි දී උපදෙස් දුන්නේය.

විවිධ යෙදුම් හරහා මාර්ගගත ක්‍රමවේද ඔස්සේ අධ්‍යාපනය ලැබීමේ දී දත්ත සඳහා දරුවන්ට වැයවන සැපයුම් සේවා ගාස්තු මෙන්ම අනෙකුත් දුෂ්කරතා මගහැරීම පිළිබඳව අමාත්‍ය නාමල් රාජපක්ෂ මහතාගේ ප්‍රධානත්වයෙන් පැවති මෙම හමුවේ දී අවධානය යොමු විය.

රජය විසින් දැනටමත් විධිමත්ව ස්ථාපිත කර ඇති e-තක්සලාව අදාළ ගැටලුවලට පිළියමක් ලෙස යොදාගත හැකි බව මෙම හමුවේ දී තීරණය කෙරිණි.

ඒ අනුව මෙම පද්ධතිය ස්ථාපිත කර ඇති ශ්‍රී ලංකා තොරතුරු හා සන්නිවේදන තාක්ෂණ නියෝජිතායතනය (ICTA) ට ලංකා රාජ්‍ය මේඝය තුළ ප්‍රමාණවත් තාක්ෂණික යටිතල පහසුකම් පුළුල් කරදෙමින් දැනට වඩා විශාල සිසුන් පිරිසකට එකවර ඊට ප්‍රවේශවිය හැකි අවස්ථාව සලසන්නැයි අමාත්‍ය නාමල් රාජපක්ෂ මහතා මෙහි දී උපදෙස් දුන්නේය.

අධ්‍යාපනය සඳහාම වෙන්වූ රූපවාහිනී නාලිකාවක් සහ ගුවන්විදුලි සේවාවක් පවත්වාගෙන යාම සම්බන්ධයෙන් ද මෙහි දී සාකච්ඡා කෙරිණි. එවැනි රූපවාහිනි හා ගුවන් විදුලි සේවාවක් සඳහා අධ්‍යාපන ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණ, විවෘත විශ්වවිද්‍යාල සහ දුරස්ථ අධ්‍යාපන ප්‍රවර්ධන රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යංශය දැනටමත් සංඛ්‍යාත ලබාගෙන ඇති බව මෙහි දී හෙළිවිය.

ශ්‍රී ලංකා රූපවාහිනී සංස්ථාව, ස්වාධීන රූපවාහිනී සේවය සහ ගුවන්විදුලි සංස්ථාව යන ආයතනයන්හි දැනටමත් පවතින යටිතල පහසුකම් භාවිත කර අදාළ සේවාවන් ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීමට අවශ්‍ය පියවර ගන්නැයි අමාත්‍ය නාමල් රාජපක්ෂ මහතා කියා සිටියේය.

සන්නිවේදන කුලුණු අලුතින් ඉදිකිරීම ද ඇතුළු මෙවැනි දිගු කාලීන පියවරවලට අමතරව මේ වනවිටත් මාර්ගගත අධ්‍යාපනය ලැබීමේ දී අන්තර්ජාල ආවරණ බාධා, ආර්ථික දුෂ්කරතා සහ අවශ්‍ය මෙවලම් නොමැතිව අසරණව සිටින දරුවන් වෙනුවෙන් කෙටි කාලීන විසඳුම් අවශ්‍ය බව අමාත්‍ය නාමල් රාජපක්ෂ මහතා මෙහි දී නිලධාරීන්ගේ අවධානය යොමු කළේය.

ඒ අනුව ආර්ථීක දුෂ්කරතා මැද මාර්ගගත ඉගෙනීම් කටයුතුවල නිරත දරුවන්ගේ අධ්‍යාපනය සදහා සුදුසු ජංගම දුරකතන මෙවලමක් ලබාදීමේ වැඩපිළිවෙලක් සකස් කර ඒ පිළිබදව තමන් දැනුවත් කරන්නැයි අමාත්‍ය නාමල් රාජපක්ෂ මහතා පැවසීය.

අන්තර්ජාල ආවරණය පිළිබද දැනට පවතින ගැටලු සැලකිල්ලට ගනිමින් e – තක්සලාව මගින් ඉගැන්වීම තහවුරු කිරීම සඳහා ග්‍රාමීය වශයෙන් හඳුනාගත් මධ්‍යස්ථාන (උදා: ප්‍රජා ශාලා, නැණසල  විහාරස්ථාන සහ පරිගණක සම්පත් මධ්‍යස්ථාන), e-තක්සලාව ඉගෙනුම් මධ්‍යස්ථාන ”ලෙස කුඩා සිසු කණ්ඩායම් සඳහා ඉගෙනුම් අවස්ථා සලසන මධ්‍යස්ථාන බවට පත්කරන්නැයි ද අමාත්‍ය නාමල් රාජපක්ෂ මහතා දැනුම් දුන්නේය.

අදාළ කටයුත්තේ දී ඉගෙනුම්  අවස්ථා ලබාදීමට අවශ්‍ය මධ්‍යස්ථාන හඳුනාගැනීමේ කාර්යය සහ පරිගණක උපාංග ලබාදීම පිළිබඳව අවශ්‍ය ක්‍රියාමාර්ග අධ්‍යාපන අමාත්‍යංශ ලේකම්තුමාගේ නිර්දේශ මත ක්‍රියාත්මක විය යුතු බවද පැවසීය.

මෙම සාකච්ඡාවට අධ්‍යාපන අමාත්‍ය මහාචාර්ය ජී.එල්. පිරිස්, අධ්‍යපන ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණ, විවෘත විශ්වවිද්‍යාල සහ දුරස්ථ අධ්‍යාපන ප්‍රවර්ධන රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය ගරු සුසිල් ප්‍රේමජයන්ත්, කාන්තා සහ ළමා සංවර්ධන, පෙර පාසල් සහ ප්‍රාථමික අධ්‍යාපන, පාසල් යටිතල පහසුකම් සහ අධ්‍යාපන සේවා රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය පියල් නිශාන්ත ද සිල්වා යන මහත්වරු සහ අදාළ අමාත්‍යංශවල ලේකම්වරුන්, ශ්‍රී ලංකා විදුලි සංදේශ නියාමන කොමිෂන් සභාවේ අධ්‍යක්ෂ ජනරාල්තුමා, ශ්‍රී ලංකා තොරතුරු හා සංනිවේදන තාක්ෂණ නියෝජිතායතනයේ සභාපතිතුමා ඇතුළු නිලධාරී පිරිසක් එක්ව සිටියහ.

මාධ්‍ය ඒකකය,තරුණ හා ක්‍රීඩා අමාත්‍යංශය

By Jonny Tickle Courtesy RT

Covid-19 has mutated significantly, and the virus is now much harder to treat than it used to be. That’s according to the head of Moscow’s Kommunarka Hospital, which last year became the city’s main coronavirus treatment facility.

Speaking to Moscow radio station Ekho Moskvy on Thursday, the hospital’s chief physician, Denis Protsenko, who became a household name in 2020 due to his role at the forefront of the country’s battle against Covid-19, explained that it has become much harder to treat ill patients.

There is a feeling that the virus is changing,” Protsenko explained. The proven methods of treatment for hyperinflammation or, as we call it, cytokine storms, are often failing.”ALSO ON RT.COMMoscow to open extra hospital capacity & heighten measures to control Covid-19 as cases rise in Europe’s largest city

This makes us think that the virus has also changed and has mutated in this year and a half,” he said, before encouraging people to get vaccinated against the disease.

According to Protsenko, the Kommunarka hospital is now filled with a large number of elderly patients, as well as people who are overweight or diabetic. Furthermore, collective immunity in the capital is still under 50%, he said.

On Wednesday, Deputy Moscow Mayor Anastasia Rakova revealed that the city would open up additional hospital beds in the upcoming days, boosting its capacity by 1,500. That announcement came after Mayor Sergey Sobyanin ordered local authorities to ramp up enforcement of sanitary measures, such as the wearing of masks on public transport. However, he also noted that he had no plans to introduce any new lockdowns.

According to the official numbers, Russia recorded 12,505 new cases nationwide on Friday – the highest figure since February 22. The capital is bearing the brunt of the latest wave, with 5,853 new infections detected in just 24 hours – 47% of all cases recorded. Moscow is home to just 10% of the country’s population.

However, perhaps most worryingly, Moscow’s coronavirus spread, measured by the so-called R rate, soared to 1.6 in the past 24 hours – the highest seen since September 30 last year.

Courtesy RT

According to recent US research, Covid-19 may lead to the type of brain changes common in Alzheimer’s disease, and a team of scientists has identified the mechanisms by which it may be causing such impairments.

Cognitive disorders, including dementia, are increasingly being reported as a complication of the highly contagious SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19, researchers behind the recent study at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio have revealed. 

Reports of neurological complications in Covid-19 patients and ‘long-hauler’ patients whose symptoms persist after the infection clears are becoming more common, suggesting that [the virus] may have lasting effects on brain function,” said the authors of the study, which was published this week in the journal Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy. 

The researchers’ aim was to uncover the mechanisms responsible for brain-associated complications such as delirium and the loss of taste or smell that are often found in novel coronavirus patients. In order to do so, they compared on a molecular level the host genes of Covid-19 and those responsible for some neurological disorders.

Having collected the data of both Covid-19 patients and people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, they used artificial intelligence to measure the proximity between them. They also analyzed any genetic factors that might allow the new virus to infect brain tissues and cells, identifying significant network-based relationships” between Covid and Alzheimer’s. They also concluded that Alzheimer’s patients may be more defenseless against the deadly virus, as they have a decreased number of certain protective antiviral genes. 

READ MORECovid-19 could cause strokes among young & healthy people, including in asymptomatic cases – study

While the researchers found little evidence that the virus targets the brain directly, they discovered close network relationships between the virus and genes/proteins associated with several neurological diseases, most notably Alzheimer’s, pointing to pathways by which Covid-19 could lead to Alzheimer’s disease-like dementia,” the Cleveland Clinic stated. 

Having proved the overlap between Covid-19 and brain changes common in Alzheimer’s, the researchers will now study the processes by which the novel coronavirus may lead to cognitive disorders and how it might be prevented from doing so.
Identifying how Covid-19 and neurological problems are linked will be critical for developing effective preventive and therapeutic strategies to address the surge in neurocognitive impairments that we expect to see in the near future,” the study’s lead author, Feixiong Cheng, said. 

Brain-affecting complications in Covid-19 patients and those ill with other coronaviruses have been confirmed by previous studies, the Cleveland researchers point out. One in five patients who have recovered from the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-1) or the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) have reported memory impairments, while people suffering from the novel coronavirus have also experienced symptoms such as disorientation, inattention, and confusion. Covid-19 survivors who required intensive care unit admissions might be at an even greater risk of neurological and psychiatric disorders, another study of more than 230,000 patients has shown. 

Courtesy CNA

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka is seeking an interim claim of US$40 million from the operator of a fire-ravaged cargo ship to cover part of the cost of fighting the blaze, officials said on Saturday (Jun 12).

Sri Lanka’s attorney general has sent the claim to lawyers representing X-Press Feeders, the ship’s operating company, said Darshani Lahandapura, head of the state-run Marine Pollution Protection Authority.

She said authorities were still assessing the total damages, and the interim claim seeks compensation for expenses from May 20, when the ship caught fire, through Jun 1.

The fire broke out while the Singapore-flagged MV X-Press Pearl was anchored about 9.5 nautical miles (18km) northwest of the capital, Colombo, and waiting to enter the country’s main port.

The Sri Lankan navy believes the blaze was caused by the vessel’s chemical cargo, which included 25 tonnes of nitric acid and other chemicals, most of which was destroyed in the fire. But debris including burned fiberglass and tons of plastic pellets have already polluted nearby beaches. There are concerns that a spill of remaining chemicals and oil on the ship could devastate marine life.Advertisement

However, Sri Lankan authorities and the ship’s operator say there’s still no large oil spill.

The fire burned for 12 days before being extinguished last week. The ship then began sinking, and attempts to tow it into deeper waters failed when the vessel’s stern sank to the seabed.

The ship remains partly submerged in waters about 21m deep.

On Friday, the government said it was testing water samples to determine whether the ship is leaking oil. The tests were prompted by satellite images from Planet Labs. that showed a substance that could be oil in the water near the ship.

A Colombo court has banned the ship’s captain, chief engineer and assistant engineer from leaving the country.Source: AP/jt

Courtesy Hiru News

62 more COVID-19 deaths confirmed by the Director General of Health Services increasing the total COVID 19 deaths in Sri Lanka to 2,073.

Death toll due to COVID 19 from 08 to 31 May 2021 as confirmed yesterday (11) by the Director General of Health Services – 07
Death toll due to COVID 19 from 01st June to 10th June as confirmed yesterday (11) by the Director General of Health Services – 55
No COVID death was reported so far yesterday, June 11.

May 08 – 01 death
May 15 – 01 death
May 23 – 02 deaths
May 26 – 01 death
May 31 – 02 deaths
June 01 – 07 deaths
June 03 – 02 deaths
June 05 – 04 deaths
June 06 – 07 deaths
June 07 – 08 deaths
June 08 – 08 deaths
June 09 – 14 deaths
June 10 – 05 deaths
Total number of COVID 19 deaths as confirmed so far yesterday (June 11) – 2073

Details of the deceased
Gender 
Female – 27
Male – 35
Area of Residence 
Panadura, Moratuwa, Alubomulla, Gonawila, Govinna, Kandy, Galle, Thimbirigaskatuwa, Kochchikade, Negombo, Santhiveli, Balangoda, Ninthavur 10, Sammanthurai, Pathana, Baduraliya, Walallawita, Bombuwala, Waskaduwa, Mahagama, Kalutara, Dodangoda, Melsiripura, Ambakote, Kurunegala, Panagamuwa, Maduragoda, Merahawatta, Kinniya, Kattankudy 04, Eravur 01, Kattankudy 03, Raththota, Monaragala, Anuradhapura, Mathugama, Kotikawaththa, Nagollagama, Colombo 12, Kadugannawa, Gampola, Seeduwa, Hemmathagama, Pitigala, Niyagama, Karandeniya and Kahaduwa.
Age Group
30-39 years – 02
40-49 years – 03
50-59 years – 04
60 -69 years – 13<
70-79 years – 21
80-89 years – 17
90-99 years – 02
Over 99 years – 00

Place of Death
At home  – 13
On admission to hospital – 05
 While being treated in hospital – 44

Causes of Death
COVID 19 infection associated with diseases such as COVID Pneumonia, Severe COVID 19 pneumonia, Hypertension, Ischaemic heart disease, Chronic renal disease, Diabetes, Dyslipidaemia, Cerebro vascular disease, Acute kidney injury, Multi organ failure, Acute<br />respiratory distress syndrome, Occlusive coronary artery disease, Sepsis, Chronic kidney disease, Chronic renal failure, Chronic lung disease, Large pulmonary embolism, Cecal adenocarcinoma, Acute respiratory failure, Stroke, Bronchial asthma, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and the complications of Respiratory diseases

Courtesy Adaderana

The Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry reports that another 707 persons have tested positive for COVID-19 in Sri Lanka, moving the daily total of new cases to 2,340.

This brings the total number of confirmed cases of coronavirus reported in the country to 221,277.

As many as 186,516 recoveries and 2,073 deaths have been confirmed in Sri Lanka since the outbreak of the pandemic.

The Epidemiology Unit’s data showed that 32,688 active cases are currently under medical care.

Courtesy Adaderana

Europe’s drug regulator on Friday identified another very rare blood condition as a potential side effect of AstraZeneca’s (AZN.L) COVID-19 vaccine and said it was looking into cases of heart inflammation after inoculation with all coronavirus shots.

The European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) safety committee said that capillary leak syndrome (CLS) must be added as a new side effect to labelling on AstraZeneca’s vaccine, known as Vaxzevria.

People who had previously sustained the condition, where fluids leak from the smallest blood vessels causing swelling and a drop in blood pressure, should not receive the shot, the EMA added.

The regulator first began looking into these cases in April and the recommendation adds to AstraZeneca’s woes after its vaccine was associated with very rare and potentially lethal cases of blood clotting that come with a low platelet count.

Last month, the EMA had advised against giving a second AstraZeneca shot to people with that clotting condition, known as thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS).

The committee reviewed six validated cases of CLS in people, mostly women, who had received Vaxzevria, including one death. Three had a history of the condition.

More than 78 million Vaxzevria doses have been administered in the European Union, Liechtenstein, Iceland & Norway and Britain.

In a statement, AstraZeneca pointed to the extreme rarity of CLS cases, at less than 1 in 10 million vaccinated individuals.

We are working actively, in collaboration with regulatory authorities, on risk minimization measures… that includes information to those being vaccinated…information to drive early diagnosis and intervention, and appropriate treatment,” the company said.

Britain’s regulator, the MHRA said it was considering precautionary advice for people with a history of CLS but does not see a causal link with the vaccine.

Two of eight reports of capillary leak syndrome following AstraZeneca vaccination in the UK were in people with a history of the condition, and 40 million doses of the vaccine had been given, it said.

Separately, the EMA said it was continuing its probe into cases of heart inflammation known as myocarditis and pericarditis, primarily following inoculation with the Pfizer/BioNTech (PFE.N), (22UAy.DE) and Moderna mRNA shots, but also after the J&J (JNJ.N) and AstraZeneca vaccines.

U.S. health officials said on Thursday they had registered a higher-than-expected number of heart inflammation cases in young men who received a second dose of the mRNA shots, though a causal relationship could not be established.

Israel’s Health Ministry said this month it had found a likely link to the condition in young men who received the Pfizer/BioNTech shot.

Both Pfizer and Moderna have acknowledged the observations but said a causal association with their vaccines has not been established.

BioNTech said adverse events, including myocarditis and pericarditis, are being regularly and thoroughly reviewed by the companies and regulatory authorities.

More than 300 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine have been administered globally and the benefit risk profile of our vaccine remains positive.”

The United States and Israel have been months ahead of the EU in vaccinating men below 30, who are particularly prone to heart inflammation, giving them potentially more cases to analyse.

Source: Reuters
-Agencies

උපුටා ගැන්ම ලංකා සී නිව්ස්

බලශක්ති අමාත්‍ය උදය ගම්මන්පිල මහතා විසින් හදිසි මාධ්‍ය හමුවක් කැඳවා තිබේ.

බලශක්ති අමාත්‍යාංශයේ දී හෙට දිනයේ මෙම මාධ්‍ය හමුව කැඳවා ඇත.

ඉන්ධන මිල වැඩි කිරීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් වගකීම භාරගෙන ධුරයෙන් ඉල්ලා අස් වන්නැයි ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදු ජන පෙරමුණ විසින් සිදුකරන ලද දැනුම් දීමෙන් පසුව මෙම මාධ්‍ය හමුවූ කැඳවූ බව ඔහුගේ ප්‍රකාශකයෙකු පැවසීය.

ඉන්ධන මිල වැඩි කිරීම හෝ අඩු කිරීම තීරණය කරන්නේ මහා භාණ්ඩාගාරය විසින් බවත් බලශක්ති අමාත්‍යාංශය විසින් සිදු කළේ එය ප්‍රකාශයට පත් කිරීම බව අමාත්‍යංශ ප්‍රකාශකයෙකු සඳහන් කළේ ය.

Courtesy Hiru News

The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna stated that the Minister in charge of the subject should take the responsibility of increasing fuel prices at a time when the people are under severe pressure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A statement issued by the General Secretary of the party Attorney-at-Law Sagara Kariyawasam states that the Minister in charge of the subject should take full responsibility and resign.

The statement stated the party was “deeply concerned” about the government’s decision to increase fuel prices and make it more difficult for the public affected by the COVID-19 pandemic

Travel With Chatura

The completed city will have reclaimed 269 hectares with 116 hectares being handed over to China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), which is the parent company of China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC). The remaining land, which will be owned by the Sri Lankan Government and will be divided with 62 hectares to be used to set up a financial city and 91 hectares to be used as public spaces.

නිම කරන ලද නගරය හෙක්ටයාර 269 ක් ගොඩකර ඇති අතර හෙක්ටයාර 116 ක් චයිනා වරාය ඉංජිනේරු සමාගමේ (චෙක්) මව් සමාගම වන චයිනා සන්නිවේදන ඉදිකිරීම් සමාගමට (සීසීසීසී) භාර දෙනු ඇත. ඉතිරි ඉඩම ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජයට අයත් වන අතර මූල්‍ය නගරයක් පිහිටුවීම සඳහා හෙක්ටයාර් 62 ක් හා පොදු ස්ථාන ලෙස හෙක්ටයාර් 91 ක් බෙදා වෙන් කෙරේ.