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A country cannot go forward without foreign investments and if there aren't enough workers locally it is a good move to bring them from abroad Parlementarian Mahindananda Aluthgamage has said. 

The Minister made these comments in parliament this week when the order under the Strategic Development Projects Act was debated in parliament this week. 

Speaking at the debate the MP said the country cannot move forward without foreign investment and therefore the Ministry should do the needful to provide the necessary services in order to attract foreign investors. 

When investors attempt to bring certain industries to the country we do not have the necessary workers with the needed skills. But it is not allowed to bring these workers from abroad either. However they continue to call for foreign investments as well. If workers can be brought for these industries the move must be thanked the MP said.

Increase in foreign investments. The investment aim for 2018 is Rs. 2.9 Billion - Malik Samarawickrama 

During the debate Minister Malik Samarawickrama said despite various opinions regarding direct foreign investments however said the government was able to bring Rs. 1.9 Billion direct investments to the country in 2017.  He also said the government intends to bring in Rs. 2.9 Billion direct investments to the country this year. 

Speaking further the Minister said agreements are now being signed to make Sri Lanka a economic hub. He also said the recent FTZ agreement with Singapore was signed to add value to the country’s manufacturing sector. We received cabinet approval and even spoke to professionals and those in the technical fields while getting necessary inputs from the IT, Construction and Shipping sectors.   

According to the Minister, Singapore citizens will not be able to work here and only industries without the necessary workers will be able to bring staff from abroad. 

Bandula keeps spreading misinformation. He is now only an irrelevant former tuition teacher - 
Market economic analysts

However recently JO MP, Bandula Gunawardena has been spewing lies claiming that the FTZ signed between both countries will allow for foreign workers to come to Sri Lanka. 

Despite Minister Samarawickrama clarifying the limitations, Bandula has been continuously working to spread wrong information about the agreement. 

According to Market research analysts say despite not being a economic expert or a tution teacher, Mahindananda has voiced the truth either knowingly or unknowingly. 

Therefore thy say Bandula is demeaning his position as a former tution teacher of economics by misleading the public in such a fashion which only goes on to prove his irrelevance in today's politics.

The Department of Government Information said that 18 suspected H1N1 patients have been admitted to hospitals from the Hambantota district. Health officials said that all patients were being treated under careful supervision.

Meanwhile, President Maithripala Sirisena has instructed relevant authorities to immediately provide relief to the affected people and informed instructed officials to obtain the assistance from armed forces for rescue of marooned people in flooded areas.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe chaired a discussion yesterday on the granting of immediate relief to the people impacted by the adverse weather conditions.

The Turkiye Diyanet Foundation (TDV) will distribute 5,000 food packages for iftar, a fast breaking meal, in Sri Lanka for three days, the foundation’s deputy chief said on Wednesday.

In the first day of the aid campaign, TDV, the charity body of Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs, organized distribution events in Kinniya, Kiran, Vellenkulam, Naduoothu, Muttur and Topur regions of Kaluppu province.

Speaking at the event in Kinniya, Abdurrahman Cetin, the deputy secretary-general of the foundation, said TDV aims to give a helping hand to 5,000 Muslims in Sri Lanka.

“We are here to say Ramadan Moubarak. We, hopefully, will distribute the gifts of our donors,” Cetin said.
The foundation aims to become "a voice of welfare" in 84 countries and 326 regions, and deliver food packages to more than 90,000 families this Ramadan.

Arunesh Thangarajah, 28, was found suffering from stab wounds in Mitcham in the early hours of Sunday.Police and paramedics fought to save him, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. 

Scotland Yard said a murder probe has been launched by detectives from the Homicide and Major Crime Command. 

Police have informed the man's next of kin, and a post-mortem examination will be arranged. 

A 44-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder. He has been taken to a south London police station where he remained in custody on Sunday night.

If fielding President Maithripala Sirisena for the upcoming Presidential election, several of the 16 group is said to think that Former Defence Secretary should be the candidate for the SLFP and a program from within the party should be implemented to ensure he gets the necessary support. According to political reports discussions are currently being held in this regard with several SLFP Ministers.   
 
A special discussion in this regard is said to have been held in an officer of a Minister on May 21 and Former Minister Chandima Weerakkody representing the 16 group is said to have attended this meeting as well. 
 
The Minister had criticized the government at the meeting claiming the Muslim community has also lost faith in the current government.
 
During the discussion, it is said those attending had claimed that the party would face definite defeat if Maithripala contests in the 2020 election and stressing that the Muslim community for its protection should build a rapport with Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
 
Accordingly, the Minister has promised Weerakkody that he will organize a meeting for Rajapaksa with several religious leaders in the coming week. 
 
The Minister had also claimed he is maintaining a relationship with the Budhu Bala Sena (BBS) for his future protection.

The National Building Research Organization (NBRO) has issued red landslide warnings to 15 divisional secretariat areas in the Ratnapura, Kegalle, Galle, Kalutara and Kandy districts. They have also issued landslide warnings to 11 districts for the next 24 hours commencing from 4pm today. 
 
Traffic is said to have been disrupted in several roads due to earth slips including the Hatton - Colombo main road where a cutting failure has occurred in Diyagala, Ginigathhena. 
 
According to the Disaster Management Center (DMC) 13,314 people have been affected due to the adverse weather with 7 deaths also reported. 
 
The DMC has issued a flood warning for several river basins while the people living in those areas are requested to remain vigilant and take adequate safety precautions to mitigate the flood threat. 
The DMC says that although the rains have decreases to a certain extent, the water levels at the lower catchment areas of the major rivers continue to rise. 
 
The water levels of the Nilwala River, Ging River, Kalu River, Kelani River, Atthanagalu Oya, Mahaweli River and Ma Oya are rising, it said.
 
Therefore people living in the following river basins are advised to be alert and take safety measures on the possibility of floods:
 
Nilwala - (Matara, Kadawath Sathara, Thihagoda, Malimbada, Kamburupitiya, Athuruliya, Akuressa, Pitabaddara DS Divisions) 
 
Gin - (Baddegama, Bope, Poddala, Velivitiya, Divithura, Nagoda, Niyagama, Thavalama, Neluwa DS Divisions)
 
Kalu - (Kaluthara, Dodamgoda, Millaniya, Madurawala, Horana, Palindanuwara, Bulathsinhala, Ingiriya, Kiriella, Kuruvita, Elapatha, Rathnapura DS Divisions) 
 
Kelani - (Colombo, Kelaniya, Kolonnawa, Biyagama, Kaduwela, Hanwella, Dompe, Ruwanwella, Dehiovita, Deraniyagala DS Divisions) 
 
Aththanagalu Oya - (Negambo, Ja-Ela, Katana, Minuwangoda, Gampaha, Aththanagalla, DS Divisions) 
 
Ma Oya - (Pannala, Diulapitiya DS Divisions)

U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives Atul Keshap, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Sri Lanka Mission Director Reed Aeschliman, and Dr. Michael Ernst from USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) met with Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Management and Disaster Management Duminda Dissanayake to discuss Sri Lanka’s preparedness ahead of the monsoon season. 

Topics also included past and ongoing U.S. financial and technical assistance for disaster preparedness, management, and recovery. USAID has provided assistance during natural crises to Sri Lanka since 2001 through OFDA.  To date, USAID/OFDA has provided more than 13 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($85 million) in response to natural disasters in the country. 

During his visit, Dr. Ernst met with government agencies, such as the National Building Research Organization and the Meteorological Department, and United Nations humanitarian response experts to discuss improvements to disaster management systems and information sharing, including early detection and warning of deadly landslides.

Doctors in the country today are not working with any moral values but with the morals akin to a band of robbers, Leader of the Nava Sama Samaja Party has accused.  

Whenever faced with an obstacle these doctors hand punishments to the public according to their own penal code, Dr Vickramabahu Karunaratne said at a recent press briefing.

“Even if a medicine that is not favourable to them is to be brought to the country, they embark on strikes. They conduct one day strikes killing 30 - 40 people. Others are left desolate. The whole country is disrupted. The people then plead with the doctors and they deliver their punishment to the innocent. This is their game” he said.  

He made these comments regarding the strike action by members of the GMOA against the FTA with Singapore.

He also said that Doctors have become rich by sucking their patients dry and only care about their earnings. “But we cant govern a country by only worrying about their market and earnings” he further added. 

Source : Ceylon News

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has opposed to the proposed appointment of Angajan Ramanathan, UPFA MP as the Deputy Speaker of Parliament. According to sources, the President has proposed Ramanathan to Speaker Karu Jayasuriya. 

The Speaker had accordingly informed the party leaders during the party leaders meeting yesterday (22). However, the TNA has opposed his possible appointment with the meeting being adjourned after deciding to discuss the matter further at the next party leaders meeting. 

Angajan Ramanathan is the current Jaffna organizer of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).

President Maithripala Sirisena is reported to have reduced Minister of Health, Dr Rajitha Senaratne’s delegation to attend the 70th summit of the World Health Organization (WHO) which commenced yesterday.

The President is reported to have struck off six names bringing the number to 14 from the earlier confirmed 20 members, as such a large number of delegates had not been sent to this event during the period when he served as the Health Minister.

Reports claim the delegation included several deputy directors of health.

Sri Lanka’s Johann Peries has successfully summited Mount Everest this morning in his second attempt and becomes the second Sri Lankan to summit the highest mountain on Earth.

He successfully summited Mount Everest at 5.55 am Nepal time today (22 May 2018). This was his second attempt. 

Johann Peries now becomes the second Sri Lankan to summit Mt. Everest after Jayanthi Kuru Utumpala in 2016. Peries’ earlier attempt in 2016 was unsuccessful when his oxygen tank failed 400 metres before the summit. 

According to his local team in Colombo, he has now begun his descent, which is far more treacherous than the ascent and will take him two days to reach Base Camp, when he will be in communication with his team.

Johann Peries is part of a team of 13 members including 8 Sherpas, 2 Americans, a South African and a Canadian who reached the summit, according to the International Mountain Guides website.  

Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, stands 8,848 metres above sea level on the border of Nepal and China.

Source  : Ada Derana

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) appears to have been struck by the prevailing inclement weather with the party today announcing that the scheduled protest to be held tomorrow under the theme “Get rid of taxes! Reduce commodity prices!” Will be postponed due to the weather conditions. 

The party announced its postponement in a communique released today.