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Amid the controversy surrounding the Sinopharm vaccine, an opposition lawmaker has said that Colombo has brought the Chinese made COVID-19 vaccine to the country without the approval of the World Health Organisation (WHO) showing disregard for the lives of their people.

The Sri Lankan health authorities on Monday began inoculating Chinese nationals living in the country against the coronavirus using a Chinese vaccine.

The Urban Development Authority (UDA) is issuing debentures worth LKR. 25 billion to raise funds through state banks to finance a large-scale middle income housing scheme, a senior official said.

In the wake of international palm oil suppliers including the Malaysian government exerting pressure on the Sri Lankan government, it is likely that the ban imposed on the importation of palm oil will be reversed.

Sri Lanka’s senior medical experts have stated that the Chinese vaccine Sinopharm, which was given by Beijing should not be used on Sri Lankan nationals, according to a report published in Daily Mirror. Kamanthi Wickramasinghe in an op-ed for Daily Mirror said senior medical practitioners both in the government and private sectors have expressed concerns over the use of the Chinese vaccine. This comes after a consignment of Sinopharm coronavirus vaccines given by Beijing reached Colombo on Wednesday.

Sri Lanka’s Association of Medical Specialists (AMS) in a statement said that an independent panel of experts was appointed by the country’s National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) to review all submissions related to candidate vaccines.

“We are also aware that in their report dated March 17, 2021, that the panel concluded that there is insufficient data provided to make a determination on the safety, efficacy and immunogenicity of the Sinopharm vaccine. This observation was made after reviewing all data made available by the manufacturer of the vaccine. It was accordingly concluded that the Sinopharm vaccine should not be used in Sri Lanka under the present circumstances,” the statement read.

Earlier, Dr Pathirana said the World Health Organization (WHO) and NMRA have not yet approved the use of the vaccine.

The vaccine has been evaluated by the regulatory authority based on the information it has received so far, the Minister said while adding that there is a delay in evaluating the Phase 4 clinical trial results.

“Phase 4 clinical trial results are not available in the English language and that is why the WHO has not given its recommendation to use the vaccine universally. The moment we get the approval we can use it on Sri Lankans as well,” Pathirana had said. (ANI)

As President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has decided to move ahead with plans to completely restructure state-owned institutions and corporations, it is reported that he would remove all heads of institutions who have failed to show satisfactory progress in the recent past.

A senior official at the Presidential Secretariat said that the President has decided to start the overhaul process by removing members of the "Viyathmaga' organisation who have been appointed as heads of state institutions.

As such, the President has already instructed the Chairman and Director General of the National Youth Services Council, Theshara Jayasinghe, and the Chairman of the Vocational Training Authority , Damitha Wickramasinghe, to resign from their posts, the senior official said.

He further said that with several heads of state institutions to be axed in the coming days, the President will also look at removing ministers who have been unable to achieve satisfactory performances in their respective ministries.

Is the country run by 'Viyathmaga'?

The President has decided to clean house starting with the members of the 'Viyathmaga' organisation after considering allegations levelled against the organisation by certain elements within the government.

It is alleged that the current crisis faced by the government is due to the fact that the heads of Viyathmaga who run the country's affairs have no proper understanding of politics.

When we reached out to a close associate of the President, he rejected the allegations calling them totally unfounded.

"Since the new government assumed office, around 160 people have been appointed as heads of state institutions and corporations. Out of that amount, only 20 Viyathmaga members have been appointed as chairpersons. Even those are eminent professionals. There is only one Cabinet minister from Viyathmaga to go with 4 state ministers. Only one Governor out of the nine appointed represents the Viyathmaga organisation. With regard to ambassadors, only three have been appointed so far. Therefore, it is difficult to accept the idea that the Viyathmaga organisation is responsible for controlling the government's affairs. In fact, the government is controlled by the same old people," he added.

The results of a survey conducted on the performance of SLPP Ministers based on the initiatives implemented by each Minister have been released.

Opponents of military rule in Myanmar marched, observed strikes and sought alternative ways to communicate after most users were cut off from the internet on Friday, undaunted by the bloody suppression of protests during the past two months.

Hundreds of people have been killed demonstrating since the Feb. 1 coup, and many people have been using social media to publicise the security forces’ excesses and to organise against military rule.

The authorities, who have already shut down mobile data, ordered internet providers from Friday to cut wireless broadband, depriving most customers of access. In response, anti-coup groups have shared radio frequencies, mobile apps such as maps that work without a data connection, and tips for using SMS messages as an alternative to data services to communicate.

“In the following days, there were street protests. Do as many guerrilla strikes as you can. Please join,” Khin Sadar, a protest leader, said on Facebook in anticipation of the internet blackout, referring to quick protests in unexpected places that break up when the security forces appear.

“Let’s listen to the radio again. Let’s make phone calls to each other too.”

The military did not announce or explain its order to providers to cut wireless broadband. Internet was available only on fixed lines, rare in Myanmar where most homes and businesses connect through wireless networks.

Authorities have been struggling to stifle an opposition demanding the restoration of civilian rule and release of elected government leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other figures.

Violent incidents are occurring regularly in different parts of the country between the security forces and people set against military rule.

In the town of Tamu on the Indian border, a policeman who supported the democracy movement was killed on Friday in a clash with security forces, the Monywa Gazette reported.

Separately, security forces opened fire at a rally near the central city of Mandalay, wounding four people, two critically, according to three domestic media organisations.

In the commercial hub of Yangon, a Myanmar employee of South Korea’s Shinhan Bank died on Friday after being shot in the head while travelling in a minibus two days earlier, the bank said, adding it was discussing the situation with the government.

Adding to the chaos in the former British colony, also known as Burma, hostilities between the armed forces and ethnic minority insurgents have broken out in at least two regions.

Across the country, demonstrators held “flower strikes”, leaving bouquets, some with messages of defiance, at places associated with activists killed by the security forces.

People held up roses while making three-finger salutes, a symbol of resistance. Entire benches were covered in flowers and anti-coup messages.

One arrangement of dandelions and red roses on a lakeside walkway read: “Myanmar is bleeding”.

CHARGED UNDER OFFICIAL SECRETS ACT Despite the internet shutdown, users were still able to upload pictures of marches, flower strikes and a funeral of a slain protester.

An image shared widely on social media showed an overhead view of hundreds of flickering candles on a dark road, forming the words “we will never surrender”.

Nobel laureate Suu Kyi and four allies have been charged with violating a colonial-era official secrets act, her chief lawyer said on Thursday, the most serious charge filed against her. Violations are punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

Another of her lawyers, Min Min Soe, attended Suu Kyi’s latest video-conference hearing on Thursday and said she was unable to tell whether the ousted leader, the figurehead of a decades-long fight against military dictatorship, was aware of the situation in the country.

Some 543 people have been killed in the uprising, according to the Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) advocacy group, which is tracking casualties and detentions. The military has repeatedly said those killed had instigated violence.

Protesters have been burning copies of the 2008 constitution after remnants of Suu Kyi’s administration declared that it had repealed the military-drafted charter.

Western countries have condemned the coup and the violence and some have imposed limited sanctions.

Britain on Thursday blacklisted one of the military’s conglomerates, following similar measures from other Western countries. Fashion brand Next announced it had suspended orders from Myanmar’s factories.

While Southeast Asian countries have traditionally been reluctant to criticise or sanction their neighbour, there are signs of growing dismay with a country that has for decades raised international concerns over its domestic repression.

The Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and most recently Thailand have called for an end to the violence.

Several Southeast Asian foreign ministers have been meeting separately this week with their counterpart from China, which is among the few countries able to influence Myanmar’s generals.

In an interview transcript made available late on Thursday, Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said he was “alarmed and appalled” at the violence.

(Reuters)

The inoculation drive of the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine would commence from 19th of April, State Minister of Primary Health Care, Epidemics and COVID Disease Control, Dr. Sudarshini Fernandopulle said on Monday (05).

It is reported that stocks of coconut oil imported by three private companies that were stored in their respective warehouses have been found to contain the carcinogenic 'Aflatoxin' for the third time. State Minister of Consumer Protection Lasantha Alagiyawanna said that the relevant companies have already been instructed to re-export the stocks of coconut oil as soon as possible.

Coconut oil imported into the country by three private companies was first found to contain carcinogens during tests carried out by the Food Safety Unit of the Ministry of Health and the Sri Lanka Standards Institute (SLSI).

The Food Safety Unit of the Ministry of Health and the SLSI first uncovered these stocks of substandard oil during routine checks on imported oil.

The Industrial Technology Institute also tested samples of coconut oil stored in warehouses belonging to these companies.

Accordingly, the results of the tests have been submitted to the Consumer Affairs Authority yesterday (01).

State Minister Lasantha Alagiyawanna told media that the tests carried out by the Industrial Technology Institute had also confirmed the aforementioned stocks of coconut oil to contain the carcinogenic aflatoxin.