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.

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.

Several protests were reported from around the island against cabinet spokesperson Minister Rajitha Senaratne for his controversial statements regarding the war memorial ceremonies in the North and about the LTTE leader Prabhakaran. 

At a war commemoration event held yesterday in Chilaw, yet another protest was staged claiming Senaratne had insulted war heroes of the country by his statement at last weeks cabinet press briefing. An effigy of the Minister was also set on fire during the protest. 

However answering to the criticism levelled against his father, MP Chathura Senaratne said his father can differentiate between a terrorist and a war hero while it cannot be helped if the media and certain others get the two confused. 

He also claimed that his father made great sacrifices to support Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa to end terrorism in the country. He made these statements at an event held in Mawanella. 

According to Chathura, his father along with several other top politicians was in the LTTEs kill list and no other politician in the South was harassed by the LTTE more than his father, Rajitha Senaratne he said. Chathura also claimed that his father continues to live with two fragments of a bomb after the bomb blast in Thotalanga and is the only politician currently to do so.

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.

It is reported that 10 new ministry secretaries have been appointed. The appointments have been made by President Maithripala Sirisena. 

Following is the list of the new secretaries : 

Ministry of Public Administration and Law & Order - Padmasiri Jayamanna

Ministry of Higher Education and Cultural Affairs - J.J Ratnasiri 

Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development and Rural Economy - D.K.R Ekanayake 

Ministry of Science Technology and Research, Vocational Training and Kandyan Heritage - P. Ranepura

Ministry of Provincial Councils and Sports - Kamal Pathmasiri

Ministry of Social Welfare and Primary Industries - Bandula Wickramarachchi

Ministry of Sustainable Development, Wildlife and Regional Development - A.P.G Kithsiri

Ministry of Social Empowerment - J.P.S Weerakoon 

Ministry of Irrigation, Water resources and Disaster Management - Sisira Kumara

Ministry of National Integration Reconciliation and Ministry of Official Languages - M.Y.S Deshapriya

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)

The National Building Research Organization (NBRO) today (20) issued landslide warnings for Kalutara, Kegalle, Nuwara Eliya, Badulla, Kurunegala & Galle Districts as heavy rainfall was experienced in several areas of the country.

The NBRO warned of landslides taking place if the inclement weather worsens in the coming days.
Residents in the aforementioned districts have been requested to be on the lookout for possible landslides and cut slope failures due to the heavy rain.

Meanwhile, Motorists have been requested to maintain a maximum speed of 60kmph & switch on headlights when using the expressways due to the rainy weather conditions by the Road Development Authority (RDA).

According to the Department of Meteorology, Southwest monsoon conditions are forming over the island and the prevailing rainy condition in the South-west part of the island is expected to enhance further today.

Showers or thundershowers will occur at times in Western, Southern, Sabaragamuwa, Central and North-Western provinces the Department said while showers or thundershowers are also expected in other areas in the island. Heavy rainfall of about 150 mm can be expected at certain places in the Sabaragamuwa Province and heavy rainfalls of above 100 mm can be expected at some places, particularly in Western, Central and Uva provinces and in Galle and Matara districts the Department has announced adding that there may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers.

Meteorological Department has requested the public to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by lightning activity.

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

Finance and Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera in a special communique released today said that former President and Kurunegala District MP, Mahinda Rajapaksa who is responsible for ruining this country by allowing his family relatives and cronies to plunder the country’s economy and, his siblings, former defense secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa who unleashed terror through the white van culture that isolated the country internationally now seem to be engaged in an untiring effort to throw the country again into “Vipath Maga”, the destructive path.

Former President and Kurunegala District MP, Mahindra Rajapaksa who is responsible for ruining this country by allowing his family relatives and cronies to plunder the country’s economy and, his siblings, former defense secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa who unleashed terror through the white van culture that isolated the country internationally now seem to be engaged in an untiring effort to throw the country again into “Vipath Maga”, the destructive path.

 
02. Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa who invented white van terror in Sri Lanka that attracted world attention has said recently that the rulers and the public officials should be free of corruption. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa who could be considered as the most corrupted and dangerous public officer ever appointed in this country, is now talking like a child after rebirth. Several cases being heard in Courts and investigated by Police

·         The corrupt MIG deal
·         Plundering public money to construct memorial museums and name them after his parents
·         Unleashing assault on journalists and enforced disappearance some of them
·         Instigating corruption and terror and
·         Maintaining illegal armory thereby depriving the Government of its due income, are some of them.
 
03. Instead of proving himself his innocence before Courts against such charges that have already been leveled against him, he has retained leading lawyers to obtain anticipatory bail orders against those charges. Not only such charges against him are being investigated, charges of the kind are being investigated against the other members of the Rajapaksa family as well. It is crystal clear that Rajapaksa siblings have been endeavouring  to grab ruling power once again by misleading the public because they are impatient to put these legal cases against them under carpet and exploit the national resources once again, and it is not for their special love for the country.
 
04. Not only that, they have been envious of this Government as we were able to strengthen the local economy despite many challenges after 2015 and, they have also been fabricating statistics and distorting the truth in an attempt to mislead the public.
 
05. Even in the face of such challenges, the government has been able to strengthen the economy of the country and its administration better than in the past.  When there was an economic development program supported by the private investment in the 1990s,the export earnings were 30%  the Gross Domestic Product. But they never say that our government was compelled to take over an economy with a dwindling export income of 12% in 2014. Not only that, they do not say that our government took over a debt-ridden economy.
 
06. Kurunegala District MP, Mahinda Rajapaksa has charged the Unity Government has to make the highest recorded debt repayment of US$ 4.2 billion in 2019 in the history due to the debt crisis created by the Yahapalana government. The following fact file would help Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa to restore his already lost memory and regain his mindfulness.
 
07. After Independence in 1948, the highest amount of foreign debt has to be paid in 2018. The total foreign debt to be paid this year is US$ 2,845 million and of which US$ 1,789 million has to be paid for foreign debts which were borrowed before the year 2015. Only an installment of US$ 1,056 to be paid for the foreign loans borrowed after 2015.    Accordingly, 63% debt installments to be paid this year are repayments of debts that had been borrowed during Mr. Rajapaksa’s tenure as finance minister. It was at the level of 75% in 2017.
 
08. This crisis will further worsen next year. US$ 4,285 million have to be paid in 2019 and of which UD$3,315 or 77% of the repayment are for the debt obtained during the tenure of the Rajapaksa regime.
 
09. Another US$3,768 million will have to be paid as loan installments and the interest in 2020 and of which 77% or US$2,905 million is the debts that were borrowed before 2015. Only US$ 863 million have to be paid for the debt that was borrowed after 2015. In 2021, 83% of the foreign debt installments will have to be paid to repay the debt taken before 2015. In addition, even in 2030, 73% of the repayments will go to pay the debt that were obtained during Rajapaksa regime for the waste, fraud and corruption committed by the oligarchies of the Rajapaksas.
 
10. The loan installment to be paid in 2019 includes a US$1,000 million which was obtained on January 6th, 2014 at 6% interest to be paid within five years and, a US$500 million obtained on April 7th, 2014 at 5.1% interest to be paid within five years. As these two loans that amounts to US$1,500 million that have been obtained at commercial rates will be matured in 2019 and the entire loan should be repaid in bulk with full interest at one stretch. The Mahinda Rajapaksa regime obtained these loans in a hurry in 2014, not for the development work but for the election where they lured unsuspected voters thereby distributing cheap items such as “Sil Redi”.
 
11. After this Government was voted to power, it has obtained foreign debts of US$ 12 billion during the last three years and, 6 billion out of which was from International donor Agencies and under bilateral agreements at concessionary interest rates. They have been spent for various projects. These loans were taken neither under commercial basis nor for consumer purposes as Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa attempts to interpret.
 
12. 48% out of the total foreign debt obtained after 2015 have been used to repay the debts that were borrowed by the Rajapaksa regime. Although this government was destined to shoulder such a heavy debt burden in 2015, it has been able to take steps to implement development activities at a fast pace than that of the Rajapaksa regime thereby assuring more direct benefits to the people.


13. The allocations made by this government for education, health and housing are the best proof to such claims.


Although 1.8% of the GDP was spent for education in 2014, it was gradually increased up to 1.9% in 2017. It will further be increased up to 6% in the next few years.  The allocation for health will be increased up to 3.5% of GDP in the next few years. The allocations for public welfare have been increased to 265 billion rupees in 2017 from 165 billion rupees in 2014. It is an increase from 1.6% to 2% of GDP. 

14. Soon after this Government came to power, it pledged the public servants to increase their salaries by 10,000 rupees because their salary was not increased by at least one cent since 2006.   This Rs.10, 000.00 increment has been transformed according to 1:4 scale thereby the salary of all public servants will be increased by 107% in 2020 to that of their salaries in 2014.
 
15. Comparing to the prices of powdered milk, domestic gas and fuel in 2014, they are still at a lower level and, when public servants’ salary is inceased by 107% in 2020, I reiterate that it will help people to increase their income and maintain the cost of living at a low level. Althoug prices of diesel, petrol and kerosene were increased recently, people do not forget that even the current prices of such items are lower than that of the prieces prevailed during Rajapaksa regime.  
 
16. The economy during the previous government, handled by their cronies and henchmen didn’t have any proper system in place to implement the economic development in a manner that would bring direct benefits to the people. The Rajapaksa siblings who ruled this country under such a background have been attempting to regain power by throwing the people into “Vipath Maga” the destructive path. Therefore, we urge the people to defeat such attempts and rally round the Government’s agenda to build a strong economy and a rich country by the year 2025.