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Minister Gayantha Karunarathna says the government is looking to implement a new process to grant the Samurdhi benefit due to accusations that non-deserving individuals are receiving the government benefit. 

“Due to various allegations, we will see to look into the process and ensure the less fortunate are benefitted to strengthen them,” he said 

Meanwhile, the All-island Samurdhi and Agri research officers organization claim that it will conduct islandwide protests if the decision to bring the Samurdhi bank and program under the Central Bank. The Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe announced this proposal recently at the United National Party May Day rally held on May 7 at the Sugathadasa indoor stadium.

The Sri Lankan government must explore cheaper and faster options to tackle traffic jams in the island country such as establishing a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system and a Light Rail Transit (LRT), The Central Bank said on Tuesday.

"Expeditious implementation of effective and affordable traffic management solutions is vital to curb numerous negative externalities arising from traffic congestion," the Central Bank said in its annual report cited by Xinhua news agency.

Major improvements to both public and private bus transport services were essential to overcome traffic congestion in urban areas and reduce productivity losses in the overall economy, the bank was quoted by the Sri Lankan media as saying.

The Central Bank noted that the increase in traffic, mostly by low occupancy vehicles like cars, had been rapid, and resulted in heavy traffic congestion, wasting time and financial resources of the country while increasing pollution levels.

The total vehicle population in Sri Lanka has risen from 3,390,993 in 2008 to over 6 million in 2016.

Several posts are to be created in the United National Party (UNP) to assist party seniors according to political sources. According to them the decision was taken yesterday at the party’s political bureau meeting.  

The meeting had taken place at the Prime Minister’s office in parliament under his auspices.

The Financial Crimes Investigations Division (FCID) of the Police is now set to probe into bank accounts of Former Central Bank governor, Ajith Nivard Cabraal. 

The Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court yesterday granted permission for the FCID to record a statement from former Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal and to also investigate his bank accounts with regard to the misappropriation of Rs 600 million. 
 
The misappropriation of the funds is alleged to have occurred during the former government’s unsuccessful bid for Sri Lanka to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

It is reported that the Treasury has given Rs. 50 million to the Ministry of Agriculture to purchase the pumpkin harvest that the farmers have been unable to sell due to a drastic drop in prices. 

Accordingly, the relevant authorities have already released the funds to District Agriculture Officers and the Ministry has instructed them to commence a program to purchase pumpkin harvests and distribute them to the market accordingly, sources from the Ministry of Agriculture said.

Five new Australian parliamentarians have been ousted for holding dual citizenship when they were elected.

Last year, 10 MPs and senators were removed from office for violating a constitutional rule that prohibits federal political candidates from being dual nationals.

On Wednesday, Senator Katy Gallagher was ruled ineligible by a court in what was widely viewed as a fresh test case.

Four other politicians who were under scrutiny resigned after the verdict.

Gallagher and lower house MPs Justine Keay, Josh Wilson and Susan Lamb are members of the opposition Labor party. The fifth MP, Rebekha Sharkie, is part of minor party Centre Alliance.

The dual citizenship saga has destabilised Australian politics since last July, at times threatening Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's majority in the House of Representatives.

Turnbull could increase his majority if he wins any of the vacant lower house seats.

Vote recountThe High Court of Australia ruled that Gallagher's seat would be filled by counting back votes from the 2016 federal election.
The other politicians are expected to be replaced in the same way, or through a by-election.

Gallagher had referred herself to the court last year after questions emerged over whether she had renounced her British citizenship in time to run for office.

"To the people of the [Australian Capital Territory], I'm very sorry that this disruption has occurred to one of your federal representatives," she said on Wednesday.

Labour leader Bill Shorten said three of the ousted MPs would seek re-election.

Shorten said his party had relied on an older interpretation of Section 44(a), a much-debated rule in the constitution.

"The High Court has made the decision - these are the facts we've got to deal with," he said.

Source : BBC

MP Dayasiri Jayasekara claims that the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was defeated due to an intervention by Minister Mangala Samaraweera. 

The SLFP parliamentarian who left the government recently with 15 other MPs' made this accusation while attending the 360 program on the Derana television channel yesterday (08). 

PM was about to be packed off 

Due to the problematic situation in the UNP at the time, 28 members of the party had agreed to support the no-confidence motion, he claimed. According to him, the no-confidence motion was about to be won till Minister Samaraweera held a discussion with Minister Mahinda Amaraweera and eight other coalition members at his residence which eventually swung the balance in favour of Premier Wickremesinghe.  “If not, an SLFP government would be in place now”, Dayasiri said. 

UNP was strengthened again 

Due to the decision made by the 8 members of the coalition, those in the UNP who were already disgruntled with the Prime Minister, were left feeling lost as they too were forced to support the PM in the end. However, even knowing that they were going to lose the NCM, he decided to support the NCM along with the other 15 members but in the end, the PM and the UNP only got stronger, Jayasekara said.

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena today underlined the need to address the concerns of the Tamil minority in a political arrangement, saying though the problem has ended militarily, but no solution has been given for its causes.

Addressing Parliament on the ceremonial opening of a new session, he also called for support from political parties in addressing issues faced by the Tamil minority community in the war-affected North and East districts.

"Although the problem has ended militarily, no solution has been given for its causes," Sirisena said, referring to the 30-year-long civil war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which left over one lakh people dead.

The LTTE, which led the separatist war for a separate Tamil homeland, was finally crushed by the Lankan military in 2009 with the death of its supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran.

Referring to a main concern about land owned by Tamils being held for military purposes in the former conflict regions, the President said, almost 85 per cent of the land had now been released.

Sirisena also urged the parties to put an end to power struggle, both within his own unity government and within the opposition groups.

Highlighting achievements of his three years rule, the Sri Lankan President listed the economic achievements despite facing many natural hardships like drought.

"We have raised income levels while fighting to tackle the debt as high as rupees 10.3 trillion.

We have reduced the crime level by 30 per cent and boosted exports to its highest growth," he said.

In a surprise move last month, Sirisena had suspended Parliament for about a month in the backdrop of the ongoing political turmoil in the country.

The President made the decision to prorogue Parliament by virtue of the powers vested in him by Article 70 of the Constitution.

The unity government of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the United National Party (UNP) was thrown into a crisis after former president Mahinda

Rajapaksa's new party pulled off a stunning victory in February's local elections seen as a referendum on the ruling alliance.

(PTI)

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said today that over 45 percent of women in Sri Lanka are overweight or obese indicating a serious double burden of malnutrition within the adult population. 

Following a three-day regional conference on actions to accelerate improvements in women’s nutrition across South Asia held in Kathmandu the SAARC and UNICEF, it said many adolescents and women had also faced serious obstacles in meeting their right to health and nutrition.

UNICEF Director in South Asia Jean Gough said gaps in national policies, programmes and care services during pregnancy, combined with poverty and customary practices mean that women had failed to receive the nutritional care they need for a healthy pregnancy.

“Essential nutrition services, including dietary counselling and iron-folic acid supplements,are reaching too few women during pregnancy.

Underlying causes include the under-investment in maternal health services,the low prioritization of nutrition services,and the low reach of care for pregnant women,” the UNICEF said.

“Pregnant and breastfeeding women need better nutrition to protect children from stunting and disease. The progress on improving nutritional care of women in South Asia during and after pregnancy is slow, impacting on their children’s survival, growth and development,” he said.

It said over one-third of the world’s anaemic women live in South Asia, and no country was on track to meet the global nutrition target to reduce anaemia by 50 per cent women by 2025. In Sri Lanka, nearly 32 per cent of pregnant women are anaemic.

“Children who are born small due to poor maternal nutrition start life at a huge disadvantage. They are more likely to become wasted or stunted in early life, do less well at school, earn lower wages in adulthood and suffer diabetes and chronic heart diseases later in life,” it said.

SAARC Secretary General saidAmjad Hussain Sial said women's nutrition required special attention and the governments should look at how they could provide healthy diet and lifestyle options.  

“We must strive towards a collective effort that involves health providers, community based workers, families, schools and mothers themselves,” he said.

(Courtesy Daily Mirror)

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dačić concluded a two day official visit to Sri Lanka today. 
With a view to increasing two-way tourism, an Air Services Agreement between Sri Lanka and Serbia was signed yesterday (08), by Serbian First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dačić  and the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva.

Serbian First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dačić  and the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva signing the Air Services Agreement. Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During the visit, Minister Dačić had meetings with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Speaker of the Parliament Karu Jayasuriya, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Tilak Marapana, and the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva.

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dačić with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana. Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Discussions with Minister Marapana included a range of bilateral and global issues. The two ministers agreed to convene the second round of bilateral foreign office consultations as early as possible with a view to exploring the way forward, in a structured manner, on opportunities for investment, particularly in the agriculture, food processing and construction sectors in Sri Lanka; increasing cooperation in education, sports, transport and tourism sectors; and easing the visa regime between Serbia and Sri Lanka.

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya informed Parliament today that the National Audit Bill is in accordance with the Constitution as conveyed by the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. The National Audit Bill was approved by the Cabinet in February this year.

Strike by the Railways Engine drivers union which was set to commence at midnight today has been halted temporarily. According to the railway unions, the decision to temporarily call off the strike till noon tomorrow came after a request was made by the committee appointed to resolve issues related to the railway.  

They had announced an indefinite strike from midnight today after talks with the Deputy Minister of Railways failed. The unions have been threatening to strike based on several demands including that of salary anomalies.