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Sri Lanka’s Environment Secretary Dr. Anil Jasinghe, was appointed as the Chairperson of the 4th Session of the Forum of Ministers and Environment Authorities of Asia Pacific (4th AP Forum) of the United Nations Environment Program.

The 4th AP Forum was organized jointly by the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Korea and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The Forum serves as a platform for the Member States and other stakeholders to contribute regional perspectives to the resumed fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2) to be held from 28 February to 2 March 2022 as well as to the Special Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly to mark the 50th anniversary of UNEP on 3-4 March 2022 in Nairobi, Kenya.

The Forum will focus on UNEA-5’s theme: Strengthening Actions for Nature to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. At the Forum, Member States will:

– Review progress on implementation of UNEA resolutions in Asia and the Pacific.

– Review progress of regional forums and platforms where UNEP is the secretariat, including Asia Pacific Clean Asia Partnership, Asia Pacific Adaptation Network, and Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia.

– Identify priorities and engagement with Major Groups and Stakeholders in Asia-Pacific.

– Identify priorities and emerging issues from the region to be reflected in preparations for the UNEA-5.2.

– Provide regional inputs to the UNEA-5.2 theme and its draft outcome documents.

– Regional Inputs to the Special Session of United Nations Environment Assembly to mark the 50th anniversary of UNEP.

– Discuss challenges and opportunities to strengthen the regional environmental agenda for delivering the sustainable development goals and regional commitments to international agreements; and

– The Forum is also an occasion for UNEP partners, UN agencies, private sector representatives, scientists, academia, and civil society to bring their perspectives and ideas to achieve the environmental dimension of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.

A new study has underlined nine core long-COVID symptoms, occurring 90-180 days after COVID-19 was diagnosed, Dr. Chandima Jeewandara, Director of the Allergy, Immunology and Cell Biology Unit of the Sri Jayawardenepura University said.

Dr Jeewandra said the term 'long COVID' is commonly used to describe signs and symptoms that continue or develop after acute COVID-19, which Includes both ongoing symptomatic COVID-19 (from 4 to 12 weeks) and post-COVID-19 syndrome (≥12 weeks).

“Long-COVID symptoms were more frequent in those who had been hospitalised, and they were slightly more common in women.” he pointed out.

43 COVID-19 deaths were confirmed for Tuesday (5), said the Director-General of Health Services. The total number of COVID-19 fatalities in Sri Lanka increased to 13,185.

According to data released by the Department of Government Information, the latest victims include 23 males and 20 females.

As many as 36 deaths were reported among elderly people aged above 60 years. In addition, 07 people aged between 30-59 years have also succumbed to the virus infection.

40 COVID-19 deaths were confirmed for Saturday (2), said the Director-General of Health Services on Sunday (3),

The total number of COVID-19 fatalities increased to 13,059

According to the figures released by the Department of Govt. Information, the Covid-19 deaths reported today include 22 males and 18 females.

Just one of the victims are below the age of 30 years while eleven of them are between 30-59 years.

The remaining twenty-eight victims are in the age category of 60 years and above.

40 COVID-19 deaths were confirmed for Monday (4), said the Director-General of Health Services. The COVID death toll in Sri Lanka increased to 13,142.

According to the figures released by the Govt. Information Department, the victims include 22 males and 18 females while four are between the ages 30-59.

The remaining thirty-six patients are aged 60 and above.

The teacher-principal struggle against the salary anomalies will further be continued on the Teachers' Day which falls on October 06, revealed Joseph Stalin, Secretary of the Ceylon Teachers' Union, speaking to a briefing held by the Trade Union Alliance of the School Teachers and Principals today (03).

The teachers and principals, accordingly, will be holding a series of protests throughout 312 divisional education offices islandwide, he added.

A permanent solution should be given to the salary anomalies suffered by the teachers and principals for decades, Stalin emphasised, adding that the struggle will end in the face of any obstacles.

Former Minister Rishad Bathiudeen has been further remanded until October 08 (Friday).

The case filed against the parliamentarian was taken up before Colombo Fort Magistrate Priyantha Liyanage today.

Rishad Bathiudeen and his brother were taken into custody on April 24, under the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), for allegedly aiding and abetting the suicide bombers who perpetrated the deadly bombings on April 21, 2019.

India’s Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, who is on an official visit to Sri Lanka, visited the Oil Tank Farms at Trincomalee today (03) for an inspection tour.

LIOC briefed him about the development undertaken at the Lower Tank Farms and the possibilities for further strengthening India-Sri Lanka energy partnership to enhance Sri Lanka’s energy security, the Indian High Commission in Colombo said.

“Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh V Shringla was happy to be with LIOC for the launch of LIOC’s new product - ‘Servo Pride ALT 15W-40’ during the visit.”

Earlier today, the Indian Foreign Secretary began his visit to Sri Lanka by seeking blessings at Sri Dalada Maligawa (Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic) in Kandy.

He was received warmly by Diyawadana Nilame of the temple. Foreign Secretary offered prayers for the well-being and prosperity of the people of India and Sri Lanka and for reinforcing their centuries old bonds, the high commission said.

Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp are currently down in many countries.

Foreign media reports suggest that the outage had begun at around 9:15 pm.

WhatsApp and Instagram are popular apps owned by parent company Facebook.

The Government has informed the European Commission that Sri Lanka agrees to reconsider the Prevention of Terrorism Act and to make it in accordance with international law.

The foreign ministry has said that the changes will be made during a joint meeting between the European Commission and the Sri Lankan government in the first quarter of 2022. The government gave this assurance at the Fifth Working Group on Governance, the Rule of Law and Human Rights held in Colombo on September 29. The Government has pledged to the European Commission to implement good governance, protect human rights and uphold the rule of law. There has also been an exchange of experiences between countries regarding how countries have reacted to the COVID-19 epidemic. European delegates have raised the issue of minority rights and hate speech in Sri Lanka, and the government has stated that Sri Lanka is a multinational country and that the equal rights of all communities are protected by the Constitution.

The joint discussion was chaired by Manisha Gunasekara, Director of European Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ionis Giorakis Agiropoulos, Head of South Asia for the European Foreign Action Agency.

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Nirupama Rajapaksa, a Former Sri Lankan Minister has been named in the Pandora Papers, the most expansive leak of tax haven files in history.

It reveals the secret offshore holdings of more than 300 politicians and public officials from more than 90 countries and territories in the Pandora Papers.

Rajapaksa, is a cousin of Sri Lanka’s president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

She is also a former member of Parliament and served as deputy minister of water supply and drainage from 2010 to 2015.

Her husband, Thirukumar Nadesan, has worked as a consultant and hotel entrepreneur, according to a biography on his company website, quoted by international media.

According to the ICIJ, in 2016, he was charged with embezzlement in connection with a real estate deal involving another member of the president’s family Basil Rajapaksa, accused of using public funds to build a villa.

The case is pending; Nadesan and Basil Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka’s current finance minister, have denied wrongdoing.

The report goes on to detail that Nirupama Rajapaksa and Nadesan together controlled a shell company they used to buy luxury apartments in London and Sydney, and to make investments, according to leaked files.

Nadesan set up other shell companies and trusts in secrecy jurisdictions, and he used them to obtain lucrative consulting contracts from foreign companies doing business with the Sri Lankan government and to buy artwork.

In 2018, one of the companies, Pacific Commodities, transferred 31 paintings and other South Asian art pieces to the Geneva Freeport, an ultra-secure warehouse where assets are not subject to taxes or duties.

In confidential emails to Asiaciti Trust, a Singapore-based offshore services provider, a longtime adviser of Nadesan’s put his overall wealth, as of 2011, at more than $160 million. ICIJ couldn’t independently verify the figure.

Asiaciti Trust managed some of Nadesan’s offshore companies and trusts, with assets valued at about $18 million, according to an ICIJ analysis.

The firm listed him as a politically connected individual because of his wife’s political position.

Asiaciti kept the family as clients even after Nadesan was charged with embezzlement in 2016.

ICiJ reports that Rajapaksa and Nadesan declined to answer ICIJ’s questions about their trusts and companies.

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A circular has been issued recalling government sector employees to resume work, the Secretary to the Ministry of Public Administration stated.

The decision to resume public services has been taken considering that 50 percent of the country’s population and the majority of public sector employees are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Further, it has also been considered that public institutions should be successfully operated to achieve the targets of the government.

“In the process of reopening the country, action should be taken to identify and call employees, who are vital for maintaining the essential services provided by government offices without disruption, for duty and, the authority to call employees for duty in that manner is vested in the Secretaries of Ministries/ Heads of Departments/ Heads of Institutions.”

The above provisions are not applicable to the staff officers who are entitled to official vehicles/ receiving transport allowances or provided with transport facilities by pool vehicles and, they are required to report for duty as usual, it said.

It says that when calling officers for duty to government institutions in the above manner, steps should be taken not to call pregnant officers, breastfeeding mothers and officers with particular illnesses.

Such officers should be called for duty only in urgent situations and, in such cases, they should be provided with special facilities and allowed a special time to arrive at the workplace and depart.

“It is sufficient to maintain only a register of arrival and departure of officers reporting for duty,” the circular said.

Maintaining the Public Service under Normalcy (English)