News

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.

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.