Colombo (LNW): The Police are investigating the discovery of a body washed ashore on Wellawatte’s Marine Drive beach, reports said.
The deceased has been identified as a 28-year-old resident of Jaffna, Sarvananda Thirusanth.
The body displayed multiple bruises, and a magistrate’s inquest will be conducted today.
By: Staff Writer
Colombo (LNW): With winter approaching throughout Europe, two maiden swiss and Poland flights arrived at Katunayake Airport this week marking the commencement of the arrival of tourists from Poland and Switzerland to Sri Lanka.
It was of significance that there were more young people, among these 186 Polish national tourists arrived at the Katunayake Airport on ENT-1561 a special flight of Enter Air from Warsaw, Poland.
This is the thirteenth time that Polish tourists have come to Sri Lanka during winter.Tourists are due to arrive from Poland to Sri Lanka from November 2023 to March 2024.
These Polish tourists plan to visit historical places like Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Sigiriya, and beaches such as Unawatuna and Arugam Bay as well as wildlife parks in Sri Lanka
The aircraft (ENT1561), carrying 206 tourists, arrived at 7.45 a.m. signifying the beginning of a series of charter flights scheduled to operate between Warsaw and Colombo till the end of March 2024.
These flights, facilitated through a collaboration with Green Holidays Centre Ltd., are set to occur every 10 days, offering a seamless travel experience for tourists seeking to explore tropical destinations with rich cultural and natural heritage ahead of the winter holidays.
Swiss leisure airline, Edelweiss Air resumed operations to Sri Lanka ahead of the winter holidays at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), Katunayake recently .
The flight carrying 221 passengers arrived at 8:50 a.m. was extended the traditional Sri Lankan welcome at the BIA. The airline will operate weekly flights from Zurich to Colombo till 17 May 2024.
The airline based at Zurich Airport, a sister company of Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) and a member of the Lufthansa Group that primarily operates charter and holiday flights to 70 destinations over 30 countries worldwide.
The new connection offers a convenient direct flight for travellers from Colombo to the heart of Europe, with many onward flight options from Zurich connecting to Europe, North America, and beyond with Swiss International Air Lines.
Founded in 1995 and named after the Edelweiss flower, a symbol of Switzerland known for its resilience and beauty, the airline is committed to quality and customer satisfaction and has established itself as a prominent player in the aviation industry.
As a reliable companion, the airline’s entire 2023/24 winter flight schedule includes 57 holiday destinations in 32 countries – short, medium, and long-haul – and ensures a pleasant and carefree travel time and enjoyment safety, and well-being of its passengers on board.
By: Staff Writer
Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka and the European Union (EU) are to further enhance cooperation and engagement in reviewing policy directives to expand trade, Foreign ministry sources said.
The EU side highlighted the features of the new GSP Scheme which will come into effect from the year 2024.
I has also highlighted the features of the new GSP Scheme which will come into effect from the year 2024. Sri Lanka is an applicant to the GSP Plus facility under the new Scheme which will enable Sri Lankan exporters to export more than 7000 products under zero duty to EU member countries for the next ten years.
Sri Lanka is an applicant to the GSP Plus facility under the new Scheme which will enable Sri Lankan exporters to export more than 7000 products under zero duty to EU member countries for the next ten years.
The EU acknowledged the progress made by Sri Lanka towards economic stability and attempts made to expand trade with the EU, and requested further cooperation and engagement in reviewing policy directives.
Currently, the EU is the second largest export market for Sri Lanka with a value of US$ 3 Billion in the year 2022.
Apparel exports dominate the export basket with a 54% share of exports in 2022. The other key export products are pneumatic tyres, tea, articles of apparel, tobacco and liquid coconut milk.
Exports from Sri Lanka to the EU dropped 9.81 percent to US$ 654.84 million in the first quarter of 2023 from a year ago, according to Export Development Board data.
The 11th Inter-Parliamentary consultations between Sri Lanka and the Delegation for relations with the countries of South Asia of the European Parliament (DSAS) were convened on 31 October, at the Sri Lanka Parliamentary premises.
A multi-party delegation led by Foreign Affairs Minister M.U.M. Ali Sabry, participated in an interactive discussion with the visiting EU delegation led by Finnish Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Heidi Hautala from the group of the Greens who is also Vice-President and the Rapporteur for New GSP Regulation of the European Parliament.
The discussion centred on matters related to bilateral cooperation in the context of further consolidating ties between the two legislatures.
Sri Lanka side apprised the MEPs of the current economic and political developments in the country and also on overall progress in reconciliation and human rights situation including proposed Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).
The EU Co-chair Hautala welcomed progress in EU-Sri Lanka bilateral relations and briefed on issues of importance to the EU such as new climate friendly regulations being adopted in the EU (European Green Deal), Ukraine conflict, inflation in the European region and future EU integration.
The Sri Lanka delegation also highlighted the importance of GSP+ concessions which provides duty free access for Sri Lanka’s exports to the EU market and requested support of the European Parliament for continued access to the concessions.
PMD: During the Nuwara Eliya Special District Coordination Committee (DCC) meeting held Nove (04) at the Nuwara Eliya District Secretariat, President Ranil Wickremesinghe emphasised the importance of effective implementation of directives related to the country’s development.
He underscored that government officials must promptly execute decisions made during district development committee meetings and stated his commitment to preventing any programmes that could hinder the country’s progress.
Furthermore, he warned that action would be taken against the heads of government institutions who fail to properly implement the instructions regarding the country’s development activities.
The meeting was attended by both political authorities of the district and government officials.
The discussions covered the development programmes implemented in the Nuwara Eliya district, along with future development plans. Progress on implementing decisions from previous discussions, chaired by the President on December 22, 2022, and April 10, 2023, was also reviewed.
Government officials presented detailed reports on swift actions taken to improve infrastructure development, including addressing shortages of drugs in district hospitals, resolving the shortage of school teachers, road repairs, and solutions to drinking water issues. Challenges encountered during program implementation were identified and addressed during the meeting.
President Wickremesinghe stressed that executing decisions promptly to make the Nuwara Eliya district an attractive and comfortable tourist destination for both local and foreign tourists would significantly contribute to the country’s economy. He also highlighted the need to swiftly fulfil responsibilities according to the instructions given by government officials to attract investors in the tourism sector.
The President emphasised that heads of public institutions should have a strong understanding of their institutions’ scope to ensure efficient service delivery to the public. The meeting also discussed expediting the development plan for Nuwara Eliya city.
The President visited the Nuwara Eliya District Secretariat this morning and participated in the inauguration of the newly established textile shop on the ground floor.
The event was attended by Ministers Nimal Siripala de Silva, Kanchana Wijesekera, Jeevan Thondaman, MPs S.B. Dissanayake, V. Radhakrishnan, M. Rameshwaran, Central Province Governor Lalith. U. Gamage, Secretaries of relevant Ministries, Nuwara Eliya District Secretary P.K. Nandana, and other heads of government agencies, as well as members of the security forces.
Colombo (LNW): The blood used for manufacturing substandard human intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) vials may have been sourced from the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS), alleged the Academy of Health Professionals.
In a staggering revelation made yesterday (04), Union President Ravi Kumesh quoting the company owner claimed that the specific blood in question had been acquired under the guise of academic research.
Accordingly, state patronage has been granted to the scandal, he pointed out, adding that the affair has been carried out with the approval of the Health Secretary’s Office.
Contributing to the dialogue, President of the Medical and Civil Rights Professional Association (MCPA) Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa said there is a troubling delay in investigating the fraudulent IVIG vial production.
Meanwhile, MP Rajitha Senaratne expressed his commitment to supporting the current Health Minister in investigating the alleged fraud and corruption that may have occurred within the Ministry of Health during the past period.
Colombo (LNW): Public Security Minister Tiran Alles revealed he had been approached with a tempting offer of Rs. 700 million to facilitate the transfer of Underworld Kingpin ‘Harak Kata’ to Dubai rather than bringing him to Sri Lanka upon his arrest.
In an event held yesterday (04), the Minister pointed out that the criminal underworld was prepared to go to great lengths, offering even larger sums to have him ousted from his position.
The President was made aware of this occurrence, Alles went on, adding that the individual who had extended the bribe met with an unfortunate fate.
This revelation took place during the Minister’s address to the Police Chiefs and Officers responsible for the southern province, where he reaffirmed his commitment to dismissing officers with ties to criminal organisations.
Officers in Charge (OICs) should be held accountable for any criminal activities within their respective jurisdictions, the Minister lamented.
By: Isuru Parakrama
Colombo (LNW): The Lawyers’ Collective raised deep concerns over the constitutional non-compliance in appointing the Inspector General of Police (IGP) of Sri Lanka, calling it “a significant erosion of public confidence.”
In a statement, the Lawyers’ Collective emphasised that there could be considerable consequences the move might hold for the Sri Lanka Police and the criminal justice system of the country.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe has repeatedly extended the enure of C.D. Wickramaratne as the IGP over the past eight months, with the most recent extension being granted on November 03, 2023, extending his service for an additional period of three weeks.
This ongoing situation has raised serious concerns, the Collective pointed out, urging the the government to ensure a rigorous process and merit based and accountable decisions via the Constitutional Council prior to the approval of the IGP’s appointment.
– Immediate roll out of USD 15 million grant for promotion of Buddhist ties
– Allocation of USD 10 million for solar electrification of places of worship across Sri Lanka
– Launch of construction of 10,000 houses in plantation areas of Sri Lanka
– Inauguration of the upgraded Thondaman Vocational Training Center
– Supply of school bags and notebooks to 10,000 students
– Installation of RO plants in schools
Finance Minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman led a five-member official delegation as well as a high-powered business delegation consisting of senior functionaries of leading industry organizations like Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICII) to Sri Lanka from 1–3 November 2023.
2. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman called on H.E President Ranil Wickremesinghe and H.E Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena during the visit. She paid respects to the Chief Prelates of the Asgiriya and Malwatta chapters as also offered prayers at the sacred Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy and sacred Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi Temple in Anuradhapura, in addition to Nallur Kandaswamy Temple in Jaffna. She was the Guest of Honour at ‘Naam 200’ event to mark 200 years of arrival of the Indian origin Tamil community to Sri Lanka and delivered the keynote address at an India – Sri Lanka Business Summit – Enhancing Connectivity; Partnering for Prosperity. She also inaugurated branches of State Bank of India in Trincomalee and Jaffna during the visit.
3. She held fruitful discussions with the President of Sri Lanka on 2 November 2023 and they witnessed the exchange of bilateral documents, which pave way for early commencement of projects under the USD 15 million grant announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the promotion of Buddhist ties between the two countries. First project being undertaken under this grant is the solar electrification of places of worship across Sri Lanka with a grant allocation of USD 10 million and the MOU regarding details of the project was also exchanged yesterday.
4. Finance Minister of India announced in ‘Naam 200’ event that Government of India would soon send trainers to equip teachers in STEM subjects in plantation regions of Sri Lanka. As one of the first projects under the SLR 3 billion multi-sectoral package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in July 2023 for the Indian origin Tamil community, qualified trainers from India would be deployed in Sri Lanka for defined periods towards achieving this. She also outlined several other projects which are being rolled out under the package including solar lanterns for plantation workers, stitching units for women self-help groups etc. In the education sphere, she kicked off the supply of notebooks and school bags to 10000 school-going children in the plantation regions and started a project to distribute RO plants among schools to address drinking water problems in select schools.
5. Marking a new milestone, she virtually launched the Phase-4 of flagship Indian Housing Project (IHP) for the construction of 10,000 houses for plantation workers along with the President of Sri Lanka. This is an extension of the third phase under which close to 4000 houses have been built in these regions. It may be recalled that a total of around 50,000 houses have been completed under IHP till date. She also virtually inaugurated the upgraded Thondaman Vocational Training Center in Hatton along with President Wickremesinghe. Government of India built several facilities in the Center and provided equipment including desktop computers towards imparting employable skills of youth.
6. The visit is expected to give further impetus to bilateral engagements in the economic sphere. Industry captains who visited Sri Lanka from several sectors actively sought mutually beneficial investment opportunities and sustainable commercial partnerships in Sri Lanka. The Business Summit was a meeting of minds platform in which both Indian and Sri Lankan business entities came together to discuss future collaborations.
7. It may be recalled that Finance Minister Sitharaman had strongly advocated for Sri Lanka in IMF meetings in 2022 which was critical in enabling the IMF package for Sri Lanka. As the Finance Minister, her role in fast tracking the multi-pronged support of USD 4 billion by India last year was instrumental.
***
Colombo
03 November 2023
By: Isuru Parakrama
Colombo (LNW): Showers or thundershowers will occur at several places in the most provinces of the island after 02.00 p.m, and fairly heavy showers above 75mm are likely at some places in Western, Central, Sabaragamuwa, North-western, North-Central and Southern provinces, the Department of Meteorology said in its daily weather forecast today (05).
Showers may occur in Northern, Eastern and Southern provinces during the morning too, the statement added, revealing that misty conditions can be expected at some places in Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central and Uva provinces during the morning.
The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimise damages caused by temporary localised strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.
Marine Weather:
| Condition of Rain: |
| Showers or thundershowers will occur at several places in sea areas around the Island particularly during the afternoon or night. |
| Winds: |
| Winds will be South-easterly or variable in direction and wind speed will be (20-30) kmph. |
| State of Sea: |
| The sea areas around the island will be slight. Temporarily strong gusty winds and very rough seas can be expected during thundershowers. |
