President Maithripala Sirisena requested all striking railway trade unions to return to work considering the inconvenience caused to Ordinary Level students who are sitting for the examination today (12). 

Many concerned parties voiced their distress over the ongoing railway strike as children who rely on the railway service to get to their examination centers will be left desolate. 

The President made a request from the railway trade unions to call off the strike as many children will be affected by the strike action. 

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SL partner with US to end AIDS

The Governments of Sri Lanka and the US launched a two-year HIV/AIDS Technical Assistance Partnership on December 8, to fast track the government efforts to end AIDS by 2025, the US Embassy said on Tuesday.  

The Embassy said the US Agency for International Development (USAID) would help to transfer promising solutions, new technical skills and innovations to contribute towards ending AIDS in Sri Lanka, through the President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

USAID Sri Lanka Mission Director Andrew Sisson said they have been working closely with the Sri Lankan Government on a number of social and economic development efforts.

“This partnership is very important as Sri Lanka moves down the path to ending the spread of AIDS,”he said. 

USAID India Mission Director Mark Anthony White said they are happy to partner with USAID Sri Lanka to support this important initiative to strengthen the HIV response, especially for key populations. “We hope this leads to more health collaborations between India and Sri Lanka,” he said.  

Meanwhile, Health Ministry Secretary Janaka Sugathadasa said when it comes to HIV/AIDS, we must have a new approach and the public health approach has to be coupled with a societal approach.

In a statement, the Embassy said the two-year partnership will work in close collaboration with key stakeholders in the country to improve access to HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment services for at-risk or key populations (KP) due to their increased vulnerability for contracting/transmitting the HIV virus.

The Sri Lankan Government is committed to ending AIDS in country by 2025, ahead of the UN’s Global Commitment to end AIDS by 2030.

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Largest number of elephants, tuskers killed during this govt.: Sudaththa Thera

The largest number of elephants and tuskers were killed after the Yahapalanaya government came to office and after appointment of Gamini Jayawickrama Perera as the Wildlife Minister, the convener of the national movement to protect tamed elephants, Magalkande Sudaththa Thera said today.

While speaking at a media briefing at Rajagiriya, the Thera said, another four more tuskers had been killed after killing the iconic Galagamuwe 'Dala Puttuwa' recently.

“According to the statistics and other information obtained from the Wild Life Department, same number of elephants have been disappeared. Special search operations are being conducted with the support of several army teams,” the Thera said.

“After this government came to office 117 elephants have been killed in 2015. After the appointment of the Minister Gamini Jayawickrama Perera as the Wild Life Minister, 131 elephants have been killed in 2016. 60 elephants had been killed by July, 2017,” the Thea said.

According to the Wild life reports, in 2005, 85 elephants have been killed. The number of elephants killed in the subsequent years as follows; 2006-117, 2007-110, 2008-153, 2009-136, 2010-123, 2011-137, 2012-110, 2013-100, 2014-104, the Thera said.

Therefore, the Minister should resign from his portfolio taking the responsibility for these killings of elephants reported in the country, except for the natural deaths of elephants.

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JVP condemns remarks made by Vigneswaran

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has severely condemned the remarks made by Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Vigneswaran at a rally held in Jaffna last week, in a bid to spread racism. Speaking at a press conference held at the head office of the JVP at Pelawatta today (27) MP Tilvin Silva said the views expressed by Vigneswaran are not that of the people in the North and the East. “The statement made by the Chief Minister of the Northern Provincial Council is one that gives a stimulant to the communalists in the South and such revolting statements made at a time when all Sinhalese, Tamil, and other people strive to achieve national unity should be condemned,” he added.

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India values ECTA agreement with SL - Nirmala

Sri Lanka’s decision to scrap a joint venture coal power plant project will not deter India’s future investment plans in the country, the Indian government said today.  Commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated this at the end of her three-day visit here after meeting Sri Lankan minister of international Trade Malik Samarawickrema and other officials. The proposed Economic and Technological Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) and issues concerning the existing FTA between India and Sri Lanka were subjects among the talks.  “India understands Sri Lanka’s need to move from coal power to more renewable power generation sources,” Sitharaman said adding that India would also explore the possibilities of helping Sri Lanka in their quest to set up an LNG plant in place of coal power generation. 

Sri Lanka has decided to do away with the joint venture with National Thermal Power Corporation to build a coal power plant in the eastern district of Trincomalee.  Sitharaman said that India is looking to invest USD 2 billion worth of investment in Sri Lanka despite its decision on the proposed coal power plant. On the proposed ETCA over which Sri Lankan parties have raised concerns, she said India was open for discussion. “We have been meeting the business chaimbers to assess their concerns,” she said commenting on her discussions.  Samarawickrema said the ETCA is expected to open up a market of 1.25 billion people in India. Both ministers said the negotiations on ETCA were reaching the final stage as both sides want to see it happening “as soon as possible”.  

-PTI -

Agencies  

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