News
FRC forecasts higher ratio of Lankans requiring humanitarian assistance
An estimated 5.7 million people (26 per cent of the population) or more are now in need of humanitarian assistance, with at least 4.9 million (22 per cent) being food insecure, a situation report by International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said.
The report issued on December 28 said the current crisis in Sri Lanka is affecting all sectors of society and has created the conditions for increased vulnerability, poverty and destitution among a significant proportion of the population.
“In 2021, approximately 2.4 million people (11 per cent of the total population) fell below the international poverty line for lower-middle-income countries. Significantly more poor households than non-poor households have lost more than half of their income since the crisis. People are now selling their assets, becoming indebted and cutting down on food, and their children are less likely to attend school,” the report said.
IFRC said that population groups with existing vulnerabilities are most sensitive to the impacts of the crisis. These include children, pregnant and lactating women, people with disabilities (PWD), female-headed households, migrants, refugees and marginalised ethnic and religious groups. Support for PWD, the elderly, and others with special needs has decreased, making these populations even more vulnerable, the report said.
“Further groups have become vulnerable due to ongoing food insecurity. These include informal daily wage earners, minimum wage earners (employed in certain industries – tourism, construction and other services), single female-headed households with dependent children, families with multiple children below five years old, low-income households including the elderly, households with members with chronic illnesses
or disabilities, and disadvantaged farmers who have halted basic agricultural activities. Outbound migration is increasing, impacting the retention of skilled labour from the country and putting children of absent parents at risk of neglect,” IFRC said.
Given below are excerpts of the report: “Inflation rates have risen sharply thereafter, and the government became unable to import essential commodities, including fuel, which further increased shortages, adding to the surge in inflation. In January 2022, 10,000 LKR was equivalent to 50 USD but by September it was only 27 USD. For consumers, typically this means higher prices for imported goods, fresh pressure on energy costs, and higher loan repayments. Encouragingly, there are signs that the inflation rate is slowly dropping (year-on-year inflation for November was 61 per cent, down from 66 per cent in October and a high of 69.8 per cent in September. This is also reflected in the slight decrease in food inflation (85.6 per cent compared with a peak of 94.9 per cent in September).
“The emerging crisis led to country-wide civil unrest. Following mass protests, which started in March 2022, a new government was installed in May, and the country’s president was replaced in July. To help ensure support from the International Monetary Fund, the new government raised taxes to offset the external debt, adding to the economic burden, including that faced by the most vulnerable.
“What had started as a fiscal macro-economic crisis is now creating profound impacts at the micro-level, with an unfolding humanitarian emergency, in which millions of people are experiencing widespread, acute and increasingly chronic shortages of food, fuel, cooking gas and health services including medicines. Unprecedented food inflation has led to a spike in food insecurity, with rising concerns about malnutrition, especially among children under five years of age, pregnant women, and lactating mothers’ services and continued access to treatment of non-communicable diseases.
The latest humanitarian assessments confirm that the poverty rate has accelerated since the start of the current crisis. Food inflation reached a record high in September at 94.9 per cent. In its latest assessment in November, the World Bank ranked Sri Lanka as having the world’s sixth-highest food inflation.”
He was examining security officer’s new weapon while waiting for his wife to join him on a morning walk
Friday’s shock death of former IGP Chandana Wickramaratne due to gunshot injuries on his chest was possibly due to an accidental discharge of his personal security officer’s (PSO’s) pistol. Wickramaratne, who was kitted for his walk and waiting on the verandah for his wife to join him, was examining the PSO’s new weapon, knowledgeable sources said.
These sources said the wife who was putting on her shoes inside the house heard a bang and found Wickramaratne fallen on the verandah.
The retired IGP had noticed the security officer carrying a new weapon and had asked to examine it. Saying he carried a similar weapon years ago, he found no magazine and said, “are you planning to accompany me on my walk with a pistol without a magazine?”
The PSO had then handed the loaded magazine and gone into the house to fetch a requested bottle of water when the weapon had gone off.
The sources said that Wickramaratne was in no way depressed and had attended an Ananda College old boy’s event a few days ago, had dinner with friends and chatted with them. He had an appointment to meet a friend on Saturday.
Friends and family saw no reason for Wickramaratne to take his own life and there was no evidence whatever of an external agent shooting him. The former IGP was pronounced dead at the Colombo East Teaching Hospital to which he was rushed.
Police said investigations were proceeding and an autopsy report was awaited.
Wickramaratne was appointed the 35th Inspector General on November 25, 2020 and retired three years later in 2023. He had also set a record as the longest serving acting IGP since his naming to that position in May 2019 after his predecessor Pujith Jayasundara was sent on compulsory leave.
He joined as a trainee Assistant Superintendent in June 1986 after graduating from the Colombo University. He was absorbed to the National Intelligence Bureau where he worked till 1995. Thereafter he reverted to the uniform service and had been posted across the country, including the northern and eastern areas at the height of the war.
Former Colombo Mayor Rosy Senanayake appeared before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry appointed to investigate allegations of corruption and fraud at the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) on Friday (17).
Speaking to the media after appearing before the commission, Senanayake said she had been summoned to provide information regarding a food voucher programme implemented during her tenure as Mayor amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis.
She said the programme, carried out through state-owned Lanka Sathosa, was introduced to provide assistance to low-income and vulnerable families affected by the economic hardships during the period.
“We gave food vouchers from Sathosa to the poor during the pandemic and economic crisis.
They wanted answers to some questions they had regarding the programme,” Senanayake said.The Presidential Commission is currently investigating allegations relating to financial irregularities, corruption and other misconduct within the Colombo Municipal Council.
A police constable has been suspended from service following an inquiry into allegations that he sat on the lap of a female police constable while under the influence of alcohol at the Makalugaswewa Police Station.
Police said the constable had reported for duty at a musical concert held at the Dambulla Gam Udawa Stadium on July 15 and later returned to the police station to resume duties.
According to initial reports, the constable allegedly sat on the female officer’s lap after seeing her seated on a chair at the station.
The female police constable subsequently lodged a complaint with the Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) in charge of the area through the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the police station.
A preliminary investigation into the incident found that the constable had allegedly been under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident.
Following the inquiry into the alleged harassment of the female officer and the constable’s conduct while on duty, police authorities took steps to suspend his service pending further action.
by Norman Palihawadane ✍️
Akif Javeed and Sam Harper star in Galle Gallants five wicket win
Dambull Sixers down Kandy Royals by 18 runs
World Cup final tickets near $2.3m mark on FIFA’s resale platform
Saka hat-trick helps England down France to win World Cup 2026 Bronze Final
US military says two service members killed in Iranian strike in Jordan
Showers will occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Kandy, Nuwara-Eliya, Galle and Matara districts
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
Sunday Island 27 December – Headlines
#SundayIsland 17th December – Headlines
Sunday Island – 28th March
Sunday Island Headlines – 21 March
Sunday Island – 21st February – Headlines
-
Latest News1 day agoDavis cup Asia/Oceania Group IV 2026 to be held in Colombo from 20th to 25th July
-
Features4 days agoDirty Money
-
News1 day agoDengue outbreak gallops ahead: Infections surpasses 73,455, leaving 50 dead
-
News1 day agoEvidence recorded in money laundering case against Yoshitha Rajapaksa
-
News2 days agoMoney laundering case against Yoshitha, fixed for pre-trial conference
-
Midweek Review4 days agoThe sordid tale of theft and tragedy at Finance Ministry
-
Latest News5 days agoOil prices hit 1-month high as US-Iran attacks dim Strait of Hormuz outlook
-
Editorial2 days agoOverwhelming fire power and stubborn resilience