News
Govt. has taken steps to move away from welfare state – FM
The government has taken substantial steps to move away from a welfare state in the last 18 months, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mohomed Ali Sabry said recently on a televised interview.He said that the current government has introduced cost reflective pricing for utilities.
“No one thought this could be done. We can’t keep on subsidizing State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs). Some SOEs are being privatized,” he said.Minister Sabry said that the IMF in the 1990s took a series of unpopular decisions. However, the IMF has changed, he said.
“The recommendations they have given us are good. They have asked us to be more efficient, less corrupt and increase the welfare dole outs to the most vulnerable,” he said.
Minister Sabry said that during his tenure as Minister of Justice he attempted to increase the number of hard drugs, like heroin, that a person needed to possess to give them a life sentence.
“Now it’s two grams. I wanted to increase it to five. People who have about a gram or two with them often are addicts. We need to rehabilitate them. What the police often do is claim a person possesses drugs over two grams and file a case at the high courts. Then the drugs are sent to the government analyst who takes six months to send the report. 99 percent of the time the government analyst says there are less than two grams here. The addicts who had been languishing in jails are then granted bail. This is a ludicrous situation. There are thousands of such cases. There is no time to listen to cases of big time drug dealers,” he said. (RK)
INS Sindhukesari, a submarine serving in the Indian Navy, arrived at the port of Colombo on 03 May 26 to undertake Operational Turnarounds.
The visiting submarine was welcomed by the Sri Lanka Navy in precision with naval traditions.
Throughout its stay in the island, the submarine’s crew is scheduled to participate in a variety of programmes organized by the Sri Lanka Navy, including visits to several tourist attractions in Sri Lanka.
Mikhail Murashko, Minister of Health of the Russian Federation, officially visited the Russian House in Colombo to attend the Sri Lanka–Russia Medical Forum, where members of the Sri Lanka Russia Business Council and graduates from the Association of Sri Lankan Graduates from Socialist countries (ASLGSC) attended.
This historic gathering was graced by rectors and representatives from several world-class Russian medical institutions, including Kursk State Medical University, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, and Tver State Medical University, among others.
The forum commenced with an address by Minister Murashko, during which Russian medical graduates in attendance raised pertinent questions regarding medical and pharmaceutical sector opportunities in Sri Lanka.
Levan Dzhagaryan, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, together with Madam Maria L. Popova, Counsellor of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Sri Lanka & the Maldives and Director of the Russian House in Colombo, graced the occasion. Both officials expressed strong support for continued collaboration and future initiatives between the two nations.
The official appointment letters for the members of the newly established “Cricket Transformation Committee” (CTC) were handed over on Monday (04) by the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Sunil Kumara Gamage.
The following members received their letters of appointment at the Ministry premises:
Sidath Wettimuny
Thushira Radella
Prakash Schaffter
Ms. Avanthi Colombage
The Ministry also noted that veteran cricketers Roshan Mahanama and Kumar Sangakkara, who are key members of the committee, are currently overseas. Their official appointments will be formalised immediately upon their arrival in Sri Lanka.
The Cricket Transformation Committee has been mandated to oversee the administration and drive structural reforms within Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) in accordance with the powers vested in the Minister under the Sports Act No. 25 of 1973.
INS Sindhukesari arrives in Colombo
Minister of Health of the Russian Federation attends the Sri Lanka–Russia Medical Forum
Members of Sri Lanka Cricket Transformation Committee Officially Appointed
Three prison guards arrested following the death of an inmate
Showers or thundershowers will occur at most places of the island after 1.00 pm.
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‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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