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Hundreds rescued as search for quake survivors continues in Tibet
More than 14,000 rescue workers have arrived in Tibet to continue the search for survivors after a strong earthquake killed at least 126 people in a remote part of western China.
More than 400 people have been rescued, Chinese state media says, since the quake struck on Tuesday, some 50 miles from the base of Mount Everest, destroying thousands of homes.
Vice-Premier Zhang Guoqing arrived on Wednesday to oversee the operation, which is being hampered by winter temperatures that dropped to -16C overnight.
Earthquakes are common in the region, which lies on a major geological fault line, but Tuesday’s was one of China’s deadliest in recent years.
The magnitude 7.1 quake, which struck at a depth of 10 km (six miles), according to data from the US Geological Survey, was also felt in Nepal and parts of India, which neighbour Tibet.
Internet access is restricted in Tibet, which is tightly controlled by Beijing, and reporters cannot travel there without government permission. So much of what we know about the quake and its aftermath is from Chinese state media.
The air force has been deployed and drones dispatched to help rescuers, as President Xi Jinping called for all-out efforts to minimise casualties and resettle affected residents.
State-owned People’s Daily says more than 30,000 people have been relocated in the region. Electricity and mobile phone service in Tingri county, near the epicentre, were restored by Wednesday morning, according to state media.
Officials estimate that more than 3,600 buildings had collapsed, potentially leaving thousands without shelter.
Videos published by China’s state broadcaster CCTV showed houses destroyed and and buildings brought down in Tibet’s holy Shigatse city, with rescue workers wading through debris and handing out thick blankets to locals.
(BBC)
The Paddy Marketing Board has approximately 115,000 metric tonnes of paddy stocks purchased from farmers, which are currently stored in the Board’s warehouses, and it has been planned to retain a sufficient buffer stock from these reserves and sell the remaining quantity in order to provide the necessary storage space and financial resources for the purchase of paddy from farmers during the upcoming Yala season.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation to sell the aforementioned paddy stocks
following a formal tender procedure.
Latest News
Ms. M.K.D.N. Madampe, appointed as Director General of the Department of Management Services
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the President in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, to appoint Ms. M.K.D.N. Madampe, an officer of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service in the Special Grade who is currently serving as an Additional Director General of the Department of Management Services, to the post of Director General of the Department of Management Services with immediate effect.
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Cabinet approval for Implementation of a Project for the Joint Exchange of Genetic Resources between Sri Lanka and Vietnam and the Development of High-Yielding and Salinity-resilient Rice Varieties.
With the objective of improving the productivity of paddy cultivation, a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the agricultural sector was entered into on 2025-05-05 between the Department of Agriculture of Sri Lanka and the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
Under the afore Memorandum of Understanding, both parties have agreed to implement a project titled “Joint Exchange of Genetic Resources and Development of High-Yielding and Salinity-resilient Rice Varieties through Hybridization between Sri Lanka and Vietnam.”
The activities proposed to be carried out under the said project include the exchange of germplasm materials of rice varieties between the two countries, the conduct of joint breeding and hybridization programmes, the evaluation and selection of advanced breeding lines under local conditions, the establishment of field trials, the training of research officers, and the exchange of knowledge.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation for the implementation of the proposed project
Cabinet approves sale of Paddy stocks held by the Paddy Marketing Board
Amendment to the Promotion of Export Agriculture Act, No. 46 of 1992 to be gazatted
Ms. M.K.D.N. Madampe, appointed as Director General of the Department of Management Services
Cabinet approves collaboration agreement between Sri Lanka and Brazil for the implementation of the “Sugarcane Project in Sri Lanka”
Cabinet approval for Implementation of a Project for the Joint Exchange of Genetic Resources between Sri Lanka and Vietnam and the Development of High-Yielding and Salinity-resilient Rice Varieties.
Landslide Early Warnings issued to the Districts of Kalutara, Kegalle, Nuwara Eliya and Ratnapura extended till1600 hrs on Wednesday [27]
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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