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President reviews Progress of Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
President Anura Kumara Disanayake emphasized the need for the Ministry of Sports and Sports Associations to collaborate on joint initiatives aimed at elevating Sri Lankan sports to the international stage. The President stressed that instead of isolated efforts such as merely distributing sports equipment, the focus must shift toward structured and impactful programmes that support long-term sports development.
The President made these remarks during a progress review meeting of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports held this morning (16) at the Presidential Secretariat.
The meeting reviewed the institutional progress of the Ministry of Sports, the National Youth Services Council and the National Youth Corps. The President was briefed on the current projects being implemented by these institutions and the programmes aimed at youth development across the country.
During the discussion, the President noted that, similar to developed countries, sports can bring not only social benefits but also significant economic returns. He closely examined the Ministry’s sports development initiatives and called for a more strategic approach.
Attention was also drawn to the “YOUTH CLUB” programme of the National Youth Services Council. The President directed officials to focus on establishing modern and well-equipped vocational training centers that cater to school leavers and promote youth employment.
Underscoring the importance of efficient and results-oriented implementation, the President stressed that all institutions under the Ministry must work collectively to achieve both physical and financial targets by the end of 2025, ensuring the optimal use of allocated resources.
Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Sunil Kumara Gamage, Deputy Minister of Youth Affairs, Eranga Gunasekara, Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Secretary to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Aruna Bandara, Chairman of the National Youth Services Council, Attorney Supun Wijeratne and other senior officials from the Ministry and affiliated institutions attended the meeting.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered his government to begin direct talks with Lebanon, he said in a statement on Thursday.
Netanyahu said the talks would focus on the disarmament of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese political and militant group, and establishing peaceful relations.
A US State Department official confirmed it would host a meeting next week “to discuss ongoing ceasefire negotiations with Israel and Lebanon”.
Lebanese officials called for a ceasefire before the talks begin, but Netanyahu in a subsequent address to residents of northern Israel said: “There is no ceasefire in Lebanon.”
The Israeli military continued to strike Lebanon on Thursday – targeting what it described as Hezbollah rocket launch sites in the south. It also issued a new evacuation warning for residents in the southern suburbs of the capital, Beirut.
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said on X that this included the Jnah area, which includes two major hospitals.
“At this time, no alternative medical facilities are available to receive approximately 450 patients from the two hospitals (including 40 patients in the ICU), rendering their evacuation operationally unfeasible,” he said.
Among those being treated at the hospitals, Tedros added, were some of the 1,150 people that Lebanon’s health ministry said were wounded in Wednesday’s massive wave of Israeli strikes. At least 303 people were killed.
Tedros also said that the headquarters of the Ministry of Public Health, which “hosts five shelters accommodating more than 5,000 people”, is in the evacuation area.
That ceasefire began with confusion over whether Lebanon, Israel’s second front, was to be included. Iranian officials and mediators from Pakistan said it was, US and Israeli officials said clearly that it was not.
Amid the confusion, the wave of Israeli strikes on Lebanon – the heaviest since the conflict began six weeks ago – prompted Iran to declare that Israel was break8ng the terms of the ceasefire, once again halt passage of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, and to threaten retaliatory strikes.
Israel’s military continues to occupy a large part of the south of Lebanon, where it has destroyed villages in recent days. Without a commitment to a temporary ceasefire at least, it is not clear how productive talks could proceed between the two sides.
(BBC)
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Sun directly overhead Nagawilluwa, Galgamuwa, Sigiriya, Palugasdamana and Mankerni about 12:11 noon today (10)
On the apparent northward relative motion of the sun, it is going to be directly over the latitudes of Sri Lanka from the 05th to 15th of April in this year.
The nearest areas of Sri Lanka over which the sun is overhead today (10th) are Nagawilluwa, Galgamuwa, Sigiriya, Palugasdamana and Mankerni about 12:11 noon.
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Sun directly overhead Nagawilluwa, Galgamuwa, Sigiriya, Palugasdamana and Mankerni about 12:11 noon today (10)
Showers expected in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and Uva provinces and in Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts after 2.00 p.m
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