News

Trump makes frenetic election push in states that highlight his Covid denial

Published

6 years ago

2020/10/29

President Donald Trump’s final sprint to shore up states he won four years ago led him Tuesday into the epicentre of America’s quickening viral surge in Wisconsin, as the state’s record single day spikes in Covid-19 cases and deaths crystalized his administration’s failures that could end his political career, CNN reports.

A week from the night when America could learn the identity of its next President — depending on prolonged mail-in voting counts and possible legal challenges — Trump greeted a crowd, packed together, with a few masks worn, the CNN report says.

“He did so as Badger State hospitals are critically understaffed and facing the threat of being overwhelmed by Covid-19 patients. But on a chill fall night, the President wove an alternative reality he bets will win him reelection.

Trump’s three-state swing Tuesday — he also visited Michigan and Nebraska — reflected the sleight of hand he’s using a week from Election Day, creating a false impression that the pandemic is all but over as it gets worse each day.

“We are turning the corner. We are rounding the curve, we will vanquish the virus,” Trump said in West Salem, Wisconsin, as the US piles up record numbers of new infections that have added half a million new cases in the last week alone. More than 226,000 Americans have died. The current death rate is 800 per day, and experts warn the trend is only increasing ahead of a grim winter.

But in his closing election pitch, Trump is denying the disastrous impact of the gravest challenge facing the country, holding potential superspreader events that put his own supporters and anyone they meet at risk and yet again prioritizing his political survival above his duty to guard public health.

While Trump complained in Wisconsin that all the media talks about is “Covid, Covid, Covid,” the state’s Democratic Gov. Tony Evers warned Tuesday: “There is no way to sugarcoat it, we are facing an urgent crisis and there is an imminent risk to you and your family.”

Andrea Palm, Secretary-designee of Wisconsin’s Department of Health Services, warned: “The increasing cases, and our increase in deaths today are the largest single day increases we’ve seen throughout the course of this pandemic. We must take significant and collective action.”

Public disquiet about the President’s handling of the worst public health crisis in 100 years has contributed to a situation in which Trump appears to be struggling to hang on to states like Wisconsin, which he won in 2016, and is seeking to shore up Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Iowa.

With more than 68.5 million Americans having voted so far — surpassing half the total votes four years ago — time is running out to change the dynamics of a race in which he is trailing Democratic nominee Joe Biden in key battlegrounds.

Yet Trump, drawing energy from his crowds, seemed upbeat Tuesday, predicting a “great red wave,” slamming polls and promising an even bigger Electoral College upset than in 2016. He blasted pundits who said back then “‘he can’t get to 270’ — and they were right — We got to 306.”

If Trump wins next week in another upset, it will suggest that enough voters think his cultural connection with the US heartland and nationalist approach is more important than his downplaying of the worst domestic crisis since World War II and his daily flurry of lies. He will have made good on his vow to find millions of new Trump voters who escaped pollsters. Still, there is so far no sign in national or state polls that the President is building the kind of late momentum that drove his shock win over Hillary Clinton.

Biden goes on the offensive

Biden’s travel is telling the story of a Democratic campaign that believes that it has more routes to 270 electoral votes than the President. The former vice president pledged to heal a sick and divided nation in symbolic surroundings in the spa town of Warm Springs, Georgia, where President Franklin Roosevelt, who guided the country through earlier crisis, once sought relief from paralysis caused by polio.

“Many wonder, has it gone too far?” Biden asked in a state Democrats have not won since Bill Clinton carried it in 1992 but think could be in play this year.

“Have we passed the point of no return? Has the heart of this nation turned to stone?” Biden said. “I don’t think so. I refuse to believe it. I know this country. I know our people. And I know we can unite and heal this nation.”

Biden got another assist on Tuesday from his former boss, ex-President Barack Obama, who delivered another attack on his successor that was dripping with mockery and designed to drive out Democratic base voters in Florida.

Obama ridiculed Trump for turning the White House, perhaps the most secure building in the country, into a Covid “hot zone.”

“He said this at one of his rallies, ‘Covid, Covid, Covid,’ he’s complaining. He’s jealous of Covid’s media coverage,” Obama said at a drive-in rally in Orlando. “If he had been focused on Covid from the beginning, cases wouldn’t be reaching new record highs across the country this week.”

As Trump pulls out all the stops, first lady Melania Trump made her first solo campaign appearance, in another swing state, Pennsylvania, in a bid to improve her husband’s reduced standing among female voters.

“The Democrats have chosen to put their own agendas ahead of the American people’s well-being,” she said, while also offering thoughts to citizens, like her, who have suffered from the coronavirus.

In reality, however, Trump has repeatedly denied the seriousness of the pandemic, predicted falsely and repeatedly that it will soon disappear and advocated state openings that sparked a Sun Belt surge this summer in an apparent effort to fire up the economy that is vital for his reelection.

The Trump campaign’s courting of women voters, particularly those in the suburbs, may have been undermined by the President when he used somewhat patronizing language in Wisconsin that betrayed rather an archaic view of suburban marriage between men and women.

“I’m also getting your husbands — they want to get back to work. We’re getting your husbands back to work,” Trump said in Wisconsin.

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Business

Trade, Investment and Tourism Cooperation Forum strengthens economic ties between Sri Lanka and Vietnam

Published

10 hours ago

2026/05/9

Priyan

Marking a significant milestone in strengthening bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and Vietnam, the Sri Lanka– Vietnam Trade, Investment and Tourism Cooperation Forum was successfully held on Friday (08) at the Hilton Colombo.

The Forum, jointly organised by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Sri Lanka Export Development Board, was held in parallel with the State Visit of President Tô Lâm of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam. The event was attended by President Tô Lâm and Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya.

The Forum underscored the importance of the longstanding bilateral relationship between the two countries and reflected the shared commitment to expanding economic cooperation.

The primary objective of the Forum was to further strengthen bilateral economic ties by focusing on key priorities including the expansion of trade, promotion of investment and enhancement of tourism cooperation. The event also provided an opportunity to explore new avenues of collaboration, strengthen business-to-business engagement and facilitate greater market access by bringing together senior government officials, entrepreneurs and industry leaders from both countries on a common platform.

During the Forum, direct air connectivity between Colombo and Ho Chi Minh City was officially launched. The new services, operated by Vietnam Airlines and VietJet Air, are expected to further strengthen relations between the two nations and their people.

Six Memoranda of Understanding covering key areas of cooperation were also signed during the Forum. In addition, a notable development was the establishment of the Sri Lanka–Vietnam Business Council under the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.

Alongside the Forum, the Sri Lanka Export Development Board organised a business networking session, providing Sri Lankan and Vietnamese entrepreneurs with the opportunity to engage directly with one another. The event received strong participation from the private sectors of both countries, with businesses expressing keen interest in expanding trade and establishing resilient supply chains.

Representing Sri Lanka at the event were Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development, Sunil Handunnetti, Minister of Environment , Dr. Dhammika Patabendi, Deputy Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development ,Chathuranga Abeysinghe, Deputy Minister of Ports and Civil Aviation, Janitha Ruwan Kodithuwakku, Deputy Minister of Tourism Ruwan Ranasinghe, Secretary to the Ministry of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development, Thilaka Jayasundara, Secretary to the Ministry of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development, K.A.Vimalenthirarajah, Chairman of the Export Development Board Mangala Wijesinghe along with several other dignitaries and officials.

Representing Vietnam were Politburo Member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee and Chairman of the Central Organisation Commission , Nguyen Duy Ngoc, Politburo Member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee and Chairman of the Central Commission for Policies and Strategies , Nguyen Thanh Nghi, Politburo Member, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence, Phan Van Giang, Politburo Member and Minister of Public Security, Luong Tam Quang and Politburo Member and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Le Hoai Trung, among others.

(PMD)

News

Accelerate projects related to resolving the public’s drinking water issues – President Instructs Officials

Published

10 hours ago

2026/05/9

Priyan

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has instructed officials to promptly identify and commence the projects required to resolve the drinking water issues that have become a major concern for the public.

The President also instructed officials to formulate plans with close attention to the current needs of the people, pointing out that the inability to ensure an adequate supply of drinking water has given rise to numerous problems affecting the public.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake made these remarks during a discussion held on Friday (08) afternoon at the Presidential Secretariat with relevant officials to review the current status of national drinking water, community water supply and wastewater management projects, the progress and requirements of budget allocations, as well as future plans.

The President further instructed officials to submit a report indicating the projects that could be identified and commenced immediately, the required allocations and the expected completion dates. He stressed that financial constraints should not be treated as an obstacle and directed officials to prepare project plans and submit the necessary funding requests accordingly.

He also instructed that, rather than depending on foreign loans, greater attention should be given to completing projects as far as possible using domestic funds. In addition, he directed that staff required for project planning be recruited on contract basis.

The President also emphasised the importance of utilising capital expenditure allocations within the same year for the relevant projects. He pointed out that failure to do so would result in adverse consequences such as additional project costs, the loss of benefits from the funds already spent and the need to allocate capital provisions again in the following year for the same projects.

During the discussion, the President separately reviewed the projects being implemented and planned to resolve drinking water issues faced by people in the districts of Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Galle, Matara, Monaragala, Kandy, Gampola, Anuradhapura, Vavuniya, Jaffna, Ampara, Batticaloa and Polonnaruwa, along with the progress achieved and the issues that had arisen in implementing them.

Officials also informed the President that deteriorating main water pipelines had resulted in insufficient water capacity being supplied to residents in the Colombo District. They further presented plans to address these issues, while the President highlighted the need for close coordination and systematic planning between the Road Development Authority and the National Water Supply and Drainage Board in carrying out these activities.

The President also instructed officials to take steps to commence the Weli Oya Reservoir Project next year in order to support flood control and meet drinking water requirements in the Colombo District.

Attention was also drawn to the North Central Main Canal and North Western Canal projects. Reviewing the progress of projects being implemented to address the severe drinking water shortage faced by people in the areas of Welikanda, Medirigiriya and Lankapura, the President instructed officials to expedite the completion of projects that would not incur significant costs by using domestic funds.

The President further pointed out the importance of implementing all projects in a highly systematic and organised manner and ensuring that their benefits are delivered to the public. Although certain projects had been suspended midway due to priority being given to essential projects, he stressed that all projects were aimed at addressing the needs of the people and should therefore be carried out in a planned and methodical manner.

Minister of Housing, Construction and Water Supply Dr Susil Ranasinghe, Deputy Minister of Transport and Highways Prasanna Gunasena, Deputy Minister of Housing, Construction and Water Supply T.B. Sarath, Deputy Minister of Cooperative Development, Upali Samarasinghe, Members of Parliament including Samantha Ranasinghe, Nishantha Samaraweera, Sunil Biyanwila, Manjula Suraweera Arachchi, Shantha Padmakumara Subasinghe, Wasantha Piyathissa, Roshan Akmeemana, Ilan Kumaran, M. Jegadeeswaran, and S. Thilakanadan and Kandasamy Prabhu, Secretary to the President Dr Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Secretary to the Ministry of Housing, Construction and Water Supply L.B. Kumudulal, Director General of the Department of National Budget Jude Nilukshan, Chairman of the National Water Supply and Drainage Board Engineer A.M.P.C.P. Bandara, Chairman of the Water Resources Board R.M.S. Bandara, Director General of the Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka H.M.J.K. Herath and several other state officials were also present at the occasion.

(PMD)

News

President of Vietnam and delegation departs Sri Lanka

Published

11 hours ago

2026/05/9

Priyan

Tô Lâm, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam and his delegation departed Sri Lanka on Friday (08) night from the Bandaranaike International Airport, Katunayake, successfully concluding the State visit undertaken at the invitation of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

The visit by the Vietnamese President and the accompanying delegation further strengthened the longstanding friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Sri Lanka, while paving the way for numerous mutual benefits for the peoples of both countries.

This marked the first visit to Sri Lanka by a Vietnamese President in 15 years. The visit also comes at a significant moment as Sri Lanka continues its forward journey towards economic stability under the present Government.

Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development, Sunil Handunnetti, was present at the airport to bid farewell to the Vietnamese President and the delegation.

President’s Media Division (PMD)