News
Extend the lockdown – Ranil
By Saman Indrajith
UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday urged the government to extend the lockdown in keeping with the advice of health experts.
The entire nation would support an extension if it was done properly, he said. Health experts had made a number of recommendations on what to do during a lockdown, including a significant increase in testing, he said.
“Mangala Samaraweea, Raja Mahendran, President’s Counsel D. S Wijesinghe and eminent personality Gowri Thawarasa have passed away due to COVID. Six people whom I know also passed away recently. There is a rapid spread of COVID. There have been 5000 COVID related deaths since 07 August. 3,000 deaths have taken place within the last 20 days. This is a high rate of deaths,” he said.
Wickremesinghe said that COVID-19 statistics had to be inaccurate and these inaccuracies hide the real spread of the disease. The government must not only think of treating people that are detected, it should increase random testing to identify and isolate emerging clusters.
“We have to reduce the spread. The government declared a 10-day lockdown. It has received everyone’s support but is not a sufficient as per the medical advice. Another two-week lockdown is required,” he said.
The UNP leader said that the economic damage caused by a lockdown is immense. The country is facing a great decline in its foreign currency reserves. However, as a large number of garment workers had contracted Covid-19 in the coming weeks it would be impossible to continue operations due to crippling manpower shortages.
“Most daily wage earners had no work even before the lockdown. If you want to help them, reduce the spread of the virus. The remedy for this is to go immediately to the IMF. We have already received $ 720 million from the IMF for COVID control,” he added.
By Norman Palihawadane
Authorities have launched an investigation into the disappearance of over 70 assault rifles from an undisclosed Army camp.The police confirmed that two of the missing T-56 assault rifles had been recovered.
A 47-year-old Civil Defence Force (CDF) member has been arrested in connection with the incident. Acting on information from the suspect, police recovered a T-56 with 11 rounds of ammunition in Kotawila, Matara, on Friday. The arrest followed an earlier recovery of another T-56 rifle and a grenade in Ruhunuketha, Welikanda, which the suspect was allegedly attempting to sell.
Investigations have revealed that the suspect had sold one more T-56, with ammunition, for Rs. 200,000. The CDF member’s arrest came after a person, detained by the Wellampitiya Police with a pistol, confessed to purchasing the weapon from him, providing contact details that led to his arrest.
The Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) obtained a 90-day detention order for further questioning of the suspect.
Acting IGP Priyantha Weerasuriya confirmed to The Island that details of the Army camp and officers involved were being withheld for now.
Police Media Spokesman SSP Buddhika Manatunga said that the CCD and CID were conducting parallel investigations into the case.
Further updates on the missing firearms and their potential links to crimes are expected as the investigation progresses, SSP Manatunga told The Island.
More than 35 people were hospitalised following a head-on collision between two privately-owned buses in Matara yesterday morning.Six persons sustained serious injuries and are currently receiving treatment at the Matara Hospital, police added.
Police Spokesman SSP K.B. Manathunga said that there was a rising number of road accidents involving privately-owned buses in recent times. In response, police have intensified legal actions against passenger bus drivers who violate traffic regulations.
SSP Manathunga announced on Saturday that the government has approved the recruitment of an additional 10,000 police officers. This move aims to strengthen efforts in preventing road accidents, as well as supporting broader anti-crime and anti-drug operations.
Investigations into the cause of the collision are ongoing, SSP Manatunga said. (RK)
Text and Pic by Dinasena Rathugamage
A 25-year-old elephant that had been struggling in pain and hunger for 14 days due to suspected severe gunshot injuries died on Saturday near the Iranamadukulam tank in Kilinochchi.
Villagers who noticed the injured elephant informed Wildlife officers about its condition. Although a team of officials rushed to the location and attempted to treat the elephant, its condition was critical due to severe injuries and its extreme weakness, making recovery impossible.
Wildlife officers said that the elephant was about 25 years of age and they suspected that the elephant’s injuries had been caused by a gunshot. A post-mortem examination is scheduled to determine the exact cause of death. The Kilinochchi Police and Wildlife officials have launched an investigation into the death of the elephant.
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