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Hizbullah obtained land for Sharia Uni using forged documents, PCoI told

By Rathindra Kuruwita
Former Governor of the Eastern Province M.L.A M. Hizbullah had submitted forged documents to obtain 25 acres for the construction of Batticaloa Campus, the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Easter Sunday was informed yesterday (13)
This was revealed by two officials of the Department of Social Services and the Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka, testifying before the Presidential Commission.
Asanka Udayakumara, Director – Lands of the Mahaweli Authority said that Hizbullah applied for the land through an organisation called Hira Foundation, founded by him.
Dhammika Wasalabandara, a social service officer of the Social Services Department, said Hizbullah had used a false document stating that the Hira foundation had been registered with the Social Services Department.
Udayakumara also said that on 15 March, 2012, Hizbullah had requested then Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva to allocate land for the construction of a higher education centre in the Eastern Province with assistance of Saudi Arabia.
The request was written in a letterhead of the Minister of Child Development and Women’s Affairs, Tissa Karaliyadda he said. In the letter, Hizbullah made a request for a 25- acre plot of land.
News
Economic crisis: 100,000 families already starving

Govt. to provide monthly assistance package – official
By Ifham Nizam
Plans are underway to assist an average needy family of four with a monthly package of Rs. 15,000, a senior adviser to President Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday, adding that the move was expected to help ameliorate the plight of nearly 65,000 families.
Food Security Committee Chairman Dr. Suren Batagoda told The Island yesterday that at present some 100,000 families across the country were starving.
He said financial assistance would be provided to those families for three months. Within three months, the government would design a package in the form of food stamps, etc.
Dr. Batagoda said the World Food Programme, UNICEF, the World Bank, and state agencies would also team up to strengthen food security, focusing especially on needy pregnant mothers and pre-school children.
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GR govt. ignored Chinese lenders’ request for debt restructuring

By Rathindra Kuruwita
The Gotabaya Rajapaksa government had ignored suggestions by Chinese lending institutions that Sri Lanka to restructure the debt in 2021, Prof. Samitha Hettige said yesterday.
“The Rajapaksa government started talking of debt restructuring earlier this year. The Opposition had been asking for this before,” he said. By 2021, before the Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration decided on debt restructuring, the Chinese institutions that had given Sri Lanka loans suggested that a restructuring process should start since Sri Lanka would have trouble repaying the loans, the Strategic Studies scholar said.
However, the request had gone unheeded, and if the government had started discussions then, Sri Lanka would not have been in crisis, Prof. Hettige said.
The Sri Lankan foreign policy, in the last few years, had also been misguided, Prof. Hettige said. A number of Indian and Chinese companies faced unnecessary issues by the behaviour of the government, he said.
Prof. Hettige said that the government must focus on establishing free trade ports and reducing negative lists for investments.
News
SJB dissociates itself from SF’s call for protest

By Chaminda Silva
MP Sarath Fonseka’s call for people to join anti-government protests was not a decision taken by the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), party MP J.C Alawathuwala said.
The SJB believed that they had to help President Ranil Wickremesinghe stabilise the country, economically and politically, he said.
MP Alawathuwala said the President must be given some time to solve the problems faced by the people and that the SJB was holding discussions with the government to guide it on a people-friendly path.
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