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Jazz music tour organized across Lanka to mark European Day of Languages

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Eliane Amherd (L) and Amanda Ruzza

The European Union (EU), together with the Embassy of Switzerland, the Italian Embassy, French Embassy, Alliance Française, Goethe-Institut and the British Council, will be hosting a multilingual jazz music tour across three key cities in Sri Lanka, with the view of celebrating this year’s European Day of Languages, falling on Sept 26.

As part of the broader EU Campaign on a Peaceful and Inclusive Society, the multilingual jazz music tour will feature mainstream, pop rock, jazz fusion, jazz pop and Latin jazz. The tour will begin in Colombo, travel to Kandy, and conclude in Jaffna, sharing the diversity of linguistic heritage with the people of Sri Lanka, to encourage intercultural understanding.

The inaugural concert will be held in Colombo, at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute, on Saturday 24 September, from 6.30pm onwards. It is a free event open to everyone on a first-come-first-served basis. This concert will be followed by a jazz evening, in Kandy, on Monday 26 September, at 7pm, at the Slightly Chilled Lounge Bar and Restaurant. The final concert will be held at the Jaffna Public Library on Wednesday, 28 September, from 5.30pm onwards.

The event will feature performances by singer, guitarist and songwriter Eliane Amherd and bassist, bandleader, composer, and producer, Amanda Ruzza, in German, French, Italian, Portuguese and English.

Born in Switzerland, Eliane Amherd lives in New York and the city’s savvy multicultural energy has had an influence in the unique sound of her original compositions, which are jazzy, groovy and rooted in African, Brazilian and Latin music. A talented composer and lyricist and a graduate of The New School University for Jazz and Contemporary Music, Eliane performs as a leader or a featured artiste in New York’s premiere clubs and tours in North and South America, Canada, Europe and Asia, where she appeared in international Festivals in China, Thailand, the Philippines, Myanmar, Malaysia, Nepal and Mongolia. She plays guitar in several NYC bands and collaborated with greats such as Marcus Strickland, Bashiri Johnson, Bill Ware, Hagar Ben Ari, Randy Brecker, etc.

Born in São Paulo, Brazil, to a Chilean mother and an Italian father, Amanda Ruzza grew up in a house, humming with music. Amanda began playing bass and engaging in professional performance early. Eventually, in Brazil, she worked with distinguished Brazilian producers and arrangers, including Grammy Award winner Moogie Canazio, Maestro Jobam and Sony Music Japan’s Osny Mello. She is based in New York at present. Besides being a musicia, fluent in an array of styles, Amanda is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and English.



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President and representatives of IMF discuss progress of EFF

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A comprehensive discussion regarding the progress of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) took place on Thursday (06) at the Presidential Secretariat, between President Anura Kumara Disanayake and the IMF delegation.

The current government has already reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF on the third review regarding the extended arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) of USD3 billion.

The details of this review are expected to be presented to the International Monetary Fund’s Board of Directors by the end of this month. In this regard, discussions were held regarding the progress and the government’s involvement in continuing the program moving forward.

Once the approval is granted by the IMF Executive Board, Sri Lanka is expected to release the fourth tranche of the extended loan, amounting to 333 million dollars.

The discussion was also attended by IMF Executive Director Dr. Krishnamurthy Subramanian, Alternate Executive Director Dr. P. K. G. Harischandra, Deputy Minister of Economic Development Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando, Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance Mahinda Siriwadana, and Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe.

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New Commanders of the Tri-Forces meet the President

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The newly appointed Commander of the Tri-Forces met with Commander-in-Chief, President Anura Kumara Disanayake on Thursday (6th)  afternoon  at the Presidential Secretariat.

The meeting was attended by Lieutenant General Lasantha Rodrigo, the new Army Commander; Vice Admiral Kanchana Banagoda, the new Navy Commander and Air Marshal Vasu Bandu Edirisinghe, the new Air Force Commander.

Following tradition, the new commanders formally met with the President after assuming their duties. During the meeting, they also presented the President with a commemorative token.

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Musk reveals ‘crazy waste’ of USAID funds in Sri Lanka

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Elon Musk

USD 7.9 mn spent on teaching Lankan journalists how to avoid “binary-gendered language”

USAID has spent $7.9 million to teach Sri Lankan journalists how to avoid “binary-gendered language”, Elon Musk who heads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) said in a post on X on Thursday.

Musk called it a “Crazy waste of your tax money!”

Musk’s criticism came with a detailed breakdown of USAID’s spending across various countries, which he argued reflects misguided priorities. According to a document Musk shared, USAID has funded a range of projects globally, including $20 million for a new Sesame Street show in Iraq, $4.5 million to “combat disinformation” in Kazakhstan, and $6 million to transform digital spaces to reflect feminist democratic principles.

The list also included $1.5 million for art projects promoting the inclusion of people with disabilities and $2 million for sex changes and LGBT activism in Guatemala. $10 million worth of USAID-funded meals, allegedly ended up in the hands of an al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group, the document states.

Other USAID programmes include $25 million for Deloitte to promote green transportation in Georgia, $6 million for tourism development in Egypt, and $2.5 million to foster inclusion in Vietnam. The documents also pointed to $5 million awarded to EcoHealth Alliance, a group linked to bat virus research at the Wuhan lab, and $20 million for an organisation tied to what Musk described as a “key player” in the Russiagate impeachment inquiry.

Further funds were allocated for various LGBT-related initiatives worldwide, including $5.5 million for LGBT activism in Uganda, $6.3 million for men who have sex with men in South Africa, $3.9 million for LGBT causes in the western Balkans, and $6 million for advancing LGBT issues globally. Additionally, $2 million was allocated to promote LGBT equality through entrepreneurship in Latin America, while $1.5 million was designated for LGBT advocacy in Jamaica.

The data also highlighted spending closer to home, with $1.2 million going to help the African Methodist Episcopal Church Service and Development Agency in Washington, D.C., build a 440-seat auditorium. A further $1.3 million was provided to Arab and Jewish photographers, while $1.1 million supported an Armenian LGBT group.

Musk criticised other expenditures as well, including $3.9 million for artisanal gold mining in the Amazon and $500,000 aimed at solving sectarian violence in Israel just days before the October 7 Hamas attack.

Attention was also drawn to USAID’s $150 billion “whole-of-agency” climate strategy, which outlines efforts to build an “equitable world” while pursuing net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.

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