News
Leaf disease threatens rubber plantations

Pestalotiopsis leaf disease, a new threat to rubber trees across the whole world, has now become a grave threat to the sustainability of the rubber plantation industry in Sri Lanka, Colombo Rubber Traders’ Association (CRTA) said yesterday in a media statement.
“Although this fungus was reported in early 20th century in the country, it was considered a mild pathogen until recently. It reached epidemic proportions during the monsoon period of 2019 affecting plantations in Kalutara, Ratnapura and Galle districts. Unfortunately, almost all clones are susceptible for this disease.
“High humidity favours the spread of the disease causing defoliation and a considerable yield loss and ultimately the death of the tree, they said Unlike in the case of Corynespora leaf disease affecting young leaves at the apple green stage soon after wintering period, this new disease affects even mature leaves in the last quarter of the year.
“Other countries affected by this leaf disease are Malaysia, India, Thailand, Cameroon and Papua New Guinea, CRTA said. In all these countries there had been an alarming yield loss.
“As no resistant clone to this disease is identified to date, the only hope in managing the disease is by the use of fungicides. However, haphazard application of fungicides is of no use to control the disease. Chemical spraying should be done at the early stages of development of the disease. Unfortunately, proper protocol for fungicides spraying has not been developed yet.
“The disease may reach epidemic proportions in the coming monsoon period of this year starting from mid-April and hence all stakeholders are requested to be vigilant about this threat to the rubber plantation and they are strongly advised to get the assistance of scientists of the RRI in any emergency.”
Latest News
Earliest Sri Lanka can recover from bankruptcy is in 2027 – Dr Bandula Gunawardena

Minister of Transport and Highways and Minister of Mass Media Dr Bandula Gunawardena at a press briefing held at the Presidential Media Center today (30) said that the earliest Sri Lanka can recover from bankruptcy is in 2027, at which time it is envisaged that the countries foreign reserves which stand at USD 3.5 billion at present would increase to USD 14 billion..
Foreign News
Pope Francis to evict Cardinal Raymond Burke from Vatican

Pope Francis is evicting US Cardinal Raymond Burke, an outspoken critic, from his Vatican apartment and revoking his salary.
Cardinal Burke is part of a group of American conservatives who have long opposed the Pope’s plans for reforming the Catholic Church.
A Vatican source told the BBC that Pope Francis has not yet carried out his intention to evict the 75-year-old and the decision is not meant as a personal punishment, the source added. Instead, it comes from the belief that a person should not enjoy cardinal privileges while criticising the head of the church.
Still, the move is “unprecedented in the Francis era”, Christopher White, a Vatican observer who writes for the National Catholic Reporter, told the BBC. “Typically, retired cardinals continue to reside in Rome after stepping down from their positions, often remaining active in papal liturgies and ceremonial duties,” he said. “Evicting someone from their Vatican apartment sets a new precedent.”
White warned that the decision could “provoke significant backlash” and deepen divides between the Vatican and the US church, where there is already “fragmentation”.
Cardinal Burke has yet to respond to the news and the BBC has reached out to his office for comment.
The Pope revealed his plan to act against the cardinal at a meeting with heads of Vatican offices last week. His frustration with US detractors who take a more traditional or conservative view on several issues appears to be coming to a boil.
Earlier this month, he fired Joseph Strickland, a conservative Texas bishop who had blasted his attempts to move the church to more liberal positions on abortion, transgender rights and same-sex marriage. The removal followed a church investigation into governance of the diocese.
A few months before, the Pope told members of the Jesuit religious order in Portugal that there was “a very strong, organised, reactionary attitude in the US church”, which he called “backward”, according to the Guardian.
Tensions with Cardinal Burke, who was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI, have been simmering for nearly a decade, with the American prelate openly criticising Pope Francis over both social and liturgical issues.
“Cardinal Burke’s situation seems to stem from his gradual alienation from the Pope,” said White. “It appears the Pope perceives Burke as fostering a cult of personality, centred around traditionalism or regressive ideals. This action seems aimed at limiting Burke’s influence by severing his ties to Rome.”

Most recently, the cardinal held a conference called The Synodal Babel in Rome on the eve of the Pope’s synod, or meeting of bishops, last month.
He also joined fellow conservatives in publishing a “declaration of truths” in 2019 that described the Catholic church as disoriented and confused under Pope Francis, saying that it had moved away from core teachings on divorce, contraception, homosexuality and gender. Notably, he disagreed with the Pope promoting Covid vaccines.
Within church politics, he and Pope Francis were at odds over the firing of the head of the Knights of Malta after the order’s charity branch was found to have distributed condoms in Myanmar.
The Pope, in turn, has demoted Cardinal Burke within the church hierarchy or moved him to posts with less influence over the years.
Michael Matt, a columnist for the right-wing Catholic newspaper The Remnant, wrote that the most recent action taken against Cardinal Burke showed that Pope Francis was “cancelling faithful prelates who offer hierarchical cover to pro-life, pro-family, pro-tradition hardliners”. He accused the Pope of putting critics into “forced isolation”.
(BBC)
Foreign News
Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger dies aged 100

Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has died at the age 100.
He served as America’s top diplomat and national security adviser during the Nixon and Ford administrations.
In a statement, Kissinger Associates, a political consulting firm he founded, said the German-born former diplomat died at his home in Connecticut but did not give a cause of death.
During his decades long career, Mr Kissinger played a key, and sometimes controversial, role in US foreign and security policy.
Born in Germany in 1973, Kissinger first came to the US in 1938 when his family fled Nazi Germany. He became a US citizen in 1943 and went on to serve three years in the US Army and later in the Counter Intelligence Corps. After earning bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD degrees, he taught international relations at Harvard.
In 1969, then-President Richard Nixon appointed him National Security Adviser, a position which gave him enormous influence over US foreign policy in two administrations.
(BBC)
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