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No one will be allowed to hold the education of children as hostage – President
President Ranil Wickremesinghe joining a discussion held to review the progress of the special budget proposals implemented in the year 2023 by the Ministries of Education and Higher Education, Labor and Foreign Employment on Wednesday (19) said that the education of children cannot be allowed to be taken hostage and if teachers do not make themselves available for A/L exam paper marking by next week, he would not hesitate to make education an essential service under emergency law and initiate legal action against teachers flouting their responsibility.
He said all the teachers responsible for marking exam papers last year must be available for paper marking this year, failing which, he will prosecute them. “You can’t stop the education of the children. What nonsense is this? By next week I must tell the AG to be ready with the emergency regulations.”
The “Siri Dalada Wandanawa”, the special exposition of the Sacred Tooth Relic, commenced today (18) with the participation of President Anura Kumara Disanayake.
The President placed the first floral tribute to the Sacred Tooth Relic after which the public were allowed to pay homage. A large number of devotees from all over the country arrived at the Temple of the Tooth Relic today (18) to pay their homage.
The public will have the opportunity to venerate the Sacred Tooth Relic from 12 noon to 5:00 p.m from tomorrow (19).
Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Hiniduma Sunil Senevi along with other Ministers and Ambassadors and High Commissioners representing Vietnam, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal, the Netherlands, India, Myanmar, Palestine, France, New Zealand, Cuba, Egypt, Japan, the United Kingdom, Thailand, Canada and South Korea, Public officials, Members of the security forces and a large number of local and foreign devotees were also present.
Hamas has formally rejected Israel’s latest ceasefire offer, saying it is prepared to immediately negotiate a deal that would see the release of all remaining hostages in return for an end to the war and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
In a video statement, Hamas’ chief negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, said: “We will not accept partial deals that serve Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political agenda.”
Fifty-nine hostages remain in captivity and 24 are thought to be alive. Israel’s latest offer involved a 45-day ceasefire in return for the release of 10 hostages.
Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said it was time “to open the gates of hell” on Hamas.
Hamas officials had already indicated to the BBC earlier in the week that they would reject the plan.
“Netanyahu and his government use partial agreements as a cover for their political agenda, which is based on continuing the war of extermination and starvation, even if the price is sacrificing all his prisoners [hostages],” Hayya said.
He added the group was “ready to immediately negotiate a deal to swap all hostages with an agreed number of Palestinians jailed by Israel” and end the war.
Hamas has previously said it would contemplate an overall deal to end the war but the two sides are nowhere near any kind of agreement that would bring that about.
Israel’s stated aim is the complete disarmament and destruction of Hamas. Meanwhile dozens of Gazans are dying each day in air strikes with no humanitarian aid entering the strip at all.
The latest series of Israeli strikes killed at least 37 people, the majority of them displaced civilians living in a tented camp, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defence agency.
Witnesses in al-Mawasi said dozens of Palestinians including children had died after tents were set ablaze following a “powerful” explosion.
“I rushed outside and saw the tent next to mine engulfed in flames,” a man told the BBC’s Gaza Lifeline programme.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment but said that it was looking into reports of the strikes.
Israel has previously told Palestinians to evacuate from other parts of Gaza to al-Mawasi.
The Israeli military said attacks over the past two days had “struck over 100 terror targets” including “terrorist cells, military structures and infrastructure sites”.
Israel said there was no shortage of aid and that it was maintaining the blockade installed on 1 March to pressure Hamas to release the remaining hostages.
However the heads of 12 major aid groups said the humanitarian aid system in Gaza was “facing total collapse”.
The war began on 7 October 2023 when Hamas carried out a cross-border attack on Israeli communities, killing around 1,200 people and seizing 251 hostages according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s military campaign against Hamas has killed at least 51,065 people, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry
[BBC]
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