News
Sajith: Lanka’s death rate worse than that of China

Sri Lanka has lost proportionately more than twice the number of people that China had lost due to COVID-19, Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa said yesterday.
Premadasa said that the government’s lack of concern for human life was the main reason why such a large number of people had died.
Premadasa said that over 4,000 new cases were now officially reported by the government on a daily basis and that the number of daily deaths had passed the 200 mark.
“Things are grave but the government is trying to normalise the situation. The Minister of Health said that over 200 people die anyway with or without COVID-19. Another senior government MP said that COVID-19 is not a dangerous disease and compared it to a common cold. All these are indications that the government cares little about our lives,” he said.
The Opposition Leader said that the vaccination process was in disarray and people had started fighting with each other at vaccination centres. The capacity of hospitals had exceeded and the country was facing a shortage of medicine, he said.
“Health professionals are under great stress because politicians are telling them how to do their jobs,” he said.
Premadasa said that the government had increased the prices of essential items at a time when people were suffering economically.
“A farmer can’t buy a kilo of sugar even if he sells five kilos of paddy. By August 26 the price of a kilo of sugar was Rs. 210. A week ago a kilo of sugar was Rs. 160. Two weeks ago it was Rs. 140. Even the Minister of Consumer Affairs is shocked,” he said.
A few months ago the government allowed a close business associate to make billions of rupees through irregular taxation on sugar, the SJB leader said.
“All the promises made by the government have proven to be lies. The government can’t even impose a lockdown. It is now clear that this government could never bring about development,” he said. (RK)
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)
News
Rupees 1,500 million allocated for ‘Greater Kandy Urban Development Program’ – State Minister for Provincial Councils and Local Government

State Minister for Provincial Council and Local Government Janaka Wakkambura participating in a Press Briefing held at the Presidential Media Centre (PMC) on Wednesday (29) under the theme ‘Collective Path to a Stable Country’, announced that President Ranil Wickremesinghe has allocated Rs. 1,500 million for the “Greater Kandy Urban Development Program” in this year’s budget and that part of the allocation would to be utilized to develop the approach roads to Kandy City.
He also announced that the President had allocated Rs. 1,000 million to develop tourism by enhancing facilities through the involvement of local government bodies.
News
DMT unable to print nearly one million driving licences for want of blank cards

Racketeers thrive on illegal printing of DLs
By Shiran Ranasinghe
The Department of Motor Traffic was unable to print about 900,000 driving licences due for want of blank plastic cards, Commissioner General of the Department of Motor Traffic Nishantha Weerasinghe told The Island.
He said his Department was doing its best to solve the problem, which could be sorted out in six months or so.
A senior official on condition of anonymity said the Department now printed about 200 driving licences for those who were going abroad or engaged in essential services.
However, some racketeers were printing about 700 licences illegally, he said.
Rs 5,000 each was charged for issuing illegally printed licences, the official said.
Commenting on the allegations, the Commissioner General of the Department of Motor Traffic said he will investigate the matter if he receives a complaint officially.
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