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South Asian eateries ‘Go Local’ to recover from pandemic losses

Hotels and restaurants across South Asia have had to reimagine eating out because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The worldwide health crisis forced many eateries to close. Those that survived are trying to use more local sources.
In India, restaurants were badly harmed by lockdowns and virus outbreaks. Millions of people in the industry lost their jobs.
In neighbouring Sri Lanka, those in the restaurant industry continue to struggle.
Saman Nayanananda is a food and drink supervisor at a hotel in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo. He said that depending more on local food sources is critical.
Nayanananda survived a powerful tsunami in 2004 that killed 230,000. He lived through a long civil war that ended in 2009 and witnessed the results of the deadly 2019 terrorist attack that happened on the Easter holiday.
After every disaster, Sri Lanka’s economy was able to recover.
But this time, the struggle to recover is greater. The country’s economy is faced with debt and fuel and food shortages.
“A year after COVID, all hotels started food delivery,” he said. “We were slowly recovering and then this economic crisis came.”
“This crisis,” he said, “it has broken the middle class.”
Because of the struggles, Nayanananda and others have centered on local foods to develop their offerings. Dishes were created that used locally grown sweet potatoes, cassava, yams and cowpeas.
Maneesh Baheti is founder and director of the South Asian Association for Gastronomy. He said the pandemic has raised awareness about health concerns and food sourcing. This has led the industry to adopt more environmentally friendly practices. That includes offering dishes made with locally grown produce.
“Eating fresh local produce, according to season, returning to diets rich in nuts, legumes and green leafy vegetables, are trends that are here to stay,” Baheti said.
As the food services industry rebuilds itself, restaurant owners say some practices that became necessary during the pandemic can offer a way forward.
Many urban communities are experimenting with plant-based diets and growing vegetables and fruits in creative ways on their properties.
Back in Colombo, Nayanananda began riding a bicycle to work and growing food at his home after it became difficult to feed his family.
In Sri Lanka and other countries in Asia, the recent wave of COVID-19 infections in China has caused worries over the risk of a return to shutdowns and other restrictions. But Nayanananda said he is hopeful.
“What is important,” he said, “is to learn to live with what we have in our hands.” (VoA)
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President and representatives of IMF discuss progress of EFF

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

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

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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