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UNP Deputy Leader lists litany of problems created by restriction on IT equipment imports

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By Saman Indrajith

The government’s decision to place mobile phones and communication equipment on the list of non-essential goods to import would result in sharp increases in their prices, UNP Deputy Leader Ruwan Wijewardene told an event organised to mark the UNP’s 75th anniversary..

Addressing a meeting of party activists by zoom, the UNP Deputy Leader said the import restrictions would place parents wanting to support children’s online education in further difficulty.

“Parents found it hard to buy laptops, mobile phones and tablet computers for their children even before this draconian ruling, so one can imagine what it will be like with its introduction. When we attempted to give tablet computers free of charge to all schoolchildren, those who are now in the government then in the Opposition opposed it. They did everything under the sun to sabotage that project. Today, we stand vindicated; if we had been able to carry out that project children would have been in a better position to continue their education,” Wijewardene said.

 He said that the children of rich families would be able to continue their education while the majority who are from poor backgrounds would not be able to afford the new prices of communication equipment. “This will worsen the disparities in education and pave the way for distancing of children from education. It will also be detrimental to equal rights in education,” he said.

 The new regulations would also be detrimental to the majority of those engaged in import businesses, he said. “We have large scale as well as small scale import businessmen. These new regulations will put an end to the businesses of most small scale importers. As per the new regulations there is a 100-percent cash margin deposit requirement against the import of goods that have been classified as non-essential. The large scale importers would not find it hard, instead they will see it as a business opportunity because for them that cash-margin deposit is an investment that could help them to acquire monopoly in the market as all small scale importers would be wiped out unable to meet the 100 percent cash margin requirement,” Wijewardene said.

 He said that the new regulations would result in price increases of all essential goods too in the long run. “The government has no solutions to the problems created by the prevailing situation. It has opted for a Band-Aid solution by replacing the Central Bank Governor. That would not solve the problem, its solution has the potential to worsen the situation,” the UNP Deputy Leader added.



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Earliest Sri Lanka can recover from bankruptcy is in 2027 – Dr Bandula Gunawardena

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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..

 

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Pope Francis to evict Cardinal Raymond Burke from Vatican

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US Cardinal Raymond Burke has been a leader in the Catholic Church for decades (BBC)

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.”

Pope Francis with hand up in front of Vatican building
Pope Francis waves to crowds while leaving St Peter’s Square (pic BBC)
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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)

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Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger dies aged 100

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Henry Kissinger at the State Department's 230th anniversary celebrations in 2019

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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