Who pays for Suez blockage? Ever Given grounding could spark...

Current Affairs

Mar 31, 2021

  After hauling its 220,000-ton bulk down the Suez canal a week after blocking the essential waterway, the Ever Given container ship is likely to become the centre of a protracted battle over who will pay for its rescue. The 400-metre-long vessel was aground on the banks of the Suez canal for a week, causing an estimated £7bn loss each day in trade owing to ships stuck on either side, and up to £10.9m a day for the canal. “We managed to refloat the ship ...Continued

Ship Is Freed After a Costly Lesson in the Vulnerabilities...

Current Affairs

Mar 31, 2021

By Vivian Yee

SUEZ, Egypt — For six days, billions of dollars’ worth of international commerce sat paralyzed at either end of the Suez Canal, stalled thanks to a single giant container ship apparently knocked sideways by a powerful southerly wind. The ship’s insurers and the canal authorities summoned the largest tugboats in the canal, then two even larger ones from further afield. They deployed diggers, front-end loaders and specialized dredgers to guzzle sand and mud from where the ship was lodged at both ends. They called in ...Continued

Resolving Human-Elephant Conflict without elimination

Current Affairs

Mar 29, 2021

By P.K.Balachandran

Earlier, elephants were not killed but captured and traded for use as draught animals, in war as mounts for commanders, and as attractions in temples and royal festivals.   Indian records show that the domestication of elephants dates back to 4,500 BCE. Hannibal, the great Carthaginian General, had crossed the Alps with elephants in 218 BCE. However, ivory hunting in Africa and the expansion of populations in Asia ended the domestication of elephants and increased their elimination. The HEC had led to mounting deaths on ...Continued

Chiefs of defence staff condemn use of lethal force against...

Current Affairs

Mar 28, 2021

Chiefs of defence staff in twelve countries in a rare statement condemned the atrocities s committee by the Myanmar armed forces against unarmed civilians.   “As Chiefs of Defense, we condemn the use of lethal force against unarmed people by the Myanmar Armed Forces and associated security services,” the statement says. “A professional military follows international standards for conduct and is responsible for protecting — not harming — the people it serves. We urge the Myanmar Armed Forces to cease violence and work to restore ...Continued

How will the Suez Canal blockage affect supply chains?

Current Affairs

Mar 27, 2021

Efforts continued on Thursday to dislodge the Ever Given container ship and restore traffic on the critical man-made waterway that connects the Mediterranean to the Red Sea and provides a shipping shortcut between Europe and Asia. How vital is the canal to shipping? About 10% of all global trade flows through the 193-kilometer-long canal, which allows tankers and container ships to avoid a long trip around the southern tip of Africa. The iconic shipping journal Lloyd’s List estimates that goods worth $9.6 billion pass through ...Continued

One mistake after the other.’ How AstraZeneca went from pandemic...

Current Affairs

Mar 26, 2021

By Julia Horowitz, CNN Business

The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker mistakenly gave some volunteers a half dose of the vaccine during clinical trials, and it has been criticized for omitting crucial information from its public statements. US regulators have questioned the accuracy of its vaccine data, and severe production delays in Europe have resulted in a political firestorm and a breakdown in relations with EU leaders. “What we have with AstraZeneca is a company that is not straightforward, that cannot be relied upon,” Philippe Lamberts, a Belgian member of the European Parliament, ...Continued

Resolution on Lanka is a bid to undermine its development...

Current Affairs

Mar 24, 2021

Ambassador for China, in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Chen Xu speaking on the resolution against Sri Lanka commended Sri Lanka for its commitment to promoting and protecting human rights, advancing sustainable economic and social development, improving people’s living standards, safeguarding the rights of vulnerable groups, advancing national reconciliation and combating terrorism, and congratulates the government of Sri Lanka on its achievements in the above-mentioned areas. Ambassador Chen said that according to UN General Assembly resolution 60/251, the work of the Human Rights Council ...Continued

China to introduce ‘forest chief’ scheme nationwide

Current Affairs

Mar 24, 2021

China has issued a guideline to implement a “forest chief” scheme nationwide amid the country’s continuous efforts to protect forests and grasslands. It was issued by the general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council and urged that the “forest chief” scheme be rolled out nationwide by June 2022. “General forest chiefs” should be appointed in all provincial-level regions, said the guideline. It clarified all levels of forest chiefs’ responsibilities in protecting forest and grassland resources. Under the scheme, ...Continued

Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa sought Bangladesh’s support in UNHRC

Current Affairs

Mar 21, 2021

By P.K.Balachandran

The Joint Communique issued at the end of the visit of Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to Bangladesh on Saturday, speaks mainly of economic cooperation and the need to implement MoUs expeditiously. But it also says that Prime Minister Rajapaksa sought Bangladesh’s support in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) where Sri Lanka is to face a hostile resolution next week. Prime Minister Rajapaksa thanked Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the Government of Bangladesh for their steadfast support in combating terrorism in Sri ...Continued

Pineapple War Shows Taiwan Won’t Be Bullied by Beijing

Current Affairs

Mar 17, 2021

This month, China banned imports of Taiwanese pineapples, the latest in a string of punitive trade measures against democracies that illustrate how China has weaponized its growing economic clout. As the island’s largest trading partner, China buys more than 90 percent of Taiwanese pineapple farmers’ exports. But the island is taking Beijing’s boycott in stride, underlining the potential for what is quickly emerging as one of the Biden administration’s sharpest foreign-policy tools: bringing democratic allies together on China.   U.S. President Joe Biden took the ...Continued

Farah Rumy becomes the first Sri Lankan woman elected to...

Current Affairs

Mar 15, 2021

Farah Rumy, born in Sri Lanka and a past student of Bishop’s College, Colombo is set to take her place in the Solothurn Parliament after last Sunday’s election. In 1998, Farah migrated to Switzerland with her parents, when she was 6 years old. She graduated from her internship as a Nurse and worked her way through University in Bern, earned a Master’s degree in Health Science and works as a Healthcare Specialiat in the Cardiology Unit of the cantonal hospital in Solothurn. Farah Rumy has ...Continued

SL immigrants in the US

Current Affairs

Mar 13, 2021

Sri Lankan immigrants in the US have written to the government to consider their plight on a priority basis and allow them to come home without incurring unnecessary expenses on travel and hotel quarantine. In a letter addressed to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa the US immigrants have asked to allow those who are home bound to allow home quarantine for 14 days instead of hotels in which they spend time like prisoners The full text of the communication is as follows As you are well aware, ...Continued