Gotabaya Rajapaksa claims victory in Sri Lanka presidential election

News Network
November 17, 2019

Colombo, Nov 17: Sri Lanka's former wartime defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been elected president, his spokesman said Sunday following a fiercely fought election seven months after terror attacks killed 269 people.

The 70-year-old retired lieutenant colonel had a 48.2 per cent share of the vote with close to three million ballots counted but results from Sinhalese-majority regions -- the Rajapaksas' core support base -- were expected to push this above 50 per cent.

"We got between 53 to 54 per cent," his spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella told news agency.

"It is a clear win. We envisaged it. We are very happy that Gota will be the next president. He will be sworn in tomorrow or the day after," Rambukwella said.

Sri Lanka's ruling party candidate Sajith Premadasa conceded the presidential poll on Sunday and congratulated his main rival, former wartime defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

"It is my privilege to honour the decision of the people and congratulate Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa on his election as the seventh President of Sri Lanka," Premadasa said.

Election Commission chairman Mahinda Deshapriya said at least 80 percent of the 15.99 million eligible voters participated in Saturday's poll, which was marred by isolated violence that left several people injured.

Rajapaksa conducted a nationalist campaign with a promise of security and a vow to crush religious extremism in the Buddhist-majority country following the April 21 suicide bomb attacks blamed on a homegrown terror group.

Three luxury hotels and three churches were targeted in the coordinated bombings. ISIS too claimed responsibility for the attack which left 45 foreigners dead.

Saturday's poll was the first popularity test of the United National Party (UNP) government of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe who stepped aside and allowed his deputy Premadasa to stand in the election.

Intelligence failure

Wickremesinghe's administration faced severe criticism for failing to prevent the attacks despite prior warnings from an intelligence agency of neighbouring India, according to findings of a parliamentary investigation.

Premadasa also offered better security and a pledge to make a former war general, Sarath Fonseka, his national security chief and projected himself as a victim seeking to crush terrorism.

He is the son of assassinated ex-president Ranasinghe Premadasa who fell victim to a tamil rebel suicide bomber in May 1993.

Gotabaya is credited with directing security forces to crush Tamil rebels and end a 37-year separatist war in May 2009 during the tenure of his elder brother Mahinda, who was president from 2005 to 2015.

The Rajapaksas are adored by Sri Lanka's Sinhalese majority, as well as the powerful Buddhist clergy, for defeating Tamil Tiger separatists and ending a 37-year civil war in 2009.

But they are detested and feared by many Tamils, who make up 15 percent of the population. The conflict ended with some 40,000 Tamil civilians allegedly killed by the army.

Some in the Muslim community, who make up 10 percent of the population, are also fearful of Gotabaya becoming president, having faced days of mob violence in the wake of the April attacks.

Under his brother, Gotabaya was defence secretary and effectively ran the security forces, allegedly overseeing "death squads" that bumped off rivals, journalists and others. He denies the allegations.

During that time Sri Lanka also borrowed heavily from China for infrastructure projects and even allowed two Chinese submarines to dock in Colombo in 2014, alarming Western countries as well as India.

The projects ballooned Sri Lanka's debts and many turned into white elephants -- such as an airport in the south devoid of airlines -- mired in corruption allegations.

China also offered Sri Lanka "international diplomatic protection" against criticism for its rights record, analyst Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu told news agency.

The Rajapaksas "spent and spent without giving any consideration to how it has to be paid back".

Unlike in 2015 when there were bomb attacks and shootings, this election was relatively peaceful by the standards of Sri Lanka's fiery politics.

The only major incident was on Saturday when gunmen fired at two vehicles in a convoy of at least 100 buses taking voters from the Muslim minority to vote. Two people were injured.

After a campaign that according to the Election Commission was the worst ever for hate speech and misinformation, final results could come by later Sunday.

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News Network
January 24,2020

Beijing, Jan 24: As China stepped up measures to control the spread of coronavirus, locking down Wuhan and Huanggang cities in the Hubei province where several Indians live, the Indian Embassy here has set up hotlines for their assistance.

Chinese officials assured all assistance, including food supply, to the Indians who stayed put in the province, the Indian Embassy here said in a press release on Thursday.

Wuhan and its surrounding area became the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak as the confirmed cases climbed to over 600 mostly from the city and the province with 17 deaths so far.

China has virtually sealed Wuhan and Huanggang cities, halting all public transport, including flight services, and advised people to stay at home and follow the precautions. The two cities put together have a population of over 17 million people.

Chinese officials said the measures have been taken to prevent the spread of the virus to other cities and the world.

Concerns arose for India too as about 700 Indian students, mostly studying medicine in different Chinese universities, resided in Wuhan and its neighbouring areas.

While many of them were believed to have left home for the Chinese New Year holidays, others remained in the city to complete their academic work. However, the exact number is not yet known.

“The Embassy of India has been receiving queries from Indians in Hubei province as well as their relatives in India in connection with the evolving situation of coronavirus infection in China,” the embassy press release said.

The embassy is in touch with relevant Chinese authorities in Beijing and Wuhan as well as Indians in Hubei Province, especially in Wuhan, it said.

“We are closely monitoring the evolving situation in China, including the advisories issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO),” the embassy said.

According to the embassy, Chinese authorities have assured all assistance to residents of Wuhan, including food supply.

“At present, it is reported that supermarkets (particularly those that are government-run) and e-commerce services, including food delivery, continue to remain operational in Wuhan,” it said.

The embassy has started two hotlines for those who wish to get in touch with the Mission in this regard in the following phone numbers:              +8618612083629 and +8618612083617.

“All are advised to also keep track of the embassy's social media accounts (Twitter:@EoIBeijing; Facebook: India in China) for updates on this evolving situation,” the release said.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Foreign ministry said all assistance would be provided to consular officials of the foreign missions to ensure the safety of the foreigners in the country.

Asked whether China would consider any request from the respective countries to move their citizens out of Wuhan, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said, “We always help foreign consular officials in China in their official jobs, we offer them all the assistance and convenience necessary and we work to guarantee foreign citizens' legitimate rights and interest in China.”

He said while specific detailed would be provided by local officials, China in principle, has always handled issues according to domestic laws, international laws and bilateral consular agreements.

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News Network
April 9,2020

Paris, Apr 9: More than 1.5 million cases of the novel coronavirus have been registered worldwide, according to a tally compiled by AFP at 0530 GMT Thursday from official sources.

Of the 1,502,478 infections, 87,320 people have died across 192 countries and territories since the epidemic first emerged in China late last year.

The tallies, using data collected by AFP from national authorities and information from the World Health Organization (WHO), probably reflect only a fraction of the actual number of infections. Many countries are only testing the most serious cases.

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News Network
June 13,2020

Jun 13: Requiring the wearing of masks to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus in areas at the epicenter of the global pandemic may have prevented tens of thousands of infections, a new study suggests.

Mask-wearing is even more important for preventing the virus' spread and the sometimes deadly COVID-19 illness it causes than social distancing and stay-at-home orders, researchers said, in the study published in PNAS: The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA.

Infection trends shifted dramatically when mask-wearing rules were implemented on April 6 in northern Italy and April 17 in New York City - at the time among the hardest hit areas of the world by the health crisis - the study found.

"This protective measure alone significantly reduced the number of infections, that is, by over 78,000 in Italy from April 6 to May 9 and over 66,000 in New York City from April 17 to May 9," researchers calculated.

When mask-wearing went into effect in New York, the daily new infection rate fell by about 3% per day, researchers said. In the rest of the country, daily new infections continued to increase.

Direct contact precautions - social distancing, quarantine and isolation, and hand sanitizing - were all in place before mask-wearing rules went into effect in Italy and New York City. But they only help minimize virus transmission by direct contact, while face covering helps prevent airborne transmission, the researchers say.

"The unique function of face covering to block atomization and inhalation of virus-bearing aerosols accounts for the significantly reduced infections," they said. That would indicate "that airborne transmission of COVID-19 represents the dominant route for infection."

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday urged organizers of large gatherings that involve "shouting, chanting or singing to strongly encourage the use of cloth face coverings to lower the risk of spreading the coronavirus."

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