Tag: Sri
World News in Brief: COVID risk still high, massive Congo flood displacement, concern over Sri Lanka drugs crackdown
The virus is still circulating globally but relatively few countries are following infections closely, meaning the actual threat due to the coronavirus and its variants could be anything from two to 19 times higher than what is being reported to WHO. The agency’s COVID focal point, Dr Maria Van Kerhove, told journalists in Geneva that…
Read MoreAccountability key to Sri Lanka’s future: UN rights chief
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, stressed the urgency of addressing these challenges if the country is to move forward, recalling the 2022 anti-Government protests demanding a fairer and more inclusive society. “But the potential for a historic transformation that would address long-standing challenges is far from being realized.” The UN rights chief’s…
Read MoreSri Lanka must ensure compensation for victims of 2019 terrorist attacks
Last week, the Supreme Court ordered the former President and three other senior officials to compensate the families of the victims because they had failed to prevent the tragedy. More than 270 people were killed in the series of explosions at churches and hotels across the island nation. A step forward OHCHR urged Sri Lanka…
Read MoreSri Lanka: Cost-of-living crunch threatens to sink millions already facing hard choices |
Long before the country’s first-ever international debt default in May 2022 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which added to the country’s problems, tea estate labourer Nagamma had already cut back on meals, as global trade froze during the coronavirus pandemic. Blood, sweat and leeches Her precarious situation in Sri Lanka’s central highlands hasn’t changed, but…
Read MoreUN ramps up humanitarian appeal for life-saving assistance to 3.4 million Sri Lankans |
Since June, the UN team in Sri Lanka and NGOs have used the HNP to respond to the Government’s request for more support to alleviate the impact of the country’s debt and food crisis, and shortages of medicines. Governments and donor agencies have helped the humanitarian community reach over one million of the country’s most…
Read MoreEnsure peaceful and constitutional transfer of power in Sri Lanka, urges UN Resident Coordinator |
In a statement issued on Friday on behalf of the UN in Sri Lanka, Resident Coordinator Hanaa Singer, said that it was “imperative that the transition of power is accompanied by broad and inclusive consultation within and outside Parliament.” According to news reports, Mr. Rajapaksa offered his resignation after fleeing the country and arriving in Singapore, having first flown…
Read MoreSri Lanka: UN chief calls for dialogue to ensure ‘smooth transition’ of power |
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has yet to comment publicly on the occupation of his residence, along with that of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, but the Prime Minister’s office reportedly said it had been informed that the President planned to step down on Wednesday. President Rajapaksa has become the focus for widespread protests in recent months over…
Read MoreRecord inflation and skyrocketing prices leave over 6 million Sri Lankans food insecure |
As prices keep healthy meals out of reach, some 61 per cent of households are regularly using coping strategies to cut down on costs, such as reducing the amount they eat and consuming increasingly less nutritious meals. And with opportunities to make enough income in the medium to long-term decreasing for an estimated 200,000 families,…
Read MoreSri Lanka’s misery should be warning to us all on global food, fuel and finance crisis: UNDP |
“We’re witnessing a tragic series of events that are unfolding in Sri Lanka right now that should be a warning to anyone who thinks that, you know, it is up to countries themselves to figure out how to deal with this crisis,” said Achim Steiner, Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), in reference to…
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