OPPOSITION TO MOVE COURT POLITICAL MATURITY OF OVER PARLIAMENT RECALL SRI LANKA'S LEADERS PUT TO THE TEST MAY THE POWER 01 - 03, 2020 OF PAPER VOL: 4- ISSUE 193 . 30 ‘UTTER DISASTER' PASSIONS AND GLOCAL PAGE 03 HOT TOPICS PAGE 04 COMMENTARY PAGE 06 PERSONALITIES PAGE 08

Registered in the Department of Posts of Sri Lanka under No: QD/144/News/2020 COVID-19 and curfew in Sri Lanka • 14 people were confirmed as COVID-19 positive yester- day (April 30), taking Sri Lanka’s tally of the novel coro- navirus infection to 663. 502 individuals are receiving treatment, 154 have been deemed completely recovered and seven have succumbed to the virus. • An all island curfew was imposed from 8:00 p.m. yes- terday till 5:00 a.m. Monday (4). • Of the 997 navy personnel tested for COVID-19, 159 were confirmed as positive with 80% being asympto- matic. • Of the 21,000 PCR tests carried out in Sri Lanka so far, 3% have been confirmed as positive. • The Civil Aviation Authority has invited drone opera- tors to join the fight against COVID-19. • Police say no decision has been taken so far to extend the curfew in areas deemed as high risk, till May 31 though it was announced that curfew passes issued for essential services that ended yesterday could be used till the end of May. • Postmaster General RanjithAriyaratne has announced that all post offices will be opened from Monday for reg- ular services. He has requested public to follow health advices when visiting post offices and obtaining services. • Those with suspected COVID-19 symptoms are urged to call 1390 - emergency hotline- set up for free medical advice and assistance, and to facilitate hospital admis- sions.

- Emilio Morenatti/AP Coronavirus toll A woman and child sit by the sea in Barcelona, Spain daily deaths hovered around 300 and it is the lowest the toll has been gradually dropping. Spain's nearly 47 yesterday (April 30). The country counted another daily figure since March 20 when 235 fatalities were million people have since March 14 lived under one of the 227,482 deaths at 268 people who have died from the coronavirus, the reported. The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 strictest virus lockdowns in the world, with only adults lowest daily number since March 20 as the government stands at 213,435, although the government recently authorized to leave home to buy food, medicine or walk prepares to ease its tough lockdown measures. The began counting in its total only patients who test the dog. The lockdown was prolonged last week until 1100 GMT yesterday figures from the health ministry bring the total number positive using a technique known as PCR. Over 112,000 May 9 but Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Tuesday PARIS - The new coronavirus has killed at least 227,482 of deaths from the pandemic in Spain to 24,543 - the people have been declared cured of the disease. Health (April 28) unveiled a plan to gradually begin easing the people since the outbreak first emerged in China in De- fourth-highest after the United States, Italy and Britain. experts believe Europe's largest outbreak peaked on restrictions in four phases that should be completed by Yesterday was the fifth straight day that the number of April 2 when 950 people died over 24 hours. Since then, the end of June cember, according to a tally from official sources com- piled by AFP at 1100 GMT yesterday (April 30). More than 3,180,800 cases were registered in 193 countries and territories. Of these cases, at least 908,500 are now considered recovered. US job loss far worse than indicated The tallies, using data collected by AFP from national authorities and information from the World Health Or- WASHINGTON- With a flood of that roughly 50% more people than sity found that 42% of those work- investments were not made,” Gould ganization (WHO), probably reflect only a fraction of the unemployment claims continuing counted as filing claims in a recent ing in February had lost their jobs said. “The result is that the state actual number of infections. to overwhelm many state agencies, four-week period may have quali- or suffered a reduction in earnings. systems are buckling under the Many countries are testing only the most serious cases. economists say the job losses may fied for benefits — with the differ- By April 18, they found, up to eight weight of these claims.” The United States has the highest number of to- be far worse than government tal- ence representing those who were million workers were unemployed The seasonally adjusted num- tal deaths with 60,999 out of 1,040,488 cases. At least lies indicate. stymied in applying or didn’t even but not reflected in the weekly ber of people filing initial unem- 124,023 have been declared recovered. The Labour Department said try because the process was too for- claims data. ployment claims is down from late Italy has the second highest toll with 27,682 deaths out yesterday (April 30) that 3.8 mil- midable. The difficulties at the state level March and early April, when more of 203,591 cases, followed by Britain with 26,097 deaths lion workers filed for unemploy- “The problem is even bigger than largely flow from the sheer volume than six million people applied for on 165,221 cases, Spain 24,543 deaths and 213,435 cases, ment benefits last week, bringing the data suggest,” said Elise Gould, of claims, which few agencies were benefits two weeks in a row. But the six-week total to 30 million. But a senior economist with the insti- prepared to handle. Many were that’s a small consolation in light of France 24,087 deaths and 168,935 cases. researchers say that as the economy tute, a left-leaning research group. burdened by ageing computer sys- the larger economic picture, econo- China - excluding Hong Kong and Macau - has to date staggers under the weight of the “We’re undercounting the econom- tems that were hard to reconfigure mists said. Before the pandemic, declared 4,633 deaths and 82,862 cases. It has 77,610 re- coronavirus pandemic, millions ic pain.” for new federal guidelines. just over 200,000 people a week covered cases. of others have lost jobs but have Alexander Bick of Arizona State “We’ve known that the state un- applied for new unemployment Since Wednesday (April 29) at 1900 GMT, the Mal- yet to see benefits. A study by the University and Adam Blandin of employment insurance systems benefits. dives has announced the first death on its soil. Economic Policy Institute found Virginia Commonwealth Univer- were not up to the task, yet those -NYT Europe has a total of 136,085 deaths from 1,456,222 cases, the United States and Canada have 64,053 deaths and 1,091,719 cases, Latin America and the Caribbean have 10,425 deaths and 200,205 cases, Asia has 8,532 Arab League slams Israeli plan to annex Rishi Kapoor, bollywood leading deaths and 219,064 cases, the Middle East has 6,680 deaths and 168,820 cases, Africa has 1,590 deaths from occupied West Bank man from a film dynasty, dies at 67 36,703 cases, and Oceania 117 deaths from 8,071 cases. CAIRO - The Arab League has con- ian conflict. -AFP demned Israel's controversial proposal Rejected by the Palestinians and con- MUMBAI - Rishi Kapoor, a widely popular film actor from one of to annex much of the occupied West demned by much of the international Bollywood’s most celebrated families, died in Mumbai yesterday Bank, saying the move would constitute community, the plan gives Israel the (April 30) He was 67. a "new war crime" against the Palestin- green light to annex Jewish settlements The family confirmed his death in a statement, which did not list a ians. and other strategic territory in the West cause. Kapoor learned he had leukaemia in 2018 and was admitted Pharmaceutical industry The remarks came in a joint state- Bank. to a hospital in Mumbai on Wednesday (April 29). ment issued by Arab foreign ministers An Israeli coalition government The news rocked India just a day after the death of another Bol- looking into 145 potential yesterday (April 30) following a virtual agreement reached between Prime lywood figure, character actor Irrfan Khan. conference chaired in Egypt's capital, Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Kapoor was best known as a romantic hero, and his charm and COVID-19 therapies Cairo. main rival Benny Gantz last week in- charisma quickly made him one of Bollywood’s leading men of the "The implementation of plans to an- cludes a framework for implementing 1970s and ’80s. He later began taking on more supporting roles and GENEVA- More than 140 substances are being probed nex any part of the Palestinian terri- the annexations outlined in the plan. character parts. as pharmaceutical companies are racing to come up with tories occupied in 1967, including the Such annexations would violate inter- He came from a long line of Bollywood actors. His grandfather medications to treat the coronavirus disease COVID-19, Prithviraj Kapoor was a pioneer of Indian theatre and film who Jordan Valley ... and the lands on which national law. an industry umbrella group reported yesterday (April Israeli settlements are standing rep- During the Arab League meeting, founded a travelling theatre company. His father, Raj Kapoor, was one of the most influential actors and directors in Hindi cinema. 30). resents a new war crime ... against the Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al- Among the potential treatments, 77 are drugs that Palestinian people," said the statement. Malki said the annexation would "end Kapoor first appeared onscreen as a child actor in his father’s film ‘Shree 420’in 1955; in his second film, ‘MeraNaam Joker’(1970), he were developed for other diseases, while 68 are being The Arab League also urged the the two-state solution." newly developed, said Thomas Cueni, who heads the In- United States to "withdraw its support He said the move would "turn the played his father’s character as a young man. He won the Filmfare Award (given by Filmfare magazine) for best debut for his first lead- ternational Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers in enabling the plans of the occupying battle from a political one to an endless and Associations (IFPMA) in Geneva. Israeli government." religious war ... that will never bring ing role, in the 1973 film ‘Bobby’. US President Donald Trump in Janu- about stability, security or peace to our His family requested that his fans honour social distancing guide- "We have a rich pipeline," he told an online press brief- ary unveiled a controversial plan to re- region." lines amid the coronavirus pandemic and avoid gathering to honour ing, adding that 25 companies had launched clinical tri- solve the decades-long Israeli-Palestin- -Al Jazeera/Agencies him. als. -NYT Executives from major pharmaceutical companies stressed at the briefing that firms are collaborating and sharing data to speed up research and development. Trending News "The industry, which is traditionally fiercely competi- EU: President of European Central ries launch a temporary system for northeast of the perennially unsta- tive, has come together," Cueni said. Quote for Today Bank says the region is in the midst appealing trade dispute rulings af- ble Republic. Companies are working on various approaches to of a downturn not seen since the ter the US-provoked collapse of the fight the novel coronavirus, which has killed more than People change and forget to tell each other. Russia: Prime Minister Mikhail 200,000 people since it started spreading from China end of World War II, and the worst world trade appeals body. Mishustin announces he has tested -Lillian Hellman is yet to come. positive for the coronavirus, as the late last year. Libya: The country’s UN-recog- While Pfizer is seeking a way to stop the virus from Word for Today nised government rejects a truce country's number of confirmed USA: NASA awards almost $1 bil- multiplying, CSL Behring and Takeda have joined forces lion in contracts to three space com- unilaterally called the day before by cases surge past 100,000 after its Saponaceous [sapuhneyshuhs]–adjective - to develop an immune therapy by combining antibodies panies including those owned by military strongman KhalifaHaftar, largest daily increase. resembling soap; soapy from many recovered patients. Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos to develop saying it "did not trust" its eastern- UK: Prime Minister Boris Johnson lunar landers as the country seeks to based rival. Others are banking on existing medicines. Today in History says Britain is "past the peak" of its AstraZeneca is working on trials of a blood cancer return human beings to the Moon. Poland: The country argues that coronavirus outbreak, Prime de- - President Donald Trump says his medication that is being tested to prevent lung failure in the European Commission had "no spite recording another 674 deaths Covid-19 patients. 1961 - Fidel Castro declares Cuba a socialist former national security advisor in the last 24 hours, taking the toll nation saying, 'The revolution has no time for grounds" to challenge a new law Sandoz is collecting data on its malaria drug hydroxy- Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty disciplining judges, despite con- to 26,711. elections' in 2017 to lying about his Russia chloroquine as it being tested as a potential coronavirus cerns that it undermines judicial Brazil: President Jair Bolsonaro contacts, would be absolved by a independence. treatment. Today is... Washington court, calling FBI in- accused the World Health Organi- IFPMA pledged that the industry would work with Central African Republic: The zation of encouraging homosexual- International Workers’ Day vestigators in his case "filthy cops." governments to mass-produce treatments at affordable country’s communications minis- ity and masturbation among young prices. A day to celebrate the work of the everyday WTO: The European Union, China ter says 25 people have died and children in his latest clash with the -dpa man and 18 other countries and territo- 51 were injured in clashes in the organization. 2 MAY 01 - 03, 2020 WEEKEND EXPRESS BUSINESS

Mangala’s letter to president Sri Lanka to re-summon Parliament Dear President, Merchandise exports drop 42% in I am writing this letter to you as the former Minister of Finance, who presented the Vote on Account for the state expenditure of Sri Lanka up to April 30, 2020. March amid COVID-19 2. In the years when a presidential election is forthcoming, successive governments have COLOMBO– Sri Lanka’s merchandise Estimated service exports, made up of lion and food and beverages were down and we firmly believe that exports will be refrained from passing a budget leaving an exports have dropped 42% to US$ 645 information technology and outsourcing, 14% to US$ 29 million. back on track in the near future,” Chair- opportunity for the winning president to sub- million in March 2020, with apparels fall- financial services, logistics and tourism Other exports were down 47% to US$ man PrabhashSubasinghe sad. mit his own Budget. ing 41% to US$ 531 million and tea falling were down 24% to US$ 805 million from 54 million. Demand for seafood and tea is strong in 3. As the presidential election was sched- 50% to US$ 62.5 million, the state export US$ 1,060 million. Petroleum products made up mostly of export markets officials have said, while uled to be held on November 16, 2019, the promotion office said. Total good and services exports were aviation fuel and ship bunkers grew 16% apparels, which have been badly hit, were then government was of the view that pre- A coronavirus epidemic in China at first down to US$ 3,322 million in the first to US 28 million. adapting to making personal protective senting an Appropriation Bill would not be disrupted inputs for the export industry, quarter of 2020 from US$ 4,176 million Sri Lanka’s Export Development Board equipment (PPEs). appropriate. Accordingly, the then govern- then a spreading pandemic in the West a year earlier. said coconut milk powder, defatted co- Sri Lanka’s National Medical Regula- ment presented a Vote on Account to Par- killed demand. A domestic lockdown then Some exporters have also been hit conut, coconut kernel products, coconut tory Authority and Consumer Affairs Au- liament for a period of four months from halted factories, many of which started by import controls slapped to contain a shell charcoal, essential oils, oleoresins, thority, the two price control agencies, January 1 to April 30, 2020 and adopted it on operations in April. foreign exchange shortages as the cen- ginger, lemons, melons & papayas, on- initially placed price ceilings and export October 23, 2019 leaving an opportunity for In the quarter ending March, merchan- tral bank printed money in a ‘monetary ions, sweet potatoes, processed food, bans in a knee jerk reaction amid eco- the would be elected president to present his dise exports fell 19% to US$ 3,382 million stimulus’, despite having a soft-pegged rice, green gram, and lentils, had shown nomic illiteracy, blocking domestic pro- own Budget. U from US$ 4,176 million in 2019. exchange regime. growth. duction. In the quarter to March 2020, mer- Exports of rubber products fell 35% to Organic chemicals, electrical trans- The controls that blocked domestic 4. But on the contrary, the finance minis- chandise export earnings have fallen US$ 55.8 million, coconut products were formers, boat building also grew in March. production, supply, and export potential ter appointed by you did not present a budget 17.6% to US$ 2,577 million, down from down 38% to US$ 38 million, engineering “..[T]he EDB is taking every effort to have been removed. for 2020 until you issued a Gazette dissolv- US$ 3,116 million a year earlier. products were down 48% to US$ 27 mil- assist the exporters to resume operations ing Parliament on March 2, in spite of the fact -economynext.com that you assumed office in November 2019, over three months prior to the dissolution of Parliament. As you would recall, the then Sri Lanka president Mahinda Rajapaksa who also held Shell cuts dividend for first time the portfolio of Finance did not present the Rupee stronger in one week forwards, Budget for 2015 since the Presidential Elec- since WWII on oil crisis tion was scheduled in November 2014 for LONDON- Royal Dutch Shell yes- The energy titan, which axed spend- January 8, 2015. Therefore, I would like to spreads narrow terday (April 30) cut its dividend for ing last month in response to the oil remind you that the good governance govern- COLOMBO – Sri Lanka’s rupee traded ing around 191.7 to buy TTs and were selling the first time since the 1940s after a crash, said it had slashed its share- ment that won the presidential election Janu- slightly stronger against the US dollar in the around 198.20 or a spread of under Rs 7. first-quarter loss - and warned virus- holder dividend by 65% to 16 cents ary 8, 2015 presented a budget for the finan- one week forward market yesterday (April 30) The central bank generally intervenes to ravaged oil prices will take time to per share, from 47 cents in the fourth cial year 2015 within 21 days of its election. while the spot market was mostly inactive deal- stop the rupee appreciation and build reserves fully recover. quarter. ers said. but does not intervene always after printing 5. Instead of presenting an Appropriation The Anglo-Dutch group sank into a "As a result of COVID-19, there The rupee was quoted around 192.50/193.00 money or cutting rates, making the rupee the Bill for the year 2020, prior to dissolution $24-million ($29.5-million) net loss is significant uncertainty in the ex- to the US dollar in one week forwards, slightly worst currency in South Asia. of the Parliament on March 2, a proposal in the three months to March - when pected macroeconomic conditions stronger from 192.25/193.50 to the US dollars Unless liquidity injection or money printing was brought by your government to amend oil went into freefall on tumbling de- with an expected negative impact on on Wednesday (April 29), dealers said. is followed by interventions, the rupee’s soft- the Vote on Account, which had already mand and a price war between pro- demand for oil, gas and related prod- The spread between buying and selling rates peg with the US dollar will break, especially if been passed by the yahapalana government. ducers Saudi Arabia and Russia. ucts," Shell said. have narrowed over a few days as the central credit demand is strong. Under an IMF pro- Thereafter your government withdrew it af- That contrasted sharply with profit "Furthermore, recent global devel- bank sold dollar in the spot market to keep the gram the central bank operated a so-called ter the opposition in Parliament pointed out after tax of $6.0 billion in the same opments and uncertainty in oil sup- rupee around or below 195 to the US dollar and one-sided disorderly market condition (DMC) that there was no provision in the Standing period a year earlier, the London- ply have caused further volatility in stop wildly erratic trading as excess liquidity rule where liquidity was injected and the ru- Orders for such an amendment. Now, as a re- listed giant added in a statement. commodity markets." soared in money markets. pee was allowed to fall steeply leading to a loss sult of the failure to present the budget due Earnings on a current cost-of- It warned that the pandemic would Banks were quoting an average of 190.42 to of credibility of the peg where exporters held to reasons known only to your government, supplies (CCS) basis -- stripping out spark a difficult second quarter - with the US dollar to buy telegraphic transfers on back and importers covered as fast as possible. and the sudden emergence of the coronavirus changes to the value of oil and gas in- no price bounce back in prospect. Wednesday and were selling at 195.82, or a Before the most recent liquidity injections the (COVID-19), the country is afflicted with a ventories - sank 46% to $2.9 billion spread of over Rs 5, central bank data showed. peg was around 182, to the US dollar. pandemic in addition to legislative and eco- in the reporting period, Shell said. -AFP A week earlier on April 23, banks were quot- -economynext.com nomic crises. 6. Considering the serious risk of the Sri Lanka spread of COVID-19 in the country, the Elec- tion Commission announced on April 20, Sri Lanka Ports Authority urges that the General Election scheduled for April Development Bonds 25, will be held June 20, 2020. However, the importers to clear vehicles date to summon the new Parliament to meet undersubscribed, US$26mn sold upon the conclusion of the proposed General Election scheduled for June 20, 2020 which COLOMBO– An auction of dollar bids. There were no bids for calls for is a must according to the Constitution, has denominated Sri Lanka Development floating rate bonds of the same ten- not been officially announced. Bonds had been undersubscribed ors. with US$ 26 million securities sold Several recent Sri Lanka Develop- 7. By virtue of the Vote on Account passed after offering US$ 63 million, data ment Bond auctions have been un- on October 23, 2019, the Constitution clearly from the state debt office showed. dersubscribed. states that the Government of Sri Lanka has In six month securities US$ 0.50 In recent weeks dollar liquidity no legal right to bear public expenditure af- million of were sold at 5.79%, taking tightened in Sri Lanka’s credit sys- ter April 30, 2020. As Parliament shall have all bids. tem amid rupee liquidity injections full control over public finance, no sum shall In 1 year, 3 month Sri Lanka Devel- are rate cuts (printing money). be withdrawn except under the authority of opment Bonds, US$ 15 million were As money printing put pressure a warrant under the hand of the minister sold at 6.83% taking all bids. on a currency peg triggering rating in charge of the subject of finance. No such In 30 year SLDBs US$ 1.20 million watches and a downgrades foreign grant can be issued by the Minister of Finance were sold at 6.70% taking in all bids lenders are also demanding higher without such approval and it is unlawful for In 4-year 9-month SLDBs US$ 1.30 yields. the Secretary to the Treasury to spend public million were sold at 6.75%, taking all -economynext.com money for any purpose without the approval of the Minister of Finance. 8. Article 150 (3) of the Constitution of the Webinar with Sri Lanka – China Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka provides for the incurring of government ex- COLOMBO – The Sri Lanka Ports Authority of the Port of Colombo whilst a considerable penditure in the event of the dissolution of Business Council (SLPA) has reiterated that the prevailing COV- number has been parked at the Unity Contain- Parliament and in the context of an Appro- COLOMBO– Over 150 Sri Lankan The Consul General’s presenta- ID-19 restrictions are no obstacle to clear the er Terminal (UCT). priation Bill not being passed in Parliament. companies had registered to par- tion had covered areas such as safety vehicles at the Colombo Port, urging importers This has also created an unpleasant situation 150 (3) of the Constitution reads as: Where ticipate in a webinar on ‘COVID-19: measures adopted by China in con- to clear the vehicles at the earliest. towards the terminal management of the port, the President dissolves Parliament before the China’s experience’ 2020’, organized taining the spread of COVID-19, About 400 vehicles have already been Sri Lanka Ports Authority said. Appropriation Bill for the financial year has by Sri Lanka-China Business Coun- current status of the market with parked at the East Container Terminal (ECT) -LBO passed in to law, he may, unless Parliament cil of the Ceylon Chamber of Com- regard to COVID -19 pandemic, new shall have already made provisions, author- merce organized and held in Shang- trends, as well as rules in facilitation ize the issue from the Consolidated Fund and hai yesterday (April 30). Among the of imported goods into the Chinese the expenditure of such sums as he may con- participants were Consul General of market, practical issues with regard Cabinet approves State support for sider necessary for the public services until Sri Lanka in Shanghai, ManorieMal- to sea and air freight operations, the expiry of a period of three months from likaratchy, and Trade Finance Repre- new opportunities for Sri Lanka in coronavirus-hit SriLankan Airlines the date on which the new Parliament is sentative, Bank of China in Colombo, the post COVID-19 scenario as well summoned to meet. IndikaKarunarathne. The discussion as general analysis of the pandemic COLOMBO – Sri Lanka’s cabinet of minis- and it has been given credit lines from State The president shall be authorized to is- was moderated by President, Sri and use of technology in overcom- ters had cleared the proposal to support State- banks. Most of the fleet is grounded but it is sue and spend money from the Consolidated Lanka –China Business Council Thu- ing challenges caused by the current run SriLankan Airlines which had been badly operating rescue flights and carrying cargo. Fund in terms of the provisions provided in lithaMendis. situation. hit by the coronavirus crisis. SriLankan Airlines had cut salaries and had the said Constitution only until the expiry A media release from the Sri Lan- According to the Ceylon Chamber “The Cabinet of Minister approved a pro- asked for suppliers’ credit and delays in lease of three months from the date on which the kan mission in Shanghai said over of Commerce this is the first interna- posal by Aviation Minister PrasannaRanatun- payments, Chief Executive VipulaGunatilleka new Parliament is summoned to meet. But 200 registrations and participants tional webinar they held in order to ga to give government assistance to SriLankan has said. Many airlines including private flag the due date for the new Parliament to meet had taken part in the webinar by update its membership on the mar- Airlines,” Minister Gunewardene said. carriers have got state bailout packages during has not yet been officially announced by the He did not disclose an amount. SriLankan the coronavirus crisis. sending questions for the resource ket trends in China. -economynext.com president. persons in advance. -ENCL Airlines is over 95% owned by the government 9. As you are well aware, the president, prime minister, cabinet of ministers and the Members of Parliament, as well as all public Today is May Day, the international day of labour officials, including the Secretary to the Treas- ury, have pledged to uphold and defend the By Guy Ryder Constitution of the Republic. Any person who acts in contravention of the provisions on conviction by the Court of Appeal shall be subject to:- New normal? Better normal! (a) Civic disability for such period not ex- In these times of COVID-19, the big chal- imposed by the pandemic rather than our protection systems of even the richest coun- the world that there is dignity in all labour. ceeding seven years and lenge for most of us is how to protect our- choices and preferences. And because we’ve tries, which have left millions in situations Today, the virus has similarly highlighted (b) Forfeit his movable and immovable selves and our families from the virus and heard it before. The mantra which provided of deprivation. It is the failure to guaran- the always essential and sometimes heroic property other than such property as is de- how to hold on to our jobs. For policy-mak- the mood music of the crash of 2008-2009 tee workplace safety that condemns nearly role of the working heroes of this pandemic. termined as being necessary for the suste- ers that translates into beating the pandem- was that once the vaccine to the virus of fi- three million to die each year because of the People who are usually invisible, unconsid- nance of such person and his family. ic without doing irreversible damage to the nancial excess had been developed and ap- work they do. And it is the unchecked dy- ered, undervalued, even ignored. Health economy in the process. plied, the global economy would be safer, namic of growing inequality which means and care workers, cleaners, supermarket 10. Therefore, I kindly request you to exer- With over three million cases and some fairer and more sustainable. But that didn’t that if, in medical terms, the virus does not cashiers, transport staff – too often num- cise your powers as the Head of State at this 217,000 victims of the virus to date glob- happen. The old normal was restored with a discriminate between its victims in its so- bered among the ranks of the working poor critical time to summon the Parliament as ally, and the expected loss of the equivalent vengeance and those on the lower echelons cial and economic impact, it discriminates and the insecure. soon as possible with the support of all par- of 305 million jobs worldwide by mid-year, of labour markets found themselves even brutally against the poorest and the power- Today the denial of dignity to these, and ties represented in Parliament and to have the stakes have never been higher. Govern- further behind. less. to millions of others, stand as a symbol of the essential expenditure, including the pay- ments continue to “follow the science” in So May 1, the international day of labour The only thing that should surprise us in past policy failures and our future respon- ment of salaries to the public service after the search for the best solutions while fore- is the right occasion to look more closely at all this is that we are surprised. Before the sibilities. April 30, 2020 approved legally and consti- going the obvious benefits of much greater this new normal, and start on the task of pandemic, the manifest deficits in decent On May Day next year we trust that the tutionally so that Sri Lanka acts responsibly, international cooperation in building the making it a better normal, not so much for work were mostly played out in individual pressing emergency of COVID-19 will be respecting the Constitution in relation to needed global response to the global chal- those who already have much, but for those episodes of quiet desperation. It has taken behind us. But we will have before us the public finances. Failure to do so, especially at lenge. who so obviously have too little. the calamity of COVID-19 to aggregate task of building a future of work which a time of a pandemic is bound to have serious But with the war against COVID-19 still This pandemic has laid bare in the cruel- them into the collective social cataclysm tackles the injustices that the pandemic has repercussions for the short and long-term to be won, it has become commonplace that lest way, the extraordinary precariousness the world faces today. But we always knew: highlighted, together with the permanent economic well-being of our people especially what awaits us after victory is a “new nor- and injustices of our world of work. It is we simply chose not to care. By and large, and no longer postponable challenges of cli- in light of international obligations and the mal” in the way society is organized and the the decimation of livelihoods in the infor- policy choices by commission or omis- mate, digital and demographic transition. nature of the interconnected global financial way we will work. mal economy -where six out of ten workers sion accentuated rather than alleviated the This is what defines the better normal and economic system. This is hardly reassuring. make a living - which has ignited the warn- problem. that has to be the lasting legacy of the global Yours sincerely, Because nobody seems able to say what ings from our colleagues in the World Food Fifty-two years ago, Martin Luther King, health emergency of 2020. Mangala Samaraweera the new normal will be. Because the message Programme, of the coming pandemic of in a speech to striking sanitation workers - Guy Ryder is Director-General, Inter- is that it will be dictated by the constraints hunger. It is the gaping holes in the social on the eve of his assassination reminded national Labour Organization WEEKEND EXPRESS MAY 01 - 03, 2020 3 GLOCAL

re eer ey d 185, Grandpass Road, Colombo 14, Sri Lanka Telephone: 0117 322 705 (Editorial) 0117 322 731 (Advertising) 0117 322 789 (Circulation) Police claim drug Email – [email protected]/[email protected] Epaper - http://epaper.newsexpress.lk users spreading Facebook –News Express Sri Lanka By ru R COVID-19 COLOMBO - The government is cracking down on drug dealers who it says are caus- ing the spread of the COVID-19 infection, as 11 more positive cases were reported Opposition to move court over bringing the total number of case in Sri Lanka to 660. The Director-General of Health Services Dr Anil Jasinghe was quoted in a govern- ment press release as saying that four cas- Parliament recall es detected earlier in the day, were all from the Suduwella area in Ja-Ela and had been COLOMBO– Sri Lanka is headed towards Former Minister LakshmanKiriella said On April 27 seven major opposition par- Mano Ganesan, Rauff Hakeem, Patali- on quarantine at the Oluvilcentre. a constitutional crisis as President Gota- under the Constitution the president is not ties wrote to Rajapaksa pledging their joint ChampikaRanawaka and RishadBathiu- The group in Suduwella are said to be baya Rajapaksa rejected an offer from the empowered to spend State funds after yes- unconditional support in Parliament to deen, pointed out that although elections drug addicts, and some of the navy person- joint opposition to summon Parliament terday and if he does so, he is in violation of solve the impending crisis. have been called for June 20, it is unlikely nel who rounded them up are reported to before the deadline for the president to the country’s basic law. The parties, which did not include the that conditions would be conducive to the have become infected causing the Welisara spend money passed by Parliament by the “We will go to court,” the former Leader JanathaVimukthiPeramuna (JVP), point- holding of free and fair elections. navy camp to be closed as 264 navy per- Vote on Account ended yesterday (April of the House said, adding, “Any funds that ed out that the optimism that prevailed in Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mahinda sonnel and their close associates contract- 30). are used through the back-door will make the country until a few weeks ago that the Rajapaksa has invited all members of the ed the virus. A spokesman for the Opposition said the the officials withdrawing and deploying epidemic could be controlled is receding. dissolved Parliament to meet him at Tem- The Police meanwhile made a strong president’s reply to the letter sent by the the funds liable,” he said. “If further spreading of the pandemic ple Trees on Monday, May 4. statement about drug peddlers who, they main opposition parties on April 27 has The thinking in the opposition camp is is not decisively halted in the coming few It is not known whether the meeting is said, were responsible for the spread of the reached the office of the former leader of that by postponing the reconvening of Par- weeks, the country will face the risk of the connected to the current constitutional cri- virus. the opposition and current leader of the liament by yesterday’s deadline the presi- prevailing public health crisis being com- sis. Constitutional experts have been ask- “There is a strong connection to the drug Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) SajithPre- dent is clearly in violation of the Constitu- pounded by crisis situations in the eco- ing the president to rescind his dissolution dealers and drug users to the spread of the madasa yesterday.. In the letter, the presi- tion. nomic, social and political spheres too,” of Parliament so that the country could disease,” Police spokesman Deputy Inspec- dent has said he sees no requirement to “Therefore we see no other alternative the statement said. avert a crisis in the middle of an ever-ex- tor General of Police AjithRohana said. recall Parliament as elections have already but to go to court,” an opposition source The document signed by RanilWickrem- panding COVID 19 epidemic. He said the drug users found in Sudu- been called for June 20. said. esinghe, SajithPremadasa, R Sampanthan, -economynext.com wella had spread it to Nagalgam Street in Colombo and from there to the Keselwatte and Gunasinghapura areas of Central Co- lombo. In Brief “This created a new cluster of patients,” Rohana said. AG approves Fuel imports suspended He said residents of the so-called un- The Attorney General has declared the Sri Lanka has decided to suspend the im- derserved areas in urban regions must steps taken by the Police to control the COV- port of fuel as current stocks have hardly be keenly aware of drug dealers in their ID-19 outbreak including the imposition been used as a result of the curfew. Chair- neighbourhoods. “We cannot combat this of the curfew are validated by the law. The man, Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminal without public support,” he said, urging, AGs approval comes as a response to a letter Limited Chairman, Uvais Mohamed, said “If someone temporarily moves into your by Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) there was enough fuel for another month area or takes up residence you must report seeking advice on the legitimacy of its action. and step had been taken to cancel orders them to the police. Also do not offer these State intelligence briefs Cabinet for fuel already given. people temporary shelter in your own The state intelligence agency has briefed Facebook fighting misinformation home.” the Cabinet on steps taken so far in the fight Facebook is taking on misinformation Rohana also said that of the 31 clusters against the coronavirus. Cabinet spokes- on coronavirus being spread via its social that were active in Sri Lanka, 27 have been man BandulaGunawardena said yesterday media network. Officials of the global social made inactive. Of the four three are close (April 30), the briefing included details on media giant said they were working with to being shut down and only one remains the clusters identified by the authorities AFP and fact Crescendo in Sri Lanka to de- active. where the virus spread and steps taken to bunk false claims. Meanwhile, doctors at the National In- quarantine people in those clusters. stitute of Infectious Diseases (IDH) at Angoda said the number of patients they are treating in their COVID wards have ex- - J. Sujeewakumar/ENCL People’s Bank to give agriculture ceeded their capacity. A man walks a row of empty carts stacked against each other outside a popular wholesale The IDH, country’s premier infectious market in Colombo, as the police curfew imposed as a preventive measure against the diseases hospital has a capacity to treat spread of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus continues, blanketing what would have otherwise loans of Rs3mn 120 patients. However, at present it has been boisterous commemoration of international workers’ day today (May 1) COLOMBO–The State-run People’s medium rice millers. Sri Lanka’s rupee 141COVID-19 patients warded at the spe- Bank will give up to Rs 3.0 million for ag- has come under pressure amid monetary cial units. riculture and set up 200 cluster villages, stimulus (money printing) and the trade Efforts are now on to remove around cabinet spokesman Minister Bandula- controls have been slapped using law 20 patients who are recovered from the PHIs demand PCR test, go on self- Gunewardene said yesterday (April 30). widely used in the controlled era of the disease to a different hospital, the doctors The government will also start 200 ag- 1970s. told the media. riculture sales shops and use 10,000 acres Ministers have told people to grow kollu -economynext.com quarantine for agriculture, he said, adding that assis- (horegram) and other crops. COLOMBO - Public Health Inspectors sonnel involved in contact tracing allowing tance will also be provided for small and -economynext.com who have been battling coronavirus in the large numbers to become infected and go largest cluster in Colombo without per- on leave to many parts of the country dur- sonal protective equipment have gone on ing curfews. self-quarantine and demanded PCR tests, The practice in Sri Lanka had been to No decision yet to extend curfew till Select schools a media report said yesterday (April 30). wait for a symptomatic person to turn up “We allowed them to go on self-quaran- in hospital and deny tests to any asympto- May 31 tine as they are subject to high risks,” an matic person even if they worked in a high to be used English daily quoted Chief Medical Officer risk area. COLOMBO - The Police said no decision month. However, Rohana said extending the of Colombo Municipal Council as saying. There have been calls lift the ban on has been taken so far to extend the curfew curfew passes for essential services did not Fourteen PHIs attached to the CMC tests to help protect businesses and ordi- in the high risk districts including Colombo, mean the curfew was going to be extended. as additional have in writing demanded PCR tests. nary citizens who may want to get a test till May 31. He said that while the health authorities Sri Lanka has banned voluntary PCR voluntarily at their own expense due to Senior Deputy Inspector General AjithRo- will decide on the curfew, in the event it is tests and initially limited them only to pa- working in a high risk area. hana said extending or relaxing the curfew extended then the existing passes issued for military camps tients in hospital with officials saying PCR Earlier in April a surgeon at a top state will depend on the advice of the health au- essential services will be valid till then. The was a ‘diagnostic’ test and not a ‘screening’ hospital in Colombo had also demanded a thorities. island-wide police curfew imposed at 8:00 Not as quarantine centres test. test on a patient from an area where there The government late Wednesday (April p.m. yesterday is scheduled to be lifted at But there is no other screening test avail- was a coronavirus cluster before an opera- 29) announced that curfew passes issued for 5:00 a.m. on Monday (May 4). Curfew in the says Defence Ministry able in the country for coronavirus. tion was performed but the request had essential services, which were to expire yes- Districts of Colombo, Kalutura, Puttalam, COLOMBO - Select State-run schools will Sri Lanka also did not test contacts of been denied, medical sources said. terday (April 30), had been extended till May and Gampaha, deemed high risk areas, is be used as additional military camps due to confirmed patients in the beginning. It had led an altercation between the 31, leading to speculation that the curfew also expected to be relaxed on Monday. an influx of personnel in existing military Authorities appear not to know that first surgeon and seniors who denied the test. would likely be extended till the end of the -ENCL/CG bases following a government directive to contacts are tested immediately in coun- The surgery had been performed with cancel their leave and return to their re- tries that are successful in battling coro- only some staff wearing protective gear, COVID-19 spective camps, Ministry of Defence said. navirus to find whether the second level is and the test had later come back positive, Issuing a statement yesterday (April infected. If any first contact is positive the the sources said. 30), it however noted that no directive had second level is also tested. Sri Lanka’s private citizens who are Public urged not to stigmatize been issued to establish quarantine centres Neither did Sri Lanka test quarantined asymptomatic had also been banned from in schools for the use of military personnel. persons before release at first, though they getting a voluntary test at their own ex- Earlier this week, all tri-forces person- are now being tested. Sri Lanka also ap- pense. security forces personnel nel who had gone on leave were recalled peared not to have tested any Navy per- -economynet.com COLOMBO– Secretary to the Ministry of have returned to their respective camps, following the detection of a number of Defence Maj Gen (Rtd) Kamal Gunaratne following the cancellation of their leave on COVID-19 infections in the Welisara naval has requested the public to not stigmatize a directive issued by President Gotabaya base. Navy gets face shields to fight tri-forces personnel, saying the armed forc- Rajapaksa. The retired major general also Refuting claims that quarantine centres es are playing a significant role in the front- claimed that some of the sailors on leave have been set up in schools, Secretary to lines of Sri Lanka’s fight against the novel as well as their families – none of whom the Ministry of Defence, Maj Gen (Rtd) coronavirus coronavirus. had tested positive – had faced harassment Kamal Gunaratne said: “After we issued a directive cancelling all leave and short COLOMBO – Naval personnel in the ty, Busan, Korea. The Sri Lanka Navy said Gunaratne laid particular emphasis on from their neighbours. Gunaratne was crit- the sailors at the Welisara naval base who ical of the public, who he said had forgot- passes for the tri-forces to return to their forefront of the fight against the spread of it had received a lot of material aids from respective bases, there was a huge influx the novel coronavirus, were gifted a stock by various organizations facilitating its ef- had contracted the novel coronavirus and ten that the tri-forces personnel had saved have allegedly been on the receiving end of them from terrorism, disasters like floods, of military personnel reporting to their re- of locally manufactured face shields yes- forts to control the spread of the coronavi- spective camps.” terday (April 30). rus in the country. some public criticism. The sailors in ques- landslides, tsunami and also man-made tion had contracted the virus while helping disasters risking their lives. The Defence Ministry, he said, with the The brainchild of Dr.Prasanna Guna- The stock of face shields was handed over approval of the Ministry of Education, has wardena and Keshara Weerasinghe, a to Chief of Staff of the Navy, Rear Admiral the health services locate suspected cases of When these very forces personnel had infection in Suduwella, Ja-Ela, he said in a fallen victim to this fresh disaster, people directed the tri-forces commanders to ac- Computer Engineering undergraduate, Nishantha Ulugetenna, who expressed the commodate some of the soldiers, sailors the face shields were produced a project navy’s gratitude to Dr.Prasanna Guna- statement, adding that it was very unfortu- are going against them, he pointed out, urg- nate that the same people the navy person- ing the public once again to join the forces and airmen in selected schools as their launched by the Engineering Faculty of wardena, Keshara Weerasinghe and the own camps lacked the required space to Peradeniya University with financial as- representatives of Peradeniya University nel had tried to protect have complained and the health services in the fight against accommodate them hygienically while sistance provided by Professor Young-Ho who were present during the handover. against them after they went on leave. Gu- COVID-19 without harassing them. maintaining social distance, which was Lee, Korea Maritime and Ocean Universi- -ENCL naratne said all soldiers, sailors and airmen -economynext.com mandatory to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. According to the Defence Ministry, there Repatriation of students from South Asia concludes are 54 military-run quarantine centres supported by the health authorities in the COLOMBO –The last batch of 125 stu- COVID-19 pandemic, a statement from to be repatriated following the closure of network with students and academic in- country. The total number of people un- dent stranded in India arrived at the the Ministry of Foreign Relations said the airport for arrivals to Sri Lanka from stitutions to map out the repatriation pro- dergoing quarantine, as of yesterday was Bandaranaike International Airport yes- yesterday. abroad. It said, the Ministry of Foreign cess. 3, 292. Some 4,526 people who had com- terday (April 30), bringing to an end the It said among those repatriated were relations in close collaboration with the The Ministry of Foreign Relations and pleted final health checks and were issued repatriation for 1065 Sri Lankan students public and military officials who had com- Sri Lanka Missions in South Asia, the the Sri Lanka Missions in the South Asian quarantine certificates have left for their stuck in various parts of South Asia due to pleted study and training programs in the Presidential Secretariat, the COVID- 19 region appreciated the cooperation ex- homes from those quarantine centres, the the COVID-19 outbreak. respective countries and had to return to Task Force and the Sri Lankan Airlines, tended by the Governments of Bangla- ministry said. Yesterday’s arrivals, on UL 1188, were take up official duties in Sri Lanka. Cur- and with the assistance of the respective desh, India, Nepal and Pakistan, the state “Tri-Forces personnel who are suspected from Kolkata, India. rently all returnees are undergoing man- foreign governments had repatriated the governments and the local authorities, to have coronavirus will be sent to quaran- Commencing April 21, a total of nine Sri datory quarantine at facilities afforded by students stationed across many cities in Departments of Immigration, Authorities tine centres,” the statement quested Gu- Lankan Airlines special flights were used the Sri Lanka government, the statement the region during a period of 10 days. of Civil Aviation, academic institutes, the naratne as saying, adding those who are to destinations in India (Punjab, Mumbai, added. The statement also noted that Sri Lan- respective tri-forces of these countries, accommodated in schools would be wear- Coimbatore, Bangalore, New Delhi and It also elaborated that the repatriation ka Missions and Consulates General in and Sri Lankan Organizations particular- ing only masks but not protective gear like Kolkata) Pakistan (Karachi and Lahore), had been based on an analysis of data on Dhaka, Kathmandu, New Delhi, Islama- ly the Mahabodhi Society in Kolkata, for those who are in quarantine centres. The Nepal (Kathmandu) and Bangladesh the most vulnerable overseas Sri Lankans bad, Chennai, Mumbai and Karachi, had, providing unstinted cooperation and co- statement also urged the public not to con- (Dhaka), to repatriate the Sri Lankan wishing to return, President Gotabaya as in initial step undertaken the collation ordination to make the repatriation pro- tribute to misleading claims. students who had expressed their desire Rajapaksa had on April 14, instructed stu- of data of the students in their respective cess a success, the statement said. - economynext.com/ENCL to return to Sri Lanka in the wake of the dents in South Asia be the first category jurisdictions, thus building the necessary -ENCL 4 MAY 01 - 03, 2020 WEEKEND EXPRESS HOT TOPICS

In spat over WHO By r e u Bre drd d d Gd handling of pandemic US, China block Trump officials said UN resolution to press spies to link UNITED NATIONS - The United States virus and Wuhan labs and China remained at loggerheads yester- day (April 30) over a UN Security Council WASHINGTON — Senior Trump administra- draft resolution calling for a 90-day hu- tion officials have pushed US spy agencies to hunt manitarian pause in conflicts worldwide for evidence to support an unsubstantiated theory in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. that a government laboratory in Wuhan, China, The stalemate - over a mention of the was the origin of the coronavirus outbreak, ac- cording to current and former US officials. The ef- World Health Organization - leaves little fort comes as President Donald Trump escalates a hope of a quick vote as the Security Coun- public campaign to blame China for the pandemic. cil struggles to find a response to the glob- Some intelligence analysts are concerned that al crisis, remaining largely mute since the the pressure from administration officials will once-in-a-century pandemic began killing distort assessments about the virus and that they tens of thousands of people and shutting could be used as a political weapon in an inten- down economies across the world. sifying battle with China over a disease that has "It's a major stalemate, nobody's mov- infected more than three million people across the ing," one diplomat told AFP, speaking on globe. condition of anonymity. Most intelligence agencies remain sceptical that "We're treading water," said another. conclusive evidence of a link to a lab can be found, The text, authored by France and Tuni- and scientists who have studied the genetics of sia and obtained by AFP, has been under the coronavirus say that the overwhelming prob- discussion for weeks. ability is that it leapt from animal to human in a It calls for a 90-day humanitarian pause - Michael Dantas/AFP via Getty Images non-laboratory setting, as was the case with HIV, Ebola and SARS. to bring aid to the most vulnerable pop- Aerial view of coffins being buried at an area where new graves have been dug at the ParqueTarumã cemetery in Manaus ulations caught in conflicts around the Trump’s aides and Republicans in Congress globe, including in places such as Afghani- By d e have sought to blame China for the pandemic in stan and Yemen. part to deflect criticism of the administration’s The draft also supports a March 23 plea mismanagement of the crisis in the United States, by UN Secretary General Antonio Gu- which now has more coronavirus cases than any terres for a worldwide ceasefire to facili- country. More than one million Americans have tate the fight against the coronavirus. ‘Utter disaster' been infected, and more than 60,000 have died. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a former CIA But Washington and Beijing remain at director and the administration’s most vocal hard- loggerheads over how to refer to the World Manaus fills mass graves as COVID-19 hits the liner on China, has taken the lead in pushing US Health Organization (WHO) in the text. intelligence agencies for more information, ac- The WHO's role in dealing with the pan- cording to current and former officials. demic has been vilified by US President Amazon Matthew Pottinger, the deputy national secu- Donald Trump, who complained it had RIO DE JANEIRO/ MANAUS - Day to the Ecuadorian city where bodies region’s biggest city. One is that the rity adviser who reported on SARS outbreaks as a not been transparent about the coronavi- and night, the dead are delivered into have been left rotting in the streets coronavirus epidemic has struck at journalist in China, has pressed intelligence agen- rus and suspended US funding to it. China the tawny Amazonian earth – the lat- and thousands are feared to have died. the tail end of the rainy season, when cies off and on since January to gather informa- responded by offering additional funding. est victims of a devastating pandemic With more than 100 people dying respiratory illnesses are rife and hos- tion that might support any origin theory linked China "insists on a mention of the now reaching deep into the heart of each day and Manaus’s overwhelmed pitals already stretched. Another is to a lab. World Health Organization" in the text, the Brazilian rainforest. authorities performing night-time that Manaus’s chronically underfund- And Anthony Ruggiero, the head of the National while the United States does not want it, On Sunday (April 26) 140 bodies burials, many fear it is already too late. ed health service was poorly equipped Security Council’s bureau tracking weapons of several diplomats explained, asking for were laid to rest in Manaus, the jun- City officials say they expect to bury and understaffed even before medical mass destruction, expressed frustration during anonymity. gle-flanked capital of Amazonas state. up to 4,500 people in the next month workers began contracting COVID-19 one videoconference in January that the CIA was "We don't comment on ongoing nego- On Saturday (April 25), 98. Normally alone. Funeral homes have warned themselves. unable to get behind any theory of the outbreak’s tiations" at the Security Council, the US the figure would be closer to 30 – but they will run out of wooden coffins by But many also blame corruption and origin. CIA analysts responded that they simply State Department said when asked about these are no longer normal times. this weekend. the government’s failure to effectively did not have the evidence to support any one the- the stalemate. “It’s madness – just madness,” said In ParqueTarumã – Manaus’s big- implement containment measures ory with high confidence at the time, according to No reaction could be obtained from the Gilson de Freitas, a 30-year-old main- gest cemetery – excavators have carved once COVID-19 was detected. Only on people familiar with the conversation. Chinese mission to the UN. tenance man whose mother, Rose- out mass graves called ‘trincheiras’ – March 23– 10 days after the first case The CIA’s judgment was based in part on the The co-authors of the text, like the rest meire Rodrigues Silva, was one of 136 trenches – in which the dead were be- was confirmed – did the state gover- fact that no signs had emerged that the Chinese of the Security Council, are reduced to people buried there on Tuesday (April ing stacked in three-high piles until a nor declare a state of emergency, or- government believed the outbreak came from a lab. The Chinese government has vigorously de- waiting for a compromise between the two 28) as local morticians set yet another revolt from mourning families saw the dering all non-essential businesses to nied that the virus leaked from a lab while pushing permanent members, each of which has a grim daily record. practice halted. close. Freitas – who believes his mother “It’s chaos in there,” said Freitas, “We took too long to ask people to disinformation on its origins, including suggesting right of veto. that the US military created it. There has been no progress since the contracted COVID-19 after being ad- whose 58-year-old mother was con- stay at home,” said Leonardo Steiner, mitted to hospital following a stroke signed to the trenches last week. “She the archbishop of Manaus, which is a Any US intelligence report blaming a Chinese beginning of the week, other diplomats institution and officials for the outbreak could sig- added. – recalled watching in despair as her spent her whole life working … she four-hour flight north of São Paulo. remains were lowered into a muddy paid all of her taxes. She deserved Even now, with the death toll soar- nificantly harm relations with China for years to Blank paragraph trench alongside perhaps 20 other more. We all do.” ing, social distancing is being flouted come. And Trump administration officials could A vote had been expected this week, and coffins. Edmar Barros, a local photographer in some areas on the city’s outskirts, use it to try to prod other nations to publicly hold Guterres has been pressing for one for “They were just dumped there like who has been documenting the buri- with huge queues outside banks and China accountable for coronavirus deaths even more than a month. But this seems less dogs,” he said. “What are our lives als, said he had never seen anything locals refusing to wear masks or re- when the pandemic’s exact origins cannot be de- and less likely over the short term because worth now? Nothing.” similar. “It’s absurd what is happening main at home. termined. of the disagreement between the US and The city’s mayor, Arthur Virgílio, here,” he said. “It’s a situation of just “Part of the city seems like it The State Department declined to answer ques- China. pleaded for urgent international help. devastating sadness.” couldn’t care less – it’s as if nothing is tions about Pompeo’s role. Spokesmen for the "Let's see if next week will bring some- “We aren’t in a state of emergency Emergency and health services in happening,” said Barros, the photog- White House and the National Security Council thing new," one diplomat said. – we’re well beyond that. We are in a Manaus are also buckling under the rapher. declined to comment. An official from the Office state of utter disaster … like a country strain, with ambulances roaming for The mayor admitted he had failed of the Director of National Intelligence acknowl- The stalemate could end quickly if the edged that the intelligence agencies had not agreed US and China find a compromise, one that is at war – and has lost,” he said. up to three hours in search of hospi- to keep people indoors but said Bra- “It’s tragic surrealism ... I can’t stop tals with space to admit the patients zil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, should on an origin theory but were tracking down infor- Western ambassador said. The WHO mation and frequently updating policymakers. mention is just a side issue in a draft cen- thinking about Gabriel GarcíaMárquez they have collected. shoulder much of the blame for delib- when I think about the situation Gruesome video footage has erately undermining such measures. NBC News reported earlier that administration tered on support for a ceasefire in some officials had directed intelligence agencies to try 20 war or conflict zones around the world, Manaus is facing.” emerged from hospitals showing cor- “We don’t have hurricanes here. We The coronavirus appears to have ridors lined with corpses shrouded in don’t have tsunamis. Here the tsu- to determine whether China and the World Health this ambassador said. reached this isolated, riverside me- body bags and sheets. Another video nami was having disregarded … social Organization hid information early on about the As it stands, the resolution now has a tropolis of more than two million shows an unconscious patient with his isolation.” outbreak. blank space where the WHO mention is people on March 11, imported by a head wrapped inside a ventilator hood “It saddens me to know these lives For months, scientists, spies and government supposed to go and how to fashion it will 49-year-old woman who had flown in improvised from a large plastic bag. could have been saved and weren’t officials have wrestled with varying theories about be decided at the end of the negotiations. from London. “There’s a shortage of mechani- saved, in part because Brazil’s main how the outbreak began, and many agree on the France and Tunisia could simply decide to Six weeks later it is taking a terrible cal ventilators, of oxygen, of staff, of leader … said it was OK to go out,” Vir- importance of determining the genesis of the pan- scrap such a mention altogether, although toll, with gravediggers so overworked stretchers. Everything is lacking,” said gílio added. demic. In government and academia, experts have this idea might be vetoed by China, with that two men were this week forced to Dr DomícioMagalhãesFilho, the tech- Of the 5,000-plus COVID deaths of- ruled out the notion that it was concocted as a bio- support from Russia. Except for a virtual bury their own father. nical director of the ambulance ser- ficially confirmed in Brazil only 274 weapon. And they agree that the new pathogen be- meeting on April 9, the Security Council “Manaus is in a race against time to vice, Samu. have been recorded in Manaus. But gan as a bat virus that evolved naturally, probably has remained silent on the biggest global avoid becoming the Brazilian version Experts and officials say multiple the recent surge in burials leaves no in another mammal, to become adept at infecting crisis since World War II. of Guayaquil,” one local newspaper, A factors explain the intensity of the doubt the real total is far higher. and killing humans. Crítica, warned last week in reference catastrophe affecting the Amazon -The Guardian A few veteran national security experts have - Agence France-Presse pointed to a history of lab accidents infecting re- searchers to suggest it might have happened in this case, but many scientists have dismissed such By Be Burru d e e theories. COVID-19 fundraiser “We do not believe any type of laboratory-based Got five scenario is plausible,” five scientists wrote in a pa- A national disgrace per published in March in Nature Medicine. Britain hails ‘Captain Trump has spoken publicly about the adminis- Prisoner with coronavirus dies after giving minutes? tration’s “very serious investigations” of the virus’ origin and China’s culpability. Those inquiries Tom' on 100th birthday birth while on ventilator See what took on new urgency in late March, when intelli- gence officials presented information to the White LONDON - British Prime Minister Boris SOUTH DAKOTA -The first female federal documents that her baby was due in early Johnson led the birthday tributes yesterday your Google House that prompted some career officials to re- prisoner to die after contracting the corona- May. On April 4, three days after her baby’s consider the lab theory. The precise nature of the (April 30) to a 100-year-old former soldier who virus was a 30-year-old mother who had just birth, Circle Bear’s coronavirus test came raised millions of pounds to help Britain's health Account information, based in part on intercepted commu- weeks earlier given birth while on a ventila- back positive. She died Tuesday (April 28), nications among Chinese officials, is unclear. service through the novel coronavirus pandemic. tor. more than three weeks later. is publicly "Your heroic efforts have lifted the spirits of The current and former officials did not say The woman, Andrea Circle Bear, of Eagle The Bureau of Prisons said Circle Bear had whether Trump himself, who has shown little the entire nation," Johnson said in a video mes- Butte, South Dakota, was sentenced in Janu- a pre-existing medical condition that could sharing sage to ex-army captain Tom Moore, affection- regard for the independent judgments of intel- ary to serve 26 months in prison for using a worsen coronavirus symptoms. Her family ligence and law enforcement officials, has pres- ately known as Captain Tom. "You've inspired residence on the Cheyenne River Indian Res- and her former lawyer did not immediately SAN FRANCISCO- the most incredible generosity ... supporting the Have a quick five min- sured the intelligence agencies. But he does want ervation to sell drugs in 2018. She admitted return calls seeking comment, but advocates any information supporting the lab theory to set cause closest to all our hearts," Johnson told that she had sold $850 worth of metham- of prison reform questioned why she was be- utes? Spend that time Moore, who raised more than 30 million pounds checking what personal the stage for holding China responsible, according phetamine to a buyer who was later revealed ing held in a prison in the first place. to two people familiar with his thinking. (US$ 37 million). to be a confidential informant, according to “Not every prison death is avoidable, but information is publicly Hundreds of thousands of people donated to available on your Google He has expressed interest in an idea pushed by court documents. Andrea Circle Bear’s certainly seems to have Michael Pillsbury, an informal China adviser to the Moore's JustGiving fund for National Health On March 20, Circle Bear was transferred been — she simply should not have been in Account. Service (NHS) charities after he walked 100 To check what's on your White House, that Beijing could be sued for dam- from a jail in Winner, South Dakota, to Fed- a federal prison under these circumstances,” ages, with the United States seeking $10 million 25-metre lengths of his garden over several days, eral Medical Centre Carswell, a prison that Kevin Ring, president of Families Against profile, head to aboutme. supported by his walking frame. "It just shows google.com. for every death. At a news conference this week, holds about 1,625 female prisoners in Fort Mandatory Minimums, said in a statement. Trump said the administration was discussing a what a marvellous country we are, made up of so Worth, Texas. She was immediately placed “Her death is a national disgrace, and I hope As a rule, you'll find many magnificent people keeping up their spirits not only your full name, “very substantial” reparations claim against China into quarantine, the federal Bureau of Prisons it is a wake-up call.” — an idea that Beijing has already denounced. however difficult it may be," Moore told broad- said in a statement, in line with the agency’s The coronavirus has ravaged prisons across but also your personal caster ITV on Thursday. Moore was made an and professional contact “President Trump is demanding to know the or- new policy to reduce the risk of inmates con- the United States, and eight of the nation’s 10 igins of the virus and what Xi Jinping knew when honorary colonel in the British army and several tracting the virus from a new arrival. Because largest coronavirus clusters were in prisons information, your birth World War II planes staged a flypast of his home date, your gender, your about the cover-up,” Pillsbury said. of concerns about her pregnancy, Circle Bear or jails as of Wednesday (April 29) evening, Major gaps remain in what is known about the yesterday to mark his birthday. was admitted to a hospital about a week later, according to The New York Times’ tally of professional background "You are an example and an inspiration to us and various other infor- new pathogen, including which kind of animal in- on March 28, but she was sent back to the cases. The Bureau of Prisons, which oversees fected humans with the coronavirus and where the all. May God bless you and your family," Arch- prison later that day. the imprisonment of about 142,000 people, mation. bishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the head of Once you're at the site, first transmission took place. Three days later, Circle Bear developed a has reported that 1,534 inmates and 343 staff Richard Grenell, the acting director of national the global Anglican church, tweeted to Moore. fever, a dry cough and more possible corona- members have tested positive for the corona- everything displayed can The Royal Mail said it handled more than be changed, or even delet- intelligence, has told his agencies to make a prior- virus symptoms, and was taken back to the virus, and that 31 inmates have died. But a ity of determining the virus’ origin. His office con- 125,000 birthday cards, letters and gifts for hospital, where she was placed on a ventila- vast majority of incarcerated people are held ed, if you don't want some Moore. Moore also reached the top of Britain's or all of your information vened a review of intelligence officials April 7 to tor, a sign that she was struggling to breathe at state prisons and local jails. At least 12,000 see whether the agencies could reach a consensus. singles charts last week, joining singer Michael on her own. The next day, on April 1, her baby inmates have tested positive in state prisons, to be shared either direct- Ball on a version of the 1960s hit "You'll Never ly or indirectly with other The officials determined that, at least so far, they was born by caesarean section. The judge and more than 150 people have died. could not. Walk Alone." who sentenced Circle Bear had said in court Google users. -dpa -New York Times -dpa -New York Times WEEKEND EXPRESS MAY 01 - 03, 2020 5 REALITY CHECK

By Rd By Bee Wild animals are ‘This isn’t the taking over cities time for caviar’ As people stay indoors in the A chef finds new flavours coronavirus pandemic in a pandemic MADRID - Wild boars promenade the luxurious BANGKOK — When the coronavirus struck, avenues of Barcelona, and peacocks calmly stroll desperate chefs in Bangkok’s fine-dining scene through the centre of Madrid. began offering sea urchin on toast and Wagyu Animals otherwise found only in rural areas appear katsu sandwiches for delivery since eating in to be attracted to cities in Spain as humans remain was banned. inside as part of a strict lockdown. Deepanker Khosla kept cooking, too, but he It's a phenomenon that is being replicated across has eschewed the foams, emulsions and other the globe: As urban residents are forced to stay in- flourishes of molecular gastronomy that nor- doors, animals seem eager to recapture the space va- mally flavour his cuisine. Instead, his kitchen, cated by humans: More and more videos are circulat- staffed largely by migrants from Myanmar, is ing online of wild animals exploring usually bustling turning out hundreds of banana-leaf packets human environments. of rice and vegetables spiced with ginger and In Spain, experts are drawing a clear link with the turmeric to enhance immunity. virus crisis, which has emptied streets since a lock- Every day, hundreds of Khosla’s rice bun- down came into place March 15. dles are delivered to Bangkok residents who Since then, without humans around, the environ- are out of work and, sometimes, out of food. ment is both cleaner and quieter, something that is -Rebecca Conway/The New York Times “This isn’t the time for caviar and cham- pagne,” he said. “People are struggling to sur- a "balm to the animal world," says Roberto Harta- A checkpoint at the entrance to a market outside the Jama Masjid, a mosque in New Delhi, on Friday evening, April 24. By many sanchez, from the Spanish conservation NGO fapas. vive.” Even wolves have returned: There have been sev- measures, the nationwide lockdown imposed last month by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has helped blunt the spread of the Across the world, the devastation of the cor- coronavirus onavirus is felt not only in intensive care units eral reported sightings in residential areas, Angel but also among vulnerable populations that Sanchez, an animal welfareist lobbying for the pro- By u d eer r have been propelled below the poverty line by tection of the Iberian wolf, told the newspaper El the pandemic. Pais. While many in the restaurant business have "We expect the wolves to reproduce more success- been impoverished by forced closures, a band fully now because they are less likely to be disturbed," Unified in coronavirus lockdown, of high-end chefs have capitalized on their ce- Sanchez told the Spanish outlet. lebrity to bring food to those who need it. In In Almeria, in the southern region of Andalusia, the United States, José Andrés, whose non- Emilio Gonzalez of the environmental protection profit helped feed people in hurricane-ravaged organization Serbal is also hoping the new situation India splinters over reopening Puerto Rico, is trying to sustain American chil- will help threatened species such as the hawk eagle or dren who depended on school lunches that are European wildcat to reproduce better. NEW DELHI — When the Indian While critics of a prolonged shut- pened last week with a “skeleton crew” no longer being served because of the corona- "In the countryside, we are currently seeing more government eased coronavirus restric- down in the United States, for instance, and no business. virus lockdown. couples among birds of prey, martens, and among tions last week, allowing many shops have often grounded arguments for “We are trying to find a way to fully Like many other chefs, Khosla, who was predators and herbivores in general," says Ernesto to reopen in rural parts of the country, reopening in notions of individual lib- resume work, but it doesn’t seem likely born and raised in India, depends on migrant Alvarez, president of Spanish conservation group Uday Shankar Sharma, a retail store erty, Indian officials have almost uni- anytime soon,” he said. “We need ma- workers to peel potatoes, wash fish knives and Grefa. owner in a small farming village, said formly rallied around Modi’s framing chinery, labour that is almost impossi- apportion servings of duck mousse with cumin .Gerardo Baguena, head of the Spanish founda- he had no intention of complying. of the pandemic as a collectively felt ble to get at the moment.” leaf at his high-end restaurant, Haoma. tion for the preservation of the bearded vulture, has a Over the past few weeks, Sharma crisis that required cooperation at eve- Arunoday Singh Parawar, a social In mid-January, Thailand was the first similar view: "There are currently no mountaineers, said fear had deepened in Sabna, where ry rung of society. worker in the state of Madhya Pradesh, country to confirm a case of the coronavirus no paragliders, no helicopters, nothing," he says. he lives in northern India. Community Many embraced Modi’s order for said scepticism to reopen went beyond outside China — a tourist from Wuhan, the city The bearded vulture is, with a wingspan of around meetings held under a clock tower have a “total ban of coming out of your fears of the coronavirus. where the outbreak is thought to have begun. 3 metres, the largest in Europe, and is in danger of stopped. Neighbours barely talk to each homes,” heeding his directives to po- In Chhatarpur, the town where he When a lockdown began two months later extinction. Now experts are hoping the current situa- other. Streets are so silent that people lice one another and fight the virus like lives, local leaders have imposed harsh- amid an uptick of cases imported from Eu- tion will have positive side effects. can hear grasshoppers in the daytime. a “dedicated soldier.” er restrictions than most by allowing rope, Japan and the United States, Thailand’s The current quiet is also making animals in Britain, Sharma said resuming business was But as India’s economy suffers, the food shops to open only on alternate tourism sector, responsible for more than 10% South America and Asia bolder. In the Chilean capi- simply too dangerous right now, even consensus has started to fray. days, even though the area has been of the country’s gross domestic product, was tal, Santiago, a young puma was spotted roaming the though his district of more than three After lockdown measures were eased mostly unaffected by the coronavirus. devastated. streets, apparently having come down into the city million people has only reported one last week, the states of Kerala and Gu- Parawar said the reason was sim- The first to be let go from restaurants, bars from the nearby mountains in search of prey. case of the coronavirus. jarat were among those that planned to ple: Officials feared that if they eased and hotels were migrants, who have no protec- Since the streets were nearly empty, the puma con- “It is better to stay hungry than to get move forward with reopening shops. restrictions too soon, or by too much, tion from social safety nets and can be fired tinued to explore right into residential areas. Author- the coronavirus,” he said in a telephone Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand and Maha- they risked the ability to re-impose cor- more easily. In the food and beverage indus- ities said they stunned the animal, examined it, and interview. “Why should I risk the lives rashtra indicated that they would keep onavirus rules and persuade millions of try, many of these foreign labourers are from later released it back into the wild. of my family members for a few hun- businesses shut until at least May 3, people, many of them without a formal the Nepali ethnic minority in neighbouring Meanwhile, in Israel's coastal city of Tel Aviv, a dred rupees?” when Modi will decide whether to ex- education, to return to a life indoors. Myanmar. Khosla set up an online campaign group of 10 jackal families had reportedly already For five weeks, Indians of all stripes tend the lockdown or let it expire. Oth- “They do not want to lose control of for donations and switched from serving neo- made the city's Yarkon park their home even before have united to zealously conduct a na- er states barely said anything. the public,” he said. Indian cuisine at his restaurant to the next day the coronavirus crisis. But since residents have been tionwide lockdown, the largest and Crafting enforceable orders is chal- Still, economists say an indefinite churning out meals for out-of-work migrants told to stay home, the Haaretz newspaper reported, one of the most severe anywhere. But lenging in a country as diverse and lockdown is hardly sustainable. With and, later, poor Thais as well. the animals are now increasingly wandering wider as the central government has started fragmented as India, with nearly two so many Indians out of work, the coun- Today, the restaurant, in a leafy warren of afield, onto the park paths. lifting restrictions in areas with few or dozen official languages and vast cul- try’s public distribution system, which lanes in residential Bangkok, looks more like In the capital cities of India and Nepal, the monkeys no known cases of the coronavirus, of- tural chasms across states and even provides food and other handouts to a food distribution station at a refugee camp and dogs that normally share their habitats with mil- ficials are now facing a new challenge: neighbouring villages. The cryptic na- hundreds of millions of people, has than the native habitat of concassés and sa- lions of people are free to roam the streets unheeded, persuading fearful residents, and their ture of the government’s news releases been severely stressed. bayons. Chillies dry on a tabletop, while bags while in Llandudno, in northern Wales, wild cash- leaders, to consider a partial reopen- has not helped. And in remote areas of the country, of rice are stacked up near the entrance to the urban farm where Khosla nourishes herbs and mere goats have been spotted roaming near-deserted ing. After announcing that many shops authorities have sometimes used force By many measures, the nationwide selling nonessential items could reo- to keep people inside, making it diffi- salad greenery with recycled rainwater. streets in search of their favourite food: hedges. “Food is food,” said VishvasSidana, director Refering to the animals as "vandals," residents say lockdown imposed last month by Prime pen late Friday, the Ministry of Home cult to reach markets and ration shops. Minister Narendra Modi has helped Affairs issued multiple corrections over NaziaErrum, a widow who supports of food and beverage at Haoma, who trained as the goats have already destroyed the newly planted a sommelier. “We cook what’s needed.” trees in front of a local school. blunt the spread of the coronavirus. In- the next 24 hours. On Twitter, Vasud- three children as a seamstress, said the dia’s doubling rate for cases has slowed ha Gupta, a ministry spokeswoman, police have beaten people for trying to Restaurants famously operate with unfor- In Italy's Milan, swans caused a sensation in the giving profit margins. But Khosla said an un- Navigli, a canal system, whereas in Venice, pictures to around nine days, and although test- revised an earlier announcement that leave their homes in the village of Haji- ing is still restricted, infections have re- “ALL shops” outside municipalities para, where she lives in the north-east- derstanding landlord, who waived his rent, and videos were circulating online showing cleaner- and generous customers, who donated to his than-usual canals once again full of fish. mained relatively low for a nation of 1.3 could reopen by exempting liquor ern state of Assam. With no work for a month, Errum feared that her family online campaign, have shielded him from hav- "Nature is taking back its space," write users of the billion, with nearly 32,000 confirmed stores, then restaurants, then salons. ing to fire any of his staff of 32. VeneziaPulita, or Clean Venice group. cases and slightly over 1000 deaths. In the southern state of Karnataka, would starve if the lockdown contin- Each banana-leaf meal from his kitchen However, the lack of humans isn't all positive: The On April 20, India took a step to- Subhash Chandra, the managing di- ued. costs around 60 cents to make and distribute. World Wildlife Fund has raised concerns in Spain ward reviving the economy to “mitigate rector of Sangeetha Mobiles, told the “When you can’t step out of your To guard against the tropical heat, the food that the pandemic could damage a settlement project hardship to the public,” allowing con- Economic Times that nearly half of the house for a minute, how will you contains chillies and other aromatics that act for griffon vultures in Segovia, near Madrid. As all struction, plantation work and some chain’s 260 outlets had reopened Sun- earn?” she said. “We have been eating as natural preservatives, he said. He avoids restaurants are closed, the scavengers are unlikely to manufacturing to resume. By April 24, day only to be promptly shut by the lo- rice only once a day instead of three be- meat, which spoils easily. find food. the central government had further cal police. cause we don’t know what will happen Khosla, 30, grew up in the multi-faith city Fewer people out and about means fewer food eased restrictions, permitting many Even business owners who faced tomorrow. We are terrified.” of Prayagraj, formerly known as Allahabad, scraps, which are essential nutrition for some ani- shops to reopen in rural parts of the fewer roadblocks in resuming opera- In India’s largest state, Uttar in north India, where his family found shelter mals. In the Thai province of Lop Buri, for example, country and outside hot spots, which tions said supply chain wrinkles had Pradesh, state leaders have already after having fled what is now Pakistan during monkeys were filmed violently fighting for scraps. have largely been traced to bigger cities made it nearly impossible to complete indicated that they will not implement the tumult of the partition of South Asia in the A passer-by in the popular Spanish holiday town of like Mumbai and New Delhi. most of their work. the central government’s loosening of late 1940s. “I grew up with stories of refugees,” Benidorm, normally crowded in spring, experienced But unlike the initial lockdown, After Modi announced the lockdown restrictions. In Sabna, a community he said. “We’re all migrants.” an attack on an empty street, reminiscent of the 1963 which Indians widely endorsed de- March 24, migrant workers typically of farmers, Rajesh Kumar Jaiswal, the His mother fed him well, as mothers often Alfred Hitchcock thriller "The Birds." spite the clear cost of shutting a coun- hired for construction jobs left cities village’s leader, said changing peo- do. After graduating from high school, Kho- The older woman was pushing a shopping trolley try where around half the population for their home villages, some of them ple’s psychology was one of the biggest sla planned to join the armed forces, but his on the street when she was surrounded by a flock of lives on less than $3 a day, the lifting of hundreds of miles away. With train stumbling blocks to reopening. knocked knees foiled him. He went to culinary white doves. Many Spaniards say they have noticed restrictions has divided state leaders. and bus service suspended, they have “People have developed a habit of school instead. “Being a chef is a low-grade job birds acting more aggressively in recent days. They have some autonomy to set their no easy way to return. following restrictions,” he said. “Even in India,” he said. “There’s no dignity.” "The pigeons are hungry," read a headline in La own coronavirus guidelines as long as MukeshGoel, a government official if the government eases them, would Moving to Bangkok, Khosla worked as an Vanguardia newspaper. they are no less strict than those im- who oversees construction projects in people come out? No one is gathering.” executive chef at a modern South Asian res- -dpa posed by the central government. the state of Punjab, said his office reo- -New York Times taurant with sleek lighting and fancy kebabs. Then he started a food truck, driving around Indochina offering fish tikka tacos and lamb biryani quesadillas. He got a lot of tattoos, By rue u mostly of Hindu gods. Haoma, his restaurant, opened two years ago, and Khosla embraced the sustainable farm-to-table movement in a city where concrete and tropical vines do bat- tle, with nature often prevailing. Confinement chic? Thailand had the widest wealth gap among 40 major economies surveyed by Credit Sui- sse, and its poverty rate was climbing even All change for business wear during lockdown before the coronavirus hit. About four million foreign migrants fill some of the lowest-paying LONDON- The suits, shirts and ties re- Boohoo said chic tops to impress during towns, the boom in home furnishings has mitted a lower frequency of shaving when jobs, toiling in construction, the seafood in- main on their hangers. Skirts, blouses and video conferencing have been a hit - as have brought a crumb of comfort to hard-pressed working from home was a problem. dustry and domestic work. high heels have been left in the closet. With jogging bottoms. retailers. But as Constance Jourdain, a consultant Tens of thousands of ethnic Nepalis from office workers at home during coronavirus The fashion trend research firm Lyst has And marketing strategies are adapting to with the Nielsen research firm, explained: Myanmar, many of whose forebears migrated lockdown, the dress code is noticeably more also seen a surge in demand for "sweat- the spring 2020 wardrobe. "What's the point of shaving for a telecon- there during the colonial era as soldiers or la- casual. shirts, sweatpants and shorts." US sports- "Pyjamas and comfies have never seen so ference? bourers for the East India Company, work in According to clothing brands and market- wear giant Nike was among the favoured much marketing airtime before," said Bern- "Why put on makeup every day when the food and beverage sector in Bangkok. Most ing studies, comfort has trumped chic since brands. stein. you can't go out anymore," except to queue lack citizenship in Myanmar and subsist in a offices closed and home-working became de German online retailer Zalando said slip- Zalando is also trying new techniques to outside a supermarket with a mask on your stateless netherworld where they lack rights rigueur to curb the global outbreak. pers now topped the best-sellers in its shoes rehabilitate fashion victims by launching an face? both at home and in their foreign workplace. Even central bankers, normally seen in department, with sales of Adidas swimming Instagram campaign -- #StyleDayFriday -- An anxiety provoking climate equally Khosla employs 12 Nepalis, and he can com- pin-stripes and tailored three-piece suits, pool slides - and snazzy socks - soaring. now that everyone is dressing down. doesn't appear conducive to wanting to look municate easily with them because of the lin- have let themselves go. High street chain stores though have seen Other brands are getting in on the vogue one's best. guistic similarities between Hindi and Nepali. Sam Wood, a member of the Bank of Eng- sales slump because of the crisis and lock- for cocooning. But it doesn't stop there. Overnight, the lockdown in Bangkok left many land's very serious monetary policy commit- down. Zara's website is featuring top models at Nielsen has noticed a sharp drop in sales in the migrant community without jobs. tee, said he had only worn a tie for a photo Next, for example, has had to close its home, posing without makeup. over the last six weeks in France, in make- Khosla said his initial attempt to encourage opportunity with the Times newspaper and stores and suspend online transactions As well as laying bare employees' interior up products, hairdressing products, masks others to join his meal charity, in a WhatsApp an online parliamentary hearing. while it adapted its warehouses to meet new decor choices, videoconferencing is expos- and creams as well as... deodorants. chat group for top Bangkok chefs, created Even then, he teamed it up with jeans. social distancing guidelines. ing lengthening beards, increasingly shaggy But there are still small signs that people barely a ripple. "Apparel consumption has quickly shifted As a result, its sales fell by 52% year-on- haircuts and exposed roots. have not let themselves go completely. “Just one ‘Oh, that’s a great idea,’” he said. in line with the new needs of home-bound year, excluding promotions between the In the United States, Procter & Gamble British department stores Waitrose and “And then a big, fat silence from the rest.” consumers. Fashion is out, loungewear is end of January and the end of April. has reported a sharp increase in sales in John Lewis have recorded a jump in sales A few other high-end restaurants in Bang- in," economic research firm Bernstein not- "People do not buy a new outfit to stay at Laundry and Household Products divi- of hair dyes and hair care products since the kok have now joined the initiative, called No ed. home," Next chief executive Simon Wolfson sion and a slight decline in its Beauty and start of the country's lockdown in March. One Hungry, and each day a local charity part- In its first-quarter results released last said last month. But in a depressed environ- Shaving lines. At a recent conference with It could be the roots of recovery. ner delivers around 400 meals to slums, or- week, British online clothing retail group ment, with city centres resembling ghost- analysts, the multinational's managers ad- - Agence France-Presse phanages and other places in need. -New York Times 6 MAY 01 - 03, 2020 WEEKEND EXPRESS COMMENTARY

By drr Elections, polarized politics, and the pandemic When the Sri Lankan government imple- mented a lockdown in late March to contain COVID-19, its actions did not take place in a political vacuum. Rather, the government’s ef- forts reinforced its existing push to mobilize majoritarian social forces, consolidate power, and forestall an economic crisis. The coronavirus pandemic hit Sri Lanka just as the country was grappling with its demo- cratic future with a significant parliamentary election ahead. Having won a divisive presi- dential election in November 2019, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa dissolved Parliament in early March, on the earliest date constitu- tionally allowed, six months before the end of the Parliament’s term. While the opposi- tion was caught infighting over its leadership and scrambled to select its candidates, the president’s party capitalized on an orderly nomination process and prepared the ground for a major victory. With confirmed cases of the coronavirus slowly increasing after March 10, the president postponed a nationwide lockdown until the day after nominations were over on March 19. However, authority over the By ryde yd electoral process then shifted to the Election Commission, which postponed the parliamen- tary elections due to public health concerns. With elections still on the horizon now in June, the president has aggravated polariza- Political maturity of Sri Lanka's leaders tion by disregarding calls to reconvene Parlia- ment and address the crisis with the opposi- tion’s support. Parliament remains dissolved, and the ruling party has sought to take sole credit for what Sri Lankans widely perceive as a successful response to the pandemic. Indeed, put to the test Sri Lanka has controlled the spread of the virus better than many other countries, mainly The threefold crisis that our country faces— dominate the government’s overall thinking as • The Election Commission itself has been lock downs. The government is also employ- thanks to Sri Lanka’s free healthcare system public health, the constitutional, and politi- well as the government’s immediate strategy expressing doubts as to whether the election ing military intelligence agencies to enforce and robust preventive community health cal—is exacerbating day by day. In the latest to manage the public health crisis. The limits could be held on June 20, which is the new ‘contact tracing’, which has serious implica- infrastructure. development, a number of soldiers of the na- of the military-mind set are likely to be par- date set by the Commission. tions for individual rights. By deploying the The government’s militarized response to val and special task forces of the Welisara and ticularly pronounced in the President’s han- • The possibility that the current period of armed forces, the government has also been the coronavirus crisis undermines democratic Seeduwa camps, who have been on front-line dling of the political, constitutional and social uncertainty may persist until the end of May, compelled to take measures to protect the space and reinforces a polarized political duty, have contacted the virus. At the same dimensions of the general crisis precipitated according to the new trends in infection. populations and maintain at least semblance culture. Rajapaksa was defence secretary time, the virus has begun to spread in new vil- by the public health crisis. • As is known by now, the serious constitu- of normality in public life. This is indeed an lages outside Colombo and among low-income tional uncertainty that will ensue if a new par- undeclared state of emergency in two funda- during the final phase of Sri Lanka’s civil war A new approach (1983–2009), while his brother, the current neighbourhoods in the Colombo city. These liament is not elected by June 02. One of the mental meanings of the concept: (a) the execu- A non-militaristic strategy to contain and prime minister, was president. Drawing paral- developments have further compounded the main arguments emerging in the light of this is tive branch of the state is forced to acquire and already complex problems caused by the coro- eventually end the present crisis is urgently that if a new parliament is not elected by June exercise exceptional powers, without explicit lels to their wartime efforts, which they billed needed. The first element of such a new strat- as a “war against terrorism,” the Rajapaksa navirus pandemic. 02, the president’s dissolution of parliament parliamentary sanction, and (b) certain key The government’s militaristic thinking egy should be to demilitarize the present ‘op- on March 02 would automatically become in- freedoms and liberties of citizens have been regime has given the military a dominant role and mind-set have led to the following policy eration’ that has been launched. This does not valid. This would mean that the old, dissolved curtailed and suspended by executive actions. in the pandemic response. Army Commander measures: mean the removing the armed forces and the parliament will be back in force. If this is not an emergency, what else can be? Shavendra Silva heads the National Operation • Instead of obtaining the assistance of the police from the duties of public security or • Similarly, there is a continuing dispute If the president makes a proclamation un- Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak, armed forces to manage the behaviour of ci- functions elating to maintaining the law and over the question whether it is the president or der the Article 70 (7) or under Article 155 (3), along with other military personnel holding vilian populations as required during a public order as well as medical and administrative the Election Commission that have the legally such proclamation makes it necessary for the prominent positions. Crucially, the govern- health emergency under the leadership of a emergencies. However, their participation valid authority to determine a new date for the dissolved parliament to be reactivated. A reac- ment has also promoted a militarized mind-set civil administration, the civil administrative should be regulated within a framework of a parliamentary election. tivated parliament shall remain in force until in dealing with the pandemic, and as during structure itself has been placed under military structure under the joint leadership of civil Against this backdrop, a few unusual con- the end of the emergency, or until the parlia- the civil war, militarization has been combined authority. administrative officials and representative stitutional questions are likely to arise. For mentary election is held. with nationalist ideology alienating minority • The fundamental difference between a participations of medical experts. An example example, will the dissolved parliament be re- The challenge we face in this context is how groups. ground war against ‘terrorism’ and a civilian of civilian leadership over the military in peace activating itself by default after June 2, when to persuade the president to choose either of Further complicating the political situation operation against a virus in order to restore times is the mobilisation of the police and the dissolution period of three months comes those two constitutional alternatives to deal is an impending economic depression. With public health under conditions of a pandemic armed forces during the election period un- to an end without a new parliament being with the political aspects of present public weeks under lockdown, Sri Lanka’s already was ignored. der the direction of the Election Commission. elected? On the other hand, is it a part of the health emergency. One thing is clear: the pres- fragile and indebted economy has now been • It is, in fact, unimaginable that the only The guiding governance principle here should scheme of things as envisaged by the some that ident’s choice for re-summoning the dissolve pushed over the cliff into a downward spiral protective gear provided for soldiers who went be the civilian control of the military’s role in the Parliament, having been unable to replace Parliament cannot, should not, be a unilateral of falling foreign exchange earnings in key in search of and eventually captured those sus- the public health emergency. Meanwhile, the its old self by a new one as required by the process. It has to be part of a political deal, a sectors, including tourism, migrant worker pected corona-contacted individuals did not GMOA’s role in formulating the president’s Constitution, will exhaust its life as an institu- mutually beneficial political bargain between remittances, and garment exports. And over a have personal protection equipment except strategy has already become controversial and tion of the state? Will that open up space for the president and the opposition. month after the lockdown began, the govern- face masks. Allowing these troops to go back there is a growing sense that broadening of the unconventional solutions, outside the frame- It seems that the president’s camp is of the ment is attempting to resume production, par- to their villages on leave with no precaution- stakeholder participation in decision making work of the present constitution, to the emerg- opinion that the choice of either of the above ticularly in the export industries, and hastily ary quarantining or strict health advice shows has become urgent. ing crisis? These are very difficult questions to options leading to summoning of the dissolved hold parliamentary elections before the eco- an inexplicable disregard for the dynamics and The second element of the new strategy answer. Nevertheless, they are hovering in the parliament will be advantageous to the opposi- nomic pain fully hits. In addition, a chauvinist behaviour of the coronavirus. It is important should be the president opening up and wid- horizon. tion parties in an unfair and partisan manner. narrative has already emerged that scapegoats to understand that there is only a very limited ening his political reach. This means that his They do not want opposition parties to gain Muslims for the spread of the pandemic. This role that the military uniform and the auto- current suspicion of and rivalry against op- A win-win solution? even an inch of advantage in what they see as narrative conveniently disregards the govern- matic gun can play in this very different ‘war’ position parties is suspended and that he ena- What is in store for the citizens of Sri Lanka a positional warfare. Additionally, they have ment’s own lapses; while the first cases of the against a very different ‘enemy,’ the corona bles the government strategy to benefit from is likely to be a major politico-constitutional the apprehension that if Parliament is re-sum- coronavirus were traced to European tourists, virus. a broad spectrum of political and policy con- crisis the consequences of which may prove moned, the opposition will use this to defeat, their arrivals were not blocked for weeks due Another expression of the President’s strat- sultations, ideas, policy inputs as well as disa- themselves to be unimaginably severe. At or disrupt or embarrass the president and the to the economic costs. egy to defeat the corona epidemic through a greements and debates. Such a shift in basic stake would be the very existence of consti- government. The trust deficit between the two Anti-Muslim violence has been on the militaristic approach was the belief that he political attitudes in a moment of exceptional tutional governance in our country. This im- camps is a part of the on-going political reality. rise in Sri Lanka over the past decade, and could conclude this ‘war’ too unilaterally, in global and national crisis should enable a pending constitutional calamity needs to be In this context, the president, the govern- the pandemic has provided fresh fodder for accordance with his own political agenda, and measure of constructive cooperation between avoided. It requires imaginative, out- of -the ment and the opposition will have to think intolerance and abuse. The government has that he alone being entitled to the glory of the the president and the opposition political par- box and courageous thinking and action on the rationally — or prudently, if we use a norma- mandated the cremation of those who have victory. The President must at least now be ties and other stakeholder communities. part of the political leadership. tively inclined term — about the emerging cri- died from COVID-19 and denied Muslim open to accept at least the basic differences be- The bitter rivalry between the present rul- Therefore, this is the moment for the presi- sis, and take action that will serve everyone’s families the right to bury their dead, contrary tween these two campaigns of ‘war.’ ing party and the opposition political parties dent, the prime minister and his party, opposi- enlightened self-interest. The following might to the World Health Organization’s guidelines. that was heightened during the presidential tion parties as well as groups and individuals be considered as suggesting such a prudent Furthermore, the media has demonstrated No military-type solution election. It continues to cast its dark shadow who influence the public opinion of the coun- course of action: anti-Muslim prejudices, and social media This new situation sends an important mes- over the political landscape. This relationship try to start a new conversation about at least a • Both the government and the opposition discourse has targeted Muslim communi- sage to the government as well as the Presi- of enmity between the two main camps of Sri tentative, crisis-prevention alternative course can be in a win-win situation if Parliament is ties as an “other” that will not comply with dent—that there is no military-type solution to Lanka’s political class has also caused a deep of action. summoned. For the government, a re-sum- the state’s militarized dictates to address the the public health crisis caused by the spread of mutual mistrust between them. It has now led Looking at the available options from the moned parliament will enable them to update pandemic. Through such means, the govern- the coronal epidemic. The President launched to a situation in which the parliament and the point of view of the president, who received the old public health and safety laws with new ment and allied societal forces have clearly the ‘war’ against the corona virus, compar- executive –two main organs of the state – are a popular mandate as recently as five months ones appropriate for a modern society and sought to mobilize Sri Lanka’s Sinhala ethnic ing it with the successful military operation once again thrown into an unnecessary power ago, re-summoning of parliament is a measure pass new legislation. Further, the curfew, the majority in a bid to consolidate support ahead that defeated LTTE terrorism. However, what struggle. The hostility that the president’s that falls well within the Constitution and law. legality of which is still unclear, can be validat- of the parliamentary elections. Throughout Sri observers speculated upon hearing his state- camp has been showing towards the institu- Rescinding the dissolution order of parliament ed through parliamentary sanction as well as Lanka’s history, this combination of polarizing ments on television is now, unfortunately, be- tion of parliament under the present constitu- by a new order is perhaps the least complicat- new legislation. Concurrently, the government leadership at the helm of state power and ma- ing affirmed; that a military approach does not tion only bodes ill for Sri Lanka’s democratic ed in terms of implications of the action. Al- can make yet another gain. That is, it will be joritarian social movements has not only led to solve, but rather can even worsen, the problem constitutionalism. The present public health though it is an action that has no precedence, it able to obtain the funds necessary for public authoritarian repression but also to prolonged that could go beyond its public health parame- emergency, the future directions of which can be justified by the continuing uncertainty expenditure after April 30 with the approval of instability and social crises. ters and in turn lead to crises in other domains remain uncertain and unpredictable, should about the holding of elections as well as consti- Parliament. As things stand as of now, funds -Ahilan Kadirgamar is a senior lecturer too. not be the moment for such a breakdown of tutional complexities that arise because of the for government expenditure are to be obtained in the Department of Sociology at the It is now the time to take a critical look at the relations between two key organs of the state, non-holding of election due to the continuing on the basis of the Article 150 (4) of the Con- University of Jaffna in Sri Lanka and this strategy that has been implemented so far by because it will have grave consequences for pandemic. It also keeps the option open for stitution. Whether or not this course of action article was originally featured on the President and his military and medical ad- democratic governance. Instead, challenges the president to dissolve parliament again at a is constitutional remains unclear. Matters that carnegieendowment.org visors with regard to the corona public health presented by the current crisis should be man- time of his choice, and perhaps in consultation are in constitutional and legal grey zones can crisis. The first phase of the government’s aged through more, and not less, democracy. with the Election Commission. It is true that be cleared. strategy is now over with success in a range That is also why the government’s military ap- there is no explicit provision in the constitu- • The ‘victory’ the opposition parties can se- of areas. Paradoxically, it has not brought proach to the corona crisis needs to be replaced tion for recalling a dissolution order However, cure is the opportunity to participate as part- about rapid normalization as promised by the by a more open, consultative and civilians-led the president has the power to re-call, amend ners in the process of controlling and ending President and his team. Initial successes in the process in which all opposition political par- or revoke a previous order he may have made. the spread of corona epidemic which has now public health front are paralleled with a range ties too have apace for participation. The Interpretation Ordinance provides for it. become a national crisis. It can also contribute of social problems that still await acknowl- Thus, in the current context in which the Thus, revoking the dissolution of Parliament is to an all-party effort to avoid a totally unneces- edgment. Meanwhile, the pandemic itself is Parliament is dissolved and it remains inac- not unconstitutional, as the President seems to sary constitutional crisis. threatening to enter into the phase of com- tive, and where the only branch of the state think, or is probably advised to think. It is in this context that the president could munity spread. It has now begun to target the structure that remains active, actually super The second option is creating conditions for perhaps respond positively to the joint oppo- urban poor and the working class as well as the active, is that of the Executive headed by the re-summoning the dissolved parliament by sition statement offering ‘responsible coop- rural poor, indicating that the pandemic has president. Therefore, it is not at all a bad thing making a proclamation, under Article 70 (7) of eration’ until the corona crisis is reasonably begun to operate along class cleavages. The for the president to open himself up politically the Constitution that a public health emergen- managed and the postponed parliamentary President’s acknowledgement of this social re- and reach out to his political rivals and many cy has arisen. Such a proclamation will enable elections are rescheduled. At the core of that ality of the public health challenge should be others outside his own close constituencies. the president to issue another proclamation offer is re-summoning of Parliament by the the first step towards such a review. The sec- Such democratic openness will also ensure summoning the parliament which has been President either by rescinding the dissolution ond phase should be designed only after recog- that not only the credit for success, but also dissolved after three days of such proclama- order or by exercising his power under Article nizing that there can be no military approach the blame for any failures could also be shared tion. 70 (7) of the Constitution. The statement also to solving this crisis which is now spreading among all without acrimony. Although no such proclamation has been seeks to alleviate the president’s camp’s appre- into political, constitutional, economic and made as yet, what we are facing is indeed a hension that the opposition’s proposal is prob- social spheres as well. Acknowledging that The election crisis situation of emergency. It is a public health ably motivated by a hidden political agenda. there is no military approach to solving the Of course, the constitutional and political emergency that has forced the government to This is the moment in which the claims of pandemic-induced crisis of several levels is crisis in the wake of the dissolution of parlia- respond in an emergency-footing. President political maturity by Sri Lanka’s political lead- not to say that the military and the police have ment and the inability to hold the parliamen- has deployed the armed forces to assist the ers will be put to severe test. no role to play in managing the public health tary election within the stipulated time as health authorities, appointed the Army Com- -Professor Jayadeva Uyangoda is a crisis. It only means that the military approach mandated by the Constitution is also no less mander to head the Presidential Task Force, university professor, political scientist and significant. The worsening of the condition of as well as the militaristic thinking, calculations while the police, obviously on president’s or- constitutional expert in Sri Lanka. This arti- and mind-sets should no longer be allowed to this crisis is heightened by the following: ders, has declared curfew, and begin to enforce cle was originally featured on groundview.org WEEKEND EXPRESS MAY 01 - 03, 2020 7 RETHINKING AMERICA

By e er d e r By re B Polls had Trump For Trump, stewing and lying is a lashing out at his super power After Donald Trump’s ridiculous and own campaign dangerous suggestion last week that household disinfectants injected into Frustrated by a faltering economy that is out of people’s bodies might be a treatment for his control, and facing blowback for his suggestion COVID-19, Republicans intensified their that using disinfectants could combat the corona- hand-wringing over whether his daily virus, President Donald Trump had sunk to one briefings were doing more harm — to his of his lowest points in recent months. And he di- political fortunes and theirs — than good. rected his anger toward the one area that is most The coronavirus has completely important to him: his re-election prospects. reshaped the coming election. The Trump, according to multiple people familiar economy is in dire straits. Trump’s polls with the exchange, erupted during a phone call have taken a dip. People are anxious and last week with his campaign manager, Brad Par- afraid. The outlook isn’t good … at the scale, two days after he was presented with poll- moment. ing data from his campaign and the Republican As The New York Times reported last National Committee that showed him trailing Joe week, some in the Republican Party see Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, in similarities to 2006: several crucial states. “In 2006, anger at President George W. He lashed out at Parscale and said it was other Bush and unease with the Iraq war pro- people’s fault that there had been fluctuations in a pelled Democrats to reclaim Congress; race they had all seen as his to lose just two months two years later they captured the presi- ago. At one point, he said he would not lose to dency thanks to the same anti-incumbent Biden, insisted the data was wrong and blamed the themes and an unexpected crisis that ac- campaign manager for the fact that he was down celerated their advantage, the economic in the polls, according to one of the people familiar with the conversation. Trump even made a threat collapse of 2008. to sue Parscale, mentioning the money he had The two elections were effectively a made, another person familiar with the call said, single continuous rejection of Republi- although it did not appear to be serious. can rule, as some in the GOP fear 2018 “I love you, too,” Parscale replied, according to - Doug Mills/The New York Times and 2020 could become in a worst-case the people briefed on the call. President Donald Trump watches his daughter Ivanka Trump, address an event in the East Room of the White House in scenario.” The call was first reported by CNN. Washington, supporting the nation’s small businesses through the Pay cheque Protection Program, Tuesday (28) But I would caution all those who take The lack of easy options to reset his political this fear as encouragement that Trump is weakened and vulnerable: Trump is not trajectory has been deeply unsettling to Trump, By eer Ber who began the year confident about his re-elec- George W. Bush. This is not the Repub- tion prospects because of a thriving economy but lican Party of 2006. This is not a cultural whose performance on the virus has Republicans environment in which social media is in nervous about losing the White House and the its infancy. Senate in November. Trump is trying to recast Trump, as a person and politician, is In the phone call last week, for instance, Trump riddled with flaws. But he also has an ig- demanded to know how it was possible that a nominious super power: He is completely campaign that had been projecting strength and unencumbered by the truth, the need to invincibility for two years was polling behind a tell it or accept it. candidate he viewed as extremely weak and, at the story of the pandemic He will do and say anything that he the moment, was largely invisible from daily news believes will help him. He has no greater coverage. WASHINGTON — The total tive. “We did all the right moves,” spector general, asked on Twitter. guiding principles. He is not bound by The answer, according to nearly a dozen peo- number of coronavirus cases in the Trump said. “If we didn’t do what Zac Petkanas, a Democratic ethics or morals. His only alliances are to ple inside and outside the White House, lies in United States exceeded one mil- we did, you would have had a mil- strategist and campaign aide to those who would support and further his factors both beyond the president’s control, such lion. The American death toll sur- lion people die, maybe more, may- Hillary Clinton in 2016, said the devotion to self-promotion. as the economic downturn and the spread of the passed that of the Vietnam War. be two million people die.” public would not be convinced. I don’t look back to the 2008 campaign new form of coronavirus — and within his control, And the economy was reported to Jared Kushner, the president’s “The truth is that Trump and for parallels, but to the 2016 one. namely, his playing down of the coronavirus over have shrunk by nearly 5%. But the son-in-law and senior adviser his administration’s response is When the ‘Access Hollywood’ tape, on several weeks followed by his own performance at White House on Wednesday (29) who has been overseeing efforts anything but a success — especially which Trump bragged about groping and the briefing room podium. declared its response to the crisis, to provide medical equipment to when it comes to testing,” said Pet- sexually assaulting women, came out, Instead of calming the country or presenting a “a great success story.” states hit hard by the coronavirus, kanas, now working with a health Republicans were worried. They began to clear plan of action on testing, Trump has spent As states begin to lift quaran- presented a similarly revisionist care advocacy group called Protect openly reject him. Some called for him to the majority of his time during the briefings nurs- tines, President Donald Trump account of the administration’s re- Our Care. “They made huge prom- drop out of the race. ing his grievances with Democrats and with mem- is trying to recast the story of the cord Wednesday. ises that they simply haven’t deliv- As this newspaper reported at the time: bers of the news media. His own advisers have pandemic from that of an adminis- “We’re on the other side of the ered, including that ‘anybody who “But the image of Republicans running pleaded with him to curtail the appearances, tell- tration slow to see and address the medical aspect of this, and I think wants a test can get a test.’ But they for the exits, a month before a presi- ing him that they hurt him more than help him. threat to one that responded with that we’ve achieved all the differ- aren’t fooling anyone.” dential election, is as extraordinary as At one particularly bad outing last week, a day decisive action that saved lives. ent milestones that are needed,” Presidents have gotten in trou- a party’s nominee using vulgar, violent before Trump screamed at Parscale, the president Recognizing that the crisis jeop- Kushner said on ‘Fox & Friends’, ble declaring success at odds with language that seemed to reduce an entire mused about the possibility of injecting disinfect- ardizes his chances of re-election, one of the president’s favourite the reality on the ground, perhaps gender to sexual anatomy. And this time, ants into people’s bodies to wipe out the virus, he and his allies want to convince shows. “The federal government most memorably in recent years no amount of spin seems sufficient to prompting responses ranging from outrage to his supporters that the cascade of rose to the challenge, and this is when President George W. Bush control the damage Trump has wrought.” mockery. But Trump’s firm belief that the daily criticism is unwarranted. a great success story. And I think landed on an aircraft carrier deck But, as we now know, that damage was news conferences have been helpful to him is not “We think we really have crossed that that’s really, you know, what in 2003 and declared major com- short-lived. The Republican Party would backed up in the polls. a big boundary and much bet- needs to be told.” bat operations over in Iraq in front rally to Trump’s side. Indeed, the party “What we’re seeing in polls is that Trump’s per- ter days are ahead,” Trump said The comments came on the same of a ‘Mission Accomplished’ ban- would be completely remade by him, and sonal ratings have gone down even more than his Wednesday at a televised meeting day that the Commerce Depart- ner. President Barack Obama later become loyal to only him. job approval ratings,” said Geoff Garin, a veteran declared that “America’s war in at the White House with business ment reported that the economy Before a debate with Hillary Clinton Democratic pollster. “And what that tells me is contracted by 4.8% in the first Iraq will be over” when he pulled leaders. The session was intended and just two days after the release of the that all of Trump’s antics are taking a toll on his to highlight what the president quarter of the year, the largest de- forces out in 2011, only to have to vote because now more than ever people see his hopes will be the resumption of a cline since the recession of a decade send troops back nearly three years tape, Trump invited a panel of women lack of judgment and lack of temperament as be- healthier economy only hours after ago and probably the forerunner of later. who had accused Bill Clinton of sexually ing consequential.” the release of the most cataclysmic a much steeper collapse in the sec- But Trump has demonstrated a inappropriate behaviour and one whose In an effort to buoy his spirits, some Trump ad- economic numbers of the past dec- ond quarter that could be the worst striking tendency to try to frame rapist was defended by Hillary Clinton as visers have flagged for him surveys that are rosier ade. since the Great Depression. the political narrative on his own his guests for the event. than most Republican internal polling, including “I often say I see the light at the At the same time, the reported terms, even when at variance with No one is as shameless a showman as a recent CNBC poll that showed him virtually tied end of the tunnel very strongly,” death toll from the virus in the the facts, through relentless rep- Trump. He was in survival mode. Noth- with Biden in six battlegrounds states, including Trump said. United States topped 60,000 — etition and the power of his bully ing was too far, nothing was too crass. Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The president waxed at length more killed in eight weeks than the pulpit. At that debate, Trump dismissed They said they viewed that as a positive sign given about restoring life to the United 58,000 American troops killed in In his public appearances his comments as locker room talk and how hard life had been for most Americans con- States as if the crisis were nearly eight years of major combat in Vi- Wednesday, Trump did not dwell denied that he had ever done the things fined to their homes over the past month and suf- over. He disclosed that he plans to etnam. The death toll has already on the 60,000 dead or the tens of he himself boasted about doing on the fering economically. fly to Arizona next week and soon reached where it was expected millions put out of work but fo- tape. As Trump said on the debate stage: But a Quinnipiac University poll last week, for after that to Ohio, his first trips to be in August, more than three cused instead on what he claimed “Nobody has more respect for women instance, showed Biden ahead in Florida, 46% out of the White House since early months from now, according to were the successes of his adminis- than I do.” to 42%. And a recent Fox News poll found Biden March other than a short visit to projections accepted by the White tration. “A lot of progress had been Another lie. leading Trump, 49% to 41%, in Michigan. Norfolk, Virginia, to see off a Navy House. The University of Washing- made,” he said. “It’s pretty incred- This says nothing of the fact that within The heated conversation with Parscale was not hospital ship dispatched to hard- ton’s Institute for Health Metrics ible.” hours of the ‘Access Hollywood’ tape be- the first time Trump had expressed frustration hit New York. He talked wistfully of and Evaluation now estimates that Trump promoted a new study ing made public, the first of Clinton cam- at his top campaign adviser. But the connection going to football games and resum- 73,000 will die by August. on a possible treatment and pre- paign chairman John Podesta’s stolen between the candidate and his campaign appara- ing his campaign rallies. “I’d like to Kushner’s comments drew scorn dicted that the virus would soon emails began to be released by WikiLe- tus has become more distant since the coronavi- get out,” he said. from critics of the administration. no longer be a major threat. “This aks. After the tape’s release, Trump saw rus outbreak, with Trump grounded at the White In the revised history of the pan- “On what planet is 59,000 plus is going away,” he said, “and when a dip in some polls, but not all. His base House and no longer able to reassure and re-ener- demic that Trump and his team of- deaths a ‘success story’?” Michael it’s gone, we’re going to be doing a is religiously loyal. A Politico/Morning gize himself with big rallies. fered, his actions were not belated Bromwich, a former federal pros- lot of things.” Consult poll at the time showed only a and inadequate but bold and effec- ecutor and Justice Department in- -New York Times 1-percentage-point drop. -New York Times As Morning Consult’s Meghan McCa- rthy wrote at the time: “Trump’s num- bers remained stable thanks to the loyalty By d er of the Republican base, a fact that could give pause to party leaders considering publicly abandoning the nominee.” Trump seeks push to speed vaccine, despite safety concerns To state the obvious, Trump would go on to win the election. WASHINGTON — President Donald proaches to addressing the COVID-19 Seventy to 100 companies, groups announced that it had struck a deal with I say all this to say: Don’t fall prey to Trump is pressing his health officials to crisis,” said Michael Caputo, the de- and academic institutions around the a firm called Emergent BioSolutions in false hope that defeating Trump will be pursue a crash development program partment’s assistant secretary for pub- world are working on vaccines, includ- Maryland, to mass produce its product easy, that his horrifically incompetent for a coronavirus vaccine that could be lic affairs. ing Oxford University and several pro- — even though it is far from approval. response to the coronavirus has doomed widely distributed by the beginning of Trump’s order came after he grew jects in China. But many of the most ex- Emergent BioSolutionswas essentially him. It hasn’t. next year, despite widespread scepti- frustrated by warnings from Dr. Antho- perienced vaccine makers and experts created by the government years ago to Trump will fight with everything he cism that such an effort could succeed ny S. Fauci, the director of the National are in the United States. provide a manufacturing base for vac- has to the bitter end to stay in power. He and considerable concern about the im- Institute of Allergy and Infectious Dis- Trump’s policymakers and image cines in case of an emergency. will never admit any fault. He will lie and plications for safety. eases, and other experts on the corona- handlers may be trying to consolidate, It is not clear how much more money lie and lie and lie some more. And the The White House has made no public virus task force, that development of a under one name, a series of efforts al- the administration is willing to put be- people who support him will stick with announcement of the new effort, called vaccine would take a year to 18 months, ready underway. Almost as soon as the hind the operation, or how advanced him every step of the way. Operation Warp Speed, and some of- and that even that schedule might be coronavirus outbreak began, the Bio- the project is. Azar was asked to begin Joe Biden even believes Trump will ficials are apparently trying to talk ambitious. He told Alex M. Azar II, the medical Advanced Research and Devel- the effort, but he has been side-lined try to alter the election calendar, saying, the president down, telling him that it health and human services secretary, to opment Authority, part of the Depart- from many elements of the administra- “Mark my words: I think he is gonna try would be more harmful to set an un- come up with a faster program. ment of Health and Human Services, tion’s response amid clashes with other to kick back the election somehow, come reasonably short deadline that might According to one official, the idea issued grants totalling about $1 billion officials and is believed to be on thin ice up with some rationale why it can’t be result in a faulty vaccine than to wait would be to indemnify the major phar- to two big US-based companies, John- with Trump. held.” for one that is proved safe and effective. maceutical and biotechnology compa- son & Johnson and Moderna, to speed Trump, in the middle of a re-election I put nothing past Trump, absolutely development of different approaches to campaign, may be satisfied with decla- But after the existence of the effort nies from liability if the vaccines cause nothing! And neither should you. Be was first reported Wednesday (29) by sickness or death, and to involve the a vaccine. rations that a vaccine is coming soon. prepared for Trump to do anything and Bloomberg News, the Department of Pentagon in the testing program. But Most of that money is for research And even before any vaccine receives Health and Human Services confirmed most of the military’s efforts have fo- and clinical trials; Moderna is headed formal approval, it could be designated everything to win re-election in Novem- it. “Operation Warp Speed is clearly cused on defences against biological into Phase 2 trials. Last week Johnson for “emergency use,” meaning that it ber. A man who can dismiss a recording another extension of the President weapons, not viruses that arise natu- & Johnson, which hopes to begin trials could be given to health professionals. of his own voice bragging about assault- Trump’s bold leadership and unwilling- rally or are transmitted by community of its most promising potential vaccine ing women is capable of anything. ness to accept ‘business as usual’ ap- spread. at latest by the first week of September, -New York Times -New York Times 8 MAY 01 - 03, 2020 WEEKEND EXPRESS PASSIONS AND PERSONALITIES

By rer de reeed y e e By ry r For a time of scarcity and sharing The Power of Paper The community cookbook is reborn Chef and artist Krystal Mack’s favourite cook- book has no beautiful photos of food. Its recipes aren’t professionally tested. Its authors aren’t food writers or restaurateurs. It’s a 1988 community cookbook called ‘Na- parima Girls’ High School Diamond Jubilee 1912-1987,’ filled with contributions from stu- dents and staff of a school in Trinidad and To- bago that she has never visited. The paperback has a loud magenta cover, and the recipes are basic: Caribbean rice and peas, teriyaki chicken, vanilla pound cake. Now, isolating at home in Baltimore, Mack is making a community cookbook of her own, ‘How to Take Care,’ that includes poetry and ac- tivities. The book, released last week as a digi- tal edition, costs $5, with all proceeds going to national organizations supporting victims of domestic violence. The more than 25 recipes, gathered from fellow artistes and chefs, are sim- Sir Christopher Ondaatje and his book: The Power of Paper Sir Christopher Ondaatje – his first venture to launch his ple and inexpensive to make, like a savoury fruit meteoric rise was a publishing company, Pagurian Press salad and a ginger-tea recipe that asks readers to “sing or chant, so that those vibrations are Ricardo, Smith and Keynes, and the omy trebled between and that house prices rise over time also infused into the brew.” evolution of global capitalism with 1945 and 1957, clocking an annual Irrational Exuberance, is the label. “These are cookbooks that put the power back the founding of such organizations growth rate of nearly 11%—contrast He quotes the warning from Sir John into the people’s hands,” Mack said. “Versus as the World Bank and the IMF. that to the 6% contraction we are fac- Glub, author of The Fate of Empires, opening up a cookbook from today that’s like, As an adventure, he intersperses ing today as a result of the pandemic. a warning Ondaatje made his personal ‘Oh, you don’t have a Pacojet or a dehydrator?’

-Shane Joseph the narrative with details of his own It is also ironic that Ondaatje’s first motto when he went onto create his In an age of celebrity chefs, glossy coffee- Portrait of Christopher Ondaatje by Jans charmed career: of being wrenched venture to launch his meteoric rise was fortune: “Material Success is the result table books and multimedia cooking websites, Ondaatje Rolls out of high school in England due a publishing company, Pagurian Press. of courage, endurance and hard work.” the community cookbook may seem an anach- to a family bankruptcy in distant Cey- I bet publishers today, including my- I found all the information con- ronism, a dog-eared remnant of church suppers lon, of landing penniless in Canada in self who owns a small press, are min- tained in this little book, which is el- and Junior League fundraisers. But the corona- The Power of Paper as a title is a mis- virus pandemic has given the form a new life, as nomer, for this book goes on a wild the early 1950s and going onto build a ing furiously in his tapped-out vein egantly designed on thick glossy paper, stellar career in finance that made him for a few overlooked nuggets. And we with illustrations and pictures, to be co-workers, choirs, mosques, friends and even tour of the writer’s mind and experi- complete strangers seek new ways to connect ences, way beyond the evolution of pa- rich beyond his wildest dreams, helped salute his impeccable timing to get in very useful. But I wondered whether restore the family fortune, and allowed from a distance and swap recipes. per as I was expecting. The subtitle: A and out of ventures that rose and fell it suffered by Sir Christopher wander- These cookbooks look different from their History, A Financial Adventure, and a him to pursue writing and exploring with the business cycle. ing all over the map on his intellectual predecessors, showing up more often on Goog- Warning, might be a more appropriate the world. I found these sections to As a warning, Ondaatje goes onto charger, making it a hard product to le Docs than on physical pages, their recipes title. be the most interesting and wished he paint a rather gloomy picture of the peg from a book seller’s viewpoint. sometimes presented as videos. And they di- As a history, Christopher Ondaatje had carved them out into a separate 21st century. This book was published Read it if you want to give up control verge from the flawlessly styled photographs gives us the evolution of paper (from autobiography, as an inspiration and in 2006, before the world’s financial of where you are going and if you trust and aspirational tone of the contemporary cook- tablet and papyrus to it’s current guide book for us immigrants from collapse of 2008 and before COVID-19 this old master to be your guide – for book — instead, taking a practical and personal form), the history of money (from Ceylon (Sri Lanka, by the time I left) in 2020, but the author sees the writ- he surely knew the way back then. He approach, and documenting life not as it could coin to complex paper contracts that who followed in his wake, albeit a gen- ing on the wall. He projects our time makes no guarantees for the future. be, but as it is. tend to fizzle out when financial bub- eration and half later. as the final Age of Decadence in an “We are at this powerful moment of living bles burst), the evolution of trade His heroes were Canadian tycoons epoch that started with the Industrial through an epic part of history,” said Mack, 34. and commerce (from the East India such as Sir Herbert Holt, Lord Strath- Revolution back in 1760. Epochs last Cookbooks like hers are “time capsules, so we can look back and see how we chose to survive companies of European colonizers to cona, Sir William Van Horne and E.P. 250 years on average and we are in the Taylor. He laments that he came to end days of this one, according to him. and come together collectively.” convoluted national and international One early community cookbook that became corporate structures that magically Canada too late to partake in the open- He is clear on the causes: too much ing up of the country that these pio- popular in the United States was ‘A Poetical create wealth), the evolution of eco- easy credit, an unwarranted belief that Cookbook’ by Maria J. Moss, published in 1864 nomic theory by such heavyweights as neers enjoyed. And yet Canada’s econ- the stock market will always perform, to raise money for injured Union soldiers during the Civil War. Later in that century, suffragists produced cookbooks to spread their message. Since then, institutions like churches, libraries By Bdr and local governments have relied on communi- ty cookbooks to raise money and share recipes. The format grew less popular as platforms Inspired by Gandhi like Instagram and Facebook have become ro- bust online forums for home cooks. But now, the community cookbook is becoming part that Abdul Ghaffar Khan, the man who would never bow to oppression, but resist it peacefully conversation. In mid-March, the paediatric residents at Massachusetts General Hospital, in If someone were to say today, that the ertheless, he was arrested and was im- Boston, were all at home, waiting to be called Pashtuns, also known as Pakhtunsor- prisoned in stinking hell hole in 1921. as backup. One of them, Cyrelle Fermin, start- Pathans, living in Afghanistan and the But Ghaffar’s spirit was indomitable. ed posting recipes to the residents’ WhatsApp Afghan-Pakistan border can swear by He followed Gandhi’s path and toured group; she turned that into an online spread- nonviolence, it will be dismissed as a the frontier with the latter in 1939 for sheet where about 20 of her co-workers have figment of imagination. over a month. Convinced that Ghaf- submitted recipes, along with photos of them- The history of the culturally united far was a true adherent of the creed of selves making one another’s dishes. but politically fragmented region and non-violent resistance, Gandhi said of Since then, most of the residents have worked people does show that the Pashtuns him in 1939: “As early as 1920, Bad- shifts in the hospital, but Fermin said they’re have traditionally been restive, fiercely shah (Ghaffar) Khan had come to rec- still cooking and exchanging recipes. independent, rebellious and above all ognize in non-violence a weapon, the “As health care providers, we are immersed trigger-happy. mightiest in the world, and his choice in a lot of scary things on a day-to-day basis,” was made.” she said. “It’s cathartic to channel our energies” This is because they have been at- toward a tangible activity like sharing recipes. tacked by outsiders innumerable times And Ghaffar stood by the creed right At the Valley Ranch Islamic Centre, in Irving, in history. Their habitats have been through his political life, even though Texas, weekend prayer sessions usually bring constantly subjected to invasions right he continued to fight for the inclusion together about 1,000 Muslims, and are a pri- from the time of Alexander the Great of the frontier region in India rather mary means of collecting donations. Now that to modern times. Czarist Russia, com- than Pakistan in 1947, later for the in- those gatherings are cancelled, Nye Armstrong, munist Soviet Union, the British Em- clusion of it in Pakhtun-dominated Af- the mosque’s creative director, is asking mem- pire and American neo-imperialists ghanistan and still later, for autonomy bers to email recipes and photos so she can de- have eyed their lands in succession. within Pakistan. For every ruler Ghaf- sign a digital and print cookbook to be released The geographical location of the – Indian Express far was a thorn in the flesh whether around the end of Ramadan, in late May, to Pakhtun region is responsible for this Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan with Mahatma Gandhi they were the British or Pakstanis. raise money. She also hosts weekly teatimes on unwelcome attraction. The Afghan-Pa- During a visit to New Delhi in 1981, Zoom where 15 to 20 members eagerly discuss kistan region is en route to India and Ghaffar Khan said he believed that their recipes. in his book ‘Ghaffar Khan: Non Violent helped the British crush the mutiny While the cuisines and dishes vary widely, the warm waters of the Arabia Sea. Ira- Badshah of the Pakhtuns’ (Penguin in the Indian army in 1857 and also the conditions of the Pakhtuns would nians had invaded India through this never improve if they did not give up the community cookbooks share one goal: com- 2004). capture Baghdad and Jerusalem. Dis- fort. They’re filled with straightforward recipes, region several times in history, mainly Ghaffar Khan born in 1890, came trusting the Pakhtuns (out of the fear the habit drawing blood for blood. “Vi- olence creates hatred and fear. Non- often from childhood or previous generations, to loot. Czarist Russians had wanted to from a pro-British family of notables of Russia), the British enacted the dra- that have been made time and time again. gain access to the warm waters of the from Utmanzai now in the Afghan-Pa- conian Frontier Crimes Regulation to violence generates love and makes one The 60-member Seattle Ladies Choir is creat- Arabian Sea and the Soviets wanted to kistan border region. His father, Beh- exercise tight control over them. The bold,” he said. ing a digital community cookbook called ‘Com- expand their Asiatic Islamic Empire to ram Khan, had broken the Pakhtun British officers’ arrogance towards Pa- It is not certain if Ghaffar Khan’s fort Food in Challenging Times.’ NaniVishwa- include Islamic Afghanistan and make tradition of not sending their children khtun recruits in the Foreign Guides philosophy would have worked in nath, 33, who is leading the effort, said most it communist. And the British and the to Christian missionary schools and Regiment (which Ghaffar had joined) the years that followed his era as the members turned to their roots for their submis- Americans, who viewed Afghanistan as sent Ghaffar to a school run by one also made him anti-British. leader of the Pakhtuns. The Soviet in- sions — she shared a recipe for upuma, an Indi- a buffer between them and the Czarist/ Rev. Wigram. It is not known as to how Ghaffar vasion of Afghanistan, the fostering of an porridge, while an Italian-American member Soviet Empires, intervened to check This kindled in Ghaffar an inter- became political person and a free- the Taliban by the US and Pakistan to submitted one for cacio e pepe pasta, and some- any intrusions from the North. est in spreading modern as opposed a dom fighter. But he was a thoughtful be a counter to Soviet hegemony, the one from Texas offered a peach cobbler. In the process, Afghanistan and the purely Quranic education to the Pakh- and brooding young man always. He establishment of Shariah rule under Many of the new community cookbooks call Afghan-Pakistan border regions were the Taliban and the subsequent for- for inexpensive, shelf-stable ingredients, be- tuns and opening them to new ideas. would go to Islamic leaders and oth- cause access to food is growing more difficult unsettled and ravaged with the people A substantial part of the KhudaiKid- ers in search of a path to redeem his cible ouster of the Taliban by the US, being forced to bear arms to resist out- might have made peaceful resistance for many people. This is especially important madgars’ activities was in the field of people. It was during this quest that he to Jillian Norwick, a supervisor at NADAP, a siders tooth and nail. education. He started a modern school chanced upon Gandhi. an impossibility. Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, who died social service agency in downtown Brooklyn, Against this background, one would in 1910 and independent madrasahs. Ghaffar Khan’s opposition to the who is putting together a cookbook for her cli- assume Mahatma Gandhi’s idea of Subsequently he opened more modern Frontier Crimes Regulation matched in 1988, had lived to see at least a part ents, all low-income New Yorkers. Most are on gaining independence from the Brit- schools. Gandhi’s opposition to the equally dra- of these developments. But still he food stamps, and can no longer meet with their ish by non-violent means would find Behram Khan influenced young conian Rowlatt Act. Gandhi had un- might have advocated no-violent re- case managers in person. Norwick thought a no buyer in that region. And yet it did. Ghaffar in another important way. He leashed non-violent resistance against sistance. He could very well justify the community cookbook could be both a helpful At the turn of the 20th Century, a had given up a hallowed Pakhtun tra- the Rowlatt Act. This technique ap- stand by pointing out that violence has resource and a way for clients and managers to good number of Pakhtuns joined the dition, namely, feuding called ‘Badla’ pealed to the peaceable but tough indeed taken a very heavy toll. stay in touch. On top of the limitations posed by non-violent Indian independence in Pushto. Behram had declared that Ghaffar. He joined the anti-Rowlatt While Afghanistan is in a shambles, the coronavirus, her cookbook must consider struggle. At that time, India had not he was opting out of it and forgave all Act agitation and was jailed. He was the frontier region of Pakistan is still that not everyone in the program has a kitchen, been divided into India and Pakistan those who had feuded with his family designated a ‘dangerous convict’ and a battle ground, with Islamic militants measuring utensils or fresh produce. The reci- and the frontier region was part of In- for generations. This inspired Ghaffar his feet were chained. fighting the Pakistani army. For the pes include a pea dip that can be made with fro- dia. The credit for turning the violent Khan to make peace making among Strangely, the highly suspicious Brit- Pakhtuns, peace and prosperity are zen peas and blended with a fork, and ideas for to the no-violent goes to Khan Abdul still a far cry. jazzing up bottled tomato sauce. warring tribes. That was one of KKs’ ish rulers felt that the schools being set Community cookbooks can also be whatever Ghaffar Khan, who came to be known major missions. up by Ghaffar for the Pakhtuns had a as the ‘Frontier Gandhi.’ their creators want them to be. There are no But like his father, Ghaffar would seditious agenda. Chief Commissioner rules, no marketing metrics, no need to make He established an organization never bow to oppression. He would re- Sir John Maffey told Behram Khan to recipes fit into categories. Rhia Jade, an art- called the ‘KhudaiKhidmatgars’ (KKS) sist it peacefully, a technique and tem- ask his son to quit his educational ac- ist in New Orleans who is organizing a digital or Servants of God. The KKs wore red perament he imbibed when he came tivities and stay at home. Otherwise cookbook for queer people called ‘Queers in the shirts and paraded like a militant or- under the spell of Mahatma Gandhi in the son would have to face the conse- Kitchen,’ said that was the appeal of the me- ganization but were sworn to peaceful the 1920. quences. When the British questioned dium. Its fine for a book to resonate with just resistance to State oppression. As to But before that he became anti- him personally, Ghaffar said the a small group, Jade said, or for the stories and how Ghaffar Khan achieved this mira- British. He felt that the British were schools he was running were to be like recipes to feel relevant only to this moment. cle is described by Rajmohan Gandhi ungrateful to the Pakhtuns who had the missionary school he went to. Nev- -New York Times PRNED AND PSED Y EXPRESS NEWSPAPERS EY P, D N - 2, RAA MAWAA, EKAA - A - EA