GOVT IN TALKS WITH ADB FOR SRI LANKA IS FACING A US$300MN CREDIT, MORE FROM DIFFERENT KIND OF CRISIS APRIL CHINA’S AIIB, FRANCE’S AFD 24 - 26, 2020 VOL: 4- ISSUE 192 HERBS MOST WANTED . IMAMS OVERRULE PAKISTAN’S 30 CORONAVIRUS LOCKDOWN BUSINESS PAGE 02 HOT TOPICS PAGE 04 COMMENTARY PAGE 06 SRI LANKA FOCUS PAGE 08 Registered in the Department of Posts of Sri Lanka under No: QD/144/News/2020 COVID-19 and curfew in Pompeo says US may Sri Lanka never restore WHO • In a biggest jump so far, 38 people, including 30 navy person- nel from Welisara Navy camp, were confirmed as COVID-19 funds positive yesterday (23), taking Sri Lanka’s tally of the novel coronavirus infection to 368. Two hundred and fifty four in- WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Mike dividuals are receiving treatment, 107 have been deemed com- Pompeo said a fundamental reform of the World pletely recovered and seven have succumbed to the virus. Health Organization (WHO) was needed following • The Director General of Health Services empowers the Act- its handling of the coronavirus pandemic and that the ing IGP to order the arrest of those found violating quarantine United States, the WHO’s biggest donor, may never regulations during non-curfew hours. Violators can face up to restore funding to the UN body. six months in prison and or a fine. As Pompeo launched fresh attacks on the UN body • Authorities set up 262 police checkpoints at district board- late Wednesday (22), Democrats in the US House of ers to prevent travel between districts except for essential ser- Representatives accused the Trump administration vices. of trying to “scapegoat” the WHO to distract from its • The Ministry of Health decides to authorize private hospi- handling of the coronavirus outbreak. tals to carry out Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) in a bid In a letter to President Donald Trump, they called to broad base the testing and increase capacity to 1000 tests for the immediate restoration of US funding, which per day. Trump suspended last week accusing the WHO of be- • Those with suspected COVID-19 symptoms are urged to call ing “China-centric” and of promoting China’s “disin- 1390 - emergency hotline- set up for free medical advice and formation” about the outbreak. assistance, and to facilitate hospital admissions. Pompeo told Fox News late on Wednesday there • The Ministry of Passenger Transport bans public transport needed to be “a structural fix of the WHO” to correct between districts except for essential services. its “shortcomings.” -Twelve villages at Lankapura in Polonnaruwa are isolated af- Asked if he was not ruling out a change in leader- ter an individual from the area was confirmed as a COVID-19 ship of the WHO, Pompeo replied: “Even more than on Wednesday (22). that, it may be the case that the United States can • Cabinet Ministers say they will donate a month’s salary to never return to underwriting, having U.S. taxpayer the COVID-19 Healthcare and Social Security Fund main- dollars go to the WHO.” tained by the Presidential Secretariat. Over 5000 employees The WHO has denied the Trump administration’s of the CEYPETCO and Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminal charges and China insists it has been transparent and Ltd., also decide to contribute a day’s salary amounting to Rs. open. 14.2 million to the Fund. The United States has been the biggest overall do- nor to the WHO, contributing over $400 million in 2019, roughly 15% of its budget. Senior US officials last week said Washington could redirect these funds Coronavirus toll to other aid groups. 183,707 deaths at -Agencies 1100 GMT yesterday As Ramadan looms PARIS- The worldwide death toll from the novel coronavirus pandemic rose to 183,707 yesterday (23), according to a tally from Health threats, floods official sources compiled by AFP at 1100 GMT. More than 2,636,740 declared cases have been registered in 193 compound Yemen's despair countries and territories since the epidemic first emerged in China SANA’A - Millions of Yemenis are entering the in December. Of these cases, at least 696,700 are now considered Muslim holy month of Ramadan facing a years-long recovered. The tallies, using data collected by AFP from national conflict, floods and health threats. authorities and information from the World Health Organization During Ramadan, set to start today (24), observant (WHO), probably reflect only a fraction of the actual number of Muslims abstain from eating, drinking and smoking infections. Many countries are testing only the most serious cases. -The Duchess of Cambridge / KENSINGTON PALACE / AFP from dawn to dusk. In the United States, now the worst-hit country, the death toll In the run-up, Yemen has confirmed at least one stood at 46,785 with 842,624 infections. At least 76,614 patients Britain's Prince Louis of Cambridge, who celebrated lovely messages on Prince Louis’s second birthday.” case of the new coronavirus and a cholera outbreak, have recovered. Italy is the next most affected country with 25,085 his second birthday yesterday (23) enjoying a Clarence House, the residence of Prince Charles and straining the impoverished country's already rickety deaths and 187,327 confirmed infections. colourfully messy moment, in a photograph taken by wife Camilla, shared birthday wishes from them, along health system. It is followed by Spain with 22,157 fatalities and 213,024 con- his mother, Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. with a sweet black-and-white photo of Louis sharing Half of Yemen's health facilities are not functioning firmed infections, France with 21,340 deaths and 155,860 infec- Kate Middleton and Prince William shared adorable a hug with his grandfather. It’s likely that the family’s and just this week 500 cholera cases were reported in tions and Britain with 18,100 deaths and 133,495 cases. new portraits of the youngest of their three children, exchanged birthday wishes over the phone, as the 24 hours in one hospital in the capital Sana'a, the In- China - excluding Hong Kong and Macau - has to date declared who had rainbow-coloured paints on his hands, on Duke and Duchess of Cambridge told BBC Breakfast ternational Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said 4,632 deaths and 82,798 cases. Europe has listed 1,276,161 cas- Wednesday (22) night. The photos were taken earlier last week that they’ve begun video chatting with their in a report yesterday (23). es and 113,855 deaths to date, the US and Canada together have this month by Kate, at the family’s home in Anmer Hall. relatives amid the coronavirus pandemic. “It’s been a "Yemenis cope with so much hardship every day," 882,814 cases with 48,859 deaths, Asia 182,737 cases with 7,495 The palace also released some behind-the-scenes really good way of keeping in touch and seeing each Franz Rauchenstein, the head of the ICRC delegation deaths, the Middle East 138,672 cases with 5,992 deaths, Latin pictures that looked a little more realistic � showing other,” William told the BBC. Kate added, “I think your in Sana'a, said. America and the Caribbean 122,620 cases with 6,166 deaths, Af- Louis with that same rainbow paint all over his cheeks. father, and my parents and our families ... have really "Ongoing fighting in parts of the country causes rica 25,796 cases with 1,243 deaths and Oceania 7,943 cases with “Instagram Vs Reality,” the palace cheekily tweeted, loved keeping in touch with the children, because they daily despair, seasonal infectious diseases claim 97 deaths. alongside side-by-side photos of Louis that included know it’s really hard thousands of lives each year and high inflation is af- -AFP one of his painted-covered face. “Thank you for your fecting the price of food, medicine and other basic goods," he added. "Yemen's hospitals are already under significant UN warns pressure, even without the threat of coronavirus," Avril Patterson, the ICRC health coordinator for Yemen, said. "The beginning of Ramadan this year coincides with the onset of the rainy season and the associated Coronavirus pandemic becoming a seasonal increase in infectious diseases, including cholera, diphtheria and dengue," she added. Over the past two weeks, several parts of Yemen have been lashed by torrential rains, affecting thou- human rights crisis sands of people. -dpa UNITED NATIONS - The coronavirus pandem- tain communities through the rise of hate speech, back or deported to dangerous environments since ic must not be used as a pretext for authoritarian the targeting of vulnerable groups and the risks of the crisis began. Refugees, IDPs [internally dis- states to trample over individual human rights, or heavy handed security responses undermining the placed persons] and migrants live in overcrowded repress the free flow of information, the UN sec- health response”. In its new report on COVID-19 conditions with unlimited access to sanitation and WHO says retary general AntónioGuterres warned yesterday and human rights, the UN highlighted the use of healthcare”. The UN pointed out that sometimes (23) in a fresh attempt to bring the UN’s influence phrases such as “foreigner’s disease” to describe the under the pretext of fake news, journalists, doc- ‘Unimaginable human to bear on the crisis. He said what had started as a virus, saying such remarks can lead to discrimina- tors, healthcare workers and activists or political public health emergency was rapidly turning into a tion, xenophobia, racism and attacks. Releasing the opposition were being arrested. Online surveillance tragedy' in Europe's care human rights crisis.