There are difficulties in providing funds for the election – Finance Secretary tells Election Comm

(Reuters) – The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank's investment arm, said it will provide Sri Lanka a $400 million cross-currency swap facility to help fund essential imports.Three private banks, which together deal with over 30% of Sri Lanka's remittances and exports, will receive the facility to fund essential imports, including medicine, food and fertiliser, the IFC said in a statement on Monday (27).The funds will provide a much needed foreign exchange cushion for Sri Lanka, which is grappling with its worst financial crisis in over seven decades partly triggered by a severe shortage of dollars.The island nation's economy is estimated to have contracted by 9.2% in 2022 and is expected to shrink a further 4.2% in 2023, according to World Bank data."We expect this financing to boost confidence in the investor community, attract fresh capital inflows to support the Sri Lankan economy," said Joon Young Park, IFC's Portfolio Manager, Financial Institutions Group for South Asia.IFC is also working on further plans to support client banks with other long-term funding and advisory services in the future, the statement added.Sri Lanka signed a preliminary agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $2.9 billion bailout last September but has to put its debt on a sustainable repayment track before the funds can be disbursed.

Justin Trudeau is under increasing cross-partisan pressure to call an independent inquiry into foreign meddling in Canadian politics.The push for some form of public inquiry isn’t limited to the Liberals’ political opponents, but former senior national security officials and a former close confidant of the prime minister. Read more: Canada needs an inquiry into Chinese election interference: ex-spymaster Read next: Part of the Sun breaks free and forms a strange vortex, baffling scientists “Some form of non-partisan deep look has to happen here,” Gerald Butts, Trudeau’s former principal secretary, told Global News in an interview Sunday.Butts, now the vice chairman of the Eurasia Group, said there are a number of ways the government could commission a non-partisan investigation, including a public inquiry, Royal commission or a commission of inquiry.“We have many tools at our disposal,” Butts said, adding that while recent reports have focused on Chinese political interference, the issue is broader.“It’s not going to get at the heart of the problem if we just pick one election cycle and one country.”Global News reported Saturday that Dick Fadden, the former head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and a longtime senior national security official, said he could see no “compelling reason” not to hold a public inquiry into foreign interference.

WEST PHILADELPHIA - Dozens of families received support, resources and life-saving training during the Community Health Partnership Clinic in the Cobbs Creek.The partnership is between the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Center for Health Equity and Community of Compassion CDC."We’re dealing with both kinds of trauma, both physical trauma and mental trauma. We were really intentional on finding partners who provide consistent and ongoing support for these families," said Dr.

China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) had occurred while the lockdown was just getting underway. "We were completely preoccupied with the COVID challenge. Please appreciate the anonymity of what Prime Minister Modi did.

The department made its judgment with low confidence, highlighting how different agencies remain divided over the origins of Covid-19 The coronavirus pandemic likely arose from a Chinese laboratory leak, the US Department of Energy now says according to media, although the White House maintained Sunday that American intelligence remained divided on the issue. The determination -- noted in a classified report by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines's office, The Wall Street Journal reported -- marks a shift by the Energy department, which had previously said it was undecided on how the virus emerged.

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 25: An entrance sign near the main gate at Howard University October 25, 2021 in Washington, DC. Students have complained about mold and poor conditions in some dorm rooms and over 100 students have been staging a weeks-long WASHINGTON - A White student at Howard University’s law school is suing the institution for racial discrimination, alleging the school created a "hostile education environment."Michael Newman, the plaintiff, attended Howard University School of Law starting in the fall semester of 2020 and remained there for just two years until he was expelled in September 2022.

File Image of a clinical support technician extracting swab samples. (Photo by Jane Barlow - WPA Pool/Getty Images) The U.S.

This 2021 photo provided by the St. Louis Zoo shows the zoo's Andean Bear named Ben.

(Photo by Fairfax Media via Getty Images/Fairfax Media via Getty Images via Getty Images) WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. - A sheriff’s office in Kentucky has a "very brave and honest toddler" to thank for helping them find a fugitive wanted on drug charges and other outstanding warrants.Deputies with the Whitley County Sheriff’s Department went to a home in Williamsburg, Kentucky, on Friday to serve a warrant, the sheriff’s office said on Facebook. As officers looked around, none of the adults would say whether the wanted woman was in the house. That’s when a toddler who was visiting the home stood up, put his hands on his hips and said, "It is good to be honest.

southern Italy at dawn Sunday, the Italian Coast Guard said."As of now, 80 persons were recovered alive — some of whom succeeded in reaching the shore after the shipwreck — and 43 bodies were found along the shore," the Coast Guard statement said shortly before noon.Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni said that the migrants were crowded into a 20-meter (66-foot) -long boat in "adverse weather conditions." In a statement released by her office, she expressed "her deep sorrow for the many human lives torn away by human traffickers.""It's inhumane to exchange the live of men, women and children for the ‘price’ of a ticket paid by them in the false prospect for a safe voyage," said Meloni, a far-right-wing leader whose governing allies includes the anti-migrant League party.She vowed to use her leadership to press for crackdowns on departures arranged by human smugglers and to press fellow European Union leaders to help Italy in her quest.A chunk of the boat, along with piles of splintered wood, littered the beach at Steccato di Cutro, part of Calabria's coastline along the Ionian sea. Some of the survivors tried to keep warm, wrapped in what appeared to be colorful blankets or sheets.Credit: Italian Red Cross via Storyful A helicopter and motorboats were deployed in search efforts, including vessels from state firefighters, border police and the coast guard.A Coast Guard motorboat rescued two men suffering from hypothermia and recovered the body of a boy in the rough seas, it said in a statement.

NEW DELHI : Consumer-tech major Apple will continue to focus on the consumers’ personal health and fitness features on Apple Watch and iPhone, instead of tapping into governments’ health information infrastructure, and medical records, worldwide. In an interview, Sumbul Desai, vice president, Health, Apple said it is not looking to transform medical records but yearns to help consumers gain more insights into their own health. It is also looking to work with researchers and startups in India to further its health efforts.

A hotel chain operated by the businessman bidding to buy Manchester United FC netted £3.1million in public Covid-19 grants - despite him being worth billions, it's been revealed.

Canada needs a public inquiry into allegations of Chinese election interference, Canada former spymaster says.

MP Professor Channa Jayasuma says a group from the SLPP have requested the Freedom People's Alliance to support moves to appoint Mahinda Rajapaksa as Prime Minister.He was responding to questions raised at an event in Anuradhapura on Saturday (25).

A Pilatus PC-12/45 in Los Angeles, California. (AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images) Authorities are investigating a plane crash in Stagecoach, Nevada, that left at least five people dead, officials said.Lyon County Sheriff's Office deputies said the aircraft was operated by Care Flight, a service of the Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority Health, headquartered in Reno.

Colombo (News1st) – The Chairman of the National Election Commission (NEC) Nimal Punchihewa stated that he has written a letter to the Speaker of Parliament seeking his intervention to secure funds for the 2023 Local Government Election.The Chairman said the letter was dispatched to the Speaker on Friday (24).The NEC announced on Friday (24) that the Local Government Election, which was due to be held on the 9th of March, had been postponed."The election was postponed due to reasons beyond the commission's control," the NEC said.The new date is to be announced on the 3rd of March."A request has been made to the Speaker to intervene to obtain funds from the Treasury, which are necessary to conduct the election," the commission added on Friday.

Justin Trudeau’s office, warning them that one of their candidates was part of a Chinese foreign interference network.According to sources, the candidate in question was Han Dong, then a former Ontario MPP whom Canada Security Intelligence Service started tracking in June of that year.National security officials also allege that Dong, now a sitting MP re-elected in 2021, is one of at least 11 Toronto-area riding candidates allegedly supported by Beijing in the 2019 contest. Sources say the service also believes Dong is a witting affiliate in China’s election interference networks.Three sources with knowledge of the investigation said Dong emerged as a successor to MP Geng Tan as the 2019 Liberal candidate in ways the service found suspicious.

MANCHESTER, Connect. - A middle school teacher in Connecticut is being praised by firefighters after she pulled an unconscious driver from a burning vehicle on Thursday. Manchester Fire Rescue EMS says Heather Sica Leonard, a teacher at Illing Middle School in Manchester, almost certainly saved the driver’s life. According to the fire department, the driver, John, has limited mobility and uses a wheelchair."While driving his van down Main Street he smelled smoke, then moved a cup holder to find flames coming from his dash. He stopped the vehicle on the side of the ramp, suddenly finding himself in a burning car," Manchester Fire Rescue EMS said, adding that the fuel tank of his van had ruptured.Helmet camera provided by the fire department shows firefighters responding to the scene on Feb.

WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden on Friday directed federal agencies to go door-to-door in East Palestine, Ohio, to check on families affected by the toxic train derailment that has morphed into a heated political controversy.Under Biden's order, teams from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Environmental Protection Agency and Federal Emergency Management Agency will visit homes beginning Saturday. Workers will ask how residents are doing, see what they need and connect them with appropriate resources from government and nonprofit organizations, the White House said.The "walk teams" are modeled on similar teams following hurricanes and other natural disasters.Biden directed employees to get to as many homes as possible by Monday.

A policeman carrying an automatic rifle stands guard with a colleague along a popular market street in Manila, Philippines, on June 1, 2022. (Ted Aljibe / AFP via Getty Images) A New Zealand tourist died in the Philippines while trying to defend his girlfriend from bikers, kicking off a manhunt for his killers. "We regret to report this incident and extend our sympathy to the bereaved family," police Maj.

Josue Chavez Nolasco, right, and Karina Nolasco, Josue’s mother, left. (Photo courtesy of Karina Nolasco) A family grieving the loss of their son is seeking answers after the 13-year-old died after suffering a medical emergency last week at his school in Chesterfield, Virginia. Josue Chavez Nolasco was rushed to the emergency room on Feb.

Ilana D. Weinstein and Thomas H. Lee attend the Lincoln Center's Alternative Investment Industry Gala at David Geffen Hall on November 21, 2022 in New York City.

Tony Femminella, executive director of the Fire Island Lighthouse Preservation Society, and Betsy DeMaria, museum technician with Fire Island National Seashore, stand next to a section of the hull of a ship believed to be the SS Savannah which wrecke NEW YORK - A chunk of weather-beaten flotsam that washed up on a New York shoreline after Tropical Storm Ian last fall has piqued the interest of experts who say it is likely part of the SS Savannah, which ran aground and broke apart in 1821, two years after it became the first vessel to cross the Atlantic Ocean partly under steam power.The roughly 13-foot (4-meter) square piece of wreckage was spotted in October off Fire Island, a barrier island that hugs Long Island's southern shore, and is now in the custody of the Fire Island Lighthouse Preservation Society. It will work with National Park Service officials to identify the wreckage and put it on public display."It was pretty thrilling to find it," said Betsy DeMaria, a museum technician at the park service's Fire Island National Seashore.

Two soldiers patrol the area as the first anniversary of the war between Russia and Ukraine nears in Irpin, Ukraine on February 22, 2023. (Ignacio Marin Fernandez/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) TAIPEI, Taiwan - One year into Russia's war against Ukraine, China is offering a 12-point proposal to end the fighting.The proposal follows China's recent announcement that it is trying to act as mediator in the war that has re-energized Western alliances viewed by Beijing and Moscow as rivals.

PHILADELPHIA - Court records show a local organization posted bail for one of two 14-year-olds accused of beating an elderly man to death with a traffic cone last summer in North Philadelphia. James Lambert, 73, was walking on the 2100 block of Cecil B. Moore Avenue on June 24 around 3 a.m.

COLOMBO (News 1st); Former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa said it is the duty of the sitting President to hold the election.However, he noted that if there are no funds with the state, an election cannot be held as well. The Former President said that his party is ready for an election at any given moment.Mahinda Rajapaksa said because he knew he would secure a win, he never delayed a single election during his time as the President.He said the present government is uncertain if it would win or not, thus the election too is uncertain.He said when an election is called for, it is possible to understand the pulse of the people. Commenting on the IMF funds, he said the government should be able to secure the funds.

PHILADELPHIA - A funeral is being held for Temple University Police Sergeant Chris Fitzgerald on Friday, marking nearly one week since he was fatally shot while chasing a suspect near campus last week. A viewing and service is being held at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul and will be followed by an interment at the Forest Hills Cemetery in Huntingdon Valley. Investigators say Fitzgerald, 31, was on patrol alone on Saturday night around 7 p.m. on the 1700 block of Montgomery Avenue when he saw three young people dressed in dark clothes with masks.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – The National Election Commission announced that the Local Government Election, which was due to be held on the 9th of March, has been postponed."The election was postponed due to reasons beyond the commission's control," the NEC said.The new date is to be announced on the 3rd of March."A request has been made to the Speaker to intervene to obtain funds from the Treasury, which are necessary to conduct the election," the commission added.

COLOMBO (News 1st); US Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said that the Group of 20 countries need to work together to ease the debt overhang that is holding back too many countries, including Sri Lanka."The IMF estimates that around 55 percent of low-income countries are close to or in debt distress.

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka's Election Commission will meet on Friday (23) to reach a final decision on the 2023 Local Government Election due to the lack of financing and support from state agencies.Earlier, the Election Commission decided to conduct the Local Government Election on the 9th of March 2023.However, the Government Printer had refused to deliver the ballot papers owing to a payment issues, and this led to the National Election Commission to postpone the postal voting process that was scheduled for this wekk.The Chairman of the National Election Attorney Nimal Punchihewa said the Local Government Election was called for legally as per the country's constitutions and the election law.He told News 1st on Thursday (23) that all members of the National Election Commission consented to the Local Government Election Process.He said that given that funds were not being provided to continue with the election process, the National Election Commission will meet on Friday (24) to reach a final decision on the Local Government Election 2023. The statement came from the Elections Chief after Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe told Parliament on Thursday (23) that the country's National Election Commission has not legally called for an election, and there are no funds to conduct an election.Commenting on the debate requested by the opposition on postponing the election, the President said there is no election for one to be postponed.The President said the proposed Parliament Select Committee must be appointed to inquire into the Election Commission and the Local Government Election.In the meantime, the petition filed by Retired Sri Lanka Army Colonel W. M.

COLOMBO (News 1st); The distribution of China-aided school uniform material commenced on Thursday (23) in Colombo.First 3 million meters were dispatched to 1.34 million students in Northern, Eastern, North Central and Uva Provinces in Sri Lanka during an event attended by Education Minister Susil Premajanth and the Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka.The Minister and the Ambassador were noted carefully inspecting the school uniform materials donated by China before the dispatchment to different provinces of Sri Lanka.A total of 3,420,714 students across Sri Lanka, regardless their gender, ethnicity or religious belief, will get the China-Aid school uniform for the coming school year 2023.Second batch of the donation comprising of  6 million meters had left China in 44 shipping containers, and will arrive Sri Lanka next week.

PHILADELPHIA - Court records show a local organization posted bail for one of two 14-year-olds accused of beating an elderly man to death with a traffic cone last summer in North Philadelphia. James Lambert, 73, was walking on the 2100 block of Cecil B. Moore Avenue on June 24 around 3 a.m.

Los Angeles hotel room about a decade ago.Defense attorneys argued in their court filing that evidence involving Jane Doe No. 1 -- the victim in the three counts on which he was convicted - - was wrongly excluded from the trial and that the jury was not properly instructed.Deputy District Attorneys Paul Thompson and Marlene Martinez wrote in a court filing last week that Weinstein is serving a 23-year prison sentence for his convictions for sexually assaulting two women in New York and called his attack on Jane Doe No.

PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia City Council President Darrell Clarke is ending his time on the council after more than a decade of service. According to the City Council, he served as the president for 12 years and announced Thursday that he would not seek re-election. "I'm extremely proud of the collective work of this legislative body so far during my term as its President," he said. "From making the largest single investment in affordable housing and neighborhood preservation in Philadelphia history, to a comprehensive program to begin moving 100,000 Philadelphians out of poverty, to the work we're doing to invest in community-based violence prevention to make Philadelphia safer, City Council has led the way in taking action to make our city a better, cleaner and safer place to live and work." Clarke began serving on the City Council as a Councilmember for the 5th District in 1999.

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio - Amazon donated more than 1,400 cases of bottled water to residents dealing with the aftermath of a derailed train in East Palestine, Ohio, which resulted in a controlled release and burn of hazardous fumes and environmental health concerns over the quality of air and water.Amazon’s Pittsburgh and Cleveland sites partnered to donate and help distribute over 1,400 cases of bottled water on Wednesday morning, the company confirmed to FOX Television Stations. East Palestine, a village of just under 5,000 residents, is located near the Pennsylvania state line. More than 30 Amazon employees from both regions volunteered to take part in the effort. Volunteers are pictured distributing bottled water on Feb.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government has signed health-care agreements in principle with all four Atlantic provinces and Ontario.

Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. reported lackluster growth in the October-December quarter, highlighting the financial toll of Beijing’s heavy-handed Covid-control regime and pressure from competition.

We note with deep concern the deteriorating situation in the country with regard to governance and the erosion of public confidence in the democratic process. We are all aware that the country was rendered bankrupt due to policy blunders, corruption, waste and mismanagement by those who were entrusted the task of governing the country. The people have now been burdened with very painful economic measures which could have been averted if the right thing was done at the right time.

Bullet holes are seen in the window of Tops Friendly Market at Jefferson Avenue and Riley Street, as federal investigators work the scene of a mass shooting on Monday, May 16, 2022, in Buffalo, NY. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images WASHINGTON - The number of U.S.

COLOMBO (News 1st); The Chairman of the National Election Attorney Nimal Punchihewa said the Local Government Election was called for legally as per the country's constitutions and the election law.He told News 1st on Thursday (23) that all members of the National Election Commission consented to the Local Government Election Process.He said that given that funds were not being provided to continue with the election process, the National Election Commission will meet on Friday (24) to reach a final decision on the Local Government Election 2023. The statement came from the Elections Chief after Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe told Parliament on Thursday (23) that the country's National Election Commission has not legally called for an election, and there are no funds to conduct an election.Commenting on the debate requested by the opposition on postponing the election, the President said there is no election for one to be postponed.The President said the proposed Parliament Select Committee must be appointed to inquire into the Election Commission and the Local Government Election.In the meantime, the petition filed by Retired Sri Lanka Army Colonel W. M.

COLOMBO (News 1st); U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is urging other leading economies to move faster in resolving debt crises that threaten a growing number of countries.Yellen made the comments in a meeting Thursday with India’s finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, on the sidelines of a meeting of financial leaders of the Group of 20 major economies, the Treasury Department said in a statement.U.S.

COLOMBO (News 1st); The petition filed by Retired Sri Lanka Army Colonel W. M.

While Pakistan grapples with an economic crisis that threatens life as many citizens know it, Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S.

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe told Parliament on Thursday (23) that the country's National Election Commission has not legally called for an election, and there are no funds to conduct an election.Commenting on the debate requested by the opposition on postponing the election, the President said there is no election for one to be postponed."The Election Commission had gone to court and said that it cannot conduct an election. However, an affidavit was provided. It states that the Commission has been informed by the Secretary of the Treasury that he is unable to provide the necessary funds to conduct the election.

Keith Melvin Moses, 19, has been named as the suspect in multiple shootings in Orange County's Pine Hills neighborhood, Feb. 22, 2023. [Orange County Sheriff's Office] ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - A 19-year-old man is expected to face murder charges in the shooting deaths of an Orlando TV journalist, a 9-year-old girl, and a woman in a series of shootings Wednesday in Pine Hills, Florida that also injured a second journalist, and the girl's mother.The Orange County Sheriff's Office said a 20-year-old woman was shot and killed early Wednesday.

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka and Japan singed Exchange Notes for a humanitatrian grant of USD 46 Million.Mahinda Siriwardena, the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, and Mizukoshi Hideaki, the Ambassador of Japan, signed an Exchange of Notes to secure a humanitarian grant of USD 46 million. The purpose of the grant is to provide diesel fuel to public hospitals throughout Sri Lanka. The signing ceremony took place at the President's Office, with President Ranil Wickremesinghe in attendance.Under this agreement, the Government of Japan has committed to supplying 20 million litres of diesel fuel.

PINE HILLS, Fla. - Orange County Sheriff John Mina will provide updates at a 7 p.m. press conference. That will be streamed in the video player above, at www.FOX35Orlando.com/live, in the FOX 35 News app, and on FOX 35.Multiple people have been shot in a neighborhood in Pine Hills, Florida, hours after a woman was found dead along the same street, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office.The Orange County Sheriff's Office confirmed in a tweet that multiple people had been shot, and that one person has been detained.

aviation website and social accounts, but the original source was not immediately clear. In officially releasing the photo Wednesday, the Department of Defense merely said it was taken by a "U.S.