News

Chris Hipkins set to replace Jacinda Ardern as New Zealand PM

Published

2 years ago

January 21, 2023

editor

New Zealand Labour MP Chris Hipkins is set to replace Jacinda Ardern as prime minister after becoming the only nominee for the party’s leadership.

He was first elected to parliament in 2008 and was appointed minister for Covid-19 in November 2020.

In Ms Ardern’s shock announcement on Thursday she said she did not have “enough in the tank” to lead.

How long Mr Hipkins will be in office is uncertain as New Zealand holds a general election in October.

Mr Hipkins, 44, is currently minister for police, education and public service.

He will still need to be formally endorsed by the Labour Party in the House of Representatives on Sunday before he can become leader.

Should he receive that backing, Ms Ardern will formally tender her resignation to the governor-general, who will then – on behalf of King Charles III – appoint Mr Hipkins as prime minister.

But the incoming Labour leader faces an uphill battle if he wants to remain in the top job after the 2023 election.

Inflation and increasing social inequality saw Ms Ardern’s popularity fall to all-time lows according to opinion polls.

They also suggested public approval of the country’s Labour Party was similarly low.

Mr Hipkins’ appointment removes the immediate possibility of Justice Minister Kiri Allan becoming the country’s first Maori prime minister.

During her resignation announcement, Ms Ardern – who at 37 became the youngest female head of government in the world when she took office in 2017 – said the past five-and-a-half years had been the “most fulfilling” of her life.

However, she added that leading the country during “crisis” had been difficult – with the Covid pandemic, Christchurch mosque shootings and White Island volcanic eruption taking place during her premiership.

Reaction to Ms Ardern’s announcement was mixed, with some suggesting she was “running away before getting thrown out”.

But renowned New Zealand actor Sam Neill said she had faced “disgraceful” treatment from “bullies” and “misogynists”.

If Labour loses the general election Mr Hipkins will have only spent eight months as the nation’s leader – although the shortest prime ministerial stint was Harry Atkinson’s term in 1884, which lasted just eight days.

(BBC)

News

President AKD lays wreath at Monument to People’s Heroes (Video)

Published

25 minutes ago

January 16, 2025

editor

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who is currently on state visit to China, laid a wreath at the Monument to the People’s Heroes at Tian’anmen Square in Beijing today (Jan. 16).

(Video : CCTV +)

News

India – SL signd MoU to establish 60 smart classrooms

Published

59 minutes ago

January 16, 2025

editor

A Memorandum of Understanding on ‘Establishment of 60 Smart Classrooms in Selected Schools’ in the plantation regions of Sri Lanka, with grant assistance of LKR 508 million from Government of India, was signed and exchanged by the High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka – Mr. Santosh Jha and Secretary, Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure Mr B.K. Prabhath Chandrakeerthi today (Jan. 16).

The project envisages establishment of 60 smart classrooms for students in 48 schools in Nuwara Eliya and 6 schools each in Kandy and Badulla Districts identified by the Government of Sri Lanka.

The initiative will enhance knowledge-impartment at the schools, bring learning benefits to the students and also promote information and communications technology integration in these schools.

A statement issued by the Indian High Commission in Colombo further states :

With a development cooperation portfolio with Sri Lanka of over USD 5 billion, India’s people-centric development assistance initiatives in virtually all major sectors are bringing a positive impact in the day-to-day lives of the people of Sri Lanka across all the 25 districts of the country.

The project of establishment of smart classrooms would be yet another initiative in line with the numerous past and ongoing development partnership projects of India in Sri Lanka in the education sector. A selection of a few instances would include setting up of English language laboratories in all provinces of the country; establishment and renovation of auditoriums at numerous institutions across the country, including the Rabindranath Tagore Memorial Auditorium at Ruhuna University; construction of a multi-ethnic tri-lingual school at Polonnaruwa in the North Central Province; renovation works at over 100 schools in the Northern Province; supply of 110 buses to educational institutions across the island; support to vocational training institutions; establishment of smart classrooms and computer labs in 200 schools in the Southern Province; financial assistance to students at University of Jaffna and Eastern University Batticaloa from economically weaker sections of society; among many others. Diplomatic Letters were recently exchanged by the Governments of India and Sri Lanka for doubling the grant support of Government of India to a project of up-gradation of 9 plantation schools. A 3-month teacher-training program in STEM subjects for plantation schools was also conducted recently under the multi-sectoral grant assistance of INR 750 million announced last year to mark 200 years of arrival of Indian-origin Tamil community to Sri Lanka. Over 2000 teachers in plantation schools of Sri Lanka benefitted from the program.

News

Agreement signed with Sinopec to construct oil refinery in H’tota (Video)

Published

3 hours ago

January 16, 2025

editor

During President Anura Kumara Disanayake’s four-day state visit to China, Sri Lanka marked a significant milestone by securing the largest foreign direct investment to date. This significant achievement was formalized this morning (16) with the signing of an agreement between Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Energy and Sinopec, a leading Chinese international petroleum corporation.

Under this $3.7 billion investment, a state-of-the-art oil refinery with a capacity of 200,000 barrels will be constructed in the Hambantota region. A substantial portion of the refinery’s output is planned for export, further enhancing the nation’s foreign exchange earnings.

This major investment from China is expected to bolster Sri Lanka’s economic growth while uplifting the livelihoods of low-income communities in the Hambantota area. Moreover, the benefits of this project are anticipated to positively impact the overall Sri Lankan population in the near future.

The signing ceremony was attended by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Labour and Tourism Vijitha Herath, Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation Bimal Rathnayake and Director General of Government Information H. S. K. J. Bandara, alongside other dignitaries.

(President’s Media Division)