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Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri killed in Beirut blast

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A drone strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs of Dahiyeh, a Hezbollah stronghold, killed senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri on Tuesday.

The drone hit a Hamas office, leaving six people dead, Lebanon’s state news agency reported.

Hamas confirmed the death of al-Arouri and called it a “cowardly assassination” by Israel, adding that attacks on Palestinians “inside and outside Palestine will not succeed in breaking the will and steadfastness of our people, or undermining the continuation of their valiant resistance”.

“It proves once again the abject failure of this enemy to achieve any of its aggressive goals in the Gaza Strip,” the group said.

Following the news of the death of al-Arouri, mosques in Arura, the occupied West Bank town of north Ramallah, are mourning his death and a general strike has been called in Ramallah for Wednesday.

Here is what to know about the Hamas official killed in Lebanon.

Who was Saleh al-Arouri?

Al-Arouri, 57, was the deputy chief of Hamas’s political bureau and one of the founders of the group’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades.

He had been living in exile in Lebanon after spending 15 years in an Israeli jail. Before the war began on October 7, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had threatened to kill him.

In recent weeks, al-Arouri took on the role of spokesperson for the group and told Al Jazeera last month that Hamas would not discuss an exchange deal for the captives the group is holding before the war ends in Gaza.

The United States labelled al-Arouri as a “global terrorist” in 2015 and issued a $5m reward for any information on him.

What has Israel said about al-Arouri’s death?

While there has been no official response from Israel about the death of the Hamas official, Mark Regev, an adviser to Netanyahu, told the US outlet MSNBC that Israel does not take responsibility for this attack. But, added, “Whoever did it, it must be clear: this was not an attack on the Lebanese state.”

“Whoever did this did a surgical strike against the Hamas leadership,” he said.

However, Danny Danon, a former Israeli envoy to the United Nations, hailed the attack and congratulated the Israeli army, Shin Bet, the security service and Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, for killing al-Arouri.

“Anyone who was involved in the 7/10 massacre should know that we will reach out to them and close an account with them,” he said on X in Hebrew, referring to the October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel that killed nearly 1,200 people.

Israel’s relentless bombing and artillery shelling of Gaza since then has killed more than 22,000 Palestinians, including more than 8,000 children.

According to Israeli media, the government has ordered cabinet ministers not to give any interviews about al-Arouri’s death after Danon’s tweet.

What has been the response from Lebanon?

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the attack on the Beruit suburb and said it was a “new Israeli crime” as well as an attempt to pull Lebanon into the war.

Mikati also warned against the “Israeli political upper echelon resorting to exporting its failures in Gaza to the southern border to impose new facts on the ground and change the rules of engagement”.

Hezbollah said that the attack on Lebanon’s capital “will not pass without punishment”.

(Al Jazeera)

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Laws against shooting of wild jumbos, to be tightened

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A meeting was held today (July 15) at the Ministry of Environment with officials from the Department of Wildlife Conservation, aimed at tightening laws against the shooting of wild elephants.

The discussion was chaired by the Minister of Environment – Dr. Dammika Patabendi, along with the Deputy Minister of Environment – Anton Jayakody.

Noting that incidents of elephant shoots are regularly reported to the Department of Wildlife Conservation, the Minister instructed the Director General of the Department to take the necessary steps to strictly enforce the law against such acts.

The discussion also focused on strengthening the process of punishing offenders by updating laws related to the killing of wild animals. It also emphasized enforcing strict laws against the illegal construction of electric fences on private lands, which often harm elephants.

To help reduce human-elephant conflict, the Ministry and the Department are working together on long-term, positive solutions. Accordingly, elephant fences are being built in districts with frequent elephant encounters.

Furthermore, multi-purpose officers have been recruited for the maintenance of these fences and the involvement of civil defense personnel is also being considered.

The Department of Wildlife Conservation announced that a special media briefing will be held in the coming days to inform the public on these initiatives.

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Move to ban sale of unpackaged coconut oil

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Chairman of the Coconut Development Authority, Shantha Ranawaka, announced recently that a cabinet paper has been submitted seeking to ban the sale of unpackaged (loose) coconut oil in the local market.

Ranawaka explained that various types of oils are being sold under the label of coconut oil, some of which may be adulterated or harmful, with concerns that their consumption could contribute to non-communicable diseases.

To ensure public safety, the Authority proposes that all coconut oil sold in the market must be properly packaged and clearly labeled with essential information such as the manufacturer’s details.

He noted that a grace period will be given for suppliers and vendors to adapt to the new regulation, after which enforcement will begin. The initiative aims to prevent the sale of counterfeit or substandard oil under the guise of coconut oil.

(dailynews.lk)

(Except for the headline, this story, originally published by dailynews.lk has not been edited by SLM staff)

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MoU to establish lab with international accreditation facilities

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A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed this morning (July 15) at the Presidential Secretariat between STEMedical of the USA and the Sri Lanka Institute of Biotechnology (SLIBTEC) to establish a laboratory with internationally recognised accreditation.

The MoU for this $15 million investment project, conducted under the guidance of the National Initiative for Research and Development Commercialisation (NIRDC), was signed by Professor Hans Keirstead, founder of the American company STEMedical and on behalf of the Sri Lanka Institute of Biotechnology (SLIBTEC), by its Chairman, Professor Samitha Hettige and Chief Operating Officer, Amali Ranasinghe.

For a long time, there has been a need to enhance the capacity of laboratories with internationally recognised accreditation for testing purposes across many sectors in Sri Lanka, including health, agriculture, cosmetics and Ayurveda, as well as in the import and export fields.

Professor Gomika Udugamasooriya, Senior Presidential Advisor on Science and Technology, who attended the event, said that today is a special day for Sri Lanka and that accreditation is very important for a country. Prof. Udugamasooriya emphasised the significance of a laboratory project with such accreditation facilities in achieving the government’s objective of doubling the country’s export revenue by the year 2030.

This laboratory is expected to function as a main lab, working in conjunction with existing laboratories across the island, to ensure the quality of goods and services in various fields.

Professor Hans Keirstead, founder of STEMedical, stated that he is pleased with the current leadership in Sri Lanka, which he said has a broad vision for the scientific sector and has been able to identify developmental needs such as enhancing laboratory capacity. He also said that this project would bring many benefits to the country, not only clinically but also economically. Mr Keirstead further mentioned that it would attract the attention of economic experts and generate revenue by bringing items, such as medicines, from other countries to Sri Lanka for accreditation.

Professor Hans Keirstead, the founder of STEMedical in the United States, is an internationally recognised stem cell expert. He is also a respected entrepreneur in the field of regenerative medicine in the USA. It is also noteworthy that Professor Hans Keirstead, who currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Human Immunome Project, is among the top 100 scientists in the world, as listed by Discover Magazine.

The President’s Senior Additional Secretary, Russel Aponsu; the Director-General of the National Initiative for Research and Development Commercialisation (NIRDC), Dr Muditha Senarath Yapa; and the Chief Executive Officer of STEMedical in the United States, Dr Nistor Gabriel Loan, also attended the event.

(President’s Media Division)

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