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India – China agree to ‘de-escalate’ border tensions

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India and China have agreed to de-escalate tensions along their disputed border after a conversation between its leaders, a senior Indian official said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping spoke on the sidelines of the Brics summit in South Africa on Wednesday.

Beijing said the meeting was held at Mr Modi’s request.

Relations between India and China have been worsening for more than three years.

The two world powers are facing off against each other along their ill-defined 3,440km (2,100-mile)-long border – known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC) – in the Himalayan region.

Mr Xi and Mr Modi met on the sidelines of the Brics summit in Johannesburg. The Brics countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – are often seen as a counterweight to the Western-led world.

On Thursday, Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said that both sides had agreed to step up efforts for the disengagement of troops along the LAC.

“The Prime Minister underlined that maintenance of peace and tranquility in the border areas and observing and respecting the LAC are essential for the normalisation of the India-China relationship,” Mr Kwatra said.

“In this regard, the two leaders agreed to direct their relevant officials to intensify efforts at expeditious disengagement and de-escalation,” he added.

China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the two leaders had “a candid and in-depth exchange of views on current China-India relations and other questions of shared interest”.

“President Xi stressed that improving China-India relations serves the common interests of the two countries and peoples, and is also conducive to peace, stability and development of the world and the region,” the statement said.

It also added: “The two sides should bear in mind the overall interests of their bilateral relations and handle properly the border issue so as to jointly safeguard peace and tranquility in the border region.”

According to The Indian Express newspaper, no interpreters or note-takers were around when the two leaders spoke to each other.

Mr Xi and Mr Modi last spoke on the sidelines of the G20 summit in 2022.

Mr Xi is expected to arrive in India for the G20 summit hosted by Delhi on 9 and 10 September.

(BBC News)

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2 nabbed with gold at BIA

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Two air passengers attempting to smuggle gold worth Rs. 210 million concealed among vehicle spare parts, were arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) yesterday (May 15).

The suspects, a 26-year-old from Grandpass, Colombo, and a 46-year-old from Rambukwella, Kandy, had arrived from Dubai on Emirates flight EK-650 at 8:30 am.

Both individuals are believed to be couriers operating on behalf of local businessmen, frequently transporting goods from abroad.

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Wimal slams govt. over salt prices

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Leader of the National Freedom Front (NFF) – Wimal Weerawansa has stated that while it took 76 years for the price of a salt packet to reach Rs.60, the current government managed to raise the price to Rs. 400 within just seven months.

He made these remarks yesterday (May 15) during a media briefing held at the NFF headquarters in Colombo.

Weerawansa heavily criticized the current government, saying that although it operates under the banner of a so-called “renaissance”, it is in fact a government that fails to take any meaningful decisions.

“It took 76 years for a packet of salt to cost Rs.60. However, within 07 months, this government had raised the price to Rs.350 – Rs.400. This is the drama of the so-called renaissance.”

He also ridiculed the government’s narrative that the salt shortage is somehow part of a shift toward healthy eating habits.

Weerawansa emphasized that the current crisis reflects the government’s incompetence and insensitivity to the grave economic hardships faced by the people.

No salt produced this year – Lanka Salt Chairman

Meanwhile, Chairman of Lanka Salt Ltd. – Mr. D. Nandana Thilaka has stated no salt has been produced this year due to continuous adverse weather and rainfall.

He said that this adverse weather conditions has affected not only Hambantota but many other salt producing areas including Elephant Pass.

He further explained that in 2024, the company had planned to produce 125,000 MT of salt, but adverse weather conditions only allowed for the production of 40,000 MT.

Usually, salt harvesting starts in March every year, but the poor weather conditions have hindered this, according to the chairman.

While there has been a shortage of salt crystals in the market, table salt stocks remain unaffected, he clarified.

He further stated that Lanka Salt Ltd. had issued 100,000 packets of 400g table salt to Lanka Sathosa on May 14, and another 100,000 packets were to be issued yesterday (May 15).

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Islandwide investigation over substandard fertilizer racket

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The National Fertilizer Secretariat has launched an islandwide investigation to identify and remove substandard fertilizer from the local market.

The probe is being carried out through district Assistant Directors islandwide.

Director of the secretariat – Mr. Chandana Lokuhewage states that the investigation commenced following the recent raid of substandard fertilizer in the Polonnaruwa area.

Police had seized 1,565 bags of urea fertilizer during the raid in Siripura, Polonnaruwa.

Samples from the seized stock are to be sent to Colombo for laboratory testing, Lokuge confirmed.

12 suspects arrested in this regard have been remanded until May 28 after they were produced before the Dehiattakandiya Magistrate’s Court.

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