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Last glaciers in Africa could be lost by 2050 – report

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Glaciers across the globe – including the last ones in Africa – will be unavoidably lost by 2050 due to climate change, the UN says in a report.

A third of glaciers located in UN World Heritage sites will melt within three decades, a UNESCO report found.

Mount Kilimanjaro’s last glaciers will vanish as will glaciers in the Alps and Yosemite National Park in the US.

They will melt regardless of the world’s actions to combat climate change, the authors say.

The report, which makes projections based on satellite data, comes as world leaders prepare to meet in Egypt for next week’s COP27 climate change conference.

About 18,600 glaciers have been identified across 50 UN World Heritage sites. They represent almost 10% of the Earth’s glacierised area and include renowned tourist spots and places sacred to local populations.

The retreat and disappearance of glaciers was “among the most dramatic evidence that Earth’s climate is warming”, the report said.

“We hope we might be wrong, but this is the hard science,” said UNESCO project officer Tales Carvalho Resende, one of the authors. “Glaciers are one of the valuable indicators of climate change, because they’re visible. This is something we can really see happening.”

The remaining two thirds of glaciers in UN World Heritage sites could be saved, but only if the world limits global warming to 1.5C, the authors say. Another UN report last week found that the world currently had “no credible pathway” to achieve that.

(BBC News)

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Showers expected in part of the island today

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Several spells of light showers will occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in the Nuwara-Eliya, Kandy, Galle and Matara districts today (July 04), the Department of Meteorology said.

Showers or thundershowers may occur at a few places in the Uva province and in the Ampara and Batticaloa districts during the afternoon or night.

Meanwhile, fairly strong winds of about 30-40 kmph can be expected at times over the Western slopes of the central hills and in the Northern, North-central and North-western provinces and in the Trincomalee and Hambantota districts.

The general public has been requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.

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IMF grants waivers despite obligation breach & erred reporting

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The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reviewed non complying purchases made by Sri Lanka under the 2023 Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) as well as inaccuracies of information reported to the IMF.

However, the IMF has decided to grant waivers and not pursue further action, citing corrective measures and a commitment to reform by Sri Lankan authorities.

Following the Executive Board’s discussion, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair – Mr. Kenji Okamura, has issued the following statement:

“The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reviewed non complying purchases made by Sri Lanka under the 2023 Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (“EFF”), as well as a breach of obligations under Article VIII, Section 5. The noncomplying purchases arose as a result of the provision of inaccurate information by the authorities on the stock of expenditure arrears at the first, second, and third reviews under the EFF.

“The inaccuracies in information provided to the IMF were inadvertent and arose because of weaknesses in the timely reporting of arrears by line ministries to the Ministry of Finance, as well as a misunderstanding by the authorities of the definition of “arrears” under the Technical Memorandum of Understanding. 

“The Executive Board positively considered the authorities’ corrective actions, the fact that arrears repayments will be accommodated within the existing fiscal envelope, and the authorities’ commitment to improving public financial management procedures in line with the new PFM law, to reduce the risk of accruing arrears or inaccurate reporting of information going forward. In view of the above, the Executive Board agreed to grant waivers for the nonobservances of the quantitative performance criterion that gave rise to the noncomplying purchases and decided not to require further action in connection with the breach of obligations under Article VIII, Section 5.”

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Abdul Wazeeth appointed to Parliament from SLMC national list

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Abdul Wazeeth of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) has been appointed as a Member of Parliament, the National Election Commission has announced.

His appointment comes following the resignation of former MP M. S. Naleem, who had entered Parliament through the SLMC National List after the 2024 parliamentary election.

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