Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya visited the Chinese Navy hospital ship “Peace Ark” at the Port of Colombo this morning (December 24) as part of its Mission Harmony-2024 initiative.
The visit was attended by the Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka H.E. Qi Zhenhong and the Secretary to the Prime Minister, Mr.Pradeep Saputhanthri.
The Peace Ark arrived at the Port of Colombo on December 21 and will provide free medical examinations and treatment services to the people of Sri Lanka from December 22 to December 27, 2024.
During her visit, the Prime Minister commended the humanitarian efforts of the Peace Ark and expressed appreciation to the Chinese government for extending this gesture of goodwill to the Sri Lankan people. She highlighted the importance of such initiatives in maintaining bilateral relations and supporting public health.
The Chinese Ambassador emphasized the importance of the ship’s mission in strengthening cooperation between Sri Lanka and China, while the ship’s medical team showcased the state-of-the-art facilities and services available onboard.
Due to various issues that have arisen within many political parties during the selection of members for LG bodies, submission of name lists to the Election Commission (EC) are being delayed, reports say.
As a result, the establishment of LG bodies is expected to be delayed further.
In this backdrop, the EC has instructed all political parties and independent groups to submit their name lists within a week.
The gazette on the newly appointed members will follow only after the EC receives all lists.
The Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs has issued a letter over a program organized by Br. Charles Thomas.
The relevant program is scheduled to be held today (May 17) at the historic Padeniya temple and is allegedly scheduled to be held in a manner that is harmful to Buddhism.
The letter notes that the Deputy Minister has taken steps to cancel the program following complaints from various parties, citing strong displeasure expressed by the local Buddhist community.
The Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education has announced that applications are now open for admissions for Grade 12 students for the Advanced Level (A/L) Vocational stream subjects.
According to the Ministry, the vocational stream will be offered in 608 schools starting this year.
The Ministry further clarified that students who have not passed the GCE Ordinary Level (O/L) examination will still be eligible to apply, as O/L results will not be a determining factor for admission to this stream.
For this, students need to submit an application to the principal of the school they wish to enroll in.