Indian swimmer dies while swimming from SL to IndiaA 78-year-old man, Gopal Rao, of Bengaluru, Karnataka, died of a heart attack while he was swimming from Talaimannar in Sri Lanka to the Dhanushkodi islet in Rameswaram, T.N., on Tuesday, April 23, 2024.

Mr. Rao was part of a group of 31 swimmers who held a relay swimming event from Sri Lanka to India through the Palk Strait. The swimmers had left Rameswaram by boat, and had gone to Sri Lanka on April 22. At 12.10 a.m. on April 23, they began swimming from Thalaimannar in Sri Lanka towards Dhanushkodi.

Gopal Rao, believed to have been the third swimmer on the row, began feeling uneasy and complained of chest pains at 3.10 a.m. He was immediately helped to get into the boat that was accompanying the swimmers. The doctor attending on him however, subsequently declared that he was dead.

As a mark of respect, all the other swimmers cancelled the relay event and reached Dhanushkodi islet by boat.

The body has been sent for a post-mortem to the Rameswaram Government Hospital. The Rameswaram Town police have registered a case.

It is said that the group of swimmers had obtained all necessary clearances from both the Indian and Sri Lankan governments for the event.

(thehindu.com)

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

Quarterly reports of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) have revealed that 2,565,365 Sri Lankans have left the country for various reasons in the last two years.

 According to the report statistics, 1,127,758 Sri Lankans had gone overseas in 2022 as well as 1,437,607 more in 2023.

However, out of these numbers, ony a total of 608,925 Sri Lankans (24%) have gone overseas for employment. That is 311,269 and 297,656 in 2022 and 2023 respectively. 

According to this data, the monthly average figure of Sri Lankans who migrated to foreign countries for employment in 2022 is 25,939. In 2023, that figure stood at 24,805.

Statistics confirm that 70% of those migrating to foreign countries in 2023 will be skilled and professional workers.

(Source : BBC Sinhala)

National People’s Power Leader – Anura Kumara Dissanayake today (April 23) met the visiting delegation of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
The Chinese delegation consisted of Sun Haiyan, Deputy Minister of the Department of International Affairs of the Communist Party of China and member of the Central Committee of the Party, Lin Tao, Deputy Director General of the Department of International Affairs of the Communist Party of China, Chen Xiangyuan, Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka, Li Jinyan, Director of the Department of the International Affairs of the Communist Party of China, Jin Yan, Deputy Director, Wen Jun, Secretary to the Deputy Minister, Jin Enze, the Third Secretary of the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka, and Zhang Guyu, the translator.

The NPP was represented by Vijitha Herath, Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, Prof. Anil Jayantha Fernando, and Sunil Handunneththi.

The meeting, held at the party headquarters, focused on the current political situation, upcoming elections and possible political developments were discussed between the two sides.

The leaders of the NPP had pointed out the importance of creating political stability in the country to get the country out of the crisis.

The visiting delegation had been focused on the measures and organizational structures adopted by the NPP in the political field and their gaining popularity among the public.

The NPP leaders also had emphasized their relations with various people, groups, social strata and Sri Lankans abroad, as well as their policies in building the country, and the dialogue between the party structures and the public.