ENB poster 820-Ahilan Kadirgamar

 

A meeting between President
Ranil Wickremesinghe and the IMF team
at the Finance Ministry in March 2024

When IMF targets, become Sri Lankan law

Even as Sri Lanka prepares for elections, laws are being rushed through a parliament without legitimacy. Among those many draft laws– the President in his Budget Speech in November 2023 said he wants to create or amend sixty new laws–one of the most notorious so far is the Economic Transformation Bill. If the citizenry is being devastated by the severe austerity measures imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), this new bill seeks to legislate the very conditionality's and targets set by the IMF. 

Third World Sovereignty since decolonisation (High Light-ENB) has always been circumscribed by international treaties and laws, including in relation to economic affairs. This has been the story of neo-colonialism where countries like ours suffered from the unequal trade agreements, including for example with the formation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Although these treaties are claimed to be part of the rules-based international order, the rules are stacked in favour of the powerful nations in the West like the US, which also break those rules as they wish. 

In this context, Sri Lanka’s comprador political elite and neoliberal think tanks have consistently promoted this so-called rules-based order emphasising the importance of the “rule of law”, and in the process reifying the interests of the West. The Economic Transformation Bill, however, descends to new lows, where the arbitrary targets set by the IMF itself are going to be made into law. The IMF is now going to be ruling Sri Lanka, not just by dictating national policies, but also through domestic law.

 

The President in his Budget Speech in November 2023 said he wants to create or amend sixty new laws–one of the most notorious so far is the Economic Transformation Bill

Economic Transformation Bill

Over the last two years since Sri Lanka turned to the IMF and started implementing its recommendations and then the conditionalities following the IMF Agreement of March 2023, it has become increasingly clear that Sri Lanka’s economic policies are not created in the Finance Ministry or for that matter at the Presidential Secretariat, but rather in Washington within the offices of the IMF and the World Bank. Indeed, if one wishes to follow Sri Lanka’s economic policies, one only needs to read the IMF Agreement and the World Bank’s Country Partnership Framework for 2024 to 2027. The benchmarks in the IMF agreement and the proposed laws as well as the programmes listed in the World Bank agreement are being followed to the dot.

In this context, the Economic Transformation Bill claims to provide for national policy on economic transformation, and sets up mechanisms such as commissions and institutions for implementation, while repealing the Board of Investments. The Bill is based on an ideological belief in prosperity through “export-oriented growth” with integration into the “global marketplace.” 

The World Bank’s push for agricultural exports and modernization without considering the importance of self-sufficiency in food and our small-scale farmers, is bound to lead to repeated food crises and dispossession; that too will not just be bad policies but now made law

Many of the provisions of this Bill are the arbitrary targets of the IMF and the reform proposals of the World Bank.

“The National Policy on Economic Transformation shall provide for – (a) the restructuring of the debt owed by the Government, that the - (i) Public Debt to Gross Domestic Production ratio shall be below ninety-five per centum by the year 2032 and thereafter … Central Government Annual Debt Service in Foreign Currency to Gross Domestic Production ratio shall be below four decimal half per centum by 2027 … modernise agriculture to boost farmer productivity, farmer incomes, and agriculture exports … Female Labour Force Participation to reach - (i) not less than forty per centum by the year 2030; and (ii) not less than fifty per centum by the year 2040 … Primary Balance in the Government Budget to reach two decimal three per centum of Gross Domestic Production until the year 2032 and at least two per centum of Gross Domestic Production from the year 2032 onwards …”

I quote the bill at length above, so we get a taste of its ridiculousness. There are many debates on the arbitrariness of these IMF targets, which I have argued are mainly there to serve creditor interests with the ongoing debt restructuring process. For example, are the IMF’s Debt Sustainability Analysis targets of 95% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in public debt and 4.5% in GDP in foreign debt servicing really sustainable, or do they merely serve creditor interests of minimal debt relief? Next, the current austerity push with a primary budget surplus (government revenues exceeding expenditure) target of 2.3% is way above the consistent budget deficits of Sri Lanka’s peer countries with higher growth. If such primary budget surplus targets are made into law, it will result in decades of economic stagnation, but serve the interest of creditors who will be assured repayment of their future loans.

Next, the World Bank push for agricultural exports and modernization without considering the importance of self-sufficiency in food and our small-scale farmers, is bound to lead to repeated food crises and dispossession; that too will not just be bad policies but now made law. Furthermore, without considering the myriad challenges of women’s labour, targets are arbitrarily being set to push women into the formal labour force; little social support without adequate social protection and horrible working conditions are what women will have to face.

 

The Economic Transformation Bill descends to new lows, where the arbitrary targets set by the IMF are going to be made into law; the IMF is going to be ruling Sri Lanka, not just by dictating national policies, but also through domestic law

Executive of the IMF

Where is Sri Lanka headed, and to what extent will the Government screw its own people to serve the neo-colonial global order?

Karl Marx had the following to say about the modern state in the Communist Manifesto: “The executive of the modern state is but a committee for managing the common affairs of the whole bourgeoisie.” Sri Lanka’s Executive President is taking that forward to new heights, of not just managing the affairs of the IMF–the guardian of global finance capital–inside the country, but making them into the law of the country itself!

The weeks and months ahead will be a time for the working people to put forward their vision for the state and sovereignty. In the meantime, what is the political opposition going to do? Are they going to merely plead in the courts, wait for the elections or come out to the streets?

Daily Mirror 3 June 2024 ⍐

ANDREW NEIL-டிரம்பின் வெடிகக்கும் `குற்றவாளி தீர்ப்பின்` உடனடிப் பகுப்பாய்வு

Doctoring corporate book-keeping entries under New York law is only a misdemeanor or minor crime, usually involving just a slap on the wrist.

ANDREW NEIL's expert instant analysis of Trump's explosive guilty verdict - and why the real battle for the soul of America begins NOW

அமெரிக்க ஜனாதிபதித் தேர்தலில் இப்போது தீப்பிடித்துள்ளது:

டிரம்பின் வெடிகக்கும் `குற்றவாளி தீர்ப்பின்` உடனடிப் பகுப்பாய்வு

அமெரிக்காவின் ஆன்மாவுக்கான உண்மையான போர் ஏன் இப்போது தொடங்குகிறது

அமெரிக்க முன்னாள் அதிபர் டொனால்ட் டிரம்ப், குற்றம் புரிந்ததற்காக தண்டிக்கப்பட்ட முதல் அமெரிக்க அதிபர் ஆவார்.

ஒருமித்த நியூயார்க் நடுவர் மன்றம், அமெரிக்கா தேர்தலுக்குச் செல்வதற்கு சில நாட்களுக்கு முன்பு, 2016 ஜனாதிபதி பிரச்சாரத்தைத் தடம் புரளச் செய்யும் என்று அஞ்சி தனது பாலியல் ஊழலைத் தடுக்க, ஆபாச நட்சத்திரமான ஸ்டோர்மி டேனியல்ஸுக்கு $130,000 செலுத்தியதை சட்டவிரோதமாக மறைக்க முயன்ற 34 குற்றச்சாட்டுகளிலும் அவர் குற்றவாளி என்று தீர்ப்பளித்தது.

ஹஷ் பணத்தை செலுத்துவது சட்டவிரோதமானது அல்ல, ஆனால் அது தேர்தல் முடிவுகளை பாதிக்கும் வகையில் வடிவமைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது என்று அரசுத் தரப்பு வெற்றிகரமாக வாதிட்டது - இது தேர்தல் சட்டங்களை மீறுவதாகவும், வழக்குரைஞர்கள் வாதிட்டனர். தேர்தல் சட்டங்களை மீறுவது அடிப்படைக் குற்றமாகும்.

இது மிகவும் சர்ச்சைக்குரிய பிரதேசமாகும் - குறிப்பாக பிரச்சார சட்ட மீறல்கள் பற்றி விசாரணையில் எதுவும் கேட்கப்படவில்லை - அதனால்தான் குற்றவாளி தீர்ப்பு உடனடியாக மேல்முறையீடு செய்யப்படவும், டிரம்பின் வழக்கறிஞர்கள் மேல்முறையீடு செய்ய 30 நாட்கள் அவகாசமும் கிடைத்துள்ளது.

`34 குற்றச்சாட்டுகளிலும்  குற்றவாளி` என்பது ஏதோ பாரதூரமான ஒன்று போல் தோன்றுகின்றது. ஆனால்  ட்ரம்ப் தனது அப்போதைய வழக்கறிஞரும், மோசமான ஃபிக்ஸருமான மைக்கேல் கோஹனுக்கு டேனியல்ஸுக்குச் செலுத்திய பணத்தைத் திருப்பிச் செலுத்துவதற்கு ஏற்பாடு செய்த தவணைகளின் எண்ணிக்கையை மட்டுமே இது குறிக்கிறது.

ட்ரம்பும் அவரது கூட்டமும் தங்கள் உண்மையான நோக்கத்தை மறைக்க இந்தத் திருப்பிச் செலுத்துதலை மூடிமறைத்துள்ளனர் என்று அரசுத் தரப்பு உறுதியாக வாதிட்டது. ஆனால் நியூயார்க் சட்டத்தின் கீழ் கார்ப்பரேட் புத்தக பராமரிப்பு உள்ளீடுகளை `மருத்துவம் செய்வது` (மாற்றியமைப்பது) ஒரு தவறான செயல் அல்லது மாறாக மிகச் சிறிய ஒரு குற்றமாகும், இது பொதுவாக மணிக்கட்டில் அடிக்கின்ற தண்டனைக்கு ஒப்பானது.

இது பணம் செலுத்துவதை பிரச்சார நிதிச் சட்டத்தின் மீறலுடன் இணைக்கிறது, இது விஷயத்தை சரியான குற்றத்திற்கு உயர்த்தியது. பல பார்வையாளர்களுக்கு இணைப்பு மிகவும் பலவீனமாக உள்ளது. விசாரணையின் போது இது அரிதாகவே விவாதிக்கப்பட்டது மற்றும் அத்தகைய இணைப்பு இருப்பதாக யாரும் சாட்சியமளிக்கவில்லை.

ட்ரம்ப் இப்போது சிறையில் இருப்பார் என்ற எதிர்பார்ப்பில் எச்சில் ஊறுபவர்கள் பொறுமையாக இருக்க வேண்டும்.

ட்ரம்ப் தண்டனை நிலுவை காலத்தில் தடுப்புக் காவலில் வைக்கப்பட மாட்டார். அவர் நாட்டுக்கு வெளியே பயணிப்பது கூட சாத்தியமானதுதான். இது முன்னென்றும் தண்டனைக்குள்ளாகாத  ஒருவரை உள்ளடக்கிய `வெள்ளை காலர்`-மென்மையான- குற்றமாகும். சிறைத்தண்டனை ஒரு அசாதாரண விளைவாகவே இருக்கும்.

ஆனால் இந்த முழு விசாரணையும் அசாதாரணமானது.

ஜூலை 11 ஆம் தேதி வரை தண்டனை வழங்கப்படாது, அப்போது டிரம்ப் தகுதிகாண் முதல் நான்கு ஆண்டுகள் சிறைக்குப் பின் எதையும் எதிர்கொள்ளலாம்.

ஆனால் நீதிபதி  சிறைத்தண்டனை என்று முடிவெடுத்தாலும், `குற்றவாளித் தீர்ப்பு` மேல்முறையீடு செய்யப்படும் மற்றும் மேல்முறையீட்டு செயல்முறை முடியும் வரை டிரம்ப் சுதந்திரமாக இருப்பார்.

டெய்லி மெயில் ஆன்லைனில் வெளியான ஆங்கிலக் கட்டுரையின் முழுமை கீழே. 

தமிழாக்கம் சுபாகிள்

Biden Denounces ‘Reckless’ G.O.P. Efforts to Discredit Trump Conviction

President Biden said the verdict in Donald J. Trump’s trial reaffirmed 

“the American principle that no one is above the law,”

and he criticized the former president and his allies for their complaints about the outcome.

 

 Video 

Breaking his long silence over Mr. Trump’s legal troubles, Mr. Biden directly and unambiguously characterized the putative Republican nominee as a lawbreaker whose conviction amounted to a victory for the rule of law. And he rejected assertions that the prosecution was a political witch hunt, noting that it was not a case brought by his own administration.

“The American principle that no one is above the law was reaffirmed,” Mr. Biden said in a hurriedly arranged televised statement at the White House before outlining his latest efforts to end the war in Gaza. “Donald Trump was given every opportunity to defend himself. It was a state case, not a federal case. And it was heard by a jury of 12 citizens, 12 Americans, 12 people like you, like millions of Americans who’ve served on juries.”

“This jury,” he went on, “was chosen the same way every jury in America is chosen. There’s a process that Donald Trump’s attorney was part of. The jury heard five weeks of evidence — five weeks. And after careful deliberation, the jury reached a unanimous verdict. They found Donald Trump guilty on all 34 felony counts.”

While he may have relished noting that his opponent in this fall’s election was found guilty on all counts, Mr. Biden made no mention of the substance of the case, in which Mr. Trump was convicted of falsifying business records to cover up hush-money payments to a pornography actress who claimed to have had an affair with him.

Read

Instead, Mr. Biden focused on the orchestrated efforts by the former president and his allies to discredit the prosecution and the judgment of the jury by painting the process as a political persecution that supposedly treated Mr. Trump unfairly.

“It’s reckless, it’s dangerous, it’s irresponsible for anyone to say this was rigged just because they don’t like the verdict,” Mr. Biden said. “Our justice system has endured for nearly 250 years, and it literally is the cornerstone of America. Our justice system, the justice system, should be respected, and we should never allow anyone to tear it down. As simple as that. That’s America. That’s who we are.”

The president’s decision to address the outcome of the trial directly was a major strategic shift. Ever since Mr. Trump was charged in this first of four indictments brought against him by state and federal prosecutors over the past year, Mr. Biden has resolutely refused to discuss the matters. He had hoped to stay above the fray and avoid fueling the former president’s false claims that the White House was directing the prosecutions.

As late as Thursday evening, a Biden adviser, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity while describing internal deliberations, said the president was not expected to make a formal, scripted statement on television about the verdict. The adviser added it was possible that the president might respond to questions from reporters about it.

Even so, Jennifer Palmieri, a former communications director for Hillary Clinton, cautioned that Mr. Biden’s words would not convince his opponent’s backers, since they were already unbothered by four criminal indictments, including charges of mishandling classified documents and illegally trying to overturn the 2020 election that he lost.

“A Trump supporter who’s outraged by the verdict is not going to be moved for calm by any Democratic president or Republican president who does not back Donald Trump,” she said. “Even if Biden were not his political opponent, if you’re so outraged by the verdict that you’re ready to take to the street, a Democratic president is not going to reach you. That’s the sad reality of being president today.”

Indeed, Mr. Trump has been trying to goad Mr. Biden into engaging on the New York case as well as the other indictments by falsely accusing the president of masterminding them. While Mr. Biden appointed the attorney general who has overseen the two federal cases against Mr. Trump, there is no known evidence that the president himself or his White House have played any role in them. And the New York case, like the Georgia election subversion case, was brought by a local prosecutor who does not answer to the president.

That, of course, did not stop Mr. Trump from claiming the opposite moments after his conviction on Thursday evening. “This was done by the Biden administration in order to wound or hurt an opponent, a political opponent,” he said outside the courthouse. His allies quickly amplified the assertion. On Fox News, the hosts and guests talked about the “evil forces” and “wicked people” pursuing Mr. Trump, blaming the prosecution on Mr. Biden, “who is now the villain.”

The notion that the Justice Department is simply a political weapon surely comes as something of a surprise to Mr. Biden given that the same department is putting his own son, Hunter, on trial on Monday on federal gun charges.

Mr. Biden and his team have shown more willingness to poke at Mr. Trump’s criminal troubles in recent weeks even without taking them on frontally. The president has mocked his predecessor for falling asleep during the trial (“Sleepy Don”) and sent the actor Robert De Niro to hold a feisty news conference at the courthouse assailing Mr. Trump (“guilty and we all know it”).

And they quickly sought to capitalize on the verdict on Thursday with a string of fund-raising appeals, just as Mr. Trump did. “Despite a jury finding Donald Trump guilty today, there is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the ballot box,” Mr. Biden said in one solicitation email just hours after the jury announced its judgment, adding that “Donald Trump’s supporters are fired up and likely setting fund-raising records for his campaign.”

Still, the Biden campaign did not predict that the verdict will change the contest, which polls show is exceedingly tight, especially in the critical battleground states needed to prevail in the Electoral College. Instead, advisers said Mr. Biden will continue to frame his argument to voters around issues like the economy, abortion rights and democracy.

One adviser said he did not expect the campaign to run advertisements focusing on Mr. Trump’s status as a convicted felon, nor did he imagine that Mr. Biden would try to back out of the June 27 debate on the grounds that he should not appear onstage with a criminal, as some Democrats have urged. It says something about today’s politics that running against a felon is not seen as a winning strategy.

Asked by a reporter at a later event on Friday whether the contrary were true, that the conviction might actually help Mr. Trump win the election, Mr. Biden demurred. “I have no idea,” he said.

But he said he was not worried that the case could set a precedent for a local prosecutor pursuing him someday. “Not at all,” he said. “I didn’t do anything wrong. The system still works.” And he scoffed at the notion that he was somehow pulling the strings behind the scenes. “I didn’t know I was that powerful,” he said.

The president’s formal statement came at the start of an announcement about the latest cease-fire proposal in the Middle East and shortly before meeting with the visiting prime minister of Belgium and hosting a celebration of the Kansas City Chiefs. Mr. Biden then left for Rehoboth Beach, Del., for the weekend before heading to France next week for ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion.

That is a contrast the Biden campaign is all too happy to foster: On the one hand, a commander in chief welcoming foreign leaders and football champions to the White House, grappling with momentous questions of war and peace and traveling to the iconic beaches of Normandy to pay tribute to American heroes. On the other hand, a challenger railing against the system and preparing for a sentencing hearing where he may get prison time, just as convicted felons typically do.

“Trump will descend even more deeply into rage and self-pity. He cannot help himself,” Mr. Axelrod said. “Biden and the campaign would be well served to lean more deeply into the contrast between a president fighting to address the pressing concerns of people, and Trump, who fights only for himself.”⍐

By Peter Baker Reporting from Washington May 31, 2024 New York Times

 

Trump Guilty on All Counts in Hush-Money Case

Donald J. Trump, the former president and presumptive 2024 Republican nominee, was convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a case stemming from a payment that silenced a porn star.

The former president’s sentencing is scheduled for July. Here’s the latest.

Donald J. Trump was convicted on Thursday of falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal that threatened to derail his 2016 presidential campaign, capping an extraordinary trial that tested the resilience of the American justice system and will reverberate into November’s election.

Mr. Trump was convicted on all 34 counts of falsifying business records by a jury of 12 New Yorkers, who deliberated over two days to reach a decision in a case rife with descriptions of secret deals, tabloid scandal and an Oval Office pact with echoes of Watergate. The former president sat largely expressionless, a glum look on his face, after the jury issued its verdict.

His sentencing was scheduled for July 11.

The jury found that Mr. Trump had faked records to conceal the purpose of money given to his onetime fixer, Michael D. Cohen. The false records disguised the payments as ordinary legal expenses when in truth, Mr. Trump was reimbursing Mr. Cohen for a $130,000 hush-money deal the fixer struck with the porn star Stormy Daniels to silence her account of a sexual liaison with Mr. Trump.

The felony conviction calls for a sentence of up to four years behind bars, but Mr. Trump may never see the inside of a prison cell. He could receive probation when he is sentenced, and he is certain to appeal the verdict — meaning it may be years before the case is resolved. Still, the jury’s decision is an indelible moment in America’s history, concluding the only one of four criminal cases against Mr. Trump that was likely to go to trial before Election Day.

At a park outside the courthouse in Lower Manhattan, crowds had gathered for weeks.Credit...
Todd Heisler/The New York Times

Here’s what to know:

• Trump can still be president: Nothing in the Constitution prevents a felon from running for president, or serving in the White House. Mr. Trump — who has long claimed the case against him is politically motivated — is expected to try to leverage the verdict to his advantage on the campaign trail, painting himself as the victim of a Democratic cabal.

• Trump’s reaction: Mr. Trump showed little emotion as the verdict was read, then shook his son Eric’s hand after being dismissed from the courtroom. Outside, he appeared somber as he repeated a litany of complaints about the case, including that the judge in the case, Juan M. Merchan, was biased against him. “The real verdict is going to be Nov. 5, by the people,” he told reporters, without responding to a shouted question about why Americans should vote for a felon.

• Celebration and outrage: Reaction to the historic verdict was immediate. A demonstrator outside the courthouse raised a large “Trump Convicted” sign, while others pumped their fists. Mr. Trump’s campaign emailed out a fund-raising appeal calling him a “political prisoner.” And President Biden’s campaign urged supporters not to sit idle, saying on social media that the only way to keep Mr. Trump out of the White House is at the ballot box.

• A proud prosecutor: The Manhattan district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, thanked the jury for convicting Mr. Trump, who he said had falsified business records to “conceal a scheme to corrupt the 2016 election.” He added, “There are many voices out there but the only voice that matters is the voice of the jury, and the jury has spoken.”

• The jury deliberated for roughly 10 hours: The jurors asked to again hear portions of testimony by Mr. Cohen and David Pecker, the former publisher of The National Enquirer, who prosecutors say was part of a conspiracy to suppress unflattering stories on Mr. Trump’s behalf during the 2016 campaign. Read about what the jury wanted to hear again.

  The jury also wanted Justice Merchan to repeat some of the instructions he gave the jury on Wednesday, which serve as a guide to their deliberations. But the jurors don’t have a copy of his instructions, which the law does not allow.

• Dueling views of the case: A prosecutor from the Manhattan district attorney’s office said in closing arguments that Mr. Trump had tried to “hoodwink the American voter” with a conspiracy to influence the 2016 election. “All roads lead to the man who benefited the most: Donald Trump,” the prosecutor, Joshua Steinglass, told the jury.

  Todd Blanche, a lawyer for Mr. Trump, argued in his closing that Mr. Trump’s actions were not crimes, but merely business as it is commonly practiced. The case, he told jurors, hinged on the testimony of Mr. Cohen, whom he called “the greatest liar of all time.” Take a look back at the words that defined the closing arguments.

• The core of the charges: Prosecutors say Mr. Trump tried to disguise repayments to Mr. Cohen as ordinary legal fees. Mr. Trump has pleaded not guilty and denies sleeping with Ms. Daniels, despite her testimony, under oath, about a sexual encounter with him in Lake Tahoe, Nev., in 2006. This is a refresher on the case.⍐

• Jonah E. Bromwich and Ben Protess NYTimes

Israel seizes Gaza's entire border with Egypt, presses with raids into Rafah

Israel seizes Gaza's entire border with Egypt, presses with raids into Rafah

CAIRO, May 29 (Reuters) - Israeli forces have taken control of a buffer zone along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, the country's military said on Wednesday, giving Israel effective authority over the Palestinian territory's entire land border.

Israel also continued deadly raids on Rafah in southern Gaza despite an order from the International Court of Justice to end attacks on the city, where half of Gaza's 2.3 million people had previously taken refuge.

In a televised briefing, chief military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Israeli forces had gained "operational" control over the "Philadelphi Corridor", using the Israeli military's code name for the 14 km-long (9 mile) corridor along the Gaza Strip's only border with Egypt.

"The Philadelphi Corridor served as an oxygen line for Hamas, which it regularly used to smuggle weapons into the area of the Gaza Strip," Hagari said. Hamas is the armed Palestinian group that governs the blockaded territory.

Hagari did not spell out what "operational" control referred to but an Israeli military official earlier said there were Israeli "boots on the ground" along parts of the corridor.

The border with Egypt along the southern edge was the Gaza Strip's only land border that Israel had not controlled directly.

Earlier on Wednesday, Israel sent tanks on raids into Rafah. They had moved into the heart of Rafah for the first time on Tuesday despite an order from the top United Nations court to immediately halt the assault on the city.

The World Court said Israel had not explained how it would keep evacuees from Rafah safe and provide food, water and medicine. Its ruling also called on Hamas to immediately and unconditionally release hostages taken from Israel on Oct. 7.

Rafah residents said Israeli tanks had pushed into Tel Al-Sultan in the west and Yibna and near Shaboura in the centre before retreating towards a buffer zone on the border with Egypt, rather than staying put as they have in other offensives.

"We received distress calls from residents in Tel Al-Sultan where drones targeted displaced citizens as they moved from areas where they were staying toward the safe areas," the deputy director of ambulance and emergency services in Rafah, Haitham al Hams, said.

Palestinian health officials said 19 civilians had been killed in Israeli airstrikes and shelling across Gaza. Israel accuses Hamas militants of hiding among civilians, something Gaza's ruling Islamist group denies.

Health Minister Majed Abu Raman urged Washington to pressure Israel to open the Rafah crossing to aid, saying there was no indication that Israeli authorities would do so soon and that patients in besieged Gaza were dying for lack of treatment.

Fighting in Gaza will continue throughout 2024 at least, Israel's National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said, signalling Israel was not ready to end the war as Hamas has demanded as part of a deal to exchange its hostages for Palestinian prisoners.

"The fighting in Rafah is not a pointless war," Hanegbi said, reiterating that Israel aimed to end Hamas rule in Gaza and stop it and its allies attacking Israel.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israel needed to craft a post-war plan for Gaza or risk lawlessness, chaos and a Hamas comeback in the enclave.

The U.S., Israel's closest ally, reiterated its opposition to a major ground offensive in Rafah on Tuesday while saying it did not believe such an operation was under way.

More than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's Gaza offensive, the enclave's health ministry said.

Israel launched its war after Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israeli communities on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people and seizing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

ENB Poster: Stop the genocidal Palestine war now

CEASEFIRE NEGOTIATIONS STRUGGLE ON

There was no word on Wednesday on developments in the ceasefire and hostage release talks. Hamas has said talks are pointless unless Israel ends its offensive on Rafah.

The armed wing of Hamas and that of allies Islamic Jihad said they confronted invading forces in Rafah with anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs and blew up explosive devices they had planted, resulting in numerous successful hits.

The Israeli military said three Israeli soldiers were killed and three badly wounded. Public broadcaster Kan radio said an explosive device had been set off in a Rafah building.

Palestinian health officials said several people were wounded by Israeli fire and stores of aid were set ablaze in eastern Rafah, where residents said Israeli bombardment had destroyed many homes in an area Israel has ordered evacuated.

Around a million Palestinians who had taken shelter in Rafah at the southern end of the Gaza Strip have now fled after Israeli orders to evacuate, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA reported on Tuesday.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said it had evacuated its medical teams from its field hospital in the Al-Mawasi area, a designated civilian evacuation zone, because of continued bombardments.

PRCS said two of its staff were killed when an ambulance was struck while on a mission to rescue people in Rafah. In another Israeli air strike on a house in Gaza City, medics said five other Palestinians were killed.

In the nearby city of Khan Younis, an Israeli air strike killed three people overnight, including Salama Baraka, a former senior Hamas police officer, medics and Hamas media said. Another killed four people, including two children, medics said.

In northern Gaza, Israeli forces shelled Gaza City neighbourhoods and moved deeper into Jabalia, where residents said large residential districts were destroyed.

Malnutrition has become widespread in Gaza as aid deliveries have slowed to a trickle. The U.N., which has warned of famine, said on Wednesday the amount of humanitarian aid entering the enclave has dropped by two-thirds since Israel began its assault on the Rafah region this month.⍐

வெசாக்: 'தமிழ்` முதலாளியும், `சிங்கள`ப் பிக்குவும்.

Lyca charity celebrates Vesak in Batticaloa, with a helping hand

The philanthropic arm of telecoms giant Lyca celebrated the Buddhist festival of Vesak in Batticaloa last week, with extremist Buddhist monk Ampitiye Sumanarathana seen distributing ice creams for the charity.

Gnanam, the charity wing of Tamil-owned Lyca, opened the stall to celebrate the Buddhist festival,  where food is shared throughout the day. The festival comes just weeks after Tamils were arrested for distributing Mullivaikkal kanji, a rice porridge that is usually distributed to commemorate Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day.

Sri Lankan officials however were seen partaking in festivities, alongside racist Buddhist monk Ampitiye Sumanarathana The monk, notorious for his racist outbursts and assaults, was seen speaking to Gnanam officials and helping distribute free food to residents in the area. 

Sumanarathana is known for his anti-Tamil and anti-Muslim remarks.

Last year, he threatened that "every single Tamil person will be cut into pieces!" in an outburst that was caught on camera. "They will all be killed! All the Tamils in the south will be cut into pieces and butchered! The Sinhalese will massacre them."

In 2016, the monk threatened to kill a Tamil government official in Batticaloa, subjecting him to verbal slander when he described him as a “Tamil dog” and a “bloody tiger”, while a Sri Lankan police officer watched. Tamils pursued a demonstration in Batticaloa calling for his arrest.

Lyca, meanwhile, has continued to pursue several business interests on the island.