Category: Political

Dubai police recover rare $20 million blue diamond stolen by a Sri Lankan security guard and smuggled to Sri Lanka

uly 26, Colombo: The Dubai Police said they have recovered a rare blue diamond estimated to be worth $20 million which was stolen from a city company’s vault by a Sri Lankan security guard and smuggled to Sri Lanka in a shoebox.

The diamond was stolen by a Sri Lankan who worked as security guard at a money transfer company pulling off a near-impossible theft from the vault of the company, an Associated Press report said.

Police said Thursday a guard with the money transfer company secreted the 9.33-carat diamond out of the vault on May 25 and passed it off to a relative who smuggled it out of the country inside a pair of sneakers in a shoebox.

A video of the investigation released by the police shows an officer taking the sports shoe out of its box and recovering the pouch containing the diamond that is hidden inside.

After over 120 interviews and the review of 8,620 hours of CCTV footage – some showing the theft in progress – police say they were able to trace the suspect.

Colonel Mohammed Aqil Ahli, deputy director of the department of criminal investigation, told Khaleej Times that the police were notified about the daring theft from the company�s vault at its headquarters in Jebel Ali.

The company officials were baffled by the crime, as the suspect had to go through multiple layers of security gates to get to the vault.

As per the security protocol in place, the number of employees authorized to pass through to the vault reduced with the passage of each gate. The final gate could only be opened by three security guards together: The first had to have a key, the second a manual secret code and the third an electronic code that automatically changed frequently.

Despite these security precautions, the suspect managed to enter the vault and carry out the theft. After the police identified him, they came to know that he had cut off contact with all of his acquaintances. The police managed to trace him and arrested him.

During his interrogation, the suspect told the police that he carried out the theft a week before he was to go on vacation. The plan was to escape to his home country to “realize his dream of becoming a millionaire”.

Though the police did not disclose how he managed to bypass all the security layers, Col Ahli said the suspect’s background as a security guard helped him carry out the theft.

It was not immediately clear how the diamond was recovered from Sri Lanka.
Singapore and Sri Lanka sign free trade agreement

COLOMBO: Singapore and Sri Lanka signed a free trade agreement on Tuesday (Jan 23) which will deepen economic ties and facilitates greater trade flows between the two countries.

The Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA) was signed by Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) S Iswaran and Sri Lanka’s Minister for Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena witnessed the signing in Colombo.

With the deal inked, Singapore and Sri Lanka companies will gain greater access to each other’s markets across many sectors, said Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) in a news release.
Ward Place closed due to students’ protest

Ward Place in Colombo has been closed for traffic from Town Hall due to a protest by university students, Ada Derana reporter said.

The Inter University Students’ Federation (IUSF) organised the protest march in Colombo today (21), demanding solutions for the issues of South Eastern University students.

The agitation is also against the recent statements of the Minister of Higher Education Wijedasa Rajapakse, according to the IUSF Convener Lahiru Weerasekera.

The Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court today allowed university students to hold their protest without inconveniencing the public, after a court order was sought by Fort Police.

The protesting students were also barred from entering any public institutions.
Moon-Chan Kim in seek of commercial opportunities in Sri Lanka

Mr. Moon Chan Kim the Co-founder and technical adviser of E&D Co., Ltd, a company which provides environment and energy technology solutions. Its products include EnDsel-PF, a device that reduces the particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbon emissions from diesel vehicles; and EnDsel-PPF, a solution for emission control from light and medium duty diesel vehicles. He developed and commercialized automobile environmental catalysts and single type DPF, and P-DPF system.

Moon Chan Kim a citizen of Korea with a brooch of the Sri Lankan flag tagged on his jacket, is now in the course for commercial opportunities in Sri Lanka along with directing Korean firms to invest in such commercial opportunities he discovers to be fitting.

Korea is also one of Sri Lanka’s leading donors of Official Development Assistance (ODA). Korean ODA has contributed to Sri Lanka’s development process through the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF), and grant assistance via the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). There are many lessons that our lawmakers and people can learn from Korea. When World War II ended, Korea was way behind both Sri Lanka and Japan in terms of economic growth.

Mr. Moon-Chan Kim in 1993 graduated from Yondsei University, Seoul Korea with a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering a study of the hydrocracking and the hydrodesulphurization over NiPtMo, CoPtMo catalysts supported on HZSM-5, LaY, and r-Al2O3, and their acidic characterization.

Following his graduation, Moon-Chan Kim in 1995 became the professor of Environmental Engineering at the Cheongju University in Korea executing many national projects for the environmental catalysts and renewable energy.

Been the founder and CEO of ENFC CO., Ltd. In 2005 and also the founder and CEO of the Oil City., Ltd. In 2012, Mr. Moon-Chan Kim is now the Asian region policy officer of International Biographical Center a publisher owned by Melrose Press Ltd that specializes in producing biographical publications, such as the Dictionary of International Biography, Great Men and Women of Science and other vanity awards.

Sri Lanka in the modern era has become a center of attraction for foreign investments as a part of a South Asian trio with high potential for growth. Korean business leaders have already expressed their strong interest in investing in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka with an economy worth of $278.415 billion and a per capita GDP of about $11,068.996, Sri Lanka has a strong growth rate in recent years. Sri Lanka’s economic future can be seen as a services hub to produce goods which plug into regional and global value chains and a center for high-value agricultural products such as fruits, vegetables and dairy contributing the rapid growth of the tourism and export sectors.

With an unemployment rate of 4.2%, with foreign firms inclined towards investing in Sri Lankan businesses seeking for opportunities, it will in return be an opportunity for the unemployed population in the country to seek for job opportunities which will contribute towards the economy of the country as a benefit.

In 2010, as the research scientist for the Department of Chemical Engineering, MIT in Cambridge, USA, Moon Chan Kim executed and commercialized power generation system by fast pyrolysis with waste biomass and MSW and emulsion fuel for IMO Tier 3 regulations.

The country’s geographically strategic location near two high-growth regions (India and Southeast Asia), and its tourist potential, as well as the measures taken by the government, creation of free zones, reduction of food subsidies and other consumer goods, are factors that draws the eyes of foreign investors towards Sri Lanka.

Moon Chan Kim is a professional in areas such dissociation catalyst of waste plastics and woody fiber for producing diesel oil, heterogeneous catalysts for environmental fields such as reducing NOx, CO, dioxin, ozone, VOCs (volatile organic carbons), and toxic materials. Further, he has entitled The Da Vinci Diamond Award (IBC 2016), Great Men and Women of Science Award, and furthermore. Hence, his knowledge and participation in the commercial sector will be beneficial for Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka rejects fears of China’s ‘debt-trap diplomacy’ in belt and road projects

Kodituwakku was speaking to the South China Morning Post at the Sri Lankan embassy in Beijing earlier this month, before the devastating Easter Sunday bombings, which have so far killed at least 290 people.

Sri Lanka’s debts include loan repayments to individual nation lenders such as Japan and China, as well as to multilateral financial institutions like the IMF.
TERROR IN SRI LANKA

In 8 coordinated attacks around Sri Lanka, 215 people were killed and 449 were injured. the death toll included 35 foreign nationals. the nationalities were USA, Denmark, Pakistan, India, Morocco, China, Japan and Bangladesh.

7 persons have been arrested and an island-wide curfew has been imposed until 6 a.m on Monday morning. Schools throughout the island closed for two consecutive days 22nd and 23rd of April and universities have been temporarily called off. It is not clear if Monday and Tuesday are declared a holiday.

Former Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse, currently Sri Lanka’s leader of the Opposition visited the injured in hospitals whilst President Maithripala Sirisena was making a return to the island from Singapore.
Last year 183 ships arrive at Sri Lanka’s Hambantota port

Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Shipping and Ports says last year 183 ships arrived at the Magampura Mahinda Rajapaksha Port in Hambantota Port. Out of these ships, 175 ships were cargo ships.

In 2017, 126,514 tonnes have been unloaded at the Magam Ruhunupura Mahinda Rajapaksa Port and 46,835 tonnes have been shipped from the Port.

The port’s total container handling capacity is 198,000 TEUs and also has a 950,000 tons Break Bulk handling capacity. Its bulk Cargo capacity is around 2.5 million tons (including 1.6 million tons cement) and it also has 396,000 units Roll-on/Roll-off (RO-RO ) capacity.
Source: Colombo Page
Sri Lankan Airlines flight from London diverted to Frankfurt due to medical emergency

SriLankan Airlines flight UL504 en-route from London to Colombo with 268 passengers was diverted to Frankfurt airport last night due to a medical emergency, the airline said. The fight has landed safely at Frankfurt International Airport in Germany.

The airline in a travel alert said the most important factor was the health and safety of the passenger in concern and it has made every arrangement to meet the needs of the customers who were affected by this incident.

“The expected time of departure from Frankfurt will be notified shortly, once Frankfurt airport re-opens after the usual nighttime closure,” it said.