Aug 18 (EN) SL is confident of reaching debt sustainability without re-structuring domestic debt which will lead to problems in the banking sector, CB Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said. “There has been no request to restructure domestic debt,” he said. “We are confident that we can make debt sustainable without restructuring debt.” There have been concerns among domestic bond investors that rupee debt will be re-structured following comments made by Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe that more..

Aug 18 (DM) Attention has been drawn to the spreading of rabies among a herd of deer in the Homagama area, Dr. L.D. Kithsiri said. He said the health authorities have already launched an investigation on the deaths of 15 deer from the herd that had been found dead. Investigations revealed that two deer were infected by rabies. Dr. Kithsiri said that there is no need to panic. People in the area are being advised of this. A vaccination program for dogs has started in the area more..

Aug 18 (Island) Canada and SL, on Monday, signed a MoU, to implement the WUSC Volunteer Cooperation Programme 2020-2027. MoU was signed by High Commissioner of Canada to SL David McKinnon, and Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Economic Stabilization and National Policies Mahinda Siriwardana, at the Ministry of Finance, the Canadian HC said. After signing the MoU, McKinnon said “The programme will contribute to sustainable economic growth in SL and foster closer more..

Aug 18 (EN) SL’s economy is likely to contract more than 8% in 2022 and inflation may peak below 70%, CB governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said. “According to an earlier projection, we thought economic contraction would be 7.5%. And it looks like it will be a little more like that and it will probably pass 8 percent this year,” governor Weerasinghe told reporters after holding the policy rate at 15.5% but market rates around 25 to 30%. more..

Aug 18 (ISDP) China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) isn’t quite as lucrative as often advertised. Ten projects found in six nations – Vanuatu, Indonesia, Myanmar, Tajikistan, Pakistan, and Hungary – could not generate sufficient revenue to justify the cost. Projects in Mongolia and Azerbaijan face the same problem, despite gross gains. It falls on these countries to pay the difference. Several of the would-be BRI beneficiaries have found themselves forced to transfer resources to service their debt. more..

Aug 18 (Reuters) Sri Lanka will ask Japan to invite the Indian Ocean island's main creditor nations, including China and India, to talks on bilateral debt restructuring, as it seeks a way out of its worst economic crisis in decades, its president said on Thursday. "Someone needs to call in, invite the main creditor nations. We will ask Japan to do it," Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe told Reuters, adding that he would travel to Tokyo next month and hold talks with Japanese premier Fumio Kishida. more..

Aug 18 (EN) Overall selling prices of apartments in SL increased by 45.17% when compared to June 2021, according LankaPropertyWeb’s housing price index. Devaluation of the SL rupee against the US dollar which has resulted in shortages of raw materials for construction which has in turn led to skyrocketing costs of construction and rising interest for housing loans, a report said, has prevented the construction of new houses more..

Aug 18 (EN) SL’s privately run Laugfs Gas has reduced the price of domestic gas cylinders. The new price of a 12.5kg gas cylinder has been reduced by 1,050 rupees effective Wednesday August 17, and will now retail at 5,800 rupees. A 5kg cylinder will be 2,320 rupees, and a 2kg cylinder will be 928 rupees. The company had received a shipment of 3,120 MT of LP gas on Tuesday, and the stocks would be released as soon as filling station operations commence, they said more..

Aug 18 (TM) Central Bank (CB) should maintain its increased interest rates while reforms should be implemented with the aim of minimising their impact on the country’s production sector, said CB Stakeholder Engagement Committee Chairman Prof. Sirimal Abeyratne. He said the CB has faced a dilemma in terms of taking decisions related to the interest rates, as an increase or decrease in rates will make one part of society happy, while leaving another section unhappy. more..

Aug 18 (TM) Colombo City Centre (CCC) has announced that they will host a holiday camp for kids aged four to 13 years on 20, 21, 27, and 28 August. The aptly titled exclusive four-day edutainment-packed camp, Kidventures, will offer kids an adventurous and unique experience with the opportunity to explore and discover new interests, skills, and talents, while creating memories that will last a lifetime. CCC said that they hope this edutainment camp will be of great value more..

Aug 18 (TS) Sri Lanka is in deep turmoil; understanding this crisis is crucial for Canada’s wider interests in the Indo-Pacific. Prior to the upheaval, Sri Lanka had a thriving economy, among the best human development index scores in South Asia, and wide-ranging trade and preferential market agreements throughout the region and world. With access to global markets, many sectors — notably tea, agriculture, apparel, manufacturing, shipping, and tourism — had expanded. more..

Aug 18 (TM) The first-ever National Guidelines and Minimum Standards for Child Development Centres (CDCs) in SL, commonly referred to as children’s homes, was approved by the Cabinet this week, which includes guidelines for the children in such centres to make anonymous complaints about the centre. National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) Chairman Udayakumara Amarasinghe said that this is the first-ever national policy more..

Aug 18 (EN) Japanese govt has granted medical equipment worth 500 million Japanese yen to Sri J'pura govt hospital to improve the hospital’s treatment facilities under Japan’s Non-Project Grant Aid Programme. A statement by the Department of External Resources said the grant was given in response to a request by SL’s govt. Under the 500 million Japanese yen (1,265 million rupees) grant assistance, angio-CT machine, other radiology equipment, ophthalmic instruments, more..

Aug 18 (TM) The activists who are involved in aragalaya (struggle) protest will not respond to any rumours alleging that they have links with the country’s diaspora, said a lawyer for the activists, Manoj Nanayakkara. He said that many social media posts are being shared related to diaspora links involving the key figures of the aragalaya. “I don’t think that the activists have to respond to rumours, as this is also a part of the Govt’s plan to destroy the public faith in the aragalaya. more..

Aug 18 (TM) All-Island Private Pharmacy Owners’ Association has raised concerns over the risk to pharmacies owing to the present economic crisis, and said that 10% of pharmacies islandwide are closed due to the current crisis. Association Media Secy said that sales have also dropped due to the price increase of drugs. “We are facing heavy losses due to the current prices of medicine and power cuts. more..

Aug 18 (DM) Necessary legal actions will be taken to recover the damage caused to the Galle Face Green due to the long stay of the activists, Urban Development and Housing Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said. This group of people who claimed to be activists had entered the Galle Face Green area illegally and had engaged in illegal activities. "It was reported that an illegal residence has been established in it and even the addresses have been taken to confirm that residence," he said. more..

Aug 18 (Island) Ruling party rebel lawmaker Prof. Charitha Herath says that the cancellation of the Japanese funded USD 1.5 bn light rail transit (LRT) project remains a mystery. SLPP National List MP said that his efforts, in his former capacity as Chairman of the COPE to unravel the truth, failed. MP noted that the fund allocation for this, on a soft loan, was even bigger than that of the Chinese flagship project, namely the Colombo Port City. SL suspended the project in Sept 2020, more..

Aug 19 (DM) There is still much doubt in the minds of Sri Lankans about their future here in the island despite there being a regime change and a new president; elected by parliament. This is a country where most television stations set aside some time every week for astrologers to appear in their programmes and make predictions about the future. But still, despite all that, Sri Lankans, in general, cannot see beyond the couple of months left in this calendar year. Dead bodies of youth being more..

Aug 19 (TM) Whenever and wherever there is a disaster, it is those affected that first respond to it. As the famous saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child, and similarly, it takes a village to support a person facing a humanitarian crisis. This was part of the United Nations’ (UN) World Humanitarian Day 2022 message, which, due to the prevailing social and economic crises in SL, makes more sense to Sri Lankans who are receiving support from and are providing support to their fellow citizens more..

Aug 19 (DM) Manusha Nanayakkara, the minister of labour and foreign employment, made a welcoming decision to amend the labour laws to permit school students to work part-time in a few specific industries. This will be especially helpful to families who find it difficult to survive due to the rising cost of living. The action may also help to wean young people away from risky behaviours like drug & alcohol addiction. more..

Aug 19 (CT) The discourse Doctrine of Necessity is portrayed as a negative aspect in the SL context. However, beyond its destructive usage in the past by Zia Ul-Haq of Pakistan, we people of SL can make use of it to strengthen the democracy and rule of law. Those who deny the application of the doctrine of necessity in the local domain for the reason of constitutional absurdity, know very well that we are already living with constitutional absurdity! But unfortunately, we constitutional law experts more..

Aug 19 (GV) Women played a significant part in the growth and stability of the plantation economy throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Women were brought along with men by the British from India under colonial bondage through indenture, an organized slavery system. Under British rule the plantation economy grew, driving up demand for labor. However, since slavery had already been abolished, the colonial masters resorted to instituting indenture agreements. more..

Aug 19 (TM) In part one of this article, we considered the proposed electricity tariff revision from the perspective of the urban poor in Colombo, arguing that the revisions failed to account for ground realities faced by domestic consumers, both in terms of understanding the financial pressures of the economic crisis as well as how electricity usage has changed in response. In light of approved tariff increase that averages 75% in all categories, more..

Aug 19 (CT) Yesterday’s Finance Today lead story ran the heading Sri Lanka Eyeing Divestiture of Key State Assets. It said the initial focus is Grand Hyatt Hotel, Colombo, Colombo Hilton and Grand Oriental Hotel. Apart from hotels, there should also be a focus on divesting assets covering the financial, utilities, transportation, lands, mining and quarrying, pharmaceuticals, education, fishery, plantations, real estate, food and beverages, manufacturing, other wholesale and retail sectors more..

Aug 19 (Island) Former SL Ambassador to Ukraine Udayanga Weeratunga has been questioned by the CID on the infamous MIG deal for the umpteenth time. Police investigations in this country tend to go on until the cows come home when the suspects happen to be powerful politicians and their kith and kin. MIG probe is likely to go on until or the suspects go the way of all flesh. No wonder corruption has eaten into the vitals of SL society. Weeratunga stands accused of having received kickbacks more..

Aug 19 (DM) What is common between Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie and early biographers of Islam’s Prophet? Fiction. At the core of the controversy over Rushdie’s 1988 book, Satanic Verses, is an alleged incident a few early biographers of Prophet Muhammad had recorded without verification. Both the Sunni and Shiite streams of Islam have rejected the incident as outright fabrication or Apocrypha. The alleged incident refers to the whispering of Satan more..

Aug 19 (CT) It is said the true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members, especially the children, the elderly, and the disabled. In SL, being disabled is an additional challenge, as even the little facilities they enjoy at present were won through years-long battles by the members of the community. So much so, that the country doesn’t even have latest statistics on the disabled. According to the report which supposedly carries the latest data by more..

Aug 19 (CT) A large number of medical professionals in the state health service, especially those in the Health Ministry, are drawn like moths to torchlight to opportunities of foreign travel under the veil of official work. There have been whispers that many Epidemiology Directors travelled overseas for conferences in the past. There was also an instance when certain top officials of the Health Department were sent on foreign trips more..

Aug 19 (ST) The National Olympic Committee of SL (NOC), who initiated pathways for young sportspersons with true potential and had the knack to win medals at the international stage, through programmes and long term projects partnering with the corporate sector, releasing am official media communique, stated that it is proud and honoured to have played a part in wrestler Nethmi Ahinsa’s feat at the concluded Commonwealth Games 2022. “This is only the first chapter of Nethmi’s story. more..

Aug 19 (ST) Globally successful manufacturing destinations for high-end apparel have three defining characteristics. Firstly, they have robust secondary supply chains – which are critical to ensuring the timely availability of all required inputs. The importance of this becomes apparent once you consider that to manufacture an item like a bra, producers may need up to 20 components. Such components – including fabric, lace, bra wire etc. – must be available at the right time and more..

Aug 19 (FT) Ambassador Mahinda Samarasinghe said yesterday he is fully committed to boost bilateral ties with Mexico. Samarasinghe who is also envoy in the US recently received accreditation as Ambassador of SL to Mexico (resident in Washington DC). “I have the highest expectations of growing our existing close relationship to encompass many areas of mutual cooperation, across the spectrum of our friendship. There are many opportunities for SL and Mexico to more..

Aug 19 (DM) IT companies catering exclusively to the domestic market are struggling to recruit and retain talent as workers are actively switching to entities that have salaries pegged to the US dollar or other foreign currencies. Unlike the IT companies that are catering to foreign clients, entities that are focused on the local market for business are struggling as they are unable to cope with cost escalations and to match the US dollar pegged pay scale. Following the sharp devaluation of more..

Aug 19 (DM) INSEE recently began construction of its US$ 3 million mega capacity warehouse within the industrial park in Hambantota International Port (HIP). It will be the largest warehousing facility inside a port in SL for raw materials used in the production of cement. The warehouse which will see completion in the next six months will hold a capacity of 45,000 cubic metres and is being built on 17,300 sq m plot of land. more..

Aug 19 (TM) Visa has announced Visa Fintech Initiative: SL (VFI) to drive fintech innovation in the island nation. As the country prepares to tide over difficult times, the Visa Fintech Initiative: Sri Lanka programme, in partnership with Hatch, aims to empower local fintechs to build payment solutions that solve digital payment challenges and drive the adoption of digital services. Visa Country Manager SL and the Maldives Avanthi Colombage said: “We are happy to announce Visa Fintech Initiative more..

Aug 19 (DM) Hyundai Motor Company, the world’s sixth largest automobile manufacturer and a leader in future mobility has entered into an agreement with SL’s Abans Auto, authorizing the reputed local automotive retailer to assemble and manufacture Hyundai automobiles and components under license in SL. The agreement was sealed as a result of lengthy discussions initiated in 2020 between the renowned Korean automotive manufacturer and Abans Auto, its authorised distributor in SL, more..