Jul 7 (AD) SL’s headline inflation is expected to rise to 70% in the coming months from the current level of 50%, Governor of CB, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe says. His remarks came during a media briefing convened in Colombo to announce CB’s 5th monetary policy review for the year 2022. The major concern and priority, from the CB’s point of view, is to address inflation and inflation expectations going forward and bring it down more..

Jul 7 (Forbes) UNICEF appeals for support to meet the urgent needs of the country's most vulnerable. As SL descends further into its worst economic and political crisis in 70 years, it is children who are suffering the most. A foreign currency shortage has left the country struggling to import essential goods, pushing food and fuel prices sky-high. Staples like rice, lentils, milk and cooking oil are slipping out of reach for many. Shortages of lifesaving medicine and frequent, prolonged power cuts more..

Jul 7 (DM) In reference to his meeting with JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, U.S. Ambassador Julie Chung said she asked him to contact her whenever he had any concern regarding American policy, investment projects, programmes or any other assistance. She said the two sides could get away with disinformation in that manner. She said the JVP is a party with a big presence and growing popularity. “When I first arrived, I asked my staff to make sure that I meet all political more..

Jul 7 (AD) The COPE has recommended that an investigation be conducted on the cancellation of the Term tender, which had been approved by the Cabinet to purchase LP gas from Siam Gas at USD 96 per metric ton and opting to buy 100,000 MT of gas at a cost of USD 129 per metric ton from an Oman company. The investigation will be carried out through the Auditor General’s Department. more..

Jul 7 (AD) IGP C.D. Wickramaratne has appealed to all civil activists, political and religious leaders and the general public to act responsibly when exercising their freedom of speech and expression. Delivering a video statement, the police chief urged the members of public to refrain from damaging private and public property and obstructing the duties of public servants on duty. “The police always respect the freedom of expression and speech and peaceful assembly guaranteed by more..

Jul 7 (Reuters) Sri Lanka will hold road shows in five key Indian cities to attract more visitors from its populous northern neighbour in a bid to bring more foreign currency into the crisis-hit island, its tourism minister said on Wednesday. Known for its rolling hills, pristine beaches and laidback seaside towns, SL is grappling with its worst financial crisis in seven decades, partly triggered by economic mismanagement and the COVID-19 pandemic, which wiped out its lucrative tourism industry. more..

Jul 7 (SLN) SL Navy apprehended 07 persons who were suspected to be attempting to illegally migrate from the country by sea, during a night patrol conducted in seas off Talaimannar on 06th July 2022. Apart from these individuals, the Navy also nabbed 02 human smugglers who plotted this illegal act. Navy has been conducting regular operations and patrols covering the sea and coastal areas around the island with the aim of suppressing illegal migration and other forms of illegal activities. more..

Jul 7 (AD) Two representatives from a Russian oil company have reportedly arrived in the island today. The two officials had touched down at the BIA in Katunayake this morning. During this visit, discussions are scheduled to be held between the relevant oil company representatives and SL authorities regarding the import of fuel. Due to the suspension of direct flights between Moscow and Katunayake, the relevant representatives have had to come to Sri Lanka via Bahrain. more..

Jul 7 (CI) Don't panic. Keep things simple. And you don't necessarily have to sweep (if you don't want to). This, Dimuth Karunaratne said, was his advice to SL's batters ahead of the second Test in Galle. They had stumbled to 212 and 113 in the first Test, while Australia made 321 in their first innings. With a slightly better batting pitch expected for the second match, Karunaratne hoped his batters could put up a total that would give more..

Jul 7 (CT) Helvetas Interoperation and SL Development Journalist Forum (SDJF) conducted a national research study on Freedom of Expression and New Media Culture in Sri Lanka through the Institute for Participatory Interaction in Development (IPID) islandwide, with a specific focus on new media used by youth aged 15 to 29. SDJF Programme Director, Azad Mustaffa explained the results of the research speaking at a media briefing. Study took place from July 2021 to Dec 2021. more..

Jul 7 (CT) Amnesty International (AI), on 5 July, urged the SL Govt and connected authorities to conduct an independent investigation into the incidents at the Kandakadu Rehabilitation Centre and to act quickly to free all people who are being held there against their will. An inmate at the Kandakadu Rehabilitation Camp had died as a result of complications arising from assault injuries all over his body caused by blunt weapons, according to the results of post-mortem examination on 5 July. more..

Jul 7 (CT) Abans Environmental Service had written to the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka (CAASL) on 4 May, requesting that their 16 janitors be paid Rs 10,000 separately for the work they have been doing that is not within their mandate. Currently, they are only paid Rs 25,000 per month, which is insufficient given the high cost of living. The janitorial staff has complained to their head office, but the CAASL has yet to implement a pay increase, the workers claim. They have been performing other more..

Jul 7 (CT) Defence Secretary, General Kamal Gunaratne apprised Chairperson of Human Rights Commission of SL (HRCSL), Retired Justice Rohini Marasinghe, about the difficulties Security Forces personnel deployed at fuel stations face in crowd control, but that they are under strict orders to maintain the highest level of discipline and patience. Gunaratne visited the HRCSL on Tuesday (5) to discuss the incident of an assault on a civilian at a fuel station in Kurunegala by an Army Officer. more..

Jul 7 (CT) With not even 50% of Sri Lankans having taken their first booster or the third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, Professor Neelika Malavige urged the public to hasten in obtaining it before the next lineage of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 overtakes the country. Prof. Malavige said only 37.1 per cent of the country’s population had taken the first of the booster shots of the Covid vaccine. more..

Jul 7 (AD) The duration for lodging complaints to the victims of property damage as a result of the act of vandalism in several parts of the country from March 31 to May 15, extended until July 22, the Govt Information Department said. President on June 01 appointed a three-member Presidential Commission to inquire into the incidents of arson, looting, murders, injuries caused to individuals and damages to properties in parts of the country between March 31 and May 15, 2022. more..

Jul 7 (AD) Three private member’s bills containing proposals for amending the laws related to the electoral system of Sri Lanka were presented to the Parliament as a private member’s bill by SJB Member of Parliament Imthiaz Bakeer Markar. Accordingly, the Bills to amend the Parliamentary Elections Act No. 1 of 1981, the Provincial Council Elections Act No. 2 of 1988 and the Bill to amend the Local Authorities Elections Ordinance No. 53 of 1946 were presented to the parliament more..

Jul 7 (EN) World Food Programme (WFP) has commenced a programme to provide emergency food, nutrition, and school meals until December for three million people in cash-strapped Sri Lanka. The latest situation report said about three in 10 households – which comes to 6.26 million people – are food insecure, out of which 65,600 are severely food insecure, following shortages and skyrocketing food inflation. more..

Jul 7 (EN) Stocks fell on Thursday for a fourth straight session following the central bank raised the key policy rates by 100 basis points to 21-year high to tame the inflation that is expected to reach as high as 70% this year, brokers said. All Share Price Index (ASPI) closed 0.84% or 59.49 points lower at 7,057.86, the lowest since April 26. Before the market opened, the central bank raised interest rate at which overnight money is printed for banks by 100 basis points to 15.5%, more..

Jul 7 (EN) A SL court on Thursday denied a request by the police to prevent protesters gathering near Prez Rajapaksa’s official residence in Colombo, ahead of a major anti-govt protest planned for Saturday demanding the president to resign. The Colombo Fort Magistrate rejected the request by the police. “The police had requested the court order because they received intelligence reports that the people will be gathering near the Fort police area and there may be some violence,” more..

Jul 8 (DM) People taking the law into their hands is a common sight at queues and at fuel stations. People are frustrated to the brim, but that doesn’t give them the power to behave like hooligans. Just the other day at a fuel queue, in Western Province, some tuk tuk drivers were seen checking customers whether they had tokens when clearly the Army was appointed for the job. It was after a motortist in the queue retaliated and asked what business the tuk tuk drivers had to check tokens that more..

Jul 8 (DM) SL is in the depth of an economic and political crisis of apocalyptic proportions. Many millions in the most vulnerable sections are skipping meals; Inflation has crossed 50% (unofficial figures put it at two and half times (128% in May). The GDP in nominal rate has halved over less than six months- on purchasing party, it might have lost by a higher margin. An entire economy is at standstill. Small and Medium Size businesses are fighting for survival, threatening large-scale joblessness. more..

Jul 8 (TM) Whether 2019 will be the last crisis-free year SL has experienced for the considerable future is a question people of almost all generations have. While 2020 and 2021 were affected by the health crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, what followed was the economic crisis created mainly by the foreign reserves crisis and shortsighted policy decisions. Despite countless promises by the Govt and Opposition parties more..

Jul 8 (CT) Media reported that business magnate and Investment Promotion Minister Dhammika Perera had asked UNP leader and Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe to shed his Finance Ministry portfolio because of incompetence. The basis of Perera’s claim is that though 300 people have applied to buy a permanent resident visa offered at USD 100,000 a piece, Wickremesinghe as Finance Minister was sitting on those applications. “We can bring in USD 30 million to SL this month more..

Jul 8 (GV) Malnutrition is a complex issue that many nations in the world face at different levels. To successfully eliminate and prevent malnutrition a nation needs a multifactorial, multisectoral and multistakeholder response. The definition of a multisector approach is a deliberate collaboration among various sectors such as health, agriculture, trade, economy and education to jointly achieve a policy on improved nutrition. The govt, UN organizations, civil society and private sector more..

Jul 8 (ST) A dysfunctional token idea introduced by Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekara to provide non-existent diesel and petrol has further raised tensions and caused fights and chaos day and night at filling stations across SL. After announcing tokens, Mr Wijesekera flew to Qatar, shopping for fuel, having failed to secure an oil tanker that he assured was due on June 23. That day, Matara lawmaker tweeted: more..

Jul 8 (TM) Videos of law enforcement throwing canisters of tear gas with absolutely no regard for pedestrians and those travelling in vehicles on main roads leading to the President’s official residence at Colombo Fort and to Parliament sparked public anger on Wednesday. Questions abound over how the authorities deemed the situation a security threat, as the protestors were not even near Prez’s official residence or Parliament, while there also seemed to be several barriers between more..

Jul 8 (CT) It is incredible to have the First Citizen and the Second Citizen of the nation as the top two in the Wanted list for being unwanted! And yet, that is the tragedy of our teardrop isle. The de jure President is a de facto reject. The de facto PM is a de jure reject. They obdurately hold on to their position amidst public outcry at home and abroad against their leadership. Neither has any moral right to be in their respective offices. They must step down. more..

Jul 8 (Island) The JVP has complained of a vicious propaganda campaign against it ahead of a protest to be held soon. Its leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake has said a video doing the rounds on social media shows someone described as a JVP instructor giving a lesson on how to make Molotov cocktails, which those who are to take part in the scheduled protest are urged to strap to their bodies and explode to topple the govt so that the JVP could capture power. more..

Jul 8 (Island) It was in Feb this year, that I pointed out that the SL energy sector is a headless chicken. Looking at the mile long queues for all forms of energy, petrol, diesel, kerosine and LPG, where the citizens are wasting away their lives and in some cases losing their lives, it is quite clear that the situation has even worsened since then. When the above article was written there were no such queues except the LPG shortage. But the writing was on the wall, leading SL to the present abyss hitherto more..

Jul 8 (FT) Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA), foremost apolitical, non-trade union, academic healthcare organisation of all grades of doctors in the country, in a statement urged the Govt to step down than taking the country further down the abyss. Following is the full text of the statement issued by SLMA President Prof. Samath Dharmaratne and Honorary Secretary Prof. Ishan de Zoysa. We wish to express gravest fears more..

Jul 8 (TM) The fall of one regime does not automatically usher in a utopia. Rather, it opens the way for hard work and long efforts to build more just social, economic, and political relationships, and the eradication of other forms of injustices and oppression. As Sri Lanka’s economy enters the hyperinflation zone and discussions on IMF assistance are left uncertain, the past week has shown that no one is coming to save Sri Lanka unless we act to change the existing system. more..

Jul 8 (Island) In Buddhist literature, there is the Parable of the Burning House where the children of a wealthy man, trapped inside a burning house, refuse to leave it, fearful of leaving its comfort – because the flames are yet to reach them. Ultimately, they do leave because the father promises them wonderful gifts and are saved from the fire. Sri Lankans have long awaited such father figures – in fact, our political culture is built on the belief that such fathers will rescue us. more..

Jul 8 (Island) National women’s long jump record holder Sarangi Silva has declined an opportunity to take part in the World Championships in Oregon USA to concentrate on training ahead of the Commonwealth Games which starts later this month. Sarangi, who renewed her national record with a feat of 6.52 metres in April was in the 34th position in the World Athletics Road to Oregon rankings when the qualifying period expired on June 26. With only the top 32 athletes qualifying more..

Jul 8 (Island) SL have been delivered a severe blow ahead of the second Test starting in Galle on Friday as four players tested positive for COVID and the hosts were forced to bring in replacements. Australia have already retained Warne-Murali Trophy having won the first Test last week by ten wickets and SL’s efforts of squaring the two match series has suffered a huge blow. When testings were done on Wednesday evening, three players who featured in the first Test returned positive. more..

Jul 8 (ST) A trickle of tourists visited SL in the first half of the year amid lingering concerns among those in the trade about the economic collapse. Despite the difficulties, some tourists have managed to travel around. Among them was Ms Peggy, 49, from Luxembourg. She has marked her 10th visit to Sri Lanka. “I came here to do my little part to support SL and my friends here,” she said. Her best friend had arranged for a driver to more..