Sep 27 (BNN) Some members on the committee of SL’s official creditors are pushing to reach a deal to restructure the nation’s debt without the participation of China, according to people familiar with the matter, a move with potential implications for how richer nations handle financial stress in the developing world. The members want the group of major creditors, including the US, Japan and India, to sign a MoU with SL around the time of IMF more..

Sep 27 (CT) Miriyagalle village, in Padukka, is poised to become a dedicated vegetable-growing hub, to supply the much-needed vegetables for Colombo. This is being done in order to assist consumers in Colombo, who are forced to purchase vegetables and fruits from far-flung regions of the island, resulting in their having to pay significantly higher prices. Notably, prices of upcountry and low-country vegetables are exorbitant in Colombo and other Western Province Districts. more..

Sep 27 (Island) About 40 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) contracts suspended due to the economic crisis would be re-contracted as foreign investors had expressed their willingness to do so, State Minister Dilum Amunugama said on Monday in Kandy. Amunugama said the govt expected to attract about US$ 2 billion this year as FDIs. The State Minister said that foreign investors were attracted to Sri Lanka due to political stability and the economic programmes of the govt. more..

Sep 27 (DM) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe, who embarked on an official visit to Germany early this morning has appointed five acting ministers to oversee the responsibilities of the Ministries under his purview during his absence. Accordingly, State Minister Pramitha Bandara Tennakoon will serve as Acting Minister of Defence, State Minister Shehan Semasinghe as the Acting Minister of Finance, State Minister Kanaka Herath as Acting Minister of Technology, State Minister Anupa Pasqual as more..

Sep 27 (CT) Radiological Technologists reiterated their call to the Health Ministry and the authorities to take action to attend to repairs of the linear accelerator machine at the Teaching Hospital Batticaloa, which also catered to patients in the South. It has been out of order since 22 Aug 2023. President of the Govt Radiological Technologists’ Association (GRTA), Chanaka Dharmawickrema said according to the service provider, the breakdown was due to a fault in more..

Sep 27 (EN) Sri Lanka’s sex workers have faced fundamental rights violations including unlawful detention and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment, a representative of the Abhimani Women’s Collective said at a conference yesterday. “Following their arrest, sex workers frequently experience the infringement of their fundamental rights, including the right to fair treatment, due process and protection from more..

Sep 27 (EN) USAID SL and the SL Tourism Alliance have united to launch a social media influencer campaign to boost the country’s global tourism brand to millions of potential travelers and stimulate tourism. Sri Lanka considers the tourism sector a part of its economy with high growth potential. “We’re bringing 10 top influencers from key tourist source markets to showcase SL, promote sustainable tourism and contribute to the economic recovery of SL’s tourism sector,” more..

Sep 27 (AD) The petitions filed against State Minister Sanath Nishantha under charges of contempt of court are due to be heard before the Court of Appeal on 27 October. The relevant order was issued by Prez of the Appellate Court, Justice Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne and Justice Chamath Morais, when the matter was taken up in court this morning, for which the State Minister too, was present in court. Appearing on behalf of the Attorney General, Deputy Solicitor General more..

Sep 27 (TM) Former Prez Maithripala Sirisena and former Prez and former SLFP Chair, Chandrika Kumaratunga – who were at loggerheads in recent times – saw a reunion at the event to commemorate the late PMs S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike and Sirimavo Bandaranaike – the former the SLFP Founder, and the late Speaker of Parliament Anura Bandaranaike yesterday. The event was held yesterday morning at the Bandaranaike Memorial in Horagolla, more..

Sep 27 (DN) Govt has decided to amend the Inland Revenue Act No. 24 of 2017. Cabinet has approved the resolution by acting Finance, Economic Stabilization and National Policies Minister to direct the Legal Draftsman to draft a Bill to amend the Inland Revenue Act including legal provisions for the purpose. It has been proposed that it is appropriate to amend the Inland Revenue Act to enable to request tax relief by any charity establishment that provides health facilities more..

Sep 27 (AD) Eight persons charged with murder were sentenced to death on orders of the Kalutara High Court on Wednesday (27). The relevant order was issued by Kalutara High Court Judge Pradeep Abeyratne against eight persons found guilty of stabbing a resident of the Kalil Place area in Kalutara (South) to death on 24 March 2003. The accused were found guilty after the Attorney General filed indictments against the eight suspects before the Kalutara High Court. more..

Sep 27 (FT) Hambantota Int'l Port Group (HIPG) has benchmarked a 500,000-ton volume in their bunkering business during the first eight months of 2023. Throughput which is five times in volume compared to 2022, is attributed to the port’s strategic partnership with Sinopec Fuel Oil Lanka Ltd. (SFOL), for the supply and trade of marine bunker fuel. Through the offer of marine bunker fuel at competitive pricing to local bunker suppliers, HIP has facilitated the supply of over 80% of more..

Sep 27 (DM) SL's World Cup squad which reached Guwahati today (Wednesday) is without its ace-spinner Maheesh Theekshana. “The 23-year-old right-arm off-spinner had not boarded the flight", a top SLC official confirmed. "He did not attend the religious ceremony (conducted on Tuesday) either,” the source further added. "At present, his participation in the World Cup is not in doubt but now he has been sent to the rehabilitation centre at the High Performance Unit. more..

Sep 27 (EN) Sri Lanka’s second tranche of a $3 billion loan from the IMF is likely to be delayed as the island nation has failed to meet the programme objective and a global lender’s official said there is no fixed timeline on the disbursement of second tranche. Sri Lanka's govt revenue is likely to face a 15% fall from the target agreed with the IMF, the global lender said, amid poor tax administration and lower collection. more..

Sep 27 (DN) Bangladesh PM on a request made by Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella will grant 54 types of essential medicines as a grant to the country. The country will receive the relevant stock of drugs worth US$ 58,307 by next week. As a solution to the current shortage of medicines, the Health Minister personally intervened and responded positively to this request made by the PM and took the necessary steps to receive the stock of medicines in this country. more..

Sep 27 (DM) Ratnapura-Sri Pada Road (Palabaddala Road) and Nallathani Road will be open for pilgrims who climb Sri Padaya during the off-season, Wildlife Conservation Dept said. They said the ticket counter had been opened at the place where the Pawanella police security point was located on the Ratnapura Sri Pada road, and another ticket counter was located where the Nallathanni Wildlife security office was located. These ticket counters are open daily from more..

Sep 27 (DM) SL politicians are a surprising lot. At the height of the political crisis when the local economy collapsed and the country ran out of money, all political leaders appealed to the int'l community for help. And in goodwill many countries stepped forward to assist the nation, some with their own interests while others came forward in friendship. While Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe to date maintains that the nation will maintain good more..

Sep 27 (FT) For the second time, Ranil Wickremesinghe has inaugurated a National Evaluation Policy (NEP) for SL. The first one was in 2018 and also in September at the Global Parliamentarians Forum for Evaluation (GPFE) held in Colombo. As its website said, “The NEP of SL, was launched by PM Ranil Wickremesinghe at EvalColombo 2018, the first ever global conference on evaluation organised by the Global Parliamentarians Forum for Evaluation.” more..

Sep 27 (FT) Rasiah Partheeban alias Thileepan engaged in a fast unto death protest on 15 Sept 1987. The LTTE stalwart died after 12 days of fasting on 26 Sept without even drinking water. Thileepan’s 36th death anniversary was on 26 Sept 2023. This column focuses on the LTTE martyr Thileepan in this two-part article. The first part published last week was on Thileepan the person and his role in the LTTE. This second part is about his death-fast and its aftermath. more..

Sep 27 (FT) Top blue chip John Keells Holdings yesterday regained its long-lost status as the most valuable listed entity in SL. JKH’s share price gained by Rs. 1.50 or 0.8% to Rs. 192.50 but that was enough to boost its market value to Rs. 266.9 billion. JKH saw 1.5 million of its shares change hands via 251 trades for Rs. 298 million. Expolanka on the other hand saw its share price dip by Rs. 1.25 or 0.9% to Rs. 135.25 finishing the day with a market capitalisation of Rs. 264.4 billion. more..

Sep 27 (EN) Shares were up at close of trading on Wednesday ahead of the four-day weekend and due to some speculative activity. “There was some positivity with the rating upgrade,” an analyst said. “And after rates falling with yesterday’s bill auction.” “There was some activity in the export-related counters and also the primary dealing unit on speculation of potential dividends.” “I think the speculation on dividends pushed the market up.” Turnover was 1.3 billion rupees. more..

Sep 27 (Reuters) The IMF is concerned about a shortfall in revenue collection by SL’s govt this year, though that is unlikely to derail a $2.9 billion loan programme for the crisis-hit country, two SL sources said. A delegation from the IMF met with Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is also the finance minister, and its central bank governor, earlier on Tuesday as part of the first review of 4-year loan deal agreed in March. more..

Sep 27 (DN) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe will leave for Germany today to participate in the Berlin Global Dialogue. The Berlin Global Dialogue to find global solutions to the current geopolitical and economic challenges is scheduled to be held on Sept 28 and 29 in Berlin, Germany. The Prez is scheduled to make the opening remarks at the Leaders Dialogue session on the first day of the conference where he will talk about climate change and debt restructuring. During his 4-day visit Prez will hold talks more..

Sep 27 (AD)Trincomalee Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday issued a court order prohibiting the commemoration of Thileepan, a member of a proscribed organisation, in several areas within Trincomalee, on account of the inconvenience likely to be caused to the public. Accordingly, Trinco Court issued the order prohibiting any sort of celebrations, demonstrations, parades or protests commemorating Thileepan in the Kulakottan Hall and the Gandhi Roundabout within more..

Sep 27 (TM) Professionals’ Trade Unions Collective (PTUC) stated that the Govt must take measures to address the demands of professionals since the IMF has granted authority to the Govt to make suitable changes to its new tax policy. Several trade unions representing professionals led by the GMOA met the IMF delegation on Monday (25) to discuss several demands including tax relief. Speaking to the media after the meeting, more..

Sep 27 (CT) Legislation to restructure the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) will be presented to Cabinet within the next two weeks, revealed Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekara yesterday (26). The Minister addressing a seminar on restructuring loss-making State enterprises at the Ministry of Finance said the draft Bill of the new legislation was sent to the Attorney General for changes to be made to the Bill. more..

Sep 27 (DN) Education experts have requested the Govt to hold GCE A/L exam on the dates currently scheduled. They say that the students who faced various exams faced severe difficulties due to the postponement of the exams due to the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Experts say that as the situation has become normal now and exams should be held as scheduled. They say that if the exam is postponed for any reason, all other exams, and evaluation of answer scripts, will again be delayed. more..

Sep 27 (FT) Freedom People’s Congress (FPC) member and MP Prof. Charitha Herath yesterday expressed his concern about the Govt’s attempt to introduce a two-year tax holiday for major investors. Herath emphasised the need for a thorough and comprehensive discussion of the proposal. “This is a country fraught with tax frauds. Every six years, successive govts provide tax holidays, essentially pardoning companies that have evaded taxes for an extended period,” he said. more..

Sep 27 (TM) With the legal provisions for the issuance of Environmental Protection Licences (EPLs) having been revised, Central Environmental Authority (CEA) has launched a programme to identify places including factories that have not yet obtained the EPLs under the new criteria. A chemical factory in the Katuwana Industrial Zone in Homagama was destroyed due to a fire on 17 Aug 2023, and it was later revealed that the factory was not in the possession of an EPL. more..

Sep 27 (DN) Sinopec China will make what would be SL’s largest FDI in recent times when they enter refinery operations in SL, said Minister Kanchana Wijesekera at an event where Sinopec announced its official entry into SL’s dynamic fuel retail market in Colombo. A felicitation event for local distributors followed. He said that this will be announced and an agreement signed in October when Prez Wickremesinghe visits China. more..

Sep 27 (Island) CID informed Fort Magistrate Court that British citizen Kathiravelpillai Satkunam admitted to have pocketed the broker’s fee in a case involving approximately Rs 195 mn, which been fraudulently obtained from a group of shareholders following the sale of a plot of land at Kollupitiya, the majority shareholder being a UK-based limited liability company. Latest court papers filed indicated that the accused Satkunam of 43, Hays Walk, Sutton, an affluent suburb in the UK, more..

Sep 27 (FT) PHU leader MP Udaya Gammanpila yesterday claimed the Govt will not meet the International Monetary Fund’s condition of setting up a website to reveal information on all Govt dealings. “It is a promise they will never fulfil,” Gammanpila said during a press conference at the party head office. The MP pointed out that although the Government should have fulfilled 57 conditions outlined by the IMF up to this point, it has managed to accomplish only 38 of them. more..