Apr 27 (DM) Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) has decided to collect all possible income through navigation, stevedoring and income from terminals from shipping lines in US dollars instead of Sri Lankan rupees with effect from June 1, 2022, Ports and Shipping Minister Pramitha Bandara Tennakoon said. He said SLPA during last few decades collected these revenues in SL rupees. �We expect to earn US$ 100-200 million from this process annually once it starts,� the minister said. more..

Apr 27 (TM) Economists question the effectiveness of the Govt�s new long-term residence visa issuance methodology for foreign investors aimed at addressing SL�s foreign exchange liquidity crisis, pointing out that SL�s current economic crisis requires the development of the country�s foreign exchange earning potential through export development instead. Cabinet of Ministers had on 25 April granted approval for the revised more..

Apr 27 (ST) Supreme Court (SC) has stayed the order given by the Colombo High Court Trial-at-Bar discharging 11 accused including former Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake and former CB Governor Arjuna Mahendran over the CB bond scam perpetrated in 2016. The accused had been charged with defrauding Rs 15 billion during the Treasury Bond auction held on March 31, 2016. A three-judge SC bench comprising Justices Vijith Malalgoda, Dilip Nawaz and Janak de Silva stayed more..

Apr 27 (CT) Ten SLPP MPs claimed they were being subjected to threats by certain persons, following their proposals to the Prez on overcoming the current economic crisis. They indirectly warned that, they will take a decision according to their conscience if a common agreement is not reached on the solutions they presented to the Prez, PM and several parties in the Govt. The 10 MPs said they handed over a letter to Prez Rajapaksa to appoint an all-party interim Govt to resolve the crises, more..

Apr 22 (DM) Sri Lanka is facing the risk of becoming the country with the highest inflation rate, UNP Deputy Leader Ruwan Wijewardene said yesterday. Speaking during a meeting held at his office in Union place, Mr. Wijewardene said Sri Lanka is currently the nation with third highest inflation rate in the world as per the global inflation index. �Only Zimbabwe and Lebanon are higher than Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is running a risk of reaching the top of the index,� Mr. Wijewardene said. more..

Apr 22 (Island) Organic Fertiliser Project personnel at SLAF Regiment Training School, Vanni, recently handed over the third batch of organic fertilizer weighing 20 metric tonnes to the Ceylon Fertiliser Company Ltd (Lak Pohora). Altogether 45 MT of organic fertiliser had been handed over to the Ceylon Fertiliser Company Ltd., so far. This was in line with the Govt organic fertiliser production drive on the directives of the Commander of the SL Air Force, Air Marshal Sudarshana Pathirana. more..

Apr 22 (Island) Close on the heels of PHU leader MP Udaya Gammanpila�s declaration that the SLPP rebels and the SJB had the required strength to move a No-Confidence Motion (NCM) against the govt, fellow rebel lawmaker Vasudeva Nanayakkara has accused the SJB of trying to save the incumbent dispensation. Nanayakkara told a hastily arranged media briefing, how the SJB leader Sajith Premadasa had cooperated with more..

Apr 22 (DN) Chairman of the Ceylon National Chamber of Industries (CNCI), Canisius Fernando states that the majority of local industries are under threat today nearing close down. In a press release he has mentioned that the business environment has been tightly circled by an indecisive triangle of economic difficulties, political uncertainty and social unrest. All these broad issues equally hit the industries. We do understand that Govt had to take hard monetary and fiscal policy decisions more..

Apr 22 (Island) JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday demanded the resignation of Prez Rajapaksa as no political solution could be found for the present crisis, as long as the incumbent remained in power. Dissanayake said that various political parties, civil and religious organisations and professional bodies had suggested solutions. �It is the Prez who has powers to dissolve Parliament. Even if we pass a motion, in Parliament, and refer it to the Prez, more..

Apr 27 (TM) If an Interim Govt is formed in the future, considering the critical situation in the country at present, former Speaker and incumbent NMSJ Chairman Karu Jayasuriya is likely to be given a leading position in it. Our sources indicated that in such a case, several parties, including groups that had recently left the SLPP-led Govt and since declared themselves independent in the Parliament, have agreed to facilitate his appointment as more..

Apr 22 (DM) One should not get deceived by the political dramas which aims to change Prezs and PMs, but should join the SJB struggle to push the present govt out of power, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa said today. Speaking to the media during the SJB protest march which kicked off from Kandy, Mr. Premadasa said the aim of the protest march from Kandy to Colombo is to drive the present regime out of power through a real struggle of the people. more..

Apr 22 (EN) SL is get US$ 400 million in consumption loans from the World Bank shortly including for LP Gas, a statement said after Country Manager Chiyo Kanda met Prez Rajapaksa. �This financial assistance will be provided to meet medicinal drugs and health needs, social security, agricultural and food security and gas needs,� Prez�s office said. �World Bank representatives also stated that they will continue to provide assistance to SL in overcoming the current economic crisis.� more..

Apr 22 (Island) US Congressman Steven Horsford expressing his awareness of the financial calamity and bankruptcy situation faced by Sri Lankan declared that he was well aware that a single family in authority in SL affairs was largely responsible for it, and disclosed that he was initiating a Congressional investigation to ascertain who was responsible for fleecing Sri Lankan resources that led to the current unfortunate situation. more..

Apr 27 (FT) Only 2 years since taking over, Prez Rajapaksa and his Govt are accused of causing an acute dollar shortage, a balance of payment crisis and dragging the country deeper into debt by their excessive govt spending, indiscriminate borrowings, large-scale tax cuts, corruption and mismanagement of the economy. The country is now teetering on the brink of an economic and social collapse. The rupee is rapidly depreciating against the dollar, our dollar reserves are dwindling and the cost of living is rising in double digits. more..

Apr 27 (FT) It is learned that the former Governor of the CB Ajith Nivard Cabraal has stated that he is not accountable to the decisions taken in the recent past which have led to the present economic crisis of SL. It is distressing that it appears that there is no one accountable to the citizenry of SL for the erroneous decisions taken which have resulted in the present crisis. At present, there appears to be a serious legal issue relating to the decisions taken by the Monetary Board in view of the fact that more..

Apr 27 (Island) The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has been ranked the Strongest Bank Brand in SL for the third consecutive year in the 2022 report on the country�s most valuable and strongest brands by Brand Finance, the world�s leading independent brand valuation consultancy. The Commercial Bank brand also moved up the value ranking to be the third most valuable brand in Sri Lanka across all sectors covered by the latest edition of the Brand Finance Sri Lanka 100 released in April 2022. more..

Apr 27 (AD) Chairman of the COPE Prof. Charitha Herath said that the annual revenue earned by state institutions should be properly received by the State Treasury. The committee noted that while the State Timber Corporation had earned an operating profit of Rs. 1.4 billion for the year 2021, only Rs. 100 million had been transferred to the State Treasury. COPE Chairman stated that state institutions should be prepared to send a significant portion of their earnings to the State Treasury. more..

Apr 27 (AD) The Kegalle Magistrate�s Court today ordered the IGP to arrest and produce before court all police personnel involved in the shooting to death of a protester at Rambukkana. The directive was issued by Kegalle Magistrate Wasana Nawarathne, when the case was taken up today for the third day. Accordingly, the magistrate ordered the arrest of the police officers who ordered to open fire on protesters and the officers who had opened fire during more..

Apr 27 (DM) Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Limited (CPSTL) has launched a probe into an incident where a private-owned bowser bearing registration No. WP CY 3250 which was to unload in Polonnaruwa had entered the Colombo Port City premises instead. An official of the CPSTL said that the incident was reported today. The private-owned bowser was initially used to transport and unload fuel at a reputed rice mill in Polonnaruwa. However, after leaving Kolonnawa, the bowser changed its direction more..

Apr 27 (Island) The popularity of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has collapsed, especially among women, the poor, urban and Sinhala adults, IHP SL Opinion Tracker Survey (SLOTS) revealed. SLOTS is run by the Institute for Health Policy (IHP) and the lead investigator is Dr. Ravi Rannan-Eliya. �At the IHP, we have been tracking favourability of several institutions and political personalities since last year. The past two months has seen substantial declines in favourability of all politicians. more..

Apr 27 (EN) SL�s stock market rebounded strongly on Wednesday with the main index gaining 5.43% led by market heavyweight Expolanka after market crashed in the two previous sessions as investors reacted to a 7% rise in interest rate, govt announcement of suspending all foreign debt payments, and sovereign credit rating downgrade. The main All Share Price Index (ASPI) gained 375.15 points to 7,280.52 at the close. In the last two days, ASPI lost around 11%. more..

Apr 27 (EN) State-owned SriLankan Airlines has diverted at least two aircrafts from the main Bandaranaike Int'l Airport (BIA) last week to refuel at Mattala Rajapaksa Int'l Airport (MRIA) to manage its fuel stocks in BIA, officials said on Wednesday. Two govt sources told Economy Next that two SriLankan Airline flights to Sydney and Melbourne � UL 304 and UL-306 � on Thursday, April 19th were diverted to MRIA for refuelling amid concerns over fuel shortage at the BIA. more..

Apr 27 (DM) A fire has reportedly broken out inside a building at St. Joseph�s College in Maradana. The Colombo Fire Brigade said that five fire engines along with around 18 fire fighters have been deployed to douse the flames. It further said that the situation is currently under control and that the cause of the fire and the damages caused by it are yet to be acertained. According to reports, no students or teachers have been injured in the fire. more..

Apr 27 (DM) With the recent price hike of the 12.5 kg Litro gas cylinder, the All Island Canteen Owners' Association (AICOA) is in dilemma whether to increase the prices or to maintain prices at the own discretion of the bakers to cover their expenses. The association's head, Asela Sampath, told the Daily Mirror that the canteen industry in the country has gone to a situation and the redemption is long way off. "The hike in the price of gas has impacted heavily on the people's ability to get their food. more..

Apr 27 (CT) Despite the severe fuel shortage, ploughing operations for the Yala season has commenced in the Ampara District. However, when compared to previous years, the cost of preparing the land for cultivation has increased by several fold this year, farmers said. Meanwhile, a limited distribution of fuel has been authorised on the instructions of the District Secretary for ploughing purposes. Filling stations in various locations throughout the district have also been set up more..

Apr 27 (EN) National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) has urged the govt to increase the price of water charges to cover up its operating costs with unpaid arrears of 8 billion rupees, an official said. The prices of all govt services are expected to rise after nearly a 70% fall in the rupee since March 7 and the talks with the IMF, which has already said SL�s debt is unsustainable. �If we go on to provide relief to consumers, we will no longer be able to run the entity and the country,� more..

Apr 27 (DM) SJB is ready to support an interim government without Prez Rajapaksa and PM Rajapaksa, MP Kabir Hashim said today. MP said his party will support a right kind of interim govt. �We don�t want to support a puppet interim govt. SJB Leader and Leader of Opposition needs the right kind of powers to bring in necessary reforms to revive the economy. He has the support of experts to perform this task. This is why we say we don�t want to support an interim govt which comprises Prez Rajapaksa. more..

Apr 27 (TM) Maliban Group SL extended its support to the peaceful and respectful social movement ongoing in the country, and pushed for a merit-based political and social system to regain growth momentum and economic stability. Issuing a statement, the company said: �At this unprecedented and turbulent period in the history of our nation, as a truly SL enterprise that evolved with inspiring goodness for over seven decades, our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with fellow SL consumers and stakeholders more..

Apr 27 (EN) Protesters in SL who have been camping outside the president�s office for 19 days in a row demanding that Prez Rajapaksa step down have set up a new protest site outside PM Rajapaksa�s official residence Temple Trees demanding his resignation. Named Myna Go Gama � Myna (as in the bird) being a recently established nickname for the PM � the new site takes after the main protest site at the Galle Face Green named Gota Go Gama. more..

Apr 27 (CT) Transparency International SL (TISL) called on the CIABOC to investigate apartments in Sydney allegedly owned by Nirupma Rajapaksa. In a letter to CIABOC, TISL requested an update into the investigations launched into Nirupama Rajapaksa and her spouse based on the revelations in the Pandora Papers. An investigative report by the Australian Broadcast Corporation has revealed that Nirupama Rajapaksa and her spouse had allegedly purchased several apartments in a residential tower in Sydney. more..

Apr 27 (DM) An Ayurvedic doctor was hacked to death by a beggar near a leading supermarket in the Battaramulla area in Thalangama last night, the police said. The Talangama Police initiated investigation following an alert that a man had died on admission to the Koswatta Hospital when he was found fallen near a supermarket in Battaramulla. The deceased was a 57 year-old resident of Pothuarawa Road, Malabe. The beggar had stabbed the doctor to death with a sharp weapon following an argument with a beggar more..

Apr 27 (FT) IMF is forecasting SL�s economy to grow by 2.6% this year down from 3.6% in 2021. The projection for 2023 is a growth of 2.7% as per the IMF which this week released its forecasts for Asia and the Pacific countries. IMF Asia and Pacific Department�s Acting Director Anne-Marie Gulde-Wolf said In SL, the rise in food and fuel prices and hit to tourism has exacerbated pre-existing vulnerabilities and debt sustainability pressures, leading to social unrest and policy instability. more..

Apr 27 (EN) TNA is still undecided on a proposed no confidence motion (NCM) against the govt, apprehensive that the premiership will be retained by the ruling SLPP or will otherwise go to a person who supported the 20th amendment to the constitution, an TNA MP said. TNA MP M A Sumanthiran said that the party will arrive at a decision once there is clarity. �We don�t know what will happen after the NCM. We don�t want to fall from the frying pan to fire. more..

Apr 27 (EN) Over 1,000 trade unions in SL across multiple sectors have planned a massive island-wide one-day token strike for Thursday in support of the ongoing wave of protests against the govt, a spokesman for a union alliance said. Convenor of the collective of unions Ravi Kumudesh told reporters that the campaign aims to pressure the government to resign. Unions representing ports, railway, petroleum, health, banking and education sectors will take part in the strike, he said. more..

Apr 27 (MFA) Head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Delegation in SL Loukas Petridis paid a farewell call on the Minister of Foreign Affairs Prof. G.L. Peiris on 25 April, 2022 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Foreign Minister Prof. Peiris appreciated the contribution made by the ICRC in SL. He recalled the important role played in the past during the conflict situation and its current role in assisting with post conflict rehabilitation and reconciliation as well as more..

Apr 27 (AD) Exhumation of the remains of those who were killed in the 2019 bomb explosion in Sainthamaruthu commenced this morning. Kalmunai Magistrate�s Court yesterday granted permission to unearth the remains of the deceased for re-examination of DNA. Accordingly, the remains buried at the Ampara cemetery are being exhumed in the presence of the Ampara magistrate and the participation of the JMO and other police officers who were involved in the initial investigations, as well as the govt analysts. more..