Dec 21 (CT) SL’s agricultural sector has long struggled with the persistent challenge of wildlife encroachment. While the Govt has recently reaffirmed its commitment to addressing this issue as part of its agricultural policy, the proposed measures have sparked significant debate. Farmers face increasing losses as wild animals damage their crops, yet environmentalists caution against the ecological and legal repercussions of taking more..

Dec 21 (DM) Is the 13th Amendment - the most controversial and lengthy modification introduced to the country’s basic law - losing its significance? The answer seems to be in the affirmative with India, the real architect of that Amendment gradually lessening its weight in its own statements, the possibility of it dying a natural death or becoming a dead letter is apparently high. Also, with the provincial councils, the practical outcome of the 13th Amendment having been almost forgotten more..

Dec 21 (DM) Lanka finds itself once again in a Catch-22 situation. India and China have from our post-independence period proved to be our country’s most steadfast friends. Lankan’s can never forget the 18 Dec 1952 Rubber-Rice Pact with China. At that time, both Ceylon and China were in their infancy as nations. SL, then Ceylon, faced a shortage of rice. The world market price of rice rose by 38% between 1951 and 1952. At the time the US introduced synthetic rubber into the market, more..

Dec 21 (CT) Act No. 7 of 1978 was set up to provide for the establishment of a fund called The President’s Fund for the provision of funds for the relief of poverty, for the advancement of the religion, for the making of awards to persons who have served the nation, and for any other purpose beneficial or of interest to the public; and to provide for matters therewith or incidental thereto. Established during late President more..

Dec 21 (CT) Minister Saroja Savithri Paulraj recently stated in the Parliament that the number of children dropping out of education is increasing daily. Elaborating further, Minister said although around 350,000 children are enrolled in Grade 1 every year, not all of them remain in schools even until the O/L is completed. On average, around 50,000 school dropouts are recorded by Grade 10. The numbers paint a sorry picture and reveal some alarming concerns in not just our education system but more..

Dec 21 (DM) SL’s new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake recently concluded his state visit to India. He was given a high ceremonial welcome by his counterpart, President Droupadi Murmu, and received with warmth by PM Narendra Modi at Rashtraprati Bhavan. In the joint statement, India has pledged to supply LNG gas to Sri Lanka, enhance trade settlements between the two countries, boost education and technology exchanges and encourage Indian FDI in SL. more..

Dec 21 (ST) Last week, the SL Economic Association (SLEA) hosted its annual int'l conference of the year 2024. The conference theme was Industrial Transformation for Economic Revival in SL. Apart from SL economists, the conference papers were presented by scholars from China, India, Japan and Thailand as well. I decided to share with you today, the importance of the role of industrialisation as a medium-term strategy for both economic recovery and economic progress more..

Dec 21 (CT) Those who contested the Prez Elections and did not win want Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) and his govt to fail. That is an obvious observation. Electioneering is a grueling exercise for power. Everyone involved in as candidates does not want his or her rival to win. When the campaigns begin, some candidates travel the whole nine yards and more. They do not have boundaries; for them, as Vince Lombardi, the famous American football coach said: more..

Dec 21 (CT) Parliament sittings were expected to be heated, with both the Govt and the Opposition planning to field contenders for the Speaker post, which fell vacant following the resignation of Speaker Ashoka Ranwala. SJB MP Nalin Bandara announced that the Opposition will propose a candidate for the position of Speaker of Parliament at the parliamentary session, scheduled for 17 Dec. MP Bandara confirmed that the Opposition more..

Dec 21 (CT) Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath stated that the Govt is yet to determine the next steps regarding the Myanmar refugees who arrived in Sri Lanka's Northern provincial waters on a boat a few days ago. The boat carried 102 refugees, including a pregnant woman. The Minister acknowledged that Sri Lanka currently hosts around 47 Rohingya refugees, but handling such cases has become more challenging since UN Refugee Agency’s office in Colombo was shut down. more..

Dec 21 (FT) Turnover at the Colombo stock market yesterday shot up to a 10-month high of Rs. 9.2 billion with the benchmark ASPI succeeding to gain for the 19th consecutive day. Fuelled by trading of 899 million shares, turnover was led by Sierra Cables (Rs. 509 mil), HNB (Rs. 375.5 mil), Royal Ceramics (Rs. 298 mil), Lanka Milk Foods (Rs. 293.6 mil) and Access Engineering (Rs. 288.6 million). The market also saw over 30 crossings. ASPI gained by 1% & S&P SL20 by 0.7% more..

Dec 21 (FT) Macksons Minerals and Polymers, a subsidiary of Macksons Holdings, has signed an agreement worth $ 17 million with the Board of Investment. The company is initiating an ambitious program to construct a state-of-the-art processing plant, with the aim of enhancing the value of locally sourced minerals. The facility will produce ultra-fine ground calcium carbonate (GCC) and dolomite powders, as well as solvent-based resins and water-based binders. more..

Dec 21 (EN) The doubling of the withholding tax from 5% to 10% adds strain on low and middle-income earners reliant on interest income, former minister of state for finance, Shehan Semasinghe has said. On Wednesday, Prez announced that the withholding tax will be increased. “While the tax revision is a positive step, the 100% increase in withholding tax from 5% to 10% reduces disposable income and adds strain on low and middle-income earners reliant on interest income,” more..

Dec 21 (AD) Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has announced significant amendments to its Constitution following an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held on Friday, including a substantial reduction in the total number of voting members from 147 to 60. The amendments reaffirm SLC’s commitment to fostering good governance, transparency, inclusivity, and efficiency in its management structure, SLC said. more..

Dec 21 (ST) A concerning surge in scams involving hacking, particularly on the Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp, has raised alarm in recent months in Sri Lanka. Despite risks to personal security and privacy, authorities appear to be largely silent. As cybercriminals become more sophisticated, a diverse array of users of social media have become increasingly vulnerable to various forms of fraud, from account hijacking to phishing attacks. CEO of CICRA Holdings, more..

Dec 21 (FT) Govt has decided against revising the Special Commodity Levy Act No. 48 of 2007, reaffirming its commitment to maintaining the existing levy structure for essential goods. Cabinet approved the proposal presented by Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake in his capacity as the Finance, Planning and Economic Development Minister to remain the levy rates in effect unchanged till 1 January 2025. The Special Commodity Levy Act was introduced to simplify taxation on 63 more..

Dec 21 (DW) SL Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake met India's PM Narendra Modi and Prez Droupadi Murmu in New Delhi to bolster ties between the neighboring countries. Dissanayake said India's economic support is critical in realizing his vision of a prosperous SL, as the island nation emerges from the worst economic crisis in its independent history. "Our conversations focused on strengthening Indo-SL economic cooperation, enhancing more..

Dec 21 (DN) Dasun Shanaka led the Hambantota Bangla Tigers to their first-ever franchise T-10 title in the Lanka T-10 Super League. Despite rain impacting the league stage, Tigers displayed resilience in the final, overcoming the previously unbeaten Jaffna Titans, who had defeated them earlier in both the league matches and the Qualifier 1 game. Batting first, Hambantota set a competitive target of 133 for 6. Their bowlers excelled, restricting strong Jaffna batting lineup to just 107 runs. more..

Dec 21 (ST) Bitter truth behind Puttalam’s salt production drop Salt production in the Puttalam district has been hindered by incessant rains in the area. Puttalam district supplies 45 per cent of the market share. The salterns are spread over an area of about 4,000 Ha in Kalpiiya, Wanthavilluwa, Mundalam and Puttalam DS areas. More than 2,000 people are engaged in the industry with around 20,000 families depending on it. SL’s annual consumption of salt is around 125,000 MT more..

Dec 21 (Island) Former Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe has urged the SJB-led Opposition to act responsibly and help ensure the continuity of the IMF bailout programme, which has enabled the economy to regain some stability. He has also thanked the NPP govt for having kept the IMF programme on course. Wickremesinghe’s exhortation to the Opposition and unsolicited advice to the govt are timely but not devoid of politics. He is seeking the credit for what the country has achieved through more..

Dec 21 (CT) Jesus’s birth in the manger, in an atmosphere of great poverty and simplicity is a challenge to imitate the message that flows from it. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Sri Lanka (CBCSL) said that it called on us to live a life of simplicity and to always be mindful of the poor. In its Christmas Message, the CBCSL, on Friday (20), invited people to always be mindful of the poor and sensitive to the various forms of human needs and the suffering prevailing in society. more..

Dec 21 (FT) Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake has appointed an 18-member Presidential Task Force to plan and implement the Clean Sri Lanka program. The initiative was first announced by Dissanayake in his inaugural address to Parliament. The Task Force members and its objective was made official via an Extraordinary Gazette Number 2415/59 dated 19 Dec 2024. The members of the Task Force are Secretary to Prez Dr. N.S. Kumanayake more..

Dec 21 (CI) Glamorgan have signed Sri Lanka fast bowler Asitha Fernando for the first two months of the season. He is expected to be available for seven County Championship fixtures up until the end of May. Asitha, 27, has taken 72 wickets 26.66 in Tests and impressed on Sri Lanka's tour of England earlier this year, when he finished as the leading wicket-taker on either side as well as winning a spot on the Lord's honours board for his first-innings five-for. He has played county cricket previously more..

Dec 21 (DM) Dept of Meteorology in a press release mentioned that Sri Lanka experiences more than 90% of its major disasters due to meteorological phenomena, with dozens of incidents occurring annually as a result of torrential rainfall. ”These rainfall events are often triggered by squall thunderstorms, depressions, and cyclones that form over the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, Consequently, floods and landslides have become increasingly common throughout the year.” more..

Dec 21 (DM) The govt is hoping to initiate discussions with India to update the Free Trade Agreement between India and Sri Lanka, which was signed several decades ago, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said. He said that the FTA with India needs to be updated and continue as the market has expanded now. The Minister said Sri Lanka brought to the notice of the Indian govt the need to discuss the matter during President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's recent state visit to India. more..

Dec 21 (CT) Govt announced its decision to extend the period for rice importation until 10 Jan 2025. The final agreement is expected to be confirmed at the Cabinet meeting scheduled for Monday (23). Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayathissa stated on 19 Dec that measures would be taken to extend the rice import period as necessary. Accordingly, a Gazette notification formalising the extension will be issued on 24 Dec 2024. The current authorisation for rice imports expires from midnight of 20 Dec. more..

Dec 21 (FT) The Govt has requested the US District Court for the Southern District of New York to extend its stay of proceedings in the case filed by Hamilton Reserve Bank (HRB) over its $ 250 million in principal and interest in Int'l Sovereign Bonds (ISBs). In its request, the Govt pledged to provide an update by 6 Jan 2025, by which time it anticipates confirming the successful conclusion of its restructuring efforts. more..

Dec 21 (DM) Western province continued to lead the provincial GDP in 2023, albeit slipping from the 2022 levels while the North Western and Central provinces following as the distant second and third in the provincial distribution of SL’s total economic output. Despite the data being very much lagging, the Western province accounted for 43.7% of total GDP for 2023, measured on the current market prices. North Western and Central provinces accounted for 10.9% and 10.3%, respectively, more..

Dec 21 (NW) Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake announced that the Local Govt elections would be held before the Sinhala and Tamil New Year in 2025, while the Provincial Council elections would also take place later in the year. Prez made this statement during his visit to Kandy. As part of his visit, Prez Dissanayake met with the Chief Prelates of the Malwathu and Asgiri Chapters to receive their blessings. At the Malwathu Maha Viharaya, he met Most Venerable Thibbatuwawe Sri more..

Dec 21 (CT) Fitch Ratings said it was upgrading SL’s foreign currency rating out of restricted default (RD) status, to CCC+ after 98% of bondholders accepted an offer to restructure defaulted bonds with new securities issued on Dec 20. “The upgrade of the Long-Term Foreign-Currency IDR (issuer default rating) reflects Fitch’s assessment that SL has normalised relations with a majority of creditors, after the announcement of final results of more..

Dec 22 (SO) Just a few days after Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s landmark State visit to India, a key player in the Official Creditor Committee (OCC), yielded positive results, comes the good news that SL has emerged from its bankruptcy declared in the wake of an impending economic crisis in 2022. Leading financial ratings agency Fitch Ratings said yesterday that it was upgrading SL’s foreign currency rating out of Restricted Default (RD) status, to CCC+ after 98% of bondholders more..

Dec 22 (TM) The news that former and current Presidents have been waiting for finally materialised last week, with at least one international rating agency upgrading Sri Lanka’s sovereign credit rating. The upgrade by Fitch from Restricted Default to CCC+, which has long been coming – going by pronouncements of the previous President while in office – formalises this island nation’s economic status as no longer being bankrupt. The delay in the upgrade appears to more..

Dec 22 (TM) Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) was in a triumphant mode last week due to several reasons: the successful conclusion of his first State visit to India, the announcement on the country’s economic progress, proposed amendments to taxes, and the appointment of the Clean SL Task Force, which was one of the key pledges made by him in his election campaign. more..

Dec 22 (CT) A newspaper editorial suggested that the NPP govt is facing its December term test and that its weaknesses are showing. In fact, there have been quite a few term tests set up by different pundit examiners and they are producing a mixed bag of results. Overall and objectively, if I may say so, the govt has done a reasonably good job for the most part; with a few bads, mainly gaffes, including a Prime Ministerial gaffe involving the two ‘Chinas’; and one standout ugly – the pathetic more..

Dec 22 (Island) Although her political aspiration was to lighten the burden on the suffering masses Sirimavo soon found that the economic realities would not allow her a free hand. In the early sixties the terms of trade, which had been favourable in the fifties, declined sharply. The Korean war boom had run its course. The rise in the price of tea had plateaued and the trend was now downwards. Our external assets were diminishing and when Felix became finance minister more..

Dec 22 (ST) The fiasco surrounding the resignation of former Speaker Ashoka Ranwala following the controversy over the authenticity of his doctorate reverberated in Parliament throughout the two days it was in session this week, as arguments over the qualifications of various MPs overshadowed most other legislative business. It even became comical at some points. Ratnapura District NPP MP Dr. Janaka Senarathna more..