Oct 14 (FT) The Sri Lanka Rupee last week entered the double-digit appreciation level against the US Dollar. During the year up to 11 October 2024, the SL Rupee appreciated against the US Dollar by 10.5%, the Central Bank said on Friday. The average rate of the US Dollar on Friday last week was Rs. 292.96, a new low and down from Rs. 294 last week, Rs. 323.41 a year ago, and Rs. 322.61 as of 5 January 2024. Last year, the Rupee saw an appreciation of 12.1% against the US Dollar. more..

Oct 14 (FT) Supreme Court on Friday concluded hearing submissions on three fundamental rights applications filed by former PUCSL Chairman Janaka Ratnayake and other citizens challenging the purported decision of the PUCSL to grant an electricity tariff hike in February 2023. The petitioners alleged that the PUCSL meeting at which the tariff hike was granted was not lawfully convened according to the procedure laid down by the law, and that the said decision is not legally valid. more..

Oct 14 (ST) No compelling reasons have emerged to cancel the grade five scholarship examination or hold back the results, following question leaks, Examinations Commissioner General Amith Jayasundara said. He said the report of the seven-member committee had been handed over to the Education Ministry Secretary for a decision by the Ministry. Describing the leak as a violation of the trust placed in officials rather than a flaw more..

Oct 14 (DM) With the outlook for SL looking more hopeful than it had in the past few recent years, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of SL (CA Sri Lanka) gears up to engage with professionals, including young business leaders, at its 45th National Conference held under the theme Marching Beyond Margins. The event is expected to play a critical role in helping the country seize new opportunities in its march towards a robust economy. In the wake of the worst ever economic crisis more..

Oct 14 (FT) Sri Lanka-Indonesia Business Council of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce undertook a successful business promotion mission to Indonesia, from 6 to 11 Oct 2024. The delegation consisted of 14 Sri Lankan business professionals from various sectors, including food and beverage, logistics, pharmaceuticals, apparel, travel, IT, and recreation industries. The tour covered several business forums, expos and visits to key stakeholders in trade and business sectors. more..

Oct 14 (FT) Rights Issue to raise Rs. 24 billion by top blue chip John Keells Holdings (JKH) has drawn a demand worth Rs. 27.4 billion. JKH’s 1 for 10 Rights Issue amounted to 150.26 million shares at Rs. 160 each with a total value of Rs. 24.04 billion. JKH also announced a sub-division of shares 1 into 10 post-Rights. When the issue closed last week, the level of subscription of the Rights Issue, including the applications received for additional shares, was for 171.4 million shares more..

Oct 14 (DM) SL’s gross official reserve assets which provide a buffer against external shocks is inching towards US$ 6 billion, nearly three years after the usable balance fell under a mere US$ 50 million, triggering the economic crisis in early 2022. According to the data available through Sept 2024, SL has now rebuilt its gross official reserves to US$ 5,992 million from US$ 5,959 million in August. This includes however the roughly US$ 1.4 billion equivalent Yuan denominated currency swap more..

Oct 14 (FT) World Bank last week confirmed that there is no new financial support pending for SL, but discussions with the new Govt have commenced to outline future plans for collaboration. World Bank Senior Country Economist for SL Richard Walker affirmed that no new budgetary or program-related assistance is currently in the pipeline. “There is no budget support or other pending programs at the moment. more..

Oct 14 (TM) SL banks have maintained $ 3.7 billion with financial institutions abroad by the end of Q2 of 2024, which enabled them to meet foreign currency requirements despite shortages in the domestic market, CB said. The banking sector maintained a considerable amount of foreign currency funds with financial institutions abroad for the prudential liquidity risk management. It said that the banking sector significantly improved their balances with financial institutions abroad from 2021 more..

Oct 14 (DN) SL team came to the T – 20 world cup with high expectations after good performance during last 12 months. They were crowned Asia Cup champions defeating India in the final while beating top teams like England, NZ and South Africa but failed to live upto expectations in the T – 20 world cup tournament in UAE. ”We as a batting unit didn’t play our best cricket throughout this T -20 world cup tournament. We improved a little bit in last Game against NZ but we needed another 20-25 more..

Oct 14 (ST) UN Interim Force (UNIFIL) command centre in Naqoura, Southern Lebanon, which was attacked from air and ground by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) on Friday, injuring two SL soldiers serving at the base, is facing a standoff with Israeli authorities over a demand they should move from the border area where they are stationed. IDF are demanding the UN Peacekeepers withdraw from the base, claiming Hezbollah cadres are firing more..

Oct 14 (PMD) Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake has instructed officials to provide immediate relief to those affected by the recent adverse weather conditions across the country. He also instructed the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence to ensure special attention is given to the safety of people in districts impacted by floods and landslides and to provide necessary support for effective relief operations. Prez emphasized that the govt will take action to provide necessary assistance to all more..

Oct 14 (CB) Mahela Jayawardene is set to return as head coach of the Mumbai Indians, while Paras Mhambrey, previously associated with the franchise, is also making a comeback. Cricbuzz can confirm that Jayawardene, the 47-year-old former Sri Lankan captain, will take over from Mark Boucher, who has served as MI's coach for the past two years. Boucher had replaced Jayawardene for the 2022 season after leaving the South African national team. But as MI finished at the bottom of the table, more..

Oct 14 (Island) The Ministry of Public Security has reportedly asked the police to pull their socks up. It has instructed Acting IGP Priyantha Weerasooriya to expedite some high-profile investigations that have been dragging on for years. Specific mention has been made of the delayed probes into the Easter Sunday terror attacks (2019), the Treasury bond scams (2015), murder of journalist Dharmaratnam Sivaram or Taraki, which was his nom de plume coined by The Island (Apr 2005), more..

Oct 14 (ST) Now that the winds of change are blowing over our land and a clamor for everything and everyone to change, is resonating like a war cry, one may be fair in posing the question, what about our sports? Only a week ago, the Sunday Times Sports carried the story of the stench in the uppermost quarters of sports in our island nation, the National Olympic Committee (NOC) itself. What beggars the question is that in spite of serious allegations, the people who are at the helm more..

Oct 14 (CI) Brandon King and Evin Lewis crashed 107 off 55 balls at the top of the order, to set West Indies beautifully on course to their target of 180, in the first T20I against Sri Lanka. Although the hosts' middle-overs bowlers slowed West Indies progress, they were never in serious trouble. They had plenty of batting to see the chase through, and Sherfane Rutherford finished it off with a four off the first ball of the final over. more..

Oct 14 (TM) The majority of elderly workers in Sri Lanka are having a poor quality of work life (not satisfactory) and policies, practices and interventions aimed at developing elder-friendly and safe workplace environments, the payment of satisfactory wages, and the provision of adequate social interaction including for the development of friendships could enable them to gain work-related socio-economic benefits whilst accommodating their physical and psychosocial limitations. more..

Oct 14 (ST) Jaffna, the Northern Province that still goes unexplored by most tourists is to be opened up with proper branding and a marketing focus as was considered a long awaited need ever since the war ended. Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairman Buddhika Hewawasam on Thursday said that they have plans to market and brand Jaffna tourism in a bid to showcase to the world the uniqueness of this province and entice travelers to this region. more..

Oct 14 (SO) On Wednesday (9) at the UNHRC session currently taking place in Geneva, SrL rejected the resolution which extends the mandate of the external evidence gathering mechanism a.k.a. the SL Accountability Project pertaining to the last phase of the armed conflict in the country, contained in HRC Resolution 51/1 and the preceding Resolution 46/1. Notwithstanding the opposition expressed by SL as the country concerned, the resolution was adopted without a vote. more..

Oct 14 (FT) If one thing has come out of the Donald Trump playbook it’s the political clichés that he has come up with. Some of these fit well into the Sri Lankan political context. One that is most apt at this point – with parliamentary elections around the corner – is drain the swamp. The slight modification might be replacing swamp with cess-pit! Three weeks after the Prez election opinions are still divided. While the victors are going about their business as best as more..

Oct 14 (SO) Prof. Jayadeva Uyangoda, a veteran political analyst shares his extensive knowledge on the evolving political landscape in SL. With a focus on the recent Prez election and its implications on governance and reform, Prof. Uyangoda discusses the significant shifts in political power, the pressing need for structural changes and the impact of political clientelism on good governance. more..

Oct 14 (ST) What the Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) Presidency and his (rather frighteningly) new administration faces as a daunting challenge up to the General Elections on Nov 14th and beyond, is not a lack of good intentions but to prove that it possesses political stagecraft and due capacity to run the ship of State. That is a very different matter from rhetoric promising a ‘rich country and a beautiful life’ on the election stage. To say this is not to invite the favorite chant more..

Oct 14 (TM) With SL under new management, the island nation will likely face its first geopolitical test following the formulation of a new govt post General Election, which is scheduled to be held on 14 Nov. One of the first tests of a new govt may come from China, who has been patiently waiting to test the waters with another request for a marine scientific research (MSR) vessel survey in early 2025. Multiple visits of Chinese MSR’s to SL and its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) raised tension more..

Oct 14 (DM) The newly appointed Secretary to the Ministry of Public Security, Senior DIG (Rtd) Ravi Seneviratne is confident in meting out justice to all those who suffered due to politically motivated killings, abductions and financial frauds in the country over the past several years sooner than later. In his first interview after assuming duties as the Secretary to the Ministry of Public Security 3 weeks ago, more..

Oct 14 (CT) Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) expects his JVP-led NPP to win a majority of seats in the legislature to make his task easier. The question is whether that majority should be a simple working majority or a solid two-third majority. Disastrous consequences under govts that ruled with two-third majority in the past had provoked political pundits and opinion makers to question the wisdom of electing govts with two-third majority. Without questioning their wisdom however, more..

Oct 14 (DM) Year in and year out, this column, even before the monsoon hits us, has been raising the issue of urban flooding. We have called for preventive action to, at least mitigate to some extent the suffering caused to thousands of families who are subject to this periodic flooding and displacement. Our call has been totally ignored. Not really though. Candidates of varying political parties often bring in poor families and settle them on land which serve as storm-water drainage more..

Oct 13 (ST) Friday’s nominations for the Nov 14 parliamentary elections mark the historic transition of a generation of political leaders to a new one. For varied reasons, many in the old guard are bidding goodbye and have chosen to stay away from Parliament. Among them are Mahinda Rajapaksa who has been a politician for 54 years. He was the youngest MP elected from the Beliatte electorate in 1970. more..

Oct 13 (ST) Fifty bar licences issued during the presidential election period have been put on hold and will be reviewed before they are re-issued or cancelled, a senior official said. He said that around 50 licences had been issued to various people through political connections in the lead up to the elections. Several recipients of the bar licences have made a request not to cancel them but the government would examine them before taking a decision, the official said. more..

Oct 13 (AD) Ministry of Public Security has instructed the Acting IGP to expedite the police investigations into seven high-profile cases including the Easter Sunday bombings and the controversial Treasury Bond auction in 2015. Instructions have also been given to expedite investigations into the death of businessman Dinesh Schaffter death and the death of a police officer during the shooting incident near the W15 Hotel in Weligama in 2023, according to the Police Spokesman. more..

Oct 13 (ST) The first batch of machine-readable passports (MRPs) being bought as a stopgap measure to solve an unprecedented shortage of travel documents is yet to arrive, despite Public Security Minister Vijitha Herath saying they were due between Oct 12 and 15. The letters of credit (LCs) pertaining to the purchase of 750,000 MRPs (which is the total order) from Thales DIS Finland Oy will be opened next week. more..

Oct 13 (Island) The Free Media Movement (FMM) has called on the police, particularly the CID, to ensure that the investigation into the Easter attack remains focused and methodical, urging them to avoid any deviations or hasty decisions that could compromise justice for the victims. The FMM, in a statement, highlighted that the police appear to be targeting investigative journalist Tharindu Jayawardena—who is uncovering unsettling truths about the Easter Sunday terror attacks more..

Oct 13 (ST) Sri Lanka is preparing to resume discussions on the US $ 2.9 billion bailout programme with the IMF during the IMF and WB Group Annual Meetings in Washington later this month. This comes after Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s pledge to comply with the conditions of the agreement. These talks are vital for SL’s ongoing efforts to recover from its severe economic crisis in 2022. IMF has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting SL’s economic reform initiatives more..