Jun 27 (EN) State-run fuel retailer Ceylon Petroleum Corporation will need the help of the island nation’s Treasury when the repayment of $700 million Indian credit line starts, Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said. SL has already borrowed $700 million from India to finance its fuel requirement from March and the last shipment arrived in on June 16 under the two credit line – $500 million fuel credit time and $200 million essential commodity credit line. The credit lines for one year and more..

Jun 27 (EN) Sri Lanka stocks closed at one-week low on Monday (27), reversing a four straight session winning streak as the country’s fuel shortage weighed in on the market sentiments, brokers said. Power and Energy Minister on Sunday asked the public to use fuel sparingly as there was no fuel shipment scheduled to arrive into Colombo in the foreseeable future. The main All Share Price Index (ASPI) closed 2.6% or 199.3 points lower at 7,451.91, its lowest close since June 20. more..

Jun 27 (AD) The visiting high-level delegation of officials representing US State Dept and the Treasury Dept met with PM Ranil Wickremesinghe, a short while ago, for a discussion, PM’s Office said. The delegation including officials from the U.S. Dept of the Treasury and the U.S. Dept of State had arrived in SL yesterday morning for a three-day visit. Members of the delegation include Dy Assistant Secretary of Treasury more..

Jun 27 (Island) The JVP women wing, Women for Rights, says that anyone who props up the Gotabaya-Wickremesinghe govt is an enemy of the public. WfR Chairperson Sarojini Savithri Paulraj called on the people to leave the queues, which led to mortuaries, and join the progressive forces to overthrow the govt. “What is the use of this govt that cannot keep schools open for five days a week. There is no use of ministers and MPs coming to Parliament, while schools remain closed. more..

Jun 27 (FT) Govt has reduced the cap on the maximum foreign exchange one can have in possession to $ 10,000 or its equivalent in other currencies from $ 15,000 earlier. Central Bank said, with the intention of attracting foreign currency in the hands of the public into the formal banking system, the Finance Minister has issued an Order under Section 8 of the Foreign Exchange Act No. 12 of 2017 to this effect. The order is as follows: (1) Reducing the amount of foreign currency more..

Jun 27 (CI) Sri Lanka had lost their last 12 T20Is against India, and had never beaten them in a home game. But all that was put to rest as their captain Chamari Athapaththu led them to a seven-wicket win in the final match of the three-match T20I series in Dambulla. The hosts managed to salvage pride after conceding the series with back-to-back defeats. Athapaththu averages 22.57 in T20Is, but when she's captained SL to victory, she averages 42.61 and strikes at 142.41. more..

Jun 27 (FT) Minister Manusha Nanayakkara this week met with Romanian Ambassador to SL Dr. Victor Chiujdea to discuss new employment opportunities in Romania for Sri Lankans. There was a lengthy exchange of views on the provision of employment opportunities to SL workers in Romania and the Romanian Ambassador said that Romania had opened 100,000 foreign jobs earlier this year. Ambassador said that the Romanian Govt would not intervene in provision of such employment more..

Jun 27 (TM) The Bar Association in SL (BASL) has expressed concern about the manner in which the present economic crisis and the resultant shortages, especially of fuel are being handled by Govt of SL adversely affecting the lives of the people, the administration of the country and running of businesses and ultimately the stability of the community, further noting that the crisis has led to the deterioration of law and order in SL. more..

Jun 27 (AD) SL’s Ministry of Defence has approved the launch of a cargo ferry service between Kankesanturai (KKS) and Pondichery in Tamil Nadu. According to Minister of Fisheries Douglas Devananda, the ferry service is to commence from July 01, 2022. The minister had previously said that once launched, Indian goods can directly reach SL’s Northern Province through the ferry service, which would be operated between KKS and Karaikal Port in Pondichery as it is also called. more..

Jun 27 (TOI) An elderly man and an elderly woman who fled the economic crisis-hit Sri Lanka using an illegal ferry to India were found unconscious on the seashore in Dhanushkodi. Around 7am, local fishermen spotted the duo on the shore near Kothandaramar temple. The Coastal Security Group (Marine) police in Rameswaram were informed. The police managed to reach the spot around 8am and found 81-year-old Sivan from Mannar and 71-year-old Parameswari from Trinco unconscious. more..

Jun 27 (AFP) Sri Lanka's heavily loss-making state-run electricity monopoly asked for a shocking price rise of over 800 percent for its poorest customers with the bankrupt nation out of fuel, regulators said Monday. South Asian nation has been hammered by a foreign exchange crisis, leaving it woefully short of dollars for imports, including fuel to generate electricity and for transport. more..

Jun 27 (Xinhua) SL's central bank has blocked a proposal to sell fuel at selected gas stations for foreign currency, local media reported on Monday quoting Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera. The minister told the media that there was a suggestion that a few gas stations should be allowed to sell fuel for U.S. dollars. However, the central bank authorities told the ministry that dollars can not be used for internal retail transactions according to Sri Lankan regulations. more..

Jun 27 (TM) Former President Maithripala Sirisena clarified that he never mentioned the name of Ven. Athureliya Rathana Thera as having taken money in exchange for working to obtain a presidential pardon for Royal Park murder convict Shramantha Jayamaha. Sirisena’s Personal Secretary said the former Prez only said he felt someone took the money, and never alleged that Rathana Thera was this person. However, MP Ven. Athureliya Rathana Thera yesterday said that Sirisena had more..

Jun 27 (IANS) Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is set to give a fitting salute to late spin wizard Shane Warne when the opening Test against Australia gets underway at the Galle Stadium on June 29. Warne died at the age of 52 due to a suspected heart attack on March 4 this year while holidaying in Thailand. SLC's gesture is one of recognising Warne as a true friend of SL who came to the country's aid during the 2004 tsunami devastation by flying over and visiting affected areas & making generous donations, more..

Jun 27 (DM) The recent fuel price revision was not done according to any formula or any scientific manner but was based on a report released on estimated cost of imported refined petroleum products, the Public Utilities Commission of SL (PUCSL) chairman Janaka Rathnayake said. In a statement to the media, he denied all allegations of raising fuel prices and stated that the calculations were done based on the costs to import per barrel of fuel, which stood at US$176 at that time. more..

Jun 27 (Reuters) SL expects to run out of fuel in days, prompting the govt to close schools in Colombo and order govt employees to work from home, while troops handed tokens to people lining up for petrol to keep their places in the queue. SL is suffering its worst economic crisis in seven decades, with foreign exchange reserves at a record low and the island of 22 million struggling to pay for essential imports of food, medicine and, more..

Jun 27 (AD) President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has instructed the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) and relevant authorities to use available funds to import fuel immediately. The Governor of the Central Bank has agreed to pay the money due to the relevant companies for the fuel supply with a certain plan, the President’s Media Division reported. President Rajapaksa had instructed officials to take immediate action to import fuel using the money available until then. more..

Jun 27 (AD) The visiting high-level delegation representing the US State Dept and US Treasury Dept has met with Prez Rajapaksa. Members of the delegation include Deputy Assistant Secretary of Treasury for Asia Robert Kaproth and Ambassador Kelly Keiderling, who is also the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia. The US Treasury’s Robert Kaproth, US State Dept’s Kelly Keiderling and the US Ambassador to SL Julie Chung had met with Prez Rajapaksa to more..

Jun 28 (DM) Following are three paragraphs from an article written by Professor Amal Kumarage of the Department of Transport and Logistics Management, Uni of Moratuwa and published in the Daily FT. These three paragraphs throw light about a large part of SL’s fuel crisis and thereby point to part of the solution to it. “Around 76% of our fuel consumption is used for public transportation purposes. 51% of that is used by cars, pick-ups, and SUVs, while 31% is by motorcycles and three-wheelers. more..

Jun 28 (DM) It’s been about six weeks since a new govt was formed by the President after inviting all the parties to come forward. Fundamentally, all the parliamentarians should support the present PM to steer this country out of this crisis. Without a new strategy, approach and support, we might not be able to bring some significant improvements to this ailing situation. I must lodge my disappointment however when the PM stated that the economy has collapsed. more..

Jun 28 (TM) Relief for consumers of domestic cooking gas remains out of reach as Litro Gas Lanka Ltd. last week said the next shipments of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) were only expected to arrive within the first two weeks of July. While consumers struggle to find alternative means to light their fires while awaiting gas supply, controversy has surrounded the new shipments ordered from a former supplier, allegedly at a higher rate more..

Jun 28 (DM) There is a great deal of ruin in a nation, Adam Smith once said - meaning that the modern states are innately strong enough to withstand a good deal of external and internal pressure. It takes serious and serial bungling by the policymakers to break a nation. Gotabaya Rajapaksa has shown how a country could be ruined on a fast track. Consider these numbers. SL’s nominal GDP per capita in 2020 was around US$ 3600, about US$ 200 down from the previous year. more..

Jun 28 (CT) On 10 June 2022, the UN had warned that the extreme economic situation in SL could develop into a full-blown humanitarian emergency. Due to several policy disasters of Gota-led govt, the nation has been sadly going through a slow motion implosion, Lebanon style with its economic fundamentals being off the charts in the wrong direction. As SL, once one of South Asia’s most progressive countries is witnessing widespread food & fuel shortages, square peg in a round hole more..

Jun 28 (TM) Somapala, a father of three and a paddy farmer in District of Hambantota, is eagerly awaiting the delivery of fertiliser, as he had commenced cultivating his paddy land this Yala season despite warnings given by his fellow farmers. Like many others, Somapala is pinning his hopes on the arrival of fertiliser from India under the ILOC facility which was offered to SL. Somapala, desperately in need of the necessary fertiliser more..

Jun 28 (TM) Prevailing crises have led the people to take every imaginable measure to survive, just to ensure that their daily needs are met the next day, and some of these measures are unacceptable socially and legally, even though they are understandable given the prevailing dire economic situation. Black markets for fuel, and also hoarding fuel for personal consumption, are some such unethical measures that are becoming exceedingly common. However, their social, economic, more..

Jun 28 (Island) The Rajapaksa-Wickremesinghe govt has proved that it is incapable of controlling the runaway economic crisis, which has taken a turn for the worse with pumps running dry at most filling stations. Neither Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa nor Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe nor Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera knows when or whether the next fuel shipment will arrive. The country is grinding to a halt for want of fuel. Schools have been closed, and many other more..

Jun 28 (GV) The arrest of several protestors calling for SL’s president and his associates to step down amid the ongoing economic crisis, has drawn attention to the grave human rights situation which persists despite a ministerial reshuffle. Hopes that the regime had learnt its lesson, of a shift towards restoring democracy and responsible partnership with others to improve the situation of ordinary people, have not been fulfilled. As the GotaGoGama protest at Galle Face Green intensified more..

Jun 28 (FT) Hayleys Solar, the renewable energy arm of Hayleys Fentons, recently launched Energynet, an off grid/hybrid solar PV system with battery backup, to effectively combat the prevailing power outages experienced in Sri Lanka. With over a decade of market excellence, Hayleys Solar has successfully completed over 75MW of solar installations island wide making it the undisputed leader in Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) company in Sri Lanka. more..

Jun 28 (FT) The export sector remains the silver lining amidst the multiple challenges, as it maintained the growth momentum year-to-date (YTD) up 9.7% to $ 5.1 billion in the first five months of this year. The surpassing of $ 5 billion mark was possible with May merchandised exports amounting $ 980.2 million, up 10% year on year (YoY) and higher than $ 915.3 million in April. However the $ 1 billion mark remains elusive for the second more..

Jun 28 (ST) Late spin legend Shane Warne was not a popular figure among Sri Lankans in the 1990s but his contributions towards the country’s most disadvantaged kids after the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004 helped change that feeling. Warne died on March 4, 2022, during a holiday in Thailand and nearly four months into his shocking demise, SLC will pay tribute to the legend when the first Test between SL and Australia begins at the Galle International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday. more..

Jun 28 (CI) Stick to your plans. That will be the message to Australia's batters as they head to SL for their biggest batting examination in three years of Test cricket. Pakistan did not quite throw up the batting challenges against spin that were anticipated in March, particularly in the first two Tests, where Australia secured a 1-0 win led with the bat by the prolific Usman Khawaja. However, not every Australian batter prospered, with some losing the patience battle in conditions more..

Jun 28 (CT) Sri Lankans have had an outsized influence on Nathan Lyon’s career, but there is one nugget of wisdom he has received on the island, delivered six years ago from the mouth of Rangana Herath, that sticks with him above all else. “I had a conversation with him after the Test series,” Lyon said of the wily spinner who masterminded the 3-0 victory over the Aussies when they last toured SL in 2016. “I said, ‘What do you do that I don’t do?’ And he said, ‘I know that if I put the ball in more..

Jun 28 (Island) Nimesh Ranchagoda of SL Navy won his maiden men’s singles title while Bimandee Bandara of Hillwood College Kandy won the women’s singles title at the 75th National Table Tennis Championship conducted by the Table Tennis Association of SL at the S Thomas’ Indoor Stadium Mount Lavinia over the weekend. The two champions were also adjudged the Most Outstanding players of their respective categories. The sailor beat Hiruna Warusavithana of more..

Jun 28 (CI) On paper it's been six years since the Australia men's side were last in Sri Lanka for a Test tour, but somehow that 2016 tour seems a lifetime ago. Graham Ford was Sri Lanka's coach then; Angelo Mathews still the captain. For Australia, it was pre-Sandpapergate. Adam Voges was a part of the middle order. If you're a Sri Lankan fan, there was magic in the air. That was not a SL side that should have won. more..