Oct 12 (Reuters) IMF warned on Tuesday that colliding pressures from inflation, war-driven energy and food crises and sharply higher interest rates were pushing the world to the brink of recession and threatening financial market stability. In gloomy reports issued at the start of the first in-person IMF and World Bank annual meetings in three years, the IMF urged central banks to keep up their fight against inflation despite the pain caused by monetary tightening and rise in US dollar more..

Oct 12 (TM) Minister Prasanna Ranatunga has presented a Cabinet paper to approve an amount of Rs. 1,232 million from the Treasury for the payment of arrears in wages to the employees of the State Engineering Corporation (SEC) and the National Equipment and Machinery Organisation (NEMO). According to this paper, an amount of Rs. 164 million is required to pay the salaries of the employees of both the organisations for the period up to September of this year. more..

Oct 13 (DM) Oct 11 is commemorated the world over as the year of the Girl Child. The International Day of the Girl Child was first focused on, at the Beijing Declaration in 1995 at the World Conference on Women in Beijing. It was the first-ever event to have identified the need for addressing issues faced by adolescent girls around the world. Sixteen years later, on Dec 19, 2011, UNGA adopted the Resolution to declare Oct 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child, to recognize girls’ rights more..

Oct 13 (DM) Indra Mani Pandey. Remember the name. He’s India’s Permanent Representative in Geneva. He’s no novice in matters diplomatic, having joined the service more than 30 years ago. He would have been old enough even before that to know what’s what in Indo-Lanka relations, if he was inclined at the time to educate himself about int'l relations and in particular South Asian affairs. So, to cut to the chase, when someone like Pandey says something about SL, we need to take note. more..

Oct 13 (SO) Uni of Peradeniya has received much coverage in recent times due to an attack on a group of students of the Law Dept in Arts faculty at the Gemba canteen. The attack had been carried out by a group of students in the same faculty. Following the incident, a complaint was lodged by the dean of the faculty along with several students who faced the attack. However, while investigations continued the situation only worsened more..

Oct 13 (TM) A recent local study estimated that a staggering number of 9.6 million Sri Lankans are living in poverty, which is an increase of 300% from the estimated number of people below the poverty line in 2019, i.e. three million. According to Prof. Wasantha Athukorala of the Uni of Peradeniya, the study had further revealed that 42% of the population is in poverty. These alarming statistics were revealed in a context where the welfare benefit fast-track programme Leave No One Behind, more..

Oct 13 (CT) The Aragalaya on Galle Face drew incredible support largely because of its peacefulness and cosmopolitan support. Perhaps it was the largest public rally since Independence, Many professional commentators expressed the view that since it lacked political Leadership, it was doomed to fail. But was it not the very message that the placards and slogans proclaimed? They demanded System change well beyond cosmetics & shuffling of the same old discredited pack. more..

Oct 13 (TM) Wine tastes better with age, but only up to a point, after which the taste begins to decline. Similar sentiments are expressed by a majority of the public when discussing the idea of introducing a retirement age for politicians. They believe that although politicians could get better at governing the country with more experience, i.e. more time in politics, at some point, their ability to effectively perform their duties starts waning, and more..

Oct 13 (GV) In the decades of its use, the PTA has been condemned for being an unjust and arbitrary law. The suffering of those detained under the PTA and the impact on their families have been documented by int'l and local human rights organisations and in the media. Abu Saleem and his family have felt the full force of the PTA; detained for 18 months, Saleem lost his job, was absent from his children’s lives and faced abuse and harassment from his own community. more..

Oct 13 (CT) Transport Minister Bandula Gunawardena on Tuesday (12) said, the CID is conducting an investigation to determine whether the present train delays were due to sabotage. Gunawardena during the Cabinet media briefing said, an internal investigation into train delays will also be conducted under the supervision of the Ministry Secretary and the General Manager of Railways. The newly launched Rajarata Odyssey to A'pura commenced operations on 8 Oct. more..

Oct 13 (FT) The out-of-the-box plan to attract a fraction of the FIFA World Cup 2022 fan base to SL will materialise, as key Gulf Airlines have committed to support the initiative, Minister Harin Fernando said. Noting that Flydubai & Qatar Airways have agreed in principle to support the initiative with increased frequencies, he said the final plan will be announced by next week. “Given the support we have received so far from all stakeholders, I am confident that the initiative will be successful,” more..

Oct 13 (Island) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe has, at a recent discussion with a group of professionals, stressed the need for electoral reforms, and frowned on the preferential voting system or manape, which, in his opinion, has to be done away with. He is not alone in advocating the abolition of the preferential vote to solve election-related problems. The preferential voting mechanism is generally made out to be the mother of all election law violations. But the fathers of these problems, more..

Oct 13 (EN) SL’s ongoing IMF-prescribed reforms to come out of an unprecedented economic crisis will not be reversed in future unlike in the past as there is somewhat consensus among the current lawmakers for such reforms, State Finance Minister Shehan Semasinghe said. SL has seen many vicious reform cycles since its independence in 1948 with one centre-right political party in power have introduced reforms to boost revenue, more..

Oct 13 (ST) The STF has unravelled a scheme by foreign drug dealers to sell more weapons to local distributors by creating clashes among groups. A senior STF official said that foreign drug dealers have arranged to provide complimentary weapons, such as firearms, according to the amount of drugs purchased by them. They said that the persons allegedly smuggling large quantities of drugs via Afghanistan & Pakistan were receiving weapons as well as a way of enticing them into the trade. more..

Oct 13 (CI) Australia has never staged a men's T20 World Cup, and due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, over the last couple of seasons, T20Is have only been played in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra. So how will the tournament, which will be staged across seven venues, possibly play out? With a combination of data - from all T20s from Oct 1, 2020 to Oct 1, 2022 - and expert insight from David Hussey, who has coached Melbourne Stars in the BBL for five seasons, we try to paint more..

Oct 13 (Island) As the world’s most reputed organisation for recommending and awarding bodies that are related to travel and hospitality, the World Travel Awards committee considers destinations for their high-quality service and awards them the World Travel Award as an inspiration to similar organizations. Every year World Travel Awards are held regionally in different parts of the globe to award destinations that are deemed globally recognised for their impeccable service. more..

Oct 13 (EN) Sri Lanka has to do transformational reforms and improve governance to come out of the current crisis a senor World Bank official said, as the island suffers the worst currency crisis in the history of its intermediate regime central bank. SL’s gross domestic product is expected to shrink to 9.2% in 2022 according to World Bank projections after a collapse of the rupee following two year of money printing to support a tax cut, which ended in import controls and default. more..

Oct 13 (EN) SL’s proposed tax hikes could force professionals out of the country as they discourage people who want to earn more and expand businesses, analysts say. Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is also the island nation’s finance minister, through a gazette has proposed new tax rates, which if passed would bring SL’s tax structure almost in line with 2019 before former prez removed many taxes in December that year. more..

Oct 13 (MFA) Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ali Sabry, met with Presidents, Secretaries General, senior officials and business leaders representing a large number of export oriented organizations and chambers of commerce on 12 Oct to discuss and to expound the opportunities and potential for exporters as well as the challenges that they confront in exporting goods and services of SL, amongst others. Foreign Secretary Ambassador Aruni Wijewardane and other senior officials more..

Oct 13 (AD) State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe represented Sri Lanka at the G24 Ministerial Meeting during the Annual Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank on Tuesday (Oct. 11). The meeting has discussed a variety of new fiscal and economic issues that emerged since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, along with renewed risks and financing burdens on many developing countries, the Ministry of Finance, Economic Stabilization & National Policies more..

Oct 13 (TM) The Election Commission yesterday condemned the Govt’s subtle attempts to postpone the Provincial Council (PC) elections and stated that it would soon take a decision on conducting the said polls before March of next year. Election Commission Chairman Attorney Nimal Punchihewa, addressing the media, asserted that this has led to the public believing that the PCs are not operational, and more..

Oct 13 (DM) As SL grapples with the ongoing unprecedented crisis that has resulted in both the country and its people looking for change, efforts must be taken to move from people-centric to system-centric, with enhanced transparency and accountability, said the Institute of Chartered Accountants of SL. Association called for the need to not only transform strategic areas in the system of the country but also changes to be made by individuals, professionals & businesses. more..

Oct 13 (FT) Colombo Port City Economic Commission (CPCEC) Chairman Dinesh Weerakkody and senior officials from Port City Colombo briefed Embassy of Japan Deputy Head of Mission Katsuki Kotaro on the prospects of investment in Port City Colombo recently. The discussion was held to foster a deeper understanding of the situation regarding Port City Colombo that would in turn facilitate understanding on the side of potential Japanese investors more..

Oct 13 (TM) Former MP Ranjan Ramanayake, who was granted a conditional Presidential pardon and thus released from imprisonment on 26 Aug, said that he had not accepted the position of goodwill ambassador to oversee the welfare and promotion of migrant workers which was offered to him by Minister Manusha Nanayakkara on the day of his release. “Since I received a conditional pardon, I feel that I cannot take up the position as of yet. I am currently staying at Nanayakkara’s house more..

Oct 13 (Island) The GMOA yesterday claimed that nearly 500 doctors had migrated from January to Aug 2022 due to the continuing economic-social-political crisis. GMOA Secretary Dr. Haritha Aluthge, warned the trend would continue unless the govt took tangible measures to arrest the situation. The top GMOA spokesperson said the problem could not be tackled with the help of a recently-introduced scheme for public servants to obtain no pay leave to go abroad without losing their seniority. more..

Oct 13 (Island) State Finance Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya admitted that the Paddy Marketing Board (PMB) hadn’t purchased any paddy for want of funds. SLFPer said that the economic crisis was so acute the Finance Ministry couldn’t intervene though it realised the need to address the issue urgently. Kegalle District MP said so when The Island sought an explanation regarding the failure on the part of the govt to step in more..

Oct 13 (CT) SL will look to correct their mistakes and put up an improved performance against Pakistan today in the second semi-final of the Women’s Asia cup in Sylhet. The islanders are coming into the match after being handed a 5 wicket defeat against Pakistan in their last group stage match. At the post-match conference, batter Hasini Perera said they were 20-30 runs short in their last encounter, and even though the bowlers did their best, they were unfortunate to be on the losing side. more..

Oct 13 (FT) Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva yesterday met with Nepal Ambassador Bashu Dev Mishra and discussed commencing direct flights between Colombo and Lumbini. The Ambassador at the discussions requested to extend flights already in operation between Colombo Nepal’s Capital Kathmandu up to Lumbini. Ambassador Mishra pointed out that the proposed expansion services would be a great relief for Sri Lankan pilgrims visiting Nepal to pay homage to Lumbini more..

Oct 13 (Island) SL expatriates – most of whom are professionals in the fields of investment, technology, global entertainment, gaming industry, public diplomacy and foreign affairs – in the State of Nevada, in the US continued their discourses with U.S. Senator Catherine Cotez Masto to facilitate SL to move out of the current economic crisis. Masto is one of the Washington lawmakers who is on pivotal Financial and Banking Committees which are entrusted with international trade, finance more..

Oct 13 (FT) Colombo stock market bounced back yesterday with buying returning on improved sentiment and apparent waning of concerns over new taxation. ASPI gained by over 108 points or 1.2% and the active S&P SL20 improved by 1.3% or 35 points. Turnover was Rs. 2.3 billion involving 66.4 million shares. Asia Securities said following three sessions of downward momentum, the indices bounced back into positive territory as investors digested the govt’s tax hikes announcement more..

Oct 13 (FT) SJB MP Kabir Hashim said the new proposed tax policy is a death sentence to various groups including small and medium-scale enterprises, the local business industry, the export industry as well as private sector executives. According to Hashim, the new policy will deal a death blow to the local production industry. “They are attempting to sign off on a death sentence to many,” he said. more..

Oct 13 (DM) Heavy rains exceeding 100 mm could be expected today in Western, Central, North-Western, and Sabaragamuwa provinces and in Galle and Matara districts. Thundershowers could be expected in the Western, Southern, North-Western, Central, Sabaragamuwa, and Eastern provinces. Light showers could also be expected over the island during the afternoon or night. However, overcast conditions could prevail in most parts of the island due to the low-level atmospheric more..

Oct 13 (ICG) Despite relative calm on the streets since mass protests forced Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign in early July, SL’s interlocking economic and political crises remain acute. Selected by parliament to succeed Rajapaksa, Ranil Wickremesinghe has since secured a preliminary agreement with the IMF for a $2.9 billion bailout loan known as an Extended Funds Facility (EFF). The deal is a necessary first step toward addressing its economic woes, but more..

Oct 13 (FT) Sri Lanka has begun importing large quantities of oil from Russia in a sharp supply shift that highlights how cash-strapped countries are increasingly taking advantage of price discounts created by western sanctions on Moscow. Sri Lanka, which effectively ran out of fuel this year due to a financial crisis, has since May sourced more than half its crude from Russia, according to data from analytics providers Refinitiv & OilX. more..

Oct 13 (EN) SL has decided to release around 950 containers stuck at Colombo Port by without paying demurrage penalties following a meeting between State Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya and Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva. The clearing of the containers will reduce congestion in the container yards at Colombo Port. A decision was made by Minister de Silva to release to containers without charging demurrage and the required proposal would be submitted to cabinet, more..