Apr 30 (ST) We will give all unproductive land in the state plantations to the workers for them to become owners and manage was a recent promise of a politician. Is this aimed at improving the livelihood of workers or performance of state plantations or another political gimmick? Sometime back the plantation industry in the country was referred to as the backbone of the economy due to its significant positive impact towards it. Due to various reasons management styles of state plantations more..

Apr 30 (Island) PM Rajapaksa, who said he would not step down, has come to terms with reality. He has reportedly said Prez Rajapaksa is free to appoint anyone else as the PM of the interim administration to be formed. Those who supported him at previous elections are still with him, the PM has claimed, insisting that the anti-govt protesters are his political enemies who would have risen against him, anyway. Au fait as he may be with Sri Lankan politics, as a man of the people, more..

Apr 30 (CT) Chinese Ambassador to SL, Qi Zhenhong, who met senior journalists in Colombo last week, expressed China�s concerns about the SL Govt�s approach to the IMF, as well as inconsistencies in the policy framework that affect not only Chinese investors, but all other int'l players visiting Sri Lanka. He went on to clarify that the Hambantota Port is not a debt trap, but is open to int'l players and belongs to Sri Lankans. more..

Apr 30 (FT) Daily COVID-19 vaccination numbers dropped below 250, with only 208 persons vaccinated against the virus on Thursday. 121 persons received the booster dose on Thursday. A total of 7,965,012 persons have received the booster dose in total. The first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine has been administered to 17,063,594 persons and the second dose has been administered to 14,455,620 persons. On Thursday, 10 persons received the first dose of Pfizer and more..

Apr 30 (FT) Health officials state that 28 persons tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday, raising the country�s total COVID-19 detections to 663,329. The previous day, 29 persons tested positive for COVID-19. 1,071 PCR tests and 621 rapid antigen tests were conducted on Thursday. The country�s total COVID-19 detections include 483,090 persons from the New Year cluster, 82,785 persons from the Peliyagoda cluster, 9,154 persons from the Prisons cluster & 3,059 persons from Divulapitiya more..

Apr 30 (FT) A latest survey has confirmed widespread suffering and pessimism among masses countrywide with the blame squarely on the Prez Rajapaksa regime. People are also calling for an audit of the MPs and an end to the Rajapaksa family politics. These are the findings of Confidence in Democratic Governance Index (Wave 2) conducted by Social Indicator (SI), survey research arm of CPA. more..

Apr 30 (FT) Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), in collaboration with the Free Media Movement (FMM), launched a trilingual research report entitled Human Rights and Democracy, Threats to Journalists, HR Defenders and Civil Society 2022 at an event at Hotel Janaki, 7 April. Report is a result of a six-month project which emphasises the necessity and importance of freedom of speech and expression, and the right to information through responsible journalism, and analyses 24 recent cases more..

Apr 30 (Island) Vogue Jewellers was honoured the Worldwide Winner, Innovative Diamond Jeweller of the Year at Retail Jeweller World Dubai Awards held recently. This reputed accolade has been awarded based on its Editorial Team Research, conducted among 150 leading and elite jewellers across the globe. Accordingly, Vogue Jewellers outshines once again, setting another record as the first ever Sri Lankan to win such a recognition. With its unstinted commitment to offer the highest standards, more..

Apr 30 (EN) Stock market closed 0.17% higher on Friday after skyrocketing in the two previous sessions as positive sentiment eroded amid a lingering political crisis threatened the recovery from an economic crisis. ASPI gained 12.83 points to 7,624.26 at the close. The most liquid index S&P SL20 gained 0.22% or 5.51 points to close at 2,509.24. Market analysts said, the market started moving on bargain hunting and Mark Mobius, a top emerging market investor also boosting more..

Apr 30 (Island) Thrower Sumedha Ranasinghe is in contention to qualify for the World Athletics Championships in Oregon, USA after advancing to the 28th position in the Road to Oregon 2022 rankings according to the rankings published by the World Athletics this week. He is the first male athlete from SL to be ranked within the required range to earn qualification for the latest edition of the premier world track and field event. Incidentally, World Athletics has placed him in the 28th position more..

Apr 30 (EN) Sri Lanka�s inflation in the capital Colombo galloped to 29.8% in the 12-months to April 2022, accelerating from 18.7% in March data showed, after two years of money printing and a botched float of the currency with a surrender rule. Colombo Consumer Price Index grew 9.3% in the month from 164.9 points to 180.2 points as the rupee collapsed to around 360 rupees to the US dollar from 203 over two months. more..

Apr 30 (FT) Some rated SL corporates are more affected by the challenging macroeconomic environment stemming from the SL sovereign�s distressed credit profile, Fitch Ratings says. Fitch in April downgraded SL�s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to �C�. The Long-Term Local-Currency IDR was affirmed at �CCC�. SL corporates are grappling with rising costs and weakening disposable incomes, while the country�s weak foreign-currency reserves will continue more..

Apr 30 (GV) The findings of the Centre of Policy Alternatives� survey of the Confidence in Democratic Governance Index (Wave 2) conducted by Social Indicator (SI) send an unequivocal message to the govt that the current public outcry against the economic and political crisis in the country is not limited to the protest sites in Galle Face but is spread throughout the country among both men and women from all ethnic and economic groups. The survey findings show that an overwhelming more..

Apr 30 (ST) SL Govt has turned down billions of rupees worth of claims from consultants of the cancelled Japan-funded Light Rail Transit (LRT) project, citing advice from SL�s Attorney General�s Dept. The consultants�who indicate that they were blindsided�have now asked the funding agency, Japan Int'l Cooperation Agency (JICA), to help secure their unpaid project termination claims so as to avoid seeking more..

Apr 30 (FT) National Movement for Social Justice Chairman Karu Jayasuriya yesterday stressed that a national unity Govt is urgently needed to move country out of the current paralysis. �We call on the Govt to take immediate action. The public may lose their patience and restraint if not. Dissent cannot be controlled with the use of weapons. If the President�s talks are successful, Govt should take immediate action to establish a national unity Govt,� former Speaker Jayasuriya said. more..

Apr 30 (Island) PM Rajapaksa said that he was ready to accept any decision taken by Prez Rajapaksa about the post of PM. �If the Prez decides to replace me with another person, I am ready to accept that. We must respect and accept the decisions taken by the Prez,� PM said. Earlier, former Prez and head of the SLFP, Maithripala Sirisena said that Prez Rajapaksa had agreed to form an interim govt. �Prez agreed to form an interim govt if all stakeholders were agreeable� more..

Apr 30 (Island) The govt will issue a special gazette notification to prevent and control informal foreign exchange reserve transfers out of the country, CB Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe said. �At present many persons transfer US dollars and other foreign currencies through informal systems, such as the Undial and Hawala methods, which take large quantities of foreign reserves out of the country. With the introduction of a new gazette notification, only through banks money/funds could be more..

Apr 30 (FT) Social media activist Anuruddha Bandara filed a fundamental rights petition in the SC, seeking a ruling that his arrest and detention violated his fundamental rights. Fundamental rights petition filed through Attorney-at-Law Johan Peiris against 12 officials including SDIG Deshabandu Tennakoon and AG seeks Rs. 100 million in damages. Petitioner has stated in his petition that the respondents had illegally arrested and detained him for allegedly criticising the President. more..

Apr 30 (DM) Social media activist and the admin of #GoHomeGota2022 Facebook page Thisara Bandara filed a Fundamental Rights petition in Supreme Court seeking a sum of Rs.100 million as compensation from police and state. The petitioner was arrested by the Modara Police on April 2 for allegedly attempting to excite feelings of disaffection toward the President and the Govt of the Republic through a facebook page more..

Apr 30 (DM) SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa alleged that he had got threatening calls saying a plan is afoot to remove him from the Opposition Leader�s post if he fails to agree for an interim govt. �I am getting telephone calls 24 hours a day asking me to join an interim govt together with other parties in Parliament. There was a threatening call among these. One caller told me that there is a plan to remove me from the opposition leader�s post. I am prepared to resign from opposition leader�s more..

Apr 30 (CT) Govt�s foreign commercial debt (FCD) as a percentage of overall foreign debt (OFD), including debt owed to multilateral institutions, such as the World Bank (WB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), increased from 51% to 52%, 2020 to 2021, Central Bank of SL�s 2021 Annual Report released on Friday (29) showed. The Govt�s FCD as a percentage of OFD has been at least 50% or over for the past 10 years to last year (2021), the cause of SL�s current economic crisis. more..

Apr 30 (Island) FSP spokesperson Pubudu Jagoda says the Parliament should be vested with required powers, at expense of the executive, until early parliamentary elections can be conducted. Jagoda, one of the key FSP activists spearheading the Go Gota Home campaign emphasised that the resignation of Prez and PM was a prerequisite for the formulation of an all-party parliamentary mechanism. more..

Apr 30 (DM) Colombo Chief Magistrate's Court ordered to release former State Minister A.H.M. Fowzie from a corruption case following the Bribery Commission's decision to withdraw it. Bribery Commission had filed a corruption case against former State Minister A.H.M. Fowzie for allegedly causing a Rs.1.07 million unlawful loss to the govt by misusing a vehicle belonging to Disaster Management Centre. Bribery Commission informed the court it has decided to withdraw more..

Apr 30 (CT) May Day demonstrations, organised by several political parties, will be held on Sunday (1) across the country. SLPP: The SLPP demonstration will be held near the Ananda Samarakoon Theatre in Nugegoda at 3:00 p.m. SLFP: The SLFP has organised demonstrations around the country. JVP : The Red May Day Rally organised by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna will be held in Colombo, Anuradhapura, Jaffna and Matara. The slogan of this year�s JVP May Day rally is Struggle. more..

Apr 30 (BBC) Sri Lanka's finance minister has told the BBC he has no choice but to hike the country's sales tax as it faces its worst ever economic crisis. In an exclusive interview, Ali Sabry conceded the government made a mistake when it almost halved the rate of value added tax (VAT) to 8% in 2019. Mr Sabry says the nation needs $4bn (�3.2bn) over the next eight months to pay for imports of daily essentials. more..

Apr 30 (FT) The previous Govt had an opportunity to clean the swamp, to address corruption, and to revive competitiveness. Instead, they devolved into bickering political and economic agony aunts, dithering, paralysed, and yet for all that�they had some real development projects on the horizon, from Japan on Light Rail to discussions underway with the US, EU and more. The new Govt, ever eager to strip any credence from their predecessors, scrapped that development pipeline more..

Apr 30 (FT) SL is confronting the worst economic crisis with extraordinary economic and social implications never witnessed before. This demands immediate steps from our leaders that may be difficult, but given where we are, with a sense of panic gripping the people, the only way out is for all parties to start to work together; ironically, no opposition party wants to get near the Rajapaksas anymore, given the public sentiment. Those who have nowhere to go, about 108 MPs, more..

Apr 30 (FT) The situation in the country is one of dynamism as well as stalemate. Dynamism on account of the determination, creativity and resilience of the Gotagogama demonstrators, the extension of their efforts to the Mainagogama demonstration outside Temple Trees to the sheer celebration of Sri Lanka�s diversity and the unity of its peoples, to the presentation of the 21st Amendment in Parliament by the SJB Opposition and their mammoth march from Kandy, more..

Apr 30 (AD) A group of parliamentarians including MPs Dayasiri Jayasekara, Udaya Gammanpila, Nimal Siripala de Silva and Susil Premajayantha who recently became independent in the parliament, have called on the Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Mr. Gopal Baglay earlier this week. The Indian envoy has reiterated his country�s continued commitment to support Sri Lanka, the Indian High Commission in Colombo said taking to its official Twitter handle. more..

Apr 30 (EN) SL�s 2022 economic growth estimate has been revised down sharply to 1%, its annual report released on Friday showed, from as high as 5.5% in January this year. Former CB governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, who resigned early this month, had predicted the island nation�s troubled economy to grow at around 5.5% this year, with a recovery in tourism also helping. Cabraal has been blamed for the economic more..

Apr 30 (FT) HCL Tech employs 2,000 people in the region. Last month, the company faced a hiccup when power went off for 13 hours. With credit lines from the Indian Govt, and supplies that are coming in, power cuts have now been reduced to three to four hours. In the meantime, the company has adjusted the wages of people and adjusted it to inflation. Amid the ongoing economic crisis in SL, HCL Technologies said that it has not seen any business impact on its deliverables, more..

Apr 30 (MFA) At a meeting with a group of Ambassadors on 26 April Minister G.L. Peiris outlined the progress made by Govt of SL in addressing post conflict reconciliation related issues and further strengthening democracy and human rights. Foreign Minister explained the recent substantive amendments to the PTA and the steps being taken to draft a comprehensive counter terrorism legislation to bring it in line with contemporary dimensions of terrorism. more..

Apr 30 (ST) Barbara Sansoni, the well-known SL artist and designer, passed away on April 23rd at around 1.10 a.m., just one hour after her 94th birthday. Dominic, her devoted son and Kavi, her faithful right hand, were by her side � Simon, her eldest, could not make it as he was in London. On the 22nd, a few of her family and friends had gathered to celebrate B (as she was fondly known). Although she was barely conscious, more..

Apr 30 (CT) Govt�s foreign commercial debt (FCD) as a percentage of overall foreign debt (OFD), including debt owed to multilateral institutions, such as the World Bank (WB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), increased from 51 per cent to 52%, 2020 to 2021, Central Bank of SL's 2021 Annual Report released on Friday (29 April) showed. The Govt�s FCD as a percentage of OFD has been at least 50% or over for the past 10 years to last year (2021), cause of SL�s current economic crisis. more..

Apr 30 (CT) Colombo Additional Magistrate Manjula Rathnayake issued notice on two suspects, namely Srinath Chathuranga and Upul Shantha Sannasgala, to appear in Court on 20 May. Two were named as suspects on the instructions of the Attorney General and on charges of defaming Buddhism and denigrating the Buddha, via the printing and distribution of a controversial book. The CID informed the Court, that they had begun a probe into a complaint lodged with them, more..

Apr 30 (NDTV) A ₹ 7-crore fixed deposit under actor Jacqueline Fernandez's name has been attached as part of the investigation into the ₹ 200-crore money laundering case against alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar, sources have said. The Enforcement Directorate has attached assets worth ₹ 7.27 crore - this includes the ₹ 7.12-crore fixed deposit and an amount of ₹ 15 lakh that was paid by Chandrashekhar to a script writer on the actor's behalf. Enforcement Directorate alleges more..