Jun 25 (FT) Owning a house is now a dream, says Ruwan Pradeep, a 34-year-old resident of Kesbewa, his words capturing the frustration felt by many middle-income Sri Lankans. �The Government has promised us several loan schemes to purchase a house, but when you go to a bank, you realise how difficult it is to obtain one. Even to get a loan to build a house, you need a substantial deposit. Who would take a loan if they had savings? more..

Jun 25 (Island) Last week, the Bishop of the Diocese of Mannar along with three prominent environmentalists, filed a public interest litigation in the Sri Lankan Supreme Court, challenging the proposed 250 MW Mannar Wind Power Project. In February 2023, Sri Lanka�s Board of Investment approved the development of the $442-million wind power project by Adani Green Energy. Wind power plants were to be built in Mannar and Pooneryn in Northern Sri Lanka. more..

Jun 25 (SO) The IMF has agreed to release the third instalment under the comprehensive credit facility approved by Sri Lanka. The second review of SL�s loan program has been approved by the IMF Executive Board. An 336 million US dollars had been released to this country as part of the third instalment. The IMF noted that Sri Lanka has met all the quantitative targets except the marginal deficit of the Social Expenditure Indicator target of the IMF assistance program. more..

Jun 25 (FT) The first ever DigiEcon Global Investment Summit (DEGIS) 2024 will be held today at the Cinnamon Grand, under the patronage of Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe, marking a significant milestone in the country�s digital transformation journey. DEGIS 2024 is a flagship initiative of the DigiEcon SL 2030 program, which aims to accelerate the national digital economy. The summit is organised by the Govt of SL and coordinated by the Technology Ministry and State Minister more..

Jun 25 (SO) Sri Lankans in search of politicians of minimal integrity may find it hard to locate the breed. There are varying degrees of integrity, and it is true some persons seeking public office are more honest and trustworthy than others. But we could have a look at which politicians pass the test for being acceptable by long suffering Sri Lankans. There are politicians of all breeds. Some seek to shine by way of contrast. They say they have no ulterior motives in politics. more..

Jun 25 (DN) SL sprinter Yupun Abeykoon based in Italy was expected to back home yesterday to take part in the 102 nd National Athletic championship which will be held from today (25) to 27 at Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium at Diyagama. Abeykoon the 29-year-old athlete will take part in the 100m event to focus on his Olympic qualification which is very vital for him. Over 700 athletes including key National athletes are expected more..

Jun 25 (Island) Sri Lankans who pretend to have conquered the greed for riches use a pithy local saying to highlight their feigned aversion to Mammonism; they say not even dogs eat money. But there are other creatures that feast on money, currency notes to be exact. Termites and moths are among them. What has reminded us of these money-eating beings is a report in a Sinhala daily that termites have damaged many wads of greenbacks worth Rs. 250 mil stashed away more..

Jun 25 (DM) The UK Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission on Friday rejected an appeal by the Transitional Govt of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) to lift the proscription on the LTTE in Britain as a terrorist organisation. During the hearing of an appeal the TGTE argued the LTTE should not be proscribed in the UK as it seeks to pursue its political and ideological objectives through non-violent means. Britain was one of the first few countries that proscribed the LTTE. more..

Jun 25 (FT) A seven member delegation led by the Thai Chamber of Commerce and the Board of Trade of Thailand Chairman Sanan Angubolgul met with the Ceylon Chamber Chairman Duminda Hulangamuwa, along with senior representatives of the Chamber yesterday, culminating in the renewing of a MOU to further enhance trade, investment and tourism between SL and Thailand. MOU was signed in the presence of Ambassador designated to Thailand Wijayanthi Edirisinghe, more..

Jun 25 (ST) Ashara Mubaraka, Dawoodi Bohra community�s spiritual convention that attracts visitors from several countries, has been shifted from SL to Karachi in Pakistan, prompting some of those due in as visitors to cancel their trip to Colombo. But the Bohra community here is preparing to co-host the event by having live satellite streams of the sermons delivered by His Holiness Dr. Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, the spiritual leader of the Dawoodi Bohra community, and believes that more..

Jun 25 (TM) Despite the Govt's continued delay in lifting the vehicle import ban due to a lack of foreign reserves and the need to prioritise essential imports, a leading automobile assembly company has received cabinet approval to import electric vehicles or Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV) in semi-knockdown (SKD) form for local assembly at a zero percent Customs tariff on the CIF value, Vehicle importers charged yesterday (24). more..

Jun 25 (Island) Olympian Sumeda Ranasinghe and new national record holder in the men�s javelin Rumesh Tharanga are expected to attract the spotlight in the morning when the 102nd National Athletics Championship commences at Diyagama today. The Asian Throwing Championship medallists will take the field on day one with one eye on the Olympic qualifying standard. Both throwers are yet to enter the Road to Paris 24 rankings despite doing well at the continental c'ship this month. more..

Jun 25 (FT) Ceylon Federation of Micro, Small & Medium Entrepreneurs Chairperson Shashika de Silva has urgently called for the restructuring of MSME loans to avert an impending crisis. de Silva highlighted the critical need for immediate action to support MSMEs, warning of severe consequences if their financial burdens are not addressed. �We have a responsibility to bring focus to issues faced by MSMEs,� de Silva stated. She emphasised that while govt has taken steps to temporarily halt more..

Jun 25 (FT) Two leading Ministers Ramesh Pathirana and Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe on Sunday lambasted the banking sector for half-hearted support to the struggling Micro, Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (MSMEs) thereby endangering a quicker recovery in the economy following multiple crises. Minister Ramesh Pathirana urged enterprises to stand against unfair banking practices and to continue lobbying for their interests more..

Jun 25 (FT) Humane People�s Alliance leader MP Dayasiri Jayasekara asserted that Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa is currently leading in public opinion polls for the upcoming Prez election. According to Jayasekara, NPP leader Anura Kumar Dissanayake follows in second place, with current President Ranil Wickremesinghe trailing in third. MP Dayasiri Jayasekara commented on the President�s plan to declare SL free from bankruptcy on 27 June, emphasising that such an announcement more..

Jun 25 (FT) Sri Lanka Customs is increasing efficiency and revenue collection, and with rapid adoption of automation, is hoping to reduce corruption and offer greater control and visibility to traders. The department is setting up an Internal Affairs unit to report and investigate complaints and allegations of corruption, and this unit will come into operation on Monday. The Internal Affairs unit at the Dept of Customs has originated as part of proposals put forth by the IMF. more..

Jun 25 (Island) The proposed Economic Transformation Bill is not a carefully thought out document, therefore, the policymakers who played a role in drafting it should seriously reconsider it before making it a law of the country, a group of experts said last week. They made this statement at a panel discussion held in Colombo on 18th June. The All Union Alliance of the Board of Investment (BOI), sponsored by the Free Trade Manufacturers Association, organized this event to raise more..

Jun 25 (FT) SJB MP S.M. Marikkar said Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe cannot declare Sri Lanka free from bankruptcy, asserting that such an announcement should come from international credit rating agencies instead. Marikkar highlighted that Prez Wickremesinghe plans to declare this week that he has rescued Sri Lanka from bankruptcy. �In his address to the nation on 21 March last year, the President claimed that the country had recovered from bankruptcy and returned to normalcy,� more..

Jun 25 (FT) Tourism Minister Harin Fernando yesterday anno-unced that the report on the process of granting visa-free status for select countries will soon be presented to the Cabinet for approval. Last month, the Cabinet of Ministers approved a proposal tabled by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to establish an Inter-Ministerial Secretaries Committee tasked with addressing the concerns surrounding the visa system and more..

Jun 25 (Island) The Ministry of Agriculture announced ambitious targets to boost fruit production across various categories by 2027, aiming to meet increasing domestic demand and reducing imports. Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said this decision follows a study revealing a surge in fruit consumption to 12.8 million metric tons in 2023. He said plans are in place to enhance banana, mango, papaya, pineapple, and passion fruit yields. According to data from Dept of Agriculture, more..

Jun 25 (TM) Prez and Minister for Women, Child Affairs and Social Empowerment Ranil Wickremesinghe's request for the appointment of a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to study the Supreme Court's (SC) determination on the proposed Gender Equality Bill is to be discussed at the upcoming party leaders' meeting. Speaking in the Parliament last week, Prez called on Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana to appoint a PSC to look into the determination in question. more..

Jun 25 (EN) Sri Lanka will launch a campaign to promote Trincomalee and Arugam Bay as part of efforts to promote marine tourism and attract higher spending tourists, Tourism Minister Harin Fernando said. �We will do a marine tourism launch in August,� Minister Fernando told reporters an Monday. �We will take Trincomalee to the world as a brand. Arugam Bay is a brand.� �We will focus on deep-sea diving in Arugam Bay and Trincomalee as a form of bringing Marine Tourism in the country.� more..

Jun 25 (TM) The Child Protection Alliance has expressed opposition against the misuse of children for political activities, pointing out that children were allegedly used in that manner during a recent event which the alliance said included comments on political parties and was therefore of a political nature. In a letter addressed to Minister Manusha Nanayakkara and dated yesterday (24), the alliance pointed out that a recent video circulated on social media platforms showing more..

Jun 25 (DN) Education Minister Susil Premajayantha has issued instructions to relevant authorities to conduct academic activities at schools unhindered despite a strike by non-academic staff. Minister has ordered to carry out the educational activities at schools as usual and to prepare a formal programme to manage the activities at the schools with the involvement of academic staff and other stakeholders. more..

Jun 25 (DM) The Court of Appeal has imposed seven years of rigorous imprisonment on a Human Resource Manager of a private company for committing the offence of sexual harassment against a female clerk by embracing, touching, and kissing her face and lips. In addition, the accused was ordered to pay compensation of Rs. 750,000 to the victim. The Court of Appeal made this order pursuant to an appeal filed by the aggrieved party challenging High Court judgment dated Sept 16, 2015, more..

Jun 25 (CT) The IMF has given the green light to a new restructuring proposal made by the majority of the Bondholders of SL�s International Sovereign Bonds (ISBs), known as a steering committee, which was submitted to the IMF for the second time after a few revisions to earlier proposals in consultation with their Financial Adviser Rothschild & Co. and Legal Adviser, White & Case, govt sources said. �The IMF has already announced their opinion after analysing the proposals� consistency with more..

Jun 25 (DM) Speculation is rife within the political circles of an imminent cabinet reshuffle in the coming weeks. Highly placed political sources said that discussions regarding this move have already begun under the guidance of Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe, stirring anticipation and intrigue among political parties. The potential reshuffle, rumoured to be scheduled within the next two weeks, is expected to realign ministerial positions within the govt. more..

Jun 25 (FT) The new property taxes are on the horizon, bringing significant changes to property taxation in SL. Here�s a brief overview of what you need to know about the new imputed rental income tax, its impact, and how it might affect your financial planning. The primary change is the introduction of an imputed rental income tax. This tax targets the notional income homeowners could earn from renting their properties, ensuring a fair contribution to public finances. more..

Jun 25 (FT) I was in Colombo one year ago in June 2023 and things then were already beginning to look better for SL. Inflation was falling, the Central Bank had just begun its interest rate easing cycle, the currency and stock market were seeing a rebound from the bottom, and tourism was starting to pick up momentum. All the major macro indicators were showing an improvement a year ago, which made me optimistic about the outlook for SL. One year later, after having increased our fund more..

Jun 25 (AD) Cabinet of Ministers has approved the signing of debt restructuring agreements with Paris Club and other stakeholders, Cabinet Spokesperson, Minister Bandula Gunawardana said. Minister Gunawardana said the relevant agreements will be signed tomorrow. A SL delegation comprising the Secretary of the Finance Ministry, State Ministers and other relevant officials have left for France for the discussions with the Paris Club group of major creditor countries. more..

Jun 25 (EN) Sri Lanka�s Commercial Bank said it is selling debentures to sell up to 10 year debt paying up to 13.5% to boost its Tier II capital. The Bank will initially issue 100 million Basel III compliant � Tier 2 listed rated unsecured subordinated redeemable debentures with a non-viability conversion feature, at 100 rupees each, to raise 10 billion. It would issue up to a further 50 million debentures in the event of an oversubscription of the initial issue. A further 50 million debentures more..

Jun 25 (NF) Bar Association of SL (BASL) says that MPs should not interfere with the functions of the judiciary or the functions of the JSC by making statements under the protection of parliamentary privileges. It added that such statements will have serious consequences for undermining the public trust and the confidence placed in the judicial system. BASL said that it re-affirms its commitment to safeguard more..

Jun 25 (EN) Cabinet has given approval to seek investors for a 200 MegaWatt independent power plant on a build-own-operate-and-transfer (BOOT) basis. Internal combustion power plant will be capable of running on natural gas and is part of the Long-Term Generation Expansion of CEB. The investor will get as 20-year power purchase agreement. Land next to the Sobhadanavi combined cycle plant will be made available for the developer. 200MW IC plant is expected to come more..

Jun 25 (AD) Court of Appeal has decided for the writ petition filed by former SL Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda over the alleged abduction of 11 youths in 2008 and 2009, to be taken up for hearing before a 5-member judge bench. The former Navy Chief has filed the relevant petition seeking an order preventing the hearing of a case filed before the Colombo High Court against him and several others, related to the alleged abduction of 11 youths in Colombo and its suburbs in 2008 & 2009. more..

Jun 25 (EN) SL�s political parties are now trying to cobble together alliances from a fragmented political landscape in the hope getting in to stronger positions ahead of presidential polls expected between Sept 17 and Oct 16. The composition of the current parliament has changed significantly since 2020, with many legislators no longer affiliated with their original parties after an economic crisis fragmented more..