- Ministry of Finance says the Govt will buy Nadu paddy with a moisture level of 14% for Rs.100 per kg during the 2022/23 “Maha” Season: Nadu paddy with moisture levels between 14-22% to be purchased at Rs.88 per kg: State Finance Minister Siyambalapitiya says Govt will provide 10kg of rice each free of charge in March and April to approximately 3.9 million families: also says the Govt’s paddy procurement program has been designed to maximize benefits to farmers.
- Govt to release funds for the purchase of essential medicines, paddy and payment of gratuity arrears for over 18,000 retired government employees from 2022.
- National Elections Commission says the Govt Printer has notified the Commission that ballot papers for the LG election will not be printed if due payment is not made.
- President Ranil Wickremasinghe’s top advisor and BOI Chairman Dinesh Weerakkody says Sri Lanka should have never defaulted prior to debt rescheduling: CB Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe and Treasury Secretary Mahinda Siriwardene hurriedly announced the sovereign debt default on 12th April 2022 within 5 days of their assuming office, without prior Cabinet or Parliament approval.
- Former CB Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal says it’s now 48 weeks since approaching the IMF but the authorities have not been able to secure a single dollar from the IMF or any other bilateral lender: asserts that nearly USD 4 bn was secured from bilateral lenders during the brief period of just over 28 weeks when he was Governor.
- Tamil Nationalist Leader Pazha Nedumaran claims that LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran is still alive: his claims likely to have no credibility as the Army had released pictures of the dead Prabhakaran after his body was found in Mullivaikkal in Northern Sri Lanka on 19th May 2009.
- Nepal billionaire Binod Chaudhury holds discussions on potential investment opportunities in distribution, retail, leisure, financial services and manufacturing, with BOI Chairman Dinesh Weerakkody.
- Court of Appeal decides to consider Petition seeking the annulment of the decision taken by the Cabinet to revise the electricity tariff, on 17th February: relevant petition filed by the Electricity Consumers’ Association and the Centre for Environmental Justice.
- Sri Lanka’s wedding destination planners explore opportunities from India and some European countries to attract foreigners to have their weddings in the island: the global destination wedding market expected to grow by 32.8% to a value of USD 28 bn this year.
- Environmentalists and tourism stakeholders raise concerns about the 4-day Deep Jungle Musical and Cultural Festival 2023 scheduled to kick-off on 17th February: say the event could have disastrous effects on the wildlife and delicate ecosystem within the Habarana forest.
Sri Lanka Original Narrative Summary: 14/02
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