- Head of the State-Owned Enterprises Restructuring Unit Suresh Shah says the public sector can be efficiently operated with a workforce as low as 200,000 through digitization, instead of the workforce of about 1.3 million currently: points out that even without digitization, the public sector workforce can be cut in half and public services run efficiently: Shah was previously the head of the country’s leading Beer manufacturing company, Lion Brewery.
- UN Human Rights Office asks the Govt to consider amending the controversial Online Protection Act to ensure it complies with human rights obligations: also urges the Govt to address the concerns of civil society and industry groups.
- Defence Ministry says the Ministry will continue to pay the full salaries & allowances of members of the armed forces who were killed or disabled in action prior to May 19, 2009, up to the date of their 55th birthday.
- Minister Keheliya Rambukwella arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department over the substandard Human Immunoglobulin import issue.
- Ten senior Attorneys-at-Law take oaths as President’s Counsel at a ceremonial sitting of the Supreme Court before CJ Jayantha Jayasuriya: they are Chamantha Weerakoon, Dr. Asanga Gunawansa, Mohamed Adamaly, Harsha Fernando, Dr. Sivaji Felix, Faisza Markar, Kaushalya Nawaratne, Upul Kumarapperuma, Viran Corea and Eraj de Silva.
- Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi says the Wildlife Dept will declare three new wetlands as “wetlands under the Ramsar Convention”: these are the Viduthalaithivu Nature Reserve, Adam’s Bridge National Park and Chundikulam National Park.
- CB data shows that the “Import cover” of the official reserves has passed the level of 3 months for the first time in nearly 2 years: reserves have improved with weakened imports as a result of the severe demand destruction and economic contraction policies instituted by the CB & Govt since April’22: during this period, the Govt & CB have also defaulted on external loan repayments estimated at a staggering USD 8,000 mn.
- Country’s book publishers, printers, book importers, authors, and academics call upon President Ranil Wickremesinghe to immediately cancel the prohibitive 18% VAT to avert long-term consequences of making books more expensive for the masses.
- Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Education, World Food Programme, National Food Promotion Board and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation collaborate on a project to deliver a “rice lunch” over an 8-month period to 7.5 million school children.
- SL ends the first day in a strong position in the SL vs Afghanistan Cricket test match that commenced yesterday at the SSC grounds: AFG 198 all out: Vishwa Fernando 51/4, Asitha Fernando 24/3, Prabath Jayasuriya 67/3: SL 80/0: Dimuth Karunaratne 42, Nishan Madushka 36.
