- India’s Hindustan Times reports Sri Lanka will have to wait till at least March 2023 before obtaining the much awaited IMF bail out: by March 2023, it would be 1 year from the time Sri Lanka approached the IMF for assistance: meanwhile, all funding from bilateral sources have fully dried up since April 2022.
- CB Governor Dr Nandalal Weerasinghe and Treasury Secretary Mahinda Siriwardana hold virtual meeting with the country’s creditors: meeting described as “another step towards securing IMF approval for a “bailout programme”.
- Verité Research’s Nishan de Mel says Sri Lanka will have to restructure domestic debt if the Government can’t achieve “targets it has agreed with the IMF”: also says Govt has not yet officially ruled out restructuring domestic debt: previously, CB Governor Dr Weerasinghe had solemnly assured that the domestic debt would not be restructured.
- JVP’s Wasantha Samarasinghe says the EPF consisting of people’s savings and managed by the Monetary Board has recklessly invested hundreds of billions of rupees in Sri Lanka Government securities after the “bankruptcy” announcement: warns EPF officials against making such investments where the issuer rating is “D”.
- Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera says Sri Lanka is keen to “privatise” its oil industry: laments there’s no deal yet: also says rationing scheme helped reduce fuel usage by 40%: further says CPC now unable to procure the country’s full requirement.
- Public Utilities Commission Chairman Janaka Ratnayake says 2 coal ships had arrived, another expected on 7th November, and partial payments made for 2 more, totalling 5 shipments: also says another 33 needed before end-April 2023 to avoid extended
power cuts. - The Atamasthana Committee appoints Chief Incumbent of Ruwanweliseya temple and Chief Sanghanayake of Nuwara Kalaviya, Most Ven Pallegama Hemarathana Thera as the new Atamasthanadhipathi.
- Colombo’s Additional Coroner Iresha Deshani Samaraweera says 6 persons from Colombo who had taken sexual drive enhancing drugs without medical advice, had died in the last 3 months: most victims aged 20-25.
- Consultant Virologist of the Department of Virology, Medical Research Institute, Dr. Jude Jayamaha says the MRI has detected the first-ever “monkey-pox” case in Sri Lanka.
- Moratuwa University Senior Lecturer Dr. Thusitha Sugathapala says the toxic fumes emitted by a mosquito coil is 100 times more than that emitted from a cigarette.
