- President Ranil Wickremesinghe requests Mahanayake Theras of Malwatta and Asgiriya to hold an exposition of the Sacred Tooth Relic to mark the 75th anniversary of Independence.
- Construction sector activities slump in 3Q22 by 33.2%: private and public developments at near standstill: almost all Forex funded projects discontinued after debt default: almost all locally funded projects discontinued after interest rate hike, exchange rate spike, and inflation rise.
- Catholic Bishops Conference President Bishop Winston Fernando urges Catholics to maintain the spirit of Christmas beyond the festive Season and show compassion to everyone: asks Catholics search for those in suffering and give relief.
- Upcountry Tamil Party courts President’s “International Climate Advisor” Eric Solheim (previous “peace facilitator” between the Govt and LTTE) to play a role in “achieving a lasting solution to the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka”.
- SJB MP and COPF Chairman Dr Harsha Silva says Sri Lanka is directionless: points out it is the first time since 2008 that the Central Bank has not laid out a roadmap for the coming year: expresses concern that some factions of Govt say the IMF bailout will come in January ’23, while others say June: analysts say Govt and CB are now following many proposals previously enunciated by MP Silva.
- Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa says he came last in the class when he was reading for his Ordinary Level exams in England.
- SJB MP Eran Wickramaratne questions as to whether a Parliamentary Select Committee could investigate financial crimes, as proposed by President Wickremesinghe: says Govt should instead initiate investigations into financial crimes, gather related evidence, and allow bodies such as COPE to forward findings to the Attorney General’s Dept.
- Ports Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva says Sri Lanka will sell 4 plots of land in Colombo Port City for an investor to establish a bunkering facility: asserts expressions of interest have been called to start an aviation fuel storage facility: also says Port City can bring in over USD 5 bn as FDI in its first 5 years of operations.
- Prisoners to be trained in modern agricultural practices with international support amid government’s efforts to bring in new food security laws: Prisons Dept to get FAO assistance in this regard.
- Tourism Minister Harin Fernando says the Tourism Authority has transformed the ‘Aragalaya site’ near the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo into a festive area.
Sri Lanka Original Narrative Summary: 20/12
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