- Apparel industry insiders say buyers’ orders have dropped by a massive 20-25%: also say the industry is facing tough times as it’s biggest players operate at half-capacity while some factories have closed.
- Catholic Bishops’ Conference urge the Govt to uphold the Constitution and ensure democracy: asks to desist from interfering with the independence of the Judiciary: says to preserve freedom of speech & expression of all citizens.
- CPC says the existing fuel quota has been increased for the New Year festive season as follows: 3-wheeler quota from 5L to 8L, Motorcycles from 4L to 7L, Buses from 40L to 60L, Cars from 20L to 30L, Land Vehicles from 15L to 25L, Lorries from 50L to 75L, Quadric Cycles from 4L to 6L, Special Purpose Vehicles from 20L to 30L and Vans from 20L to 30L.
- Supreme Court declares many clauses of the proposed Central Bank Bill as being inconsistent with the Constitution: directs Parliament to amend 39 clauses: one of the Petitioners against the proposed Bill Ms Jehan Hameed says the SC Order has ensured continued Parliamentary control of the nation’s finances.
- Central Bank says it’s gross official reserve including the SWAP facility from PBOC of USD 1.4bn, has risen to USD 2.7bn at end-Mar’23: IMF says Sri Lanka’s external debt due but not paid as at end-Dec’22 was USD 3.0bn: Monetary Board maintains policy interest rates at current levels of 15.5% and 16.5%.
- LMD-Nielsen Business Confidence Index regains some lost ground to register 72 points: however, it’s still 60 points lower than the level prevailing an year ago of 132 and 52 points below the all-time average of 124 points.
- Centre for Environmental Justice Senior Scientist Hemantha Withanage says Sri Lanka may lose compensation of around USD 10bn for the MV X- Press Pearl disaster, if the Govt does not take legal action within the next 45 days: also says a new report has found heavy pollution in the marine environment around the shipwreck.
- State Ministry of Primary Health Care, Epidemics and Covid Disease Control Secretary Dr. Amal Harsha de Silva says former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s involvement in Covid-control made it difficult for those engaged in it to function to their fullest capacity.
- Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa says it is laughable that the Govt is trying to “buy over” SJB MPs by giving them Rs.20 mn each: asserts SJB MPs will never betray the masses: a few days ago, some media reports claimed that former Ministers Harsha de Silva, Kabir Hashim and Eran Wickremaratne were planning to cross over to the Govt.
- Indian Premier League (IPL) side “Gujarat Titans” acquires Sri Lanka’s ODI and T20I Captain Dasun Shanaka in place of New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, who was injured a few days ago.
