- President Ranil Wickremesinghe says the government will be unveiling a new tourist plan called ‘Visit Sri Lanka’ that will be released in the upcoming months; asserts the proposal is in the final stages of development and would be made public as soon as it is complete.
- Plantation Industries Minister Ramesh Pathirana says action will be taken to establish an Agriculture and Plantation Research University by merging all institutions connected to the plantation industry and agriculture sector, as per President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s concept; asserts the fundamental draft related to this has already been prepared and it is intended to complete the basic work this year.
- The CB says the Finance Ministry issued a new order relaxing certain limitations / suspensions imposed on outward remittances of foreign exchange: adds the move comes in “with a view to assist and maintain the financial system stability by minimising the pressure on the exchange rate and preserving the foreign currency reserve position of the country.”
- The AG’s Office tells the Supreme Court that a two-thirds majority in Parliament and a referendum will be required to reconvene the Local Government bodies, were the private MP’s bill tabled by Ruling Party MP Jayantha Ketagoda to be considered; adds the provisions of the Constitution are being violated through certain clauses in the bill in question seeking amendments to the Municipal Ordinances on urban councils and municipal councils.
- Sri Lankan-born journalist and the face of BBC One’s News At Six George Alagiah dies at the age 67: Alagiah was diagnosed in 2014 with stage four bowel cancer, which had spread to his liver and lymph nodes.
- New Chairman of Sri Lanka Telecom PLC Reyaz Mihular says the recent changes in the company’s Board of Directors had nothing to with the divestment of shares by the Government: adds they as a Director Board have a sole responsibility to ensure SLT-Mobitel is run professionally, and the shareholders, therefore, cannot be expected to be told any conditions for selling shares: asserts the changes made in the company are solely “to ensure that SLT-Mobitel is managed properly following good governance practices.”
- Chairman of the National Movement to Protect Consumer Rights Ranjith Vithanage says the swindle of selling palm oil-mixed coconut oil has once again been enthroned due to the Rs. 25 tax imposition on coconut oil, leading to a loss of about US $ 700 million in exports; laments the move is easily paving the way for notorious cooking oil dealers to continue the swindle; urges the government to increase the duty imposed on palm oil as well.
- The Horana Magistrate Court warrants the arrest of former Commissioner General of Labour and current Secretary to the Ministry of Labour R.G.A. Wimalaweera in connection with the death of five persons at a chemical waste station of a rubber factory in Horana: Wimalaweera is accused of influencing a former factory inspection engineer to produce false evidence pertaining to the incident as the then Commissioner General of Labour.
- Fitch Ratings says the SL government’s debt restructuring plan is likely to reduce investment and liquidity risks for domestic insurers: adds it expects the sparse foreign-currency liquidity in the local banking system to continue to limit insurers’ ability to meet foreign-currency obligations, such as reinsurance payments and claim obligations arising from the small portion of foreign currency-denominated policies.
- Sydney Downing Centre District Court questions the “focused” media attention on Sri Lankan Cricketer Dhanushka Gunathilaka’s sexual assault case: Judge Warwick Hunt says he had concerns about potential prejudice after seeing Gunathilaka’s charges on the front page of a newspaper; questions how can the SL Cricketer get a fair trial after all this publicity.
