- President Ranil Wickremesinghe, currently in Davos, Switzerland, due to leave for Uganda to attend the 19th Non-Aligned Summit: leaders of around 120 countries expected at the Conference: President scheduled to hold bilateral talks with leaders of several African countries to seek their cooperation at the UN Human Rights Council.
- President Ranil Wickremesinghe attends roundtable discussion hosted by Consortium of Indian Industry: unveils “economic vision” for SL: emphasizes the successful resolution of supply bottlenecks, removal of import restrictions & restoration of foreign exchange liquidity as key factors contributing to sustained economic growth.
- Cement Industry sources say the construction sector is facing it’s toughest period in history due to the negative effects of the sharp reduction of construction activities since the start of 2023: also says the contraction has pushed the industry into near collapse: asserts this fate is inevitable with the anticipated exponential rise of operational costs, following the introduction of VAT in Jan’24.
- Mahanayaka Theras bless Public Security Minister Tiran Alles and say the mission started with the goal of freeing the country from the menace of drugs and controlling the crime wave must continue until the end, regardless of obstacles: assert it is in the national interest to free the country from the menace of drugs.
- Livestock Planning Directorate of the Dept of Animal Production & Health says 14,294 cattle farms in Sri Lanka have closed during the period Jan to Sept’23: 6,961 in Uva Province, 964 in North-Western, 894 in Eastern, 723 in North-Central, 665 in Southern, 2,289 in Central, 847 in Sabaragamuwa: 376 cattle farms in the Jaffna district and 31 in Mullaitivu district have also closed.
- SL’s Tea exports for 2023 earn USD 1.31bn compared with USD 1.26bn in 2022: however, volume of tea exported in 2023 witnesses a decline of 3.3%, with only 241.9 mn kg being exported, marking a decrease of 8.26 mn kg compared to the 250.2 mn kg shipped in 2022.
- Labour Minister Manusha Nanayakkara claims the relevant officials of the Finance, Economic Stabilisation and National Policies Ministry are working without any understanding regarding the protection of the fishing community and the industry.
- Three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court quashes the Presidential pardon granted by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to former MP Duminda Silva who was convicted of murder: make order that the pardon had no legal basis.
- President Ranil Wickremesinghe pardons 2 prisoners – Nagalingam Madansekar & Selvathurai Kirubakaran, who had been serving life sentences for LTTE activities after being convicted under the PTA & Emergency Regulations: the pardons had been recommended by Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe and backed by a Prisons Dept report that said the duo had “displayed good behaviour”.
- Shevoni Gunawardena takes Power-lifting games by storm: sets records at the National Power-lifting Championship 2023 in over 84kg weight class – in squat 120kg, bench press 57.5kg, and deadlift 153.5kg.
