- President Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his message to mark the 76th Independence Day, calls on all Sri Lankans at home & abroad to contribute their utmost to
rebuild the nation: also says SL had the indignity of being labelled a “financially bankrupt country” when it commemorated the 75th year of independence: CB Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe & Treasury Secretary Mahinda Siriwardene who announced “bankruptcy” on 12th April’22, have since denied the country was “bankrupt”. - Opposition & SJB leader Sajith Premadasa pledges free legal assistance to anyone charged with violating the newly-passed Online Safety Act: calls on people not to fear telling the truth via social media: laments Govt has introduced undemocratic laws violating the people’s freedom of speech.
- SJB MP Patali Champika Ranawaka says the Govt is carrying out the real Central Bank robbery under the guise of Local Debt Re-structuring: also says the interest paid on the EPF balances was severely “cut” & therefore the amounts due to the working people was restricted: alleges bankers & tycoons who invested in Treasury bills & bonds that fetched 37% to 40% interest, were not affected by the restructuring.
- Finance Ministry grants permission to release USD 527,000 & GBP 100 that SJB MP Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka had received as “campaign donations” when he contested the Presidency in 2010: the cash had been “frozen” in a bank safe since then as there was a case pending: however, it had been found that much of the “cash” currency notes that had been in the bank safe had been devoured by termites, and only forex of about Rs.50mn was salvageable.
- Ceylon Electricity Board incurs staggering legal expenses including amounts paid to private lawyers: Rs.77,243,170 in 2023, Rs.53,214,607 in 2022, Rs.21,929,557 in 2021, and Rs.17,370,095 in 2020.
- Suspected leader of the notorious criminal gang known as ‘Ava’ group which had committed various crimes including extortion in Jaffna, arrested by Police: the suspect is alleged to have been getting ready to flee the country.
- Chief Government Whip, Urban Development & Housing Minister & SLPP Gampaha District leader Prasanna Ranatunge MP says there’s no one more suited to the office of President, than Ranil Wickremesinghe: also says he has no intention of dividing the SLPP nor going against the Rajapaksas: asserts he isn’t a henchman of Wickremesinghe, but the country has no other alternative.
- CB Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe says SL will not agree to any debt relief proposal from private bondholders that is not consistent with the debt sustainability targets of the IMF: asserts the whole idea of debt restructuring is to restore debt sustainability: analysts say that as per the IMF Debt Sustainability workings in their March’23 report, a “hair-cut” of around 60% of the bilateral & private external debt is envisaged amounting to a “cut” of USD 16,921 mn out of the total of USD 27,943 mn that is outstanding.
- Deputy Solicitor General Lakmini Girihagama appearing for the prosecution in the Human Immunoglobulin case, accuses former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwelle of amending the procurement process in the procurement of human immunoglobulin: urges Court to reject bail by naming him a suspect under the Public Property Act.
- Leader of the Opposition and SJB leader Sajith Premadasa says he will not hesitate to take disciplinary action against those who criticise decisions taken by him & his Party: his remark comes just a few days after SJB Chairman & MP Sarath Fonseka criticised the decision made by Premadasa to appoint former Army Commander General Daya Ratnayake as a Senior Advisor to the SJB.
