PMD: President Ranil Wickremesinghe has issued a directive, urging against the use of his images on billboards, cut-outs and posters.
He has also called upon fellow political leaders to avoid incorporating their photos in their campaign materials.
President Wickremesinghe emphasised the importance of addressing the people’s needs over the politics of slogans, noting that such practices have adversely affected the country’s economy.
The President reiterated his long-standing opposition to the use of slogans and cut-out-based politics and encouraged everyone to embark on a new political journey together.
These remarks were made during his participation in the 149th-anniversary celebration of Chenkaladi Central College in Batticaloa this morning (08).
Additionally, the President instructed the relevant parties to remove a large cut-out displayed near Chenkalady Central College in Batticaloa, following his participation in various programs in Batticaloa over the past two days.
World (LNW): A powerful earthquake of magnitude 6.3 hit western Afghanistan near the Iranian border, around 40km from the city of Herat, at 11:00 local time.
The quake caused significant structural damage, resulting in many trapped under debris and was followed by three strong aftershocks.
Residents, like Bashir Ahmad from Herat, shared distressing accounts of buildings collapsing around them, with limited communication due to network disruptions.
Mosa Ashari, the province’s disaster management chief, reported over 1,000 injuries and approximately 120 deaths, though other unverified sources suggest the death toll could be over 300.
Videos from Herat Central Hospital showed many injured individuals receiving outdoor treatment.
Footage from Herat’s Injil district revealed vast destruction, making rescue operations challenging.
Herat, Afghanistan’s cultural capital, has a population of around 1.9 million. The country, located near the intersection of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates, frequently experiences earthquakes, with a significant one in Paktika province last year killing over 1,000 people.
World (LNW): In a significant escalation of violence in Israel, assailants associated with the Palestinian organisation Hamas launched an aggressive attack across various Israeli towns last Saturday (07).
This has tragically resulted in the death of around 250 Israelis. The attackers also took multiple hostages, marking this event as the gravest violent incident in Israel since the Yom Kippur war approximately 50 years ago.
Israel responded with a series of strikes that unfortunately resulted in over 230 casualties in Gaza, marking one of the region’s most intense days of conflict, which extended late into the evening.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strongly condemned the act, pledging, “We will respond decisively to this egregious act of violence.”
He went on to describe Hamas’s actions as the commencement of a dire conflict and recognised its profound impact, adding, “Hamas is intent on our destruction. They heartlessly target families within their homes, even going as far as targeting children. They also kidnap the elderly, children, and teenage girls.”
Meanwhile, Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, announced that the attacks, which began in the densely populated Gaza region with 2.3 million Palestinian residents, would spread to the West Bank and Jerusalem.
Gazans have been living under an Israeli blockade for the past 16 years, which further complicates the situation.
Following this unforeseen large-scale assault by Hamas on Israel, several leading airlines, including American Airlines, Air France, Lufthansa, Emirates, Ryanair, and Aegean Airlines, cancelled numerous flights to Tel Aviv, as observed on the arrivals board at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport.
Nevertheless, commercial flights to Eilat, Israel’s secondary international airport and a renowned tourist spot by the Red Sea, were not halted by airport authorities.
Colombo (LNW): Due to severe flooding, all educational institutions in the Galle District will remain closed on Monday (09) and Tuesday (10).
The floods have impacted approximately 6,940 individuals from 2,900 families in the area.
The current rainfall has resulted in the complete destruction of three homes and caused damage to 199 others, revealed District Secretary Shanath Weerasinghe.
As a precautionary measure, 20 families have been relocated to designated safety camps, he noted.
Areas such as Welendawatte and Yakkalamulla have been issued landslide warnings due to the ongoing inclement weather.
Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka needs to enact new regulations rather than depending on outdated ones to overcome the current crisis, said Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, addressing the Sankantha Mandapaya event held at Temple Trees on October 07, 2023, in commemoration of World Cotton Day.
Speaking on this occasion The Prime Minister stated;
“World Cotton Day is a special day declared by the United Nations. It is declared as a special day because it is useful for the people of the world. We dedicate ourselves to make this day meaningful for the cotton industry.
In every district all over the country, we encounter with thousands of acres of uncultivated lands belonging to the government. There is a possibility of using these lands for a useful purpose like cotton cultivation. We are ready to extend our support and commitment in this regard.
By expanding cotton cultivation through a continuous national program, the income of the rural people can be increased and foreign exchange of the country can be saved. I appreciate the attempts of the private sector for that. Farmers and entrepreneurs need confidence to engage in this kind of cultivation. It is necessary to cooperate with our universities and other research institutes to expand this industry.
An innovative system should be introduced to cultivate cotton in small gardens as an additional income. It has been almost a hundred years have elapsed since we started creating agriculture colonies with the belief that we have the ability to raise our heads through agriculture. In those colonies, there is the possibility of cultivating on every piece of land. People need to be directed to that. We are ready to have discussions on this matter with relevant institutions.
Imported weaving machinery was available in certain buildings . Some were gifted to our country. These resources should be given to universities or entrepreneurs to focus on achieving goals. We must undergo such a change if we want to recover from the crisis. It’s necessary to enact new rules instead of relying on old rules. Countries such as the United Kingdom, U.S.A, India, China, and Egypt are still engaged in cotton production.
We have to explain to the people about the production of seeds and the many benefits that can be achieved by seeds. By opening the doors of working generation of villages with universities, the children can be trained and those who leave the university will be benefited to the nation in the future. We also import pieces of gauze from abroad.
Life index has decreased. But the prices of goods are not cheap. Even if the farmers produce surplus, the price is determined by the purchasing power of the people. Farmers need a satisfactory purchase price. An agreement should be existed between the private sector and the government sector on the prices.
Minister Douglas Devananda, State Ministers Sita Arambepola, Ashoka Priyantha, Vijitha Berugoda, Kader Mastan, MPs Jagath Samarawickrama, Yadamini Gunawardena, Secretaries to the Ministries, University Vice Chancellors, heads of government and non-government institutions, young entrepreneurs, farmers were present on this occasion.
Colombo (LNW): Internet freedom in Sri Lanka improved slightly and remained categorised as “partly free” with its score gaining to 52 out of 100 from 48 last year as per The Freedom House “Freedom on the Net 2023.”
Sri Lanka’s score on ‘Obstacle to access’ was 12 out 25; ‘Limits on content’ was 22/35 and ‘Violations of user rights’ – 18/40.
Improvement was a result of the lack of blocks on social media platforms during the coverage period. Improvements in internet penetration and a drop in cyberattacks also contributed to the increase in the score.
However, proposed legislation for the Broadcasting Regulatory Act, the Antiterrorism Act and Anti-Corruption Bill raised concerns as they could potentially undermine online freedom of expression and privacy in the future.
Despite these continued restrictions, Sri Lankans continued to engage in digital activism around a range of issues.
In addition, the Sri Lanka report notes that the Government continued to detain, arrest and intimidate those connected with the Aragalaya protests for their online posts – using existing legislation including the Prevention of Terrorism Act and the ICCPR.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe imposed emergency regulations in July 2022 that sought to curb dissent by barring the spread of purportedly false information, including online.
The report said global internet freedom declined for the 13th consecutive year. Digital repression intensified in Iran, home to this year’s worst decline, as authorities shut down internet service, blocked WhatsApp and Instagram, and increased surveillance in a bid to quell anti-Government protests.
In a record 55 of the 70 countries covered by Freedom on the Net, people faced legal repercussions for expressing themselves online, while people were physically assaulted or killed for their online commentary in 41 countries.
At least 47 Governments deployed commentators to manipulate online discussions in their favour during the coverage period, double the number from a decade ago.
Meanwhile, AI-based tools that can generate text, audio, and imagery have quickly grown more sophisticated, accessible, and easy to use, spurring a concerning escalation of these disinformation tactics.
Over the past year, the new technology was utilised in at least 16 countries to sow doubt, smear opponents, or influence public debate. The report emphasised protection of internet freedom, democracy’s supporters must adapt the lessons learned from past internet governance challenges and apply them to AI.
Colombo (LNW): The Central Bank forecasted a notable rise in private sector credit growth, commencing from the final quarter of 2023 boosted by the simultaneous relaxation of lending rates and an overall improvement in economic conditions.
“With seasonal demand, we could see further expansion in credit flow in November and December, setting the stage for a robust start to the upcoming year,” he told journalists yesterday, Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said
Weerasinghe acknowledged a modest recovery in private sector credit growth thus far, expressing optimism for a more pronounced upturn as interest rates continue to descend.
He emphasised a shift in approach, noting; “The current trend is not merely to acquire more credit, but rather to recalibrate the financial cost.
As lending rates decline further, we anticipate a surge in investments and consumption. This attests to the responsiveness of our monetary policy,.”he added.
He underlined that this development is poised to curtail contraction and steer the economic trajectory towards a positive territory.
The financial sector is encouraged to promptly and effectively transmit the advantages of the ongoing relaxation of monetary conditions to individuals and businesses particularly, those engaged in industries and SMEs.
In absolute terms, the credit to the private sector has increased to Rs 7,098 billion in August from Rs. 7,093 billion a month ago.
The central bank in its monetary policy statement acknowledged that “a noteworthy recovery” in the private sector credit growth is yet to be observed.
Weerasinghe said the credit growth has been responsive to the policy rate reduction, thus will become positive in the current quarter.
“We have already seen a small recovery. I think most probably the recovery is slower when people are expecting the interest rates to come down further.
There, the tendency is not to get the new credit, but still trying to reprice their obligations and bring down the financing cost. That is what’s happening right now,” he told reporters in Colombo at a media briefing.
He said “But, once the interest rates are settled to a certain level and also economic activity picking up, then we are going to see people going to start increased investments, more consumptions.
‘With that the credit flow will turnaround. It shows credit recovery, and the monetary policy is responsive,” he pointed out.
Sri Lanka’s economic growth has been contracting since the first quarter of 2022 amid an economic and debt crisis that forced the country to declare bankruptcy in April last year.
Private sector firms have been in a risk averse mood in the economic contraction and mostly avoiding any expansion at an expensive borrowing cost.
Colombo (LNW): The Bar Association of Sri Lanka and Transparency International Sri Lanka were allowed to intervene in a petition filed by the Centre for Environment Justice in the Supreme Court over the X-Press Pearl Disaster.
The matter was taken up in the Supreme Court before Justices Murdu Fernando, Yasantha Kodhagoda, Shiran Gunarathne, Achala Wengappuli, and Priyantha Fernando.
The Attorney General’s Department strongly objected to allowing Transparency International to intervene in the petition filed over the X-Press Pearl Disaster.
The Supreme Court after considering the totality of the circumstances of the case and the submissions made by the counsel representing the Bar Association, Transparency International and the Attorney General’s Department, issued an order to allow both the BASL & TISL to intervene in the matter.
The Fundamental Rights petition filed by the Center for Environmental Justice (CEJ) and others seeking an order from the authorities to conduct a formal inquiry into the manner in which the X-Press Pearl Vessel entered Sri Lankan waters.
The petitioners allege that X-press Pearl vessel had recently entered Sri Lankan waters which caught fire, and spilled a large amount of chemicals to the sea.
As a result, the sea water, the beach was heavily polluted and the sea creatures were also harmed, the petition said.
The petition also points out that due to the great environmental damage caused, the fishing community has lost their livelihood.The Petitioners allege that no formal investigation has been conducted into the burning of the X-press Pearl.
The petition also seeks an order directing the authorities to pay compensation to the people who lost their livelihood due to the damage caused by the burning of the ship and the chemicals in it into the sea. The petition seeks an immediate inquiry into the manner in which the ship entered Sri Lankan waters.
The petitioners also request the court to direct the authorities to set up a proper mechanism to prevent such accidents in Sri Lankan waters or beyond.
“Sri Lanka Treasury has received $890,000 and 16 million Sri Lankan rupees (around $49,200 dollars) as interim payment for costs incurred by the Maritime Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) and for the affected fisherfolks.
Since the disaster happened, Sri Lanka has received payments totaling $7.85 million. Its government received the first payment of $3.6 million in July 2021. Another $1.75 million followed in January 2022, and a third payment of $2.5 million remitted in September.
Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka’s one of the major revenue collection authorities, the excise department is now under pressure of the Finance Ministry over the dorm in tax income owing to official inefficiency irregularities and corruption of the state entity in tax collection.
Finance Ministry secretary Mahinda Siriwardena has brought this matter and the urgency in meeting the revenue target to the notice of the excise commissioner general at a meeting with high officials recently.
Excise tax on alcohol and cigarettes has for long been a cornerstone of Government revenue, but the Treasury is now incurring colossal losses due to increase in tax evasion at a time income has become an urgent need.
Under this circumstance the treasury secretary has reprimanded the head of the excise department for the current poor performance requesting an explanation report on the failure to achieve annual revenue target.
The excise department is still to submit this report to the treasury as its urgent on the eve of the preparation of the 2024 budget, informed sources said.
The income of the department has come down drastically due to high taxes imposed on alcoholic beverages which resulted in price hike and drop in demands, officials of the department complained.
But the actual reason behind the loss of income due to the failure of excise officers to collect taxes allowing manufacturers and dealers to continue tax dogging via irregularities and corrupt practices, National Economic and Physical Planning, sectoral committee report highlighted.
The government has set ambitious revenue targets, including Rs. 3101 billion from the Inland Revenue Department, Rs. 1217 billion from Sri Lanka Customs, and Rs. 217 billion from the Excise Department.
Unfortunately, the current figures fall short of these expectations, with the Inland Revenue Department collecting Rs. 956 billion, Sri Lanka Customs contributing Rs. 578 billion and the Excise Department generating Rs. 109 billion, totalling only Rs. 1643 billion.
It is apparent that reaching the government’s revenue target is a challenging task. To address this, a committee has thoroughly examined the possibility of attaining the government’s revenue goal.
The committee has invited the Inland Revenue Department, Customs and Excise Department, which are the primary contributors to government revenue, to discuss strategies for proper tax collection.
Had these institutions implemented effective tax collection plans in 2022, they might have achieved the targeted income.
Excise department is losing tax revenue of Rs.60 billion annually as a result of irregularities, malpractices and inefficiency of the excise department, National Economic and Physical Planning, sectoral committee report revealed.
The department has collected Rs 109 billion during the first eight months of this year, the target of Rs 217 billion in 2023.
The annual production of liquor manufacturers is in the region of 540-600 million bottles per year but 40 percent of it is entering into the market evading taxes despite the introduction of security sticker system in 2018.
There was a risk of breaking the stone embankment which was built under the project ‘Nilwala’ in the Matara Atthudawa area to prevent floods in the city of Matara, due to the bad weather conditions affecting the island.
Therefore a constant operation was launched with the participation of more than 100 soldiers from the 61st Brigade of the Sri Lanka Army yesterday (Oct 06) from last night until this morning, to fortify the embankment.
More than 2500 families are currently displaced in the Matara district in the areas of Malimbada, Akurassa, Kamburupitiya, Thihagoda, Atthuduwa, Matara Fort and Gal Bamma and the Sri Lanka Army, Navy and disaster relief teams are working to provide immediate assistance to them under the supervision of Army Commander.
The Sri Lanka Army has established four food processing centres at Malimbada, Akurassa, Thihagoda and Matara Fort to provide food and water to the displaced people, which has been the main challenge in the disaster relief process and Army WMZ armoured vehicles, Unicorn APCs and heavy vehicles are being used to distribute food and drink to people in flooded areas.
In the meantime, Sri Lanka Army medical teams have been prepared to provide necessary support to every regional secretariat with disaster risk in Galle, Matara and Kalutara districts and 2 army battalions of over 500 soldiers have been assigned to Matara and Galle districts.
Additional 58 Division and Gemunu watch have been prepared for disaster relief operations in Kalutara district and 3 WMZ vehicles and 6 motor boats belonging to the Sri Lanka Army have been prepared for deployment when necessary.
Also arrangements have been made to call the diving teams of the Sri Lanka Army Special Forces and Commandos for the operations at a short notice.
Residents along other rivers in the southern province including the rivers such as Kalu, Nilwala and Ging are informed to be aware of flash floods or flood situations.
Under the leadership of the 61st Brigade of the Sri Lanka Army, disaster relief operations will be launched in conjunction with the Regional Secretariat Divisions of the Southern Province and other responsible government agencies, and if necessary, the soldiers of the 58th Brigade have also been prepared for deployment. Also, naval troops and boats as well as air force troops have been prepared for deployment if necessary.
HE the President Ranil Wickramasinghe, the Presidential Adviser on National Security, Sagala Rathnayake, the State Minister of Defence Pramitha Bandara Tennakoon, Secretary to the President Saman Ekanayake, Defence Secretary General Kamal Gunaratne along with the Chief of the Defence Staff General Shavendra Silva regularly render necessary instructions to the Army Commanders and the heads of the local government bodies.
These relief planning activities are ongoing under their full supervision.
