Human Rights Watch has called on the government of Sri Lanka to withdraw the proposed Anti-Terrorism Act, stating that it would empower authorities to violate fundamental human rights systematically.
The human rights organization also demanded that any counterterrorism legislation the government decides to adopt upholds international human rights standards. The government had promised to implement an improved law following criticism from both domestic and international stakeholders over the abuse under the existing counterterrorism legislation. However, instead of addressing these issues, the proposed bill will expand the definition of terrorism to include property damage, theft, or robbery and restrict the rights of speech and assembly.
The bill contains provisions that grant the president, police, and military broad powers to detain people without evidence and to arbitrarily ban gatherings and organizations without judicial oversight. Although the Anti-Terrorism Bill includes some improvements, it has provisions that facilitate abuse. Human Rights Watch stated that the bill was designed to silence peaceful critics and target minorities.
The organization pointed out that the proposed law does not fully meet any of the standards set out by the UN independent expert on human rights and counterterrorism in 2021, including providing an appropriate definition of terrorism, precision and legal certainty, measures that adhere to the absolute prohibition on torture, provisions to prevent arbitrary detention, and due process and fair trial guarantees. The definition of terrorism under the proposed bill is vague and overbroad and includes acts that, while criminal, do not rise to any reasonable definition of terrorism, such as peaceful protests.
Colombo (LNW):Keonn Investments Ltd., has recently entered into an agreement with the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka for its new business venture 121 Residencies with an investment of $ 4.9 million for a high-quality designed apartment complex in Colombo.
This Apartment complex will be constructed at No. 121, Jawatte Road, Colombo 05. The 121 Residencies will consist of 36 exclusive 3 Bedroom Apartments with a basement, ground, a mezzanine, and 9 floors that will provide multiple conveniences and be close to leading schools, hospitals, restaurants, and financial institutions.
Issuing a statement, the BOI said post-IMF scenario may have a positive impact on a better business ecosystem in the country and it is evident that the real estate and construction industry already show signs of acceleration.
The 121 Residencies optimizes the use of natural light in all living areas creating a natural openness, enhanced further by the use of materials of light shades of colour. All living spaces are designed to have natural ventilation and sunlight.
The property boasts several unique features, including the features of a CCTV System covering the car parks, lobbies, and all common areas of the building. 121 Residencies will be in safe hands with the introduction of the Access Control System.
For safety, all visitors will be screened. Residents can relax on the rooftop leisure area which features a swimming pool and plush entertainment facilities with a state-of-the-art gymnasium located on the mezzanine and a reception area on the ground floor.
With the host of Condominium projects popping up across the Central business district, this limited number of units from 121 Residencies will elicit a sense of privacy, security, and exclusivity.
The newfound real estate sector acceleration will be a catalyst for FDI investors to relocate to Sri Lanka with an international-level quality standards lifestyle.
Property development of this nature further enhances Sri Lanka’s image and creates a much-needed ecosystem and facilitates ease of doing business.
The Sports Minister tried to show that the Asian ban on Sri Lanka Rugby was due to the fault of the President of Sri Lanka Rugby. The Secretary of the National Sports Council who should assist him with advice instead repeated the story of the minister.
But the SLR has always maintained that the cause to these issues is not the chairman’s problem. The gazette with the banning order was issued by former Sports Minister Namal Rajapakse. The Ministry of Sports has not submitted the evidence to the court to remove it according to the order given by the court. The Minister of Sports is now ready to prepare the necessary environment to remove the ban requested by the court.
Behind this preparation, it seems that that the personal conflict between the President of the Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU) and the President of Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) is continuing. It is understood that the Minister is ready to put the brakes on the Rugby administration in keeping with the wishes of the ARFU President. What is the purpose of this jeopardizing move because the old plan of SLR’s detractors has proved to be unsubstantiated. This attempt is made to pave the way for the opportunity to overcome personal conflicts which may in-turn see Rugby being destroyed.
If the Sports Minister takes rugby to such a pitiful state, the first thing that can happen is that Sri Lankan rugby will fall to the level of Sri Lanka’s football in the International scene. Though the ARFU President acted according to his personal wishes, he was not able to subjugate the international community to meet his personal needs. Sri Lanka has not been banned from World Rugby and we have seen how foreign countries have come to bilateral agreements to raise Sri Lankan rugby during the recent past and how they have been supporting us.
Given the present scenario where there is some support of the Sports Ministry to SLR, the officials of the former Rugby administration – who left the SLR with a burden of Rs.55 million – are being earmarked to administrate rugby again. The Minister should leave out Namal and the ARFU President and look in to how the current administration is performing in rugby. So does this mean that the State Sports Officials are working to get rid of the present SLR President who worked without the support of the Sports Ministry and brought many Sponsors to Rugby at a difficult time? The SLR President managed to reduce the mountain of a debt raised by the former Rugby administrators and improve working relationships with potential sponsors and win support internationally. It is the sports minister who should understand the responsibility and duty of a person holding the post of his calibre instead of basking in the glory of the successes coming through sports.
If the Sports Minister wants to remove the germs from this game, he can start with rugby itself. Currently, it is clear who is influencing the Minister to dance to the drumbeat of the ARFU president. It was one of our past SLR Presidents Asanga Seneviratne, who publicly mentioned that the vote should be given to the current ARFU chairman an opinion also shared by present SLR President Rizly Illyas. But now what has happened?
When Asanga and Lasitha couldn’t take power with the support of the Rugby clubs, they are attempting to attack the current Rugby Federation to gain power. They are opposing Illyas who is a proven sports administratot and a devout Muslim. It’s clear that the ARFU president is currently planning to create a Tsunami for Illyas. Instead of taking rugger to the people of Pulatisipura (Polonnaruwa) who voted for the Minister, he is playing a questionable game. He is using arrogance instead of using his head to promote and support rugby.
But if the Minister wants to rewrite the history of rugby, the rugby players must identify those who have done wrong. Sri Lanka has suffered the most serious humiliation in the history of rugby when Seneviratne was the president. That was by using foreign nationals as Sri Lankans at foreign tournaments. The fine imposed for that is still being paid by SLR. Today, Dalai’s proposals to handle Sri Lankan rugby comes through this controversial past SLR President. The Minister is trying to propose other committees to influence Sri Lankan rugby.
What’s pointed out by the Rugby fraternity is that the gazette that Namal Rajapakse brought to suspend the registration SLR had with the Sports Ministry was baseless. Now there is only a personal conflict between Rizly Illyas and the ARFU President.
If possible, the Sports Minister should answer the question whether the current administration has not administered rugby better than the previous administrations?
Hasn’t the present Rugby administration brought down the debts and also made the kitty at SLR fatter? Just consider the fact that a large number of tournaments were conducted by the present administration. They have created new opportunities and brought new teams to the rugger field. Then why this suspension on SLR?
This is the question we have been asking the minister from the beginning. If possible, make a decision to not allow the people who were failed sports administrators to be associated with Sri Lanka Rugby in the future.
Sudath Chandrasekara, who wrote to Arjuna Ranatunge a few days ago, is the adviser of the Sports Minister. Despite having an adviser in the calibre of Chandrasekara, the Sports Minister is going astray. Sudath should do all within his capacity to advise the Sports Minister to work for the betterment of Rugby in Sri Lanka. The SLR President has always indicated that he would not ask for personal favours or for that matter his rightful place as the Head of a National Sports Body.
Meanwhile the ARFU President Dalai, has not been able to obtain international support to get the ban on Sri Lanka approved. SLR stands in front of the independent judicial system of this country to correct this unjustified gazettes and the ban. Also, the Asian Confederation has decided to check to see whether the imposed ban on Rizly Illyas is correct given that there is no charge sheet presented against him.
The detractors of SLR are not powerful enough in the International Arena. For that, such people must have the necessary background. There is a law. There is justice. Race, religion and birth do not matter. Thinking on this lines, Sudath Chandrasekara has more exemplary experience than Roshan Ranasinghe.
Colombo (LNW): The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has successfully acquired the 163 MW Combined Cycle Power Plant which was operated by Sojitz Kelanitissa (Pvt) Limited on 28th March 2023.
The acquiring process was initiated in the latter part of the year 2022, in accordance with the terms and condition of the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).
The untiring efforts of the CEB team lead by General Manager, CEB; Eng. Rohan Seneviratne has improved CEB’s own power plant capacity by 163 MW, the CEB’s Media Unit said.
Under the GOSL policy framework, CEB signed the PPA with Sojitz Kelanitissa (Pvt) Limited in June, 2000 as an Independent Power Producer (IPP) on BOOT basis. The contract period was for 20 years and the power plant is located in Colombo Kelanitissa Power Plant complex.
CEB negotiations were very hard especially due to economic constraints, obstacles, challenges, and many issues including legal aspects; but CEB has managed to overcome those difficulties and finally owned a 163 MW power plant.
The CEB has foreseen the future power requirements of the country and facilitated the acquisition process in order to increase its power generation capacity.
The CEB owned 163 MW facility is compatible with LNG with some minor modifications and hence enables to reduce the current cost of generation.
In order to meet the ever-growing power demand as a result of the rapid socio-economic development of the country, the Sri Lanka Government decided to build a 165 MW Combined Cycle Power plant on the vacant land adjoining the existing Kelanitissa Power Station in 2000.
The combined cycle power plant was built at a total cost of Rs.10.616 Million of which Rs.9, 200 Million (JY 13,481 Million) was obtained from the Government of Japan, though Japan Banking International Corporation (JBIC)as a soft loan while the remainder was borne by Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB).
The Engineering Consultancy Services were provided by Lahmeyer International of Germany and Chuo Kaihatsu Corporation of Japan, two highly renowned engineering consultancy firms.
The CEB engineers worked as counterparts to the consultants in fulfilling the engineering Consultancy aspect of the project. The turnkey project contract was awarded to a consortium of Marubeni Corporation of Japan and Alstom power Centralles of France.
Today we achieve the successful completion of the Kelanitissa Combine Cycle Power Project with state-of-the-art technology as a result of diligent efforts of many dedicated individuals and organizations
This plant has the flexibility of operating on naphtha fuel which is a by-product of the petroleum refinery, and on Diesel oil as an alternative fuel.
The commissioning of this low operating cost thermal power plant will further help to ease the power situation in the imbalance of hydro to thermal power generation.
This power plant will enhance the much-needed electricity, which is a key factor of economic development in the country.
The Kelanitissa combined cycle power plant consists of a 110 MW Gas Turbine and a 55 Mw steam Turbine combined to operate simultaneously to generate 165 MW of electricity.
Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment, Manusha Nanayakkara, announced that Sri Lankan migrant workers’ foreign remittances experienced a surge to US$ 568.3 million in March 2023, marking a substantial increase from the US$ 318.4 million reported in March 2022.
The surge is a 78.5% (US$ 249.9 million) increase from the inflows recorded in March 2022. In addition, the foreign remittances reported in March 2023 also rose from the inflows recorded in February 2023, according to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, which reported workers’ remittances at USD 407 million in February 2023.
During February 2023, 23,974 departures for foreign employment were recorded, including unskilled (7,662), domestic aid (6,939), and skilled (6,582) categories.
In other news, the Sri Lankan government has planned to introduce new initiatives aimed at providing better employment opportunities and conditions for migrant workers.
Minister Manusha Nanayakkara stated that the government intends to enhance the economic and living standards of Sri Lankan migrant workers, especially those working in the Middle East. The government is working on improving existing bilateral agreements with foreign countries, increasing the number of sectors open to migrant workers, and providing more training and support services for those seeking overseas employment. These measures are expected to not only benefit the Sri Lankan migrant workers but also contribute to the country’s economic growth through increased remittances.
Colombo (LNW): Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) has renewed its exclusive global media rights to broadcast Sri Lanka Cricket matches for the next four years until March 2027.
From mid-April, the broadcaster will exclusively televise and livestream the senior men’s cricket matches hosted by SLC globally, except in Sri Lanka, where it has only pay television rights.
Rajesh Kaul, Chief Revenue Officer-Distribution & International Business and Head-Sports Business, SPN, said,”We are happy to extend our long-standing and successful partnership with Sri Lanka Cricket.
The current Asian cricket champion, Sri Lanka is a formidable team in the continent and the extended partnership with Sri Lanka Cricket will engage cricket fans across markets. We will continue our momentum to serve cricket fans with quality international cricket.”
Team Sri Lanka will take on the likes of India, Australia, England, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, West Indies, Ireland, and Afghanistan on their home turf.
Starting April 16, 2023, the broadcaster will showcase matches of The Lions, who will take on Ireland in a two-match Test series. Team India will prepare to take on Sri Lanka on their home turf in 2024 and 2026.
After a two-year hiatus, The Men in Blue will play three ODIs and three T20Is against Sri Lanka in July 2024.
With the extension of the partnership with Sri Lanka Cricket, SPN now has the broadcast rights of England and Wales Cricket Board and Pakistan Cricket Board.
Ashley De Silva, CEO, Sri Lanka Cricket, said, “We are extremely happy to continue our partnership with Sony Pictures Networks India, an international entity with a strong profile, and are confident that it will help us reach the desired global audience with the games played at home.”
Sony will continue to hold rights to all home matches of the Sri Lanka men’s team and other SLC properties.
The rights are exclusive and platform-neutral, except for in Sri Lanka where SLC has retained terrestrial rights. However, Sony will hold exclusive hold cable, satellite and digital rights in Sri Lanka.
This new signing is a continuous good, cordial relationship between the two parties that extends to 22 years.
The two parties are in the process of working out the final evaluations before making the agreement official.
Defence Ministry says the news circulating on social media that telephone conversations are recorded and whatsapp, facebook Twitter messages are monitored is false.
Former CB Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal says the economy is now being controlled from Washington: asserts it won’t be easy to meet the IMF conditions: Colombo Magistrate’s Court rejects private complaint filed against him by former Provincial Governor Kerthi Tennekoon.
Outbound travel visa applications from Sri Lankans due to reach pre-pandemic levels this year after reaching 68% of per-pandemic levels in 2022: travel driven by pent-up demand, opening of international borders, and eased COVID protocols.
Human Rights Commission raises concerns that the proposed Anti-Terrorism Bill poses threats to the fundamental rights of the public: says it makes it difficult to distinguish an actual act of terrorism from a legitimate protest.
Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe says the Anti-Terrorism Bill, that has led to much controversy, is expected to be passed in May.
Kalubowila (Colombo South) Teaching Hospital decides not to accept any more unidentified bodies that are brought to the hospital: notice issued to the police stations of the area to remove the bodies from the hospital morgue that have been brought to the hospital for various reasons.
Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekara says 40 fuel stations that have continuously not adhered to QR quotas will be suspended: orders all fuel stations to maintain a minimum 50% of stock tank capacity: GPS tracking systems to be fixed to all CPC owned fuel tankers by 15th April.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe approves the recommendation of the Constitutional Council & appoints retired Senior SLAS Officer Sanath Jayantha Ediriweera as the Chairman of the Public Service Commission: also appoints 6 other members.
Workers’ remittances in March 2023 records USD 568.3 mn: cumulative figure for January – March 2023 reaches USD 1,413.2 mn.
Govt bans the import of several single use items including drinking straws, stirrers, plates, cups, spoons, forks, knives with effect from 1st June 2023.
Colombo (LNW):The United States is supporting Sri Lanka’s economic recovery especially in green energy, the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Julie Chung said.
“Facilitating opportunities for local businesses is one way the US is supporting Sri Lanka’s economic recovery,” the Ambassador said.
Sri Lanka stands to benefit from the cutting-edge technology that American companies have to offer, as well as access to U.S.-based project finance.
Delivering a statement US ambassador has suggested Sri Lanka should seize this moment to shift to green technology and renewable energy sources
Clean power is also a priority focus of the Build Back Better World partnership that President Biden announced with our G7 partners last year, she added.
US has launched the $19 million USAID Sri Lanka Energy Program to help transform Sri Lanka’s power sector into a sustainable and reliable market-driven system.
The project will facilitate access to capital and attract investments in support of the government’s renewable energy goals.
USAID’s Transaction Advisory Fund has committed $850,000 to support the competitive development of Floating Solar installations. The project will also work toward improving energy efficiency and demand side management activities in the country and will promote the deployment of advanced technologies.
It is providing technical assistance to VEGA Innovations to help them further develop Sri Lanka’s electric vehicle sector.
This will support VEGA Innovations’ efforts to promote electric vehicles, including electric “tuk tuks,” help pilot a national vehicle charging network, and support the manufacturing of locally designed batteries and inverters.
The eventual transition of the Sri Lankan power sector to a market-driven system will provide more opportunities for Sri Lankan private businesses as well as international investors while helping the country get out of this crisis and rebuild its economy.
This kind of financial assistance often contributes much more to long term, sustainable capacity development than more high profile, but economically dubious, infrastructure projects.
Sri Lanka can grow its exports to and investments in the United States. The United States remains Sri Lanka’s largest single country export market, its contributions to Sri Lankan prosperity are, in this regard, unparalleled.
Sri Lankan exporters to the United States provide direct employment for at least 180,000 people here.
In 2020, U.S. foreign direct investment in Sri Lanka was US $13 million, bringing total active U.S. investment in the country at the time to $274 million.
There is room for improvement in US investment due to the fact that only $17 million had been invested by US five years earlier in 2015.
Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekara has announced that licenses for 40 fuel stations will be suspended for continuously failing to comply with QR fuel quotas. In addition, all fuel stations will now be required to maintain a minimum of 50% of stock tank capacity, with GPS tracking systems to be installed on all Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) owned fuel tankers by April 15. The Minister also stated that private tankers will be monitored closely.
These decisions were made during a progress review meeting held on April 6 with the CPC and Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Limited (CPSTL) management and officers. The meeting also covered the fuel cargo plan for the next eight weeks, refinery operations, and fuel distribution during the upcoming festive season.
Showers or thundershowers will occur at several places in Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Central, North-Western and North-Central provinces and in Mannar district during the afternoon or night. Fairly heavy showers above 50mm are likely at some places in above areas.
General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.
On the apparent northward relative motion of the sun, it is going to be directly over the latitudes of Sri Lanka during 05th to 15th of April in this year. The nearest areas of Sri Lanka over which the sun is overhead today (07th) are Koralawella, Ingiriya, Kiriella, Embuldeniya, Haldummulla, Rathmalwehera and Waradeniyawa at about 12:13 noon.
