Colombo (LNW): Tourism Minister Harin Fernando has held a discussion with representatives of Adani Group, India’s multinational conglomerate, yesterday (26).
“In this meeting, the upcoming work of the Adani Company in Sri Lanka and a large solar panel project expected to be constructed in the country were discussed,” the Minister wrote on his Twitter.
Dhaval Shah and Manoj Deshmukh from the Adhani Group joined the discussion.
Colombo (LNW): The Sri Lankan Rupee has slightly appreciated against the US Dollar as revealed by leading commercial banks in the country today (27), in comparison to yesterday.
Accordingly, Peoples Bank reveals that the buying price of the US Dollar has dropped to Rs. 321.15 from Rs. 322.13, and the selling price to Rs. 336.95 from Rs. 337.97.
At Commercial Bank, the buying price of the US Dollar has dropped to Rs. 323.41 from Rs. 324.64, and the selling price to Rs. 334 from Rs. 336.
At Sampath Bank, the buying price of the US Dollar remains unchanged at Rs. 324, and the selling price has dropped to Rs. 334 from Rs. 336.
Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), becoming the 178th state to endorse the treaty, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says.
The instrument of ratification of CTBT, the document by which a State expresses its consent to be bound by the treaty, was deposited with the UN Office of Legal Affairs (UNOLA) on Tuesday (July 25) at the UN Headquarters in New York.
By depositing the CTBT instrument of ratification, Sri Lanka’s status as a signatory is elevated to a complete State Party to the Treaty.
Drafted at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, and adopted by the General Assembly on 10 September 1996, the CTBT has been open for signature since 24 September 1996 at the United Nations, New York.
Sri Lanka was among the first signatories of the CTBT in October 1996, just days after the Treaty opened for signature.
Sri Lanka later entered into a Facility Agreement with the CTBTO in June 2000 which led to the establishment of an auxiliary seismological station in Pallekale, Kandy, as part of the International Monitoring System (IMS) to verify compliance with the CTBT.
The Geological Survey & Mines Bureau is the national technical focal point of Sri Lanka for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) based in Vienna, Austria.
The CTBT bans all nuclear explosions everywhere, by everyone, and for all time. The Treaty is nearly universal, with 186 Signatory States and 178 ratifying states. However, the Treaty will only enter into force, once it is ratified by all 44 States listed in its Annex 2.
Sri Lanka’s ratification at this juncture bears testimony to its long-standing commitment towards nuclear non-proliferation and its pursuit to achieve the principle objectives of the CTBT.
Colombo (LNW): The ‘Local Loans and Development Fund’ under the Ministry of Public Administration is set to overhauled eliminating current in efficiency mal practices and shortcomings,
The ministry has been directed to rectify present issues of the this state owned fund for the benefit of public sector employees who have already obtained membership of the fund.
Ministry of Public Administration Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government officials were summoned to the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) which met recently under the chairmanship of Member of Parliament Prof. Ranjith Bandara.
This institution has been established by Ordinance No. 22 of 1916 with the aim of providing financial facilities at a concessional interest rate to the local government bodies for running public utility services as authorized by law.
It has been amended on several occasions and has been named as the Local Loans and Development Fund under Act No. 24 of 1993.
The investigation was done through the following basic facts related to the Auditor General’s reports for the financial years 2020, 2021 and current performance.
Since this is a financial institution similar to a bank, the need to amend the Act was emphasized by taking into consideration the timely matters, the statement said.
According to the Act, it is not appropriate for the Secretary of the Ministry to act as the Chairman of the Fund, so the Auditor General pointed out the importance of making amendments by focusing on all those matters.
It was discussed that, in 2018 ‘Asian Foundation’ had given a report regarding the restructuring of the institution and if it had been acted upon, great progress could have been achieved.
Since the Prime Minister as the Minister in charge of the subject has also held a discussion to amend the Act, the Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government was informed to take steps promptly.
The committee’s attention was drawn to the fact that the position of Director General has been an acting position for many years.
It was also discussed about the absence of a permanent Internal Auditor. Accordingly, the COPE ordered to inform within two weeks about the next steps to be taken to appoint a permanent Director General as well as a full-time permanent Internal Auditor.
It was revealed that the fund has received 9 projects worth 249 million rupees in the year 2023, but the board of directors has not considered them yet.
Thus, it was recommended that a formal system and set of guidelines be set up, focusing on issues such as granting and recovery criteria, loan recovery capabilities, projects using loans and productivity.
The committee emphasized the need for the loan committee to operate according to that formal system.
The COPE chairman revealed that 691 million rupees of the total loan amount of 847.7 million rupees has been given to the North-Western Province in 2021. The committee recommended that the loan distribution system to each province be streamlined.
Colombo (LNW):The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) with funding support from Japan, has implemented a project to support Sri Lankan migrant workers.
Migrant workers were the most affected by the COVID-19 and were at risk of unemployment and non-payment of wages. Sri Lankan migrant workers who opted to return home required immediate, medium, and long-term interventions to recover from the socio-economic impact, an IOM statement said.
A project to support the socio-economic reintegration of repatriated Sri Lankan migrant workers is being implemented to address s these challenges faced by those workers. ,
It will be getting funding support from the Government of Japan, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) to implement this project.
IOM and ILO are in close collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Foreign Employment towards this end. , the IOM statement said.
A Participatory Rural Needs assessment (PRNA) exercise was conducted in consultation with the migrant returnees, host communities and local government officers and 20 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) were identified for development.
IOM commenced the project in April 2021 and executed the project activities in 9 districts. Namely, Jaffna, Batticaloa, Kilinochchi, Anuradhapura, Puttalam, Ratnapura, Kurunegala, Kalutara and Galle districts.
Supporting the socio-economic reintegration of Sri Lankan migrant workers repatriated due to the COVID-19 outbreak project was initiated at a very challenging time in Sri Lanka.
Despite the material and equipment shortages due to the aggravated economic crisis in Sri Lanka, IOM was able to do all the constructions, renovations and procure the machinery, equipment, material to support the chosen beneficiaries.
Data Protection Authority comes into force en route to economic digitisation
Sri Lanka is to set up a Data Protection Authority (DPA) soon to protect personal data in its major move towards developing digital economy, while taking measures to implement Personal Data Protection Act, State Minister of Technology Kanaka Herath disclosed .
The government enacted the Personal Data Protection Act recently thereby becoming the first South Asian country to introduce comprehensive data protection legislation providing provisions to establish this independent authority, he revealed.
This data regulator will operate independently and will collaborate with other institutions such as the Central Bank, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL).
It will serve as the statutory body overseeing matters of the act and data protection in general in public and private institutions and especially of personnel data of citisens, he added.
Sri Lanka’s new Data Protection Authority has come into operation following a gazette issued by President Ranil Wickremesinghe in his capacity as Minister of Technology.
A gazette notification dated July 19 said that provisions of part V of the Personal data Protection act, No. 9 of 2022 comes into operation from July 17 onwards.
.Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRCSL) and all relevant sectoral regulators to ensure a proper governance of personal data.
Sri Lanka parliament enacted the Data Protection Act aiming to promote a digital economy amid concerns raised over the privacy of individuals and adverse impact on media reporting on March 10, 2022
The new authority will oversee the protection of digital payments for government services which will be made mandatory effective from March 01 2023. This also includes considerations for any legal changes and technical assistance to implement this policy
As per the Data Protection Act, No. 9 of 2022, some of the components of the DPA would include a similar approach to that of other state affiliated bodies such as TRCSL.
Accordingly the President will appoint one of the Board members as its Chairperson and will retain the power to remove the appointed member.
DPA will be entrusted with the task of supervising and regulating public and private institutions data, through investigative and corrective powers under the data protection act.
It will provide expert advice on data protection issues and handle complaints lodged against violations of the General Data Protection Regulation and the relevant national laws.
Colombo (LNW): China says it will promote pragmatic cooperation between the two countries and jointly implement the Global Development Initiative.
It has agreed to further strengthen cooperation with local and foreign companies and make more contributions to Sri Lanka’s economic recovery.
Measures have already been taken to encourage Chinese enterprises to invest in Sri Lanka and participate in high-quality cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative’s framework to help Sri Lanka.
The Export-Import Bank of China extended the debt payment in 2022 and 2023, and the Chinese side agreed to negotiate a medium- and long-term debt disposal plan with Sri Lanka in a friendly manner, and promised to do its best to promote Sri Lanka’s debt sustainability.
Reiterating its position several times, the Chinese side has stressed that China and Sri Lanka are good brothers, good partners and good friends.
It has also said it is committed to maintaining friendly relations with Sri Lanka for mutual benefit and emphasized that it will continue to support Sri Lanka’s socioeconomic development and provide humanitarian aid to the best of its ability.
With China’s help Sri Lanka’s aspiration of becoming a major logistics hub in the region took a giant leap forward with the launch of a $392 million South Asia Commercial and Logistics Hub in Colombo Port.
The 5 million-square-foot logistics hub will be built in the center of Colombo Port and have a storage capacity of 530,000 cubic meters. The construction of the complex is expected to begin later this year, and the complex is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.
The SACLH will offer the full gamut of logistics-related facilities and services such as less-than-container load, multi-country consolidation, container freight station, general warehousing and various other value-added services.
Also, the project is expected to provide direct employment for at least 1,800 people and create 10,500 other jobs indirectly.
It will provide better logistics and warehousing facilities and services, enhancing the Colombo Port’s competitive advantage and consequently strengthening its status as a logistics hub, by improving the port’s services and introducing leading-edge technologies.
It’s direct foreign investment like this that Sri Lanka needs to boost its economic recovery, Chinese diplomatic sources said.
There is no doubt the Chinese enterprises will improve operational and marketing skills, strengthen the market power and commercial relationships, enhance technological expertise and access to cheaper sources of finance, which are of paramount importance for attracting more traffic to Sri Lanka and turning it into an international logistics hub, it added.
Colombo (LNW): Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC) congratulates Honourable Gary Anandasangree on his appointment as Minister of Crown – Indigenous Relations, today in the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet.
Sri Lankan-born Anandasangree has been a long time advocate of Human Rights issues locally and internationally.
He has represented the Canadian Tamil Congress at various forums including the United Nations Human Rights Council for several years. Gary has acted as the legal counsel until he was first elected as the Member of Parliament for Scarborough Rouge Park in 2015.
Colombo (LNW): The Nava Janatha Peramuna (NJP) this morning (27) held a silent protest near the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) demanding an end to the exploitation of the sport.
The protest was held under the slogan “Save Sri Lanka Cricket From Money-Swallowing Rich” (Mudal Gilina Sallalayangen Sri Lanka Cricket Beraganimu).
Police were deployed to tighten security in front of the Sri Lanka Cricket.
The Grammy-winning singer spoke openly about her mental health, publicly criticised the Catholic Church and married four times. Her family has confirmed her death at the age of 56.
Sky News: Shaven-headed, doe-eyed, a solitary tear trickling down her pale cheek – an unforgettable balance of anger and vulnerability is the image by which Sinead O’Connor will always be remembered.
The raw emotion in those close-up shots in the video for 1990 single Nothing Compares 2 U, the cover that eclipsed the Prince original, was matched only by the intensity conveyed in her haunting vocals.
It topped charts around the world, as did her second album, I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, propelling the singer-songwriter to international fame.
She went on to win a Grammy the following year – but refused to attend the ceremony in protest against the commercial nature of the industry.
O’Connor did things her way, unapologetic and impossible to ignore.
A gifted singer-songwriter, she was a non-conformist – shaving her head in response to industry pressure to look glamorous – but became known as much for her private struggles and provocative actions as for her fierce and expressive music.
Image: O’Connor in 1998
“Every person’s duty to themselves is to act on their feelings and to say when they think something is wrong,” she can be heard saying in a documentary telling the story of her rise to fame, released just last year and titled, of course, Nothing Compares.
Troubled childhood
Born Sinead Marie Bernadette O’Connor in Glenageary, County Dublin, in December 1966, the singer was one of five children and had a troubled childhood.
When singing Nothing Compares 2 U, the star would say it was her mother Marie she was thinking of, but theirs was a complicated relationship; she later spoke out about being subjected to physical abuse as a child, before Marie died in a car crash in 1985.
At the age of 15, in the early 1980s, she was placed in a Magdalene asylum for shoplifting and truancy, but it was here that her musical talents were discovered.
After learning to play the guitar she started performing on the streets of Dublin, her influences ranging from Bob Dylan to Siouxsie And The Banshees.
Her first critically acclaimed album, The Lion And The Cobra, was released in 1987.
Image: Pic: AP
Throughout her career, the star recorded 10 solo albums, wrote songs for films and collaborated with other artists, but never again met the heights of Nothing Compares 2 U. Still, more than 30 years on from its release, she remained a household name.
Despite announcing her retirement from music in 2003, she continued to record new material. Her most recent album, I’m Not Bossy, I’m the Boss, was released in 2014, and she sang the theme song for the seventh season of Outlander that same year.
O’Connor was also known for controversy. In 1990, she said she would refuse to go on stage in New Jersey if the Star-Spangled Banner was performed.
Image: Sinead O’Connor on stage at Dublin Castle
Two years later, the star made headlines when she ripped up a photograph of Pope John Paul II while appearing as a guest on Saturday Night Live, to the outrage of millions.
Critic of the Catholic Church
A critic of the Catholic Church well before allegations of sexual abuse were widely reported, she frequently spoke out about the scandal of child abuse.
Image: O’Connor publicly criticised the Catholic Church
“I acted at the time in the way that I felt would be most true to myself,” she later said.
Eighteen years later, she was vindicated when Pope Benedict XVIapologised to victims and their families in a letter to Irish Catholics – but O’Connor condemned the apology for not going far enough, and called for Catholics to boycott Mass until there was a full investigation into the Vatican’s role, which by 2018 was making international headlines.
“People assumed I didn’t believe in God. That’s not the case at all. I’m Catholic by birth and culture and would be the first at the church door if the Vatican offered sincere reconciliation,” she wrote in the Washington Post in 2010.
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In 2014, the star said she was joining Sinn Fein, and called for its leaders to step aside so that a younger generation of activists could take over. She later withdrew her application.
Four years later, she famously announced that she had converted to Islam and would be adopting the name Shuhada’ Davitt, later Shuhada Sadaqat – although continued to use Sinead O’Connor professionally.
Image: O’Connor converted to Islam in 2018. Pic: AP
A bold Irish woman
The singer married four times – with her last ending after 16 days in 2011 – and she had four children.
She spoke openly about her mental health issues and suffering from bipolar disorder. When her teenage son Shane took his own life in 2022, she tweeted to say there was “no point living without him”, and spent time in hospital.
In 2021, O’Connor released her memoir, Rememberings, its cover showing that her famous shaved head in profile. In 2022, the documentary was released. Director Kathryn Ferguson, who grew up in Belfast during the 1980s and ’90s, said discovering O’Connor felt like a door had opened.
“Here was a bold Irish woman who said things that others didn’t feel they could say, and she said them loudly,” she said.
“As a teenager and a huge fan of her music, I was deeply saddened and confused by how she was treated for putting her head above the parapet.”
But O’Connor never thought of her actions as extraordinary. “I wasn’t thinking to myself, I must be strong,” we hear her say in the film. “I didn’t know I was strong. An artist’s job is sometimes to create difficult conversations that need to be had. That’s what art is for.”
President Ranil Wickremesinghe addressing the All-Party conference stresses the significance of discussing the 13th Amendment to the Constitution with all parties, as it is “a matter that affects the entire country”: highlights a decision on this matter should involve input from all relevant parties: The conference was organised to update the Parliament’s party leaders on the National Reconciliation Program and the North-East Development Plan.
Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the UN Mohan Peiris deposits the instrument of ratification by Sri Lanka of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT): The ratification comes after approval by the Cabinet and completion of the domestic ratification process: CTBT prohibits “any nuclear weapon test explosion or any other nuclear explosion” anywhere in the world and has a network of detection stations in place to detect nuclear explosions anywhere in the world.
Leading commercial banks reveal that the Sri Lankan Rupee has slightly appreciated against the US Dollar despite continuous depreciation over the past week: People’s Bank – buying price dropped to Rs. 321.15 from Rs. 322.13, selling price to Rs. 336.95 from Rs. 337.97; Commercial Bank – buying price to Rs. 323.41 from Rs. 324.64, selling price to Rs. 334 from Rs. 336; Sampath Bank – buying price Rs. 324 remains unchanged, selling price to Rs. 334 from Rs. 336.
Japan’s Foreign Affairs Minister HAYASHI Yoshimasa to undertake an official visit to Sri Lanka from 28 – 29 July 2023; expects to have official discussions with his SL counterpart Ali Sabry and pay courtesy calls on President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena.
The Attorney General urges the Supreme Court to dismiss the petitions filed by NPP and PAFFREL claiming that their fundamental rights were violated by the non-holding of the LG Polls on March 09, without hearing: Claims the petitions were filed without having an understanding about the country’s economic crisis and other issues that follow: Petitions to be called again on October 02, 2023.
Police fire water cannons to disperse protest march organised by the Inter-University Students’ Federation from the Lipton Circle to the University Grants Commission demanding the immediate release of student activists Kelum and Dilshan, who have been imprisoned for more than 200 days.
Motor Traffic Commissioner General Nishantha Anuruddha Weerasinghe says the Driving Licence Printing Unit of the DMT which was operating under the control of the Army for more than two and a half years will be reacquired by the DMT from September, 2023: The Unit was taken over by the Army in January 2021 following a Cabinet decision based on a proposal by then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
The CEB warns several government hospitals of possible power outages due to the failure to settle defaulted payments of electricity maintenance and bills: These hospitals include Colombo National Hospital, Mannar District General Hospital, Peradeniya Teaching Hospital, Colombo East Base Hospital Mulleriyawa, Angoda Infectious Disease Hospital, Borella Lady Ridgeway Children’s Hospital, De Soysa Maternity Hospital, National Dental Teaching Hospital, National Institute for Nephrology Dialysis & Transplantation, and National Eye Hospital.
Head of Mgt. of the Colombo Lotus Tower Prasad Samarasinghe says plans are underway to launch the Bungee Jumping Programme by December this year: Earlier, the Colombo Lotus Tower and Singapore Go Bungay Company signed a contract to start bungee jumping for the first time in Sri Lanka: This is said to be the world’s highest bungee jump.
SL fast bowler Asitha Fernando reprimanded for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during the third day of the second Test against Pakistan in Colombo: Fernando was found to have breached Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct which relates to “using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter upon his/her dismissal during an International Match.”
