A change in prevailing dry weather condition is expected, leading to showers at times in Eastern and Uva provinces and in Polonnaruwa and Matale districts, said the Department of Meteorology in a statement today (05).

Fairly heavy showers about 50mm can be expected at some places in these areas.  

Several spells of showers will occur in the Northern Province and in Anuradhapura district.

Showers or thundershowers will occur at a few places in Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-Western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts during the afternoon or night.

General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimise damages caused by temporary localised strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.

Marine Weather:

MIAP

The first Parliament sitting in the year 2023 is set to convene today (05) at 9.30 am under the patronage of Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena.

Today’s sitting is expected to proceed with the second reading of the Bureau of Rehabilitation Bill and the Premises Repossession Bill.

The Parliament Committee on Public Enterprises (CoPA), the Parliament Committee on Public Finances (CoPF) and the Committee on High Posts are also set to convene today.

Meanwhile, all Ruling Party MPs have been informed to attend today’s Parliament sitting as a mandatory requirement, sources said.

MIAP

The container transport charges have dropped by 2.5 per cent effective from midnight yesterday (04), as per a decision by the United Lanka Container Transport Vehicle Owners Association.

The decision comes in following the government’s move of slashing the price of diesel.

MIAP

The Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), Ms. Kanni Wignaraja who is currently in Sri Lanka, appreciated the efforts taken by President Ranil Wickremesinghe and his Government in resolving the economic crisis in the country. Ms. Wignaraja reiterated the U.N’s financial and technical support for Sri Lanka during this recovery period.

This was revealed at the meeting held between the President and the Delegation headed by Assistant Secretary-General of the UN at the Presidential Secretariat today (4).

The discussions focused on the economic reforms, with the delegation recognizing that these difficult decisions would have to be taken in order to ensure long-term recovery and growth in the country.

The President also briefed the visiting delegation on the political reforms in the country, including the establishment of the Constitutional Council in Parliament and the ongoing discussions with the other political parties, regarding a resolution to the ethnic issues in Sri Lanka. The delegation welcomed the steps taken by the government.

President’s Chief of Staff and Senior Adviser on National Security Mr. Sagala Ratnayake, and Director of International Affairs, Mr. Dinouk Colombage were also present at the meeting.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) C.D. Wickramaratne has appointed Senior Deputy Inspector General (SDIG) of Police Nilantha Jayawardena as the Senior DIG Administration.

His appointment comes in following the retirement of predecessor SDIG Nandana Munasinghe.

Jayawardena previously served as the SDIG of Auxiliary Services and as the SDIG of Northern, Eastern and Central Provinces. He also served as the Director of the State Intelligence Service and was an international intelligence analyst.

An alumnus of Nalanda College, Colombo, Jayawardena holds an Honours Degree in Accounting and Finance from Punjab University, Chandigarh, India. He collected his Masters in Business Administration from the University of Colombo and additionally holds diplomas in conflict resolution and international relations.

MIAP

1. Elections Commission calls for nominations for Local Government Elections from 18th to 21st January 2023.
   
2. President Ranil Wickremesinghe orders all state institutions to fly the National Flag at half-mast today as a mark of respect to late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, whose funeral is taking place.
   
3. Central Bank says Headline inflation expected to decrease in 1H of 2023 and reach desired levels by end-2023: also says economy will contract by 8% in 2022 and a gradual recovery to take place from 2H of 2023: expects IMF facility to materialize in “early 2023”: previously, the CB Governor assured that the IMF facility would materialize by Q3 of 2022.
   
4. Finance Ministry sources say the Japanese Contractor for the Katunayake Airport New Terminal Project has claimed a staggering Rs.8,000 mn as damages from the Govt for the termination of the contract: the contract had been terminated due to the Debt Default of 12th April 2022 leading to JICA withdrawing funding for the project.
   
5. CB sources say the Monetary Board has enabled Central Bank staff to evade a part of the new taxes from Jan’23 onwards by paying the employees’ “unutilised leave encashment” on 30th Dec’22: Secretary Treasury Mahinda Siriwardene also said to be a beneficiary of that “tax evasion” measure: Siriwardene has been at the forefront in the effort to increase taxes and utility prices in the entire country.
   
6. Cabinet approves the incorporation of a 100% Treasury-owned Holding Company to fast-track the re-structuring of SOEs.
   
7. Minister Bandula Gunawardena confirms that 2 major loss-making SOEs (CPC and SriLankan Airlines) have paid bonuses to their employees despite the burden on taxpayers, while also ignoring Govt regulations.
   
8. Hotels Association President M Shanthikumar warns many hotels will close if the debt moratorium is not extended for another year: also says the anticipated recovery remains elusive amidst rise in costs, especially electricity.
   
9. Construction work of the Pentagon-styled Defence Headquarters building complex at Akuregoda, Battaramulla expected to be completed in 2023 after nearly 12 years of construction.
   
10. UN Assistant Secretary General Kanni Wignaraja applauds Sri Lanka’s plans for social and political development: discusses “implementing necessary programs to achieve sustainable development goals, green economy, social harmony and social protection” with PM Dinesh Gunawardena: discusses debt crisis with State Finance Minister Shehan Semasinghe and assures “willingness to provide technical support in capacity building”

       Government of India (GoI) have selected Thiru Sivakumar Nadesan, Managing Director of Express Newspapers, for the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA), 2023. PBSA is the highest honour conferred by GoI on members of the Indian diaspora. The prestigious award will be conferred by Hon’ble President of India Smt. Droupadi Murmu at the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) Convention in Indore from 8-10 January 2023.

2.       A Jury-cum-Awards Committee, with Vice-President Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar as the Chairman and External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar as the Vice-Chair, selected Thiru Sivakumar Nadesan for the coveted honour. PBSA recognizes excellence achieved by members of the Indian diaspora across the globe in various fields.

3.     Thiru Nadesan was selected for his contribution to the welfare of the community. He is the current President of the Sri Lanka chapter of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin and has been working relentlessly for community welfare. He initiated a fundraiser to assist stranded Indian Citizens in Sri Lanka during the Covid outbreak.

4.     He actively promotes business and cultural exchanges between India and Sri Lanka and has been instrumental in inviting many Indian artists to perform in Sri Lanka. Further, he has supported several initiatives pertaining to classical and traditional fields such as Carnatic music in Sri Lanka. He has spoken at various PBD Conferences and was invited to meet Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi at the Kumbh Mela in 2019.

5.    Thiru Nadesan is the second Sri Lankan national to secure the honour. It may be recalled that Thiru Mano Selvanathan was conferred PBSA in 2011 for his valuable contributions in the business sphere.

***

Colombo

4 January 2023