Video representing Sri Lanka, has won the first place in the ‘Women in Aviation Multimedia Engagement Contest’ organized by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Sri Lanka’s submission stood out in over 289 submissions received globally.
This short video was created and submitted by Dev Kowsala Samarajeewa.
Many countries have joined the competition with their multimedia creations; only Sri Lanka, France, Philippines, Argentina, USA, Turkey, Slovenia, Ireland, Serbia, Kenya Canada and Seychelles were selected as the final twelve by ICAO.
The finalists’ creations were uploaded to the official Facebook page of ICAO and was open for votings for a week till 15th of June.
Sri Lanka was ranked first place with a total of 28,000+ votes, along with Argentina as runners up with 4,800+ votes.
This video was awarded at the ICAO Global Aviation Gender Summit 2023 held in Spain on July 6th 2023.
The three Chinese-run ports in South Asia – Chittagong in Bangladesh, Hambantota in Sri Lanka, and Gwadar in Pakistan – are called a “triangle of death” encircling India.
EURASIANTIMES: New Delhi, striving to maintain strategic dominance in its backyard, is forging power, maritime, and connectivity relationships with Dhaka and Colombo to woo them back into its corner through energy and military hardware deals.
While India is developing a port in Sri Lanka, it is offering to maintain the Russian military hardware of Bangladesh besides offering enhanced connectivity and energy deals. There have been reports of Dhaka showing interest in the Indian indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, but the Bangladesh Air Force is favoring European fighter jets to modernize its fleet.
Power Play In Bangladesh
At the beginning of 2023, Bangladesh announced the opening a submarine base BNS Sheikh Hasina, located in Cox’s Bazaar, for its Chinese-supplied subs. And here comes the stitch. The base was developed with aid from China. The Bay of Bengal lies on top of the sea lanes of communication that connect China, Japan, and Korea with the Middle East and Africa, and through these lanes, half of the world trade passes.
The Bay of Bengal is the largest in the world, nestled between India on the East and Indonesia on the West; while Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar are the littoral countries. The region’s economic, diplomatic, and security importance attracts major powers in the East and the West (China, Japan, India, the US, and even Russia).
The ‘state-of-the-art’ submarine base was constructed with China’s help under a contract signed in September 2019. The submarine facility can berth six submarines and eight naval vessels simultaneously. For India, the presence of Chinese-built submarines in the Bay of Bengal, in a way, makes it a very crowded water body as far as underwater activities are concerned. And it also legitimizes the Chinese presence in more ways than one. It complicates the underwater picture for India.
Hambantota Port
Traditionally, New Delhi has shared strong cultural and historical ties with Dhaka. India was the first country to recognize Bangladesh as a separate and independent state and established diplomatic relations with the country immediately after its independence in December 1971.
However, it changed after Xi Jinping became the first Chinese President to visit Bangladesh. After the trip, Bangladesh purchased two used Type-035G Ming-class submarines. Purchased for US$203 million and commissioned in the Bangladesh Navy as BNS Nabajatra and Joyjatra, these submarines have typical Ming-class features.
The submarines in the Bangladesh Navy do not threaten India’s authority in the region, but the two Chinese submarines came with Chinese officials on board to train and familiarize Bangladesh’s crew with the vessels.
Apart from this, Bangladesh has purchased a lot of other military equipment of Chinese origin – 44 units of Main Battle Tank-2000, two regiments of FM-90 short-range surface-to-air missiles, QW-2 and FN-6 hand-held anti-aircraft missiles, PF-98 anti-tank rockets and 36 units of WS-22 multiple rocket launcher system. The Bangladesh Air Force has purchased 16 Russian-made Yak-130 training and light attack aircraft and 16 F-7BG light attack fighter jets from China.
Besides increasing connectivity with Bangladesh through rail networks and inland water shipping, India has strengthened its military ties with it. The two countries in the sub-continent are exploring the prospect of India maintaining Russian-origin equipment in the Bangladesh air force, like the Mi-17 1V helicopter, Antonov An-32 transport aircraft, and MiG-29 fighter jets. India has been operating rotary-wing and fixed-wing aircraft and has its own maintenance facilities.
“India has operationalized a US$500 million line of credit to Bangladesh, and it will be used for defense purchases,” an official familiar with the development says.
The previous Bangladesh Air Force Chief, Air Chief Marshal Masihuzzaman Serniabat, flew LCA Tejas during Def Expo 2021 and was impressed by the fighter jet. However, India’s hopes to sell Tejas were dashed by the retirement of Air Chief Marshal Serniabat and the economic slowdown caused by the pandemic. Now sources in the Bangladesh forces indicate that no deal will be announced until next year when the country’s national elections are due.
“Bangladesh is likely to opt for a European aircraft – either Eurofighter Typhoon or French Rafale. But nothing is final before the next elections,” the Bangladeshi official told the EurAsian Times.
Jousting In Sri Lanka
In July 2023, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe visited India, his first after assuming charge in 2022. During the visit undertaken at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, both countries signed a slew of deals in maritime, air, energy, and power cooperation.
India will be developing several ports – including Colombo on the island nation’s western coast, Trincomalee on the east, and Kankesanthurai on the northernmost tip of the island country facing the Palk Strait, a narrow path separating Sri Lanka from India. To familiarize the people of Sri Lanka with the Indian Navy, an indigenously-built Missile Corvette of the Khukri class INS Khanjar visited Sri Lankan’s eastern harbor of Trincomalee.
Port of Colombo – Wikipedia
Trincomalee is one of the largest natural harbors in the world, but it lacks the facilities to host big shipping vessels. Delhi wanted to develop the port to have “something outside India but within the triangle.”
Apart from this, Delhi and Colombo are exploring several joint ventures, including an integrated energy grid that will connect the island country with the South Asian region, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal. These countries are members of the regional initiative BBIN (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal), born after India’s intractable relation with Pakistan made the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) irrelevant.
Apart from this, the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has initiated talks with officials in Colombo, proposing an oil distribution pipeline that connects Nagapattinam, Colombo, and the strategic city of Trincomalee on the east coast of Sri Lanka, where India is helping restore World War II-era oil tanks. There is also a proposal for a petroleum pipeline from southern India to Sri Lanka. It has been a lifeline for the island nation facing a crippling energy shortage.
In 2022 when Sri Lanka was going through its worst economic crisis since independence in 1948, it asked China to restructure its loan to the country. But it did not hear from the country. India, on the other hand, provided critical financial aid and supplied worth over US$4 billion to Sri Lanka, including food, medicine, and fuel, giving a modicum of stability to the country reeling under outstanding total debt of over US$83 billion of which US$41.5 billion was foreign. China owns about 10 percent of Sri Lanka’s foreign debt.
In 2023, India offered carte blanche support to Sri Lanka for the Indian Monetary Fund (IMF) fund facility that calls for a 10-year loan moratorium and 15 years of debt restructuring. On the other hand, China offered only two years of debt moratorium to the island nation, where Beijing was given the Hambantota port on a 99-year lease.
The strategic location of Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean has made it an important ally for both China and India. While the former wants to extend its influence sphere in the region, India strives to safeguard its area of interest.
An independent political and energy analyst from Sri Lanka, Aruna Kulatunga, told the South China Morning Post that India views Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Pakistan as “de facto satellite states of China because they have leased out land to China.”
The Sri Lankan analyst says these countries form a “triangle of death.” “For (India), it is like strangulation,” he said, adding that New Delhi needs to put more resources into protecting vital sea routes.
Colombo (LNW): The government will proceed with a complete discontinuation of the procurement of medicines under emergency purchases within the next few months, announced Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella.
The procurement of medicines under emergency purchases was carried out in the objective of meeting the country’s medicinal drug requirements, the Minister told the reporters in Colombo.
He responded to the allegations that medicines are running out at the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA), stating that issues in drug regulator’s board of directors have been resolved.
Colombo (LNW): The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) made no request for a revision in the electricity tariffs, said Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) Chairman Prof. Manjula Fernando yesterday (04).
Responding to a statement made by the Electricity Consumers’ Association, the PUCSL Chief emphasised that electricity tariff revisions are scheduled to take place twice a year, once in six months, a third revision, therefore, will not take place this year.
Earlier, Secretary of the Electricity Consumers’ Association Sanjeewa Dhammika alleged that the CEB has sought the approval of the PUCSL to increase the electricity tariffs again.
His political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said an appeal has been filed.
Sky News: Imran Khan, Pakistan’s former prime minister, has been arrested after he was sentenced to three years in prison for illegally selling state gifts, his lawyer said.
Police were seen surrounding his residence in Lahore on Saturday after the verdict was released.
The 70-year-old former cricketer was sentenced after he was found guilty of unlawfully selling state gifts while he was prime minister between 2018 and 2022 following an inquiry conducted by the election commission.
He was accused of misusing his position to buy and sell gifts received during visits abroad worth more than 140 million Pakistani rupees ($635,000).
Khan has denied any wrongdoing and his political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said in a statement an appeal has already been filed to the country’s supreme court.
Legal experts say a conviction in the case could end his chances of taking part in the national elections that have to be held before November.
Since he was ousted from power in a no-confidence vote in April last year, Khan has been hit with more than 150 legal cases, including allegations of corruption, terrorism, and inciting violence over deadly protests that saw his followers attack government and military property across the country in May.
Abeyewardene is the founder of The Sri Lanka Reporter, an award-winning English newspaper that catered to the Sri Lankans living in Canada.
He leaves behind a legacy that spans five decades in the media industry and has significantly impacted the Sri Lankan community living in Canada.
He was living in Toronto, Canada at the time of his demise.
Throughout his career, Abeyewardene worked in a number of media agencies, including Ceylon Daily News, Sun-Davasa Group, Times of Ceylon, and Daily News.
Following his migration to Canada in 1988, Abeyewardene was recognised as the largest English Sri Lankan newspaper in North America.
Colombo (LNW): The Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) will earn Rs. 700 per vehicle for each PickMe taxi which operates from the airport, the app-based ride hailing company said.
Under a new agreement between the Airport & Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) (Private) Ltd., and PickMe, the app-based ride hailing company will operate a taxi stand within the Bandaranaike International Airport.
The new arrangement will bring an additional revenue of Rs. 700/- per vehicle to the BIA while making it easier to monitor tourist arrivals.
Currently the PickMe stand is a 100 square foot area located at the Tourist Exit area of the BIA. They operate 24/7 and will at any given time have a driver at the counter as well as vehicles parked in their allotted slot at the BIA car park.
The company is in negotiations with the Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) (Private) Ltd., to have a dedicated booth within the BIA for further convenience of arriving tourists.
“We will be generating a daily report to the airport and keeping authorities updated on our vehicle movements.
Apart from the BIA, this will also help the tourism industry to gauge arrivals and departures of free individual travellers (FITs) which will help the industry to understand their stays and travel patterns within the island.
From the user point of view i.e. foreign tourists, they will have access to a transparent system that will allow them to travel from the BIA to any part of the country at a very reasonable cost.
PickMe is already popular amongst video bloggers who travel all over the country, giving useful data to travellers across the world.
They have already highlighted that PickMe rates are less than half of what other taxi services stationed at the BIA offers,” says Zulfer Jiffry, CEO of PickMe, adding that the company looks forward to working with the airport to increase and improve Customer Experiences at the airport.
All Airport trips will have PickMe’s Insurance cover for hospitalisation and Life. The company also has the additional advantage of ride tracking on their app, which enables loved ones to easily see their movements even when overseas.
This not only increases the safety factor, but also ensures peace of mind for tourists and their families.
While PickMe already offers welcome and identification board services for airport arrivals, on the PickMe corporate member platform, the CEO says plans are underway to extend this service to all users in the near future.
Colombo (LNW): The Asian Palm Oil Association (APOA), a multilateral body representing the industry across India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan, has urged the President to lift the ban on Palm oil cultivation and production in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s recent ill-advised policy decision of ousted former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to either temporarily ban or restrict palm oil cultivation has attracted significant attention both domestically and internationally.
The concerns on this matter were raised formally by the APOA with President Ranil Wickremesinghe while urging him to lift the ban recently.
The association has out lined missed benefits of this golden crop, and explore the overwhelming positives for cultivating oil palms in Sri Lanka, which include economic benefits, potential for improving food security, and support for sustainable development goals.
One of the primary reasons to support the cultivation of oil palms in Sri Lanka is the acute shortage of cooking oil in the country.
Global disruptions caused by the COVID-19 crisis and the Russia-Ukraine war have severely affected vegetable oil supply chains.
As a major consumer of cooking oil, Sri Lanka could address this shortage by fostering a strategic commodity like palm oil, thus reducing its dependence on imports.
Palm oil is a crucial component in numerous consumer products, from toothpaste and shampoo to confectionery and bakery goods. Thus, through oil palm cultivation,
Sri Lanka can strengthen its domestic production capabilities and reduce its reliance on imports. At present, local consumption stands at 264,000 metric tons, with only 20% produced domestically. On the other hand, expanding coconut oil production, the primary alternative is neither economically viable nor technically feasible.
Globally, smallholders are emerging as leading producers of oil palm. However, Sri Lanka’s palm oil sector currently lacks substantial smallholder participation.
The country has over 2,000 smallholders interested in starting oil palm cultivation, presenting a significant opportunity for economic empowerment.
The experience of India’s National Mission on Edible Oil–Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, serves as a successful model for self-reliance in terms of edible oils. Sri Lanka can, therefore, benefit greatly from collaboration with India and other countries to promote sustainable palm oil production.
The expansion of oil palm cultivation can contribute to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Sri Lanka. Studies from Indonesia and Malaysia demonstrate that oil palm cultivation enhances income gains and capital accumulation while improving living standards for smallholder farmers.
Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka’s first AI-Human marketing agency, vAIral, has been launched by Enfection, a trailblazing force in the marketing industry.
Seamlessly blending human creativity with the unstoppable force of AI, this cutting-edge platform brings forth a revolutionary approach to marketing; redefining the marketing landscape, and positioning Enfection as the first AI-Human agency in Sri Lanka.
In a world where the potential of AI was first met with uncertainty, Enfection diligently worked behind the scenes to harness its true power. The result is vAIral; a remarkable leap into the future of marketing that bridges the gap between ingenious creativity and cutting-edge AI technology.
“Unlike traditional automated systems, vAIral represents a paradigm shift in the marketing landscape by augmenting rather than replacing human talent,” says Saliya Withana, CEO at Enfection. “It’s not about replacing human talent with AI, but rather empowering our incredible team of prompt engineers and creative strategists with AI-driven tools.”
At the heart of vAIral’s offerings lies its exceptional capacity to create engaging content quickly and easily. Clients simply convey their ideas, and vAIral brings them to life, allowing them to fine-tune their inputs to match their unique style and vision.
The platform boasts an impressive range of services, including blog writing, social media post creation, AI-generated articles, and advanced features such as enhancing and creating stunning animated videos.
“Whether you need captivating blog posts, engaging social media content, or articles tailored to your niche, vAIral has got you covered,” says Lahiru Halkewela, COO at Enfection.
“Every piece of content generated by our AI is meticulously vetted by our team of expert human content creators, ensuring top-notch quality that resonates with your audience.”
“With vAIral, we provide a solution for both startups and enterprises to scale their branding efforts by delivering content at speed without compromising on quality,” adds Shezri Junaid, Chief Strategy Officer at Enfection.
The team behind vAIral, known as the “Enfectors,” comprises of marketing virtuosos who have harnessed the true potential of artificial intelligence to revolutionize content generation.
With the launch of vAIral, Enfection reaffirms its commitment to pushing the boundaries of marketing innovation and delivering unparalleled solutions to their clients.
Colombo (LNW): Crisis-hit Sri Lanka has emerged as a key country of interest for India and the UK as they set out to operationalize a Global Innovation Partnership that allows them to cooperate in development projects in third countries, foreign news agencies reported.
The partnership, which is expected to focus on climate-smart innovations, is expected to come out with a list of priority countries and sectors next year.
The two countries have had early- stage talks about cooperation in Sri Lanka’s power and energy sector.
“The Global Innovation Partnership is a flagship new initiative between India and the UK to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals in developing countries.
The GIP is currently in its inception phase. It will foster, scale up and transfer climate innovations from India to countries in Africa, South Asia and the wider Indo-Pacific,” said a spokesperson for the British High Commission in New Delhi, in response to a press query.
The island-nation was hit by a major energy crisis last year which saw widespread power cuts and shortages of fuel. This fuelled massive citizen discontent, which led to the collapse of President Gotabaya Rajapaska’s government.
India has initiated a number of bilateral projects to bolster Sri Lanka’s energy security, including a multi-product petroleum pipeline and linking the power grids of both countries. These were announced during the July visit of Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremesinghe to New Delhi.
As Colombo recovers from its economic crisis, joint investment in energy security by India and the UK may prove helpful, experts said.
The much-delayed Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm also saw movement — a project that could prove important to India’s efforts to build up energy reserves while also allowing Sri Lanka to improve its energy security.
Both sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of renewable energy. Progress was also made on the 135MW Sampur solar power project.
New Delhi has built out trilateral development cooperation initiatives in the past. With Germany, India has started work with four countries Peru, Malawi, Cameroon and Ghana.
The projects range from promoting agri-business among women in Malawi to potato production in Cameroon through agri-tech.
Some previous efforts to design trilateral partnerships for development had stalled. This was most notably the case with the Asia-Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC) which envisaged cooperation with Japan in the African continent.
