The Department of Meteorology has released a weather forecast indicating the possibility of showers or thundershowers in select regions of Sri Lanka. Residents in Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, and North-western provinces, as well as Galle, Matara, and Mullaitivu districts, should anticipate precipitation in the evening or at night. Additionally, a few showers may occur in the Southern province and along the Western coastal areas during the morning.

With regard to the anticipated weather conditions, the general public is advised to take necessary precautions to mitigate any potential damages caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.

Regarding maritime areas, the Department of Meteorology predicts showers or thundershowers in a few locations off the coast extending from Colombo to Matara via Galle. Winds over the sea area surrounding the island will be south-westerly, with speeds ranging from 20 to 30 kmph.

However, it is important to note that wind speeds may increase up to 40-50 kmph periodically in the sea areas off the coast extending from Puttalam to Kankasanthurai via Mannar, as well as in the sea areas off the coast extending from Hambantota to Pottuvil. Consequently, these regions may experience fairly rough sea conditions at times.

During thundershowers, temporary strong gusty winds and very rough seas can be expected. Therefore, caution is advised for individuals planning to engage in maritime activities in the affected areas.

The Department of Meteorology continues to monitor the weather conditions closely and urges the public to stay updated on the latest advisories to ensure their safety and well-being.

The convenor of the Inter-University Students’ Federation (IUSF), Wasantha Mudalige, was apprehended by the police this evening during a heated protest staged near the University of Keleniya.

The arrest was executed after Mudalige allegedly obstructed the duties of police officers deployed to manage the demonstration.

Colombo (LNW): President Ranil Wickremesinghe has reportedly agreed to consider the financial concessions and privileges demanded by university lecturers following the implementation of the domestic debt restructuring programme in September.

Accordingly, the President has told the university teachers who met with him this (18) evening that their demands could be met after the country’s economy is stabilised via the implementation of the domestic debt restructuring programme.

By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW): The country’s manufacturing and services sector activities decreased in April as per the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) of the central bank.

Following the seasonal pattern, Manufacturing PMI decreased to 34.7 in April 2023, indicating a month-on-month contraction in manufacturing activities. In March Manufacturing PMI turned positive in March 2023, after nine consecutive survey rounds, recording an index value of 51.4.

PMI compiler Central Bank of Sri Lanka said Production, New Orders, Employment and Stock of Purchases sub-indices declined during April compared to the seasonal peak in March.

As per the respondents, the decline in Production was primarily due to the temporary closure of most of the factories in April owing to the Sinhala and Tamil New Year holidays.

Decline in New Orders, particularly in the manufacture of food and beverages, was mainly due to the end of the festival season demand.

In addition, some respondents in the manufacture of textiles and apparel sectors mentioned that they observed a continuation of the subdued global demand conditions, resulting in a decline in New Orders.

Further, Employment and Stock of Purchases also declined in line with the declines in New Orders and Production. Meanwhile, Suppliers’ Delivery Time slightly lengthened in April 2023, compared to the previous month on a month-on-month basis.

CBSL said expectations for manufacturing activities for the next three months indicated an improvement, anticipating a favourable development in the economic environment.

The Services sector PMI remained slightly below the neutral threshold recording an index value of 49.6 in April 2023, led by the decreases observed in New Businesses, Employment and Backlogs of Works.

In March Services sector PMI returned to growth territory, recording an index value of 55.1 in March 2023 indicating an expansion across the services sector.

CBSL said Business Activities and Expectations for Activity continued to increase during April. New Businesses declined in April 2023 compared to March 2023, particularly with the decreases observed in insurance, transportation and postal and courier activities sub-sectors.

Business Activities in the services sector continued to grow, yet at a slower rate, in April. Accordingly, business activities in other personal activities sub-sector exhibited a considerable improvement amid the festive season.

Further, education and telecommunication sub-sectors also recorded slight increases during the month. Meanwhile, business activities related to the wholesale and retail trade sub-sector remained stagnant despite festive demand and seasonal discounts.

Employment continued to decline in April at a higher pace due to resignations, migrations and retirements despite few new recruitments taking place during the month. Meanwhile, Backlogs of Work also decreased at a higher rate during the month.

Expectations for Business Activities for the next three months remained improved in April driven by positive sentiments regarding improvements in macro-economic conditions.

By: Isuru Parakrama

Colombo (LNW): The representatives of the Federation of University Teachers’ Association (FUTA) are set to meet with President Ranil Wickremesinghe at the Presidential Secretariat today (18).

The long-awaited meeting comes in after a series of headlines made by the FUTA demanding solutions to a number of issues affecting the higher education sector.

FUTA Chief Prof. Shyama Banneheka said the meeting is set to commence at 3 pm today.

Based on the new income tax scheme proposed by the government, the Federation of Professionals’ Union together with the FUTA launched a trade union action, which affected the paper marking process of the GCE Advanced Level Examination.

The repeated requests to seek an audience with the President in order for university teachers to attend the supervision of the answer scripts of the AL Examination went unanswered, but the FUTA had announced that they will rejoin the paper marking process anyway for the sake of the children.

The evaluation of the AL answer scripts, accordingly, are currently underway, but the university teachers are expecting guaranteed solutions from the President at today’s meeting.

Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka has already reached the threshold of dengue epidemic despite the authorities’ warning on the probable strike of an epidemic by June this year, disclosed Dr. Ananda Wijewickrama, Senior Consultant Physician at the Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH) in Colombo, speaking to Daily Mirror.

A report by Daily Mirror quoted Dr. Wijewickrama saying, “Normally, the number of patients tend to increase in June and July. Sri Lanka has already recorded over 34,000 cases. In that context, the worst is yet to come.”

In the backdrop, it is essential that the public is taking strict measures to prevent mosquito bites and the spread of the infection, he added.

Records by the Epidemiology Unit reveal that the total number of dengue cases report in Sri Lanka this year is 34,527 and about fifty per cent of the cases are from the Western Province.

Gampaha district stands at the highest record of cases, 7799, whilst Colombo and Kalutara report 7725 and 2033 cases respectively.

By: Isuru Parakrama

Colombo (LNW): If all activities go as planned, Sri Lanka’s first ever nuclear power plant can be built by 2032 with the technical support from Russia, a statement by the Parliament of Sri Lanka said, quoting the Sri Lanka Atomic Energy Board.

The above revelation was made during the recent meeting of the Parliament Sectoral Oversight Committee on Energy and Transport called in by Committee Chief MP Nalaka Bandara Kottegoda.

Full statement:

The Sri Lanka Atomic Energy Board stated in the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Energy and Transport that if all activities go as planned, the first nuclear power plant can be built in Sri Lanka by 2032 with Russian technical support.

This fact came to light when the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Energy and Transport met in Parliament recently (May 09) to discuss the current status and future activities of the Sri Lanka Atomic Energy Board. The committee was chaired by the Member of Parliament Hon. Nalaka Bandara Kottegoda.

There was a discussion in length in the committee regarding the production of skilled professionals in the field of welding and related technology in Sri Lanka. The members of the committee pointed out that there is a great demand for experts in this field in industrialised countries including Korea and the need for a formal mechanism to produce skilled workers with formal certificates in the said field.

Officials mentioned that the training and certification system for those who already have professional experience in this sector and those who are new entrants in the field is conducted at the training centre run by the board. However, since there is no proper awareness among the people about this training, the committee advised to prepare a plan and take steps to make awareness and involve more young people.

It was also discussed that Saudi Arabia hopes to get preserved coconut coir from Sri Lanka for the project of planting 10 billion trees in Saudi Arabia. Chairman of the Committee MP Hon. Nalaka Bandara Kottegoda mentioned that the country can get a large amount of foreign exchange by providing facilities for the said process of sterilisation. Accordingly, the Committee advised the Sri Lanka Atomic Energy Board to take steps to prepare the sterilisation facility.

The members of Parliament, Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara, Hon. Nalin Bandara Jayamaha, Hon. Yadamini Gunawardena, Hon. Isuru Dodangoda, Hon. Udayakanta Gunathilake, Hon. M. Udayakumar, Hon. Kumarasiri Ratnayake and Hon. Akila Ellawala participated in the meeting.

By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW): A case has been filed in Singapore over the X-Press Pearl incident, the President’s Media Division (PMD) said.

The Attorney General (AG) filed the claim in the High Court of Singapore over the X-Press Pearl incident involving six defendants.

A case conference hearing took place on 15th May and the next hearing is scheduled for June, PMD said.

The AG’s department is considering transferring the case to the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC) based on SICC’s rules and litigation is being managed by a Singaporean law firm approved by the Cabinet to represent the Sri Lankan Government.

X-Press Pearl was a Singapore-registered container ship which caught fire off the coast of Colombo, in May 2021.

The vessel was engulfed in flames by 27 May 2021 and declared a total loss. It was still afloat, and the fire was thought to be under control by Sri Lankan firefighters by the late hours of 27 May 2021.

Following a lapse of four years, the Sri Lankan government filed the compensation claim for the X-press Pearl inferno at a Singapore Court on May 9and the proceedings commenced on May 15 The estimate has been calculated at USD 6.2 billion, but this amount has not yet been finalized.

However, several maritime legal experts raised concerns when the government planned to file the case in an international court as they believed that it would be an advantage to the company that owns the ship.

But international arbitration experts claim Sri Lanka has an advantage in filing the case in an international court.

Explaining the litigation process in an international court, Manthi Wickramasooriya, of Counsel at Quinn Emanuel Office, London and an international arbitration and commercial litigation specialist said that as he understands from the limited information available publicly, the claim that has been filed by the Government of Sri Lanka is a claim before the courts of Singapore.

“This would ordinarily mean the Singapore High Court (and could perhaps even be a claim before the Singapore International Commercial Court).”

“The litigation process in Singapore is well-established and is, in broad terms, no different to other international fora, such as the courts of England and Wales.

Ordinarily, once a party files its claim, there is a pleadings phase where both parties exchange their legal cases, followed by the production of relevant documents (typically known as ‘disclosure’ or ‘discovery’ in the US), the exchange of evidence of fact witnesses and the exchange of expert evidence (e.g. expert evidence in demonstrating the losses caused, and also quantifying the amount of the alleged loss).

This is followed by a public trial during which fact witnesses and experts will be cross-examined and submissions are made by the legal teams. In a case of this magnitude, a trial may well last a month or longer. Once the trial has been concluded, the court will issue its judgement, he explained.