01. Police Spokesman SSP Nihal Thalduwa says security was tightened in Colombo based on “information received by intelligence agencies that a group comprising of about 750 people within the UOC was planning to behave in a rebellious manner”: Concerned parties allege the action was a bogus move and was promoted as a ‘planted news’ by state-backing media, as part of ‘a bigger sinister plan’.

02. Two more people succumb to Covid-19, pushing the total Covid-related fatalities to 16,853: 10 more positive cases reported within the last 48 hours.

03. CBSL says foreign remittances received in the country in April was US$ 454 million; asserts the total amount of remittances received in the 1Q23 was US$ 1,867.2 million.

04. Wholesale cement traders say the price of a 50kg cement bag reduced by Rs. 150: New price reduced to Rs. 2,600 from Rs. 2,750.

05. SLFP Secretary General Dayasiri Jayasekara responds to Party MP Duminda Dissanayake’s criticism over his conduct, saying that the MP’s comment is part of a systematic procedure conspired to weaken the Party; laments similar actions were evident on a number of occasions in which the SLFP was being strengthened.

06. Seven personnel belonging to Sri Lanka’s Tri-Forces have reportedly gone missing in France while participating in the 2023 World Military Triathlon Championship: Four Army officers, one Naval personnel and two Air Force officers are believed to have stolen their passports from the Chief of the 13-member delegation that departed to France and fled the accommodation in which they were.

07. Sri Lankan herbal drink ‘Samahan’ becomes a hot topic recently on popular Indian TV show ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati,’ the Hindi adaptation of popular reality show ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?’ as its host, Bollywood royalty Amitabh Bachchan lends a helping hand to a participant who had cold symptoms during the show saying that he had “just the right drink for her cough called Samahan”.

08. Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa says the ‘Aragalaya’ people’s struggle made it possible for the youth to being involved in the government’s policy making platform in the backdrop where no such participation was evident before the uprising; asserts he endorses the youth’s involvement in policy making.

09. Child rights advocate group ‘Child Protection Alliance’ together with 45 signatories write to the Buddha Shasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry and the National Child Protection Authority to take immediate action to end child abuse in religious institutions; discloses that from July 2020 to July 2022, seventeen children have been physically/sexually abused and murdered and nothing meaningful has been taken to resolve the crisis to date.

10. Foreign Minister Ali Sabry attending the first round table discussion at the 2^nd European Union – Indo Pacific Ministerial Forum in Sweden says peaceful co-existence is essential and it was almost unanimous within the forum that peace is a goal all countries must work towards in order to ensure a prosperous nation.

In a significant gesture of cooperation, the Australian Government has generously gifted a former Royal Australian Air Force aircraft to Sri Lanka. The official handover took place when Australian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Paul Stephens, presented a letter from Australian Minister of Home Affairs, Clare O’Neil, to President Ranil Wickremesinghe, offering the Beechcraft KA350 aircraft.

The Beechcraft KA350 King Air, a modern twin-engine turboprop aircraft, holds immense value in bolstering Sri Lanka’s capacity to safeguard its maritime security. This generous donation not only enhances Sri Lanka’s capabilities but also showcases the strong collaboration between the two nations in combatting transnational crime.

High Commissioner Paul Stephens expressed his satisfaction with this initiative, emphasizing its significance in a tweet on Friday (12). The aircraft gift underscores the commitment of both Australia and Sri Lanka to strengthen regional security cooperation and promote mutual interests.

The acquisition of the Beechcraft KA350 will undoubtedly contribute to Sri Lanka’s efforts in protecting its maritime boundaries, ensuring the safety and security of its waters, and further enhancing its defense capabilities.

Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment, Manusha Nanayakkara, has revealed that Sri Lankan migrant workers’ foreign remittances in April 2023 have displayed a significant improvement compared to the inflows recorded in April 2022.

During the previous month, workers’ remittances reached USD 454 million, marking a substantial increase from the inflows of USD 248.9 million in April 2022. This surge represents a noteworthy rise of USD 205.1 million, equivalent to 82.4%, as stated by the minister.

However, when compared to the workers’ remittances in March 2023, which totaled USD 568 million, the inflows in April 2023 experienced a slight decline.

Remarkably, Sri Lanka has consistently surpassed USD 400 million in migrant workers’ remittances during the first four months of 2023, with cumulative inflows amounting to USD 1867.2 million. In January and February, the remittances stood at USD 437.5 million and USD 407 million, respectively.

These positive trends in remittances indicate the resilience and contribution of Sri Lankan migrant workers, highlighting their vital role in the country’s economy.

The Government’s initiatives to stabilise the economy are bearing fruits with fuel and gas prices coming down, hope is also on the rise – especially among the corporate community.”

The World Bank is helping transform economic governance and increase public sector transparency, preventing past mistakes through strengthened fiscal oversight and debt management, and by tackling the sources of the heightened financial sector vulnerabilities.

 And this foreign donor institution is helping Sri Lanka transition towards a more private sector-driven and outward-looking economy by supporting state owned enterprise SOE reforms, reducing the cost of trade, and making it easier for the private sector to invest.

The latest edition of LMD noted that “there’s been a turnaround in economic sentiment,” reporting on NielsenIQ’s monthly countrywide survey – for the exclusive LMD-NielsenIQ Business Confidence Index or BCI – published in the magazine’s May issue.

NielsenIQ Director – Consumer Insights Therica Miyanadeniya said, “As the country is beginning to stabilise, and with fuel and gas prices coming down, hope is also on the rise – especially among the corporate community.”

“Expectations for the future continue to pick up,” she noted, adding that both long and short-term perceptions among businesspeople have improved.”

According to LMD, “a somewhat healthy 34% of businesspeople spoken to by the pollsters expect the economy to ‘improve’ in the next 12 months, whereas only 17% said so in March.”

Likewise, only a third or so feel that the economy will ‘get worse’ during this time – in the prior month, a whopping 63% said so, LMD added.

“The disposition in corporate circles about projected sales volumes in the year ahead (i.e. the numbers will ‘get better’) has also improved from 37% in March to 55% a month later,” the magazine noted.

LMD also reported that less than a quarter (23%) feel that their sales numbers will ‘get worse’ in the 12 months ahead – versus nearly half (46%) a month ago.

However, the leading business magazine reported that perceptions about the investment climate remain weak: “The number of executives who believe that the investment landscape is ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ continues to be high – even though it has fallen from the eighth percentile to the seventh (i.e. from 89% in March to 79% a month later).

Media Services, LMD’s publisher, said the latest edition of the magazine has been released. Its digital edition is also available on WhatsApp and the publisher’s social media platforms.

The magazine’s Cover Story featured an exclusive interview with recently appointed Brandix Lanka Managing Director Hasitha Premaratne, who discussed the downturn in the apparel industry and the nation’s economic prospects.

For the first time in 15 years, SriLankan Airlines has succeeded to post an operating profit of Rs. 1.7 billion in FY22 reflecting improvement as against a loss of Rs. 8.12 billion in the previous year. 

However, the significant devaluation of the Sri Lanka rupee in March 2022 resulted in an exchange loss of Rs. 143 billion for the year, driving the Group to record a full-year net loss of Rs. 164 billion after exchange loss and finance charges as against Rs. 49 .7 billion in FY21.

Of the loss 87% consisted of exchange losses as opposed to 40% in FY21. SriLankan Airlines Chairman Ashok Pathirage said.

“With the successful implementation of our new business strategy in line with the increase travel demand, it is significant to note that the Group recorded a profit (when reported in dollar terms, as over 75% of the Group’s revenues are generated in foreign currencies), for the fourth quarter of the financial year.”

He said that the national carrier has recognised that the debt burden of the company largely relating to liquidity sourcing made in the past, remained a drawback to an otherwise improving financial performance.

Therefore, the company explored the possibilities of restructuring some of these debts, the majority of which are held by institutions owned by the Government of Sri Lanka.

The Government of Sri Lanka announced its intent to restructure the company in line with policy initiatives of the country and the Cabinet has in principle approved the requirement to restructure SLA,” Pathirage said in the national carrier’s Annual Report for FY22 released yesterday.

As of 31 March 2022, short-term interest-bearing liabilities amounted to Rs. 164.2 billion up from Rs. 135.7 billion a year ago. Long-term interest-bearing liabilities were Rs. 215.5 billion, as against Rs. 163.4 billion in FY21.

SriLankan Airlines’ accumulated losses at end FY22 was Rs. 529 billion at Group level as against Rs. 366.2 billion in FY21. At company level the accumulated loss was Rs. 537.5 billion in FY22.

CEO Richard Nuttall said the airline faced greater challenges in the first half of the financial year 2022/23 with a challenging local economic situation, high-interest rates as well as a shortage in jet fuel supply. 

But with a lowered cost base and agility in both commercial and operational aspects, we succeeded in improving our financial performance with a positive operating performance for the period.

The Group revenue in FY22 saw a drastic increase of 164% to Rs. 134.3 billion.

SriLankan Airlines said the overall number of passengers carried grew significantly by 779% compared to 2021, driven by the increased demand for passenger travel resulting from the relaxation of travel restrictions by countries.

Airline’s market capacity in FY22 increased by 166% over the previous year, while the overall passenger cabin factor increased to 49% from 20%.

Cargo services experienced an increase in demand during the year, achieving the highest cargo revenue generated in the history of the airline, amounting to Rs. 44 billion which reflected a year-on-year growth of 48%.

The contribution from cargo to the total payload stood at 47% when compared to 78% in the previous financial year.

In an ambitious move to enhance Sri Lanka agriculture productivity with modern technology in grain processing technology, a leading local conglomerate Hayleys Group will be introducing the all-new Shizuoka Circulation type Grain Dryer.

Hayleys Agriculture, one of Sri Lanka’s leading agricultural solutions providers, partnered with Shizuoka Seiki Japan, which has been manufacturing agricultural machinery for over 40 years, is set to introduce the Circulation type Grain Dryer, with cutting-edge Japanese technology, in an effort to enhance the country’s grain processing industry.

The Shizuoka Grain Dryer will revolutionise the grain drying process, which has long been bottlenecked by the use of conventional drying methods in the local grain processing industry. 

A large portion of the industry currently relies on the sun-drying process, which results in high damage to the grain during the milling process for consumption and low germination rates for seed-purpose grain processing due to the long drying periods and low consistency, agriculture ministry sources said.  

On the other hand, the entire process was made even more challenging due to the susceptibility to environmental changes as well.

It is with these issues in mind that Hayleys Agriculture introduced an all-new, specifically designed grain drying system that can stand out from its competitors in the market through its improved drying mechanism that reduces grain damage and encourages even drying regardless of the weather condition.

The Grain Dryer is equipped with a specially designed bucket elevator and screw system to minimize any mechanical damage to the grain. 

It also ensures an even distribution of grain within the dryer to enhance the consistency of the process. Another key feature is an improved online grain moisture analyzer that provides highly accurate and continuous drying parameter readings, which allows for better control of the process. On top of that, the compact design of these dryers makes installation, maintenance, and operation extremely easy and user-friendly.

 Sumith Herath, Director/General Manager and SBU Head of Agri Equipment Division of Hayleys Agriculture commented: Sri Lankan farmers will be able to get firsthand experience of the fine mix of trustworthiness and reliability that Shizuoka has gained worldwide through decades of manufacturing agricultural machinery and technological advancements.

Aalong with Hayleys Agriculture’s unparalleled customer care, pre and after sales service capabilities, as all dryers are subject to a manufacturer’s warranty, which will be provided by Shizuoka through Hayleys Agriculture.

Authorities have initiated a thorough investigation into an alleged misappropriation of a significant sum of money amounting to Rs. 45 million at the Samurdhi Bank branch located in Welewewa. A total of six individuals, including former chief managers and multiple cashiers associated with the branch, have been apprehended in connection with the incident.

Following their arrest, the suspects were presented before Anamaduwa Magistrate Nimesha Patabendige, who subsequently ordered their remand until May 25. The financial crimes unit of the Criminal Investigation Department has taken charge of the investigation, actively probing the details surrounding the incident.

The authorities are committed to uncovering the truth behind this alleged misappropriation and ensuring that those responsible are held accountable for their actions. The investigation aims to shed light on the circumstances surrounding the incident at the Samurdhi Bank branch and bring about a just resolution to the matter.

According to the latest forecast by the Department of Meteorology, intermittent showers and thundershowers are anticipated in several regions of Sri Lanka. The Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, North-Western, and Northern provinces, along with the Galle and Matara districts, are expected to experience showers or thundershowers. Moreover, the provinces of Western and Sabaragamuwa, as well as Kandy, Nuwara-Eliya, Galle, and Matara districts, may encounter fairly heavy showers exceeding 75 mm.

In addition, other parts of the country may also witness intermittent spells of showers. Furthermore, it is advised that the public remain cautious as strong winds, ranging from 40-45 kmph, may occur sporadically across the island. Precautionary measures should be taken to mitigate any potential damage caused by localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers. Stay updated with the latest weather information and ensure adequate preparations are made to safeguard against adverse weather conditions.