Diwali reflects one of the commonalities between India and Sri Lanka – President President Ranil Wickremesinghe and first Lady Prof. Mithree Wickramasinghe attending the Diwali celebrations organised by Colombo Expats Cultural Association (CECA) at the Kingsbury Hotel, Colombo on Saturday (29). Source:Dailynews India and Sri Lanka are two sides of a coin. Both countries have their differences in culture and religion. However, there are commonalities. ‘Diwali’ is one of the commonalities that we all enjoy, said President Ranil Wickremesinghe. The President made these remarks while addressing the gathering at the Diwali celebrations organized by Colombo Expats Cultural Association (CECA) at the Kingsbury Hotel, Colombo on Saturday (29). ...

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Prez insists on IMF approved new tax regime, warns of dire consequences unless fully implemented Source:Island President Ranil Wickremesinghe, in a televised statement yesterday (18), warned that Sri Lanka wouldn’t be able to obtain assistance of the IMF, or any other lending agencies, or countries, if tough new tax regime was not implemented. The President said: “If we withdraw from this programme, we will not receive assistance from the IMF. If we don’t get the IMF certification, we will not get the support of those international institutions, such as the World Bank, and Asian Development Bank, and the countries that provide support. If that happens, we will have to go back to the era of queues. “We may have to face even tougher times ahead. We have to obtain these loans and go for the debt-restructuring programme. We are not doing these wilfully. We have to take certain decisions, even ...

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Electoral changes at this juncture: Stabbing with a golden knife-By M.S.M AYUB Source:Dailymirror The claims and doubts of the current Opposition parties that the SLPP led government under President Ranil Wickremesinghe was planning to delay the elections for the local councils that are scheduled to be held early next year are not unfounded. In fact, there are sufficient grounds to believe that government fears elections, what so ever, in light of the hardships faced by the people due to the current economic meltdown President Ranil Wickremesinghe on October 9 made several suggestions to the country’s electoral system during a meeting with a group of professionals at the Presidential Secretariat.    He stated that the number of members in local government bodies should be brought down from the current 8700 to 4000, a referendum should be held to decide the Parliamentary electoral system unless the Parliamentary select committee which is to ...

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Geneva 2022 meltdown and the coming contradiction with India-by Dr Dayan Jayathilaka Source:FT Perhaps as in 1983, the regime’s plan is to provoke ethnic/ethno-regional/ethno-religious tensions, thereby sundering or marginalising the inclusive, pluralist anti-regime movement for democracy, human rights and socioeconomic fair-play. However, the result may be that the largely Sinhala south will agitate against the economic selloffs while the Tamils of north and east will protest against cartographic subtraction, finally joining the Aragalaya or backing it with a second ‘P2P’. Realism suggests that Tamil politics pragmatically adopts the terminology of the UNHRC resolution and the statements of India at the October 2022 session as the parameters of the possible  A young mother and her little daughter were walking away hand in hand, at a measured pace, from Galle Face, having participated in the protest on 9 October. The mother was taking a selfie while walking, her other hand holding her ...

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Cricketing Amity, September 2002: Janashakthi XI vs Jaffna District Cricket XI-by Michael Roberts During the ceasefire period after Eelam War III some leading members of the cricketing world in Colombo reached out in reconciliatory mood to Jaffna by organising a high-profile cricket match.[i] Enthusiastic Jaffna Fans mob Murali Chandra Schaffter: The Jaffna Match, 1 September 2002 With Ranil Wickremesinghe becoming Prime Minister in 2001, a ceasefire agreement was negotiated with the LTTE and the A9 was opened after many years. Janashakthi took the opportunity to open its Jaffna branch in August Because of our association with cricket, we felt that the best way would be to stage a cricket match which would bring the enthusiastic cricket fans in Jaffna out of their homes.  It was a major rush but my son Ramesh,who was adept at such events, began organizing the match as well as the  opening of the branch.  I had just returned to ...

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Sri Lanka set to begin talks to restructure debt of $30bln-by Uditha Jayasinghe Source:Zawya Crisis-hit Sri Lanka will begin on Friday the tricky task of debt renegotiation with a raft of private and bilateral creditors, including China, India and Japan, to restructure and repay nearly $30 billion that it owes. WHY THE NEED TO RESTRUCTURE DEBT? Years of economic mismanagement and the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic have pushed foreign exchange reserves to record lows in the worst economic crisis in more than seven decades. Sri Lanka clinched a staff-level deal in September for a $2.9-billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund after its central bank declared a default on some foreign debt in April, saying payment was “challenging and impossible”. ...

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Sri Lanka’s Former Presidents and the Current President- by Rajan Philips Source:Island.lk There is no transfer of state powers in Britain following the death of Queen Elizabeth and her succession by old Prince Charles as new King Charles III. The powers of the British State reside not at Buckingham Palace but in the British Parliament, and are exercised by a cabinet government with a Prime Minister as its head, who by convention is only the first among otherwise equal ministers and MPs. There is no risk of the vast powers of the state being passed from proper hands to wrong hands, or from bad hands to worse hands. British Monarchy doesn’t even need any checks and balances to ensure good behaviour. All that the modern royals have to do beyond their routine roles, is to pay their share of taxes (may be times two) for the properties they have amassed ...

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Sri Lanka’s protest movement toppled a president. Then came the crackdown – By South Asia correspondent Avani Dias and Alex Barry Source : abc Sri Lankan protesters were triumphant, the power was finally in their hands and the world was watching. On July 9, as thousands stormed the president’s official residence – swimming in his pool, watching his TV and laying on his bed – Wimukthi Ranasinghe was there live streaming the mayhem to his followers on Facebook. As he toured the president’s palatial Colombo home with his phone, the 25-year-old’s videos started going viral. It was the peak of the protest movement’s power. After months of calls for his resignation, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa quit the presidency and fled the country. But in the weeks since, as the world’s gaze has turned away, the sense of triumph and impunity felt by protesters that day has curdled into a climate of fear. Since Mr Rajapaksa’s ...

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SL declares holiday, day of mourning on Queen Elizabeth’s funeral – by Marziya Sharif President Ranil Wickremesinghe visited the British High Commission in Colombo to sign the book of condolence. Source : siasat Sri Lanka, a former British colony, has declared a special holiday and a day of mourning on September 19 in lieu of the funeral of late Queen Elizabeth II. Secretary to the Ministry of Public Administration and Home Affairs announced the government holiday and directed that the national flag be hoisted at half-mast until the said date. The UK’s longest-serving monarch, Queen Elizabeth II who died at the age of 96 on September 8, after reigning for 70 years was Sri Lanka’s head of state until 1972, the year the island nation became a republic, fully freed from the British sovereign. The late queen visited Sri Lanka in 1954 and 1981 and later she was represented by the ...

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We are solving the economic crisis faced by Sri Lanka – By Dr Harold Gunatillake Transcript: America to help Sri Lanka get out of debt. Seek assistance from the International Monetary Fund through an Extended Fund Facility (EFF) being processed The United States, following its principles, stands ready to join other members of the Paris Community, sharing with Sri Lanka the common goal of accelerating financial assurance. The United States Treasury Secretary, Mrs Janet Yellen, has informed President Ranil Wickremesinghe that she will support debt restructuring in Sri Lanka. The Treasury Secretary has also informed that the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and American financial institutions are working to provide support following the financial rules to solve the economic crisis faced by Sri Lanka. Accepting President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s proposal for a coordination platform for Sri Lanka’s official bilateral creditors, the United States Treasury requests action in this regard. The United ...

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