Category: Featured Headlines

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) says President Ranil Wickremesinghe did not obstruct Tamils who commemorated the victims of the war.

The Mahinda Rajapaksa and Gotabaya Rajapaksa Governments have often blocked such attempts.

However, TNA MP and TELO Leader Selvam Adaikalanathan told Parliament today that several events were held yesterday to commemorate the victims of the war.

However, he said that apart from a few incidents, most events were held without any obstructions.

The MP hailed President Ranil Wickremesinghe for allowing the events to take place and give reconciliation a chance.

The suspect linked to the Easter Sunday attacks, who was out on bail, was murdered in Colombo, in broad daylight, today.

The 38-year-old man was stabbed by unknown individuals in Mattakkuliya this morning.

According to the Police, the assailants had arrived in a car and carried out the crime.

The victim was rushed to the Colombo National Hospital but was pronounced dead in hospital.

Source: Colombo Gazette

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has written to Indian External Affairs S. Jaishankar seeking his intervention after the Sri Lanka Navy arrested another 24 Indian fishermen.

The Sri Lanka Navy said that the Navy and Sri Lanka Coast Guard conducted a special operation in the Northern waters to chase away Indian trawlers from Sri Lanka’s waters last evening.

The operation led to the seizure of 05 Indian trawlers with 24 Indian fishermen, poaching in the island’s waters off the Kovilan Lighthouse, Kareinagar, Jaffna, the Navy said in a statement.

The trawlers and the 24 Indian fishermen were brought to the Kankesanthurai Harbour and were handed over to the Mailadi Fisheries Inspector for onward legal proceedings.

The Navy said it has detained 35 Indian trawlers and arrested 252 Indian fishermen during operations conducted so far this year.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin wrote to Indian External Affairs S. Jaishankar and requested him to urge the Sri Lanka Navy not to arrest Indian fishermen

Stalin also sought the early release of all the Indian fishermen and the release of the boats in Sri Lankan custody.

Source: Colombo Gazette

Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said Russia is a reliable friend who consistently stands for Sri Lanka’s sovereignty at international forums.

Welcoming the new Russian Ambassador Levan S. Dzhagaryan, who called on him at the Prime Minister’s Office, he recalled the Soviet support to industrialisation of Sri Lanka setting up steel factory at Oruwela and tyre factory in Kelaniya decades ago. The Prime Minister also mentioned about the scholarships offered to Sri Lanka at Lumumba and Moscow universities for hundreds of Sri Lankan students who serve the nation now. The Ambassador assured the Prime Minister that Russia would extend its fullest support to Sri Lanka’s economic progress in every field.

They held detailed discussions on potential for Russian large scale investments in Sri Lanka.

Secretary to the Prime Minister Anura Dissanayake was also present at this discussion.

Source:

People in the North and East tend to leave the country due to the dire economic situation where some have gone to Tamil Nadu, Vietnam and Ukraine in the last six months.

He told Parliament that some 302 Tamils have fled to Vietnam and seven to Ukraine.

He said 85 of those in Vietnam have agreed to come back and said the Ministry would facilitate their return.

Responding to a remark made by Parliamentarian Selvam Adaikkalanathan, the minister said a publicity mechanism was needed to educate the people in the North and East on the dangers of seeking refugee status and not to get caught to human trafficking.

“We want to inform them, if they go on refugee status or on a wrong passport and get caught to trafficking, they will have to suffer,” he said.

Written by Ajith Siriwardana and Yohan Perera

Sri Lanka’s export earnings in October 2022 drops 8.18 percent to 1,094 million dollars compared to the same period last year due to a decrease in earnings from apparels, eat, rubber, coconuts as the key export market are going high inflation and an energy crisis.

“This was mainly due to the decrease in export earnings from Apparel & Textiles, Tea, Rubber based Products, Coconut based Products, Spices & Essential Oils and Fisheries sector. Further, the impact of global crisis also affecting to decrease export earnings of major products,” Exports Development Board said in it’s report.

In the ten months to October, exports were up 9.33 percent to 11 billion US dollars.

“For the next six months, there is a very low number of orders,” a senior official at EDB told Economy Next.

“Hence the currency coming in is a little bit low but based on the trend it is like one billion a month during these last ten months and up to October, we have received over 10 billion of export revenue and first being the apparel.”

Sri Lanka is currently in the worst currency crisis in the history of the island’s soft-pegged central bank with the rupee collapsing from 200 to 360 in a failed attempt to float the currency (suspend convertibility) with a surrender rule in place.

At 370 the surrender rule and dollars sales continue.

Exports of Apparel & Textiles fell 13.19 percent to 441.89 million dollars in October 2022.

Tea exports in October fell 0.76 percent to 108.7 million US dollars.

“We have to be very agile these days because markets are changing and our traditional markets, especially the western markets going forward might be disrupted a little more,” another official at EDB said.

“So we have to now look at alternate markets because there is a global disruption in exports and imports and the only way out is to find other markets.”

Export earnings from Rubber based products have decreased by by 6.10 percent to 86.3 million dollars, EDB said exports of pneumatic & Retreated Rubber Tyres & Tubes did not perform well.

Coconut products fell 7.12 percent to 72.41 million dollars.

Export of Seafood dipped by 20 percent to 19.56 million dollars. Crabs exports have done well, EDB said.

Source: Economy Next