Category: Featured Headlines

A total of 58 more COVID-19 related deaths that occurred yesterday (30) were confirmed by the Director-General of Health Services today pushing the death toll to 12,964.

According to the Government Information Department, 31 females and 27 males are among the deceased.

A total of 48 people who are above 60 years of age are among the deceased while 10 of them are between 30 and 59 years of age.

No death has been reported below 30 years of age.

India foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla is likely to visit Sri Lanka early October, India’s The Hindu reported, amid strained ties and ahead of a groundbreaking ceremony at the China-backed Port City for what will be the first building to go up on the reclaimed land.

The Port City is expected to play a vital role in China’s multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which has raised security concerns for India in the Indian Ocean region, diplomats have said.

“Harsh Vardhan Shringla is likely to inaugurate some key bilateral projects,” The Hindu said on its website.

Shringla’s visit comes as the diplomatic relations between the two neighbours was severed after Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa unilaterally cancelled a 500 million US dollar tripartite East Container Terminal (ECT) deal in February this year citing trade union pressure.

Instead, Colombo gave the West Container Terminal to India’s privately owned Adani group which has tied up with Sri Lanka’s John Keells Holdings to accomplish the 700 million US dollar project.

The ECT deal was signed among the governments of India, Japan, and Sri Lanka. The deal was originally signed under former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Diplomats have told EconomyNext that both President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa have committed to go ahead with the ECT deal and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) deal.

The ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peremuna (SLPP) has opposed Indian projects and has vowed to cancel them. The Rajapaksa government also cancelled a 293 million dollar Mattala Airport project which was to be given to India.

The strained ties between the two countries come at a time when China is leap frogging in investing in Sri Lanka and financing for the island nation’s infrastructure projects.

Sri Lanka’s parliament has already passed the Port City Bill, creating the country’s first Special Economic Zone amid controversy and complaints around sovereignty issues.

The Port City was to start its groundbreaking for the first high rise building in the Colombo International Financial City (CIFC) on Sept. 17, coinciding with the seventh anniversary of the project which was personally launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The groundbreaking ceremony at the Colombo International Financial City (CIFC) of the Port City of was postponed amid both the president and prime minister being on foreign trips. The ceremony is expected to take before the end of this year.

The National Catholic Centre for Social Communication alleges the government is neglecting its duty to exposing the truth behind the 2019 April 21st Attacks.

The National Catholic Centre for Social Communication operates under the direct supervision of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Sri Lanka.

In a statement, it noted that this should be made a turning point to ensure that justice is served, national security is secured and such crimes do not repeat.

The National Catholic Centre for Social Communication says law enforcement is chasing after the civil activists and priests who label the events as a conspiracy while demanding the true perpetrators of the Easter Sunday attacks are exposed.

The statement noted that certain groups are drafting plans to weaken those who call for justice, and the National Catholic Centre for Social Communication questions why are these attempts being made and at whose request.

The National Catholic Centre for Social Communication noted that the Government that has not deployed its forces to track down the real criminals is engaged in disgraceful acts that even anger the general public.

The National Catholic Centre for Social Communication notes that two police officers were appointed to senior ranks, while the Presidential Commission that probed the Easter Sunday Attacks recommended for them to be prosecuted.

The National Catholic Centre for Social Communication says it is concerning if the government is wasting time until the entire county forgets the incident.

India’s Adani Group has signed a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) agreement with its local partner John Keells Holding s (JKH) and Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), to jointly develop the West Container Terminal (WCT) of the Colombo Port.

The agreement will be an investment exceeding USD 700 million.

In March, the WCT of the Colombo Port was approved to be developed as a Public-Private Limited Company in partnership with India’s Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ Consortium) along with its local representative John Keells Holding PLC (APSEZ Consortium), and SLPA.

The terminal is to be developed on a 35-year Build, Operate, and Transfer (BOT) basis with the aforementioned stakeholders.

The port terminal will have a quay length of 1,400 meters and a depth of 20 meters, making it a prime trans-shipment cargo destination to handle ultra-large container carriers, according to the filing from Adani Ports.

It will be the first-ever Indian port operator in Sri Lanka and hold 51% in the joint venture.

Leaders of political parties representing Parliament has decided to hold sittings for five days next week, Chief Government Whip Johnston Fernando said today.

Parliament sessions will be held on October 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 next week after the lockdown was lifted.

“Monday October 4 will be confined to oral questions raised by the MPs to be answered by the Ministers,” Minister Fernando said.

Meanwhile, Serjeant -at -Arms Narendra Fernandso told Daily Mirror that the House will take up some important legislations including the Petroleum Resources Amendment Bill, Registration of electors /amendment Bill , EPF Amendment Bill next week while a full day’s debate on Mid-year Fiscal Situation has also been lined up for the week.

The Stand Up Movement Lanka organisation yesterday (30 September) urged that a proper monitoring system be implemented in order to ensure the rights of labourers in Sri Lanka, if the European Union’s (EU) Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) trade concessions are going to be granted to Sri Lanka next year.

“Governments have gained these concessions by hiding the labour and human rights violations that are taking place in the country. They have always painted the wrong picture, especially about the livelihoods and working conditions of the employees in the Export Processing Zones (EPZs). If the GSP+ concession is going to be given to Sri Lanka, then there must be a proper monitoring system and programme to ensure that labour rights are protected. If this is not done, this country is not suitable to receive GSP+,” said Movement’s Convenor Ashila Dandeniya at a press conference held yesterday.

She alleged that although the service of employees in the EPZs was deemed essential during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Labour Department was closed, which made it difficult for workers to access the necessary services pertaining to their labour rights.

“GSP+ is given after checking the progress of human and labour rights in the country. If the country does not protect the labour rights of the labourers who are working to supply the market that gives us GSP+, then, on behalf of whom are we asking for GSP+? If labour rights are not protected, then the GSP+ benefits are only going to one group of people amongst the higher economic classes,” noted Dandeniya.

The organisation has also written to the EU earlier this week in this regard. In its letter, the organisation noted that about 50,000 workers in the EPZs have, to date, contracted the coronavirus due to the failure of factory owners to take measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in the factories. It further claimed that factory owners are neglecting their responsibilities concerning isolating workers who test positive for the virus; instead opting to send them to their hostels or boarding rooms. Thus, adequate quarantine facilities are not being provided for them.

The GSP+ trade concessions Monitoring Mission arrived in Sri Lanka on 27 September and is due to remain in the country till 5 October.