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Posts published in “Sri Lanka”

Apparel exports plunge further in September

report in DSaily FT, Oct 23, 2023Sri Lanka’s main export engine, apparel, saw its shipments plunge further in September worsening the sector’s status quo. Apparel exports in September were down sharply by 26% to $ 332 million whilst performance in the first nine months was down by 20.5% to $ 3.4 billion. “September was a bad month. The industry was hoping to see some signs of slight recovery but that may now be October at…

Lawyers warn of death knell for internet, freedom of expression by online safety bill

report in Daily Mirror, Oct 23, 2023The Bar Association, media institutions, advocacy groups, and more than 40 other petitioners challenged the Online Safety Bill in a two-day hearing before the Supreme Court judges Priyantha Jayawardhene, Achala Wengappuli, and Shiran Gunarathne last week. The petitioners warned that the Bill provides very little online safety but is drafted to stop people from expressing ideas and views on the internet and social media. They showed how the Bill…

Human Rights violations-different standards for different nations

Edit in Daily Mirror, Oct 28, 2023In March 2021 The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) adopted a resolution giving UN Rights Chief Michelle Bachelet a mandate to collect and preserve information and evidence of war crimes committed during Sri Lanka’s nearly 30-year-long civil war, which ended in 2009.The Washington Post reported the Liberation Tigers of the Tamil Eelam (LTTE), held more than 300,000 civilians ‘hostage’ to enforce a ‘strategic human buffer between themselves and the…

Sri Lanka leans on IMF and China as crucial budget test looms

by Munza Mushtaq in Nikkei Asia, Oct 27, 2023COLOMBO — Sri Lanka’s cash-strapped government is breathing slightly easier after a week that brought an agreement on more support from the International Monetary Fund and a promise of “no strings” help from China. But the country still must climb out of bankruptcy, and President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s administration must prepare a budget presentation for Nov. 13 that will likely highlight the difficulty of balancing financial constraints with…

2019 Easter Sunday carnage: Church seeks UN intervention

report in The Island, Oct 28, 2023The Catholic Church has appealed to the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to back its efforts to secure a transparent investigation into the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage. Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith has made representations in this regard to United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada al-Nashif during a recent meeting in Geneva. The Cardinal was accompanied by Shammil Perera, PC, to the meeting…

Security surveillance beefed to crack down on organized criminals

by Darshana Sanjeewa Balasuriya in Daily Mirror, Oct 27, 2023Security surveillance has been beefed up island wide to crack down on organized criminals, particularly in the Southern and Western Provinces, amid the escalating wave of killings and robberies across the country. A senior police officer told the Daily Mirror that the Sri Lanka Police have implemented both short-term and long-term measures to tackle criminals and organized criminals in the country. Recent statistics indicate that the…

Defence Min. must decide on gagging US envoy: Sarath Weerasekera

by Buddhika Samaraweera in The Daily Morning, Oct 26, 2023While it is up to the Defence Ministry to decide whether to implement the Parliament’s Sectoral Oversight Committee (SOC) on National Security’s recommendation to inform United States (US) Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung to refrain from making remarks regarding the internal affairs of Sri Lanka, the said SOC stated that their message has, however, reached the relevant parties. The said SOC had recently recommended the…

Apparel exports plunge further in September

report in DSaily FT, Oct 23, 2023Sri Lanka’s main export engine, apparel, saw its shipments plunge further in September worsening the sector’s status quo. Apparel exports in September were down sharply by 26% to $ 332 million whilst performance in the first nine months was down by 20.5% to $ 3.4 billion. “September was a bad month. The industry was hoping to see some signs of slight recovery but that may now be October at…

Lawyers warn of death knell for internet, freedom of expression by online safety bill

report in Daily Mirror, Oct 23, 2023The Bar Association, media institutions, advocacy groups, and more than 40 other petitioners challenged the Online Safety Bill in a two-day hearing before the Supreme Court judges Priyantha Jayawardhene, Achala Wengappuli, and Shiran Gunarathne last week. The petitioners warned that the Bill provides very little online safety but is drafted to stop people from expressing ideas and views on the internet and social media. They showed how the Bill…

Village in Central province on edge over enigmatic subterranean sounds

by Lahiru Doloswala in The Daily Morning, Oct 21, 2023Residents of Wethalawa village in the Central province find themselves in a state of distress and fear as they grapple with a perplexing and eerie phenomenon – mysterious noises emanating from beneath the earth’s surface near the Kothmale reservoir. Concerned about these unexplained sounds, the local community has taken the step of reporting the situation to the National Building Research Organization (NBRO). Meanwhile, geological experts have…

China renews support for Sri Lanka

report in Daily FT, Oct 21, 2023—President Wickremesinghe finally meets Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing——-Xi assures China will continue to provide assistance to Sri Lanka without any political strings attached————Wickremesinghe shares vision to set up maritime economic corridor linking China, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and South Africa; In a significant diplomatic encounter, President Xi Jinping yesterday extended China’s unwavering commitment to aiding Sri Lanka in achieving economic stability and progress, devoid of any political agenda.…