The China Sri Lanka Joint Centre for Education and Research (CSL-CER) of the University of Ruhuna has said that it has so far not reached any agreement with the Chinese research vessel Shi Yan Six—which has made a request to arrive in Lankan waters but is yet to receive government clearance—on any matter. Speaking to The […]Read More

Sri Lanka will have to implement a new fiscal framework with a number of crucial economic reforms which can ensure the long-term economic stability of the country, says President Ranil Wickremesinghe. Tabling the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Parliament, Wickremesinghe noted that Sri Lanka is now commencing a new journey and that […]Read More

The current tax policy in Sri Lanka is not a normal tax policy but a rescue operation and any disruption to this process will result in Sri Lanka not being able to secure the International Monetary Fund (IMF) funding, which may also result in the opportunity to do business with foreign countries being lost, warned […]Read More

The increase in electricity tariffs last week and its disproportionate impact on the hospitality industry is bound to push many hotels towards the brink of collapse, with hoteliers being forced to absorb the added costs as it is not feasible to increase room rates to reflect the new tariffs. According to The Hotel Association of […]Read More

The Chinese government is unwilling to follow the Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA) targets set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for Sri Lanka, former IMF Director Dr Sharmini Coorey and Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP and economist Dr Harsha de Silva have revealed. During a webinar conducted by Oxford Political Review, Coorey, who is a […]Read More

Sri Lanka plans to begin evaluating Expressions of Interest (EOIs) in its offshore hydrocarbon reserves, following the enactment of the legal regulatory framework on offshore oil and gas, the Petroleum Development Authority of Sri Lanka (PDASL) said yesterday (14). When contacted by The Sunday Morning, PDASL Chairman Saliya Wickramasuriya said: “Sri Lanka will operate an […]Read More

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has insisted that the Sri Lankan Government significantly increase tax revenue as percentage of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), says Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, adding that failure to comply would lead to a return to the infamous era of queues seen during the first half of this year. “The […]Read More

Calling for an end to bringing children to protest demonstrations, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has likened the practice to the use of children as human shields by late LTTE Leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. All measures will be taken in consultation with Attorney General Sanjay Rajaratnam to prevent young children from being brought to protests, he […]Read More

Due to the severity of Sri Lanka’s economic crisis and the lack of household finances, there has been an increase in the number of children being admitted by their families to children’s homes in the Northern Province. Statistical data provided by the Child Care and Probation Department of the Northern Province has revealed that as […]Read More

Chinese space and satellite tracking research vessel Yuan Wang 5, which was scheduled to dock at Hambantota Port on Thursday did not arrive at the port as scheduled. It remains 600 nautical miles away, awaiting necessary approvals, following a request by the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) to defer the arrival of the ship after […]Read More

The Ranil Wickremesinghe-Dinesh Gunawardena government faced its first major foreign policy test last week, over the planned visit by a Chinese satellite tracking vessel to Sri Lanka. The Sunday Morning reliably learns that the foreign ministry is in discussion with China, in an attempt to convince it to replenish the State-owned satellite tracking vessel at a […]Read More

Urgent efforts are being made to reassure the Government of India that the docking of China’s Yuan Wang 5 vessel at the Hambantota Port would not impact India’s national security, The Morning has learnt. Former Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama, referring to statements made by the defence ministry on this matter, said all communication in this regard should have […]Read More

Sri Lanka’s defence ministry has said a Chinese naval vessel Yuan Wang 5 will dock at the Hambantota Port on August 11, despite concerns raised by India. “They had requested security clearance a while back and we did an assessment and gave them the necessary clearance. The ship will be at the port from August […]Read More

Whistleblower platform WikiLeaks has reported that President Ranil Wickremesinghe, while serving as Opposition Leader in 2007, had requested Japanese Special Envoy Yasushi Akashi, who visited Sri Lanka that year, to cease the economic assistance that Japan was providing to Sri Lanka. WikiLeaks posted a link on its official Twitter account on July 23 to access […]Read More

Voting for the next Sri Lankan President will take place in Parliament on July 20. The country’s main Parliamentary Opposition, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), hopes its leader Sajith Premadasa will emerge winner. In a statement issued after party leaders’ meeting, the office of the Speaker of the House announced that following the resignation of […]Read More

The currency swap worth $1.5 billion provided by China in December last year cannot be utilised by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka as it came with a condition that Sri Lanka must have sufficient foreign reserves to cover imports for several months, a threshold that was not met even in December, before reserves began […]Read More

The Sri Lankan Cabinet of Ministers has approved a proposal by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to amend five Acts, aiming to increase the government’s tax revenue to pre-2019 December levels, in a nearly total reversal of the controversial tax amendments made under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and then Finance Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. “Minister of Finance, Economic […]Read More

In a letter to Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, the main Parliamentary Opposition, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), expressed its support to repealing the 20th amendment to the Constitution and presented five key proposals to the 21st amendment to the Constitution draft Bill put forward by the government. “As we informed you at the […]Read More

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe plans to introduce a new committee system to strengthen Parliament’s financial powers, as well as a National Committee to make the President and Prime Minister answerable to Parliament. He made this announcement during a special statement on the 21st amendment to the Constitution and proposed political reforms. He said […]Read More