Page 21 - Sri Lanka

Travelling abroad

India needs a vibrant tourism sector

Sri Lanka implements free tourist visas for India, six other countries

Aimed at boosting the tourism sector, Indian tourists the largest inbound group to Sri Lanka, would receive free tourist visas with immediate effect, the Department of Immigration and Emigration has announced here. The facility follows a Cabinet decision from October to issue free tourist visas to travellers from India, China, Russia, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, and Thailand amidst efforts to rebuild the debt-trapped island nation's tourism sector that had slumped since the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings. The pilot project to offer free visas for the first 30 days would be in force till March 31, 2024, the announcement said. The travellers would be given dual entry status on arrival and the visa validity would be limited to 30 days' stay in the island nation. India is traditionally Sri Lanka's top inbound tourism market. In October 2023, arrival figures for India topped with over 28,000 arrivals or 26 per cent with Russian tourists trailing at over 10,000 arrivals as the second lar

PCB in deadlock with ACC on additional compensation for chartered flights

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was on Tuesday caught in a deadlock with the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) for demanding additional compensation on organising chartered flights between Pakistan and Sri Lanka during the Asia Cup, which it co-hosted in August-September. The Asia Cup 2023 was organised in a hybrid model in Pakistan and Sri Lanka after the ACC accepted PCB's hybrid model, with majority of the matches organised in the island nation. A reliable source in the PCB informed PTI that apart from seeking the tournament hosting fees around $250,000 as well as shares from ticketing and sponsorship fees, they have also demanded additional compensation. The source said, The additional money is for expenses incurred on renting chartered flights for teams between Pakistan and Sri Lanka and other extra expenses like additional hotel and transport fees, which were not included in the initial budget for the Asia Cup." The source, however, informed that the ACC is not willing to pay ...

Sri Lankan sports min Roshan Ranasinghe sacked after claiming risk to life

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday sacked Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe, hours after he claimed that his "life is at risk" for "highlighting corruption" in the country's chaotic cricket administration and said that if anything happens to him, the president and his chief of staff should be held responsible. Ranasinghe was handed the termination letter, signed by President Wickremesinghe, as he arrived to attend the weekly Cabinet meeting. The letter states that Ranasinghe has been removed from the portfolios of Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, and Minister of Irrigation, with immediate effect. Earlier in the day, Ranasinghe told Parliament that Wickremesinghe was trying to frame him for political vengeance and using false facts related to a vehicle. The minister said a vehicle imported by him was seized by the authorities under the pretext of tax manipulation to frame him on false charges. Is this the reward I get for highlighting corruption in cricket? I

Sri Lanka's sports minister Roshan Ranasinghe says his 'life is at risk'

Sri Lanka's Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe on Monday claimed that his "life is at risk" for "highlighting corruption" in the country's chaotic cricket administration and if anything happens to him, then President Ranil Wickremesinghe and his chief of staff should be held responsible. Addressing Parliament, Ranasinghe said Wickremesinghe is trying to frame him for political vengeance and using false facts related to a vehicle. The minister said a vehicle imported by him was seized by the authorities under the pretext of tax manipulation to frame him on false charges. Is this the reward I get for highlighting corruption in cricket? I took action based on audit reports, Ranasinghe said, referring to his move to appoint an interim committee to run the Sri Lankan cricket administration. He further questioned why the President is taking political revenge, when he, as the Sports Minister, had only exposed corruption. My life is at risk, I may be killed today or tomorrow. If something

Malaysia joins Thailand, Sri Lanka in granting visa-free entry for Indians

Malaysia will grant a 30-day visa-free entry for Indian and Chinese citizens from December 1, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has announced, joining Thailand and Sri Lanka in recent weeks to offer such a facility to foreigners to promote tourism. Ibrahim said the waiver was an additional facility to the existing visa exemptions currently enjoyed by Gulf nations and other West Asian countries, including Turkiye and Jordan. However, Ibrahim, who is also the Finance Minister of the country, said the visa exemption was subject to top security screening, the official Bernama news agency reported. "Initial screenings will be conducted for all tourists and visitors to Malaysia. Security is a different matter. If there are criminal records or the risk of terrorism, they will not be allowed to enter," the prime minister said. "That comes under the authority of the security forces and immigration," the premier said. The 30-day visa-free entry is also currently enjoyed by eight ASEAN countries

IMF's second tranche finalisation to Sri Lanka in Dec: Nandalal Weerasinghe

The second tranche of the USD 2.9 billion IMF bailout for cash-strapped Sri Lanka would be finalised within the next month, central bank governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said on Friday. The government is expecting around USD 330 million as the second tranche of the USD 2.9 billion 4-year bailout, following the first one that was extended in March under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) to support Sri Lanka's economic policies and reforms. Sri Lanka was hit by its worst economic crisis in history when the country's foreign exchange reserves fell to a critical low and the public came out on the streets to protest the shortage of fuel, fertilisers and essential commodities. We are making good progress with the first review. We will get the programme approved. What is required for that (is) assurances from bilateral creditors. The official creditor committee would be forthcoming, Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Weerasinghe told reporters. With that, there will be additiona

15 Tamil Nadu fishermen reached Chennai after being released from Sri Lanka

The Finance Minister spoke to the Foreign Secretary and the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka, following which the fishermen were rescued

ICC ban a betrayal of the nation: Sri Lanka sports minister Ranasinghe

Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe on Sunday slammed Sri Lanka Cricket for bidding for a ban from the ICC, calling it a "big betrayal of the country". Ranasinghe had appointed an interim committee after sacking the governing body headed by Shammi Silva following the national team's disastrous World Cup campaign. "This is big betrayal of the country," said Ranasinghe after reading out correspondence with the ICC by Silva administration. "They were doing so to selfishly hang on to positions after audit reports had highlighted their corrupt action." Ranasinghe had appointed legendary captain Arjuna Ranatunga as the head of the seven-member interim committee. But the ICC then suspended SLC with immediate effect for government interference and Silva also managed to obtain a court order suspending the interim committee. In response to a parliamentary speech by the main opposition leader Sajith Premadasa accusing SLC of promoting the ICC for a ban, SLC said Ranasinghe was politically ...

Entrepot for geopolitics

US investment in Lankan port opens up new opportunities

Sri Lankan SC finds Rajapaksa brothers responsible for economic crisis

The ruling was delivered based on the majority view of the five-judge bench presided over by Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya

Sri Lankan President presents budget, says economy not out of crisis yet

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday presented his government's 2024 budget, emphasising the need for tough reforms until the full recovery of the cash-strapped island nation's economy. Although Sri Lanka has managed to control its hyperinflation in the ongoing economic crisis, its economy is far from being fully recovered. We have been able to put back on the rails the derailed economy. Still, people undergo suffering," Wickremesinghe, who is also the Finance Minister, said. The inflation which was 70 per cent in September 2022 has been reduced to 1.5 per cent in October this year," the minister said. He said in order for the island nation to prevent another bankruptcy, hard reforms are a must. The state banks were made to fund the losses of state enterprises. He proposed that two state banks' shares be issued to the public and investors while the government would inject cash into the state banks to maintain their stability. Wickremesinghe said the cost of living

Sri Lanka sports minister says ICC suspension of cricket board illegal

Sri Lanka's sports minister said Saturday the International Cricket Council's suspension of the nation's cricket board over political interference was illegal and that he will seek to reverse it. Minister Roshan Ranasinghe told reporters that if he can't resolve the issue through the ICC's conflict resolution arm, he will go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland. Ranasinghe said the ICC's suspension was against its own rules and that the organization should have first sought the approval of the other members. The ICC suspended Sri Lanka Cricket on Friday citing political interference in its administration. Earlier this week, the ministry of sport sacked the national board over the team's poor performance at the World Cup in India. The ministry also accused the board of corruption. A court decision reversed the ministry's verdict, but it was still grounds for the ICC to take action. Sri Lanka is ninth in the World Cup standings. It still needs the remaining games to

Pak most vulnerable in South Asia to balance of payment crisis: Moody's

Pakistan and Sri Lanka have experienced significant BOP pressures because of very low exports and FDI, combined with much weaker policy management and higher political risk

Adani's Colombo port terminal to get $553 million funding from US DFC

Move seen as US bid to curtail China's influence

World Cup 2023: Assistant coach feels Sri Lanka have gaps in skills to fill

Having made an early exit from the World Cup, Sri Lanka's assistant coach Naveed Nawaz admitted on Wednesday that the team has a lot of gaps to fill before emerging as a serious contender in global tournaments. Sri Lanka will face New Zealand in their final league match here on Thursday, and Nawaz said they were looking for improvement in all areas of the game. We had to qualify for this World Cup. We were not in the top eight teams. We have gaps in skills to fill, and it's a massive subject, said Nawaz during his pre-match press meet. We need to be patient because the (current) group of players are not going to change other than the players who are coming through from the grassroots. So, we need to see how we can upskill our players and get them at par with international standards, said Nawaz. Taking that point forward, Nawaz said the Lankan batters need to find more consistency to gain desired results. The opening which was always concerning for us over a period of time. We've s

World Cup 2023: SLC invites retired judges to form independent committee

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on Wednesday invited retired Supreme Court judges, who were part of interim seven-member committee formed by Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe, to form an independent committee. "Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is committed to upholding the principles of integrity, transparency, and accountability in the administration of cricket in Sri Lanka," SLC said in a statement on Wednesday. "In line with this commitment, SLC has taken a proactive step to invite respected individuals appointed by the Minister of Sports through a recent gazette notification to form an independent committee." The committee will consist of retired Supreme Court judges -- SI Imam and Rohini Marasinghe and Irangani Perera, retired High Court judge. The mandate of this committee will be to inquire into and recommend appropriate action in relation to the references contained in the Audit Report dated September 11, 2023, issued by the Auditor. "Making recommendations and formulating strategic action

US invests $553 mn in Adani's Sri Lanka port to curb China's influence

The financing from International Development Finance Corp. for the deepwater West Container Terminal in Colombo is the US government agency's largest infrastructure investment in Asia

Lanka sacks entire Cricket Board following humiliating defeat against India

Ranasinghe also appointed an Interim Committee for Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), chaired by World Cup-winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga. The current committee stands "Temporally Suspended."

Bangladesh, Sri Lankan cricketers hold their breath in smog-choked Delhi

An AQI reading between 0-100 is generally considered safe for playing cricket