Page 28 - Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka drafting bill to curb religious slander on social media

Sri Lanka is drafting a new legislation to curb the growing incidents of religious slander and online vitriol, according to the country's religious affairs minister. The move comes after a stand-up comedian Nathasha Edirisooriya allegedly made certain derogatory remarks on religions, which she uploaded online. Edirisooriya offered an apology, but a complaint was filed and she was taken into custody on Sunday while trying to fly out of the country. Sri Lanka's Minister of Buddhashasana, Religious, and Cultural Affairs Vidura Wickramanayaka on Sunday said a legislation would soon be passed to curb the growing incidents of religious slander in the country. This will stop all incidents of demeaning religion on social media," he asserted. The controversy surrounding Edirisooriya's comments is not a one-off incident. Earlier this month, Pastor Jerome Fernando, a self-styled Godman, was accused of derogatory comments on Lord Buddha, which went viral on social media. On May 15, Presiden

IMF urges crisis-hit Sri Lanka to decide on debt restructuring: Report

China's role as Sri Lanka's main creditor has drawn global attention, as the delay caused by China in obtaining the IMF bailout is being closely monitored and questioned

Calling Sri Lanka: Airtel's expansion a challenge or opportunity?

The latest merger talks with the largest telecom service provider in the island nation can catapult it to top spot

Sri Lanka hopes for single digit inflation by year-end: Guv Weerasinghe

Sri Lanka's Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe has said the decisive policy measures taken by the government to deal with the catastrophic economic crisis will help reduce the country's hyperinflation to single-digit by the year-end. Weerasinghe who took over the economic recovery process at the height of the crisis last year said that short-term painful measures were vital to restore the long-term stability of Sri Lanka's economy. Addressing a symposium on entrepreneurship organised by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) here on Thursday, he said, "We have taken very decisive measures to curtail and prevent inflation rising, which went to the peak of 70 per cent. Now it is under 30 per cent. It will certainly be a single digit by the fourth quarter of this year with the measures that we have implemented." Commenting on the restrictive measures taken by the government to stabilise the island nation's economy, Weerasinghe said that collective policy measures are painf

Sri Lanka has no security arrangements with China: Wickremesinghe

Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that Japan, China, India, and ASEAN, should commence an open-ended dialogue amongst themselves and thereafter with the other Asian countries

Sri Lanka must achieve debt restructuring process by September: IMF

The IMF on Tuesday reaffirmed that Sri Lanka must achieve its debt restructuring process by September, which is also the time for the global lender's formal review of the bailout facility it extended to the cash-strapped nation. The IMF on March 20 extended a nearly USD 3 billion bailout facility to debt-ridden Sri Lanka that would help stabilise the country's economy after it was jolted by a devastating economic crisis last year. In a statement issued on Tuesday at the end of a nearly two weeks staff visit to Colombo to assess the progress made by Sri Lanka since the agreement was reached, the IMF said that the two sides had discussed the developments on debt restructuring. "Sri Lanka must achieve debt restructuring by its first review due in September. We also discussed progress on debt restructuring, noting the ongoing discussions with both foreign and domestic creditors," the statement said. Debt-ridden Sri Lanka is still struggling to normalise its crisis-hit economy after it

Sri Lanka cabinet approves incentives to businesses at Colombo Port City

Primary and secondary businesses that are strategically important to the Port City have been identified, according to Gunawardena

Cash-strapped Sri Lanka in deal with China's Sinopec to secure fuel

The nation's fuel retail market was a state monopoly under the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) till 2003 when the Indian Oil Company was allowed to operate

Indian Navy Ship 'Batti Malv' visits Sri Lanka's Trincomalee port

Indian Navy Ship 'Batti Malv' visited Sri Lanka's Trincomalee port and participated in Maritime Partnership Exercise with SLNS Ranadheera

Overseas travel ban lifted on Lanka's ex-President Mahinda Rajapaksa

A Sri Lankan court here on Wednesday ordered the lifting of the overseas travel ban on former president and prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. The Fort Magistrate's Court imposed a ban on overseas travel on Rajapaksa, 77, and over a dozen other politicians in May last year in view of investigations against them for their alleged involvement in the deadly attack on peaceful anti-government protesters in Colombo. At least nine people were killed and over 300 others injured in the violence in May. The overseas travel ban on former president Rajapaksa, MP Rohitha Abeygunawardena, Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi, and ex-Provincial Council member Kanchana Jayaratne was completely lifted by the Fort Magistrate's Court on Wednesday, newsfirst.lk website reported. Colombo Fort Magistrate Thilina Gamage ordered the court registrar to immediately convey the order to the Controller General of Immigration and Emigration. The impounded passports were ordered to be released to the four politician

India to be Sri Lanka's key partner as Colombo looks at economic growth

India was Sri Lanka's main partner in helping it deal with the economic crisis last year and the country will remain a key ally as Colombo looks at a growth path, island nation's envoy Milinda Moragoda said on Tuesday. On China's attempts to expand influence over Colombo, Moragoda said India-Sri Lanka relationship is too important to be measured in the context of a third country. "We have to get back to the growth path. Growth is the key aspect. For that, India becomes a key partner. India was our main partner last year in helping stabilisation of our economy with different instruments," he said. "For the revival of the economy too, India will be an important partner. We have to diversify our sources of income when it comes to exports and foreign exchange earnings," the envoy said. Moragoda made the remarks during a media interaction at the Foreign Correspondents' Club Of South Asia here. India extended financial assistance worth around USD 4 billion to Sri Lanka, including lines

Cyclone Mocha: Nearly 2,000 people affected in southern Sri Lanka

One is reportedly missing and nearly 2,000 people have been affected in Southern Sri Lanka due to the indirect influence of extremely severe cyclonic storm 'Mocha' in the Bay of Bengal

India extends $1 billion credit line to crisis-hit Sri Lanka by a year

The credit line, part of about $4 billion in emergency assistance extended by India during the peak of Sri Lanka's financial crisis early last year, was scheduled to end in March

Lanka court puts restraining order on celebration of Gotabaya's fall

A Sri Lankan court on Tuesday accepted a request by the police to curb the commemoration of the events which led to the resignation of the bankrupt government of president Gotabaya Rajapaksa a year ago. On May 9 last year, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned, hours after his supporters attacked anti-government protesters outside embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's office. Last year, thousands of demonstrators protested across Sri Lanka seeking the resignation of President Gotabaya and Prime Minister Mahinda, as the Sri Lankan government ran out of money for vital imports; prices of essential commodities have skyrocketed and there are acute shortages in fuel, medicines, and electricity supply. Police on Tuesday said the Colombo Fort magistrate has issued a restraining order on commemoration of the protest preventing them from entering key installations such as the president's house, presidential secretariat, finance ministry, and the prime minister's official ..

India regains top spot in Sri Lanka's inbound tourism market

India regained the top inbound market for Sri Lanka's tourism market after six months as about 20,000 Indian tourists arrived in the island nation in April this year. Tourism Authority figures showed that 19,915 Indians had visited the island in April over 14,656 Russian tourist arrivals. Russians remained the top inbound market from October last year to March this year. India enjoyed a 19 per cent market share in April followed by 14 per cent from Russia and 8 per cent from the UK. In April, the arrivals topped 100,000 for the fourth consecutive time since 2019. Tourist arrivals to the island had slumped since the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that left 270 persons, including 11 Indians, dead and over 500 injured.

Sri Lanka expects to attract 20 lakh visitors from India this year

Sri Lanka, which is emerging from an economic crisis, is expecting to attract 20 lakh visitors from India this year, Sri Lanka Tourism Minister said on Friday. "Sri Lanka is experiencing a significant rise in tourist arrivals, particularly from India, which has now secured the top spot. "In the first three months of 2023, we welcomed 46,432 Indian tourists. With an ambitious promotional campaign underway, we are aiming to attract 2 million Indian tourists this year," Sri Lanka Tourism Minister Harin Fernando said in a statement. This increase in visitors has had a positive impact on tourism earnings, with Sri Lanka earning around USD 530 million in the first quarter of 2023, compared to USD 482.3 million in the same period last year, he said. "We expect to generate a total of USD 3 billion in tourism revenue this year," the minister added. Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau Chairman Chalaka Gajabahu said that the country is an ideal destination for families and is suitable for tra

Pakistan's inflation outpaces Sri Lanka as Asia's fastest amid food crisis

Consumer prices rose 36.4% in April from a year earlier, the highest since 1964, according to data released by the statistics department Tuesday

Eight people injured in shooting by a security guard in Sri Lanka's Colombo

According to the latest development in the investigation, a security guard at the site opened fire on the mob when they attempted to grab a firearm from another security guard

TN fishermen to meet EAM Jaishankar, seek release of boats seized by Lanka

The fishermen were arrested and jailed and their boats, fishing nets and their catch were seized

Sri Lanka to introduce new laws to achieve green economy: President

The President noted that Sri Lanka will take the lead in ensuring that the developing economies receive the resources to mitigate climate change