Meteorology Department of Sri Lanka Warns of adverse weather

Meteorology Department of Sri Lanka  Warns of
adverse weather

Adverse weather

The Meteorology department warned of adverse weather condition with strong winds due to activation of South-west monsoon over Sri Lanka. 
The Meteorology Department requested the fishermen and the naval personnel to be vigilant when venturing into the sea as the seas off the island will be rough. The Department said the deep and shallow sea areas off the coast extending from Mannar to Pottuvil via Colombo and Galle will be rough with strong southwesterly wind up to 80kmp/h for the next 24 hours. 





Due to the strong winds along the southern coast, train services along the coastal line have been limited to Hikkaduwa. 
Occasional showers are in the forecast for Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central and Southern provinces. Showers may extend to Puttalam and Kurunegala districts too.

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Tokyo Cement sponsors the All Island Schools Quiz Programme

Tokyo Cement sponsors the All Island Schools Quiz Programme

ALL ISLAND SCHOOLS QUIZ Programme 

The Tokyo Cement Group presents the ALL ISLAND SCHOOLS QUIZ Programme with the intention of promoting the pursuit of academic excellence and stimulating education through healthy competition. The National programme will be coordinated in partnership with the Ministry of Education and produced by Swarnavahini.

The Signing of the MOU to announce the partnership was held at Isurupaya in the presence of the Minister of Education. With 5.2million in prize money on offer, the quiz programme will see the participation of schools across the country.

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New Zealand supports for Sri Lanka to hold CHOGM 2013

New Zealand supports for Sri Lanka to hold CHOGM 2013

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2013

New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully reaffirmed its support for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) that will take place in Sri Lanka in November 2013.

The New Zealand Minister wished Sri Lanka well in preparing for CHOGM and said the entire Commonwealth needs to see the progress in the country, pointing out that success in trade and the economy is important to the process.

New Zealand Minister also held discussions on several other areas including agriculture, tourism and education with the President Rajapaksa.tourism and education.New Zealand expressed interest in supporting model farms in Sri Lanka as well as increasing tourism between both countries. In the education sector, New Zealand hopes to increase scholarships for tertiary education across the board, particularly in the field of agricultural, and the Foreign Minister said this includes more Commonwealth scholarships as well.

Minister of External Affairs Prof. G.L. Peiris, Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga, Secretary to the Ministry of External Affairs Karunatilaka Amunugama, Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal and Sri Lanka's High Commissioner in Australia who is also accredited to New Zealand, Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe participated in the discussions at Temple Trees.

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Massive Las Vegas-style Casino resort in Colombo

Massive Las Vegas-style Casino resort in Colombo

Las Vegas-style Casino resort

A big Las Vegas-style Casino resort with a minimum of 400 rooms would be set up along D.R. Wijewardane Mawatha in Colombo, with a US$ 350 million investment,It is an investment by Australian casino mogul James Packer. The project will enjoy tax concessions for more than ten years.The government has enacted the Casino Business Regulation Act to provide for such businesses in the country.Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) parliamentary group leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake raised the issue in Parliament having circulated a letter sent by Finance Ministry Director General K.M.M. Siriwardene to the Chairman of the Board of Investment (BoI).

According to the letter, the project will be given recognition under the Strategic Development Project Act No 14 of 2008. It is a law introduced by the government to give facilities for large Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in the country.  Quoting from the letter, Mr. Dissanayake said the project would be located on a land belonging to the Government Supplies Department.The project’s foreign investors are Crown Ltd., of Crown Towers, No:8 Whiteman, St. Southbank 3006, Victoria, Australia and Allinga Pvt Ltd of No:26-03 Centennial Towers, Singapore 039190. 

They will hold 55 per cent equity in the company. The local collaborator will be M.S. Rank Entertainment Holdings (Pvt) Ltd in Kollupitiya.The investment will be exempted from the Corporate Income Tax for as much as ten years. It will be exempted from Betting and Gaming Levy and income tax. All project-related imports will also be exempt from Customs duty.“This is an investment by leading Australian Casino businessman James Packer who recently met higher-ups in the government,” Mr. Dissanayake said.Investment Promotion Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardane responding said this would be an investment of US$350 million aimed at generating 2,600 direct employment opportunities and numerous other indirect employment opportunities. The minister said there would be a star grade resort with a minimum of 400 rooms.

“It will have facilities for retail shopping, entertainment. There will be fine dining restaurants and meeting and convention facilities,” he said and added that the BoI had been entrusted and empowered to attract investments.“The government’s target is 2.5 million tourist arrivals by 2016. We are targeting a foreign direct investment of US$ 2 billion. We have followed the legal procedure in giving tax concessions for projects meant to achieve these targets,” the minister said.

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Sri Lanka's inflation increases in May 2013

Sri Lanka's inflation increases in May 2013

Inflation Rises

Sri Lanka’s inflation during the last month of May (2013) has increased to 7.3-pct during the month of May, an increase compared to 6.4-pct in the previous month states Central Bank.

According to the Central Bank core inflation on a YoY basis decreased to 5.7 per cent in May 2013 from 6.1 per cent in the previous month while it increased marginally on an annual average basis to 6.6 per cent in May 2013 from 6.5 per cent in April 2013.

The price of most varieties of vegetables, fresh fish, chicken, red onions, limes and milk powder increased during the month. However, a decrease in the prices of some varieties of fruits, eggs, big onions and sugar was reported. 

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Sri Lanka government to submit a proposal to amend powers of Provincial Councils

 Amend powers of Provincial Councils

Powers of the Provincial Councils

The Sri Lankan government plan to submit a proposal to the cabinet this week regarding the amendment of several powers of the Provincial Councils, government news sources said.

The amendment will withdraw the provisions that enable the Provincial Councils to merge.

It will also withdraw the provisions that the nationally important bills needed to be passed in all Provincial Councils. Instead, the amendments will be brought so that such a bill will be sufficient to be passed in majority of Provincial Councils.

However, the proposals of certain government coalition parties to take back the land and police powers of the Provincial Councils have not been included in the government's proposals, government news sources said.

Sources further said that the government has planned to appeal for a definition of the land powers from the Provincial Councils.

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Sri Lanka to launch cancer prevention programs on Cancer Survivors Day 2013

 Sri Lanka to launch cancer prevention programs on
National Cancer Survivors Day 2013

National Cancer Survivors Day

Sri Lanka's Ministry of Health has organized several cancer prevention programs to mark National Cancer Survivors Day of 02-06-2013.The 26th Annual National Cancer Survivors Day will be marked worldwide on June 2 for cancer survivors to celebrate life.

The Health Ministry has organized several awareness programs to educate the public on the disease.

Accordingly, a lecture series on detection, prevention and treatment of cancers will be conducted by oncology specialists on June 3 at the Sri Lanka Medical Association building in Wijerama Mawatha in Colombo.

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