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Pacific island nations are holding talks which could lead to a coordinated request that China forgive mounting debts in the region amid concerns Beijing may start seizing strategic assets, Tonga’s Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pōhiva said on Thursday. Tonga, one of eight island nations in the South Pacific carrying significant debt to China, is due to start repaying loans next month after borrowing heavily in the aftermath of deadly riots in 2006 that destroyed large parts of its capital.

China’s possession of a Sri Lankan port as Colombo struggled with a spiralling debt crisis meant asset seizures could not be ruled out, Pōhiva told Reuters in a phone interview from Tonga.

“If it happens in Sri Lanka, it can happen in the Pacific - so it is entirely an option for China to consider,” said Pōhiva, who did not identify any specific assets at risk of being seized.

“If we fail to meet the requirements and conditions set out in the agreement ... we have to pay the cost for our failure to meet the conditions.”
China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. It has previously said there was no evidence China was responsible for creating unsustainable debt and that it retained good relations with Tonga.

In April, media reports suggested China wanted to establish a military base in the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu after funding a wharf big enough to handle warships. Both China and Vanuatu denied the reports. 

(Reuters)

The CID has informed that its officers will visit Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa on August 17 to obtain a statement from him. According to sources, the purpose of the visit will be to record a statement regarding the abduction and torture of former Editor of the Nation newspaper Keith Noyahr. 

CID said the notice regarding the visit was handed over on August 13. The statement is set to be recorded at his residence in Wijerama Mawatha at 10 am on the said date. 

Police HQ says the reason for obtaining a statement from Rajapaksa is due to the information revealed by Speaker Karu Jayasuriya. The CID had recorded an almost five-hour-long statement from the Speaker previously. He is said to have claimed that he received the first information regarding the abduction and spoke to Rajapaksa in a bid to save Noyahr.

Sri Lanka is set to enter into an agreement with the Government of Oman to avoid double taxation after Cabinet approval was granted to a proposal made by the Minister of Finance and Media Mangala Samaraweera yesterday.

The agreement relating to the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion covering the areas pertaining to interest, royalty and profit motivation on shipping services is being carried out in anticipation of enhancing economic relations and corporation between the two countries.

In March, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya led a multi-party Parliamentary delegation that undertook an official visit to the Sultanate of Oman at the invitation of State Council of Oman Chairman, Dr. Yahya bin Mahfoodh Al-Manthri. 

The visit was a significant milestone in Sri Lanka-Oman bilateral relations, as it was the highest-level political visit to the Sultanate of Oman from Sri Lanka following the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1981.

The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) will ink an agreement with Alibaba's travel arm Fliggy to bring 1,000 travellers weekly to the country in order to expand its growing tourism sector, Tourism Minister John Amaratunga said on Tuesday.

Amaratunga said after obtaining the necessary approval, his ministry will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Alibaba next week, Xinhua news agency reported.

Supreme Global Holdings Limited, the local company that has tied up with Alibaba, will work closely with SLTPB on the project implementation, which is expected to result in a positive large-scale impact on Sri Lanka's tourism.

Further, Supreme Global also intends to promote Alipay actively in Sri Lanka upon receiving the necessary clearances thus taking Sri Lanka Tourism to new heights, especially among Chinese tourists, Amaratunga said.

The minister expressed confidence that Sri Lanka would comfortably achieve the 2.5 million target set for this year, while noting that the country could achieve 3.5 million arrivals in 2019 provided the global tourism outlook remains favourable.

Over 1.3 million tourists arrived in Sri Lanka in the first seven months of 2018, recording a 13.7 per cent growth compared with the same period of last year.

The Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act and the Apartment Ownership (Special Provisions) Act was signed by Speaker Karu Jayasuriya at the Speaker’s Office yesterday (15).

The Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act was passed in Parliament with amendments on the 09th of August.

The Government has decided to appoint a Special Salaries Commission to make necessary recommendations to increase the salaries of the entire public sector and to remove salary anomalies that were reported in certain public sector institutions inclusive of the Ceylon Railways Department (CGR).

"Cabinet of Ministers gave its approval to appoint a Special Salaries Commission on a recommendation made by the Minister of Finance and Media Mangala Samaraweera today", the Ministry of Finance and Media said in a statement.

The Salaries Commission will pay its attention and make an in-depth study on the provisions of the existing circulars dealing with payment of salaries and other allowances paid to public sector employees and will make its recommendations to the government within the next two months.

The Government, based on the recommendations of the Salaries Commission will introduce a new salary structure to increase the salaries of the entire public servants and to remove the reported salary anomalies that exist in certain government institutions including the CGR.

Nearly 600 families resettled on newly released land in the North and East of Sri Lanka will benefit from £1 million from the UK Government to support the provision of basic infrastructure and services.

Helping families return to their villages is a crucial element of Sri Lanka addressing the legacy of civil war and is a key part of the joint strategy agreed by the UN and the Government of Sri Lanka to support long-term post-conflict peacebuilding in Sri Lanka.

The funding will help those returning to their homes in the Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and Batticaloa districts by contributing towards roads, wells and sanitary services, and help re-establish access to local government services as well as local civil society organisations.

It will also help families rebuild their lives by supporting livelihood development through training on small business management, and provision of essential fishing and agricultural equipment.

Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific Mark Field said that helping some of the families resettle in districts from which they had been displaced is a very important step.

“It is symbolic of the steady progress made after decades of conflict. There remains a lot to do, but I am proud of the UK’s support to the rebuilding process. We will continue to encourage the Sri Lankan Government to make progress delivering their Human Rights Council commitments, and I hope that the UK’s Sri Lankan diaspora will also play their part in encouraging that progress,” he said.

The Minister said that the UK currently supports stability in Sri Lanka through projects designed to build reconciliation and the rule of law; including, police and defence reform, demining, interfaith mediation and anti-bribery and corruption, among other issues.

The funding is being provided through the UK’s Conflict Security and Stability Fund (CSSF), increasing the UK’s contribution through the CSSF for Sri Lanka to £7.9 million between 2016 and 2019.

The funding is part of the UK’s contribution to Sri Lanka’s Peacebuilding Priority Plan; a joint strategy agreed by the UN and the Government of Sri Lanka to support long term post-conflict peacebuilding in Sri Lanka. (Colombo Gazette)

Statistics from the Department of Motor Traffic show that vehicle registrations have increased since 2015 despite a slew of taxes introduced  by the government to curtail the vast number of vehicles that have flooded the already congested roads creating a multitude of socio-economic problems for the country.

According to the data, in 2014, 38,780 new cars were registered while 105,628 (2015), 45,172 (2016) and 39,142 (2017) cars have been registered.

Registration of motor cycles have increased drastically since 2015 as only 272,885 motor cycles were registered in 2014 while 370,889 were registered in 2015. In 2016 and 2017, 340,129 and 344,380 motor cycles were registered respectively.



Sri Lanka brought in a raft of measures from higher interest rates and loan-to-value ratios in a bid to reduce the number of three-wheelers in the country which have been largely held responsible for an increasing number of accidents. Three-wheeler registrations have dropped sharply as over 79,000 three-wheelers were registered in 2014 while only 23,537 three-wheelers were registered in 2017.

At the same time, the government has launched many initiatives such as introducing  Sri Lanka’s  first ever tourist friendly three-wheeler service recently where over 750 Tuk Tuk drivers were trained by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) under its tourist-friendly training programs in several districts.


Registration of new vehicles



Source: http://www.transport.gov.lk/web/index.php/en/statistics/department-of-motor-traffic.html

However, analysts point out that the current pace of yearly vehicle registrations is unsustainable for Sri Lanka which is a country grappling with a limited road network whilst being a net importer of oil. 

They also said that claims made by various parties intimating that the current government made it impossible to own a car due to the imposition of taxes are simply untrue as evident by the increasing number of vehicle registrations.

The Government has decided to appoint a Special Salaries Commission to make necessary recommendations to increase the salaries of the entire public sector staff and to remove the salary anomalies in public sector institutions, including the Railways Department.
 
The Cabinet of Ministers has granted its approval to appoint the Salaries Commission, on a recommendation made by the Minister of Finance Mangala Samaraweera.
 
The salaries commission will conduct an in-depth study on the provisions of the existing circulars dealing with payment of salaries and other allowances paid to public sector employees and will make its recommendations to the government within the next two months, the Finance Minister said.

The United States announced today it would grant Sri Lanka USD 39 million to boost maritime security as China develops its strategic hold on the Indian Ocean island. 

The State Department will provide the funds as "foreign military financing", pending congressional approval, the US embassy in Colombo said. 

"We look forward to discussing with the government of Sri Lanka how this contribution can support our Bay of Bengal initiative and Sri Lanka's humanitarian assistance anddisaster response priorities," it said. 

It comes as China, the world's second-largest economy, increases investment in ports and other building projects in Sri Lanka -- a key link in its ambitious "Belt and Road" infrastructure initiative. Last week, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka announced it had secured a USD 1 billion Chinese loan as the island develops closer relations with Beijing. 

The US had stopped arms sales to Sri Lanka during the height of the island's Tamil separatist war that ended in 2009. The global power has also been highly critical of the human-rights record of the former government of strongman president Mahinda Rajapakse. Several senior military commanders from the Rajapakse regime have been denied visas to visit the US. 

The US funding for Sri Lanka is part of a USD 300 million package Washington is setting aside for South and Southeast Asia to ensure a "free, open, and rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region". 

China has vowed to keep providing financial help, including loans, to Sri Lanka despite warnings about the island nation's mounting debt. 
Sri Lanka last year granted a 99-year lease on a strategic port to Beijing over its inability to repay Chinese loans for the $1.4 billion project. 
The port in Hambantota straddles the world's busiest east-west shipping route and also gives a strategic foothold to China in a region long dominated by India. 

(AFP)

SLFP General Secretary Prof. Rohana Lakshman Piyadasa says he challenges the JO to submit their decision to act as independent MP’s in writing to the Speaker. With majority of the MP’s having been voted in after having contested under the SLFP banner he says the group cannot act independently in parliament. 
  
He also pointed out that there are no MP’s voted in under the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna banner  and they are only able to represent the party on permission given by the SLFP. 
 
Piyadasa also threatened that if they wish to leave the party voluntarily then the party will appoint new MP’s to the posts of those leaving.

Meanwhile the Joint Opposition has now decided to set up a committee to look into whether the MPs representing the party should act independently in Parliament. 

The decision was reportedly taken following a meeting with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa with the participation of JO parliamentarians and party leaders.  The committee will be headed by the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) and former minister Professor G.L. Peiris while it will also include the leaders of the parties in the Joint Opposition. 
 
The committee will decide whether the MPs representing the Joint Opposition will sit independently in the Parliament.  The MPs representing the Joint Opposition were elected to the Parliament after contesting under the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA). 
 
The Joint Opposition is not recognized as the main opposition party in the parliament as the UPFA is part of the unity government formed with the United National Party (UNP).
 
The Joint Opposition had recently requested for the Opposition Leader post to be given to MP Dinesh Gunawardena, but were unsuccessful as the Speaker decided against it.

Indian High Commissioner Taranjit Singh Sandhu noted that India has delivered on the promises made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his last visit to Sri Lanka in a timely manner while reiterating that India's development efforts in Sri Lanka was aimed at touching the lives of people, and making a genuine difference to their lives.

Attending the10th Annual General Meeting of the Indo-Lanka Chamber of Commerce & Industry held yesterday, the High Commissioner  underscored the launch of direct the flights between Colombo and Varanasi; the islandwide launch of the Emergency Ambulance Service 'Suvasariya'; and the handing over of the first lot of the 14000 houses for plantation workers in the upcountry as key milestones in the relationship between India and Sri Lanka in the last one year. 

High Commissioner quoted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s words, from his speech at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit held in Hyderabad in last November, wherein he mentioned about the traits of entrepreneurs: "power to think differently and ahead of the time for the betterment of mankind is what sets entrepreneurs apart.” He urged the industry leaders to look far and ahead.. 

President of the Indo- Lanka Chamber Vish Govindswamy in his speech spoke about that active engagement between the industries of the two countries marked by an increase in interaction between the Chambers of Commerce of the two countries and visits of business delegation. He enumerated the efforts made by the Indo-Lanka Chamber in helping the business grow between the two countries.