Moody’s Investors Service yesterday (19) announced that it has placed the Government of Sri Lanka’s foreign currency long-term issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings of Caa1 under review for downgrade. In September last year, Moody’s downgraded Sri Lanka’s foreign currency long-term issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings to Caa1 from B2, after placing it under review in April 2020. It noted that the decision to place the ratings under review for downgrade is driven by Moody’s assessment that Sri Lanka’s increasingly fragile external liquidity position raises the risk of default. Sri Lanka’s foreign currency country ceiling has been lowered to Caa1 from B3, while the local currency country ceiling remains unchanged at B1. Meanwhile, Moody’s expects the coverage by foreign exchange reserves of external repayments to continue falling from already low levels.

FernandoIt is sad to hear that Angelo Mathews had decided to take a break from national duties. Should the long-serving Sri Lanka batting all-rounder retire from Tests in his present age of 34? Angelo Mathews / SL / 83 / 2012 to 2017Mathews celebrates dismissing Pakistan’s Misbah-ul-Haq during a Test match at SSC on 22 July 2009, in Mathews’ debut Test series for Sri Lanka. He was 22 years of age thenIt was sad to hear that Angelo Mathews had decided to take a break from national duties. Mathews has represented Sri Lanka in 90 Tests, 218 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and 78 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is).

BY Pamodi WaravitaThe Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) has requested Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Commander Air Marshal Sudarshana Pathirana to submit a report to the HRCSL by today (20) as to why HRCSL officers were not allowed to inspect the Mullaitivu Quarantine Centre (QC) on 13 July. However, the officers at the quarantine centre had not assisted Kanagaraj with the details required for the initial investigation. Although HRCSL Commissioner Dr. Nimal Karunasiri had informed the SLAF Commander about this incident, following which HRCSL officers had visited the Mullaitivu QC on 13 July again, the officers had been denied entry for the second time as well. “Not providing the due assistance to HRCSL investigations is a form of disrespect to the HRCSL and its officers,” the letter has noted. Section 11 of the HRCSL Act No.

Social protection includes social assistance (welfare programmes for the poorest), social insurance (for unemployment, disability, illness, and old age), and programmes to enhance opportunities to help people find better jobs. At the heart of these efforts is the development of a national social protection strategy. Sri Lanka’s social protection programmes have been introduced sporadically. “In Sri Lanka, social protection spending has not had a big impact on reducing poverty. A coherent strategy aimed at delivering a long-term vision for social protection for all Sri Lankans could benefit and improve the lives of millions.

BY Pamodi WaravitaThe Malayaha Organisation for Democracy (MOD) yesterday (19) had a wide-ranging discussion about the issue of child labour in the plantations sector and the role of brokers in this regard, following the death of a 16-year-old girl who was allegedly working as a maid at MP Rishad Bathiudeen’s residence. Speaking to The Morning, Movement for Plantation People’s Land Rights (MPPLR) Convenor and Plantation Workers’ Wage Rights Movement (PWWRM) Co-ordinator S.T. “We have to understand that some of these families have no choice other than to send their children to work. The girl was from Dayagama and was allegedly working as a maid in the house of MP Bathiudeen in the Bauddhaloka Mawatha area in the Borella Police Division. She was admitted to the National Hospital of Sri Lanka on 3 July with burn injuries and died on 15 July.

Unfortunately, being an island, we are at risk from the rising water levels and other issues caused by climate change. A bigger issueSo what is the extent of the threat posed to Sri Lanka by climate change? Adding that Sri Lanka has mentioned what it can do to reduce climate change at the local level under the NDCs, Prakash opined that being a small country, Sri Lanka is not a major contributor to climate change, including global warming. People’s health, the agriculture sector, developmental activities, and even basic services such as transport services, are also facing difficulties due to climate change and factors contributing to climate change. We usually fail to identify climate refugees or even the fact that they are forced to migrate because of the indirect impacts of climate change.

TL;DR A bombshell report from The Guardian alleges that governments around the world could be misusing a popular type of spy software. It does this to ensure the spy software is only used to apprehend criminals and terrorists. Instead, it creates the spy software and then sells it. What does this leaked spy software list mean? It is very unlikely a user would know the spy software is on their device.

BY Buddhika SamaraweeraThe main Parliamentary Opposition the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) has pointed out that an impartial investigation should be carried out into the recent incident where several glass enclosures containing Catholic statues in Mannar were damaged. Meanwhile, Dr. Jayawardhana had also recently visited the sites of the damaged enclosures. “About six such enclosures were damaged, including two in two Catholic churches. The Police should conduct a fair investigation and confirm with evidence that the person currently under arrest is actually a mentally ill person. Also, the authorities should not just give up the matter claiming that the suspect is mentally ill,” he added.

BY Buddhika SamaraweeraThe Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) appointed to identify appropriate reforms to election laws and the electoral system, and recommend necessary amendments to such, has received proposals from 21 recognised political parties, and said proposals will be taken up at the forthcoming PSC sessions. The deadline for the submission of views and proposals to the PSC ended on 15 July. Ali Sabry, the State Minister Jeevan Thondaman, and Parliamentarians Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Kabir Hashim, Ranjith Maddumabandara, Mano Ganesan, M.A. The next Committee meeting is scheduled to convene on 28 July in the Parliament. Attempts to contact Gunawardena and several other PSC members to inquire as to how these proposals would be dealt with proved futile.

We have been paying special attention to the conduct of the Police when women are engaged in protests. Speaking further, Dr. Amarasuriya claimed that there were reports of the harassment of women in certain Police stations, adding that it was a very serious situation. Women or children go there hoping for safety. Meanwhile, when contacted by The Morning to inquire about the allegations made by Dr. Amarasuriya, Public Security Ministry Secretary Maj. Gen. “If the number of people who attend protests is reduced as a result of that, that is good,” he noted.

There has been far less trickle down from the urban economy to the rural, and that’s obvious. But the rural voter has seen his ups and downs and is less likely to abandon the Government they voted into power because of what they know as the impact of a contagious disease. It’s too early days, then, to say that the rural vote base has been completely alienated from the Government. Any voter, rural or urban, could be put off by the GR Government’s elementary misreading of these realities. There is in fact no need to talk about the rural voter in particular, in this context.

July 19, 2021 10:06 pmThe Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry reports that another 484 persons have tested positive for COVID-19 in Sri Lanka, moving the daily total of new cases to 1,464. This brings the total number of confirmed cases of coronavirus reported in the country to 286,419. As many as 261,848 recoveries and 3,827 deaths have been confirmed in Sri Lanka since the outbreak of the pandemic. The Epidemiology Unit’s data showed that 20,792 active cases are currently under medical care.

As a matter of fact, Sri Lanka is going through a time when it needs peace and prosperity more than ever before. Sri Lanka ended a 30-year war against a separatist militant group in 2009, over a decade ago. The type of unity Sri Lanka needs cannot be established by leaders that follow Mandela’s path; people too have a responsibility. It is a responsibility that extends beyond merely wishing to elect leaders like Mandela; it is a responsibility peace-loving people too need to take. Perhaps, unity among the people is what Sri Lanka needs in order to create leaders like Mandela who prefer a unified nation over a divided one.

The former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned that most unvaccinated Americans will contract the Indian 'Delta' Covid variant and it will be the 'most serious virus of their lives'. 'And for most people who get this Delta variant, it's going to be the most serious virus that they get in their lifetime in terms of the risk of putting them in the hospital.' The surge has been blamed on the spread of the Delta variant in states with low vaccination rates such as Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Missouri. Gottlieb added that most businesses and organizations are not doing regular or routine screenings, so many mild illnesses are going undetected. On Sunday, Los Angeles County became the first to scrap its reopening and require masks again as the Delta variant, first identified in India in December, spreads throughout the United States.

“Finetech is very proud to team up with Zoom to bring in new technologies to Sri Lanka and Maldives. Over the years we have built up a solid reputation of being a trusted partner to many global technological giants like Google not just for Sri Lanka but also other countries in the region. Working with another renowned company like Zoom is a testament to our capabilities and vision to put Sri Lanka on the regional digital map,” said Clehan Pulle Co-Founder and CEO of FCPL. FCPL will now provide technical assistance for Zoom users in Sri Lanka and Zoom’s solutions excluding only Zoom Phone can be purchased through FCPL. FCPL has been in the information technology spectrum for more than a decade and has branched out operations to Bangladesh and Maldives, with headquarters in Sri Lanka.