Chinese tech giant Huawei on Tuesday (Oct. 22) released HarmonyOS NEXT, its self-developed operating system built independent of Android architecture. The launch event, which attracted nearly 5,000 attendees in Shenzhen, where the company is based, marks another milestone for Huawei since Washington put it on the “Entity List” in 2019, barring it from doing business with U.S. firms including Google, which provides Android. The event marked the beginning of the official public testing phase of China’s first homegrown mobile operating system, representing a significant breakthrough in the country’s information technology industry. Previous versions of HarmonyOS still used some Android Open Source Project (AOSP) code in their system base, necessitating compatibility with certain Android applications. HarmonyOS NEXT, the self-developed fifth iteration of HarmonyOS, has achieved significant improvements in system fluency, performance, and security features, while also ensuring the independence of the homegrown operating system. The system has been installed on over one billion devices, said Yu Chengdong, Huawei’s executive director. “In fact, our development team has gone through the path that others have gone through for 20 or 30 years in just 10 years. The battery life, security and privacy protection functions of the phone are very strong. The applications’ version is being developed iteratively everyday, and the update schedule is very, very fast. I estimate another two or three months may be enough time for our whole ecosystem to mature,” Yu said. Over 15,000 native HarmonyOS applications and meta-services have been launched, covering 18 industries, with general office applications serving more than 38 million enterprises nationwide. HarmonyOS NEXT has reduced the difficulty and cost of adopting the new system, improved fluency by 30 percent, and many applications are being updated with new versions every day. HarmonyOS is an open-source operating system designed for various devices and scenarios, including intelligent screens, tablets, wearables and cars. It was first launched in August 2019 and has replaced Apple’s iOS to become the second-largest mobile operating system on the Chinese market after Google’s Android.
The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) has warned to prosecute importers and retailers selling salt without proper labels, including missing manufacturer/importer info and retail price.
The public is advised not to buy such products, while distributors have urged to maintain valid invoices with supplier details or face legal consequences.
The National Book Traders Association says that the price of printed books has increased by 20% due to the imposition of Value Added Tax (VAT) and Nation Building Tax (NBT).
Sri Lanka Book Publishers’ Association President – Mr. Samantha Indeewara, made this statement while speaking at the annual anniversary event of the National Book Traders Association.
“The price of a book has increased by 20%, or about one-fifth. Officials are confusing the issue. Previously, there was a 15% VAT imposed on many items but there was no VAT on printed books. That’s what directly changed from 0% to 18%. Stationery previously had only 3% VAT. They are mixing up these two categories.”
“Around a week ago, there was a letter from the Presidential Secretariat stating that they are conducting an analysis regarding VAT and will subsequently provide an answer,” he added. Meanwhile, Mr. Gamini Moragoda, patron of the National Book Traders Association, also expressed his views to the media on the matter:
“A VAT that is not levied in any other country in the world is being imposed on our books. The introduction of this tax from Jan. 2024, which didn’t exist in Sri Lanka for 75 years, is destroying the book industry. If this continues, a child will not be able to afford a single book in the future,” he pointed out.
Despite the 06 months since the agreement was signed for the $3.7 billion Sinopec oil refinery in Hambantota, the project remains stalled due to unresolved disputes over local market access, reports reveal.
The project, signed during President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s state visit to Beijing in Jan. 2025, was touted as Sri Lanka’s largest-ever foreign direct investment (FDI) project.
It involves China’s state-owned petroleum giant Sinopec constructing a state-of-the-art refinery with a capacity of 200,000 barrels per day in Hambantota.
According to the media release issued by the President’s Media Division on the occasion of the signing in Jan. 2025, a substantial portion of the refinery’s output was planned for export, further enhancing the nation’s foreign exchange earnings.
“This major investment from China is expected to bolster Sri Lanka’s economic growth while uplifting the livelihoods of low-income communities in the Hambantota area. Moreover, the benefits of this project are anticipated to positively impact the overall Sri Lankan population in the near future,” the PMD release further noted.
According to ‘Daily Mirror’, the project has hit a snag over the government imposing a 20% cap on the company’s local sales, despite Sinopec’s demand for unrestricted access to Sri Lanka’s domestic fuel market.
A senior Energy Ministry official, on the condition of anonymity, has confirmed that no agreement has been reached on the market share issue, though discussions are underway to resolve the matter, the report adds.
