Nov 23 (AD) CFA Society SL rang the Opening Bell to commence trading at the CSE Monday to celebrate its 20-year anniversary. The event was followed by launch of the Commemorative Cover and Stamp, as a part of a series of initiatives conducted by the society to celebrate this significant milestone Special market opening ceremonies are organized by the CSE as a platform for listed companies to celebrate corporate milestones and as a call to action for causes and developments more..

Nov 23 (FT) In a fresh move aimed at addressing stock shortages and price hikes, the Govt has called for Expressions of Interest (EOIs) from investors keen on constructing and operating new paddy mills. The initiative is a result of the Cabinet decision taken in August to build five rice mills in the Kurunegala, Anuradhapura, Batticaloa, Hambantota and Ampara districts under a public-private partnership (PPP) and distribute more..

Nov 23 (DM) SL govt will aim to consolidate large taxpayers, as 80% of tax revenue is generated by 20% of taxpayers, Secretary to the President, Dr. P.B. Jayasudnera said in Colombo recently. Speaking at the Colombo Development Symposium (CDS) on Nov 15, Dr. Jayasundara said that taxation should focus on the banking sector rather than the real economy. He added that steps would also be taken to acquire non-collected tax revenue amounting to 1.5% of GDP. more..

Nov 23 (DM) Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and SJB General Secretary Ranjith Maddumabandara through their lawyers have informed Supreme Court that objections will be filed against the expulsion petition filed by Parliamentarian Diana Gamage. Diana Gamage had filed a petition before the Supreme Court challenging the SJB for expelling her party membership. When the petition was called before Supreme Court three-judge-bench comprising more..

Nov 24 (GV) About a decade ago, a statement by a medical doctor in the United States made overnight headlines. He was a popular television personality too. When he learned about the presence of arsenic in commercially available apple juice, he warned the public through his television show that they were better off squeezing their own juice rather than buying the readymade. The truth, however, is that the juice inherits arsenic from fresh apples. This is because apples naturally contain more..

Nov 24 (DM) A glorious day passed without much funfair. Two years ago on Nov 16, 6.9 million SL voters elected as their executive president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the wartime defence secretary cum the presidential brother. Younger Gotabaya Rajapaksa was anointed as the candidate of the newly formed SLPP by the elder brother Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was deprived of the chance to run for a third term - or even fourth or fifth like the peers in Africa and Russia & now in China - by 19th amendment. more..

Nov 24 (DM) Govt of SL issuing a gazette on September 2 announced that a maximum retail price for rice would be imposed to regulate the increasing price of rice. The gazette was issued on the orders of CAA Chairman Maj. Gen. Shantha Dissanayake under Section 20(5) of the CAA Act No 09 of 2003 imposing a price of 125 rupees for a kilo of Keeri Samba, 103 rupees for red and white Samba, 98 rupees for white and red Nadu more..

Nov 24 (CT) Even though verbal abuse is not something rare in the House, hurling sexist remarks to verbally abuse a woman MP in the Opposition by a ruling party legislator is not something that an ordinary civilised person of this country would expect to witness and in fact affects the decorum of the august assembly. The recent statement made by SLPP MP Tissa Kuttiarachchi during his budget debate speech criticising the statements previously made by MP Rohini Kaviratne in her absence more..

Nov 24 (DM) The United States� most respected and greatest President Abraham Lincoln - the man who freed his country from the curse of slavery has also pointed out that slavery is founded on the selfishness of the people�s nature and opposition to it is based on the people�s love of justice. Mahatma Gandhi has said that to end slavery, we need to overcome the physical and mental inertia of the people and broaden their intelligence and creative faculty. American abolitionist Harriet Tubman more..

Nov 24 (TM) The Cabinet approved the Bill to amend laws to ban cattle slaughter in the third week of October. While this is a contentious policy measure, it did not come as a surprise as the PM proposed the same policy just over a year ago in Sept of 2020. From the outset, it may seem that the policy is well-intended. Alleviating animal suffering is a noble cause that many Sri Lankans would identify with. more..

Nov 24 (CT) Sajith and the SJB (S/S) made a correct judgement call. The proposition they put to the test was: The unpopularity of the govt has peaked; it is the right moment to start mobilisation. The outcome was a success. The turnout on Galle Face Green (Brown?) was large despite efforts by the police to block attendance; the crowd was angry and mirrored the mood in the country at large; and rumours are afloat that Mahinda is sending feelers about a coalition between a Mahinda-Faction more..

Nov 24 (CT) The 3-month remembrance of the late Minister Mangala Samaraweera falls today. The former Minister had made an impact as a radical and a revolutionary politician in the local political firmament during his chequered political career. Southern Province had produced politicians of note to this country from generation to generation. Among such politicians produced by that part of the country was Mangala Samaraweera. The demise of the former Minister was felt by most people here more..

Nov 24 (Island) Two SL academics, in an article published in today�s Midweek Review section, discuss the vexed issue of brain drain affecting this country. They have identified the causative factors and suggested some ways and means of breaking the back of the problem. Their arguments are tenable and worth consideration. We, however, do not labour under the delusion that the government politicians and their lackeys in key positions in the state service will care to read and more..

Nov 24 (FT) Having shared a deep-rooted strong political, cultural and economic relationship for decades, SL and Pakistan private sectors yesterday stepped up efforts to boost business and investment opportunities. Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) of Pakistan inked a number of MoUs between the Chamber of Commerce of SL (CCC) and Federation of Industry and Commerce of SL (FCCISL) and few individual firms, to enhance trade ties between the two countries. more..

Nov 24 (Island) SL Signals Corps athlete Sachini Kaushalya improved her own SL national record with a leap of 3.60 metres to win the women�s pole vault title as records continued to fall on day two of the SL Army Athletics Championships at the Sugathadasa Stadium on Tuesday. Kaushalya broke her own record of 3.57 metres which she established at last month�s second leg of the National Championships. In the corresponding men�s event more..

Nov 24 (ST) One of the glaring omissions in last week�s budget presentation was the absence of a clear and much-awaited statement on SL�s foreign currency crisis and debt management, two vital segments in the country�s economy at present. While everything hinges on the shortage of dollars which has resulted in queues � fuel, kerosene, sugar and cooking gas � and the 50-day closure of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) Refinery at Sapugaskanda near Colombo, clear signals more..

Nov 24 (CT) SL�s premier connectivity provider, Dialog Axiata PLC, has come forth to power the 2021 edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) as the official Telecommunication Partner of the tournament. The organisers, IPG Group, released the LPL song EkwaJayagamu sung by a stellar line-up of artistes at the launch. LPL is set to feature the best in talent from across the world, and also acts as a proving ground for domestic budding cricketers, providing them with the chance to display more..

Nov 24 (TM) The number of dengue cases are on the rise, with the ongoing rainy season nurturing breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Over 24,160 dengue cases have been reported so far for this year. With the high population density, the Western Province acts as a dengue hub in the country, while cases are also being reported in almost all districts. Generally, dengue has a seasonal transmission in Sri Lanka with more..

Nov 24 (FT) Bank of Ceylon (BOC) has raised Rs. 5 billion via a private placement of Basel III Compliant, Rated, Unlisted, Unsecured, Subordinated, Redeemable Debenture issue with Non-Viability Write Down features. The amount to be raised was Rs. 5 billion with an option to issue up to a further Rs. 3 billion at the discretion of the bank. This issue was approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission of SL and Central Bank of SL. Bank General Manager K.E.D. Sumanasiri said more..

Nov 24 (FT) The latest debenture issue of the National Development Bank (NDB) had drawn demand worth over Rs. 9 billion. NDB issued six million BASEL III compliant, Tier 2 listed, rated, unsecured, subordinated, redeemable debentures of Rs. 100 each with a non-viability conversion with an option to issue a further 20 million more at the discretion of the Bank in the event of an oversubscription of the initial issue. The Issue was structured in two types of debentures, more..

Nov 24 (FT) The Colombo stock market gathered more momentum yesterday with both indices gaining by over 1% on the back of healthy turnover, whilst LOLC shot to fame yet again. The All Share Price Index (ASPI) gained by 1%, or over 111 points, and the S&PSL20 improved by 1.56% or over 57 points. LOLC saw 1.1 million of its shares change hands via 2,814 trades for Rs. 921 million. It closed at Rs. 894.25, up by Rs. 126.25 or 16.4%. It touched an intra-day high of Rs. 917 & a low of Rs. 770. more..

Nov 24 (DN) Chess Federation of SL ( CFSL) is expected to conduct SL National �B� and Women's National �B� Chess Championships 2021 which is scheduled to be held from Nov 27-28 and Dec 3-5 at Public Library, Colombo under the health guidelines. IMs, FMs/WIMs, WFMs and players having more than 1700 ratings, girls with more than 1400 ratings are directly qualified to the respective event. In addition all players played in SL National �B� Chess C'ships in 2020 are also eligible for the event. more..

Nov 24 (FT) The Govt has called for public views to complete the first draft of the National Tourism Policy blueprint, as part of its ongoing efforts to develop a more resilient sector. Sri Lanka Tourism seeks to springboard from recovery to become a more agile and resilient sector. Over the past one year, Tourism Ministry has taken many steps to formulate a National Tourism Policy for SL and it has now come to the final stage of more..

Nov 24 (FT) The first enterprise software firm to list, hSenid Business Solutions, is looking for its next growth wave globally and locally via the Rs. 692 million worth Initial Public Offering (IPO) subscription to which opened yesterday. hSenid Business Solutions (HBS) is offering 55.4 million ordinary non-voting shares (20% stake) to the public at a price of Rs. 12.50 per share. The official opening of the IPO is 3 Dec. The company said funds raised via the IPO are to be channelled toward more..

Nov 24 (DM) In an effort to strengthen the weak social safety network, Labour Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva has announced plans to introduce a new mandatory insurance scheme for migrant workers, with a maximum converge of US $ 15,000. �We are going to introduce a mandatory insurance scheme for migrant workers in the event of disease, accident and in the event of loss of employment to pay up to US $ 15,000,� De Silva announced at National Occupational Safety & Health Conference more..

Nov 24 (TM) UNP Leader and former PM Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday (23) claimed in Parliament that Sri Lanka will be engaging in Article IV discussions with the IMF in December, and called on the Govt to disclose to Parliament the specifics of what will be discussed with the IMF. IMF Article IV discussions are bilateral discussions generally carried out annually between an IMF team of economists & govts of member countries, more..

Nov 24 (CT) Let's take our memories back to the 2020 Women�s T20 World Cup. A perfect farewell for a legend! Siriwardena retires on a high; Lankan ladies get a consolation win, quoting few headlines when the Lankan ladies thrashed the Bangladesh Women�s team in their final outing of the 2020 T20 World Cup. It was indeed a special match for a special player, a lady of sheer class and calibre. It wa s on 2 March 2020, after representing the country for 17 years, more..

Nov 24 (TM) Advocata Institute is to launch a public policy discussion today on building consensus on economic reforms to emerge from the present economic crisis that SL is encountering. The institute is dedicated to finding policy solutions to key challenges holding back SL�s road to development. The discussion would discuss in detail policies and strategies that would enable SL to build consensus on a programme of economic reforms that can drive SL towards recovery & economic prosperity. more..

Nov 24 (FT) Over 700 COVID-19 cases were added to the country�s total detections following verification and health officials state that 740 persons tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday. SL�s COVID-19 detections have thus risen to 558,860. 759 COVID-19 cases detected between 5 and 11 Nov were added to the total after verification. The COVID-19 patients detected yesterday were from the New Year cluster and, the previous day, 735 persons from New Year cluster tested positive for COVID-19. more..

Nov 24 (Island) SJB MP Lakshman Kiriella demanded in Parliament that former SIS head Senior DIG Nilantha Jayawardena be named an accused in respect of the Easter Sunday terror attacks. Participating in the third reading debate on the budget, SJB MP said that SDIG Jayawardena, who had allegedly failed to prevent the terror attacks and now was a state witness, should be indicted as an accused and prosecuted. �The court has that power to name him an accused. more..

Nov 24 (CT) Consul General of India in Jaffna, Raakesh Jayabhaskaran, formally launched the Karthikai Vaasam flower garden in Nallur Kittu Park, Jaffna on 20 Nov by wearing a Niyangala flower (karthigaipoo), which was used as the LTTE�s official flower. The Tamil National Green Organisation (TNGO) staged a floral garden called Karthikai Vaasam, where Niyangala flowers were pinned on participants, more..

Nov 24 (FT) COVID-19 vaccines were administered to 71,204 persons on Monday and 74.01% of the country�s population has received at least one vaccine dose to date. Our World in Data states that 63.76% of the population has received both doses. Both vaccine doses have been administered to 93.8% of the country�s over-20 population. 15,914,780 persons have received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 13,716,871 persons have received both doses. more..

Nov 24 (MFA) Ambassador of Italy to SL Rita Manella met Foreign Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris on Monday (22) at the Foreign Ministry. The discussion focused on issues of mutual interest including political relations; further consolidation of bilateral trade, investment and tourism ties; SL � EU cooperation; and the exchange of visits. Italian Ambassador also referred to the promotion of cultural cooperation between SL and Italy ina range of spheres including architecture, more..

Nov 24 (Island) The CID probing allegations against Secretary to the President, Dr. P.B. Jayasundera, as regards the opening of a new account at the Town Hall Branch of the People�s Bank under the name United Farmers Trust Limited (UFTL) on Oct.18 for the payment of nano-urea ordered from the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), has questioned Secretary to State Ministry of Agriculture more..

Nov 24 (DM) Following the resumption of school activities in all grades at various stages, a significant number of students, teachers, and non-academic staff reported contracting the COVID-19 virus on a daily basis, CTU Chief Secretary Mahinda Jayasinghe said. In a letter addressed to the Education Minister, the CTU said the number of COVID positive cases reportedly is increasing daily. In a situation where the instruction given by the health authorities are not followed since more..

Nov 24 (DN) The second stage of the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) expansion project increasing the airport�s passenger handling capacity to 15 million annually will be launched by PM Mahinda Rajapaksa tomorrow (25). The BIA expansion project will be constructed in two parts, Package A and Package B funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and is the second largest development project currently implemnted in Sri Lanka. more..