Oct 15 (CT) The Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB) earned over Rs 2 billion by the end of August 2021, a 74 per cent increase compared to the previous year. This was revealed at a progress review meeting held at the Ministry of Environment. Thus, money is generated through the granting of mining and transport permits, particularly for sand, gravel, and soil, as well as licenses for the export of mineral resources and geological studies undertaken by various external bodies. more..

Oct 15 (PTI) Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane on Friday witnessed the culmination of the military exercise between India and SL focusing on enhancing counter-terror cooperation and lauded the troops of both contingents for their high standards of training and professionalism. India and SL last week began a 12-day mega military exercise with a focus on enhancing counter-terror cooperation at the Combat Training School more..

Oct 15 (DM) Court of Appeal has issued notices on respondents including the Minister of Finance returnable for Feb 7 in connection with a writ petition has filed seeking an order quashing the award of supply of security stickers to an Indian security printing company by the Excise department. Court of Appeal two-Judge-bench comprising Justice Sobhitha Rajakaruna and Justice Dhammika Ganepola made this order consequent to a writ petition filed by Lasantha Kumara more..

Oct 15 (DM) There is an acute scarcity of kerosene cookers in the Pettah market due to the sudden and colossal price increase of cooking gas, the Pettah United National Association of Self-Employed Traders President Charles Pradeep said. He claimed that after raising the prices of domestic gas, a large stock of kerosene cookers have been sold in two days. "People come to the Pettah from various areas of the country to buy kerosene stoves. "The recent increase of the price of gas has burdened more..

Oct 15 (TM) A virtual meeting between National Boating Association of Maldives (NBAM) and the Representatives of the SL Boat and Ship Building Industry was recently hosted by the Foreign Ministry in collaboration of the Export Development Board of Sri Lanka. It was organized with a view to enhancing mutual cooperation in the field of ship and boatbuilding industry between Sri Lanka and the Maldives. more..

Oct 16 (DM) In most countries including SL, rural women are often not given their proper place or the opportunity to play a key role they are known to be capable of. Instead, prominence is given to city and urban women in a multitude of areas ranging from education, enterprising skills and entertainment. Often, sometimes unknowingly we refer to rural people as women and city or urban people as ladies. It is in this context that the United Nations yesterday marked the Int'l Day of Rural Women more..

Oct 16 (CT) In April this year, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa announced that Sri Lanka would completely ban the import and use of chemical fertiliser, stressing that �� lives are more important than high yield�. A few days later, on 27 April, Cabinet banned the import of 600 items, including chemical fertiliser, making Sri Lanka the first and only country to impose a blanket ban on chemical fertiliser overnight. The plan was to shift completely, to organic fertiliser. more..

Oct 16 (CT) President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Sunday (10) in Anuradhapura while acknowledging the existence of several shortcomings in his Government assured to bring a new Constitution, as he had promised, within the next year. �I will also establish a new electoral system as well,� he said. The President made these remarks at a ceremony held at the Gajaba Regiment Headquarters, Saliyapura in Anuradhapura, more..

Oct 16 (DM) Nearly two and a half years have elapsed since the Easter Day tragedy of 2019 with clouds of uncertainly still hovering over the nation and in particular, over the loved ones of all those who were massacred that fateful morning of brutal terror and those who are of their closest kith and kin such as a loving parent a brother or sister, a son or daughter who either were killed or those still languishing in pain and sorrow. One cannot forget those too who are forever maimed and more..

Oct 16 (ST) Two days of rain had ended and this Thursday morning was bright and sunny. As I sipped my first mug of tea, absorbing the sunshine and pondering on the topic of the day, I was drawn by a commotion at the gate where the trio had gathered round choon-paan karaya Aldoris�s tuk-tuk. Apparently, Aldoris had two packets of milk powder, a scarce item these days (Govt said on Wednesday that stocks of milk powder were being cleared from the Colombo Port after the CB released more..

Oct 16 (TM) In view of the upcoming Budget 2022, Verit� Research yesterday (14), during a webinar, proposed the SL Govt hold the value-added tax (VAT) rate between 8% and 10% next year, from the current rate of 8%. The think-tank stated that VAT is necessary to increase the revenue of the SL Govt, which has taken a hit due to reduced tax revenue in the face of the pandemic and the galore of tax concessions as the newly elected more..

Oct 16 (ST) On Oct 7 (Thursday), there was an unusual birthday party that I had to attend. It had been organised by Prof. Hal Hill of the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra, Australia together with his colleagues. It was an online birthday party which was attended by people from all around the world to celebrate the 70th birthday of Prof. Prema-Chandra Athukorala. It was also a surprise birthday party for him, because he was unaware of the event until the last minute. more..

Oct 16 (CT) Governor of the CB, Ajith Nivard Cabraal, presented on 1 Oct 2021 a six months roadmap for ensuring macroeconomic and financial system stability in 85 power point slides. He began with the premise that SL has been severely challenged in the past few years. He has identified 16 long- and short-term causes for this economic debacle. While the sluggish growth and struggling business, possible increasing of nonperforming loans, low level of foreign exchange reserves, more..

Oct 16 (GV) When Ajantha Ranaweera was ten years old, his brother who was in the army went missing in action. Several years later, he was declared dead. There were no remains. On that day in 1999, he and his family began the difficult journey of coming to terms with what had happened. That journey from despair to bliss is depicted through the paintings in Ajantha�s first solo exhibition at the Paradise Road Gallery Cafe. A chartered architect, designer and artist, Ajantha hopes that more..

Oct 16 (Island) Hardly a day passes without huge increases in commodity prices being reported. Prices are rising so rapidly without any discernible increase in economic activity that one wonders whether the country is being tipped into stagflation. The govt is behaving like an inebriated lifeguard who watches a drowning man flailing, instead of throwing a lifeline. Powerful businesses are having a field day, jacking up as they do prices according to their whims and fancies. more..

Oct 16 (FT) Ahead of the winter season, the airline industry said passenger loads to SL were seeing a sharp increase, with the majority being from Eastern and Central Europe. �We have noticed a sharp rise in forward bookings in the past few weeks. The passenger numbers are increasing significantly,� Board of Airline Representatives (BAR) President Dimuthu Tennakoon said. The industry believes the distribution of vaccines has led more..

Oct 16 (CT) Sri Lanka won by 42 runs against the visiting Bangladesh team, winner of the last Youth World Cup, in the first game at Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket stadium yesterday, to take a 1-0 lead in the series comprising 5 games. Sri Lanka won the toss and electing to bat scored 228 runs for 9 wickets in 50 overs. Right hander Pawan Pathiraja coming in at No.4 scored a valuable 67 runs in 87 balls with 5 boundaries. Sadisha Rajapaksha (28 in 58 balls with 3 boundaries) and more..

Oct 16 (CI) Lanka Premier League 2021 will begin on Dec 5 with the final set for Dec 23, SLC has confirmed. The first match, which will be held at the R Premadasa stadium in Colombo, will be between last year's finalists Galle Gladiators and the renamed Jaffna Kings, while the final will take place in Hambantota. "The first round of the tournament, which will consist of 20 games will be played at the RPICS, Colombo before it moves into MRICS, H'tota to proceed with final round games" more..

Oct 16 (ICC) There are few people better-placed to lead a SL team through the First Round at the ICC Men�s T20 World Cup than Mickey Arthur. Touted as a coach throughout his playing days, Arthur has always exhibited the virtues of the profession. Approachable, clear in communication, and meticulous in detail, Arthur�s emotions in the stands or in the dugout are there for everyone to see, as he lives the ups and downs of more..

Oct 16 (Island) Sri Lanka spin icon Muttiah Muralitharan stated there are no clear favourites for ICC Men�s T20 World Cup 2021 which starts from Sunday. The T20 World Cup will begin with the Round 1 Group B encounter between hosts Oman and Papua New Guinea on Sunday, with Scotland and Bangladesh, the other teams in Group B, clashing in the evening match. �The most exciting thing about the ICC Men�s T20 World Cup 2021 is that there are no clear favourites. more..

Oct 16 (CI) Chennai Super Kings made good on their promise to erase last season's aberration, as one comeback story trumped another in the IPL 2021 final: MS Dhoni and his team put an end to Kolkata Knight Riders' rollicking second half of the season as they picked up their fourth IPL title. No team, barring Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2016, has won the title after finishing outside the top two since the playoffs system was introduced in the IPL, and Knight Riders didn't come close to turning more..

Oct 16 (Island) The First Selection trial for the Asian Youth Athletics Championship 2022, scheduled for mid November, will be an ideal opportunity to weigh the impact the Covid 19 pandemic has dealt on schools sports. There had been no schools competitions for track and field athletes since March 2020 due to the Covid 19 pandemic. Only a very few coaches had continued training junior athletes amidst trying conditions due to lockdowns and other restrictions during the last two years. more..

Oct 16 (ST) SL needs to shift its public and private service towards the increased use of new technology in daily work backed by the proper training to create a skilled workforce. In this respect, Trainocate, a people-development company, is currently working with a number of private companies to train their staff and prepare them for their job roles and hope to engage with the govt sector as well in future, the company�s CEO for Emerging Markets, Middle East, more..

Oct 16 (TM) The Marine Environmental Protection Authority (MEPA) Academy and a volunteer coastal cleanup programme titled Sayura Rakina Rella were launched under the patronage of PM Mahinda Rajapaksa on Monday in an event organised by the MEPA. Volunteers at the event pledged that they would refrain from contributing to marine pollution and clean up whatever trash they come across on beaches more..

Oct 16 (ST) Students who earn points and certificates by taking part in the National Schools Sports Festival (NSSF) have been deprived of the facilities for the year 2020 and 2021 as organisers had to abandon the event on both years. Ministry of Education, who conducts the annual event, are aware of the situation faced by school athletes, but say that they have no alternative to help the students as the situation has been beyond their control. more..

Oct 16 (FT) New measures to boost bilateral travel between Sri Lanka and India came under review yesterday at the third meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG) dedicated to tourism. The virtual meeting was co-chaired by Ministry of Tourism Secretary S. Hettiarachchi from the Sri Lankan side and Ministry of Tourism Joint Secretary � Tourism Rakesh Kumar Verma from the Indian side. Given the importance of tourism cooperation between the two sides, High Commissioner of India more..

Oct 16 (Island) Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa has told Minister of Energy Udaya Gammanpila that the Treasury is not in a position to assist the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC). However, there would not be a fuel price hike in the short term, the Minister of Energy said. Minister Gammanpila said that if a fuel hike was on the cards, he would announce it publicly. �This is what I did last time also. more..

Oct 16 (FT) Justice Minister Ali Sabry yesterday declared that the Port City Colombo was the most anticipated multi-faceted development project and it would serve as a first step in creating a compelling value proposition for Sri Lanka. He made this observation after his first tour of Port City and inspecting the latest developments yesterday. Port City Colombo is the largest and most ambitious development project ever undertaken in Sri Lanka with an initial investment of $ 1.4 billion. more..

Oct 16 (DM) Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa claimed that he would not be bullied into selecting players to fulfil personal satisfactions and arrogance following the Daily Mirror article on Friday titled �SLR Made to look like Puppets.� The article discussed how several top players in the form of Srinath Sooriyabandara, Jason Dissanayake, Kavindu Perera and Danush Dayan could miss out on representing Sri Lanka in the upcoming Asia Rugby Seven Series. �I know these players and more..

Oct 16 (Island) JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake says a comprehensive multi-agency investigation is required to get to the bottom of what he called the massive Gin Nilwala scam perpetrated in 2012 and 2015. In spite of disclosures in that regard, both in and outside Parliament, over a period of time, absolutely nothing had been done so far, lawmaker Dissanayake said. The govt owed an explanation why over more..

Oct 16 (DM) Commercial Bank of Ceylon has become the first bank in Sri Lanka to link the Import and Export Control Department (IECD) to a digital platform with LankaPay, enabling customers to pay their licence fees to the department conveniently, without having to leave their desks. Online real-time payments to the IECD via ComBank Digital are now possible for the bank�s individual as well as business customers and can be accessed on www.combankdigital.com and its iOS and more..

Oct 16 (FT) The High Commission of Pakistan in Colombo, in collaboration with Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), this week organised a webinar on Opportunities and Challenges for Pakistan�s Buddhist Tourism in Sri Lanka. The objective of the webinar was to promote the Buddhist heritage of Pakistan in Sri Lanka and to provide a platform for the travel agents and key stakeholders on both sides to explore the potential of Pakistan�s Buddhist tourism in Sri Lanka. more..

Oct 16 (Island) Those holding high positions in the govt should reveal deal with the US firm New Fortress without further delay or the CEB unions would launch a work-to-rule campaign, Convener of the CEB unions Ranjan Jayalal said. He said that they had taken up the matter with the Chief Prelate of the Asgiriya Chapter and all other power bodies. �We are awaiting a reply and soon would decide the next course of action. more..

Oct 16 (AD) The officers of SL Customs today (15) thwarted an attempt to smuggle cocaine into the island. A Ugandan woman, who arrived in Sri Lanka from Doha via Qatar Airways, had been questioned by the customs officials on suspicion at the exit of the BIA in Katunayake. After subjecting her to security scanning, the customs officials found out that the woman in question is hiding narcotics in her abdomen. The 45-year-old then divulged that she is hiding 100 pills containing cocaine. more..

Oct 16 (FT) The Hospital Health Information Management System (HHIMS), initiated by ICT Agency of SL and the Ministry of Health, was launched at the Base Hospital Wathupitiwala on 12 Oct. Director General of Health Services Dr. Asela Gunawardena, ICTA Chairman Oshada Senanayake, Director Health Information Dr. Palitha Karunapema, Gampaha District Regional Director Health Services Dr. Nalin Ariyarathna, and Medical Superintendent Base Hospital Wathupitiwala more..

Oct 16 (FT) The Govt on Thursday announced the rollout of rapid development of communication infrastructure in rural areas. TRC Director-General Oshada Senanayake who is also ICT Agency Chairman said plans were afoot to start work to complete 100% broadband coverage in 10 districts before the end of this year under the Communication to the Village National Program and to provide broadband coverage islandwide more..

Oct 16 (DM) SJB Chairman Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka pledged to build up a giant political force to defeat the govt and called for people�s support for the same. Addressing the crowds at a protest held against the skyrocketing cost of living with the increase of essential goods, Fonseka said people should gather around a vibrant opposition force that would be formed if they want their day to day issues resolved. We will be building a giant political force and we ask the people to remain with us,� more..

Oct 16 (FT) Japan this week expressed willingness to promote SL�s 150-year-old global brand Ceylon Tea, as well as help the revival of tourism post-COVID. This was conveyed when Japanese Ambassador Akira Sugiyama called on Minister Dr. Ramesh Pathirana. Sugiyama said that Japan would extend all possible assistance to boost and promote the Ceylon Tea brand, noting that the brand was quite admired by the Japanese people. The Ambassador also extended support to more..