Dec 17 (FT) South Asia is home to 9 of the world�s 10 cities with the worst air pollution, which causes an estimated 2 million premature deaths across the region each year and incurs significant economic costs. A new World Bank report shows that there are economically feasible, cost-effective solutions to achieve clean air in the region, but this requires countries to coordinate policies and investments. Striving for Clean Air: Air Pollution and Public Health in South Asia, released today, more..

Dec 17 (Island) Well, the woman scorned in this case is a woman facing debarment and was even rudely commented on by colleagues. If you guessed it was State Minister Diana Gamage, you earn full marks. I was shocked by the vehemence of, and revenge inherent, in her statement in Parliament which I heard on TV news and was quoted in the Sunday Island of Dec 11: �If I go down, you go down with me.� She threatened that all SJB MPs too would lose their seats. She called the SJB and more..

Dec 17 (TM) President Ranil Wickremesinghe recently emphasised that all political parties should come to a common agreement to provide a solution to the ethnic problem by the upcoming 75th Independence Celebration. Prez Wickremesinghe reiterated this at the All-Party Conference held at the Prez Secretariat on Tuesday. Prez convened this conference with the aim of finding a solution more..

Dec 17 (FT) Chinese Embassy Deputy Chief Hu Wei paid a visit to the Eastern Province from 8 to 10 Dec, to follow up the distribution of China�s recent donation to the island in various ways, including 10.6 million litres of diesel to farmers and fishermen, 9,000 metric tons of rice to students from underprivileged families and 100 sets of solar street lights donated by China�s Yunnan Province to 38 schools across the Eastern Province. On 8 Dec, Hu Wei met with Eastern Province Governor more..

Dec 17 (FT) Saturday (10), was a day to be remembered in the annals of the Church of South India, Jaffna Diocese. The names of two candidates in the Revds. David S. Solomon and Veluppillai Pathmathayalan, both Presbyters of the Diocese, elected at a specially convened Diocesan Council held on Saturday, 24 Oct, at Otley Hall, Jaffna College, Vaddukoddai, were sent to the CSI Synod for choosing one of them to be fifth bishop. Having completed the procedure, more..

Dec 17 (CT) As corruption is seen as a reason behind the current fuel and financial crises, it is unclear why the Ministry of Power and Energy that invited bids from prospective coal suppliers, for the 900MW Lakvijaya Coal Fired Power Plant at Norochcholai, which came to a close on 1 Dec, has failed to pick a supplier as yet. It is suspected that the delay is aimed at offering coal supply to the highest bidder, more..

Dec 17 (Island) Ruling SLPP has indicated that it was ready to consider contesting the next election, under a new symbol. Having obtained the Election Commission recognition in 2016, SLPP won the 2018 Local Govt polls, the 2019 Presidential, and the 2020 General Election, under its own symbol Pohottuwa (Lotus bud). Chief Govt Whip, Prasanna Ranatunga, on Thursday, said that the SLPP would contest the next election, under a new alliance, & their symbol would be decided later. more..

Dec 17 (FT) Today, most enterprises seek to adopt modern solutions across their IT ecosystem to spur innovation, drive progress and accelerate digital transformation. SLT-Mobitel Enterprise has deep expertise and end-to-end capabilities to help organisations navigate complex IT challenges and drive business outcomes. The next-generation data centre and cloud solutions of SLT-Mobitel Enterprise help enterprise customers address evolving needs, ensuring businesses are competitive, more..

Dec 17 (CI) Tom Kohler-Cadmore, the English batter, has withdrawn from the Jaffna Kings line-up at the Lanka Premier League after reportedly feeling discomfort, believed to have stemmed from a concussion he had suffered earlier this year. Bangladesh batter Afif Hossain has been drafted in as his replacement. Kohler-Cadmore played in Kings' first game of the tournament, but following a diving catch during the game, he had reported some dizziness. more..

Dec 17 (EN) Sri Lanka�s army has decided to vacate posts of over 16,000 military personnel on a budget proposed by President Ranil Wickremesinghe as the island nation struggling to reduce govt spending ahead of an IMF deal. President WIckremesinghe last month proposed to give voluntary early retirement for military personnel in order to reduce the spending on military and train retired military personnel for other skills aiming to use the human resources for the country�s economy. more..

Dec 17 (DM) While denying any involvement with organ trafficking or the smuggling of organs, the Western Infirmary Hospital has filed a writ petition in Court of Appeal challenging the Health Ministry's decision to temporarily suspend organ transplantation surgeries at the hospital. Founder and Chairman of Western Infirmary Hospital Prof. Rezvi Sheriff and Western Infirmary Hospital filed this petition seeking an order more..

Dec 17 (ANI) Former SL cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya, one of the most destructive batters of his era, said that the Lanka Premier League (LPL) is helping the country build its T20I arsenal and the national side will have a bright future ahead thanks to this league. Jayasuriya had taken up a new role as the Brand Ambassador of the LPL 2022. Along with this, he is also a mentor for the Kandy Falcons franchise and is now looking to give something back to the game and helping nurture young talent. more..

Dec 17 (AD) India�s rupee trade settlement mechanism, a means of using rupees instead of dollars and other big currencies for int'l transactions, is attracting interest from more countries. Tajikistan, Cuba, Luxembourg and Sudan have begun talking to India about using the mechanism, according to two sources and an official document reviewed by Reuters. It has already been used by Russia following the imposition of sanctions on Moscow over the Ukraine war. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) set up the mechanism in July. more..

Dec 17 (Island) Chairman of the National Authority on Tobacco & Alcohol, Prof. Samadhi Rajapaksa said that the Tobacco Taxation Formula (TTF) developed by NATA in collaboration with the WHO in 2021 and was shelved by the then Minister of Finance must be implemented. He said that the price of Tobacco has to be increased according to a scientifically explainable transparent formula and not determined by law makers whenever they please. He reiterated that the TTF is the single most more..

Dec 17 (Island) The SLPP and UNP had not yet come to an agreement about contesting together in the coming elections, UNP General Secretary Palitha Range Bandara said. Recently SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam said that the SLPP was mulling over forming an alliance with the UNP. �However, there is no such formal agreement yet. We are ready to work with anyone to develop the country. That has been the position of the President from the beginning,� more..

Dec 17 (TM) A silent protest was staged outside the Police HQ in Colombo yesterday (15) against the forceful seizure of vehicles by leasing companies from individuals who have defaulted on the relevant payments, as well as the alleged involvement of the Police in the task and IGP Chandana D. Wickramaratne�s silence over the matter. Speaking to the media during the protest, Joint Association of Leasing & Debt more..

Dec 17 (AD) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe instructed the officials to take immediate steps to develop the Ella tourist area according to a grand comprehensive plan. He also informed the officials to prepare the relevant development plan within 4 months together with the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Urban Development and the Ministry of Environment and submit it to him. These instructions were given during the discussion held with the Ella Businessmen�s Association today (Dec 16). more..

Dec 17 (DM) The Colombo Chief Magistrate's Court issued an order preventing former English cricket commentator Brian Thomas from leaving the country in connection with investigations into the murder of Chairman of Janashakti Insurance Company Chairman Dinesh Schaffter. Colombo Additional Magistrate Harshana Kekunawala imposed travel restrictions in respect of two passports belonging to Brian Thomas pursuant to a request made by Borella Police. more..

Dec 17 (Island) The SJB recently alleged that the Lotus Tower has been leased to a Singaporean company, affiliated with former Governor of the CB, Arjuna Mahendran, accused of perpetrating Treasury bond scams in Feb. 2015 and March 2016. The accusation was made by Badulla District lawmaker, Chaminda Wijesiri, in Parliament, during a question and answer session. Responding to the former UNPer�s allegation, more..

Dec 18 (FT) A recent book on leadership coins the phrase multipliers about those leaders who get more out of others, make people around them smarter, enable great performance from them, and evoke greatness (or at least excellence) from their teams. By contrast, diminishers are suggested to be leaders who suck life out of others, who block, stifle, inhibit, demonise, paralyse and diminish collective and individual potential. What makes the concept so fascinating is that more..

Dec 18 (FT) Once upon a time there was a tiny island far far away from the rest of the civilised world. It was a beautiful fertile green country with eye-catching mountains, meandering rivers and picturesque valleys. It was also known as the Land of Blind. There, many were suffering from partial blindness due to hereditary, ethnic, racial, religious, political, and caste effects. It was said that international health experts concluded that it was a rare form of Glaucoma, causing them to more..

Dec 18 (TM) A cost-reflective tariff system alone is not sufficient to effectively address the current power crisis and the country must simultaneously focus on other areas, especially renewable energy, asserted MP John Seneviratne, a former Power & Energy Minister. A large number of renewable energy projects that had been envisaged had not been commissioned due to lethargic attitudes and various obstacles being placed more..

Dec 18 (CT) The parliamentary Prez would seem to have been in his elements at the All Party Conference last Tuesday, going by photographs doing the rounds after the conference. Sharing the podium with the President were his new amigos. To his left were PM Dinesh Gunawardena and Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, and on his right were former Prez/PM Mahinda Rajapaksa and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa. The symbolism of consensus making at the outset, howsoever more..

Dec 18 (ST) Self-proclaimed Arahant monk, Samanthabadra, who is heavily bent on organic farming, has issued a 50 million buck challenge to anyone who proves that he has a stockpile of chemical fertiliser stored at his farm. The fresh challenge was made in a video released this week, after social media alleged that bags of urea had been discovered at his Umangdawa, the expansive farming complex he owns in Kurunegala. With his much vaunted boasts on his YouTube more..

Dec 18 (ST) Buddhist and Pali University�s administration office has decided to close the university from Dec 19 until further notice due to reports of serious incidents of ragging and indiscipline among a section of the students. A statement issued by the Ven. Neluwe Sumanawansa Thera details a series of incidents where student monks and lay students had engaged in serious acts of indiscipline. more..

Dec 18 (ST) An estimated ten billion rupees is to be spent on elections to local govt councils around the country. This hue and cry for elections has very little to do with the efficient management of local councils that provide street lighting, maintain byroads and collect citizens� garbage. It is all to do with power politics. While it is hard to argue against the holding of elections to these grassroots bodies because indefinite postponements of such elections pave the way for autocratic, centralised govt, more..

Dec 18 (TM) For nearly a month now, the sporting world has been firmly fixated on the tiny Middle Eastern state of Qatar, even as the world�s most popular sporting event reaches a crescendo with the FIFA World Cup final slated to kick off in Doha tonight (18). Aside from what takes place on the field this Sunday evening, Qatar as the host nation will surely be crowned as the ultimate winner through what has been described as the best organised World Cup ever � no mean feat for a nation more..

Dec 18 (SO) SL cricket legend Aravinda de Silva said fear of failure and losing should be eradicated from the minds of children and youngsters be allowed to express themselves freely to showcase their talents to achieve great heights in any sphere of life. �I believe that should be the attitude of all senior individuals who are responsible to guide our future generation of not only cricketers but sportsmen,� said Aravinda making the keynote address as the chief guest at the Observer more..

Dec 18 (TM) At a special press briefing organised by the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs on Friday, Minister Roshan Ranasinghe elaborated on several changes put in place through an extraordinary gazette dated 14 Dec 2022. Since the appointment of National Sports Council Chairman Arjuna Ranatunga, Minister Ranasinghe has been focusing on sports administration, hoping to eradicate corruption in the system. So far, his decisions have been challenged by several sports bodies. more..

Dec 18 (Island) Excise Commissioner General MJ Gunasiri says that there is no other industry which can match the magnitude of frauds and corruption as the liquor industry. �There are reasons for that. For example, the actual cost of a bottle of liquor priced at Rs 2,500 is around Rs 600-700. The balance is taxes payable to the govt. Imagine the profit of a liquor producer if he could sell his product for the present market price more..

Dec 18 (Island) An English morning newspaper last week editorialized on a very well known fact: that motorists, often under the influence of liquor, driving top end vehicles at breakneck speed causing death and destruction, too often get off very lightly. It urged that the culprits should not be easily let off the hook with a one-off compensation payment but should be required to support the victim�s wife and children as long as needed. We heartily endorse this suggestion but wonder whether it is a practical possibility. more..

Dec 18 (TM) With the Local Govt Elections a near certainty in 2023, new political alignments are being fast-tracked by all concerned parties. The rejuvenated Pohottuwa with Basil at the helm is working overtime at Nelum Mawatha to pull back its rural supporters who were alienated by GR�s reckless decisions, particularly about fertiliser use and other agricultural inputs. Thanks to those decisions, we had the lowest paddy yields for Maha in decades. Paddy purchases were chaotic more..

Dec 18 (TM) Cabinet-appointed committee on power sector reforms has recommended that the business of the CEB Generation Division should be financially unbundled and taken over by separate corporate entities. In the report submitted by the committee last month, the committee has recommended that the separation be both asset-based corporate entity per generational unit and capacity-based, best calculated to achieve the key objective of appropriate market competition and ensure more..

Dec 18 (SO) Beleaguered Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) president Rizly Illyas hit out at his detractors accusing them of triggering moves to oust him from the top job while claiming he is still the head of the sport�s controlling body after he sought legal redress following Minister Roshan Ranasinghe�s directive to the SLR to suspend him from his functions. On Friday lawyers for Illyas argued in the Appeal Court that Minister Ranasinghe had no powers vested in him to suspend or remove an elected official more..

Dec 18 (AD) Statements have been recorded from a total of 23 people with regard to the murder of Director of Janashakthi Group Business Dinesh Schaffter, SSP Nihal Thalduwa said speaking on the progress of the investigations into the incident. Borella Police and the CID are jointly conducting probes. Schaffter�s wife, family members and former English cricket commentator Brian Thomas are also among more..