Dec 31 (TM) Kanchana Wijesekera, our current Minister of Power and Energy, is a young and energetic politician who President Ranil Wickremesinghe brought into his new Cabinet of Ministers. He hails from the South, and his father, Mahinda Wijesekera, is associated with opposing political parties from time to time, contradicting his own political ideologies. Mahinda Wijesekera started his politics with Leftist political parties, and later allied with Wickremesinghe. more..

Dec 31 (Island) Department of Motor Traffic (DMT) has announced that the much-delayed demerit point system will be introduced next year, and those who accumulate more than a specified number of penalty points will be disqualified from driving, and they will have to apply for driving licences anew. This is something long overdue. The penalty point system is already in use in other parts of the world and has proved quite effective in reducing motor traffic offences. more..

Dec 31 (FT) Stock broking firm CT CLSA Securities is forecasting a severe economic contraction in the fourth quarter and for the full year of 2022. �Given the uncertainty in the nation�s economic situation, we have revised the economic growth forecast to -9.3% YoY for 2022E (from -8.7% YoY previously) and -2.1% YoY for 2023E (from -3.1% previously),� CT CLSA said. Its revision was following the 11.8% contraction of economy more..

Dec 31 (ST) Govt is embarking on a massive countrywide paddy cultivation drive with a firm decision to take over 100,000 acres of barren paddy lands for five years commencing from the New Year 2023. Agriculture Ministry will implement this initiative of agriculture modernisation for food security on the directions of Prez Wickremesinghe, Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said. The ADB will grant Rs. 8 billion to be distributed among the 1.2 million farmer families and youths who more..

Dec 31 (Island) Having improved the national record of the women�s 800 metres twice this year Gayanthika Abeyratne was easily the country�s top performer in the women�s category in track and field sports in 2022. While 100 metres remained the most closely contested track discipline in the women�s category, steeplechaser Nilani Ratnayake, long jumper Sarangi Silva and schoolgirl Tharushi Karunaratne made their presence felt to a great extent during the year. more..

Dec31 (DN) St. Joseph Vaz, Wennappuwa and Ave Maria Convent, Negombo emerged Best Junior Boys' and Girls' champions at the Ritzbury Sir John Tarbet Athletic Junior Championship concluded at Diyagama yesterday. Joseph Vaz athletes recorded the highest points of 64 while Maris Stella, Negombo (50 points) and St. Sebastian's College, Moratuwa (46 points) were placed second and third in the boys' section. Meanwhile, Ave Maria Convent, Negombo obtained 68 points to take more..

Dec31 (ST) Vavuniya High Court, in response to a Habeas Corpus petition, has ordered Sri Lanka Army (SLA) to produce a person who was handed over to armed forces in Mullaithivu by his family members during the final stage of the country�s separatist war thirteen years ago. In his December 16 order, Judge Ramanathan Kannan noted that the court had reasons to believe that the disappeared person was in the custody and control of SL armed forces after a witness testifying on behalf more..

Dec 31 (FT) General Secretary of the SJB Ranjith Madduma Bandara says the party has been inundated with applications requesting for nominations to contest under the party�s banner at the upcoming Local Govt elections. Yesterday the party conducted interviews of candidates for the second day at the party head office in Pitakotte. Madduma Bandara said the party has made all necessary preparations for the elections. more..

Dec 31 (Island) Softlogic Invest, Asset Management arm of the Softlogic Group, clinched the prestigious Bronze award at the recently-concluded Dragons of Asia Awards 2022. Held in Malaysia, the awards ceremony bestowed Softlogic Invest with the coveted award for their Born to an Investment campaign, making the company the only Investment brand in the whole of the APAC region to walk away with an award. This accomplishment also makes Sri Lanka�s first youth-focused, more..

Dec 31 (FT) State Minister Shehan Semasinghe said the Govt strongly believes that the approval of the Executive Board of the IMF for the $ 2.9 billion Extended Fund Facility program for SL will be received in the first quarter of 2023. He said that the $ 2.9 billion due to be received from the IMF cannot be considered as meagre aid as the EFF program builds trust in the country beyond its financial value. Minister said some parties are trying to talk down the value of the IMF�s $ 2.9 billion. more..

Dec 31 (TM) Investigations are presently being carried out pertaining to Russian tourists who are operating businesses in the island while on tourist visas, and strong action is to be taken against such tourists if found guilty of the same, SL Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) noted. A meeting regarding the issue will be held soon with associations for tourists, said SLTDA Chairman Priyantha Fernando. more..

Dec 31 (FT) Monetary Board of Central Bank of SL said as a measure to strengthen the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Sector under the Masterplan for Consolidation decided to direct Kanrich Finance Limited (KFL) to settle its public liabilities in full within the period from 26.12.2022 to 28.02.2023 in terms of Section 25(1) (m) of the Finance Business Act, No. 42 of 2011 (FBA), due to continuous capital deficiencies faced by KFL. The direction was issued in the best interest of depositors more..

Dec 31 (FT) A challenging year came to an end at the Colombo stock market yesterday with the indices posting gains in the final week and day of trading though losing 31% in 2022 despite achieving a 10-year high net foreign inflow of Rs. 30.6 billion. The market closed yesterday with the benchmark ASPI up 0.68% and the active S&P SL 20 by 0.36%. Turnover improved to Rs. 1.88 billion involving 239.3 million shares. For the week the ASPI gained 109.7 points (+1.3%) and S&P SL20 gained 0.5%. more..

Dec 31 (FT) In May, SL defaulted on its overseas debt. Amid political upheaval and human suffering, the Indian Ocean island is still awaiting a $ 2.9 billion rescue by the IMF. Lacking resources to buy even essentials like fuel, economy is falling into an ever-deepening abyss. Poverty rate has doubled in one year; output has cratered and inflation soared. A decade of welfare gains has been eroded. All of this raises a question: When did sovereign debt restructuring become so hard? more..

Dec 31 (EN) SL�s 12-month inflation in the capital Colombo ease to 57.2% in December 2022 from 61% in November as prices started to stabilize after interest rates were allowed to go up and the exchange rate was pegged around 360 to the US dollar. The widely watched Colombo Consumer Price Index fell absolutely 0.2% to 243.2 points in November after falling 0.5% in the November. Food prices fell 9.3% after falling 1.5% a month earlier. The sub-index containing gas fell 1.1%. more..

Dec 31 (FT) Women for Rights organisation aligned with the NPP party Secretary Samanmalee Gunasinghe claims that children�s education in SL will be completely destroyed during the new year due to the increase in taxes levied on the public. According to Gunasinghe, the number of school-going children is seeing a gradual decrease given the current situation while it has also led to an increase in children being subjected to more..

Dec 31 (FT) Commissioner General of Motor Traffic said the English letters that denote provinces on number plates will not be printed on the vehicle number plate of the vehicles that are registered after the 1 Jan 2023. Commissioner General told the media that new registrations and when amending the existing vehicle number plates, owners will be required to make an additional payment. Motor Traffic Dept has decided to change the vehicle registration application form. more..

Dec 31 (DM) SL should not go around the world with a begging bowl in 2023, but should establish a new structure to build up the nation, Archbishop of Colombo His Eminence Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith said. �We should work towards creating a new structure for the country to move ahead in the New year and we must stop going around the world with a begging bowl. If we don�t do it, the nation will be lost.� The Cardinal said. �Sri Lanka will be marking its 75th year since independence in 2023. more..

Dec 31 (EN) Sri Lanka�s egg price controls have deep generations of layer chicken, triggering a deep crisis and a collapse in production, an industry official said as a currency collapse after two years of money printing doubled overall food costs. Sri Lanka�s daily egg output is estimated to have dropped to about 4 million a day from the normal 7 million after farmers killed layer chicken for meat in the wake of price controls imposed by the Consumer Affairs Authority. more..

Dec 31 (Island) SLPP MP Mahindananda Aluthgamage said that in spite of him repeatedly raising the urgent need to regulate chartered accountants, as part of the overall measures to increase state revenue, nothing was being done.The former minister alleged that the Finance Ministry was turning a blind eye to a well-organized racket that deprived the cash-strapped govt much needed revenue. Lawmaker Aluthgamage said so in response to The Island queries. more..

Dec 31 (Island) PM Dinesh Gunawardena�s bid to seek explanation from those who hadn�t submitted annual reports of relevant state enterprises has gone awry. Addressing Parliament, on Oct 20, PM requested Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena either to issue instructions or directive or to summon heads of state enterprises who had neglected their responsibilities. PM wanted the Speaker to call them before more..

Dec 31 (TM) Election Commission (EC) is looking to purchase electoral or indelible ink (purple-coloured ink) from either India or South Korea after comparing the rates and the allocations made for Local Govt (LG) poll, Commissioner General of Elections Saman Sri Ratnayake said. He noted that an int'l quotation will be called for by the EC for this purpose. �Normally, we do not use our ink. We have to obtain permission from the Ministry of Defence before purchasing because it is a chemical. more..

Dec 31 (Island) Four in every 10 households in SL experienced a reduction in their incomes from June to Dec 2022, and one in every two households are currently relying on negative coping mechanisms to cope with the lack of food or money to buy it, a Food and Agriculture Organisation (FOA) report said. In its response overview for the period of June to Dec 2022, the United Nations agency said the window of opportunity to support SL farmers and their communities is narrowly time-bound. more..

Dec 31 (AD) The English letters indicating the province on vehicle number plates will be removed when registering a new vehicle and transferring the ownership of a vehicle. This will come into effect from Jan 1, 2023, Commissioner-General of Motor Traffic Nishantha Weerasingha said. The letters to identify provinces are added to the number plates when registering vehicles to minimize the inconveniences at vehicular emission tests more..