Jan 3 (EN) PM�s office has rejected speculation that PM Mahinda Rajapaka�s resignation is imminent. �There is no truth whatsoever to the stories appearing on both mainstream and social media yesterday and today that PM Mahinda Rajapaksa is going to step down,� PM�s Media Secretary Rohan Weliwita said in a statement on Monday. �I vehemently reject such fabrications that mislead the public,� he added. There has been heightened interest in PM Rajapaksa�s movements more..

Jan 3 (CT) Minister Nimal Lanza, said the Chairman of Litro Gas should resign if he is unable to distribute domestic LP gas to the people and that he will request Prez Rajapaksa to remove him if he does not resign. He said despite the announcement that domestic gas will be delivered at a lower price in December, people were still waiting in queues for their turn to buy a cylinder of gas. �Chairmen of institutions should not make a mockery of their positions. People are queuing up since more..

Jan 3 (Island) Human Rights Commission (HRC) has issued specific instructions to police headquarters as regards those already in custody under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and new arrests. The heads of the CID, TID and the Police Legal Division have been advised to brief the HRC immediately on the change of status of PTA suspects, as well as new arrests. Authoritative sources said that more..

Jan 3 (DM) SL born young scientist Dr. Gayani Senevirathne, who has excelled in the fields of Zoology and Molecular Biology brought pride to the country, since her latest research on finding an answer to a human abnormality had gained attention in the US. Dr. Senevirathne�s doctorate work discovered a gene in frog development that could be used to answer an abnormality that we can see in the axial column of human babies before birth. This work gained attention in US and more..

Jan 3 (TM) Ceylon Teachers� Union (CTU) has warned that if the Govt�s decision to recruit more than 4,700 principals without holding a competitive examination is not reversed within two weeks, they will go to the Supreme Court (SC) against the relevant authorities. CTU President Priyantha Fernando said the Govt�s decision to recruit around 4,750 principals in defiance of the recruitment procedure mentioned in the relevant service minute was a serious injustice to the teachers who more..

Jan 3 (EN) Sri Lankans who received the Russia-made Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine can get two doses of US-made Pfizer-BioNTech jab on request if they wish to go abroad, as the Russian vaccine is not yet approved by the WHO. More than 155,000 Lankans, mainly from the central district of Kandy, have received two doses of Sputnik V. SL�s health authorities were compelled to use the Russian jab, despite its not being approved more..

Jan 3 (DM) The number of people who are visually impaired in the country is high when compared to other countries in the region, CECOA said. CECOA founder Naresh Pradhan said they conducted investigations in 2013 and 2015 and disclosed that 1.1% of the people were found to be visually impaired. "0.47% blindness is recorded in India and 0.34% in Nepal. However, it is higher in SL. Most people who visit eye clinics have lost up to 80% of their vision. more..

Jan 3 (TM) The controversial Chinese fertiliser shipment case has been settled based on certain conditions proposed by Cabinet Ministers that would have to be adhered to. High level sources associated with the matter said that the case was not exactly dismissed, but a settlement which was proposed has now been taken into consideration. �The matter has not been dismissed. It is more of a settlement that was made based on 4 conditions, which would amicably settle the issue. more..

Jan 3 (DM) In a major twist of events, Minister Basil Rajapaksa who returned back to the country from US on Jan 1st morning, is internally campaigning to be appointed as the PM in the coming months, replacing his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa whilst also calling for an urgent cabinet reshuffle. Basil who took over as the Finance Minister recently, has been urging for a change in some ministries with a cabinet reshuffle more..

Jan 3 (EN) A 57-year-old Sri Lankan man who had gone swimming in the sea off the Dehiwala railway station drowned after being attacked by a crocodile Monday afternoon. Police said the incident took place around 12.15pm and the victim, a resident of nearby Ratmalana, was admitted to the Kalubowila hospital after the attack. Deputy Director of the Kalubowila Hospital Dr Rukshan Bellana said that the victim had already succumbed to his injuries by the time he was admitted. more..

Jan 3 (Island) Former Governor Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon says that the ailing national economy cannot be saved by printing money. Civil society activist Tennakoon quoting official figures claimed that Rs. 6.65 bn had been printed on Dec 31, 2021, just 48 hours after the CB claimed official reserves reached USD 3.1 bn. One-time executive director of polls monitoring outfit Caffe, he said that the current dispensation had quite conveniently ignored the real challenges experienced by national economy. more..

Jan 3 (TM) With 2021 seeing four different officials occupy the position of Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Minister of Agriculture Mahindananda Aluthgamage has accused certain advisors to the Agriculture Ministry of having created the environment for these officials to resign. Speaking during a meeting with Agriculture Ministry officials last Friday, he stated that several secretaries who had been appointed to Agriculture Ministry more..

Jan 3 (CT) Approximately 15,000 Court proceedings involving gratuity and EPF payments have been backlogged in Magistrate�s Courts over three years. These cases were filed by the Labour Dept. According to Commissioner General of Labour, these Court cases are piling up due to congestion at the Magistrate Courts, as well as the extended time period for hearing dates. He said many people are dissatisfied and some hearing dates can take up to 11 months to schedule. more..

Jan 3 (TM) SJB MP Dr. Harsha de Silva said that Prez Rajapaksa is 100% responsible for what he claimed was a food crisis prevailing in the country. He said: �Omicron or Delta or the pandemic is not responsible for this agriculture crisis. From the first day of the pandemic, farmers went to work. They did not stay at home because of the pandemic. This Govt, who said we know best and we did best, are responsible for this crisis. Prez is 100% responsible for the food crisis. more..

Jan 3 (CT) SL Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) has received over 4,000 complaints in 2021, from Sri Lankans working abroad, about a variety of issues, including harassment, Bureau� Additional General Manager Mangala Randeniya said. More than 90% of those that could be addressed were resolved. He also stated that 16 female migrant workers, who had experienced various degrees of harassment and more..

Jan 3 (EN) Railway trade union action in SL resulted in losses amounting to 25 million rupees over the last week of December as passengers rode free in the absence of ticket issuers at railway stations, an official said, though unionists claimed that the figure was much higher. Station Masters Union launched a strike from Dec 22 to 28 over 10 demands including coverage allowances and overtime compensation. With no one left to issue tickets, 5-day strike allowed passengers to enjoy virtually endless rides. more..

Jan 3 (DM) LAUGFS Holdings Chairman W.K.H. Wegapitiya said that information has reached him that LAUGFS gas cylinders are being assembled and turned blue and that the IGP has been informed in this regard. He said that although the chairman of LITRO was informed, he did not care about it. He said LAUGFS Gas has the infrastructure to distribute gas across the country and with the current dollar issue, provided the letters of credit (LCs) were opened properly, the country would be able more..

Jan 4 (CT) Milk tea has been Sri Lanka�s unofficial national drink since James Taylor introduced the cash crop to the island in 1852 and developed the now world famous Ceylon Tea with fellow Scotsman Thomas Lipton. Like many Asians, we Sri Lankans can enjoy a good cuppa anytime or anyplace. The smell of milk tea is a wakeup call; it gets us Sri Lankans out of bed first thing in the morning! A good cup of milk tea is also the welcoming conclusion to a hard day of work. more..

Jan 4 (DM) This may not be the way to begin a new year! However, even a token sense of optimism seems increasingly out of touch with the existential reality of the country. If there is any time in recent history that SL so knowingly and stubbornly walks along the path to oblivion, this is it.The ever-worsening economic crisis caused by the depleting foreign reserves against a mountain of outstanding foreign debt payment is by far the greatest worry. However, the continuous mismanagement of more..

Jan 4 (DM) Ms. Mateja Vodeb Ghosh has just taken office as the Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia for SL based in New Delhi. Daily Mirror spoke to the Ambassador just after she presented her credentials in Colombo. Q: Ambassador, with the EU completing its term as President of the EU this month, I would like to look back at that role and ask you what were the significant achievements of Slovenia as more..

Jan 4 (GV) Environmental conservation in Sri Lanka is as challenging as the economy of the country. Environmental degradation is fully supported and carried out with the blessings of corrupt politicians. This has been the case since the British left SL with a forest cover of close to 50%. Thereafter, we began the destruction that goes on at an alarming rate today in many forms be it deforestation of rainforests and mangroves, mining of sand, metal and gems, water pollution, air pollution, more..

Jan 4 (CT) A leading daily newspaper has quoted leaders in charge of the governance of Sri Lanka�s financial stability having purportedly stated on different occasions that; * If Sri Lanka goes for an IMF bailout, the country has to sign a Letter of Intent agreeing to all the conditions which are not viable options at this juncture and these will include: * float the SL Rupee; which will result in the Rupee depreciating to around Rs. 240 to the US Dollar and import costs going up more..

Jan 4 (IE) Last week, Sri Lanka�s Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila announced that the Indian Oil Subsidiary Lanka IOC would be given 49% stake in the joint development of the Trincomalee Oil Tank farm, with Ceylon Petroleum Corporation keeping 51%. The CPC has formed a special purpose company, Trinco Petroleum Terminals Ltd, and it is expected to get Cabinet approval this week. more..

Jan 4 (TM) From the beginning, the Govt�s plan to make proof of vaccination mandatory when accessing public places, which was to come into effect on 1 Jan 2022, seemed to have no proper plan, even though it was based on sound reasoning � namely, to encourage vaccination and boost inoculation rates. Initially, the Govt announced that this regulation would come into effect in September of last year. However, it was postponed to 1 January, and now it has been postponed again. more..

Jan 4 (Island) Litro and Laugfs have adduced new regulations governing their production processes to explain the prevailing cooking gas shortage. They would have us believe that they cannot maintain their production at the previous levels because they have to fill and distribute gas cylinders in conformity with the new standards set by the Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI) and judicial guidelines. Laugfs Chairman W.K.H. Wegapitiya has been quoted by the media as saying that more..

Jan 4 (DM) Impunity and unaccountability seem to have become norm of governance in Sri Lanka. When decisions taken by Politicians and high ranking officials go wrong negatively affect millions of people they are just forgotten, without holding anybody responsible or accountable. Sometimes decisions that lead to major frauds are also either justified or merely ignored as if nothing happened. Even criminals are being discharged or court cases are withdrawn merely on technical grounds. more..

Jan 4 (Island) SL has a whopping 527 state-owned enterprises1 (SOEs). The 55 SOEs classified as strategically important alone employ 10% of the public sector workforce2, or about 1.9% of all workers. Such a large number of SOEs are not the norm globally3; many other countries (such as India) have been reducing their stakes in SOEs and, in some cases (e.g. Air India), have been privatizing them entirely. SOEs � particularly many in SL � tend to be grossly inefficient, loss making, and more..

Jan 4 (ST) For any athlete, his or her ultimate destination would be the pinnacle of sporting stage � The Olympics. Yupun Abeykoon popularly known as � Yupun Abeykoon � it was no different. Having started schooling in Pannala National school, and later enrolled at St. Joseph�s Vaz, Wennappuwa, it is here, his association with athletics had started in 2004, then, ten. Nearly a decade since at a school�s meet, he won more..

Jan 4 (ST) Eager to continue his own code of conduct where there are no special friends and all are treated in equal terms, when it comes to sports, Suresh Subramaniam succeeded another term in office as the President of the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka (NOC) with the majority backing his work ethics. With the NOC elections now done and dusted, against an opposition in the form of Major General (retired) Palitha Fernando, the current president of Sri Lanka Athletics, more..

Jan 4 (ST) In an earlier time in the history of our cherished country when politics was clean and fresh as the morning dew and so were politicians, there was a ditty that was invariably sung whenever the somewhat inebriated gathered round a piano and the more inebriated round the bottles. Unlike today when one law is for the many and no law for a few, that was a time when any excuse was good enough for a party and no excuse is even better for a celebration. more..

Jan 4 (ST) As 2022 dawned yesterday, the cooking gas crisis was a damper on celebrations with many households not being able to cook even the traditional kiribath for the festive table. In the past few weeks, people standing in winding queues stretching over a kilometre to buy gas has been a common sight. Long queues were seen also at fuel sheds to buy kerosene. Some were looking for firewood. more..

Jan 4 (Island) Weightlifter Chanthana Vidanage said that he was working hard to accomplish a difficult task of winning a medal when he takes part in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games. The 40-year-old who inspired youth to take up weightlifting with his gold medal victory at the 2006 Commonwealth Games will be competing in his sixth games in Birmingham this year. �I will attempt to win a medal there. That is my goal. There will be a tough competition but I am determined and more..

Jan 4 (CT) Navindu Lakman (DS Senanayake College) and Yeheni Kuruppu (Vishaka College) were crowned Junior National players of the year 2021, after their performances in the final at the 32nd Ritzbury Junior National Squash Championship held on Sunday. Navindu beat M.I.F. Asmone (also from DSS) to win the Boys� U-19 national championship, while Yeheni beat Chanithma Sinaly (Sirimavo BV) to bag the girls� championship. more..

Jan 4 (ST) The CEB is holding talks with state banks to help the CPC to obtain dollars required to buy fuel for the CEB�s thermal power plants. CEB General Manager M.R. Ranatunga said that CEB could play a facilitator role to enable the dollar transfer from state banks to the CPC. To run the thermal plants, the CEB needs fuel by the first week of February and to buy this stock USD 30 million is needed, he said, adding that talks have been held with the Bank of Ceylon (BOC) and the People�s Bank. more..

Jan 4 (Island) Bank of Ceylon Chairman Kanchana Ratwatte expects that growth will rebound in 2022 with three primary elements as drivers of the economy, moving forward. According to his predictions, SL should see notable rebound in earnings from tourism, SME sector businesses and foreign remittances. Speaking at an event held at its Head Office In Colombo yesterday with a multi-religious ceremony to invoke blessings on the staff of the bank, all its customers and more..

Jan 4 (Island) The govt lifted the ban on agro-chemical imports, well over a month ago, but the country is yet to receive much-needed fertiliser supplies. President�s Office on Nov. 22 announced the ending of the ban on agro-chemicals imports introduced on April 22, 2021. However, SJB MP Rohini Kaviratne claims that though Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage assured the Parliament agro chemicals would be imported, more..

Jan 4 (DN) SL Netball Federation (SLNF) already started preparations for Asian Netball Championship said President of the SLNF Ranjani Jayakody. The Netball Chief further said their talent search program on Provincial basis is highly successful and already these programs concluded at Central, North Western, Southern, North Central, Western and North Provinces and Sabaragamuwa and Uva Province programs to be held shortly. All programs were conducted within two weeks more..