Mar 26 (Island) Public Utilities Commission (PUCSL) Chairman, Janaka Ratnayake yesterday said that the power crisis would worsen if the catchment areas did not receive rains soon. �Power can only be generated for 10 days with the available water in the reservoirs�, Ratnayake said, adding that the Kerawalapitiya power plant had stopped operating as furnace oil and diesel were not available. Currently nine million units of electricity are generated by hydro power plant. more..

Mar 26 (NR) Senior Lecturer of the Dept of Economics at the Uni of Colombo Dr. Indrajith Aponsu predicts an economic downturn if the proposals of the IMF are implemented as recommended. Dr. Indrajith Aponsu claimed that an economic climate similar to that of during the period between 2015 and 2019 will be created if the IMF policies are implemented. Dr. Aponsu is of the view that the main crisis escalated during the time period even though the country was able to obtain more..

Mar 26 (IANS) Proving the priority that India occupies in SL specially at a time when the country is facing one of its worst economic crisis, India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will visit SL on March 28 to 30. Visiting on the invitation of SL's Foreign Affairs Minister, G.L. Peiris, Jaishankar's visit follows Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa's visit to India early this month and last Dec & Minister Peiris' visit to India in Feb. more..

Mar 26 (DM) Indian govt has requested SL authorities to tackle the fisheries issue based on humanitarian approach. The request was made during the 5th meeting of India- SL Joint Working Group on fisheries took place yesterday (25) in a virtual format, Indian High Commission in Colombo said. Indian side asked the relevant SL authorities to exercise caution so as to prevent any casualties in the course of crackdowns on fishing boats and suggested using paramilitary to apprehend more..

Mar 26 (Island) India�s Naval Air Station INS Parundu has inducted two Indian-made Advanced Light helicopters of the Mk3 variant to boost surveillance, search and rescue capabilities along the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) between India and SL. Situated in the Ramanathapuram District of Tamil Nadu, the base is strategically placed near the Palk Strait, and the two choppers were accorded a water cannon salute, in the presence of civil and naval personnel. more..

Mar 26 (AD) Energy Minister Gamini Lokuge says the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (Ceypetco) does not intend to increase fuel prices at the moment. His comments came after Lanka IOC, the IndianOil�s subsidiary in Sri Lanka, increased the prices of all types of petrol for the fourth time this year. The rates went up by Rs. 49.00 with effect from midnight yesterday (March 25). Accordingly, the price of 92 Octane Petrol, which was previously at Rs. 254, now stands at Rs. 303 per litre. more..

Mar 26 (ST) An unprecedented increase in the price of cement, building materials and fittings in the past several months has halted many development projects, causing more than 600,000 job losses. Contractors claimed that the lack of building materials and the manipulation of prices by unscrupulous traders had brought projects to a halt. The industry employs about 1.2 million minor and white collar workers. Costs have risen by 75% to 100% as a result of the manipulation of raw more..

Mar 26 (CT) Prez Rajapaksa has agreed to take immediate action for four major requests which were submitted by the TNA, including releasing the prisoners who were arrested under the PTA, TNA Spokesman M.A. Sumanthiran said. TNA met the Prez on Friday at the Prez Secretariat. The meeting was scheduled to be held in July 2021, but was postponed to 25 March. Sumanthiran said they have discussed the political solutions more..

Mar 26 (Island) Prez Rajapaksa said on Thursday that the appointment of Ven. Makulewe Wimala Thera as the Mahanayake of the Ramanna Maha Nikaya was a blessing to the Sambuddha Sasana and to Buddhists worldwide. The President said so at a ceremony to mark the presentation of traditional Aktha Pathra to the Mahanayake Thera, signifying the latter�s elvation to the position of Mahanayake, at the Independence Hall, Colombo. The Prez presented the Sannas Pathra to more..

Mar 26 (EN) Public Utilities Commission of SL (PUCSL) has approved power cuts of 3 hours and 30 minutes for some areas in Sri Lanka and 2 hours for other areas for Sunday, PUCSL Chairman Janaka Ratnayake said as a worsening forex crisis continues to affect power generation during the dry season. Areas P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, and W will have a 2 hours of power cut from 3pm to 11pm. Areas A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, and L will have 2 hours and 15 min of power cuts from 8.30am to 5.30pm more..

Mar 26 (ST) Rasaiyah Pathmanathan had many plans for restarting a life in SL when one day he wanted to return after spending more than three decades in Puzal, a suburban town some 14 km from Chennai, TN. But the coronavirus pandemic spread in late 2019 and his return journey was postponed indefinitely. �We planned to return home in March, 2019, before the pandemic, but all of our plans had to be put on hold,� more..

Mar 26 (NR) Former Minister Udaya Gammanpila says they are definitely capable of ending the reign of the present administration. He noted that they also oppose individuals who attempt to capitalize on the country�s prevailing situation in order to further their extremist ideologies. When questioned by media over the statements made by the clergy that the TNA is a viable option if their policies are good while the 11 parties affiliated with the govt stating that TNA is only attempting to join the govt, more..

Mar 26 (CT) In response to the allegations of student-midwives, that they have been waiting for their turn for almost a year to be recruited to the service, Govt Midwifery Service Association stressed that the recruitment process for the midwifery profession was comprehensive and lengthy and cannot be expedited to satisfy the students� concerns. Although, the shortage of midwives in 2021 prompted the Cabinet to approve the recruitment of 3,000 prospective candidates more..

Mar 26 (CT) The Attorney General�s Dept on Friday (25), informed the Gampaha High Court that there will be no further hearing of evidence in connection with the case filed against Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa and Thirukumar Nadesan, who were accused of misappropriating public funds by purchasing a land from Dompe, Malwana, Mapitigama and constructing a house thereby. The AG�s stance was conveyed to Court by more..

Mar 26 (FT) Actress Elizabeth Hurley�s reminiscence via Instagram of her SL honeymoon with legendary cricketer late Shane Warne to reinforce her condolences has been liked by over 118,200 people globally. The post includes three pictures of her ex-fianc� Warne at their engagement in SL. In her post Hurley said her heart aches, as she is unable to attend her ex-fianc� Shane Warne�s funeral held last weekend. Australian cricket legend died aged 52 of a suspected heart attack while in more..

Mar 26 (ST) The CEB�s unpaid dues from customers including from State institutions and MPs, stood at a whopping Rs 38.76bn at the end of February this year, while it continues to rack up arrears and issue fresh bills amounting to millions of rupees. Bulk electricity consumers � general-purpose, industrial religious, Govt, domestic, hotel and institutions under the Lanka Electricity Company Pvt Ltd � alone owe the CEB Rs 18.078bn, data shared by the utility shows. more..

Mar 26 (NR) The opposition accuses the Minister of Finance of betraying the country for mere USD 1 billion. MP Ashok Abeysinghe claimed during a recent visit to India, Minister Basil Rajapaksa signed an agreement with India to hand over the control of the entire SL airspace in return for USD 1 billion. MP said the Cabinet of Ministers had not approved the said agreement before the Finance Minister�s departure. He said without receiving Cabinet approval, no agreement can be signed. more..

Mar 26 (ST) A very vulnerable group of people pushed further into oblivion � causing much concern among many healthcare staff. The very first National COVID-19 Positive Hospital for Psychiatric Patients set up in hilly Udagama, Atabage, 8 km from Gampola which opened its welcoming doors for patients on July 30, last year is now shut. Sunday Times on Aug 8, last year exclusively reported this boon for vulnerable patients in an article headlined Not forgetting the mentally handicapped more..

Mar 26 (GN) Sri Lanka faces solvency issues because of risks stemming from unsustainable debt levels that jeopardize the nation�s economy, according to International Monetary Fund staff. �Based on staff analysis, the fiscal consolidation necessary to bring debt down to safe levels would require excessive adjustment over the coming years, pointing to a clear solvency problem,� IMF said in its Article IV consultation report, more..

Mar 26 (Island) Executive Director of the newly formed Institute for Democratic Reforms and Electoral Studies (IRES) Manjula Gajanayake said that the Women�s Quota was at risk of being scrapped and might die a natural death as no political party had taken the women�s quota seriously. Gajanayake made these comments addressing a round table discussion organised by the SL office of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) on the Women�s Quota more..

Mar 26 (TM) Govts of the past have not followed the advice given by the IMF, thus the country has had to approach the IMF repeatedly, said State Minister of Urban Development, Waste Disposal and Community Cleanliness Nalaka Godahewa. �The reason as to why the previous Govts of Sri Lanka has always had to rely on the IMF and repeatedly approach the IMF for relief for over 16 times is because the Govts had never followed the exact advise given by the IMF. more..

Mar 27 (TM) A toxic cocktail of issues that are multiplying at a rate is pushing Sri Lanka and its 22 million inhabitants closer to the brink, while the elected Govt appears to have clearly run out of options and resigned itself to simply sit by and watch the unfolding chaos. This tragic state of affairs was being compounded by some clueless ministers in the Govt even as late as last week, still attempting to deny the existence of an economic crisis. All told, the unfolding economic tsunami has earned more..

Mar 27 (CT) One of the main objectives of the Central Bank is to maintain Financial System Stability. Without a stable financial system it will not be possible for the CBSL to engage mobilising savings and allocating them to productive investments, managing risks and settling payments, without materially affecting economic growth and welfare of the people even during economic shocks and stressful circumstances. Finance ministry has to play the role of socio-economic development more..

Mar 27 (SO) Land Minister S.M. Chandrasena said all political parties irrespective of their petty political differences should join hands to find a solution to the present economic crisis. Minister in an interview said if the Opposition attempts to strengthen their political camps and vote base through aggravating hardships faced by the people, it is an undemocratic move. When there is an election, more..

Mar 27 (SO) Sri Lanka is facing an acute fuel crisis, which can potentially get worse due to the fallout from the war in Ukraine, which has pushed oil prices well past US$ 100 per barrel. As we argued in these spaces earlier, we simply cannot afford to splurge on fossil fuels any longer. The time has come to make drastic adjustments in the ways that we use fuel. In other words, we must simply use less fuel. In our case, this also serves the purpose of saving valuable foreign exchange � as it is, more..

Mar 27 (CT) No one at the All Party Conference on Wednesday showed any urgency about addressing the severe shortages of essentials � food, medicine, milk, cooking gas and fuel that people are experiencing. Prices of all essentials have become unaffordable for most people, and the supplies are not enough even for the few who can afford them. No one at the APC asked questions about the procurement and supply situation involving consumer essentials. more..

Mar 27 (ST) A characteristic found in common in politicians is their ability to nitpick selected facts and data depending on what side of the political fence they are and to manipulate the masses for their own political ends. In recent days, Minister Gamini Lokuge appeared before the media with a straight face to say there had been no shortage of fuel in the country and there was no need for people to gather in large crowds more..

Mar 27 (Island) The All Party Conference (APC) that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa summoned last week was predictable anything but All Party. The president may have been pleased that the TNA, a major party in the opposition, was there despite their failure to have a one-to-one meeting with him since his election. He could not have expected the Weerawansa-Gammanpila-Vasudeva alliance to come apart though Vasu was spared decapitation unlike his two axed colleagues. more..

Mar 27 (Island) Sri Lanka is fast running out of a future. Last Saturday, authorities announced delays in end of term examinations due to paper shortages. This is the latest shortage to hit the economy. Starting with gas, Sri Lankans have been experiencing queues for the most basic products and commodities. Supermarkets continue to stock up on luxuries, though even these will take a hit from newly enforced import restrictions. Rhetoric over local production aside, more..

Mar 27 (SO) Sunday Observer has once again joined hands with SL�s national mobile network SLT Mobitel to launch the 44th Observer SLT Mobitel School Cricketers of the Year. The sponsorship presentation of the 44th Observer-Mobitel Schools Cricketers of the Year 2022 took place at the SLT Mobitel head office at Rotunda Gardens, Colombo 3 on Thursday. This marked the launch of the island-wide voting for the Observer-SLT Mobitel Schools Cricketers of the Year commencing from more..

Mar 27 (Island) For some strange reason, Sri Lankan teams have failed to compete in Test matches in India. Despite Sri Lankan teams travelling there for 40 years, the closest they came to win a Test match was on their first trip, way back in 1982. Even teams comprising some of the greats of Sri Lankan cricket have failed miserably in Indian conditions over the years. Strange for a nation that is the only Asian team to have won a Test series in South Africa, where most teams struggle. more..

Mar 27 (TM) The key constituent party of the governing alliance, the SLFP, has proposed to the Govt to stop printing money, seek assistance from a suitable international organisation or country to urgently restructure SL�s external debt, revisit the previous Budget, reinstate necessary audit capabilities while improving transparency on Govt spending, and downsize the Cabinet, among other proposals, at the APC held more..

Mar 27 (TM) SL No.1 men�s squash player Ravindu Laksiri created a major upset to reach the quarter-finals of the Bangamata Int'l PSA Squash Tournament held in Bangladesh from 18 to 22 March. Laksiri, who is employed by Brandix, was also named as the surprise package by the PSA commentators of the Bangladeshi tournament for his superb performance to overcome No. 8-seed, Muhammad Ashab Irfan, in a five-game tussle. Laksiri showcased his skills and finesse more..

Mar 27 (TM) The SL Education Forum is alarmed by the ad hoc nature of recent policies issued by the Govt regarding education when all signs point to a dire situation in funding for school education due to the ongoing economic crisis. The latest development is the decision made by the National Water Supply and Drainage Board to begin charging State-run schools for their water supply, though Education Ministry Secretary Prof. Kapila Perera says that the Edu Ministry is not involved in the matter. more..

Mar 27 (TM) In the midst of one of the worst economic crises experienced by the country, Sri Lankans are now at risk of experiencing prolonged water cuts due to the alleged release of water from reservoirs for hydro-power generation. The water was still being released from some reservoirs even on Friday (25) to produce hydropower in order to meet the demand from the national grid. more..

Mar 27 (SLN) The official handing over of Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) equipment to the Information Fusion Centre (IFC - Colombo) established at Navy Headquarters was held with the distinguished presence of the Ambassador of Japan to Sri Lanka, HE Mizukoshi Hideaki and Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne today (25). SL comprises a 1340 km coastline with 510,000 km2 Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and Search and Rescue Region (SAR) which more..