Dec 28 (PMD) In a significant announcement at the centenary celebration of Badulla Guruthalawa Muslim Central College this morning (27), Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe highlighted two critical challenges facing the nation, building a stable economy and addressing the ethnic problem. Prez extended an open invitation to all political parties again, urging them to join hands in achieving these goals, irrespective of party affiliations. more..

Dec 28 (TM) With local big onion cultivation seeing a significant decline in the recent past, the Ministry of Agriculture is scrambling to introduce technology and support growers to improve production, which authorities claim may double the yield from one hectare. It is also learnt that the Ministry has instructed officials to endeavour to maintain its price at Rs. 200 per kilogramme next year (2024). This, as onion prices soar in the market. It is learnt that the Ministry had recently directed more..

Dec 28 (Island) A visiting Chinese trade delegation assured top officials of the Ministry of Agriculture that it is ready to purchase five tons each of all Sri Lankan spices annually. A senior official of the ministry said that the quantity to be exported is minimal and steps would be taken to increase it in keeping with the demand. The visiting Chinese trade delegation discussed the purchase of spices, such as, pepper, cardamom, cloves, turmeric and cinnamon produced in Sri Lanka. more..

Dec 28 (EN) Sri Lanka plans to strengthen its Local Govt Act to give it more power in dealing with unauthorized constructions, a minister said. �Amendments will be made to the Local Govt Act to prevent unauthorized construction,� State Minister for Provincial Councils and Local Govt Janaka Wakkambura said. �This will remove existing barriers to taking immediate action to prevent unauthorized constructions,� Wakkambura was quoted as saying in a Dept of Govt Information statement. more..

Dec 28 (FT) Aitken Spence Travels, yesterday celebrated the arrival of the first Bulgarian charter flight for the Winter 2023/24 season at the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA). Operated by �Bulgaria Air,� the flight brought over 200 enthusiastic holidaymakers eager to explore the wonders of Sri Lanka. Throughout their stay, the visitors will embark on round tours, immersing themselves in the rich culture and breathtaking landscapes that Sri Lanka has to offer. more..

Dec 28 (TM) Refuting a statement made by PUCSL Chairman Prof. Manjula Fernando that it had accepted the responsibility for the islandwide power outage on 9 Dec, CEB stated that the relevant investigations into the incident are still underway. CEB, which has been investigating two previous islandwide power outages � one of which the then Minister in charge of Power & Energy claimed was linked to sabotage � is yet to more..

Dec 28 (AD) The chief custodian of the Ruhunu Kataragama Devalaya, Somipala. T. Ratnayaka, has reportedly been arrested in connection with the disappearance of a golden tray offered to the Kataragama Devalaya. Ratnayaka is said to have surrendered to the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) on the morning of 27 December. Earlier on 19 December, the custodian responsible for the storage room of the Devalaya had surrendered to the CCD in connection with the same incident. more..

Dec 28 (FT) District Court of Colombo has issued an enjoining order against Trade Unions of SL Ports Authority (SLPA) preventing them planned industrial action today. SLPA complained to the Court that if the trade union action is launched as scheduled it would be contrary to the collective agreement in force and will have an adverse impact to the entire country and its economy. Trade unions appeared in Court and sought to make out that several unions are not parties to the collective agreement. more..

Dec 28 (DN) SSC, the group leader, will face Bloomfield in their crucial Major Clubs limited overs cricket tournament match at Bloomfield Grounds on Reid Avenue today. Nine Major Club matches are scheduled in Colombo and its suburbs. The unbeaten SSC team, led by Charith Asalanka, aims to maintain their winning form. Bloomfield led by Niupn Karunanayae, has the home advantage, making it a challenging match for the SSC team. SSC�s strong batting lineup includes more..

Dec 28 (DM) SL has witnessed a substantial increase in the user base for online loan applications across leading lending applications, Robocash, a leading legal and authorised online lender, revealed. From a modest 10,600 in Aug 2021, user base for online loan applications in SL skyrocketed to 1.3 million by Nov 2023. This is an exponential 125-fold surge in just over two years. �With an average monthly growth rate of 19.5%, this market exhibited rapid attraction of its target audience, more..

Dec 28 (Island) CID probing procurement of fake Immunoglobulin by the Health Ministry has asked Deputy Director of the National Hospital Dr. Rukshan Bellana to make a statement and furnish evidence he has in respect of the racket. Dr. Bellana, who is also the President of the Govt Medical Officers� Forum (GMOF), has been asked to be present at the CID today at 10 am. SSP Kavinda Piyasekera has, in a letter addressed to more..

Dec 28 (AD) Six suspects including the former Secretary to the Ministry of Health, Janaka Chandragupta, have been further remanded over the controversial procurement of substandard human immunoglobulin vials. Six accused were remanded until 10 Jan 2024, on orders of the Maligakanda Magistrate�s Court. Chandragupta was arrested by the CID on 18 Dec, after he arrived to give a statement regarding the controversial substandard Human Immunoglobulin import issue. more..

Dec 28 (Island) Jaffna District MP C.V. Wigneswaran has said he is willing to contest the next prez election next year. Retired Supreme Court Justice Wigneswaran, elected on the Tamil People�s National Alliance ticket, told the Jaffna-based media that he would contest the presidential poll if all Tamil political parties reached a consensus on his candidature. Wigneswaran served as the Chief Minister of the Northern Provincial Council after having been elected on the TNA ticket. more..

Dec 28 (FT) Traditional provincial trio�Western, North Western and Central continue to lead in empowering the country�s economy as evidenced by latest data released by the Central Bank yesterday. As per the assessment of Provincial Gross Domestic Product, the Western province increased its share in nominal GDP to 43.4%, continuously tightening the grip on the country�s economy during 2022, CBSL said. more..

Dec 26 (DM) Prisons are spoken of during the time of a festive season like Christmas and also on a religious occasion like Vesak. These are times when prisoners receive amnesty for wrongs committed in society. This Christmas as many as 1,004 inmates from prisons were released through a govt initiative. There is a trend these days to include scenes inside prisons when teledramas are telecast in SL. Otherwise the prison is a subject that�s left out of conversations from a SL conversational point more..

Dec 26 (TM) SL optimistically looks ahead to 2024, which the Govt envisages will be a year of stability and recovery, aiming to get debt restructuring complete and to say farewell to bankruptcy. The outlook that many ordinary Sri Lankans perceive for 2024 differs significantly from the view the Govt has, and rightfully so. With more austerity measures planned, and no one being actively held responsible for the economic downfall of SL, despite a landmark SC order on the matter, more..

Dec 26 (CT) My earliest encounter with the Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC) in SL dates back to my childhood at around 11-12 years old. I grew up in a rural village in Anamaduwa, Puttalam District, surrounded by residents primarily engaged in paddy and chena cultivation. As the crops neared harvest, elephants would venture closer, searching for a meal. The villagers, armed with lamps crafted from dried coconut leaves, would make more..

Dec 26 (CT) On the face of it, Sri Lanka has achieved a comfortable conclusion for 2023: the receipt of the IMF second tranche, a USD 4 billion gross reserve position, the financial support of various multilateral agencies, inflation at low single digits, interest rates at around 12%, a largely market-driven exchange rate, and some uplift in debt sustainability along with improved tourism earnings, remittances and FDI flows. Getting there during 2023 has not been an easy path; more..

Dec 26 (DM) The Yukthiya anti-drug operation was launched on December 17 with the objective of cracking down on drug peddling and organised crimes that have plagued the country. So far, over 13,000 suspects have been arrested by the Police under this operation launched by Acting IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon. Minister Tiran Alles recently announced that the security forces have been given an ultimatum to complete the operation- in other words apprehending all criminals and more..

Dec 26 (TM) The recent heavy rainfall has helped CEB record massive profits last month, compared to the heavy losses incurred in September due to diesel power generation needed to meet the country�s power demand. As a result, CEB is preparing to reduce electricity tariffs in January. However, the percentage of the tariff revision is yet to be finalised. It had incurred a loss of around Rs. 16.8 b in Sept; more..

Dec 26 (CT) As the nation rings out the old year and rings in the New Year, one if not two major Elections are clearly visible on the horizon. It is for Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe to decide if he wants to dissolve Parliament one year ahead of schedule and fresh Polls with a date, but he cannot escape national Elections for his job, wherein he has indicated an interest in contesting. Sure enough, the nation can once again forget political administration or whatever has remained since more..

Dec 29 (Island) The police are all out to eradicate the scourge of narcotics, and their efforts must not go unappreciated. But it needs to be added that they would not have had to exert themselves in this manner if they had carried out their duties and functions properly over the years. Having let the grass grow under their feet, they are now going hell for leather to neutralise the netherworld of drugs and crime to achieve what is considered a politically-determined target. more..

Dec 26 (CP) Politics, as the old saying goes, is said to be the art of the possible. This is exactly why political parties form coalitions even with partners who are not like-minded, when they believe this would give them a better chance of obtaining state power which is the ultimate objective of a political party. This is what the major opposition party in Parliament, the SJB is engaged in right now. It is trying to forge an alliance with the Nidahasa Janatha Sabhawa (NJS), the splinter group led by more..

Dec 29 (Island) There are plenty of nooses dangling about waiting to receive nooses � to coin a new word for receivers of the hangman�s rope. Hopefully there are individuals shivering with fear, who got rich sending people to life-threatening addiction. The dangled threats which denote the pursuit by a special police force and the promise by no less a person in authority than the Minister Tiran Alles, who reiterated as recently as on Tuesday May 26, that he would see that the drug menace more..

Dec 29 (FT) Agriculture has helped to increase exports in November on a month-on-month basis though the performance is lower in comparison to a year ago. SL Export Development Board (SLEDB) said merchandise exports increased by 4.4% to $ 968.8 million in Nov 2023 compared to Oct 2023 but 2.67 % lower from a year ago. Export earnings from tea that made up 12% of merchandise exports, increased by 6.78 % y-o-y more..

Dec 29 (ST) The paediatric unit of the Maharagama Apeksha Cancer Hospital will expand with a new building and playground, thanks to the SL Air Force�s voluntary work. The construction of the building is being funded by the Ruhunu Kataragama Maha Devalaya following a proposal by Basnayake Nilame Dishan Gunasekara. On Friday, during an inspection tour of the site, Air Force Chief Air Marshal Udeni Rajapaksa instructed that the construction be completed in 5 months instead of 8 months more..

Dec 29 (FT) The much-anticipated inauguration ceremony of the G&G gems trading service centre took place at the Cinnamon Grand Colombo in Sri Lanka recently. The G&G Gems Trading Platform was officially established, signifying an important step for SL�s gem trade onto the global stage and the beginning of a new chapter in gem trading. The opening ceremony received wide attention from the Govt and the industry, with many high-profile guests attending the event. more..

Dec 29 (FT) The construction industry, already hit by multiple crises, yesterday warned of collapse due to the increase of the VAT from 15% to 18% from 1 January 2024. �The construction industry has suffered contractions repeatedly since June 2021 to date. Even in 2020 it suffered a reduction by 13.2%. From June 2020 up to now the total contraction is about 50%,� Chamber of Construction Industry of Sri Lanka Secretary General/CEO Nissanka N. Wijeratne said. more..

Dec 29 (DN) The defending Senior National Champions, Killer Whale Aquatics (KWA), continued their outstanding performance by securing seven more gold medals on Day Two of SL National Short Course Swimming C'ship held at Hillwood College Swimming Pool Complex in Kandy. On Day Two, KWA�s senior swimmers showcased their prowess, winning seven gold medals, two silver medals, and one bronze medal. This added to their impressive Day One achievements of 6 golds, 3 silvers, more..

Dec 29 (TM) Public Utilities Commission of SL (PUCSL) should find out the cause of the power outage that occurred across the island on 9 Dec and take appropriate action without waiting for the CEB to find it and inform them (PUCSL), claimed the Electricity Consumers� Association (ECA). Refuting a statement made by PUCSL Chairman Prof. M.A.R.M. Fernando that it (CEB) had accepted the responsibility for more..

Dec 29 (DN) The eagerly awaited 2023 National Baseball Championship, organized by the Sri Lanka Baseball Association, is all set to kick off on Jan 6, 2024, at the Japan-SL Friendship Baseball Ground. This year�s championship will feature the spirited competition of 19 teams, promising an action-packed and thrilling event for baseball enthusiasts. The tournament will follow a knockout format, adding an extra layer of intensity to each game. To accommodate the enthusiastic participation, more..

Dec 29 (DM) An individual who cheated a young woman on the promise of marriage and obtained from her more than Rs.2.5 million, is to be arrested by Padukka Police. The victim is a young woman running a beauty parlour at Godagama in Homagama. She stated to police that the suspect introduced himself as a Software Engineer and a resident of Canada and that she opened a bank account for his transactions. Her mother had allowed him to live in a two-storied house more..

Dec 29 (DN) Chathurika Priyanthi, representing the SL Navy, etched her name in the annals of SL weightlifting history by achieving a groundbreaking feat on the second day of the Youth, Junior, and Senior National Championship at the National Sports Complex in Gallella, Polonnaruwa. Competing in the challenging 87kg weight category, Chathurika achieved a historic milestone by lifting a remarkable 90kg in snatch, 113kg in clean more..

Dec 29 (TM) Following many claims being circulated that the Tamil parties from the North and the East of the country are planning to put forward a Tamil candidate for the upcoming Presidential Election, no formal discussion has taken place in this regard thus far. ITAK Batticaloa District Opposition MP Govindan Karunakaran said that while no formal discussion has taken place in this regard, the Tamil parties will however soon make a final decision concerning the same. more..

Dec 29 (EN) Around 65% to 75% of the cost at the green-leaf stage in regional plantation companies (RPCs) comes from the attendance-based minimum wage system, according to a report released by Advocata Institute. This contributes significantly to the cost of production of Sri Lanka�s tea industry. The findings emphasise the need for RPCs, and the industry at large, to consider embracing alternative wage models such as the revenue share and outgrower models. more..