Mar 22 (DM) Over the past 70 years, Prezs and PMs who governed this country lacked any significant job experience and also failed to provide a clear vision for the country, Prez candidate Janaka Ratnayake said. He said a Prez and a leader should have a vision for the development or betterment of the country on behalf of the people. "As far as we see, none of the previous Presidents had the ability to manage. With the powers of the country, a Prez should be the CEO of the country. more..

Mar 22 (EN) Foreigners entering Sri Lanka will be able to obtain a driving license at the airport from April 15, State Minister of Transport Lasantha Alagiyawanna has said. �In collaboration with the Department of Immigration and Emigration, Civil Aviation Authority and the Ministry of Tourism, arrangements are being made to obtain a driving license in Sri Lanka for foreigners seeking to have them,� State Minister Alagiyawanna told a press briefing on Friday. more..

Mar 22 (DM) Amid the country's high cost of living, there's an increased risk of individuals falling prey to ongoing scams and cyber frauds as more people are desperately resorting to earning quick money, SL Computer Emergency Readiness Team (SLCERT) said. Senior Information Security Engineer Charuka Damunupola of SLCERT said that several incidents relating to social media platforms, such as Facebook, now known as Meta, Messenger were reported in addition to more..

Mar 23 (TM) Although various programmes have been launched throughout the past to establish gender equality and to empower women, it is somewhat questionable as to whether they have achieved any significant results. It is becoming clear that without sufficient support from family corporations and the society, progress to the said components cannot be achieved through initiatives launched by the Govt including legal provisions alone. This was further confirmed in more..

Mar 23 (DM) It�s growing hotter by the day. Last Saturday the temperature in Colombo rose to around 89 degrees Fahrenheit. Forecasters have predicted that there will be no let-up in the spell of hot weather. Rather they are warning that temperatures will rise further by April when sun will be directly over SL. Doctors also warn the public to avoid strenuous labour, to wear white clothing that absorbs solar energy & drink more water. Difficulty here is that our reservoirs are running low on water supplies. more..

Mar 23 (CT) Pambala Forest Reserve in Chilaw which spans across 18.9 hectares is home to all 22 mangrove species in Sri Lanka. Out of the 22 mangroves species, 17 are true mangroves and can be seen in this unique habitat, especially dedicated to ensure their survival. The mangroves thrive in this environment as they get the required conditions needed for their existence from the lagoon close by. more..

Mar 23 (DM) One of the three watchdog committees of SL�s Parliament, the COPE, has been hit by a wave of resignations since Monday (18), following the appointment of Rohitha Abeygunawardena as its chairman. By yesterday noon, 11 members � almost all from the Opposition and dissidents of the ruling SLPP � had tendered their resignation. Eran Wickramaratne, S.M. Marikkar and Hesha Withanage from SJB, Anura Kumara Dissanayake from NPP, Shanakiyan Rasamanickam more..

Mar 23 (CT) According to the Constitution, prez election should be held in Sept/Oct 2024. Some people believed, and some still believe the election will not take place. The skepticism is not without reason because Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe�s party, UNP, has a history of finding excuses for not conducting polls. Prez Jayewardene�s 1982 referendum canceled the parliamentary election. The present govt of Wickremesinghe indefinitely deferred local authority elections scheduled for 2023. more..

Mar 23 (TM) The future of informal vendors at the iconic Galle Face Green remains uncertain � a double blow to a group of people already disenfranchised due to the crash of the economy in 2022 and bouts of upscale development over the past decade that have pushed these residents of the city out of their homes and towards the borders of Colombo. It is learnt that the SLPA is negotiating a mechanism with the vendors, who will be more..

Mar 23 (DM) In the first article published last week (Col Karuna�s Eastern Tiger revolt against LTTE 20 years ago) the background and reasons for the Eastern Tiger revolt were discussed in detail. In this second article, the course of events leading to the eruption of the intra-tiger fratricidal conflict in the aftermath of Col Karuna�s rebellion will be recounted, relying on some of my earlier writings. All hell was expected to break loose after Col Karuna the Eastern regional commander of LTTE raised more..

Mar 23 (TM) SL's rich biodiversity and plentiful water resources are a true gift. According to WB, we benefit from a vast network of rivers and enjoy relatively low salinity levels in freshwater resources. World Wildlife Fund recognises us as one of the top 10 globally, highlighting the richness of our ecosystems, especially considering SL's relatively small size. Unfortunately, we face a significant environmental challenge caused by using public wells & natural water sources to wash clothes. more..

Mar 23 (Island) Around 13 March, it was reported that six undergraduates had been selected from Sri Lanka to climb Mount Everest or Sagarmatha as it is known by the Nepali. This news reminded me that for many who are privileged to be admitted to study at our state universities, their own journey as undergraduates is as significant and phenomenal as climbing Mount Everest. The scenes at the Orientation day for freshers and on graduation day beautifully captures the egalitarian miracle more..

Mar 23 (Island) One of two headlines in The Island of Monday March 18 was Let�s meet in court, JVP tells Rohitha. The proposer JVP will be represented by former COPE Chairman Sunil Handunetti and Vijitha Herath and of course Rohitha is Abeygunawardena, always in the news. The challenge is consequent to the newly appointed Chairman/COPE threatening to bring legal action against Vijitha Herath who, Rohitha accuses, made a defamatory statement against him. more..

Mar 23 (Island) The CBSL (Central Bank of SL) pay hike controversy apparently refuses to go away. Hardly a day passes without it being taken up in Parliament or elsewhere. The person in the crosshairs of the critics of the CBSL in general and the pay revision in particular is CBSL Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe. Has the CBSL departed from the established procedures, processes and practices in effecting the latest pay increases, more..

Mar 23 (Island) Never a dull moment in this country despite its economic difficulties! Parliamentary sessions, more often than not, leave the public none the wiser, but at times they can be really entertaining although they cost the public an arm and a leg. On Thursday, Parliament had a sitting, which was replete with theatrics, diatribe, invectives and rhetoric. But what turned out to be most interesting was Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena�s parting shot. Speaker Abeywardena told Parliament, more..

Mar 23 (FT) South Asian pop music sensation, Yohani announced an international collaboration with Romanian artist, Edward Maya to release the Electronic Dance Music (EDM) track Diamonds. The announcement follows the successful launch of Yohani�s debut album, Kella, which is currently topping local charts on YouTube and music streaming platforms. Edward Maya, the first Romanian artist mentioned in the Top 10 Billboard Hot 100 in the USA with his hit record more..

Mar 23 (CT) Former cricketer Anusha Samaranayake has been appointed as the new Fast Bowling Coach of the national team Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) announced on Friday (22). Samaranayake assumed duties on 6 March for a period of two years. Samaranayake, a Level 3 qualified coach, worked as the National Fast Bowling Coach of SLC from 2008 to 2015. A former first-class cricketer, he was part of Sri Lanka�s first test tour to England in 1984. more..

Mar 23 (AP) Canada's immigration minister said Thursday the country will set targets to reduce the number of new temporary residents in the country. Marc Miller said it's the first time Canada will do this. Federal govt plans to decrease the number of temporary residents from the current 6.2% of the population to 5% over the next 3 years. Canada has seen a sharp increase in temporary residents coming in each year, and the minister has said in the past that the country has become addicted more..

Mar 23 (CI) Five down for not too many. Against a side that has antagonised you at every step on this tour. The fast bowlers were making life uncomfortable. But captain Dhananjaya de Silva and Test newcomer Kamindu Mendis took the bull by the horns and put on a show. They became only the second SL pair to add a 200-run stand after having lost five wickets for less than 60. Incidentally, de Silva was involved in the other more..

Mar 23 (CT) Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) have named a 17-member squad for their upcoming white-ball assignments in South Africa. The squad will be captained by regular skipper and ICC Women�s ODI Cricketer of the Year, Chamari Athapaththu, and the series will kick off with the T20I leg on 27 March in Benoni. The two sides will first contest a three-match T20I series, followed by as many ODIs, that will also form a part of the ICC Women�s Championship 2022-25 cycle. more..

Mar 23 (ST) A programme was launched by the Agriculture Ministry and the Central Province Agriculture Dept to promote big onion cultivation in the Matale District. A house-to-house campaign was conducted last Thursday to educate farmers on this programme. This comes against the backdrop of the shortage of local big onions in the market and the resulting increase in the retail price of onions to Rs 800. Programme was aimed at getting farmers who had abandoned onion cultivation more..

Mar 23 (FT) Earnings from merchandise exports in February was $ 983.7 million, marking a slight uptick of 0.17% year-on-year (YoY), while it also increased by 1.3% compared to January. However, the merchandise shipments in the first two months were down 0.30% to $ 1.9 billion YoY, statistics from the EDB revealed. In February, agricultural exports saw an increase by 11.82% YoY to $ 255.76 million, more..

Mar 23 (DM) A General Election will be held if the members of Parliament want an early dissolution of Parliament, Senior Presidential Advisor Ashu Marasinghe said. �A General Election could be held if the MPs adopt a resolution calling for the dissolution of Parliament,� Professor Marasinghe said in response to a question raised by the journalists on the reports which said former Minister Basil Rajapaksa and Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe had come to an agreement on elections. more..

Mar 23 (DM) SL is among the ten countries which are mostly affected by climate change, the first session of the SL Climate Parliament revealed today. The disclosure was made by Climate Parliament Chairman Eran Wickramaratne and Senior Prez advisor Ruwan Wijewardene. MP Wickremesratne stressed that the SL Climate Parliament will work with internal bodies and other nations to minimize the effect of climate change. �We intend to work with UNDP, UNDIO and will also work in line with more..

Mar 23 (FT) �Businesses continue to grapple with a widespread sense of uncertainty � and this sense of ambiguity is mirrored in the latest findings of the LMD-PEPPERCUBE Business Confidence Index (BCI) survey,� LMD reveals, in its March edition. It reports that �23% of survey participants are positive about the economy improving over the next 12 months despite the two point drop from January (25%) � and 18% of respondents anticipate the economy will stay the same, more..

Mar 23 (Island) Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe�s draft bill amending the Penal Code has proposed to lower the age of female consent to 14, but no MP had protested, Federation of National Organizations (FNO) said. Dr. Wasantha Bandara said that previously the age of consent was 16 and anyone engaging in sex with a girl, under 16, was considered a rapist. �With these amendments the age of consent of a girl has been reduced to 14. Age of the man who can be held accountable more..

Mar 23 (CT) Sri Lankans, totalling 19,620, residing in Kuwait without valid visas and categorised as illegal residents, have been granted amnesty by the Emir. They are now eligible to depart Kuwait without incurring the penalty of Rs 650,000, as stated by the SL Mission in Kuwait. Mission also highlighted the heavy workload placed on consular services due to the welfare responsibilities associated with this large number of more..

Mar 23 (FT) Colombo stock market managed to gain yesterday on the positive news of the IMF Staff agreement on the second review but ended the week marginally down. ASPI declined by 75.3 points (0.7%) and S&P SL20 lost 19 points (0.6%). Average daily turnover was Rs. 1.68 billion. Last week the ASPI and the S&P SL20 gained 2.6% and 3.1% respectively with daily turnover averaging Rs. 1.77 billion. Following four sessions of profit-booking, indices ended Friday on a positive note more..

Mar 23 (Island) Appearing before the COPF recently, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe said the Central Bank (CB) had no issue with COPF recommendations but it was not possible to implement the COPF recommendation that salary increases at issue be suspended immediately. �The salaries of CB employees for March have already been processed in the system and they are to be paid on Monday (25). If we are to go back to the earlier one, we will have to revise the system completely. more..

Mar 23 (DM) The Colombo High Court today served an indictment on eight accused including the Captain of the fire-ravaged container ship MV X-Press Pearl for causing damage to the country's oceanic environment. The indictment was served on the accused after the High Court and Court of Appeal dismissed the preliminary objections raised by the accused against the indictment. The eight accused had filed revision applications in the Court of Appeal challenging Colombo HC's decision more..

Mar 23 (DM) Dermatologists in Sri Lanka have issued a warning regarding the rapid spread of Tinea infections, a contagious skin disease affecting both adults and children across the nation. According to Dr. Janaka Akarawita, a prominent dermatologist at the National Hospital, Colombo the incidence of Tinea infections is on the rise, manifesting primarily through symptoms such as itching and the development of scaly rashes resembling rings on the skin. Dr. Akarawita emphasized that more..

Mar 23 (Island) Chairman of Sectoral Oversight Committee on National Security, retired Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekera, MP, said that the govt should conduct a thorough investigation into the overthrowing of elected Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa, following Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena�s confirmation of US Ambassador Julie Chung�s direct intervention in what he called regime change project. Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa relinquished office more..

Mar 23 (EN) SL�s tea production was up 6.7% to 19.99 million kilograms in Feb 2024, with high, mid and low growns rising industry data shows. High grown tea in February 2024 was 4.52 million kilograms, up from 4.28 million, medium growns were 3.64, up from 3.1 million kilograms, and low growns were 11.82 million, up from 11.36 million kilograms last year. Exports, including re-exports were up 20.27% to 22.31 million kilograms, industry data published by Ceylon Tea Brokers show. more..

Mar 23 (Island) The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the signing of the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage and Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage, Saminda Jayasekara, Chairman at the SL Atomic Energy Regulatory Council said recently at an event organized by the Institution of Engineers, SL. The Convention on Supplementary Compensation (CSC) aims at establishing a minimum national compensation amount and more..

Mar 23 (EN) Cabinet will discuss how to handle foreign research vessels in future and the Foreign Ministry is in the process of drafting a cabinet paper for the policy, two govt officials said. Foreign research vessels are temporarily banned in Sri Lanka after India put heavy pressure on Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe�s govt to stop Chinese research vessels calling into SL waters, citing �security threats to the Indian Ocean�. more..

Mar 24 (SO) Despite its small size, SL has a staggering eight million vehicles on its roads. This means that almost one in three persons has access to a vehicle of some kind. It is also equally well-known that SL has a bloated public service, with nearly 1.5 million employees. It was revealed in Parliament recently that public institutions in SL operate nearly 70,000 vehicles, including 4,400 that are either rented or leased. The annual rental expenses for the latter category more..