Nov 8 (ST) The countrywide picketing campaigns last Wednesday by a cross-section of trade unions in vital sectors of the economy on top of the continuing farmers’ demand for fertiliser were a shot across the bow of the ship of state. The picketing stems from a multitude of reasons ranging from long overdue salary hikes for teachers to privatisation of the port terminals to foreign companies and those in the energy sector querying a questionable tender awarded to an unknown foreign company. more..

Nov 8 (DM) During the past few months we have been constantly reminded that the COP26 summit presently being held in Glasgow, Scotland is probably the last chance to save our planet from the grim effects of global warming. The sad reality is while the world’s most vulnerable countries have contributed the least to climate change, they are most at risk from its negative effects and the least equipped to withstand and adapt to it. In1980 -over six decades ago- The Global 2000 Report more..

Nov 8 (Island) Health experts are making gloomy predictions about the spread of Covid-19 here. Director General of Health Services has warned the public that restrictions will have to be imposed again unless they behave responsibly, given the increase in the number of Covid-19 cases reported daily. Nobody seems to care a damn about the health guidelines in place to control the pandemic. The people are behaving as if the pandemic were a thing of the past. more..

Nov 8 (Island) It took SL 3 years to find Asanka Gurusinha’s successor at number three. In the year 2000, Kumar Sangakkara came along and he occupied the slot for 15 years breaking world records at will. For 6 yrs, SL searched for Sanga’s replacement without much success. Given the way how Charith Asalanka went about things in the T-20 World Cup, there is enough evidence that we have found Sanga’s successor and the man himself more..

Nov 8 (CT) Sadeera Samarawickrama, skipper of Sri Lanka ‘A’, batted splendidly against Pakistan ‘A’ in the second inning in drawn second 4-Day encounter at the Pallekele Stadium in Kandy yesterday. Sri Lanka ‘A’ were bowled out 67 runs in 22.2 overs in reply to Pakistan ‘A’s 394 all out in 106 overs, adding only 3 runs in 1.2 overs to their overnight score. Suminda Lakshan was the only batter to score more than 20. Both right arm pacemen Naseem Shah and Khurram Shahzad shared 7 wickets - more..

Nov 8 (FT) COVID-19 vaccines were administered to 76,422 persons on Saturday and 62.99% of the country’s population has received both doses of a vaccine to date. 73.3% of the total population has received the first dose of a vaccine. 92.6% of the country’s population over the age of 20 has received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. The first vaccine dose has been administered to 15,796,673 persons and the second dose has been administered to 13,577,829 persons. more..

Nov 8 (TM) The Independent Association of Depositors of F&G Property Developers (Pvt) Ltd. and Real Estate Co. Ltd. expects the shareholders of F&G Property Developers to approve the resolution to issue shares to the new investor, ZRA Holdings, on 9 Nov, paving the way for the takeover of the F&G Group of Companies. Independent Association of Depositors of F&G Property Developers and Real Estate Co. more..

Nov 8 (Island) Dilshan Wijith Kumara of SL Army finished first in the Men’s Standard Open racing event at the Nestomalt Cycling Challenge 2021 which was conducted in Colombo on Sunday. The Nestomalt Cycling Challenge 2021 was successfully held at Viharamahadevi Park, Colombo, with the participation of over 200 professional cyclists from around the country. Organized by the Cycling Federation of SL under the guidance of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, more..

Nov 8 (FT) Govt of Canada (Global Affairs Canada) has announced a $ 1.3 million grant for immediate assistance on COVID-19 as well as longer-term strengthening of primary healthcare through WHO Sri Lanka. Urgent medical supplies including two million syringes for the accelerated COVID-19 vaccination effort arrived in Sri Lanka last August and medical equipment for 55 at the primary healthcare level has been procured. Since March this year, Govt of Canada has made more..

Nov 8 (FT) Ex-Pack Corrugated Cartons Ltd., one of Sri Lanka’s leading manufacturers of corrugated cartons, has announced an excellent performance during the first half of FY2021/22, ending 30 September 2021. The Ex-Pack Group has achieved a top line revenue of Rs. 3.465 billion, against 2.065 billion during the same period in the previous year, recording a 59% increase, YOY. This was achieved amidst a subdued environment for manufacturing during April and May. more..

Nov 8 (FT) Dialog Enterprise, the corporate solutions arm of Dialog Axiata (Dialog), SL’s premier connectivity provider and Infobip, a leading provider of globally accessible, secure, and innovative omnichannel communication solutions, have recently announced their partnership. Following this move, Infobip will provide its range of CPaaS solutions together with Dialog Enterprise, empowering the company to create new revenue streams, accelerate time to market, and more..

Nov 8 (FT) Prez Rajapaksa declared that the revolutionary change he promised in the Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour policy statement would be achieved and urged youth to bring about far-reaching economic transformation. “We are making the revolutionary change that the Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour has put forward. I invite the youth of this country to trust this Govt and come forward once again. more..

Nov 8 (CT) Sujan led Sri Lanka footballers will look to put up a good show against Maldives when the two sides lock horns in the first outing of the four-Nation international football tournament for the Prime Minister Mahinda Rakapaksa Trophy today, which will kick start at the Race Course stadium. Amir Alagic’s troops, who had a tremendous outing in the recently concluded SAFF Championship, will no doubt be vying for a top place on the points table early. According to Sri Lankan custodian and more..

Nov 8 (SO) The drop in the number of Covid-19 cases witnessed in the recent past has stopped now. It will be too late when the increase is clearly visible in another two weeks. Then there would be no point in doing a large number of daily PCR tests to detect Covid-19 patients, Dr. Hemantha Herath said. He told a press briefing at the Health Promotion Bureau in Colombo on Friday that the most important factor to prevent the spread is by strictly following all basic health guidelines all the time. more..

Nov 8 (FT) Given the bleak overall economic outlook, SJB MP Eran Wickramaratne said Budget 2022 would be decisive for SL to remain attractive to foreign investors. “Given the economic woes and poor economic management, it is going to be a difficult task for Finance Minister to establish foreign investor confidence. The country is really on the verge of disaster if we are unable to establish confidence among the global community,” more..

Nov 8 (FT) Cement manufacturers have decided to increase the price of a 50 kg bag of cement following the removal of the Maximum Retail Price (MRP), amidst a shortage countrywide. The move came into effect on Saturday, while the Govt has also allowed three local manufacturers to import 30,000 tons or 600,000 bags of 50 kg cement to the country. Siam City Cement Lanka, producer of Sanstha and Mahaweli Marine brands, has decided to hike the price of a 50 kg bag by Rs. 177 to Rs. 1,275. more..

Nov 8 (AD) Sri Lanka’s National Institute of Education (NIE) says that a new methodology has been devised to cover the loss in education suffered by the country’s school children due to the Covid-19 pandemic. NIE Director General Dr. Sunil Jayantha Nawaratna stated that under the proposed system, precedence would be given to essential sections of syllabus and that a programme has been prepared to cover the loss in education and learning for the years 2020 and 2021. more..

Nov 8 (FT) SL’s COVID-19 detections rose to 545,256 with 1,243 persons testing positive for COVID-19 over the weekend. On Sunday, 626 persons from the New Year cluster tested positive for COVID-19 and 617 patients from the New Year cluster were detected the previous day. Health Promotion Bureau states that 5,600 PCR tests and 3,246 rapid antigen tests were performed on Saturday. SL’s daily COVID-19 detections exceeded 600 for three consecutive days and more..

Nov 8 (EN) SL’s gross official foreign exchange reserves fell to US$ 2,267 million in Oct 2021, down 73% from Aug 2019 data show, when inflationary policy began with the central bank started buying bonds to target an output gap. October reserves are down US$ 436.7 million from the 2,704.2 in September. September reserves have been revised up from the initial US$ 2,581.3 million reported earlier. Foreign reserves in October are down about 65% from a year earlier, more..

Nov 8 (TM) A crucial meeting between the COPE and national carrier SriLankan Airlines, which was scheduled to be held tomorrow, has been suddenly postponed. The meeting was postponed due to unknown reasons. When contacted, COPE Chairman Prof. Charitha Herath confirmed that the meeting was postponed due to various reasons, without specifying them. Dr. Herath in July directed SriLankan AirLines Chairman more..

Nov 8 (ST) A TNA delegation is to visit the United States later this month to drum up support for the party’s stand on political issues. The three-member delegation has been invited by the US Govt. It will comprise K. Kanag-isvaran PC, Dr. Nirmala Chandrahasan and M.A. Sumanthiran PC. Party spokesperson Sumanthiran told the Sunday Times the TNA would brief US officials on their proposal for a federal solution on power devolution in view of a new constitution being drafted by the Govt. more..

Nov 8 (FT) The first-ever post-pandemic Sri Lanka Investor Forum to woo foreign funds to the capital market concluded successfully on Friday with a strong turnout of top Dubai-based Sri Lankans across multiple industries. The multi-stakeholder initiative was championed by the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in association with the Embassy of Sri Lanka in UAE and the Consulate General of SL to Dubai and the Northern Emirates. more..

Nov 8 (Island) Justice Minister Ali Sabry said that he had offered to give up his portfolio over the appointment of Ven. Galagodaatte Gnanasara Thera as the head of Presidential Task Force (PTF) to study the One Country, One Law concept. Minister Sabry said so when The Island asked him whether he had informed Prez Rajapaksa of his decision to quit the ministerial position over the controversial appointment. more..

Nov 8 (EN) Central bank’s net foreign assets were negative by 158.7 billion rupees (about US$ 780 m) by Sept 2021, and reserve backing of rupee notes were went deeper into negative territory. Dollar backing of rupees was negative by 12.2%. CB has printed unprecedented volumes of money since Feb 2020, undermining bond markets with price controls further compounding the problem and lost record volumes of reserves. As a result its reserve liabilities have risen compared to existing reserves. more..

Nov 8 (ST) The Qingdao Seawin Biotech Fertilizer company is believed to have given SL samples from a previously manufactured consignment of organic fertiliser, sources at Sri Lanka’s state fertiliser company said. Sources at the Ceylon Fertilizer Company (CFC) said that with the opening of the Letter of Credit (LC) on Sept 17 the Qingdao company according to the terms of the contract should then commence manufacture and ensure that an independent laboratory obtains more..

Nov 8 (EN) China’s Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Co Ltd, whose organic fertilizer, which SL’s National Plant Quarantine Service (NPQS) said contained bacteria, has demanded 8 million US dollars from the agency, alleging negligence. The Letter of Demand, seen by EconomyNext and dated Nov 5, has been addressed to NPQS Additional Director W A R T Wickramaarachchi. The move comes a week after Chinese Embassy in SL more..

Nov 8 (FT) Aseni, whiz-kid in economics, and her grandpa, Sarath Mahatthaya, ex-Finance Ministry Official, continue their discussion on crypto currencies and related issues. Their previous discussion had revolved around the creation of digital currencies in the modern era for easy use by people. Unlike physical currencies, digital currencies are invisible and intangible. The first digital currency so created was the Special Drawing Rights or SDRs by the IMF in 1969 with readiness to more..

Nov 8 (FT) There is a strong protest staged by the 11 constituent parties of the Govt and the trade unions of the CEB along with affiliated trade unions against the recent agreement with respect to the Yugadanavi Power Plant reached by the Govt with the US company, New Fortress Energy (NFE), a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) company founded in 2014. Eleven constituent parties of the Govt have staged a protest against the Govt under the banner Mahajana Manthrana Sabhava – MMS more..

Nov 8 (AD) The Irrigation Department has issued minor flood warnings for several low-lying areas of Attanagalu Oya River Basin and Kalu River Basin, in view of the prevailing inclement weather conditions. The department’s Hydrology Division says that it has been observed that a considerable rainfall has occurred in Attanagalu Oya Basin during last 24 hours and that the water level of the river at upstream has risen to a considerable level. The water level at Dunamale River Gauging more..

Nov 8 (DM) Tution classes might be allowed to resume subject to heath restrictions in a fortnight, State Minister Susil Premajayantha told Parliament today. Responding to an orlal question raised by a SJB MP, State Minister Premajayantha said tution classes will be allowed to resume within two weeks, if the heath authorities give the green light. "It might be possible to resume tution classes with limited number of students as schools will also be opened gradually in two weeks time," more..

Nov 8 (AD) The CID today informed the Supreme Court that Rev. Father Cyril Gamini Fernando will not be arrested at this moment. The CID informed the court of this through the Attorney General’s Dept, when the fundamental rights (FR) petition filed by Fr. Cyril Gamini seeking an injunction order preventing him from being arrested, was taken up today. Appearing on behalf of the CID’s Director, Additional Solicitor more..

Nov 8 (DN) Secretary to the President Dr. P.B. Jayasundera in a circular to Secretaries to Ministers and State Ministers has instructed to make all Ministers and officers involved in the budget preparation to refrain from participating in foreign tours other than the essential matters during this period. The Secretary has requested the Ministers and the relevant officers to pay their fullest cooperation to the Budget preparing and Budget debates. “The President has pointed out, more..

Nov 8 (Island) Critically endangered mangrove species, Rathamilla, has been found in the Benthara Ganga, says scientist Dr. Manoj Prassana. Prasanna told The Island that there were some 54 species of mangroves in the world and of them 21 species were found in SL. He added that while most of these species were well distributed in many sites all along the coastal line, a few species were restricted to the dry zone. Among the mangrove species recorded in the country, more..

Nov 8 (AD) President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and First Lady Fazna Ahmed arrived in SL today for an official two-day visit. The visit of the Head of State and First Lady to SL is to officiate the opening ceremony of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa Trophy 2021 football tournament. The Maldives and SL will play against each other at the opening match of the tournament participated by national football teams from the Maldives, more..

Nov 8 (AD) Colombo-Katunayake main road towards Negombo has reportedly been blocked for traffic at Kandana due to a protest. The protest is being staged against the Gazette notification issued allowing the UDA to take over more than 3,000 acres of land belonging to the Muthurajawela Wetlands. This has caused severe traffic congestion along the Colombo-Katunayake road at Kandana. Satyagraha launched at Kandana by a group of residents of Muthurajawela against more..

Nov 8 (AD) The Director General of Health Services has confirmed another 19 coronavirus related deaths for November 7, increasing the death toll in Sri Lanka due to the virus to 13,875. The deaths confirmed today include 13 males and 06 females. Eight of the victims are between the ages 30-59 years while the remaining 11 patients are in the age group of 60 years and above. Meanwhile the Health Ministry reported that another 512 persons have tested positive for Covid-19 today (08). more..