Jan 13 (DM) If the government does not manage the demand the need for 1.9 billion coconut properly, there would be a risk of increasing prices of both the local coconut and coconut oil, National Movement for Consumer Rights Protection (NMCRP) said. NMCRP President Ranjith Vithanage told the Daily Mirror that the annual coconut harvest is 3 billion nuts and the demand for coconuts in the country is 4.9 billion nuts. "A total volume of 1.8 billion nuts are needed for domestic consumption and more..

Jan 14 (DM) In the recent past there were reports of several children going missing and being found later. Children going missing is a sensitive topic. It’s heartbreaking when that happens. The most recent one was a 15-year-old girl who went missing in Maharagama. She later surfaced when the police released her photo to the media seeking help to trace her. We also heard about two kids going missing in Wellampitiya and another two disappearing in Kelaniya. more..

Jan 14 (DM) As the global recession resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the IMF is once again in a commanding position to reshape the world economy – also politics – and revisit those growing economies which had not so long ago snubbed it. Prior to the pandemic, the IMF had enough money, but not many borrowers. Sri Lanka is one of those countries which told the Fund, “No, thank you,” although today, the country has not many options left, apart from going to IMF. more..

Jan 14 (DM) If the govt policy or something that remotely smacks as such is an overwhelming incorrigibility, its economic policy wins the cup. Though the govt’s stated economic policy is more of hallucinations and rumblings of pie in the sky schemes, there is at least one area that it seems to be serious: its pledge to continue with debt servicing even after the country’s sovereign bonds are downgraded and foreign reserves are more..

Jan 14 (CT) When Rohana Wijeweera was the leader of the JVP the euphoria that was created around the JVP was primarily based on one single element which ultimately caused its own demise, especially among the middle-of-ground political activists and thinkers. The false scenario that gave rise to a false narrative that the JVP was extremely popular and its wings spread across a wide spectrum of political activism was mainly a product of the exhibitionistic approach they adopted more..

Jan 14 (ST) How did the government find dollars overnight? It was a question that a couple of my friends asked me, after reading my column on “Import controls, then and now” last week. I explained the govt’s import controls and the Central Bank’s foreign exchange restrictions in the 1970s and its consequences on domestic production in Sri Lanka: As raw materials, parts, and components were in short supply, the factories which used these intermediate inputs were not operated fully. more..

Jan 14 (CT) A paratrooper is a military parachutist trained to parachute into an operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Airborne forces or Airborne warfare are ground combat units carried by aircraft and airdropped into battle zones, typically by parachuting or air assault. Military parachutists and parachutes were first used on a large scale during World War II for troop distribution and transportation. more..

Jan 14 (TM) The verdict in one of the most controversial incidents in Sri Lanka’s recent memory that sparked furore among rights groups – the 2012 Welikada Prison killings – was delivered on 12 Jan 2022, sentencing to death former Welikada Magazine Prison Superintendent Emil Ranjan Lamahewage and acquitting Police Narcotics Bureau Inspector of Police Neomal Rangajeewa. While this verdict itself was questioned by certain parties, especially due to the magnitude of more..

Jan 14 (CT) Railway station masters resumed their strike yesterday on allegations of the breakdown in the administration of SLR among others, thereby once more disrupting the country’s train services. This follows the virtual collapse of the 31-year-old private bus transport service, throwing commuters into disarray and further scarring the already haemorrhaging economy, while the Govt, like the 3 proverbial monkeys, see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil, remains nonchalant. more..

Jan 14 (Island) Former President and SLPP MP Maithripala Sirisena has an annoying habit of speaking in riddles. He is adept at obfuscating issues, and giving evasive answers to pointed questions. His long suit, as it were, is leaving things to the imagination when he happens to address crucial issues. Sirisena is a worried man today because the families of the Easter Sunday carnage victims have filed more than 100 cases against him and others, seeking compensation, more..

Jan 14 (CT) I am confident that Ven. Muruththettuwe Ananda Thera will do his utmost to develop the University of Colombo during his tenure as Chancellor, PM Mahinda Rajapaksa said on Tuesday (11). The PM was speaking at an event held at the Nelum Pokuna Theatre to officially welcome the Thera who was appointed Chancellor of the University of Colombo. Prez Rajapaksa, PM Rajapaksa and Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena were among invitees present. more..

Jan 14 (DN) The vibrant and sacred festival of Pongal is one of the most important festivals celebrated by Tamil people in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Puducherry in India. It is a major Tamil festival in Sri Lanka as well. It is observed by the Tamil community worldwide. It is a magnificent festival of thanksgiving and appreciation for a bountiful harvest. It is celebrated most gloriously in more..

Jan 14 (FT) SL’s COVID-19 case count rose to 594,319 with the detection of 594 COVID-19 patients yesterday. 590 persons from the New Year cluster and four overseas arrivals tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday. COVID-19 patients detected the previous day include 651 persons from the New Year cluster and two SL overseas arrivals. 7,899 PCR tests and 4,906 rapid antigen tests were conducted on Wednesday. Of the country’s total COVID-19 detections, 489,464 are from more..

Jan 14 (FT) COVID-19 vaccines were administered to 119,893 persons on Wednesday and over 30% of the population over 20 years has received the third vaccine dose. Booster dose coverage among the population over 20 years was 30.5% on Tuesday. As of 11 January, 74.52% of the country’s population had received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 64.48% had received the second dose. A total of 16,105,730 persons have received the first vaccine dose, 13,865,450 have received 2nd dose. more..

Jan 14 (EN) Inorganic fertilizer will be available for purchase for farmers from next season, Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage said, noting that the govt itself did not support the president’s vision for a green agriculture and that the farmers’ complaints were fair. Farmers willing to follow the green agriculture programme will be provided organic fertilizer and pesticides, the minister said at a meeting on Thursday. more..

Jan 14 (Island) The National Institute of Fundamental Studies commemorated its 40th anniversary of inception, in Dec 2021. It is an opportunity to recollect history, highlight achievements, assess performance and identify the constraints. The legislative enactment of the Institute, 40 years ago, was a sequel of sorts about the importance of indulging in fundamental research, a discourse in Sri Lanka academia that has its beginnings in the early 1950s. more..

Jan 14 (Island) SL Under 19s completed their ICC U-19 World Cup preparations with a crushing 231-run win as the bowlers led by Dunith Wellalage produced a remarkable display to bowl out Uganda for just 46 runs in Guyana on Wednesday. St. Joseph’s College, Darley Road spinner Wellalalge was the pick of the bowlers. He finished with figures of four for none from his three overs as he raced through the Ugandan middle and lower order in the final preparation match ahead of more..

Jan 14 (CT) Bhanuka Rajapaksa has withdrawn his decision to retire from international cricket, the SLC confirmed yesterday. Just over a week ago on 3 January Rajapaksa announced to the Board his decision to retire from international cricket with immediate effect, citing family obligations. In his retirement letter, Rajapaksa wrote: “I have very carefully considered my position as a player, husband & am taking this decision looking forward to fatherhood & associated familial obligations” more..

Jan 14 (FT) President Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday made an inspection visit to the Litro Gas Terminal at Kerawalapitiya. During his inspection visit, the President also observed the Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) tank premises, filling yard and process of unloading gas from the vessels. State-run Litro Gas Lanka Ltd. terminal has four storage tanks capacity up to 2,000 tons of LPG each in each. The monthly gas requirement of Litro is 30,000 tons, which is supplied via seven shipments. more..

Jan 14 (TM) The tourism target for 2022 is to achieve at least half of the arrivals recorded in 2018, which translates to around 100,000 tourist arrivals per month, SLTDA Chairperson Kimarli Fernando said. Commenting on targeted tourism arrivals for 2022, Fernando stated: “In 2020 we had about 500,000 arrivals before the country was closed, 1.9 mil in 2019, and highest tourist arrivals were recorded in 2018 at 2.3 m arrivals, more..

Jan 14 (Island) There was confirmation from SLC yesterday that fast bowler Lahiru Kumara had been selected in the squad to play the three match series against Zimbabwe that gets underway later this week, but the player was withdrawn after he had failed the skin folds test. While Kumara had completed the two kilometer run under the stipulated time of eight minutes and ten seconds, his skin folds were over the limit making him ineligible for selection. more..

Jan 14 (Island) The annual report of Aitken Spence PLC presented under the theme Conquering Chaos won the Bronze award under the diversified category and was recognised in the top 10 companies’ annual reports at the 56th Annual Report Awards, organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA SL). Contributing towards benchmarking the public disclosures produced by companies in SL, these awards recognise the best corporate reports produced in the country. more..

Jan 14 (Island) The hesitancy of some people to get the booster shot against COVID-19 was on the rise, Medical Technical Services Director Dr. Anwar Hamdani told the media yesterday. Health officials were hoping to prevent an Omicron outbreak with the help of the Pfizer booster shot, he said. Dr. Hamdani said that there was concern about increasing number of people with the Omicron variant and that doctors had been urging more..

Jan 14 (AD) The one-day token strike launched by the Sri Lanka Railway Station Masters’ Union has been called off. Station masters across the island withdrew from all duties for a period of 24 hours from midnight on January 12. The trade union action was based on several issues including the unannounced cancellation of long-distance trains without prior notice, improper administration of railway staff and not implementing the directives of the Transport State Minister. more..

Jan 14 (CT) General Manager of Railways (GMR), Dhammika Jayasundara, said more than 200 train journeys have been disrupted as a result of SLSMU token strike that was launched without warning. However, approximately, 80 trains operated yesterday. Many train passengers have been inconvenienced as a result of the station masters’ abrupt decision. Due to the token strike, pilgrims who had booked tickets for the Sri Pada pilgrimage have been greatly inconvenienced. more..

Jan 14 (FT) SJB charged that the Govt is caught up in a vicious circle of its own lies and the country is going from bad to worse due to its sheer mismanagement. SJB MP Dr. Harsha de Silva averred that he is baffled why the Govt is not considering restructuring the country’s debt repayments given its perilous state. He stated the Opposition is at no point saying SL Govt must default, but instead restructure the debt and more..

Jan 14 (DM) Sri Lanka Telecom announced the appointment of Janaka Abeysinghe as the CEO with effect from Feb 1, 2022. The incumbent CEO Kiththi Perera will be overseas on leave for a period of two years to pursue higher studies, a stock market filing by the company said. Abeysinghe joined SLT in 1991. In his present role, he leads the Enterprise & Wholesale business of SLT that provides integrated voice and data solutions to enterprises, govt institutions, domestic telco operators and more..

Jan 14 (FT) RDA had achieved the highest-ever revenue of Rs. 8.8 bil via expressways in 2021, reflecting a 21% increase from the previous year. The outstanding performance is amidst the disruptions caused by the pandemic, particularly during the period from mid-May to end October. In 2021, the total toll revenue of Southern Expressway and Outer Circular Highway was Rs. 4.5 bil, whilst earnings of Colombo-Katunayake Expressway and Outer Circular Highway was Rs. 4.3 bil. more..

Jan 14 (DM) SL is likely to face a shortage of drugs in about two months as the country continues to grapple with an economic crisis fuelled by forex shortages. Dr. Saman Kusumsiri Ratnayake, Secretary to the State Ministry of Drug Production, Supply and Regulation said considering the existing situation, they had drafted a priority list of drugs that need to be imported with immediate effect. “Accordingly, Letters of Credit (LCs) for four consignments of drugs worth USD 5 million more..

Jan 14 (CT) The country’s foreign reserves haemorrhaged for the second consecutive market day to yesterday, this time by US$ 122.47 million (Rs 24,610 million), at the discounted, administered, ‘benchmark’ ‘spot’ rate of Rs 200.95 to the US dollar as at Tuesday, thereby accruing $ 235.27 million in the two market days to yesterday from the country’s foreign reserves and needing another $ 264.73 million to settle the $ 500 million maturing international sovereign bond (ISB) more..

Jan 14 (Island) Former Minister D.E.W. Gunasekera says that the cash-strapped govt lacked the wherewithal to implement the much publicized Rs 229 bn relief package. Therefore, the one-time General Secretary of the Communist Party said the govt had no option but to print more money at the expense of financial stability at a time the country was under tremendous pressure. The former minister quit the top party post in Aug 2020. more..

Jan 14 (CT) Prez Rajapaksa said Thai Pongal is a special religious and cultural festival of Hindu devotees dedicated to pay homage to the Sun God for safeguarding their agricultural fields and providing a bountiful harvest. In his Thai Pongal message, he also said “I am extremely pleased to extend my best wishes to our fellow Hindu brethren who celebrate this festival along with Hindu devotees across the world. It is the belief of the Hindu people that holding the Thai Pongal more..

Jan 14 (EN) Sri Lanka's Stock market gained on Thursday to its highest since Jan 5, but foreign investors dumped shares a day after global rating agency S&P downgraded the island nation’s sovereign rating by a notch on the country’s high external debts, dealers said. Foreign investors sold a net of 188 million rupees, extending the net foreign selling to 2 billion rupees so far this year. In 2021, stock market suffered a net foreign outflow of 50 billion rupees. more..

Jan 14 (TM) Colombo Archbishop His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith accused the Police of not conducting a truthful investigation regarding the discovery of a hand grenade at the All Saints Church in Borella and said that IGP C.D. Wickramaratne should go home if he cannot ensure a transparent investigation is conducted into the matter. “Instead of searching for the truth, they are creating a story. more..

Jan 14 (FT) I love the beach. There is no other place like it. Sea! Sand! Sun! It is where – in our southern summer that has never quite faded, despite the cold north winds of geopolitics – the seed of Adam plays, as the poet says. Children adore its guarantee of a good time. Some women I know swear by its suitability as an exercise track. If you’re willing to manoeuvre past the shady spots and equally dark characters, that is! Lovers meet... and part... at the water’s edge... more..

Jan 14 (FT) Professor Rohan Samarajiva had rebutted my criticism of the constitutional reform proposals unveiled by the National Movement for a Just Society. The editor of the Anidda newspaper also had written a comment about the tone of my criticism. He had attempted to show my criticism as one that promotes hatred. I do not intend to dwell upon his criticism, and will only respond to Samarajiva’s views and arguments on the system of independent commissions. There is no doubt that the modern states more..