Jun 6 (EN) Attorney-at-law Senaka Perera who heads SL’s People’s Lawyers Association (PLA) was summoned by the CID Monday morning. Perera has been an active participant at the aragalaya anti-govt protests that have been held continuously at Galle Face, Colombo, demanding the resignation of Prez Rajapaksa over SL’s worsening economic crisis. “I will only know [the reason for the summons] when I go inside. It would’ve been better if they had communicated the reasons to me, so more..

Jun 6 (Island) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe has been named the first responded in a fundamental rights case filed by Dr. Athula Kumara Samarakoon of the Open University, Soosaiappu Neavis Morais and Dr. Mahim Mendis, in connection with the wrong policies which led to the current economic meltdown.The application filed in terms of the Articles 17 and 126 of the Constitution named the entire Cabinet of Ministers, including former PM Mahinda Rajapaksa and Basil Rajapaksa and Ali Sabry, PC. more..

Jun 6 (AD) Minister Prasanna Ranatunga has been sentenced to two years rigorous imprisonment suspended for a period of five years by the Colombo High Court in the case filed against him over the Meethotamulla land dispute. Meanwhile the minister was also imposed a fine of Rs. 25 million by the Colombo HC, which laos ordered that failure to pay the fine carries an additional nine months imprisonment. more..

Jun 6 (Island) Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said that plans were underway to enable the public servants to work from home on Friday. Speaking to the media during a ceremony held at the Kethumathi Vihara in Madiwela yesterday to distribute Mee plants to mark the World Environment Day, Minister said that most probably state employees would be able to work from home on Friday. “The number of days for the public servants to report to their workplace would be brought down to four. more..

Jun 6 (DM) An Indian national has been arrested by the Security officials at the BIA for attempting to smuggle foreign currency worth over Rs. 40 million out of the country. Following a search of his suitcase, security officials found 117,000 Canadian dollars and 19,000 Euros. It was reported that the passenger, a 45 year old Indian businessman, had come to SL for business. He was to board an Indigo Flight bound for Chennai, India. The passenger and his consignment of foreign currency more..

Jun 6 (AP) It has been nearly three weeks since Ranil Wickremesinghe took over as PM of SL with a daunting mandate to pull the crisis-weary country from the brink of an economic abyss that threatens to tear it apart. 5-time PM has inherited a nation barreling toward bankruptcy and saddled with foreign debt so big that it has no money left for basic imports. Sri Lankans are struggling to access the bare necessities like food, fuel, medicine, more..

Jun 6 (EN) SL’s sole oil refinery in Sapugaskanda will supply 800 metric tonnes of diesel to the market starting Monday after being closed for over two months due to a lack of crude oil and a technical glitch, reports said. Refinery that had been closed for over two months due to a lack of crude oil recommenced operations on May 27 but has been out of commission for a week due to a technical issue in one of its burners. CPC announced on Monday that the diesel produced in more..

Jun 6 (NR) Minister of Trade Nalin Fernando has advised the Consumer Affairs Authority to summon officials of Laugfs Gas to inquire into the decision to increase gas prices. He said milk powder, gas, cement and other items have been removed from the essential item list. Therefore, Minister said prior approval from the Consumer Affairs Authority is not required when increasing gas prices. Eight months ago gas including several other goods were removed from the list of essential items, more..

Jun 6 (DM) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe and former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya have reached and agreement to work together on forming new Parliament committees. Jayasuriya said PM had a discussion with him and they agreed to work together on the Parliament committees. There had been reports and speculation earlier that the former Speaker will be brought into Parliament through the National List to be appointed as PM, to replace Mahinda Rajapaksa. However, more..

Jun 6 (Island) In a major step towards safeguarding the wellbeing of women and children from estate sector communities, the Centre for Child Rights and Business in partnership with Save the Children, and key stakeholders, Planters Association of Ceylon, Plantation Human Development Trust, Ministry of Women and Child Affairs announced the launch of SL’s first “Mother and Child-Friendly Seal for Responsible Business”. In the backdrop of a looming economic crisis that threatens to erode more..

Jun 6 (BN) The road to Hambantota may be paved with Chinese money, but its value is up for debate — now more than ever. Set among the soft, green rice paddies and coconut palms of SL’s deep south, Hambantota is best known as the stronghold of the nation’s Rajapaksa clan, who have spent years using borrowed money to build monuments to themselves. The little-used Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, the often overgrown more..

Jun 6 (ANI) A group of high-ranking Buddhist monks, the Chief Prelates on Sunday expressed gratitude to the Indian Govt for providing humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka amidst the country's ongoing economic and political crisis. They also thanked India for organising the celebration of Buddha Poornima. "Sri Lankans inherited their religion, culture, traditions and civilization from India and this relationship and brotherhood should grow from strength to strength. more..

Jun 6 (FT) The worsening multiple economic crises have forced over 900 mills to shut, whilst also warning that rice can only be produced for another two weeks with the remaining paddy stocks. The Small and Medium Mill Owners Association of Anuradhapura pointed out that from over 1,000 mills, at present only 70 of them are operating, following the multiple crises that they had to face. Given the shortages, the stakeholders called on the Govt to stop the use of rice for beer production more..

Jun 6 (EN) Central Bank has explained its exchange rate regime, which is still creating forex shortages amid a failed attempt to float the currency after mis-targeting interest rates for two years. Sri Lanka has a soft-peg or intermediate regime (now called a flexible exchange rate) which loses credibility quickly and collapses frequently when liquidity is injected as money and exchange policies conflict. more..

Jun 6 (ANI) High Commissioner of India in SL, Gopal Baglay, on Sunday informed that PM Narendra Modi approved urea consignment of 65,000 metric tons a donation to SL, will soon be delivered. "PM Modi has approved the urea consignment donation which will travel directly to SL from its origin in Oman. Indian High Commissioner assured that SL would receive the consignment as soon as possible," said Baglay. Minister Mahinda Amaraweera recently called upon more..

Jun 6 (EN) central bank has advanced US$ 388 million to domestic commercial banks to ease a dollar mis-match amid data shows as the lenders themselves blocked from building dollar deposits due to conversion rules. CB by April 2022 had advanced US$ 388 million to banks through swaps, up from US$ 351 million in March as they faced dollar funding difficulties, with counterparty limits cut due to low credit ratings. Banks themselves are now barred from collecting dollar savings more..

Jun 6 (Reuters) Prez Rajapaksa will finish the remaining two years of his term despite months-long street protests calling for his ouster but won’t stand for re-election, he said. SL is suffering its worst economic crisis in decades. "I have been given a mandate for five years. I will not contest again," Rajapaksa said. Anti-govt protestors blame Rajapaksa and his family for decisions that led to severe shortages of everything from fuel to medicine, stoking inflation of 40% and more..

Jun 6 (CT) Private bus owners said the overall bus services will be reduced to 10-15% from today (6). Lanka Private Bus Owners’ Association President, Gemunu Wijeratne, said though there was a supply of diesel in Colombo, the fuel scarcity still exists in outstations such as Mannar, Vavuniya, Gamapaha Districts, Mawanella, Polonnaruwa, Badulla and Puttalam. “These areas were neglected by Ceypetco and were not provided with diesel since they took a decision to provide diesel to selected areas. more..

Jun 6 (Island) Some political parties, represented in Parliament, have stressed the need to ensure that the 21st Amendment does not include provisions that require public approval at a referendum. SJB’s Champika Ranawaka, PHU leader Udaya Gammanpila and the leader of civil society group Yuthukama Gevindu Cumaratunga have taken that stand at recent meetings, chaired by PM Wickremesinghe. more..

Jun 6 (DM) The electricity bill should be increased by a considerable percentage, at least to pay the monthly salary of the employees, CEB Chairman M.M.C. Ferdinando said. He said the electricity rates had not increased since 2014 until now. This is not a fault of the consumers, but the CEB had to increase the bill amount step by step without making it a burden to the people. Revenue of the CEB is Rs. 277 billion and the cost is Rs.755 billion. CEB should increase the bill by at least 250% to more..

Jun 6 (AD) Former Prez Maithripala Sirisena says he is deeply saddened by the actions of the present govt that threaten Sri Lanka’s deep-rooted historical relationship with Russia. The leader of the SLFP was referring to the recent diplomatic row between the two nations over the Aeroflot flight detained at BIA. “Russia is our old friend since the Soviet era. This historical relationship was further strengthened during my tenure as president,” Sirisena said in a twitter message. more..

Jun 7 (DM) Sri Lankan Finance Ministers have been presenting annual budgets with an ever-expanding deficit for the past several decades. Past or present govts neither took it seriously nor were serious measures taken to reverse the situation. The overall budget deficit which was just a few billion rupees a few decades ago, has risen to Rs.1,826 billion in 2021. Every govt thought it fit to fill the gap by borrowing domestically and internationally and by printing money. more..

Jun 7 (CT) Rice is Sri Lanka’s staple food and a key energy source for its people. However, Colombo’s retail rice prices Year-on-Year (YoY) have increased by between 51.1-114.4 per cent (Rs 76.96-116.13) to be between Rs 227.56-217.64 a kilo by last month end, hitting the poor the hardest, recent Census and Statistics Department (CSD) data showed. The increase in rice prices is due to poor policies by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who banned chemical fertiliser imports last year. more..

Jun 7 (DM) Ven. Galkande Dhammananda Thera who currently heads the Walpola Rahula Institute for Buddhist Studies has been addressing issues related to social justice and harmony while promoting an inclusive and plural society. Having gathered a wealth of experience during the height of war for instance and having encountered various incidents during his lifetime, Ven. Dhammananda Thera more..

Jun 7 (GV) World Environment Day is celebrated every year to highlight the importance of the environment we live in. This year the theme is only one planet but to Sri Lankans it would be more relevant to rename it only one Sri Lanka. SL is very small in size, just 65,610 square km, with 22 million people so we have very little land in relation to the population. We need to work together to preserve whatever natural heritage is left. There are any threats arising from the current crisis more..

Jun 7 (TM) SLPP MP Johnston Fernando – generally referred to as Johnny – is known by everyone, despised by the people of the aragalaya (people’s struggle), apparently protected by the Govt, and is being searched for by the law enforcement authorities. However, he is nowhere to be found. This is despite it being four days since two CID teams were appointed to arrest the former Minister and Chief Govt Whip, following the AG Dept’s statement to the Colombo Fort more..

Jun 7 (CT) Sri Lanka is an agricultural country, blessed with fertile, tropical land, a perfect climate, and adequate water throughout the year, and is very farmer-friendly. Yet, issues such as effectiveness, productivity, and the lack of proper management, have hindered food production of the country. Production is insufficient even for the consumption of the population. Dr. Manuja Perera, Senior Lecturer in Community Medicine, more..

Jun 7 (Island) A court order that prevented an Aeroflot aircraft from leaving the BIA, on 02 June, has been suspended following a motion filed by the Attorney General, yesterday. When the aircraft was detained, the knee-jerk reaction of the govt was to try to play down the seriousness of the issue albeit without much success. How can a govt be so naďve as not to be able to realise the gravity of such an issue and its diplomatic ramifications? This is the question one must have asked oneself on more..

Jun 7 (CI) The ongoing political and economic crisis in SL has meant the build-up to Australia's first three-format tour to the island nation in six years has been quieter than it might have been otherwise. But the arrival of the reigning T20 world champions is a welcome sight for SL cricket fans who are hoping their team can be more competitive in the lead up to the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia under new coach Chris Silverwood. These two sides met in a five-match T20I series in Feb more..

Jun 7 (CT) The situation in the country appears to be getting less hopeful by the day. The Galle Face protest site reflects this despondency. The material conditions of life are getting worse, not better. It is becoming harder for people to make the sacrifice for positive change that may not take place. The lines in front of petrol stations get longer. The number of them that have closed temporarily has increased. PM is warning that there will be food scarcity in the next few months and more..

Jun 7 (ST) Seeing young students sitting their o/L exam recently holding umbrellas over their heads to prevent the rain soaking them and their answer scripts, is certainly the most poignant and heartrending scene I have seen in a long, long time. That such young kids — boys and girls — could be subject to such indignities and stressful conditions besides the stress already imposed on them by a critical exam that would and could determine how far they proceed in their intended careers, more..

Jun 7 (FT) Emerging markets guru Mark Mobius has expressed optimism of Sri Lanka coming out of its worst crisis as well as confidence that his investment in an apartment at Cinnamon Life will appreciate in the long term. Mobius revealed this and few other interesting observations during a webinar titled The dynamics of distress and debt in emerging markets: Sri Lanka's struggling economy last week by the Cornell Uni, more..

Jun 7 (DM) On June 2, Palm Oil Industry Association of SL (POIASL) appealed to the govt to allow the cultivation of oil palm to boost the economy, save forex and increase employment. But SL scientific community may oppose it as it did in a report in 2018. POIASL told the govt: “Ours is a responsible, sustainable, eco-friendly industry that has the potential to transform SL’s agricultural sector, and potentially even its agricultural exports, while definitely minimizing our reliance on imported more..

Jun 7 (CI) Marnus Labuschagne will be aiming to copy Joe Root's playbook in Sri Lanka as he prepares for what he expects will be his toughest challenge yet against spin. Labuschagne completed his latest county stint with Glamorgan on Sunday in an abandoned T20 clash against Surrey, but not before he had taken 2 for 27 from his four overs ahead of a tour were his legspin could be used more regularly by Aaron Finch and Pat Cummins. However, it will be with the bat where more..

Jun 7 (FT) Trade Minister Nalin Fernando yesterday hinted at re-imposing the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) for certain essential items, given the arbitrary hikes and shortage of goods. “As the MRP has been removed for months now, we observe that companies are taking advantage of the move to arbitrarily increase prices to burden people. If required the Govt will list items once again under the essential items in a Gazette notification,” more..