Jun 5 (ST) My dear Dumi,I thought of writing to you this week because you are all over the news these days. One day, you were the head of a govt institution. The very next day, you are again a convicted criminal. The wheels of justice turn in mysterious ways in this land like no other, as Basil too found out this week! It is quite a coincidence that you fell ill on the same day the verdict against you was delivered. Your illness seems to be closely related to the outcomes of your legal battles. more..

Jun 5 (CT) SL’s Aragalaya has many similarities with protests in other countries over the last decade in what is being described, both by the political Left and the Right, as the age of mass protests. According to one assessment the size and frequency of protests since 2009 are eclipsing the protest waves of the last century in the 1960s, 1980s and 1990s. According to another, a majority of the of the protests in different countries are triggered by the failure of representational democracy and more..

Jun 5 (SO) Minister Bandula Gunawardana said that if all join hands and work together with dedication, we will be able to find a solution to the current economic crisis. He said in order to find a stable solution to the issue, the task of public finances should be fulfilled properly and this is the long term solution. Dr. Gunawardana said steps should be taken to safeguard the banking network and somehow increase foreign exchange more..

Jun 5 (SO) There is a healthy debate in the media as well as in political circles over the interaction and intersection between the current political and economic crises. One school of thought is that the shortcomings in the political structure have led to the present crisis in governance and hence, the economic crisis. Others believe that the two have no connection at all – that the economic slump was anyway going to happen regardless of issues of governance due to the way in which our more..

Jun 5 (TM) How pertinent are these words for our leaders today, busy as they are, scheming, plotting, and planning to out manoeuvre each other, while the nation is slowly but surely bleeding dry. Indeed, when the need of the nation is so great, our political leadership, a dozen who matter at the most, have been unable to sit at one table and put country before party. It is our collective misfortune that we have elected a leadership that has proven to be innately incapable of seeing beyond their more..

Jun 5 (Island) There was an element of mea culpa (my fault) in the first televised address to the nation by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa after the present crises, economic, political and social hit this country. He noted that no Rajapaksa, save PM Mahinda Rajapaksa, were in the cabinet he had just sworn. That in fact was an admission that years of packing the govt with Rajapaksas, placing a huge slice of the national economy in their (should we say greasy?) hands was a huge mistake. more..

Jun 5 (Island) The world will not help Sri Lanka unless the SL govt restores some measure of stability. The world does not care who is at the helm. The IMF and the World Bank don’t want personalities; they want plans. Whether it’s a Wickremesinghe or a Rajapaksa calling the shots, they will not think beyond plans. The World Bank was very clear and sounded the alarm twice on this: unless they get a proper plan, they will not provide any bridging finance for us. more..

Jun 5 (ST) The old adage goes beggars cannot be choosers but when it comes to SL politicians, even the goods in the begging bowl cannot be distributed without making sure there is a political advantage to them or to the party to which they belong to. This petty state of the country’s political class as the country undergoes the worst economic crisis since Independence emerged this week, when steps were taken to distribute Indian more..

Jun 5 (Island) A number of outstanding performances, the latest of which was termed by him as his best, have helped sprinter Yupun Abeykoon climb up in the men’s 100 metres world rankings as the World Athletics rankings updated this week placed him above Japan’s Olympic medallist Yoshihide Kiryu. The Italy based sprinter, who improved the National and South Asian region 100 metres record to 10.06 seconds last month, clocked 10.08 to a headwind of -1.2, more..

Jun 5 (ST) Questions have been made galore over selection of Supuna Warusavithana as replacement for Rohan Sirisena who withdrew from next month’s Commonwealth Games in England for reasons best known to top officials. Table tennis initially had one slot in Singles, with the country’s top seed Sirisena earning automatic entry, but after the last minute withdrawal of another participating nation, table tennis officials here were given the greenlight to select a team of five including a standby. more..

Jun 5 (TM) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe seems to be faced with continuous obstacles in his attempts to bring about political stability in the country, which is a prerequisite for the much-anticipated bridge financing to enter SL. PM and Prez Rajapaksa have been engaged in a tug-of-war situation since Wickremesinghe assumed office last month. Among the clashes between Prez Rajapaksa and the PM are the appointment of Cabinet more..

Jun 5 (Island) Envisioning Sri Lanka as a global destination for sourcing safe and value-added herbs and spices, Ceylon Spice Company (CSC) now extends its services in providing local exporters advanced milling, sterilization and packing facilities under one roof, a company news release said last week. “Ceylon Spice Company (CSC) is a subsidiary of the MJF Group. Today, we are supporting local spice exporters affordable access to state-of-the-art technologies for milling and sterilization. more..

Jun 5 (ST) Sri Lanka’s ace paddler Senura Silva, has missed out the final has missed out the final selection trials for the upcoming Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2022, as he is currently sitting for the GCE Ordinary Level examination. The said selection trials to select the final table tennis team for CWG 2022 was held last Sunday and Monday, May 29 and 30, at the Sports Ministry Indoor Courts, and Senura had to forego the trials as he had the mathematic exam on Monday. more..

Jun 5 (TM) SL Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) has revised down its tourism arrival projections for 2022 for the third time this year, due to the current crisis in the country which has negatively impacted tourist arrivals to the country. However, the authorities have now set two targets based on two scenarios. SLTDA Director General stated that considering the current crisis situation in the country, SLTDA had decided to revise their tourist arrival projections for 2022. more..

Jun 5 (TM) The massive incentives announced for SL migrant workers in order to attract more remittances into the country are to be funded by the SLBFE. Minister Manusha Nanayakkara, who announced the incentives, stated that the Ministry would not seek any allocation from the Treasury to provide them and that they would be funded by the SLBFE. “We are meeting with Treasury officials to structure formulas for implementing these measures. Following this, we will get them approved more..

Jun 5 (Island) Former Australian captain Vic Richardson had an interesting advice to his grandson Ian Chappell, “If you ever go onto captain Australia, don’t lead like a Victorian.’ Victoria is the second smallest Australian state and its people in Richardson’s time were said to be too traditional. The current Australian captain Aaron Finch is also a Victorian and turns up for Geelong Cricket Club, a familiar place for Sri Lankans more..

Jun 5 (ST) SL’s soaring inflation has set the foundation for larger firms to be ruthless in wiping out their smaller counterparts. “The larger companies that can manage supply chains better will be ruthless in taking prices higher in this high inflationary environment,” said Managing Director Lanka Tiles & Lanka Walltiles. Another manufacturing company’s CEO agreed to say that larger companies process the ability to tackle price hikes easier than their smaller counterparts. more..

Jun 5 (ST) The Treasury re-imposing 2019 taxes is all good, but companies are demanding to see where their hard-earned money goes as they only too well are aware of how wasteful state expenditure can be. “We all agree that the government revenue has to increase but we need to have the right to scrutinise the activities of the state, and see actually how our taxes are deployed,” Managing Director Lanka Tiles PLC and Lanka Walltiles PLC told the Business Times. more..

Jun 5 (ST) Starved for tax revenue, Inland Revenue Department (IRD) is going after tax evaders owing billions of rupees to the state with casinos backed by two of SL’s most powerful and influential businessmen, being among the evaders. According to the evader’s list compiled by the IRD, Bally’s Casino Colombo owned by Bally’s Company Ltd has defaulted taxes amounting to Rs.575 million. However the company has agreed to make more..

Jun 5 (TM) Govt’s proposed 21st Amendment to the Constitution is to be taken up for discussion at the meeting of Cabinet Ministers scheduled for tomorrow, but will not be presented to Parliament this week. Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said that the proposed piece of legislation would be taken up for discussion at the Cabinet meeting since the parliamentary party leaders had reached a consensus on several key clauses. However, proposed 21st Amd more..

Jun 5 (ST) Three key issues related to presidential powers are yet to be resolved before the final draft of the 21st Amendment is to be submitted to the cabinet for approval, a senior govt official said. Prez Rajapaksa, PM Wickremesinghe and Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe met last night to sort out the outstanding issues. A separate meeting between the PM, Justice Minister and the AG has been scheduled for today. The key outstanding issues are whether the Prez should retain more..

Jun 5 (Island) SJB MP Eran Wickremaratne says that it is high time the govt got on with the 21st Amendment Bill proposed by the SJB to parliament if it genuinely wants to bring a system change demanded by the people across the country. He told a press conference held on Thursday at the Office of the Leader of Opposition, that the first reading of 21A was on May 17 and it is now before the Supreme Court to decide whether it is consistent with the constitution. more..

Jun 5 (ST) The UN will on Wednesday (8) announce a formal appeal for food and medicines following a request by the SL Govt, Foreign Minister G.L. Peiris confirmed. This S-O-S for international help from the world body follows talks held by PM Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday with Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Country Representative Vimlendra Sharan and UN Development Programme (UNDP) Deputy Country Representative Malin Herwig. more..

Jun 5 (MB) A year since the sinking of the cargo ship the X-Press Pearl, SL continues to clean its beaches of the plastic pellets that the vessel was carrying, and still trying to claim compensation for the environmental damage wrought. An expert committee investigating the extent of damage to the country’s marine and coastal environment has now concluded the disaster to be the worst in terms of chemical & plastic pollution of the sea. more..

Jun 5 (TM) Indian Line of Credit (LOC) worth $ 500 million, the third to be requested by SL for the purchase of fuel, is yet to be finalised. It is learnt that the full quota given for the purchase of fuel under the previous $ 1 billion Indian LOC has already been exhausted. “We have requested another $ 500 million credit line for the purchasing of fuel, but it has not yet been finalised,” Treasury Deputy Secry said. He said that from the previous $ 1 b LOC, the sum allocated for fuel had already been utilised. more..

Jun 5 (SO) Plans are under way to introduce a five-year no pay leave plan for public servants who wish to go abroad for work or any other purpose, Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said. According to Minister, public servants will get back their seniority, grades at the end of the five years with all benefits after completing the no pay leave period. This will give incentives to public servants to go abroad for employment. Therefore, this program will offer many benefits to public servants, the Minister said. more..

Jun 5 (TM) Russian State-owned carrier Aeroflot yesterday suspended commercial flights to SL and stopped issuing tickets to Colombo, citing the unreliable situation in terms of the airline’s unobstructed flights to SL, and is expected to challenge the legal order – issued to detain an aircraft from its fleet in SL – in Court next week. In a bid to resolve the brewing diplomatic issue, it is learnt that PM Wickremesinghe had directed more..

Jun 5 (Island) A group of young Spanish and Italian holidaymakers bitten by the travel bug and seeking adventure visiting touristic hotspots in the country, on the eve of their departure recently echoed in one voice that the SL was one of the safest countries to travel. Each day of their two week holiday in the country there was something exciting on offer they said. They said: “We traveled to many places on our own and were never in danger and people were very friendly, hospitable and helpful. more..

Jun 5 (ST) Govt is considering a proposal to give public servants the option of keeping away from work on Fridays and cultivate home gardens and other lands, a senior official said. According to him, public servants who want to keep off from work on Friday will have to register with the Agriculture Dept to ensure that the off day is used to grow food in their home gardens or other lands. He said the proposal had been discussed with Agriculture Dept & would be submitted to Cabinet soon. more..

Jun 5 (ST) There was a difference when the two friends – Prez Rajapaksa and Sagala Ratnayake, the newly appointed Chief of Staff of PM Ranil Wickremesinghe – met days ago at the Prez’s House. The old camaraderie apart, there was a note of grim seriousness. Beleaguered Rajapaksa politely delivered a message of caution and urged Ratnayake to convey it to PM Wickremesinghe. The deal makers who had during their yahapalana more..

Jun 6 (DM) Presidential pardons are once again in the news. Earlier this month the Supreme Court of the country overturned the presidential pardon on a particular former MP. The verdict was ground breaking. The Courts had stood up to an executive fiat of an incumbent president and ordered the arrest of a person pardoned by him. In our country Presidential Pardons are a regular feature. On special days marking events such as Vesak Poya Day, Independence Day, and Christmas Day more..

Jun 6 (DM) On that fateful April day this whirlwind of peaceful protests began, I sensed a profound change in people. When the Galle Face green became the epicentre of protests with its highly creative GotaGoGama concept, I told a friend about the incredible new spirit of change that was sweeping the country. “Don’t get fooled,” he warned me. “Sri Lankans are famous for doing these u-turns. I have seen it happen so many times.” But, on my first visit to Galle Face, I became a more..

Jun 6 (CT) The murder of 9-year-old Fathima Ayesha of Atulugama, who went to buy chicken from the shop near her house on 27 May evening and never returned home, made headlines and sparked fury islandwide, until a video of an MP’s son and daughter-in-law engaged in a shouting match with Police Officers at an expressway entrance on Thursday (2) popped up on social media. When a child abuse case, more..

Jun 6 (DM) A debate on another controversial issue over adding one more patch to the arbitrarily tinkered Constitution. G.G. Ponnambalam, Queen’s Counsel, the senior defence lawyer at Trial-at-Bar in the 1962 Coup case, in answer to a question by Mr Justice Sri Skanda Rajah, during his submission, said that he did not wish to be hard but with due respect to Sir Ivor Jennings, [the author of Ceylon Independence Constitution-1948] “There isn’t a more truncated, more incomplete and more..

Jun 6 (ST) The Sri Lanka political establishment’s dirty tricks department seems to be in full swing as the nation is presented with a dizzying array of constitutional amendments, variously titled 21st Amendment, 21A, 21B, 22A and so forth. It says much for the combined idiocy underlying this process of ‘constitutional reform,’ (for want of a better term), that even the originators of these amendments are uncertain as to which clause belongs to what. more..

Jun 6 (TM) Sri Lanka can avert a major food shortage which is expected in the coming months, newly-appointed Minister Nalin Fernando said. He expressed confidence that with the aid of the Indian Line of Credit (LOC), World Bank funding, and a $ 100 million allocation per month by the Treasury, SL could manage to reduce the impact of the food shortage. He revealed that Govt was focused on reviving agricultural industry, more..

Jun 6 (CT) A diplomatic row is brewing between Moscow and Colombo and it may have disastrous consequences for the SL economy, plunging the country into an even worse predicament. On 2 June, Commercial High Court of the Western Province issued an Enjoining Order on a Russian flagship carrier Aeroflot flight carrying 191 passengers and 13 crew members, restraining it from taking off from BIA. The following day, SL’s Ambassador to Russia, Janitha A. Liyanage was summoned to more..