Mar 27 (Island) Pressure building up among the masses over the current country situation imposing unbearable hardship on them is nearing exploding point. In the event of a public uprising it would be impossible to prevent the police and security forces taking the side of people, SLPP MP Wijayadasa Rajapakshe, PC, said last week. He identified the beginning of the crisis to a single family taking the credit for the war victory against the LTTE and using this to control a lion’s share of the economy, more..

Mar 27 (ST) All Party Conference (APC) summoned by Prez Rajapaksa displayed the desperation written all over his Govt as the economy plunged into free fall. It was forced to meet Opposition parties, exposing the fact that the once cock-a-hoop boast of a two-thirds majority and a whopping popular mandate have evaporated. Disintegrating with dissension and imploding with defections, political instability is about the worst thing that could happen to a country on the brink of an economic more..

Mar 27 (ST) My dear Gota maamey, I thought I must write to you after listening to you speaking to us in an address to the nation last week, and seeing the reaction to that from the citizens of Paradise. Most people were very angry. Others didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. That speech won’t go down as a highlight of your career. Many wanted to know who wrote that speech. That is because we assume you did not write it yourself. We wondered whether it was written by one of your greatest enemies, more..

Mar 27 (TM) An unsolicited proposal to import crude oil from the UAE for Sapugaskanda Oil Refinery operations has been rushed through the Cabinet recently. In a Cabinet Memorandum submitted on 18 March, Minister Gamini Lokuge has sought Cabinet approval to enter a long-term agreement with Fortuity General Trading LLC in UAE. Accordingly, approval had been sought from the Cabinet based on the recommendations of the SSCAPC to import a trial shipment of more..

Mar 27 (SO) The Advisory Committee set up to advise the National Economic Council (NEC) will focus on an immediate term (30-day) plan as an initial step and would submit proposals to the Council under the themes stabilisation of the rupee, monetary policy directions, fiscal measures and directions, bridging external sector gap, multi and bilateral engagement, debt restructuring priorities, unlock export inhibitors, food and essentials supply chain and social stability & cost of living relief, more..

Mar 27 (ST) As some political parties met at President’s House for an All Party Conference (APC), those who boycott the event accused the Govt of treating the legislature with contempt. On Thursday, Parliament approved the Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill that increased the charge on financial services provided by financial institutions from 15% to 18% with retrospective effect from Jan 1, 2022. The amendment was earlier approved by Parliament’s Committee on Public Finance. more..

Mar 27 (ST) Suranga Lakmal had at least two years of Test cricket left. But the right-arm medium pacer decided, to hell with SL cricket. He quit to join an English county for financial security, less stress and more freedom in his last years of professional playing career. A wise decision, many would say. SL’s best longer format seamer during the last decade endured a hefty pay cut of US$45,000 last year, being demoted to more..

Mar 27 (ST) What could be termed as an entertaining game of school rugby was marred by an ugly incident after the final whistle, as S. Thomas’ College played a different brand of game to snatch a possible win away from Trinity College to emerge victorious 17-14 and regain the Canon R.S. de Saram Shield at Havelock Park yesterday. Both teams scored identically, from two converted tries but the penalty put over by the Thomians in 11th min to gain an early lead, made all the difference. more..

Mar 27 (ST) Sri Lanka’s inability to repay mounting foreign debt including a US$1 billion International Sovereign Bond in July and some Chinese Bank loans has become a burning issue amidst the govt’s move to restructure debts in the wake of the forex crisis. A new situation faced apart from the present woes by local banks was raised in Parliament on Thursday by opposition MP Dr. Harsha de Silva claiming that a state bank in the past conducted dollar swaps with negative premiums. more..

Mar 27 (Island) Govt of Japan has provided a total sum of US$ 89,168 (approx. Rs. 17.7 mil) to Child Rehabilitation Centre for The Project for Construction of an Out Patients Dispensary for Minor Ethnic Community in Ampara District, the Japanese Embassy in Colombo said last week. The grant contract was signed on Monday between Ambassador MIZUKOSHI Hideaki Mr. Chamila Kodagoda, Chairman of Child Rehabilitation Centre. “The purpose of this project is to build more..

Mar 27 (ST) Sri Lanka is planning to depend on its local suppliers at present for the Yala season in providing the required fertiliser for organic paddy farming. However any imported stocks will have to submit to tests in line with the local requirements, an agricultural official said. If Sri Lanka is to import the organic fertiliser from the Qingdao Biotech Fertiliser company they will have to be validated by the tests carried out in Sri Lanka. As long as it is going to be plant origin and more..

Mar 27 (TM) CEB last week raised concerns about the financial sustainability of the loss-making State-Owned Enterprise (SOE), citing pressure from the deteriorating economic climate the country is facing and massive amounts of customer arrears, urging the relevant parties to finalise the electricity tariff revision immediately and fast-track customer receivables. In a letter dated 24 March, office of the CEB Finance Manager more..

Mar 27 (ST) The PCoI investigating the work of the previous Govt’s Anti-Corruption Committee and its Secretariat has issued a 12-point charge-sheet on former PM Ranil Wickremesinghe. Three of the charges against Mr Wickremesinghe are related to alleged violations of the Constitution by aiding and abetting the establishment of political bodies known as the National Executive Council (NEC), the Anti Corruption Committee (ACC) and the Anti Corruption Secretariat (ACS). more..

Mar 27 (ST) Tariff increases are being requested for utilities across the board including telecommunications, electricity, water and railways. Buses have already hiked fares. Telecom service providers want their rates revised, the regulator said this week. “We have asked them to submit individual tariff revision proposals which we are yet to receive,” said TRC’s Director (Competition) Indrajith Handapangoda. He said once approved, it is mandatory for service providers to more..

Mar 27 (ST) A number of proposals, which have received Cabinet’s nod of approval for goods and services on grant from India before Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa left for New Delhi to secure a US$1bn credit line, contain conditions. These proposals needed to get Cabinet approval for Sri Lanka to secure the Indian loan. This was after agreements were also signed for the Trincomalee oil tanks, a renewable energy project in Sampur more..

Mar 27 (TM) Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) is not planning to increase prices at the pump again, following the third price hike by Lanka India Oil Company (LIOC) last Friday, Minister Gamini Lokuge said, adding that he had directed Ministry officials to submit a report to the Cabinet regarding the LIOC price hike. According to Minister Lokuge, the Rs. 49 LIOC price hike for petrol (92 and 95 octane) is in breach of an agreement that the Energy Ministry and LIOC had reached previously. more..

Mar 27 (SO) Commenting on the IMF Article IV Staff Report on SL, the Central Bank (CB) stated that it has continued to publish its analysis, and provided further in-depth analysis on policy matters to the Govt and has been engaging in a continued close dialogue with the Govt. In a media communiqué, the bank stated that several policy adjustments by the Ministry of Finance and the CB had already been made which include monetary policy tightening since Aug last yr, allowing exchange rate flexibility, more..

Mar 27 (ST) The mood was one of unease and even sombre when govt MPs met at Temple Trees for their group meeting last Tuesday, one for which Prez Rajapaksa declared attendance was compulsory. Walking to a bar in a far corner of the venue to help themselves to tots of Black Label Scotch whisky, they chatted to each other about what the coming days and weeks would hold. Some were worried about going back to their more..

Mar 28 (DM) The war in Ukraine whose path of confrontational politics with Russia was backed by the US and its NATO allies has now entered its second month. According to the UN, 6.5 million ordinary Ukrainians have been internally displaced by the war. At least 816 Ukrainian civilians have been killed since conflict began. In the Ukraine city of Mariupol alone, where fierce fighting is taking place, at least 300 persons sheltering in a theatre - mainly women and children according to more..

Mar 28 (TM) SLPP Govt MP Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe last week proposed a 21st Amendment in the form of a private member Bill. Through it, he is advocating for the people’s sovereignty in the form of their Executive power, which is vested upon the Head of the Executive – Prez who is elected by the people – to be transferred to the Legislature, to be exercised by the Parliament, the latter body which is also elected by the people through the exercise of the franchise at a General Election. more..

Mar 28 (CT) 16-year-old Madubhashini (not the real name), whose nude photos were leaked on social media by her 38-year-old boyfriend for splitting up with him, said she has called off her relationship once she got to know that the person she is been dating online is nearly 40. “But it is too late. He has seen me in the worse way that a girl can be seen,” she lamented. However, the 38-year-old warned that he will release more..

Mar 28 (CT) The story of Selvamalar is the story of our nation: Poverty-ridden, consumed by debt, begging on the streets to feed her five children while her drug-addict husband squanders what little income she brings home. The resident of Colombo’s biggest slum lost all her belongings in a fire that engulfed a section of Kajimawatta last Friday. The devastated mother lamented, “I don’t steal… I beg to feed my five children. The only protection we had from the elements was the tin roof above more..

Mar 28 (DM) Economic collapse is no longer imminent, it has arrived. Make no mistake, a set of policy outcomes as disastrous as this would lead to mass anarchy in almost any other part of our region. Whatever Sri Lankan sense of pacifism or apathy is keeping the temperature just below boiling is unlikely to last for much longer. The protests and agitations of many thousands of ordinary Sri Lankans over the last year seemed to snowball into an awe-inspiring rally led by Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB). more..

Mar 28 (TM) Even though Sri Lanka has taken a number of initiatives, such as increasing prices of and taxes on cigarettes, prohibiting advertisements on tobacco products, and making it mandatory to display pictorial health warnings on cigarette packets, more steps need to be taken to discourage smoking, and the abovementioned steps need to be further strengthened. At the same time, since the country is going through more..

Mar 28 (ST) How does an All Party Conference (APC) comprising precisely of the same men whose actions have precipitated Sri Lanka into financial, social and regulatory collapse, help the country, one may ask? APC’s first sitting this week prompted howls of rude laughter from the citizenry, no less. Grist for cruel social media mills and no more, the exercise illustrated heedless showmanship, the same games being played by the same conmen while the country burns – literally. more..

Mar 28 (Island) The govt has become so unpopular that not even the staunchest SLPP supporters dare defend it lest they should be set upon by the irate public. Unable to defend the indefensible, some of them have become critical of the bungling regime, and prominent among them are the Buddhist monks who campaigned hard to bring the SLPP to power. Pro-SLPP Buddhist monks’ disillusionment reminds us of the frustration of Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera, who regretted having helped form more..

Mar 28 (ST) Returning as the conquering hero who has brought home the Golden Fleece, Minister Basil Rajapaksa tells reporters at the airport last Friday that thanks to India’s billion dollar credit line, the Lankan people can celebrate their New Year next month with the essential items freely available in the market. Does he expect three rounds of hip-hip hoorays followed by a chorus of Basil’s a jolly good fellow repeated thrice, as the bringer of Avurudhu cheer to a people brought down to more..

Mar 28 (FT) For the financial year 2021, People’s Bank reported a consolidated total operating income of Rs. 110.7 billion and total operating expenses amounting to Rs. 50.5 billion which represents an increase of 21.9% and 14.9% respectively over 2020. Bank’s consolidated pre-tax and post-tax profits amounted to Rs. 37.2 billion and Rs. 28.1 billion; representing a 51.1% and 74.6% growth. On a bank standalone basis, the bank’s PBT and PAT figures were Rs. 30.4 bil & Rs. 23.7 bil, more..

Mar 28 (FT) The worsening multiple economic crises have forced over 1,000 bakeries and 50% of canteens to shut, leaving thousands of people without a livelihood. It was pointed out that stakeholders engaged in the bakery and food industry are bulldozed by the rising costs, shortage of key ingredients, loss of power, dearth of fuel, and negligence of authorities to overcome the situation has led thousands of people being more..

Mar 28 (Island) In the past few weeks, I have been going through the letters I wrote way back in 2014 to try to get some productive action from the Rajapaksa govt, for my peregrinations round the country had made it clear to me that the people were tired. I have been annotating some of these letters on the Council for Liberal Democracy Facebook page, but it struck me that the particular issues raised in one letter deserved wider provenance. I refer to a letter I sent the then more..

Mar 28 (FT) COVID-19 vaccines were administered to 14,416 persons on Saturday, adding that 77.56% of the total population has received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The second dose has been administered to 65.7% of the population and 35.5% has received the booster dose as well. A total of 17,005,322 persons have received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 14,411,833 persons have received the second dose. The booster dose has been administered to 7,799,118 persons. more..

Mar 28 (ST) Lands Minister has vowed to introduce fresh changes to the new Land Development Ordinance (LDO) (Amd) Bill after he learned that a clause allowing rural families to mortgage grant lands without State oversight could lead to mass-scale dispossession, with properties everywhere being seized by financial institutions when their impoverished owners are unable to pay their dues. S.M. Chandrasena said more..

Mar 28 (FT) Minister Prasanna Ranatunga will convene a high-level discussion tomorrow to resolve the impact on the tourism sector from the ongoing power and fuel crisis. Secretaries to the Ministries of Power, Energy, Trade, Transport, State agencies Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and the gas companies, the Armed Forces, SL Police & tourism industry have been summoned for this high-level discussion which will be held at Tourism Ministry tomorrow. more..

Mar 28 (FT) SL’s capital market industry will kick off its spirited roadshow in the UK today to woo more foreign portfolios and direct investments on the premise of better future prospects despite the most challenging times at present for the country. The first-ever post-pandemic investor promotion in Europe will be held this week starting with a forum today morning in partnership with the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Around 60 London-based fund managers and investors will attend more..

Mar 28 (FT) Weekend COVID-19 detections totalled 257, with daily COVID-19 detections dropping below 100 yesterday. 93 persons tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday. This is the first time daily COVID-19 detections have dropped below 100 since 15 October 2020, when 74 persons tested positive for COVID-19. On Saturday, 164 persons tested positive for COVID-19. 3,106 PCR tests and 1,942 rapid antigen tests were conducted on Saturday. A total of 660,890 COVID-19 patients more..

Mar 28 (Island) SL’s national cross country team were in for a rude shock in Nagaland on Saturday when the Indian organizers of the South Asian Cross Country Championship presented the participants a hard-surface loop to compete the grueling endurance event which is usually run on courses over natural terrain of grass, dirt and mud. As any cross country team would expect, the country’s team of 12 athletes, who endured a two-day long journey to reach Nagaland, were looking forward to more..