Jan 5 (FT) Lion Brewery has been named Export Brand of the Year. The award honours the business that has worked most purposefully, strategically and successfully with their brand in expanding into geographic markets and through significant and sustained export sales, and where the brand is documented and anchored in the company. The company won the award at the recent SLIM Brand Excellence Awards 2022 which celebrates extraordinary success in creative and more..

Jan 5 (FT) Central Bank said it will remain committed to achieving its mandate through appropriate policy measures but reiterated the need for steadfast commitment by all to remaining in focus until the crisis is overcome through collective efforts in this crucial moment of SL’s socioeconomic history. It said an efficient implementation of the identified near-term stabilisation measures and the medium to more..

Jan 5 (EN) SL’s election commission has taken what appears to be the first tentative step towards a decisive round of local govt elections due early March, and though the ruling SLPP is far from pumped, its many challengers in the opposition, analysts say, may also be prematurely counting their chickens. While its detractors are determined to drag the govt kicking and screaming through the electoral process in the new year, the result they’re counting on may not quite come to pass; at least more..

Jan 5 (EN) Central Bank is eyeing for stability this year in the SL’s economy after an unprecedented financial crisis forced the country for hard reforms amid worst contraction in the country’s post-independence history. The CB, which printed billions of rupees to finance govt and resulted in a unprecedentedly high inflation, said the country is witnessing the impact of consecutive economic shocks in the last four years. “Livelihoods were lost, while real incomes suffered the most,” more..

Jan 5 (Island) Convenor of the combined trade union front, in fuel, ports and power sectors of SJB, Ananda Palitha, alleged that consumers had been deprived of the benefit of the continuing drop in world crude oil prices as the govt had suspended the cost-reflective fuel pricing formula, introduced in late May last year. Having declared that the new pricing formula would be adjusted bi-monthly, or monthly, more..

Jan 5 (Island) Justice Ministry Secretary Wasantha Perera said that her Ministry was aware that underworld kingpin Kanjipani Imran, who was on bail, had fled to India. The relevant courts would deal with the matter, she said. Wasantha Perera said so in response to a query whether the Ministry would initiate an inquiry into this. Earlier in the day, three sureties who failed to produce the alleged underworld kingpin in Court in respect of an ongoing magisterial inquiry were yesterday noticed to more..

Jan 5 (ST) The much delayed construction work of SL’s Pentagon-styled Defence headquarters building complex at Akuregoda, Battaramulla is now expected to be completed in 2023 after nearly 12 years of construction, official sources divulged. Sources from the Treasury said that the project will continue with the raising of funds as and when it is needed but there may be a possibility of construction work being disrupted due to budgetary constraints. The project was launched in 2011 to house more..

Jan 5 (EN) Smuggling of tendu leaves which are used to manufacture beedi in Sri Lanka has sharply increased in 2022, the island nation’s navy said as the govt imposed high taxes on tobacco products. “There is a huge increment in the number of captures in 2022 compared to last year,” Navy Media Spokesman Gayan Wickremesuriya said. “When the local market products are expensive, people try other unofficial methods to bring down tobacco for a lower cost and to gain a profit.” more..

Jan 5 (Island) Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, has said the govt should purchase the Maha paddy harvest from hard hit farmers to ensure a fair price, instead of holding the Local Govt elections in March 2023. The Minister said that 800,000 hectares had been cultivated with paddy for the Maha season and harvesting would begin in a few weeks. Amaraweera said that Election Commission had called for nominations for the LG polls and the govt would have to spend over 10 billion rupees on it. more..

Jan 5 (TM) Public petition launched by Electricity Consumers’ Association, seeking the signatures of 6.9 million electricity consumers in opposition to the proposed electricity tariff increase, had secured nearly 30,000 signatures as of last morning. Association collected signatures from locals in the Giriulla area yesterday, and hopes to move to Divulapitiya today, Meerigama and Maharagama on 7 Jan, Negombo on 8 Jan. more..

Jan 5 (TM) Colombo Additional Magistrate Rajindra Jayasuriya yesterday proceeded to conduct the death inquest of Janashakthi PLC Director Dinesh Schaffter in the Additional Magistrate's Chamber instead of in open court as per a request made by the family members of the deceased. The inquest was to be conducted in open court last morning (4), and the Additional Magistrate then ordered that it be conducted in the Additional Magistrate’s chambers at the request of Schaffter’s family. more..

Jan 5 (TM) In the wake of UNP General Secretary, Palitha Range Bandara stating that the Railways Dept authorities should have informed the relevant institutions regarding the problems that may arise with the retirement of a large number of employees on 31 Dec 2022, department stated that it had informed all relevant authorities in that regard for about five months. Railways Dept General Manager (GM), W.A.D. Gunasinghe said that the Dept had been informing the authorities about more..

Jan 5 (DN) The England Lions Team will tour Sri Lanka and has scheduled to play two four-day unofficial Test matches and three ODIs against Sri Lanka ‘A’. The match series commenced with a three-day warm-up game against SLC Board X1 which will be played from Jan 25 to 27 at the R. Premadasa Int'l Cricket Stadium. According to the senior official of the SLC, the two four-day unofficial test matches will commence from 31st Jan to Feb 3rd while the second four-day Test will more..

Jan 5 (DM) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe has officially informed the UNP that he will not participate in any campaign for the local govt election which is expected to be held some time this year. Prez has said he was not appointed as Prez for two years to engage in elections but to revive the shattered economy. “I cannot do this outside this mandate,” he said during a meeting he had with UNP seniors. He had further informed the UNP seniors that he will only chair the party’s working committee more..

Jan 5 (TM) The Civil Appellate High Court of the Western Province yesterday informed that the order on whether or not to release former Prez Maithripala Sirisena from the lawsuits filed by victims of the Easter Sunday terror attacks of 2019, seeking compensation for the damages caused by the said attack, will be issued on 22 Feb. The petition filed by Sirisena seeking the dismissal of the cases – filed by 109 persons who were injured, more..

Jan 5 (EN) SL is planning to boost domestic tourism to all provinces in 2023 an official said with nine long weekends giving opportunities holidaymakers to travel around the island. “We are working with Provincial Councils and giving provincial incentives to those ideas that have been established, this will attract domestic and foreign tourism,” an official said. SL has holidays for each full moon Poya day, holidays for each major religion, sometimes holidays in lieu of holidays that fall on a weekend. more..

Jan 5 (DM) FACETS SL, the premier gem and jewellery show is all set to commence on the 7th of Jan. Coming back from a two-year break post-Covid, FACETS SL is one of the industry’s largest promotional events. The premium edition of this world-class Gem and Jewellery show will be held from the 7-9 Jan at The Cinnamon Grand Colombo and will be open to visitors daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. This exclusive edition of FACETS SL is expected to be a high-profile & exclusive more..

Jan 5 (TM) Election Commission (EC) yesterday published a notice calling for nominations for the Local Govt (LG) polls 2023, in 340 LG authorities, while the poll for the Elpitiya Pradeshiya Sabha (PS) in the Galle District will not be held. According to the notice calling for nominations, nomination forms should be handed over from 18-21 January to the relevant District Secretary. The deposits for the nominations would be accepted more..

Jan 6 (Island) Somewhere in early 2015, I took the bus from Maradana to Nugegoda, the 176. It was, by all accounts, an ordinary weekday morning, and people were going about and shuttling from one workplace to another. Normally, the 176 bus can be a long ride, but on this occasion, it wasn’t. Having left a meeting with a friend, I was now on my way to get a gift for my father, a book at Sarasavi. It would have been around 10 am when I boarded the bus, and it was around an hour and 10 minutes more..

Jan 6 (DM) Have the cake and eat it, too: This may be a hackneyed phrase. But it is an apt idiom to describe a desperate Sri Lankan govt’s haphazard fiscal measures to shore up falling state revenues and maintain a modicum of normalcy to keep the economy on life support. One such move is to add more tax burdens on the poor and the working class people. They are being excessively battered by the economic crisis and govt measures to mitigate it. The country has a tax more..

Jan 6 (TM) Although considerable disparities could be observed in Covid-19 vaccinations in SL, especially between geographic areas (districts) and different age groups, the country has been able to reach a satisfactory level of national vaccination coverage. However, despite the fact that the threat of Covid-19 has subsided, and Covid-19 vaccinations are no longer considered a pressing need, the country could look back and learn more..

Jan 6 (CT) Central Bank issued a Press Release on Jan 4th, on the same day, Provincial Council election was gazetted by the Election Commission. CB knowing that the govet’s culpability in bringing this economic crisis could play a huge role in the election, it exonerated the Gotabaya regime’s responsibility from making the crisis in the first place and for prolonging the crisis under Ranil Wickremesinghe’s presidency. We all know that nothing will happen without the presence of more..

Jan 6 (GV) We all knew 2022 would be a challenging year for SL even before its arrival. But no one expected it to be this difficult, hurtful, unpleasant, yet memorable. The country was still at the tail end of the pandemic when the year started but no one had time or curiosity to talk about Covid as the other issues people were grappling with were more pressing. On the economic front, the year started with fear of a looming food shortage; then came the dollar shortage, which paved more..

Jan 6 (CT) The prolonged delay in holding the Local Govt polls, Interim Govt after the Aragalaya, and the economic downturn has raised the question, how politically literate are Sri Lankans? Approximately 92 per cent of Sri Lankans are literate, but merely being able to read and write doesn’t prove that a particular country have it all. Meanwhile, with the present economic crisis, many parents are torn between feeding their more..

Jan 6 (Island) Election Commission (EC) has stopped dilly-dallying and announced that nominations for the much-delayed Local Govt (LG) elections will be accepted from 18 to 21 Jan., 2023. This is certainly good news. Some Opposition politicians are in seventh heaven. They brag that they have been able to put paid to the govt’s efforts to postpone the polls. But it ain’t over until the fat lady sings. There is said to be many a slip ‘twixt the cup and the lip. Govt is scared of elections, more..

Jan 6 (TM) As was underscored by The Morning in an editorial earlier this week, in a context where the Govt is taking measures to implement solutions to the direct impacts of the economic crisis, this year (2023) will see considerable direct and indirect adverse impacts of those solutions on the people. The country has already started experiencing some such impacts, one of the most notable ones being the situation of the railway service. Since the beginning of this month, more..

Jan 6 (DM) Local govt elections are expected to be held in March this year. The governing central govt parties have shown little enthusiasm toward the holding of local hustings. Those in opposition political parties meanwhile speak on the vital importance of holding the election on schedule. Chairman of the EC has announced that he intends holding LG elections in a timely manner, but has added a rider, regarding the availability of cash to organize such a large undertaking. more..

Jan 6 (CT) The fear of Covid-19 has most evidently faded over the past year with the pandemic being a long-forgotten phenomenon. With the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak in 2019, there was a great sense of fright amongst the public as the deadly virus claimed many lives. Several precautionary measures were adopted globally, including lockdowns and testing for Covid-19. Covid-19 affected Sri Lanka in many different ways, exhausting the health sector and resulting more..

Jan 6 (EN) Central Bank has discontinued an incentive of 2 rupee per every US Dollar paid on conversion of inward workers’ remittances from Jan 1, sources said. The incentive was granted in Dec 2021 to encourage remittances through formal banking networks as many foreign workers sent money through illegal hawala or undiyal methods as those methods paid them a higher amount for foreign currencies when more..

Jan 6 (TM) The ruling SLPP, which launched its LG Poll campaign yesterday by making its first bail deposit for nominations at the Kalutara District Secretariat, claimed that it is ready to take on any electoral challenge and that it will achieve a result that the party can rejoice in. SLPP MP Rohitha Abeygunawardena said that the SLPP is ready to handle any challenge, with SLPP MP Johnston Fernando adding that the party is ever ready to compete in any election and that more..

Jan 6 (FT) MP Dr. Nalaka Godahewa predicts that the current Govt will not be able to secure even 20% of the vote at the upcoming local Govt elections. Noting that the Govt has failed to gain the confidence of the international community and organisations, Godahewa said there should be a change in Govt in the new year. “I believe 2023 should be a year of elections,” he said. Godahewa made these comments during a press conference held at Freedom People’s Congress office more..

Jan 6 (CI) Axar Patel tried his absolute best with both bat and ball, but Dasun Shanaka continued his all-round domination of India to bring up a 16-run win for Sri Lanka in what turned out to be a thrilling contest at MCA Stadium in Pune. Batting first, the visitors, helped by some shoddy Indian bowling, including seven very costly no-balls, racked up 206 for 6 in their 20 overs. Kusal Mendis (52 off 31) & Shanaka (56* off 22) more..

Jan 6 (DN) Today is the Duruthu Full Moon Poya day. It is significant to all SL Buddhists as it is a sacred day that marks the Gautama Buddha’s first visit to Sri Lanka, blessed land purified by the touch of the Buddha’s Sacred Footprint and the sublime fragrance of dhamma popularly referred to as Dhamma Dheepa. According to the Buddhist scripts, it was the 6th Century B.C. and the Buddha visited Mahiyanganaya in Uva Province of SL on the ninth month after attaining Enlightenment with more..

Jan 6 (FT) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his capacity as Finance Minister, appointed Ronald Perera as the Chairman of Bank of Ceylon (BOC). This is the second term as Chairman of BOC for Perera as he served in that capacity from Jan 2015 to Nov 2019. He succeeds Kanchana Ratwatte, who served as Chairman from 2 Jan 2020. Perera is also the current Chairman of SL Insurance Corporation. He was appointed as a President’s Counsel in 2012 and is an experienced lawyer with a broad more..

Jan 6 (FT) India this week expressed its keenness to extend support to uplift SL’s dairy sector. This was conveyed when Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay called on Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe along with a delegation from India’s flagship dairy brand Amul. The discussions focussed on raising national milk production and providing necessary technical support to the production of liquid milk in SL together with the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) of India and Amul Milk Company. more..

Jan 6 (FT) Litro Gas Lanka Ltd, Chairman Muditha Peiris said that the company has transformed it into a strong State enterprise, whilst announcing that the price of domestic gas cylinders has been reduced from last night. The price of a 12.5 kg cylinder has been reduced by Rs. 201, while the price of a 5 kg cylinder has been reduced by Rs. 80, and the price of a 2.3 gas cylinder has been slashed by Rs. 38. Accordingly, the 12.5 kg cylinder is now Rs. 4,409, while the 5 kg cylinder is Rs. 1,770 and more..