Dec 7 (DM) The trade unions at the BOI yesterday said they had decided to continue the protest against BOI Chairman Sanjaya Mohottala, who tendered his resignation last week but who is �trying to come through the back door�. A BOI statement on Sunday said Prez Rajapaksa had refused to accept the resignation of Mohottala and three other BOI board directors. A letter sent to Mohottala by Prez�s Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundara, on behalf of the Prez, had notified him to continue as more..

Dec 7 (SLN) SL Navy and Sri Lanka Life Saving in partnership with Northwind Projects conducted lifesaving training programmes at SLNS Elara in Karainagar for youths in Jaffna. On successful completion of the programmes 16 youths were awarded certificates in a ceremony held under the patronage of Governor of the Northern Province, Hon. Jeevan Theagarajah and Commander Northern Naval Area, Rear Admiral Priyantha Perera on 05th December 2021. more..

Dec 7 (FT) Sri Lanka has just been knocked by a tuk-tuk, hit by a bus, and is being dragged along the road. The country is dangerously low on foreign reserves, struggling to pay creditors, facing import restrictions leading to shortages, and seen overnight price hikes on essentials. Though exacerbated by COVID, the underlying conditions for the crisis have been in the making for years. Govt of SL may dislike the IMF programs, but if SL is to ever pull itself out of its current quagmire it needs the IMF. more..

Dec 7 (EN) Daily one-hour electricity disruptions will continue till Wednesday in parts of SL between 5.30pm and 9.30pm, the CEB said. �We have been informed that power cuts will happen till tomorrow. However it will only happen if it is necessary,� a CEB official said. �We have divided our feeders into four main blocks, and if we are going for a power cut it will be between 5.30 pm to 9.30 pm.� more..

Dec 7 (EN) Legal action will be taken against people who do not adhere to COVID-19 hygiene guidelines when shopping or taking public transport, Public Health Inspectors (PHI) Union said. Union chief Upul Rohana said, with shopping seeing an increase in the holiday season, PHIs around the island have been advised to be vigilant about shopping malls and shops where guidelines are not followed. �We have instructed all PHIs to take legal actions against shop owners, workers as well as customers more..

Dec 7 (DM) Major General H.L.V.M Liyanage has been appointed as the 59th Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army, effective from today. Major General Liyanage has been appointed by Prez Rajapaksa under the recommendations of the Ministry of Defence and the Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Army, General Shavendra Silva. Major General Vikum Liyanage of the Gajaba Regiment, prior to this new appointment served as the Commandant, SL Army Volunteer Force. more..

Dec 7 (AD) The SL govt has decided to grant Rs. 2.5 million on a humanitarian basis for the welfare of the wife and children of Priyantha Kumara who was brutally killed in Sialkot of Pakistan. Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal tabled by Minister of Labour Nimal Siripala de Silva at the meeting held on Monday, Govt Information Department said. The said amount will be paid from more..

Dec 7 (MFA) Foreign Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris met Minister of Foreign Relations and Int'l Cooperation Sheikh Abdulla Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on the sidelines of the 5th Indian Ocean Conference � IOC 2021 that was held in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. Foreign Minister of U.A.E. welcomed the Foreign Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris to U.A.E. and recalled the friendly relations that exist between the two countries over the decades. Prof. G.L. Peiris extended congratulations to the U.A.E. Foreign Minister more..

Dec 7 (AD) Operations at the Sapugaskanda oil refinery, which were temporarily suspended, resumed on Tuesday (7). On Nov 15, it was announced that the refinery would be temporarily shut down for 50 days in order to save foreign exchange through the suspension of crude oil imports. Minister of Energy Udaya Gammanpila had stated that the import of crude oil would be resumed as soon as the dollar deficit is overcome by obtaining credit facilities. more..

Dec 7 (EN) Cabinet of ministers has approved a proposal by Prez Rajapaksa to issue national birth certificates with a SL identity number, a cabinet statement said. The statement said Sri Lankans will be provided with an opportunity to easily and efficiently obtain services from birth to death by utilising a unique identification number. The proposal submitted by Prez Rajapaksa as Minister of Defence to �issue SL identity number to more..

Dec 7 (DM) SJB has lodged a formal complaint with the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) and Commonwealth Parliament Union (CPU) over the recent alleged attempted assault of MP Manusha Nanayakkara at the Parliamentary complex. Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella who had lodged a written complaint to CPU and IPU Secretary Generals has sought their intervention to prevent further undemocratic acts. �I kindly call upon you as the secretary generals of IPU and CPU to more..

Dec 7 (TM) While stating that Minister Basil Rajapaksa must always be present during the Budget debate, UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe claimed in Parliament today that Rajapaksa flew to India for reasons unknown. �We have had past Presidents who have also served as Finance Ministers parallelly, but they have always attended the Budget debates. We have never seen Finance Ministers leaving the country while crucial public finance matters are discussed. more..

Dec 7 (Island) National Peace Council (NPC) says war-related matters hadn�t been discussed at the nearly two-year-long reconciliation project that brought together students from Eastern, Jaffna, Ruhuna and Sabaragamuwa Universities. More than 160 students have participated in the project that culminated with a conference on the theme of Plural SL: Paths to reconciliation. Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris delivered closing address more..

Dec 7 (CT) SJB yesterday held a meeting which they called an alternative parliament after boycotting the parliamentary sitting, protesting the conduct of Govt MPs in Parliament Chamber and Lobby last Friday & Saturday. The party boycotted yesterday�s sitting saying they would not attend until Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena ensures their safety inside and outside the Chamber. A scuffle erupted in Parliament Chamber on 3 Nov after SJB MP Manusha Nanayakkara requested more time more..

Dec 7 (Island) The yahapalana govt had tried to prosecute the then Opposition MPs belonging to the Joint Opposition for a fracas in the Chamber of Parliament, but got cold feet on finding that CCTV footage records proved the partiality of former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, Chief Govt Whip and Minister Johnston Fernando said yesterday. Making a statement, in Parliament, following the announcement by Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena that a committee comprising more..

Dec 7 (TM) Litro Gas Lanka Ltd. and Laugfs Gas PLC yesterday (6) released new stocks of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders to the market, following State Minister Lasantha Alagiyawanna announcing that the distribution of all LPG cylinders will be halted from 3 December due to a high number of LPG cylinder-related explosions that occurred in the preceding weeks. �All of the stocks that we are releasing into the market more..

Dec 7 (AD) Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and University of Kelaniya (UOK) jointly announce the signing of a MoU to formalize their collaborative efforts. MoU calls for cooperation on promoting capital market education among undergraduates by working together on a number of mutually beneficial strategic initiatives. The initiatives, along with a special focus on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of CSE, include introducing the Colombo Stock Exchange Gold Medal Award for more..

Dec 7 (CT) Legal actions will be taken if permission is granted to the small hydro-power plant, proposed by a private company, to be constructed near the Athwelthota Pilithuda falls, Senior Advisor to the Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ), Hemantha Withanage said. He added although requests were made to the Department of Forest Conservation and the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) over the past ten years not to grant permission to the project on the basis of environmental & social issues more..

Dec 7 (CT) Legal actions will be taken if permission is granted to the small hydro-power plant, proposed by a private company, to be constructed near the Athwelthota Pilithuda falls, Senior Advisor to the Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ), Hemantha Withanage said. He added although requests were made to Dept of Forest Conservation and the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) over the past ten years not to grant permission to the project on the basis of environmental and social issues more..

Dec 7 (EN) Sri Lanka�s bond yields marginally eased on Tuesday (07) ahead of the bills auction on Wednesday (08), dealers said. The secondary market in the country has been easing the past couple of weeks with positive momentum pushing buying interest after consecutive bonds and bills auctions were fully subscribed. Sri Lanka�s debt office is offering 66 billion rupees to be sold at a weekly auction on Wednesday (08). The bills will be split into � 18b rupees maturing in 3-months, more..

Dec 7 (TM) SL Govt Officers� Trade Union Association (SLGOTUA) has alleged that the Govt is preparing to curtail the public service in order to obtain a loan from the IMF, and will hold a protest tomorrow near the Parliament roundabout, while all public servants who are members of the SLGOTUA will apply for leave and not report for duty on the same day. SLGOTUA National Organiser B.A.P. Basnayake claimed: more..

Dec 7 (TM) Foundation for People�s Rights Protection (FPRP) wrote to the Public Utilities Commission of SL (PUCSL), requesting that the PUCSL focus on reforming the regulations surrounding liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and the electricity sectors in SL. �The public were heavily inconvenienced due to the islandwide power outage on 3 Dec. This occurred on the day that the country�s LPG suppliers announced that they would halt supplies to the market, more..

Dec 7 (EN) SL should come up with a credible economic program of its own and go the International Monetary Fund instead of allowing the agency to device the plan, Nishan de Mel, head of Verete Research, a Colombo-based think tank said. When a business goes to bank to get debt restructure, he said the company write the business plan and convinces the credit officer that the plan is good. �You do not get the credit officer to write the plan and then complain my goodness that more..

Dec 7 (TM) Several suppliers have expressed interest in importing the Covid-19 oral antiviral pill molnupiravir and the first batch of the pill is likely to be imported within this month. Production, Supply, and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals State Ministry Secretary Dr. S.K. Rathnayake said: �Several suppliers have now expressed interest to import the molnupiravir pill. They are currently in the process of more..

Dec 7 (CT) SJB Trincomalee District MP M. Imran yesterday (6) said in addition to the Kurinchakeni bridge construction issue, there are many issues in the area which need to be addressed by the Govt immediately. �People from over fifty villages in Kinniya as well as from Muttur and surrounding areas benefit from the Base Hospital Kinniya. Time has come to upgrade it. I am planning to make a proposal to the Govt, predominantly the Health Ministry in this regard,� he said. more..

Dec 7 (CT) SL�s labour market greatly rewards SL women who invest in education resulting in the gender wage gap decreasing in that country for that category, the World Bank (WB) said on 1 Dec. The WB, in a publication titled From Jobs to Careers: Apparel Exports and Career Paths for Women in Developing Countries said having tertiary education or above is especially beneficial for SL women, enabling them to earn more than 50% more than those who do not have tertiary education. more..

Dec 8 (DM) On Dec 3 this year it happened once again - this time at Sialkot. A hapless, helpless person was lynched and killed by a huge band of religious brigands who accused him of blasphemy. The crime shocked us here in SL as the victim was one of our citizens. It shocked the world because of its brutality and it shamed the Pakistani nation as a whole. A few issues are as galvanising to followers of the Islamic faith as blasphemy. Even the slightest suggestion of an insult to Islam can more..

Dec 8 (DM) The social media platforms exploded with denunciations, protests, hate speech and what not, with the brutal torture and killing of SL Priyantha Diyawadana, 48, a factory Manager in Sialkot, Pakistan. Many commentors on SL social media were quick to draw a link with fundamental Islamic Radicalism and this gruesome act, while a few sought to douse the flames of religious hatred that such comments could engender. While the Pakistani PM has vouched to deal strictly under the law more..

Dec 8 (CT) The newly appointed Northern Province Governor, Jeevan Thiagarajah, who completed his first month in office, was the former Executive Director of the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies and had also held executive positions in several humanitarian and human rights organisations. In Dec 2020, he was appointed as the member of the Election Commission of Sri Lanka, but he stepped down, more..

Dec 8 (CT) The torture and killing of Priyantha Kumara (48), a manager at a sportswear export company in Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan by religious extremists in broad daylight on Friday, follows the armed attack on a bus carrying the SL cricket team at Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan 12 years ago in 2009, also by religious extremists once more in broad daylight, where however no cricketer was killed, though a few were injured. These two incidents taking place in broad daylight in the Punjab more..

Dec 8 (TM) Over the past 15 years, the relationship between China and SL has come in for heavy criticism from various quarters, with the focus being on the supposed subservience of SL and the supposed absolute domination by China. However, it must be said that China has been a partner in the progress of many of SL�s major development projects, including in extremely strategically important projects such as the Colombo Port City and Hambantota Port, in a manner that more..

Dec 8 (CT) It was a time when the Kings and their subjects in the isle of Serendib achieved great feats in construction of the many dagobas, temples, tanks and the grand palaces as seen in ancient citadels of Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Sigiriya & Kandy. The country continues to thrive on showing off its ancient history to the many visiting tourists who arrive even in the midst of these troubled times of the COVID pandemic. more..

Dec 8 (Island) What the govt has been doing in Parliament during the past few days is like smashing up pots in a desolate house, as a local saying goes. The SJB is boycotting the budget debate in protest against an alleged incident where one of its MPs, Manusha Nanayakkara, was roughed up by a govt member on Friday. Denying the allegation, the SLPP has accused MP Nanayakkara of threatening the Speaker. Thus, the govt and the Opposition have been trading accusations liberally much to more..

Dec 8 (CT) It is true that countries need plans for progress and embark on projects to create economic opportunities for all citizens. However it is imperative that we carefully study the feasibility of such endeavors and assess their cost versus benefit to the country. It is widely held by the people of Sri Lanka that Development necessarily involves the construction of massive buildings and other structures, the more massive and larger-scale the better. more..

Dec 8 (DM) The brutal murder of a SL factory manager in Sialkot in Pakistan by a lynch mob shocked both countries and drew condemnation from across the world. The workers accused Priyantha Kumara, an export manager of Rajco textiles of blasphemy. They set upon him, beat him to death, dragged his body and burnt it in a bonfire as hundreds, if not thousands, of onlookers, chanted religious slogans. The mob accused that the SL man had dishonoured Islam by allegedly tearing more..

Dec 8 (IPS) The lockdowns introduced in 2020 to curb the spread of COVID-19 saw the narrative nature is healing gain prominence. However, the notion that nature, in the absence of people, was healing fizzled out fairly quickly with the emergence of fresh environmental challenges, most notably, the resurgence of single-use plastics. In fact, in the months following the lockdowns, reliance on plastics grew exponentially, with the scale of the negative environmental impacts far outweighing more..