Dec 21 (EN) A massive surge in COVID-19 cases in China after Beijing removed restrictions has led to uncertainty about the worldwide threat level and potential disruptions to global supply chains, but experts are cautiously optimistic that a sequel to 2020 is unlikely unless a new dangerous variant emerges, a possibility that they also hesitate to rule out. �Many countries have many variants of COVID, so unless a very different variant emerges, more..

Dec 21 (AD) Headline inflation, as measured by year-on-year (y-o-y) change in the NCPI has dropped to 65% in Nov 2022 from 70.6% in Oct 2022. In comparison to Nov 2021, reported inflation for the month of Nov 2022 was mainly due to the higher price levels that prevailed in both food and non-food groups. On a monthly basis, the y-o-y inflation of the food group decreased to 69.8% in Nov 2022 from 80.9% in Oct 2022 while y-o-y inflation of the non-food group also dropped more..

Dec 21 (DM) While calling the election commission to declare the local govt election by the end of this month, the SJB today hinted that it is in the process of forming an alliance with several parties. SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara came out with this remark at a media conference in response to a question raised by the journalists as to whether his party intends forming an alliance with the SLFP. �We are conferring with a number of political parties to form an alliance,� more..

Dec 21 (TM) The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) expressed dissatisfaction that a Tamil representative was not permitted to be nominated to the Constitutional Council (CC) by some MPs who had crossed over to the Opposition from the Govt.TNA had also brought this matter to the notice of Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe and Speaker of Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana during the all-party conference that was held recently more..

Dec 21 (FT) Nation Lanka Finance (NFL) is to amalgamate with Kanrich Finance Ltd. under the Master Plan for Consolidation of Non-Bank Financial Institutions. NFL said the company has received the approval of the Monetary Board of the Central Bank for the move aimed at meeting the deficit of the Capital Adequacy requirements. The NFL will be the surviving entity and is required and expected to complete the Amalgamation process with the relevant approvals on or before 31 Mar 2023 more..

Dec 21 (TM) Despite a surge in Covid-19 infections and deaths in China and health experts predicting at least three Covid-19 waves in the country during the winter season, SL health authorities will not make any special preparations to handle Chinese tourists, but would continue with their surveillance and make symptomatic persons undergo PCR tests. Dr. Hemantha Herath noted that though there will not be any special arrangements made to handle Chinese tourists, health officials would continue more..

Dec 22 (DM) 17%. That is the extent of SL�s forest cover as of 2021. Even though SL is promoted as a biodiversity hotspot, mainly to attract nature lovers from across the globe, the extent of deforestation is worrisome. Haphazard deforestation to clear prime locations for mega projects has left many environmentally sensitive areas in dire straits. One of the most recent deforestation activities has been reported from the Trikonamadu forest reserve where around 135 acres have already been cleared. more..

Dec 22 (DM) All the fuss over that Govt directive ordering women school teachers to wear saris to school reminds me of the time when Mahinda Rajapaksa was Prez, mothers were asked to wear saris when visiting schools. It wasn�t a directive, but that was a time when Your wish is my command, and some mothers who arrived in casual attire were barred from entering school premises. Just a reminder that this isn�t the first time for the whole sorry sari business, nor will it be the last. more..

Dec 22 (TM) A total of 1.6 million persons live with disabilities in Sri Lanka. In a report released in 2016, UNICEF SL noted that 86% of that population aged 20 to 24 are not engaged in educational or vocational activity. Rehabilitation Centre for the Communication Impaired (RCCI) is a non-profit that was initiated in 1993, and is a day-care for children and adults with special needs. The difference in this centre is integration, more..

Dec 22 (CT) In 2022, January 1st dawned as just another day in SL. It was a Saturday; gloom of the skies signalled of things to come. Crowded cities aside, the rural environs were pregnant with rainy clouds waiting to unleash their anger and grief with unappeasable tears. While the weeping clouds may have wet the parched soil in the arid zones, the same would not be eagerly cheered on by the inhabitants in the hill country, for such hard rain clearly indicated landslides and clogged more..

Dec 22 (CT) Children, especially schoolchildren have become the most discussed topic in SL at the moment. Last week, a video showing a teacher forcing a group of teenage schoolchildren to clean spilt food by using their tongues went viral. On 20 Dec Ceylon Today reported that the teacher in the video is the principal of Godauda Maha Vidyalaya in Dickwella. Following the wide publicity on both mainstream and social media, the principal was transferred to Matara Zonal Education Office. more..

Dec 22 (CT) Economically vulnerable groups would be willing to even sell an organ to enable them and their families to survive another day. The severity of the economic crisis the country is faced with during the past one year at the least, has paved way for such incidences. Recently, a private hospital in Borella was exposed in connection with an alleged kidney racket. In 2016, the arrest of eight Indian citizens in Colombo helped shed light more..

Dec 22 (TM) How educated and competent our politicians are, especially MPs, is a question that has been popping up in the national discourse on political reforms for years, if not decades. Although the debate on whether educational qualifications would necessarily translate into occupational competence is still ongoing, Sri Lanka seems to have reached a point where it is assigning some sort of value to the educational and professional qualifications of politicians. more..

Dec 22 (Island) The CEB trade unions and Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera have, true to form, locked horns over the availability of coal in the country, instead of getting themselves around the table and making a concerted effort to contain the power crisis. They are behaving like a bunch of overgrown schoolboys with very short fuses! The CEB trade unionists have warned, that the country will experience extended power cuts lasting for 10 hours or more daily because more..

Dec 22 (GV) Following the runaway success of his first play, Counting and Cracking, writer and director S. Shakthidharan has produced a new play called Jungle and the Sea, which has received enthusiastic reviews since it debuted in Sydney in November. The play follows the lives of a Tamil family torn apart by the civil war. The father, blinded in the bombing of a church in Jaffna in 1995 where they were taking shelter, and a daughter leave for Australia. The mother, Gowri, stays behind with two other more..

Dec 22 (ST) CB Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe and his officials hit a nerve when they said that some (not all) exporters had stashed foreign currency overseas without remitting it to the country. However, days after the claim was made, Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF), umbrella organisation that represents garment exports, reported that Dr. Weerasinghe had affirmed on Dec 8 that: �Of the exports in Sept and Oct, exporters have repatriated or brought 100% of export earnings into more..

Dec 22 (ST) Sri Lankans are reeling from the effects of a severe economic crisis, with rising costs causing a food shortage that is being compounded by the fall in food production largely due to the previous govt�s failed attempt at a transition into organic farming. Former Prez Rajapaksa�s chemical fertiliser ban which was imposed in April last year, spelled disaster for local farmers who lamented that their livelihoods and the food security of more..

Dec 22 (FT) SJB General Secretary Ranjith Maddumabandara has called on the Govt to give the Sri Lankan people their right to vote. �The delaying of elections will not reduce the cost of living and neither will the country come out of its bankrupt state, Therefore we ask the Govt to hold an election to seek the opinion of the people,� MP said. Pointing out that the Election Commission (EC) has now become empowered to independently carry this task out, Madduma Bandara said more..

Dec 22 (CT) Jaffna Kings is the first team to enter the final of the LPL 2022 when they outplayed Kandy Falcons by 24 runs (D/L�s Method) in Qualifier 1 worked off at RPS, Colombo yesterday. The win also saw Jaffna Kings being the first team to enter finals on three consecutive occasions, while Kandy will have another chance to make it to the finals when they meet either Colombo Stars or Galle Gladiators in Qualifier 2 on Thursday. Earlier, winning the all-important toss and electing to bat, more..

Dec 22 (Island) Aitken Spence Travels emerged as the most sustainable Destination Management Company (DMC) and the role model of sustainability in the tourism industry at the recently held Sustainability Awards 2022, organized by AHK (Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in SL), together with Friedrich Naumann Foundation. Sustainability Awards 2022 serves to recognise sustainability initiatives and award companies across agriculture, textile & tourism industries more..

Dec 22 (FT) Former South Africa Ambassador in SL Geoff Doidge has passed away recently and a requiem mass will be held today at 6 p.m. (SLT) at the St. John Fisher Catholic Church, Lynnwood, Pretoria. Doidge was former Minister of Public Works of the Republic of South Africa and former Ambassador to Thailand and High Commissioner to SL and Maldives. Doidge was part of the first generation of MPs of the democratic South Africa after the historic April 1994 elections. more..

Dec 22 (EN) Sri Lanka has arrested more than 6,000 individuals in a crackdown against methamphetamine (ICE) up to Oct 2022, and seized 377 kilos of the drug. �This is still the numbers up to October this year and we expect it to be more,� an official from the NDDCB said. �Especially by October we have more than 6,000 individuals for ICE-related activities, and we have observed that the number of arrests due to more..

Dec 22 (TM) The SJB, yesterday pointed out that while it is unafraid of contesting any election, the Prez can only legally declare the Prez election after four years into his term, as noted in Article 31 of the Constitution. SJB General Secretary MP Ranjith Madduma Bandara said: �We are ready for any election, but the Prez can declare the Prez election only after four years. People who talk about a Prez election before the lapse of four years have therefore referred to more..

Dec 22 (FT) Lanka Sathosa has further reduced the prices of five essential consumer items. According to a Sathosa, this step has been taken with the aim of providing relief to the consumers during the upcoming festive season. Sathosa also says that this discounted price will be with immediate effect in all country wide Sathosa outlets. Accordingly, a kilogram of big onions have been reduced by Rs. 5 to Rs. 185 while a kilogram of dhal has been reduced by Rs. 7 to Rs. 378. more..

Dec 22 (TM) Although no suspects in relation to the murder of Janashakthi PLC Director Dinesh Schaffter have yet been identified, with no arrests made up to date, the Police stated that there is clear progress in the ongoing investigations conducted by the Homicide and Organised Crime Investigation Division of the CID and the Borella Police. Commenting to media on the progress of the relevant investigations, SSP Nihal Thalduwa more..

Dec 22 (AD) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe�s Int'l Advisor on Climate Change Eric Solheim has proposed him to invite all global organizations on renewable energy for a conference to discuss SL�s way forward in this regard and to obtain their assistance in preparing policies to achieve these targets. He made these comments during a meeting held yesterday on climate change. Meanwhile, Prez�s Local Advisor on Climate Change Ruwan Wijewardene stated such a conference more..

Dec 22 (DN) Dialog Axiata, the first telecom service provider in the South Asian region to demonstrate 5G capabilities in 2018, announced the successful testing of mmWave 5G for the first time in South Asia. Dialog achieved 5G Download speeds greater than 4 Gbps on non-standalone (NSA) mode using mmwave attaining significantly higher throughputs than current standards. mmWave solutions work in high frequency ranges, providing ultra-capacity over short distances allowing for wider bandwidth, more..

Dec 22 (AD) Chairman of Lanka Coal Company, Shehan Sumanasekara, reassured that the country will not run out of coal by Dec 31. They expect the 6th vessel carrying coal to dock at the Puttalam anchorage within the first week of Jan 2023. He added that the shipment had been delayed due to a derailment at the Richards Bay Coal Terminal in South Africa and therefore had to be diverted to the Maputo port in Mozambique. Chairman further stated that the company has made payments more..

Dec 22 (ST) The SL Govt owes nearly Rs 209 billion to private and public contractors, an industry group says. Dr Rohan Karunaratne, president of the Ceylon Institute of Builders, said he recently asked the Govt to settle the dues through Treasury Bills. The industry employs nearly 1.2 mn workers at all levels of the supply chain, he said. Dr Karunaratne said discussions with the CB Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe were promising. The CBSL plans to release Rs 25 bn this month to pay dues. more..

Dec 22 (FT) Minister Kanchana Wijesekera confirmed that electricity tariffs will be revised once again in January. �The necessary details and a report to revise electricity tariffs will be presented to the first Cabinet meeting on 2 January,� he said. His comments come after the meeting of Cabinet on Monday did not take up the pro-posal to hike power tariff which was mooted earlier. Wijesekara also categorically denied claims that the 3 units more..

Dec 22 (TM) The Sri Lanka Football Federation has received 26 objections one day after nominations for election were submitted. It is reported that the objections pertained to several posts, and the Election Committee is intent on conducting investigations into the matter in the future. As per reliable sources, the verdict regarding the objections will be given tomorrow (23) at the conclusion of the said investigations. Further, it is reported that six nominations have been submitted more..

Dec 22 (ENS) SL Navy on Wednesday arrested 11 fishermen from Puducherry and Tamil Nadu for allegedly crossing the IMBL. A group of 11 fishermen � including boat owner S Rajkumar of Karaikalmedu -- put out to sea from Karaikal fishing harbour in trawler Arockiyamatha on Dec 18. Of the eleven aboard, six were from Karaikalmedu in Karaikal. The remaining hailed from Mayiladuthurai district, of which two were from Vanagiri, two from Perumalpettai and one from Vellakoil. more..

Dec 22 (DN) President Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday appointed business leader Dinesh Weerakkody as the Chairman of the Board of Investment (BOI) of SL. The other members of the BOI are Dr.Dushni Weerakoon, Chandani Wijewardana and Eraj De Silva. Weerakkody was former chairman of Hatton National Bank and Commercial Bank and Vice Chairman of the Employers� Federation of Ceylon. Dinesh is a former Chairman of Employees� Trust Fund Board more..

Dec 22 (NR) The National Election Commission has appointed Returning Officers and Assistant Returning Officers for all administrative districts for the conduct of the Local Authorities Election. The Commission has made the appointments by exercising the powers vested in the Election Commission under Section 4(1) of the Local Authorities Elections Ordinance. Accordingly, a gazette extraordinary has been issued by the Election Commission dated 21st of Dec. more..

Dec 22 (TM) Electricity consumers submitted an 18-count charge sheet to the Ministry of Power and Energy against its authorities, including subject Minister Kanchana Wijesekera, accusing the Ministry of attempting to privatise the CEB and halt naphtha usage next year. �They are preparing to cut power for 4 to 5 hours starting from January of next year. Their ulterior motive is to privatise the CEB. Ministers who try to sell national resources more..