Dec 5 (FT) A Master Debater has once boasted that he normally employs three ploys to subdue his difficult customers. �When I find that my opponent is not easily surmountable, I use mathematics, philosophy and religion to subdue him,� he has confessed. �Mathematical equations frighten him, philosophical expressions confuse him and religious sayings make him feel guilty. After that, he is an easy prey for the final onslaught,� he has further elaborated triumphantly. more..

Dec 5 (FT) I was recently checking out the website of a global MNC that is a huge player in the FMCG segment in Sri Lanka, and it said it operated in over 190 countries and had over 3.6 billion consumers worldwide. A well-known No. 1 global FMCG brand that dominates the market in Sri Lanka is present in 200 countries and claims to sell 1.9 billion servings daily, whereas the No. 2 global FMCG brand in Sri Lanka claims to be present in 200 countries and sells 1 billion servings daily. more..

Dec 5 (SLN) SL Navy took hold of a local multi-day fishing trawler carrying 20 would-be illegal immigrants to a foreign country, during a special operation conducted in the seas east of the Foul Point, Trincomalee in the wee hours of 05th Dec. Navy conducts regular patrols and search operations in the sea and coastal areas of the island in order to prevent illegal migration attempts being made via sea routes. In a similar effort, the Fast Attack Craft P 474 of 4th Fast Attack Flotilla more..

Dec 5 (DM) Former Prez Maithripala Sirisena today denied reports which said he had used 53 percent of the funds allocated for the Prez's expenditure on his personal staff but he had instead spent it for large scale national level projects. "A number of print and electronic media have started attacking me quoting the head of CPA Lional Guruge who has sought details on the expenditure which my self and my predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa had spent for our personal staff under Right to Information Act. more..

Dec 5 (USE) The US officially handed over 9,300 metric tons of urea fertilizer to the Ministry of Agriculture to distribute to more than 193,000 smallholder paddy farmers in Jaffna, Mullaitivu, Mannar, Vavuniya, Anuradhapura, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, and Monaragala districts. The fertilizer, procured by FAO with funding from the USAID, is the first shipment of USAID-supported fertilizer assistance, with additional supplies more..

Dec 5 (EN) State-run Litro Gas Lanka Ltd raised the cooking gas price with effect from midlight of Monday citing rising global prices increase due to high demand, the company said. Litro said the demand for gas has increased also partly due to ongoing Ukraine and Russia war, festival season, and Winter in the near future. Price of a 12.5 kg gas cylinder will be increased by 5.7% or 250 rupees to 4,610 rupees, while the price of a 5 kg cylinder will be increased by 5.7% or rs. 100 to rs. 1,850. more..

Dec 5 (Island) Colombo Chief Magistrate on Friday dismissed a private complaint that sought an order to arrest Senior DIG Deshabandu Tennakoon and present him to court on the charge of dereliction of duty as regards the incidents near Temple Trees and at Galle Face on 9 May. The Magistrate decided that the case against the respondent could not be maintained as the facts placed before the court were insufficient to substantiate the complaint, and thus dismissed this personal complaint. more..

Dec 5 (EN) The time has come for an election in SL and the ruling SLPP is ready to face any election, SLPP national organiser Basil Rajapaksa said, dismissing claims that the party has come to fear elections in the face of growing unpopularity and increased factionalisation. Speaking to reporters at an event held in Colombo on Monday to mark the fourth anniversary of more..

Dec 5 (EN) Shares continued to gain on Friday closing on positive sentiments on news over a possible debt restructuring from Paris Club. ASPI closed 0.84% or 74.02 points higher at 8,843.75, the highest index gain since Oct 27. The market witnessed a turnover of 2 billion rupees, lower than this year�s daily average turnover of 3 billion rupees. The market saw a foreign inflow of 876 million rupees. The total net foreign inflow stood at 21.2 billion rupees so far for this year. more..

Dec 5 (Island) SJB MP Lakshman Kiriella has asked the govt when it will introduce the political reforms demanded by the int'l community. Kiriella said that when the Opposition parties met the members of the Colombo-based diplomatic community during the Aragalaya protests, the latter had demanded that SL implement political and economic reforms to receive foreign assistance to get out of the prevailing crisis. �That was six months ago. We have been asking the govt repeatedly to inform this House more..

Dec 5 (DM) Refuting claims that the CEB would be divided into eight separate entities, Leader of the House Susil Premajayantha said no discussion has taken place on such a matter within the govt. He told Parliament that no one should make assumptions based on media reports. He said this in response to a remark made by SJB MP Lakshman Kiriella claiming that the govt has no mandate to divide the CEB into eight sections as reported. "Such a matter has not been discussed in the Cabinet. more..

Dec 5 (TM) Minister Prasanna Ranatunga tabled two audit reports in Parliament last Saturday (3) in relation to alleged incidents of fraud and corruption that purportedly took place in the Ministry of Housing while Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa served as the Minister of Housing. Accordingly, the report with regard to the alleged errors and irregularities committed in the issuance of housing loans and donations by the Weeraketiya Zonal Office of the Hambantota District and more..

Dec 5 (DM) The CEB had estimated that a single unit of electricity would cost Rs 56.90 if the country were to have an uninterrupted power supply in 2023, Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said. "My opinion there should be a uniform Rs 56.90 per unit across the board and a direct cash allowance be provided to low income families," he said. He said there were 6,709,574 domestic consumers according to CEB billing data and more..

Dec 5 (AD) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe has appointed a committee consisting of representatives of the public and private sectors of SL to work with the multidisciplinary team of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) of India to prepare a short, medium and long-term plan to increase local milk production to reduce the country�s dependence on imported milk powder. Accordingly, NDDB and Indian Amul Milk Company have taken steps to provide the necessary technical support more..

Dec 5 (AD) Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe says that there is an increasing trend of seized drugs such as heroin returning to the streets and going back into the hands of people. He emphasized that although it is taken into discussion less, the matter of dangerous drugs has impacted the country unfavourably, while adding that nearly 500,000 youths have become addicted to dangerous drugs so far. Minister also highlighted that dangerous drugs such as Ice (crystal methamphetamine) more..

Dec 5 (TM) While female teachers in several areas are still reporting to work in casual clothing instead of sarees, citing the high prices of sarees in the prevailing economic situation, Ministry of Education is currently assessing the possibility of providing sarees free of charge to female teachers who are unable to buy sarees due to economic hardships. Minister Susil Premajayantha said: �If there are female teachers who find it difficult more..

Dec 5 (FT) A high profile delegation from the Port of Colombo led by Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Chairman Keith D. Bernard visited Bangladesh to further discuss requirements of shippers and service providers. SLPA Managing Director Upul Jayatissa, Director (Operations) Lal Weerasinghe, Acting Director (Marketing and Media) Sarath Dayananda, South Asia Gateway Terminals Ltd. (SAGT) CEO Romesh David, Colombo International Container Terminals (CICT) CEO Jack Huang and more..

Dec 5 (AD) Minister of Transport and Highways Bandula Gunawardena has called for the immediate resignation of the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB), Kingsley Ranawaka. In a letter addressed to the SLTB chairman, the minister states that the �Park and Ride � City Bus Service�, which was initiated under a policy decision of the government, has been suddenly suspended without informing him, based on a decision reached by the Director Board of Sri Lanka Transport Board. more..

Dec 5 (TM) SL will have to opt for domestic debt restructuring if the Govt is unable to raise long-term funds in the local market and if external creditors are not willing to bear much pain in cutting down debt, experts say. Last week, Fitch Ratings downgraded SL�s Long-Term Local-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to �CC� from �CCC� on the probability of a local-currency debt default. Fitch said that it made the assumption of local debt default in the view of an untenably high domestic interest more..

Dec 5 (AD) Ministry of Health has appointed a 7-member committee to investigate into the organ transplant racket recently exposed by Ukussa investigative programme. Health Ministry has also temporarily suspended all organ transplants at the private hospital in question pending the completion of the inquiry. The committee includes five specialist doctors and is chaired by a Deputy Director General of Health Services, says the Director General of Health Services, Dr. Asela Gunawardene. more..

Dec 5 (FT) The third edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) is set to kick-off tomorrow at Hambantota with a star-studded cast that sees 42 SL cricketers and 30 overseas players in action over a period of three weeks. SL players include the 18 (sans Dushmantha Chameera and Danushka Gunathilaka) who took part in the recently concluded T20 World Cup in Australia plus former captains Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal and more..

Dec 5 (AD) CEYPETCO announced that the price of Auto Diesel will be reduced by Rs. 10 with effect from midnight today. Accordingly, the new price of Auto Diesel will be Rs. 420 per litre. However, Ceypetco stated that the prices of other types of fuel will remain unchanged. Meanwhile Lanka IOC says they too will reduce the price of Auto Diesel by Rs. 10 from midnight today, in line with the decision taken by Ceypetco. Lanka IOC said that the new price of Auto Diesel will be Rs. 420 per litre more..

Dec 5 (DM) Attorney General today informed Court of Appeal that police protection will be provided to former CID Director Shani Abeysekara, taking into account the existing security threats. Additional Solicitor General Rohantha Abeysuriya appearing for the National Authority for the Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses gave this undertaking when the writ petition filed by Shani Abaysekara seeking adequate security to him and his family was taken up before Court of Appeal. more..

Dec 5 (TM) The Association of Medical Specialists (AMS) released a statement condemning and rejecting the recent statement made by Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella in Parliament regarding the measures being taken by the Health Ministry to prevent the further migration of SL doctors. Statement by the AMS read: �The AMS considers the Minister�s statements as a serious breach of the professional dignity of more..

Dec 5 (TM) A group of SLFP supporters, including SLFP members of the Attanagalla Pradeshiya Sabha (PS), had organised a protest against the suspension of the SLFP membership of former Prez and former SLFP Chairperson Chandrika Kumaratunga in Attanagalla last Saturday. SLFP members, including Attanagalla PS members representing the SLFP, marched from the Attanagalla PS to the Bandaranaike Memorial in Horagolla last Saturday morning, carrying more..

Dec 5 (DM) Minister of Sports through the Attorney General today informed Court of Appeal that an Independent Panel of Governance Experts will be appointed in order to draft a new Constitution for the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC). Additional Solicitor General Sumathi Dharmawardena with State Counsel Rajika Aluwihare appearing for the Sports Minister made these remarks when the writ petition filed by a group of prominent individuals including former professional cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan more..

Dec 6 (TM) The number of parties that are taking a stance against the Govt�s plans to discourage medical professionals, especially doctors, from leaving the country, is on the rise. The newest party to challenge the Govt�s plans, which many claim are arbitrary, is the Association of Medical Specialists (AMS), which, in a statement issued in this regard, condemned the recent statement made by Minister Keheliya Rambukwella in Parliament that doctors going abroad will be required to obtain more..

Dec 6 (CT) Today much of the ongoing discussions about the country�s economy are centered around the int'l financial institutions. In particular their response to our requests for assistance. The IMF and the World Bank are in the forefront. Both these institutions are serving the same member countries because a country has to first join the IMF to be eligible o join the World Bank Group. World Bank Group has five different institutions under its umbrella sharing among them responsibility more..

Dec 6 (TM) Given the current ageing transition trend, Sri Lanka should reform its pension system so as to mitigate the negative effects of an ageing population on economic growth. This recommendation was made in an editorial on the Economic consequences of population ageing in SL which was authored by A.M. Shafna and L.H.P. Gunaratne (both attached to the Peradeniya University) and published in the SL Journal more..

Dec 6 (GV) SL is aiming to end AIDS by 2030 in accordance with the UN�s Sustainable Development Goals. The govt has taken many positive measures in the fight against AIDS including educating people on HIV, testing at risk individuals and providing treatment options to those who are HIV positive. Target for 2025 is achieving that 95% should be diagnosed, of them 95% should be treated for HIV and of these 95 should be on medication. However, HIV cases during the first half of 2022 more..

Dec 6 (DM) CEB engineers on November 29 have warned of a power cut of more than 10 hours from April to October next year, due to the delay in coal supply for the coal power plants. Three days later, the Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of SL (PUCSL), Janaka Ratnayake also confirmed the looming threat of near half-a-day power cut by mid-next year. They attribute the situation to the shortage of funds in the CEB to purchase coal before April when the sea becomes rough. more..

Dec 6 (TM) State-owned power utility, CEB, is desperately looking for funds to purchase fuel and coal to operate power plants to meet the energy shortage that is expected between January and April next year. The shortage, partly an annual effect of the dry season and irrigation requirements of the agriculture sector, results in a reduced hydropower generation capacity during the period. The hydropower generation limitation has more..

Dec 6 (CT) The Courts are the only place where a victim of injustice can seek justice. People put their trust in the courts system, whether it is a Magistrate�s Court or the Supreme Court. However, recent reports about incidents stemming from missing court productions have raised serious concerns among the public. Ceylon Today reported yesterday that forged documents were used to steal 48 sovereigns of gold held as Court productions from the Hulftsdorp Magistrate�s Court. more..

Dec 6 (ST) I haven�t had occasion to read or listen to Minister Ali Sabry�s full speech to parliament during the committee stage debate on the 2023 budget. But what little I did was sufficient evidence to treat politicians� buck passing in the guise of profound revelations be it in that House by the Diyawanna Oya or elsewhere, not with a pinch of salt but a ton of it. Some might say, as others before them have said a thousand times or more, that it is even better to wash away such rubbish with that laxative more..

Dec 6 (Island) NPP MP and JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake has fulminated against the Election Commission (EC), and with reason. He has demanded to know why the EC ever asked for an opinion from the Attorney General anent the Local Govt (LG) elections instead of exercising its powers to initiate the process of conducting the much-delayed polls. He sought to cast a doubt on the impartiality of the EC, and took a swipe at its Chairman Nimal Punchihewa. more..