Jan 13 (FT) The Govt has authorised SL Standard Institute (SLSI) to regulate quality of Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG), cylinder valves, regulators and equipment via an Extraordinary Gazette � No. 2262/16 of 11 January. Minister Basil Rajapaksa issued the Extraordinary Gazette in terms of the powers vested in him by Section 20, read together with Sub-Section 4(1), Section 14 of the Imports and Exports (Control) Act, No.1 of 1969 as amended by Act No. 48 of 1985 and Act No. 28 of 1987. more..

Jan 13 (Island) Pelwatte Dairy Industries Ltd, SL dairy giant, has not slowed down its production or output but is effectively navigating SL diary industry�s annual Lean Season of Dec-April sequence. Susantha Malwatte, Deputy General Manager of Pelwatte Dairy Industries Limited said: �There is no truth in the social media reports which incorrectly hint at suspension of PDIL production or sudden shortages of Pelwatte products. Pelwatte factories are continuing their production runs as usual. more..

Jan 13 (DN) The govt would be elated if Hungary supported the EU to consider commencing discussions with Sri Lanka leading to a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) in the foreseeable future, urged Minister of Trade Bandula Gunawardhana addressing a high profile business delegation from Hungary led by the country�s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade P�ter Szijj�rt� who arrived in Sri Lanka to give a further flip to existing bi-lateral relations between two countries. more..

Jan 13 (TM) Domestic investors accounted for 95% of the daily turnover of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) in 2021 on the back of increasing retail investor participation in the market. This increased local participation with over 63,163 people trading at least once in the CSE during 2021, which was a 70% jump compared to 2020 and has helped the stock exchange reach unseen historic highs across the board as per the presentation made by CSE Chairman Dimuth Fernando yesterday. more..

Jan 13 (Hindu) Former intelligence operative of the LTTE Satkunam alias Sabesan (47), who was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) from Chennai in October 2021 for alleged involvement in the smuggling of drugs and arms from Pakistan to Sri Lanka, had close links with Sri Lankan don Angoda Lokka and his aides, according to the investigation by the Tamil Nadu Crime Branch CID (CB-CID). more..

Jan 13 (CT) Adhering to health regulations and getting the Covid vaccine and the booster dose would help delay or reduce the impact of the Omicron variant on SL, Dr. Hemantha Herath said. He said maintaining health safety and vaccination �would help flatten the curve, or in other words reduce the steep impact the Omicron variant of Covid-19 could have on the country.� �As Sri Lanka is an island, this can be leveraged in delaying the spread of the Omicron variant which is having more..

Jan 13 (FT) Transparency International SL (TISL) on Tuesday recognised the public sector COVID heroes of Sri Lanka via its annual Integrity Icon 2021 awards program. The event began with a moment of silence being observed in remembrance of the victims of COVID-19 in Sri Lanka as well as the numerous frontline workers who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty as the country battled to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Integrity Icon, a program conceptualised by Accountability Lab, more..

Jan 13 (FT) CB Governor Nivard Cabraal came down hard on those calling for default, insisting that CB has been on a difficult yet sure path of boosting reserves for debt repayment including an ongoing exercise of restructuring and rescheduling to ensure currency stability whilst meeting essential imports of the country. �Default as some business leaders and internet economists want will be disastrous and lead to anarchy� more..

Jan 13 (FT) SL�s COVID-19 case count rose 593,725 with the detection of 653 COVID-19 positive persons yesterday. The patients detected yesterday include 651 persons from the New Year cluster and two overseas arrivals. On Tuesday, 619 persons from the New Year cluster and four SL overseas arrivals tested positive for COVID-19. 6,357 PCR tests and 4,140 rapid antigen tests were conducted on Tuesday. In total, 488,813 patients from the New Year cluster, 82,785 patients from Peliyagoda more..

Jan 13 (DM) With SL on the verge of an Omicron-fueled wave, Health authorities are extremely concerned over hesitancy shown by the general public in receiving the booster dose despite constant reminders that Omicron can be contained with the booster shot. COVID-19 Coordinator Dr. Anwar Hamdani said a considerable reluctance is shown by people in getting themselves boosted over baseless myths. �Although we expected percentage of people who receive booster dose to be around 50% more..

Jan 13 (TM) Colombo High Court (HC) Special Trial-at-Bar yesterday unanimously sentenced former Welikada Magazine Prison Superintendent Emil Ranjan Lamahewage to death, over the case filed regarding the 2012 Welikada Prison incident which claimed the lives of prisoners, while fellow accused party, Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) Inspector of Police (IP) Neomal Rangajeewa was acquitted. more..

Jan 13 (FT) The Governor of the CB said last week, SL has earmarked $ 500 million to repay a maturing sovereign bond on 18 January. However, several business leaders said SL should take a rain check. Dr. Shanta Devarajan a former acting chief economist of the World Bank said honouring the maturing debt was reckless for two reasons. Firstly, Dr. Devarajan noted, �SL is facing an acute shortage of foreign exchange � people queue in long lines to buy cooking gas; there is no powdered milk; more..

Jan 13 (FT) Two years ago, President Rajapaksa, in his document, Vistas of Prosperity said, The people of this country are now living in despair and fear. They have seen their country which was once growing rapidly as Asia�s new miracle sliding back towards negative growth rates. The incumbent govt has turned the country into a failed state, riddled with corruption and characterised by inefficiency. The Opposition can now say the same thing: The people of this country are now living in despair more..

Jan 13 (AD) A number of office trains and all long-distance trains have been cancelled today due to the strike action launched by station masters. However, efforts are being made to run nearly 80 office trains, the General Manager of Railways said. SL Railway Station Masters� Union has launched a 24-hour token strike effective from midnight yesterday. The trade union action is based on several issues including the unannounced cancellation of long-distance trains without prior notice, more..

Jan 13 (DM) Chairman of Litro Gas Lanka Theshara Jayasinghe is reported to have been reappointed several hours after he was removed from the position. Prez Rajapaksa is reported to have instructed to reinstate the sacked Chairman following an inspection visit at the Litro Gas Terminal this morning even though the Finance Ministry Secretary has sent the letter of removal. It was informed that former Housing Development Authority Chairman Renuka Perera was appointed to the position left vacant more..

Jan 13 (EN) SL is facing power cuts in excess of one hour after several plants went off the grid, sources at the power utility said. A 163 MegaWatt combined cycle power plant at Kelanitissa was shut down after running out of fuel while a 100MW gas turbine and small GT also tripped. CEB customers are likely to face 1 hour 45 minute power cuts in the areas listed in an earlier published schedule. However the plants had tripped at around 1400 hours requiring load shedding more..

Jan 13 (DM) Police is to start a three-day operation to gather information on all temporary residents who are living in Colombo city coming from various parts of the island, with the aim of securing national security and eliminating crime and narcotic trade in Colombo. Western Province Community Police Division will gather the information under the theme Protect National Security, Eliminate Crimes and Drugs. Accordingly, police will gather information on all temporary residents more..

Jan 13 (EN) SL filmgoers will soon have a chance to see Japanese anime films which have been growing in popularity worldwide, following a partnership between Colombo-based Scope by Liberty Cinemas and a Singapore based distributor. In 2020, Demon Slayer: Mugen Train earned over US$ 400 million, according to BoxOffice Mojo, making it the highest grossing movie in 2020. It was screened during the Coronavirus pandemic while the rest of the entertainment industry struggled to keep up. more..

Jan 13 (EN) Reserve Bank of India has provided Sri Lanka with a US$ 500 million delay in cross-border settlements and a 400 million US dollar swap, the Indian High Commission in Colombo said. �High Commissioner met governor of central bank of SL and expressed India�s strong support to Sri Lanka in the wake of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) extending over USD 900 million facilities over the last week,� Indian High Commission in SL said in a twitter.com message. more..

Jan 13 (Island) Prez Rajapaksa has instructed Ministers to identify all potential uncultivated lands and initiate a programme to cultivate food crops, said Minister Mahinda Amaraweera. He said various experts had warned that a food shortage could occur by the middle of the year. �Today, the youth are reluctant to take to farming. I presented a Cabinet Memorandum to launch a programme to cultivate food crops with the intervention of the govt to address a possible food crisis in our country,� he added. more..

Jan 13 (PTI) Prison Spokesman Chandana Ekanayake said the additional Secretary to the Ministry of Justice has informed the Commissioner General of Prisons to release the two Indian nationals. Sri Lanka will hand over two Indian prisoners, who have been serving life imprisonment in the island nation, to India on January 12 and 13, under the SAARC prisoners exchange agreement, a senior prison official said in Colombo. Prison Spokesman Chandana Ekanayake told PTI that more..

Jan 13 (Island) There was evidence that the person who was killed by a crocodile recently had got too close to the animal, environmentalist Nayanaka Ranwella said. He added that crocodiles had the ability to kill a human easily and people had to be vigilant. �A number of crocodiles that live in the canals of Dehiwala and Wellawatta travel to the sea. I think probably every night. Those who live in Bolgoda Lake also travel to the sea from Panadura and Wadduwa. Sometimes when there is a heavy flow in the canals, more..

Jan 13 (AD) The circular on providing a special allowance of Rs. 5,000 per month to all govt employees has been published by the Ministry of Public Service, Provincial Councils and Local Govt. On Jan 3, Minister Basil Rajapaksa announced that the Cabinet of Ministers decided to grant a special monthly allowance of Rs. 5,000 to all govt employees, with effect from Jan 1, 2022. The lawmaker stated that govt pensioners and all disabled armed forces personnel will also receive this special monthly allowance. more..

Jan 13 (CI) After much chopping and changing, SL have finally announced their 17-man squad for the upcoming home ODI series against Zimbabwe, with eight changes from their last outing against South Africa - though even more had originally been slated. Kusal Perera, Wanindu Hasaranga, Avishka Fernando, Dhananjaya de Silva are the biggest names to miss out - the first two are nursing injuries, the third tested positive for Covid-19, and Dhananjaya is on paternity leave following the birth of his first child. more..

Jan 13 (CT) There are approximately 18 crocodiles ranging in length from 5 to 10 feet that have been identified in the canals from Wellawatte to Kotte to Nugegoda, Chairman of the NEC Dr. Jagath Gunawardena said, citing a partial census. He noted that he saw approximately 18 crocodiles from Nawala, Narahenpita, and Wellawatte across Nugegoda where the Diyawanna Oya flows from that area around Parliament, adding that the crocodiles which emerged from Wellawatte and Dehiwala were those associated with the Diyawanna Oya. more..

Jan 13 (Islad) Plantation companies have told Labour Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva that they weren�t in a position to grant Rs 5,000 salary increase to estate sector workers. A senior Labour Ministry spokesman said that plantation companies explained the difficulties experienced by them at a meeting called by Minister de Silva at the Labour Department to discuss the proposed salary increment. The govt has requested the private sector to grant Rs 5,000 salary increase more..

Jan 13 (EN) Children can be saved from long COVID conditions such as multi system inflammatory syndrome if they get vaccinated, health officials said on Thursday, urging parents to get the vaccine for children over the age of 12. Health authorities started administering a single dose of Pfizer-BionTech vaccine for children aged 12 to 15 last week. However, health officials have observed a hesitancy among some parents to get their children jabbed. more..

Jan 13 (CT) The Court of Appeal ordered the Attorney General to look into the possibility of filling the space allocated for race, in birth certificates, as Sri Lankan or whether it could be left blank. The two-Judge Bench, comprising Justices Sobitha Rajakaruna and Dhammika Ganepola made this order when the Petition filed by Attorney-at-Law Nuwan Bopage was taken up for hearing. Bopage in his Petition stated that the Registrar General rejected registering the birth certificate of his son on the basis that more..

Jan 13 (CT) While saying that criticisms of farmers regarding organic farming during Maha season are not unfounded, Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage claimed that his entire political career was destroyed by trying to implement the Organic Fertiliser Policy. He made this remark during a meeting held with the National Federation of Farmers� Association at the Ministry premises. The farmers� representatives during the meeting noted that paddy harvest in Maha season can be reduced by 40�50%. more..

Jan 13 (CT) Leader of Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) MP Mano Ganesan refused to sign the final document of the Special Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) yesterday (12) as the document was in Sinhala. Citing his Constitutional right, he told investigators that his testimony, although translated from Tamil to Sinhala and from Sinhala to Tamil, must be written in Tamil if it is to be signed. He asked them to call him back when the final document is ready in Tamil. more..

Jan 13 (EN) China�s Ambassador to Colombo, Qi Zhenhong dismissed speculation about a recent visit to the northern Jaffna peninsula saying the journey was without any �hidden agenda� to a part of SL. Ambassador Qi Zhenhong visited Jaffna�s Point Pedro, the northernmost end of Sri Lanka and Mannar from where a land bridge is thought to have existed at one time to Rameswaram in India. �Jaffna is a city in SL in the north of the island. It is not a city in the south of any other country,� more..

Jan 13 (DM) Whilst rejecting the information revealed by the police on the recovering of a hand grenade at All Saints Church Borella on Tuesday January 11, 2022, Archbishop of Colombo His Eminence Cardinal Malclom Ranjith called for a transparent probe on the incident. Cardinal Ranjith told a press conference that the police had not viewed the video clips of the incident. �Police only viewed the CCTV footage in the church for some reason. The Sanchristian (caretaker) of the church was arrested only by viewing more..

Jan 13 (Island) Ruling party lawmaker Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakse, PC, says SL should be wary of overall Chinese strategy as the ongoing battle between China and the US-led alliance has entered into what the former Justice Minister called an intense phase. �SL shouldn�t be caught up in the situation,� Colombo District MP Rajapakse said. Asked whether the Foreign Ministry or the Chinese Embassy in Colombo contacted him following his criticism of the Chinese actions in a letter more..

Jan 13 (TM) The missing teen from the Navinna area of Maharagama has returned back home safely, The Morning learns. The reason for her running away had been a family argument, which had prompted the teen to seek solace at a monastery. Speaking to a spokesperson from the SL Police media unit, C I Mahakumara confirmed that the girl had run away from due to an argument with the parents. �Neha Kaumadi Herath has had an argument with her mother the day before she had dissapeared. more..

Jan 13 (DM) SLPP Dehiwala-Mt. Lavinia Organizer and former Mayor Danasiri Amaratunga accused the govt leaders for not inviting him for the foundation stone laying ceremony for the new flyover at the Kohuwala junction. In a Facebook post, he said Minister Johnston Fernando and a Minister from a foreign country attended the event and that he was not invited to the function despite being the Chief Organiser in that area. "I am the chief organiser of the Dehivala electorate. But, no one invited me to the event. more..

Jan 13 (DM) The price of fuel was increased to reduce usage, but a new problem has emerged. Drivers claim that fuel available these days burns faster and the maximum speeds of vehicles have decreased and vehicles are subject to defects. Several drivers said they suspect several vehicles went up in flames in different areas due to poor quality fuel. �We are not sure whether the Govt is trying to hold a fireworks display by importing fuel of inferior quality the same way gas cylinders were made to blat,� more..

Jan 13 (DM) Japan and Singapore have topped the list in the annual Henley & Partners� Henley Passport Index of 199 countries and SL ranked 102 along with Lebanon and Sudan with visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 41 countries. The firm's Henley Passport Index, based on exclusive data provided by the Int'l Air Transport Association (IATA), has been regularly monitoring the world's most travel-friendly passports since 2006. The index ranks all passports according to the number of destinations more..