Jun 11 (ST) Last Sunday I had to chair a webinar on Tax Reforms for Economic Recovery in Sri Lanka. While R.H.S. Samarathunga, former Secretary to the Ministry of Finance spoke on the taxation problem of SL from a macroeconomic perspective, Murtaza Jafferjee, CEO of JB Securities Ltd. presented its microeconomic anomalies from a business perspective. Coincidently, I had already written in this column last week about the over-spending problem of the country as the ultimate source more..

Jun 11 (TM) The debt crisis, or what is known better as the US dollar crisis, is what is threatening the stability of SL right now. In a very clear message to the nation, given by way of a press interview, CB Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe on 11 May has expressed, in no uncertain terms, the danger the nation is in. Within just one or two weeks, the country could sink further into a situation where there can be power cuts as long as 12 hours a day and queues much longer than those more..

Jun 11 (Island) Old habits are said to die hard. On Thursday, govt chose to bulldoze its way through while asking the Opposition to support its efforts to hoist the country out of the current economic mire. It unflinchingly steamrollered the Electricity (Amendment) Bill through Parliament. CEB Engineers Union told the media that Prez Rajapaksa had pledged to introduce some changes to the Bill at the committee stage, and the Opposition said PM Ranil Wickremesinghe, too, had agreed to more..

Jun 11 (FT) Top business leader and Minister-to-be Dhammika Perera yesterday resigned from all his companies and was named as a National List MP via an extraordinary gazette as part of preparations to be appointed as a Cabinet Minister. The respective CSE-listed companies notified Dhammika�s resignation yesterday. The move is ahead of Dhammika�s appointment as the Minister of Investment Promotion and more..

Jun 11 (CT) Prior to the enactment of the 17th Amendment (17A) to the Constitution in Sept 2001, sins of commission and omission, committed by the Executive, were passed on to the Cabinet, as, collective responsibility, a convenient escape clause. 17A was passed when President Chandrika Kumaratunga was in power. However, her successor President Mahinda Rajapaksa got 18A passed in Parliament in Oct 2010, thereby regained the lost Executive Prez powers caused by 17A. more..

Jun 11 (CT) The protests in SL, especially in Galle Face, have been going on for more than three months now. International, particularly Western and Indian, Media ascribes the crisis in the country to the convulsions of domestic policies and the mismanagement of the economy. This implies that the economic model which SL had in place, dependent as it was on imports and sovereign debt, was somehow doing alright until recently. Such a narrative attributes the country�s problems more..

Jun 11 (ST) The stage is set for the beginning of qualification for the inaugural edition of next year�s ICC Under-19 Women�s T20 World Cup in South Africa, setting the tone for an exciting build up where the future stars of the women�s game will showcase their talents in front of the world. The ICC U-19 Women�s T20 World Cup on South African soil sees back-to-back women�s events take place in the space of two months where the stars of tomorrow are followed by the icons of today�s game more..

Jun 11 (DN) Opener Niroshan Dickwella scored 83 in 73 balls (10 fours and a six) while Ashen Bandara played an unbeaten knock of 73 in 65 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes as SL 'A' recorded a 4-wicket win over Australia 'A' in their second unofficial ODI fixture played at SSC grounds yesterday. Australia' A' decided to bat first scoring 312 all out in 48.4 overs while SL 'A' reached their target with 7 balls to spare with 4 wickets in hand to square the series 1 all after this high-scoring game. more..

Jun 11 (FT) At the invitation of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Singapore, Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister Foreign Affairs Prof. G.L. Peiris undertook an official visit to Singapore from 8-9 June. An official visit of a Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka to Singapore is taking place after four years. During the visit, a bilateral meeting was held with the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Singapore, following which Minister was hosted to an official lunch. more..

Jun 11 (Island) Young prospect Tharushi Karunaratne knocked off yet another record of her senior training partner and alumni of Ratnayake Central, Walala Dilshi Kumarasinghe as she continued to up her profile winning the Best Athlete title of her age category at the Junior National Athletics Championships concluded at the Sugathadasa Stadium on Friday. Karunaratne who has reached qualifying standards for the upcoming World Junior C'ships clocked 54.34 sec more..

Jun 11 (FT) Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) in a statement said it is concerned by several media reports that the SLPP has appointed Dhammika Perera to fill the National List seat which became vacant by the resignation of Basil Rajapaksa. CPA noted that according to media reports, Dhammika Perera was not a member of the SLPP until a few days ago and that in any event his name was not included in the list of persons qualified to be elected as MPs, in terms of Article 99A of Constitution more..

Jun 11 (Island) Bar Association of SL (BASL) said that it couldn�t report the lawyer involved in the Aeroflot affair to the Supreme Court, without inquiring into the incident. It transpired, before HC Judge, S.M.H.S.P. Sethunge, in the Commercial High Court of the Western Province, that Attorney-at-Law Aruna de Silva had accompanied a fiscal officer of the same Court to the BIA, on 2 June to deliver a Court ruling in a case filed by more..

Jun 11 (Island) As another result of its continuous efforts at promoting SL as a potential tourism destination, Sri Lanka Tourism participated in the South Asia Travel & Tourism Exchange (SATTE) travel fair which was held in Greater Noida, Delhi-NCR, India, from May 18-22nd, with 65 SL travel and tourism companies participating, a SL Tourism Promotion Bureau press release said. The release adds: �SL�s participation was successful and this year�s SATTE was a collaborative effort of more..

Jun 11 (ST) Desperate times call for desperate measures. Sri Lankan companies are at wits end to make things work and continue their businesses. So much so that some of them have resorted to barter systems when settling suppliers. Fuel shortages and fuel price increases are seeing entire supply chains of business being disrupted, businesses say. �Now we pay our suppliers half in legal tender and half in diesel,� a CEO of an export manufacturing company told the Business Times on Monday. more..

Jun 11 (DM) The armed struggle launched by Tamil militant groups to achieve the objective of a separate Tamil state caused massive loss of life and bloodshed. Many of those killed were victims of internecine conflict and fratricidal warfare. Among the many who were killed was Subathiran alias Robert, a charismatic personality with a colourful history. He was killed 19 years ago in June 2003 while a ceasefire was supposedly in progress. This column intends re-visiting murder this week. more..

Jun 11 (FT) SL and India�s EXIM Bank yesterday signed the agreement for a $ 55 million financing to procure urea fertiliser. Finance Ministry Secretary M. Siriwardena signed the agreement with the EXIM Bank of India. Govt requested a credit facility from the Govt of India for the importation of Urea Fertiliser of 65,000 tons to cater the immediate requirement of Urea fertiliser demand during the Yala cultivation season. In response to the request, Govt of India agreed to offer a Dollar Credit Line more..

Jun 11 (EN) A union representing executive officers of central bank has warned PM Ranil Wickremesinghe over results of appointing Governors without prior central banking experience, in the wake of the latest currency crisis. �It is extremely important that anyone who becomes the Governor of CB, a key position in economic management, be given a sufficient time to achieve the objectives of the CB�,� more..

Jun 11 (EN) Stocks fell for the week ended on Friday (10) and suffered second weekly slip as political and economic uncertainties weighed over gains in the last three straight sessions due to top corporate leader Dhammika Perera being appointed as an lawmaker, brokers said. Perera who was a chairman and director in a number of listed companies resigned from all the position on Friday before he was appointed as a ruling party national list legislator, a position which fell vacant more..

Jun 11 (Island) Executive Director Centre for Human Rights and Research, Keerthi Tennakoon, has requested Election Commission Chairman, Attorney-at-Law Nimal Punchihewa, to delay acceptance of businessman Dhammika Perera�s nomination, as an SLPP National List MP, until the EC receives his asset declaration. The EC, appointed in terms of the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, consist sof five persons. Tennakoon, who has served as Governor of Uva, Central & Southern Prov. Governor, more..

Jun 11 (DN) National Construction Association of SL (NCASL) expressed concern over the Rs.3,000 price increase of a cement bag announced by manufacturing companies without prior approval from the Government and said this situation badly affected four million people, engaged in the country�s construction field. According to NCASL statistics nearly 375,000 people are directly involved in the construction industry in Sri Lanka and over 650,000 people are indirectly engaged in the industry. more..

Jun 11 (CT) With the drying up of the Indian Credit Line for fuel, petrol and diesel reserves currently with the CPC would only be sufficient for less than a week, Ceylon Today reliably learns. Accordingly, fuel is currently being released to stations under strict conditions. The biggest impact is on diesel reserves and it is being released in moderate amounts till another ship arrives to replenish stocks on 16 June. A ship that is expected to arrive on 16 June would be carrying 40,000 MT of diesel. more..

Jun 11 (FT) The Bar Association of SL (BASL) refuted PM Ranil Wickremesinghe assertion that it reached an agreement with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa that if the 19th Amendment is restored the latter can continue. BASL was responding to parts of a statement made by PM on June 8 in Parliament referring to the BASL. The PM had said in the statement: �It was the Bar Association which met Prez on May 8th more..

Jun 11 (FT) Former PM Mahinda Rajapaksa said the aragalaya could no longer call itself a peaceful struggle after the brutal killing of SLPP Polonnaruwa District MP Amarkeerthi Atukorala. Speaking on the Vote of Condolence on the slain MP, Rajapaksa said the peaceful struggle had been taken over by those with hidden agenda who were responsible for perpetuating violence. �What wrong has the deceased MP done to anyone? He was an affable and humble man. more..

Jun 11 (TM) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe has been the PM 6 times in the past and yet he used the condolence motion day for the late MP Amarakeerthi Athukorala for his own political agenda, says TNA MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam. �PM knows the parliamentary law, he has been elected as PM in the past as well. He made allegations for his own political agenda and to stir up the minds of the people. This was uncalled for, especially on a day with emotions running high. more..

Jun 11 (FT) PM Ranil Wickremasinghe requested the Speaker to hold an inquiry against TNA MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam for allegedly condoning the attacks on MPs and their properties that took place in mid-May. Speaking during the Vote of Condolence on slain SLPP MP Amarakeerthi Athukorala, the PM said instead of taking a united stand when Parliament is under attack, TNA MP had tried to justify attacks. more..

Jun 11 (TM) The UK yesterday relaxed its travel advisory on Sri Lanka. Accordingly, UK�s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) no longer advises against all but essential travel to SL. However, it states that the economic situation in SL is challenging with shortages of basic necessities including medicines, cooking gas, fuel and food because of a shortage of hard currency to pay for imports. �There may be long queues at shops and supermarkets, fuel stations & pharmacies. more..

Jun 11 (FT) If you were to look for the positives in our dismal circumstances, the long queues for petrol could be considered the great equaliser. You may be an esteemed person in your community, a wealthy person, the owner of the service station maybe an old friend or his son and your son would have been classmates at an international school; but you bloody well stay in line and wait your turn for the petrol. Other vehicle owners who would have stayed in the queue for longer hours, will not stand more..

Jun 11 (NR) Minister Nalin Fernando says owners of rice mills have restricted production with the imposition of price controls for local rice by the govt. Minister requested the public to refrain from accumulating large stocks of rice. He said rice mill owners create shortages in the market when the govt imposes maximum prices adding it inconveniences consumers. He noted, under such circumstances consumers demand the CAA and subject Minister to release more stocks. more..

Jun 11 (FT) An unprecedented golden opportunity has been provided by the people, of all religions, ethnicities, age and gender, speaking in Sinhala, Tamil and English, who have come out in all provinces/districts/ pradesha/grama sevaka divisions, in glorious unity, ensuring full representative democracy, including all professionals and technical auditors, accountants, engineers and associations of BASL, banks, teachers and students, doctors and nurses, ministry secretaries more..

Jun 11 (AD) A fuel information management system has been introduced in SL to provide information to the general public on the island-wide fuel distribution process. This initiative is a collaboration between the ICTA, Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals and Ministry of Power & Energy. The fuel information management system will give the public information about the fuel stations that offer fuel, and their availability. more..

Jun 11 (AD) National Hospital of Nephrology in Polonnaruwa, established as a donation from the govt of China, celebrates its first anniversary today. A total of 3,010 admissions, 20,784 dialysis, 18,045 visits, 65,516 laboratory tests have been done since the hospital was declared opened to the public on 11th June 2021, Chinese Embassy in Colombo said, taking to its official Twitter handle. Chinese Ambassador to SL Qi Zhenhong, former Prez Maithripala Sirisena, Health Secretary more..

Jun 11 (Island) Dengue is on the rise and if anyone had symptoms such as fever and body aches, he or she should immediately seek medical treatment, Senior Consultant Physician at the IDH, Dr. Ananda Wijewickrama said. Dr. Wijewickrama urged people not to take any drugs except paracetamol if they had fever and body aches. He advised them to undergo blood tests. Dr. Wijewickrama added that they had detected an increasing number of dengue patients in recent days. more..

Jun 11 (ST) Land Reform Commission (LRC) is yet to recover millions of rupees taken illegally from its official fund to support the govt�s failed organic fertiliser project. In July last year, Lands Minister S. M. Chandrasena announced that Rs 700mn would be released for an organic fertiliser production project to be implemented by the LRC under his ministry. He said the fertiliser would then be sold to the Agriculture Ministry with more..

Jun 11 (EN) SL�s commercial banks� rupee quote against telegraphic transfers was steady on the week ended on Friday June 10, with dealers said the central bank�s control has brought some stability though there were a few dollars for transaction. The commercial banks� rupee quote against telegraphic transfers were at 367 against US dollar, compared to 367.30 hit last week Friday June 3, banks� data showed. �Basically it�s the central bank�s control with a margin,� a currency dealer said. more..

Jun 11 (ST) Smiling teenager Sayuri Anjalika from Rajanganaya gets off the bed in Ward 14B of the Lady Ridgeway Hospital (LRH) for Children in Colombo and moves about with the walker under the watchful eye of her mother, Tharanganie Ratnayake and the nursing staff on Friday. Close by, Malisha Hansamali (14) accompanied by her mother Shama Priyadharshini from Moneragala is awaiting admission to the same ward. Sayuri has just undergone complex definitive surgery for more..