Jan 25 (DN) According to the modern calendar, Duruthu Poya is considered the first full moon Poya of the year. However, the Sinhalese year starts with Bak Poya, followed by Vesakha Poya, generally considered the most important Poya. Even before the Gregorian calendar was adopted, Buddhist followers observed Sil (eight precepts) every full moon day, abstaining from worldly activities. Therefore, the significance of Duruthu Poya lies not in its position on the calendar but in the fact more..

Jan 25 (FT) As part of the Embassy of SL in Bahrain�s Economic Diplomacy program for the year 2024, a meeting was held on 8 January between Ambassador of SL to Bahrain H.M.G.R.R.K. Wijeratne Mendis and Bahrain FinTech Bay Chief Operating Officer Suzy Al Zeerah. The meeting served as a platform to identify the commonalities and synergies in the FinTech sectors of SL and Bahrain while taking advantage of the rapid developments in ICT and the digital more..

Jan 25 (CT) Supun Waduge�s half century followed by a collective bowling effort set up Sri Lanka�s thumping 77-run win over Namibia in a low scoring game of the ongoing Under-19 World Cup at Diamond Oval, Kimberly, South Africa. Put into bat on a tricky surface which assisted the bowlers, Sri Lanka could muster only a meagre 133 courtesy of Supun Waduge�s solo cameo of 56 not out. The islanders had a shaky start to their innings as they were reduced to 3-41 in 11.1 overs. more..

Jan 25 (DN) SL Test team is ready to take Challenge against Afghanistan in their one and only Test which scheduled to commence from Feb 2 at SSC grounds. Some players are engaged with NSL matches and from next Monday they are ready to start their Test match practices in Colombo. SL Test team is coming to this Test under new captaincy of Dhananjaya Silva after successful captaincy by Dimuth Karunaratne and new Selection Committee headed by Upul Tharanga has a big task more..

Jan 25 (FT) Stakeholders of the Information Technology and Business Process Management (IT and BPM) industry, including SL Association of Software and Service Companies (SLASSCOM), Federation of Information Technology Industry SL (FITIS), Computer Society of SL (CSSL) and British Computer Society (BCS SL) jointly expressed their concerns and recommendations in response to proposed Online Security Bill. more..

Jan 25 (DN) Three SL junior tennis stars � Vichinthaya Nilaweera, Dinara de Silva, and Methvan Wijemanne � have stormed into the semi-finals of the ongoing ITF Junior Circuit Tennis Tournament. Prestigious event, organized by the Int'l Tennis Federation, is currently happening on the clay courts of the SLTA in Colombo. As the trio proudly keeps the SL flag flying high, the much-anticipated semi-finals are set to captivate tennis enthusiasts today, with the tournament scheduled to run more..

Jan 25 (TM) Despite the inflation-affected public welcoming the idea of importing vegetables to be sold at lower or concessional rates in response to the recent, drastic vegetable price hike, authorities remain skeptical about the matter due to economic, environmental, and procedural concerns. Matter has been discussed at a recent policy meeting held at the Prez Secretariat, where several key entities that have a role in the importation of vegetables pointed out practical difficulties more..

Jan 25 (FT) The Collective of Microfinance victims and community savings and credit providing organisations this week filed three petitions detailing a range of limitations and dangers rooted in the proposed Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority Bill tabled in the Parliament on 9 January. Counsels Ermiza Tegal and Namashya Ratnayake appear on behalf of the two petitions filed by Shiroma Sandamali and Renuka more..

Jan 25 (SO) Nearly 55,000 driving licence applicants have been disqualified from receiving driving licences on account of their failure to pass medical tests last year. According to the National Transport Medical Institute (NTMI), nearly 841,000 applicants had applied for the medical tests last year. Of them, 55,000 applicants had failed since they were suffering from heart diseases, high blood pressure, poor eyesight and diabetes. Many applicants fail the medical test more..

Jan 25 (Island) Capital Market regulator, Securities and Exchange Commission of SL (SEC) held meaningful discussions with the CEOs of stock broker firms and other Market Intermediaries in separate stakeholder engagements in Jan 2024. Meetings were aimed at fostering collaborative efforts to fortify the regulatory framework and operational infrastructure of the securities market. Exchange of ideas and perspectives reflected a shared dedication to upholding the highest more..

Jan 25 (DM) A couple of parents in Deegalla in Kuliyapitiya who went on a pilgrimage to Sri Padasthana to fulfil a vow leaving their three children all alone within closed doors were arrested today by the Kuliyapitiya police. Three children were eight, five and three years of age and they were taken charge of the police on information from the public received through Police Emergency Service 119. Police said they rushed to the scene and broke opened the doors to find the three children more..

Jan 25 (FT) High Commissioner of SL to Pakistan Admiral (Retd.) Ravindra C. Wijegunaratne attended the Expo � 3rd Edition of the Engineering and Healthcare Show on 20 Jan at the Expo Centre in Lahore. The exhibition was organised by the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce and Export Development Fund of Pakistan. Over 200 exhibitors from Pakistan showcased their products across 26 sectors of engineering and more..

Jan 25 (TM) Opposition MPs criticised Govt�s decision not to disburse funds to MPs � which they have been entitled to for many decades under the decentralised funds of the Budget � and instead allocating those funds to district coordination committees. Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe recently said that the Govt would allocate Rs. 11,250 million through district coordination committees to recommence more..

Jan 25 (DM) Credit to the private sector is expected to have increased by approximately Rs.100 billion in December of the previous year, marking a rise from the preceding month. This suggests a robust demand for credit from the private sector in the upcoming months, coinciding with the ongoing economic recovery and declining interest rates. Presenting the recent macroeconomic indicators, which influenced the Monetary Policy Board to stand pat this week, the officials said that more..

Jan 25 (AD) Chairman of Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau Chalaka Gajabahu has been elected as the Vice Chair of the UN World Tourism Organization Competitiveness Committee recently. Committee on Tourism and Competitiveness (CTC) is one of the technical committees of the UNWTO and it is a subsidiary organ of the Executive Council. Committee was established at the 95th session of the Executive Council in Belgrade, Serbia in May 2013. more..

Jan 25 (TM) Despite the reduction of fertiliser price by 50%, the hard blow of VAT has accelerated the costs of inputs to tea production such as fuel, machinery, energy, chemicals, materials. Planters� Association (PA) of Ceylon Spokesperson, Dr. Roshan Rajadurai said: �Currently, the main challenge is the high cost of tea production because tea has very wafer thin margins in the best of years. Due to the taxes and the spur of other input costs will have a direct impact on the total cost more..

Jan 25 (DM) Claiming that Rattaran was a nickname given to him in childhood, MP Rohitha Abeygunawardane said he would resign if anyone proved that a police complaint had been made against him for snatching necklaces. The MP told parliament that he was called Rattaran in his childhood as a nickname and that after he came to politics, people started to say that he was called Rattaran because of snatching necklaces. "We are given nicknames when we were born. more..

Jan 25 (TM) In the wake of 10 CEB workers being suspended on Tuesday over involvement in obstructive trade union protest actions, the CEB Workers� Union (WU) claimed that over 20,000 workers were ready to tender their resignations if the Govt and Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera continued the alleged intimidation of CEB employees who took part in trade union action. CEB workers conducted a 3-day protest more..

Jan 25 (DM) Refuting reports that there was a gold-plated camel in his daughter's house, former Prez Maithripala Sirisena said that only a personal gift given by the Emir of Qatar was kept at the said residence. �The official gift I received from the Emir of Qatar is kept in the museum at Polonnaruwa. Some of my staff members including security personnel received wrist watches worth more than Rupees one million from the Emir. I also got a personal gift, I kept it at my daughter�s house� more..

Jan 25 (DM) Following a court order, the buffet compartment of the Meenagaya inter-city express train running from Batticaloa to Colombo Fort has been temporarily sealed till Feb 8, the Railways Department said. They said the court order was issued following a sudden inspection conducted over the buffet compartment on Monday (22) by a team comprising the Batticoloa Public Health Inspector (PHI). During the sudden inspection, the group had observed that the buffet compartment more..

Jan 25 (AD) Two persons, including State Minister Sanath Nishantha, were reportedly killed in an accident on the Katunayake Highway. The State Minister�s vehicle had reportedly met with an accident on the Katunayake Highway earlier this morning (25), following which three persons including the State Minister were admitted to the Ragama Hospital. Hospital sources later confirmed that two persons, more..

Jan 26 (DM) Yesterday was a Poya Day (Duruthu Poya), and people placed flowers in front of Buddha statues all over the country, but we can safely say that roses have not been the favourite of Buddhists. This isn�t because roses are criminally expensive, but because this religion doesn�t have a close relationship with the rose. Buddhists prefer the lotus when an offering needs to be done; largely due to the lessons the flower symbolises. But roses have entered our culture & quite secretly more..

Jan 26 (TM) Yesterday, two leading public education-linked trade unions that represent teachers, urged the Government and law enforcement authorities not to raid schools and disrupt the learning environment of students within the ongoing Yukthiya crime fighting programme. The teacher unions alleged that the Police raiding or investigating within schools will have a negative impact on the students and their education. The call for law enforcement to halt at the gates of national schools, more..

Jan 26 (TM) National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) received a total of 7,973 complains on or relating to child abuse between 1 Jan and 31 Oct 2023. Of this, 2,066 complaints were regarding the need for care and protection, 1,833 were of cruelty, and 1,570 of compulsory education. These statistics, published by the NCPA, shed light on the need for safeguarding and reporting mechanisms as well as awareness in the country. more..

Jan 26 (DM) As Israel�s inhuman onslaught on the Gaza Strip continues, the talk of a two-state solution is being bandied about by world leaders, especially those from the Global South. Though the two-state solution requires thorough scrutiny and resurrection, some see this as an attempt to deflect global attention from the Gaza horror, which has killed more than 25,000 people; 70% of them being women and children. Whether this horror is gross genocide will be known today when more..

Jan 26 (SO) A review meeting to discuss the progress of the Pekoe Trail project aimed at boosting SL�s tourism industry, was held at the President�s Office, chaired by Senior Advisor to the President Sagala Ratnayaka. The Pekoe Trail team outlined their plans for the project, emphasising the creation of a 300 km tourist trail that has garnered global popularity and is poised to significantly support the development of the tea industry in SL. Highlighting the potential to attract tourists more..

Jan 26 (TM) The Catholic Church recently stated that it has informed the Vatican of its plan to canonise the victims of the series of bombings that took place on Easter Sunday, 21 April 2019, and that related activities will begin in due time. Although the Church is striving to serve spiritual justice to those who died in the said bombings, the largest single casualty bombing in the recent history of SL, extent of govt�s will to serve justice to them more..

Jan 26 (ST) The world�s first industrialised country, the UK is today a de-industrialised economy. Over 80% of employed people work in the service sector, contributing over 70% of value addition to the GDP. Over the past 30 years, employment share in the industrial sector has declined from 30% to 18%, and the share of its value addition from 26% of GDP to 17%. The world�s largest economy, the US, also tells us a similar story. Nearly 80% of the employed people work in the service sector, more..

Jan 26 (CT) Speaking at an Awards Ceremony on 3 January, President Ranil Wickremesinghe announced that the Govt would be deploying a Navy vessel to the Red Sea. Wickremesinghe pointed out that the disruption of shipping lanes in the region would lead to increased freight charges and cargo costs, increasing import prices in the country. Arguing that this was not in SL�s interest, he declared that the Got would do what it could to contribute to stability in the region. more..

Jan 26 (Island) Recent burglary of the residence of former Prez Maithripala Sirisena�s daughter has triggered a social media feeding frenzy. Sirisena has come under a cyber piranha attack, as it were. He took great pains in Parliament on Wednesday to have the public believe that there was no truth in the media reports that a gold-plated camel statuette gifted to him by a foreign leader, when he was the Prez, had been among the valuables the burglars had made off with from his daughter�s house. more..

Jan 26 (DN) SL�s mineral wealth, long overshadowed by its world-famous gem industry, is now drawing attention as a significant untapped resource that could bolster the nation�s economy. CW Mining Consultants Pty Ltd Director/Managing Consultant Chirantha Weerawardena highlighted the vast potential of SL�s mineral resources focusing on graphite, ilmenite, rutile, and zircon. Weerawardena emphasized the untapped reserves of minerals such as graphite, known for its purity & high quality more..

Jan 26 (ST) Health workers excluding doctors, in state-run hospitals, are awaiting a resolution to their demand for an additional allowance similar to that of doctors and have warned that a failure to resolve the issue could result in trade union action disrupting services. They have set February 1 as the fresh deadline for the govt to meet their demands. In addition, they say protest campaigns will be held from Tue onwards. more..

Jan 26 (ST) Colombo is hosting the South Asian Economics Students� Meet (SAESM) on Jan 22 to 24. SAESM is one of the pioneering academic events in South Asia that brings together young economists in the region to engage in a variety of activities that will contribute to shaping the future of South Asia�s economic landscape, the local organisers said in a media release. Since its inception in 2004, with the initiations from leading economics departments in the region, more..

Jan 26 (CT) We have been focusing mostly on the Opposition, largely on Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) and his party, NPP. There is reason for this. AKD�s rise has been perceptible; some may have described it as meteoric; others as unbelievable. Whatever the adjective one uses, the exhibitionistic fashion the NPP has been engaging in its political campaign has in turn engaged the focus of the masses. The abject conditions of the economy, its radical relationship to the personal lives more..

Jan 26 (DN) Cricket star Mahela Jayawardena learnt his lessons from renowned coach Nelson Mendis who completed his CCC cricket school Academy silver jubilee last week. On this occasion the 86 year old Nelson Mendis was felicitated for his great service. Mahela Jayawardena was invited to speak on that occasion and he made a very meaningful speech. I always think cricket has three major parts. Number one is talent number two Is physical fitness and number three is intelligence. more..