Feb 28 (SO) The economy will generate Forex Inflows of around USD 32 billion this year and possibly about USD 2-3 billion more than that amount, each year thereafter, said State Minister Ajith Nivard Cabraal. He said as of now (Feb 2021), the total ISBs outstanding is USD 14 billion, which is only 16.7% of Sri Lanka’s total debt. None of the other creditors who hold 83.3% of Sri Lanka’s debt seem to show any sign of concern or stress about its repayment ability. more..

Feb 28 (Island) Fintechnology Asia Pacific Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, (FINAP), a leading software solutions company, won two coveted awards at National ICT Awards, NBQSA-2020, held at the BMICH recently. FINAP’s champion product ECOru- the leading Core Banking & Finance Solution was crowned the Gold Award Winner of the Finance & Accounting Solutions (Fintech) in Business Services Category and was further recognized as the Most Innovative & Best Solution in Cloud Computing. more..

Feb 28 (CBC) An Edmonton couple's wedding video is going viral in SL and sparking conversations about same-sex marriage in a country where it is still illegal. Sithara and Jenn Fernando were married in Oct 2019 in a hybrid ceremony of the western tradition and the Poruwa ceremony, a Singhalese ritual involving both families that takes place on a decorated, wooden platform. "One of the things that was really important more..

Feb 28 (CB) Fidel Edwards has been named in the T20I squad for the series against Sri Lanka. The 14-man side also includes Chris Gayle while Akeal Hosein and Kevin Sinclair have received maiden call-ups. Edwards last played a T20I in 2012 - against Sri Lanka - and returns to the side to boost the pace-bowling unit. "A s we build towards the defence of the T20 World Cup, the opportunity is being taken to determine our best team and squad as we go forward. more..

Feb 28 (MoD) Defence Secretary and National Security and Disaster Management State Ministry Secretary Gen. Kamal Gunaratne (Retd), arrived yesterday (22) at the Centre for Research and Development (CRD) in Pitipana to witness the progress of inventions. CRD’s Director General Maj. Gen. Renuka Rowel (Retd) received the visiting high official upon his arrival. An array of innovative products spearheaded by the CRD, being an institution pioneering in providing more..

Feb 28 (ST) Some chaos reigned as a vaccination saga gripped mainly the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) area, with reports from other areas within the Western Province indicating a slightly more organized approach in Phase I of the community vaccination programme from around Feb 17 to 25. The preventive measures that the Health Ministry has been stressing on went unheeded with people thronging the vaccination centres, more..

Feb 28 (ST) Systems fell into place even though Friday was a poya and a public holiday, as 500,000 more doses of AstraZeneca’s COVISHIELD vaccine arrived from India on Thursday, with a mass rollout being launched on Friday itself in the high-risk districts of Colombo and Gampaha. The furore over the priority list which engulfed the first public rollout (Phase I) with part of the 500,000 doses donated by India settled, as a decision had been made by the Health Ministry to vaccinate people over 30 more..

Feb 28 (Island) The well known Dilmah tea brand has crafted what it calls the next generation of Chai (Hindi for tea) blending Ceylon Tea and Kithul treacle, the company announced last week. The launch happened at the t-Lounge & Bar by Dilmah at One Galle Face Mall last Saturday serving a cuppa produced by blending the country’s most celebrated brew with its most celebrated treacle. “The chai that takes pride of place among this upscaled new lot is the Kithul Chai, which involves more..

Feb 28 (TM) The six-member ministerial committee studying the PCoI report into the Easter Sunday attacks and the report of the Sectoral Oversight Committee (SOC) on National Security is looking at, among other aspects, how to implement recommendations to strengthen national security, push through related educational reforms, and to compensate the victims, committee member MP Dr. Ramesh Pathirana said. more..

Feb 28 (ST) PHI says people rushed to vaccination centres paying little heed to dates given. Numerous calls and messages to officials of the CMC this week to get clarification with regard to the chaos were futile. The Sunday Times tried to get the CMC’s side of the story but the calls were cut and the messages went unanswered. “The CMC is not directly under the Health Ministry. They have their own systems and are not bound to follow our directives. They also have their own organizational structure more..

Feb 28 (ST) Prez Rajapaksa is expected to announce that PC elections will be held by June this year. With this in mind, he will meet former PC members from parties that form the ruling alliance for a discussion on Wednesday. He is to tell them to prepare the election machinery while assisting in the Govt’s development activities. It is not immediately clear why the Govt has been prompted to go for the PC polls. At present all provinces are being run by the respective Governors. more..

Feb 28 (TM) The Covid-19 vaccination programme to inoculate the general public hit several roadblocks last week, due to the indecisiveness of certain authorities, causing unrest among the groups that were gathering to be vaccinated, and thereby putting all parties including Public Health Inspectors (PHIs) in peril. State Minister Dr. Sudharshini Fernandopulle, said: “These incidents could have been avoided if more..

Feb 28 (ST) Several experts expressed worries whether SL would be able to secure adequate Covid-19 vaccines. Looking at the numbers, one source said on a rough calculation there are around 14.5 million people over 18 years of age and as such the country would need a total of around 30m doses (for both the first and second jabs). “We got 500,000 doses from India in Jan. as a donation & on Feb 25, we got another 500,000 doses from around 10m doses we are hoping to purchase. more..

Feb 28 (SO) The Ministry of Fisheries with the assistance of the Sri Lanka Navy dumped a considerable quantity of scrapped buses and fishing vessels into the sea three kilometres off the coast of Galle yesterday to improve the breeding of marine life. State Minister Kanchana Wijesekera who was at the Galle harbour yesterday morning said that artificial reefs had been established off the Northern Coast a few weeks ago and the operation in Galle was the second phase of the project. more..

Feb 28 (ST) Early this month, former Prez Maithripala Sirisena, learnt from his sources that he had come under the adverse notice in the Report of the PCoI that probed the Easter Sunday massacres in 2019. Yet, he was not sure what it said. So, he hurriedly sought appointments with Prez Rajapaksa, PM Rajapaksa, and Basil Rajapaksa, founder cum strategist of the SLPP, the main partner in the ruling alliance. more..