Jun 13 (ST) Apparel industry worker-related issues are to be discussed between the factory owners and trade unions once they reach agreement through an MOU in the wake of the recent spike in COVID-19 cases. “We have agreed to discuss a possibility of entering a MOU to resolve the disputes through social dialogue,” FTZ and General Services Trade Union General Secretary Anton Marcus said. Draft of the MOU is yet to be considered by the Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF). more..

Jun 13 (Island) The continued prohibition on liquor sales due to existing travel restrictions in the country has dealt a crippling blow to the Excise Department with the loss of tax revenue exceeding a whopping Rs. 10 billion (Rs. 10,000 million) so far. “We have been deprived of around Rs. 600 million per day in excise duties”, says M. J. Gunasiri, Commissioner-General of Excise. Since the sale of alcohol was banned with more..

Jun 13 (ST) Four new state-owned business enterprises (SOBEs) are to be added to the existing 52 strategically important SOEs as limited liability companies, and these four will be listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange soon. These enterprises are now functioning under the Ministries of Finance, Urban Development and Technology with the Secretary to the Treasury being the sole shareholder. The govt is in the process of fully operationalising these four new SOEs more..

Jun 13 (Island) While SL grapples with the after effects of the MV X-Press Pearl marine disaster off the South and West coasts of the island, the Ministry of Fisheries has assured citizens that in suspending fishing activities from the affected coasts, all seafood that makes its way to the markets has officially been declared safe for consumption. In light of recent events, and in order to reel in greater confidence towards the fisheries industry as a whole, Round Island – consumer face of Oceanpick ltd more..

Jun 13 (TM) By sharing fake news on social media networks, some people are pushing the country towards re-enacting the criminal defamation law which was repealed in 2002, Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said. He said this on Friday while responding to The Sunday Morning’s query on the conflict which would arise with the exercise of the freedom of expression when arrests are made for the purported cognisable offence of sharing more..

Jun 13 (Island) The group of eminent academics, professionals and civic activists, led by former Colombo Uni Vice Chancellor, Prof. Savitri Gunasekera, who wrote to the Director General of Health earlier this month together with some others have now written a follow-up letter to Prez, PM, Health Minister and state ministers of health. We reproduce its text below: “We are writing to you as a follow up to our letter to the Director General Health, which appeared in Sunday Island of June 6. more..

Jun 13 (TM) Sri Lanka is yet to be informed of a Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine delivery date from the US despite the country’s name having been included in the list of countries to be receiving vaccines from the US, according to the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation (SPC). SPC General Manager Dinusha Dassanayake said that although Sri Lanka has been included in the list of countries to receive Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine doses from the US, they have yet to confirm any delivery dates. more..

Jun 13 (ST) The decision to buy a large number of tax-free SUVs using money from the Treasury was held back or postponed at the suggestion of PM Mahinda Rajapaksa to the Cabinet, Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said. “The subject initially came up when there was no COVID-19. It was decided to bring down vehicles instead of issuing permits which are usually sold. They were to be for various government institutions to be used as more..

Jun 13 (ST) While the cost of living is likely to soar in the wake of yesterday’s fuel price hikes, a govt-appointed ministerial committee is due to study a proposal to increase gas prices. Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardena said that the committee would meet tomorrow to discuss a request made by two companies – Litro Gas & Laugfs — seeking permission to increase gas prices. He said the companies had requested that the price of a cylinder of domestic gas be increased by Rs 700, more..

Jun 13 (EN) SL’s ruling party in a dramatic move called for the resignation of Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila a day after fuel prices were raised ending an election promise to fix oil prices, in bid to bolster the cash-strapped state energy firm. Minister Gammanpila said the on Friday the price hike was decided by a cabinet subcommittee as the state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) had 330 billion rupees of accumulated losses and over US$ 3 bil in foreign exchange which was in short supply. more..

Jun 13 (ST) From a private hospital in a crowded part of the city, Sajith Premadasa, leader of the country’s main opposition SJB, then recuperating from an attack of COVID-19, had to fight another threat – the fear of losing his leadership. He has overcome the deadly virus attack but not the other. Other than SMS messages to thank those who had wished him a speedy recovery, he was telephoning stalwarts in his party. more..

Jun 14 (ST) With a container ship leaking dangerous chemicals on fire at sea for over 12 nerve-racking days despite the best efforts of the fire-fighting crew to extinguish its wind swept flames, a major disaster on land broke out last Friday night when oil stored in the tanks at the Sapugaskanda Oil Refinery started to flow into the inland waters of the River Kelani, raising grave fears that the capital and its environs will be rendered dry should the water supply be contaminated as a result. more..

Jun 14 (CT) Another Annus Horribilis indeed! Sri Lanka appeared to be continuing on its disastrous path on all fronts, this year too, (thanks) to its disoriented, beleaguered leadership as it faces further domestic woes and foreign policy hurdles. Yes! the people are now increasingly getting disgusted and angered, and now baying for the blood of yet another govt that had failed them. However, as it is often said, the lesson of history is that no one learns. more..

Jun 14 (TM) A surge of Covid-19 cases will endure for another couple of weeks and the downward trend can be expected subsequently, Deputy Director General of Health Services Dr. Hemantha Herath said. He shared the importance of the current lockdown and explained the community transmission of the virus. Q: What is the current Covid-19 situation in SL? A: The total number of cases have already passed 200,000 mark. more..

Jun 14 (ST) Fast on its way to illustrating South Asia’s frightening object lesson on how to reduce one of the region’s oldest democracies to a dystopian nightmare of rampant disease, poverty and pathetically dependant people made to grovel for handouts, SL’s unfortunate citizenry watch with surreal fascination this week as PM Rajapaksa blandly asks the world to pick Sri Lanka as an investment destination of choice. There is a hard question that PM together with his brother, more..

Jun 14 (CT) The whole political world is in chaos with many political ideologies, which have in a way turned upside down the ordinary systems of people or rather obstructed people-building capacities. As I have discussed in one article published in a journal called Colombo Telegraph, it is the dominant world system that has harmed the conscientization of people in which peoples’ genuine socio-political capacities have been destroyed[1]. The etymological meaning of the word governing is to have more..

Jun 14 (TM) While the national vaccination rollout for Covid-19 is slowly progressing in SL, many other countries have been rolling out their vaccine drives quite rapidly. With the support of the medical regulatory authorities in Americas, Europe, EU, Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Covid-19 vaccination programmes have been commenced for children above the age of 12. In SL, however, we are still at the stage where the rest of the country more..

Jun 14 (TM) Govt’s decision to increase fuel prices last week led to a furore among the pandemic-stricken people who were awaiting some form of relief, not price hikes. In SL, regardless of the amount, any form of price hike receives criticism under normal circumstances, and the recent fuel price hike coming during a pandemic, intensified that criticism. Fuel price hikes, especially, receive more opposition than other goods, as the price of fuel decides the price of a large number of other more..

Jun 14 (CT) On-going travel restrictions that were scheduled to be lifted at 4 a.m. tomorrow (14) were further extended until 21 June, Army Commander General Shavendra Silva announced on Friday. The restrictions that were first imposed on 21 May were supposed to last until 7 June, with a plan to relax restrictions on 25 May, 31 May and 4 June. However, taking into consideration the high number of positive cases reported daily, after 25 May, restrictions had been strictly imposed. more..

Jun 14 (GV) In the South Asian region, Sri Lanka is a success story when it comes to tackling child labour. The widely prevalent forms of child labour in the 1990s and before, such as children in domestic servitude and children’s engagement in hazardous labour in industries, have drastically declined. This transformation has been the result of greater awareness among the public, law reform and enhanced law enforcement as well as more businesses steering away from employment more..

Jun 14 (DM) On World Environment Day UN highlighted the fact that we cannot turn back time. But, we can grow trees, green our cities and clean up rivers and coasts. The UN calls on all people to Reimagine, Recreate and Restore. With the Covid crisis raging the world over, the usual large-scale cleanup involving thousands of volunteers, children and the public involving themselves in mass tree planting schemes, clearing of garbage and plastics on our beaches was out of the question and more..

Jun 14 (TM) Regardless of an agreement being finalised between SL Govt and its Indian counterparts in February for SL to develop the Upper Oil Tank Farm in Trincomalee, discussions are still ongoing with the relevant officials to proceed with the next step. Minister Udaya Gammanpila stated that the progress is very slow despite the discussions held with official Indian counterparts to develop the Upper Oil Tank Farm. more..

Jun 14 (Island) State Minister Lohan Ratwatte said here yesterday that as prison visits had been suspended, inmates would be afforded an opportunity to communicate with their loved ones via Zoom. The facility had been made available in six prisons of the country, including Welikada and Angunakolapelessa, State Minister Ratwatte said. He disclosed that the now vacant Bogambara prison buildings and its land would be developed as a tourist attraction in the near future. more..

Jun 14 (DN) Considering the difficulties faced by the borrowers of Licensed Finance Companies and Specialized Leasing Companies (NBFIs), due to the third wave of COVID-19 pandemic, Central Bank of SL (CBSL) is requesting NBFIs to provide concessions to affected borrowers for C-19 affected businesses and individuals. These concessions issued under circular No. 06 of 2021 are concessions granted for performing credit facilities. For credit facilities that are more..

Jun 14 (FT) Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda held a special meeting to resolve the difficulties of the Negombo fishing community affected by the MV-Xpress Pearl and to inform them of the decisions taken by the Govt in this regard. The discussion held on Saturday at the Negombo Town Hall was attended by State Ministers Kanchana Wijesekera, Nimal Lanza, representatives of fisheries societies from Palliyawatta, Wattala more..

Jun 14 (FT) Seylan Bank recently conducted a skills and knowledge sharing webinar exclusively for Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to help them adapt to the current digitally-driven business environment. The live webinar was hosted via Zoom, YouTube and Facebook. The interactive session gathered approximately 1,000 registrations. The webinar ‘Let’s use Facebook effectively to promote business growth in the current environment’ was a part of the Bank’s ongoing efforts more..

Jun 14 (DN) SL Olympians will be rewarded with financial benefits and other incentives when they participate in the Tokyo Olympic Games in Japan from July 23. Already four athletes have qualified for the Tokyo Olympics and another 3 to 4 athletes are expected to join the Sri Lankan contingent through the wildcard system. “We have decided to grant an allowance of US $10,000 for each Olympian with a further sum of US $40 as a daily allowance” Minister Namal Rajapaksa said. more..

Jun 14 (CT) SL’s most decorated Badminton player Niluka Karunaratne, will make his third consecutive appearance at the Olympic Games, and is determined to raise the bar high for Badminton in SL. “I am proud to be among very few sportspersons in SL to make three appearances at the Olympic Games. No Badminton player in SL has achieved this feat. This will be my last Olympics and my prime objective is to sign off with a win and do my best to raise the bar high for future of SL badminton” more..

Jun 14 (Island) It never rains but it pours. There is no end in sight to the various shocks the public frequently receives from the govt. The Covid-19 pandemic is ripping through the country, destroying scores of lives daily. The inoculation programme is moving at a tardy pace as there is no steady supply of vaccines. Travel restrictions are causing hardships to the public and hurting the economy badly but have not yielded the desired results. The poor are asking for food and farmers fertiliser. more..

Jun 14 (EN) The SJB said it would support the govt to bring a new prevention of terrorism law, as the mis-use of the current one against the public and minorities was reducing civil liberties. European parliament has cited SL’s existing Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) has been cited as one of the tools through which democratic freedoms were being stripped away and minorities targeted, which may lead to the GSP+ trade benefits more..

Jun 14 (CT) National Shooting Sport Association of SL’s (NSSF) effort finally bore fruit when the Ministry of Sports assured its willingness to construct a muchneeded shooting range. The intended national shooting range will be ideally located at a private property in Kohuwela, and will be erected adjoining the existing 4-lane electronic shooting facility set-up in early 2019. It will become the nerve centre for national and aspiring shooters, and provide a training facility meeting int'l standards. more..

Jun 14 (TM) A Dispute Resolution Centre is expected to be established within the Colombo Port City (CPC), according to CHEC Port City Colombo Ltd. Assistant Managing Director Thulci Aluwihare. He made this statement during the first plenary session, titled Port City Colombo – the gateway to South Asia, on day two of the virtually-held SL Investment Forum 2021. The aforesaid resolution centre will be established to resolve commercial disputes that arise with regard to operations more..

Jun 14 (FT) SJB MP S.M. Marikkar called on the Govt to resign if it cannot successfully manage crises rather than putting the masses in more misery. He said the sharp fuel hike amidst the pandemic is akin to putting people from a frying pan into the fire. He recalled when the previous regime increased the price by Rs. 2 or 3, Mahinda Rajapaksa in the Opposition rode to Parliament in a cycle. more..

Jun 14 (ST) SL’s telecom regulator is accelerating structural challenges and trends that have long suppressed the telecommunications industry’s growth to create a dynamic, competitive, innovative telecommunications infrastructure. Oshada Senanayake, Chairman – TRC said that amongst these, the optical fiber submarine communications cable system that carries telecommunications between SL and other nations or the Sea – Me – We cable capacity is being increased. more..

Jun 14 (FT) The Chairman and members of the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) are to get a salary hike, the motion for which, comprising the revision of salaries and allowances accorded to the seven-member OMP, is to be presented to Parliament by Justice Minister Ali Sabry shortly. Accordingly, the monthly allowance presently paid to the OMP Chairman will be increased to Rs. 135,000 from Rs. 100,000 in addition to a monthly fuel allowance of Rs. 50,000 and a telephone allowance. more..

Jun 14 (Island) Minister Udaya Gammanpila yesterday told a hastily arranged media briefing said that the economy was in such bad shape that the govt couldn’t have further delayed the upward revision of fuel prices. He revealed that the Central Bank in a missive dated May 31 strongly advised the Treasury to increase fuel prices or face the consequences. Minister Gammanpila emphasized that PM Rajapaksa, in his capacity as more..

Jun 14 (CI) Ahead of the first-ever World Test Championship final, the ICC has inducted a special list of 10 players into its Hall of Fame. From the Australian allrounder Monty Noble, who made his debut in January 1898, to Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lanka batting great who retired in August 2015, these ten players' careers span well over a century of men's Test cricket. The inductees have been classified into five broad eras: Noble and Aubrey Faulkner from pre-World War 1 period more..

Jun 14 (SLN) A special search operation conducted by the Navy in the coastal area of Polwathumodara, Weligama in the dark hours on 12th June 2021, led to the seizure of over 219kg of heroin attempted to be smuggled into the island by sea and apprehension of 09 suspects involved in the illegal act. This special anti-drug operation conducted by the Navy made way to the seizure of this stock of about 219.8kg of heroin which was attempted to be smuggled in by a dinghy through more..