Oct 1 (TM) Today marks the International Day of Older Persons, and this year’s theme – Digital Equity for All Ages, has been declared with the aim of affirming the need for access and meaningful participation in the digital world by older persons. However, when it comes to the state of life of older persons in SL and the growth of the elderly population, there are more basic, but extremely pressing issues, which need to be addressed more urgently. more..

Oct 1 (GV) There are photographs being shared on social media of charitable visits that are being made to elders’ homes. Some of the visitors are not wearing masks, an omission constituting criminal negligence during the ongoing pandemic. This is what we saw in the photographs: little old women with no hair dressed in mass produced, bright floral print dresses lying on metal camp beds lined up in dormitory style in a large, white room. One woman on a bed had both her hands more..

Oct 1 (DM) The Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) continues to be a sticky issue for SL with the international community calling for it to be completely abolished. However, Justice Minister Ali Sabry said it is unlikely that the PTA will be completely abolished. Justice Minister also insisted that there is no interference in the judiciary, and also defended the process in dealing with State Minister Lohan Ratwatte. more..

Oct 1 (DM) Sri Lankans would be out on the streets from early morning today given that the lockdown is lifted by the Govt as announced a few days ago. Still, despite that good news, that gloomy feeling remains largely because of the economic constraints having a crippling effect on institutions and the people of this country. The earnings of people have shrunk and it’s quite difficult for employers to motivate employees to work hard, so that companies and institutes can stay afloat during this more..

Oct 1 (CT) When the country is caught up in a death spiral (massive-scale corruption, stealing people’s assets and heritage, political chicanery, murder and mayhem, human rights abuses, thuggery, poverty, malnutrition and covid – in that order of importance), one might ask why the author should worry about little things about which only the educated elite, arguably, need to be mindful about. But little things DO MATTER! The honorific academic title Professor in Sri Lanka is confusing and misleading more..

Oct 1 (TM) There is need for a policy change that would in turn pave the way for legislative reforms with regard to the functioning of local ritualistic healing practices and processes, local academics noted, so as to both safeguard patients’ rights, and cultural values and relativism by allowing and providing for multiple systems of healing to work in collaboration in the best interest of the patients. This recommendation was made by more..

Oct 1 (CT) COVID-19 terror is too important to be left to the politicos. Today heralds the fourth reopening of the economy since COVID-19 terror began its killer rampage in the country in Mar 2020. The first reopening was in May 2020, the second in Jan 2021 after the country went into a travel restrictions/lockdown mode in Nov 2020, the third reopening was in July of this year after the country imposed travel restrictions in May to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus and 4th reopening more..

Oct 1 (CT) Voodoo economics is a demeaning phrase coined by George W. Bush to attack Reaganomics of 1980s, which introduced what came to be known as supply side economics with its infamous Laffer Curve. That curve related govt revenue with tax rates and argued that between 0 and 100 percent tax rates, which bring zero revenue, there will be one rate that would maximize it. On that basis, Prez Ronald Reagan went on chasing after that magical rate in order to give greater more..

Oct 1 (FT) Sri Lanka has achieved close to 55% second dose coverage among its total population and the country average of second dose coverage in the over-30 age group has reached 100%. 54.43% of the total population of Sri Lanka has received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 12.89% has received only the first dose. Data shows that 14,502,913 persons have received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 11,730,305 persons have received the second dose as well. more..

Oct 1 (TM) The International Day of Older Persons is observed on 1 October each year. At the UNGA held on 14 Dec 1990, this date was declared as the International Day of Older Persons, as recorded in Resolution 45/106. This was preceded by initiatives such as the Vienna Int'l Plan of Action on ageing which was adopted by the 1982 World Assembly on Ageing and endorsed later that year by the UN General Assembly. Virtually, every country in the world is experiencing growth in the size more..

Oct 1 (TM) Owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, people have embraced the internet, and have got used to doing a lot of things they did offline, online. While the pandemic merely expedited the slow shifting to online environments which was taking place even before the pandemic, this sudden change has disadvantages which are being exploited by scammers to target clueless individuals. In a context where people’s online presence more..

Oct 1 (CT) SL Women’s team was placed 12th out of 18 teams and Men 18th out of 28 teams at the 25th Asian Table Tennis Championship in Doha, Qatar on Wednesday (29). This tournament was conducted as a qualification event for the World team C'ship in 2022. In 2019, the Men’s team placed 23rd while the Women’s team finished in 15th place, which involved all leading Asian countries. Women’s team results Beat Bangladesh 3-0 and lost to Kazakhstan 1-3 in group stage on Tuesday. more..

Oct 1 (Island) It looks as if a cartel of rice millers were running the country. The govt has withdrawn the Gazette that stipulated the much-publicised maximum retail prices (MRPs) of rice, and thereby conceded defeat in its half-hearted fight against the Millers’ Mafia. When it ordered the CAA to conduct raids and seize hoarded paddy/rice stocks, the public may have thought the millers had met their match in the leaders of the current regime, which is full of military veterans in key positions. more..

Oct 1 (EN) SL’s inflation in Colombo was 5.7% in the 12-month to September, slowing from 6.0 in July, though prices rose 0.4% during the month, data showed. SL’s rupee is under severe pressure from liquidity injections which were not prevented by the Central Bank’s 4-6% inflation target. The Colombo Consumer Price Index, the most widely watched price gauge rose from 143.4 points to 144.1 during the 30-days of Sept. more..

Oct 1 (FT) Business leader, ex-Minister and MP Thilanga Sumathipala has been appointed as the new Independent Non-Executive Director and Chairman of Asia Capital PLC. The appointment was made at a Board meeting of Asia Capital, control of which is held by Malaysian investor Vijay Eswaran. Sumathipala succeeds Paul Ratnayake, a respected senior corporate lawyer. Separately Sagara Kariyawasam has stepped down as Chairman of newly-formed Asia Capital Stockbrokers more..

Oct 1 (TM) DIMO, constantly striving to play a significant role in the local agricultural sector as a productivity improvement partner for farmers to enhance their household income, introduces Veera, a hybrid silage maise seed variety to the SL market through its subsidiary Plantseeds, with an aim to uplift the local dairy industry. Veera produces healthy plants that can be fed to dairy cows to improve their milk production and is an ideal solution for the shortage of animal feed in the industry. more..

Oct 1 (FT) The Colombo stock market gathered more momentum yesterday with the more active S&P SL20 Index reaching an all-time high as local investors remained bullish, powering a Rs. 7 billion turnover. S&P SL20 gained by 1.4% or 49.25 points to close at a new high of 3,553 points. ASPI was subdued and gained by 26 points or 0.3%. The high turnover was due to the trading of 284.4 million shares. The recent rally saw both the S&P SL20 and the benchmark ASPI end Sept with 5% gain. more..

Oct 1 (FT) Reaffirming its resilience, the export sector has achieved the fourth consecutive month of over $ 1 billion performance in September. Finance Ministry sources told the Daily FT that as per provisional data, exports in September amounted $ 1.006 billion. The sector has been achieving over $ 1 billion in monthly performance since June. With the latest performance, the first nine months’ exports amounted to $ 8.8 billion, up 19% from the corresponding period of last year. more..

Oct 1 (TM) Planters’ Association of Ceylon (PA) at its 167th AGM yesterday predicted a 40% drop in tea exports next year due to the anticipated drop in tea production, driven mainly by the Govt’s policy to ban the import of chemical fertiliser and agrochemicals. According to the PA, due to the sudden ban on chemical fertiliser, they expect a severe loss in tea crops, which shall result in the constriction of export earnings more..

Oct 1 (Island) Since reaching the finals of the ICC Youth World Cup in the year 2000 under the captaincy of Malintha Gajanayaka, SL Under-19 have struggled to make an impact in the tournament although several players involved in the competition have gone onto have an impact with the senior side. SL have never reached the finals since they hosted the event in 2000 where they lost to an Indian side that comprised Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif. In recent months, however, more..

Oct 1 (FT) New entrant to post-COVID new normal in tourism, One In A Million Ltd. (OIAM) said that, in partnership with UK-owned Restrata Group, it would embrace new health guidelines announced this week to bring the first tour group from Italy. Health Services Director General Asela Gunawardana said: “Foreigners and foreign tourists who are not fully vaccinated will be allowed to travel to their hotels under a bio-secure bubble.” A spokesman for OIAM said the new guidelines would enable more..

Oct 1 (FT) Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) in a statement raised its objections to the article and misleading comments contained therein published in the Daily FT on 28 Sept, titled Exporters hoarding $ 2.76 b in earnings overseas: CB. Given that that the Central Bank of SL (CBSL) has failed to clarify which exporters or sectors it has accused of hoarding, JAAF said it was compelled to state the following in defence more..

Oct 1 (Island) Sri Lanka U-19 coach Avishka Gunawardene said that he was extremely happy with the progress made by his charges during the training camp ahead of the team’s first international series against Bangladesh this month. “I am very happy with the way the team improved during the last couple of weeks and everyone was happy about the way the camp was held. It is a big challenge. The players haven’t played any cricket for some time. more..

Oct 1 (CT) SL led by Sujan Preara are high on confidence and will be eyeing a positive start to their campaign when they face Bangladesh in the tournament opener of the much hyped SAFF Championship at the National Stadium, Maldives today. Golden Army has done tremendously well in the recent past tournaments with improved performance from one match to the next. In terms of form, over the course of the last FIFA World Cup qualifiers, islanders have been more..

Oct 1 (TM) Police will not be recording a statement from Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera regarding his recent statement that a terror attack such as the Easter Sunday attacks of 21 April 2019 could take place at any time in the future. “The intelligence agencies will definitely speak to Ven. Gnanasara Thera, but it should not be all about calling into police stations and recording statements. more..

Oct 1 (DM) The two German military officers responsible for Sri Lanka, Capt Gerald Koch and LtCol Jan Cihar, will be in the country from Oct 3rd - 8th, 2021, a statement from the German embassy said. After more than 18 months of pandemic-related travel restrictions, physical contact with the Ministry of Defense of SL and other officials is finally being resumed. One of the main purposes of this visit is to prepare the port visit of the German frigate BAYERN, planned from Jan 9th to 13th 2022. more..

Oct 1 (FT) Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 detections rose to 517,377 with the detection of 912 COVID-19-positive persons yesterday. The patients detected were from the New Year cluster and 7,740 PCR tests were conducted yesterday. The previous day, 7,368 PCR tests and 3,823 rapid antigen tests were carried out and 941 patients from the New Year cluster were detected. The New Year cluster has a patient count of 412,674 and the Prisons cluster has a patient count of 8,768. more..

Oct 1 (TM) The state-run Litro Gas Lanka Ltd. is yet to propose an alternative solution to the Treasury Dept’s newly formed special purpose vehicle (SPV) gas company Siyolit (Pvt) Ltd., as requested by President’s Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera last week, high-level officials claimed yesterday. Officials claimed that Dr. Jayasundera has requested Litro Gas Lanka to present a solution, as Litro Gas Lanka is allegedly unhappy more..

Oct 1 (AD) Local milk powder importers are looking to re-export the milk powder stocks to Indonesia and Bangladesh as SL banks have not issued US dollars to release the stocks stuck in the port. CB released USD 50 million to 2 state-owned banks in order to release the containers of essential items that are stranded at the port. However, a discussion held between the Minister of Ports and milk powder importers last afternoon revealed that the issuance of US dollars by pte banks will be delayed. more..

Oct 1 (DM) SJB MP Harin Fernando who is currently under treatment for heart complications is to undergo decisive heart surgery tomorrow. "I will be facing an 8-hour long, decisive surgery on Oct 1. In May this year, I went through a similarly decisive test in life," Fernando said in his Facebook post. "During this short span of time, I understood by experience that not only every day is a challenge, but life itself is a challenge. Needless to say that I learnt a lot of lessons for life by living through this. more..

Oct 1 (CT) Introducing further revisions to guidelines that should be followed, when six weeks of quarantine curfew is lifted at 4 a.m. today, Director General of Health Services (DGHS) Dr. Asela Gunawardena said even in the midst of the high-risk situation, permission to conduct most public activities would be given gradually, relaxing them as and when required. Issuing the guidelines Dr. Gunawardena stressed that more..

Oct 1 (BN) SL’s central bank will Friday unveil a road map to restore economic stability in the island nation, amid doubts whether it can raise enough funds to service debt. Ajith Nivard Cabraal, Central Bank of SL’s newly appointed governor, will release the document at 10 a.m. in Colombo. The focus is expected to be on reassuring stakeholders about the soundness of the macro-economic fundamentals. “The govt, bankers, importers, exporters, lenders, borrowers, investors, developers, more..

Oct 1 (Island) Vaccination and travel restriction had contributed to the drop in COVID-19 infections, Deputy Director General of Health Services, Dr. Hemantha Herath said. He said that the two strategies complemented each other and that once the travel restrictions were lifted, people should adhere to health guidelines. “Vaccination is good for protecting yourself. However, vaccination won’t stop you from spreading it to people who have not been vaccinated. more..

Oct 1 (FT) Sri Lanka yesterday sealed the biggest-ever investment in to the port sector worth $ 650 million with joint project promoters – India’s giant Adani, local blue chip John Keells Holdings (JKH) and the State-owned SLPA signing the Build, Own and Transfer (BOT) deal for the Colombo West Int'l Terminal (CWIT). The BOT agreement is for 35 years and the move will see brand new deep-water terminal with more..

Oct 1 (FT) I urge the President, the Chief Justice, the Leader of the Opposition, the Speaker of Parliament, the religious dignitaries and the people of the country to close their eyes, enter into a state of meditation for a moment, and visualise all aspects of the State of Sri Lanka, which perhaps may not be visible at a superficial glance. I am sure that you will all be amazed by the spectacle that appears before your mind’s eye. Just a glimpse of this vision will suffice for you to realise that more..

Oct 1 (FT) United Front coalition (UF) came into power in 1970 promising to to lay the foundation for an irrevocable transition to the economy to a socialist one (Perera 1970a, p. 4-5). The development strategy of the new Govt envisaged combining outward looking development ... with the right mixture of internal policies and approaches to domestic resource mobilisation which prove to be socially acceptable (Perera 1970b, p. 176) By 1970, SL’s repayment obligations to the IMF more..

Oct 1 (MFA) Ambassador of the State of Palestinian in Sri Lanka, Dr. Zuhair M.H. Dar Zaid, paid a courtesy call on Foreign Minister Professor G.L Peiris on 28th September at the Foreign Ministry. During the meeting, the Ambassador of the State of Palestine extended warm wishes from the President, Govt and people of the State of Palestine, reiterated the State of Palestine's continued support for Sri Lanka and stated his intention to strengthen the existing friendly relations. more..