Oct 12 (CT) Prez Rajapaksa speaking at the SL Army’s 72nd Anniversary celebrations held at the Gajaba Regiment Headquarters, Saliyapura, A'apura, on Sunday said, “Establishing green agriculture in this country was something I promised. I was influenced to create a green agriculture using organic fertiliser because it was a promise that I made and also because that’s the right thing to do.” (Yesterday’s Ceylon Today (CT)) Green agriculture is as important as having a green environment. more..

Oct 12 (DM) Newly appointed Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, Speaks about plans to bring back the economy to pre-pandemic levels and overcome the foreign exchange crisis. He speaks with confidence that there will be sufficient inflows to overcome it. Q: How big is the economic impact of this pandemic? A: The pandemic affected us in two ways. One is the general reduction of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). more..

Oct 12 (DM) When Vithika Yadav returned to India in 2008 after living in the US, she saw that many young people; especially girls, didn’t have a space to openly talk about the difficult issues they faced. Gender-based violence, child marriage and other harmful social practices remain commonplace - and are hardly ever discussed. So she rolled up her sleeves and co-founded Love Matters India, a digital community for young people to learn about their rights, seek services, share stories and help more..

Oct 12 (GV) The SL govt has pledged to scale back its violations of the human rights in order to protect a valuable trade deal with the European Union (EU). Although ministers continue to deny wrongdoing, during a visit by EU officials they agreed to some changes including reforming anti-terror laws that have been used to target minorities and dissidents. Whether these promises will be met remains to be seen. But the situation will be monitored and, if adequate improvements are not made, more..

Oct 12 (DM) Pandora was a woman made of gifts as per Greek mythology, whose curiosity resulted in the opening of a box full of plagues. Prometheus had warned his brother Epimetheus not to acknowledge any gifts from Zeus. But Epimetheus ignored the plea, accepted Pandora, who quickly sprinkled the contents of the box resulting in the earth being flooded with evil. The IJIC, perhaps inspired by the Panama Papers and more..

Oct 12 (ST) How many Sri Lankans have heard of the Pentagon Papers, never mind whether they have read it or not. How many still remember the scandal that erupted in the US on its release for it is a little over 50 years since the New York Times first published excerpts on June 13, 1971 followed by the Washington Post immediately after, of this vast trove of information of US shenanigans during the Vietnam War. Since then there have been other papers with different titles and vastly different more..

Oct 12 (TM) People have had to take the bus despite the fear of the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, and they have had to scramble to get certain consumer items such as milk powder and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Just when we think the situation has never been worse, LPG sellers close their stores the day before the newest price hike, claiming that new stocks would come on the following day, and groceries demand that the people buy more stuff in order to be eligible to buy more..

Oct 12 (FT) Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila justified efforts to secure a $ 2.5 billion loan to settle dues of Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) after SJB MP Dr. Harsha de Silva on Friday had cried foul over the modus operandi. De Silva told Parliament that the loan was to be sourced from a company by the name Concept Global, said to be owned by one Kenneth De La Motte, who the MP said was to also pocket a commission of 7% or $ 175 million. De Silva added that the address of this company more..

Oct 12 (Island) Five years ago, a small and young team of around 100, were operating under the name of Kaymu.lk, building the foundation for a stable e-commerce platform in SL. Recognizing the potential of the operations, Daraz stepped forward to invest on this business, contributing with international level financial and technological prowess. Since its launch in SL in 2016, Daraz has grown in leaps and bounds within a short period of five years, transforming and revolutionizing e-commerce in the country more..

Oct 12 (ST) Mother of four school going children, Denuka Weerakkody, from Moratuwa is impatiently waiting for the govt and teachers to resolve the salary issue and begin online studies as she fears the three months’ absence will have a serious effect on her children’s education. “It’s frustrating to see your children addicted to television entertainment programmes or phone games. The youngest, who is in grade 1, has forgotten more..

Oct 12 (Island) The govt apparently does not care to get its priorities straight. It also bites off more than it can chew. It is now talking about a new Constitution and a different electoral system instead of doing something to ameliorate the suffering of the people, who are struggling to keep the wolf from the door. When Gotabaya Rajapaksa came forward to run for Prez, he may not have had the foggiest idea of the mess he as well as SL was getting into. Today, he finds himself in an unenviable position. more..

Oct 12 (Island) The material presented below relates to the policies explored by successive govts to meet the rising demands for water and electric power. Consequently, the policies adopted are with the intention of either increasing demands for water and power generation capacities, directly or indirectly, as a byproduct of another policy. They are presented as contradictions herein as the objective achieved by implementing one policy contradicts directly or impacts negatively on the objectives of more..

Oct 12 (FT) Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) called on the Govt for a price hike, considering the global market prices and losses incurred by the State-owned entity. “Fuel prices have soared in the world market. As of 31 Aug, we have incurred a loss of Rs. 70 bil and it has been estimated that the loss in Oct would be around Rs. 10 billion or more. Financial burden is unbearable unless there is an upward price revision,” more..

Oct 12 (DN) SL will take on Bangladesh in their ICC Twenty20 World Cup first warm-up match in Abu Dhabi, UAE today. The Lankans are fresh after having recorded a 2-0 T20 series win over Oman and will look to continue the same momentum before the world cup begins. This match will be of great significance for the Lankans as they will be determined to avenge their previous defeat at the hands of the same opponents back in 2018. Bangladesh had the satisfaction of defeating more..

Oct 12 (FT) As part of a recently-concluded series of nearly 20 high-level discussions held in France, BoI Chairman Sanjaya Mohottala met with officials of Accor Hotels and Club Med respectively, to discuss and explore opportunities in luxury leisure development in SL. These bilateral meetings were organised in Paris by leading private sector companies, finance institutions and Govt agencies, and the Chairman joined a delegation that comprised Minister Prasanna Ranatunga, more..

Oct 12 (FT) COVID-19 vaccines were administered to 42,639 persons on Sunday with 57.5% of the country’s total population now having received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. Our World in Data adds that 68.38% of the total population has received the first dose. 84.8% of the country’s population over the age of 20 have received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. At present, the AstraZeneca, Sinopharm, Sputnik V, Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are being administered more..

Oct 12 (FT) SL’s COVID-19 detections rose to 527,064 with the detection of 681 COVID-19 positive persons yesterday. This is the first time daily COVID-19 detections have dropped below 700 since 22 April, when 672 persons tested positive for COVID-19. The COVID-19 cases detected yesterday were from the New Year cluster. 5,299 PCR tests were conducted yesterday. The previous day, 7,073 PCR tests and 3,343 rapid antigen tests were conducted with 720 testing positive for COVID-19. more..

Oct 12 (TM) A Cabinet paper is to be presented by the Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella related to formulating a pricing formula for cigarettes soon, which would increase the price of cigarettes annually by 6%. National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA) Chairman Dr. Samadhi Rajapaksa said that a price formula has been prepared for cigarettes. Rajapaksa noted that the said price formula has been handed over more..

Oct 12 (CT) Dept of Sports Development took disciplinary action against 3 athletes and 2 officials that participated in the 60th National Inter-State Senior Athletics C'ships held in India last June. The committee appointed to look into the disciplinary issue of the 3 athletes, coach and the manager of the team, has recommended action against them with effect from 16 Aug 2021. The three athletes, Kalinga Kumarage, Shelinda Jansen and W.L. Sugandi, will not receive the lump sum more..

Oct 12 (Island) Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera launched a programme to plant 10,000 Kumbuk saplings to mark the 72nd anniversary of the Army on Sunday. He said he believed that for the first time, with the full intervention of Prez Rajapaksa, the Army, the STF as well as the Police had extended their support for enforcing the law against those who destroyed the environment of the country. ”I believe this may be the first time such a step has been taken to protect environment. more..

Oct 12 (DM) A partial reduction of the blanket ban handed to Kusal Mendis, Niroshan Dickwella and Danushka Gunathilaka, for breaching the bio-secure bubble during the tour of England in July this year, will be determined on by the SLC Management Committee. The three cricketers were handed a one-year ban from international cricket along with a six-month suspension from domestic cricket, after videos surfaced on social media of them more..

Oct 12 (DM) With a vast majority of bondholders of SL’s January and July 2022 Int'l Sovereign Bond (ISB) issuance are determined to hold the ISBs to maturity, the Central Bank (CB) has scrapped the proposed ISB buy-back initiative, announced recently. The move, which was announced in the CB’s six-month road map, was aimed at gaining reasonable cost benefit from buying back these ISBs trading at deep discounts in the secondary market. The CB had announced plans to consider more..

Oct 12 (DN) National Movement for Consumer Rights Protection (NMCRP) lashed out at milk importers and called them a bunch of Sherlock’s and also accused the govt of being lenient on them. Chairman NMCRP Ranjith Withanage said that while the country was craving for milk powder the stocks were lying ideal in the port and the importers were waiting for a price revision, taking the country for ransom. “These importers held in high stature in the corporate sector acted worse than cheap more..

Oct 12 (FT) Supreme Court yesterday granted leave to hear a fundamental rights petition filed by former WP Governor Azath Salley seeking his release. Salley in his petition requests the apex court to declare that the decision of the CID to arrest him and detain him under the Prevention of Terrorism Act violates his fundamental rights. After lengthy consideration, the three-judge bench comprising CJ Jayantha Jayasuriya, more..

Oct 12 (FT) Govt is to call for a fresh round of bids to develop oil and natural gas discoveries in the M2 Block of the Mannar Basin, eyeing to attract top int'l companies. “We are expecting to offer an international licensing round for the appraisal and development of natural gas discoveries in M2 by January next year,” Minister Udaya Gammanpila said. Petroleum Resources Development Secretariat (PRDS) has identified several blocks for offshore oil exploration in the Mannar Basin, more..

Oct 12 (CT) SL’s most senior player in the team, Dinesh Chandimal, said that they are well prepared for the challenge as they take on Bangladesh in the ICC T20 World Cup warm-up encounter at Abu Dhabi today starting at 7.30 p.m. (SL time). SL will be hoping to use this game as well as the next one against Papua New Guinea on the 14th to fine tune their players, as well as come up with the final playing XI, as their top order still hangs with question marks apart from Kusal Perera, more..

Oct 12 (Hindu) SL Tamil diaspora, including some former cadre of the defunct LTTE, are seriously concerned over the large-scale and long-term investments by the Chinese Govt in SL, Indian intelligence agencies have said. In a note to States, a Central agency referred to a conclave of the SL Tamil diaspora held in London recently and said the delegates felt that India had not taken it seriously to safeguard the interests of more..

Oct 12 (ST) Office of the Cabinet of Ministers has said there have been no Cabinet rank appointments made so far, while reiterating that there is no specific provision in the Constitution for such appointments of Cabinet rank officials. In a response to the RTI application filed by the Sunday Times, the Cabinet Office Information Officer, W.K. Weerawardana, said that according to the records available at his office, no govt official or diplomat had been appointed as a Cabinet rank officer. more..

Oct 12 (AD) Marine Environmental Protection Authority’s (MEPA) Academy and a volunteer coastal cleanup program - Sayura Rakina Rella were launched under the patronage of the subject minister, PM Mahinda Rajapaksa today (11) at the Temple Trees in an event organized by the MEPA. The MoU on MEPA – training institute aiming to educate young people on maritime employment opportunities - was exchanged with Ocean University and the Uni of Peradeniya and more..

Oct 12 (TM) Former CAA Executive Director Thushan Gunawardena has lodged a complaint with the Kirulapone Police on 10 Oct regarding an incident where a group of persons had arrived at his house in a white van on 7 Oct. Gunawardena recently resigned from the said post, claiming that he had to face various political influences and threats while attempting to carry out the duties of the CAA independently. more..

Oct 12 (TM) Legal counsel for detained lawyer Hejaaz Hizbullah made an application for bail for their client at the Puttalam High Court (HC) on 8 Oct, despite the Prevention of Terrorism Act No. 48 of 1979 as amended (PTA) not permitting the grant of bail. “Counsels for both Hizbullah and former Principal of Al Zuhriya Arabic School Mohamed Shakeel made an application for bail, arguing on the basis of decided authorities that even though the PTA does not permit bail, more..

Oct 12 (FT) Colombo High Court Trial-at-Bar yesterday postponed the case against former Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake and seven other accused over the Central Bank bond auctions that took place in 2016 for 25 October. The case was called before Trial-at-Bar Judges Amal Ranaraja Adithiya Patabendi and Namal Ballalle and the suspects were served with an additional set of indictments which the prosecution had failed to serve to the defence when the indictments more..

Oct 12 (TM) With the Govt seemingly having abandoned its policy of price controls due to the resultant shortages, the cost of living has soared for the average citizen, with the price of bread going up by Rs. 5 and a packet of rice and curry and a cup of milk tea by Rs. 10 each. Serendib Flour Mills (Pvt) Ltd. and the Prima companies have decided to increase the price of 1 kg of wheat flour by Rs. 10, with effect from yesterday (11). more..

Oct 12 (FT) The six-month Road Map for Ensuring Macroeconomic and Financial System Stability presented by Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal early this month contained a long to-do-list that goes beyond the scope of monetary policy, as I explained in the last week’s FT column. A policy declaration with a robust monetary policy framework laying down the specific objectives, targets, and instruments would have been more appropriate, rather than a long slide show. more..

The COVID-19 pandemic has no doubt had an enormous economic impact on the tourism and hospitality industry the world over, including Sri Lanka. For close to two years, international travel has been reduced to just a trickle, with hardly any tourist arrivals. Consequently, there have not been any healthy revenue streams to the industry, with little or no occupancy over the past 20 months. It is actually a small wonder that one does not hear of many tourism establishments going bankrupt. more..

Oct 12 (MFA) The 10th Round of Bilateral Political Consultations between the Sri Lanka and the Russian Federation were held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia in Moscow, on Friday (8). The consultations were co-chaired by the Foreign Secretary of Sri Lanka Admiral Prof. Jayanath Colombage and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Ambassador Igor Morgulov. During the meeting, the two sides reviewed existing multifaceted relations between SL & Russia more..

Oct 12 (DM) Senior Indian Politician from the ruling BJP, Dr. Subramaniam Swamy will arrive in Sri Lanka today on a two day visit on an invitation extended by PM Mahinda Rajapaksa. Officials from the PM’s office told Daily Mirror that Swamy will arrive to attend the Navaratri festival hosted by PM Rajapaksa at Temple Trees today evening. During his visit, Swamy will also hold discussions with senior ministers including Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda and will address a forum more..