Mar 8 (CT) SL today joins the rest of the world in celebrating International Women’s Day. All the media is filled with advertisements about promotions and discounts given only for women on the special day, for the items that define strong and independent womanhood, according to the corporate sector. There will be hundreds of events and panel discussions all over the country today to debate women’s empowerment. We will hear blood-boiling speeches during those events as to how more..

Mar 8 (DM) Former Power and Energy Minister and SJB MP Champika Ranawaka has admitted that some key changes are required in the SJB in order for it to pose a strong challenge to the ruling SLPP at the next election. In an interview with the Daily Mirror Ranawaka was non-committal on reports that he will contest the next Presidential election. He also spoke on the current energy crisis facing the country and more..

Mar 8 (TM) Amidst a global crisis that is affecting all segments and genders of society, which in Sri Lanka has morphed into an economic and social crisis, the world is ready to celebrate this year’s International Women’s Day, under the theme Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow. The prevailing crises are in fact a good reason to talk about women’s rights and women’s contribution more than before, given the massive contribution they have been extending throughout history, and more..

Mar 8 (ST) The Russian-Ukrainian conflict will have severe repercussions on the fragile external finances of the country. Our Import expenditure will increase, tea export earnings could decline, export manufacturers could face shortages of raw materials and the expected revival in tourism this year is unlikely. Consequently, the trade deficit would widen and the balance of payments deficit would increase. With foreign reserves being at a bare minimum, these are serious threats to the economy. more..

Mar 8 (ST) 132nd Sri Lanka Amateur Open Golf, Ladies Amateur Golf Open and this September’s Asian Games will keep the country’s golfers busy with 132nd Amateur Open, first event slated to start later this month. SL Golf Union, now renamed to, Sri Lanka Golf (SLG), based on trends and requirements of the Ministry of Sports, announcing at a news briefing on Friday, said the Amateur Open will be staged from 22 to 28 of this month with the organisers anticipating around 120 players more..

Mar 8 (TM) This letter is regarding two persons: Former SJB MP Ranjan Ramanayake who has been punished with four years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) and seven years of the suspension of civil rights on the basis of an allegation of contempt of court where he has said in a public meeting that many judges in SL are corrupt. The other case is a pending case which will come up on 9 March regarding a senior attorney-at-law and solicitor in England who has been charged again more..

Mar 8 (CT) The informal tourism sector is worse hit by power outages, fuel shortages, and gas shortages than the formal sector, which is registered with SL Tourism Development Authority. President of Hotels Association of SL (THASL), M. Shanthikumar said that hotels that have registered with SLTDA are allowed to acquire fuel, gas, and prevent power outages, and that the authorities have been notified of problems. more..

Mar 8 (FT) COVID-19 vaccines were administered to 10,982 persons on Sunday and 78.71% of the country’s population has received at least one vaccine dose. Second dose coverage reached 66.08% of the total population on 5 March. 16,928,363 persons have received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 14,208,755 persons have received the second dose as well. The third dose has been administered to 7,317,106 persons. This includes 8,856 vaccinated on Sunday. more..

Mar 8 (FT) SL’s COVID-19 case count rose to 650,802 following the detection of 662 COVID-19 patients yesterday. All patients detected yesterday were from the New Year cluster. The previous day, 508 persons from the New Year cluster tested positive for COVID-19. 4,041 PCR tests and 1,937 rapid antigen tests were conducted on Sunday. 545,665 patients from the New Year cluster, 82,785 patients from Peliyagoda cluster, 9,154 patients from Prisons cluster and 3,059 patients from more..

Mar 8 (CT) The third round of talks on securing a USD 1 billion loan from India was postponed due to the health condition of Indian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. S. Jaishanakar and India’s on-going assembly elections, according to the SL High Commission. Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa was expected to visit New Delhi but talks have been delayed due to the aforementioned reasons. However, the newspaper learns that more..

Mar 8 (Island) Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa is reported to have appointed an Economic Council (EC) to boost the economy, which is currently on oxygen support. It has been tasked with coordinating policymaking in response to changes in the global economy, providing relevant advice to ministries, departments and statutory institutions, and guidance on behalf of the govt. Shouldn’t these tasks have been left to the Cabinet, especially the Finance Ministry, the Central Bank, etc? more..

Mar 8 (EN) SL’s gross official reserves were reported at US$ 2,361 million in Feb 2022, down 2% from a month earlier as the monetary authority struggles to maintain foreign assets which are being redeemed against money it is printing. Gross official reserves are down about US$ 2.26 billion from US$ 4.5 billion a year earlier. Unable to collect reserves by sterilizing inflows (selling down domestic assets) the central bank had borrowed reserves mainly through swaps. It also has a loan due to IMF. more..

Mar 8 (CT) Colombo High Court Judge Damith Thotawatta, yesterday (7), deferred by a week the case filed against SJB MP Champika Ranawaka and two others, who have been charged with causing grievous injury to youth Sandeep Sampath, in a hit-and-run accident in Rajagiriya six years ago. The Judge ordered the trial to be delayed by seven days, in order for the defence to obtain the necessary documents from the prosecution, as the defence had still not been given the documents. more..

Mar 8 (Island) SLC donated 200 cricket mattings to the SL Schools Cricket Association to be distributed among schools in the country. The donated mattings are now being distributed to schools playing U15, 17, and 19 cricket. Accordingly, schools in Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Galle, Matara, Hambantota, Kandy, Kegalle, Nuwara-Eliya, Matale, Kurunegala, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Puttalam, Badulla, Monaragala, Ratnapura, Jaffna, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Ampara, Vavuniya, Mullaitivu, more..

Mar 8 (ST) At least two units of the Lakvijaya coal power plant in Norochcholai are due for major overhauls but continuing power shortages and, in the past two years, COVID-19, have meant that these have been repeatedly postponed. Meanwhile, Unit 3 — the newest of the three coal power units — could have a major issue coming up, mainly because a major overhaul was not done in time, more..

Mar 8 (DM) Colombo Port City Economic Commission (CPCEC) is hopeful of fresh foreign exchange inflows into China-backed multi-billion dollar Colombo Port City (CPC), leading SL out of the ongoing forex crisis from this May onwards. New foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows are expected from land sales and the initiation of several business operations under a centralised electronic-based business planning system. The proposed duty-free zone is also expected to increase circulation more..

Mar 8 (FT) Colombo stock market began a fresh week on a negative note with indices dipping by over 2% amidst moderate turnover as investor sentiments continue to be bearish. The All Share Price Index declined by 2.5% and the S&P SL20 was down by 2.75%. Turnover was Rs. 3.5 billion involving 103 million shares. Asia Securities said the indices moved downwards as retail and HNI investors maintained a more cautious stance on concerns over the surge in oil prices due to more..

Mar 8 (TM) The US yesterday spoke about SL during the interactive dialogue about the country at the 49th regular session of the UNHRC, where they called upon the Govt of SL (GoSL) to engage with Tamil and Muslim parties for a lasting political solution. “We call on the Govt to engage with Tamil and Muslim political parties and civil society organisations to advance an inclusive, lasting political solution,” the representative more..

Mar 8 (FT) SL Press Institute (SLPI), its constituents and affiliated organisations raise concerns over the Personal Data Protection Bill that was tabled in the Parliament on 20 Jan. A joint letter raising seven key concerns was signed by the Newspaper Society of SL (NSSL), Free Media Movement (FMM), SL Working Journalists Association (SLWJA), Tamil Media Alliance (TMA), SL Muslim Media Forum (SLMMF), Federation of Media Employees’ Trade Unions (FMETU), more..

Mar 8 (ST) Why haven’t people taken their vaccines – our photojournalist, Akila Jayawardana walked around the Viharamaha Devi Park to see the vaccination being carried out by the army on Thursday and Friday and ask people why they were late in getting the jabs. There were no queues but also not many elderly! The son of an 80-year-old woman who lives in Colombo had said that his mother is unable to walk. They got a mobile vaccination group to give her the 1st dose more..

Mar 8 (Island) Arrangements have been made to conduct the seventh commemoration of eminent archaeologist Professor emeritus Senake Bandaranayake today at 9 a.m. at the auditorium of Faculty of Social Sciences of the Uni of Kelaniya. Prof Jagath Weerasinghe, former Director of Postgraduate Institute of Archaeological Research (PGIAR), Colombo, and Dayananda Amarasekara, former professor in the Dept of Archaeology of Uni of Kelaniya will grace the event organised by more..

Mar 8 (DM) Referring to the statement issued by PM Rajapaksa about the prevailing fuel crisis where the PM had stressed that there was no such crisis, sacked Minister Wimal Weerawansa said it was a foolish statement. In response to a query posed by a journalist, the former Industries Minister said no one could possibly deny that there is a crisis in the country. PM has also stated that false remarks made by inexperienced politicians, caused panic among people leading to a crisis. more..

Mar 8 (FT) Private sector yesterday came together to urge the Govt to painfully bite the bullet today in fixing the multiple crises to avert a looming catastrophe in the country. The Joint Chambers, comprising nine leading private sector business, industry, commerce and entrepreneurship lobby groups, said they have expressed willingness to take up additional burden by way of higher taxes as well as utility prices thereby extending support more..

Mar 8 (DM) In view of increasing the number of national schools in the country to 495, another ten schools are to be announced as national schools tomorrow under the Thousand National Schools programme, the Education Ministry said. They said the ten schools will be announced as national schools on the occasion of International Women's Day tomorrow under Prez Rajapaksa's Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour theme. The occasion will take place tomorrow at Temple Trees through more..

Mar 8 (TM) State Minister Piyal Nishantha De Silva criticized SJB politician Hirunika Premachandra’s recent protest on the rising cost of living claiming that she had not responded to the problems faced by females during the tenure of the former UNF led Govt of which she was a member of. De Silva claimed that Premachandra who is the SJB’s women’s wing Samagi Vanitha Balawegaya (SVB) National Organizer, had no intention of helping females but had only sought to gain publicity. more..

Mar 8 (TM) The 11 constituent parties of the Govt which recently launched the Mulu Ratama Hari Magata (the entire country towards the correct path) programme, are currently discussing forming a broad coalition, under the leadership of either former Prez Maithripala Sirisena or former Prez Chandrika Kumaratunga being tipped to lead the same. A high-level source close to the discussions revealed that more..

Mar 8 (TOO) The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Oman has organised a first ever high level visit of 17 member Omani business delegation from the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) led by Eng. Redha Bin Juma Al Saleh, Chairman of the OCCI from 5th - 9th March 2022. The members of the delegation include Ali Hamdan AlAjmi, OCCI Board member and Chairman of the Committee on Services and Information Technology, Anwar Hamed Said Al Sinani, Borad member and more..

Mar 8 (CT) During a protest organised by SLPP MP Madhura Withanage, the head office of SJB in Pitakotte, came under egg attack yesterday. According to SJB MP Dr. Harsha de Silva alleged that the group hurled eggs and garbage at the SJB office. A group of employees of the Kotte Municipal Council also appeared to have been involved in this attack, de Silva alleged. SJB General Secretary Ranjith Maddumabandara said the party has requested the law enforcement officers to more..

Mar 8 (EN) SL’s central bank said it is abandoning a 200 to the US dollar peg after printing money though multiple means which were making outflows greater than inflows, creating forex shortages and parallel exchange rates. The central bank said greater flexibility in the exchange rate will be allowed to the markets with immediate effect. “Central Bank is also of the view that forex transactions would take place at levels more..

Mar 8 (FT) According to the Harvard Business Review, having women on the corporate board of companies make significant contributions that men are less likely to make, such as, broadening the discussion of the board to better represent the concerns of a wide set of stakeholders, including employees, customers, and the community at large. Women tend to be more tenacious when exploring for solutions to challenges, and they tend to bring more collaborative approach to leadership, more..

Mar 8 (FT) Following the demise of the majestic and iconic elephant Nadun Gamuwe Raja yesterday, the writer recounts his experience in 2017 when he came face to face with this gentle giant. Returning home on Sunday late in the morning along the High Level Road, I noticed that there was elephant dung on the side of the road and I surmised that there was a tame elephant walking along the road somewhere in front of me (in SL it is not uncommon to see tame elephants being walked along the road, more..

Mar 8 (SLN) SL Navy Ship (SLNS) Sayurala took part in the multilateral naval exercise, MILAN-2022 hosted by the Indian Navy. 11th edition of MILAN was held at the Visakhapatnam Port and in the eastern seas of India from 25th Feb to 04th March 2022. The theme of this year’s edition was Camaraderie Cohesion Collaboration. Navies and maritime partners from many regional and extra-regional countries took part in this multilateral naval exercise. more..

Mar 8 (EN) Ceylon Chamber of Commerce welcomed a decision to relax a pegged exchange rate that was not matched by monetary policy and called for energy re-pricing and and IMF program that will that business chambers had also suggested. “The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce commends the Governor and his team at Central Bank of SL for permitting greater flexibility in the exchange rate,” the Chamber said. “At the same time, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce hopes more..

Mar 8 (EN) SL claimed overwhelming and cross-regional support, particularly from the global south, at the interactive dialogue at the 49th session of the UNHRC in Geneva that ended on Monday (07), as Western countries noted setbacks on the human rights front and called for increased engagement with minority political parties. “SL received overwhelming support from countries of the global south who expressed support for more..

Mar 8 (DM) Minister Namal Rajapaksa today said there maybe a conspiracy behind the ongoing power crisis which needed to be probed. He said the Prez had instructed to provide an uninterrupted power supply to people and it had been discussed with officials. "We don’t know why power outages are continuing. If it’s an act of sabotage then it needs to be probed," Namal said. If statements are being made saying that there won’t be power outages if adequate fuel is supplied and more..

Mar 8 (AD) National Organizer of NFF Jayantha Samaraweera says he is stepping down from his position as the State Minister. According to reports, Samaraweera has directed over his letter of resignation to Prez Rajapaksa. Samaraweera served as the State Minister of Warehouse Facilities, Container Yards, Port Supply Facilities and Boats and Shipping Industry Development. His resignation came days after Udaya Gammanpila and Wimal Weerawansa were stripped of their portfolios more..