Mar 16 (DN) The devaluation of the rupee against the dollar would not have a major positive impact for plantation companies, Plantation Association of Ceylon (PA) officials said. The main reason for this was that the price of the fertilizer that is imported has increased by a huge margin and many other unforeseen slimmer overheads, emerging, PA spokesman Roshan Rajadurai said. He said that for example a metric ton of fertilizer at the subsidized rate before was Rs. 30,000 but today more..

Mar 16 (Island) PM Mahinda Rajapaksa said that Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, who is also the founder of the ruling SLPP)wouldn’t be removed from the Cabinet of Ministers under any circumstances. PM said so when The Island sought his response to the SLPP alternative group, comprising 11 political parties, campaigning against Finance Minister Rajapaksa. Ministers Wimal Weerawansa and Udaya Gammanpila, recently sacked from the Cabinet, have accused more..

Mar 16 (CT) Economic and political experts point out that the contradictory views and opinions that have emerged between the Central Bank of SL (CBSL) and the Ministry of Finance regarding the nation’s macroeconomic management will soon lead to a change in the CBSL Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal and the composition of the Monetary Board. In this respect, Governor of late appeared to be reluctantly compelled to deny more..

Mar 16 (CT) The prices of certain locally manufactured liquors was increased with immediate effect yesterday, Excise Commissioner said. He added the price hike is due to the increase in the cost of production faced by manufacturers, while certain price increases have been applied on a pro rata basis. He said, thereby that the prices of locally manufactured liquor will differ according to the difference in the cost of production incurred by different manufacturers. more..

Mar 16 (CT) Minister Dullas Alahapperuma said, the credibility of the Govt is being questioned in society as a result of contradictory statements made by some Cabinet Ministers regarding the power crisis. He said, members of the current Govt including him should be held accountable, if there is incapacity to implement certain decisions and delay in drafting policies. “At a time when the entire country is in a tough situation, everyone should come together and look at these crises more..

Mar 16 (TM) Foreign Ministry Secretary Jayanath Colombage said that SL’s next big challenge in the int'l arena is the 51st session of the UNHRC as there is a possibility that the Core Group of Countries on SL will bring forth another resolution against SL. “Resolution 46/1, which was passed in March 2021, is only until the 51st session which is due to be held in Sept 2022. The question then remains as to what will be next. more..

Mar 16 (TM) The Production, Supply, and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals State Ministry took importers to task for allegedly delaying the supply of drugs to islandwide pharmacies due to the upcoming increase in the prices of drugs, which has in turn resulted in a shortage of drugs. The State Ministry said that the current shortage of pharmaceutical drugs in pharmacies would be alleviated after the issuance of relevant gazette notification to increase the prices of 60 essential drugs by 29% more..

Mar 16 (TM) National Construction Association of SL (NCASL) has claimed that more than 600,000 workers have lost their livelihoods due to the collapse of the construction industry caused by the rise in prices of cement and other raw materials. NCASL Chairman Susantha Liyanaarachchi said: “More than 1.2 million workers belonging to the lowest economic strata of society are employed in the construction industry. However, with the collapse of the construction industry by 50% due to more..

Mar 16 (TM) Leader of the Opposition and the SJB Sajith Premadasa yesterday demanded that the SLPP-led Govt headed by Prez Rajapaksa either resign or hold a presidential election, at a massive SJB-organised protest which converged outside the Presidential Secretariat yesterday. Speaking to the media at the end of the protest outside the Presidential Secretariat, Premadasa said that the country has more..

Mar 16 (FT) Development is the enhancement of the quality of people’s lives in a sustainable manner. When a nation improves the living conditions of its people from generation to generation, it also has a negative impact on their natural environment because they extract resources from the environment. As this process is continuous, people would end up with a degraded natural environment where it does not support any longer for the wellbeing or even the survival of more..

Mar 16 (CT) The ceremony to mark the first rubber harvest from the new rubber cultivation of 66 hectares in the Kokagala area in the Ampara District, which is not a traditional rubber cultivating district, was held at the Kiriwana, Thuru Sawiya Rubber Cultivation recently. A total of 1,200 hectares of rubber has been cultivated under this programme which is being conducted through the Smallholder Tea & Rubber Revitalisation Project. Foundation stones for a rubber sheet manufacturing more..

Mar 16 (DM) No power interruptions will be in place in any part of the country during the time when Prez Rajapaksa makes a special address. Prez is scheduled to address the nation tonight at 8.30 pm. According to the demand management power shedding schedule announced yesterday for today, there was no power interruptions mentioned between 8 pm and 9.30 p.m. Power cuts will end at 8 pm this evening and will come to effect from 9.30 pm in the designated segments. more..

Mar 16 (AD) Sri Lanka Petroleum Private Tanker Owners’ Association has withdrawn from fuel transporting service with effect from midnight yesterday (15). Following the recent fuel price hike, the association had sought the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) to increase transport charges for fuel distribution by 60 per cent. Speaking on the matter, the joint-secretary of the association, D.V.S. Silva said they resorted to this decision as the CPC failed to respond to their request. more..

Mar 16 (EN) Indian PM Narendra Modi met SL Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa on Wednesday (16) as the island nation is in the process to finalise one billion credit line deal with India amid worsening economic crisis. Sri Lanka is facing an increasing risk of sovereign debt default as it has to pay over US$ 4 billion for foreign loans in 2022 where as it only had US$ 2.31 billion in its reserves by end February. more..

Mar 16 (MFA) Minister of Foreign Affairs Prof. G.L. Peiris has pointed to inaccuracies contained in the UK Travel Advisory on Sri Lanka in its successive revisions, resulting in the projection of a negative image of the country. He has conveyed the above to the UK authorities at a high level on Tuesday (15). In this regard, the Foreign Minister has observed that the reference in the Travel Advisory to the likelihood of terrorist attacks in SL and their indiscriminate nature, is contrary to the ground reality, more..

Mar 16 (AD) Chairman of the Matara Pradeshiya Sabha, Wimal Priyajanaka, and two others have been arrested by police. The suspects, including two relatives of the PS chairman, have been arrested in connection with an alleged incident of arson at a residence in the Kekanadura area. They have subsequently been released on two personal bonds of Rs. 1,000,000 each after being produced before the Matara Magistrate Court. Matara PS chairman and the other two suspects had been more..

Mar 16 (DM) A Sri Lankan national, Amila Chinthana, has been presented with the Public Spiritedness Award by the Ang Mo Kio Police Division in Singapore, for restraining the armed assailant and stopping him from causing more harm to the public while waiting for the police to arrive, Singapore media reported. Amila Chinthana,35, was waiting at a traffic junction in Buangkok Crescent on Monday afternoon (March 14) when more..

Mar 16 (AD) Two close associates of the criminal figure and large-scale narcotics dealer Salindu Malshitha alias Panadura Kudu Salindu have been taken into custody. The duo, aged 21 and 26 years, was arrested by the special raid unit of the Police Special Task Force in the area of Panadura South. The arrestees were also identified as accomplices of Kuruppumulle Sanka who is currently in hiding. Kuruppumulle Sanka is reportedly a close associate of Panadura Kudu Salindu. more..

Mar 16 (DM) Labour Dept has introduced an online portal that allows any employee to submit labour related complaints in anonymity. The new online window was launched by Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva at the Information Department. It will enable anyone working in the private or semi-govt sector, or an employee's union representing them, who has a complaint or an issue with his/her job or service is encouraged to lodge an anonymous complaint about their employer-employee issues. more..

Mar 16 (EN) The power crisis in SL continues with another 3 hour and 15 minute outage scheduled for parts of the island on Thursday (16), a public holiday. The CEB said other areas will experience two hours of outage in two blocks. Areas A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, and L will have a two hour power cut between 9am and 5pm and another one hour and 15 minutes between 5pm and 10pm. Areas P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, and W will have power cuts of 2 hours between 3pm and 11pm. more..

Mar 16 (DM) The gas distribution system in the country came to a standstill due to unavailability of fuel to handle transportation and dearth of dollars to procure gas, the main gas distribution companies said. They said this following yesterday's withdrawal of service by the Petroleum Private Tanker Owners’ Association, the whole gas distribution network in the country ground to a halt. They said the current dollar crunch also affected the country's gas imports. They said the reason for this situation more..

Mar 16 (Island) Former Auditor General Gamini Wijesinghe has presented an eight-point plan to restore democracy, good governance and accountability. He has declared that far reaching remedial measures are required as an utterly corrupt political party system, has caused irreparable damage to the country. Wijesinghe’s proposals pertain to the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary. The country couldn’t be saved unless more..

Mar 16 (FT) As the world celebrated yet another International Women’s Day this month, the focus turns to all things related to women – their rights, issues, status, to name a few. Since 1977, when the United Nations officially recognised the International Women’s Day, both got and non-govt organisations in Sri Lanka have been implementing numerous programs targeting women. These programs range from women’s leadership development, women’s awareness raising, women entrepreneurship more..

Mar 16 (TM) Canada has issued a travel advisory to their citizens travelling to SL, emphasising on the deteriorating economic crisis as a cause of concern. The travel advisory was published on the Govt’s official website recently. “The economic situation is deteriorating in SL. The crisis is leading to shortages of basic necessities including medicines, fuel and food. There may be long line-ups at grocery stores, gas stations, and pharmacies. Local authorities may impose the rationing of electricity, more..

Mar 16 (CT) Cabinet approved delegating authority to the Registrar General to issue death or disappearance certificates to missing persons and pay Rs 100,000 one-time-only allowance to next of kin and also provide land where necessary. According to the proposal presented by Justice Minister Ali Sabry, the relative must have a missing person’s certification issued by the Registrar General based on more..

Mar 16 (FT) Adrika in Sanskrit translates into small mountain. In the epic Mahabharata, Adrika is an apsara or a nymph who was the mother of Matsya and Satyavati. Adrika Sri Bawan, the 26-year-old Melbourne-based lawyer, banker and mentor truly personifies her name. Born in Colombo, Adrika was adopted by Sharmalee and Sri Bawan when she was three months old. After an intense two-year legal battle with Australian Immigration, two-year-old Adrika arrived to start a new life when more..

Mar 16 (CT) CID requested Colombo Additional Magistrate Lochani Abeywickrema to issue notice on the CIABOC, over their failure to hand over documents in relation to the importation of eight deep sea fishing vessels, under the name of the coordinating secretary to SJB MP Dr. Rajitha Senaratne during his tenure as the Minister of Fisheries. The CID also requested the Magistrate to issue notice to CIABOC, to hand over documents in their possession pertaining to the leasing of more..

Mar 16 (DM) Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara said he would not remain in the govt, if it was seeking the assistance of the IMF and abiding by its conditions. Minister told a news conference that seeking assistance of the IMF would mean that SL would have to abide by its conditions. He said Sri Lanka would have to cut down on expenditure on welfare, transferring ownership of state institutions to the private sector and imposing restrictions on state expenditure on education and health. more..

Mar 16 (EN) SL’s manufacturing and services has expanded in Feb 2022, but imported raw materials were beginning to hit output, according a Purchasing Managers’ Index compiled by the central bank. The manufacturing PMI for Feb 2022 was 52.5 and was above 50. “An expansion in New Orders, particularly in the manufacture of food & beverage, was witnessed in Feb 2022, ahead of Sinhala and Hindu New Year season,” the central bank said. “However, Production declined on a month-on-month more..

Mar 16 (FT) Over the years SL have had a special affinity in unearthing mystery spinners, the kind who have explored their hand and the cricket ball so much that they know to turn, bend and tweak it so well that it leaves the batsmen clueless as to what the ball would do. Most notable ones are Ajantha Mendis, Lakshan Sandakan, Akila Dananjaya and at present Maheesh Theekshana. There have been others as well like more..

Mar 16 (CT) Colombo High Court Judge Damith Thotawatta yesterday ordered Attorney General Sanjay Rajaratnam, to make submissions on 9 May in connection with the initial objections raised by the defence, that there was no legal recourse to sustain the charges filed against accused SJB MP Dr. Rajitha Senaratne and former Chairman of State Pharmaceuticals Corporation (SPC) Mohammad Rumi. This was in connection with the case, where the duo have been charged with casting more..

Mar 16 (CT) Medical Officers of Health (MOH) should be strengthened further to take stricter action against quacks, Secretary of the GMOA, Dr. Senal Fernando said. Fielding questions, Dr. Fernando yesterday said a more straightforward method in which MOHs could take action against quacks should be introduced. They need to sanction the assistance from the Police Department to conduct raids. Also, there should be a method to lodge complaints with the MOH, a hotline through more..

Mar 16 (EN) Companies with suppliers’ credit and dollar debt are facing large forex losses as the Sri Lanka rupee falls steeply after two years of unusual money printing to keep interest rates down as budget deficits expanded. In the stock market, punters have been betting on exporters and also companies with overseas operations and assets, which will see translation gains as the domestic currency inflates according to more..

Mar 16 (DM) Claiming that people have had to stay in gas, fuel and medicine queues because of the failure of Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, Pivithuru Hela Urumaya Leader former Minister Udaya Gammanpila said today people would not have to languish in queues if the import of non essential goods was restricted. He told a news conference that the total import cost last year was US Dollars 20.6 billion, which was a highest import cost reported in the history of Sri Lanka. more..

Mar 16 (TM) Directing farmers who are accustomed to chemical fertilizers and herbicides to organic farming is a challenging task, however, if officials at all levels can work with great enthusiasm, confidence and commitment successful results could be achieved, says Prez Rajapaksa. These remarks came during a discussion held at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday regarding the preparations for the distribution of organic fertilizer for the Yala Season, PMD said in a statement. more..