May 26 (CT) By the last week of May 2022 the country has seen a 22 per cent increase in dengue, National Dengue Control Unit (NDCU) said. Giving data from 16 – 22 May the NDCU said, 1,576 suspected dengue cases from 24 districts had been detected in the last week of May. This, the unit said was in comparison to the 1,294 cases seen during the third week of the month. It noted that of all reported cases 46.8% were from the Western Province with 6.8% being detected from more..

May 26 (DM) The UK is in talks with Paris Club members on potential solutions to SL’s unsustainable debt. The Paris Club is a group of officials from major creditor countries whose role is to find co-ordinated and sustainable solutions to the payment difficulties experienced by debtor countries. UK Parliamentary Under-secretary at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Vicky Ford said the UK Govt is closely monitoring the situation in SL including food security and livelihoods. more..

May 26 (EN) 14 protestors at Galle Face Green who are the witnesses of the May 09 attacks by former PM Rajapaksa supporters, have been summoned by the CID to surrender their passports and undergo a travel ban in line with a court order until investigations are over, a lawyer said. “The travel ban has been imposed by the request of the AG’s department and the notices have been issued by the CID,” said Attorney at Law more..

May 26 (CI) Pakistan survived an early wobble with the bat to ease to a seven-wicket victory over Sri Lanka, wrapping up a series win with a game to spare. In a game that almost felt like a carbon copy of the first, Sri Lanka won the toss and batted first, only for a tight, disciplined bowling performance from the hosts, limiting them to a sub-par 102. Just like the first game, there was a touch of circumspection about Pakistan's chase to begin with, losing three early wickets. more..

May 26 (CT) Despite Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe’s proposal to privatise loss-making State-owned Enterprises, minister Kanchana Wijesekara said no discussion has been held with regard to privatising Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB). In the face of the fact that the two institutions are incurring heavy losses, Wijesekara said the Govt is trying to convert the institutions to provide services to people while curtailing unnecessary expenses. more..

May 26 (IMF) An IMF team led by Mr. Peter Breuer and Mr. Masahiro Nozaki conducted a virtual mission with the SL authorities during May 9-24 on an economic program that could be supported by an IMF lending arrangement. The IMF team met with PM Ranil Wickremesinghe at the concluding meeting, following technical discussions with the economic team led by Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe of the Central Bank of SL more..

May 26 (DM) Alcohol and Drug Information Center (ADIC) and the University of Jaffna signed a MoU on Joint Education and Advocacy Programmes on Alcohol, Tobacco and other Drug Prevention and Awareness Collaboration at the University of Jaffna yesterday. The main objective of the MoU is to build the capacity of the students of Dept of Media Studies to engage them in creating awareness among the local community and investigating social issues regarding alcohol, tobacco, and more..

May 26 (DM) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe has decided to bring in a salary hike for public servants through the interim budget which is to be presented in the future. Sources from the PM’s office said the salary hike will be introduced considering the skyrocketing cost of living. Also the PM is expected to make a request for a salary hike for private sector workers as well during the budget speech. The PM has advised the officers who are preparing the budget to look into possibility of a salary hike. more..

May 26 (TM) Claiming that employees of certain filling stations are demanding bribes to issue fuel to buses, Lanka Private Bus Owners’ Association (LPBOA) warned that it would cease the operation of buses after the GCE O/L Examination, if the authorities do not take action to prevent such incidents. LPBOA President Gemunu Wijeratne said: “For days, bus owners have informed me that certain filling station workers are demanding a sum of about Rs. 1,000 for fuelling buses. more..

May 26 (TM) An inquiry was held at the Human Rights Commission of SL (HRCSL) yesterday regarding the inmates who were allegedly transported to be a part of the SLPP-led group that assaulted the protestors at MynaGoGama in Kollupitiya and GotaGoGama at Galle Face Green on 9 May. Ten inmates had been summoned to the HRCSL yesterday, but only eight inmates had arrived at the HRCSL for the inquiry, whilst two had been absent due to being on house leave. more..

May 26 (BN) SL is looking to fast-track talks with the IMF and agree on a loan by mid-June so that it can then approach other lenders for urgently needed funds. The bankrupt nation will slash its budget expenditure to bare bones and hopes to break even or post a primary surplus of 1% of GDP by 2025, PM Ranil Wickremesinghe said in an interview at his office in Colombo Wednesday. Even so, that would be smaller than 2% more..

May 26 (EN) Sri Lanka stock market closed weaker on Thursday (26) for the third consecutive session as some investors shifted their funds to fixed assets while others stayed on the sidelines amid fears of tax hikes in the near future after PM Ranil Wickremesinghe was appointed as the new finance minister, dealers said. “We saw selling pressure starting to enter the market while investors stayed on the sidelines as news of the new budget keeps coming,” a top market analyst said.. more..

May 26 (DM) A Fundamental Rights petition filed challenging former Prez Maithripala Sirisena’s decision to grant Presidential Pardon to Royal Park murder convict Don. Shamantha Jude Anthony Jayamaha was fixed for Sept 23 by the Supreme Court. Supreme Court decided to postpone the petition taking into consideration the difficulties faced by the senior counsel for the petitioner to support the application. Women & Media Collective organization had filed this Fundamental Rights petition more..

May 26 (GT) China and SL have long maintained a close relationship of mutual support and understanding, regardless of how the international situation changes. In recent years, the two countries have seen steady development in bilateral economic and trade cooperation, especially under the Belt & Road Initiative (BRI). However, since SL fell into an economic crisis, some Western forces have been seeking to undercut China-SL more..

May 26 (NR) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe has highlighted the need to make policy decisions based on an export oriented economy. He said such policies can assist the export industry in overcoming the current economic crisis the country is facing. PM held discussions with heads of banks this morning. PM said there are many challenges to be faced in the future, both locally and overseas. Premier Wickremesinghe stated around 70 countries are facing difficulties amidst current global crisis. more..

May 26 (TM) In view of the prevailing fuel shortage, the Ministry of Agriculture, together with the Ministry of Power and Energy, has prepared a special programme to provide farmers with the fuel that they need for agricultural purposes without any shortage. An official of the Agriculture Ministry said that a discussion was held on Tuesday with the participation of Minister of Agriculture and Wildlife and Forest Resource Conservation Mahinda Amaraweera, and other relevant officials more..

May 27 (DM) The youth in this country in the past were rather selfish with a good number of them migrating just after completing their higher education. Their education, in most cases, was completed thanks to govt funding; first they received education at a govt national school and then a state university. How many of them bothered to work for a state institute just to give back something to the country for the education that they received free? It would be just a handful perhaps who did more..

May 27 (DM) When pro-govt violence begot anti-govt violence on May 9, Mahinda Rajapaksa before stepping down as the Prime Minister in a tweet said that violence begets violence, while calling for restraint. Ironically, it was his supporters who carried out violence first against a group of people who were protesting against the govt for a month since April 9 in Galle Face Green. And it was that violence that begot another wave of violence against those attackers and the govt politicians. more..

May 27 (TM) To revive the collapsed economy, as newly appointed PM Ranil Wickremesinghe stated, Sri Lanka will have to take a number of difficult decisions in the coming few months and years. Hinting about one such decision, in his first address to the nation, PM reiterated a step Sri Lanka had been discussing for years, but did not implement – the privatisation of loss-making state-owned enterprises (SOEs). more..

May 27 (CT) There are many reports in the media that Govt MPs are sending lists to the Police to arrest persons. This habit has been revived after the events of May 9th and the days that followed. Now the media reports that thousands of arrests have been made and that hundreds are in detention. First of all, this is a completely illegal practice. It should be the victims of grievances or persons who are witnesses to a crime that has the right to complain to Police and to get their statement recorded. more..

May 27 (FT) Reinforcing its strategic shift to value-added agriculture Diesel and Motor Engineering (DIMO) has acquired a fruits and vegetable export firm for Rs. 450 million. The venture is Tropical Health Food Ltd, engaged in the business of processing and preparing fruits and vegetables for the export market. DIMO has acquired a 94.45% stake in the company from its German owner Orhan Yilmaz. Tropical Health Food is a BoI approved venture established in 1994 to process and more..

May 27 (GV) In late April, women from movements and collectives in the North and East marched into GotaGoGama in Galle Face to voice their concerns and issues in solidarity with the struggle in the South. From organizing satyagrahas on the streets against a plethora of issues to engaging with women headed households on solutions to overcome the economic crisis, women's collectives have been playing a defining role more..

May 27 (DM) Sri Lanka is officially bankrupt and on the precipice of starvation. Fuel queues, gas queues and all sorts of queues best describe the situation in the crisis-stricken island. But simmering just below the surface looms a health crisis with the potential to upend lives for decades and threaten the feeble social justice pillars of an already crumbling system. Rashini Hasara Perera is silently bearing and fighting Femur Osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer in her right leg. more..

May 27 (TM) Not many are optimistic that justice for those affected by the 9 May attack on the MynaGoGama and GotaGoGama protest sites in Kollupitiya and Galle Face would be served, mainly due to the fact that the authorities and the Govt that allowed that to happen despite being able to prevent it remain in their respective positions of power. Justice is still being sought, nonetheless, and there seem to have been both progressive and regressive actions on the part of the Govt and more..

May 27 (ST) An important research carried out on the translocation of birds into agricultural and forested landscapes has shed more light on conserving forest-dwelling endemic birds. Principal researcher Salinda Dayananada, a PhD student from Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Conservation, Guangxi Uni, said that the 4-year long research on translocation of birds is a first for South Asia and one of the first on the translocation of forest birds into tea and rubber plantations. more..

May 27 (DN) The newly appointed Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe said that he does not interfere with any issues regarding the appointment of National Sports Council officials, athletes selections and appointment of officials for the Sports Bodies and his vision is to develop sports. Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe started his duties last Wednesday while he attended the Sports Ministry’s progress meeting. This was a good opportunity for Sports Minister to meet Sport Ministry officials more..

May 27 (TM) One of the reasons why the ongoing anti-Govt protests are called an unprecedented movement is the support that they receive from people of all walks of life. That is also the reason why they are called a people-led protest or movement, making it difficult for the Govt to maintain their allegation that these anti-Govt protests are campaigns by Opposition parties to overthrow the Govt and come to power. more..

May 27 (CT) Yesterday this newspaper carried several articles pertaining to the country’s fuel crisis due to SL being bankrupt for US dollars. This will focus on two of those, one published under the heading 40 filling stations closed due to unrest and the other, Aircraft refuelling may grind to a halt. Earlier, complementing the reason behind the 40 filling stations closed due to unrest story, this newspaper in its Monday’s issue published an article under the heading Angry Mobs Torch Fuel more..

May 27 (Island) What was widely expected of the SLPP and the Opposition, by way of their contribution to resolving the current economic crisis, was the formation of a national unity govt. Religious dignitaries and civil organisations campaigned hard to bring the warring parties together, and political leaders had the public believe that they were making a serious effort to form a multi-party Cabinet, but the mountain that laboured has brought forth a mouse—a deformed one at that. more..

May 27 (FT) Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) affirmed the resilience of the industry augurs well towards achieving its target of $ 6 billion for 2022. “Amidst significant turbulence, strong performance is testimony to the resilience of Sri Lanka’s apparel industry and augurs well for the progress towards realising the $ 6 billion target for the year,” JAAF Secretary General Yohan Lawrence said. more..

May 27 (ST) New Anthoney’s Farms (Pvt) Ltd, to ensure consumers continue to enjoy their favorite chicken brand, recently reaffirmed its position to provide adequate and uninterrupted supply of its meat range amidst feed shortages and the growing challenges facing SL’s economy. The poultry industry forecasts production to contract by one-fifth this year primarily due to the surging feed costs as import of the raw materials for feed is raising alarm because of the impending dollar shortage, more..

May 27 (DM) Prices at Colombo Rubber Auction reached a new high this week, breaking the previous record price. Top latex crepe 1xs and No. 1s broke the record price once again this week, with the prices increasing significantly by Rs.150 from a week ago. The rubber quotation for the public sale that took place on May 24 showed top-grade rubber reaching Rs.1,250/kg, up from Rs.1,100/kg from a week ago. According to data, an increasing trend in prices could be seen since of late. more..

May 27 (AAP) Australia's cricketers have raised ethical concerns about touring Sri Lanka but will support a decision from officials to proceed with next month's tour. Australia are due to fly out to Sri Lanka next week, with the island country in the midst of an economic crisis and political unrest. Sri Lanka was placed under a curfew early this month after protests turned deadly, and while those have been lifted rising inflation and shortages of key resources remain problematic. more..

May 27 (DN) SL tourism debt portfolio to banks, insurance companies and other areas have increased to a staggering Rs. 450 billion and if urgent steps are not taken to mitigate this the industry will collapse in three months. Tourism expert and veteran hotelier Chandana Amaradasa said that the tourism debt portfolio was at around Rs. 300 billion in 2020 and due to low arrivals it has increased. He said that the downfall of the industry started with the Easter Sunday attacks more..

May 27 (TM) Stating that the court would not issue orders to prevent peaceful protests from taking place, Colombo Additional Magistrate Harshana Kekunawela informed Cinnamon Gardens Police that the Police have only been given powers to prevent the protests that obstruct the GCE O/L Exam and inconvenience the public. Additional Magistrate made this announcement in response to a request made by Cinnamon Gardens Police more..

May 27 (FT) Workers of the renewable energy (RE) sector on Wednesday staged a protest in front of the CEB head office in Colombo warning non-payment of Rs. 23 billion due would put thousands of jobs at stake. The renewable energy sector workers claim that the CEB has withheld monies due, to the tune of Rs. 23 billion even though their workers have not suffered any cutbacks. Due to this, 7000 workers and their families are on the verge of losing their jobs and homes. more..