Jun 14 (FT) Social media has increasingly become a part of our daily lives, with respect to its attractiveness. It can have a developmental or detrimental approach towards something or someone. We have often seen how it can jumble fact with fiction in creating chaos. Today’s column is a discussion on the role of social media amidst a planetary pandemic with its associated promises and perils. I came across an interesting article by Heena Sahni and Hunny Sharma, more..

Jun 14 (FT) The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in several waves in almost all the countries in the world has codified a new normal for human behaviour. This code of relationships entailing social distancing, wearing face masks plus face shields, frequent hand washing, and keeping a record of first-hand contacts for later follow-up is going to stay with the world for several years. It has also changed the approach which bank supervisors and regulators should adopt when dealing more..

Jun 14 (EN) Sri Lanka’s central bank which is advocating import controls and is also the banking regulator, did not approve the opening of letters of credit to bring down luxury SUVs for MPs, Governor W D Lakshman said. The LC was opened by a state bank, according to information that is now public. “The Central Bank has not given such an approval,” Governor Lakshman said. “We also got to know about that story later.” more..

Jun 14 (FT) The COVID-19 immunisation program on Saturday administered COVID-19 vaccines to 136,677 persons, bringing the number of persons to receive the first dose to 2,259,385 and the second dose to 509,998. 59,881 persons received the first dose of Sinopharm and 76,615 persons received the second dose of Sinopharm on Saturday. A total of 154,640 persons have received both doses of the vaccine and the first dose has been administered to 1,269,157 persons. more..

Jun 14 (FT) Health authorities yesterday confirmed 63 COVID-19 deaths between 23 May and 11 June, bringing the country’s COVID-19 death toll to 2,136. 12 deaths occurred between 23 May and 31 May, while 51 deaths occurred in June. 47 persons died while receiving treatment, nine died while being admitted to a treatment centre, and seven died at home. 33 of the persons were male and 30 were female. 23 persons were between ages 70 and 79, 15 persons were between ages 60 and 69, more..

Jun 14 (FT) Under fire for imposing additional burden on the masses amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa yesterday justified the sharp hike in fuel prices, saying the move was warranted and also helps to achieve other beneficial broader socio-economic goals. In a statement, the President said the price increase is only one key factor in a common strategy that strengthens the local economy. more..

Jun 14 (DM) Bahrain has indefinitely suspended giving work permits to people from coronavirus red list countries such as India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and SL, a representative of the Labour Market Regulatory Authority told The National on Sunday. “For the time being, individuals who are in India, Pakistan, SL, Bangladesh, and Nepal are not able to gain work permits in Bahrain," he said. "The decision was put in place on May 24, and we are still unsure of when it will be lifted.” more..

Jun 14 (DM) National Peoples’ Power (NPP) said they will be going to the Supreme Court next week against the moves to import 227 Prado SUVs for the MPs, claiming that it was illegal. Former JVP Western Provincial Councillor Attorney-at-Law Sunil Watagala said that Letters of Credits (LCs) have been opened without Cabinet approval and that it was illegal. He said the Cabinet Paper for the import of vehicles was presented on May 18 and added that the LCs had been opened on April 22. more..

Jun 14 (FT) COVID-19 detections over the weekend rose to 4,715 with 2,361 persons testing positive for the virus yesterday. The patients detected yesterday include 2,329 persons linked to the New Year cluster. 18,885 PCR tests were conducted yesterday. On Saturday, 19,676 PCR tests were carried out and 2,354 persons tested positive for the virus. The patients include 2,326 persons linked to the New Year cluster, more..

Jun 14 (SLN) A special search operation conducted by the Navy in the coastal area of Polwathumodara, Weligama in the dark hours on 12th June 2021, led to the seizure of over 219kg of heroin attempted to be smuggled into the island by sea and apprehension of 09 suspects involved in the illegal act. This special anti-drug operation conducted by the Navy made way to the seizure of this stock of about 219.8kg of heroin which was attempted to be smuggled in by a dinghy through more..

Jun 14 (CI) Ahead of the first-ever World Test Championship final, the ICC has inducted a special list of 10 players into its Hall of Fame. From the Australian allrounder Monty Noble, who made his debut in January 1898, to Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lanka batting great who retired in August 2015, these ten players' careers span well over a century of men's Test cricket. The inductees have been classified into five broad eras: Noble and Aubrey Faulkner from pre-World War 1 period more..

Jun 14 (Island) Minister Udaya Gammanpila yesterday told a hastily arranged media briefing said that the economy was in such bad shape that the govt couldn’t have further delayed the upward revision of fuel prices. He revealed that the Central Bank in a missive dated May 31 strongly advised the Treasury to increase fuel prices or face the consequences. Minister Gammanpila emphasized that PM Rajapaksa, in his capacity as more..

Jun 14 (FT) The Chairman and members of the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) are to get a salary hike, the motion for which, comprising the revision of salaries and allowances accorded to the seven-member OMP, is to be presented to Parliament by Justice Minister Ali Sabry shortly. Accordingly, the monthly allowance presently paid to the OMP Chairman will be increased to Rs. 135,000 from Rs. 100,000 in addition to a monthly fuel allowance of Rs. 50,000 and a telephone allowance. more..

Jun 14 (ST) SL’s telecom regulator is accelerating structural challenges and trends that have long suppressed the telecommunications industry’s growth to create a dynamic, competitive, innovative telecommunications infrastructure. Oshada Senanayake, Chairman – TRC said that amongst these, the optical fiber submarine communications cable system that carries telecommunications between SL and other nations or the Sea – Me – We cable capacity is being increased. more..

Jun 14 (FT) SJB MP S.M. Marikkar called on the Govt to resign if it cannot successfully manage crises rather than putting the masses in more misery. He said the sharp fuel hike amidst the pandemic is akin to putting people from a frying pan into the fire. He recalled when the previous regime increased the price by Rs. 2 or 3, Mahinda Rajapaksa in the Opposition rode to Parliament in a cycle. more..

Jun 14 (TM) A Dispute Resolution Centre is expected to be established within the Colombo Port City (CPC), according to CHEC Port City Colombo Ltd. Assistant Managing Director Thulci Aluwihare. He made this statement during the first plenary session, titled Port City Colombo – the gateway to South Asia, on day two of the virtually-held SL Investment Forum 2021. The aforesaid resolution centre will be established to resolve commercial disputes that arise with regard to operations more..

Jun 14 (CT) National Shooting Sport Association of SL’s (NSSF) effort finally bore fruit when the Ministry of Sports assured its willingness to construct a muchneeded shooting range. The intended national shooting range will be ideally located at a private property in Kohuwela, and will be erected adjoining the existing 4-lane electronic shooting facility set-up in early 2019. It will become the nerve centre for national and aspiring shooters, and provide a training facility meeting int'l standards. more..

Jun 14 (EN) The SJB said it would support the govt to bring a new prevention of terrorism law, as the mis-use of the current one against the public and minorities was reducing civil liberties. European parliament has cited SL’s existing Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) has been cited as one of the tools through which democratic freedoms were being stripped away and minorities targeted, which may lead to the GSP+ trade benefits more..

Jun 14 (Island) It never rains but it pours. There is no end in sight to the various shocks the public frequently receives from the govt. The Covid-19 pandemic is ripping through the country, destroying scores of lives daily. The inoculation programme is moving at a tardy pace as there is no steady supply of vaccines. Travel restrictions are causing hardships to the public and hurting the economy badly but have not yielded the desired results. The poor are asking for food and farmers fertiliser. more..

Jun 14 (CT) SL’s most decorated Badminton player Niluka Karunaratne, will make his third consecutive appearance at the Olympic Games, and is determined to raise the bar high for Badminton in SL. “I am proud to be among very few sportspersons in SL to make three appearances at the Olympic Games. No Badminton player in SL has achieved this feat. This will be my last Olympics and my prime objective is to sign off with a win and do my best to raise the bar high for future of SL badminton” more..

Jun 14 (DN) SL Olympians will be rewarded with financial benefits and other incentives when they participate in the Tokyo Olympic Games in Japan from July 23. Already four athletes have qualified for the Tokyo Olympics and another 3 to 4 athletes are expected to join the Sri Lankan contingent through the wildcard system. “We have decided to grant an allowance of US $10,000 for each Olympian with a further sum of US $40 as a daily allowance” Minister Namal Rajapaksa said. more..

Jun 14 (FT) Seylan Bank recently conducted a skills and knowledge sharing webinar exclusively for Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to help them adapt to the current digitally-driven business environment. The live webinar was hosted via Zoom, YouTube and Facebook. The interactive session gathered approximately 1,000 registrations. The webinar ‘Let’s use Facebook effectively to promote business growth in the current environment’ was a part of the Bank’s ongoing efforts more..

Jun 14 (FT) Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda held a special meeting to resolve the difficulties of the Negombo fishing community affected by the MV-Xpress Pearl and to inform them of the decisions taken by the Govt in this regard. The discussion held on Saturday at the Negombo Town Hall was attended by State Ministers Kanchana Wijesekera, Nimal Lanza, representatives of fisheries societies from Palliyawatta, Wattala more..

Jun 14 (DN) Considering the difficulties faced by the borrowers of Licensed Finance Companies and Specialized Leasing Companies (NBFIs), due to the third wave of COVID-19 pandemic, Central Bank of SL (CBSL) is requesting NBFIs to provide concessions to affected borrowers for C-19 affected businesses and individuals. These concessions issued under circular No. 06 of 2021 are concessions granted for performing credit facilities. For credit facilities that are more..

Jun 14 (Island) State Minister Lohan Ratwatte said here yesterday that as prison visits had been suspended, inmates would be afforded an opportunity to communicate with their loved ones via Zoom. The facility had been made available in six prisons of the country, including Welikada and Angunakolapelessa, State Minister Ratwatte said. He disclosed that the now vacant Bogambara prison buildings and its land would be developed as a tourist attraction in the near future. more..

Jun 14 (TM) Regardless of an agreement being finalised between SL Govt and its Indian counterparts in February for SL to develop the Upper Oil Tank Farm in Trincomalee, discussions are still ongoing with the relevant officials to proceed with the next step. Minister Udaya Gammanpila stated that the progress is very slow despite the discussions held with official Indian counterparts to develop the Upper Oil Tank Farm. more..

Jun 14 (DM) On World Environment Day UN highlighted the fact that we cannot turn back time. But, we can grow trees, green our cities and clean up rivers and coasts. The UN calls on all people to Reimagine, Recreate and Restore. With the Covid crisis raging the world over, the usual large-scale cleanup involving thousands of volunteers, children and the public involving themselves in mass tree planting schemes, clearing of garbage and plastics on our beaches was out of the question and more..

Jun 14 (GV) In the South Asian region, Sri Lanka is a success story when it comes to tackling child labour. The widely prevalent forms of child labour in the 1990s and before, such as children in domestic servitude and children’s engagement in hazardous labour in industries, have drastically declined. This transformation has been the result of greater awareness among the public, law reform and enhanced law enforcement as well as more businesses steering away from employment more..

Jun 14 (CT) On-going travel restrictions that were scheduled to be lifted at 4 a.m. tomorrow (14) were further extended until 21 June, Army Commander General Shavendra Silva announced on Friday. The restrictions that were first imposed on 21 May were supposed to last until 7 June, with a plan to relax restrictions on 25 May, 31 May and 4 June. However, taking into consideration the high number of positive cases reported daily, after 25 May, restrictions had been strictly imposed. more..

Jun 14 (TM) Govt’s decision to increase fuel prices last week led to a furore among the pandemic-stricken people who were awaiting some form of relief, not price hikes. In SL, regardless of the amount, any form of price hike receives criticism under normal circumstances, and the recent fuel price hike coming during a pandemic, intensified that criticism. Fuel price hikes, especially, receive more opposition than other goods, as the price of fuel decides the price of a large number of other more..

Jun 14 (TM) While the national vaccination rollout for Covid-19 is slowly progressing in SL, many other countries have been rolling out their vaccine drives quite rapidly. With the support of the medical regulatory authorities in Americas, Europe, EU, Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Covid-19 vaccination programmes have been commenced for children above the age of 12. In SL, however, we are still at the stage where the rest of the country more..

Jun 14 (CT) The whole political world is in chaos with many political ideologies, which have in a way turned upside down the ordinary systems of people or rather obstructed people-building capacities. As I have discussed in one article published in a journal called Colombo Telegraph, it is the dominant world system that has harmed the conscientization of people in which peoples’ genuine socio-political capacities have been destroyed[1]. The etymological meaning of the word governing is to have more..

Jun 14 (ST) Fast on its way to illustrating South Asia’s frightening object lesson on how to reduce one of the region’s oldest democracies to a dystopian nightmare of rampant disease, poverty and pathetically dependant people made to grovel for handouts, SL’s unfortunate citizenry watch with surreal fascination this week as PM Rajapaksa blandly asks the world to pick Sri Lanka as an investment destination of choice. There is a hard question that PM together with his brother, more..