Dec 20 (FT) The Cassandras are in full flow. Pessimism for what lays ahead in 2023, predictions of falling consumption, research companies churning out data at a rate to substantiate the dire predictions of what businesses are likely to face. Not one of it is pretty. The prophecies of doom and gloom are all pervading. So how does one as a businessman and a marketer approach this situation? What can we as professional marketers and enterprising businessmen do to ensure we navigate more..

Dec 20 (FT) All around the world we can see the economic outlook being dismal and darkening. Inflation is soaring while supply chain disruption and contraction continues in many countries. Here in SL the Govt has had to increase taxes and keep a tight rein on public expenditure to deal with the depleted foreign exchange reserves, and this will indeed have knock-on economic effects, which will remain for quite a while. We have to accept that businesses are going to be operating in very different and more..

Dec 20 (FT) Deutsche Bank AG has moved to the prestigious One Galle Face Tower (OGFT) marking a historic step in the bank’s journey in SL. Deutsche Bank SL Chief Country Officer Vikas Arora said: “Our move to this new and sustainable premises provides us with flexibility and scalability to meet the evolving needs of our clients and the business. The brand new and modern workspace with all employees located on the same floor supports us in running a more efficient operation, more..

Dec 20 (EN) SL is looking to for expert opinions and feedback on the disposal of $40 million worth expired COVID-19 vaccines after the island nation’s plans to donate them for Myanmar failed. Health Ministry has extended the expiry date of the Pfizer COVID 19 vaccines twice from end July 2022 on the recommendation of WHO and 6 million vaccines will expire on Dec 31, govt officials have said. Prez Wickremesinghe’s govt in Oct 2022 said it was going to donate six million Pfizer vaccines valued more..

Dec 20 (TM) Opposition MP Dr. Nalaka Godahewa claimed that the reason that coal shipments are being delayed in SL is because of the Govt’s attempts to issue a contract for 4.5 million MT at Rs. 1 billion despite the Cabinet approval to buy coal at the lowest available rate. “This coal problem is nothing new. When coal is brought to SL, according to where the power plant is, and according to the sea levels, coal can only be loaded during more..

Dec 20 (NR) A discussion on the sustainable management of the Whitefly pest that harms coconut plantations, was held yesterday at the Presidential Secretariat under the patronage of President’s Secretary Saman Ekanayake and Prez’s Director General (Community Affairs) Keerthi Tennakoon. The responsible institutions including the Coconut Research Institute held various awareness programmes, to educate coconut planters of the pest and measures more..

Dec 20 (DM) Cabinet has granted approval to the proposal furnished by the Minister of Public Security to take necessary steps to introduce three new VISA categories for Colombo Port City. The new Visa categories would be subject to the recommendations of the Colombo Port City Commission. Accordingly, the new Visa categories are Investment VISA category for investors under residential VISA category, Employment VISA for employees and CPC residential property lease vendor VISA more..

Dec 20 (TM) Sri Lanka Tourism is neither willing to divulge the exact amount of funds it spent on developing the FIFA Fan Zone in Negombo for tourists in hope of attracting FIFA World Cup 2022 spectators from Qatar, nor able to disclose the number of arrivals for this particular zone. SL Tourism Promotion Bureau Chair Chalaka Gajabahu stated: “In terms of overall cost, I cannot reveal the figures, because there was a private sector more..

Dec 20 (Island) Former Chairman of the Consumer Affairs Authority, Rumy Marzook, says consumers are fleeced by errant traders as never before, while those responsible for the protection of consumer rights look the other way. “Traders jack up the prices at their will. There is no price control on any goods. Actually, price control is non-existent as there is no action from those responsible for the protection of interests of the consumers,” Marzook told The Island yesterday. more..

Dec 20 (EN) Sri Lanka will set up a new institute to teach economics to politicians and bureaucrats, according to a proposal by President Ranil Wickremesinghe, allowing informed decisions to be made, Cabinet spokesman Bandula Gunewardena said. “It is essential for the MPs as well as the govt officers to obtain training on economic and trade activities so that entering into decisions with understanding is possible when formulating national policies and implementing them,” more..

Dec 20 (AD) Minister of Finance has published a special gazette notification revoking the import restrictions on 10 items, Finance State Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya says. Accordingly, the communiqué has rescinded the import restrictions imposed on energy drinks for the tourism sector, MDF boards of furniture, CCTV for security purposes and Sports Ministry-approved items. The revocation is effective from today. Speaking in this regard, the state minister mentioned that more..

Dec 20 (CT) Nurses accused the Govt and provincial councils of failing to make necessary recruitments to the State nursing service, to replace those in the public service, who are over the age of 60, when they are sent on retirement with effect from 31 Dec 2022. General Secretary of All Ceylon Nurses Union, S.B. Mediwatta said that a large number of regional and rural hospitals, especially in A'pura, Polonnaruwa, Monaragala, Galnewa and Vavuniya, will be severely affected by more..

Dec 20 (Island) For the first time in its 168-year history, the Uni of Melbourne has awarded simultaneous PhDs to identical SL twins. Melbourne Uni has said in a media statement that Nadeesha and Thejani Gunaratne commenced PhDs with the University, in 2016, following studies in Food Science and Technology at the Uni of Sri J'pura in their home country of SL. Both received their doctorates on Saturday in Melbourne, more..

Dec 20 (DM) A comprehensive program has been launched to make the IT sector a major foreign exchange earning industry in the country, Technology State Minister Kanaka Herath said. While participating in an inspection visit to Avissawella Batangala Youth Training Centre, he said it has been possible to earn US$ 1,500 million in foreign exchange through the IT industry in 2021. Approximately 20,000 IT job openings exist in the public and private sectors. more..

Dec 20 (AD) SL wrestler Nethmi Ahinsa Poruthotage, who won a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham was presented with a house in Wepalla, Kurunegala, by Manusath Derana, the CSR initiative of TV Derana. Earlier this year, Nethmi won a bronze medal in the women’s 57kg freestyle wrestling event at the Commonwealth Games, becoming the first Sri Lankan to win a medal in wrestling at the Games. This was, however, the fourth medal by more..

Dec 20 (ST) Environment Ministry Secretary Anil Jasinghe said food and water security were among the govt’s biggest concerns as the immediate risks posed by climate change. Other experts said that extreme weather events such as droughts and floods which destroy crops, the dry zones of SL becoming drier, and the wet zones wetter, along with the narrowing of the temperature difference between night and day in certain more..

Dec 20 (TM) The Paris Club is yet to start work on a creditor committee for Sri Lanka to assist the country with its debt restructuring process, as SL is trying to obtain financial assurances from China and India. Accordingly, Colombo-based diplomats and Europe-based financial insiders with knowledge of the Paris Club’s workings had told Nikkei Asia that progress over the Sri Lanka question remains clouded. Moreover, a highly placed source familiar with the discussions in Paris had told more..

Dec 20 (AD) Colombo Magistrate’s Court today ordered to release the notorious drug kingpin and underworld figure Kanjipani Imran on bail. He had been placed behind bars on remand for threatening a police officer, pursuant to the provisions of the PTA. However, the police later rolled back the charges filed under the PTA and lodged new charges under the Penal Code. When the case was taken up today, the court gave orders to release the suspect after he fulfils the bail conditions and more..

Dec 20 (TM) Agricultural & Agrarian Insurance Board (AAIB) is to distribute a sum of Rs. 657 million among more than 31,000 farmers islandwide as compensation for crop damages in the 2021-2022 Maha cultivation season, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. Ministry’s Media Secretary Dharma Wanninayake said that taking into account the damage caused to crops due to the drought, floods, and wild elephants in the 2021-2022 Maha season, steps have been taken to distribute Rs. 657m more..

Dec 20 (BN) SL’s cabinet endorsed a bill that aims to bolster the central bank’s autonomy and keep it out of fiscal management. Cabinet approval of the bill on monetary law is key to unlocking a pending $2.9 billion bailout from the IMF. SL’s parliament will have to discuss the bill before enacting the legislation, though no timetable has been proposed. The govt hasn’t provided a copy of the latest version of the bill, which was first drafted in 2019. Last month, CB Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said more..

Dec 20 (DM) SL Cement Corporation owned factories in Kankesanthurai, Puttalam and Galle. The factories in Puttalam and Galle were sold in 1993. Factory in Kankesanthurai didn’t operate due to the war. Although the Puttalam Cement Factory was sold the land where the raw materials were obtained from remained with the Cement Corporation. It is located in the Aruvakkalu area and spreads across 5352 acres. more..

Dec 20 (TM) TULF Leader Veerasingham Anandasangaree expressed both concern and dissatisfaction over not being invited to the all-party conference held last week at the Presidential Secretariat to find a solution to the national ethnic issue, claiming that Prez Wickremesinghe, who had witnessed his (Anandasangaree’s) Parliamentary politics, should have invited him. Sangaree said: “I am not angry with the Prez, but I am dissatisfied that I was left out of the all-party conference. more..

Dec 20 (DM) The Treasury should state whether it is possible to allocate the ten billion rupees needed for local govt elections, UNP's Navin Dissanayake said. “I also believe that franchise is a right of the people, but the Treasury should make a statement as to whether the nation can afford an election,” he said. “I don’t mind allying with the Pohotuwa but the UNP should also be fairly represented in such an alliance. UNPers should be appointed as district leaders in areas such as Nuwara Eliya if more..

Dec 20 (TM) Claiming that the politics of the SLPP and the Rajapaksas (a reference to the political engagement of former Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa and incumbent Govt MP Mahinda Rajapaksa) cannot be carried forward any further, Opposition MP Patali Champika Ranawaka said that the country is in need of a broad, youth-based political movement at present. Speaking to the media, he said: more..

Dec 20 (CT) A group of Rathugala Veddas have spoken against the blocking of their access to the forest due the mining taking place, allegedly with the support of wildlife officers. They noted that the Dept of Wildlife has informed them that 10 identification cards have been distributed to 10 indigenous people and each of them are entitled to take 10 others along with them when entering the Nilgala forest. Further, they observed that whilst they have traditionally entered the Nilgala forest to fish more..

Dec 20 (TM) Condemning the sittings of the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) in Mullaitivu, the relatives of missing persons held a protest yesterday in front of the Mullaitivu District Secretariat claiming that they want an impartial investigation into the whereabouts of their loved ones. They further noted that the OMP is just an eyewash, and therefore, urged the OMP to refrain from collecting information regarding them and their missing relatives. Later, the OMP officers arrived at the place more..

Dec 21 (DM) Over the past weeks, nay month or so, we and our fellow countrymen and women have been held in thrall by the demand by opposition parties in parliament for the holding of local govt elections. Particular political party leaders have threatened to take to the streets in the event elections are not held in a timely fashion. To emphasize a point, one party leader went on to boast - to school children - he used to come last in his class. We do not contest the veracity more..

Dec 21 (DM) Since Elon Musk took over Twitter, there has been so much attention on the microblogging platform. At least twice in the last two months, I have received official communications hinting at organisations I am affiliated to seriously considering quitting the platform. I am yet to quit. But, I am also one of those who has set up a profile on Mastodon, the platform that is closest to emulating Twitter. For now, what I have been doing is cross posting content in both platforms. more..

Dec 21 (DM) Employees of the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau have urged the Ministry of Environment to hold an impartial inquiry to probe the frauds committed by its former acting Director General and recover losses incurred from mining license frauds. Former acting Director General (DG) of the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB) Sajjana de Silva was sent on compulsory leave last week for his alleged more..

Dec 21 (GV) Suffering through its worst economic crisis since independence, SL’s population has been facing hyperinflation for months, forcing many families to reduce their food and nutrition intake in order to cope. Many of the school nutrition programmes have also suffered. Lady Ridgeway Hospital Medical Officer Dr. Vasan Ratnasingam, noted that because food items have gone up by nearly 70%, in order to meet their food requirement, people turn to 1 of 2 options: more..

Dec 21 (CT) Paci vanthidap paththum paranthu pom, are the immortal words from the grand old lady of Tamil poetry, Awwai, who lived sometime during the Sangam era (600 BCE – 300 CE), which simply means that when hunger pervades, all ten features of humanity would evaporate and disappear. According to her, those features were, a sense of shame (maanam), caste consciousness (kulam), education (kalvi), strength (vannmai), intelligence (arivudamai), philanthropy (thaanam), more..

Dec 21 (TM) The factors that have brought many State enterprises to near-bankruptcy are not purely financial, and therefore, the reforms that need to be initiated to salvage these enterprises cannot be purely financial either. Among these non-financial aspects are short-sighted plans, politically motivated decisions and projects, the unscientific establishment of Govt enterprises, nepotism, undue perks, not having identified true objectives more..

Dec 21 (CT) From being deprived access to basic necessities to losing their natural habitats, indigenous people in SL have been tormented time and again, with no solution in sight. Indigenous people who have traditionally had a strong connection with nature are forced to go through cultural change due to the greed of a faction together with unsustainable development. They have found it rather difficult to adapt to constant changes and are often unheard, more..

Dec 21 (Island) There has been an upsurge in violent crimes during the past several months. The police are groping in the dark even where high-profile crimes such as the killing of Dinesh Schaffter are concerned. Is it that they are too busy with political work to be able to carry out their regular duties and functions properly? The only thing they seem keen to do, of their own volition, is to pursue anti-govt protesters; they have mastered the art of ingratiating themselves with powers that be. more..

Dec 21 (TM) Co-operation and solidarity have been at the forefront of SL's response to the prevailing economic crisis, and they were showcased and strengthened throughout the past few months, especially during the aragalaya anti-Govt movement. More importantly, during that period, people's solidarity against the Govt & for a common purpose led to a few tangible outcomes in the political & social spheres. Importance of solidarity was underscored on Int'l Human Solidarity Day, more..