Jan 10 (EN) Central Bank will gradually sell down its re-structured bond bonds, CB Governor Nandala Weerasinghe has said. CB converted a large part of its bill holding acquired to inject liquidity and trigger an economic crisis from 2020, into lower yielding longer term bonds during the domestic debt restructuring process, as part of efforts to reduce the gross financing needs of the state. “Domestic money market liquidity is likely to increase gradually in 2025 with the expected buildup of foreign reserves, more..

Jan 10 (FT) A new Govt, elected with a massive majority is now in place, which brings with it a high degree of responsibility, to meet the high expectations of the voters. It was expected that the Govt would proceed on a clear social-democratic path, towards development. However, an unexpected turn to the right has caused confusion. While the IMF program, which was known for some time, may have played a part, the NPP economic team should have worked out its own more..

Jan 10 (FT) As the Hindus of SL mark Thai Pongal this week, it would be of interest to examine the nexus between those who celebrate the multi-day harvest festival, others who don’t, and their common as well as disparate histories harking back to colonial times. Ergo, a two part piece that focuses on the tale of one of these two ethnicities and the skein of history weaving them both into what is often perceived as a single community. Upcountry Tamils of SL constitute an interesting case study more..

Jan 10 (NW) Minister Nalinda Jayathissa has refuted claims that the govt had spent Rs. 7 million for the launch of the Clean Sri Lanka initiative. “Rs. 7 million have not been spent on the Clean SL inauguration as reported by some media outlets. Only an amount of Rs. 900,000 had been approved as payments, which has also not been paid yet,” Minister said that reports of a musician, lyricist or the website developers being paid exorbitant amounts were baseless and false. more..

Jan 10 (FT) The Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) was a specialised military intelligence unit of the Sri Lankan army that was deployed by the State against the LTTE during the armed conflict. Sri Lanka’s LRRP was known in Sinhala as the Digu Dura Vihidum Balakaya and in Tamil as the Aazha Ooduruvithaakkum Padaiyani. It was also called the Deep Penetration Unit (DPU) and Mahasonon Brigade of the Army. more..

Jan 10 (TNN) In a commendable act, the Khyber Police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa successfully reunited a SL mother with her 25-year-old daughter and handed over custody to the mother, respecting the daughter’s choice. SL woman had married Agha Jan, a resident of Khyber, while they were in a Gulf country. The couple had a daughter, but later, the husband returned to Pakistan with the child. Concerned about her daughter's well-being, the mother traveled to Pakistan and more..

Jan 10 (AD) The charge sheet filed by the Attorney General against former State Minister Diana Gamage, accusing her of obtaining a SL passport by producing forged documents, was read before the Colombo High Court today. The charges were presented when the case was taken up before Colombo High Court Judge Manjula Thilakaratne, where the defendant Diana Gamage pleaded not guilty to the charges. During the proceedings, President’s Counsel Shanaka Ranasinghe, more..

Jan 10 (AD) Former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Russia, Udayanga Weeratunga, has been arrested by the Mirihana Police. He has been arrested for allegedly assaulting his neighbor and will be produced before the court today, according to police. A 66-year-old resident of Thalapathpitiya, who was assaulted by former SL Ambassador Udayanga Weeratunga, has been admitted to the Sri J'pura Hospital and more..

Jan 10 (DM) Over 100 children have been diagnosed with diabetes, raising serious concerns over the rising rates of the condition among younger populations. This surge has prompted health experts to closely examine the factors contributing to the increasing prevalence of diabetes in children. Dr. Deepal Perera, Consultant Paediatrician at the LRH, said that the decline in birth rates will impact education, healthcare and the workforce, leading to significant demographic changes. more..

Jan 10 (AD) The market value of the investments made by the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) in companies listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) is Rs. 109.69 billion as of Sept 30, 2024. Total purchase cost of these investments stands at Rs. 88.67 billion, with a total profit of Rs. 21.01 billion generated from the investments in the stock market. Comparatively, the market value of the EPF’s investments in the stock market as of June 30, 2024, was recorded at Rs. 110.03 billion. more..

Jan 10 (AD) Sarvajana Balaya leader MP Dilith Jayaweera emphasized the importance of empowering women to enable their active contribution to the national economy by aligning with global trends. He criticized the existing political culture that exploits women for political gain and called for a transformative approach. “The political culture in this country has always used women as tools to gain power,” he said. “What we need is a shift. Women must be empowered creatively. more..

Jan 10 (NW) A protest was held near the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo today against govt’s decision to deport the Rohingya refugees from Myanmar who had arrived in SL recently seeking asylum. The protest was conducted by several civil activists, who claimed that the Rohingya refugees are placed at an Army Camp and UN agencies have been denied access to them. The protesters urged the govt to refrain from deporting the Rohingya refugees and consider an alternative solution. more..

Jan 10 (NW) Former Minister Manusha Nanayakkara broke his silence regarding the arrest of his brother over a foreign employment scandal, claiming that he was the one who initially lodged a complaint against him during his tenure as minister. Nanayakkara said he had no connection to his brother’s activities and reiterated his efforts to educate the public against paying third parties for foreign employment opportunities. more..

Jan 10 (Island) The newly appointed Heads of Mission of Sri Lanka met with the Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya at the Parliament to discuss avenues for strengthening diplomatic collaboration. The discussions focused on expanding trade, tourism, and other key areas of bilateral and multilateral cooperation. Prime Minister Amarasuriya emphasized the importance of enhancing trade relations and exploring new opportunities for Sri Lankan products in global markets. more..

Jan 10 (FT) The Sri Lanka -Maldives Business Council of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce this week highlighted numerous opportunities in the Maldives for the Sri Lankan companies in sectors such as logistics, tourism, agriculture, boat construction, fishery and construction. A report listing the opportunities was presented to the Export Development Board (EDB) Chairman Mangala Wijesinghe and the High Commissioner of the Maldives Masood Imad. more..

Jan 10 (Island) Minister Kumara Jayakody informed Parliament that reducing electricity tariff could not be effected overnight and it would take up to 3 years. He emphasised that no assurances had been given to reduce electricity prices immediately and urged patience as the got works toward achieving this goal. Jayakody said, “Our goal is to reduce electricity tariff. However, we never claimed that would be done in a day or two; more..

Jan 10 (AD) High Commissioner of India to SL, Santosh Jha, has called on the Speaker of the Parliament, Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne, at the Parliamentary premises recently. During the meeting, High Commissioner Santosh Jha extended his New Year wishes to Speaker Dr. Wickramaratne and reaffirmed the strong bilateral relationship between India and SL. He invited the Speaker to undertake an official visit to India, emphasizing the importance of fostering inter-parliamentary more..

Jan 10 (TM) Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has launched an official mobile app, Sri Lanka Cricket Live, thus enabling fans greater access to information about SL Cricket around the clock. The app provides fans with details about the team, tours and tournament schedules, match highlights, live scores and commentaries, and notifications such as the squad announcements, among many others. The Sri Lanka Cricket Live official mobile app is now available in the Google Play Store and Apple App Store more..

Jan 10 (TM) Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has unveiled the 15-member squad for the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup, set to begin in Malaysia on 18 January. Sri Lanka is placed in Group A, alongside Malaysia, West Indies, and India for the preliminary round. The team, led by Manudi Nanayakkara will depart for Malaysia on 11 January. A notable inclusion in the squad is Limansa Thilakaratne, the daughter of former SL cricket captain T.M. Dilshan. Accordingly, SL Women's squad includes: more..

Jan 10 (AD) Airport & Aviation Services (SL) has announced that luxury buses operating on the Fort-Katunayake route (No. 187) will be granted access to the departure terminal of BIA starting today. This decision, aimed at enhancing convenience for air passengers, marks the resumption of this service after nearly six years. While the buses will now be permitted to enter the road to the departure terminal, they will not be allowed to remain parked at the airport to operate the service. more..

Jan 10 (TM) A survey conducted by the Food First Information and Action Network (FIAN), SL Chapter, across selected Divisional Secretariats in 10 Districts, revealed that 56.6% of households in the sample face food insecurity accompanied by moderate or severe hunger. These findings were unveiled at the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute during the launch of survey report, which was funded by USAID. more..

Jan 10 (EN) Board of Investment (BOI) has digitized some of its fee collection process and gate passes from Friday, in a move to ensure minimal human intervention and enhance the transparency, it said. The Central Verification Division of the BOI will digitize issuing gate passes starting on Friday to provide an efficient service. “The new program will automate the previously manual collection of import and export document fees, automate the collection of verification fees, more..

Jan 10 (FT) Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa highlighted the need for repealing or amending the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), which was temporarily enacted in 1979 to suppress LTTE terrorist activities in the country. Questioning the Govt as to why it is still not taking action to repeal the PTA, he said it was now being used to suppress the voices of political opponents, protests, strikes against the Govt and journalists. “Today, continuation of this law has become a problematic issue more..

Jan 10 (FT) The SJB has decided to restructure the party by giving much emphasis to the recommendations proposed by its Chairman Imthiaz Bakeer Markar. SJB Vice Chairman and MP Gayantha Karunatilake said the decision of restructuring the party was taken by the SJB’s management committee meeting early this week. He said that among other issues discussed at the meeting were strengthening party more..

Jan 10 (Island) Two armed members of a criminal gang shot and wounded a close relative of the underworld figure known as Loku Patti on Thursday at Ahungalle. Suspects fled the scene immediately after the attack. The victim, identified as Loku Petti’s uncle sustained injuries and was admitted to hospital. The attack occurred while the victim was inside a three-wheeler around 5:45 a.m. The assailant, armed with a pistol, shot him before escaping. Although the victim survived, more..

Jan 10 (DM) The attempts to import red rice from India failed as red rice was not available in India, Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe said. He told Parliament that the govt had discussed with the Indian High Commission and Indian suppliers to import red rice to meet the shortage in the local market, but the attempt had failed. Minister said red rice is not available in the mills in the country also and added that attempts are being made to somehow manage the situation. more..

Jan 11 (DM) It is now over three months since the National People’s Power (NPP) -a ‘left-leaning’ political party- was elected into power. The party led by Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) was voted into power by people who were sick and tired of past leaders who promised much, but whose terms were blighted with corruption and broken promises. The main platform of the president’s party was to restore law and order and bring to book crooked politicians and their henchmen. more..

Jan 11 (CT) It was more than half a century ago in 1972, when the Cold War was in full swing, when economists were getting obsessed with the idea of economic growth and its measurement, and when the Keynesian dictum spend and prosper held sway, the Club of Rome published its MIT research report, Limits to Growth and issued the first warning to the so-called civilized and industrialized economies of Global North that there are limits to growth. These limits according to more..

Jan 11 (DM) In the first part of this article on Sathasivampillai Krishnakumar alias Col Kittu published last week in the Daily Mirror, I had written about my interviewing the LTTE Jaffna district commander for the Indian news magazine, Frontline in November 1986. It was at that time the first conversation with Kittu published in an English journal. The reference to that interview has aroused much interest among readers. more..

Jan 11 (DM) Despite the ruling NPP and the three main Opposition parties – SJB, UNP and SLPP currently facing dilemmas, they are not same in nature and scale. The issue faced by the NPP is not anything concerning its survival, but the Opposition parties’ dilemma is. The NPP govt is unprecedentedly strong with over two thirds of majority Parliamentary power in hand and its survival is not even remotely threatened. However, the party that claimed moral high ground over more..

Jan 11 (FT) As the Hindus of Sri Lanka mark Thai Pongal, a community of Sri Lankan Tamils unite in spirit to celebrate prosperity and plentifulness. Yet, some of the people who should reap a harvest of peace with justice remain outside the boundaries of communion with other citizens of an island nation on the cusp of ethnic and racial harmony as perhaps never before. So it would be of interest to examine the nexus between those who celebrate this multi-day harvest festival, more..

Jan 11 (CT) The Clean Sri Lanka programme initiated under the patronage of Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake appears to have created quite a stir in the past week. The govt’s implementation of the Clean SL programme has put public and private transport under the spotlight, requiring the removal of unauthorised gadgets and accessories from buses and three-wheelers nationwide—a move welcomed by daily commuters. more..

Jan 11 (CT) The Govt’s Clean Sri Lanka initiative has stirred up much controversy and dialogue among the citizens. What appeared to be a rather straightforward strategy has since encountered some semantic issues and the Govt has decided to debate the topic in the Parliament to clear grey areas for the benefit of the public. One distinct problem with the launch of the Clean Sri Lanka programme was its undefined broadness. While the intentions of the programme were pure with more..

Jan 11 (Island) In Cass’ last Friday’s Cry, she quoted the late Dr Manmohan Singh on terrorism; It is clear that terrorism is a global threat …. Terrorism is cowardice aimed at innocent people. It is fed on hatred and cynicism. Cass was rather surprised that among all the reasons and causes for terrorism, Singh singled out hatred and cynicism. Hatred yes and obvious. But cynicism instigating terrorism? The meaning of cynicism is an inclination to believe that people are motivated purely by self-interest. more..

Jan 11 (FT) The ground breaking ceremony for $ 120 million Marina development at the Colombo Port City took place yesterday ceremoniously with the Govt identifying it as a landmark initiative that embodies SL’s ambition, innovation and commitment to glo482;ොළමmore..

Jan 11 (Island) The govt has announced a concessionary loan scheme for small and medium-scale (SMS) rice millers and cooperative societies to purchase paddy during the current Maha season. Treasury has set aside Rs. 10 bn for that purpose, we are told. Successive govts have provided such loans to SMS millers. One may recall that in Feb 2024, the Treasury announced that the SMS millers and warehouse owners could obtain loans ranging from Rs. 25 million to Rs. 50 million more..