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News Archive for Mar 2023
කරන්නාගොඩ කොමිසම අසම්පූර්ණයි. ශවේන්ද්‍ර හා කමල් පමණක් නොව ගෝඨාභය, දිනේෂ් හා ජීඑල් ද වගකීම පැහැර හැරියා- ගෝලීය ශ්‍රී ලාංකික සංසදයේ විධායක කමිටු සාමාජික යසස් ධර්මදාසපලාගිය ජනාධිපති ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂයන්ගේ නිවාසය ඉදිරිපිට සිදුකළ ජන රාශිය සහ බස් රථයක් ගිනි තැබීමේ සිදුවීමට වසරක් පිරෙන මාර්තු 31 දින එම සිද්ධි දාමයට අදාලව ජෙනරාල් දයා රත්නායක, ගුවන් හමුදා ප්‍රධානී රොෂාන් ගුණතිලක සහ නාවුක හමුදා ප්‍රධානී වසන්ත කරන්නාගොඩ යන මහත්වරුන් විසින් ප්‍රකාශ කරන ලද වාර්තාව පිළිබඳව ගෝලීය ශ්‍රී ලාංකික සංසදයේ විධායක කමිටුවේ ලේකම් යසස් ධර්මදාස මහතා අදහස් දක්වමින් පවසා සිටියේ අදාල සිද්ධි දාමයේ ආරක්ෂක අංශ වල බිඳ වැටීමට අදාල සියළු පාර්ශවයන් කොමිසම විසින් හඳුනාගෙන නොමැති බවයි. ඒ පිළිබඳව පලාගිය ජනාධිපති ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ, වත්මන් අගමැති දිනේෂ් ගුණවර්ධන හා වත්මන් නිදහස් ජනතා පෙරමුණේ නියමුවකු... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 31/03/23)
Sri Lankan President Rues The Shelving Of Indian Economist’s Report
In 1966, the Indian economist Dr. B.R. Shenoy suggested measures that would have prevented Sri Lanka’s precipitous economic slide in succeeding years. Giving the keynote address at a symposium on “Economic Dialogue – IMF and Beyond” here on March 30, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that Sri Lanka’s economic problems would not have arisen if governments had implemented Indian economist B.R.Shenoy’s Report prepared at the request of the Ceylon government way back in 1966. In the late 50s and mid-1960s, when Ceylon’s economy was experiencing an... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 31/03/23)
Both Lankan and Indian traders saving over 50% in transaction costs by using INR
The use of Indian rupee (INR) in Sri Lanka-India bilateral trade is facilitating traders from both countries to cut transaction costs by over 50 percent while enabling same day trade settlements. Joining a panel discussion themed ‘Indian rupee denominated trade settlements between India and Sri Lanka and the impact to importers’ organized by Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, Bank of Ceylon Deputy General Manager - International Treasury and Investments, R.M.N. Jeewantha highlighted that traders from both countries are able to make over 50 percent saving in transaction costs by using... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 31/03/23)
The shady bidders
***One company registered in Lagos remains inactive according to the Nigerian Corporate Affairs Commission ***Directors of Petrichor Capital named defendants in $4.6 million US fraud case *** Vitol group repeatedly blacklisted for supplying substandard fuel to Sri Lanka The Daily Mirror conducted a research on the six companies who had submitted Expressions of Interest over the proposed new refinery in Hambantota, other than Sinopec, and found shocking revelations with one company also being listed as ‘inactive’. Following are the results from the research. Grant & Shearer... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 31/03/23)
Sri Lanka Makes Progress on IMF Program, Commits to Fiscal Reforms
Sri Lanka yesterday held an investor presentation in order to explain the current macroeconomic situation and outlined the key pillars and objectives of the IMF program as well as the next steps with regard to the engagement with creditors. Treasury Secretary Mahinda Siriwardena and Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe told the virtual presentation that Sri Lankan Government has embarked on an ambitious reform agenda, and we have successfully achieved all prior actions required to unlock the IMF financing. They said As per the IMF program, we are fully committed to... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 31/03/23)
A production programme to make motor spares
It is said that eighty percent of our oil imports are consumed by motor vehicles. Thus we have too many motor vehicles and the spares which we can make for them are many. It is time that Motor Car Dealers switch to making motor spares. My Paper tells it all.
Posted on March 14th, 2021 in Lanka Web
500,000 jobs lost-Local Vehicle Industry(The Island 13/3/21) sends my mind to... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 30/03/23)
උදය-වය දකින ආකාරය - 3 කොටස - සබ්බාසව සූත්රය -පුබ්බේ නිවාසානුස්සති හා චුති-උප්පාද ඤාණයට හසුවන 'වය'
මෙය තරමක් සංකීර්ණ ක්‍රියාවලියක් බැවින් ඉවසීමෙන් කියවන ලෙසට ආරාධනා කරමි. භාහිර රූප හැඩතලයෙන් නිකුත්වන යම්කිසි වේගයක් සහිත රූප තරංගය (වර්ණ තරංග, ශබ්ද තරංග ආදිය) පංචේන්ද්‍රියන් මත ස්පර්ශවීමෙන් ප්‍රසාද ක්‍රියාවලිය ආරම්භවෙයි. ප්‍රසාදය යනු ස්වභාව ධර්මය (ආත්මීය නොවන භාහිර ලෝකය) හා පරමාර්ථ ලෝකය (චෛතසිකය) අතර දොරටුවයි (interface). ප්‍රසාදයේ විපරිනාම වේගය උප්පාද. තිථි, චුති (භංග) ලෙස අවස්ථා තුනකින් සිදුවෙයි (ප්‍රථම ආනන්ද සූත්රය1). භාහිර රූප තරංගය ප්‍රසාදයෙහි වදින/ස්පර්ශවන අවස්ථාවේ එයට ඉහත සඳහන් එක්තරා විපරිනාම වේග අවස්ථාවක් හමුවෙයි. හමුවන විපරිනාම වේග අවස්ථාවට අනුකූලව ප්‍රසාද ධාරා (phases) තුනක් ජනනය වෙයි. ප්‍රසාද ධාරාවක් යනු චිත්තක්ෂණයකි. රූප තරංගය... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 30/03/23)
High Commissioner Moragoda meets with the President of ISKCON Mumbai
Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda who is on an official visit to the State of Maharashtra met with the President of the Mumbai center of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) Shri Brajhari Das at the Society’s center in Juhu today 2032.03.30. The day also marks the Ram Navami, a Hindu festival that celebrates the birthday of Lord Rama. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness, otherwise known as the Hare Krishna movement, includes five hundred major centers, temples and rural communities, nearly one hundred... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 30/03/23)
EVER GREEN HAPPINESS
Happiness is a very subjective term when we talk of it at individual level but when it is about some country or some nation, it doesn’t remain subjective. Practically an uprising graph of success and achievements is the basic indicator of happiness and successful are only those who face the worst with undefeatable determination and a never-dying hope of good days. Recently the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network has published The World Happiness Report 2022. Finland has been ranked as the happiest country, Denmark has retained its second position followed by Iceland, Switzerland and Netherlands.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 30/03/23)
PATHFINDER FOUNDATION, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TAG INTERNATIONAL AND RUSI (UK), CONVENES SYMPOSIUM ON MARITIME SECURITY IN THE BAY OF BENGAL
A symposium on maritime security in the Bay of Bengal was convened, Colombo. Pathfinder Foundation organised the event with U. K. based Torchlight Group International (TAG) and the Royal United Services Institution (RUSI). The symposium culminated in a 6-month pilot project involving three countries, namely Bangladesh, the Maldives and Sri Lanka, resulting in regional papers and perception surveys encompassing communities of all three countries. Pathfinder Foundation prepared the Sri Lanka Country Paper, which study was carried out by Foundation’s National Consultant, Rear Admiral (Retd.) Y.N. Jayarathna, supported by the Pathfinder Foundation team.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 30/03/23)
ජාතික වීරවර පිලිප් ගුණවර්ධන ගුණ සැමරේ...
ජාතික වීරවර පිලිප් ගුණවර්ධන මහතාගේ 51වන ගුණ සමරු උත්සවය 2023.03.29 දින කොළඹ බණ්ඩාරනායක සම්මන්ත්‍රණ ශාලාවේ දී පවත්වනු ලැබීය.ජනාධිපති රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහතාගේ ප්‍රධානත්වයෙන් පැවති මෙම ගුණ සමරු උත්සවය සඳහා හිටපු ජනාධිපතිවරුන් වන මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, මෛත්‍රීපාල සිරිසේන යන මහත්වරුන් සහභාගී වූ අතර අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය දිනේෂ් ගුණවර්ධන මහතා විසින් ආරාධිතයින් පිළිගන්නා ලදී.ඌව වෙල්ලස්ස විශ්ව විද්‍යාලයේ උපකුලපති මහාචාර්ය ජයන්ත ලාල් රත්නසේකර සහ ඉතිහාසඥ කළා ශාස්ත්‍රීය විශාරද සහ ජාත්‍යන්තර චිත්‍රපට සම්මානලාභී ආචාර්ය සිංහරාජ තම්මිට දෙල්ගොඩ යන මහත්වරු විසින් ගුණ සමරු උත්සවයේ ප්‍රධාන දේශන සිදු කරනු ලැබීය.පිළිප් ගුණවර්ධන පදනම් භාරයේ අධ්‍යක්ෂක පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී යදාමිණී ගුණවර්ධන මහතා අරමුණ පැහැදිලි කරමින් මෙසේ අදහස් දැක්වීය... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 30/03/23)
Central Bank reiterates significant risks associated with using and investing in cryptocurrency
Considering the recent public inquiries and the developments observed relating to cryptocurrencies, which are also commonly referred to as “crypto”, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) wishes to reiterate to the public of the significant risks associated with using and investing in cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency is a type of virtual currency that is generated by private entities and not by a monetary authority of a country. The term ‘cryptocurrency’ refers to a digital representation of value that is implemented using cryptography and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) or similar technology. It is observed that crypto-trading... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 30/03/23)
Bondholders Set to Tussle With Sri Lanka Over Debt Restructuring
(Bloomberg) -- A battle is shaping up between global bondholders and Sri Lankan authorities as the nation seeks to restructure its debt to gain access to more aid from the International Monetary Fund. Overseas investors such as BlackRock Inc. and Pacific Investment Management Co. are demanding that domestic debt holders share billions of dollars of losses as the government prepares to outline its plans on Thursday. But authorities haven’t committed either way, with officials mindful that piling losses on local banks may endanger financial stability. The government will give more clarity... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 30/03/23)
This is our last chance to forge ahead- The President said delivering the keynote address at the ‘Economic Dialogue- IMF & Beyond’
This is our last chance to forge ahead • Instead of blaming each other lets come together to build a prosperous society for future generations - The President said delivering the keynote address at the ‘Economic Dialogue- IMF & Beyond’ Sri Lanka has a final opportunity to progress and it is imperative for everyone to collaborate in creating a prosperous community for future generations, without resorting to finger-pointing, emphasized President Ranil Wickremesinghe. President Ranil Wickremesinghe made this statement during his keynote address at the ‘Economic... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 30/03/23)
India, Sri Lanka to jointly build solar power plant in island nation
The initial investment is expected to be $42.5 million. India and Sri Lanka have agreed to jointly build in two stages a 135-megawatt solar power plant in the island nation's eastern port district of Trincomalee to promote renewable energy. Sri Lankan Cabinet has given approval for the project as the country aims to generate 70 per cent of its electricity requirement by 2030 from renewable energy sources. "The National Thermal Power Corporation of India and the Ceylon Electricity Board have entered into an agreement to jointly implement a solar... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 30/03/23)
UK grants ‘third country’ asylum for two Sri Lankans following suicide attempts
‘I’m hopeful that this will have a positive impact on other cases in Diego Garcia.’ Two Sri Lankan asylum seekers who were transferred to Rwanda earlier this month after attempting suicide on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia were approved by UK authorities on Thursday to receive asylum in a third country. Documents notifying the man and woman of the decision, which The New Humanitarian has reviewed, say they will not be returned to Sri Lanka, where they fear persecution by the government. A third country for resettlement has not yet been identified,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 30/03/23)
SPECULATION ON HARSHA, ERAN, KABIR JOINING GOVT. Party politics not important at this point of time: Harsha
speculation is rife that three Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MPs Harsha De Silva, Eran Wickramaratne and Kabir Hadim are to join the government while Dr. De Silva told the media that party politics is not important at this point of time. "Party politics is not important at this point of time. What is important now is to adopt the right ideology to build up the nation," he said. "What one could understand from the speculation about us is that there are able people in SJB who could build up the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 30/03/23)
China, Brazil reach agreement to ditch intermediary US dollar
China and Brazil have reportedly reached a deal to trade in their own currencies, ditching the US dollar as an intermediary, as part of the rising global use of the Chinese renminbi. The deal will enable China and Brazil to conduct their massive trade and financial transactions directly, exchanging renminbi for reais and vice versa instead of going through the dollar, AFP reported on Wednesday, citing the Brazilian government. "The expectation is that this will reduce costs... promote even greater bilateral trade and facilitate investment," AFP quoted the Brazilian Trade... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 30/03/23)
51st Philip Gunawardena Commemoration held under patronage of the President
The 51st commemoration ceremony for philanthropic politician and former minister Philip Gunawardena, was held yesterday (29), at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall in Colombo under the patronage of President Ranil Wickremesinghe. Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena received President Ranil Wickremesinghe at the Philip Gunawardena Commemoration Ceremony and escorted him to the main hall. At the commemoration event, keynote speeches were delivered by Uva Wellassa University Vice-Chancellor Professor Jayantha Lal Ratnasekara and Historian, Scholar, and International Film Award Winner Dr. Sinharaja Tammitta Delgoda. During the event, a short... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 30/03/23)
DIG Nalaka Silva, who was arrested and imprisoned for plotting to kill Gota and Maitri, has been reinstated
Former DIG Nalaka Silva, who was arrested on charges of conspiring to assassinate former presidents Maithripala Sirisena and Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has been reinstated. Police department sources said that he has been appointed as the DIG in charge of Puttalam area. DIG Nalaka Silva, who was in charge of the Terrorist Investigation Division at the time, was arrested in 2018 based on a complaint made by a person called Namal Kumara that there was a conspiracy to assassinate the two former presidents.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 30/03/23)
Arun Siddharth – “I was silenced for 30 years – hear my story”
“I have a long narrative to tell that I could not tell for 30 years. I know the sadness of being silenced for 30 years. Our society is not safe for disagreements. That was the society I was living in. The French philosopher Voltaire says “even though I do not agree with your opinion, I will defend to the death your right to say it” This philosophy appealed to me because I was living in an extreme society & I now realize the essence of Voltaire’s quote. The person who has gone through harsh... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 29/03/23)
The Korean Way !
In late 1997, South Korea was hit by a severe financial crisis, which led to a sharp devaluation of its currency, the won, and a shortage of foreign exchange reserves. To address this crisis, the South Korean government sought assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which agreed to provide a $57 billion bailout package in exchange for economic reforms and structural adjustments. As part of the IMF bailout agreement, South Korea was required to repay its foreign exchange debt, which at the time was about $304 billion. To raise... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 29/03/23)
Sri Lanka before passing GAY BILL – wake up to the AGENDA behind LGBTQ & Transgenders
Who are the sponsors of this new “fad” being pushed down nations via corrupt Ministers or via funding media, academia, institutions etc? Many are wondering why so much of focus is being given to the LGBT movement & in particular transgenders & drag queens – in short fiddling with human sexuality. A bunch of billionaires who are behind the coloured revolutions, depopulation programs & regime change are busting a lot of money to roll out what appears to be another means to destroy humans. George Soros Open Society Foundation, Peter... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 29/03/23)
Nashville school shooting: Never ending US gun violence
Gun violence isn't slowing down in America. So far this year, the US has seen at least 130 mass shootings, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit that tracks shootings in the US. The month of January this year had more mass shootings than in the previous five Januarys, dating back to 2018. The Gun Violence Archive defines a mass shooting as an incident where four or more people are shot, not including the shooter. Gun violence is a contemporary global human rights issue. Anyone can be affected by... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 29/03/23)
High Commissioner Moragoda meets Governor of the Reserve Bank of India Shaktikanta Das to discuss bilateral economic cooperation
Continuing his engagement with key officials of the Indian Government, the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to India Milinda Moragoda met with the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Shri Shaktikanta Das today (29) at the Bank’s Headquarters in Mumbai. The Sri Lankan High Commissioner is on an official visit to the State of Maharashtra. The meeting between the RBI Governor and the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka was held in a very cordial manner, and a range of issues pertaining to the bilateral economic cooperation was discussed.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 29/03/23)
The time period given for expatriates workers to import electric vehicles further extended – Other people who bring dollars to the country are also given the opportunity to obtain such vehicle import licenses
Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara said that the period given to import electric vehicles to foreign workers depending on their remittances will be extended until August this year.He also said a mechanism will be prepared to give electric vehicle import licenses to other people who bring dollars to the country on a private basis.While participating in an event organized by the Overland Automobile Institute, the Minister said that the period for issuing licenses to foreign workers depending on their remittances was limited from May to December 31 last year and that period will... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 29/03/23)
Sri Lanka eyes green H2 to rebuild economy
Sri Lanka is developing regulation to lure green hydrogen and renewables projects to the country as it seeks to rebuild its ailing economy, its president Ramil Wickremesinghe said. Colombo will announce new green energy policies in the next two months as it hopes to establish itself as a renewable hydrogen frontrunner in Asia, Wickremesinghe said at the Sri Lanka Green Energy Summit this week. It could export green hydrogen products from the port of Trincomalee in the north of the country, where the best conditions for renewables projects are found,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 29/03/23)
Coconutea launches organic range of King Coconut Water and Premium Green Tea to the UK
Coconutea is launching a range of six drinks to the coconut water category after it identified a gap in the UK market for premium offering. A ‘superfood in a bottle’ it combines the magic of pure coconut water and green tea celebrating the king coconut grown in Sri Lanka. With a 35% growth in the coconut water category predicted by 2026 according to Mintel, Coconutea is on trend with its exceptionally health benefits and strong focus on sustainability. The distributor and brand owner, Vivo Tea Company, is launching the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 29/03/23)
Fuel prices reduced
Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekara says that the fuel prices will be revised from midnight today (March 29). He said that the prices will be revised based on the fuel pricing formula. Accordingly, Octane 92 petrol will be reduced by Rs. 60, Octane 95 petrol by Rs. 135, Auto Diesel by Rs. 80, Super Diesel by Rs. 45 and Kerosene by Rs. 10 per litre. The new prices are as follows; Octane 92 petrol - Rs. 340Octane 95 petrol - Rs. 375Auto diesel - Rs. 325Super diesel... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 29/03/23)
Imported eggs released from port after receiving approval
The State Trade Corporation (STC) says the distribution of imported eggs to bakery owners commenced this evening (March 29). A spokesperson of the STC stated that the stock of eggs imported from India would be provided for the bakery owners at a rate of Rs. 35 per egg. A shortage of eggs emerged in the country as a result of the steep rise in the price of eggs. The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) had also launched raids as it was reported that some vendors were selling eggs above the controlled price for the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 29/03/23)
Over 1,000 loads of Auto Diesel and Petrol dispatched today – Energy Minister
The Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Ltd (CPSTL) has dispatched over 1,000 loads, collectively, of both Auto Diesel and Octane 92 petrol between 06:00 a.m. to 04:00 p.m. today (29 March), Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera stated. Accordingly, 574 loads of 6,600 litres of Auto Diesel and 512 loads of 6,600 litres of Octane 92 petrol were dispatched by the CPSTL from its terminals and regional depots between 06:00 a.m. and 04:00 p.m. today. Taking to Twitter, the Minister thanked the employees of both CPSTL and the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC)... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 29/03/23)
Is there any economists in Sri Lanka who can give an alternative to IMF?
From CBSL bigwigs to the economists in the corporate world & even economic advisors to the GoSL have only one mantra – “go to the IMF”. Do they need to be called “economists” to be chirping this? Why can’t they present an alternative model for development? Has Globalization worked for all or for only some? How advantageous has the multiple linkages and interconnections been to smaller nation-states of the developing world? What benefits have come from removing barriers to free trade & integration with national economies?... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 29/03/23)
Can we learn anything from South Africa?
Two of our senior Ministers have been to Africa to copy from them. Is there anything to get from them. The answer comes from a Paper I wrote long ago which is : https://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2014/07/07/south-africa-helping-us-is-a-non-runner/... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 29/03/23)
සෝවියට් සාහිත්‍යයේ නිර්මාතෘ මැක්සිම් ගෝර්කි
රුසියානු සහ සෝවියට් ලේඛකයෙකු වන මැක්සිම් ගෝර්කි සමාජවාදී යථාර්ථවාදී සාහිත්‍ය ක්‍රමයේ නිර්මාතෘවරයෙකි. ගෝර්කි සමාජ යථාර්ථවාදයේ නවකතා ලිවීමට යොමු විය. සෝවියට් සාහිත්‍යයේ ක්‍රියාකාරී මානවවාදය විප්ලවීය දෘෂ්ටිකෝණයකින් පිළිබිඹු කිරීමට ඔහු උත්සහ ගත්තේය. සෝවියට් ලේඛකයින්ගේ ප්‍රධාන කර්තව්‍යය නව සමාජවාදී මිනිසෙකු ඇති දැඩි කිරීම ලෙස ඔහු සැලකීය. නිර්ධන පංතියේ ලේඛකයෙකු වන ඔහු සෝවියට් සාහිත්‍යයේ පතාකයෙකි. ඔහුගේ කෘති සෝවියට් සාහිත්‍යයට මෙන්ම ලෝක සාහිත්‍යයට ද විශාල බලපෑමක් ඇති කළේය මැක්සිම් ගෝර්කි (ඇලෙක්සි මැක්සිමොවිච් පෙෂ්කොව්) 1868 මාර්තු 16 වන දින නිශ්නි නොව්ගොරොඩ් හි දුප්පත් රුසියානු පවුලක උපත ලැබීය. පස් හැවිරිදි වියේදී ඔහුගේ පියා කොලරාව නිසා මිය ගියේය. ඔහුගේ මරණයෙන් පසු ගෝර්කිගේ මව වර්වරා වාසිලීව්නා පෙෂ්කෝවා, ඇලෙක්සි (මැක්සිම් ගෝර්කි) සහ ඔහුගේ ළදරු සොහොයුරා... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 29/03/23)
WHY VIRULENT PROTESTS ON BUDDHIST ACTIVITIES IN THE NORTH
Recently , resettled Sinhala people in Navakkuliya, Jaffna held a procession to celebrate the opening of a pagoda constructed for them to attend to their religious activities which is a basic human right for any given community. We should not forget the fact that the people of Navakkuliya are not strangers to Jaffna, They were living in Jaffna for long time and many of them had business ventures such as bakeries, furniture shops etc in Jaffna town and was a thriving community. BUT, during the LTTE Tiger regime they were chased out of the North through violent means and were living in villages... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 29/03/23)
sell-X Computers මෙහෙයුම් කටයුතු පුළුල් කරමින් ප්‍රධාන කාර්යාලය සහ ප්‍රදර්ශනාගාරය නව පස් මහල් ගොඩනැගිල්ලකට
ලංකාවේ සියලුම සන්නාමයන්ගෙන් යුත් පරිඝනක අලෙවියේ දැවැන්තයා වන sell-X Computers පුද්ගලික සමාගමේ මෙහෙයුම් කටයුතු තවදුරටත් පුළුල් කරමින් සිය ප්‍රධාන කාර්යාලය සහ ප්‍රදර්ශනාගාරය නව පස් මහල් ගොඩනැගිල්ලක උත්සවාකාරයෙන් විවෘත කරනු ලැබීය.ලංකාව පුරා බෙදාහැරීම් ජාලයකට සහ දකුණු පළාත සහ අගනුවර කේන්ද්‍ර කරගනිමින් පරිඝනක සහ ඒ ආශ්‍රිත උපාංග අලෙවියේ දැවැන්තයා වන sell-X Computers, ගාල්ල, කිතුලම්පිටිය ප්‍රදේශයේ නව ගොඩනැගිල්ලකට, මූලස්ථානය රැගෙන ගියේ දශක දෙකකට ආසන්න කාලයක් තිස්සේ පාරිභෝගික ජනතාව තුළ දිනාගත් විශ්වාසය තවදුරටත් තහවුරු කරමින් වඩාත් පුළුල් සේවාවක් ලබාදීමේ අපේක්ෂාවෙන්ය.‘‘දැනට දශක දෙකකට පමණ පෙරදී භාවිතා කරනු ලැබූ පරිඝනක පහකින් තමයි sell-X Computers පුද්ගලික සමාගම ආරම්භ කරනු ලැබුවේ. අද වන... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 29/03/23)
SANDESHAYA
(“The Message” that came after “Line of Destiny”) “Ask Lester to come and see me” If not for above message Lester James Peries (Lester) received from K. Gunaratnam, the film industry of Sri Lanka would have probably lost the classic work of the Master Filmmaker of the country. Lester’s first Sinhala film “Rekawa” meaning “Line of Destiny in English” was certainly a line of destiny for Sinhala film industry that commenced with the screening of Kadawunu Poronduwa in January 1947. But financially “Rekawa” was a failure. ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 29/03/23)
පාර්ලිමේන්තුවෙන් පවා ප්‍රතික්ෂේප වීම මත අගවිනිසුරු ජයන්ත ජයසූරිය ඇතුලු සංස්ථාගත නීති අධ්‍යාපන සභාවේ සාමාජිකයන් සහ ශ්‍රී ලංකා නීති විද්‍යාලයේ විදුහල්පතිවරයා ධූරවලින් ඉල්ලා අස්වී නෛතික සදාචාරය රටට හඳුන්වා දිය යුතු කාලයයි මේ....!
දෝෂාභියෝග කිහිපයක්ම ආ සරත් නන්ද සිල්වා අගවිනිසුරුවරයා, 2009 බෙදුම්වාදය යුද්ධයෙන් පැරදවීමත් සමගම මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ ජනාධිපතිවරයාවද නොමග යවමින් රවුෆ් හකීම් අධිකරණ ඇමති සමග හවුලේ ශ්‍රී ලංකා නීති විද්‍යාලයේ සිංහලෙන් නීති අධ්‍යාපනය ලබා දීම නතර කරවා ගැනීමට තමන්ගේ බලය යොදා ගත්තේය.එකී සරත් නන්ද සිල්වා අගවිනිසුරුවරයා නීති විභාගද ඉංග්‍රීසියෙන් පමණක් කර ගැනීමට උත්සාහ ගත්තද ශ්‍රිරානි බණ්ඩාරනායක අගවිනිසුරුවරිය ඇතුලු අය විසින් එය වැළැක්වූයේය.ශ්‍රිරානි බණ්ඩාරනායක අගවිනිසුරුවරිය අවසානයේ අගවිනිසුරු පුටුවෙන් ඉවත් වීමටත් සිදුවූ අතර වත්මන් අගවිනිසුරු ජයන්ත ජයසූරිය ඒ අවස්ථාවේ නීතිපති දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 29/03/23)
Lanka Property Show 2023 Showcases a Resilient and Booming Sri Lankan Real Estate Industry to the World
On the 18th and 19th of March 2023, LankaPropertyWeb hosted the eighth annual Lanka Property Show in the Balmoral Hall, The Kingsbury in Colombo. The event was a huge success, with close to 10,000 visitors attending both physically and virtually, including foreign investors, and solidifying its status as Sri Lanka's largest property show. There were 28 exhibitors at the event, including prominent real estate developers, construction firms, banks, and other associated enterprises. The show also featured a Legal Advisory panel for the first time, where visitors could address... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 29/03/23)
ICCR proposes to set up Sinhala and Hindi language departments in Indian and Sri Lankan universities
President of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations Dr. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe has proposed to set up Sinhala and Hindi departments in several Indian and Sri Lankan universities. He also proposed to increase number of ICCR scholarships for Buddhist studies. Dr Sahasrabuddhe stated this when he called on Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena at the Temple Trees on Monday (27). The Prime Minister thanked ICCR President or granting hundreds of scholarships to Sri Lankan students, musicians, artists and sponsoring cultural and musical exchanges between the two countries over the years. He said... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 29/03/23)
Sri Lanka struggles to qualify For The World Cup Where oh where has the glitter gone and what has happened to Sri Lanka Cricket?.
Each day is a struggle for the players and a heartache for the adoring fans who continue to hope for a sudden surge that will stabilize the ship and sustain the momentum needed to correct all ills in a team floundering in a sea of uncertainty who once basked in the sunshine of the accomplishments of a supreme team feared by opponents that demolished opponents! Some say it is mismanagement by the Administration, poor leadership, lack of proper guidance, internal corruption by the Administration of SLCA and a combination of factors that... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 29/03/23)
Cricket Justice: DRS is a Sri Lankan Achievement – Rename it WDRS (Weeraratna DRS)
In cricket as well as in a host of other sports a system known as the player referral is now being used. In cricket parlance it is called the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) or Decision Review System (DRS). Generally, all inventions carry the name of the founder. In the case of rain affected one day international cricket games the nomenclature ‘Duckworth & Lewis’ system is used because it is a system worked out by two Englishmen (Frank Duckworth and Tony Lewis). Why is it not the same with the DRS? Is it because... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 29/03/23)
වීරයට ළං වෙලා බලමු
ඉංග්‍රිසි කියමනක් තියෙනවා Never Meet your hero කියලා. සාලිය පීරිස් මහත්මයා නික්ම යනවා. යන්නේ නම් නීතීඥ සංගමයේ සභාපති කමින්. ඒත් යන්නේ කොහාටද කියලා දන්නේ නෑ. එතුමාගේ නික්ම යෑමට කවී සී පද විරහ ගී ගොඩක් ලියවිලා තිබුණා. එතුමා අපේ වෘත්තිය කේෂේත්‍රයේ ජනප්‍රිය තරුවක්. අති විශාල කණිෂ්ඨ නීතීඥවරුන් පිරිසකට මග කියපු නීති විද්‍යාල ප්‍රවේශ පංති සහ ලන්ඩන් විශ්ව විද්‍යාල උපාධි පාඨමාලා හරහා අලුත් කඩේ කූල්ටූර් පරපුරේ සිට එහා කෙලවරේ මහේස්ත්‍රාත් උසාවිය දක්වා ගෝල පරපුරක ගෞරවය දිනා ගත්ත කෙනෙක්. මමත් එතුමාගේ නීති විද්‍යාල ප්‍රවේශ ශිෂ්‍යයෙක්. අද එතුමා ගැන... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 29/03/23)
Will the renewed Sri Lankan bid to set up a Truth Commission bear fruit?
At a meeting in Pretoria on Wednesday, the Sri Lankan Minister of Justice Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry discussed with Roelf Meyer and Ivor Jenkins, the contours of the proposed Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in Sri Lanka inspired by the South African TRC that functioned between 1995 and 2003. Sabry tweeted to say that he got “some very insightful inputs,” and added that “a credible and transparent domestic TRC could be the solution to deal with intrusive and agenda-driven attempts.”... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 29/03/23)
Energy Minister assures continued supply of fuel
Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera has assured that there are sufficient stocks of fuel in the country, and that distribution will continue as usual. Taking to Twitter, the Minister urged the public not to panic over a potential shortage in the supply of fuel owing to the recent actions taken by the trade union collective of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC). https://youtu.be/87eDJwaJ3oM He confirmed that fuel distribution, although delayed earlier today owing to the trade union activists, has been normalised. The Minister also added... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 29/03/23)
Report on imported eggs from India to be released tomorrow.
The report on the batch of imported eggs from India is scheduled to be released tomorrow (29 March), Director General of Animal Production and Health Dr. Hemamali Kotelawala stated. However, although nearly a week has passed since the arrival of the stock of eggs, the Department of Animal Production and Health are yet to take any steps pertaining to the release of the stock from the Colombo Port. https://youtu.be/RxBx0LBkyOI Speaking to the Media, Trade Minister Nalin Fernando stated that despite the stock of eggs being imported with the approval... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 29/03/23)
Minister calls for termination of employees who disrupt fuel distribution
Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekers has called for the termination of employees of both the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and the Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Ltd (CPSTL) who disrupt the distribution of fuel. Taking to Twitter, the Minister stated that he has instructed the CPC and CPSTL Chairman to take the necessary disciplinary steps required pertaining to the termination of employment of those employees or trade union activists who disrupt the distribution of fuel and the work of other employees, or who act in violation of the essential service orders. ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 29/03/23)
Ex-opposition leader of Kotte MC remanded over torching President’s residence
The Colombo Fort Magistrate Thilina Gamage has ordered the former opposition leader of the Kotte Municipal Council, Chandima Nanayanajith to be remanded in custody until April 04. The former opposition leader of the Kotte Municipal Council, Chandima Nanayanajith had been arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and produced before the courts today (March 28), in relation to the incident of torching President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s private residence in Colombo 07.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 29/03/23)
Verification of over 2.2 million welfare applications completed
The program initiated on the instructions of President Ranil Wickremesinghe to identify those eligible for welfare benefit payments has completed the information verification for over 2.2 million applications received during the on-going survey and verification process, the President’s Media Division (PMD) said. Saman Ekanayake, the Secretary to the President, has instructed officers to accelerate the eligibility verification process for welfare allowances pertaining to 3.7 million applications received from 340 Divisional Secretariat Divisions throughout the island. As a result, the majority of applications that have been confirmed and finalized are from the Matara... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 28/03/23)
Indian Council for Cultural Relations proposes establishment of Sinhala & Hindi language depts. in Indian and Sri Lankan universities
The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) has proposed to set up Sinhala and Hindi language departments in several Indian and Sri Lankan universities. The proposal was made by ICCR President Dr. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, who also proposed to increase the number of ICCR scholarships for Buddhist studies. The proposals were conveyed to Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena when Dr. Sahasrabuddhe called on the former at the Temple Trees yesterday (27 March). The Premier thanked the ICCR President for granting hundreds of scholarships to Sri Lankan students, musicians and artists, and for... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 28/03/23)
Minister Sabry: Surely you should know Sri Lanka’s terrorism is no comparison to South Africa’s apartheid
Sri Lanka’s politicians may enjoy jaunts overseas but they must be sensible to not agree to every foolhardy suggestion that comes their way. We have had a string of foreign ministers nod their heads to proposals that have nothing to do with Sri Lanka’s plight and contributing to creating more cocktails. LTTE terrorism ended in 2009 but separatism didn’t. It is now 2023 and we have been living without any of the lovey-dovey solutions by the UN apparatus who has yet to stop the separatism quest. However, in 2019 another form of... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 27/03/23)
THE WAY OF JUDGING OF THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION GAINED BY STUDENTS
It seems that Sri Lanka used to apply an absurd way for judging the quality of education gained by students looking at irrelevant criteria based on which school kids attended to gain education. Knowledge is identical from whichever school it gained. All over the world accept that education is a quality factor irrespective of from which school it gained and basically education relates to gaining knowledge, skills and values that are regarded as major areas of the basic education. This idea goes back to Socrates who explained that whichever is suitable for the purpose it... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 27/03/23)
If "Seethawaka Odyssey" Is to Survive And Flourish,
My experience of taking the Seethawaka Odyssey to see the natural wonders of the Seethawaka region in Sri Lanka was very mixed. The train ride was uneventful and peaceful, but once we reached the designated drop-off point at "Waga," the continuation of the next part of the odyssey was nothing but disappointing and chaotic. When the train arrived at "Waga", there were not enough buses to accommodate the number of guests expected, and seeing the numbers, someone from the "Seethawaka Tourist Guides’ Association started making fanatical calls to bus owners from... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 27/03/23)
උදය-වය දකින ආකාරය - 2 කොටස - මධ්‍යම ප්‍රතිපදාව
'ස්වාමිණි, සෝවාන්, සකදාගාමි, අනාගාමි, අර්හත් වීම සඳහා කල යුත්තේ කුමක්ද? මහනෙණි, කලයුත්තේ ස්කන්ධයේ උදය-වය දැකීම පමනමයි' ඉහත සංවාදය නැතහොත් බුද්ධවචනය තුල ධර්මයත්, ධර්ම මාර්ගයත් යම්පූර්ණයෙන් ගැබ්වී තිබිය යුතුය. ඒ අනුව තවදුරටත් සද්ධර්මය දෙස බලමු. භාහිරයේ ඇති රූප හැඩතලයෙන් නිකුත්වන තරංගය (ඉන්ද්‍රිය) ප්‍රසාදය හා ගැටෙන විට ප්‍රසාදයේ විපරිනාම වේගය හා භාහිරයෙන් එන තරංගයේ වේගය අතර ඇති වෙනස නිසා ප්‍රසාද ධාරා phases තුනක් ඇතිවන බවත් ඒවා අතරින් උදය හා වය ප්‍රසාද ධාරාවන් දෙක ප්‍රකට වන බවත් 2023 මාර්තු 24වන දින lankaweb හි පලවූ ‘ භාහිය සූත්රය තුල සිහියට හසුවන සිතේ (උදය-)... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 27/03/23)
ජනාධිපතිවරණයට තව දින කීය ද?
වත්මන් ජනාධිපතිවරයාගේ ධූර කාලය අවසන් වී, ජනාධිපතිවරණයක් පැවැත්විය හැකි අවසාන දිනය 2024 ඔක්තෝබර් 18 දිනයි. ඒ කියන්නේ දින 600 කට ඉස්සර ඡන්දය අනිවාර්ය බවයි. විදේශීය තානාපතිවරයෙකු පසුගිය සතියේ විපක්ෂයේ ප්‍රධාන දේශපාලන නායකයින්ගෙන් විමසූවේ ‘ජනාධිපතිවරයා සිය දෙවන ධූර කාලය අභිලාභය ප්‍රකාශ කරන්නේ නම්, ඔබ ගේ සැලසුම කුමක් ද?’ කියා ය. විපක්ෂ නායකයින්ට පැහැදිලි උත්තරයක් තිබුණේ නැත! පසුගිය සිකුරාදා සිට රටේ නීති අංශ කතා කරන්නේම මේකය. ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ 31 (3 අ) ව්‍යවස්ථාව අනුව ජනාධිපතිවරයෙකුට සිය ප්‍රථම ධූර කාලය අවසන්වීමෙන් වසර 4 ක ට පසුව දෙවන ධූර කාලයකට සිය අභිලාෂය ප්‍රකාශ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 27/03/23)
අධිරාජ්‍ය විරෝධී සටනේ හා ශ්‍රී ලංකා සමාජවාදී ව්‍යාපාර නිර්මාතෘවර පිලිප් ගුණවර්ධන ජාතික වීරවරයානන්ගේ 51 වන ගුණ සැමරුම බොරලුගොඩ, පිලිප් ගුණවර්ධන සමාධිය අසලදී පොදුජන සහභාගීත්වයෙන් පැවැත්විණි ,
අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය දිනේෂ් ගුණවර්ධන මහතා, පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී යදාමිණී ගුණවර්ධන මහතා, සම්මානනීය ලේඛිකා ලක්මලි ගුණවර්ධන මහත්මිය ඇතුලු පවුලේ සමාජිකයන් හා මහජන නියෝජිතයන් ඇතුළු පිලිප් ගුණවර්ධන මැතිතුමන්ගේ අතීත හා වත්මන් අනුගාමිකයන් රැසක් මේ සඳහා එක්විය.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 27/03/23)
දරුවන්ට ඉගැන්වීම තමයි වටිනාම දෙය ඊට වඩා වටින දෙයක් නැහැ. -අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය දිනේෂ් ගුණවර්ධන මහතා.
අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා මේ බව සඳහන් කළේ 2023.03.27 දින ජාතික වීරවර පිලිප් ගුණවර්ධන මැතිතුමාගේ 51 වන ගුණ සමරු වැඩසටහනට සමගාමීව බස්නාහිර පළාත්, හෝමාගම ශ්‍රී සිද්ධාර්ථ කණිෂ්ඨ විද්‍යාලය අ.පො.ස සාමාන්‍ය පෙළ දක්වා අධ්‍යාපනය ලබා දෙන පාසලක් බවට ශ්‍රේණිගත කිරීම සහ නව බහුකාර්ය මධ්‍යස්ථානයෙහි ඉදිකිරීම ආරම්භ කිරීමේ අවස්ථාවේදීය.සිද්ධාර්ථ කණිෂ්ඨ විද්‍යාලය බොරළුගොඩ රාළහාමි නමින් විරුදාවළි ලත් දොන් ජාකෝලිස් රූපසිංහ ගුණවර්ධන මහතා විසින් 1905 වර්ෂයේදී ආරම්භ කර තිබේ.එහිදී අදහස් දැක් වූ අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා -මේ පාසල ආරම්භ කරලා මේ පාසලේ ආරම්භක ශිෂ්‍යයෙක් හැටියට පිලිප් ගුණවර්ධන මැතිතුමා ලංකාවටම සේවය කරන්න පුළුවන් වුණා. මගේ පියා ජාත්‍යන්තරවත් විශාල වැඩ කොටසකට හවුල්වුණ ජාතික නායකයෙක් බවට පත් වුණේ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 27/03/23)
Travel to India in 50$?
India - Sri Lanka March 27 (NewsWire) – The governments of Sri Lanka and India have decided to launch a passenger ferry service between Kankesanthurai in Jaffna, Sri Lanka to Karaikal in India from 29th April 2023, it has been reported. According to reports, discussions in this regard have been held between the Minister of Ports and Shipping Nimal Siripala de Silva and India’s Foreign Affairs Ministry on Sunday (26). It has also been decided to establish two Immigration and Emigration offices, one each... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 27/03/23)
Sri Lanka to seek $1 billion aid from India for essentials: Report
Sri Lanka crisis: The Sri Lankan finance ministry officials held talks with its Indian counterparts to obtain the new temporary USD 1 billion facility for the purchase of essential items. Sri Lanka would seek a new temporary credit facility of USD 1 billion from India to purchase essential items including food and medicine, the official media here reported on Monday. India was the first bilateral lender to issue financing assurances in the debt restructuring negotiations.(AP) Read here: Sri Lanka says IMF has approved $2.9 billion bailout for the cash-strapped... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 27/03/23)
Sri Lanka and Russia towards a nuclear power agreement
Sri Lanka is considering building small, offshore and onshore reactors, deeming nuclear power an environmentally and economically viable option. Currently, its electricity comes mainly from hydroelectric power plants. The government is vetting an existing contract between Rosatom and Bangladesh. Colombo (AsiaNews) – The Sri Lankan government wants to work with Russia to generate nuclear energy; hence, it is looking at the possibility of installing small, offshore and onshore modular reactors or floating nuclear plants. To this end, the cabinet has given its approval for application... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 27/03/23)
India’s Support Overshadowed by IMF’s Bailout
It took exactly one year for the IMF to agree to concede Sri Lanka’s appeal to help face the unprecedented economic crisis that is confronting the Island nation. Though referred to as a bailout, the USD 2.9 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) will hardly help Sri Lanka in the long term. In fact, it has been criticised as exacerbating the debt crisis than resolving it. In a nutshell, this is a loan that will assure other creditors to keep lending to Sri Lanka when the country is unable to service her existing... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 27/03/23)
Court dismisses petition against SDIG Deshabandu Tennakoon with costs
The Court of Appeal today (March 27) ordered the dismissal of a writ petition filed against Senior DIG in charge of the Western Province Deshabandu Tennakoon accusing him of assaulting protestors near Galle Face during the “Gota Go Gama” protests, Ada Derana reporter said. https://youtu.be/FdYHWG18lmc Accordingly, the petition has been ordered to be dismissed with costs when the relevant petition was taken up before the Appeals Court judge bench consisting of the President of the Court of Appeal Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne and Justice A. Marikkar. The petition had... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 27/03/23)
Cabinet approval for 03 foreign firms to enter fuel retail market in Sri Lanka
Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera says the Cabinet of Ministers has granted approval to award licenses to China’s Sinopec, Australia’s United Petroleum and RM Parks of the USA, in collaboration with multinational oil and gas company - Shell plc, to enter the fuel retail market in Sri Lanka. In a twitter message, he said that the Energy Committee and other relevant procurement committees had given their approval and recommendation to award the three companies the licenses to operate. The minister stated that the three companies will each be allocated 150 dealer operated fuel stations, which are... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 27/03/23)
Govt to distribute free rice to 2.9 mn families
Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said the government will further negotiate with the International Monetary Fund to provide more relief to low-income earners. Addressing an event held to distribute free rice to low income earners under the government’s paddy purchase program in Maharagama, Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said many countries have pledged to support Sri Lanka to recover from the economic crisis. The Prime Minister said In the future, the government will work hard to make the effort to ease the cost of living successful by relaxing the rules for the import... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 27/03/23)
The ancient Romans Credited with Inventing the First Version of Concrete.
They used a mixture of lime, volcanic ash, and water to create a building material that was both durable and easy to work with. The word "concrete" comes from the Latin word "concretus," which means "compact" or "condensed." Over time, the recipe for concrete was refined and improved, and it is now one of the most commonly used building materials in the world. While the ancient Romans are credited with the initial invention of concrete, many other cultures have contributed to its development and refinement over the centuries.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 26/03/23)
How China lost its clout on Asia
A rather forgettable news column rang alarm bells. Tucked away in the Sunday Times, at the very bottom segment of its ST2 supplement, its very last link, was a Project Syndicate article, clumsily headlined ‘How China lost its clout on Asia’ by Yoon Young-kwan, ‘Exclusive to the Sunday Times, SL’, datelined to ‘New Delhi’. ee (11 March 2023) has recorded before that Project Syndicate is a US CIA outfit. At least one Syndicate article per week in the Wijeya Group media network appears to be a requirement by the US embassy’s news supply section. Yoon Young-kwan turns out to be ‘a former minister of foreign affairs’ of... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 26/03/23)
IMF Dollars Bribe Media & Economists To Loot National Resources
https://eesrilanka.wordpress.com/2023/03/26/imf-dollars-bribe-media-economists-to-loot-national-resources/ ‘Before you study the economics, study the economists!’ e-Con e-News 19-25 March 2023 ‘IMF denies influence in postponing SL polls’ ‘Anti-corruption & governance reforms a central pillar of EFF-supported program – IMF’ ‘Sri Lanka becomes first in Asia to have its governance come under IMF scrutiny’ * 208 years after the English coup d’état of 1815, and 75 years after 1948 Soulbury independence, Sri Lanka may proudly proclaim itself a fully-fledged US colony. All that’s missing today is... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 26/03/23)
Decoding the Bangladesh narrative in the US human rights report
Last Wednesday altogether 9 districts and 211 upazilas across Bangladesh have been declared as homeless and landless free. The number of rehabilitated people is 3,856,505. The beneficiary includes widows, deserted women, bedes, low-caste people, hijras and climate refugees. This is a significant achievement in ensuring fundamental human rights. Bangladesh is lauded for its recent socio-economic development. It has made commendable progress in education and health sector, reducing gender gap, poverty elevation and handling climate change vulnerability. Despite national and international conspiracies the existing legal system has ensured the trial and punishment of the war criminals.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 26/03/23)
බුද්ධ ශාසන අරමුදල රැස්වේ.
අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය දිනේෂ් ගුණවර්ධන මහතාගේ ප්‍රධානත්වයෙන්, බුද්ධශාසන හා ආගමික කටයුතු අමාත්‍ය විදුර වික්‍රමනායක මහතා සහ විපක්ෂ නායක සජිත් ප්‍රේමදාස මහතාගේ සහභාගිත්වයෙන් බුද්ධශාසන අරමුදලේ සාමාජිකයෝ 2023.03.24 දින කොළඹ අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය කාර්යාලයේදී රැස්වුහ.මෙහිදී බුද්ධ ශාසන අරමුදලේ වත්මන් තත්වය, පසුවිපරම හා ප්‍රගතිය පිළිබඳ පිරික්සින. එමෙන්ම බුද්ධ ශාසනයේ, භික්ෂූන් වහන්සේගේ, විහාරස්ථාන ඇතුළු බෞද්ධ සිද්ධස්ථානයන්හි උන්නතිය වෙනුවෙන් වන මතු යෝජනා පිළිබඳව සාකච්ඡාවට බඳුන් විය.අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ලේකම් අනුර දිසානායක, බුද්ධශාසන හා ආගමික කටයුතු අමාත්‍යංශයේ ලේකම් සෝමරත්න විදානපතිරණ, වැඩ බලන මහ භාරකාර . එම්. නාලිකා, රාජ්‍ය ව්‍යවසාය දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව අධ්‍යක්ෂක ආර්.ඒ.එල්. උදය කුමාර යන කමිටු සාමාජිකයෝ මෙම අවස්ථාවට එක්වුහ.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 26/03/23)
- සහල් අතිරික්තය අඩු ආදායම්ලාභීන්ට බෙදා හැරේ-"අඩු ආදායම්ලාභීන්ට තවත් සහන දීමට රජය ජාත්‍යන්තර මූල්‍ය අරමුදල සමග තවදුරටත් සාකච්ඡා .* ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට සහය දක්වන බවට බොහෝ රටවලින් ප්‍රතිඥා- අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය දිනේෂ් ගුණවර්ධන මහතා.
අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා මේ බව සඳහන් කළේ මහ කන්නයේ රජයේ වී මිලදී ගැනීම් සහ වී බැහැර කිරීම් වැඩසටහන යටතේ අඩු ආදායම්ලාභීන්ට නොමිලේ සහල් බෙදාහැරීම 2023.03.26 දින මහරගමදී සිදු කළ අවස්ථාවේදී ය.එහිදී අදහස් දැක්වූ අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය වරයා -අස්වැන්න කපා රටේ අස්වැන්න අඩු ප්‍රදේශ වලට ලබා දීමේ හැකියාව දැන් ලැබී තිබේ . විශේෂයෙන් සහල් අතින් විශාල ඉදිරි පියවරක් තැබීමට හැකි වී ඇත. ගොවි ජනතාවට මුහුණ දීමට සිදුවුණු විවිධ ගැටලු ප්‍රමුඛතා කරුණු අතරට ගනිමින් ලිහිල් කිරීමට රජය ක්‍රියා කළේය. විශාල හැකියාවක් විස්වාසයක් ඇති අපේ රටේ ගොවි ජනතාව මහපොළොවෙන් සහල් නිෂ්පාදනය කරන්නට පුළුවන්කම ඇති කළා. ඒ සමඟම ඔබද අපද ජීවත්වන සෑම ග්‍රාම සේවක... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 26/03/23)
THE HISTORY OF MONEY EXPLAINED w/ Niall Ferguson - COMPLETE SERIES
https://youtu.be/lI3K7L4WyiA... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 26/03/23)
High-level Indian delegation discusses energy cooperation with Sri Lankan President
President Wickremesinghe provided his insights on the early implementation of these initiatives when the delegation led by Pankaj Jain, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Natural Gas, met him, the Indian High Commission here said. A high-level Indian delegation called on Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe here on Sunday and briefed him on the developments in the jointly-identified priority areas for bilateral collaboration in the crucial energy sector. President Wickremesinghe provided his insights on the early implementation of these initiatives when the delegation led by Pankaj Jain, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Natural Gas, met... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 26/03/23)
Indo-Lanka relations: New Passenger Terminal at KKS port to commence ferry service
First ferry from Pondicherry due end of April$ 50 one way ticket, 100 Kg luggage allowance A new passenger terminal at Kankesanturai (KKS) port, built at a cost of Rs 144 million is to be completed by the second week of April, with the first ferry from the Indian port of Karaikal, in Pondicherry expected on 29 April. According to the Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation, Nimal Siripala de Silva, the first ferry line of the new ferry service between Pondicherry and Kankesanthurai (KKS) is scheduled to call on 29 April... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 26/03/23)
COPE probes cases of procedural impropriety and financial misappropriation at Peradeniya Uni.
The Committee on Public Enterprise (COPE) has investigated numerous cases of procedural impropriety and financial misappropriation at the University of Peradeniya. This comes in the wake of an evaluation of current performance and status of issues raised in the Auditor General’s report from 2020 and 2021. The COPE Chairman, Professor Ranjith Bandara attributed the lack of financial accountability and the execution of past directives due to the non -participation of members of the Audit and Management Committee. Salient questions were asked of the University hierarchy who were present as to... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 26/03/23)
Govt to distribute free rice to 2.9 mn families
Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera says that the programme to distribute rice free of charge for 2.9 million families will commence tomorrow (March 27). Thus, the government has planned to distribute the paddy bought from farmers during this Maha season after converting them into rice. The Agricultural Minister also highlighted that the government has decided to provide 10 kilograms of free rice per family for 02 months. Furthermore, the free rice distribution will take place in several districts including Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Kandy, Ratnapura, Galle and Matara as per the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 26/03/23)
Permission granted for anyone to sell goods on the roadside during festive season - Minister
Minister of Transport and Highways Bandula Gunawardene states that permission will be granted for anyone to carry out trade activities on the sides of the roads in all parts of the island during the upcoming New Year festive season. https://youtu.be/U8FyGoNQrx8 Joining an event held in Galle, the minister expressed that the producers will be allowed to sell their goods on the sides of the roads temporarily, from April 01 to April 18. “So far, we have reserved such special locations on the sides of the roads for selling... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 26/03/23)
How JVP is brainwashing Sinhala Buddhist villages
The JVP of present day is the opposite of the JVP as per the ideology of its founder Rohana Wijeweera. This is why, the JVP present day stalwarts have nothing to do with the Wijeweera family. So what is the ideology that the present day JVP promotes? In all reality, they too do not understand what they stand for. Take the speeches or statements of the main polit bureau leaders – they are controversial & conflict with each other and even themselves. Adding to the malady is the entrance of the NPP... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 26/03/23)
Chung ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ අධිකරණය විවේචනය කරයි
‘නීති-ප්‍රමාද’ ගැන ශෝකයක් මවා පාමින් සහ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ අධිකරණය ගැන කුණුහරුප ප්‍රකාශ කරමින් රාජ්‍ය තාන්ත්‍රික නොහොබිනාකමේ පුද්ගලාරෝපණය වූ ඇමෙරිකානු තානාපතිනී ජූලි චුන්ග් ය. එක්සත් ජනපද රාජ්‍ය දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව විසින් අරමුදල් සපයනු ලබන සහ වොෂින්ටනයේ හොරණෑව මෙන් ක්‍රියා කිරීමට නැඹුරු වන නීතිඥ සංගමයේ එම ශාඛාව විසින් සංවිධානය කරන ලද උත්සවයකදී, නීතීඥයින්ගේ රැස්වීමක් අමතමින් චුන්ග් ඇයව දර්ශනය කර ගත්තාය. අධිකරණයේ සාමාජිකයන් ස්වාධීන නොවන බව හඟවමින්, යුක්තිය පසිඳලීමේ දී ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ අධිකරණ පද්ධතිය ගැන චුන්ග් සමහර තුච්ඡ අදහස් පළ කළේය. මෙම අවස්ථාවට ආරාධිතයෙකු වූ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ අගවිනිසුරුවරයා ලැජ්ජාවට පත් වූ අතර කරුණාවන්ත ලෙස... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 26/03/23)
ACBC Independent Commission : Calling submissions from Patriots
... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 26/03/23)
Magnanimity of Sri Lankan Reconciliation Act
Political Situation Sri Lanka may be returning to its normal peaceful balanced static and dynamic situation with the approval of the IMF fund. However, it’s a loss to understand as to why people lighted firecrackers and celebrated on the streets of Colombo. This is why the writer stated in one of his articles as literacy rate does not limit to people can read and write but understand what they read. The gravity... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 26/03/23)
What is a Human Library
A human library is an organization or event that promotes dialogue, understanding, and respect among people from various backgrounds by allowing people to "borrow” other people as "books" to learn about their experiences, perspectives, and identities. The idea behind the Human Library is to create a safe space where people can engage in open and honest conversations with others, particularly those with whom they may not have previously interacted. A Human Library event allows participants to select from a catalogue of available "books" real people who have volunteered to share... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 26/03/23)
SRI LANKAN HOSPITALS ARE OVERLOADED WITH DIABETES PATIENTS
Hospitals in Sri Lanka are being overwhelmed by a huge wave of Diabetes and Diabetes related cases. It seems that many people, usually over the age of forty, are consuming sugary foods and carbohydrates and getting not enough exercise, leading to insulin resistance. They become ill. Go to any hospital, island wide and it is the same story, rooms and hallways jammed packed with people lying on beds. They become ill, then government hospitals are expected to repair the damage. The taxpayer has to foot the bill – pay the costs... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 25/03/23)
What is Dementia ?
Dementia is a general term used to describe symptoms affecting memory, thinking, and social abilities to the point where it interferes with a person's daily life. Dementia is not a specific disease but rather a term used to describe a set of symptoms caused by various underlying conditions or diseases. It can affect a person's ability to communicate, solve problems, and complete everyday tasks, and it often gets worse over time. Some of the most common types of dementia include Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, and Lewy body dementia.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 25/03/23)
HC Milinda Moragoda meets Indian Minister of Road Transport and Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari to discuss bilateral cooperation opportunities
High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to India Milinda Moragoda met the Minister of Road Transport and Highways of India Shri Nitin Gadkari today (24) in New Delhi to discuss bilateral cooperation in the transport sector. The meeting between the Indian Minister and the High Commissioner was held in a very cordial manner, and the discussion centred on a range of matters pertaining to collaboration and partnership between the two countries in the transport sector. High Commissioner Moragoda requested the assistance of Minister Gadkari in sharing India’s experience in public-private partnerships... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 25/03/23)
බුදුන්වහන්සේ සබ්බාස්‍රව සූත්රය සහ කායානුපස්සනාව තුල පැහැදිලි කරන 'වය' නොහොත් 'ක්‍රියා සිත' දකින ආකාරය - 1 කොටස
(මෙම ලිපිය 2023 මාර්තු මස 23 වනදා lankaweb අන්තර්ජාලයේ පලවු 'භාහිය සූත්රය තුල සිහියට හසුවන සිතේ (උදය-) වය අදියර phase' හා සම්බන්ධයි https://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/03/22/භාහිය-සූත්රය-තුල-සිහියට/ ) මෙහිදි හමුවන ඉතාමත් සංකීර්ණ ක්‍රියාවලිය තේරුම් ගැනීමට ධර්මයේ මූලික කරුනු කිපයක් නැවත මතක්කර ගත යුතු වෙයි. භාහිර ලෝකය - ඔබ ඉදිරියේ පවතින භාහිර ලෝකය රූප හැඩතල (චක්ඛු රූප, ශබ්ද රූප, ඝාණ, රස රූප හා ස්පර්ශ රූප) හා එම රූප හැඩතල වලින් නිකුත්වන තරංග (වර්ණ තරංග, ශබ්ද තරංග ආදි) වල සංයෝජනයක් වන ආත්මීය නොවන ස්වභාවයක් පමනක් බව පලමුවෙන්ම පසක්කර ගතයුතුය. භාහිරය ආත්මීයවන්නේ විඤ්ඤාණ මායාව තුලයි. එනම් භාහිරයේ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 25/03/23)
US State Dep't human rights report on Bangladesh lacks credibility
On March 20, the State Department released a global report titled "2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices". The report is based on the human rights situation in 198 countries and territories. The section on Bangladesh in the report highlights the issues of extrajudicial killings, disappearances, torture, prison conditions, arrest, detention, or arrest process, and treatment of prisoners; the judiciary; threats to human rights activists, civil society, and government critics; harassment; torture; freedom of expression; and respect for civil rights. Apart from this, restrictions on the media, right to peaceful... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 25/03/23)
පුරාවිද්‍යා දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවෙන් ගවේෂණයක් සිදුකර අත්පත් කරගත් මුලතිව් කුරුඳුමලේ විහාර භූමියේ අක්කර 229ක් ජනපති රනිල්ගේ අණින් නිදහස් කරලා
කුරුන්දි අට්ඨකථා ලේඛණය කළ ලාංකේය ඉතිහාසයේ වැදගත්ම ඓතිහාසික පුදබිමක් වූ මුලතිව් කුරුඳුමලේ විහාරස්ථානයට කෙලවර වූ බටහිර මායිමේ පුරාවිද්‍යා දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව විසින් අත්පත් කරගෙන තිබූ ඉඩම් අක්කර 229ක් වහාම නිදහස් කොට ඒවායේ අයිතිකරුවන් වෙත බාරදෙන ලෙස ජනාධිපතිවරයා ඊයේ(22) දැනුම් දී තිබේ. මෙම ඉඩම් පිහිටා ඇත්තේ මුලතිව් තන්නිමුරුප්පු ප්‍රදේශයේ වන අතර, මේ සම්බන්ධයෙන් ලිපියක් ජනාධිපති ලේකම් කාර්යාලය විසින් මුලතිව් දිසාපතිවරයාටත් පළාතේ පුරාවිද්‍යා සහකාර කොමසාරිස්වරයා වෙතත් එවා ඇත. පුරාවිද්‍යා ගවේෂණයකින් අනතුරුව පුරාවිද්‍යා දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව විසින් පවරාගෙන තිබූ එම අක්කර 229ක භූමිය මැණුම් කටයුතු සිදුකිරීම සඳහා පුරාවිද්‍යා නිලධාරීන් විසින් මිනින්දෝරු නිලධාරීන් කැඳවා... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 25/03/23)
ඔය ඉන්න අයට වඩා මගේ වැටුප අඩුයි… අපි අමාරු තැනක ඉන්නෙ..- ජනාධිපති
දකුණු ආසියාවේ හොඳම දූෂණ මර්දන පනත නුදුරේදීම ශ්‍රී ලංකා පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ දී සම්මත කිරීමට අවශ්‍ය පියවර ගන්නා බව ජනාධිපති රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහතා පැවසීය. එම පනතට අදාළ කැබිනට් අනුමැතිය මේ වන විටත් ලබාදී ඇති බව අනාවරණය කළ ජනාධිපතිවරයා ඉදිරියේදී විපක්ෂ නියෝජිතයන් සමඟ සාකච්ඡා කර එය පාර්ලිමේන්තුවට ඉදිරිපත් කරන බව ද පැවසීය. ජනාධිපති රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහතා මේ බව සඳහන් කළේ මාධ්‍ය ආයතන ප්‍රධානීන් සමඟ ජනාධිපති කාර්යාලයේ පැවති සාකච්ඡාවට එක්වෙමිනි. එහිදී වැඩිදුරටත් අදහස් දැක්වූ ජනාධිපති රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහතා මෙසේද කියා සිටියේය. ‘මෙම අවස්ථාවට සහභාගීවීම පිළිබඳ සියලු මාධ්‍ය හිතවතුන්ට මම ස්තූතිවන්ත වෙනවා.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 25/03/23)
USD121 Mn from first tranche of IMF loan received to SL, paid to India
State Minister of Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya says that 121 million US dollars out of 333 million US dollars, the first tranche that was extended to Sri Lanka by the IMF, was used to pay the installment of the Indian credit line. He said the relevant installment of 121 million US dollars was paid yesterday. " Usually the loans given by the International Monetary Fund are credited to the Central Bank account. But this time, the relevant loan amount has been credited to the account by the Treasury Deputy Secretary. Therefore... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/03/23)
With IMF bailout, Sri Lanka will have healthy dollar reserves in 4 years: CBSL governor
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout will help bring Sri Lanka’s depleted foreign exchange reserve to pre-crisis levels in four years, said the country’s central bank governor. On Tuesday, the IMF extended a long-awaited US$3 billion (S$4 billion) loan to the island nation, which has been reeling since 2021 from its worst economic crisis since independence. https://youtu.be/STbR-aiwSOQ The bailout comes with a structured four-year programme that requires Sri Lanka to achieve debt sustainability, shore up more foreign exchange to create a healthy reserve, and improve state revenue by... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/03/23)
Supreme Court to deliver verdict on Central Bank (Amendment) Bill
The Supreme Court is due to deliver the verdict on the petitions filed against the Central Bank (Amendment) Bill confidentially to the Speaker of the Parliament. The second hearing of the Bill took place today (24 March), before a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, during which the presentation of the petitioner’s arguments concluded. https://youtu.be/k2EN666SKW0 Presenting his argument in court, Additional Solicitor General Viraj Dayaratne highlighted that through the Bill in question, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) will be allowed to implement its monetary policy more... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/03/23)
Sri Lanka to hold investor and creditor presentation next week
Sri Lanka will hold a virtual presentation next week to update its commercial creditors and investors following the receipt of IMF Executive Board approval for the bailout package. The investor and creditor presentation will commence at 8.30 a.m. on March 30, chaired by Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe and Finance Ministry’s Secretary Mahinda Siriwardana. The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on March 20 green-lighted a 48-month extended arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program of SDR 2.286 billion (approximately USD 3 billion) for Sri Lanka. ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/03/23)
IMF එක්ක අපි විනයවත් ව හැසිරුණේ නැහැ - ණය ගෙවන්න නම් ගෙදර බඩුවක්වත් විකුණනවා
https://youtu.be/fxhnptiSjsQ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/03/23)
President Reveals Information Regarding Disappearance of Funds Allocated for Projects
President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that due to the public sector engaging in business activities, the money that was available for the construction of 100 projects similar to the Mahaweli during the past decades, has been destroyed. He noted that in the future, the public sector will stop engaging in business and open it to the private sector to create a free and productive economy. President Wickremesinghe mentioned this at the 71st commemoration ceremony of the late Prime Minister D.S. Senanayake at Independence Square yesterday. Recalling that D.S. Senanayake’s vision... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/03/23)
Don’t blame the IMF and look a gift horse in the mouth: Sri Lanka has not been capable of managing its economy.
The IMF agreement is much more than the USD 3 billion that accompanies it. In the overall scheme of the country’s foreign debt (now estimated at around USD 48 Billion) and overall debt at 115% of GDP, with no funds for foreign debt repayments and no foreign exchange to purchase essentials, the USD 3 Billion is relatively miniscule in the face of the mammoth task before the country. In this context, it is the four-year plan that accompanies this agreement that matters. This plan may drive the country more towards the Western world led by... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/03/23)
The CPC: 'oil' leaks and greasy palms?
If the head of any organisation is a crook, it amounts to a licence for theft down the line, all the way to the bottom. If there’s a crook at any level of an organisation, it implies that the head of that institution is either a crook or is incompetent. Organization, here, could mean all kinds of collectives, for example teams, schools, state institutions, companies, clubs, societies, ministries, councils, judicial apparatuses and even countries. Hold on to this thought for a while.
We are talking here about the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/03/23)
Dasis Manchanayake – Royal College’s new superstar
Dasis Manchanayake scored both a stunning century and half-century and then stunned the entire country by leading his team to a splendid victory over their rivals, which will remain etched in the memory of all those who were privileged to watch this unforgettable 144th Royal Thomian encounter. However, there is another story equally interesting lurking in Dasis background. The story of his closely-knit family. His father Tissa, a gentle unassuming man was educated at the Veyangoda Central School. So too were his four brothers in a family of eight... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/03/23)
Derana 360 | අරූන් සිද්ධාර්ත් | With Arun Siddharth
https://youtu.be/LR0F7rFn2uI... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/03/23)
THE RUSSIAN BEAR IS ON THE MOVE!
You are living in particularly significant times. The rise of Russia and its Federation of States is confronting the world’s most powerful and brutal-minded country in the world – the United States. The USA can be said to be poorly led by Joe Biden. It is a failing world power, old corrupt and decrepit like its leader. It is being challenged by a rising power with a highly competent leader, who is energetic, determined, well informed and well educated – Mr. Putin no less! He is a fully qualified Russian lawyer as well as having trained... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/03/23)
අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය දිනේෂ් ගුණවර්ධන මහතා වැසි ජලය රැස් කිරීමේ වැදගත්කම අවධාරණය කරයි.
අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා මේ බව අවධාරණය කළේ ලංකා වැසි ජලය රැස්කරන්නන්ගේ සංසදය (LRWHF) විසින් බත්තරමුල්ල වෝටර්ස් එජ් පරිශ්‍රයේ දී 2023.03.22 දින සංවිධානය කරන ලද ලෝක ජල දින සැමරුම් උත්සවයේදීය. 2005 වසරේ තමා ජල හා ජලාපවහන අමාත්‍යවරයාව සිටියදී ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජය විසින් සම්මත කරන ලද වැසි ජලය රැස්කිරීමේ ප්‍රතිපත්තිය මගින් ජල ප්‍රභවය ආසන්නයේ වෙසෙන ප්‍රජාවන් ජලය ආරක්ෂා කර ගැනීම කෙරෙහි උනන්දු කිරීම අරමුණු කරගත් බව අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයාමෙහිදී පෙන්වා දුන්නේය. එහිදී වැඩදුරටත් අදහස් දැක්වූ අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා - ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ මධ්‍යම කඳුකරයේ සිට ආරම්භවන ගංඟා 106 හරහා මුහුදට ගලා යන වැසි ජලයෙන් 65% ක් ආරක්ෂා... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/03/23)
මාධ්‍ය නිදහස සහ නීතිය
ප්‍රබල පාතාල කල්ලි නායක හරක් කටා වෙනුවෙන් අධිකරණයේ පෙනී සිටියේ ජනාධිපති නීතිඥ සාලිය පීරිස් ය. එපමණක් නොවේ, මැඩගස්කරයේ අත්අඩංගුවට පත්වූ හරක් කටා නැවතත් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට ගෙන ඒමට මැඩගස්කරය බලා පිටත්ව ගියේ සාලිය පීරිස් යටතේ කටයුතු කරනා කණිෂ්ඨ නීතිඥයන් දෙදෙනෙකි. හරක් කටා වෙනුවෙන් අධිකරණයේ සාලි පිරීස් පෙනී සිටින්නේ ඒ වෙනුවෙන් ලැබෙනා මිලියන ගණනක මුදල් කප්පම මත පමණක් නොවේ. මේ ගණුදෙනුව පසුපස ඉන් එහා ගිය කතාවක් තිබේ. ශ්‍රී ලංකාව ජාතික රාජ්‍යයක් වශයෙන් ස්ථාවරව පවත්වා ගන්නා කුළුණු තුනකි. මේ කුළුණු තුන නම් විධායකය, ව්‍යවස්ථාදායකය සහ අධිකරණයයි. මේ කුළුණු තුනෙහි සමබරතාවය, යහපැවැත්ම සහ සම්බන්ධතාවය... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 23/03/23)
Anti-corruption & governance reforms a central pillar of EFF-supported programme – IMF
The International Monetary Fund has emphasised the importance of anti-corruption and governance reforms as a central pillar of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF)-supported programme as they are indispensable to ensure the hard-won gains from the reforms benefit the Sri Lankan people. In a statement issued ahead of the IMF press briefing on Tuesday (21) morning, Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka Peter Breuer and Mission Chief for Sri Lanka Masahiro Nozaki noted that Sri Lankan authorities have committed to fundamentally improve public financial management and strengthen the anti-corruption legal framework in line with... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 23/03/23)
“I will not allow school children to be held hostage by various groups” - President Ranil Wickremesinghe
President Ranil Wickremesinghe today said that he would not allow school children to be taken hostage by various groups and he would declare schools as an essential service if the teacher issues are not solved soon. https://youtu.be/gKgPnfOJ5Bc Addressing a national ceremony of the distribution of free textbooks and uniforms to schoolchildren held at the Colombo Sanghamitta Girls’ College this morning, Wickremesinghe said education had the same importance as the economy of the country and he would not allow any groups to misuse it. “The parents are... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 23/03/23)
’I will get approval of Parliament to implement IMF agreement although it is not required by law’ - President Ranil Wickremesinghe
President Ranil Wickremesinghe today said that he would get the approval and assistance of Parliament to implement the IMF agreement although it is not required by law. Speaking to Editors of media organizations, Wickremesinghe said that the IMF agreement was a restructuring of the economy and not only of the country's debt and the future of Sri Lanka rests with whether the country will implement this agreement or not. ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 23/03/23)
Presidential and LG polls should be held on the same day: Navin
The Parliamentary, Presidential and Local Government Elections should be held together on the same day, former Minister Navin Dissanayake said today. He said that all three elections should be held together to save money. During his remarks, he emphasized that local government reforms would be enacted soon. "The country cannot afford to look after 8,000 Local Government members at the moment and these reforms will be introduced soon," he said. "The policy of President Ranil Wickremesinghe is to take on political and economic reforms together," he... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 23/03/23)
Sri Lanka to introduce property tax and gift and inheritance tax
Sri Lanka is expected to introduce a property tax and a gift and inheritance tax by the beginning of 2025, under the International Monetary Fund programme.“In particular, we will introduce a nationwide real property tax and adjust the system of transfers between the central and provincial governments.We will also introduce a gift and inheritance tax with a tax-free allowance and minimal exemptions,” the IMF programme documents made public this week said.The preparatory work for these tax reforms will commence by mid-2023, supported by the IMF technical assistance.Sri Lanka is expected to achieve a primary... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 23/03/23)
Supreme Court lifts travel ban on MR, BR over FR on mismanagement of economy
The Supreme Court today announced that the travel ban imposed on former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa would not be effective any further in connection with the Fundamental Rights petitions filed over financial irregularities and mismanagement of the Sri Lanka economy. (Lakmal Sooriyagoda )... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 23/03/23)
SL Rupee appreciates further against USD
Sri Lanka Rupee (LKR) has appreciated further against the US Dollar (USD) today, according to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. Accordingly, today's buying rate of USD is Rs. 312.61 while the selling rate of USD is Rs. 330.16... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 23/03/23)
Some political parties propose Election Commission to further postpone LG Polls
Some political parties today informed the Election Commission that conducting the Local Government polls on April 25, considering the present situation was not possible. In a statement, the Election Commission said following a discussion with the secretaries of the political parties, some of the parties proposed the LG Polls be held at a later date. However, during the discussions, some opposition political parties present said the Polls should not be postponed further in any way due to the Supreme Court ruling. The parties proposed that if a new... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 23/03/23)
Japan provides USD 1.6mn to support marginalized females in Sri Lanka
The Government of Japan provided USD 1.6 million to UN Women in support of humanitarian assistance for women most affected by the socio-economic crisis in Sri Lanka. The funding is part of a new project “Empowering women in crisis”, running from February 2023 to December 2023, which will support at least 1,200 women, including their children who have faced sexual and gender-based violence. It will further support 500 women-led micro-enterprises at risk of collapse and over 2,000 individuals at risk of poverty and malnutrition. Ambassador of Japan to Sri Lanka,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 23/03/23)
Seven state-owned enterprises to be divested
A State-Owned Enterprise Restructuring Unit (SRU) has been set up by the Government, under the Ministry of Finance, Economic Stabilization and National Policies, in an attempt to implement structural reforms to accelerate growth so that the country can emerge out of the current economic crisis. The decision was taken in view of the fact that the State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) sector has been a severe burden on the country’s economy for several years. Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved, in principle, the divestiture of various companies, including SriLankan Airlines, SriLankan Catering, Sri... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 23/03/23)
China calls on Western lenders to ease debt pressure on developing countries
China’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday called on all related parties, in particular Western commercial creditors and multilateral financial institutions, to make contributions to alleviating the debt pressure of developing countries amid the tightening international financial environment. The remarks were made by Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin, after outgoing World Bank chief David Malpass reportedly called on China “to be more active” in restructuring discussions for developing countries in debt crises. The US has raised interest rates at an unprecedented pace since last year, leading to a tightening international financial environment, and has... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 23/03/23)
CBSL governor hopeful Sri Lanka can achieve debt sustainability before IMF dates
Central Bank governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe is optimistic that Sri Lanka will be able to achieve debt sustainability before the dates envisaged through the IMF program currently underway. Joining ‘At HydePark’ on Ada Derana 24, the governor said he believes Sri Lanka has entered a new era, given that the government has now taken proactive steps to implement unpopular reforms required by of the IMF bailout package. Nevertheless, he reassured that the situation of the country would get better over the coming months, given that the government will only have the option... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 23/03/23)
Intoning Banal Platitudes Chung Lampoons Sri Lanka’s Judiciary
Feigning grief at ‘Laws–Delays’ and making snide comments about Sri Lanka’s judiciary was Julie Chung, the yankee ambassador, an embodiment of diplomatic impropriety. Chung made a spectacle of herself whilst addressing a gathering of lawyers, at an event organised by that branch of the Bar Association which is funded by the US State Department and which tends to act almost like Washington’s mouthpiece. Chung intoned some trite comments about Sri Lanka’s judicial system in dispensing justice while casting blanket aspersions on the members of the judiciary, insinuating that they were not... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 23/03/23)
Loopholes of US Human Rights Report 2022: Should US fix its own human rights issue first?
The United States' "2022 Nation Reports on Human Rights Practices" were published on March 20, 2023 and have rekindled old wounds caused by the US's continued attempts to serve as the world's policeman. The solemn report is essentially a list of human misery spanning 198 nations and territories. Yes, aside from the United States itself. The U.S. State Department published its "2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices" at the same time as the whole world is plagued by the Russia-Ukraine war, while promoting... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 23/03/23)
March 23 – Promised Messiah Day Muslim divines on the advent of latter day Messiah.
Through knowledge bestowed upon him by God, the All-Knowing, the Holy Prophet, Muhammad, peace be upon him, foresaw the condition under which his Community (Ummah) had to pass during different ages and particularly in the Last Days. He is reported to have said: "There will come a time upon the people when nothing will remain of Islam except its name only and nothing will remain of the Quran except its inscription. Their mosques will be splendidly furnished but destitute of guidance. Their divines will be... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 23/03/23)
භාහිය සූත්රය තුල සිහියට හසුවන සිතේ (උදය-) වය අදියර phase
කුඩා ළදරුවා ස්වභාව ධර්මයට සංවේදිතාවයක් දක්වයි. ඔහුට ඇත්තේ ප්‍රභාශ්වර සිතකි. එහි පෙර මතකයක් නැත. එබැවින් සංකාර හටනොගනී. නමුත් ඔහු ජීවත්වන පරිසරයේ ඇතිවන වෙනස්වීම් වලට සංවේදිතාවයක් දක්වයි. සීතලක් දැනෙනවිට උනුසුම දෙසට යොමුවෙයි. ශබ්දයක් ඇසුනවිට එයට සංවේදිතාවයක් දක්වයි. අඬන දරුවා අම්මාගේ සූ සූ ශබ්දයට සංවේදි වෙයි. දකින දසුනට ප්‍රියජනක (සිනහවකින්) හෝ අප්‍රියජනකව (තරහකින්) හෝ සංවේදී වෙයි. රසට සුවඳට සංවේදි වන ළදරුවා එම රසය හා සුවඳට ප්‍රිය හෝ අප්‍රිය කරයි. ළදරුවාගේ මෙම සියළු සංවේදීතාවය සංකාරයට මෙපිටින් (සංකාර නොවී) සිදුවෙයි. ළදරුවා භාහිර පරිසරයේ වෙනස්කම් දැනගනීමට හා ඒවාට සංවේදීවීමට තරම් සෑහෙන සිතක් ඔහුතුල ඇතිවෙයි. එනම් ළදරු සිත තුල 'රූප, වේදනා හා සංඥා'... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 23/03/23)
උතුරේ ගැටලුව ගැන එදා විජේවීරගේ ජේවීපී එක දැරූ මතවාදය අද නායකයා පුස්සක් කරලා – අරුන් සිද්ධාර්ථ
https://youtu.be/8VxGPADKwBg... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 23/03/23)
Limits of 2022 US Human Rights Report on Bangladesh
The USA recently released a report on the human rights situation of 198 countries in 2022. In 2022, extrajudicial killings, disappearances, suppression of expression and media, use of force in gatherings, obstruction of national and international human rights institutions, etc. continued as usual in Bangladesh. However, compared to 2021, extrajudicial killings have decreased in 2022, according to the report published on the global human rights situation. These things were said in the report entitled '2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices' published on the website of the US State... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 23/03/23)
High Commissioner Moragoda meets Finance Minister Sitharaman to discuss way forward in bilateral economic cooperation
Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda met with the Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs of India Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi today (21). This was the latest of a series of meetings High Commissioner Moragoda has had with Minister Sitharaman since November 2021 on Indian economic cooperation and assistance to Sri Lanka in the context of the present economic crisis. At the outset, High Commissioner Moragoda thanked Minister Sitharaman for the leadership that the government of India took towards the realization of the International... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 23/03/23)
තමන්ගේ සිංහල විරෝධී සහ ඉංග්‍රීසි අන්තවාදී නීති ගැසට් පත්‍රය පාර්ලිමේන්තුව විසින් ප්‍රතික්ෂේප කිරීමත් සමඟ ජයන්ත ජයසූරිය අගවිනිසුරුවරයා ධූරයෙන් ඉල්ලා අස්විය යුත්තේ ඇයි?
අගවිනිසුරු ජයන්ත ජයසූරිය, අලිසබ්‍රි අධිකරණ ඇමතිගේ සහ සංස්ථාගත නීති අධ්‍යාපන සභාවේ සිංහල විරෝධී සහ ඉංග්‍රීසි අන්තවාදී 2020.12.30 අංක 2208/13 අතිවිශෙෂ ගැසට් පත්‍රය පාර්ලිමේන්තුව විසින් 2023.03.21 දින අතිශය බහුතර ඡන්දයෙන් ප්‍රතික්ෂේප කර ඇත.එකී ගැසට් පත්‍රය මගින් සිංහල සහ දෙමළ භාෂා වලින් නීති අධ්‍යාපනය සහ නීති විභාග පැවැත්වීම නතර කර තිබුණි. මෙය සැබවින්ම ඉංග්‍රීසි අන්තවාදීන් පිනවීමටත් නිදහස් අධ්‍යාපනය ලබන සිංහල දෙමළ දරුවන් නීතීඥ, විනිසුරු වෘත්තියෙන් බැහැර කිරීමට ගෙනා අන්තවාදී ගැසට් පත්‍රයකි. මෙම ගැසට් පත්‍රය පහත අය විසින් 2020 දී ගෙනවිත් ඇත.1) ගරු ජයන්ත ජයසූරිය (අගවිනිසුරු, ජනාධිපති නීතීඥ) 2) ගරු ඩී. ද ලිවේරා (නීතිපති)... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 22/03/23)
Are You an Energy Vampire?
An "energy vampire" is a person who intentionally or unintentionally drains the energy or vitality of others. This is a metaphor for people who are emotionally needy and rely on the attention and energy of others to feel good about themselves. Energy vampires can be found in a variety of settings, including personal relationships, friendships, and even the workplace. They may be excessively negative or critical, always finding fault in others or the situation, or they may constantly seek attention, praise, or validation from others. Being... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 22/03/23)
The DRS inventor Senaka Weeraratna deserves a Plaque in his honour by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC)
The UDRS system is based on the concept of Player – Referral conceived by Senaka Weeraratna in 1997. Player Reviews and additional technology were first introduced in Test cricket to review controversial decisions made by the on-field umpires regarding dismissal of batsmen. Clearly, the world wide web identifies Senaka Weeraratna as the brainchild of the URDS system. Considering such growing international recognition of a Sri Lankan inventor, why is the premier cricket authority namely SLC (Sri Lanka Cricket) remaining totally silent? Not only that it appears to have even silenced the Cricket... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 22/03/23)
Is Sri Lanka Driven to Another Diego Garcia
Political Illiteracy Right from the inception of gaining independence, Sri Lanka behaved like a third world underdeveloped country full of racial-minded illiterates. On receiving independence, DS Senanayake’s regime disfranchised one million Indian estate workers, which we cannot blame DSS as he felt opponents were trying to undercut him and the UNP. SJV Chelvanayagam started his turbulence of the Federal Party which he could have demanded when the British were ruling. SJVC started... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 22/03/23)
IMF පාර වහන්න පුළුවන් කාටද?
IMF පළමු වාරිකය ඩොලර් මිලියන 333 ක පළමු වාරිකය මාර්තු 22 (හෙට) ලංකාවේ බැංකු පද්ධතියට ලැබේ. බොහෝ දෙනා මේ ණය කොන්දේසි හෝ ඉදිරි ක්‍රියා මාර්ග ගැන නොදනී. බොහෝ දෙනා ‘ඩොලර් ණය‘ යැයි කියන extended Fund Facility (EFF) ය කුමක් ද? එය ඉතිහාසයේ මෙයට පෙර අවස්ථා හය(6) ක දී සිදු වූ ලෙස කඩාකප්පල් කර ගත හැක්කේ කාට ද? යන්න විමසා බැලිය යුතුය. මේ මාස 48 ක ණය ව්‍යාපෘතියේ මුළු වටිනාකම ඩොලර් බි. 3 කි. එය ඇසුරේ මුළු වටිනාකම ඩොලර් බි. 7 කි. 1. සාර්ව ආර්ථික ස්ථාවරත්වය, 2. ණය ස්ථාවරත්වය ඇති කිරීම 3.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 22/03/23)
අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා උමාඔය ජල විදුලි ව්‍යාපෘතියේ ප්‍රගතිය නිරීක්ෂණය කරයි.
ජාතික විදුලිබල පද්ධතියට මෙගාවොට් 120ක විදුලි ධාරිතාවක් එක් කරමින් දිස්ත්‍රික්ක කිහිපයක පුරන් ඉඩම්වලට ජලය සපයන උමාඔය ජල විදුලි ව්‍යාපෘතියේ ප්‍රගතිය 2023.03.18 දින අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය දිනේෂ් ගුණවර්ධන මහතාගේ නිරීක්ෂණයට ලක්කෙරිණී. අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා උමං මාර්ගයට ඇතුළු වී අඩි සිය ගණනක් පහළට ගමන් කොට බලාගාර ට්‍රාන්ස්ෆෝමරය නිරීක්ෂණය කළ අතර එමගින් , මෙම වසරේ මැද භාගය වන විට විදුලිය නිපදවීමට නියමිතව තිබේ. එහි ඉදිකිරීම් බාරදී ඇති ඉරාන සමාගමේ ව්‍යාපෘති නිලධාරීන් සහ ඉංජිනේරුවන් සමඟ අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා අදහස් හුවමාරු කර ගත් අතර දිගු කලක් ප්‍රමාද වී තිබූ ව්‍යාපෘතිය මනා ලෙස ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීම සහ ඉරානයෙන් ණය පහසුකම් ලබා දීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් ඔහු ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 22/03/23)
Veteran lyricist Sunil Sarath Perera made Sinhala language richer by creating a enchanting song lyrics using music as a medium- Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena
The Prime Minister mentioned that veteran lyricist Sunil Sarath Perera developed Sinhala language and its meaning by means of classical songs making the language richer. He said this at the launch of “Mathaka Nimnaya” book by the veteran lyricist Sunil Sarath Perera held at Ananda Samarakoon Studio of Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation on 20.03.2023. The Prime Minister, addressing the audience said that Sunil Sarath Perera had a great love for our country. Because of that love, our language and its meaning developed. He had a special talent of producing creative masterpieces in... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 22/03/23)
Water is life. There is no alternative.
The Sri Lankan inherits a great irrigational civilization that is not second to any. The expertise in irrigation and water systems of our ancestors amazed the whole world. They took great care not to let flow a single drop of water fallen from the sky to the sea without making any use of it. It was the most inspiring claim by the King Parakkramabahu the Great. They safeguarded rain water and ground water resources as of a gift from heaven and managed properly to bestow them to the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 22/03/23)
Suspend the issuance of permanent and daily liquor licenses in the Division of Maharagama Divisional Secretariat.-Maharagama Regional Coordinating Committee Chairman,
The Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena instructed the officials to suspend the issuance of permanent and daily excise licenses for liquor sales in the Maharagama Divisional Secretary’s division. He said this at the Maharagama Regional Coordination Committee meeting held on 20.03.2023. He also advised them to suspend the issuance of excise permits issued daily for events such as music shows, carnivals and various other occasions. The progress of development projects in Maharagama area was reviewed and a special attention was paid to social welfare programmes. It was revealed that 13,377 applications... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 22/03/23)
SL Rupee appreciates further against USD
Sri Lanka Rupee (LKR) has appreciated further against the US Dollar (USD) today, according to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. Accordingly, today's buying rate of USD is Rs. 312.61 while the selling rate of USD is Rs. 330.16.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 22/03/23)
Sri Lanka says latest bailout funds can be used for fiscal support - Bloomberg News
March 22 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is allowing Sri Lanka to utilise funds from its latest bailout for fiscal support, unlike previous loans that could only be used to ease balance of payments crises, central bank governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said in an interview with Bloomberg. Upon receiving the funds from the IMF, the monetary authority can buy foreign exchange and provide the government an equivalent amount of rupees to spend, Weerasinghe told Bloomberg on Tuesday. "In line with IMF fiscal deficit targets, instead of raising money from domestic markets,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 22/03/23)
Anti-corruption & governance reforms a central pillar of EFF-supported programme – IMF
The International Monetary Fund has emphasised the importance of anti-corruption and governance reforms as a central pillar of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF)-supported programme as they are indispensable to ensure the hard-won gains from the reforms benefit the Sri Lankan people. In a statement issued ahead of the IMF press briefing on Tuesday (21) morning, Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka Peter Breuer and Mission Chief for Sri Lanka Masahiro Nozaki noted that Sri Lankan authorities have committed to fundamentally improve public financial management and strengthen the anti-corruption legal framework in line with... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 22/03/23)
Import restriction currently in place to be phased out
The International Monetary Fund today said the government is expected to phase out the import and exchange restrictions currently in place. “Authorities will develop a plan for phased removal of import restrictions and exchange restrictions related to BOP. That plan due by June 2023,” said IMF Mission Chief Masahiro Nozaki responding to question raised by Mirror Business. Although Sri Lanka recently relaxed some of the import and exchange restrictions, rules on forex conversion and bans on certain imported consumer goods still remain.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 22/03/23)
Sri Lanka becomes first in Asia to have its governance come under IMF scrutiny
IMF governance diagnostic exercise to assess corruption and governance vulnerabilitiesReport to be published by September 2023Diagnosis to focus on IMF fiscal governance, financial sector oversight, Central Bank governance, market regulations, the rule of law, and AML/CFTAsset recovery legislation to be developed and introduced by March 2024 While Sri Lanka successfully crossed the hurdle of unlocking the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout package on Monday, it also became the first country in the Asian region to have its governance come under the radar of the multilateral agency. ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 22/03/23)
Japan keen to explore investment opportunities in Sri Lanka
A group of Japanese investors along with Japan Deputy Head of Mission Katsuki Kotaro called on the Board of Investment (BOI) to discuss new investment opportunities in Sri Lanka. The investors had a productive discussion with Investment Promotion State Minister Dilum Amunugama, BOI Director General Renuka M Weerakone and other officials on key investment opportunities in Sri Lanka where the investors conveyed interest in investing in diverse sectors such as medical equipment manufacturing, pharmaceutical, travel & tourism industry especially cultural tourism, the hotel industry, property development and real estate. Speaking... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 22/03/23)
President tables IMF agreement in Parliament
President Ranil Wickremesinghe tabled the IMF staff level agreement on the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement for Sri Lanka in Parliament, a short while ago. President Wickremesinghe is currently in Parliament attending today’s parliamentary proceedings and is delivering a special statement on the IMF Extended Fund Facility. https://youtu.be/cgzIIyL4mGU He said that at a time when the country was in chaos in July last year, no one was willing to accept responsibility and that he was requested to take over. “I had no power in Parliament, and... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 22/03/23)
Pensions and salaries of public servants to be revised
President Ranil Wickremesinghe has stated that the salaries and pensions of public servants will be revised in the future, in line with the inflation rates. Speaking on the measure currently underway to manage government expenditure while addressing the Parliament this morning (22 March), Wickremesinghe stated that steps are currently being taken to increase the funds allocated for public expenditure and that pensions and salaries earned by government employees too will be revised in line with the inflation rates. He noted, however, that such revisions will be made within the primary balance of... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 22/03/23)
IMF programme to be reviewed in June
During his speech in Parliament this morning (22 March), after tabling the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement, President Ranil Wickremesinghe stated that the programme will be reviewed every six months. He made these remarks in view of the hardships currently faced by society owing to the recent increase in tax rates, electricity tariffs and other unpopular decisions that were taken in order to fulfill the prerequisites of the IMF programme. https://youtu.be/cgzIIyL4mGU “We are currently going through a difficult period. We are well aware that a certain section of... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 22/03/23)
President on the impact of public sector engaging in business activities
President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that due to the public sector engaging in business activities, the money that was available for the construction of 100 projects similar to the Mahaweli during the past decades, has been destroyed. He noted that in the future, the public sector will stop engaging in business and open it to the private sector to create a free and productive economy, the President’s Media Division (PMD) said. President Wickremesinghe mentioned this at the 71st commemoration ceremony of the late Prime Minister D.S. Senanayake at Independence Square today (March 22),... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 22/03/23)
Parliamentary Select Committee discusses future of non-governmental higher education institutes
The contribution of non-governmental higher education institutes and the opportunities available to make the sector more efficient were discussed at length at a recent meeting held by the Parliamentary Select Committee. The Select Committee of Parliament to make suitable recommendations for the expansion of higher education opportunities in Sri Lanka met on 17 March under the chairmanship of Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakhshe, PC. During the meeting, the representatives of non-governmental higher education institutes pointed out that while there are opportunities to carry out innovations and new initiatives in the field of higher education,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 22/03/23)
An Independent Central Bank: Does it not clash with the sovereignty of the country?
To my mind, the Central Bank of any country is an integral part of the sovereign country and it is a ridiculous statement to talk of a Central Bank being independent of its country. It is actually the Central Bank of a country that has to perform the most important function of monetary policy- what monetary policy can bring about the maximum development of the country etc. Thus I fail to comprehend why anyone should ever even think of a Central Bank being independent of its country. It is ridiculous in the extreme. However today there is a Bill in... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 21/03/23)
Equinox and Solstice are Both Important Astronomical Events
Equinox and Solstice are both important astronomical events that mark the changing of seasons, but they differ in their specific characteristics and meaning. Here are the main differences: An equinox occurs when the Sun is directly above the Earth's equator, and day and night are of approximately equal length all over the world. The word "equinox" comes from Latin and means "equal night." A solstice occurs when the Sun is at its highest or lowest point in the sky relative to the Earth's equator. The word "solstice" comes from... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 21/03/23)
Norochicolai breaking again. Isn't there a way out?
Norochicolai breaks down again. Is there no other way to produce our power. I enclose one of my Papers that tell us that we can have all our power we need within one year at less than the cost of one years supply of oil we use for power now. I am prepared to bell that cat, if there is no one else younger than me. I designed and implemented the youth self employment programme in Bangladesh in nineteen months and trained the officers of the elite Bangladesh Civil Service to... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 21/03/23)
Buddhavaccana (The Words of the Buddha) Connect This Lifetime
Buddhavaccana (The Words of the Buddha) Connect This Lifetime🌈 (mailchi.mp) Over the past seventeen years, thousands have been gathering to chant the Tipitaka under the Bodhi Tree from December 2nd-13th. Since then annual chanting ceremonies have spread to all the ancient pilgrimage places of the Buddhadharma. Once again, the sound of the Buddha's words can be heard all over the land of the Ayradesh.Today, we are delighted to share with you that we have completed the recitation of the entire Suttapittaka this past December. These texts, shown here on ancient palm leaves, are now being... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 21/03/23)
Has prioritising India’s security secured our security?
We have pledged to make India’s national security our topmost priority. This was first articulated in 2020 by the then Foreign Secretary Admiral (Rtd) Jayanath Colombage. During incumbent Foreign Minister Ali Sabry’s recent visit to India, this pledge was again reiterated. He explicitly stated that Sri Lanka would go to the extent of disallowing any other from undermining “under the guise of anything” India’s legitimate security or other interests. This brings forth the most pertinent question as to whether prioritizing India’s security would secure our security. ‘India’s Security First’ –... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 21/03/23)
MPs urged to defeat move to conduct Law College exams only in English medium
Ali Sabry responds to accusations Opposition MP Gevindu Cumaratunga yesterday (19) alleged that the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government was going ahead with a project launched by former Justice Minister Ali Sabry with the backing of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to conduct Law College examinations only in the English medium, much to the disadvantage of Sinhala and Tamil students. Addressing the media at Sri Sambuddhathwa Jayanthi Mandiraya at Thunmulla, the leader of civil society group Yuthukama urged all political parties, regardless of whatever differences, to vote against extraordinary gazette notification of 2020 Dec 30 No 22018/13... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 20/03/23)
‘Spoken English’ in all National Schools from March 30: Minister
Considering the specialty and importance of the English language, the Education Ministry has decided to teach ‘Spoken English’ in all national schools, starting from grade one from March 30. Addressing an event at the Colombo University yesterday, Minister Susil Premajayantha said necessary updates will be made to bring all school syllabuses from Grades 6–9 and 10–13 to an international level. A pilot project in this regard will be started next month. He also said that the ministry is planning to teach the subject of artificial intelligence along with information technology.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 20/03/23)
Sri Lankans happier this year than last year, World Happiness Report finds
Finland has been voted the happiest place in the world for the sixth consecutive year while Sri Lanka was ranked 112th, according to the World Happiness Report 2023 released on Monday. Sri Lanka's position has improved from the 2022 index where it was ranked 127th. In order to uncover the happiest spots around the globe, researchers analysed six key factors: social support, income, health, freedom, generosity, and absence of corruption. Despite several overlapping crises, the study found that global life satisfaction is just as high as those in pre-pandemic years.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 20/03/23)
Sri Lanka should stay committed to the multi-pronged disinflation strategy - IMF Managing Director
Following the Executive Board discussion on Sri Lanka, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said that Sri Lanka should stay committed to the multi-pronged disinflation strategy to safeguard the credibility of its inflation targeting regime. “Sri Lanka has been facing tremendous economic and social challenges with a severe recession amid high inflation, depleted reserves, an unsustainable public debt, and heightened financial sector vulnerabilities. Institutions and governance frameworks require deep reforms. For Sri Lanka to overcome the crisis, swift and timely implementation of the EFF-supported program with strong ownership for the reforms is critical."... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 20/03/23)
Sri Lanka receives IMF Executive Board approval for USD 2.9 bn bailout package
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved the Extended Fund Facility to Sri Lanka at its board meeting held today, according to State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe. He further said that President Ranil Wickremesinghe will make a special statement on this tomorrow (21). https://youtu.be/LzOfyN-jnXQ The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that the IMF Executive Board approved Sri Lanka’s program under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), the President’s Media Division also confirmed. The program will allow Sri Lanka to access financing... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 20/03/23)
Cabinet authorizes to sign required documents as soon as Sri Lanka receives IMF approval
The Cabinet of Ministers has authorized the Finance Ministry Secretary or the Treasury’s Deputy Secretary to sign the Promissory Notes and other required documents as soon as Sri Lanka receives the IMF-supported Extended Fund Facility (EFF) approval from the IMF Executive Board. The decision was taken during the Cabinet meeting held this evening (20), according to Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Bandula Gunawardene. https://youtu.be/BqppgZDmf7w Sri Lanka is expected to receive final approval for about $2.9 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday, a key step for... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 20/03/23)
Sri Lanka seeks 10-year debt moratorium ahead of IMF bailout
Sri Lanka is seeking a 10-year moratorium on its foreign debt, President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office said on March 20, 2023 on the eve of a desperately needed $2.9 billion IMF bailout. Mr. Wickremesinghe’s office quoted him as saying the widely expected International Monetary Fund (IMF) rescue “will only give us a breathing space where they will say we are no longer bankrupt”. “All the money we have to repay this year, I hope we will be given at least 10 more years to repay it,” Mr. Wickremesinghe told a meeting of students... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 20/03/23)
Cabinet approval for divestment of govt’s stake in SLT and Lanka Hospitals
The Secretary to the Treasury has informed the Board of Directors of Sri Lanka Telecom PLC (SLT) and Lanka Hospitals PLC that the Cabinet of Ministers has granted approval in principle for the divestment of the stakes held by the Treasury Secretary in the two companies. Accordingly, the Secretary to the Treasury has informed the Board of Directors of SLT and Lanka Hospitals that the Cabinet of Ministers has granted its approval in principle for the divestment of the stake held by the Treasury Secretary in the respective companies. The companies have... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 20/03/23)
CBSL warns general public over pyramid-type schemes in Sri Lanka
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has requested the Attorney General to consider instituting criminal proceedings against three pyramid-type prohibited schemes operating in the country. Accordingly, the CBSL has carried out investigations to ascertain whether the entities Fast 3Cycle International (Pvt) Ltd (F3C), Sport Chain App, Sports Chain ZS Society Sri Lanka and the OnmaxDT have violated the provisions of 83C of the Banking Act. In relation to the examination conducted, the CBSL has determined that the three relevant entities and Directors, Founders and Promoters of those entities have conducted prohibited... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 20/03/23)
LAWS DELAYS, LAWYERS DELAYS, SYSTEM DELAYS OR JUDGES?
Justice Delayed is Justice denied Justice delays is justice denied is the famous quotation by ‘’Lord William Gladstone’’ said on legal system - indicating that this old and worldwide issue that needs attention still in the main agenda in the modern society still prevails, timely and current. Laws delays retards development, affects law and order, encourages crime while discouraging foreign investments and good will that... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 20/03/23)
The economy During Kurunegala was the Capital.
Historians will not consider Kurunegala as a particular era during the Sinhala Kingdoms because four to five kings reigned during this era. It is not recognisable to identify as a historical period. According to ‘Dalada Pujawaliya’ during the Kurunegala era, approximately one hundred per cent of the government’s income from ships was directed to the sacred temple where Buddha’s tooth relic is housed. The income from the ships aided Sinhala kings in maintaining the country as a leading source of income along with trade. The Aryans who came to... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 20/03/23)
India’s help to Bangladesh in meeting its energy needs
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina inaugurated a 131.5-kilometre-long India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline (IBFPL) from Siliguri in North Bengal to Parbatipur in Banglaesh’s Dinajpur province Saturday (18 March). The pipeline, built with Rs 377 crore drawn from a line of credit offered by India to Bangladesh, will carry one million tonnes of high-speed diesel from Numaligarh refinery in Assam to Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation’s Parbatipur depot. The ground-breaking ceremony for the pipeline, which starts from Numaligarh refinery’s marketing terminal in Siliguri and enters Bangladesh... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 20/03/23)
Why do India, Banladesh Start Friendship pipeline?
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday said the inauguration of "India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline" is a milestone achievement in mutual cooperation for the development of the two friendly neighbours. Sheikh Hasina hoped that Bangladesh and India would jointly celebrate many such successes in the days to come. The pipeline will play a significant role in protecting the energy security of both country. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline will enhance cooperation in energy security between the two countries. This pipeline would further speed up the development of Bangladesh and be an excellent... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 20/03/23)
ග්‍රීසියේ සිදුවූ මානුෂවාදී ඛේදවාචකය ලංකාවේත් ඉදිරියේදී සිදුවෙයිද?
“තිත්ත බෙහෙතක්” සහ “වස පානය” කිරීම අතර පැහැදිලි වෙනසක් තිබෙනවා. ශ්‍රී ලංකාව පවතින ආර්ථික අර්බුදයෙන් මිදීමට තිත්ත බෙහෙතක් යැයි සිතා වස පානය නොකළ යුතුයි.” යානිස් වරුෆකිස් (Yanis Varoufakis). යානිස් වරුෆකිස් ග්‍රීසියේ හිටපු මුදල් ඇමැති වරයා. ඔහු IMF සංවිධානය ග්‍රීසියේ කල මානුෂවාදී ඛේදවාචකය හොඳ හැටි අත් විඳි පුද්ගලයෙක්. වරුෆකිස් ප්‍රකාශ කරන අන්දමට ග්‍රීසිය 2010, 2015, 2016 සහ 2018 වර්ෂ වල IMF වෙත ගියත් සිදුවූ යහපතක් නොමැත. අවසානයේ ජාත්‍යන්තර මූල්‍ය අරමුදල ඔවුන් විසින් බලපෑම් කොට සිදුකල ආර්ථික ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණ හරහා ග්‍රිසිය කබලෙන් ලිපට වැටුණු බව... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 20/03/23)
25-year plan to make Sri Lanka successful by 2048 already underway - President
President Ranil Wickremesinghe emphasized that the Royal College cricket team’s effective captaincy ultimately led to the team’s victory at a time when all of the matches were being lost and that his effort to lift the defeated country to the path of victory is similar to that of the captain of Royal College cricket team. https://youtu.be/hpUd1o5oPBM The President recalled that when he assumed office last July, the country was experiencing a multitude of crises such as shortage of fuel, food, and fertilizer. He compared this to the Royal College team,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 19/03/23)
US-funded 36,000 MT of TSP fertilizer handed over to Agri. Ministry
More than a million Sri Lankan paddy farmers in all 25 districts will get vital assistance through a shipment of over 36,000 metric tons of fertilizer handed over today by the United States to the Ministry of Agriculture, says the United States Embassy in Sri Lanka. The shipment of Triple Super Phosphate (TSP), which was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been procured by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for distribution free-of-charge to farmers. This second shipment of USAID-supported fertilizer is delivered... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 19/03/23)
IMF to approve bailout package for Sri Lanka tomorrow: CBSL governor
Sri Lankan central bank governor Nandalal Weerasinghe told media on Sunday that the country’s “dollar crisis” is over, as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is set to approve a 2.9 billion U.S. dollar bailout package for the country on Monday. He said Sri Lanka will hence has adequate foreign reserves for imports for essential sectors, adding that the IMF package will boost investor sentiment and enhance the country’s access to more foreign funds and investments. The IMF package will include budgetary support to Sri Lanka’s government, which is a new element in... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 19/03/23)
IMF puts countries into debt, poverty & inequality but who in Sri Lanka wants IMF – why?
When Sri Lanka’s top corporates have stashed away some $53billion in overseas accounts, it is because they are cheating the country, they don’t want to invest in Sri Lanka or they are as corrupt as the politicians. Whatever, the reason, their collective silence in not coming forward to bail out Sri Lanka & fully aware that the ordinary people & middle class will suffer, shows moral decline of Sri Lanka’s corporate community. These handful of Sri Lankan corporates could have easily come up with a plan to present to the public on... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/03/23)
The AUKUS military alliance and the submarine deal; Foresight or Folly?
Former Prime Minister of Australia Paul Keating has labelled the AUKUS military alliance and more specifically the recently concluded submarine deal as the worst mistake Australia has done in its history. His national press club address has been widely publicised and does not need repetition here. It is however interesting to discuss a few basic issues he mentioned as reasons for his criticism. Firstly, his assertion that the AUKUS alliance is all about maintaining US hegemony over the South China sea and containing, to the extent possible, China’s ability to move freely within... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/03/23)
Central Bank Must be Independent to Save the Economy
Even a schoolkid who has studied Year 11 Commerce would tell you that the Central Bank must be independent of the government. And that’s how it is around the world. However, Sri Lanka does not follow the rest of the world. Well established norms are questioned, challenged and changed in Sri Lanka to suit politicians and their supporters. What is even more convincing is Independent Ceylon (1948 to 1972) and Sri Lanka (1972 to 1978) had an independent Central Bank. Historical Independence of CBSL and Economic Stability Sri Lanka had a... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/03/23)
India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal Quadrilateral cooperation
The subregion has immense potential for economic growth and significant untapped economic potential for intra-regional trade. Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) subregional initiative, which was endorsed way back in 1997 to strengthen the region’s pursuit of trade and economic integration, still has a long way to go. A projection based on the actual growth rate in GDP achieved by the BBIN countries over 10-year periods forecasts the combined GDP value of BBIN region would more than double in 2035 and reach a level of US$6.2 (trillion) tn in 2030... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/03/23)
On March 10, a special announcement aimed at easing the hostility between Saudi Arabia and Iran came from both sides.
China was the mediator of the talks held in Beijing. After four days of talks, two regional rivals in the Middle East, Iran and Saudi Arabia, have agreed to restore diplomatic ties.This significant diplomatic shift is undoubtedly an important event for all countries, especially for the Middle East. Because in the current world situation, the political importance of the Middle East and the role of the two countries in regional security are immense.It should be noted that the relationship between Iran and Saudi Arabia began to deteriorate from 2016. The deterioration of diplomatic relations between the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/03/23)
Humanity is losing due to the Biden-Putin war
February 24 marked one year of the Ukraine-Russia war. A year ago, Putin's 200,000 troops invaded Ukraine with arrogance and arrogance. The roar of the Russian tank fleet, some 35 miles long, died down within a few days. We have seen the devastation of tank fleets and the pursuit of Russian troops in various media, including social media. By miscalculating the military, Putin thought he would arrive in Kiev with his troops and vassals while eating pies. But the West, led by the US, has fueled the armed forces and people of Ukraine with arms,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/03/23)
'Israel has developed advanced technologies and methods for water conservation and management'
Tammy Ben-Haim is the Consul General of Israel to South India, based in Bengaluru. Haim is a highly experienced diplomat with 18 years of experience in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and 25 years in the civil service. Most recently Haim was the Minister for Public Diplomacy in the Embassy of Israel in Washington DC. Between 2016 and 2018, Haim served on the South Asia Desk at the Ministry in Jerusalem, where she oversaw and coordinated Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s historic, first-ever visit of an Indian leader to Israel, and the reciprocal... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/03/23)
Sri Lanka’s Energy Crisis Is Weighing On its Economy
Sri Lanka is in the midst of a financial and energy crisis, with high inflation and fuel shortages caused by poor economic management and the Covid-19 pandemic.To manage these issues, the government has introduced a National Fuel Pass to ration fuel, increased taxes and cut energy subsidies, and raised their benchmark interest rate to fight inflation.Sri Lanka is hoping for an IMF bailout which could unlock required funds and attract new investments that may help the country get back on track. Discussions around Sri Lanka’s energy crisis may have died down since... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/03/23)
WHAT ARE POLICY ACTIONS TO IMPROVE INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC VALUES OF SRI LANKA RUPEE?
The value of Sri Lanka rupee (Domestic and Foreign Values) is based on the success of policy action relating demand and supply of the rupee for various purposes. People need to understand that demand and supply values of Sri Lanka rupee would be based on several factors and the policy makers should clearly understand these factors and develop effective policies for the country and implementation of such policy actions would be the way improvement of the value of the Sri Lanka rupee. What are the policy actions. Development of foreign reserves of Sri... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/03/23)
Central Bank disputes Fitch Solutions’ forecast on rupee
Disputing the grim forecast of Sri Lanka’s exchange rate by Fitch Solutions by the year-end, Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe raised concerns on the basis of the forecast while stressing that such long-term predictions on exchange rate are not prudent. Fitch Solution recently maintained its forecast for the rupee to weaken to a record low of 390 per dollar by the year-end despite the positive prospects of the country securing the US$ 2.9 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout package. Dr. Weerasinghe noted that annual debt service obligation to the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/03/23)
A Political Watchdog Speaks Out.
March16.2023 " Political, social and economic issues have suddenly sprung up alarmingly" says a popular and credible Watchdog reporting to the Media which despite their negative sounding nature needs to be heeded in this expected" Era of Progress " since the woeful troubles of the past due mainly to a wayward, corrupt and deplorably failed administration still not apprehended for their crimes of attrition and continue their existences perhaps covertly in some measure.! Indisputably the Watchdog says "The constitution is appreciably violated, state thuggery and aggression are set in place... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/03/23)
Central Bank's lack of independence led to Sri Lanka economic crisis: Weerasinghe
The governor made the statement while talking about a proposed bill aimed to provide autonomy to the Central Bank without any undue influence from the fiscal authorities or the government Nandalal Weerasinghe. Nandalal Weerasinghe has cited the lack of independence of the apex bank in determining the monetary policy as a reason for the country's unprecedented economic crisis. The Sri Lankan government in May last year declared a debt default on over USD 51 billion in foreign loans -- a first in the country's history.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/03/23)
First ever free-of-charge conference, banquet hall to open on Monday
Sri Lanka's first-ever free-of-charge, luxury, high-tech-equipped, conference hall and a grand banquet hall are to be declared open at the Devram Vehera temple in Pannipitiya on Monday (20). Temple’s founder Ven. Kolonnawe Siri Sumangala Thera said the conference hall and wedding hall were built for the people to conduct their social activities, such as seminars and lectures, free of charge.The conference hall has a seating capacity of 500 participants. Meanwhile, Ven. Sumangala Thera said that the wedding hall was also designed with the latest luxury facilities, where up to 200... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/03/23)
Indian Railways kickstart Buddhist Circuit Tourist train
The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has organised a Buddhist tourist train covering 9 places across India and Nepal that impacted Buddha, helping tourists experience his self-disciplined and legendary life, Indian media reported. https://www.irctcbuddhisttrain.com/index To facilitate people to embark on the path of enlightenment, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation's (IRCTC) Buddhist Circuit Tourist train on the Bharat Gaurav Trains concept has commenced its spiritual journey. In the Mahaparinirvana sutra, the Buddha tells his followers that they can attain merit and a... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/03/23)
President to provide conclusive solution to PAYE tax woes – PTUA
The President’s Secretary has reportedly agreed to provide a conclusive solution to the issues concerning the recent revision of the Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) tax. This was stated by the Professionals’ Trade Union Alliance (PTUA), who claimed that the President’s Secretary had agreed to provide a certain extent of relief to those disadvantaged by the increase in taxes. https://youtu.be/IeJMUYaZASo Accordingly, a conclusive solution in this regard is due to be reached at the meeting the PTUA is scheduled to have with the President. The PTUA stated that this... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/03/23)
Deshabandu Tennakoon tipped to be next IGP
Western Province Senior DIG Deshabandu Thennakoon is likely to be appointed as the Inspector General of Police following the retirement of the current IGP C.D Wickramaratne, the Daily Mirror learns. It was reported that the President had recommended to the Constitutional Council the appointment of Senior DIG Tennakoon as the 36th IGP of the Sri Lanka Police. IGP Wickramaratne is scheduled to retire on March 25. Tennakoon, studied at Nalanda College in Colombo, joined the Police Service as an apprentice Assistant Superintendent of Police in 1998. He was promoted... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/03/23)
OXFAM criticizes IMF Loans – IMF creates Poverty & Inequality in developing nations
In a report covering covid-19 period from March 2020 to March 2021 OXFAM’s research bring home some hard facts that are camouflaged by words & terms. IMF Fiscal consolidation is nothing but austerity upon low-income & middle class populations while IMF reforms means cutting social welfare & subsidies. OXFAM says that these measures which cover taxing, wage bill cuts or freezes, pension cuts, subsidy elimination, cuts to public spending have over period of time brought countries to great difficulty as they have to continue taking loans & paying back taken loans with... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/03/23)
Russia, China, Iran... and Saudi Arabia?
Russia, China, Iran... and Saudi Arabia?, by Ron Unz - The Unz ReviewOn Friday geopolitical plates of tectonic scale may have visibly shifted as Iran and Saudi Arabia, two of the most important countries in the Middle East and erstwhile bitter adversaries, announced that they had reestablished diplomatic relations after a lengthy round of negotiations held with top Chinese officials in Beijing. Back in 1945, President Franklin Roosevelt famously met on an American cruiser with Ibn Saud, and our important alliance with oil-rich Saudi Arabia came into being. ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/03/23)
The Prime Minister meets the Governors..
A discussion was held between Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena and the Governors at Temple Trees on 14.03.2023 regarding the future activities and maintenance of 340 Local Government Institutions as the term of office of those institutions ends on March 19th midnight. Governors Tikiri Kobbekaduwa (Sabaragamuwa), Wasantha Karnagoda (North West), M.J.M. Musammil (Uwa), Mahipala Herath (North Central), Willy Gamage (Southern), Lalith U. Gamage (Central), Anuradha Yahampath (Eastern) Roshan Gunathilake (Western), Jeevan Thyagaraja (Northern), Secretary to the Prime Minister Anura Dissanayake, Public Administration Secretary Neil Hapuhinna and Prime Minister's Legal Adviser Dr. Jayatissa de... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/03/23)
I do not believe the governments should control media; Media should ensure ethical standards– Prime Minister
Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said that he did not believe that the governments should control media. However, media should ensure ethical standards, he said while addressing the gathering at the felicitation of Mr. Kumar Nadesan for conferring Pravasi Bharatiya award - the highest recognition given to a non-Indian by the Government of India. Folowing are the excerpts from the speech of the Prime Minister; I am delighted to be present at this occasion when we felicitate a Son of Sri Lanka, who has been awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (Overseas Indian Honour).... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/03/23)
In Monroe-style, they are after the natural resources.
Peru became a key piece of the U.S. military deployment in the region, with the installation of bases in the jungle of that country and the Regional Emergency Operations Centers. Author: Raúl Antonio Capote | informacion
granmai.cu march 9, 2023 07:03:49 The United States has close to 800 military bases throughout the world, of which more than 75 are in Latin America. Photo: Mission Truth Photo: Granma The United States has close to 800 military bases throughout the world, of which more than 75 are in Latin America. Among the best known are 12... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/03/23)
Sri Lanka to introduce new central bank law, inflation target
COLOMBO :Sri Lanka will introduce new central bank legislation aimed at bolstering the bank's independence, accountability and also price stability in the country via a new inflation target, its governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said on Thursday. Sri Lanka is waiting for a $2.9 billion bailout programme from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to be finalised on March 20, and establishing a fully independent central bank is one of the key criteria for receiving the aid package. Economic mismanagement coupled with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic left Sri Lanka severely short of dollars... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/03/23)
Fake News, Disinformation and Propaganda
South Asian media experts stress need to educate people to check with reliable media sources before sharing fake news: Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena at the ceremony held by India-Sri Lanka Society to felicitate Kumar Nadesan, President of Sri Lanka Press Institute, who was awarded Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (Overseas Indian Honour). Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay is also in the picture. The people of Sri Lanka, with more mobile telephones than the number of citizens, are increasingly dependent on social media to get news and... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/03/23)
Discussions on maritime threats and marine pollution mark Colombo Security Conclave
The roadmap of activities was expanded in 2022 and adopted by the member countries - India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Mauritius - with Bangladesh and Seychelles participating as observer countries. Commander Coast Guard Region (North-East) Inspector General Iqbal Singh addresses the Colombo Security Conclave in Kolkata, Wednesday. PTI THE INDIAN Coast Guard on Wednesday organised a tabletop exercise under the aegis of the Colombo Security Conclave in Kolkata, a statement said. Apart from senior officers of the Indian Coast Guard, delegates from Bangladesh, Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and national stakeholders... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/03/23)
Sri Lanka: Pros And Cons Of Bill To Reform The Central Bank – Analysis
Legal, political and administrative objections pose a challenge to the bill which has to be passed to get the IMF bailout As part of the 15 measures needed to be taken to get the IMF’s bailout package of US$ 2.9 billion, the Sri Lankan government has introduced the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Bill. The idea is to get the CBSL to manage the country’s monetary policy and debt in an independent and rational manner and as per international practice. There are legal, political and administrative... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/03/23)
Submit accounts or face termination: EC warns political parties
Failure to submit audited statements of accounts for the year 2021 within 14 days will result in the termination of the right to be treated as a recognized political party, the Election Commission informed political parties today. Commissioner General of Elections Saman Ratnayake said that political parties have been notified to submit their statements of accounts on several occasions. However, certain political parties have failed to submit their statements of accounts. “We have decided to inform under registered cover the political parties that have not to date (2023-03-16) submitted their... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 16/03/23)
Elections unlikely to be held on 25 April - PAFFREL
The People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) claims that the 2023 Local Government (LG) polls are unlikely to be held on 25 April, in light of the current situation. Speaking in this regard, the Executive Director of PAFFREL, Rohana Hettiarachchi, accused the government of acting in a manner that was inconsiderate of the court’s orders. Hettiarachchi further stated that the question of concern as of now is whether the government accepts that holding elections at ‘the right time’ is a democratic right of the people. “If the government... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 16/03/23)
Chairman of the Election Commission awaits response from finance minister on funding for local government elections
The Chairman of the Election Commission, Nimal Punchihewa stated that a response to the letter sent by the Election Commission to the Minister of Finance asking for funds for the local government elections has not yet been received. In an inquiry made by our news team, he said that he continues to believe that the allocation of funds related to the election will be received from the government. On the 12th, the Election Commission again sent a letter to the Minister of Finance asking him to release the funds required for... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 16/03/23)
Fort-Malabe Japan Funded Light Rail Project to Recommence
The government has decided to re-implement the Colombo Fort - Malabe light rail project as a solution to the severe traffic congestion in and around Colombo. Urban Development and Housing Minister Prasanna Ranatunga had recently submitted a Cabinet paper to obtain alternative proposals for this.Minister Ranatunga said that since thousands of public servants work in Colombo, Malabe and other suburbs, they will be able to save time and money with this train service. This project was slated to commence in 2020 after land acquisition, and completed by mid-2024. ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 16/03/23)
Entering IMF program key for Lanka’s revival – First Capital
First Capital says that they believe that attaining the required financial assurances and entering into an IMF program is key for Sri Lanka’s revival while a well planned reform program will ensure acceleration in the recovery trajectory. “At this juncture, Sri Lanka stands with a high level of hope with Sri Lanka so far moving on track of a possible RESURGENCE in the economy!” The improvement in the tourist arrivals and worker remittances are key criteria that positively impact the Balance of Payments while potential debt inflows are expected from... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 16/03/23)
UK launches DCTS, SL eligible for zero tariffs on 92% of products
British High Commissioner Sarah Hulton OBE and Trade Ministry officials. The UK Government launched its new Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) replacing the UK Generalised Scheme of Preferences system (GSP) was launched and under the scheme, Sri Lanka is eligible for zero tariffs on 92% of products. Over 150 additional products will be brought into scope of the new scheme, including milled grains, pet food products and dairy products. Speaking at an event at the Commerce Ministry yesterday, British High Commissioner Sarah Hulton OBE... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/03/23)
Sri Lanka to pilot two floating solar power plants with Korean grant
The Cabinet nod has been granted to install two floating solar plants as a pilot project with 6.83 billion Korean Won funding from the South Korean government. The Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera on Monday sought the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers to sign the discussion paper with the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology and the Department of External Resources to start and implement the pilot project. Under the Framework Convention on Grant Aid signed between the Republic of Korea and Sri Lanka in 2009, the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/03/23)
SL Rupee continues to depreciate against USD
The Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR) has depreciated against the US Dollar (USD) today for the third consecutive day, according to the Central Bank. Accordingly, today's buying rate of USD is Rs. 327.59 while the selling rate is Rs. 344.66. The Rupee has been appreciating against the USD and other major currencies since earlier this month, but the Rupee continue to depreciate against the USD since last Friday. Yesterday's buying rate of USD was Rs. 319.84 while the selling rate was Rs. 335.68... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/03/23)
මේ වසර තුළදී තවත් මැලේසියානු රැකියා දස දහසක් - කම්කරු සහ විදේශ රැකියා අමාත්‍ය මනුෂ නානායක්කාර
මැලේසියානු රජය මෙරටට අනුමත කළ රැකියා දසදහසක කෝටාවට අමතර ව මෙරට ආරක්ෂක අංශ සාමාජිකයන් සඳහා අතිරේක රැකියා දසදහසක කෝටාවක් වෙන් කර ඇති බව කම්කරු හා විදේශ රැකියා අමාත්‍ය මනුෂ නානායක්කාර මහතා අද කොළඹ බණ්ඩාරනායක අනුස්මරණ ජාත්‍යන්තර සම්මන්ත්‍රණ ශාලාවේ දී අද (14) ප්‍රකාශ කළේ ය.ඒ විදේශ රැකියා නියෝජිත ආයතන වෙනුවෙන් සම්මාන ප්‍රදානය කිරීමේ උළෙලට සහභාගී වෙමිනි. එහි දී වැඩිදුරටත් අදහස් දැක් වූ අමාත්‍යවරයා මෙසේ පවසා සිටියේ ය.අපි දැන් අලුත් ගමනාත්ත සොයාගෙන යනවා. ඒ යද්දී මැලේසියාව සුවිශේෂී ගමනාන්තයක් බවට පත් වුණා. කලින් සිටි මැලේසියානු රජය අපට රැකියා දහදහසක කෝටාවක් අනුමත කළා. මේ රැකියා දසදහසේ කෝටාවට අමතර ව වත්මන්... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/03/23)
Police to bolster Colombo’s anti-riot reserves
Police HQ calls up riot control reserves to the Capitol The Police Department, on Tuesday (14), instructed the relevant officers from regional commands to send the surplus anti-riot equipment kept in storage which are allocated to Police divisions in other districts, to the Police Field Force Headquarters (HQ) in Colombo. The order, issued recently, is in anticipation that a wave of protests by trade and university student unions may escalate in the coming days. Speaking to The Daily Morning, Police Media Spokesman, Senior Superintendent of Police and Attorney-at-Law, Nihal Thalduwa... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/03/23)
Govt. Printer to boycott EC over ‘apathy’
Says inadequate intervention to obtain funds for ballot printing Government Printer Gangani Liyanage said that since there is no point in participating in discussions with the Election Commission (EC) in a context where the latter does not intervene enough to obtain the necessary funds for the printing of the ballot papers for the Local Government (LG) elections, even if the EC were to call her in the future, she would not attend any such meeting. The Daily Morning queried Liyanage as to whether she expects to have a discussion... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/03/23)
Strike grips Sri Lanka as unions protest IMF bailout
Colombo (AFP) – Sri Lanka deployed armed troops as trade unions crippled hospitals, ports and banks Wednesday to protest against high income taxes imposed as a precondition for a crucial IMF bailout. Schools cancelled term tests and outpatient departments at hospitals closed due to the work stoppage that involved more than 40 trade unions. Fewer vehicles were seen on roads. Dockers at the main sea port in Colombo stayed away while air traffic controllers joined the combined industrial action to carry out "go slow" for two hours affecting at least 14 international flights.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/03/23)
Sri Lanka's economy contracted 7.8% in 2022
Island finds itself short of dollars as it awaits $2.9bn IMF rescue A demonstrator on March 8 shouts at a police officer during a Colombo protest organized by Women for Rights. Sri Lanka is suffering its worst economic crisis since it gained independence from the British in 1948. © Reuters March 15, 2023 21:30 JST COLOMBO (Reuters) -- Sri Lanka's economy shrank 7.8% in 2022 from the previous year, government data showed on Wednesday, as the country struggled with its worst financial crisis... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/03/23)
Rupee closer to replacing dollar as 18 nations agree to trade in INR
The process of SRVAs started last year in the month of July when the RBI issued detailed guidelines on cross-border trade transactions in the Indian rupees (INR) Several nations express interest to facilitate international trade in Indian rupee. Representational Image/PTI. New Delhi: Indian rupee is edging closer to becoming an international currency with more and more countries working to de-dollarise global trade. Several nations have expressed interest in facilitating international trade in INR and to make the process smooth, India’s central bank – RBI- has given approval for opening... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/03/23)
The Greek Buddhist Monk: From Serres to Sri Lanka
Nanyadasana was born in 1959 as Ioannis Tselios in Serres, northern Greece. Credit: theravada.gr The Greek Buddhist monk Nyanadassana has been a senior monk of the ancient Buddhist Theravada tradition for 37 years in Sri Lanka. Nanyadasana was born in 1959 as Ioannis Tselios in Serres, northern Greece. At the age of 64, after an unusual life, he has become an important Buddhist monk and scholar with many books to his credit, international acclaim and deep experience in meditation. He is called “Bhante”, a respectful... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/03/23)
Perceptual Ability to Talk and advocate Politics.
Political Activism Sri Lanka (Ceylon) was infected with awry politics with no understanding of financial sustenance and resources, except the glory of power and wealth. It started with SJV Chelvanayagam demanding separate administration for the North & East. Somehow the politicking infiltrated the illiterates’ hands except for a few “O” level guys. The writer wishes to analyse and propagate his views of who is competent to talk politics, if not the people will be... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/03/23)
රාජ්‍ය නීතීඥයින්, ජනාධිපති නීතීඥයින් හිටියත් රාජ්‍ය ද්‍රෝහීන් බවට පත්කරපු උඩරට කිරුළේ තීරණය නිවැරදි කරන්න කවුරුත් මැදිහත් වී නැහැ. -අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය දිනේෂ් ගුණවර්ධන මහතා
අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා මේ බව ප්‍රකාශ කළේ අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය කාර්යාලය සංවිධානය කරන සංකථන මණ්ඩපය ශාස්ත්‍රීය වේදිකාව (දෙවන පියවර) 2023.03.13 දින අරලියගහ මන්දිරයේදී පැවති අවස්ථාවෙදීය. මෙවර “උඩරට කැරැල්ල සහ මුරුසි සිරකරුවන්” මැයෙන් ප්‍රධාන දේශනය පුරා විද්‍යා අධ්‍යක්ෂ ජනරාල් මහාචාර්ය අනුර මනතුංග මහතා විසින් සිදුකරනු ලැබීය. එහිදී අදහස් දැක් වූ අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා - එදා අත්අඩංගුවට ගත් අපේ ජාතික වීරවරයන්ට එරෙහිව නිකුත් කරපු නිවේදනයේ බරපතළ කමේ අනෙක් පැත්ත තමයි මේ අයගේ ජීවිත ආරක්ෂාවට එරෙහිව අපේ රටේ මුළු උඩරට ඉඩම් බ්‍රිතාන්‍යයන් සන්තක කරගත්තා. මේ සිරකරුවන්ගේ සහ සියලු පවුල් වලත් පසුව ඔවුන් ජීවත්වෙන ගම් නියම්... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/03/23)
චීන ජනාධිපති ෂි ජින්පිං මහතාගේ තෙවැනි ධුර කාලය වෙනුවෙන් අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය දිනේෂ් ගුණවර්ධන මහතාගෙන් සුභපැතුම්.
චීන ජනාධිපති ෂි ජින්පිං මහතාගේ තෙවැනි ධුර කාලය වෙනුවෙන් අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය දිනේෂ් ගුණවර්ධන මහතා සිය සුභපැතුම් එක් කරනු ලැබීය. 2023.03.13 දින සුභ පැතුම් පණිවිඩයක් නිකුත් කරමින් අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා මෙලෙස සුභපැතුම් එක් කළේය.චිනය සහ ශ්‍රී ලංකාව අතර පවතින සමීප මිත්‍රත්වය හා සහයෝගීතාව තව තවත් ශක්තිමත් කිරීමට චින රජය සමග අඛණ්ඩව කටයුතු කිරීමට බලාපොරොත්තු වන බව අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා සිය සුභපැතුම් පණිවිඩයේ සඳහන්කර තිබේ. නව ධුර කාලය රටවාසී ලෝකවාසී සියළුදෙනාගේ යහපත පිණිස වනු ඇතැයි එතුමා සිය සුභපැතුම් පණිවිඩයෙන් විශ්වාසය පළකර ඇත.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/03/23)
නව පුෂ්පරාග මැණිකක් රත්නපුරෙන් සොයාගැනීමට පර්යේෂණ කණ්ඩායමක් සමත්වෙයි
ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට ආවේණික නව භෞමික උඩවැඩියා ශාක විශේෂයක් සබරගමු පළාතේ රත්නපුර දිස්ත්‍රික්කයෙහි රත්නපුර ප්රාදේශීය ලේකම් කොට්ඨාස සීමාවේ වලංකන්ද ප්‍රදේශය තුලින් සොයා ගැනීමට පර්යේෂකයන් පිරිසක් සමත්වී තිබේ. රත්නපුර ප්රාදේශීය ලේකම් කොට්ඨාශයේ වලන්කන්ද ප්‍රදේශයේ අධ්‍යනයේ යෙදුනු පේරාදෙණිය විශ්වවිද්‍යාලයේ ආචාර්ය උපාධි අපේක්ෂක, පේරාදෙණිය උද්භිද උද්‍යාන ජාතික ශාකාගාරයේ හිටපු නිලධාරියකු වන භාතිය ගොපල්ලව මහතා සහ රජරට විශ්වවිද්‍යාලයේ පශ්චාත් උපාධි අපේක්ෂකයෙකු වන අමිල පෙරේරා මහතා යන දෙපළ විසින් 2021 වර්ෂයේදී සිදුකල අධ්‍යයනයකදී ප්‍රථම වරට මෙම ශාක විශේෂය වාර්තා කිරීමට හැකි විය. 2021 වර්ෂයේදී නව සොයා ගැනීමත් සමග භාතිය ගොපල්ලව මහතා විසින් පර්යේෂණ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/03/23)
Lanka Property Show 2023 8th Edition Goes Hybrid this Year, Promoting Sri Lankan Properties to a Worldwide Audience
Lanka Property Show, the largest real estate exhibition in Sri Lanka is being organised by LankaPropertyWeb, Sri Lanka’s leading online real estate marketplace for the 8th time this year, on the 18th and 19th of March at the Kingsbury hotel, from 8.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m. As one of the leading figures in the Sri Lankan real estate market, LankaPropertyWeb organises the show as a platform where all market stakeholders can collaborate and promote properties on offer to a local and international audience as a pillar to uplift the country’s real... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/03/23)
Data shows fuel prices in India decline as they rise in various countries
Further, data also revealed that the price difference between BJP and non-BJP-ruled states differ, with prices ruling higher in various non-BJP states. NEW DELHI: Prices of petrol and diesel increased in India's immediate neighborhood and as well as some other advanced countries at a time when they declined back home in India, data from various sources showed. In past one year, petrol and diesel prices in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal rose 22-38 per cent and 20-104 per cent, respectively, data showed. In countries such as France, Italy, and Spain,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/03/23)
Sri Lanka clears key anti-corruption legislation mandated by IMF - spokesperson
COLOMBO : Sri Lanka has approved an anti-corruption legislation that is a key clause in the actions needed for its $2.9 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a government spokesperson said on Tuesday. The proposed anti-corruption legislation is part of the IMF staff-level agreement that economic crisis-hit Sri Lanka agreed to last September. "This anti-corruption legislation has been requested by many parties and will also help us get assistance from the IMF and other multilateral partners," spokesperson Bandula Gunawardena told reporters after a meeting of the cabinet. "This... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/03/23)
Sinopec proposes to fully finance Sri Lanka refinery
Chinese state-owned Sinopec has proposed to fully finance the construction of a refinery in Hambantota district in Sri Lanka, the island nation said on 13 March. Representatives from Sinopec presented Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremesinghe with a proposal, and also confirmed their "readiness to invest in the import, storage, distribution, and marketing of fuel to cater to Sri Lanka's energy requirements", the president's media division said on 13 March. The Sri Lankan government had last month invited expressions of interest to set up an oil refinery and oil product processing plant near the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/03/23)
Why are We So Scared of India? – Part-I
Three experiences – the 1987 Indian intervention, 2015 regime change operation and the Russian-Ukraine war has made the Sri Lanka Government extremely scared of India. Unfortunately, the time we managed a successful relationship with India, between 2005 and 2009, during the height of the war against terrorism, is almost forgotten. Therefore, we fail to draw lessons from that period and strategy employed to improve relations with our closest neighbour. Instead, we look at the most negative incidents and scare ourselves senseless. India’s national security Our state of fear... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/03/23)
Continuous strikes in SL are plotted by international forces: Vajira
NPP member K. D. Lalkantha has understood the reality and is correct in opposing continuous strikes, Presidential Advisor and UNP MP Vajira Abeywardene said today. “Lalkantha seemed to understand the reality and the disruption caused by strikes and protests. This is why he said he is opposed to continuous strikes," Abeywardene told a press conference. “The general strike scheduled for tomorrow will push the country into a deep crisis and it will not be able to come out in 25 years if it succeeds. However, it is sure to be... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/03/23)
TU action held to sabotage IMF bailout: Bandula
The main objective of the strike launched by a cross-section of trade unions is not to win demands but to sabotage the program to obtain an Extended Fund Facility (EFF) of US$ 2.9 billion from the IMF, cabinet Spokesman, Media, Transport and Highways Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardana said today. The trade union action by teachers demanding to increase the payments for marking the GCE A/L answer scripts to Rs 3,000 came under heavy criticism by Minister Dr. Gunawardana who said the demand was extremely unfair, indecent and treacherous. Explaining the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/03/23)
Leave of all railway workers cancelled for tomorrow with immediate effect
All leaves of all Railways Department workers designated as Essential Public Service will be cancelled with immediate effect, the Transport Ministry said. Officials said that the Railways Department had been Gazetted as “Essential Service” following an Extra Ordinary Notification (2321/07) issued on February 23 by the President. Accordingly, the Railways General Manager W.A.D.S. Gunasinghe has taken steps to cancel the leave of all the staff of the Sri Lanka Railways, which has been declared an essential public service in terms of Section 2 of the Essential Public Services Act No.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/03/23)
Banks lift overseas spending limits imposed on credit cards as dollar liquidity improves
Several credit card issuers have lifted the limits that hitherto had on overseas use, as they saw their foreign currency conditions improving substantially in the recent times, providing them a lot more room to allow their cardholders with higher spending thresholds when they travel overseas. When the country’s foreign currency conditions were getting tightened last year, the banks that issued credit cards imposed daily limits on card usage on payments made overseas, to preserve the limited foreign currency within the country. However, the recent excess foreign currency liquidity conditions in... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/03/23)
Psychoanalysis examination for Varsity students
Peradeniya University Administration has decided to subject all new entrants to a Psychoanalysis medical test. Deputy Vice-Chancellor Pro. Terrance Madujith told the media on Sunday evening (12) at the Senate House that the students admitted to the Medical Faculty and the Management Faculty were medically tested and found that five percent of them were in a condition requiring psychiatric treatment. The media conference was chaired by Vice Chancellor Prof. M. D. Lamawansa. Prof. Madujith said that the new entrants would be subject to a psychoanalysis test to identify... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/03/23)
"ජාමූඅ සාපයට පියවර හතරක්"
ජාත්‍යන්තර මූල්‍ය අරමුදලේ ක්‍රියාවලිය ආරම්භ වන්නේ සාමාන්‍යයෙන් තරු 5 හෝටලයක සිදුවන 'පරීක්ෂණයකින්' බව ස්ටිග්ලිට්ස් ප්‍රකාශ කරයි, එහිදී මුදල් ඇමතිවරයෙකුට ඔහුගේ 'ස්වේච්ඡා' අත්සන සඳහා පූර්ව කෙටුම්පත් කරන ලද 'ප්‍රතිව්‍යුහගත කිරීමේ ගිවිසුමක්' භාර දෙනු ලැබේ. ජාත්‍යන්තර මූල්‍ය අරමුදල සෑම ඇමතිවරයෙකුටම එකම පියවර හතරක වැඩපිළිවෙලක් ලබා දෙයි.(2015 දී එවකට ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ මුදල් ඇමති - කරුණානායක - පළමු බැඳුම්කර මගඩියට දින කිහිපයකට පෙර, වොෂින්ටනයේ සිට කැඳවීමට ප්‍රතිචාර දක්වමින්, IMF හි ලගාර්ඩ් වෙත කරුණු දැක්වීමක් සඳහා වාර්තා කළේය. එම දැනුම් දීමෙන් පසු කරුණානායක නැවත කොළඹට පැමිණියේය. ටේල්, ටොඩ් ෂ්නයිඩර් සහ පැසිෆික් දෙපාර්තමේන්තු අධ්‍යක්ෂ ඡන්ග්යොන්ග් ර්‍හී ගේ නායකත්වයෙන්... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/03/23)
CENTRAL BANK OF SRI LANKA must seek NON-INTERFERENCE not INDEPENDENCE
Who wants to make Sri Lanka’s Central Bank “independent” & why? Who drafted the clauses? What is the sudden rush to make Sri Lanka’s monetary arm “independent”? Who included “The Central Bank shall be autonomous and accountable as provided for in this Act”. Accountable to whom? Who included “The autonomy of the Central Bank shall be respected at all times and no person or entity shall cause any influence on the Governor of the Central Bank or other members of the Governing Board & Monetary Policy Board or employees of the Central Bank in the exercise, performance... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/03/23)
THE CHANGING THE CONTENTS OF SRI LANKA RUPEE AND ALLEGORICAL VIEWS OF THE OPPOSITION
People who know the history of the Sri Lanka rupee would not panic about the surprising changes if the sudden change in foreign and domestic value of it because of the changes in the economy after the Covid-19 backwardness as many has been incurred to the economy. The Sri Lanka rupee value gradually commenced to fluctuating the results of several reasons such as the change of the world economic prospectus, decline in tourism development and downward trend of export revenue. This situation created as a result of uncontrollable reasons to the government of Sri Lanka... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/03/23)
Students can use latest digital knowledge hub to find solutions to major economic, agricultural and scientific issues – Prime Minister
Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said in today’s digital world, a digital hub is an essential resource base for students to have access to modern knowledge. Opening the new Digital Hub at the BMS, premier university on business management, he said the move by BMS to set up its Digital Hub to connect all those involved in learning to a common net is timely and in line with the government policy. “Like the income divide between the rich and the poor countries, there is a digital divide also between them. This need not... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/03/23)
Buddhism’s place in the history of China-India ties
Colombo, March 13: Besides trade, Buddhism played a major role in the creation of ties between India and China in ancient times. These religious ties were established in the First Millennium of the Common Era (CE or AD). But they weakened gradually, to the point of vanishing in the Second Millennium, when Buddhism disappeared in India, the land of its birth, and China developed its own brand of Buddhism through a process of “Sinification”. The growth and decline of Buddhism in Sino-Indian relations are described in fascinating... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/03/23)
It is unlikely that Finance Ministry would release sufficient funds: EC
A highly disappointed chairman of the Election Commission (EC) Nimal G. Punchihewa yesterday lamented that it is unlikely that the Finance Ministry would release sufficient funds to the EC to conduct Local Council (LC) polls as ordered by the highest court in the country and therefore the only remedy is to seek redress from the Supreme Court once again as a last resort. But it has to be done by the petitioners – the main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) - who obtained the Supreme Court ruling that ordered the Finance Ministry... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 13/03/23)
Govt. to double mid-day meals for school children
A national program that currently provides a mid-day meal for schoolchildren will be doubled from the start of the next school term, Education Minister Susil Premajayantha said. He said the ministry is currently providing a mid-day meal for 1.1 million schoolchildren. The program was kicked off in January with the support of US AID, the World Food Program (WFP), and the government. (Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama)... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 13/03/23)
NCPA proposes to establish Infant Receiving Centres in Hospitals
The Child Protection Authority has proposed to establish Infant Receiving Centres in Hospitals in all nine provinces where parents could hand over their new born infants without claiming their identity, Chairman of the National Child Protection Authority Udayakumara Amarasinghe said today. He told a news conference that a set of proposals were drafted by the NCPA in 2021 in this regard. He said according to the proposal, it was proposed to open Infant Receiving Centres in Hospitals covering all nine provinces allowing parents who were unable or unwilling to bring... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 13/03/23)
Govt has taken principled decision to expand fuel distribution - President
During a discussion with the representatives of the Sinopec Group held at the Presidential Secretariat this morning (March 13), President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that the government has taken a principled decision to expand the distribution of fuel which is expected to commence shortly. The representatives from the Sinopec Group confirmed their readiness to invest in the import, storage, distribution, and marketing of fuel to cater to Sri Lanka’s energy requirements. The representatives informed the Sri Lankan Government that their organization has adhered to the existing system and has applied accordingly. They further conveyed... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 13/03/23)
Immigration Dept apologizes to Mahindananda; probe underway into airport mishap
The Department of Immigration and Emigration says an investigation is underway after MP Mahindananda Aluthgamage, who arrived at Katunayake Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) to depart for a foreign visit, was turned away last week. Issuing a statement, the department explained that, as per the information received, the situation arose after an employee incorrectly entered the data of someone else into the system as the MP’s passport data. Accordingly, the employee who is responsible for the mishap has been suspended, pending an inquiry, the department said further. Sri Lanka Computer Emergency... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 13/03/23)
Of British Colonial Administrators with Special Reference to C.J.R. Le Mesurier, Assistant Government Agent of Nuwara Eliya District and British Planters in the Central Province of Ceylon in 1870 -1895
(Excerpts from a Forthcoming Publication Titled “Dumbara Rata”) (1) Introduction Still our Kalu Suddhas lament that Ceylon lost British planters owing to granting of “Independence” to the country and then impending nationalisation of the plantations. They add that the brown sahibs left the country owing to “Sinhala Only” Act and later Land Reforms carried out by Mrs. B’s Government. The theory behind this lamentation is that British speculators, adventurers, wanderers and risk-takers (before they became Planters) came here with the good intention of developing a colony, bringing new technology and transferring... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 13/03/23)
Proposed Central Bank of Sri Lanka Bill -OPINION
The Government has Gazetted a Bill to repeal the existing Monetary Law Act, which is presently Governing the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), and to replace it with a new Central Bank of Sri Lanka Act. The purpose of this new Bill is to make the CBSL an autonomous entity, as per the Clause 5(3). While it is acknowledged that any undue intervention into internal management of any Statutory body, including regulators, is undesirable, and therefore should be prevented, the scope for... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 13/03/23)
Professor Yunus needs to stop calling foreign friends
Recently, 40 global figures expressed their "deep concerns for the well-being" of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus in an open letter to prime minister Sheikh Hasina, which appeared as a full-page ad in the Washington Post on Tuesday, 7 March 2023. Citing the achievements of Yunus and Grameen Initiatives, global figures including former UN General Secretary Ban-Ki Moon and former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asked Bangladesh to stop government investigation on these organizations to end the ‘harassment’ of the Noble Laureate. This is not the first-time global... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 13/03/23)
Significance of 'India-Bangladesh friendship pipeline diplomacy'
India will begin exporting diesel to neighbouring Bangladesh through a pipeline this month after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina inaugurate the cross-border oil pipeline on 18 March. “Good news is India will send us diesel, the (oil) pipeline has been completed. The two premiers will inaugurate the pipeline on 18 March,” Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said. The India-Bangladesh cross-border pipeline will be inaugurated by the Prime Ministers of Bangladesh and India virtually. India-Bangladesh friendship pipeline ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 13/03/23)
Global signature campaign in favor of an immoral Nobel Peace Laureate: International politics on Bangladesh's Dr Yunus case?
Recently, 40 global figures wrote an open letter to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh expressing their concern over Professor Yunus’ well-being. The letter was published in the Washington Post as an advertisement. A wide range of global personas signed the letter, including former UN General Secretary Ban-Ki Moon, U2 singer Bono, Former US Vice President Al Gore, Actress Sharon Stone, and many more. Citing the achievements of Yunus and Grameen Initiatives, the global figures asked Bangladesh to stop government investigation on these organisations to end the ‘harassment’ of the Noble... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 13/03/23)
Minsitry of Public Security is not issued summons - HRC
HRCSL wishes to clarify that certain reports circulating to the effect that summons had been issued on the ministry of public security are inaccurate and that no such summons has been issued at this stage. "This statement is made to clarify the erroneous statements carried out in the media" the Commission informed in a press release issued today... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 13/03/23)
US Federal Reserve Hijacks Sri Lanka’s Central Bank to Hinder Industrialization
‘Give me control of a Nation’s money supply, and I care not who makes its laws’ – Mayer Rothschild ‘There should be no room left for monetary policy decisions to become popular decisions.’ – Central Bank Governor N Weerasinghe on the latest Monetary Law Act (ee Economy) ‘The Central Bank of Sri Lanka is no longer independent. It constitutes a clear and present danger to the country as an agent of the IMF.’ – Ahilan Kadirgamar ( ee Economists, Inflation, Interest Rates & Economic Depression) ‘One political leader who... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 13/03/23)
Transport Ministry to register assembled motorcycles with higher engine capacity
The Transport Ministry has decided to register unregistered motorcycles with high engine capacity under a legal framework. Minister c instructed the ministry officials to prepare a proper system soon for the above matter. The decision was taken following requests made by several sports clubs. Those associations had requested the minister provide a proper way to register the motorcycles that were brought to Sri Lanka and assembled with engine capacities above 450 cc. (Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama)... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 12/03/23)
IGP orders probe over Bandarawela HQI’s conduct over arrest of woman
The Inspector General of Police (IGP) has instructed the Special Investigation Division to immediately initiate an investigation against the HQI of the Bandarawela Police in connection with his action following the arrest of the mother of the infant who was abandoned at Fort Railway station on Friday. Police said the investigations will be carried out over the conduct of the Chief Inspector of Police with regard to the arrest, questioning and inappropriate steps during the process, inconveniencing the mother. Also, it was revealed that the officer had not acted according... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 12/03/23)
Kanchana says int’l development agencies conveyed support to restructure CEB
Power & Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera says several international development agencies have communicated the assistance they can offer to restructure the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB). In a tweet, the lawmaker mentioned that the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the World Bank, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have conveyed support for the process. A meeting has been convened on Friday (March 10) to discuss the progress of restructuring the state-owned electricity utility. Wijesekera said the roadmap and the timeline of the CEB restructuring... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 11/03/23)
Rupee set to strengthen with IMF loan and increased receipts
Professor Aminda Methsila of the Faculty of Management and Finance of Wayamba University stated that the rupee will continue to strengthen due to the loan facility from the International Monetary Fund and other receipts. He stated this while commenting on the opinion presented by Fitch Ratings that the value of the rupee may depreciate again by the end of this year. Meanwhile, The Government of Japan has contributed an additional 6.6 million dollars to the United Nations World Food Programme to provide critical food and nutrition assistance to over one million... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 11/03/23)
මිලින්ද මොරගොඩ සර්
ගෝඨාභය ජනාධිපති මිලින්ද මොරගොඩට සර් කියා ඇමතුවාය යන කතාව අසා මගේ හිත බලවත් ලෙස සසල වූයේ, පුද්ගලයෙකු වශයෙන් ගෝඨාභය කෙරෙහි මා තුල පැවති ගෞරවය හා ආදරය නිසාය. විජේවීරගේ වෛද්‍යවරයා මෙන් ක්‍රියාකල වෛද්‍ය වසන්ත බණ්ඩාර සමඟ චමුදිත සමරවික්‍රම කල සාකච්චාව රටේ හැම සිංහල බෞද්ධයෙක් විසින්ම කියවිය යුතු වාර්තාවකි. (30) ගෝඨාභය මරලා මහින්ද ජනාධිපති කිරීමේ කුමන්ත්‍රණයක් තිබුණේ. රනිල් ප්ලැන් B
TruthwithChamuditha - YouTube එක අතකින් සේපාල් අමරසිංහලා ඇතුළු පිරිසත් අනිත් පැත්තෙන් බෝන් අගේන් කල්ලිත්, දෙමළ බෙදුම්වාදීන්, ශාරියා කාරයින් හා න්ගො නඩ විසින් වටකරගෙන සිංහල බෞද්ධ ශිෂ්ටාචාරයට කරගෙන යන පහරදීම් ඉදිරියේ වසන්ත බණ්ඩාර, මාවරල් භද්දිය... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 11/03/23)
President Putin and His Special Operation
At present, President Putin is conducting what he calls “a special operation” in Ukraine. This is not a fully-fledged war. It is constrained and is limited in its objectives. He is fulfilling his well-known and often stated objectives of: (1) Protecting the Russian speaking peoples of the Luhansk, Donbass, Kherson and Mariopol regions of eastern Ukraine from indiscriminate shelling. They were getting incoming shells fired by the Ukrainian far-right or Fascists who are to be found throughout the ranks of Ukrainian army, and even 20% or 30% of the population as a whole. Ever... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 11/03/23)
Sri Lanka needs institutional changes for long-term debt sustainability, expert says
Sri Lanka needs institutional reforms in order to achieve long-term debt sustainability, said Steve Hanke, who played a key role in establishing new currency regimes in emerging markets like Argentina and Montenegro. The South Asian country is grappling with its worst financial crisis in decades and needs to unlock a $2.9 billion IMF loan that was agreed to in September, to get its public finances in order. “Unless you change the institutions and the rules of the game governing these countries, they’re always going to remain in the same ... situation that... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 10/03/23)
Semasinghe’s request on privilege issue raised over SC interim order on LG polls
State Minister Shehan Semasinghe has requested the Deputy Speaker of Parliament to instruct relevant authorities not to act on the interim order issued by the Supreme Court regarding the 2023 Local Government polls until the inquiry carried out by the Parliamentary Committee on Privileges comes to an end. https://youtu.be/kzEINz7pYCY Furthermore, he also asked the letter sent to the Finance Minister by the Election Commission Chairman, to be referred to the Parliamentary Committee on Privileges. The state minister made these remarks referring to the issue of privilege raised by... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 10/03/23)
COMPETENCE OF MR RANIL WICKRAMASINGHE DIRECT HIM FOR ANOTHER TWO TIMES FOR PRESIDENTSHIP IN SRI LANKA
Many left politicians in Sri Lanka look at Mr Ranil Wickremasinghe as a capitalist agent but after Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Mr Wickremasinghe became president giving hope for Sri Lankans to come out of economic backwardness. Mr Wickremasinghe is not a person like barking dog in stages expecting cheers and clapping from the crowd. The nature of left and Marxist politicians in Sri Lanka, they organize protest, rallies and various actions on the roads to attract people, not to show their capabilities of policy development and implementing. Mr Ranil Wickremasinghe who has a clear political history... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 10/03/23)
The obligation of Politicians to the Society
Politics The goal of human understanding is to enhance knowledge in political science to execute political action(s) to develop tools for a political meaningful phenomenon. Politics in governance is a science by which a country is governed to achieve effective and efficient order in economics, finance, defence, and resources. Politics is a way in which people collectively make decisions so that they can live together in countries. The basic type... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 10/03/23)
The correct depiction of the identity of Sri Lanka taking into account its ethnic and religious composition
Sri Lanka is Multicultural, Multi-Religious, and Multi-Lingual. This is a fact. Sri Lanka is predominantly Buddhist. About 70% of Sri Lanka's population is Sinhala Buddhist. This is a fact. Therefore taking into account these ground realities Sri Lanka's identity can be defined as follows: Sri Lanka is a predominantly Sinhala Buddhist country with a multi-religious, multi-lingual, and multi-cultural background. Some hide the Sinhala Buddhist component in the identity of Sri Lanka. This is wrong. Sri Lanka has always been identified as a Buddhist country. ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 10/03/23)
තායිලන්තයේ රැකියා ලබාදෙන බව පවසා පුද්ගලයින් ලාඕසයේ අතරමං කිරීමේ ජාවාරමට සැකපිට ජාතික ජන බලවේගයේ ප්රාදේශීය සභා අපේක්ෂකයා අත්අඩංගුවට
තායිලන්තයේ රැකියා ලබාදෙන බව පවසමින් පුද්ගලයින් සංචාරක වීසා මත ලාඕසයට රැගෙන ගොස් අතරමං කර රුපියල් ලක්ෂ විස්සකට ආසන්න මුදලක් වංචා කිරීමේ චෝදනාව මත විමර්ශන අංශ මගහරිමින් සිටි අම්බලන්තොට ප්රාදේශීය සභාවේ ජාතික ජන බලවේගයේ අපේක්ෂකයා අද (09) සවස අත්අඩංගුවට ගෙන තිබේ.මෙම පුද්ගලයා අත්අඩංගුවට ගැනීම සදහා ශ්‍රී ලංකා විදේශ සේවා නියුක්ති කාර්යාංශයේ විමර්ශන අංශය විසින් විමර්ශන කටයුතු සිදුකරමින් සිටි අතර දිගින් දිගටම ඔහු විමර්ශන අංශ මගහරිමින් සිටියේය. ඔහු අද දිනයේදී නීතීඥයෙක් මාර්ගයෙන් ශ්‍රී ලංකා විදේශ සේවා නියුක්ති කාර්යාංශයේ විමර්ශන අංශය වෙත භාරවී තිබූ අතර ඉන් පසු ඔහු මෙසේ අත්අඩංගුවට ගෙන ඇත.තායිලන්තයේ සමාගමක රැකියා ලබාදෙන බව පවසමින් සංචාරක... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 10/03/23)
ඇමරිකානු රහස් ඔත්තු සේවා රට බිල්ලට ගෙන සිදුකිරීමට යන මෙහෙයුම ගැන වෛද්‍ය වසන්ත බණ්ඩාරගෙන් ප්‍රබල හෙළිදරව්වක් (වීඩියෝ)
පසුගිය දා මෙරටට ඇමෙරිකානු ගුවන් හමුදා යානා 2කින් පෙන්ටගනයේ නිලධාරීන් 20 දෙනෙකු පැමිණ ක්‍රියාත්මක කළ “ටොප් සීක්‍රට් මිෂන්” එක කුමක්ද? ඔවුන්ගේ මෙරට පැමිණිමට පෙර ශ්‍රී ලංකා රාජ්‍යය ඔවුන් කළමනාකරණය කරනු ලැබූවේ කුමන ආකාරයෙන්ද? යන්න පිළිබදව දේශ හිතෛෂී ජාතික ව්‍යාපාරයේ ලේකම් වෛද්‍ය වසන්ත බණ්ඩාර මහතා ප්‍රබල හෙළිදරව්වක් සිදුකර තිබේ. සමාජ මාධ්‍ය නාලිකාවක් හා සාම්මුඛ සාකච්ඡාවකට එක් වෙමින් වසන්ත බණ්ඩාර මහතා පවසන්නේ වික්ටෝරියා නූලන්ඩ්ගේ ආගමනයත් සමගම සිදුවූ මෙම ඇමරිකානු රහස් ඔත්තු සේවා නිලධාරීන්ගේ රහස් ගොඩබැසීම මෙරටට දැඩි තර්ජනයක් එල්ල කරන බවයි. මෙම මෙහෙයුමේ සිටි ප්‍රබලම පුද්ගලයා වන්නේ නේටෝ සංවිධානයේ හිටපු ප්‍රතිපත්ති සහ සැලසුම්... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 10/03/23)
IMF’s US$2.9 billion bailout an ‘endorsement’ for Sri Lanka’s economic recovery: analysts
Sri Lanka has been waiting since September for the IMF loan, as the broke country seeks a desperate path to recoveryPeople have been struggling to make ends meet and afford basic supplies, with sharp increases in electricity charges and income taxes taking a toll A vendor waits for customers at his vegetable stall at a main market in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in February 2023. Photo: Reuters The long-awaited IMF financing will not “drastically change the trajectory of things” for Sri Lankans struggling with... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 10/03/23)
Reforms are essential to come out of the crisis stronger - EU
While welcoming the progress made on debt restructuring, the European Union today said that reforms are essential to come out of the crisis stronger. “As the EU States gave early financing assurances to the Sri Lanka Government, the Delegation of the European Union to Sri Lanka welcomes the progress made on debt restructuring. Reforms are essential to come out of the crisis stronger. The EU will continue supporting Sri Lankans, including through renewed efforts on social protection,” the EU in Sri Lanka tweeted today.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 10/03/23)
17 ships sail into Colombo Port turned back due to recent protest by port TUs: Minister
Seventeen ships that arrived at Colombo Port turned back due to the recent protest by the port trade unions, Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said today. He told Parliament that he made a tremendous effort to bring them back to the port and said he only managed to bring only a few of them back. "I discussed with shipping agencies to bring the ships back to the port. But, I only managed to bring only a few of them," he said. The... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 10/03/23)
New anti-corruption law in Parliament soon as IMF considers Sri Lanka’s loan
Cabinet Spokesperson Bandula Gunawardana says new anti-corruption bill will be presented to Parliament soonSays Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe has already drafted billReducing corruption vulnerabilities remains a key objective of IMF-backed programmeA stolen asset recovery initiative likely to be included in new law The government will bring in an anti-corruption bill to Parliament shortly, as agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) when entering a staff-level agreement last September, Cabinet Spokesperson Minister Bandula Gunawardana said. Introducing new anti-corruption laws to reduce corruption vulnerabilities to unlock Sri Lanka’s growth potential was among... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 10/03/23)
Sri Lanka to announce debt restructuring strategy in April – CBSL governor
Sri Lanka aims to announce a debt-restructuring strategy in April and step up talks with commercial creditors ahead of an International Monetary Fund review of a bailout package in six months, the country’s central bank governor told Reuters on Thursday. The crisis-hit island has secured financing assurances from all its major bilateral creditors, including India and China, and so had set the stage for the IMF to give its final approval for a $2.9 billion, four-year bailout package on March 20, the multilateral lender said on Tuesday. https://youtu.be/ng8WoNc9f78 ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 10/03/23)
Japan funds 6.6 million to WFP Sri Lanka to improve food security
The Government of Japan has contributed an additional US$6.6 million to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to provide critical food and nutrition assistance to over one million Sri Lankans. Through this funding, WFP will provide families with food baskets comprising rice, pulses and cooking oil, to meet half their monthly food needs for a period of two months. The donation will also be used to procure maize and soybean for the production of Thriposha, a fortified food product, for a period of four months, which will be supplied to pregnant and breastfeeding... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 09/03/23)
IMF bailout to help Sri Lanka revive $1.6 billion Japan projects - Report
The International Monetary Fund’s anticipated endorsement of Sri Lanka’s reforms and debt restructuring is expected to unlock funding of about 220 billion yen ($1.6 billion) for projects suspended by Japan, people familiar with the matter said. IMF board approval, when it arrives, should help convince the Japanese government to restart several projects that are in different stages of completion, the people said, asking not to be named as the information is not public. The projects involve a 74 billion yen upgrade to the South Asian island’s main international airport, and others including energy, water... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 09/03/23)
AG’s revision application against release of IUSF convenor fixed for hearing
The revision application filed by the Attorney General seeking the nullification of the order issued by the Colombo Chief Magistrate pertaining to the release of the Inter-University Students’ Federation (IUSF) convenor Wasantha Mudalige from charges under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) has been fixed for hearing on 27 March. The decision was announced by the Colombo High Court today (09 March), while a summons has also been issued to Mudalige, requiring him to appear in court on the aforementioned date. Mudalige was arrested on 22 August 2022, on charges filed under... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 09/03/23)
Legislative Standing Committee agrees on 25% of youth representation for LG bodies
The Local Government Elections (Amendment) Bill presented by MPs Premnath C. Dolawatta and Imthiaz Bakeer Markar as Private Members’ Bills along with Ministerial reports were considered by the Legislative Standing Committee in Parliament on 28 February. The Legislative Standing Committee, which took into discussion the said Bill, was chaired by Ajith Rajapakse, Deputy Speaker of Parliament. Standing Orders 53(4) dictates that “No clause that is not in accordance with the basic desire of the Honorable Member presenting a Bill shall be allowed to be included in a Bill.” Accordingly, the committee directed... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 09/03/23)
A letter from the press secretary asking for money and security
Government Printer Gangani Liyanage has sent letters to the Finance Ministry Secretary and the IGP requesting for fuinds and security to print ballot papers. She said that the relevant letters were taken to the Ministry of Finance and Police Headquarters and handed over. It is stated in the letter sent by the Government Printer to the IGP that 35 police officers are needed during the day and 28 at night during the period of printing the ballot papers. Also, it is reported that out of the 500 million rupees... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 09/03/23)
TRUE HISTORY OF SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE
I concluded a previous article published in Lankaweb on January 28, 2023 (Is recolonisation the final solution II) touching on the deplorable situation that innocent Sri Lankans have been plunged into not only by the current economic crisis but also by the so-called Tamil ethnic problem, both aggravated by unjust direct foreign intervention in Sri Lanka’s internal affairs, subversive NGO activities and various forms of imported religious fundamentalism, with the following words: “The solution is not to try to return to the alleged Utopia that the British are believed by some to... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/03/23)
Nuclear Power.
In a recent media article with the title’ Govt’s amazing death wish for nuclear plant on Lankan soil’ was typical of selective reporting. It would have been fair by the reading public if the scales of the Chernobyl plant and the proposed Sri Lanka plant were indicated. Chernobyl was of 720 MW capacity. I understand that the proposed units in Sri Lanka would be only of 100 MW. It is noted that the present nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers have 194 MW power units. To complete the picture the information on the current status of our... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/03/23)
අපි ඩොලර් වැස්සේ තෙමෙමු
ලංකාව මෙයට පෙර අවස්ථා 16 ක ජාත්‍යන්තර මුල්‍ය අරමුදල සමඟ ගිවිසුම්ගත වී ඇත. නමුත්, එයින් අවස්ථා 10 ක දී සම්පූර්ණ ණය මුදල් ලැබුණු අතර, 6 ක දී මුළු ණය මුදල රටට ලැබුණේ නැත. කොන්දේස ඉටු නොකිරීම, දේශපාලන බලපෙරළි, රට තුල ඇතිවූ අස්ථාවරත්වය ණය ගිවිසුම අතරමඟ කඩාකප්පල් කළේය. උන්ඩියල් සහ මනී එක්ස්චෙන්ජ් මිල බැංකුවේ මිලට වඩා අඩු වී ඇති නිසා ඩොලර් ලැබෙන්නේ බැංකු පද්ධතිය හරහා ය. අපනයනකරුවන් සිය ඩොලර් වහා රුපියල්වලට හරවා සිය පාඩුව අවම කර ගනී. අර්බුදයත් සමඟම ඩොලර් මිලදී ගෙන අර්බුදය තීව්ර කළ ලංකාවේ මධ්‍යම පන්තිය ඩොලර් විකුණමින් සිටී. පිටරට සැඟවූ මුදල්... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/03/23)
කාන්තාවන් සවිබල ගන්වන බැංකු ක්‍රමයක ආරම්භයක් කරා.."කාන්තාවන් සවිබල ගන්වමින්,බැංකු ක්ෂේත්‍රයට කාන්තාවන් ආකර්ශනය කර ගැනීමට නව දිරිගැන්වීම් අවශ්‍යයි" - අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය දිනේෂ් ගුණවර්ධන මහතා.
විදිමත් අයුරින් ක්‍රියාත්මක බැංකු සේවාව සඳහා කාන්තාවන් ආකර්ශනය කර ගැනීමට නව දිරිගැන්වීම් අවශ්‍ය බව අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා ප්‍රකාශ කළේ 2023.03.07 දින අරලියගහ මන්දිරයේදී ශ්‍රී ලංකා මහ බැංකුව, සියලුම රාජ්‍ය හා පෞද්ගලික බැංකු ප්‍රධානීන්, විධායක නිලධාරීන් අමතමිනි. "මෙම ක්‍රමවේදය ඔස්සේ ආර්ථිකයේ නාගරික, ග්‍රාමීය, වතු, කාන්තා භූමිකාව ශක්තිමත් කිරීමට හැකියි. එමෙන්ම අධික පොලි අනුපාත අයකර කාන්තාවන් සූරා කන අවිධිමත් ණය දෙන්නන් ගෙන් ඔවුන් ආරක්ෂා කර ගැනීමට ද මෙය ඉවහල් වේ. සුළු හා මධ්‍ය පරිමාණ ව්‍යවසායකයින් මෙන්ම වතුකරයේ කාන්තාවන් සඳහා සහන ණය යෝජනා ක්‍රම පුළුල් කළ යුතුයි. බැංකු ක්‍රමය තුල විධිමත් ලෙස නව තාක්ෂණික පහසුකම් සලසමින්... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/03/23)
The woman who makes use of new technology can efficiently contribute to the national produce. - Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena
The Prime Minister mentioned that the woman who makes use of new technology can efficientlycontribute to the national produce. He said at a function International Women's Day held inappreciation of the women working in the Prime Minister's Office today (08) .The following are excerpts from the speech delivered by the Prime Minister.A large number of women hold many responsibilities in the Prime Minister's Office in variouscapacities.The Prime Minister's office implements various programs for the benefit of the country and thepeople.At this time, it is special to come together as the Prime Minister's Office to... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/03/23)
French-Cameroonian commission to turn light on colonial era
French-Cameroonian commission to turn light on colonial era | Africanews A joint French-Cameroonian commission started Friday (Mar. 3rd) work on delving into France's role in the nation's colonial past and post-independence years. It is jointly headed by a Cameroonian artist Blick Bassy and a French historian Karine Ramondy. The composition of the team tasked with digging into a chapter of the central African country's history clouded by bloodshed and silence has stirred controversy. "We only have 14 seats, or 14 selected if I may borrow football's metaphor. Some people... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/03/23)
Three key women instrumental in helping SL during its troubled period: President
President Ranil Wickremesinghe today said that three women were instrumental in helping Sri Lanka during its troubled period. “When reflecting upon those who contributed to freeing the people from the sufferings experienced during the past, I think it is important to mention the names of three women who played a significant role,” the President said addressing the International Women's Day National celebration in Colombo. He said that the three women the Finance Minister of India Nirmala Sitharaman, the US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and the Managing Director of the International... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/03/23)
Committee headed by judge to probe irregularities within Central Cultural Fund
The Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) has recommended that a committee, headed by a retired court judge, be appointed to investigate the issues raised by the special audit report of the Central Cultural Fund for the period between 2015 and 2019. It was also recommended that the report of the newly-proposed committee be presented before COPE within 03 months. These recommendations were amongst five recommendations given during a COPE meeting held yesterday (07 March), under the patronage of Prof. Ranjith Bandara. The meeting was held in order to investigate the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/03/23)
Sri Lanka’s rupee will reverse gains and plummet 20%, Fitch says
Sri Lanka’s rupee, which became the world’s best performing currency this year amid hopes of an International Monetary Fund bailout, may resume declines and lose a fifth of its value against the dollar by end-2023, according to Fitch Solutions. “We are optimistic that Sri Lanka will be able to secure an IMF board approval by early 2Q 2023,” said Seah Wang Ting, country risk analyst at Fitch Solutions. Nevertheless, there’s potential for disruptions after the initial board approval as authorities may find it challenging to stay on track with the IMF program amid a... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/03/23)
Sri Lanka Negotiating to Extend $1 Billion Credit Line from India & IMF Loan Approval
Sri Lanka is negotiating with India to extend a 1 billon dollar credit line by a few months, according to sources, as the island nation tries to line up funds for the rest of the year while the IMF looks set to approve a 2.9 billion dollar loan for it soon. The credit line is due to expire on March 17 with Sri Lanka having used only about two-thirds of it, mainly for medicines and food. The extension talks come as the economy improves and forex reserves rise for Sri Lanka.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/03/23)
Lanka set to get IMF sign-off on March 20th
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said The International Monetary Fund welcomes the progress made by Sri Lanka in “decisive” policy actions and in obtaining financing assurances from all major creditors. IMF Chief said the IMF looks forward to presenting what will be the island nation’s 17th IMF programme to the international lender’s executive board on March 20. She said “The Extended Fund Facility will support the authorities’ program of ambitious reforms, which will help Sri Lanka emerge from its current crisis and set it on a trajectory of strong and inclusive... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/03/23)
“INDEPENDENT CENTRAL BANK” Sri Lanka must take lessons from what happened to Latvia
It is advised that people should not be too mesmerized by the word “independent”. Who can be independent in this interlinked world. Even decisions in the halls of the UN end up determined by a simple threatening phone call. The arm-twisting methods used would shock most. When Funding/AID is tied to numerous conditions & subject to interference in internal affairs of states, where is the independence? This thought should be in the background of the present attempt to make Sri Lanka’s Central Bank “independent”. Sri Lanka is likely to face a similar... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/03/23)
Are Secretaries of Ministries playing the role of the 3 wise monkeys.
The Constitution of the country provides for the appointment of a Secretary for each Ministry,who is empowered to exercise supervision over the departments of Government or other institutions in the charge of his Minister.vide the following Articles of the Constitution. 52. (1) There shall be for each Ministry a Secretary who shall be appointed by the President. (2) The Secretary to the Ministry shall, subject to the direction and control of his Minister, exercise supervision over the departments of Government or other institutions in the charge of his Minister. In... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/03/23)
CIA Chief Slithers into Colombo & the Rupee Levitates!
The Sunday Times asked the question above of the much-promoted Shanta Devarajan, ‘Professor of the Practice of International Development at the Edmund A Walsh School of Foreign Service of Georgetown University, US, advisor to the Government of Sri Lanka on the International Monetary Fund (IMF).’ ‘No comment,’ replies the much-promoted and seemingly mired professor. • What is the relationship between China’s silken exposé of the role of the World Bank and other ‘multilateral banks’ in Sri Lanka’s economy, the sudden rise in the value of the SL Rupee against the US Dollar, and the frenetic visits and threats from a phalanx of... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/03/23)
Beijing okays restructuring of loans to Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka's president said on Tuesday that China had agreed to restructure its loans to the bankrupt island nation, clearing the final obstacle to a long-awaited International Monetary Fund bailout. An unprecedented economic crisis has seen Sri Lanka's 22 million people suffer acute food, fuel and medicine shortages, along with extended blackouts and runaway inflation. President Ranil Wickremesinghe's government has been working to repair Sri Lanka's ruined finances and secure the sorely needed IMF rescue package. But it was held up by debt negotiations with China, its largest bilateral creditor.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/03/23)
What Happened to ‘Full Implementation of 13th Amendment’?
Earlier this year, President Ranil Wickremesinghe pledged to implement the 13th Amendment to the Constitution (13A) in full. Currently, it is in effect except for Police and land powers (granted partially), which are still exercised by the Central Government. This was a surprise announcement made on 15.01.2023 during the National Thai Pongal Festival held in Jaffna. The President noted a number of valiant points including, – fundamental issues as poverty, hunger and deprivation is suffered by all indiscriminately in Sri Lanka; – All must return to the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/03/23)
Udaya urges govt., US embassy to come clean
CIA Chief’s cloak-and-dagger visit: Pivuthuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) leader, Udaya Gammanpila, MP, yesterday (06) said that the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government and the US embassy in Colombo should come clean on CIA Director William Joseph Burns’ Colombo visit. The former Power and Energy Minister said so in response to The Island query whether the government had challenged his claim on the CIA chief’s visit. “I’m 100 percent sure Burns was here on February 14,” MP Gammanpila said, challenging the government and the US Embassy here to contradict him, if they could.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/03/23)
IMF chief welcomes Sri Lanka’s progress in taking policy actions, securing creditor assurances
The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has welcomed the progress made by the Sri Lankan authorities in taking decisive policy actions and obtaining financial assurances from all major creditors including China, India and the Paris Club. In a statement, Kristalina Georgieva said she looks forward to presenting the IMG-supported program to the organization’s Executive Board on March 20. “The Extended Fund Facility (EFF) will support the authorities’ program of ambitious reforms, which will help Sri Lanka emerge from its current crisis and set it on a trajectory of strong... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/03/23)
IMF board poised to approve USD 2.9 Bn Sri Lanka bailout on March 20
The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday said Sri Lanka has secured financing assurances from all major bilateral creditors, paving the way for the IMF board to consider approval of a long-awaited $2.9 billion four-year bailout agreed last year. The IMF said its board will meet on March 20 to review a preliminary staff-level agreement first signed in September, offering a lifeline to the South Asian country which faces its worst financial crisis since independence from Britain in 1948. https://youtu.be/dQfQTXCgXeA Approval is expected since the board generally will not... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/03/23)
CSE’s ASPI gains nearly 200 points
The All Share Price Index (ASPI) of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) has increased by nearly 200 points during today’s (07 March) trading. Accordingly, the ASPI increased by 198.02 points (2.10%) to close at 9,642.94 after today’s trading. This is also the highest close of the index for the year so far, after starting 2023 on 8,489.66 points. Meanwhile, the S&P SL20 showed an increase of 1.09%, after it gained 30.96 points to increase to 2,869.14 points at the close of trading. Today’s total turnover was recorded s... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/03/23)
EC informs ‘most suitable’ date to hold LG polls
The Election Commission has deemed April 25 as the ‘most suitable’ date to hold the 2023 Local Government polls. The election body informed the Returning Officers that the local government election cannot be conducted on March 09 as scheduled due to “unexpected and unavoidable reasons” pertaining to the printing of ballot papers. In a special gazette notification, dated January 30, 2023, issued by the respective District Returning Officers for the LG bodies of each district, under Sub-section 38(1)(c) of the Local Authorities Elections Ordinance, it was announced that the LG election would... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/03/23)
Sri Lankan Rupee appreciates further against USD
The Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR) has appreciated further against the US dollar (USD) today (07 March) as the buying rate reached Rs. 318.30 and the selling rate recorded Rs. 335.75. At the same time, the Middle Rate of the USD/ LKR SPOT Exchange Rate was recorded at Rs. 337.66. The Sri Lankan Rupee has also appreciated against the Euro, the Pound Sterling, the Australian Dollar, the Indian Rupee, the Canadian Dollar and the Japanese Yen, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) reported. https://youtu.be/bc0pRQcJslU... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/03/23)
Economic collapse of Sri Lanka-Pakistan and the economy of Bangladesh
Pakistan's economy is on the brink of bankruptcy like Sri Lanka's. Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves have fallen below $3 billion. They have asked the IMF for a 'bailout loan' a long time ago, but the IMF is trying to impose strict conditions that Pakistan's current ruling coalition has no capacity to meet. Even China and Saudi Arabia, Pakistan's long-standing loyal friends, are now reluctant to shoulder Pakistan's burden. China has stopped power supply from the power plants built by Pakistan on China's loan after Pakistan failed to pay the long-delayed... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/03/23)
Political instability premeditated by the Leftists may lead to the Collapse of Sri Lanka as a Nation/Republic
Political System The political system in Sri Lanka (SL) is in chaos. The prime factors, for this, are the fundamental, innate mindset of Buddhism, racism, jealousy, avidity, the shortfall in perception, non-flexibility, incapability to accomplish what they entail, and zero knowledge of political science. The general theory is the fact that both the Sinhala and Tamil races are immature and have limited scientific knowledge of political, social, and economic topics. The rowdy-characterised... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/03/23)
Buddhism – an antidote to violence and war.
Had the Roman Empire under Constantine embraced Buddhism rather than Christianity we would have had a more peaceful Europe and a more peaceful world. Historically speaking despite all the rhetoric on Peace and Human Rights, Europe remains the same. The biggest battlefield in history compared to other continents. The track record of Europe is constant War, Religious Crusades, Holocaust, Colonialism, and the like. Both the First World War (1914 - 1918) and the Second World War ( 1939 - 1945) originated in Europe. We are now on the threshold of another... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/03/23)
13 ව්‍යවස්ථා සංශෝධනය බලාත්මක වීමෙන් උතුරේ සාමාන්‍ය දෙමළ ජනයාට සිදුවන්නේ කුමක්ද? – අරුන් සිද්ධාර්තන් පැහැදිලි කරයි
13 වන ව්‍යවස්ථා සංශෝධනය ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීමට රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහතා ගන්නා උත්සාහය සම්බන්ධයෙන් උතුරේ පීඩිත ජනයා දක්වන අදහස් සම්බන්ධයෙන් ලංකා ලීඩ් වෙබ් අඩවිය යාපනය සිවිල් ජනතා සංවිධානයේ කැඳවුම් කරු අරුන් සිද්ධාර්තන් මහතා ගෙන් කළ විමසීමකදී ඔහු මෙමගින් උතුරේ සිදුවන සැබෑ අර්බුදය පැහැදිලි කළේය. එහිදී ඔහු අදහස් දක්වමින්, “මට තිබෙන ප්‍රශ්නය රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ වැනි බටහිර න්‍යාය පත්‍රයට අනුව ක්‍රියා කරන නායකයෙක්ගේ හැසිරීම නෙවෙයි. මේ රටේ වාමාංශික පක්ෂවල නායකයින් යාපනයේ සාමාන්‍ය ජනයා පීඩාවට ලක් කරන ඉතා සුළු පිරිසක් වන වෙල්ලාල කුලයේ පාර්ලිමේන්තු බලය හොබවන කොළඹ ජීවත්වන දෙමළ වචනයක් හරියට කතා කරගන්න බැරි වෙල්ලාල කුලයේ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/03/23)
EC rules out conducting LG polls before Avurudhu
While stressing that the date for the Local Government (LG) polls remain in the hands of the Treasury, the Election Commission (EC) ruled out yesterday the possibility of holding the election before the Sinhala and Hindu New Year which falls in mid-April. EC Chairman, Nimal G Punchihewa told Daily Mirror that even if the treasury releases funds for the election immediately based on Friday's Supreme Court ruling the election has to be held between 5 – 7 weeks from the day of declaration of the polls. Hence, the LG polls have to... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/03/23)
Sri Lanka’s northern fishermen ‘fiercely oppose’ proposal to issue license to Indian fishermen
Sri Lanka’s northern fishermen on Sunday said they “fiercely oppose” the government’s plan to issue licenses to Indian fishermen to enter Sri Lankan waters, terming the move a “serious setback” to their nearly 15-year-long struggle. On February 22, Foreign Minister Ali Sabry told Parliament that authorities were looking into possibly issuing licences to Indian fishermen, as part of Sri Lanka’s efforts to find a solution to the long-persisting fisheries conflict, through “cordial” bilateral talks. “This was discussed this with Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar…Sri Lanka’s priority is to safeguard fishermen’s livelihoods, the country’s marine resources,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/03/23)
MRIA facilitates over 11,000 tourist arrivals in February.
Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) has facilitated 11,926 international tourists in February 2023, says the Airport and Aviation Services Pvt. Ltd. of Sri Lanka (AASL). While Sri Lanka’s tourism industry has recorded 107,639 international tourist arrivals in the month of February 2023 with a growth of 11.5% compared to the month of February 2022, the MRIA has facilitated 11,926 international tourists in February. This includes 6259 arrivals and 5667 departures with over 72 international aircraft movements. Further, after 2021, the MRIA has facilitated the first flight of SCAT Airlines of... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/03/23)
No commitment from opposition to resolve economic crisis - Patali
The opposition party is not showing any sign of commitment to resolving the current economic crisis, opposition MP Patali Champika Ranawaka said. "One political leader who represents a certain political party said he will be able to convince the international community through his English language skills. Another says that they will convince the international community by doing away with perks given to ministers and MPs. These are just low remarks made in response to complicated issues" the MP said during a public function. "One is mistaken if he thinks it... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/03/23)
සජිත්ගේ, අනුරගේ, ටිං ටිං කතා ගැන පාඨලී හොඳටම කියයි (වීඩියෝ)
වර්තමානයේ විපක්ෂයේ ඇත්තේ ජනකාන්තවාදයක් බවත්, එක් නායකයෙක් ඉතා සංකීර්ණ ප්‍රශ්නවලට සරල විසඳුම් ඉදිරිපත් කරන අතර, තවත් නායකයෙක් විදේශ රටවල් සමග ගනුදෙනු කිරීමේ පිළිවෙල පිළිබදව හාස්‍යජනක කතන්දර පවසන බවත් පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී පාඨලී චම්පික රණවක මහතා පවසයි. ඉංග්‍රීසියෙන් පිටරටවල් සමග කතාකර තමන් මෙරට ආර්ථිකය ගොඩනගන බව එක් නායකයෙක් පවසද්දී, තවත් නායකයකු පවසන්නේ මැති ඇමැතිවරුන්ගේ වැටුප්, වාහන දීමනා, නිවාස ඉවත්කර ආර්ථිකය ගොඩනගනවා වැනි ටිංටිං උත්තර බව ඔහු සදහන් කරයි. මෙම දෙපිරිසේම නායකයන් අමාත්‍යංශවල ඇමැතිකම් දැරූ කාලයක් තිබූ බවද, එහෙත් ඒ කාලයේ එම ආමාත්‍යංශ තිබූ තැනින් ඉහළට එසවීමට ඔවුන්ට හැකිවූවාදැයි ජනතාව සිතා බැලිය යුතු බවද... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/03/23)
Is the IMF inefficient or dishonest or both?
In June, 2016 (IMF) approved a 36-month extended arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) with Sri Lanka for an amount equivalent to US$1.5 billion, The program aimed to provide a “policy anchor for macroeconomic stability and structural reforms, while strengthening external resiliency in a challenging global environment” To achieve these objectives, the program envisaged the implementation of a set of reforms under six pillars: (i) Fiscal consolidation; (ii) Revenue mobilization; (iii) Public financial management reform; (iv) State enterprise reform; (v) Transition to flexible... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/03/23)
අදිසි රජය විසින් හසුරවන ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ දේශපාලනය.
ශ්‍රී ලංකාව යනු ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී, සමාජවාදී රාජ්‍යකි, ඒ ව්‍යාවස්තාවට අනුකුලවය. ඒත් මේ රාජ්‍ය තුල ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදයවත්, සමාජවාදයවත්, රාජ්‍යත්වයක්වත් නැති බවත්, ඒ සියල්ලක්ම විනාශ කරන අද්බුත යමක් රටතුල දෝලනය වෙමින් පවතින බව මෙරට ජනතාවට ඉතා පැහැදිලිවම දැනිය යුතුය..ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදය ඇත්නම්, පළමුව චන්ද බලයෙන් අගමැතිවූ ,ඩී. එස්. සේනානායක මහතාට, දෙවැනිව චන්ද බලයෙන් අගමැතිවූ ඩඩ්ලි සේනානායක මහතාටද, තෙවනුව චන්ද බලයෙන් අගමැතිවූ එස්. ඩබ්ලිව්. ආර්. ඩී. බණ්ඩාරනායකද සියධුරයන් අහිමිවුයේ, ගුප්ත අන්දමින් වීම දෙස මෙරට ජනතාව සිය මනස යොමුකර බැලුවේ නම්, කුමක්ද මේ ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදය යනු මනාව අවබෝධ කරගැනීමට ඉඩ තිබුණි.මෙරට ජනතාවට ලබාදුන්නයයි කියනු ලබන ඒ වටිනවා යයි කියනු ලබන ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදය ක්‍රියාවිරහිත කරනු ලබන්නේ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/03/23)
Why does Arun Siddharth stand out from Tamil leaders?
Arun Siddharth has an opinion & he has a right to his opinion. How many have listened to him or believe him? Why is his narrative different from the rest? What makes his narrative different from the rest? The UN/UNHRC/Western diplomats have for years felt comfortable in believing the lies of a bunch of ailing oldies. Would they ever take Arun & other Tamils who were victims of LTTE & give them a voice in Geneva? The People’s Convention for Good Governance was held at the BMICH on 25 February... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/03/23)
EDUCATION REFORMS ESSENTIAL TO SRI LANKA
During the presidential election of 2019, many candidates and people publicly talked about education reforms. Except for Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa, other candidates and the public have not expressed clear views on this subject and are reluctant to talk about what kind of reforms are needed for Sri Lanka. Education is a broader subject area that involves an ocean of topics, views, and ideas. Although education is working as a right of the people political platforms in the presidential election presented the idea that education should be inserted into the constitution as a human right. There... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/03/23)
ලෝක බැංකුවෙන් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට ඇමරිකානු ඩොලර් බිලියන 1.5ක් (වීඩියෝ)
ඉදිරි වසර දෙකක කාලය සඳහා ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට මූල්‍යමය වශයෙන් සහාය දීමට ලෝක බැංකුව එකඟ වී තිබෙනවා. >ඒ අනුව ඊට අමෙරිකානු ඩොලර් බිලියන 1.5ක මුදලක් ලබාදීමට ලෝක බැංකුවේ කළමනාකාරීත්වය එකඟ වී ඇති බවයි වාර්තා වන්නේ. https://youtu.be/a2jXgnDneKc එම මුල්‍ය ප්‍රදානය ජාත්‍යන්තර මූල්‍ය අරමුදල සමග ශ්‍රී ලංකාව ඇති කරගෙන ඇති ගනුදෙනුව අවසන් වූ වහාම සිදු කෙරෙනු ඇති. ලෝක බැංකුව විසින් එම මූල්‍ය ප්‍රදානය පියවර කිහිපයක් යටතේ සිදු කිරීමට අපේක්ෂා කෙරෙන අතර, පළමු මුදල් ලබාදීම අයි.එම්.එෆ්. ගනුදෙනුව අවසානයේ දී සිදු වනු ඇති බව ද තොරතුරු වාර්තා වනවා. ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/03/23)
චීන කාබනික පොහොර නැව ගෙන්වූ ආයතනයේ ලොක්කා මාලිමාවෙන් වත්තල ප්රාදේශීය සභාවට…
පසුගිය සමයේ චීනයෙන් කාබනික පොහොර නැවක් මෙරටට ගෙන්වීමට සම්බන්ධ ආයතනයේ ප්‍රධාන විධායක නිලධාරියා ජාතික ජන බලවේගය යටතේ මෙවර පළාත් පාලන මැතිවරණ ඉදිරිපත් වී ඇති බවත් වාරිමාර්ග රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය ශෂීන්ද්‍ර රාජපක්ෂ මහතා සඳහන් කරයි. ඔහු ජාතික ජන බලවේගයෙන් වත්තල ප්රාදේශීය සභාවට තරග වැදීම සඳහා නාම යෝජනා භාරදී ඇති බව ද හෙතෙම පැවසීය. කාබනික පොහොර නැව සමග තමන්ගේ කිසිම සබඳතාවක් නැති බවද පැවසූ ඒ මහතා එම නැව ගෙන්වීමට අදාළ සියලු කටයුතු තමන් අමාත්‍ය ධූරය භාර ගැනීමට පෙර සිදුව තිබූ බවද කියා සිටියේය. මාධ්‍ය හමුවක් අමතමින් ඒ මහතා මෙම අදහස්... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/03/23)
Why countries in debt distress are facing unprecedented bailout delays
IMF funding is often the sole financial lifeline available to countries in a debt crunch and key to unlocking other financing sources Countries in debt distress such as Zambia and Sri Lanka turning to the International Monetary Fund for financial help are facing unprecedented delays to secure bailouts as China and Western economies clash over how to provide debt relief. IMF funding is often the sole financial lifeline available to countries in a debt crunch, and key to unlocking other financing sources, with delays putting pressure on government finances, companies and... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/03/23)
Sri Lanka shows commitment to rapid disinflation - IMF
Sri Lanka's decision to raise interest rates shows the crisis-hit country's commitment to reducing inflation quickly towards single-digit levels, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Saturday. In a surprise move, the South Asia nation's central bank raised rates by 100 basis points on Friday to battle inflation, which is at 50.6 per cent. The government is awaiting approval of a $2.9 billion IMF bailout package as it endures its worst financial crisis since independence from Britain in 1948. "Sri Lanka's inflation is declining but remains at a very high... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/03/23)
Why Is Trincomalee Port Still Undeveloped?
Colombo, March 4: The natural endowments and strategic value of Trincomalee harbor in eastern Sri Lanka have been well known for a long time. Yet, to date, very little concrete action has been taken to develop and use the port. There has been no dearth of reports and plans, but – except for the partial development of the giant oil tanks in collaboration with India – there has been no development of the port and the hinterland. According to an Asian Development Bank report, Trincomalee is a large natural harbor... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/03/23)
Presentation from Central Bank of Sri Lanka on recent economic developments
Share on WhatsApp Presentation from Central Bank of Sri Lanka on recent economic developments. ADVERTISEMENT... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/03/23)
The Real Cause of Sri Lanka’s Debt Trap
March 02, 2023: Sri Lanka’s debt default – announced in April of last year amid foreign currency shortages that had triggered rolling blackouts, fuel queues, and street protests – has been subject to endless debate by local and international observers. The root causes of the country’s debt problem have been attributed to various factors, including corruption and nepotism, alleged predatory lending from China (the so-called “Chinese debt trap”), and a structural balance of payments deficit. These debates aside, it is increasingly clear that the immediate cause for Sri Lanka’s collapse is... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/03/23)
IMF praises Sri Lanka’s decision to raise policy rate
The International Monetary Fund today praised the Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s decision to raise the policy rate and said it “shows its commitment to reduce inflation more quickly and firmly towards the single-digit target.” “CBSL’s decision to raise the policy rate is appropriate and in line with its objectives set under the inflation targeting framework,” Peter Breuer, Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka, and Masahiro Nozaki, Mission Chief for Sri Lanka said in a statement. The CBSL yesterday raised policy interest rates by 100 basis points, though many predicted... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/03/23)
Will honour court decision and proceed accordingly: State Finance Minister
The government will honour the Supreme Court's decision preventing withholding any funds allocated to conduct Local Government Polls 2023 and will proceed accordingly, State Minister of Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said. He said everyone should respect the court's decision. "It can be the Ministry of Finance, the government or an institution, It is everyone's responsibility to act on the court's decision. According to the court decision, we have to align expenses," he said. Supreme Court three-judge-bench comprising Justices Preethi Padman Surasena, Janak De Silva and Priyantha Fernando yesterday issued... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/03/23)
Supermodel Naomi Campbell features “Samahan” in interview
Renowned British supermodel Naomi Campbell features a pack of Sri Lankan made "Samahan," as an essential product she keeps with her for a strong immune system. In a recent interview with Vogue India titled “What does Naomi Campbell carry in her bag?," she says ‘Samahan’ is a good tea for the immune system. Samahan, is a trusted herbal drink by Link Natural Products Ltd., which is a leading manufacturer of herbal products. They recently announced the debut of its flagship brand and iconic herbal drink Link Samahan at Costco Wholesale... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/03/23)
Harsha claims IMF bailout necessary, but insufficient for growth
Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Harsha de Silva has stated that although the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout Sri Lanka currently awaits is necessary, it is not, in fact, sufficient for the growth of the nation. Taking to Twitter, Harsha warned that Sri Lanka’s current challenge is to create growth, adding that the number of jobs lost will also likely increase amidst the deteriorating demand. He further emphasised that in order to create the growth needed, Sri Lanka needs to ‘breakdown walls and build bridges to the world’, as ‘internally driven non-tradable... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/03/23)
MR RANIL WICKRAMASINGHE ACCOMPLISHED POLICY PERSON FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF SRI LANKA
Mr Ranil Wickremasinghe, the president of Sri Lanka, is a traceable person with a preeminent heritage in Sri Lanka his patrimony is traceable to king Parakramabahu six and he has rich knowledge, skills and experience in policy development and implementation. The major weakness in Sri Lanka since independence was the lack of capable people for policy guidance, development and implementation. Rajapaksa group was dishonest and concerned with gaining financial advantages from various members of the generation and compared to Mr Wickremasinghe they were fogs seen the sun. Mr Wickramasing has long experience and... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/03/23)
Former Chief Economist of the World Bank Slams the IMF for Writing Riots into their Plans to Force Nations to Accept IMF Conditions
Former Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of the World Bank, Joseph Stiglitz, slammed the IMF for callously unleashing riots on nations the IMF is dealing with; he pointed out that the riots are written into the IMF plan to force Nations to agree with the average 111 conditions laid down by the IMF, that destroys a country’s democracy and independence. Having captured political power in Sri Lanka on the back of a CIA instigated jockstrap-insurrection that delivered the country to the jaws of the IMF, there are ominous signs that the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/03/23)
Taxpayer Information
It is good to hear that the courts have recognized the right of information on the names of members of Parliament who have declared their assets. Some time back before the Right of Information law was introduced, the civil society organization CIMOGG made a similar request to the then Speaker who did not even acknowledge the receipt of the request. It is urged that this admirable precedent is extended to the payment of income tax as well. If the names of taxpayers (who have tax files) of each electorate or Division is made available... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/03/23)
Sri Lanka: Is unbridled tourism the panacea for all economic ills?
Tourism, as it is well known, is a major industry in Sri Lanka. The foreign exchange it brings into the country and the hundreds and thousands of people who are directly and indirectly employed in this sector makes this industry a vital one for the country. It is one of the most effective windows to the world provided the country develops and displays an image that is both unique, culturally and geographically, and offers an interest based, value for money option for tourists. It is evident that there is a renewed focus on... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/03/23)
රුපියල ශක්තිමත්වීම හා ඩොලරයට ඇති ඉල්ලුම පහත වැටීම.
රුපියලට සාපෙක්ෂව ඩොලරයේ මිල රු. 7 – 8 කින් පහත වැටීමක් මේ සතිය පුරා අඛණ්ඩව වාර්තා වෙමින් ඇත. 2022 මැයි මාසයෙන් පසුව ඩොලරයට සාපෙක්ෂව රුපියල වඩාත්ම ශක්තිමත් අවස්ථාව මේ සතියේ වාර්තා විය. අද (3/3) කොළඹ වානිජ්‍ය බැංකු ඩොලරය මිලදී ගන්නේ රු. 334.50 ට ත් අඩුවෙනි. මේක වුනේ කොහොමද? පසුගිය කාලයේ දී මහ බැංකුව ඩොලරය පහත වට්ටන්නට රුපියල් අච්චු ගැසීම (actual money printing) අවම කිරීම හා ඩොලරය ශක්තිමත් කිරීමට අවශ්‍ය පදනම ගොඩ නැගීමය. ඒ යාන්ත්‍රණය තේරෙන සිංහලෙන් මෙහෙම කියන්න පුළුවන්. මහ බැංකුව පළමුව (අන්තර් බැංකු ඩොලර් හුවමාරුව) ඩොලරයට... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/03/23)
බහුකාර්ය සංවර්ධන කාර්ය සාධක දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ පුහුණුවලත් බහුකාර්ය සංවර්ධන සහායකවරුන් 2300ක් ශ්‍රී ලංකා දුම්රිය දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ දුම්රිය කාර්ය සහයකවරු ලෙස බඳවා ගැනේ.
ඊට අදාල පත්වීම් බෙදාදීම 2023.03.03 දින අරලියගහ මන්දිරයේදී අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය දිනේෂ් ගුණවර්ධන මහතාගේ ප්‍රධානත්වයෙන් සිදු කරනු ලැබීය.මෙහිදී අදහස් දැක් වූ අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා සඳහන් කළේ රජය ප්‍රතිපත්තිමය වශයෙන් සේවා ස්ථානවල වැඩ කටයුතු භාර ගෙන කටයුතු කරන්නට හැකියාව ඇති තරුණ පරම්පරාවට සෑමවිටම අවස්ථාව ලබාදෙන බවයි. ඒ අනුව ඉදිරි මාස කිහිපය තුළ තවත් මේම සේවාවට අන්තර් ගතව සිටින 30,000කට පමණ විවිධ සේවා ස්ථානවල රැකියා අවස්ථාවට පිවිසීමට හැකි තීරණ ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීමට බලාපොරොත්තු වන බවද අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා කීය.එහිදී වැඩිදුරටත් අදහස් දැක් වූ අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා - එම කර්තව්‍ය ඉටු කිරීම සඳහා ජනාධිපතිතුමා ප්‍රමුඛ රජය වගකීම බාරගත්තා. පොදුවේ රටේ තරුණ පරම්පරාවට රජයේ දෙපාර්තමේන්තු වල සහ පෞද්ගලික... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/03/23)
Quality-of-Life Index / ජීවන තත්ත්ව දර්ශකය (QLI).
The Quality-of-Life Index (QLI) is a metric used to assess individuals' and communities' overall well-being. It considers a wide range of factors, such as health, education, income, the environment, social support, and political stability. The QLI provides a comprehensive picture of a specific area's quality of life and can be used to compare different regions or countries. Policymakers, researchers, and social scientists frequently use the QLI to identify areas that need attention and improvement. Policymakers can develop policies and programs that address the needs of the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/03/23)
SINHALA DICTIONARY BY BUDDHADASA HEWAGE
A massive Sinhala -English was out recently by Buddhadasa Hewage, marketed by the e-Lanka website in Australia at U.S. $50. The writer ordered the dictionary from them. It has 1,500,000 English words, similar to 95,000 Sinhala words, and contains 2432 pages. It is published after professor G.P. Malalasekera’s Sinhala-English dictionary, but Buddhadasa Heage’s dictionary has more words. It was the first time a professional or an institution published a Sinhala-English dictionary of this magnitude. It was available at the Book Exhibition, also held at the B.M.I C.H. The... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/03/23)
ශ්‍රී ලංකා හමුදාව ජාතිවාදීද | හමුදා කරණයක්ද මේ වෙන්නේ | පසුගිය යුද්ධය වුනේ ජාතිවාදය නිසාද?
https://youtu.be/T-lj4MW56hs... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/03/23)
සංඛිත්තෙන පඤ්චුපාදානක්ඛන්ධා දුක්ඛා - ධම්මචක්කප්පවත්ත සූත්රය
කුමක්ද මේ පංචස්කන්ධය හා පංචඋපාදානස්කන්ධය? බොහෝ දේශකයන් 'රෑප, වේදනා, සංඥා, සංකාර හා විඤ්ඤාණ' යන පස් ආකාරය පංචස්කන්ධය ලෙස හදුන්වති. මෙහි 'රෑප' යනු රෑපය ලෙසද ඉතිරි සතර 'නාම' ලෙසද ගෙන නාම-රෑප එකතුවූ තැන පංචස්කන්ධය නැතහොත් 'කය' (ගත හා සිත) ලෙසද දේශනා කරන්නෝ තවමත් බහුලය. මොවුන් ඔබව පටලවා ඇති පඹගාලෙන් ඔබව මුදවාගැනීමට මෙම ලිපිය උපකාරී වේවා. රූප, වේදනා, සංඥා, සංකාර හා විඤ්ඤාණ යන ක්‍රියාවලිය සද්ධර්මය තුල 'ස්කන්ධය' ලෙස හැදින්වෙයි. 'ස්කන්ධය' යනුවෙන් යමක් හුදකලාව (in isolation) පවතින්නේ නැත. පංචේන්ද්‍රියේ ප්‍රසාදවීමත් සමගම ස්කන්ධ ක්‍රියාවලිය හටගනී. එනම් ස්කන්ධ ක්‍රියාවලිය ප්‍රාතූර්භූත (manifest) වන්නේ භාහිර රූපයක ප්‍රතිබිම්භය යම් පංචේද්‍රියක ප්‍රසාද වීමත්... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/03/23)
Comparing AKD to King Parakramabahu
A video clip doing the rounds on web-based media platforms shows a former secretary of the agriculture ministry stating at a JJB (Malimawa) press conference that when Anura Kumara Dissanayake was the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation in the Chandrika Kumaratunga government in 2004, there was a surplus of paddy in the country and that on the instructions of the minister, a part of this surplus was sold to the World Food Programme and that this was akin to exporting rice during the time of King Parakramabahu. ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/03/23)
Inside Sri Lanka's deadly underground mines filled with rare jewels
Miners in Sri Lanka risk their lives hunting for valuable gems in deep underground pits.Workers inhale toxic gasses like methane, and the tunnels can collapse at any moment.Sri Lanka is renowned for its jewels, and the city of Ratnapura translates to "city of gems." Inside Sri Lanka's Deadly Underground Mines Filled With Rare Jewels (insider.com)... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/03/23)
Now travel from Ayodhya to Sri Lanka with IRCTC’s ‘Sri Ramayana Yatra’. Check dates, cost and other details here
IRCTC will start the ‘Shri Ramayana Yatra’ through a special tourist train on 7 April 2023. The Shri Ramayana Yatra is a theme based pilgrimage tour by Bharat Gaurav Deluxe AC Tourist train on Ramayana circuit which covers the prominent sacred places associated with the life of Lord Rama. Apart form this, the IRCTC is also offering an extended optional trip of the Ramayana trail to Sri Lanka. The Bharat Gaurav Tourist Train launch is in line with the Government of India initiative “Dekho Apna Desh" to promote special interest circuits in domestic tourism.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/03/23)
Sri Lanka to relax currency band as it moves towards market driven exchange rate
COLOMBO, March 3 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka will relax its currency band from next week, its central bank said on Friday, as part of efforts to move towards a market-determined exchange rate as it seeks to secure a $2.9 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund. The central bank also raised interest rates by 100 basis points to tackle inflation now running at 50% as the country endures its worst financial crisis since independence from Britain in 1948.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 03/03/23)
ඇමෙරිකා ඉහලම ලොක්කෙක් රහසේ ඇවිත්.. ලංකාවට භයානක යෝජනා හතරක්.. චීනය, ඉන්දියාව, රුසියාව රටවල් තුනම කිපෙයිලු..
පෙබරවාරි 14 දා ලංකාවට රහසිගතව පැමිණි ඇමෙරිකානු දූත පිරිස අතර ඇමෙරිකානු සීඅයිඒ සංවිධානයේ ප්‍රධානී විලියම් බර්න්ස් ද සිටි බවට නොනිල තොරතුරු ඇතැයි පිවිතුරු හෙළ උරුමයේ නායක නීතිඥ උදය ගම්මන්පිල මහතා පවසයි. ඒ මහතා මේ බව සඳහන් කර සිටියේ අද දින (03) පිවිතුරු හෙළ උරුමය පක්ෂ මූලස්ථානයේ පැවැති මාධ්‍ය හමුවකට එක් වෙමිනි. එහිදී පිවිතුරු හෙළ උරුමයේ නායකයා වැඩිදුරටත් මෙසේ අදහස් දැක්වීය. සීඅයිඒ ලොක්කා ලංකාවට රහසින් ඇවිත් පෙබරවාරි 14 දා ග්ලෝබ් මාස්ටර් ගුවන් යානා දෙකකින් ලංකාවට රහසිගතව පැමිණි ඇමෙරිකානු අමුත්තන් කවුදැයි තවමත් අබිරහසක්. ඒ අය ආගමන විගමන හෝ රේගු... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 03/03/23)
CIA Chief visited SL as part of top secret mission
Gammanpila charges national security compromised The Director of the US Intelligence Agency CIA William Burns arrived in Sri Lanka on February 14, as a part of a top secret visit to the island, MP Udaya Gammanpila charged. “For over three weeks we have been questioning as to who visited the island, but the government and the US have maintained their silence,” he said. Four proposals compromising the national security of Sri Lanka during this meeting, Gammanpila said. The first proposal discussed during the meeting is the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 03/03/23)
CB delivers surprising 100bps rate hike amid IMF insistence
Taking everyone by surprise, the Monetary Board of the Central Bank today raised policy interest rates by 100 basis points, though many predicted the monetary authority to either maintain the status quo or signal a dovish tilt by cutting rates. Inflation, which peaked almost at 70 percent, has been steadily coming down and the Central Bank is hopeful that it will come down to the desired 4-6 percent band by end of this year as the island nation appears to have firmly embarked on a disinflation path. However, today’s monetary... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 03/03/23)
CBSL Governor hopeful of unlocking IMF programme this month
The Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, stated that Sri Lanka stands ready to unlock the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme this month. Speaking at a press conference held this afternoon (03 March), Dr. Weerasinghe assured that all required prior actions with the IMF have been completed. https://youtu.be/QwxpRO-69mM “We have now completed all the required prior actions with the IMF and stand ready to unlock the IMF programme, hopefully, this month”, he said in this regard. Meanwhile, the CBSL has... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 03/03/23)
ASPI hits nearly 10,000 points after 111.09 point increase
The All Share Price Index (ASPI) of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) increased by over 100 point during today’s (03 March) trading. Accordingly, the ASPI increased by 111.09 points (1.19%) to 9444.92 at today’s trading, while the turnover was recorded at Rs. 2.8 billion. Meanwhile, the S&P SL20 went up by 9.70 points to close at 2,838.18 points. This is an increase of 0.34 percent... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 03/03/23)
Vega EVX: South Asia’s first fully electric supercar approved in Sri Lanka
The Department of Motor Traffic has approved the use of ‘Vega’ cars – not only Sri Lanka’s, but also South Asia’s first all-electric supercar. Accordingly the number plate for the first Vega car registered in Sri Lanka was handed over today (03 March) to the President and CEO of CodeGen and the designer of the car, Harsha Subasinghe. The number plate was handed over by the Commissioner General of the Department of Motor Traffic, in the presence of Transport Minister Bandula Gunawardena and Minister of Industries Dr. Ramesh Pathirana. ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 03/03/23)
Cannot bring about govt change by taking to streets - President
President Ranil Wickremesinghe has emphasised that the only way a change of government can be brought about is through a Parliamentary election. Accordingly, he noted that a Parliamentary election is the only way through which change can be implemented, emphasising that taking to the streets is not an option for the Parliament. Speaking at the Passing Out Parade of Air Force cadets and other officers held at the Trincomalee Air Force Base this morning (03 March), the Head of State highlighted that a nation can become anarchic due to an economic collapse,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 03/03/23)
A letter to the President from National Joint Committee
01st March 2023. His Excellency, President Ranil Wickremasinghe, The Presidential Secretariat,Colombo 1. Your Excellency, You have made a public statement that you intend to fully implement the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution. The National Joint Committee (NJC) intends to caution you against implementing such a decision which would amount to opening a Pandora’s Box. The Ven.Mahanayake Theros too have in a joint statement requested you not to do so. The Indo Lanka accord signed on 27th July 1987 that... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 03/03/23)
ARE THERE VALID REASONS TO FULLY IMPLEMENT THE 13TH AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION
Why a constitution needs a country may be a complex and broad question, but it involves many points to consider. The answer to this question would be analytical that should cogitate various points relating to modern democratic aspects which concern with rights and responsibilities of citizens. It invites views and discusses many points without relegating to lower quality people without values. In a country like Sri Lanka which consists of small populations, land area and limited assets, resources may not need to consider complex points of view but, constitutional lawyers and experts may... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 03/03/23)
Sri Lanka to build Nuclear Power Plants
It was announced that our country is to go for nuclear energy with the help of Russia according to a news item on Sirasa this evening.. As a country we always start late. Color TV was one. But then we do it in style. Radio Ceylon that captured the hearts of Indians was one. We must thank Russian Prez Putin for that. This was a long felt need Patali and them have been planning for a long time. However this does not mean that as a nation we are anti-west. We are more... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 03/03/23)
Understanding the Holy Grail of Western Technology – The Internet and the 'Cloud'
The term 'cloud' in cyber space refers to a server farm in large box type buildings constructed in remote areas in the US or cold Western countries like UK, Iceland, Norway etc. Sometimes they immersed the servers in water to dissipate the heat they generate or send water through the servers to keep them under optimum temperature . The people who once lived harsh lives in those countries now do so comfortably by circulating that hot water to keep their dwellings warm thus saving electricity and generating revenue by 'taxing' the cloud companies and also doing... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 02/03/23)
Temple of the Tooth-Relic- Kotte to be rebuilt.
The Temple of the Tooth –Relic which was built near the Palace of King Parakramabahu VI inthe kingdom of Kotte, had been ruined due to foreign invasions, relocation of the Relics and thusthe administration to Kandy.Reconstruction of the Temple of the Tooth Relic Kotte has been commenced with the patronageof Kotte Raja Maha Viharadhipati Ven. Aluthnuwara Anuruddha Thera.Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena visited Kotte Rajamaha Vihara today (02) to observe theplans of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic to be estorted.Yadamini Gunawardena MP, Isura Devapriya former Chief Minister of Western Province, UpaliKodikara and Salochana... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 02/03/23)
Ven. Sannasgama Indrarathana Thero | උතුරේ දෙමළෙන් බණ කියන දකුණේ පොඩි හාමුදුරුවෝ
දමිළ භාෂාවයි සිංහලයි මට මගේ ඇස්දෙක වගේ ” தமிழ் மொழியும் சிங்கள மொழியும் எனக்கு இரு கன் போல https://youtu.be/lwVGouWCp2w... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 02/03/23)
Russia Ready to Bring Nuclear Power to Sri Lanka
Government officials in Sri Lanka said they will work with Russia to bring nuclear power to the country as part of its effort to increase the supply of electricity for the island nation. Professor S.R.D. Rosa, chairman of the Sri Lanka Atomic Energy Board, told local media the country is looking at offshore and onshore installation of small modular reactors, or floating nuclear installations, that would have generation capacity of 100 MW per unit. The Daily Mirror newspaper on March 1 reported that Rosa said, “The government has sought to implement the project in... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 02/03/23)
President highlights need for urgent transition towards green economy
President Ranil Wickremesinghe has announced that a foundation is presently being established to advance Sri Lanka’s economy to a global level over the next five years by implementing green economic policies. The President made this statement while attending the ceremony held today (02 March) for the opening of Volta Auto Tec Engineering Private Limited, Minneriya. As a solution to the current fuel crisis in the country, when there is a need for electric motorcycles and three wheelers, Volta Auto Tec Engineering Private Limited has facilitated the purchase of assembled tractors, electric motorcycles... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 02/03/23)
Sri Lanka’s tax revision helps correct tax revenue & expenditure imbalance – IMF Mission
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission to Sri Lanka has stated that the new tax reforms in Sri Lanka helps meet the objective of correcting the imbalance of tax revenue and expenditure. Accordingly, they stated that the new tax rate schedule for the personal income tax helps meet this objective, adding that these new reforms will also help regain the confidence of creditors.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 02/03/23)
World Bank to support Sri Lanka’s path towards ‘resilient’ recovery – VP
World Bank Vice President for South Asia, Martin Raiser has reaffirmed the World Bank’s continued support to help navigate Sri Lanka’s navigate economic challenges, implement critical reforms, and chart a path towards a resilient and inclusive recovery. During his four-day visit to the island nation, which concluded on 28 February, Raiser met with President and Minister of Finance Ranil Wickremesinghe, Secretary of the Treasury, Governor of the Central Bank, senior government officials, development partners, and key opinion leaders including members of Sri Lanka’s political opposition, thinks tanks, civil society organizations and academia. ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 02/03/23)
Pakistan, Sri Lanka to decide on key rates as IMF bailouts hang – report
Borrowing costs hovering at two-decade highs to quell Asia’s fastest inflation rates will be in focus in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, as the crisis-gripped economies review monetary policy settings in decisions seen as key to winning multilateral bailout funds. The two monetary authorities are likely to take different tracks as price pressures have somewhat eased in Sri Lanka after peaking at nearly 70%, while still on the boil in Pakistan where the central bank advanced the meeting by two weeks to March 2. State Bank of Pakistan will on Thursday probably increase... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 02/03/23)
Rupee appreciates after almost a year into free float
Spot rupee traded at Rs.356.75 - 357.75 yesterday- Deal with IFC, rising prospects for IMF relief and eased forex conversion rules reinvigorate sentiments- Inflows from remittances and tourism sector revival also add a fillip- Currency dealers observe forex supply outstripping demand as of late- Sri Lanka returning to economic normalcy after a year of turmoil when rupee was let go Sri Lankan rupee appreciated yesterday on improved sentiments over the current and future foreign exchange conditions in the domestic market after the announcement that International Finance Corporation (IFC) is willing to provide US$ 400... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 02/03/23)
China tells IMF willing to take constructive part in debt talks
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang told the head of the International Monetary Fund that China is open to participating in multilateral efforts to help heavily indebted nations in a constructive manner. China is willing to take part in resolving relevant countries debt issues, Li said in a phone call with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. China maintains that all sides should take joint action and share equitable burden,” he said. China, a major lender to debt-laden countries such as Sri Lanka and Pakistan, is mired in disputes with multilateral banks... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 02/03/23)
Tourism Industry Thrives with Significant Increase in Tourist Arrivals
Tourist arrivals for the second month in succession went pass the 100,000 market with February recording 107,639 arrivals. The January arrival figure was 102,545. This was 96,507 in February 2022 showing an increase of over 11% as against the second month of previous year. For the third successive month Russia became the top source market for Sri Lanka accounting for 29,084 arrivals showing an increase of 27% as against February 2022. India followed with 13,714 arrivals which also was an increase of 13%as against the previous year February. ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 02/03/23)
TO THE PRESIDENT SRI LANKA : ARRANGE TO GET THE FUNDS BACK OR EXPLAIN WHY YOU ARE SILENT ON THIS CRUCIAL ISSUE
We have heard from reliable foreign sources and the Minister of Justice, Wijedasa Raajpakse that there is either a sum of dollars 32 billion or 52 billion dollars which is legally due to Sri Lankaas export earnings held in overseas accounts of Sri Lankan exporters.While the country is heading from bad to worse and the people are told to tighten their belts, the policy makers act dumb and deaf to exhort that they must wait until the IMF decides to 'donate ' dollars 2,9 billion. We have visited the IMF on a number of occasions but we... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/03/23)
Canadian Government’s obligations to Sri Lanka consequent to Ontario’s Bill 104, viewed within concepts of “Diplomatic Protection”, “regionalism versus international law” as well as the “Vienna convention 1961”
The provincial government of Ontario passed a bill (Bill 104) implying that a genocide of Tamils occurred in Sri Lanka, and introduced a “Tamil genocide education week” (TGEW) into the school system [1]. This implicit “Genocidal Tag” on Sri Lanka will discourage many entrepreneurs from investing in Sri Lanka, at a time of its dire need. The bill is part of a continuation of long-standing militancy of the Tamil Diaspora in Canada against Sri Lanka. This Diaspora massively supported the military struggle of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/03/23)
කරන්නාගොඩ කොමිසමේ නිර්දේශ ක්‍රියාත්මක කර බෙදුම්වාදය පරාජය කළ යුතුයි – ගෝලීය ශ්‍රී ලාංකික සංසදයේ විධායක කමිටු ලේකම් යසස් ධර්මදාස
මැයි 9 වන දින අරගලය හමුවේ නිවාස ගිනිතැබීම් පිළිබඳව කරන්නාගොඩ කොමිසමෙන් ආරක්ෂක මාණ්ඩලික ප්‍රධානී ෂවේන්ද්‍ර සිල්වා මහතා හට චෝදනා කර තිබීම පිළිබඳව “ලංකා ලීඩ් නිවුස්” වෙබ් අඩවියට ප්‍රකාශයක් කරමින් ගෝලීය ශ්‍රී ලාංකික සංසදයේ විධායක කමිටු ලේකම් යසස් ධර්මදාස මහතා ප්‍රකාශකර සිටියේ ෂවේන්ද්‍ර සිල්වා මහතාට වෙනත් විකල්පයක් නොමැති වන්නට ඇති බවයි. යසස් ධර්මදාස මහතාගේ සම්පූර්ණ ප්‍රකාශය පහත සඳහන් වේ. “අප 2017 වසරේ මාර්තු 12 වෙනි දින සිට, ජිනීවාහි මානව හිමිකම් කොමිසම 2015 ජූනි මාසයේ 27 වන දින සිට ප්‍රඥප්ති 30/1 යටතේ, අපේ රණවිරුවන් යුද අපරාධකරුවන්‍ වන්නේය යනුවෙන් පිළිගෙන තිබීම නිශ්ප්‍රභා කර අපේ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/03/23)
රුසියානු – යුක්රේන ගැටුම භාවිතකරමින් ඇමරිකාව ලොවම රැවටුව හැටි එළියට
පසුගිය වසර පුරාම රුසියාව සහ යුක්රේනය අතර ගැටුම එක්සත් ජනපදය විසින් නිර්වචනය කළේ “ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදය සහ ඒකාධිපතිවාදය අතර යුද්ධයක්” ලෙස ය. එම මතය තහවුරු කිරීම සදහා එක්සත් ජනපදය හා බටහිර සමාජය දිගින් දිගටම උත්සාහ දැරීය. කෙසේ වෙතත් රුසියාව යුක්රේනය සමඟ ගැටුමකට ක්‍රමක්‍රමයෙන් තල්ලු කරනු ලැබුවේද එක්සත් ජනපදය ප්‍රමුඛ නේටෝ සංවිධානය බව වර්තමානයේ ලොවට හෙළිදරව් වී අවසානය. යුක්රේනය තුළ එක්සත් ජනපදය සහ එහි නේටෝ සහචරයින් ක්‍රියාත්මක වූයේ රුසියාව පිළිබදව එරට ජනතාව කෝප ගන්වමින් සහ ඔවුන් අතර කෝපය වපුරවමින් දැවැන්ත මිලිටරි ආධාර ප්‍රමාණයක් ලබා දී නේටෝව පුනර්ජීවනය කිරීම සදහාය. ඒ වෙනුවෙන් ඔවුන් තම අධිපත්‍ය... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/03/23)
SL to have nuclear power plant in near future: Atomic Energy Board Chairman
The Cabinet approved signing the international conventions relating to generate electricity using nuclear power as it was a reliable, low-carbon baseload source of electricity to complement renewable energy sources in the future, Sri Lanka Atomic Energy Board (SLARB) Chairman Professor S.R.D. Rosa said. He told the Daily Mirror that the country is supposed to have either off-shore or on– shore Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) that have a power capacity of up to 100 MW per unit. Upon signing the conventions, the project will qualify to reach a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/03/23)
Mass trade union action not successful: Rathnapriya
Even though the trade unions with certain political agendas had called for a massive trade union action, they were not successful, Director General of Trade Unions to President Samana Rathnapriya said. Practically, no trade union action had taken place during the day in any private or government-related sector, he said. https://youtu.be/XAja3AxzARM However, a number of professional trade unions from the essential services sector, including power, petroleum, water, ports, teachers, university lecturers, and banks, assured yesterday that they will engage in a countrywide one-day strike today. ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/03/23)
Provisions of Right to Information Act relevant to MPs as well, court rules
The Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka has ruled that the provisions of the Right to Information (RTI) Act are relevant to parliamentarians as well and that they are legally bound to declare their assets and liabilities. This ruling was delivered by an Appeals Court judge bench consisting of Sampath Abeykoon and P. Kumaran Ratnam, upholding a decree by the RTI Commission that had directed the Secretary General of Parliament to publicize a list of parliamentarians who have submitted declarations on their assets and liabilities. https://youtu.be/XoMGgqnXEEM Stressing the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/03/23)
State institutions allowed to open accounts in private banks for emergencies
A decision has been taken during a special Cabinet meeting held today (March 01) to permit state institutions, ministries, departments and statuary boards to open accounts at private banks, if trade union actions are hindering the opening of letters of credit to import medicines and other essential goods, says the Cabinet Spokesperson, Minister Bandula Gunawardene. During the meeting, the ministers have pointed out to the President that as a result of the state bank staff resorting to trade union actions, the continuation of public services may become problematic. They have also highlighted... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/03/23)
China tells IMF willing to take constructive part in debt talks
Premier Li Keqiang told the head of the International Monetary Fund that China is open to participating in multilateral efforts to help heavily indebted nations “in a constructive manner,” China Central Television reported. “China is willing to take part in resolving relevant countries’ debt issues,” Li said in a phone call Wednesday with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, according to CCTV. “China maintains that all sides should take joint action and share equitable burden,” he said. China, a major lender to debt-laden countries such as Sri Lanka and Pakistan, is mired in... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/03/23)
China says its action fully demonstrates sincerity & efforts to support Sri Lanka
China says it will continue to support relevant countries and international financial institutions to jointly play a positive role in helping Sri Lanka navigate the situation, ease its debt burden and achieve sustainable development. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning made this remark in response to a question raised during a regular press conference held on Tuesday (Feb 28) whether China is willing to make any adjustment to fall in line with the assurances required to finalize Sri Lanka’s IMF bailout package or if there are other steps that have been taken to overcome... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/03/23)
PUCSL Chairman’s office unsealed; Police take custody of all documents and files
Police have taken custody of all files in the office of the Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) which was unsealed after 13 days. The unsealing of the office, which was sealed off by the Kollupitiya Police on February 16 based on a court order issued by the Colombo Fort Magistrate, was carried out in the presence of Janaka Ratnayake, the Chairman of the PUCSL. The Colombo Fort Magistrate had issued this order following the Kollupitiya Police reporting facts to the Courts that the police had received a... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/03/23)
SINHALA VEDAKAM AND WESTERN MEDICINE Part 3
Pediatrician Manouri Senanayake researched into child hood and child care in ancient Lanka for her book titled “Pediatrics and child care in Sri Lanka” (2007). She found that the ancient literature yielded some information about childhood in ancient Sri Lanka. Literary works emphasis the mother’s affection for her child. Childhood in ancient Sri Lanka was perhaps far safer and more secure than in many contemporary societies, she said. Manouri found several other historical references. .Food and herbs to assist conception were given in the Sarartha Sangrahaya written by king Buddhadasa. This was therapy for... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/03/23)
INDUSTRIALIZE AND PROSPER PART I
No country in the world has been able to move from low- to middle- and high-income status without undergoing the process of industrialization. STIGLITZ. (Nobel Laureate & former chief economist of the World Bank) At independence Sri Lanka (Ceylon) had a stable democracy, a sound economy, and an efficient public service. Our external assets were equal to 100 percent of annual import value. Ceylon was second only to Japan in almost all social indicators and above South Korea at as late as the mid-sixties. Per capita income of Singapore was just a little bit... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/03/23)
අභිනවයෙන් ඉදිවූ නාවලකන්ද බුද්ධ මන්දිරය විවෘත කිරීම සහ පිළිම වහන්සේ තැන්පත් කිරීමේ උතුම් පිංකම
කළුතර දිස්ත්‍රික්කයේ වලල්ලාවිට ප්රාදේශීය ලේකම් කොට්ඨාසයට අයත් 849-D ග්‍රාම සේවා වසමේ බොදු බැතිමතුන්ගේ ආධ්‍යාත්මික හා සමාජීය දියුණුව සඳහා විශාල අඩුපාඩුවක් ව පැවති බුද්ධ මන්දිරයක අවශ්‍යතාවය ඉටුකර ගැනීම සඳහා නාවලකන්ද සමනල යෞවන සමාජයේ සභාපති පේශල පසන් කරුණාරත්න මහතාගේ මූලිකත්වය යටතේ යෞවන සමාජ තරුණ තරුණියන් ඇතුළුව ප්‍රදේශ වාසීන්ගේ දායකත්වයද ලබා ගනිමින් අභිනව බුද්ධ මන්දිරය ඉදිකිරීමේ කටයුතු 2016.09.04 දිනට යෙදී තිබුණු සුභ මොහොතින් ආරම්භ කරන ලදි. එලෙස ආරම්භ කළ නාවලකන්ද බුද්ධ මන්දිරයේ ඉදිකිරීම් කටයුතු මේ වන විට සාර්ථකව අවසන් කර ඇති අතර අභිනව බුද්ධ මන්දිරය විවෘත කිරීම සහ පිළිම වහන්සේ තැන්පත් කිරීමේ උතුම් පිංකම වර්ෂ 2023 මාර්තු... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/03/23)
Humans, Science, Power, Wealth, and Social Disintegration
Solar System It is assumed and recorded that the solar system formed into its current outline about 4.5 billion years ago. It is presumed that the earth and the other planets are whirling and rotating in a vacuum with no resistance. An inertial frame of reference is where Newton's law holds. If no external force is acting on a body; either it will stay at rest or remain in uniform motion. Planet earth’s... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/03/23)
කොටි නායකයා සමඟ යුධ හමුදා කපිතාන්වරයා පැවැත්වූ සම්බන්ධය ගැන තිස්පස් වසරකට පසුව කියන අමුතු කතාව
කොටි නායකයා සමඟ යුධ හමුදා කපිතාන්වරයා පැවැත්වූ සම්බන්ධය ගැන තිස්පස් වසරකට පසුව කියන අමුතු කතාව පැවැත්වූ සම්බන්ධය ගැන තිස්පස් වසරකට පසුව කියන අමුතු කතාව https://youtu.be/uuodKvz6GJY... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/03/23)
Pakistan supports Sri Lanka’s policy on maritime peace and security – Pakistan Navy Chief
Commader of the Pakistan Navy Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi called on Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena at the Temple Trees on February 27. During the discussions, the Prime Minister thanked Pakistan for the support extended to Sri Lanka during the armed conflict as well as at the international forums. He also emphasized on enhancing maritime regional cooperation between Sri Lanka and Pakistan, alongside exploring opportunities for the further expansion of maritime activities between the two nations. The Prime Minister briefed him on Sri Lanka’s interest in maritime peace and security,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/03/23)
'Electricity collaboration' diplomacy in BBIN countries
'Alone we can do very little; Together we can do so much'. These words of the American writer Helen Keller are remarkably appropriate in the context of electricity for South Asian countries. Despite the huge potential, very little cooperation between countries in the region has been realized on electricity. Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal are known as BBIN countries. The socio-economic characteristics of these countries are very similar. Again, if desired, these countries can complement each other in the power sector. BBIN countries have different patterns of electricity generation and demand. As... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/03/23)
The role of expatriates in socio-economic development in Bangladesh
The economy of Bangladesh is gradually improving. As a result of the increase in the country's GDP, the per capita income has increased and the standard of living is improving as compared to before. Although the economic momentum has been somewhat hampered in the past few years due to the corona pandemic and the war in Ukraine, we hope to overcome these obstacles soon. Development of garment industry and increase in expatriate income are playing a major role in the economic development of Bangladesh. Bangladesh's garment exports in 2020 were around Tk... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/03/23)
Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case: Four months after their release, fate of Lankan nationals at Trichy camp hangs in balance
Santhan is the only Lankan national among the four to have expressed his wish to return to the country. A top official in the Trichy district collector’s office said a review of Santhan’s papers are pending. Nalini Sriharan (PTI Close to four months after the six convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case were released on the Supreme Court’s orders, the four foreign nationals among them continue to spend their days in a special prison camp in Trichy, with no movement on their return to Sri Lanka or... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/03/23)
Sri Lankan govt bans strikes ahead of mass protest announced by unions
The announcement came days ahead of a mass protest announced by worker unions against the steep rise in taxes and living costs Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has declared public transport services “essential”, in a move that outlaws strike action by those working in the sector. The announcement came days ahead of a mass protest announced by worker unions against the steep rise in taxes and living costs. The President used his executive powers to invoke an “essential services” order declaring “public transports, delivery of food or drink,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/03/23)
Socio-Economic Roots Of Teenage Pregnancy In Sri Lanka
Teenage pregnancy is lower in Sri Lanka than in other countries in South Asia, but it varies with varying socioeconomic conditions within the island In Sri Lanka, teenage pregnancy is lower than it is in most other developing countries, including South Asian countries. But there are noticeable differences within the island, depending on socio-economic factors, says Kumari Thoradeniya of the Department of Sociology, University of Peradeniya. In her paper published in Modern Sri Lanka Studies, Vol. XII, No. 01, 2021, Thoradeniya begins by saying that teenage pregnancies can be... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/03/23)
CA quashes charges against Ravi in two CB bond cases
The Court of Appeal today issued a writ of certiorari quashing the charges against former Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake in connection with two cases filed in Colombo High Court over Central Bank bond issuance. Court of Appeal two-judge-bench comprising Justices Sobhitha Rajakaruna and Dhammika Ganepola made this order consequent to the writ petitions filed by former Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake challenging the Attorney General’s decision to file indictment over Central Bank bond issuance. In his petition, former Minister was challenging the decision made by the Attorney General to indict him... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/03/23)
Export earnings decline by 11.3% in January 2023
Earnings from merchandise exports declined by 11.3% to USD 978 in January 2023, as opposed to those recorded in January 2022. Meanwhile, the deficit in the merchandise trade account narrowed to USD 410 million in January 2023 from USD 857 million recorded in January 2022, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) reported. https://youtu.be/W1--1YR8MoI However, the merchandise trade deficit in January 2023 widened, compared to the deficit of USD 358 million recorded in December 2022. The major contributory factors for the Year On Year (Y-o-Y) change... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/03/23)
Sri Lanka Police refutes claims of assassination attempt on President
Sri Lanka Police have refuted recent claims that the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has commenced a probe into an alleged assassination attempt on the President. Police stated that earlier today (28 Feb.), the website of a renowned radio station posted an article about the CID launching an investigation into a conspiracy to assassinate President Ranil Wickremesinghe, based on information they had received in this regard. Issuing a statement on the matter, however, the Police confirmed that no such information has been received by the CID, and, accordingly, that no probes are underway.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/03/23)
People’s Bank, BOC chairs say banks will operate tomorrow despite planned token strike
The chairpersons of the People’s Bank and the Bank of Ceylon (BOC) both emphasized that their respective banks are ready to serve their customers tomorrow (March 01), the President’s Media Division (PMD) says. https://youtu.be/xwc7t_J7o94 They expressed their confidence that it is the responsibility of all public servants to support the government’s program to build the country’s economy, and that bank employees will do the same. These issues were revealed at a meeting held at the Presidential Secretariat today (Feb 28) regarding matters in the banking industry. ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/03/23)
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