News
Home » NewsSri Lanka in dire straits, prepare for the worst
Both Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe have in recent days been explaining to the people what dire straits the economy is in, and to prepare to undergo difficult times for several more months. The Prime Minister and a parliamentary oversight committee have called for an investigation into the causes that [...]
Joint account with WHO to obtain urgent medical aid
The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Health Ministry are implementing a mechanism to establish a joint bank account that will accept assistance from foreign nations to solve the current forex crisis and ensure better transparency. Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told the Sunday Times the move was to expedite the process of securing drugs and [...]
Why did SL not respond to China’s emergency diesel offer?
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has directed officials to discuss with China to reactivate its offer to provide emergency diesel supplies, a senior official said. The directive came after revelations that Sri Lanka had not responded to an offer made by China to provide stocks of diesel for emergency use. The offer was made before Prime [...]
PM to appoint high-powered committee to stabilise economy
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is to appoint a high-powered Economic Stabilisation Committee headed by former Treasury Secretary Dr. R.H.S. Samaratunga to advise him on stabilising the economy. The committee will include Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, Treasury Secretary Mahinda Siriwardene, Dr. Sharmini Cooray former Capacity Development director of the IMF Institute, former CB Governor [...]
Black Monday violence: State insurer’s total loss over Rs. 1 bln
Total losses from the violence unleashed by Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna mobs on those who were protesting peacefully opposite Temple Trees and at the Galle Face Green against the rule of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the resulting backlash, will likely exceed Rs 1 billion, and the state-owned National Insurance Trust Fund Board’s Strike, Riot, Civil [...]
Saudi Arabia approves 1,585 Hajj pilgrims from Lanka, but big question over dollars
With Saudi Arabia this week approving a quota of 1,585 Hajj pilgrims for 2022, there are growing concerns about how tour operators will raise around US$ 6.3mn (Rs 2.2bn)—at a minimum of US$ 4,000 (Rs 1.4mn) per pilgrim—within Sri Lanka to meet the cost of the packages. Depending on services provided, each package can go [...]
Health Ministry rejects Treasury proposal for medical staff’s allowance cuts
The Health Ministry has rejected a Treasury proposal for sharp cuts in medical staff’s allowances and overtime payments following objections from trade unions. The ministry had to reverse the circular issued early this week in keeping with Treasury directives on measures to curtail state expenses. A revised circular issued on Thursday reaffirmed that the allowances [...]
Big-time electricity users to pay more; Power Ministry to present Cabinet proposal
The Power and Energy Ministry will submit a Cabinet proposal for an electricity tariff hike for those who consume a high number of units. Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said the Ceylon Electricity Board had called for a rate revision for high electricity consumers such as companies, industries, and hotels. He pointed out that [...]
HRCSL expert panel visits Rambukkana
The six-member panel of experts appointed by the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) to produce a special report on the Rambukkana shooting that claimed a life, visited the scene on Wednesday. The panel comprises two retired Judges, two President’s Counsel, a medical expert and retired Government Analyst.
India sends kerosene to island fishermen in north
Amidst acute fuel shortage, India has come forward to donate some 15,000 litres of kerosene to island-based fishermen in the north, following a request from fisher federations. As part of India’s outreach to the Northern Province people under its ‘Akshayapatra’ humanitarian assistance programme, fisher federations based in the northern islands of Analaithivu and Eluvaithivu will [...]
Mobile app nets in around 2000 vehicles topping up fuel more than once
A mobile app that came into operation on Friday has detected more than 2,300 vehicles obtaining fuel twice within 24 hours, police said. A senior police officer said that the police IT department that developed the mobile app had made it available among fuel station owners to detect people who obtain fuel repeatedly within a [...]
Worsening trend of packing SL overseas missions with political appointees impacts country’s diplomatic relations
Political appointments to Sri Lanka’s overseas missions have skyrocketed with a rising pattern of parceling out “clerical” positions to supporters and relatives including the children of prominent politicians, the Sunday Times learns. Examination of records show that some Sri Lanka missions have not had a career Ambassador in decades while some others are manned by [...]
Blessings for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee at London Buddhist Vihara
The London Buddhist Vihara founded by Anagarika Dharmapala in 1926 held a blessings ceremony on behalf of Buddhists in the United Kingdom, to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Buddhist monks from Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tibet and Japan led by the Chief Sanghanayake of Great Britain Ven. Bogoda Seelawimala participated at Friday’s ceremony. Master [...]
Missing child in Atulugama: Body found near her house
The body of a nine-year-old girl who went missing on Friday was found yesterday in a marshy area behind her house at Atulugama in Bandaragama. The Police said the girl was identified as Fathima Ayisha, who went missing after she went to buy some provisions from a shop 250 metres away from her house. She [...]
Shashi Weerawansa case: Action against ex-passport chiefs
The Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court has recommended that the Public Administration Ministry Secretary initiate an inquiry and take “appropriate action” against officials involved in helping former Minister Wimal Weerawansa’s wife Shashi Weerawansa to obtain a diplomatic passport by submitting a forged birth certificate and other documents. Shashi Weerawansa was sentenced to two years’ rigorous imprisonment [...]
After Labor Party victory more Sri Lankans trying to flee to Australia
With Australia’s Labor party coming into power and ending a nine-year long conservative party rule, the change of government has given fresh hope to Sri Lankans who are trying to flee the country due to the economic crisis. Within days after new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Labor Party defeated former Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s Liberal-National [...]
Health concerns on the rise as long queues, fuel shortages become norm of the day
From accidental ingestion of fuel to dehydration and driving after little sleep — experts have highlighted several health concerns arising from shortages of fuel and gas and waiting in long queues. “There are a concerning number of cases of accidental ingestion of fuel (hydrocarbon poisoning) due to people using saline/rubber tubes to suck petrol out [...]
Health Ministry scrambles emergency plans to deal with drug shortage
Health authorities are scrambling emergency plans to overcome the medicinal drugs shortage brought about by the worsening economic crisis, with some hospitals warning that they have only a few days of stocks of life-saving medicines such as the drugs used in the treatment of rabies. As part of its emergency measures, the Health Ministry has [...]
Fuel tab burns a hole in home budgets, traders reeling from shock
Yet another steep increase in fuel prices means the troubling effects are cascading to every sector of the economy, especially to households. The price of petrol jumped by up to 24%, while diesel prices rocketed by up to 38% on Tuesday this week. Fuel prices have more than doubled since October. State-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation [...]
Importers warn of food crisis soon, if open account import ban is not lifted
Importers complained that the open account import ban that is applicable as of May 20 may worsen the essential imports deficit Sri Lanka is facing. “A food shortage will happen soon if this is not changed,” said Essential Food Commodities Importers and Traders Association President G. Rajendran. Under a Central Bank directive approved last month, [...]
Abandoned properties becoming more sinister
There is no effective oversight over government, semi-government, and other statutory entities’ abandoned properties. Some buildings have been abandoned and trees have grown over them, while others have been misused by various persons. It is of little concern to officials to check at least whether they exist or have been encroached by others. This building [...]
Learning the hard way that uni dreams are vanishing
A mid rising costs of living and never-ending lines for essentials, international university students from Sri Lanka have begun to experience the blowback of the economic calamity. Letters of rejection on the basis of the meltdown, making students more dependent on university aid, circulated on social media last week as higher education institutes were showing [...]
Idiosyncratic, eccentric cast of characters steals the show at fuel stations
Every part you play, dramatists say, is a character. There are plenty of them characters converging on fuel queues at petrol pumping stations and morphing into plausible roles. No one is casting. They make up their minds and mould themselves into their roles. On weekends, the drama is elevated a notch. There is live music, [...]
NHS opportunity for local nurses and other medical professionals
Sri Lankan nurses and other healthcare professionals will soon be allowed to be employed in the United Kingdom under a new agreement between the two countries. This agreement recognises healthcare professionals recruited from Sri Lanka to the National Health Service (NHS) employment in the UK and will give them an opportunity to enhance their skills [...]
Litro’s hot air fills cooking gas cylinders; disappointed people suffer in long queues
Uncertainty continues over the supply of cooking gas, as Litro Gas, the main supplier, keeps on disappointing the people queuing up outside retail outlets, sometimes for more than a day. Despite the company’s assurance to the Parliament’s Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) last week that it would take measures to mitigate the inconvenience caused to [...]
Remote worker visa category on the agenda
Following the war in Ukraine, many have been displaced, with minimal access to essentials and loss of jobs and livelihoods. For Ukraninan tourists, the Sri Lankan government provided free visa extensions from February 21 to April 21. This was further extended until May 22 for those with a valid tourist visa. Meanwhile, Samz Hackeem from [...]
Be alert for Influenza
The monsoon is here and with it comes the spread of influenza (flu). “A slight rise in the cases of influenza has been recorded in May,” says Consultant Medical Virologist Dr. Jude Jayamaha of the Department of Virology, Medical Research Institute (MRI). The dominant type doing the rounds in the past three weeks is Influenza [...]
Small-scale Nuwara Eliya vege farmers abandon fields
Several small and medium-scale vegetable farmers are abandoning their fields in Nuwara Eliya and surrounding areas owing to high fertiliser prices and the current economic crisis. Some of these farmer families have tilled their land for generations. Their decision to abandon the fields goes against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s plea to people to grow food [...]
No monkeypox in SL
Monkeypox is riveting the attention of the world. Usually endemic to Central and West Africa, currently cases of this not-deadly viral disease have been detected in non-endemic United States of America, several European countries including the United Kingdom, Israel and Australia. “No cases have been detected in Sri Lanka or this region,” said Dr. Jude [...]
Everything is falling apart in the fragile world of students
Amindri Sinnathamby had entered her examination centre in Colombo and was diligently writing her three-hour jurisprudence paper for her Bar examination when chaos broke out. She had been writing her paper for one and a half hours, with no knowledge of the disarray the country was plunging into as she had no access to her [...]
Flat dwellers being inspired to stir the pot for communal meals
Recent political unrest and bankruptcy have worsened a severe food shortage and the majority of Sri Lankans are now forced to spend three times as much for basic essentials including rice and vegetables. Largely self-sufficient in rice and vegetables, Sri Lanka was pushed down the precipice by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who defied advice and common [...]
I don’t know why mobs attacked my homes, says Geetha
Veteran silver screen actress turned politician Geetha Kumarasinghe who is still getting over the shock after mobs broke into her Nawala residence and destroyed her ancestral home in Bentota, says she still does not understand why her residences were targeted. “I never uttered a word against those taking part in the “Aragalaya” campaign at Galle [...]