Four in every 10 households in Sri Lanka experienced a reduction in their incomes from June to December 2022, and one in every two households are currently relying on negative coping mechanisms to cope with the lack of food or money to buy it, a Food and Agriculture Organisation (FOA) report said. In its response […]

Tuesday 27th December, 2022 The 18th anniversary of the Boxing Day tsunami was marked yesterday with a series of commemorative ceremonies. More than 35,000 lives were lost in this country because most Sri Lankans had not even heard the word, tsunami, despite being members of an island nation, and ignored the early warning signs of […]

By Dr Laksiri Fernando One mistake we normally make in analysing the situation or crisis in Sri Lanka is to do it in isolation. Sri Lanka is unfortunately only a part of a world system. Although this situation is valid to almost all other countries, smaller or weaker a country, larger are the effects of […]

By Meera Sirinivasan Sri Lanka is waiting for financing assurances from its bilateral creditors, including India and China, to tap support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), according to Central Bank Governor P. Nandalal Weerasinghe. In September, the IMF reached a staff level agreement with Sri Lanka for a $2.9 billion package to help the island nation […]

by Nihal Jayawickrama From the best possible vantage point, Bernard Percival Peiris was a witness to the unfolding of history. In 1947, with the entering into force of the new Constitution under which Ceylon achieved self-government, he was instructed by Prime Minister D.S. Senanayake to take charge of the Cabinet Office as its Assistant Secretary. […]

Wednesday 21st December, 2022 There has been an upsurge in violent crimes during the past several months. The police are groping in the dark even where high-profile crimes such as the killing of Dinesh Schaffter are concerned. Is it that they are too busy with political work to be able to carry out their regular […]

By Shamindra Ferdinando The European Union will not continue with the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP-plus) facility unless the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government holds the Local Government elections soon, Prof G. L. Peiris, MP, has warned. The Local Government bodies have to be constituted on or before March 20, 2023. The former Foreign Minister has said that […]

India’s much-awaited Digital Rupee currency (e-Rupee) was launched in the country a few days back. Its wholesale segment commenced from November 1, 2022, and Retail on December 1, 2022. In one way it is a very important historical event and in another, it is a minor one. Minor thing is that the digital transaction of […]

Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara says that although the Cabinet has approved the provision of a duty-free allowance in relation to the amount of money sent by migrant workers to Sri Lanka, the officials of the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank have not yet taken necessary measures for it.

By Hiran H. Senewiratne The CSE was volatile throughout yesterday and ended with a negative trend due to profit- takings. Shares edged- up in mid- market trade, pushed up by Expolanka, analysts said. “Bulk of the turnover, approximately 70 percent of the revenue contributions, were from Expolanka and Lanka IOC, analysts said. Expolanka had generated […]

Regular revelations, pertaining to high profile scams that had undermined revenue collection, underline the pathetic failure on the part of Parliament to ensure financial discipline. The Central Bank, five-member Monetary Board, Cabinet of Ministers and Parliament as an institution should accept the responsibility for the current crisis. The likes of Bandula Gunawardena continue to pursue […...

By Hiran H. Senewiratne The CSE yesterday commenced the week on a positive note as retail favourites continued to strengthen on improved sentiment. But shares slipped in mid- market trade due to profit- takings, stock market analysts said. During the day profit- takings were noted after the market showed some positive stance after having performed […]

The 79th birthday of Venerable Galaboda Gnanissara Thera, the Chief Incumbent of the Gangaramaya Temple, popularly known as Podi Hamuduruwo falls on the 14th of December and the temple has organised a series of Pinkamas to mark the occasion. As a part of these events sanghika dana will be offered to 250 bhikkus and 150 […]