Final decision on LP Gas price hike expected today
The largest importer and supplier of LP Gas in Sri Lanka, Litro Gas says that a final decision is expected to be taken within today (10) with regard to increasing the price LP Gas. Wegapitiya stated that his company would also be making a decision today on how the price increase will take place. Accordingly, it is planned to sell gas under the new prices with effect from tomorrow (11), he said. Following repeated requests from the relevant companies, the government this week decided to remove the price controls imposed on milk powder, LP Gas, wheat flour and cement. Meanwhile a decision on the increase of wheat flour prices is expected to be taken tomorrow, according to company reps.
Source:The Nation
October 10, 2021 05:15 UTC
Young author with NASA dreams
By Kusumanjalee ThilakarathnaSanaya Goonawardena is a grade six student from St. John’s College who dreams of becoming a NASA scientist in future. Before the pandemic, I used to love reading books from our school library and going to the public library with my mother. Out of all the books I have read, my favourite book is “Kuda Hora” by Sybil Wettasinghe. I used to play chess and go for swimming lessons, but I had to stop these due to the pandemic. I would love to join NASA one day.
Source:The Nation
October 10, 2021 04:52 UTC
Record numbers of officers other ranks promoted on Army Day
In a historic move to mark the 72nd Anniversary of the Sri Lanka Army also known as the Army Day (10 October), promotions have been granted to 567 Officers and 10,368 Other Ranks, the SL Army said. The promotions have been made with the approval of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces on the recommendation of General Shavendra Silva, Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Army and the Ministry of Defence. The Sri Lanka Army says that after General Shavendra Silva took the mantle of the Army Command on 18 August 2019, the highest-ever number of promotions have been granted to both Officers and Other Ranks in the organization within a short period of two years after his assumption of office. Unprecedented in its history of 72 years, a record number of 3,873 promotions to Officers and 78,707 promotions to Other Ranks including today’s ones have been granted to-date after 18 August 2019. In his Army Day Message, the commander said they have also been able to successfully enhance the cadre vacancy of the Volunteer Force with 07 Brigadier Ranks, 17 Colonel Ranks, and 48 Lieutenant Colonel Ranks to avoid any hurdle to career progression of the Volunteer Force Officers.
Source:The Nation
October 10, 2021 03:33 UTC
The land where raped women end up being at fault
Campaigners say victims of sexual violence 'can easily become the accused' in the authoritarian Gulf state, due to the government's extreme interpretation of Islamic law. Campaigners say victims of sexual violence 'can easily become the accused' in the authoritarian Gulf state, due to the government's extreme interpretation of Islamic law. The country's Khalifa football stadium is pictured above'In addition, support for sexual violence victims is non-existent. Around the time Qatar began lobbying for the rights to the World Cup, stories about women punished under zina laws stopped appearing in state-run papers. Around the time Qatar began lobbying for the rights to the World Cup, stories about women punished under zina laws stopped appearing in state-run papers.
Source:The Nation
October 10, 2021 00:56 UTC
A NEW PASSION FOR COOKING – Part 19
Many of these universities had constituent colleges for women, a few examples being Girton at Cambridge, St. Anne’s at Oxford and Radcliffe at Harvard. I remember another tradition about dating at Oxford, regrettably not through personal experience. This practice used to be called “sporting the oak”, the American campus equivalent of hanging a tie on your door. I am hopeful that many who know my ex-wife, even my ex-wife herself, would find this obvious canard deliciously infuriating. Based on this nugget of wisdom, I have finally aged well enough to become the man my ex-wife thought she married.
Source:The Nation
October 10, 2021 00:56 UTC
US dollars returning to market at snail’s pace
US dollars returning to market at snail’s pace By Duruthu Edirimuni Chandrasekera View(s): View(s):Artificially managing the currency will not mark the return of dollar export earnings, exporters say. A free float would redirect export earnings to the host nation. The exporter categorically stated that his company will not be bringing proceeds to Sri Lanka if the exchange rate is at Rs.203. “If the US dollar exchange rate is at Rs. “With the managed exchange rate, we do not see the point in converting or bringing back our dollars,” a second exporter said.
Source:Sunday Times
October 10, 2021 00:22 UTC
CA Sri Lanka conference: Human beings responsible for destroying the planet
CA Sri Lanka conference: Human beings responsible for destroying the planet By Jayampathy Jayasinghe View(s): View(s):The world faces the unprecedented and multiple crisis of climate change due to nature’s degradation and pollution where the hottest decade is recorded in history. He was delivering the keynote address in an online presentation at the 20th CAPA (Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants) Conference and the 42 National conference of Chartered Accountants (CA Sri Lanka) Conference held in Colombo this week. President of CA Sri Lanka Manil Jayesinghe said that CAPA and the 42nd National conference of the Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka has unveiled the biggest accounting regional assembles ever to be hosted in the country. It was unfortunate that COVID-19 prevented foreign delegates visiting Sri Lanka. In the past 30 years floods in Sri Lanka have affected 10 million people due to increased rain intensity and reduced forest cover.
Source:Sunday Times
October 10, 2021 00:22 UTC
Pioneering step in little girl’s battle between life and death
The first successful paediatric liver transplantation for acute liver failure is another sparkling gem in the crown of the Colombo North Centre for Liver Diseases (Ragama) of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya. The Colombo North Centre for Liver Diseases evolved with a name-change in May this year from the North Colombo Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary and Liver Transplant Unit established in May 2012, contributing pioneering work to saving numerous lives, while also taking on referrals from across the country. Diluni needed a very urgent liver transplant, as otherwise she would die in a few days. A team member of the Colombo North Centre for Liver Diseases says that usually it would take about two months to prepare a child who was suffering from cirrhosis and needed a transplant. Diluni needed a transplant soon because she not only had acute liver failure but also cerebral oedema and encephalopathy (a decline in brain function).
Source:Sunday Times
October 10, 2021 00:22 UTC
Special fertiliser for tea industry, says President
Special fertiliser for tea industry, says President By Sunimalee Dias View(s): View(s):President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has told a special cabinet meeting on Thursday that special fertiliser can be brought down for use in the tea sector although this is not a reversal of the ban on chemical fertiliser application. In response to this request the President had stated that they can import a special fertiliser for the tea industry. It is learnt that this special fertiliser is likely to be new varieties of fertiliser available specially for the tea sector. Commenting on the possible blacklisting of the Qingdao company against the provision of sterile organic fertiliser, he noted that this was a matter left to the two state fertilizer companies and pertaining to the bid document conditions. At present the government is hoping to rely on the locally available liquid nitrogen fertiliser and is likely to identify two suppliers from India to purchase organic fertiliser in future.
Source:Sunday Times
October 10, 2021 00:22 UTC
Russian film crew in orbit to make first movie in space
Russian film crew in orbit to make first movie in space View(s):A Russian actor and a film director rocketed to space Tuesday on a mission to make the world’s first movie in orbit, a project the Kremlin said will help burnish the nation’s space glory. Actor Yulia Peresild and director Klim Shipenko blasted off for the International Space Station in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft together with cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, a veteran of three space missions. Their Soyuz MS-19 lifted off as scheduled at 1:55 p.m. (0855 GMT) from the Russian space launch facility in Baikonur, Kazakhstan and arrived at the station after about 3½ hours. Peresild and Klimenko are to film segments of a new movie titled “Challenge,” in which a surgeon played by Peresild rushes to the space station to save a crew member who needs an urgent operation in orbit. After 12 days on the space outpost, they are set to return to Earth with another Russian cosmonaut.
Source:Sunday Times
October 10, 2021 00:22 UTC
Three Lankans honoured with Indian literary award
Three Lankans honoured with Indian literary award By Ruqyyaha Deane View(s): View(s):As India celebrated its 75th Independence day on August 15, the Indian Government awarded 440 writers across the globe the literary honour – Gujarat Sahitya Academy award. In the list were three Sri Lankan writers, Nilukshika Dimithri Wijerathna, Thasneem Aala and Sakina Mohammed. The Gujarat Sahitya Academy is one of the many Indian literary boards, literary unions, academic institutions and literary entities associated with Motivational Strips forum that began as a modest Facebook page three years ago and today has more than 7,300,000 visitors every month. “Currently I am working on my book ‘My Poetic Place: Journey to self discovery’ which will be on motivational themes. She has published over a 100 articles in local magazines on a range of various topics“It was a moment to be cherished when I was announced as one of the recipients of this prestigious literary award,” she says.
Source:Sunday Times
October 10, 2021 00:22 UTC
Unlimited import of rice in bid to check prices
Unlimited import of rice in bid to check prices By Damith Wickremasekara and Chrishanthi Christopher Prices of powdered milk go up, talks on increasing prices of gas and other items View(s): View(s):The Cabinet has decided to allow unlimited imports of rice in a fresh attempt to prevent traders from exorbitantly increasing prices following the withdrawal of the gazette notification on maximum retail prices. The Government earlier failed to control rice prices although it carried out raids on paddy stores of large scale rice millers and issued a gazette notification on maximum retail prices for rice. Meanwhile, in a similar move, the Government on Friday withdrew a gazette notifications on prices of powdered milk, flour, gas and cement. 600 price increase but that was when the world market price was $600 a metric tonne. They said that removing the price ceiling on essential items would give traders the licence to increase prices arbitrarily.
Source:Sunday Times
October 10, 2021 00:22 UTC
Wise decision to remove price control on rice
Wise decision to remove price control on rice By Prof. Samson Ekanayake Feature View(s): View(s):Various parties have tried to portray the government’s decision to abolish the control price for rice as a defeat, a betrayal of consumers, a surrender to the paddy mill owners, a foolish act, an understanding of the reality, or as a wise decision. When it comes to consumers, they had to pay a higher price than the control price when buying rice, which was even higher than the price that prevailed before the price control was introduced. The first is that consumers must pay a higher price than the control price. Instead of setting a control price for rice, the above measures can be effectively used to stop the mill owners from unjustly raising/fixing the price of rice. Based on the above reasons, it can be concluded that the removal of the control price on rice by the government is a wise decision.
Source:Sunday Times
October 10, 2021 00:22 UTC
Law and order gone topsy-turvy
Law and order gone topsy-turvy View(s):Laws of any country are with a view to ensure human rights equitably. In Sri Lanka, law and order has gone topsy-turvy, meaning law and order does not impart any meaning or purpose in its exercise, nor offer any direction in its endeavour. Thus, any aspiration of the people to a sense of community solidarity as against the establishment, is denied to the people. It is idle, therefore, to even talk of a sense of unity of the people by way of law and order. The law touching law and order is not for the people.
Source:Sunday Times
October 10, 2021 00:22 UTC
‘Look to the past to prevent COVID-19 disaster in the future’
Even if Sri Lanka achieves the desired level of vaccination, all preventive strategies should focus on changing human behaviour. There were a large number of infections within small areas but they could be contained quickly, while Sri Lanka also had severe lockdowns. But in Sri Lanka, now about 10-15% of the population has been exposed to the virus. Until such time, we have to change our lifestyle and live with it,” adds Dr. Kothalawala. Dr. Kothalawala points out that it is of paramount importance to identify the first “symptomatic case”.
Source:Sunday Times
October 10, 2021 00:22 UTC