May 22, Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka has taken a big step towards implementing the current world fuel standard after 22 years  to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and improve public health as the use of cars in the country is on the rise along with the average engine capacity.

The current world fuel standard is”Euro”-4 or Euro 6 -and Sri Lanka is still using “Euro”-2 quality petrol introduced to the country almost 22 years ago. 92 Octane and 90 Octane petrol are below the “Euro”-2 standard.  

Former Chairman of Ceylon Motor Traders Association (CMTA). Reeza Rauf said that in order to control air pollutants from the country’s vehicle fleet, there is an urgent need of traffic management measures, new emission standards, effective vehicle inspection and maintenance programmes encouraging public transport, and cleaner fuel as well as road user charges, etc.   

According to latest statistics, the active vehicle fleet in the country is over 4.5 million, annual fuel consumption more than 2.7 million tons and average fuel economy higher than 0.025 litre/passenger-km, he disclosed. 

 The data shows that there is an urgent need to implement world fuel standards to control air pollution in Sri Lanka, he suggested. 

Sri Lanka is about to receive 100 Octane premium petrol, known as XP100 rating fuel, which helps enhance the performance of vehicles, particularly high-end luxury cars and bikes.

A senior official from the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) said the fuel stock is about to be received and the price of a litre of fuel will be much higher than that of ordinary fuel products. 

This will be the first ever fuel produced with the highest Octane rating to be released to Sri Lanka by the IOC.

It is reported that the high-Octane fuel stock has been shipped to Sri Lanka from the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) in Mumbai on May 18.It is special that this type of petrol, named XP100, has been developed locally in India.

It is designed for high-efficiency engine performance, fast acceleration, smooth drivability and improved fuel economy in premium vehicles.

According to the IOC official website, the XP100 provides faster acceleration, smoother drivability, enhanced fuel economy, lower engine deposits and a significant reduction in emissions in the high compression ratio engine.

 It results in boosting vehicle performance and longer engine life, hence lower maintenance.

The XP100 enhances the performance of vehicles, particularly high-end luxury cars and bikes. It is produced using high-Octane gasoline produced through Octamax, an indigenously developed technology by Indian Oil’s R&D Centre.

• Sri Lanka Insurance secures 1^st place as the Most Loved Life Insurance Brand for the 7^th Consecutive Year 

Sri Lanka Insurance Life (SLICLL) has once again been recognized as the Most Loved Life Insurance Brand in the country, according to LMD’s latest Brand Finance Most Loved Brand edition. This marks the seventh consecutive year that SLICLL has secured this prestigious position, highlighting the company’s unwavering commitment to serving the people of Sri Lanka.

SLICLL has consistently connected with customers and the broader community by customizing its products and services to address the unique needs of all Sri Lankans. To meet the growing demand for convenience and transparency, SLICLL has continuously upgraded and innovated its offerings. The reintroduced ‘Sri Lanka Insurance Life Wealth Plus’ is a short-term investment plan with long-term protection, now featuring new benefits to better serve customers. Additionally, ‘Sri Lanka Insurance Life Early Cash’ was launched online to cater to today’s digital-savvy consumers. The D+ insurance product for diabetics and the School Fee Protector, which ensures children’s uninterrupted education in the event of a parent’s demise, further highlight SLICLL’s commitment to evolving customer needs.

The brand’s promise, ‘Like a Father, Like a Mother,’ reflects its empathetic approach to customer service and community engagement. SLICLL’s CSR initiatives are a testament to its dedication to child education, community development, and cultural preservation. The ‘Suba Pathum Scholarship’ program, which has awarded 1800 scholarships worth Rs. 200 million, supports children excelling in national exams. The company also commemorates World Children’s Day by offering a Rs. 1 million life insurance cover to parents of children born on October 1st. The ‘Pasal Piriyatha’ project has improved infrastructure in 3265 less-privileged schools, ensuring a better learning environment. Cultural heritage preservation is another key focus for SLICLL, with long-standing support for traditional Peraheras and assistance to pilgrims visiting Anuradhapura during the Poson season for over 30 years.

Internally, SLICLL is committed to diversity, inclusivity, and employee welfare. The company supports its staff with comprehensive medical benefits, fair treatment, and empowerment initiatives, particularly for women. 

This enduring dedication to its stakeholders and market presence has solidified SLICLL’s reputation, culminating in its recognition as the Most Loved Life Insurance Brand of the year. The company boasts the largest asset base in the industry at Rs. 220.5 billion and the largest life fund of Rs. 180.8 billion, underscoring its position as the strongest insurer in the country.

LMD’s Most Loved Brands Awards, organized annually by Lanka Monthly Digest (LMD), reflect consumer preferences and sentiments across Sri Lanka. These awards recognize excellence based on exhaustive surveys, consumer feedback, brand perception, and market performance.

May 22, Colombo (LNW): The Economic Transformation Bill and the Public Financial Management Bill are scheduled to be tabled in Parliament on Wednesday (22).

State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe stated that the bills include many provisions designed to create a favorable environment for investors. The bills aim to prevent Sri Lanka from facing another economic crisis by introducing several laws and regulations regarding public financial management and accountability.

The State Minister highlighted that the Economic Transformation Bill will pave the way to establish five new institutions, expediting the investment process in Sri Lanka. The bills will also include stringent laws to achieve expected economic growth, balance of trade, and debt repayment.

However, employees of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI) have expressed concerns that the Economic Transformation Bill includes attempts to privatize certain BOI resources. On Tuesday (21), BOI employees launched protests in several areas across the island against the bill.

Ajith Hegoda Arachchi, Convener of the BOI Trade Union Collective, stated that the bill does not provide concessions for investors or solutions to their issues. He also expressed concerns over the bill’s failure to ensure job security for the 1,100 BOI employees.

An award-winning Sri Lankan restaurant has just opened a new branch in South London. The popular Colombo Kitchen opened their second venue on May 16, this time in Putney.

Located at 240 Upper Richmond Road, the family-run establishment serves traditional dishes and exotic cocktails. After the success of the Worcester Park site, owner and head chef Sylvia Perera is now ready to share her authentic Sri Lankan recipes with the people of South-West London.

She said: “I was honoured when people told me they had travelled from all across London and even from abroad just to taste the food I grew up eating. That’s why I’m so excited to open this second location and share my heritage with even more people.”

While Sri Lankan cuisine has become increasingly trendy in London, Colombo Kitchen stands out for its hopper and kotthu bar concept, where traditional street food is prepared right under guests’ noses. The restaurant recently won Best Sri Lankan Restaurant at the prestigious Asian Restaurant and Takeaway Awards.

It has a 4.5-star rating from over 100 reviews on TripAdvisor. “My partner and I try to visit Colombo Kitchen as often as possible as it’s a fantastic dining experience – it’s a gem of a restaurant and the food is mouth-wateringly delicious and spicy,” commented a user.

The venue has particularly been praised for its egg hoppers, a popular breakfast dish in Sri Lanka. Both the mutton curry and the Negombo king prawn curry seem to also be a hit with visitors.

Colombo Kitchen is located at 25-27 Central Rd, Worcester Park KT4 8EG and at 240 Upper Richmond Rd, Greater, London SW15 6TG.

www.mylondon.news

A 73-year-old British man has died from a suspected heart attack after “sudden extreme turbulence” on a London-Singapore flight.

Dozens more have been injured after passengers described people being “launched into the ceiling” and overhead lockers.

Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 from Heathrow was forced to make an emergency landing in Thailand.

The plane left London on Monday night but diverted to Bangkok, landing at 3.45pm local time on Tuesday.

Singapore Airlines said the pilot declared a medical emergency and landed in Bangkok after “sudden extreme turbulence over the Irrawaddy Basin at 37,000 feet about 10 hours after departure”.

Passenger Dzafran Azmir, 28, described the chaos on board.

“Suddenly the aircraft starts tilting up and there was shaking so I started bracing for what was happening,” he said.

“And very suddenly there was a very dramatic drop so everyone seated and not wearing seatbelts was launched immediately into the ceiling.”

“Some people hit their heads on the baggage cabins overhead and dented it,” he added.

“They hit the places where lights and masks are and broke straight through it.”

Briton Andrew Davies told Sky News “anyone who had a seatbelt on isn’t injured”.

He said the seatbelt sign came on, but there was no time for crew to take their seats.

Mr Davies said “every single cabin crew person I saw was injured in some way or another, maybe with a gash on their head… One had a bad back, and was in obvious pain.”

Kittipong Kittikachorn, head of Bangkok airport, told reporters a British man, 73, had died from probable cardiac arrest.

He said it’s believed the turbulence hit while people were having breakfast and that an “air pocket” was to blame.

“Seventy-one people needed treatment and six of them had critical injuries,” said Bangkok’s Smitivej Srinakarin Hospital.

However, Singapore Airlines seemed to contradict those numbers and said only 30 people had been taken to hospital.

In a statement, the UK Foreign Office said it was “in contact with the local authorities”.

Forty-seven Britons were among the 211 passengers and 18 crew onboard the plane, a Boeing 777-300ER.

Flight tracking data showed the plane cruising at 37,000ft (11,280m) before dropping 6,000ft (1,830m) in around three minutes.

However, a spokesperson for FlightRadar24 said this appeared to “just be a flight level change in preparation for landing”.

Ambulances surrounded the aircraft on the tarmac after landing, with images showing some passengers taken away on stretchers.

SKY NEWS

May 22, Colombo (LNW): State Minister for Social Empowerment Mr. Anupa Pasqual emphasized that new laws are being introduced to facilitate the use of uncultivated land for agricultural purposes, recognizing land as vital for social empowerment.

The state minister also announced that the government has decided to incorporate a skill or professional stream into the G.C.E (Ordinary Level) Examination to promote social empowerment.

The State Minister made these remarks during a press briefing titled “Collective Path to a Stable Country” held at the Presidential Media Centre (PMC) yesterday.

Addressing the media, the State Minister further said:

“A fundamental ideology we have advocated is the need for educational system reform to uplift society. Hence, individuals should not be labelled as exam failures solely due to struggles in subjects like maths, religion, or language at the G.C.E (O/L) examination. Therefore, the government has resolved to integrate skill-based or vocational streams into the G.C.E (O/L) Examination syllabus. This concept reflects societal acceptance. Accordingly, the Ministry of Education plans to implement this initiative from the beginning of next year. It is imperative to note that forthcoming educational reforms aim to cultivate skilled professionals.”

Furthermore, the State Minister highlighted the recognition of numerous uncultivated lands across the country that should be utilized for agricultural purposes, emphasizing the pivotal importance of land in social empowerment. Thus, endeavors are underway to enact new legislation facilitating the utilization of uncultivated but arable land.

“Our standard is that pensions should be given to all to empower the entire country. To achieve this, we propose a contributory pension scheme encompassing not only the public and private sectors but also all self-employed individuals. Simultaneously, we must devote ourselves to fostering an entrepreneurial culture within the country. Additionally, access to vocational education should be extended to all as part of our efforts to drive the country towards development.”

He also announced the initiation of the “Liyasaviya” program aimed at empowering preschool teachers. The primary objective is to empower 1.2 million disadvantaged beneficiaries, with a target of empowering 300,000 families this year. Preparation of essential documentation for approximately 188,000 beneficiaries has been completed. Under the World Bank project, documentation for 10,000 beneficiaries and under the Asian Development Bank (ADB), documentation for 16,000 beneficiaries has been finalized. Training for officials will also conclude this month.

Furthermore, several social empowerment initiatives will commence in collaboration with the National Youth Services Council, Coconut Development Board, and Tea Small Holdings Development Authority in the next month.

May 22, Colombo (LNW): The government plans to initiate two pilot projects, the ‘Temporary Agricultural Electric Fence’ and the ‘Village Electric Fence,’ to protect villages and farmlands experiencing significant elephant-human conflicts.

This announcement was made during a discussion held yesterday (20th), led by Senior Advisor to the President on National Security and Chief of Presidential Staff Sagala Ratnayaka, alongside the heads of line agencies, focusing on recent measures to mitigate wild elephant-human conflicts.

In addition to the existing electric fences built and maintained to mitigate elephant-human conflicts, pilot projects have been initiated in several conflict-prone districts to protect farmlands within regional secretariats’ jurisdictions. These farmlands will be safeguarded only until the harvest season, with a focus on the construction of temporary agricultural electric fences (Agro Fences).

Furthermore, there was an in-depth discussion about the pilot project for constructing electric fences (Village Fences) around villages that experience frequent human-wild elephant conflicts, aiming to protect these communities.

It was decided during the discussion that the agricultural electric fence (Agro Fence) should be dismantled by the respective farmers after harvesting and that the Department of Agricultural Development would assume responsibility for its maintenance and custody. Maintenance duties will also be delegated to the respective divisional secretariats.

Additionally, attention was given to the preservation of a group of trained elephants for cultural events and parades, besides addressing the issue of private elephant ownership.

Mr. Sagala Ratnayaka further instructed the pertinent authorities to compile and present a comprehensive report outlining the challenges encountered in executing these resolutions for review by President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The meeting was attended by Gunadasa Samarasinghe, the Secretary of the Ministry of Wildlife and Forest Conservation, as well as representatives from various line agencies and members of the Wild Elephant Human Control Committee, including Dr. Sumith Pilapitiya and Dr. Prithiviraj Fernando.

May 22, Colombo (LNW):The Interim Secretariat for Truth and Reconciliation Mechanism (ISTRM) Commission convened three stakeholder consultations at the District Secretariat Office in Galle recently, in a bid to foster dialogue and address pressing concerns regarding the ethnic conflict and aftermath of the war. A diverse group of participants attended the meetings, reflecting a comprehensive cross-section of society, ranging from government officials to grassroots organisations.

The discussions brought together a wide spectrum of views, including government officials, media representatives, provincial leaders, and members from grassroots organisations. Led by Acting District Secretary C. P. Rajakaruna, the District Administration emphasised the importance of local perspectives in the reconciliation process. Regional reporters were briefed on the Commission’s progress, ensuring transparency and public awareness.

Divisional Secretaries and Heads of Departments from Provincial Councils contributed valuable insights, stressing the need for cohesive provincial strategies. Community stakeholders, including ex-military officers and non-governmental organisations, highlighted grassroots-level engagement, which is essential for addressing societal grievances.

Key issues discussed ranged from gender inclusivity to social welfare and victim advocacy. There were suggestions for special provisions mandating female representation in the selection of commissioners and amendments to laws providing concessions for widowers to re-marry with some entitlement of 50 percent of the allowances/salary after marriage.

Concerns were also raised regarding the re-traumatisation of victims who previously testified before conflict-related Presidential commissions. Additionally, inadequate support for disabled soldiers underscored the need for addressing the diverse needs of vulnerable groups.

The consultations concluded with optimism about the Commission’s potential to foster healing, reconciliation, and sustainable peace, emphasising the collective responsibility of all sections of society in advancing the nation’s reconciliation agenda.

Staff from the Interim Secretariat for Truth and Reconciliation, including Senior Additional Secretary to the President Ranjith Ariyaratne, Director General Dr. Asanga Gunawansa, Dr. C. Y. Thangarajah – Senior Executive (Policy), Danushi De Silva – Executive (Public Relations), Sarath Kothalawala (Coordinator), Saumya Wicramasinghe – Executive (Public Relations), and Y. L. Lokunarangoda – Senior Executive (Legal), reaffirmed the government’s commitment to an inclusive reconciliation process.

May 22, Colombo (LNW): The State Vesak festival started yesterday (21) in Matale with the blessings of the Maha Sanga and under the patronage of Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena.

Foreign representatives including ambassadors, ministers, and government officials also participated in the event.

The Vesak festival will continue till May 27, with the closing ceremony to be held at the Millawana Sri Sunandaramaya of the Pallepola Sasanarakshaka Mandalaya.

The Maha Sanga, including Anunayake of Siam Sect of the Malwatte Chapter Most Ven. Niyangoda Sri Vijithasiri Thera, Anunayake of the Siam Sect of the Asgiri Chapter Most Ven. Anamaduve Sri Dhammadassi Thera, Mahanayaka of the Rangiri Dambulu Chapter Most Ven. Inamaluwe Sumangala Thera, Sri Kalyani Samagri Dharma Maha Sangha Sabha Mahanayaka Most Ven. Malwane Pannasara Thera, Chief Sanganayake of Matale District of the Siam Sect of the Asgiri Chapter Most Ven. Kosgolle Seelarathana Thera, and clergy from other religions participated in the event.

Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs Minister Vidura Wickramanayaka, Central Province Governor Lalith U. Gamage, State Minister Shanta Bandara, Members of Parliament Nalaka Bandara Kottegoda, Yadamini Gunawardena, Gunathilaka Rajapaksa, Rohini Kaviratne, Diyawadana Nilame Pradeep Nilanga Dela Bandara, ambassadors of China, Vietnam, and Korea, High Commissioner of Pakistan, Assistant High Commissioner of India, government officials including Buddha Sasana Ministry Secretary Somaratne Vidanapathirana, and many devotees also participated in this event.