Colombo (LNW): The World Health Organisation (WHO) has reported a 52 per cent increase in new COVID-19 cases over the past four weeks, with over 850,000 new cases recorded during this period.

Despite this surge, new deaths decreased by 8 per cent, with over 3,000 fatalities reported.

Globally, since the onset of COVID-19, there have been over 772 million confirmed cases and nearly seven million deaths as of December 17.

The WHO highlighted over 118,000 new COVID-19 hospitalisations and more than 1,600 new intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, marking a 23 per cent and 51 per cent increase, respectively, on a global scale.

As of December 18, 2023, the JN.1 sub-lineage of the BA.2.86 Omicron variant has been designated a separate variant of interest (VOI) due to its rapid increase in prevalence.

Despite its low global public health risk, the WHO suggests that JN.1 could contribute to the burden of respiratory infections, particularly with the onset of winter in the Northern Hemisphere.

The WHO continues to monitor the evidence and risk associated with JN.1 and emphasises that current vaccines remain effective against severe disease and death from this variant.

Additionally, the WHO notes the circulation of other respiratory diseases such as influenza, RSV, and common childhood pneumonia.

The organisation advises individuals to adopt preventive measures, including wearing masks, maintaining a safe distance, practicing respiratory etiquette, regular hand hygiene, and getting tested for COVID-19 or influenza if symptomatic or exposed.

Colombo (LNW): In the ongoing special island-wide operation ‘Yukthiya’ (Justice) targeting narcotics, Sri Lankan security forces conducted a 24-hour mission concluding at 12:30 a.m. on Saturday (23), resulting in the arrest of numerous suspects.

The Ministry of Public Security reported a total of 1,676 suspects apprehended during this period.

Financial asset investigations have been initiated for 45 suspects, with 112 individuals referred for rehabilitation. Detention orders were secured against 119 suspects.

The drugs seized in the special island-wide operations include:

• 692g of heroin
• 393g of methamphetamine (‘Ice’)
• 42.1kg of Cannabis
• 20,615 narcotic pills
• 235,680 Cannabis plants
• 534g of Hash
• 11kg of ‘Mawa’

Since the initiation of special raids under the ‘Yukthiya’ operation on December 17, security forces personnel have made over 11,500 arrests and confiscated substantial amounts of narcotics.

Simultaneously, the Illegal Assets and Properties Investigation Division of the police have seized assets worth millions of rupees belonging to notorious criminal figures and drug traffickers.

By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka trade ministry’s irregular measures to import 50,000 metric tons of keeri samba rice in lieu of the festive season without following proper procedure allowing10 selected importers to carry out the task in their own way, commodity exporters complained.

The Ministry has selected those importers from a list of companies engaged in rice importation indicated in a SMS received by the relevant officers without proper evaluation of their eligibility, they said.

It has been revealed that the trade ministry has not followed any registration procedure for the selection of these importers and it has not considered previous experience in importing rice and the quantity of rice that they are going to import.

Azeez Brothers, Benson Traders, RTS Foods Ltd, ENSEN Trading Ltd, VD Holdings, Nandana Enterprise, Gnanam Imports.Pulses Processing Ltd, Barik Enterprise and PM Mohomed Ali Ltd were the importers named in the SMS.

SJB MP Dr. Harsha de Silva, said the Cabinet has reportedly granted approval for the import despite the upcoming Maha season harvest, with estimates pointing to a yield of over 2 million metric tons of rice, which is 80% of the country’s annual requirement.

He also questioned why a decision to import rice for the festive season is taking place so late in the day, as it takes over two weeks for imports to reach Sri Lanka, and asked if there is already a ship carrying rice consignments anchored in the outer harbour.

“This is madness, this is almost like the sugar scam. Red raw rice is over Rs. 180 a kg, which is difficult for the poor man to afford. Keeri Samba is sold at over Rs. 300 a kg, so what is the logic behind importing Samba?

Why is that order being placed now? Farmers incur a cost of about Rs. 90 to produce a kg of rice. When you make room for imports that has a cascading impact on prices, so how does the Government hope to protect and promote local agriculture,” De Silva asked.

He added the move to allow imports will benefit racketeers, and the Government may also look to reduce prices in the wake of an election year. De Silva added such a measure will compromise local agriculture output and confidence, in a year production costs are billed to rice with the increase in VAT.

“We call on the Government not to allow this. There must be a better plan to support local agriculture if we want it to become one of our key sectors.

Local onion farmers are struggling because of bad policy and decisions surrounding imports, and the lack of storage facilities and support that were disrupted by this Government when it came into power under President Rajapaksa,” he stated.

Colombo (LNW): The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) of India confiscated 54 kilograms of methamphetamine from a suspected drug trafficker in Chennai on Friday (21).

Udayakumar, a Sri Lankan national, was called in for questioning amid suspicions that he intended to smuggle methamphetamine to Sri Lanka, The Hindu reported.

During the investigation, 2 kilograms of the drug was seized from his possession. In a subsequent development, the central drug law enforcement agency arrested Akbar Ali of Perambur and seized 54 kilograms of methamphetamine hidden in a concealment.

The illicit substance had been sourced from Myanmar via Moreh in Manipur, with the intention of smuggling it into Sri Lanka.

In 2023, the NCB’s Chennai zone recorded a seizure of 65.061 kilograms of methamphetamine and 3,338.018 kilograms of ganja.

These substances, procured by the accused for smuggling into Sri Lanka, resulted in the arrest of 67 individuals involved in the drug network.

By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW): New High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, Santosh Jha expressed his country’s commitment to strengthening the special friendship between the two countries, while fostering closer collaboration in trade, investment, energy, connectivity and other areas.

Mr. Jha presented credentials to Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe in a diplomatic ceremony held at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo earlier in the day, marking the official commencement of his tenure here.

His most recent assignment prior to the posting in Sri Lanka was at the Embassy of India in Brussels, where he served from July 2020 until December 2023. Jha has the experience of serving as a member of negotiating teams for Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with Sri Lanka and the European Union respectively.

As the new high commissioner to its neighbouring island nation, Mr. Jha is poised to further strengthen the bilateral ties between India and Sri Lanka, fostering cooperation and collaboration in various domains, the President’s Media Division (PMD) said in a press release.

In the guest book of President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Mr. Jha conveyed that India and Sri Lanka share deep-rooted bonds in history, geography, culture and people-to-people ties.

He highlighted the growth of ties in political, economic, and security fields over the decades, emphasizing India’s role as Sri Lanka’s close neighbour, largest trade partner and a key development partner.

Mr. Jha aligned his goals with the Vision Statement agreed upon by the leaders of both nations, expressing confidence that their cooperation will lead to shared prosperity, progress and regional stability.

The new Indian envoy thanked President Wickremesinghe for the warm welcome and looked forward to constructive engagements in the future.

The partnership encourages investment from India’s private sector and joint ventures with Sri Lankan companies. Three areas – logistics, energy and tourism – are the focus of this partnership.

This includes improving regional logistics and the development of ports in Colombo, Trincomalee and Kankesanthurai, ferry services between Indian and Sri Lankan ports and greater air connectivity between both countries.

These are business investments that also enable people-to-people movement.

The most important projects include proposals to build an oil pipeline from India to Sri Lanka and to connect the two countries’ electricity grids.

India already has oil pipelines and power links with Bangladesh and Nepal – providing a template that can be used with Sri Lanka. While India is an energy importer it houses a world-class and world-scale oil refining and processing industry.

Colombo (LNW): The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has acknowledged its failure to implement proactive measures to prevent a nationwide power outage caused by a lightning strike, according to an official statement.

The recent power outage occurred when the primary Kotmale-Biyagama transmission line tripped due to a lightning strike.

The CEB admitted its lapse in taking preventative actions, Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), Prof. Manjula Fernando noted.

However, he added that installing advanced methods to shield against lightning damage incurs a significant cost for the CEB.

Fernando asserted that the commission plans to discuss and decide on preventive measures at its upcoming meeting next month.

1. Finance State Minister Shehan Semasinghe says bonuses to employees at Commercial Corporations, Statutory Boards & Govt owned companies may be paid only if the Govt entity has paid 30% of it’s profit after tax from the previous year to the consolidated fund.
   
2. President Ranil Wickremesinghe appoints 10 Ministry Secretaries & 2 Chief Secretaries: the appointments to be effective from 1st Jan’24.
   
3. President, National Trade Protection Council Mahendra Perera says the plight of 89% of the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises is worsening following stringent legal action taken by banks to recover their loans: also says 1,183 SME assets had been taken over by banks and auctioned, under parate execution during the past 11 months.
   
4. Doyen of Sinhala Journalism & Editor of Daily Lankadeepa for 33 years, Siri Ranasinghe felicitated by his friends, well-wishers and colleagues.
   
5. ITAK MP Govindan Karunakaran says President Ranil Wickremesinghe has promised the Tamil politicians to table the Truth and Reconciliation Bill to Parliament “to bring a long-term solution for the historical ethnic issues”.
   
6. SJB’s MP & “Economic Guru” Harsha de Silva says at least 18% of GDP should be collected as taxes, as opposed to the current 13%: laments SL’s expected taxes is only Rs.4,100bn & should be at least Rs.5,700bn: asserts it has to be increased by another 5% “to be comfortable”: Silva has been a strong advocate of an IMF programme, debt re-structuring after default, high interest rates, sale of SOEs, & a floating Rupee.
   
7. SL Telecom Trade unions demand a bonus amidst current financial challenges: their action impacts operations & clients of SLT: the Unions also want recent Govt nominees on the Board to be removed and the sale of the Treasury stake suspended.
   
8. Tea production in Nov’23 falls by 3.82% to 19,586,188kg from 20,364,487kg in Nov’22.
   
9. State Drama Advisory Council Chairman & veteran artist Parakrama Niriella makes dramatic exit from the Council: accuses Cultural Affairs Minister Vidura Wickramanayaka of interfering with the Council’s decisions.
   
10. Mumbai Indians Global Head of Cricket & SL Consultant Coach Mahela Jayawardene expresses satisfaction in securing Dilshan Madhushanka into the IPL Mumbai Indians’ team.

By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW): Sri Lankan government has to decide if it wants to collaborate with the Russian state-owned nuclear giant Rosatom, Ambassador of Russia in Sri Lanka, Levan Dzhagaryan said.

This decision is now up to the Sri Lankan authorities to set up a nuclear power plant in the island.

The possibility of nuclear power joining Sri Lanka’s energy mix resurfaced, with the Russian Ambassador, Levan S. Dzhagaryan, advocating for small-scale plant during a press conference on Thursday (21).

Dzhagaryan’s proposal centers around a 110-megawatt “floating or land-based” nuclear power plant, presenting it as a valuable alternative to Sri Lanka’s current reliance on coal and renewable energy sources susceptible to climate fluctuations.

He highlighted successful nuclear partnerships forged by Sri Lanka’s neighbors, ultimately reiterating that the decision rests solely with the Sri Lankan government.

Responding to a question raised during a media briefing on Thursday (Dec.21), the envoy spoke of the current status of the bilateral talks on nuclear power cooperation between Sri Lanka and Russia.

Ambassador Dzhagaryan mooted the establishment of a 110-megawatt small nuclear power plant, either floating or land-based, in Sri Lanka.

He said Sri Lanka needs alternative sources of power, and to stop relying heavily on coal and renewable energy which is susceptible to climate change.

Speaking further, Ambassador Dzhagaryan emphasized Russia’s fruitful nuclear cooperation with Sri Lanka’s neighbouring countries, such as Bangladesh, India and Myanmar as well as Turkiye and Iran.

When asked about the status of the talks on the joint venture on Mattala International Airport, Ambassador Dzhagaryan mentioned that their proposal is “still under consideration”.

He also highlighted the increasing number of Russians visiting the island nation as a key factor for his country’s interest in the Mattala Airport, and said at least 200,000 Russian tourists are expected to arrive in Sri Lanka by February 2024.

Sri Lanka will call for expressions of interest (EOI) in setting up nuclear power plants, its energy minister said on Friday, as it seeks cheap electricity to support its economic recovery.

The primary source of energy in the island nation is from imported oil and coal, and hydropower. The government aims to produce 70% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and it sees nuclear power as a low-carbon option for its energy mix. It aims to be carbon neutral by 2050.

The government intends to include the safe use of nuclear energy as a part of the long-term generation plans,” Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said in a post on the X social media platform, after meeting officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency in Colombo.