The owner of the company accused of importing substandard immunoglobulin vials has been apprehended by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID). This comes as part of a broader investigation into the alleged importation of substandard medicines, with serious implications for high-ranking government officials in Sri Lanka.
On a recent Monday, the Maligakanda Magistrate’s Court took action by imposing overseas travel bans on three individuals involved in the case. The bans were ordered after the CID presented a motion, expressing concerns that the suspects were planning to leave the country. Those affected by the travel bans include the company’s owner, known as ‘Aruna Deepthi’ but officially registered as Sugath Janaka Fernando, as well as Dr. Vijith Gunasekara, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA), and Dr. Kapila Wickramanayake, the Director of the Supplies Division within the Ministry of Health.
The case revolves around allegations of utilizing forged documents to import a batch of human intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) from India, which was in violation of established procedures. The NMRA suspended the usage of this imported IVIG after it failed quality tests. The product, purportedly manufactured by Livealth Biopharma Pvt Ltd. in India, was imported by a local medicine supplier named Isolez Biotech Pharma AG (Pvt) Ltd. The illicit importation of 22,500 vials of IVIG has reportedly resulted in a misappropriation of funds amounting to Rs. 130 million.
The suspicions came to light following reports of allergic reactions observed in patients who had received the drug at the Colombo National Hospital and the Matale District Hospital on August 22 and September 16, respectively. Meanwhile, a sub-committee appointed by the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) has instructed the University of Moratuwa to conduct a comprehensive study of the Ministry of Health’s information management system and submit a report, adding another layer of scrutiny to the ongoing investigation.
In October 2023, the inflation rate in Sri Lanka increased to 1.5%, up from 1.3% in September of the same year. This data was released by the Department of Census and Statistics along with the Colombo Consumer Price Index report for October 2023. Notably, food inflation remained at -5.2%, indicating stability in food prices during this period.
Adstudio.Cloud, the foremost 100% local programmatic advertising company in Sri Lanka, proudly announces a groundbreaking achievement that marks a new era in digital advertising. For the very first time in Sri Lanka, Adstudio.Cloud has introduced Video Programmatic Advertising, taking a bold step into the future of digital advertising.
Programmatic video advertising, often hailed as the future of the advertising industry, represents a game-changing development in the world of digital marketing. This innovative technology has the power to revolutionize advertising, empowering both advertisers and publishers with advanced tools for creating highly effective and efficient advertising campaigns. By harnessing the power of data and algorithms, Video Programmatic Advertising automates the buying and selling of video ad space, offering unparalleled precision in targeting specific audience segments and optimizing ad placements.
Video advertising, known for its captivating and engaging nature, remains one of the most potent forms of digital advertising. Its effectiveness is underscored by statistics revealing that 89% of people have been convinced to purchase a product or service after watching a video (wyzowl.com-2023). Furthermore, the global video advertising market is poised for remarkable growth, with an expected annual growth rate of 10.97%.
Adstudio.Cloud is on the forefront of this digital transformation by introducing Video Programmatic Advertising with a focus on Instream videos, Outstream videos, and various display formats, including rich media, in-banner, and in-feed videos. Ad bidding in this new programmatic landscape ensures a higher CPM (Cost Per Mille), promising more substantial revenues for publishers.
The introduction of Programmatic Video Advertising is a game-changer for both publishers and advertisers. Publishers are set to reap substantial benefits from this innovative approach, with enhanced revenues and a more sophisticated and efficient way of managing ad placements. Advertisers, on the other hand, gain access to unparalleled tools for reaching their target audience precisely and optimizing their ad campaigns for maximum impact.
Adstudio.Cloud’s esteemed publisher base has already enthusiastically welcomed this new feature, as they anticipate increased revenues and a higher level of sophistication afforded by this new programmatic technology. This pioneering step into Video Programmatic Advertising comes at the perfect time, just ahead of the upcoming festive season, providing advertisers with a unique opportunity to leverage this cutting-edge technology to stand out during this key marketing period.
To put it simply, Adstudio.Cloud’s introduction of Video Programmatic Advertising in Sri Lanka is a milestone that underscores its commitment to pushing the boundaries of innovation in the digital advertising landscape. By embracing this technology, Adstudio.Cloud is setting the stage for a brighter and more engaging future for advertisers, publishers, and consumers alike. The message is clear: it’s high time for advertisers to seize the unique advantages offered by Video Programmatic Advertising as they gear up for the festive season and beyond.
The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has made adjustments to fuel prices, which will come into effect from midnight on October 31. The revised prices are as follows:
Octane 92 Petrol: Reduced by Rs. 9 to Rs. 356 per litre.
Octane 95 Petrol: Increased by Rs. 3 to Rs. 423 per litre.
Auto Diesel: Increased by Rs. 5 to Rs. 356 per litre.
Super Diesel: Increased by Rs. 10 to Rs. 431 per litre.
Kerosene: Increased by Rs. 7 to Rs. 249 per litre.
Showers or thundershowers will occur at several places in the most provinces of the island after 02.00 p.m.
Heavy showers about 100mm are likely at some places in Western, Sabaragamuwa, and Uva provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts.
Showers will occur in Eastern, North-Central and Northwestern provinces and in Matale and Badulla districts during the morning too.
The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.
Colombo (LNW): “The World Fellowship of Buddhist – Sri Lanka Centre” today (31) organised a protest in support of the war-hit Palestine in front of the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress in Baudhaloka Mawatha, Colombo.
“If We Don’t End War, War Will End Us” was their main slogan against the ongoing armed conflict between Israel and Hamas near the Gaza strip, and urged the world powers stop supporting any inhuman massacre.
The event was attended by and endorsed by the Interfaith Cooperation, followed by human rights activists, people of all nationalities and religions, leaders of all religions, and many other concerned individuals.
Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the United States Mahinda Samarasinghe, who is concurrently accredited to the United Mexican States (Mexico), undertook his first official visit to Mexico City from 17 to 21 October 2023.
During the visit, the Bilateral Agreement for the Establishment of a Mechanism of Consultations on Matters of Common Interest Between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Mexico and Sri Lanka was signed by the Ambassador Samarasinghe and Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Carmen Moreno Toscano paving the way for future bilateral cooperation between the two countries. The ambassador invited the government of Mexico to consider conducting initial bilateral consultation in Colombo and hand over a written communication to this effect.
Ambassador Samarasinghe briefed the Mexican officials on economic challenges faced by Sri Lanka and the measures being taken to overcome them including the IMF’s extended fund facility (EFF) and debt restructuring negotiations. He also discussed the reforms being undertaken to promote governance, human rights and, reconciliation in Sri Lanka. At a meeting with Director General for Human Rights of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico Counselor Roberto De Leon Huerta, the ambassador briefed on current attempts by the Government of Sri Lanka to foster human rights protection, improve governance and, move towards reconciliation. They also discussed challenges to post conflict reconciliation efforts and how to address them.
On 20 October 2023, the Ambassador had a meeting with Chairman of the Foreign Relations Commission of the Mexican Senate Senator Hector Vasconcelos. The Ambassador handed over a letter from the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, recalling the past association and friendship between his late father, Philip Gunawardena, and the Senator’s late father Jose Vasconcelos Calderon – a senior figure of the Mexican socialist movement in the early 20th Century. The Ambassador briefed the Senator on current developments in Sri Lanka.
On 19 and 20 October, the ambassador met with the leadership of the Mexican Business Council for Foreign Trade, Investment and Technology (COMCE) and several leading Mexican personalities involved in trade and commercial enterprises who are members of the Council who have an interest in Sri Lanka.Vice Chairman of COMCE/ Chairman, Agricultural Committee/ Chairman, Mexico–India-Iran-Turkey bilateral Committees Jorge Lopez Morton, and Vice Chairman, Asia Pacific of COMCE Agustin Garcia Rechy along with other officers attended the meeting. The purpose was to further explore opportunities for Mexican businesses importing goods from Sri Lanka as well as exporting to Sri Lanka. Ambassador Samarasinghe thanked COMCE for organizing the meeting and briefly highlighted the prospects for strengthening bilateral trade relations between our two countries.
The Ambassador noted that there are numerous fields including cinnamon, tea, porcelain, and apparel in relation to which enhanced trade opportunities exist. Minister/Commercial of the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Washington D.C. Charitha Yattogoda, who accompanied the ambassador made a presentation highlighting details related to the bilateral trade between Sri Lanka and Mexico, especially enhancing potential exports to Mexico, investment opportunities available in Sri Lanka that includes new areas of opportunity such as the Port City of Colombo.
International experience shows that devolution of power to the periphery has successfully curtailed demands for secession in a number of countries. Yet, many chauvinist political parties, groups and individuals in Sri Lanka spread misinformation and disinformation about the devolution of power. They state that it would lead to the formation of a separate state for the Tamils in the North and East.
Likewise, there are many police forces in the world, where a central police force co-exists with local police forces in each province, state or territory without controversy. In Australia, France, India, Japan, Spain, the UK, and the USA, there are state, territory, provincial, and central police forces operating under authorities of various political shades and hues. For example, “There are 48 civilian police forces in the UK: 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales, a national police force in both Scotland and Northern Ireland and three specialist police forces (the British Transport Police, the Civil Nuclear Constabulary and the Ministry of Defence Police)” [UK Parliament 2023, Policing in the UK, House of Commons Research Briefing, Published 29 September, 2021; available at: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8582/].
There are significant differences in the level of devolutionary powers offered by each country. In Sri Lanka, devolution of land powers is substantially restricted. Canada has a federal system of governance, with a clear division of powers between the centre and periphery. The Provinces are vested with full powers for dealing with Provincial Crown land using specific laws enacted by provincial legislatures. The Commonwealth of Australia is a federation with a constitution that has a list of powers vested in the centre and the rest with the periphery. Land powers are effectively vested in the States.
Intrinsic nature of the state
The level of devolution of police powers in any specific country has not contributed to toning down their attitude towards non-majoritarian communities in their own country. One could easily witness discriminatory bias and attitudes against minority communities, for example, the treatment of Black communities in the USA. This is despite many black people occupying VIP positions and other high positions of authority in the security apparatus at federal and state level administrations in the country. In Australia, such attitudes are in common display against the Indigenous population as well as the other non-majoritarian communities such as black people from the African continent, brown and yellow people from South Asia, and even the Britishers (Poms) and New Zealanders (Kiwis) etc. Most visible in India are the anti-Islamic attitudes towards Muslim people and discriminatory practices against the so-called untouchables in the country.
So, it is difficult to assume that the extent of devolution of police powers alone would address such biases and attitudes. I have no doubt that a Tamil dominated separate state would have treated the Muslims, Sinhalese and the so-called low-caste Tamils in their area the same way the Tamil people are being treated in the Sinhala dominated areas. Police forces are omnipresent in the modern world; at the same time, their role has become increasingly controversial with their direct/indirect, overt/covert involvement in corruption, brutality, and enforcement of authoritarian rules.
We should note that the police in Sri Lanka under any regime has been an instrument of dominance and suppression. It has remained a body of persons empowered by the state to enforce the law that the ruling elite desired. On the other hand, they are also responsible for ensuring the safety of citizens and their property, resolving disputes, and preventing crime and civil disorder. Yet, enforcement of the law is only one part of policing, as they are engaged in many activities under different circumstances, predominantly when tasked with the preservation of order within the context of maintaining the class system and protection of private property by the ruling elite. In all societies, irrespective of the hue of the ruling regime, the police theoretically hold the monopoly on using violence.
Police are usually kept separate from the military and other security organizations involved in defending the state, particularly against foreign aggressions. However, in countries like Sri Lanka, this distinction is becoming increasingly blurred.
Inherent bias
Police at all levels of devolution need to focus on consistently updating their knowledge about non-majority communities resident in the local area. Awareness training should apply to all implicit or explicit personal and group biases. The currents working toward compartmentalisation and fragmentation of society rather than nation-building have established monolithic cultural units most visible in the armed forces who aspire to maintain their social, cultural, and economic superiority over the others. This would be evident even by looking at the nomenclature used in identifying certain units of the armed forces. The fundamental flaw in this system, which any mode of devolution will not address is the low level professional ethic of suppressing the other on the basis of their background, whether it is caste, gender, ethnicity, language, religion, nationality, or differently abled.
If we look at the socio-economic developmental process in Sri Lanka under capitalism, such barriers become increasingly weaker due to social interactions caused by the processes of urbanisation and the resultant socialisation. During the period of the pre-1950s, such social interaction between most communities in the fields of education, health and employment within the Sri Lankan society was more acceptable. However, in the post 1950s period, with the onset of linguistic, religious and ethnic compartmentalisation of society, many such socialisations came to an end despite continuing urbanisation.
It is imperative to notice that the extent and diversity of the social mix, and the type and frequency of interactions are essential to breaking down biases, negative attitudes and categorisations. Through social and community activities in Australia, I have experienced this by bringing diverse communities together regardless of the politics that create bias in the first place.
Those in the security forces including the police, ought to understand and accept the pluralist nature of our society. The type of social interaction they experience with diverse people of Sri Lanka and its frequency will have a significant impact on creating awareness about the feelings of non-majoritarian communities, particularly at provincial levels. To achieve this, the top levels of politicians, bureaucrats and communities need the dedication and resources to undertake such events with courage and conviction. The most significant factor, however, is the diversification of the forces within each unit, including recruiting candidates from varying social and cultural backgrounds to fill higher positions in the police and other security agencies.
Diversification
This will certainly help diversify the police force, which is more or less a mono-cultural force comprising the majority ethnic and religious population. It will enable police forces to engage in complex problem solving exercises while keeping social order by applying the rule of law, rather than rule by law. Bending legislation to suit political circumstances, as being done currently, starting from the President to the lowest level bureaucrat in the country, does not help the cause.
In Australia, when situations become tense due to various internal and external influences, diverse groups work together to mitigate the tension quickly. For example, when tensions were high against the Sudanese and other African migrants and refugees in the State of Victoria, which was caused by some opportunistic politicians who sought to gain power, multi-cultural community leaders were able to bring together the Sudanese community and other multi-cultural communities, the police, the bureaucrats and business communities over a meal at several cultural functions. This helped to lower the social and political temperature and resolve the issue in a civilised manner.
Ongoing diversity awareness training should include building partnerships and collaborations between non-majoritarian community groups and law enforcement agencies. Combining such objectives may enhance awareness about the aspirations of non-majoritarian communities and diminish preconceived negative biases towards them. Such processes can result in less misconduct and unprofessional behaviour on the part of police in decisive situations.
Colombo (LNW): Yesterday (30), an event took place at the Organisation of Professional Associations of Sri Lanka to launch the book ‘Teardrop Diplomacy: China’s Sri Lanka Foray’ by Asanga Abeyagoonasekera.
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa attended the event and praised Asanga’s significant contributions to Sri Lanka’s foreign policy and national security.
The Opposition Leader highlighted the importance of expert-driven foreign policy and identified Asanga as a key foreign policy advisor. He emphasised Asanga’s potential role in a future SJB government.
During his speech, the Opposition Leader emphasised the need for rational, well-thought-out policymaking rather than knee-jerk reactions.
He cited the Yoshida Doctrine as an example of how strategic economic growth can result from well-executed public policy decisions.
“Rationality over knee-jerk reactions was a recurring theme in the Opposition Leader’s speech, underscoring the need for well-thought-out policymaking. He used the Yoshida Doctrine as a shining example of how tactical economic growth can be achieved through masterful public policy decisions,” Premadasa said.
He underlined the importance of Sri Lanka collaborating with countries that bring value to the nation and stressed the need for a structured foreign policy decision-making process that incorporates input from think tanks to develop comprehensive policy proposals.
The Opposition Leader further emphasised the core role of meritocracy in the recruitment process for Sri Lankan foreign services.
Colombo (LNW): Exciting prizes, including the coveted iPhone 15 Pro, are up for grabs for Credit Card holders of the Commercial Bank of Ceylon who make monthly card purchases exceeding Rs. 50,000 as part of an end-of-year promotion unveiled by the bank.
This promotion extends until the close of 2023, and any ComBank Credit Card holder who meets the specified minimum spending threshold with their card will qualify for the monthly prize draws, according to the bank.
Aside from the grand prize of an iPhone 15 Pro, each monthly draw will feature bill wipeouts for 10 winners, luxury hotel stays for two winners, and star-class hotel dining for two winners.
Commercial Bank Cards have established themselves as the fastest-growing Credit Cards in Sri Lanka, commanding a leading position in terms of Credit and Debit Card point-of-sale usage.
The bank provides a range of Credit Cards in the Silver, Gold, and Platinum categories of Visa, Mastercard, and UnionPay, as well as LankaPay JCB-branded Credit Cards in the Platinum, Gold, and Classic categories.
The premium segment includes Visa Signature, World Mastercard, Visa Infinite, UnionPay Asia Prestige Platinum, and UnionPay Asia Prestige Diamond Cards.
These cards feature ‘Tap ‘n Go’ NFC technology and are supported by an extensive NFC Point-of-Sale (POS) network.
Commercial Bank Credit and Debit Cards offer year-round promotions encompassing a wide range of services.
The bank was the first to introduce loyalty rewards for both Credit and Debit Card holders through its Max Loyalty Rewards Points scheme.
It also pioneered the extension of promotional discount offers, traditionally available for Credit Cards only, to its Debit Cards.
