A collection of books in Sinhala and Tamil languages was donated to the Community Languages section of the City Library in Palmerston North, New Zealand on 24 September 2021.
The books were officially handed over to the library by the Founder of the Sinag Sri Lanka Foundation Tishan Sampath Dissanayake, in the presence of the Mayor of Palmerston North Linda Moore, Grant Smith, the Library Manager and the library staff.
Palmerston North City Library in New Zealand maintains a collection of books in over 25 different languages for its multi-lingual readers. This donation of 76 books written in Sinhala and Tamil including some of the English translations of renowned authors such as Martin Wickramasinghe & W.A. Abeysinghe, will now enrich the library with Sri Lankan literature.
The collection included Martin Wickramasinghe’s Gamperaliya, Kaliyuga, Yuganthaya Madol Doowa, Ape Gama and Dr. W. A. Abeysinghe’s popular translations the Swami Saha Yaluwo, Yuddaya Ha Premaya in addition to Sinhala language books for children and Buddhist Jataka story books.
A former governor of Iran’s Central Bank, Valiollah Seif, was sentenced on Saturday to 10 years in prison on corruption charges involving the mismanagement of millions of dollars, the judiciary said.
Seif and two of his deputies, who also received jail terms, were found guilty of “disturbing the foreign exchange market, the country’s economic climate and mismanagement,” a judiciary spokesman was quoted as saying by state media.
State TV said Seif and one of his deputies, Ahmad Araghchi, who was sentenced to eight years in jail, had “provided illegal conditions for the mismanagement of about $160 million and 20 million euros”.
Another deputy, Salar Aghakhani, was sentenced to 13 years.
Seif led the central bank from 2013 to 2018 under former President Hassan Rouahni’s administration. He was replaced by Abdolnasser Hemmati.
In 2018, the U.S. Treasury Department placed Seif under sanctions for helping transfer millions of dollars to the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah.
Rear Admiral Dr. Sarath Weerasekera, Minister of Public Defense stated that necessary steps are being taken to cancel the charge sheet if it is not completed within six months of issuing the charge sheet to a police officer.
The Minister said that the process is being carried out in accordance with the Establishments Code and that the necessary steps have been taken by the IGP to finalize the charge sheets within two to three weeks. Police officers are charged by their superiors on disciplinary or other grounds. An inquiry should be held in this regard and at the end of the examination, the officer should declare him as right or wrong. If a charge sheet has been issued to an officer, it will have a severe effect on the promotion of that officer and many police officers are mentally distressed as they are unable to get promotions due to the charge sheets which have been pending for years without such investigation.
The Minister points out that the charge sheets issued in 2011 to certain officials have not even been touched.
Thirty-five Chief Inspectors of Police who were eligible for promotions were also at risk of losing the opportunity to be promoted as Assistant Superintendents of Police due to charges that had not been heard for many years.
That is why it has been decided to take the necessary steps to cancel the charge sheets if they are not resolved within six months.
Also, when a police officer is charged with human rights abuses while on duty, neither the police nor the government provides legal assistance. He will have to obtain the assistance of a lawyer with his own money.
The attention of the Minister of Public Security Sarath Weerasekera has been drawn in this regard as well. The Minister says that necessary steps will be taken to provide relief in the event of a human rights case being filed while on duty.
A 14-member Presidential Task Force has been established to form green agriculture in the country.
Vijith Welikala of Wild Holidays (Pvt) Ltd has been appointed as the Chairman of the Task Force.
The relevant gazette notification was issued by the Presidential secretary Mr. P. B. Jayasundara with his signature.
Lalith Seneviratne, Kasun Tharaka Amal, Malinda Seneviratne, Rasika Thusitha Kumara, Dr. BKG Kavantissa, Samantha Fernando, Samuditha Kumarasinghe, Ajith Randunu, NM Khalid, Shammi Kirinde, Nirmala Karawgoda, Chaminda Hettikankanamge and Nishan de Silva are the ladies and gentlemen are named as members of this task force.
National Organizer Dr. Susantha Kodithuwakku has stated that Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thero has been removed from the membership of the Ape Jana Bala Party.
He added that he had also informed the Election Commission that he had been expelled from the party for not participating in the disciplinary inquiry.
Athuraliye Rathana Thero was also the representative of the Ape Janabala Party for the only seat in Parliament.
A five feet tall replica of the Samadhi Buddha statue was donated to the Venerable Maha Sangha of the newly established Shri Ashta Saddharmayatan Vihar in Lalitpur by the Embassy of Sri Lanka at a special ceremony held on 12th October 2021. After the chanting of Pirith the statue was handed over to the Maha Sangha by Ambassador Himalee Arunatilaka and staff at the Embassy. The statue was ceremoniously escorted to the temple amidst the singing of ‘Gyanmala’, or Buddhist hymns by devotees, in a colourful ‘pãda yãtra’ or procession, that included Buddhist monks and nuns, Embassy officials, local elected representatives and officials and a large number of lay devotees. Shri Ashta Saddharmayatan Vihar is situated in Lalitpur, which is the third largest city in Nepal, and one of the three districts of Kathmandu Valley, well known for its rich cultural heritage.
The Venerable theros addressing the gathering at a simple ceremony at the temple explained the merits of donating a Buddha statue and the significance of the original Samadhi statue which is known to inspire quiet contemplation and peaceful thoughts in the observer. The Ven theros further requested the Nepali devotees to go see the original Samadhi statue in Mahamevnāwa Park in Anuradhapura. Ambassador Arunatilaka stated that Sri Lanka would always work towards strengthening the deep rooted religious and cultural ties with Nepal that form the bedrock of the friendship between the two countries.
Dr. Chithramali de Silva, Director of the Family Health Bureau, said that the program to provide Covid vaccination to A / L students will be launched islandwide from the 21st of this month.
The vaccination program will be implemented in selected schools covering all the Medical Officer of Health divisions in the country, she said.
Ms. Chitramali de Silva said that the expert committee has decided to give only one dose of the Pfizer vaccine to children between the ages of 18 and 19 who have sat and are scheduled to sit for the GCE Advanced Level examination.
If the child is in a remote area of the school, the child can go to the office of the Medical Officer of Health in the area where he or she resides, the specialist said.
A Massive Insurance Scheme is proposed for workers engaged in sand mining in the Mahaweli River with GSMB Technical Services Company.
One million rupees will be provided in case of worker’s death. Rs.550,000 Insurance compensation for temporary and permanent disability. Scholarships for students pass Year 05 Scholarship and pass O/L and A/L until the end of their academic career.
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has said that the government, which boasted that they have a mighty brainy person that can work miracles in the economy, is now oppressing the people like never before.
The Leader of the Opposition said that the government has no plans to uplift the lives of the people.
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa said this while addressing the ‘Palakayin Hithumathe – Janathawa Hamathe’ rally in Kesbewa today.
He also said that the government is oppressing the people day by day.
The Leader of the Opposition said that the government has a responsibility to protect all rights including civil rights, economic rights, political rights and cultural rights. Instead, he said, the people today are suffering from uneasiness.
The protest was organized by party activists including Gayan de Mel, the chief organizer of the Kesbewa Samagi Jana Balawega.
President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa today ordered security forces to closely monitor traffic at all provincial borders as it is a long weekend with holidays on the 19th and 20th.
The Covid Committee, which met today, has decided to strictly enforce the provincial travel restrictions currently in effect until Thursday the 21st.
The President made this suggestion at a video conference meeting with the Covid Suppression Special Committee this morning (15).
Vaccination of school children in the age group of 18-19 years in the Colombo District has commenced from today, said the Director General of Health, Dr. Asela Gunawardena.
Steps have been taken to vaccinate children of this age group in other districts from schools and regional health offices from the 21st. According to the health recommendations, one dose is given to school children and two doses are given to children with congenital diseases.
The third dose of the booster vaccine is designed to give school children immunizations according to health recommendations after vaccination. Another 600,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine are due next Monday and the ordered vaccines are still being received, said Dr. Prasanna Gunasena, a member of the Covid Committee.
The President pointed out the need to study the measures to be taken to further reduce the number of Covid deaths and the need to further isolate the relevant areas by focusing on the areas where patients are reported.
Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya, a specialist in the World Health Organization (WHO), told the Covid Committee that the home quarantine process adopted by the health sector to control Covid has been specially commended by the World Health Organization.
High Commissioner of Malaysia to Colombo Tan Yang Thai paid a Courtesy Call on Foreign Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris at the Foreign Ministry on the 14 October 2021. While recalling the close and friendly bilateral ties between Sri Lanka and Malaysia, Foreign Minister and the High Commissioner discussed further avenues to enhance cooperation between the two countries in the post Covid -19 era.
Stating Sri Lanka was among the first to recognize Malaysia’s independence back in 1957, and the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2017, the High Commissioner expressed his strong desire to re-enact partnerships in several areas, including the restoration of the air connectivity to its fullest capacity and facilitate strong people to people interaction between the two countries.
Foreign Minister Peiris underlining strong bilateral partnership between the two countries emphasized the need of building further collaborations in the areas that are beneficial to both countries. Minister Peiris highly commended the enormous progress that Malaysia recorded in the field of digitalization. He identified digitalization as an area that the Government intends to achieve rapid progress over several key areas in the public sector including administration, court proceedings, education, health, etc. The Minister expressed Sri Lanka’s desire to look at the experiences of Malaysia in this field and adopt certain aspects as per the needs of the country.
During the discussion, Minister Peiris also praised the education system in Malaysia, where Malaysian Universities with the collaboration of reputed foreign Universities, offer diversified courses for students to continue their higher studies without migrating to foreign countries. Underlining the inadequacy of infrastructure in higher education and technical education, and the urgent need of broadening the vocational training in Sri Lanka, Minister Prof. Peiris identified this as an area of cooperation that both countries could progress.
Minister Basil Rajapaksa and former Director General of the Divineguma Development Department Kithsiri Ranawaka have been acquitted in a case related to the purchase of steel pipes during the 2015 Presidential Election using a sum of Rs. 365 lakhs belonging to the Divi Neguma Development Department.
This is due to the Attorney General withdrawing the charge sheets related to that case.
The order was issued by High Court Judge Namal Balalla when the case was taken up in the Colombo High Court today.
Affirming its indelible reputation as Sri Lanka’s fastest-growing life insurer, Softlogic Life goes beyond borders with the introduction of a powerful new US dollar savings life insurance solution, ‘Dollar Saver’ that will be offered to Sri Lankans working and living overseas.
Setting yet another benchmark in the country’s highly competitive insurance sector, the two-year savings plan enables Sri Lankans residing overseas to enjoy a 6.5 percent guaranteed annual return on their savings in dollars, while also benefiting from a life insurance coverage equal to the maturity benefit.
More Details about the Dollar Saver
Softlogic Life’s Dollar Saver makes its mark in Sri Lanka as a first of its kind solution offered by a life insurance company within the nation. The product will be offered in full accordance with Sri Lanka’s forex regulations.
Dollar Saver was launched in a virtual setting signifying the tech-based approach that has been adopted to ensure anytime anywhere take-up of this policy. Highlighting the significance of the launch, the chief guest, Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal stated, “To keep Sri Lanka’s growth momentum, it is vital to attract foreign investments and one such key method in which savings can be generated is in the form of insurance and innovative financial instruments. The penetration of the insurance market is important and significant towards driving the country’s economy. I congratulate Softlogic Life on designing this innovative product, which will now create a way for Sri Lankans who are working and living overseas to be part of a savings community in Sri Lanka.
Softlogic Life’s Dollar Saver addresses both the protection and investment needs of Sri Lankans domiciled overseas with a foreign income. The product is open for dual citizens as well as Sri Lankan residents who earn income from an overseas source. Customers can start with a minimum of US $ 5,000 and go up to a maximum of US $ 100,000, with just a one-time premium payment.
“In today’s context, with the competition and what’s going around the world, it is best for companies to evolve. Especially with the pandemic, it is key to evolve with technological advancements. Softlogic Life has always been an early adopter of technology even before the pandemic, which has helped the company grow by 43 percent in the first half of 2021, amidst everything. With a clear advantage over the competition, we were ready to move forward and extend our insurance services to over two million Sri Lankans living beyond borders while giving an opportunity to bring in more dollars to Sri Lanka,” remarked Softlogic Holdings PLC Chairman Ashok Pathirage.
Softlogic Holdings PLC Chairman Ashok Pathirage about Softlogic Life Dollar Saver in the event launch
Customers can sign up to the Dollar Saver plan through Softlogic Life’s highly secure, 100 percent paperless, digital onboarding process. They are also offered the convenient options of making their premium payments through any credit or debit card that are subject to limits or fund transfers.
“As Sri Lanka’s fastest-growing insurance company with revenue growth (GWP) of 43 percent in the first half of 2021 and a five-year CAGR of 30 percent, which is almost double the industry, we are proud to have launched Sri Lanka’s first-ever foreign currency insurance product that combines the elements of protection and investment returns in a meaningful manner. While this product is fully in accordance with the Central Bank forex and other regulatory requirements, the proceeds will be invested in government securities and similar risk instruments, avoiding currency exposure to maintain all the liquidity on behalf of our policyholders. We extend a very warm welcome to all Sri Lankans earning a foreign income to join us online with a Dollar Saver policy so that you can earn a guaranteed return on your dollar savings and we can protect everything that is precious to you,” commented Softlogic Life Insurance PLC Managing Director Iftikar Ahamed.
In a short span of four months, the world-famous Yohani has captured the hearts of YouTube fans more than the award-winning Indian musician and singer A.R. Rahman.
Currently, Yohani has over 2.97 million YouTube subscribers while A.R. Rahman has 2.93 million YouTube subscribers.
What makes them special is that they still have the largest fan base in India, the world’s second most populous country with a population of 1.38 billion.
A.R. Rahman has been in the music industry for over 3 decades. By singing the cover song of Satheesan’s ‘Manike’ song about 4 months ago, Yohani stole the hearts of the fans even in the western region mostly through YouTube.
Musician A.R. Rahman is an Indian film composer, voice manager, singer and songwriter. In 2010, the Government of India awarded him the Padma Bhushan, the nation’s third highest civilian award.
She recently visited India and participated in several concerts in India and sang Hindi film songs.
This is a great example of how even personal tastes today are so intertwined with social media and the internet.
In 1968, Andy Warhol said, “In the future, anyone can become world famous in 15 minutes.”
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka is preparing to propose to the government a proposal to revise the current ban on vehicle imports and to resolve the dollar crisis and import vehicles.
The Governor of the Central Bank Ajith Nivard Cabraal stated at a media briefing held today (14) that an expeditious proposal will be made to the Government on a new method of paying all import expenses in foreign currency when importing vehicles into the country.
“We see a bubble coming up regarding vehicles, which could possibly cause some damage to our system in the future. Therefore, we have a proposal to import vehicles, if possible, in foreign currency. In addition, if a methodology can be devised to pay in foreign currency, foreign exchange will flow through it and you will also receive the required item. We hope to inform the government in writing in near future, ”said the Governor of the Central Bank.
Sri Lanka participated at the Anuga 2021, the world’s largest trade fair for the food and beverage industry held at Messe Cologne, Germany, from 9 to 13 October 2021. The trade fair is designed under the one-roof concept, providing in-depth insights on industry orientation, connecting supply and demand, and offering diverse taste experiences in the food and beverage sectors.
As Sri Lanka’s presence at the Trade Fair has been an integral part of the country’s trade promotion strategy, 8 Sri Lankan companies presented time-tested high-quality Ceylon Tea products under the “Anuga Drinks” exhibition, showcasing a novel, innovative and unique array of products attracting large crowds and business personnel towards their individual pavilions. The Sri Lanka Tea Board coordinated Sri Lanka’s participation at the Fair.
Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Germany Manori Unambuwe and Consul General of Sri Lanka to Frankfurt Madurika Wenninger graced the Sri Lankan stalls on the opening day of the fair. During the meetings with the representatives of the Sri Lankan companies, Ambassador discussed the current market trends in Germany and Europe and briefed on the initiatives of the Mission to promote Ceylon Tea through close collaboration with industry stakeholders.
COLOMBO, October 14: On October 12th, the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet Band and the Colombo Wind Orchestra held a virtual musical seminar focusing on woodwind and brass instruments that included advanced training on instrument tuning and maintenance, as well as improvisation. The exchange allowed the musicians to express their own musical values, culture, and traditions while broadening their creative knowledge and capabilities.
The virtual seminar was built on the week-long multilateral at-sea exercise – known as Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training or CARAT Sri Lanka – held in June 2021. As a token of appreciation and dedication to their continued friendship, U.S. 7th Fleet Band presented Learn to Fly, a musical gift performed by the 7th Fleet’s ensemble, “Orient Express.”
The Colombo Wind Orchestra’s musical gift consisted of a medley of traditional Sinhala songs and dance music. Observing COVID-19 safety measures, orchestra members recorded their parts individually and were mixed together to comprise a three-part medley representing different cultures from across Sri Lanka.
Although the multilateral exercise between Sri Lanka, the United States, and Japan officially concluded three months ago, the cultural exchange between like-minded partners continues and serves as an important symbol of the connections and shared values between our democratic countries.
The General Secretary of the Ceylon Teachers Union Joseph Stalin said that the principals are being threatened by the local politicians and forced to open schools.
Mr. Stalin also said that several politicians in various parts of the country were intimidating and threatening principals to force schools to reopen on the 21st of this month.
However, he added that they will not be subjected to such intimidations and threats.
The Colombo Crimes Division has launched an investigation into the discovery of a stock of live ammunition hidden in a toilet on the fourth floor of the Bristol Building on Bristol Street in Colombo.
According to police sources, a sanitation worker working in the building had first spotted the parcel of ammunition and had informed the Fort Police.
Among the ammunition was 176 T-56 assault rifle ammo and 29 9mm ammo in a polythene bag, Fort Police said.
Sanitation workers have not cleaned the toilets properly due to the spread of Covid in recent days and it is said that these ammunitions were found during a full inspection today.
According to the police, most of the buildings in the building are port clearance offices and are frequented by a large number of people.
The Ceylon Principals’ Association has informed the Secretary of Education in a letter today that principals will not report for duty even if schools are reopened on the 21st of this month.
The letter was sent to the Secretary of Education by the Secretary of the Ceylon Principals’ Association, Piyasiri Fernando.
The letter states that the principals, deputy principals and assistant principals of the Sri Lanka Principals’ Service working in national and provincial schools will implement this decision.
The Inter-University Students Federation (IUSF) staged a protest in front of the Fort Railway Station today demanding the government to release the student leaders who have been arrested and remanded.
The Department of Buddhist Affairs has issued a statement stating that the processions carrying the Katina Chiwara will not be allowed to continue this year due to the Covid-19 epidemic.
According to the Health Guidelines, with the participation of only a maximum of 20 devotees are allowed to perform the Katina Chiwara Pooja and the noon almsgiving.
The Department of Buddhist Affairs states that the Katinanisansa Dhamma Chanting at the end of the Pinkama should be conducted with the participation of only a maximum of 20 devotees.
A protest by the Sri Lanka Ayurvedic Health Services Association in front of the Western Provincial Council today demanding the government to pay the Rs. 7500 Covid allowance.
All phone subscribers have legal approval for transferring their phone number to another network (Number Portability service).
This was announced by the Director General of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission Oshadha Senanayake at a media briefing held at the Presidential Media Center today.