BY Buddhika SamaraweeraEmphasising that they would not accept a revision in bus fares by 7.5% or 10%, the All Ceylon Private Bus Owners’ Association (ACPBOA) has demanded that bus fares be revised at least by 20%, taking into account the prevailing fuel prices. We say that if the diesel subsidy cannot be given, the minimum bus fare should be revised to Rs. Also, the total bus fare should be increased by 20%.”Following the Government’s decision to increase fuel prices with effect from 21 December, the Lanka Private Bus Owners’ Association (LPBOA) last week stated that bus fares would definitely have to be increased in line with the revised fuel prices. “We will allow a hike in bus fares under the condition that it is reduced when the fuel prices go down and the restrictions on the passenger capacity are lifted. “It is unfortunate that the Government has hiked fuel prices without developing the public transportation services.

Sri Lanka’s premier connectivity provider, Dialog Axiata PLC, was the Telecommunication Partner for the 2021 edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL). Five franchise teams, Colombo Stars, Dambulla Giants, Galle Gladiators, Jaffna Kings, and Kandy Warriors battled it out across 24 leagues and knockout matches in the 2021 tourney which commenced on 05th December. The LPL in its second season has proven that Sri Lanka has the talent to play with and against the best players in the world,” Shammi Silva, President – SLC said. With the support of all our stakeholders, we have been able to deliver an outstanding season of LPL. “Cricket is a game that cuts through all boundaries in Sri Lanka and the wonderful audience that has come to witness the grand finale here today is testament to that.”

NASA’s DART spacecraft has an unusual mission — to crash into an asteroid, in order to test whether this would be an effective planetary defense concept if an asteroid were to threaten Earth. NASA/Johns Hopkins APLThe images were captured using the DRACO camera (standing for Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation), a high-resolution camera that is the only instrument on board the DART craft. Although it isn’t its primary purpose, DRACO can and will be used to send images back to Earth as well. These two recently released images show that the camera is working as expected, and should be able to send back more images as the mission progresses. DART is currently on its way through the solar system as is scheduled to impact asteroid Didymos on September 26, 2022.

Investment opportunities in Sri Lanka are expected to be promoted, targeting the investor and business community in Gujarat, which is one of the most industrialised states in India. This was disclosed during a recent investment webinar organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)/Gujarat Chapter and the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI), partnered with the Consulate General in Mumbai. Titled “Strengthening Bilateral Trade and Investment Opportunities with Sri Lanka”, the webinar primarily explored potential investment opportunities in Sri Lanka for BOI’s strategic development projects based out of its newly established pharmaceutical zone in Arabokka and textile zone in Eravur. Speaking about the current investment climate, he said the investment environment in Sri Lanka, unlike the earlier days, has already undergone tremendous improvement. BOI Executive Director for Investment Promotion Prasanjith Wijayatilake made a comprehensive presentation on the investment opportunities available in Sri Lanka.

In the Forex market, the USD/LKR rate on spot contracts traded at levels of Rs.202.97 to Rs.203.00 during the week while overall activity remained moderate. The daily USD/LKR average traded volume for the first four trading days of the week stood at US $ 52.25 million. Courtesy: Wealth Trust Securities Ltd

The secondary market bond yields increased during the week ending December 24, 2021 to record an upward shift of the yield curve for a second consecutive week. At the weekly Treasury bill auction, the weighted average yield of the market favorite 91-day maturity increased by 47 basis points to 7.71% while the auction went undersubscribed for a second consecutive week. Meanwhile, the NCPI for the month of November increased sharply to 11.1% on its point to point against its previous month of 8.30%. In secondary bills, January and February 2022 maturities were seen hitting highs of 7.60% and 7.70% from its week’s lows of 7.18% and 7.50%. (References: Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Bloomberg E-Bond trading platform, Money broking companies)Courtesy: Wealth Trust Securities Ltd

With that in mind, one of the questions I get asked all the time is what the “perfect phone” would be for someone. The inherent problem with the question of a “perfect smartphone,” though, is the fact that it doesn’t exist. It is perfect.”In my opinion, there is no perfect phone. A phone with four lenses on the back isn’t necessarily a better camera phone than another with three. Obviously, that phone is old enough now that it definitely couldn’t be a perfect phone today.

Omalpe Sobitha in congratulating some graduands of the University of Colombo, for snubbing their university’s new Chancellor, Ven. Tens of thousands of social media and television viewers were treated to images of what seemed a gigantic snub which left the venerable monk clearly bewildered and obviously embarrassed. Ananda was conducted to the platform at the head of the customary procession of the university’s faculty clad in their academic regalia. At a press conference, an acolyte (golaya) was sharply critical of the Vice-Chancellor who Ven. Rahula, the first Buddhist monk to be appointed a professor of a Western university when he was appointed to the Chair of History and Religions at Northwestern University in the USA.

The Ministry of Defence says that the Government of Sri Lanka is taking strict and prompt action under the auspices of the ministry to combat human trafficking and that the country’s Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force intends to initiate many more proactive steps to combat the menace in Sri Lanka in the coming year. Through a policy decision taken by the Cabinet of Ministers in July this year, the Chairmanship of the Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force was shifted from the Ministry of Justice to the Ministry of Defence, with a view to establishing an enhanced institutional mechanism that directly coordinates with the investigation authorities and the intelligence services to combat human trafficking. On being informed of the possibility of the said women being victims of human trafficking, the Task Force had taken action to request the IGP to transfer the relevant investigation to the newly established Human Trafficking Division of the Criminal Investigations Department. Measures are also underway to amend the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment Act, No. The Task Force intends to initiate many more proactive steps to combat the menace of Human Trafficking in Sri Lanka in the coming year and would welcome the cooperation of the general public and all relevant institutions in being expeditiously informed of possible human trafficking incidents as indicated above, the Defence Ministry said.

Mandatory vaccine verification for public transport mootedBy Skandha GunasekaraThe Government will introduce a mobile phone app and QR codes to verify the vaccination status of citizens when entering public places from January, The Sunday Morning learns. We are working with the technical team to get the app and QR code facilities up and running. Adding that he hopes to have the system ready soon to enable ease of access to the public, he said: “We are trying to get the QR code ready by 1 January. The Minister added that authorities were considering implementing mandatory vaccination verification for public transport systems as well. “We are also contemplating whether we can implement the same system for public transport.

It is learnt that the long awaited facility would be received by Sri Lanka around 10 January 2022. The facility has been negotiated between officials from Sri Lanka and India since September this year. Meanwhile, the Government is to receive $ 1.5 billion from China, and the facility is expected to reach state coffers this week, it is learnt. “We will receive $ 1.5 billion from China and then the $ 400 million swap with India by 10 January 2022. However, Cabraal has remained tight-lipped on the source of the expected foreign inflows.

Robotic lawn mowers take the time and pain out of seasonal lawn care. We’re reviewing the best robot lawn mowers of 2021, along with their top features. Note: Automatic lawn mowers are mulching mowers generally designed to cut high and often, so program accordingly. The Husqvarna 115H Connect is one of the premier robotic lawn mowers in terms of voice-command technologies. Note that robotic lawn mowers are not designed for large lawns, so if you haveHow much does a robot lawn mower cost?

December 25, 2021 11:44 amTwo Indian nationals have been arrested at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake for attempting to smuggle gold into the country. The two airline passengers had attempted to bring in 1.049 kg of undeclared gold concealed in their luggage. They were arrested by airport police officers following a search of their baggage at the arrival lounge of the BIA yesterday (24). The arrested suspects are to be produced before the Negombo Magistrate’s Court today (25).

Vladimir Putin on Friday boasted about launching a a simultaneous salvo of its 6,670mph Zircon hypersonic missiles, saying that the development will 'strengthen Russia's security'. This was however the first time that Russian authorities reported a successful simultaneous launch test of several Zircon missiles. When asked on Friday about the build-up of Russian troops near Ukraine, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was acting to defend its own security. In the Black Sea Sukhoi Su-27SM3 fighter jets stationed in Krasnodar drilled on challenging Western or Ukrainian warships seen as threatening the Russian border, defence sources said. Mass burial sites were being dug along the Ukraine border as a 'priority', Russian outlet MK reported, citing leaked legal documents.

A total of 415 cases of Omicron variant of coronavirus have been detected in India so far, out of which 115 have recovered or migrated, according to the Union Health Ministry’s data updated on Saturday. A decrease of 484 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. It has been below one per cent for the last 41 days, according to the Health Ministry. India had crossed the grim milestone of 20 million on May 4 and 30 million on June 23. The Health Ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.