e-Con e-News 01-07 February 2025
‘Before you study the economics, study the economists!' * Is Rockefeller's Exxon Getting Singapore to Sell Stolen Venezuelan Oil to Sri Lanka? e-Con e-News 01-07 February 2025 * At a recent collective bargaining negotiation, workers asked for a copy of the collective agreement in Sinhala. The company agreed to translate it but declared in case of discrepancy, the English document would prevail! Happy Independence Day! The English do & does prevail! ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 09/02/26)
Garvin Karunaratne, former GA Matara
It was a Saturday morning. Seated in the verandah of the Warakapola Rest House I was waiting for the arrival of the Hon Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Dudley Senanayake. It was my task every Saturday and Sunday to meet him and be with him the entire day, for two long years. I was the Additional Disapathy in Kegalla. It happened in 1968 Earlier that week I had assumed duties as the Additional Government Agent at Kegalla and met the Government Agent Stanley Maralanda. Mr Maralanda the Government Agent was very... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 09/02/26)
සංගදාස අකුරුගොඩ
2009 මැයි මාසයේදී ශ්රී ලංකාව නිල වශයෙන් එල්.ටී.ටී.ඊ සංවිධානය හමුදාමය වශයෙන් පරාජය කළද, ගෝලීය එල්.ටී.ටී.ඊය හා සම්බන්ධිත පිරිස්, හමුදාමය නොවන ක්රමවලින් ස්වාධීන ‘දෙමළ ඊලමක්' නිර්මාණය කිරීමේ බෙදුම්වාදී අරමුණු ක්රියාත්මක කරමින් සිටී. ඒ සමග, ශ්රී ලංකාවේ 2015, 2022 සහ 2024 දි සිදුවූ ආණ්ඩු පෙරලිවලින් පසු, උතුරු නැගෙනහිර පළාත්වල හමුදා ඉවත් කිරීම්, බුද්ධි අංශ පහත හෙලීම් මගින් රාජ්ය ආරක්ෂක පැවැත්ම දුර්වල වීම් සිදුවෙමින් පවතින අතර එම ප්රදේශයන්හි පුරාවිද්යාත්මක වැදගත් කමක් ඇති සිංහල බෞද්ධ ආගමික සිද්ධස්ථානවල පැවැත්මටද දැඩි පීඩනයන් එල්ල වෙමින් පවතී. උක්ත බෙදුම්වාදී අරමුණු සහ ආණ්ඩු පෙරලීම් අහම්බයෙන් හෝ හුදකලා වූ සුදුවීම් නොව එය බාහිර උපායමාර්ගික... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 09/02/26)
Dilrook Kannangara
Generation Z (persons born between 1997 and 2012) are very special compared to other generations. They are highly influential around the world and have a few political, religious and business victims under their belt already. As most of them grew up with high tech, they are globally aware and better behaved compared to older generations evidenced by a drastically lower rate of childhood pregnancies, tobacco use and alcoholism. They are highly sensitive to economic strength and economic freedom, and also aware of their rights. These traits were less seen in older generations as they were more... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 09/02/26)
Courtesy Daily Mirror
Bloomberg report notes that wage disparities persist, with foreign workers often earning less than Russian nationals for similar roles By Nishel Fernando Russia is turning to South Asia, including Sri Lanka, to address a widening labour shortage that has been exacerbated by the war in Ukraine and long-term demographic shifts. A report by Bloomberg highlights that Russian recruiters are aggressively scouting for workers in Sri Lanka, India, and Bangladesh as Moscow faces its most severe workforce crisis in decades. With an estimated... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 09/02/26)
Courtesy Hiru News
The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) has decided to launch an inquiry into a complaint filed by the suspended Deputy Secretary General of Parliament, Chaminda Kularatne. Kularatne was recently suspended from his post following a decision made by the Parliamentary Staff Advisory Council. The suspension reportedly stems from complications surrounding the legality of his initial appointment to the parliamentary staff. In response to his suspension, the Deputy Secretary General filed a formal complaint with the Bribery Commission on the 2nd of this month against Speaker... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 09/02/26)
Shenali D Waduge
Sinhala Buddhists, constituting approximately 70% of Sri Lanka’s population, and forming the islands continuous civilizations core for over 2500 years are experiencing systematic marginalization across governance, administration, legal protection, cultural preservation, and education, particularly in the Northern and Eastern Provinces. Despite being the majority, their religious, cultural, and linguistic rights, as guaranteed by Article 9 of the Constitution of Sri Lanka—which provides for freedom of religion and recognizes the foremost place of Buddhism—are under threat due to structural biases favoring minority groups. International Human Rights – Legal angle These developments conflict directly with internationally accepted human... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/02/26)
Shenali D Waduge
It is crucial to understand the real nature of India’s regional doctrine the modus operandi changes with each government but the objective remains the same. India’s geopolitical goal has been political hegemony over its neighbors, regional dominance, strategic containment of rivals (China/Pakistan), buffer-state control and to expand its sphere of influence. As a result, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka are regularly prone to all types of interferences & interventions by India via geopolitical engineering. This doctrine is not partnership-based regionalism. It is coercive geopolitics that treats neighboring sovereign... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/02/26)
Nava Thakuria
Guwahati: Amid all chaos, where the ethnic armed groups continue offensives against the ruling Myanmar military junta across the Buddhist majority country, the Sanatani Hindus celebrated 75th Maha Ramayana Harinama Ram chanting festival in Rakhine/Arakan province in western border of the southeast Asian nation. The four-day festival, held in Maungdaw locality with the participation of thousands of Hindu families along with local Buddhists in sacred rituals with great enthusiasm, concluded on 3 February 2026. Organized by the Maungdaw Hindu affairs committee with the support from the Arakan People's Revolutionary Government where the security was... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/02/26)
Abroad of Air
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4AaWWkh9yw Explore the most influential Buddhist countries of 2025, where spirituality meets cultural and global impact. From the ancient temples of Myanmar to the modern Zen practices of Japan, we dive deep into the history, culture, and contributions of these nations. Learn how Sri Lanka's sacred relics, Thailand's vibrant festivals, and China's monumental Buddhist heritage continue to inspire millions worldwide. Each country on this list exemplifies the teachings of Buddhism in unique and profound ways, shaping not only their societies but also the world. Witness stunning visuals of iconic landmarks like... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/02/26)
Source: Al Hakam. London.
“Fathering is not something perfect men do, but something that perfects the man.” (Frank Pittman) Becoming a parent can be one of the most joyous experiences for both men and women. Transitioning into parenthood critically impacts various areas of functioning in both parents. And just like new mothers, new fathers too might have a hard time adjusting to the demands and challenges of the new dynamics. Taking care of an infant can cause major disruptions in routines. Many new fathers might be unprepared or unsure of their role, which further adds... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/02/26)
Courtesy Daily Mirror
This Bill is intended to protect tenants’ risks undermining Sri Lanka’s property rental market and also harming property owners who live on rents than on fixed deposit investments. As the country move forward for economic challenges, it’s crucial we don’t inadvertently discourage investments in the house and apartment building industry. Key concerns with the bill are impact on senior citizens who are vulnerable owners. Many property owners, including seniors, depend on rental income for daily expenses and medications required in old age. By making evictions harder and prioritising tenant rights, this... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/02/26)
Courtesy Adaderana
Three Swedish-made rocket launchers, believed to have been carefully buried underground by the LTTE during the war, has been discovered by security forces in the Kudumbimalai area of Batticaloa. The weapons were recovered during a special joint search operation conducted by Special Task Force (STF) personnel and Army Intelligence officers in the Kudumbimalai area based on intelligence received. The three rocket launchers have been handed over to Valachchenai Police for further investigation, while the STF continues to conduct additional inquiries into the incident.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/02/26)
Courtesy Adaderana
For years, Russia relied on migrants from Central Asia to fill gaps in its workforce. As demographics and the war in Ukraine drive the sharpest labour crisis in decades, recruiters are casting a wider net across some of the world’s most populous countries. Russia estimates the economy needs 11 million more labourers by the end of the decade. The issue was high on the agenda during President Vladimir Putin’s December visit to New Delhi, when officials signed an agreement aimed at simplifying procedures for temporary labour migration. Even... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/02/26)
Hiru News
All institutions and officials involved in the importation of substandard coal should be summoned before the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), according to Samagi Jana Balawegaya MP Sujeewa Senasinghe. The MP stated that recent coal shipments for the Norochcholai thermal power plant were proven to be below required standards, leading to significant financial losses for the country during power generation. He further noted that the poor-quality fuel could damage the plant's machinery and urged a formal investigation to address these concerns. While the government announced plans to... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/02/26)
උපුටා ගැන්ම ලංකා සී නිව්ස්
කථානායක ජගත් වික්රමරත්න මහතාගේ පෞද්ගලික ලේකම්වරයා ලෙස කටයුතු කරන චමීර ගාල්ලගේ යන අයට එරෙහිව විධිමත් පරීක්ෂණයක් පවත්වන ලෙස ඉල්ලමින් සජබ මන්ත්රී සුජීව සේනසිංහ මහතා විසින් පාර්ලිමේන්තු මහ ලේකම් කුෂානි රෝහණධීර මහත්මිය වෙත පැමිණිල්ලක් යොමු කර ඇත. පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ පිළිගැනීමේ නිලධාරියෙකුට අසභ්ය වචනයෙන් බැන වැදී තර්ජනය කිරීම මෙම පැමිණිල්ලට මූලික හේතුව වී තිබේ. වාර්තා වන අන්දමට, මෙම අර්බුදය හටගෙන ඇත්තේ පිළිගැනීමේ අංශය වෙත පෞද්ගලික ලේකම්වරයා ලබාදුන් දුරකථන ඇමතුමකට ප්රතිචාර දැක්වූ නිලධාරියා ඔහුව හඳුනා ගැනීමට අපොහොසත් වීම හේතුවෙනි. මෙයින් කෝපයට පත් චමීර ගාල්ලගේ මහතා, අදාළ නිලධාරියාව සිය... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/02/26)
Top News Lk
https://youtu.be/YCK4afAA2CY... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/02/26)
Udaya Gammanpila
https://youtu.be/C0z0cwVvxPE... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/02/26)
Shenali D Waduge
Sri Lanka formally defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) militarily in May 2009. However, where the military succeeded the ideological battle tasked to the politicians failed. Armed movements that fail militarily often transition into political warfare networks, relocating operations from the battlefield into international diplomacy, diaspora mobilization, narrative construction, legal activism, and foreign political lobbying. Global LTTE-linked networks continue to operate with the same separatist objective — the creation of an independent Tamil Eelam — by non-military means. Through coordinated diaspora events, ideological commemorations, international lobbying, parliamentary engagement, UN advocacy,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/02/26)
National Development Bank PLC
National Development Bank PLC (NDB) recently formalised a strategic partnership with the Central Depository Systems (Pvt) Limited (CDS), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), to enhance the efficiency and reliability of dividend disbursement for companies listed on the CSE. The agreement, signed at a ceremony held recently, marks a meaningful step towards strengthening Sri Lanka’s capital market infrastructure while elevating the experience for issuers and investors alike. Through this collaboration, NDB introduces a streamlined dividend pay-out solution designed to simplify what has traditionally been a complex administrative process.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/02/26)
by Janaka Perera
https://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=43,5678,0,0,1,0 Courtesy: The Buddhist Channel
Meethirigala, Sri Lanka -- Meethirigala Nissarana Vanaya, one of Sri Lanka's most respected and largest Buddhist Forest Hermitages, celebrated its 40th year of existence, on December 23, 2007 (Unduvap Poya Day). This rare photo taken in 1965 during the construction phase of the Mitirigala Nissarana Vanaya shows the following persons including the monks and samaneras ( trainee monks). Left to Right Standing - Asoka Weeraratna ( Founder of the Mitirigala Nissarana Vanaya), three samanera monks, Dharmasena Weeraratna ( father of Senaka and Tissa )... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/02/26)
Sam Kimball Courtesy CounterPunch
January 27, 2026 The following report was funded by the CounterPunch Investigative Fund. “They came in the night after Assad fled,” said Mohammed, a resident of Kodena, a small village perched upon rolling hills of rocky soil, about a mile and a half east of the unofficial border with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The Israeli forces “rode in jeeps, hummers, armored personnel carriers, Merkava tanks,” into the rural hamlet in southern Quneitra province, said Mohammed, who declined to give his last name out of fear... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/02/26)
Unusual workday story. W. Pathirana. Former Senior Lecturer in Pharmacy, Colombo Medical Faculty.
Another bright day had dawned and as usual I dressed up myself for the day’s official duties. It was time for me to leave for the 10 kilometers drive that takes 45 minutes across the City of Colombo through the grid lock traffic to the work place. The fence on the side of the garage had two letter boxes painted with bright post office red. One of the boxes was dedicated to generations of squirrel families who over the years chose to bring up their... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/02/26)
සුහාරා Vox Veritas
https://youtu.be/bMVdkqqGdPo... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/02/26)
Voice Tube
https://youtu.be/kkX2q-C17wQ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/02/26)
Top News Lk
https://youtu.be/W4nrtyJl9Dc... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/02/26)
Top News Lk
https://youtu.be/-1xQSx4tr80... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/02/26)
Wimal Weerawansa
https://youtu.be/PqrImu3k9Y4... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 06/02/26)
Divaina Online
“In this programme, we explore the latest political updates shaping Sri Lanka’s current landscape. https://youtu.be/1UTvY37ckAM... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 06/02/26)
Top News Lk
https://youtu.be/8k402Yp6_ws... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 06/02/26)
National Development Bank PLC
National Development Bank PLC (NDB Bank), together with Visa, a global leader in digital payments, has launched Card Present Connect (CPC), an in-person digital payment acceptance solution powered by Cybersource, Visa’s open payment platform that supports both online and offline transactions. As one of the leading global payment gateways within Visa Acceptance Solutions for businesses, Cybersource enables secure payment processing across international card schemes. Through this collaboration, NDB Bank introduces a reliable and future-ready payment acceptance solution to small and medium-sized businesses in Sri Lanka, making in-person card payments more efficient and secure through... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 06/02/26)
අජිත් සී හේරත්
හැඳින්වීම පසුගිය නොවැම්බරයේදී ශ්රී ලංකාව හරහා හමා ගිය දිත්වා කුණාටුව සහ ඒ සමග ඇති වූ අධික වර්ෂාපතනය හේතුවෙන් පුද්ගලයන් දහසකට ආසන්න සංඛ්යාවකගේ ජීවිත විනාශ වූ අතර ඩොලර් බිලියන ගණනක හානියක් ආර්ථිකයට සිදු විය. කාලගුණ දෙපාර්තුමේන්තුව විසින් කරන ලද අනතුරු ඇඟවීම් රජය විසින් නොතකා හැරිම හේතුවෙන් මේ තරම් විනාශයකට මුහුණ පෑමට ජනතාවට සහ රටට සිදු වූයේ යැයි යනුවෙන් චෝදනාවක් රජයට එරෙහිව එල්ල වී තිබේ.විනාශයෙන් අනතුරුව එළැඹි දිනවලදී මෙවැනි විපත්වලට හේතුව කාබන් ඩයොක්සයිඩ් විමෝචනය නිසා සිදුවන වායුගෝලීය උෂ්ණත්වයේ ඉහළ යෑම මගින් සිදු කරන දේශගුණික විපර්යාසය යැයි යන ආඛ්යානය දැඩි තීව්රතාවයකින් යුතුව යළි කරළියට ගෙන... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 06/02/26)
උපුටා ගැන්ම ලංකා ලීඩර්
කතානායකතුමාට එරෙහිව අල්ලස් කොමිසමට ලැබී ඇති පැමිණිල්ල විභාග වී අවසන් කරන තුරු කතානායකතුමාට සහ ඔහුගේ පෞද්ගලික ලේකම්වරයාට එම තනතුරුවල ක්රියා කිරීම සුදුසු නොවන නිසා ඔවුන් එම තනතුරුවලින් ඉවත් විය යුතු බවත් මේ පිළිබඳව අවධානය යොමු කරන ලෙස ජනාධිපතිතුමාගෙන් සහ ආණ්ඩුවෙන් තමා ඉල්ලීමක් කරන බවත් සමගි ජන බලවේගයේ කුරුණෑගල දිස්ත්රික් පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්රී දයාසිරි ජයසේකර අද(05) පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේදී ප්රකාශ කළේය. කතානායකතුමාට එරෙහිව ඉදිරිපත් වී ඇති පැමිණිල්ලට අදාල කාරණයක් සම්බන්ධයෙන් තමා වරප්රසාද ප්රශ්නයක් මතු කිරීමට අද පෙරවරුවේ උත්සාහ ගත්තද ඊට කතානායකවරයා ඉඩ ලබා නොදුන් බවද මන්ත්රීවරයා සඳහන් කළේය. කතානායකවරයාට එරෙහිව පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ හිටපු නියෝජ්ය මහලේකම්... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 06/02/26)
Courtesy The Daily Mirror
Colombo, Feb. 5 (Daily Mirror) - The Supreme Court today ordered the University Grants Commission to admit the son of the former Defence Attache to Moscow, to the Medical Faculty of a local university after a Fundamental Rights petition was filed challenging his rejection. The Supreme Court made the order that the three year mandatory study requirement for children of Defence Attaches in a foreign country to be eligible for admission to a local university was in violation of the Fundamental Rights of the petitioner. Earlier, the son of the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 06/02/26)
Courtesy Hiru News
The Speaker of Parliament and his Private Secretary should step down until investigations into a bribery complaint against them are concluded, according to SJB Kurunegala District MP Dayasiri Jayasekara. Speaking in Parliament today (5), Jayasekara urged the President and the government to address the matter, asserting that remaining in office during the probe is ethically inappropriate. The MP noted that his attempt to raise a question of privilege regarding the complaint earlier this morning was blocked by the Speaker. Following the formal tabling of the complaint—which was originally filed... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 06/02/26)
Dilrook Kannangara
Calls to repeal Sri Lanka’s Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) ignore a crucial reality: the PTA is the only legal framework that grants enforceable rights to terrorism suspects while allowing the state to combat violent extremism. Removing it would not end counter‑terrorism efforts—it would simply push them outside the law. Without the PTA, the government, security forces, people and non-state actors will still act against terrorists, but through extra‑judicial methods with no oversight, no judicial review, and no accountability. Sri Lanka has a long history of such practices when required, and the absence of... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/02/26)
Garvin Karunaratne
Let us live in hope Let there be a new Programme To Create jobs- Earnings for people Alleviating their poverty Making everything that we import today. My mind rushes to the Matara of 1971 when I as Matara Disapathy Ran Ariyadasa, DeeRrOo created a Boatyard making seafaring boats And we also established an Industry making Crayons The method found by my Planning Officer Vetus Fernando struggling every night at the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/02/26)
Ceylon Diary Broadcast
https://youtu.be/__lHLzEzDu8... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/02/26)
වෛද්ය තිලක පද්මා සුබසිංහ අනුස්මරණ නීති අධ්යාපන වැඩසටහන
1972 අංක 7 දරන ගෙවල් කුලී පනත ඉවත් කිරීම සදහා වූ පනත් කෙටුම්පතට එරෙහිව ආණ්ඩුක්රම ව්යවස්ථාවේ 121වන ව්යවස්ථාව යටතේ නීතීඥ අරුණ ලක්සිරි උණවටුන මහතා විසින් ශ්රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණයට පෙත්සමක් ඉදිරිපත් කර ඇත. අධිකරණ සහ ජාතික ඒකාබද්ධතා අමාත්යවරයා විසින් 1972 අංක 7 දරන ගෙවල් කුලී පනත ඉවත් කිරීම සදහා වූ පනත් කෙටුම්පත පාර්ලිමේන්තු න්යාය පත්රයට ඇතුලත් කර පාර්ලිමේන්තුවට ඉදිරිපත් කළ බවත් එමගින් 1972 අංක 7 දරන ගෙවල් කුලී පනත ඉවත් කිරීම සදහාද, එකී ඉවත් කිරීමෙන් පසු අන්තර්කාලීන විධිවිධාන ඇති කිරීමටද විධිවිධාන සළසා ඇති බවත් පෙත්සම ශ්රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණයට ඉදිරිපත් කරමින් දක්වා ඇත. බලවත් තැනැත්තන්ගේ නෛතික අයිතිවාසිකම් අහිමි කිරීමට නීති පැනවීමේදී හෝ බලවත් තැනැත්තන්ගේ නෛතික අයිතිවාසිකම් වෙනුවෙන් පවතින නීති ඉවත් කිරීමේදී... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/02/26)
උපුටා ගැන්ම ලංකා සී නිව්ස්
මෙරට ප්රධානම පෙළේ ආයතනයක් තමන්ගෙ කර්මාන්ත ශාලා වසා දැමීමට ගෙන තිබෙන තීරණය නිසා විශාල පිරිසකට රැකියා අහිමි වන බව විපක්ෂ නායක සජිත් ප්රේමදාස පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ දී පැවසීය. ඒ මහතා මෙසේද කීවේය. 'ඇමරිකාව සහ ඉන්දියාව අතර ගිවිසුමක් අත්සන් කර තිබෙනවා. ඒ අනුව ඇමරිකාව ඉන්දියාවට පනවා තිබූ සියයට පනහක බද්ද සියයට දහ අටක් දක්වා අඩු වෙනවා. අපි රජයට කිව්වා කොයි මොහොතක භූ දේශපාලනය තුළ ඔය බද්ද අඩුවෙනවා කියලා. දැන් අපේ අපනයනකරුවන්ට වෙන්නේ මොකක්ද. අපේ බද්ද සියයට දෙකක් වැඩියි. මේ සම්බන්ධයෙන් ඒකේඩී බ්රෑන්ඩ් එක මොකක්ද ගන්න පියවර. ඒ විතරක් නෙමෙයි අද... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/02/26)
