Wild elephant attacks on the rise

Last year, 145 people were killed by wild elephants, the most in ten years, and the number of deaths due to elephant-human conflict is increasing.

Police Misconduct Complaints Mostly for Inaction, Assault, Torture

Seventy five percent of the 1,676 public complaints received in 2022 through the National Police Commission’s (NPC) 1960 hotline regarding police misconduct were for inaction by the police, assault, and torture.

Elephant Deaths Reach Record High in 2022

In 2022, 439 elephant deaths were reported, which is the highest number of deaths in the last five years. More than 40 percent of these elephant deaths are due to human activities.

Sri Lankan women’s foreign employment on the rise

The latest data from the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau shows that the percentage of Sri Lankan women who left for foreign jobs in 2022 was higher than the percentage in 2021. Conversely, the percentage of men who left was lower.

Two billion rupees in traffic fines

The government’s traffic fines collection in 2022 amounted to over 2.5 billion rupees. Of this, 1.3 billion rupees were paid by drivers as on-the-spot fines, and the remaining 1.2 billion rupees were ordered by courts.

How unpaid fines fill prisons

In 2022, 64% of prisoners were sentenced to prison for failing to pay fines. The daily maintenance of these prisons costs more than the fines that are unpaid, contributing to overcrowding.

Cigarette tax revenue grew while liquor revenue shrank

Revenue from liquor in Sri Lanka declined by 2.2% to Rs. 58.2 billion in the first four months of 2023, mainly due to a 22.6% decline in the production of liquor. However, revenue from cigarettes increased notably by 29.6% to Rs. 42.7 billion during the same period, mainly due to the increase of the tax rate on all kinds of cigarettes by 20 percent.

One million pending cases in the Courts

Sri Lankan courts reached one million by the end of 2022. This backlog has led to longer case processing times, as there are too few judges per million people.

Alarming surge in crimes against women

Grave crimes against women increased by 6% in 2022, according to the police department. The number of reported cases reached 600, the highest in recent years.

First offenders on the rise

The number of persons sentenced to prison for the first time in 2022 increased by 109% from the previous year. In 2021, 8,296 persons were sentenced to prison for the first time, but that number rose to 17,367 in 2022.

A life devoted to tea : Merrill J. Fernando

Sri Lankan children more digitally literate than adults

In Sri Lanka, 39.3% of children between the ages of 5 and 14 use the internet, a higher percentage than the adult population aged 50 to 69. This was revealed in a survey conducted from January to June 2022 by the Department of Census and Statistics.

Post-Aragalaya Economic Outlook

Bribery and Corruption on the rise

The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABoC) has conducted 32 operations and arrested 26 people in connection with bribery and corruption in the first five months of 2023. This is an increase in arrests compared to the previous year, when the CIABoC arrested 36 people in total in 2022.

A rise in drug related arrests

The total number of persons arrested over drug related incidents was 152,979 during the period January to December 2022. Compared with 2021, drug-related arrests have increased by 39% as opposed to drug related arrests reported in 2021.

Three sex related child abuse cases reported daily

The National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) receives 11% of complaints each year about incidents involving sexual abuse of children.

World Blood Donor Day

World Blood Donor Day is marked every year on 14th of June.The theme for World Blood Donor Day 2023 is ’’Give blood, give plasma, share life, share often.’’

Will more schools close?

Between 2017 and 2023, 56 government schools closed due to various reasons, while 34 new private schools opened.

Depression affects one in five Sri Lankans

A recent study found that one in every five Sri Lankans have experienced depression at some point in their lives. The study, which was conducted on patient data submitted between 2000 and 2023, found that depression is a major public health concern in Sri Lanka.

Hidden hunger haunts Sri Lanka

According to the National Nutrition and Micronutrient Survey, 93.9% of households reducing their essential non-food expenditure such as education and health due to lack of money to buy food. They bought the necessary food products with that money to meet their daily necessities.

More complaints - Less raids

The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) hotline received 8,056 public complaints in 2021. According to the Auditor General (AG) report produced for the CAA, even at the conclusion of the year under review, no action had been taken in relation to 2,646 complaints, and raids had only been carried out on 816 of those complaints.

Vehicle registrations continue to decline

New registration of motor vehicles recorded a notable decline for the third consecutive year in 2022, due to the restrictions on motor vehicle imports, prevailing since 2020.

Thalassemia

It was reported that about 2,000 children are diagnosed with Thalassemia annually in Sri Lanka. A marriage between Thalassemia carriers may produce children with Thalassemia symptoms. Sri Lanka has become a failed state in terms of prevention of Thalassemia.

Dengue on the rise

50 percent of the dengue patients were reported from the Western Province while 9.8 percent of the dengue patients were reported from the Western Province belonged to the Colombo City area. With the active South Eastern Monsoon and due to the heat, the dengue mosquito population has increased, and the number of dengue patients is increasing.

1 in 4 Sri Lankans diagnosed with Diabetes

According to the latest survey, that Sri Lanka has become the country with the highest rate of diabetes patients in Asia.

Beware of heat stroke

Heat stroke is a life threatening condition in which your body overheats and can no longer maintain a healthy temperature.

Sinhala and Tamil New Year customs and traditions (Auspicious Times)

Stay safe in hot weather

The Earth orbits around the Sun at a 23.5-degree inclination. Countries located between the 23.5 degrees north and 23.5 degree south latitudes are close to the Sun all year round. These countries come closest to the Sun twice a year during the Earth’s orbit. Sri Lanka, located near the equator, experiences the hottest months of the year in March/April and August/ September due to the peak of the sun.

SL Forex reserves on rise

Foreign exchange reserves are assets held on reserve by a Central Bank in foreign currencies. These reserves are used to back liabilities and influence monetary policy. It includes any foreign money held by a Central Bank.

TB

The health authorities warn that the number of diagnosed patients in society may exceed the annual number of TB cases reported to hospitals. According to reports, there could be a substantial number of children under the age of 15.