The Sri Lankan government this week agreed to reduce the new minimum wage limit of US$200 per month for domestic workers in the Middle East to $180 for a 6-month period till July as a temporary measure to sort out technical difficulties faced by recruitment agents in enforcing the new rule.

The government has finally opted out of the SriLankan-Emirates management contract after a lot of heartburn over the years.

The high price of edible coconuts is a cause for concern to the general public. This is attributed to the low production of nuts. However, production up to October shows an increase in production of 137 million nuts (6.5%) compared to last year.