Mar 24 (CT) A severe crisis would erupt if permission is granted to mortgage land Deeds to private Banks, JJB MP Dr. Harini Amarasuriya warned in Parliament. Participating in the debate on several regulations under the Land Development Ordinance, Dr. Amarasuriya said as a result, people would lose their lands and it would become a severe social crisis in the future. “Permission has been granted for people to mortgage their lands to private Banks. Earlier, permission was granted to more..

Mar 24 (AD) Value Added Tax (Amd) Bill, to increase the tax on financial services from 15% to 18%, was passed in Parliament today (March 24). The Second Reading of the VAT (Amendment) Bill was taken up for debate from 11.00 am to 4.30 pm today. The Bill to amend the VAT Act No. 14 of 2002 was recently passed in the Committee on Public Finance (COPF). The approval was given at the meeting of the Committee on Public Finance chaired by MP Anura Priyadarshana Yapa at Parliament complex more..

Mar 24 (DM) The Govt has decided to close down some Sri Lanka missions as a means of cutting down expenditure, State Minister of Regional Relations Taraka Balasuriya informed Parliament today. “There are around 65 SL foreign missions abroad, and we have seen that some of these missions are not needed as Sri Lankan mission offices of countries close by can handle matters rather than having too many mission offices. “This will also save funds,” he said, more..

Mar 24 (SLN) The 3rd edition of Navy to Navy Staff Talks between Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) and United States Navy (USN), held at the Navy Headquarters over two days, terminated on a successful note on 23rd March 2022. Staff Talks between USN and SLN began in 2016 aiming to establish opportunities for increased interoperability, cooperation, mutual understanding and partnerships in their efforts to overcome common maritime challenges. After a long break of four years since 2017, more..

Mar 24 (TM) Further to the circular which was issued in December last year which details that clearance from the Ministry of Defence is required when foreigners seek to marry SL nationals, the Court of Appeal has issued a notice stating that it is in contravention with Section 07 and 32 of the Marriage Registration Ordinance and is not inline with sections 23 and 24 of the said Ordinance. The bench of Judges who heard more..

Mar 24 (EN) After several months of repeated denial, Sri Lanka has now agreed to start talks with the IMF to face its mounting forex and debt crisis. An IMF programme comes with policy changes that that ends the conflicts between money and exchange policies that create forex shortages. It also comes with targets to re-build foreign reserves and also reduce deficits. If money printed by the central bank to finance the deficit or keep rates low, that creates balance of payments in the first place. more..

Mar 24 (CT) State health services called on the Health Ministry to set up a discussion panel for stakeholders to discuss the issues they face when assisting the Health Ministry to provide free healthcare services. President of College of Medical Laboratory Science SL (CMLSSL), Ravi Kumudesh, urged the Ministry to set up a panel chaired by the Health Secretary to meet at least once in two weeks. “The non-payment of Rs 10 billion to several companies is affecting the provision of more..

Mar 24 (SCMP) The temperature in Colombo was an uncomfortable 31 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, but it felt hotter for the Jayasinghe family because for six hours they’d had no electricity. Tavish Jayasinghe, an accountant, sat on the veranda of his house in the SL capital, reading the bad news in the paper while the ceiling fan remained stubbornly still. With empty coffers, the govt has no money to pay for the fuel needed to operate power plants more..

Mar 24 (DM) Around 47 individuals have obtained Rs. 68 million worth loans from the State Mortgage & Investment Bank (SMIB) in 2017 by way of forged documents – The COPE has observed. The COPE committee observed that in 2017, 47 people were involved in preparing fake documents and submitting false information and has obtained Rs. 68 million worth loans from the State Mortgage & Investment Bank. The officials present said that cases have been filed against the persons identified as more..

Mar 24 (DM) SLPP MP Wijedasa Rajapaksha has handed over the 21st Amendment to the constitution under which he proposed the transformation of executive powers of Prez Rajapaksa to the cabinet and to elect a new President by Parliament forthwith. The MP, when inquired by the Daily Mirror, confirmed that he had handed over the private members Bill to the Secretary General Parliament through which he had proposed the 21st Amendment to the constitution. more..

Mar 25 (DM) This is a time when people who have lost their sources of income would want some relief. That relief must come courtesy the government. Just the other day Prez Rajapaksa assured the country at the All Party Conference session that he has plans of providing people with a relief package during the New Year season. Providing relief during a crisis is acceptable. But economic experts are now reiterating that these relief packages to people must be distributed with some control. more..

Mar 25 (DM) The unprecedented yet not unforeseen economic crisis, foreign exchange crisis and debt crisis SL is going through with people dying and being killed in queues for their basic needs have a geopolitical and geoeconomic parallel in 19th century Egypt. During the first half of the 19th century, semi-autonomous Egypt was under Ottoman suzerainty. It was a prosperous nation. Egypt’s warrior ruler Muhammad Ali, an Ottoman military commander of Albanian origin, more..

Mar 25 (DM) Certain acts of disruption by the Engineers Union of CEB (EUCEB) had given rise to grave concern as the country is forced to plunge in power cuts. CEB’s deliberate failure to implement the orders given by the former Secretary Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy Dr. B.M.S. Batagoda way back in 2017, has led to a man made energy crisis in the country. By letter dated June 15, 2017, Batagoda (Ref: PE/PL/32/2015) more..

Mar 25 (CT) A proposal agreed upon at the inaugural All Party Conference (APC) to tide over the current economic and foreign exchange (FX) morass was to revisit Budget 2022. This was on the basis of a proposal made by UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe (MP) at the APC held at the President’s House, Colombo and presided over by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The APC was a result of a proposal made by the SLFP. Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, Prez’s younger more..

Mar 25 (GV) The images are stark and compelling. The STF men are stoic and menacing. They stand unmoving, machine guns clasped tightly to their chests, their faces obscured by motorcycle helmets. The women are grey-haired, untidy and vocal. They gesticulate wildly, shouting in Sinhalese, accusing former Prez Mahinda Rajapaksa of murdering their sons. They wanted to meet him during his visit to Jaffna to lay a foundation stone for a Buddhist temple but were prevented by the barricade more..

Mar 25 (TM) Even though the university system is often dubbed as a place that reforms young people, ragging has been prevalent in many universities and even in higher educational institutions. While the matter has been discussed widely, the fact that acts amounting to ragging continue to affect students physically and psychologically raises a question as to what has been done to reduce ragging. more..

Mar 25 (TM) Pronouncing the decision regarding a case filed by SL lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) activist Rosanna Flamer-Caldera, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) raised concerns about the discrimination faced by the activist and pointed to Sri Lankan laws that criminalise same-sex conduct between consenting adults. A statement regarding the CEDAW Committee’s decision noted discrimination, more..

Mar 25 (ST) If you had to marry in the 1970s, I am sure it would have been a whole new experience to you – I mean, a whole new old experience to you. If you are planning a wedding ceremony, you have regulatory procedures to follow. First and foremost, you need to prepare a set of documents for approvals and signatures in order to prove to the authorities that you are truly getting married – the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth! Let me explain. more..

Mar 25 (Island) All the signs are that the LP gas shortage is here to stay with the dollar crisis worsening rapidly, and it will be prohibitively expensive to cook with gas even if the supply thereof happens to be resorted by any chance. Some people have turned to kerosene as an alternative, but all fossil fuels are in short supply, and long queues are seen at filling stations. When the IMF bailout package begins to take shape, the govt will have to subject the hapless public to more..

Mar 25 (Island) I have a feeling I shall go mad. I cannot go on longer in these terrible times. I shan’t recover this time. I hear voices and cannot concentrate on my work. I have fought against it but cannot fight any longer. That was a moan from the heart of Virginia Stephen Woolf, greatly admired by Cassandra, also her husband, Leonard Woolf, who left serving the British Civil Service in Ceylon because he did not agree with colonial policies for its dominions. more..

Mar 25 (CT) Demand for all kinds of Identity Document (ID) printing materials are steadily increasing due to shortages the country is currently facing. And just like all other existing crises, this shortage has also impacted many sectors in the country including the Department of Motor Traffic (DMT), Dept of Registration of Persons and banks. SL’s prevailing forex crisis has adversely affected the issuance of driver’s licences, NIC and more..

Mar 25 (FT) COVID-19 vaccines were administered to 18,668 persons on Wednesday and 77.54% of the total population has received at least one vaccine dose to date. 65.64% of the total population has received the second dose and 35.22% has received the booster dose. Second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine has been administered to 96.1% of the population over 20 years and the third dose has been administered to 52.83%of the over-20 population. more..

Mar 25 (CT) The French Embassy in a statement said, sewer projects worth Euro 156 million (Rs 48.3 b) at its implementation stage should provide full sewerage services (from household connection to release of treated effluents in the environment) benefiting a total of 117,500 residents, comprising 73,000 in Negombo and another 44,500 in Ratmalana/Moratuwa. It further said, the funding agencies are EU and French Govt, via its French Agency for Int'l Development (AFD). more..

Mar 25 (AD) COPE has observed that in 2017, some 47 people were involved in preparing fake documents and submitting fake information and have obtained loans to the tune of Rs. 68 million from the State Mortgage and Investment Bank (SMIB). This was taken into discussion during the meeting of the COPE chaired by Prof. Charitha Herath held on Wednesday, to examine AG’s reports & current performance more..

Mar 25 (CT) Half centuries from Sangeeth Cooray and Priyamal Perera helped Galle take major honours against Colombo at stumps on day one of the 9th Match of the National Super Provincial 4-Day Tournament commenced at Galle International Stadium yesterday. Galle posted 267 runs after they elected to bat first on a cloudy day in Galle. The hosts were off to a great start with Sangeeth Cooray and Pabasara Waduge stitching an 82 run partnership for the first wicket. more..

Mar 25 (TOI) India's youngest Grandmaster D Gukesh suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of unheralded Ranindu Liyanage of SL in the second round of 19th Delhi Int'l open chess tournament here on Wednesday. On a day when second seed Pavel Ponkratov of Russia, third seed local star and defending champion Abhijeet Gupta and fourth seed Neuris Delgado Ramirez of Paraguay were held to draws by lesser rated opponents, top seed Arjun Erigaisi cruised for his second straight win more..

Mar 25 (Island) Zahira knocked the daylight out of Ananda as Raaed Rizwan scored an unbeaten century to seal a remarkable victory and the fate of the two top teams in the Under 19 Division I Tier ‘B’ Limited Overs cricket tournament at Maradana on Thursday. In what turned out to be the most decisive round of matches in that group, Thurstan beat Dharmasoka by a huge margin to top the group, while Ananda were fighting to secure the second place in their group to book a QF berth. more..

Mar 25 (Island) United Tractor and Equipment (Pvt) Limited (UTE) celebrated 75 years of industry excellence on March 22, continuously delivering the highest quality engineering solutions and unmatched service support for SL. Helping to Build the Nation, UTE has been a trusted partner for infrastructure development in SL, infallible through its various ups and downs as an independent nation. Commenting on the milestone reached by the company founded by his Great Grandfather, W. D. Fernando, more..

Mar 25 (CT) The fracas at the Dehiwala Zoo reached fever pitch yesterday when the Ministry of Wildlife took immediate steps to interdict Shermila Rajapaksha, Director General of the National Zoological Gardens Dept in Dehiwala and seal her office. Her vehicle will also be taken over by the Ministry because she is disregarding the Ministry’s directives to refrain from taking part in department affairs, they further said. more..

Mar 25 (DM) 38 migrants from Turkey, Syria, SL and Iraq were discovered while trying to leave from Romania illegally hidden in a semi-trailer truck and two minibuses driven by Romanians and checked at the Nadlac II Border Crossing Point. The minibuses, registered in Romania, were driven by two men aged 33 and 42, respectively, and during the border checks, migrants were found hiding in specially arranged spaces between the cargo compartment and the rear seat of more..

Mar 25 (FT) The Intervenient Petitioner in a Writ of Mandamus filed in the Supreme Court has alleged that the former Chairman of the Election Commission Mahinda Deshapriya had acted unlawfully by allowing the current Prez Rajapaksa to contest the 2019 presidential poll even though there was no clear evidence he had renounced his US citizenship. Lacille de Silva is the Intervenient Petitioner in the Writ filed in the SC by Vinivida Peramuna General Secretary Nagananda more..

Mar 25 (CT) Prez Rajapaksa, during a visit to SL Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA, said SL can be Asia's best destination if obstacles are removed. In comparison to last year, he said, 260,000 tourists visited the country in the first quarter of this year. He added, Govt expects to reach the 1.3 million tourist target by the end of the year. Prez stated that all sectors of the tourism industry should be prepared to meet the goal more..

Mar 25 (DM) The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines that are currently in stock will be expiring in July. According to sources, the vaccines are due to expire by the end of July. “As far as the expiry date of Pfizer vaccines is concerned, albeit there is no threat at present, the vaccines will have to be incinerated if we didn’t reach the expected percentage which is at least 80%,” sources said. Commenting on the situation, COVID-19 Coordinator Dr. Anwar Hamdani said that every drug and vaccine has more..

Mar 25 (FT) Gem and Jewellery industry of SL welcomed the implementation of the efficient export mechanism by the Govt. “The gem and jewellery industry is ever thankful to all who supported and were responsible for ensuring the implementation of the speedy export process. “Especially Gem and Jewellery State Minister Lohan Ratwatte and industry-related whose personal commitment in this regard was a great strength to the industry, Ministry Secretary S.M. Piyatissa, National Gem more..

Mar 25 (AD) Two accomplices of underworld gangster Beral Sanka have been shot dead last night at 9th miles post in Kadawatha on the Colombo-Kandy Main Road. The victims were travelling on a motorcycle when they were gunned down by two shooters with T56 assault rifle who also arrived in a motorcycle. Victims aged 30 and 31, residents of Peliyagoda had died after admission to Colombo National Hospital. Police investigations revealed that a rivalry between 2 underworld more..