Oct 8 (TM) Bureau of Rehabilitation Bill has caused concern and outrage, particularly in southern SL, with several petitions filed in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of the Bill. Yet, this attempt to deprive persons of liberty in the guise of rehabilitation is not new. It is a part of a continuum. And it has been used against different social groups for more than a decade. In 2009, at the end of the armed conflict in SL, Govt separated those it suspected of being members of the LTTE, more..

Oct 8 (Island) Cass is sick and tired, bone-weary of writing about the travails our beloved country is still going through; also disgusted of referring to some MPs and what they say and do. Given up hope on Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prez as the second surname seems to take precedence. The members nominated to COPE and COPA alone show that the Family continues to call the political tune for the country. Mercifully, the Opposition is awake, verifying matters and informing Parliament like the more..

Oct 8 (Roar) There has been no formal distribution of kerosene for fishers in over four months. Kerosene is essential to one-day fishing boats that operate within the coastal waters of the country, as well as for those in the lower-economic bracket for cooking. In this photo essay, we highlight how the lack of kerosene as a result of the ongoing economic crisis is impacting those that depend on coastal fisheries in Negombo more..

Oct 8 (Island) The police are reported to have stepped up checks at the parliament complex to prevent workers from smuggling in narcotics and pilfering food items. Two parliament workers have been taken into custody recently. One of them had 100 grams of heroin on his person, and the other had stolen a can of milk and some other food items. Stringent action is called for against those who are caught with dangerous drugs, and the fact that people are experiencing economic hardships, more..

Oct 8 (Island) The ICC T-20 World Cup gets underway in Australia next week when SL take on Namibia at Geelong. The former champions and Namibia are grouped alongside UAE and Netherlands while Group ‘B’ comprises another former champion WI, Scotland, Ireland and Zimbabwe. Two teams from each group progress to the Super 12 stage. Here we take a look at how the previous seven editions have been won since the ICC launched T-20 WC in SA in 2007. more..

Oct 8 (Island) Sun, sea, sand and a carnival is what Colombo Oktoberfest promises this year. Adding large doses of joie de vivre for the entire family, it’s five days of absolute enjoyment being held for the first time at the new exciting venue of The Beach Park at Port City Colombo. From the 12th to the 16th of October, festivities will begin each day from 6 pm until 1 am. Into the equation of fun and frolic, Cinnamon Grand will be serving authentic German cuisine including a range of German more..

Oct 8 (CT) Roshan Ranasinghe, Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs had met President of Asia Rugby Qais Al Dhalai on 6 October at the Asia Rugby offices in Dubai to discuss the suspension of Sri Lanka Rugby, states a media release dated 7 October. The discussion centered on finding solutions for the problems regarding the governance of the game in SL. Minister of Sports requested that Asia Rugby allow SL Rugby National Teams to participate in Asia Rugby tournaments. more..

Oct 8 (CT) Two separate incidents, in which possible violation in the code of ethical conduct expected from medical professionals that occurred during the course of last week of September, can only be referred to as Crime and Punishment. A 31-year-old woman, from the Ja-Ela area, who underwent surgical intervention in a reputed private hospital in Wattala, had been transferred to C'mbo North teaching hospital more..

Oct 8 (Island) India would continue to offer training for SL Armed forces, even in challenging times, High Commissioner Gopal Baglay said recently at the Indian Army Trainees Alumni Interaction. The event was organised by the High Commission of India and was attended by many senior serving and retired officers of the SL Army, trained at Indian Army training institutes, including the Chief Guest General Shavendra Silva, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and Vikum Liyanage, Commander of Army. more..

Oct 8 (DM) The local rubber market remained bearish, with the local industries and exporters indicating lesser interest for the commodity, due to the lackluster demand prevalent in the regional commodity markets, stated Forbes and Walker Commodity Brokers in its monthly update. The Latex Crepe 1Xs and 1s remained flat during the month. The prices slid from Rs.825 levels to Rs.805 whilst the No. 2s eased off by approximately Rs.25 and settled at around Rs.725 by end-September. more..

Oct 8 (Island) The shocking postponement of a two-day debate, and the vote on the proposed 22nd Amendment, that was to be held on Oct 6 and 7, would further erode public confidence in the Parliamentary system of governance, SLPP National List MP Gevindu Cumaratunga said. The ruling coalition blocked the debate, regardless of the consequences, though the party leaders, at a meeting chaired by Speaker more..

Oct 8 (FT) The Colombo bourse yesterday marked its third consecutive week of losses and highest in recent times as investor sentiment tumbled on macro issues. The benchmark ASPI closed the week 8.9% down and the active S&P SL20 ended with a sharper fall of 12.4%. Daily turnover averaged Rs. 2.9 billion. Yesterday both indices suffered decline of over 1% whilst turnover dropped to Rs. 2 billion involving 69.7 million shares. However, the market saw Rs. 174 million in net foreign inflow. more..

Oct 8 (FT) Since the economy and the environment are linked, a long-term plan will be presented to prevent the increasing climate changes, said Senior Adviser to the President on Climate Change Ruwan Wijewardene. Wijewardene stated this while addressing the opening session of the Climate Finance conference held recently in Bangkok, Thailand. This conference was held with the participation of members of many int'l governmental and non-governmental organisations related more..

Oct 8 (FT) Govt yesterday said it will amend some of the archaic laws necessary to support diverse industries in the economy. “We are going to introduce several new laws to control the liquor industry. When I visited the Excise Dept the other day, I came to know that our existing laws are still the same as they were made 60 to 70 years ago to nab sugarcane. Now the Excise officials have to argue with those who deal with e-money and therefore new regulations will be introduced more..

Oct 8 (CT) The decrease in Govt of SL’s (GoSL’s) at least theoretical money printing borrowing costs (MPBCs) relative to the fall in its face value (FV) MP debt accelerated for the third consecutive market day to Thursday (6) with Thursday’s decline being by 1.48% (Rs 2,223.65 million) to Rs 147,740.43 million due to persistent buying pressure of riskless Treasury (T) Bills and T-Bonds in secondary market trading because of higher yields offered by those to combat record-high inflation. more..

Oct 8 (FT) Imports in August have hit a four-month high and marked the fourth consecutive monthly gain despite restrictions and the forex crisis. Imports in August amounted to $ 1.48 billion highest since the April figure of $ 1.7 billion. Imports have also grown month-on-month since May. In July imports were $ 1.28 billion, $ 1.24 billion in June and $ 1.45 billion in May. However, year-on-year, August imports were down by 12% and more..

Oct 8 (DR) Last week in SL, Direct Relief staff participated in an extensive series of meetings with PM Dinesh Gunawardena and much of the country’s healthcare leadership while overseeing the arrival of what may be the largest donation of medicine to the country since the crisis began. What they encountered was grim. “For the next six months, they’re expecting a catastrophic number of deaths,” said Chris Alleway, Direct Relief’s manager of emergency response and new initiatives, more..

Oct 8 (AD) MP Namal Rajapaksa was appointed as the Chairman of the National Council Sub-Committee on Identifying Priorities in Formulating Short, Medium and Long-Term Policies. The name of Namal Rajapaksa for the post of Chairman was proposed by the MP Sagara Kariyawasam, which was seconded by MP Ali Sabri Raheem. The members of the subcommittee presented their opinions and suggestions on the formulation of state policies. Members agreed to call the experts more..

Oct 8 (DM) The highly anticipated Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) convention that was to take place in SL this year has been postponed to 2023. The thrice postponed event, which the local tourism sector was eager to host, has been delayed once again. Although the island nation is showing some recovery from the implications that stemmed from the economic & political turmoil that escalated in May this year, officials of the TAAI have shared their decision to further delay the event. more..

Oct 8 (Island) The poverty level in the country would increase sharply in the coming months and then no one will be able to stop a people’s uprising, MP Champika Ranawaka said in Parliament on Thursday. “We need to establish a local mechanism to address human rights concerns. We have been saying this for some time. The lack of such a mechanism allows other countries to intervene in SL,” Ranawaka said. He added that the levels of unemployment and poverty were alarming. more..

Oct 8 (AD) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe emphasized that if the country is to overcome the current challenges, stability must be created in the country, and in order to achieve that, accurate information must be circulated among the public. Pointing out that nothing can be achieved without propaganda, Prez called on all the media secretaries to commit to revealing the govt’s Rebuilding the Country program to people more..

Oct 8 (DM) A prisoner at Agunakolapalassa prison who was sentenced to death in 2001 after being convicted of a murder, has died after 10 days in hospital due to burn injuries. The prisoner was sentenced to 25 years and was supposed to be released in the year 2028 with all pardons. Prison superintendent of Agunakolapalassa prison had employed the prisoner to work in the kitchen. He was admitted to the Tangalle Hospital after he accidentally fell backwards into a chicken more..

Oct 8 (Island) The orders Sri Lanka garment factories receive have decreased because of statements made by various officials and politicians that there will be extended power cuts in the future, Gamini Ratnayaka, convenor for National Centre for Trade Zone Workers (NCTZW) said. “Some officials say that there will be 10-to-12-hour power cuts daily. Due to such statements, the orders SL garment factories receive have decreased by 30 to 40%,” he said. Ratnayaka said a number of factories more..

Oct 8 (FT) SJB questioned whether the appointment of Govt MP as head of COPE was to protect thieves and lamented that Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe-led administration lost a golden opportunity to fight corruption. SJB said tradition and governance prescribes that Parliamentary committees be headed by members of the Opposition, but govt has once again demonstrated its disregard for these key elements more..

Oct 8 (FT) Demand for systemic change has become the rallying cry for a new generation of young men and women in the wake of SARS-CoV-2. These youngsters from east to west and north to south have realised that debt driven economic growth and environmentally unfriendly techno-centric development are recipe for more shocks to humanity unless the system itself is changed. Coincidentally, it was the same realisation that also propelled the Aragalaya youth in this country more..

Oct 8 (FT) The vote on the resolution on SL in the UNHRC in Geneva will be a true test of the decades-old UNP proposition that the superior strength of Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe is that he can count on widespread international support. Ranil and his fans seem to believe that external support for him is axiomatic to the degree that unelected and devoid of a popular mandate though he is, he can do and attempt anything and everything autocratic and repressive locally, and yet be endorsed more..

Oct 8 (DM) Education Ministry is expected to annul the concept of National Schools, which generates many issues, and instead the concept of leading schools, Minister Susil Premajayantha said. He also stated that he had to make the difficult decision of not admitting children from grades 1 to 13 to any grade-regulatory school without Grade 5 scholarship. While addressing an event organised on Teachers' Day at the Ministry, he said admitting children to any grade-regulatory school from more..

Oct 8 (AD) The six suspects arrested in connection with the triple homicide in Minuwangoda have been remanded until Oct 21. The suspects were produced before the Minuwangoda Magistrate’s Court earlier today. Three of the same family – the father (51) and two sons aged 23 and 24 years – were shot dead in the area of Gamangedara in Minuwangoda at around 7 a.m. on Oct. 6. Police have uncovered that the suspects involved in the triple homicide had arrived in a motorcycle and a car and more..

Oct 8 (AD) The PUCSL says electricity tariff relief will be provided to religious places. According to PUCSL chairman Janaka Ratnayake, religious places that utilize over 180 units would be brought under the General Purpose category. Thereby, the tariff applicable for religious places would be Rs. 32 per unit with effect from Aug 10, 2022. Following the electricity tariff revision in August, Rs. 65 per unit had been stipulated more..

Oct 8 (AD) Uttara Devi intercity express train derailed today while it was en route to Colombo from Kankesanturai. The derailment happened between Thambuththegama and Senarathgama railway stations. Owing to the situation, train services on the Northern Line have been disrupted. Meanwhile, trains heading towards Colombo Fort railway station on the Main Line and Coastal Line were delayed earlier today due to a malfunction in the signal system. Dept of Railways said efforts are more..

Oct 8 (ANI) Sri Lanka defeated Malaysia by 72 runs in the 14th Women's Asia Cup match at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Saturday. Oshadi Ranasinghe top-scored for Sri Lanka with an 18-ball 23* helping Sri Lanka reach a below-par total of 105/7 from 20 overs. Malaysian Sasha Azmi bowled a brilliant spell giving away just 10 runs in four overs and picking up two wickets. Malaysia suffered a massive collapse as the team was bowled out for a paltry score of 33 runs inside 10 overs. more..

Oct 8 (EN) SL’s policy makers who advised ex-SL Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the cabinet and legislators who approved tax cuts made in Dec 2019 were responsible for severe revenue losses tax officers said responding to a speech by a former minister in parliament. “The people who raised their hands when these policies were made are now blaming us,” H A L Udayasiri, Secretary of Inland Revenue Service Union told State Minister more..

Oct 8 (DM) Sri Lanka faces hardships in the current economic context; however, the island nation has been successful in braving through the challenges and remaining a favourite destination among travellers across the world. Destination Sri Lanka maintained its rank as a sought-after spot for tourists and ranks among the top 10 friendliest countries in the world. Conde Nast Traveller Readers’ Choice Awards 2022 ranked Sri Lanka as the ninth friendliest country in the world. more..

Oct 8 (NR) A consignment of 200kg of heroin suspected to be heading towards SL has been intercepted by Indian authorities in Kochi. Indian media reported, six Iranian nationals were arrested while they were transporting the narcotics in a vessel. In a joint operation, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and Indian Navy had seized the Iranian fishing vessel with around 200kg of heroin worth over 12 billion Indian rupees yesterday. Deputy Director General of NCB more..