Oct 13 (FT) The beautiful island nation of SL entered a tumultuous period contracting even the most fundamental requirements and activities, disrupting financial markets, lifestyle, health, and sports due to the unfortunate financial crisis. While the teams and individual athletes began to experience financial issues due to sponsorship resistance, professional sporting events too were graced by declined attendance. Our athletes, however, are gifted, skilful, strong and resilient, and more..

Oct 13 (DM) The Central Bank has declined to allow the use of Russian Mir payment system to transact with Russia, Daily Mirror learns. Russia had introduced the payment system since it had been cut off from the international payment systems as part of sanctions against them by the western world. Russia had proposed its payment system to skirt sanctions. Earlier, Minister Bandula Gunawardane who visited Russia requested the Central Bank to approve the payment method. more..

Oct 13 (NR) Western Province Director of Education Srilal Nonis says further action need not be taken over a dance act by a group of teachers at a school in Karadiyana, Negombo that went viral on social media. The Provincial Director of Education informed of the decision in a letter directed to the Western Province Education Secretary. The Provincial Director of Education had previously informed the Negombo Zonal Director of Education to investigate and submit a report on the incident. more..

Oct 13 (AD) Court of Appeal today issued a warrant for the arrest of State Minister Sanath Nishantha for failing to appear before the court over contempt of court charges. Summons were issued on the state minister on Sept 29 and Oct 5, ordering him to show cause over the contempt of court charges levelled against him. When summons were issued on Oct 5, the MP was ordered to make an appearance at the court today. more..

Oct 13 (FT) A young mother and her little daughter were walking away hand in hand, at a measured pace, from Galle Face, having participated in the protest on 9 October. The mother was taking a selfie while walking, her other hand holding her daughter. Suddenly the Police bellowed that she should be caught, and both she and her kid were grabbed, the mother being pushed to the ground with the child wailing while a crowd yelled at the police and tried to rescue the mother and daughter. more..

Oct 13 (AD) Colombo District Court has ordered to issue notices on the chairman of SLFP, former Prez Maithripala Sirisena and the General-Secretary of SLFP Dayasiri Jayasekara, informing them to appear before courts on October 19, to present the facts in relation to a petition filed by Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva. The court issued this order after considering a petition filed by Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva seeking dismissal of a decision to remove him from all positions he holds in SLFP. more..

Oct 13 (CI) Achini Kulasuriya bowled a stunning final over to help SL beat Pakistan in the second semi-final and march into the final of the Asia Cup. Kulasuriya bowled full and straight throughout the over and left Pakistan needing three off the last ball. But Nida Dar could not clear cover, where Kavisha Dilhari dropped the catch running backwards but recovered well to return a throw to the wicketkeeper, who ran Dar out more..

Oct 13 (AD) State Minister Sanath Nishantha has surrendered after a warrant was issued on him for failing to appear before the court today to show cause over the contempt of court charges levelled against him. Summons were issued on the state minister on September 29 and October 05, ordering him to show cause over the contempt of court charges levelled against him. When summons were issued on Oct. 05, the parliamentarian was ordered to make an appearance at the court today. more..

Oct 13 (DM) Several employees of Thico Group (Pvt) Ltd including its Media Specialists and Directors have been summoned to the CID to record statements in support to the investigations into the financial misappropriation at the Thico group. Accordingly, Thico Group Media Specialist Surangi Kodithuwakku and Dhananjaya Nanayakkara were present at the CID today. They said that there is no credibility behind the news that they have been terminated from their jobs. more..

Oct 13 (AD) Ministry of Health states that nearly 60,000 dengue patients were reported across the island so far this year. With 1,152 patients being detected last week, a total of 59,317 dengue patients have been identified so far. Total number of patients reported during the relevant period last year was only 19,912. The highest number of dengue cases was reported from Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutara districts, while the districts of Kandy, Galle, Jaffna, Kegalle, Puttalam and Kurunegala more..

Oct 13 (EN) Crisis-hit SL’s proposed tax hikes could hit investments into stock markets from small timers as the new levies could wipe out a significant portion of disposable income, analysts say. However, they say stocks will be the only lucrative investment assets for small timers as it does not have capital gains tax. The proposed tax hikes published on Tuesday show tax free income threshold being reduced to 1.2 mil rupees from 3 mil rupees while corporate tax being raised to 30% from 24%. more..

Oct 13 (TM) The Ruhuna Uni administration has decided to ban the 2019/2020 student group of the Faculty of Medicine (43rd batch) from entering faculty premises or any other premises belonging to the university with immediate effect until further notice, due to alleged incidents of students of the 43rd batch ragging freshmen, and the conclusion of their relevant yearly exams. Ruhunu University Medical Faculty Dean Prof. Indralal more..

Oct 13 (DM) A digital platform will be set up to receive people's opinion for the National Council sub-committee on identifying short- and medium-term programs related to economic stabilization, the Committee chairman MP Champika Ranawaka said today. He mentioned this when the sub-committee met in Parliament to receive opinions of experts, Parliament Media Unit said. Officials of the Central Bank, the Ministry of Finance and Prof. Rohan Samarajeeva were present in this meeting more..

Oct 13 (EN) SL’s currency collapse is driving more middle-class patients who were earlier able to afford private healthcare in the state hospital system, Minister Keheliya Rambukwelle said. “More people are coming to the govt hospital because they can no longer afford private hospitals,” he said. “There won’t be a lower middle class in this country anymore at this rate. Unless you are really rich you cannot afford private hospitals anymore. People who used to patronize private hospitals for tertiary care more..

Oct 13 (EN) SL’s proposed tax hikes may lead to lower interest rates in the future as the expected increase in state revenue could reduce the dependency on treasury bills and bonds, dealers said. The island nation’s financial markets consider T-bill yields as the proxy for market interest rates instead of the central bank’s official monetary policy rates. When the govt borrows more through the local T-bills and T-bonds, usually market interest rates more..

Oct 13 (DM) As the imposition of a heavy taxes on people, the professionals in the information technology (IT) sector are preparing seriously to migrate, Computer Society of Sri Lanka (CSSL) President Damith Hettihewa said. While attending the Digital Investment Conference organized to celebration CSSL's the 40th anniversary, he said the local IT sector brings five billion dollars into the country and in order to reach that goal, they need the support of the govt. more..

Oct 13 (AD) The gunman who gunned down and injured a three-wheeler driver in the area of Ahungalla on Wednesday has been shot dead by the police today. The police had opened fire at the suspect when he tried to shoot STF personnel with a pistol when they had attempted to arrest him. A three-wheeler driver sustained injuries in a drive-by shooting near a parking lot in front of a tourist hotel in Ahungalla on Wednesday. He was admitted to Balapitiya Base Hospital for treatment more..

Oct 14 (DM) Peradeniya Arts Faculty Teachers’ Association (PAFTA) in a statement has strongly condemned the conduct of a certain group of undergraduates who called themselves Raggers and unleashing violence against other students; specially those against violent ragging. Signed by the President of the PAFTA, Prof. A. Parakrama. Following is an extract of the statement. On Sept 14, a group of students studying law in the Faculty of Arts was assaulted while they were dining more..

Oct 14 (DM) Sri Lanka is a country that needs a lot of food now to feed many hungry mouths. Something that alarms us is that many of these mouths are that of children. Many programmes have been commenced by private organizations to address this issue, but the govt’s programme titled Leave no one behind seems to be quite popular with the people. The Govt has set up information centres in 341 divisional secretariats to gather information about those in need of food. more..

Oct 14 (DM) Andreas Hergenröther, a German economic expert with special knowledge about Asia, shares his insights on the merits of Private Public Partnership (PPP) models for Sri Lanka to revive the economy. He underscores this in the wake of efforts being initiated by the govt to reform public enterprises as part of its programme with the IMF. Mr. Hergenröther is the Joint Managing Director and Head of Market Entry and more..

Oct 14 (DM) Sri Lanka is going through great pains to get its economy in order after the country’s lawmakers pulled the island to a state of bankruptcy by obtaining loans which were used on useless projects. The bubble known as artificial development burst during former Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s regime and people saw that what was termed as development wasn’t generating the desired income to repay massive loans taken. Apart from the questionable projects carried out by more..

Oct 14 (CI) The last men's T20 World Cup was just a year ago, but the teams have changed a fair bit in the interim; many have new captains, and there have been some retirements. Conditions in Australia are very dissimilar to those in the UAE, where the last tournament was played. Also, UAE and Zimbabwe, part of the mix this time, were not in 2021, while Oman and Papua New Guinea were there then but miss out this time. Here's a then-and-now comparison of the squads. more..

Oct 14 (TM) Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) crisis caused by the depletion of the country’s foreign exchange reserves significantly curtailed Litro Gas Lanka Ltd’s supply of LPG resulting in lengthy queues outside gas outlets. People standing in line with empty LPG cylinders was a common sight across the island this year. In the second half of the year, with the assistance of the World Bank, Litro Gas Lanka managed to more..

Oct 14 (TM) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe joined the ongoing discussion about taking children to protests by instructing the authorities to look into why children were taken to the 9 October Galle Face protests. However, during these discussions, he also made a remark that attracted criticism – that taking children to protests is equal to LTTE Leader Velupillai Prabhakaran’s use of children as human shields during the civil war. There is nothing wrong with paying attention to children’s safety more..

Oct 14 (CT) As a sequel to the incident where children were taken to a recent protest at Galle Face Green, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said using children as human shields in demonstrations was a serious offence under Sri Lankan law and urged Police to take immediate action to prevent such behaviour from being repeated. He upheld the need for an Act to protect children’s rights to prevent them from being used for sexual activities and to protect their fundamental rights. more..

Oct 14 (GV) Women of the north have been one of the most affected communities of the war; they are a socially excluded community. Approximately 60,000 households in the Northern Province were estimated to be female headed as of 2015. However, the current numbers are estimated to be lower. Men died in the war, were injured or disappeared. Families lost ancestral land and lost their livelihoods. As a result, widows in these regions have been seen as easy targets because they don’t have more..

Oct 14 (ST) As the fuel crisis hit SL in the past few months many delivery services switched from their motorbikes to bicycles. A prominent taxi hailing app in the world, Uber launched its first ever SL Economic Impact Report on Monday at the Shangri-La Hotel. The report revealed that Uber contributed Rs. 81 bil to SL’s economy in 2021 while Uber and Uber Eats produced Rs. 52 bil in consumer surplus. Increased flexibility provided to driver and delivery partners worth an estimated Rs. 1.2 bil. more..

Oct 14 (CI) Nida Dar goes down on her haunches after getting run-out off the last ball. SL players are running towards each other from all directions, arms aloft, screaming loud, smiling. The big screen at the Sylhet International Stadium flashes the result. Those in the stands are open-mouthed. Some have their hands on their head. Whether it happens in front of a few hundred people, or millions, there's something unpretentious more..

Oct 14 (Island) One cannot but agree with Prez Wickremesinghe that children must not be involved in public protests. He has called for a ban on this despicable practice, and he can rest assured that all right-thinking Sri Lankans who are concerned about children’s safety are with him. Some parents have been seen carrying their children at anti-govt protests during the past several months; they have done something similar to what the LTTE did, Prez has said; one could not agree with him more more..

Oct 14 (ST) When the late D.B.I.P.S. Siriwardene, an eminent civil servant, was the Public Administration Secretary in the late 1970s, he was immaculately dressed in crisp, white short sleeved shirt and white trousers. He was also competent and efficient, without a single file on his desk – all being disposed of as fast as the next one that came along. In the private sector during the same era, one of the stand-out executives was the inimitable D.S. Jayasundera, chairman of the giant Hayleys Group. more..

Oct 14 (ICC) Group A is sure to make intriguing viewing in the first round of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 as Namibia, Netherlands, SL, and UAE battle it out for the right to qualify for the Super 12. The teams will play each other once in a round-robin format from October 16-20, with the top two advancing into the next stage. By virtue of their world ranking, SL are favourites to progress but face a tricky first test in the form of Namibia, who progressed to Super 12 stage in their first more..

Oct 14 (FT) SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara says his party will lead the Opposition’s fight to demand that local Govt polls be held without any further delay. “All the Opposition parties came together for a discussion this week where it was decided that we would take all possible measures to ensure the elections are held on the scheduled date. It was decided that necessary steps would be taken to protect the right to vote, inside and outside the Parliament, in the courts and more..

Oct 14 (FT) SL’s struggle in terms of achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) amidst the worst economic crisis came under spotlight yesterday at a high-level review involving the Govt and the UN officials. The progress and challenges of SL thus far were discussed by the National Steering Committee to achieve UNSDGs chaired by PM Dinesh Gunawardena. Ministers Keheliya Rambukwella & Mahinda Amaraweera, more..

Oct 14 (AD) SriLankan Airlines, together with the High Commission of SL in UK, recently hosted 30 of the UK’s premier tour operators to discuss positive developments in the tourism landscape of SL. Travellers from the UK have long preferred SL as a holiday destination, especially during winters, and the UK govt has now relaxed its advisory against travel to SL. Discussions between SriLankan Airlines and the tour operators delved into possible avenues to promote SL considering these increasingly more..

Oct 14 (Island) SL team including top-ranked national player Susal de Silva who is aspiring to become the country’s first Grand Master have missed the vital opportunity of taking part in the World Junior Chess Championships in Italy after the Italian Embassy in Colombo denied the young chess players appointments for visa interviews. According to sources, requests from the Chess Federation of SL, the Sports Ministry, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to get appointments for young chess more..