Oct 17 (FT) Coats Int'l Global CEO Rajiv Sharma says he is confident that Sri Lanka's apparel industry will rebound and the economy will bounce back. “It’s actually happening as we speak, despite the last three months of unrest and confusion,” he said. Sharma, who was on a flying visit to SL recently to meet customers and employees, says the vibe is very good in the country. “You could never get a SL down or depressed because there’s always happiness, optimism and a belief that more..

Oct 17 (CI) Two days short of a year ago, SL bowled Namibia out for 96 in their T20 World Cup opener and won by seven wickets. Not even 365 days have passed, but, as Gerhard Erasmus put it, "the tables have been turned". His team has just beaten SL by 55 runs to start the 2022 T20 World Cup. The difference between those two events? 12 months, of course, but not just any 12 months - 12 months of immense growth for the Namibian side. "There was more hype and childish belief last year," more..

Oct 17 (Island) Wickramabahu National School, Gampola athlete Nirmali Wickramasinghe won the silver medal in the girls’ 800 metres as SL’s medal count increased to five at the Asian Youth Athletics Championships in Kuwait. Wickramasinghe clocked 2:15.42 seconds to clinch the silver behind India’s Ashakiran Barla, who returned a time of 2:06.79 seconds to claim the gold. Despite the country’s best medal hopeful Madushani Herath failing to win a medal in the girls’ long jump, more..

Oct 17 (CI) This wasn't how the script was meant to go. Through the first 15 overs of the opening match of the Men's T20 World Cup, you could have mistaken Geelong for the port city of Galle, minus the warm weather, as the Asia Cup champions looked every bit the cut above Namibia they were supposed to be. Victoria has one of the biggest expatriate SL communities in the world and thousands of them descended upon Kardinya Park to watch their side start their World Cup more..

Oct 17 (CI) Jan Frylinck and JJ Smit blasted Namibia out of a desperate situation, then their seamers scythed their way through SL's batting order - Ben Shikongo taking two wickets in two balls inside the powerplay, while David Wiese and Frylinck also made key breakthroughs. In the end, the match wasn't even close. SL, never having seemed on top of the chase of 164, could not get a partnership going - Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka more..

Oct 17 (TM) Inter-University Students’ Federation (IUSF) announced that it will stage a mass protest on 18 October in Colombo to condemn Govt actions such as the arresting of individuals involved in the protest under the PTA. “It will be two months since the arrest of the IUSF Convenor Wasantha Mudalige and Ven. Siridhamma Thera on 18 Oct. They were unlawfully detained without even being presented before a court under the PTA on 18 August at an protest organised by the IUSF. more..

Oct 17 (DN) SL women’s cricket team returned home yesterday evening after ending up as runners-up in the Asia Cup T20 tournament which was held at Sylhet Int'l Cricket Stadium in Bangladesh. “We lost to India in the final but finishing as runners-up is a great achievement at this stage”, said skipper Chamari Athapaththu at the BIA. “My team made a good team effort to qualify for the final and unfortunately we missed out on a great chance of winning our maiden title”, said Chamari. more..

Oct 17 (ST) The general dreariness in the economy inflated by the twin forex and fuel crises along with the looming tax hike of 30% in corporate tax is pushing companies to shift their businesses and main offices to other countries. More and more companies are looking out to set up their businesses in other countries and those outbound are gaining traction, analysts say. Certain firms with international operations are moving their head offices to more..

Oct 17 (AD) Police have arrested a suspect wanted in connection with the shooting and causing serious injuries to three individuals under the instructions of the organized criminal gang leader Ransembuwage Chamara Sampath alias Army Sampath. Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) has also taken into custody a foreign-manufactured 9mm type firearm, 11 rounds of live ammunition used for the firearm, 5 grams and 11 milligrams of heroin as well as a motorcycle used for a crime, along with the suspect. more..

Oct 17 (FT) SL Tourism will begin to market the special travel packages targeting to capture a fraction of the FIFA World Cup 2022 fans from this week, where the stakeholders are aiming to draw around 3,000 to 5,000 visitors within the tournament month. Joint industry promotional effort will commence on Wednesday, with special offer packages that will be sold for around $ 600 including travel and accommodation. “SriLankan Airlines, Qatar Airways, Flydubai and Emirates more..

Oct 17 (CT) CEB was deprived of enhancing it’s generation profit by Rs 1.57 billion in the 17 consecutive days to Thursday (13) due to the breakdown of at least one of three of the Chinese built 3X300 mW Norochcholai Coal Fired Power Plant’s machines since 27 Sept. Consequently CEB had to burn the more expensive fuel oil to fill the breach. NCFPP was built during the Mahinda Rajapaksa era at a cost of US$ 1.35 billion sans int'l tender call with each of the three machines more..

Oct 17 (MFA) State Minister Tharaka Balasuriya, leading SL's delegation to the 6th Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Kazakhstan, held meetings with the Minister of the Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Adil Tursunov on the sidelines of Summit on 13 Oct, 2022. During the meeting with the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, more..

Oct 17 (AD) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe stated that he had recently discussed SL’s debt restructuring with the Chinese Finance Minister and he is optimistic that the discussions in this regard would be concluded successfully. The Prez further mentioned that the delegation headed by the State Minister of Finance, who is currently in Washington, held initial discussions yesterday (15) with the IMF and more..

Oct 17 (DM) SL saw its earnings from the tourism trade falling in September for the second consecutive month due to weaker arrivals ahead of a more prospective season which has got underway from the start of October and ends in January. Tourism trade has brought in US$ 53.6 m in foreign exchange in the month, bringing the cumulative nine-month earnings to US$ 946.4 m. September earnings were lower than both July and August when the figures for those two months were more..

Oct 17 (AD) Ministry of Urban Development and Housing says that 214 of the residents of the Kajeemawatte housing complex in Modara, who were affected by the massive fire recently, have not met at least the minimum qualifications required to obtain a house. Issuing a statement, the ministry points out that the relevant information has been uncovered in the report handed over to the UDA and the Secretary of the Ministry of Housing regarding the fire at Kajeemawatte. more..

Oct 17 (AD) SL ranks 64th out of the 121 countries in the 2022 Global Hunger Index, with sufficient data to calculate 2022 GHI scores. With a score of 13.6, SL has a level of hunger that is moderate, according to the index. This is a -21.4% change since the year 2000. Concern Worldwide of Ireland and Welt Hunger Hilfe of Germany publish the World Hunger Index every year. The list is published annually after analyzing food shortages, undernutrition, child growth, balanced diet, more..

Oct 17 (AD) US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu is expected to visit SL next week. A high-ranking delegation from the US govt is also scheduled to visit the island along with Assistant Secretary Donald Lu. Secretary Lu is likely to meet several senior Govt and Opposition officials including the President during his visit to Sri Lanka, according to sources. The visit comes in the wake of two high-profile visits by USAID Administrator Samantha Power more..

Oct 17 (TM) A total of 15 persons were arrested by the Police during a protest held in Nawalapitiya town against the rally organised by the SLPP under the theme Let’s Rise Together (Ekwa Nagitimu), and MP Mahinda Rajapaksa, who arrived to participate in the said rally, which was held yesterday. Second of the SLPP’s Let’s Rise Together rally series, which started in Kalutara recently, was held yesterday in Nawalapitiya town. more..

Oct 17 (CT) NBRO issued landslide warnings to 34 Divisional Secretariat divisions in six districts across the island. Accordingly, level three – red evacuation, level two – amber and level one – yellow early landslide warning alerts have been issued to 34 Divisional Secretariat Divisions in six Districts. Senior Scientist of Landslide Research and Risk Management Division at NBRO, Dr. Wasantha Senadeera said the Kalutara, Kegalle, Nuwara Eliya, Colombo, Galle and Ratnapura Districts more..

Oct 17 (FT) Transparency International SL (TISL) whilst welcoming the Govt’s initiative to bring to the forefront the Anti-Corruption Bill yesterday said the latter requires critical amendments and public consultation for better and equitable law enforcement. It acknowledged that the Bill (available at www.tisrilanka.org) has been in the making for several years and contains many laudable provisions that seek to improve upon existing law. TISL however noted that no public comments more..

Oct 17 (DM) The IMF expressed deep concern about the current situation prevailing in SL and said it hopes it will be able to work fast to end the suffering, specially of the country’s poor and vulnerable. Addressing queries put forward by the media, the IMF reiterated that although the staff-level agreement on a four-year EFF programme was reached, the initial disbursement of the programme will only come after the board meeting. more..

Oct 17 (FT) Aseni: Grandpa, the Govt has proposed a drastic tax hike to fill the empty coffers of the Treasury. But it has been criticised by many as a draconian measure, unsuitable for today’s economic conditions, and a deathblow to the country’s moribund economy. Are these criticisms fair? Sarath: SL’s budgets and budgetary policies have been in crisis ever since the country gained independence from the British in 1948. All successive govts had planned rising public expenditure programs more..

Oct 17 (FT) Sunday 9 Oct, was a special day for the Aragalaya. A vigil was planned to start off at Galle Face to commemorate Gotagogama’s six-month anniversary and the heroes of the movement. We were remembering those who had lost their lives, been remanded by the PTA, handed arbitrary prison sentences and suffered State-sponsored brutality during the attacks on 9 May and 22 July this year. Rambukkana shooting victim’s family, as well as others who had lost loved ones, more..

Oct 17 (AD) The STF has arrested two suspects in connection with the recent shooting incident at the Ahungalla town. One of the arrested suspects is a 41-year-old staff sergeant of the commando regiment while he had allegedly provided the T-56 assault rifle used to carry out the shooting, according to the STF. The T-56 firearm in question reportedly belongs to the Second Commando Regiment, Kilinochchi camp. The suspect, a resident of Malsiripura, had been arrested by STF more..

Oct 17 (CB) Afghanistan will be touring Sri Lanka for a series of three ODIs in November this year, the Afghanistan Cricket Board revealed in a media release. The matches, part of the World Cup Super League, will be played on Nov 25, 27 and 30 at the Pallekele Int'l Cricket Stadium. The matches were initially scheduled to be played in February 2023 but with the cricket calendars of both teams allowing for a reschedule to an earlier date, they were brought forward to November. more..

Oct 17 (HRW) The SL govt should withdraw a draft law that would give the authorities broad powers to detain people in military-run rehabilitation centers, placing them at great risk of abuse, Human Rights Watch said today. Bureau of Rehabilitation Bill, submitted to parliament on Sept 23, would allow the compulsory detention in centers of drug dependant persons, ex-combatants, members of violent extremist groups more..

Oct 17 (Island) A gas turbine for the 350 MW Sobadhanavi Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Power Plant Project, Kerawalapitiya, was unloaded at the Colombo Port last week, Lakdhanavi Ltd., said the unloading of the F-Class gas turbine, manufactured by Siemens Germany at at the Colombo Port, marked a milestone. Company has said that the turbine, amount ing to 317 Ton Cargo was unloaded at the New North Peer of the Colombo Port. It was a tremendous achievement to the entire more..

Oct 17 (AD) Three individuals including a three-year-old child have reportedly died following a road accident in the Ridibediella area of Nagollagama, today (17). The accident occurred when the car they were travelling in had veered off the road and crashed into a tree at Nagollagama on the Anuradhapura - Padeniya road around 10.00 a.m. this morning, according to police. The victims are identified to be the residents of the Airport Road area in Anuradhapura. more..

Oct 17 (CI) If the last year is anything to go by, SL don't mind doing things the hard way. In their most recent Test series at home against Australia, they lost the first Test comprehensively before bouncing back to take the second. In the ODI leg of the tour, too, there was a first-game defeat before winning three on the trot to take the series. They then repeated the trick against Pakistan, losing the first Test and winning the second. more..

Oct 17 (EN) SL’s steep income tax hikes are seen as a gamble with the corporate sector and individuals are expected to be hit hard by the move as investable capital turning into got current spending. The move could discourage and strangle investments, analysts say, though they see increasing tax revenue as well as cutting state spending as the key tools to reduce deficits and debt in the medium term. The tax hikes come after SL declared sovereign debt default in April this yr more..

Oct 17 (DM) Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith today called on Catholics to celebrate Christmas on a low key this year and avoid spending lavishly on decorations. Speaking during a religious service held to mark the 75th jubilee of St. Theresa’s Church, Batapattala, Negombo, Cardinal Ranjith said Christmas this year should be confined to feeding the hungry. “One must not waste funds on decorating churches and other places this Christmas considering more..

Oct 17 (EN) Prez, cabinet of ministers and opposition groups will all be part of discussions the govt expects to hold on the best possible taxation system going forward Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said. He acknowledged that there are some problem areas in the recently gazetted revisions to personal income tax but said increasing tax revenue through direct taxation was necessary. The state lost 600 billion rupees a year over the past 3 years since former Prez slashed taxes more..

Oct 17 (TM) Minister Kanchana Wijesekera announced that the price of Octane 92 Petrol will be reduced by Rs. 40 per liter and the price of Auto Diesel by Rs. 15 per liter with effect from 9 p.m. today. Accordingly, the new price of Octane 92 petrol will be Rs. 370 per liter while Auto Diesel will be Rs. 415 per liter for Ceypetco distribution. However, the prices of other petroleum products will remain the same, he said in a tweet. Meanwhile, LIOC have also announced that they will be reducing more..

Oct 17 (Island) Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chairman and SJB MP Dr. Harsha de Silva says unprecedented tax concessions given to HCL Technologies (HCL) that entered into an agreement with John Keels Holdings (JKH) last year should be reviewed in view of the imposition of a controversial 30% tax across the board on companies in the exports sector with effect from 01 Nov. Dr de Silva emphasised that more..

Oct 17 (DM) Even though the Auto Diesel was reduced by Rs. 15, the National Transport Commission (NTC) said that this price reduction is not sufficient to consider bus fare revision. NTC Director General Nilan Miranda told the Daily Mirror that the price of a litre of diesel should be reduced by 4% or more to consider a bus fare revision. However, the calculation for a bus fare revision on par with the current diesel price is underway. The bus fares could not be reduced as more..