Oct 24 (EN) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe has said he will open several new universities including in Kurunegala and Batticaloa and private institutions such as NIBM and SLIIT to be given national status to speed up the country’s higher education system. Prez Wickremesinghe had met the students of his Alma Mater Royal College and discussed the education system in the country, student migration and bullying in state universities, a statement from the Dept of Information said. more..

Oct 24 (TM) Lanka Bakery Owners’ Association has claimed that false prices of wheat flour are being claimed in order to force a reduction in the price of a loaf of bread. Lanka Bakery Owners’ Association Chairman N.K. Jayawardena said the current price of one kilogram of wheat flour is around Rs. 320, although some individuals, referring to low-quality bakery products, are trying to show a sharp decrease in flour prices and blame the association for not decreasing price of bread accordingly. more..

Oct 24 (TM) Although Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe stated in Parliament on 21 Oct that a totally false and inaccurate news item titled Wijeyadasa’s chamber appearing for Thilini questioned in court, conflict of interests, either resign from Ministry or withdrawal from the case has been published in The Morning on 20 Oct, we emphasise that a news item under such title was not published in this newspaper. more..

Oct 24 (ST) Eight convicted prisoners serving their sentences under the PTA received presidential pardons this week. Four detainees were freed on Friday while three others are expected to leave prison tomorrow. The eighth inmate has to undergo a period of rehabilitation before being released. The men had been carrying out long terms of rigorous imprisonment in various prisons after having been convicted by courts of law, Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said. more..

Oct 24 (AD) The second generator at the Norochcholai Coal Power Plant, which had been shut down due to maintenance activities, has now been restored and will be reconnected to the national grid today (23), an official said. Prez of the Engineers’ Association of CEB, Nihal Weeraratne stated that the maintenance work of the power plant has now been completed. Accordingly, electricity capacity of 270 Mega Watts generated by the power plant will be gradually added to national grid. more..

Oct 24 (DM) State Minister of Tourism Diana Gamage will be visiting US next month to initiate talks in constructing South Asia's first Disneyland in Hambantota. She will be visiting Burbank in the US next month to discuss initial plans for an 18-billion dollar investment in SL, following an invitation following an invitation from the Walt Disney Company. She was invited by Alexia Quadrani, Senior VP of Investor Relations more..

Oct 25 (ST) With the increasing unpredictability of weather patterns, SL has been facing an increasing frequency of floods. While such floods invariably have an impact on the economy due to disruption of daily life and damage to crops, what is often lost sight of is the impact on the lives of mostly poor and marginalised people. The fall out of the recurrent floods are usually felt by people living on the banks of the Kelani and Kalu rivers, while other low lying areas and river basins also succumb to more..

Oct 25 (DM) Chinese President Xi Jinping secured a convention - shattering and unprecedented - though not unexpected- third term at the 20th National People’s Congress that ended on Sunday, elevating him to a status that would even make Mao Zedong envy – and Deng Xiaoping rolling in his grave. Then Mr. Xi staked the Politburo standing committee, the innermost sanctum of the Communist Party with his loyalists. The Standing Committee, which now has seven members, is supposed to collectively more..

Oct 25 (CT) The SLMC revealed recently that unlicensed doctors in the country exceeded the number of registered medical practitioners. With SL’s middle income economy shoved to the edge of the poverty line, the public is left to device devious and cunning ways of filling their purses. SLMC recently revealed that there were an estimated number of 35,000 quacks and a little over 30,000 registered medical practitioners in Sri Lanka. more..

Oct 25 (DM) The much touted 22nd Amendment was passed in Parliament on Friday with 174 votes for and none against. Only one vote was cast against it during the second reading of the debate on the Amendment, but the same dissenting MP, Sarath Weerasekara had abstained during the committee stage voting. Will this amendment make a change in the political system or the political culture in the country? The essence of the Amendment of which the serial number has now become more..

Oct 25 (ST) That was a resounding blow to the face of a government that has come increasingly to believe or being pushed into believing, that might over right is the way to rule. Had the Supreme Court not determined that the Bureau of Rehabilitation ACT as presented should rightly rest at the bottom of a waste bin, as it were, rather than in the statute books, SL would have had another draconian law to add to those that have recently been resurrected and employed against dissenting voices. more..

Oct 25 (TM) While religious, cultural, and traditional ideologies continue to lock horns with sex work, which is often recognised as the world’s oldest profession, the sector has thrived throughout history across the globe due to the constant demand from predominantly male consumers. However, in the Sri Lankan context, this wholly informal sector is struggling to survive due to the ongoing economic crisis. more..

Oct 25 (TM) In his Deepavali message to the public, Prez Wickremesinghe said that in the spirit of Deepavali, the country should cast aside all differences and come together to collectively dispel the darkness that is currently shrouding SL, amidst the unprecedented challenges it is facing. He further said that peace, brotherhood, and unity are of significance in the celebration of Deepavali, and that in that light, all Sri Lankans, irrespective of race, religion, or political affiliation, more..

Oct 25 (Island) The face of Sri Lankan films changed in the 1970s. This was due to a number of reasons. Arguably, the most important of them would be the rise of the Sinhala Buddhist rural petty bourgeoisie. Initially represented as side characters, they eventually became protagonists and antagonists in the films which featured them. Lester James Peries’s Golu Hadawatha and Akkara Paha broke ground, in that sense, by casting this milieu in films that not only performed well at the box-office, more..

Oct 25 (CT) The unfolding multi-billion rupee scandal allegedly involving Thico Group Pvt Ltd and its founder Thilini Priyamali have the hallmarks of the rot contributing to systemic corruption in this country over the years. It is systemic corruption together with the dreadful mismanagement of national unity by successive administrations which are largely responsible for the economic woes and political instability in SL. This was given a turbo boost after the installation of Exec Presidency in 1978. more..

Oct 25 (CT) Children, the stakeholders in SL’s future, are already in danger, paving the way for an ill generation in the light of insufficient national security provided by the nation to the children who crave it. The NCPA has received 7,568 reports of child abuse in the first eight months of the year, according to the report published in Ceylon Today. Sexual assault, child labour, and child begging are among the allegations of child abuse, according to 10th Chair of NCPA, Chanaka Amarasinghe. more..

Oct 25 (GV) Twenty two is not perfect. Far from it, perhaps light years far. Yet, in a season of defeats and setbacks, it is a win for Sri Lankan democracy, and for those Sri Lankans who would be free citizens rather than obedient subjects or terrified children waiting for the next saviour. The passing of the 22 (officially 21) came hard on the heels of another democratic victory. Supreme Court effectively killed the deadly Rehabilitation Act. more..

Oct 25 (FT) Ross Dairies has recently acquired the Watawala Plantations PLC’s fresh milk arm Watawala Dairy, which operates the Pride of Lonach brand of pasteurised farm fresh milk. The ownership, management, distribution and production of the brand has been formally transferred to Ross Dairies effective 16 Sept 2022. A subsidiary of the Conmix Group of Companies, Ross Dairies has owned and operated a model farm with Australian heifer cows in the Matale District since 2017. more..

Oct 25 (ST) The election AGM of Football Federation of SL (FFSL) should take place on or before Dec 28, according to a decision which came to effect last Thursday, after a hearing at the Court of Appeal. Accordingly the Director General of Sports gave an undertaking to the Court of Appeal that the election AGM of FFSL will be held within 69 days commencing from Thursday (20). Additional Solicitor General Sumathi Dharmawardena, appearing for respondents Minister Roshan Ranasinghe more..

Oct 25 (DM) Currently, there is an acute shortage of more than 90 essential medicines in most govt hospitals in the country, the GMOA said. GMOA Secretary Dr. Haritha Aluthge said the hospital network in the country will collapse due to shortages. "We have observed that the current medicine shortage seems to be on the rise daily." GMOA branch hospitals have informed us that even hospitals such as district hospitals in the Colombo city limits have faced a medicine shortage. more..

Oct 25 (Island) Former national record holder of the 100 metres, Vinoj Suranjaya and reigning national triple jump champion Randi Cooray won the best athlete titles in the open category while Lyceum International Wattala athletes Janadi Chamya and Heshan Dulanjana grabbed the top awards in the most competitive age group of the CT & FC Athletics championships concluded at Diyagama on Sunday. The two-day championship was taken part by hundreds of athletes despite wet weather more..

Oct 25 (FT) Verité Research SL Economic Policy Group is recommending restructuring of domestic debt as it would benefit the Govt. In its third research the Verité Research Sri Lanka Economic Policy Group presented via an analysis by USA Oberlin College Prof. Udara Peiris explains four ways for the proposed domestic debt restructuring. The core group members are Prof. Dileni Gunewardena, Prof. Mick Moore, more..

Oct 25 (CI) Is it possible? Are SL in a better place going into this match than defending champions Australia? You could make a case, but not really. It's complicated. Australia were beaten so profoundly by New Zealand in their tournament opener, their NRR has plummeted to a truly appalling -4.45. SL, having thrashed Ireland first up, have a NRR of 2.467. NRRs only come into play if teams are on equal points ahead of the semi-finals. But you're aiming to be the two best sides in a six-team group. more..

Oct 25 (ST) Most companies are gearing to pass the tax hike through price increases to the end customer, and are urging state authorities to put the taxes to work, a survey of CEOs of 15 companies by the Business Times revealed. Mahendra Jayasekara, Managing Director Lanka Tiles PLC emphasised that it is not the rate of tax that matters but for what purpose taxes are raised. “We don’t like being pick pocketed but we willingly give money for the right purpose. more..

Oct 25 (FT) SJB MP Dr. Harsha de Silva says poverty in Sri Lanka has risen three-fold since 2019, and therefore the Govt is mistaken to believe people can afford to pay taxes as per the recent proposal. SJB MP said a survey carried out by the DCS in 2019 as per old methodology had placed poverty in SL at 3.3%. But in August this year the department had revealed poverty in SL was actually 14.3% as per current criteria. more..

Oct 25 (FT) The Indian CEO Forum Board members met President Ranil Wickremasinghe recently and had a very cordial and fruitful discussion on the SL economy and its future. Among topics discussed were overcoming the present challenges of the companies operating in Sri Lanka and the way forward on investments in the field of IT, Education, Manufacturing, Hospitality, Tourism as well as Logistics considering the perfect location of Sri Lanka. more..

Oct 25 (WP) Rishi Sunak has been appointed leader of the UK’s Conservative Party and is expected to become the country’s first-ever non-white prime minister. Sunak will be the UK’s third prime minister in just two months, following the resignation of his predecessor Liz Truss. He was Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2020 to 2022 and Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2019 to 2020. Sunak is of Indian heritage and is a practising Hindu and will be the UK’s first ever non-Christian PM. more..

Oct 25 (DM) A partial solar eclipse will be visible in many parts of Sri Lanka today, during sunset. The eclipse will also be visible over much of Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and western parts of Asia. In SL, the eclipse will be best seen from Jaffna said Prof. Chandana Jayaratne said. A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes in a straight line between the Earth and the Sun. The moon's shadow then passes across the Earth's surface and blocks the Sun's light as seen from Earth. more..

Oct 25 (EN) State-run Litro Gas said it has paid back some of the US$ 70 million lent by the World Bank to resolve the island’s cooking gas issue and hopes to pay back the entire amount by the second week of Dec 2022. Litro has returned 7.5 billion rupees recently out of 26 billion rupees (US$ 70 million) lent by the World Bank, Litro Chairman Muditha Peiris said. “World Bank lent US$ 70 million to Litro to solve our LPG problem. Now we are returning that money to Treasury in rupees,” more..

Oct 25 (DM) The economic rescue programme with the IMF remains the only path available for SL to emerge from the prevailing economic crisis, as no one else is ready to bail out SL, according to CB Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe. SL plunged into its worst economic crisis in March and announced debt default in April after Weerasinghe’s immediate predecessors followed what was referred to as a home-grown solution, more..

Oct 25 (AD) The Disaster Management Center (DMC) says that at least 18,219 people from 4,271 families have been affected due to the prevailing inclement weather conditions. Director General of Disaster Management Center, Major General (Retd) Sudantha Ranasinghe said that the death toll due to the bad weather has risen to 06. Meanwhile there have been reports of 09 houses suffering serious damages and 442 partial house damages that have occurred due to the bad weather. more..

Oct 25 (CT) Dept of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) has decided to institute legal action against those involved in misbehaviour and harassing animals within the Yala National Park. Minister of Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation Mahinda Amaraweera instructed the Director General of Wildlife, Chandana Sooriyabandara to conduct investigations into the incident and to initiate legal action. Accordingly, the DWC will institute legal action against the offenders today (25). more..

Oct 25 (AD) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe has instructed to increase the weekly fuel quota of 05 litres issued for professional passenger transport three-wheelers to 10 litres. As the first phase, the registration of professional three-wheelers in the Western Province is scheduled to commence on Nov 1st. This was revealed during the discussion held today (24) between Chief of Staff to the Prez Sagala Ratnayake and the professional three-wheeler associations. more..

Oct 25 (EN) Legislators in Sri Lanka who hold dual citizenship must resign following the enactment of the 21st amendment to the constitution, opposition MP Champika Ranawaka said. “I think everyone who holds dual citizenship should resign now with their dignity intact. They have no right to hold this position,” Ranawaka said at a press conference on Monday (24). In order to hold a position of authority in a country, he said, one must have a sense of connection and obligation to that country. more..

Oct 25 (TM) While there are talks regarding the removal of MPs with dual citizenship following the passage of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, Parliament and the Election Commission (EC) have stated that any decision regarding such MPs should be taken through a judicial process as the matter is beyond their scope. EC Chairman and Attorney-at-Law Nimal G. Punchihewa said: more..