Apr 29 (Island) Most of SL’s police and military chiefs have a common dream. That is to secure sinecures after retirement. They therefore do everything possible, while in service, to be in the good books of the govts in power. Most of them succeed in their endeavour; they receive plum diplomatic posts, etc. This may explain why they become putty in the hands of politicians, as retirement nears. Incumbent IGP C.D. Wickramaratne says he also has a dream, more..

Apr 29 (FT) SJB has expressed its doubts that the SL Govt will in fact keep its promises to the IMF. Issuing a statement on the IMF agreement vote in Parliament, Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella noted that the IMF staff-level agreement is aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability while safeguarding financial sector stability, protecting the vulnerability and stepping up structural reforms to address corruption vulnerabilities & unlock SL’s growth potential. more..

Apr 29 (Island) During a discussion on the 178th Anniversary of the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka (RASSL) at the Mahaweli Centre, Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe shared his intentions to establish the Institute of History, with the aim of bringing together the museum, archives, archaeology, cultural triangle, and universities with the RASSL as the focal point. Prez emphasized that this institute should not be in competition with RASSL or any other institute. more..

Apr 29 (DM) Former Prez Ranasinghe Premadasa was killed 30 years ago on 1 May 1993 at 12.45 p.m. along with 17 others in a bomb explosion that also injured 38 more persons at the Grandpass Road – Armour Street Junction in Colombo. He was inspecting a May Day procession of the party. The assassin was an LTTE suicide bomber Kulaveerasingham Veerakumar alias Babu, who wore an explosive-laden vest. Premadasa, born on 23 June 1924 served as PM from 1978 to more..

Apr 29 (ST) Focusing attention on the prevailing financial crisis, I forecasted that the financial crisis will lead to an economic crisis and as a result an energy crisis by March 2022 in my budget speech on Nov 17, 2021. I further elaborated and predicted that a people’s uprising will occur which will defy even police barricades. My predictions came true with the Prez being ousted by a direct people’s action which arose as a direct result more..

Apr 29 (FT) Founded in 1982 under the leadership of the Late Ravindra Soysa – Founder Chairman and Managing Director and Durga Soysa – Director, Civimech Ltd., has achieved many milestones to become one of the leading air conditioning companies in SL today. The company recently celebrated its 40th anniversary with pride. Over the past four decades, the company has catapulted to the forefront of the HVAC trade, earning a reputation for excellent customer care more..

Apr 29 (FT) Sri Lanka’s first official national Multidimensional Poverty Index (national MPI) using data from the Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2019 was launched yesterday following a multi stakeholder collaboration. With support from UNICEF, Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and European Union, the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) unveiled key findings of the Index. The Sri Lankan MPI creates a comprehensive picture of poverty. more..

Apr 29 (MB) Sri Lanka’s animal-human conflicts are on the rise with increasing crop raids, but a recent request from a Chinese company requesting 100,00 toque macaques from SL has fueled a fresh debate on wildlife exploitation. Crop damage by wild animals has posed a serious problem to many people, especially farming communities, and a report last year estimated an overall loss of 30.215 billion SL rupees more..

Apr 29 (Island) Stop Child Cruelty Trust (SCC) with Child Protection Alliance (CPA) launched another historical event to protect and promote the rights of children across SL. From 2020 to 2022, seventeen children were physically/sexually abused and murdered, and no person of authority has done anything meaningful to resolve the child protection crisis on the island. Chronicles of Melancholy (නොරිදවිය යුත රිදෙන කතන්දර) is a collection of true-life stories of victims/survivors of various more..

Apr 29 (Island) TNA MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam told Parliament that the debate on the country’s agreement with the IMF was a waste of time as the two parties had already signed the agreement. “This is a waste of time. We are talking about this for three days and we are spending about 30 million rupees of public funds a day to hold parliamentary sessions,” he said. TNA MP said that the debate would have made sense only if the inputs of the MPs contributed to the contents of the agreement. more..

Apr 29 (FT) The country’s population of retirees and demographic shift of experienced workers see a negative transformation with the current economic state of the country. Capazity Ltd. has come forward to challenge the problem and eliminate ageism in the workplace with their newly launched digital platform Capazity which is a one of a kind initiative aimed to create an impact through a range of services and solutions which will exclusively cater to senior citizens in Sri Lanka. more..

Apr 29 (DM) Colombo district inflation fell sharply in April, as the higher base effects from last year kicked in while the commodities prices are cooling, on the back of easing supply conditions and the relative strength in the rupee, which reduced the prices of imported goods. Inflation, measured by the mostly-watched Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI), slowed to 35.3% in the 12 months to April 2023, from 50.3% more..

Apr 29 (AD) A special meeting was held recently for the purpose of establishing windows in the 379 child care centers under the supervision of govt hospitals and Dept of Probation and Child Care Services for the confidential and safe keeping of infants under the age of three months who are unwanted or unable to be taken care of by their parents for any reason. Thus, a way forward in this regard, including the existing legal conditions, were discussed at the special Committee meeting, more..

Apr 29 (DN) We never thought about records and our aim was to win the game said SL skipper Dimuth Karunaratne. After the match we discuss about other matters and make plans and during the game we are always focused to win the match. Any way this is 100 Test win for SL and I am really proud my leadership for this 100th test win. Actually there are several positives especially our batters and bowlers really played well and good team commitment to win the game and win the series. more..

Apr 29 (CT) Long overdue structural reforms need to be carried out expeditiously to turn around lossmaking SOEs and eliminate the fiscal burden as well as the over-reliance on commercial banks, thereby containing the risks arising from these institutions that hinder the fiscal and macroeconomic, and financial stability, Central Bank said. Although SOEs perform key roles in numerous strategic economic sectors, such as electricity, petroleum, water, banking, transportation, more..

Apr 29 (FT) FPC member Prof. Charitha Herath says the IMF agreement is perhaps the most devastating document against the four-decade-long political career of former Prez Mahinda Rajapaksa. Joining in the debate yesterday on the IMF deal, Herath said there is a great disparity between the contents of the document and the politics of the ruling party led by Rajapaksa. “This is the most devastating document against the 40-year political career of Mahinda Rajapaksa. more..

Apr 29 (DM) Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Chairman Vish Govindasamy said that the country has only gained a fragile stability and there is a lot more to be done in future. He made these remarks at the sixth AGM of the SL Retailers’ Association (SLRA), held recently in Colombo. Addressing the gathering, he said, “SL must use the present crisis as an opportunity to drive reforms similar to those carried out by more..

Apr 29 (DM) The CID named former MP J. Sri Ranga as a suspect regarding the investigations over the incident of setting fire to President Ranil Wickremesinghe's private residence in Colombo. Accordingly, Colombo Fort Magistrate Thilina Gamage issued an order directing the Prison Authorities to produce J. Sri Ranga before Court on May 3. Former MP is currently in remand custody for allegedly influencing the witnesses of a fatal traffic accident in Vavuniya in 2011. more..

Apr 29 (DM) Claiming that the govt has not performed any miracles to stabilise the economy to some extent at present, NPP MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that the economy has become stable due to the economic contraction and ban on imports. He told parliament that the claims by some saying that the economic decisions taken by the govt had resulted in the current economic stability, were false and that it was the result of the economic contraction and ban on imports. more..

Apr 29 (EN) SJB, which was among the first to call for a deal with the IMF at the onset of the island nation’s worst currency crisis in decades, abstained from voting for the now-finalised agreement. SJB MP Harsha de Silva speaking in parliament said on the third and final day of a debate on SL’s 17th IMF programme that debating the deal was futile as it had already been signed. SJB MPs, save for A H M Fowzie, staged a walkout more..

Apr 30 (ST) My dear Wimaley, I thought of writing to you after hearing that you had published a book telling us what the hidden story about the aragalaya was. You launched the book at an event this week and made some sensational claims, reverting to your favourite theme once again: international conspiracy. The allegations you make are quite outrageous. They have raised quite a few eyebrows and generated a great deal of publicity. That is exactly what you want, isn’t it, Wimaley, more..

Apr 30 (SO) Expatriate workers are the mainstay of the Sri Lankan economy. Pre-pandemic, they remitted around US$ 6 billion per year. However, many of them lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic’s impact on the global economy and returned home. Then during the initial stages of the economic crisis and the Aragalaya, there was a call not to remit money to Sri Lanka through official channels. This led to a drastic reduction in expatriate remittances. more..

Apr 30 (SO) Minister Vidura Wickramanayaka said that politics today is to develop the country and not to have partisan politics so that all of us have to put our heads together to get out of this morass. Minister said that today nobody will say that we are worse than last year. Now the tables have turned. If the Opposition is not happy that is due to their ulterior motive, not to bring down the Govt but to somehow derail development. more..

Apr 30 (TM) Who is Peter Gregory Obi? He is a businessman and Nigerian political leader. Having been the Labour Party candidate at the last Nigerian Presidential Election in February, Obi has disputed the result that declared the incumbent as the winner and a court verdict is due on the matter. Obi has not only become a symbol of defiance but also the undisputed leader of the youth in that country, which like our own has been wrecked by corruption and political plunder. more..

Apr 30 (TM) The Ranil Wickremesinghe Govt managed to overcome a key hurdle in Parliament last week by getting House approval for the deal reached with the IMF. However, the Govt continues to face challenges in finalising the country’s debt restructuring plan that was earlier scheduled to be sent to the IMF by end April. While there was a key discussion on the matter that was to be held on Friday (28), the meeting had not taken place, according to Govt sources. more..

Apr 30 (TM) SL should support the IMF agreement and reach the targets set by it for our own benefit, asserted Uni of Colombo Dept of Economics Head Prof. Sirimal Abeyratne. According to Prof. Abeyratne, programme should be seen as an opportunity for SL to correct its policy and structural weaknesses, which make the island nation vulnerable and crisis prone. He also stressed on the need for SL to put in place measures to more..

Apr 30 (Island) Surrey loves Sanga. The whole of England loves him. How else would he have gone on to become the first non-British President of MCC? The former SL skipper having finished his Test career in 2015 moved to the English county circuit and broke record after record emerging as the leading run scorer for several seasons. Not since the days of Ken Barrington, The Oval had witnessed such batting feats. Of course, when you invest on Sanga the batsman, you also get a good more..

Apr 30 (ST) Three religious ceremonies and a traditional new year roll out within a few weeks of each other, peacefully and joyfully, despite detractors who say this island nation is engulfed in racial and religious disharmony. Only the negative aspects of inter-communal and inter-religious differences from time to time hit the headlines and are reported to human rights councils, not the general goodwill that exists among communities nor the many efforts at bridge building where more..

Apr 30 (Island) Forty years ago, on 20th April 1983, we lost for ever the genius of the Sinhala wordsmith extraordinaire, whose life was cut short suddenly and prematurely at age of only 52 years. It is said that those with creativity, like him, reach their maximum potential in their fifties but, sadly, it was not to be although the legacy he left behind makes us feel as if he lived a century! Considering his prodigious productivity in a span lasting less than four decades, it is hard even to imagine more..

Apr 30 (Island) Dr. Nihal Jayawickrama, now retired in SL, wrote an article we published on this page last Sunday questioning why this country needed a monstrosity of a Bill ostensibly to combat terrorism when the govt for several decades already had at its disposal a law with sufficient flexibility to prevent and deal with all forms of threats to the security of our country and its peoples. This law is the Public Security Ordinance enacted by the then State Council before Independence more..

Apr 30 (ST) In the UK, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner Saroja Sirisena has won the coveted Diplomat of the Year from Asia & Oceania Award at the annual awards ceremony of the prestigious foreign affairs magazine–The Diplomat. The award recognises outstanding work and achievements of London’s diplomatic community who are trying to better their nation’s well-being. Diplomat’s Editor Venetia de Bloq van Kuffeler said more..

Apr 30 (SO) Sri Lanka and Bangladesh saw their first women’s ODI washed out without a result at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo yesterday. Sri Lanka were 152 for 6 in 36.4 overs with Chamari Atapattu unbeaten on 47 when rain set in to end the proceedings in what looked like an interesting match. Also at the crease was Kavisha Dilhari (30) and Oshadi Ranasinghe (14). Promising schoolgirl Vishmi Gunaratne from Ratnaweli Balika Gampaha was out for 11 with two fours. more..

Apr 30 (ST) Tailoring pitches to suit a host team’s strengths is not uncommon in international cricket. Many countries have done it and will continue to do so. It can be a successful strategy, particularly at home. But it comes at the risk of humiliation away from home. What Sri Lanka did during the series against Ireland, particularly during the second Test, however, was different. After steamrolling the inexperienced Irish cricketers inside of three days in the first game, more..

Apr 30 (CT) Everyone is familiar with national reconciliation, some even to the point of being bored. I am using the term reconciliation in two other situations: one, in accommodating criminal activities, past and present; and two, in juggling between different elections (local, provincial, parliamentary) for presidential advantage. The prime mover and chief puppeteer in all three is, of course, President Wickremesinghe. National reconciliation has been a longtime pastime for the President. more..

Apr 30 (SO) Kusal Mendis missed equalling Pakistan player Wasim Akram’s record for the most number of sixes in a Test innings when he fell short by just one hit during his 245 against Ireland on the fourth day of the second and final cricket Test at the Galle International Cricket Stadium as Sri Lanka went on to win the match and the series 2-0 on Friday. Mendis smashed 11 sixes one short of Akram’s 12 made against Zimbabwe in 1996. Akram’s contribution was an unbeaten 257. more..