Jan 27 (DM) The current egg issue should be solved by the 75th anniversary of Independence on Feb.4 or else people will hear the sounds of chickens and hens, All Island Canteen Owners’ Association (AICOA) said. AICOA chairman Asela Sampath told the media today that if this govet cannot solve the issue, they will be marching to the Independence Day celebrations along with the chickens and eggs. "It is a shame to hear that the COPE had to visit the CAA for the first time in its history to solve more..

Jan 27 (AD) The officials who took part in the recent discussion with the Human Rights Council of SL (HRCSL) pertaining to the uninterrupted supply of electricity during the 2022 GCE A/L Exam, intend on taking legal action against officials of HRCSL, following the incident where the group was coerced into signing certain documents. Accordingly, Minister Kanchana Wijesekera stated that the officials who took part in the discussion have already sought legal opinions pertaining to the steps required more..

Jan 27 (TM) Following their participation at the all-party conference held at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday, TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran said that issues that Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe promised would be resolved before 4 Feb are yet to be resolved, and TMTK Leader and Opposition MP C.V. Wigneswaran said that he is not satisfied with the progress so far, while TPA Leader and SJB Opposition MP Mano Ganesan boycotted more..

Jan 27 (EN) Shares closed up with banking stocks making gains, brokers said despite weak quarterly results from early releases. ASPI edged up by 0.36% or 32.23 points to 8,958.79. The earnings for first quarter are expected to be negative with higher taxes and rising costs, analysts said. Earnings in the second quarter are expected to be more positive with the anticipation of IMF loan and possible reduction in the market interest rates as the tax revenue has started to generate funds. more..

Jan 27 (DM) SJB is unique as its members who have different views are able to come to an agreement at the end of the day, MP Harsha de Silva said today. “One may think that I, MPs Kabir Hashim and Eran Wickremeratne are bent towards the open market economy while our leader Sajith Premadasa is bent towards a social market economy. This could be true and such a scenario is good as we are always able to come to an agreement and be flexible,” Dr. de Silva said. more..

Jan 27 (TM) Election Commission (EC) notified that the ceiling amount under the Regulation of Election Expenditure Act, No. 3 of 2023 had been gazetted as Rs. 20 for each voter. Accordingly, EC Chairman Nimal Punchihewa said that the said amount was gazetted on Wednesday. He also noted that Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana had endorsed the Act. Accordingly, political parties and independent groups would spend 60% of the total amount more..

Jan 27 (Island) Whiteflies are destroying SL’s coconut industry, Education Secretary of the FSP, Pubudu Jagoda says.Addressing the media in Colombo on Wedneday, Jagoda said the white flies had a 40 to 60 day life span. Jagoda said there were three govt institutions responsible for looking after the coconut industry. One deals with exports, but the other two, the Coconut Development Board and the Coconut research Institute must take steps to address the unprecedented crisis, he said. more..

Jan 27 (DM) Colombo Fort Magistrate today instructed former Prez Maithripala Sirisena to stand in the dock during a magisterial inquiry as he stayed away from the dock, being an accused in a private plaint in connection with Easter Sunday attacks. When the matter was called before Colombo Fort Magistrate Thilina Gamage, former Prez Sirisena refrained from standing in the dock. At this moment, Prez's Counsel Rienzie Arsekularatne who appeared on behalf of the petitioner brought to more..

Jan 27 (DM) Minister Manusha Nanayakkara is to intervene to put an end the organised smuggling of unregistered mobile phones which cause a threat to the country’s national security. Meanwhile, the minister also intervened to stop smuggling parcels depriving the govt tax revenue. The above decisions were taken following a explanation made by the collective unions of mobile phone importers' today. After the explanation, minister Nanayakkara had decided to take the relevant issue to more..

Jan 27 (FT) The watchdog of SL’s private sector – the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) and the Employees Federation (EFC) continue to adopt a deaf and dumb attitude in light of the massive tax deductions that have come to affect thousands of private sector employees from Jan 2023. The CCC which generally refrains from unruffling the feathers of the ruling regime generally puts out a well-articulated press release on national issues but in this instance has failed to do even that. more..

Jan 27 (CT) The JJB, SJB and TPA yesterday boycotted the All-Party Conference (APC) that was convened by Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe. APC was convened in order to speak in depth on reconciliation. The SJB and JJB said the APC is only a mere talk show as the Prez has ignored several proposals made by them earlier. Newly formed Nidahas Janatha Sandhanaya, also did not participate in the APC. more..

Jan 27 (CT) Probation Officers have been given Justice of Peace posts as a step to prevent child victims from being inconvenienced when giving affidavits. Accordingly, the applications required for the appointment of Justice of the Peace for 325 Probation Officers working islandwide under the Department of Probation and Child Care Services were symbolically handed over to Secretary to the Ministry of Women, Child Affairs and Social Empowerment Yamuna Perera. more..

Jan 27 (DM) Court of Appeal today granted more time for State Minister Diana Gamage to file objections against a writ petition filed seeking an order declaring she is disqualified from being a MP since she is a British citizen. Prez's Counsel Shavindra Fernando appearing for Diana Gamage sought a further two-month period to file objections citing his client has been engaged to travel overseas on an official commitment, thus she is unable to obtain necessary documents pertaining to more..

Jan 27 (FT) SL Tourism will host the first-ever MICE Expo to position the country as a year-round destination and boost arrivals and earnings from meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions to over $ 300 million by the end of 2023. Expo is scheduled to be held from 13 to 15 March at Shangri-La Colombo, to draw around 150 participants from identified key markets from India, China, Russia, Australia, Middle East, more..

Jan 27 (AD) The gazette notification on the prorogation of the 3rd session of the 9th Parliament has been issued by President’s Secretary Saman Ekanayake, and will be effective from midnight today. Accordingly, Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe is scheduled to ceremonially inaugurate the 4th session of the 9th Parliament at 10 am on 8 February. It is a tradition for the President to deliver his Govt’s Policy Statement at the commencement of a new session of Parliament. more..

Jan 27 (EN) Sri Lanka is seeing strong prospects of tourist from India driving the sector in 2023, a top industry official said as the country tries to emerge from the worst currency crisis triggered by the island’s intermediate regime central bank. “I think India is going to be our biggest contributor and there’s a lot of activity happening between India and SL which is very positive,” Shiromal Cooray, Managing Director at Jetwing Travels, told a business forum organized by the CCC. more..

Jan 27 (AD) PUCSL has informed CEB that requests for power interruptions would not be green-lighted until Feb 17, 2023. In a letter director to CEB’s additional general manager, PUCSL chairman Janaka Ratnayake said the decision was taken with the intention of safeguarding the human rights of the 331,709 candidates sitting for 2022 GCE A/L exam. Letter comes in response to CEB general manager’s request for approval from the commission for power interruption schedule today. more..

Jan 27 (OHCHR) Sri Lanka’s human rights record will be examined by the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group for the fourth time on Wednesday, 1 February 2023, in a meeting that will be webcast live. Sri Lanka is one of the States to be reviewed by the UPR Working Group during its upcoming session from 23 January to 3 February. Sri Lanka’s first, second and third UPR reviews took place in May 2008, October 2012 and November 2017, respectively. more..

Jan 27 (EN) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe said he will fully implement an earlier amendment to the constitution which was aimed at giving more autonomy to provinces in a bid to solve the island’s ethnic conflict. The 13 amendment which has been part of Sri Lanka’s constitution for 37 years is a solution which stops short of a Federal state. But it has not been fully implemented especially in terms of police and land powers. more..

Jan 27 (DM) A former top FBI official in New York has been arrested over his ties to a Russian oligarch, law enforcement sources told ABC News Monday. Charles McGonigal, who was the special agent in charge of counterintelligence in the FBI's New York Field Office, is under arrest over his ties to Oleg Deripaska, a Russian billionaire who has been sanctioned by the United States and criminally charged last year with violating those sanctions. McGonigal retired from the FBI in 2018. more..

Jan 27 (EN) SL’s Dialog Axiata hopes to hold prices despite higher taxes, rising costs like energy, officials said as the country goes through the worst currency crisis in the history of its intermediate regime central bank. High inflation following a collapse of the currency has reduced real incomes of customers. “There are many factors to consider, especially with the last price increase we did in last year did not resulted in a significant increase in revenue” Pradeep De Almeida more..

Jan 27 (DH) SL Navy had female Sailors participate in the diving exercise (DIVEX) for the first-time during Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT)/Marine Exercise (MAREX) SL 2023 in Tricomalee, Jan 19-27 SL Navy opened their dive team to female Sailors and had Lt. Gayanka Satharasinghe, Sub Lt. Sachini Jayawickrama and Able Seaman (Physical Training Instructor) Dulani Sakunthala participate more..

Jan 27 (Hindu) Eight mechanised boat owners left for Sri Lanka to appear before a court in connection with the seizure of their boats by the Navy along the Palk Bay on the charge of poaching. According to V.P. Sesu Raja, a fishermen leader from Thangachimadam, the boat owners had lost their livelihood as the boats were seized two years ago. While the arrested fishermen were let off after the govt intervened, the boats remained anchored in Sri Lankan docks. more..

Jan 27 (TOI) Lauding India's financing assurances to the IMF, backing SL's debt restructuring efforts, Lankan high commissioner Milinda Moragoda said the social fallout of the economic crisis in the strategically located island nation would have been worse if India had not acted swiftly and that India’s support will minimise any trust deficit between the two countries. Moragoda said no other country would have helped SL the way India did and that foreign minister S Jaishankar’s recent visit more..

Jan 28 (CT) SJB Opposition’s continual efforts at painting the scheduled Local Govt Elections (LGE) across the country as a reference to the Govt of Prez Wickremesinghe is fraught with consequences, not just for the incumbent or even for those that are saying so. The problems are too many, for the nation and the people, and the results of the LGE should not be used by either side or any side, to interpret as anything more than what they really are. The Opposition may be justified in a way to more..

Jan 28 (CT) In less than a week, Sri Lanka will be celebrating its 75th Independence Day. Govt has already made arrangements to mark the occasion with pomp and pageantry, scoffing at all criticism over allocating Rs 200 million for the purpose. Although the allotted sum may not seem considerable at the outset, given the dire economic straits the country is in at the moment, spending even Rs 20 million, for an occasion no citizen is in the mood to celebrate, feels like a more..

Jan 28 (CT) Prez has advised the relevant officials that it is their responsibility, as well as that of the political authority, to pay attention to the current financial situation of the country while estimating the expenses required for 75th Independence Day celebration and in spending in a practical manner and reducing expenses. While pointing out that there is huge opposition among the people regarding the allocation of funds for 75th Independence more..

Jan 28 (DM) CWC and Nuwara-Eliya district MP Jeevan Kumaravel Thondaman, was inducted as Cabinet Minister into the Govt headed by Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe last week. He was sworn in as the Minister in charge of Water Supply and Estate Infrastructure Development by the Prez on Jan 19, 2023. Known popularly as Jeevan, the new Cabinet Minister is from the fourth generation of the Thondaman family that has played an immensely important role in political & trade union more..

Jan 28 (TM) US, UK, EU, and Canada seem to be eternally parroting the need for an inclusive society, and so too are the UN and its associated organisations, while the Western-salaried NGOs, international NGOs, and civil society also preach the need for inclusive and a peace-loving society, and their slogans are togetherness, assimilation, unity, and whatnot. What baffles us is this – why are all these entities pulling every string possible to implement the 13th Amendment that aspires more..

Jan 28 (CT) One of Sri Lanka’s leading tea experts, Dr. Roshan Rajadurai, who is the Managing Director of Hayleys Group, says long-term policies and a less politicised tea industry are the way forward towards sustainability. He said that Regional Plantation Companies have done their best in taking over the Govt’s burden of taking care of the plantation workers and most of the living conditions are now better than before. more..

Jan 28 (ST) "There are two certainties in your life,” said N.R. Gajendran, a Tax Consultant and a Senior Partner at Gajma & Company, at the seminar on Current Tax Reforms in Sri Lanka: Would we be able to pay?. Mr. Gajendran continued elaborating the two certainties in life, a famous quotation used often: “The first, you pay taxes throughout your life and, the second, one day you will die”. The seminar was held recently at the Arts Faculty building, Uni of Colombo. more..

Jan 28 (Island) Human Rights Commission of SL (HRCSL) has placed itself in the crosshairs of the govt by carrying out its duties and functions conscientiously. Minister Kanchana Wijesekera has claimed that his ministry is contemplating legal action against two HRCSL members for having allegedly pressured two of his ministry officials to agree to suspend power cuts until the conclusion of the ongoing A/L exam. He says the two mandarins were threatened with imprisonment, more..

Jan 28 (SO) The freedom of social media platforms can have negative effects on society, such as the spread of misinformation, cyber bullying, and the erosion of privacy. Misinformation on social media can have serious consequences, such as spreading false information about personalities, political ideologies, and public opinion, or spreading hate speech and even inciting violence. Cyber bullying is another negative effect of social media freedom. Online harassment and bullying can lead to more..

Jan 28 (DN) It was a noteworthy achievement that the unbroken heritage of the Royal Thomian Cricket encounter was extended during extremely challenging circumstances in the last couple of years. The 142nd and 143rd Battle of the Blues were played behind closed doors with the objective of being socially responsible. Both encounters were keenly contested and ended as a draw, keeping the unbroken tradition alive. In this context, it is with great joy and pride more..

Jan 28 (Island) Appeals Committee of the SL Anti-Doping Agency that heard sprinter Himasha Eshan’s appeal against his suspension, has decided to extend the ban against the former national 100 metres champion to six years. SLADA has informed the athlete that the Appeals Committee had decided to extend the ban to 6 years after the appeal hearing conducted on Nov 3. Himasha will now be banned till 25th Oct 2027 more..