Nov 24 (HRW) SL’s economy has contracted every year since 2019, but exports to the European Union have increased, providing vital income in desperate economic times. This has largely been due to the EU’s GSP+, which grants SL tariff-free access to the EU market so long as it complies with core human rights and labor rights treaties. But, as the EU noted in a new report, SL govt is falling well short of the mark. more..

Nov 24 (EN) Sri Lanka will provide early retirement to a 34,000 strong civil defence force that protected villages from Tamil Tigers during a civil war, state minister for defence Pramitha Bandara Tennakoon said. Sri Lanka was spending 20 billion rupees a year to maintain the force now. Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa said there was a plan to pay compensation of 3 million rupees for early retirement of a civil protection force member. Premadasa said that was not enough. more..

Nov 24 (DM) Former Bar Association of SL (BASL) President Saliya Pieris PC today rejected the claims by President Ranil Wickremesinghe in Parliament that Pieris had ambitions to be PM prior to May 9, 2022. Sharing a post on Facebook, Pieris said that the Prez had mentioned his name in Parliament and falsely claimed that he had ambitions to be PM. Former BASL President said that Prez had made these false remarks under cover of Parliamentary immunity where he cannot be replied to. more..

Nov 25 (CT) I refer to the Article under the heading Can China win over the Northern Tamils by M.S.M. Ayub in the Daily Mirror of 18th Nov. My response to his query is an affirmative No. I say this not as a northern Tamil, but as an independent, free and objective thinker. In today’s International politics, the phrase Geo-politics is a commonplace expression. It means an inter-play of power and spheres of influence between militarized Nations. Geo-politics has been accepted by more..

Nov 25 (CT) No other Authority in SL’s post-Independent history had encountered more controversy, gone through dizzyingly turbulent ups-and-downs and had trouble appointing members to it, than the Constitutional Council, the constitutional authority tasked with maintaining independent commissions and monitoring their affairs. The Constitutional Council was first established in 2000, under the 17th Amendment, comprising three parliamentarians and seven eminent persons. more..

Nov 25 (CT) Prez Wickremesinghe spent the previous weekend in the Maldives in order to attend the assumption to office of his Maldivian counterpart. Upon returning to Colombo, having concluded his 2-day lightning visit to Male, Prez rang his former counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa to wish him on his birthday. Soon after, the incumbent Leader was then contacted by the former honcho’s son MP Namal Rajapaksa on the phone. more..

Nov 25 (GV) Nallasera Nallamma was cooking lunch when the soldiers stormed into her remote village of Mylanthanai, one hour northwest of Batticaloa town. They rounded up the villagers, separating the men from the women and children. Then Nallamma heard these chilling words, “Should we kill everyone including the children or should we spare the children?” asks a soldier. Another one replies, “Yes, kill everyone”. Mylanthanai is an isolated village where paddy cultivators and more..

Nov 25 (ST) Great British Bake Off, one of the UK’s best-loved cooking competitions, currently in its 14th season has just rounded off Week Eight. This year, there was added reason to watch the show for all Sri Lankans for they were closely following the progress of one of this season’s most popular contestants – SL-born Intelligence Analyst, Saku Chandrasekara. Her fun personality saw Saku fast becoming a great fan favourite among audiences and peers, but sadly, her Bake Off journey came to an end more..

Nov 25 (CT) Amid mounting bankruptcies and the collapse of several State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), a company committed to a people-oriented approach has stepped forward. Their strategy involves leveraging Sri Lankan nationals, both within the country and overseas, to acquire shares and take over these struggling SoEs. The aim is to prevent the Govt from selling them to foreign investors, ensuring local control more..

Nov 25 (TM) In Sri Lanka, significant progress has been made in improving children’s access to healthcare and education. The country boasts a robust healthcare system offering free services to all children and has achieved considerable success in increasing enrolment rates and enhancing the quality of education. However, disparities in access to healthcare and education persist, especially between urban and rural areas and across different social and economic groups. more..

Nov 25 (CT) If the Rajapaksas thought that their enemies were outside, comprising the political Opposition and the victims of Prez Gotabaya’s disastrous economic policies and erratic implementation, no, it is not so. Their enemies are within, in the form of SLPP MPs, who did not have the sense not to misbehave inside the House only months before the Presidential poll, that too, in front of schoolchildren who would carry the tales of what they saw and heard in the August House, more..

Nov 25 (Island) The exploitation of Sri Lankans continues unabated. The private sector stands accused of maniacally pursuing profit maximisation at the expense of the public, but sadly the public enterprises are no better, the worst culprits being the lending outfits and the state monopolies, especially in the power and energy sectors. Debt, or the accumulation thereof, to be exact, is the bane of SL, which has become bankrupt mainly due to its chronic indebtedness, which worsened more..

Nov 25 (Island) Supreme Court has ruled (with one dissenting against four assenting voices) on 14th Nov that 3 members of the Rajapaksa family, including two former Presidents and a coterie of their close officials were responsible for the country’s worst economic crisis that ended in bankruptcy. The petition by civil society activists and NGOs named the current Prez, Ranil Wickremesinghe as the 1st respondent, while the respondent no. 32A was Gotabhaya Rajapaksa of Pangiriwatte Rd, more..

Nov 25 (CT) In a historic and groundbreaking order, Supreme Court issued an order this week directing the DWC to urgently address unlawful deforestation activities spanning more than 4,000 acres of forest near the Nakolagane Purana Rajamaha Viharaya in Ehetuwewa, Kurunegala District. Delivered by a 3-Judge Bench comprising Justices Murdu Fernando, S. Thurairaja, and Yasantha Kodagoda, ruling specifically more..

Nov 25 (DN) The third edition of the Nippon Paint Sri Lanka Rugby Major League Tournament for the 2023/24 season, conducted by Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR), will kick off on December 1 with the participation of eight teams. After the suspension was lifted by World Rugby, the rugby-loving fraternity in the country will have the opportunity to witness seven weeks of captivating games, where the top eight teams will compete across venues in the Western and Central Provinces. more..

Nov 25 (DM) Former Prez Mahinda Rajapaksa had first said that he respects the Supreme Court ruling against him and his brothers, former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, along with several others over the current economic crisis. Then he told Parliament that he did not accept the verdict that he and others had been instrumental to the crisis. The legality of a defendant of a case rejecting the verdict of that case is intricate, in a way. more..

Nov 25 (DM) In mid-2022 when our country was facing an economic meltdown and bankruptcy, India it was, who came to our rescue by extending us a credit line of over $2 billion. At that time we faced fuel and gas shortages, 12-hour rolling power cuts, food, and medical shortages and many associated problems. Thanks to the credit line extended by India, within a few months the situation eased. The long queues of vehicles outside fuel depots soon became but a distant memory. more..

Nov 25 (FT) Colombo stock market suffered its second consecutive week of losses post-2024 Budget presentation by Prez as the positives reiterated by Govt MPs in Parliament have failed to convince equity investors. ASPI lost 86.18 points (0.81%) during the week while the S&P SL20 lost 14.93 points (0.50%). The losses however were far less than last week when the indices declined by over 2%. However average daily turnover improved to Rs. 1 billion up from Rs. 834 million on more..

Nov 25 (FT) FPC member MP Nalaka Godahewa maintained that Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe has once again been unsuccessful in his efforts to create division within the opposition. MP noted that there were expectations for the budget to address crucial questions, including how the govt plans to revitalise the economy, foster growth and navigate the country out of the debt trap. “But instead of a budget aimed at more..

Nov 25 (EN) Sri Lanka is eying to earn $200 million annual income from foreign ships traversing in its water by developing Electronic Navigation Charts (ENCs), the State Defence Minister said as the island nation is in the process of coming out of an unprecedented economic crisis. President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is also the Defence Minister, has already issued a gazette for navy to start the creation of ENCs, State Defence Minister Premitha Bandara Tennakoon said. more..

Nov 25 (FT) The global apparel and textile giant, MAS Holdings, announced the resounding accomplishment of its subsidiaries, MAS Active Trading Ltd and MAS Intimates Ltd, at the distinguished Presidential Exports Awards for 2021/22 and 2022/23 held on Thursday. In recognition of the company’s contribution to SL’s export sector, MAS Active (Active and KREEDA divisions) secured SL’s overall Exporter of the Year Award for two years 2021/22 and 2022/23. more..

Nov 25 (FT) Reflecting a proactive approach to economic challenges, the Central Bank yesterday further reduced interest rates to support the rebound of domestic economic activity and stabilise inflation. Monetary Board in its meeting yesterday lowered both the standing deposit facility rate and the standing lending facility rate by 100 basis points each, establishing them at 9% and 10%, respectively. more..

Nov 25 (FT) Supreme Court this week dismissed the Fundamental Rights petitions filed by several students seeking a postponement of GCE A/L Examinations. These petitions came up for consideration on 22 Nov 2023, before a bench of the SC composed of Justice Padman Surasena and Justice Achala Wengappuli. One petition was withdrawn by the petitioners and the other petition filed by three students were taken up for consideration. more..

Nov 25 (DN) The series between Sri Lanka and the Zimbabwe National Men’s, comprising three ODIs and three T-20s, will commence on January 6. The three-match ODI series will be held from January 6 to January 11 at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. The action then shifts to the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium, where the T20 series, is scheduled to be played from January 14 to 18. All matches, both ODIs and T20Is, are set to be day/night encounters. more..

Nov 25 (FT) Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe expressed confidence that Sri Lanka is poised to receive approval from the IMF for the second tranche of the $ 2.9 billion EFF next month. “We are making good progress. I am confident that we will get the financial assurances we need to complete the first review of the IMF in the next month,” he said. The IMF Executive Board is scheduled to meet on 6 December for the first review of Sri Lanka’s EFF arrangement. more..

Nov 25 (Island) Cabinet approval has to be sought first before dissolving national sports associations and appointing interim committees, Secretary to the Cabinet-of-Ministers, W.M.D. Fernando has informed Secretary to the Ministry of Sports K. Mahesan. Mahesan was also given several guidelines when appointing interim committees. They are: carrying out an impartial investigation and obtaining a report before dissolving a national sports association and appointing an interim committee; more..

Nov 25 (Reuters) Supermarket manager Laknath Dias says the economic crisis in his native SL is too much for him to bear. He is getting ready to fly to Israel in December to work as a farmhand for nearly 10 times the pay, despite the war with Hamas. Dias is among 20,000 workers that SL, desperate for dollars and remittances, plans to send to Israel starting early next month to work in the farm and construction sectors, more..

Nov 25 (CT) A 15-member squad has been selected ahead of the forthcoming Under-19 Asia Cup and World Cup Tournaments. Sources added that the reins of the team have been handed over to Sineth Jayawardene, while Malsha Tharupathi has been named his deputy. The Under-19 Asia Cup is slated to be held from 8 to 17 December in UAE with the participation of eight countries, while the U-19 World Cup is scheduled to be held in South Africa with the participation of 16 teams. more..

Nov 25 (DM) The prolonged saga of appointing a new Inspector General of Police (IGP) has reached a critical juncture, leaving the country’s law enforcement in a state of uncertainty and raising concerns about the govt’s ability to address rising crime rates. The current IGP, Chandana Wickramaratne, has been granted multiple extensions of service despite objections from the Constitutional Council, which is responsible for vetting & approving high-level appointments. more..

Nov 25 (DM) CEB received an additional income of Rs. 16 billion last month as hydropower generation took place at full capacity due to heavy rains, Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said. He said that a similar amount of income or something more than that was expected this month also as reservoirs have reached full capacity and hydropower is generated at full capacity. He said the additional income would be used if a drought situation prevails in Dec, Jan and Feb as predicted. more..

Nov 25 (EN) SL has already started right sizing its strong military gradually to 150,000 by 2030 without any impact on national security while strengthening them with modern technology, State Minister Minister Premitha Bandara said. The govt is in the process of reducing the army to 100,000, navy to 30,000, and air force to 20,000 by 2030 from the current numbers, which he did not mention. “This will be done without removing anybody from the military. Numbers are based on natural reduction,” more..

Nov 25 (Wisden) The feud between SLC and Ministry of Sports has escalated after SLC media releases on Nov 24 accused the ministry of misleading the public over how funds for the board were spent and interfering in World Cup 2023 selection. The developments come after ICC announced that SL would be allowed to continue playing international cricket during their suspension from ICC membership. more..

Nov 25 (CT) Civil Rights Professional Association of Doctors (MCPA) has urged the Indian High Commission in SL to initiate a probe into an alleged attempt to swindle Rs 1 billion from the SL Treasury by submitting a Cabinet P aper, stating that medicinal drugs were to be purchased under the Indian Credit Line. President of the MCPA, Dr. Chamal Sanjeeva and several other civil society organisations on Friday (24), handing over a letter to the Indian High Commission, alleged that more..

Nov 25 (OMCT) South Asia has the highest number of child brides, with around 290 million children married before the age of 18. Despite gains in reducing child marriage in recent decades, progress remains slow and has been further hampered by the Covid-19 pandemic, economic crisis and wars. Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA) does not set a minimum age for marriage; a Muslim Quazi (judge) can even authorise the marriage of girls under the age of 12. more..

Nov 25 (CT) An official document, obtained from the Presidential Secretariat, reveals that former Presidents, namely Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Maithripala Sirisena, Mahinda Rajapaksa, Chandrika Kumaratunga and Hema Premadasa, the widow of R. Premadasa, receive secretary allowances, fuel allowances and retirement benefits totalling a staggering Rs 3,715,350 monthly. Former Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa receives a monthly more..