Oct 17 (CI) SL's batting has been lopsided in all their three World Cup games so far but it was only against Australia that it was truly exposed. After racking up a 125-run opening stand, they lost 10 wickets for just 84 runs. While it's easy to say it was just a bad day, it would be disingenuous not to acknowledge the signs leading up to this meltdown. While last month's dire Asia Cup final - 50 all out - is still fresh in the memory, you could argue more..

Oct 17 (PBC) Pakistan U19 commanded proceedings on Day Two to acquire a strong position in the four-day game against Sri Lanka U19 at National Bank Stadium, Karachi. SL U19 were reeling at 155-6 at stumps, trailing behind Pakistan U19’s first-innings total of 433-9 declared. Pakistan U19 resumed their innings from 319 for one in 90 overs on the second day. Hosts added 114 more runs, while losing eight wickets in the day. Captain Saad Baig declared the innings more..

Oct 17 (FT) SL’s tourism industry is experiencing a surge of optimism as the country welcomed over 50,000 tourists in the first 15 days of October. This strong start to the month has set a positive tone for the ambitious monthly target of 147,789 arrivals. From 1 to 15 Oct, SL saw an impressive total of 50,395 tourists arriving, pushing the cumulative figure for the year to over 1.06 million mark, an encouraging rebound from the challenges of 2022. India stands out as leading source market, more..

Oct 17 (FT) Experts who spoke at a closed-door event held alongside the IMF Annual Meetings in Morocco noted that the IMF must insist on governance reforms in Sri Lanka and cautioned that the targets in the ongoing IMF program could set SL up for another default. The event, titled Sri Lanka: Pathways to Debt Sustainability and Governance Reform was held on Friday (13) at the Kenzi Menara Palace in Marrakesh, Morocco. It was hosted by organisations connected to more..

Oct 17 (FT) Vidullanka PLC Board of Directors has resolved to amalgamate its fully owned subsidiaries, Lower Kotmale Oya Hydro Power Ltd, Udawela Hydro Ltd, and Rideepana Hydro Ltd, with the parent. Amalgamation is to be carried out without any considerations, and as per the provisions of Section 242 of the company’s Act No. 7 of 2007. Each of the subsidiary companies owns and operates one mini hydro power plant whilst the parent company, Vidullanka owns and more..

Oct 17 (CI) Australia chased down SL's sub-par 209 with some ease, cantering to a five-wicket win in Lucknow to revive their flagging World Cup campaign. The result leaves SL second-last on the table with three losses from three, and essentially needing only wins from hereon to stand a chance of making it to the semi-finals. For Australia, it was a victory set up by a tenacious bowling effort, and then capped off by a chase exemplified more..

Oct 17 (DM) State Minister Dr. Suren Ragavan had said that his ministry has decided to monitor university hostels at night to prevent incidents of ragging by the senior students. He had stated that information has been received that senior students mostly resort to these inhuman activities between 12 midnight and 5.00 am and the ministry had decided to deploy university security officers and the student counsellors to inspect the hostels whenever they suspect of or receive information more..

Oct 17 (ST) Met Dept predicts that the current monsoon will likely continue for a few more days. Most areas witnessed rainfall over the week, causing severe damage, especially in the south. Met Dept said Uva, Central, and Eastern provinces experienced heavy showers, with rainfall totals topping 75 millimetres. Fairly heavy showers, exceeding 75 mm, are forecast in the Uva, Central, and Eastern provinces. In the coastal areas of the Western and Southern provinces, more..

Oct 17 (TM) Mannar-based politicians said that no Tamil party representing the Northern Province in Parliament has raised its objection so far to the proposal in which Mannar is repeatedly being identified as the connecting point of the Indo-Lanka electricity grid connection, since that proposal is still in the process of being considered. In the wake of the media reporting that Mannar in northern SL and Madurai in southern India more..

Oct 17 (DN) Minister Kanchana Wijesekera has refuted reports yesterday (16) of the claims that a discussion has been held to reintroduce the National Fuel Pass QR system or any quota system for fuel in Sri Lanka. Taking to ‘X’, Minister Wijesekera said that neither the Government nor the Ministry of Power and Energy (MOPE) nor the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has carried out any discussions to re-introduce the National Fuel Pass QR system or any quota system for fuel. more..

Oct 17 (DN) Examinations Commissioner General Amith Jayasundara said that the Examinations Dept is conducting formal investigations into two cases of exam fraud reported at the Grade Five Scholarship Exam held on Sunday. He said that two cases of exam fraud have been reported in connection with the Grade 5 Scholarship Exam and formal investigations are being conducted in this regard. Accordingly, it is alleged that an assistant examiner in the exam centre in Polpithigama area more..

Oct 17 (TM) A group of Sri Lankan migrant workers living in conflict areas in Israel are presently under the protection of the Israeli security forces, JVP-led NPP-affiliated organisation representing migrant workers, Ethera Api, has informed. President of the organisation, former JVP MP Sunil Handunnetti said that they were informed by the workers that they are under the custody of the Israeli forces and that they are not willing to return to Sri Lanka at this moment. He also said that, more..

Oct 17 (AD) Dept of Pension states that dept will have to face a financial crisis in paying pensions by the year 2028 or 2030. This was revealed during a committee meeting chaired by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa held with the officials of the Dept of Pension, the opposition leader’s office said. In response to a question raised by the opposition leader during the meeting, relevant officials have expressed that although a technical study has not been carried out into the matter, more..

Oct 17 (Island) Top Opposition spokesperson Prof. G.L. Peiris dismissed Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe’s attempt to introduce a new system for electing MPs as a politically motivated project to sabotage national elections. Such an exercise couldn’t be justified under any circumstances at a time the PC and LG polls, too, had been put off indefinitely, he said Prof. Peiris stressed that the govt continued to more..

Oct 17 (DM) In light of recent weather fluctuations, medical officials are cautioning the public about the potential spread of a viral infection. Speaking to Daily Mirror, Senior Consultant Physician Dr. Ananda Wijewickrama said this can be attributed to the fluctuation in temperature and change in weather conditions. Although not a seasonal flu, viral infections are common, but Dr. Wijewickrama warned that ignoring medical attention could lead to dangerous consequences. more..

Oct 17 (NW) Human Rights Commission of SL (HRCLS) has announced plans to release a set of guidelines and recommendations on the protection of human rights defenders in SL. HRCSL said that it would also engage in a consultative process to finalize these guidelines and recommendations. The announcement was made during a discussion held last week between the HRCLS members and representatives of civil society organisations to discuss the Commission’s current programme more..

Oct 17 (FT) The downturn for the manufacturing sector continues whilst the services sector managed to post a small rebound in September as per the Central Bank-compiled Purchasing Managers Index (MPI). It said the Manufacturing PMI recorded an index value of 45.7 in Sept 2023, indicating a contraction in manufacturing activities. This setback was contributed by the subdued performance observed in all the sub-indices. The decrease in new orders and production was mainly driven by more..

Oct 17 (CT) PM Dinesh Gunawardena has called for a Party Leaders’ meeting tomorrow in Parliament to discuss proposed amendments to election laws. It is expected to discuss the proposal of electing 160 MPs from constituencies and the other 65 through the Proportional Representation (PR) system. In a letter to the Party Leaders, the PM’s Secretary Anura Dissanayake said the PM has submitted two Cabinet papers on holding the election according to the mixed voting system and more..

Oct 17 (TM) Inter-Uni Students’ Federation (IUSF) and the Federation of Uni Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) are of the view that the Govt’s decision to check university hostels at night to prevent ragging would create turmoil between university students and law enforcement authorities. In the wake of State Minister Dr. Suren Raghavan being reportedly directed by the Supreme Court (SC) to check uni hostels at night more..

Oct 17 (TM) In the wake of a batch of human intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) imported to Sri Lanka from India being suspended from use, the Ministry of Health stated that there are adequate stocks of the said drug at hospitals in the country. Earlier this month (October), the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) issued a press release stating that a batch of IVIG imported to Sri Lanka from India in violation of the due procedure had been suspended from use. more..

Oct 17 (CT) Public Utilities Commission of SL (PUCSL) has requested a revised tariff proposal from the CEB, expressing concerns regarding some key assumptions made, in their recent submission, to increase electricity rates. CEB had sought a substantial tariff increase of approximately 22%. CEB has been instructed to submit a revised tariff proposal on or before Wednesday (18). CEB, in late September, made a request to the PUCSL for an interim tariff increase, citing two key reasons, more..

Oct 17 (TM) The Election Commission (EC) has requested the Ministry of Finance, Economic Stabilisation, and National Policies to allocate Rs. 11 billion from the Budget for the year 2024 for the Presidential Election to be held next year (2024). EC Chairman R.M.A.L. Rathnayake said that it is a general practice for the EC to request the Finance Ministry to allocate funds from the budget for a particular year if an election more..

Oct 17 (FT) At Independence in 1948, SL was second to Japan on most socio-economic indicators and ahead of South Korea on per capita income in 1960; it has since slipped behind most Asian neighbours. In April 2022, SL defaulted on its foreign debt for the first time, triggering the worst economic crisis in its history: the economy contracted by 7.8% in 2022, and income poverty (at $ 3.65 a day) is estimated to have doubled between 2020 and 2022 to around 25% of the population. more..

Oct 17 (EN) Shares closed down on Tuesday due to investor uncertainties. Turnover was at 994 million, falling below yesterday’s 1 billion. This was mainly driven by trades in the Capital Goods Industry. ASPI was down 0.69% or 74.51 points to 10,647.33, while the S&P SL20 was down 0.89% or 26.78 points to 2,973.12. “You can see the weak investor interest in the market and the weak approach with everyone waiting for the upcoming budget and the debt restructuring to finish,” more..

Oct 17 (FT) Raising Govt revenue is critical for SL to recover from the current economic crisis and create a more sustainable economic environment. However, taxes should be paid by those who can bear the burden. Personal Income Taxes (PIT) is an effective instrument in generating revenue as well as in reducing inequality through revenue redistribution. In Sri Lanka, there has been a steady decline in revenue from PIT from 0.9% of GDP in 2000 to 0.2% of GDP in 2022. more..

Oct 17 (DM) SL produced an improved performance to force a thrilling 1-1 draw to their FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asia Cup 2027 preliminary round one, second leg encounter against Yemen played at the Racecourse Grounds in Colombo today. After their 0-3 drubbing at the hands of the same opponents last week in Abha, Saudi Arabia, the home side got their act together well to score the equaliser in the second half having trailed 0-1 at half time. This performance had a great amount of more..

Oct 17 (PMD) During the official four-day visit to China, Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe attended a prominent investment, trade and tourism forum with a strong focus on fostering future business opportunities. Prez Wickremesinghe extended a warm invitation to Chinese entrepreneurs, encouraging them to view Sri Lanka as a strategic hub for emerging green and digital economic ventures, highlighting more..

Oct 17 (PMD) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe underscored the need to enhance the political, economic and cultural ties between SL and Indonesia by reinforcing the Indian Ocean’s identity, during an official meeting with Indonesian Prez Joko Widodo in Beijing today. Both leaders are in China to participate in the Belt & Road Forum for International Cooperation. During the meeting, the two leaders engaged in extensive discussions on further strengthening political, cultural, economic ties more..

Oct 17 (DM) Expressing grave concern by the ongoing escalation of violence and military action in Gaza, SL yesterday called for the immediate release of all hostages taken into Gaza. “SL strongly condemns the violent terror attacks targeting civilians in Israel by Hamas, and calls for the immediate release of all hostages taken into Gaza,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Priyanga Wickramasinghe said. She also said that SL calls for the free movement of essential items more..

Oct 17 (CI) Danushka Gunathilaka will be allowed to return to domestic and int'l cricket after being found not guilty of sexual assault. Although Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) had supported Gunathilaka through his legal proceedings in Australia, going as far as to pay his legal fees - which the board said Gunathilaka is obligated to pay back - the board had suspended him from all forms of cricket in Nov 2022, while the legal process was ongoing. more..

Oct 17 (AD) Ali Zahir Moulana Seiyad of SLMC was sworn in as a MP this morning to fill the seat left vacant following the removal of former minister Naseer Ahamed. He took oaths before Speaker of Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, shortly after the commencement of today’s session. In April 2022, the SLMC had stripped Naseer Ahamed of his party membership after he endorsed the 20th Amendment to the Constitution and voted in favour of the Budget 2022. more..

Oct 17 (DM) A sextuplet birth (six boys) was reported last Sunday from the Castle Street Hospital for Women, Colombo, said Hospital Director Dr. Ajith Danthanarayana. Five babies are at the intensive care unit (NICU) of the Castle Street Hospital for Women, and one baby is at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children (LRH) due to the lack of space. "Children are living with a large amount of help, and bringing up these children is a huge challenge, but we have enough facilities to treat the babies. more..

Oct 17 (PMD) Mr. Simon Lin, Senior Vice President of Huawei technologies and President of Huawei Asia Pacific, announced his company’s readiness to support an annual study program aimed at nurturing software and hardware engineers in Sri Lanka. He mentioned that Huawei has already initiated collaborations with several Sri Lankan universities, not only in academic assistance but also in providing technology and infrastructure. President Ranil Wickremesinghe, more..

Oct 17 (DM) The resolution to appoint a select committee to probe the allegations by the recent video footage broadcast by British Channel 4, was unanimously approved by Parliament today. The resolution presented by 20 MPs outlined that the select committee should probe the allegations by Channel 4, whether any politician had connections with any terror groups or whether there is any conspiracy as alleged by former AG Dappula de Livera or whether there have been more..

Oct 17 (EN) Twenty-seven Sri Lankans in northern Gaza have been forced to evacuate to the southern strip, but there is no indication yet that some 8,000 Sri Lankans currently living or working in Israel wish to return to the island en masse, according to officials. Labour Minister Manusha Nanayakkara told reporters on Monday (16) that officials are gathering information on all Sri Lankans in Israel and people who wish to more..