Oct 4 (TM) Lawyers in the Northern Province launched a token strike yesterday demanding a thorough investigation into threats made to Mullaitivu District Court Judge T. Saravanarajah, and measures to protect the safety of judges and the independence of the judiciary. Lawyers in the Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mannar, Vavuniya, and Mullaitivu Districts joined hands in this regard as part of the Northern Province bars. more..

Oct 4 (TM) A petition was filed before the Supreme Court (SC) against the Online Safety Bill yesterday by activist and journalist Tharindu Uduwaragedara, claiming that certain provisions of the Bill in question do not comply with the Constitution. The petitioner further claimed that provisions of the Bill violated certain fundamental human rights, including the right to freedom of speech and expression. Thus, Uduwaragedara filed the petition seeking a Court order that in order for more..

Oct 4 (BN) US Govt said a bondholder’s lawsuit against SL over the country’s historic debt default should be put on hold. In a statement of interest filed Monday in New York federal court, the US backed the SL Govt’s request to delay a lawsuit by Hamilton Reserve Bank. seeking full payment and accrued interest on more than $ 250 million in bonds that came due in July 2022. US said the delay would help with ongoing restructuring talks between the South Asian country and other creditors. more..

Oct 4 (FT) Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe proposed that the Govt should implement a general amnesty period, allowing SL citizens with funds in offshore accounts to repatriate their monies to Sri Lanka. During the debate on the Anti-Corruption Bill in Parliament, he that a staggering $ 56 billion has been stashed overseas by influential persons in recent years, with an additional $ 9 billion deposited abroad this year alone. more..

Oct 4 (FT) SME sector is still suffering as a result of the turmoil you caused by the sudden and drastic increase in policy rates that triggered the abnormal increase in interest rates in April 2022. The results of this action can still be seen in the contraction of SL’s growth rate by 11.5% in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the first quarter of 2022. Many still argue that the sudden increase and the quantum of increase was not warranted to bring down inflation that was caused by supply side factors. more..

Oct 4 (FT) We wrongly believe our Sri Lankan customer service is good because our smile is world-famous. We need to go beyond the smile. That is why we need to adopt Omotenashi. In all my travels to every continent, I have never found a level of hospitality and customer service superior to Japan. Omotenashi is more than just good service; it’s a philosophy that seeks to anticipate and fulfil the needs of others, creating a memorable and enriching experience. more..

Oct 4 (DM) A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed to strengthen the collaboration between the SL Air Force and SriLankan Airlines, particularly in the fields of aviation training, education and other areas of mutual interest, the SLAF said. The MoU was signed at the Air Force Headquarters in the presence of the Commander of the Air Force, Air Marshal Udeni Rajapaksa and the Chairman of SriLankan Airlines, Ashok Pathirage. Event was attended by several individuals, more..

Oct 4 (FT) CBL Munchee SL’s number one biscuit brand has achieved yet another accolade, receiving the BRCGS AA+ certification, which will strengthen its brand footprint in the global market. BRCGS stands for brand reputation through compliance with global standards, signifies the food quality and responsibility of a particular brand, and helps build confidence in supply chains across global markets. The certification is recognised in over 130 countries as a mark of brand confidence more..

Oct 4 (DN) Representatives of top corporations in the UAE, accompanied by high-potential investors, property developers, hotel owners, and leaders in the hospitality and real estate industries, converged in the iconic settings of the Ritz Carlton in Abu Dhabi and the Armani Hotel at Burj Khalifa in Dubai to explore, understand, and assess the investment potential of SL, with particular emphasis on the transformative Port City more..

Oct 4 (AD) The Court of Appeal has ordered not to act according to the gazette notification issued by Minister of Sports Roshan Ranasinghe appointing a 3-member International Sports Coordination Committee in Cricket headed by former SL cricketer Sidath Wettimuny until Nov 10. This order has been issued by the Appeals Court judge bench consisting of President of the Court of Appeal Nissanka Karunaratne and Justice Chamath Morais, after considering a writ petition filed by SLC. more..

Oct 4 (DM) In a positive turn of events, the number of Dengue cases reported in Sept 2023 reached an all-time low. According to the latest data, only 2,605 cases were recorded, marking the lowest monthly count for the year. Since the beginning of the year, a total of 64,816 Dengue cases have been reported as of Oct 4th. Colombo district, with 13,620 cases, has seen the highest number of infections. Among the provinces, the Western Province tops the list with 31,281 reported cases. more..

Oct 4 (AD) Sri Lankan athlete Tharushi Karunarathna clinched the Gold medal in the Women’s 800m event at the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou, China, a short while ago. The 19-year-old clocked a time of 2.03.20 minutes to clinch the Gold medal in the women’s 800m event at the 2023 Asian Games. Accordingly, Karunarathna created history for Sri Lanka with the first athletics gold since 2002 for the country. more..

Oct 4 (AD) The dates for the 2023 G.C.E. A/L exams were announced on Wednesday by the Commissioner General of Examinations. Accordingly, the 2023 G.C.E. A/L exam is slated to commence on 4 Jan 2024, and will be held until 31 Jan 2024, as per a media release issued by Exams Chief H. J. M. Amith Jayasundara. Meanwhile, those students who were unable to apply for the 2023 A/L examination before the given deadline due to the delays caused in the previous exam session more..

Oct 4 (EN) Supreme Court had given leave to proceed on a case filed against a pardon given by Prez Maithripala Sirisena to Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero, a controversial monk who was convicted for contempt, lawyers said. The decision of leave to proceed was granted on October 4, 2023 by a three-judge bench. The petitions were filed by the Center for Policy Alternatives and Sandhya Ekneligoda. “We challenged it on the basis that after the judiciary goes into the matter, more..

Oct 4 (PMD) With the aim of ensuring the protection and well-being of children in SL, Committee appointed to Study and Make Recommendations for the Protection of Children has handed over their comprehensive report to Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe. The handover took place at the Prez Secretariat yesterday. This crucial committee was established on April 19, 2023, under the instructions of Prez Wickremesinghe. Its primary mission was to study and provide more..

Oct 4 (AD) Another petition has been filed before the Supreme Court, challenging the new Online Safety Bill. General Secretary of SJB MP Ranjith Madduma Bandara, SJB’s Rehan Jayawickrema and FPC member Prof. G.L. Peiris filed the petition today, naming Attorney General as its respondent. Petitioners point out that the Bill, which was published in the govt gazette on Sept 18 and presented to the parliament yesterday, violates the fundamental rights of the country’s people. more..

Oct 4 (AD) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe has emphasised that all media outlets, including social media, should engage in a discussion regarding whether to enter into international agreements or adhere to the respective country’s legal framework. He made these remarks during his attendance at the ceremony, held at the Prez Secretariat on Tuesday, in honour of the distinguished figure in SL journalism, Edmund Ranasinghe, more..

Oct 4 (TM) The NWSDB consists of an unusually high number of politically appointed employees, causing the Water Supply Ministry’s unskilled workforce to stand close to 70%, Minister of Water Supply Jeevan Thondaman revealed. In response to a question raised by a parliamentarian during the parliamentary session yesterday (3), Thondaman further emphasised that the NWSDB experiences a situation of being short-staffed in many areas while being over-staffed in some. more..

Oct 4 (AD) A metal detector has indicated that the injured elephant Sita of Mahiyangana Perahera had been shot with live bullets. This piece of information came to light following a scan conducted on Tuesday, Prof. Ashoka Dangolla of Peradeniya Univ’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science mentioned. 48-year-old elephant was mistakenly shot by an officer of the Civil Security Dept (CSD) after the Mahiyanganaya Rajamaha Vihara annual Perahera more..

Oct 4 (Reuters) Crisis-hit Sri Lanka will focus on improving tax collection to reduce budget deficits as it streamlines the structure of the tax system, the treasury secretary said on Wednesday, with new legislation planned to improve public finances. The steps follow comments by the IMF, which blamed an expected shortfall in govt revenue generation for its failure to reach a staff-level pact with SL after a $2.9-billion bailout package in late September. more..

Oct 4 (DM) SL added more medals to their Asian Games tally with the Men's and Women's 4x400m relay teams winning Bronze in their respective events. The Men's relay team, of Aruna Dharshana, Pabasara Niku, Rajitha Rajakaruna and Kalinga Kumarage, clocked a new national record time of 3 minutes 02.55 seconds. Earlier, Tharushi Dissanayake Karunaratne, who had earlier bagged SL's first gold of the games in the Women's 800m returned to compete in the 4x400m relay, more..

Oct 4 (EN) SL’s State Enterprise Reform Unit is ready to call expressions of interest from investors for Hilton, Hayatt building and Lanka Hospitals, Director General Suresh Shah said. Requests for expressions of interest will go out shortly, he said. EOIs for other four firms, including SriLankan Airlines would be called in about five weeks, he said. SL expects to complete the first set of transactions by the first quarter of 2024 and the second set by the second quarter, Shah said. more..

Oct 4 (AD) The Ministry of Agriculture has raised concerns of a potential food shortage owing to the sudden and extreme weather conditions experienced in the country since of late. Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera explained that owing to the arid weather conditions faced earlier, nearly 70,000 acres of paddy cultivation, while hundreds of acres of cultivated land which were ready for harvest were also destroyed due to the recent torrential rains. more..

Oct 4 (AD) Litro Gas Lanka on Wednesday announced a price hike in domestic Liquefied Petroleum (LP) gas cylinders. Litro Chairman Muditha Peiris stated that the aforementioned price revision will be in effect from midnight today. The revised prices are as follows: 12.5kg cylinder increased by Rs. 343 (New Price – Rs. 3,470); 05kg cylinder increased by Rs. 137 (New Price – Rs. 1,393) 2.3kg cylinder increased by Rs. 63 (New Price – Rs. 650) more..

Oct 4 (ANI) SL's is facing a big challenge from its largest bilateral lender, China to secure a concrete debt relief framework, as it is blocking access to desperately needed cash bailout of US$ 3 billion from IMF. Last month's visit by IMF officials to the crisis-recovering nation seems like a hope for the country. But IMF which has insisted on financing assurances from bilateral lenders as a key pillar, gave SL a failing grade in first review more..

Oct 4 (Island) European Union (EU) Delegation to SL and the Maldives on Oct 1 launched Let’s Go Green campaign meant to create awareness and advocate responsible green behaviour regarding plastic usage, waste reduction and energy saving among consumers. The campaign will continue till Nov 10 in the run up to the COP28 Summit that begins in Dubai on Nov 30, the EU mission in Colombo announced. The mission stated: “The campaign will include a series of competitions more..

Oct 4 (DN) President of the Sri Lanka Janatha Workers’ Front, Chamira Perera said a secret ploy was being hatched by the govt to exterminate the wild elephant population in the country as a short cut to resolve the human-elephant conflict. He told the media in Hatton that at least four elephants are killed every day and that 38 wild elephants had been killed for the last eleven days. “Killing of wild elephants is going on unchecked and it is well planned by the govt. more..

Oct 4 (CT) Chairman of COPF, Dr. Harsha de Silva, instructed the Auditor General’s Dept to calculate the quantity of wheat flour currently available in Sri Lanka’s warehouses and submit an audit report pertaining to wheat flour within two months. MP was of the view that if there is a pricing formula for wheat flour too, it will leave no room for individual parties to decide on the prices according to their wishes. more..

Oct 4 (CT) SLFP Chairman, former Prez Maithripala Sirisena yesterday asserted that the SLFP has no intention of merging politically with the SLPP and it is not possible at the moment. During a media briefing at SLFP Hq, Sirisena said, “To be honest, the majority of people in the country are against the govt. This is clear from the people’s reactions towards the govt.” He added that the unbearable cost of living has left the people of this country disenchanted with the govt. more..

Oct 4 (FT) Cabinet gave the green light for a 25-year lease of around 219.72 hectares of land to facilitate a 100 MW solar energy project Siyambalanduwa DS of the Monaragala District. The proposal to this effect put forth by Minister Kanchana Wijesekera on the recommendation of the Lands Ministry to lease the land on a long-term lease basis for 25 years to the Sustainable Energy Authority, with relevant provisions to enable sub-leasing to a selected renewable energy developer. more..

Oct 5 (Island) Over the years, I have published articles, originally addressing particular segments of the energy sector, in the hope of some sanity emerging in the sector in the broader interest of the consumers and SL in general. But, of late, I have tried to focus on the entire sector, which is vital to the national interest by the very nature of the SL energy scene and its ramifications that are unfolding. A major flaw in the thinking and actions of the energy authorities is their inability to more..

Oct 5 (ST) So, finally the politicians have woken up to the brain drain issue with a debate on the topic scheduled to be held in Parliament next week. This would be an interesting one since it would point the direction on how the government would be managing the economy in the coming years in the absence of the required number amidst thousands of departing skilled workers. The exact number of the flight of human capital is also expected to emerge at this discussion. more..

Oct 5 (TM) Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is one of the highest-intensity and most dangerous sports in the world, but it is also one of the world’s fastest-growing combat sports. In Sri Lanka, it is yet to become a mainstream sport, but it is slowly making strides amongst men and women both. Divya Fernando, better known as Chaos Pixie in fighting circles, was part of the first-ever women’s MMA bout at the time. more..

Oct 5 (CT) In a scathing indictment of SL’s governance landscape, IMF has handed down a damning verdict. MP Harsha de Silva highlighted the gravity of the situation as he discussed the contents of the IMF’s Governance Diagnostic Assessment report. The verdict is clear: corruption has permeated every level of Got institutions, from top to bottom. Harsha de Silva minced no words as he shared the IMF’s concerns, which include a multitude of pressing issues. more..

Oct 5 (CT) It is common knowledge that SL’s political system is flawed and needs urgent reforms to create a conducive environment for representative democracy to thrive. Corrective action needs to begin with revamping the voting system, which is a key element of representative democracy. People in this country rarely consider the aptness of the candidate whom they cast their vote for, rather they consider whom they have connections with the most or the one who promised a job more..

Oct 5 (TM) Online threats are a global, evolving issue, and countering them is a need of the hour. As has been shown by various countries, this endeavour requires innovative and effective approaches. However, SL’s newest approach to dealing with online threats has come under fire for providing for restrictive, vague, and seemingly ineffective actions against those who commit offences under the proposed Online more..