Feb 13 (FT) At a recent public seminar on the Online Safety Act (OSA), a policy perspective under the title OSA: Why The Rush? was presented by the academics and students of the Bandaranaike Academy for Leadership and Public Policy (BALPP) in tandem with cyber-security experts. The public policy initiative came in the aftermath of the govt’s ostensible rushing through with this controversial piece of legislation, in the teeth of ignored criticism and concerns expressed by stakeholders more..

Feb 13 (EN) Cabinet of ministers has approved a proposal to introduce courses on artificial intelligence (AI) to the school curriculum, with a pilot project with support from Microsoft set to begin from grade 8 upwards. A statement from the Govt Information Dept said that Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe in his capacity of Minister Susil Premajayantha have proposed that the project is carried out in schools where the necessary basic human resources are available. more..

Feb 13 (AD) The Supreme Court today concluded the hearing of an appeal filed challenging the Appeals Court’s dismissal of a petition State Minister Diana Gamage’s parliamentary membership. Appeal was heard before SC’s 3-member bench comprising Justices Gamini Amarasekara, Kumudini Wickramasinghe, and Janak de Silva. Upon concluding the proceedings, the judge bench decided to defer its verdict indefinitely. Social activist Oshala Herath had put forward the appeals more..

Feb 13 (DM) President's Media Division (PMD) confirmed that the Prez Election will be held within the mandated period and will adhere to the current timeline. According to the PMD, the General Election is will be held next year with financial provisions to be provided for in the 2025 budget. Election Commission is responsible for conducting the elections and the Govt will communicate with the Commission as more..

Feb 13 (DM) Ambassador of the European Union to Sri Lanka, Carmen Moreno met NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the JVP Headquaters this afternoon. They discussed matters concernig the economic crisis and the political situation in Sri Lanka, party sources said. Upholding human rights, democracy, the postponement of elections and the recently enacted Onlin Safety Act were also discussed, they said. Attention was also drawn to strengthen relationships between 2 parties. more..

Feb 13 (Island) State Minister of Defence Pramitha Bandara Tennakoon said that a high-powered committee had been appointed to review all existing Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) between his Ministry and foreign and local institutes. Minister Tennakoon said that there was a growing concern about implications of certain MoUs between foreign and local institutions and the Ministry of Defence (MoD). “We have appointed a high-profile committee to conduct a comprehensive review. more..

Feb 13 (TM) Sri Lankan rupee (LKR) might hit 350 levels per US dollar (USD) in the second half (H2) of 2024 due to an increase in spending power owing to low-interest rates and relaxation in taxes and power bills in lieu of elections, Capital Alliance Limited (CAL) Chief Strategist Udeeshan Jonas said. He said that the rupee which has appreciated in the last few weeks due to a drop in imports might see a depreciation going into 2nd half of the year. more..

Feb 13 (DM) Declining wind flow in some parts of the country had resulted in people in Western, and Sabaragamuwa and Southern Provinces feeling the heat more than usual. Deputy Director, Dept of Meteorology Merril Mendis said that the wind flow in the Western Province, Southern and Sabaragamuwa have declined. “Some areas in SL are experiencing a declining wind flow. However, the situation in the North and the East is different as there is a fairly heavy wind flow,” he said. more..

Feb 13 (PMD) State Minister Shanta Bandara, has announced that the Electronic Media Broadcasting Authority Act is anticipated to be introduced to Parliament and enacted soon. Additionally, he noted that a national media policy has been drafted and is currently under consideration by the Cabinet for approval. He made these remarks during his participation in a news conference at the Presidential Media Centre today, under the theme Collective way to a stable country. more..

Feb 13 (AD) Marking a landmark achievement, SL has been declared a UN World Restoration Flagship, in recognition of the island nation’s vital efforts to rebuild and restore its mangrove ecosystems. Through the World Restoration Flagship Award, the UN is honouring the planet’s most ambitious, successful, and inspiring examples of large-scale ecosystem restoration. With only seven years left in the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, seven new winners including SL were announced more..

Feb 13 (DM) The country does not require the services of professionals from these health trade unions, as there is a preference for the private sector to handle these hospital services, Govt Medical Officers' Forum (GMOF) president Dr. Rukshan Bellana said while comenting on the scheduled island-wide strike by health sector trade unions, except doctors. He said that the country's health sector solely requires professionals in the medical, nurses' and necessary administrative staff, more..

Feb 13 (DM) Continuing its months-long streak, the Central Bank purchased another US $ 245.3 million in foreign exchange from the domestic banking system and sold nothing in January, ending as a net purchaser of foreign currency to begin the year. This is a sign of improving foreign currency liquidity in the domestic banking system further into the new year, when the Central Bank ended up purchasing more..

Feb 13 (DM) Indicating that SJB would extend conditional support for the scrapping of the executive presidency, Leader of Opposition Sajith Premadasa said his party would support such an amendment but said it has to be implemented after holding an election. “We believed in executive Presidency initially. However, we have now understood the damage it could cause to the rule of law. Therefore, we have changed our stance on it now,” Mr. Premadasa told SJB Lawyers Association more..

Feb 13 (TM) Lankan Girls’ and Boys’ Water Polo teams ended the BIMSTEC Youth Aquatic Championship 2024 in India by bagging the 13th and 14th overall medals for the island nation as they finished third in their respective play-offs and finished off at third place behind hosts India and Thailand in the final medal tally. All the three (water polo, swimming and diving) events were held at Delhi’s Dr. Syama Mookerjee Swimming Pool Complex. SL’s first and only silver medal more..

Feb 13 (EN) Department of Prisons and the Industrial Development Board have signed a MoU to establish industries in all prisons. “Through this, the incarcerated person as well as the country will get a big advantage. Inmates will be able to earn some money for the govt’s expenses on their behalf during their imprisonment,” Commissioner General of Prisons, Thushara Upuldeniya was quoted in a statement. more..

Feb 13 (DM) Cabinet approval was granted today to implement a housing programme for overseas employees. The programme has been implemented by SL Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) in collaboration with the National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) and licensed banks. A maximum of Rs. 10 million is reportedly to be granted as a loan and a portion of this loan interest to be paid to the SLBFE. The loan amount obtained under the proposed scheme should be paid more..

Feb 13 (NIE) Tamil Nadu govt informed the Madras High Court on Tuesday that the SL govt has issued travel documents for one of the convicts in the former PM Rajiv Gandhi assassination, Santhan alias T Suthenthiraraja, who was released along with others in 2022 following a Supreme Court order. Additional Public Prosecutor R Muniapparaj made the submission before a division bench of Justices R Suresh Kumar and K Kumaresh Babu during a petition filed by Santhan seeking orders to more..

Feb 13 (AD) Panadura High Court sentenced a person, who pleaded guilty over the murder of a 9-year-old girl in May 2022 in the Atulugama area of Panadura, to 27 years of rigorous imprisonment. Panadura High Court Judge Saman Kumara, who issued this sentence over the charges of committing involuntary manslaughter, abducting and attempting to sexually abuse the 09-year-old girl, also ordered the convict to pay Rs.3 million in compensation to the mother of the deceased girl, more..

Feb 13 (AD) A special gazette notification has been published declaring the provision of healthcare as an essential public service. Presidential Secretary Saman Ekanayake issued the communiqué on Tuesday (13), on the directives of Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe. The communiqué was published in accordance with the powers vested in the Prez under Section 2 of the Essential Public Services Act No. 61 of 1979. It reads that “all service, work or labour, of any description whatsoever, more..

Feb 13 (EN) Foreign Employment Bureau and National Housing Development Authority will collaborate with licensed banks in the country to provide a housing loan programme for migrant workers, which is payable in foreign currency. “Our migrant workers, who go abroad with a housing dream, can obtain up to 10 million rupees as a loan for housing purposes, and a portion of this loan will be borne by the Foreign Employment more..

Feb 13 (TM) Attributing Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe’s call for opposition political parties to support the Govt’s programme to an opportunistic and dishonest invitation, Opposition MP, Prof. G.L. Peiris said that they would never be a part of a programme under this Prez or this Govt. He said that while the Prez is always inviting the opposition to support the Govt’s programme, there is however a doubt regarding motive behind it. “Prez’s theme is let’s get together as there’s no need for. more..

Feb 13 (EN) The prices of land in SL will come down significantly due to govt programmes such as gifting deeds and long-term leasing of lands to investors, Minister Bandula Gunawardena has said. “The gifting of deeds and the long-term lease of State lands will lead to the price of real estate dropping in the future,” Gunawardena said in response to a question by a journalist Tuesday (10). “When State lands are released to investors they don’t have to buy land from the real estate market, more..

Feb 13 (DM) Court of Appeal today issued notices on the Minister of Environment, Central Environmental Authority and several others in connection with the writ petition filed challenging the construction of reservoirs and roads and clearing of state forest lands in the Sinharaja Forest Reserve in 2020. Meanwhile, the Court rejected the preliminary objections raised by the respondents and decided to fix the matter for hearing. more..

Feb 13 (AD) The CEB, giving an undertaking before the Supreme Court today, said it is ready to pay an interest for the year 2023 for the security deposits it collects from the consumers when providing a new service connection. This was communicated when a fundamental rights (FR) petition filed by the Electricity and Renewable Energy Consumers’ Association was called before a 3-member bench of the SC. Justices S. Thurairajah, Gamini Amarasekara and Yasantha Kodagoda sat more..

Feb 13 (EN) Cabinet has approved a proposal to formulate a draft amendment bill to incorporate revisions to the controversial Online Safety Act. A statement from the Govt Information Department said that the proposed draft bill will based on revisions recognised through further discussions with eminencies in the field who had forwarded with proposals for relevant amendments (sic). The statement said the provisions of the online security act are being implemented at present. more..

Feb 14 (DM) On 10 Feb, this newspaper drew attention to a not so new law – the NGOs (Registration and Supervision) Bill, which the govt claims is now ready. The Bill itself has been in the making for a long period, dating back to the era when our present Prez was PM of the country in 2017. The aim of the bill as its name suggests is to register and supervise the activities of the NGOs in SL. Many Lankan leaders have attempted to use NGOs to promote their particular agendas. more..

Feb 14 (CT) In a country where beauty standards are often dictated by unrealistic ideals perpetuated by the media, it’s no surprise that many individuals, particularly women and girls, feel pressured to conform to these standards. One such pressure revolves around skin colour, where fair complexion is often glorified while darker skin tones are marginalised. This societal obsession with lighter skin has not only fuelled insecurities but has also become a lucrative opportunity for scammers more..

Feb 14 (CT) Former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella was arrested on 2 Feb, for his involvement in procuring unregistered medicines, including the Immunoglobulin IV 5g drug, from India. Subsequently, he was remanded following widespread public outcry and activism marking it a historic moment, since it’s the first time a sitting Cabinet Minister has been arrested in SL. Despite numerous allegations against other more..

Feb 14 (GV) Although now contested, news of the first arrest under the Online Safety Act (OSA) renders more urgent, and underscores points made last week at a public lecture organised by the Bandaranaike Academy for Leadership and Public Policy (BALPP) on a panel chaired by Prof Arjuna Parakrama, and also featured Prof Savithri Goonesekara. Following up my September 2023 article on Groundviews, this article captures key aspects of my BALPP lecture and more..

Feb 14 (DM) On the eve of JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s much-talked-about visit to India, let’s take a journey into counterfactual history! Imagine the late JVP leader, Rohana Wijeweera travelling to New Delhi in 1987, or more plausibly, an industrious J.R. Jayawardene coaxing his Indian counterpart to invite Wijeweera (Granted, that is a tall order, considering that in the JVP’s assessment, payoffs of perpetuating violent opposition to the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord, favoured it over more..

Feb 14 (DM) Prez and General elections are two much anticipated events in SL’s political calendar this year. Lack of funds to conduct an election has been one of the key factors that supposedly delayed the local govt elections for four consecutive years. While it seems like Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe had already begun his campaign, defections among key figures in major political parties indicate that an election is likely in the offing. more..

Feb 14 (Island) A collective 72 trade unions representing the non-physician health workers in the state sector has resumed its strike much to the inconvenience of the ordinary public, who cannot pay for treatment at private hospitals. The strikers have told the media that the Finance Ministry officials who met them for talks on their demand that they also be paid the DAT (Disturbance, Availability and Transport) allowance did not evince a keen interest in redressing their grievance. more..

Feb 14 (TM) The continued fall out from SL’s disastrous medicine and pharmaceutical procurement and regulatory failures from the last two years continues as the Health Ministry commenced an investigation into the alleged haphazard storage of medicine consignments at the SL Customs terminals in Wattala and Kelaniya. A Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Health acknowledged that glass particles had also been found inside the vials of the antibiotic named Meropenem stored more..

Feb 14 (FT) In a landmark collaboration, the Chamber of Young Lankan Entrepreneurs (COYLE), the Harvard Club of Sri Lanka and Sampath Bank are poised to elevate corporate leadership in Sri Lanka with an exclusive 3-day Business Excellence Masterclass featuring Harvard Professor Boris Groysberg, a luminary in organisational leadership. This program will be conducted in the style of an authentic Harvard lecture, providing a unique opportunity for participants. more..

Feb 14 (FT) High Commission of SL in London in collaboration with the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC) organised SL Business Drive 2024, an interactive roundtable discussion on investments at the High Commission on 2 Feb. Event was presided over by High Commissioner of SL to the UK Rohitha Bogollagama. The main drive of this event was to foster collaboration, dialogue, and knowledge-sharing on investment opportunities between SL and UK business community. more..