Feb 2 (CT) A colossal sum of Rs 2.4 billion has reportedly gone missing from the Rs 6.65 billion allocated by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) over the last six years, for the Wewgam Pubuduwa project, a senior official from Ministry of Irrigation revealed. Wewgam Pubuduwa project is also known as Climate Resilient Integrated Water Management Project (CRIWMP). Project is jointly implemented by UNDP, Ministry of Irrigation, more..

Feb 2 (CT) The Colombo High Court granted permission to Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) Leader, MP Udaya Gammanpila to travel to China to pursue his PhD. Judge Amal Ranaraja, yesterday (31), deferred further hearing of testimony, in the misappropriation of funds case, filed against former Minister Gammanpila, to 5 March. When the case was taken up, Judge Ranaraja lifted the overseas travel ban, imposed on the MP, following submissions made by Defence Counsel more..

Feb 2 (DN) The delegation headed by Ms. Shannon Green, Assistant to the Administrator of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Governance of the USAID visited the Parliament of Sri Lanka recently (23). The delegation held discussions with Hon. Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana, Speaker, Secretary General of Parliament Mrs. Kushani Rohanadeera, Chief of Staff and Deputy General Secretary of Parliament Mr. Chaminda Kularatne and Assistant Secretary General Mr. Hansa Abeyratne. more..

Feb 2 (CT) The Colombo Plan, launched in 1951, as a cooperative venture for the economic and social advancement of the people of South and Southeast Asia, has joined hands with the US Embassy to initiate a three-year programme to enhance the technical expertise of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) staff and advance smart port operations at the Port of Colombo. Colombo Plan and SLPA signed a letter of intent at the launch and a MoU on 31 Jan and it will be extended in detail more..

Feb 2 (TM) State Minister Geetha Kumarasinghe stated that 1,502 child rapes and 167 child pregnancies were reported across the island during the course of last year, but that with the ongoing operation Yukthiya, some reduction in crimes against women and children was being observed. She said that there had been a total of 1,502 cases of child rape in 2023, including 235 in North Western Province, 230 in Western Province, 216 in Southern Province, 176 in North Central Province, more..

Feb 2 (AD) STF has arrested the wife of a retired naval person and his father on suspicion of being complicit in the Beliatta mass shooting that claimed the lives of five people. The retired naval person in question was reportedly the leading gunman in this mass murder. Thus far, 11 suspects in total have been arrested over the shooting which took place on Jan 23 near the Beliatta interchange of the Southern Expressway. more..

Feb 2 (AD) Online Safety Act has been published in the government gazette, bringing it into effect as the Online Safety Act, No. 9 of 2024. Accordingly, the Act will provide for the establishment of the Online Safety Commission, safety from prohibited statements made online and prevention of the use of online accounts and inauthentic online accounts for prohibited purposes. It is also expected to make provisions to identify and declare online locations used for prohibited purposes in SL and more..

Feb 2 (DM) A quick-fire 57-ball knock of 66 inclusive of eight boundaries by Nethmi Senaratne and a fine all-round performance by Dewmi Wijeratne helped Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh by 36 runs in the Women’s Under-19 Tri-Nation Twenty20 final played at the Sheikh Kamal Cricket Stadium in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. It was sweet revenge for the champion Sri Lanka team as they came into the final having suffered two defeats against the home side during the league segment. more..

Feb 2 (AD) Former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella has been arrested in connection with his alleged complicity in the procurement of substandard medicines. The lawmaker arrived at the CID premises this morning, complying with a court order issued yesterday. The former health minister was supposed to make an appearance before the CID on Wednesday (31), but he failed to do so on account of attending proceedings more..

Feb 2 (DM) Litro Gas announced today that they have decided not to revise their current domestic LP gas prices, despite the increase in international market prices. Litro Chairman and CEO Muditha Peiris said that the decision was made after considering the financial hardships experienced by the public. As a result, there will be no revision in LP gas prices for this month, and this decision was made in light of the financial challenges being experienced by consumers. more..

Feb 2 (DM) Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) has taken steps to issue an extraordinary gazette notification, making it mandatory for sellers to display the proper weight and price for bread, which is a bakery-related product. The gazette was issued according to its chairman, Shantha Niriella and the announcement is for the safety of the consumers. According to the gazette, it has been made mandatory for those engaged in the preparation, packaging, storage and wholesale as well as more..

Feb 3 (DM) Electioneering is in the air. The usual rounds of protests are commencing. The NPP/JVP combine commenced their programme to educate the electorate of issues at hand some time ago. On Tuesday, the main opposition party (SJB) held what it expected to be a massive demonstration against the Online Safety Bill (OSB), the imposition of taxes, various price hikes and a skyrocketing cost of living. The party expected to bring into Colombo 50,000 protestors. more..

Feb 3 (DM) How did you feel when the news about the tragic death of State Minister Sanath Nishantha first reached you? Did it make you feel sorrow or happy? Indeed, we all might have felt either one of the two, though sometimes we might have regretted rejoicing over the tragedy later. There is a debate now going on in social media over celebrating deaths, after the same social media circulated a lot of cheery posts on the death of Sanath Nishantha. The general perception is that rejoicing more..

Feb 3 (TM) The mainstream media has recently been flooded with stories of mysterious and horrific crimes. A shocking incident occurred near the Beliatta Interchange of the Southern Expressway on Monday (22), where five persons were killed on the spot in broad daylight. Another unsettling event unfolded on Tuesday (23) when a Buddhist monk was shot dead inside a temple in Malwathuhiripitiya, Gampaha. more..

Feb 3 (ST) It was a busy week for the students of the Dept of Economics, Uni of Colombo. They were preparing for months to welcome their counterparts from some other universities in South Asian countries – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Pakistan. They all, including the SL Economics students – about 250 in number, participated in the 19th South Asian Economics Students’ Meet (SAESM 2024) in Colombo. The event was hosted by the Uni of Colombo in partnership with more..

Feb 3 (CT) The debt – strapped SL Govt is planning to reach MoUs with its bilateral creditors by the end of February, as Finance Today reported yesterday. This is considered a crucial second step in SL’s efforts to ease its unsustainable debt, which currently stands at 128% of GDP. Following the guidelines set by the IMF's debt sustainability analysts (DSA), SL is committed to progressively lowering its Debt – to – GDP ratio to a relatively more sustainable level of 95% by 2032 more..

Feb 3 (TM) Having a house and a vehicle of one’s own is a common dream. However, there is no optimal situation or sufficient support for the people of SL to fulfil these basic necessities. Sanken Construction Managing Director Ranjith Gunatilleke said that owning a house was extremely difficult, as it depended on a person’s financial background and the type of accommodation they were searching for. more..

Feb 3 (TM) If SL’s efforts to position itself to thrive in the Asian Century are to succeed, it will require significant introspective analysis of how we work as a country. There is much talk about the agreed terms of the IMF and the necessary structural changes and reforms, which SL must enact if we are to pull ourselves out of the economic crisis we have dug ourselves into. However, given the slow pace of state sector reforms, thinking of a bygone era, and the dense jungle bureaucracy which more..

Feb 3 (CT) At a time when the country is getting ready to face a Presidential and or General Election, an opportunity for voters to choose between retaining the old ethnonationalist socio-political system, which had for decades allowed misgovernance without accountability and brought the economy to the point of bankruptcy, and getting rid of that system in favour of a secular and pluralist democratic polity with accountability as the pillar of governance, more..

Feb 3 (Island) SL is experiencing various shortages, but gazette notifications are never in short supply. The only thing the Gotabaya Rajapaksa govt did efficiently was to issue gazettes, but most of which were withdrawn immediately after their issuance. Naturally, Sri Lankans do not take gazettes seriously, especially when they make announcements beneficial to the public. CAA has issued a Gazette Extraordinary specifying the weight of a loaf of bread or paan. This is something long overdue. more..

Feb 3 (ST) Galle Municipal Commissioner R.S.D. Rashnayake has been directed to immediately re-open 12 maternity clinics by withdrawing an ongoing court case. The directive was given at the District Development Committee meeting held at the Galle Four Gravets Divisional Secretariat office by MP Vajira Abeywardena. Mr. Abeywardena had asked the reason for the closure of 12 maternity clinics built in Galle in 2019 at a cost of Rs. 38 million. Commissioner Ms Rashnayake responded more..

Feb 3 (CT) Ten senior Attorneys-at-Law took their oaths as President’s Counsel (PC) at a ceremonial sitting of the Supreme Court. Accordingly, Chamantha Weerakoon, Dr. Asanga Gunawansa, Mohamed Adamaly, Harsha Fernando, Dr. Sivaji Felix, Faisza Markar, Kaushalya Nawaratne, Upul Kumarapperuma, Viran Corea and Eraj de Silva took their oaths before CJ Jayantha Jayasuriya and the judges of Apex Court, Colombo High Courts, more..

Feb 3 (FT) SL was declared bankrupt last year, 75 years after independence. SL owes more than it’s worth (or GDP) and its debt to GDP ratio is 120%. Its foreign debt is some $ 55 billion. It has hardly any foreign reserves that the country could call its own as borrowings are also included as foreign reserves. The country has been bailed out on several occasions by India, and China has loaned some $ 7 billion for infrastructure projects. It has an airline that has been accumulating huge debts, more..

Feb 3 (ANI) Bangladesh will host Sri Lanka for the three-match white ball series and two World Test Championship (WTC) matches in Sylhet and Chattogram in March later this year. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Friday announced SL's tour of Bangladesh. This will mark the first time Bangladesh won't play at Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka in a Test series since they played their first match. During the two-match series, Shere Bangla National Stadium will play host to more..

Feb 3 (Nikkei) Indonesia and SL's foreign ministers called on the European Union to be consistent in its approach to the conflict in Gaza as it has with Ukraine, as ministers from Europe, the Indo-Pacific and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations gathered for meetings in Brussels on Friday. "ASEAN and the EU should be at the front line in respecting values and principles of int'l law, the respect should also be applied to Palestine, to Gaza," Indonesian Foreign Minister more..

Feb 3 (DM) A unique tool developed to improve the inclusive workplace culture in the corporate sector was presented by three senior university academics in the country this week, at Monarch Imperial. Themed as Ignite – Inclusion – Initiative, a concept to educate corporate leaders on how to rethink and revisit practices of inclusion, to create more inclusive organisations through tailor-made training programmes, was launched by Catalyst SL. A group of academics from different fields of more..

Feb 3 (ST) As SL’s population ages and the economic crisis drives young people abroad, the elderly are increasingly left without traditional family support networks. While charitable elders’ homes are underfunded, a Sunday Times investigation reveals that the private retirement home industry is barely regulated, leaving seniors worried about how they will spend the last stages of their lives. When Dinushi Abeyratne (name changed) more..

Feb 3 (Island) Heartrending news came over MTV One channel on its 9.00 pm news on Monday January 29th. A SL woman trapped in some remote place in Myanmar and forced to do cyber work, haltingly detailed what she and others were suffering. They had to work 18 hours the week through; were ill fed and badly housed, lacked proper sanitary facilities; were tortured at the slightest sign of slacking due to fatigue; and made to stand long hours and work if caught nodding more..

Feb 3 (DM) The import cover of the official reserves of the country surpassed the benchmark level of three months for the first time in nearly two years, as the reserves improved while the imports weakened, as a result of the demand destruction policies instituted by the officials since 2022. SL managed to rebuild its gross official reserves by about US $ 2.5 billion in 2023, to end the year with a reserve buffer of US $ 4.4 billion, a significant feat in a fairly short period of time since more..

Feb 3 (ST) It’s a century – not wielding the willow on the cricket pitch but the scalpel at the seventh-floor Operating Theatre (OT) of the premier Lady Ridgeway Hospital (LRH), for scoliosis correction. Down below in Ward 14B Jeluni Samoshi (14) and her mother Ayomi Devika are all smiles as they prepare to go back home to Veediyawatte in Udugampola. Jeluni was the flag-bearer of 100th paediatric scoliosis operation more..

Feb 3 (Island) West Indies’ loss was South Africa’s gain as they beat SL by 119 runs in Potchefstroom to seal their semi-final berth alongside Australia from Group 2. Having been put in, SA started strongly, and were cruising at 103 for 1 before they collapsed to lose five wickets for 30 runs. Opener Lhuan-dre Prestorius top-scored with 71. SA looked like ending up with far less than the 232 for 8 they eventually managed but were given a late lift b Riley Norton who made an unbeaten 41. more..

Feb 3 (PMD) In a ceremony held at the Presidential Secretariat today (02), Lt General Vikum Liyanage, the Commander of the Army, received commendation for his ground-breaking static parachute jump. The event, officiated by Mr. Sagala Ratnayake, Senior Adviser to the President on National Security, along with Mr. E. M. S. B. Ekanayake, Secretary to the President, celebrated Lieutenant General Vikum Liyanage as a dedicated and highly trained military leader. more..

Feb 3 (AD)The Defence Ministry has issued a special notice on payment of salaries and allowances to the dependents of tri-forces personnel who were forced to retire from service on medical grounds after being disabled in the civil war prior to 19 May 2009 and died before reaching 55 years of age. Accordingly, full salaries and allowances of such tri-forces personnel will be paid to their dependents until the date of completing 55 years of age of the deceased. more..

Feb 3 (FT) Colombo stock market yesterday sustained its new-found optimism ending the week on the up. During the week the ASPI and the S&P SL20 gained 0.9% and 0.5% respectively. Daily turnover average was Rs. 979 million. Last week both indices lost nearly 1% and turnover averaged Rs. 765 million. On Friday, the ASPI gained by 0.5% and the S&P SL20 by 0.3%. Turnover was Rs. 1.4 billion involving 46 million shares. Asia Securities said market continued its recovery more..

Feb 3 (Island) Leader of EJP Champika Ranawaka, MP, has warned the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa govt of catastrophic consequences if police are unleashed on protesting political parties. Ranawaka emphasised the responsibility on the part of UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, in addition to being the Defence Minister, to ensure a peaceful environment in the run-up more..