Oct 16 (Island) NPP govt has made a mockery of its much-advertised commitment to upholding transparency by keeping two probe committee reports on the Easter Sunday terror attacks under wraps. While the JVP/NPP leaders were in the Opposition, they were among those who demanded that the findings of prez commissions and committees that investigated the Easter Sunday carnage be made public and legal action taken expeditiously based on them in a transparent manner. more..

Oct 16 (DM) We live in exciting times. Never before has SL been in this political position. A brand new President is offering a badly needed system change and one must hope voters seize this opportunity seriously without listening to the trumpeted side tracks of old politicians who really should know better. There is mounting apprehension in the minds of our past corrupted parliamentarians (some who intend seeking re-election) that their days of supremacy have ended. more..

Oct 16 (CI) Sri Lanka's spinners ripped through the West Indies batters on a turning Dambulla surface to level the series at one apiece, as they won the second ODI by 73 runs. Debutant Dunith Wellalage - belatedly making his T20I bow - was the pick of the bowlers, ending with figures of 3 for 9, while Maheesh Theekshana, Wanindu Hasaranga and Charith Asalanka grabbed two each. more..

Oct 16 (ST) In a defining moment for SL badminton, 17-year-old Ranithma Liyanage marked her name in the sport’s history by reaching the Round of 16 in the U-19 Women’s Singles category at the BWF World Junior Badminton Championship, at the Nanchang International Sports Centre in Jiangxi, China. This accomplishment marks a significant milestone, as it is the first time a SL shuttler has advanced this far in the tournament. Liyanage’s journey commenced with a challenging match against more..

Oct 16 (Island) Long standing member of the Illankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK), Markandu Nadarajah on Monday moved the Jaffna High Court against the ITAK. Citing former MP Mavai Senadhiraja, Dr. P. Sathyalingam and S. Kulanayagam as respondents, Nadarajah has requested the HC to prevent the violation of the party constitution. He has called for punitive action against the respondents for violating the ITAK constitution. The ITAK is the main party in the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). more..

Oct 16 (FT) Chamber of Young Lankan Entrepreneurs (COYLE) recently led a high-profile trade delegation to Korea, marking a significant milestone for the SL business industry. This visit, commemorating the chamber’s 25th anniversary, aims to strengthen economic ties and open up new business avenues between SL and South Korea. Spearheaded by COYLE Chairman Thushira Raddella and the Foreign Delegations and Overseas Business Promotion Subcommittee Chairman more..

Oct 16 (FT) Cinnamon Life, the latest lifestyle project by John Keells, officially opened yesterday in Colombo, designed by world-renowned architect Cecil Balmond. The five million square foot integrated resort, designed by Balmond’s London-based studio, is set to position Colombo as a key hub on the global stage. Balmond Studio was responsible for architecture, engineering, project management and interior design of public spaces, including bespoke lighting installations. more..

Oct 16 (FT) In a critical response to the Hamilton Reserve Bank’s (HRB) legal opposition, SL has reaffirmed its commitment to progressing with its debt restructuring efforts. The letter, submitted by Clifford Chance US LLP on behalf of Sri Lanka, responds to and refutes the claims raised by HRB in its 1 Oct 2024 correspondence to the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The HRB, a creditor pursuing claims after more..

Oct 16 (ST) An estimated 40 percent of some seven thousand Sri Lankans working and living in Lebanon lack proper documentation like passports and visas, posing registration issues for the SLBFE if the need for evacuation arises. Explaining the situation, Lalani, a SL in Beirut, said, “The embassy gives a temporary book, a kind of one-way passport, to help those who don’t have documents to return. But many people struggle to get those as they have no way of proving their citizenship.” more..

Oct 16 (DN) We are aiming to defend Asia Cup title at the 13th Asia Cup Netball Championship, from Oct 18 to 27 in Bangalore, India said National Netball coach P.D.N Prasadi in an interview with the Daily News before the team departure yesterday. Our first target is to enter the final and defend the title and all players having good mentally and physical fitness to play in this Asia Cup added coach Prasadi who is doing National coach role for first time for this Asia Cup. more..

Oct 16 (FT) Minister Vijitha Herath confirmed the Govt’s stance in favour of vehicle importation but stressed that it would not jeopardise the country’s foreign reserves or trigger another financial crisis. “There is a significant demand for vehicles, and we acknowledge that. However, any import process will be considered only under a controlled and well-regulated procedure to avoid further pressure on foreign reserves,” he said more..

Oct 16 (FT) DIG Nihal Thalduwa yesterday revealed that Sri Lanka has emerged as a new target for international criminal networks operating large-scale scam camps. This alarming trend he said surfaced this year, following a series of high-profile raids, exposing the growing presence of these criminal operations. Thalduwa warned that these scams could pose a serious threat to the country’s banking system, whilst assuring swift investigations into the cases found. more..

Oct 16 (FT) Cabinet of Ministers at their meeting on Monday, approved to procure the Commonwealth Meridian Software, provided by the Commonwealth Secretariat. The move comes as part of the country’s efforts to establish a robust Public Debt Management Office (PDMO) under the newly enacted Public Debt Management Act No. 33 of 2024. The decision to acquire Commonwealth Meridian follows the Commonwealth Secretariat’s discontinuation of updates and licensing for more..

Oct 16 (DN) Hambantota Regional Junior Open Golf Championship will tee off at the Shangri-La Hambantota golf course this Friday, with the practice round beginning on Thursday. The tournament marks a return to Hambantota after a five-year break, and will run until October 20. This three-day junior event features top SL golfers, including leading WAGR rankers Kaya Daluwatte, who is based in India, and Reshan Algama, fresh from his appearance at the Asia Pacific Amateur more..

Oct 16 (FT) South Asian pop sensation, Yohani yesterday announced that her debut album Kella consisting 14 tracks composed entirely by herself has been accepted for consideration in the Best Global Music Album Category at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards. “This one is for Sri Lanka, for our stories, our sounds, and for everyone who believed in the dream of taking Sri Lankan music from home to the world,” Yohani de Silva shared via a post on her Instagram yesterday. more..

Oct 16 (DM) Amidst the mounting cases of online scams in SL, Police warned that online scammers hacked only personal accounts and that no incidents of hacking accounts of banking systems or financial institutions had been reported in SL or anywhere in the world. DIG Nihal Thalduwa said several incidents of hacking personal accounts of people had been reported where millions of rupees had been defrauded by scammers. more..

Oct 16 (ST) While SL’s gem and jewellery industry has enormous potential to become a significant foreign exchange earner for the country and a generator of employment across the island, urgent policy reforms are required to reverse the changes that have hindered growth, weakened global competitiveness, and led businesses to consider moving operations abroad. Newly elected President of SL Gem and Jewellery Association (SLGJA), Akram Cassim made these remarks during more..

Oct 16 (DM) Indian govt’s ability to promote investments in SL among Indian investors depends on the creation of a welcoming and conducive ecosystem, along with legal and regulatory stability, according to Indian High Commissioner, Santosh Jha. Fair treatment of investors is also crucial to attracting Indian investments into the country, he said. Delivering the keynote address at 45th National Conference of Chartered Accountants in SL, Jha emphasised the importance of a welcoming more..

Oct 16 (TM) Police will investigate claims of harassment of female lawyers while visiting clients in Police stations. “We are going to carry out investigations into the alleged harassment of female lawyers in Police stations,” Police Media Spokesperson, DIG of Police Nihal Thalduwa, said yesterday in response to queries raised by the media on female lawyers being harassed. “Lawyers have the right to represent their clients and if this is occurring, we will take action.” more..

Oct 16 (TM) Prez candidates Ven. Battaramulle Seelarathana Thera and Sarath Keerthirathna attributed the delay in submitting their campaign expenditure reports to the Election Commission (EC) to the time required for postal delivery. EC stated on Monday (14) that three Presidential candidates – Seelarathana Thera, Keethirathna and Pakkiyaselvam Ariyanethiran – have failed to make the relevant submissions within the specified period which ended at 12 midnight on 13 Oct. more..

Oct 16 (LM) Discussions are in the final stages for a $5 billion road-and-rail link between India and SL with India set to bear the cost of the stra­tegic project, said the island-nation’s environment secretary Prabath Chandrakeerthi. This is the first big bilat­eral infra­struc­ture project announced by the island nation since the recent election of Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake amid efforts by New Delhi to counter Chinese influence. more..

Oct 16 (TM) The non-radical approach by Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake is pushing up the rupee due to improving investor sentiment, Bloomberg said. Accordingly, the rupee which was volatile and fell in the run-up to the Prez Election, has been appreciating since then. “Our foreign exchange decomposition model suggests improving investor sentiment is pushing up the currency, the main reason - new prez’s recent steps suggest that he’s not as radical as the market was thinking” more..

Oct 16 (DM) CEB has decided to strike a fuel supply deal with the CPC to receive fuel for power generation in the future instead of the plan initiated by the previous govt to do so through an open bidding process, an official said. The last govt, towards the tail end of its term, has taken a decision to call for bids from different fuel suppliers such as the Corporation, LIOC and Sinopec for fuel supply. However, there is a change of govt by the time the documentation process of that decision more..

Oct 16 (Island) If Udaya Gammanpila had access to documents on the Easter Sunday attacks that the current administration does not have, he should hand them over to the govt without asking the govt to release them, Minister Vijitha Herath said. He said Gammanpila had been a Cabinet Minister of the govt of Gotabaya Rajapaksa and that he should have pressed the former Prez to release documents pertaining to PCoI on Easter Sunday attacks. more..

Oct 16 (FT) Nominations for the 2024 Nov 14 parliamentary elections were closed island wide, on 11 October. Altogether, around 690 nomination papers have been accepted for the 52 electoral districts. Phenomenal rise to power of the JVP/NPP at the September Prez elections has sealed the fate of over two dozen politicians, some of whom would not have wanted to leave politics yet. Not very surprisingly, since the 1936 State Council elections when D.M won the Hambantota seat, more..

Oct 16 (FT) Several years ago, I was at what was perhaps the inaugural meeting that launched the rankings of MPs by Manthri.lk. I recall a panel comprising the parliamentarians who had the highest rankings. A leading question from the moderator about research support confused a young MP on the panel. He had achieved his high rank by asking lots of parliamentary questions about the various problems faced by his constituents. He could not understand what research support had to do more..

Oct 16 (AD) Police is seeking public assistance to identify two deceased individuals related to two separate incidents in Homagama and Kegalle areas. With regard to the first case, Homagama Police had received a complaint on Oct 1 regarding the discovery of an unidentified body. The facts related to the deceased was reported to the Homagama Magistrate’s Court, and a magisterial inquiry was conducted. The body was then placed in the Homagama Hospital mortuary for more..

Oct 16 (DM) As torrential rains result in flooding across SL, health experts are raising alarm over a spike in waterborne diseases, which spread through contaminated water. When contacted by the Daily Mirror, Senior Consultant Physician Dr. Ananda Wijewickrama said the waterborne diseases like dengue, leptospirosis, hepatitis A, typhoid, and diarrheal diseases could spread in the aftermath of flood situation. "The onset of the rainy season dramatically increases the risk of several more..

Oct 16 (DM) Time and time again, there comes a murmur of yet another mass grave having been discovered in SL. These chance discoveries occur most often during construction of buildings or when laying underground pipelines for water supply. The skeletal remains get exhumed, are used in several court proceedings and thereafter the murmur becomes a whisper which eventually gets buried in barrage of other news that takes precedence. more..

Oct 16 (DM) Samagi Jana Sandanaya (SJS) today questioned as to whether Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Minister of Foreign Affairs Vijitha Herath have decided not to participate in the Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) summit 2024 due to pressure by any foreign force. The question was raised by SJS candidate for the General Elections and former MP Eran Wickramaratne at a media briefing. "We are happy to note that SL has applied for BRICS more..

Oct 16 (SNA) The new Attorney General of Seychelles, Vincent Perera, was sworn in on Wednesday at State House. Perera said, "Together with my team, I will pledge that I will be contributing to the best of my abilities to see that the rule of law in this beautiful country is upheld." He revealed that "there are changes in the system we operate that I intend to bring through my experience of working in other jurisdictions, so I have to beef up the prosecutors with the necessary skills." more..

Oct 16 (PMD) Pensioners receiving their pensions through post offices and sub offices will be able to access their funds from 18th. Dept of Pensions is set to distribute a monthly interim allowance of Rs. 3,000 to all pensioners starting today. Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who looked into the delays in disbursing the proposed monthly interim allowance of Rs. 3,000 for pensioners, has recently directed that the necessary funds more..

Oct 16 (DM) A Provincial Revenue Dept Deputy Commissioner in the Eastern Province was arrested on bribery charges after accepting a bribe of Rs. 200,000. Bribery Commission said the arrest was made at the Batticaloa office, following a complaint by a resident. The complainant had purchased a 65-perch land in Batticaloa for Rs. 10 million, having already paid Rs. 600,000 in stamp duty. However, after the land's value was re-evaluated by the Provincial Revenue Dept at Rs. 26.5 million, more..

Oct 16 (AD) The Court of Appeal has issued an interim injunction preventing the execution of an arrest warrant issued against the Chairman of the Selection Committee at Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), former SL cricketer Upul Tharanga. A two-member Appeals Court judge bench issued the injunction today, after considering a writ petition filed by Upul Tharanga. On Oct 8, the Matale High Court issued an arrest warrant against the Chairman of the Selection Committee at SLC, more..

Oct 16 (NW) The driver of a Choon Paan, a three-wheeler selling bakery items, has been arrested for chain snatching in Dehiwala on October 11. CCTV has emerged showing the suspect parking the three-wheeler in a by-lane and approaching an elderly woman from behind, after which he is seen snatching the chain and fleeing using the vehicle. Police investigations have found that a gold chain valued at Rs. 200,000 had been snatched from a 60-year-old woman. more..