Nov 4 (DN) Reports circulating that the officers and soldiers of the Army and the Civil Defence Force, who were deployed for the security of places of worship have been removed from those activities are completely false, the Defence Ministry said. Colonel Nalin Herath said that it has been reported that such stories are circulating especially on social media. Major General Rasika Kumara said that currently 1,584 Army officers and soldiers have been deployed for security and construction work more..

Nov 4 (DM) Former Presidents used to enjoy unlimited perks and privileges where they used to get organic vegetables that were grown in Nuwara Eliya every week for their consumption, Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake revealed. Prez said he instructed the officials at the Presidential Secretariat to use the vegetables received from Nuwara Eliya to prepare food for security officials. "I learnt that organic vegetables had been grown in the land belonging to Prez's House in Nuwara Eliya more..

Nov 4 (DM) Responding to former Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe's claim that the country will crash like the Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) bus, if experienced persons are not elected to Parliament, the NPP said people will no longer elect those so called experienced persons to power as they are the ones who bankrupted and collapsed the country for 76 years. NPP member Samantha Vidyaratne said the people will vote only for the NPP to form a people-friendly govt. more..

Nov 4 (DM) The country will crash like the Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) bus which toppled along the Dunhinda-Badulla Road if you don’t elect experienced persons to Parliament, former Prez Ranil Wickremeisinghe said. Wickremesinghe, who was responding in lighter vein to a question during a forum held at the Arcade Independence Square, said the country will crash like the bus which toppled along the Dunhinda-Badulla Road if the people fail to elect more..

Nov 4 (ST) Sri Lanka will honour its commitments under the Paris Agreement—to generate 70% of electricity from renewable energy sources by 2030 and achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050—but will change the process by which this is fulfilled based on what is affordable to the public, Ministry Secretary Udayanga Hemapala said. “Yes, we have to achieve the targets, but number one is social sustainability,” more..

Nov 4 (TM) Farmers’ groups expressed doubts and questioned the practicality of the authorities’ plans to purchase paddy in order to control rice prices. Recently, it was reported that the authorities have decided to maintain their own stocks of paddy to deal with rice price fluctuations and rice shortages for which large-scale rice mill owners are blamed. It was reported that the plan involves purchasing around 300,000 metric tonnes of paddy. Noting that even former govts have come up with more..

Nov 4 (CT) On 29th Oct 2024, Director-General (Legal) at the Presidential Secretariat, Attorney at Law J.M. Wijebandara, representing the Govt stated that the issue was not the PTA’s existence as our law, but rather its misuse to detain civil activists, journalists, and others. He stated that the Govt would not allow such misuse and that the PTA would only be applied based on credible intelligence information, and it will not be used for political revenge. more..

Nov 4 (FT) President Anura Kumara Dissanayake outlined the NPP’s inclusive vision to bring about transformative changes aligned with public demand. “We aim to leave power only once we have successfully rebuilt this nation,” Dissanayake pledged, addressing a rally in Nuwara Eliya, reinforcing the NPP’s promise to steer the country towards a more unified and inclusive political landscape. He underscored the district’s importance in the upcoming General Election, more..

Nov 4 (FT) Sunil Jayarathne, newly appointed Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of SL (CAASL), will resume his duties today. He was the former Chairman/Director General of the National Enterprise Development Authority (NEDA) under the purview of the Industries Ministry and former Additional Director General of SL Customs. He holds over 37 years of experience in the Dept of Customs while also being the Media Spokesman. He led many Technical and Operational Committees more..

Nov 4 (FT) SJB Colombo district candidate Eran Wickramaratne has urged President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to extend the suspension of parate executions until the end of December, beyond the current deadline of 15 Dec. Wickramaratne stressed that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of Sri Lanka’s economy and deserve continued support during difficult times. more..

Nov 4 (EN) State-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has made a profit of 20.7 billion rupees in the first half of 2024, as revenues fell due to other players, a Finance Ministry report said. The total import cost of oil by the CPV had fallen to US$ 1,235 million up to June 2024 from US$ 1,380 million last year, as volumes fell due to new entrants despite an uptick in prices. CPC revenues fell 20.1% to 544.3 billion rupees up to June 2024 from 681.5 billion rupees last yar. more..

Nov 4 (FT) Prof. Anil Jayantha claimed that the majority of debt borrowed (86%) between 27 Sept and 15 Oct was used to service existing debt obligations. Between 27 Sept and 15 Oct, Govt raised Rs. 461.5 billion through three Treasury bill auctions and an additional Treasury bond. This closely aligns with the Rs. 465.1 billion figure cited by Prof. Jayantha. Debt servicing during this period included Rs. 390.9 billion for maturing Treasury bills and Rs. 22 billion in bond coupon payments, more..

Nov 4 (FT) SL attracted nearly 136,000 tourists in October, marking a 25% YoY growth. It is also the highest October arrivals recorded in six years. Oct arrivals, totalling 135,907, represent an 11% increase over 122,140 arrivals in September, showing signs of improvement post-visa crisis, though still missing the monthly target of 155,070 set by the SLTDA. October’s shortfall extends a trend seen throughout 2024, where monthly targets more..

Nov 4 (FT) In recognition of his unwavering dedication, service to the community, and remarkable contributions to the betterment of society, his country, and the region through intellectual and social growth, Kandeban Balendran has been awarded the Outstanding Volunteer Leade-rship Award — one of the highest honours presented by the Harvard Alumni Association (HAA) of Harvard Uni. Each year, Harvard celebrates the extraordinary contributions of Alumni Clubs more..

Nov 4 (ST) The Court of Appeal suspended the arrest warrant issued by the Matale High Court against present SLC Chief Selector Upul Tharanga, who failed to appear in courts as he was out of the country participating in a cricket competition. On Oct 16, the Court of Appeal bench comprising of Justice M.T. Mohammed Laffar and Justice P. Kumararatnam, issued an interim order preventing the IGP, Immigration Controller and SIU Investigative Officers from arresting Tharanga at the airport more..

Nov 4 (FT) The Sri Lanka-Canada Business Council (SLCBC) of The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce successfully concluded its nine-member trade and investment mission to Canada, strengthening bilateral ties and exploring trade, investment, and allied opportunities in key sectors. Held from 14 to 22 October, the mission was led by SLCBC President Priyantha Chandrasekara and included constructive exchanges with Canadian business leaders, govt officials, academic institutions, more..

Nov 4 (FT) COYLE last week held its landmark 2024 Leadership Forum at Shangri-La Colombo, uniting thought leaders, entrepreneurs, and visionaries to shape the future of business. Designed to inspire the next generation of trailblazers, the event brought together influential voices in the world of entrepreneurship and business strategy, setting the stage for an extraordinary day of knowledge sharing and forward-thinking ideas. This year’s forum was headlined by Ebraheem Al Samadi, more..

Nov 4 (DN) Sri Lanka led by Lahiru Madushanka won their second Hong Kong Cricket Sixes title, and first since 2007, after beating Pakistan by three wickets in the final with one over to spare played at Mission Road ground Hong Kong yesterday. It was a superb all round performance by SL team while they restricted five time champions Pakistan for 72 for 6 wickets in 5.2 overs. Two bowlers paceman Dhananjaya Lakshan more..

Nov 4 (FT) Arugam Bay. Where the beaches wear gold and the waves whisper, rasp and roar, beckoning the visitor mysteriously. Those who are enamoured follow the call and go on an enticing, tumultuous, frothy sea borne journey of highs and lows that we call surfing. It is a surface water sport that is popular globally and which has existed from ancient times although the manner in which it is carried out is different in modern times where a surfing board is used whereas earlier more..

Nov 4 (ST) It would be better for former Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe and more importantly, for the democratic health of SL if he retires gracefully from the political stage, sooner rather than later. Effectively Mr Wickremesinghe has become Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake-led NPP’s strongest ally, it seems. His disingenuous if not discordant ramblings, including a satirical offer to teach the Constitution to the NPP’s transitional Cabinet of 3, only aggravates public distaste towards more..

Nov 4 (Island) Many are those who are tut-tutting over the latest fuel price revision, which has not brought any relief to the general public; trishaw drivers, who served as the JVP-led NPP’s grassroots propaganda foot soldiers, as it were, are prominent among them. Quite a few of them are openly critical of the NPP govt. Securing popular mandates in elections is one thing, but delivering what they are obtained for is quite another. SL voters are a fastidious lot known for their impatience to more..

Nov 4 (Island) It has been a month since Anura Kumara Dissanayake assumed the presidency, a month since the NPP claimed its place in history as the first party from outside of the political establishment to win a presidential election in Sri Lanka. Two weeks from now, the NPP will face another election, this time parliamentary. Depending on the results it gets, we will know whether the people approve of the NPP’s actions over the last four weeks and if they want it to continue. more..

Nov 4 (CT) Not so long ago, a pall hung over the country’s poultry industry, with the fear of avian influenza infection, as the Govt at the time decided to import eggs from neighbour India. Sri Lanka, till now, has no record of the deadly infection which had led to the destruction of chicken farms on a large scale. The country, however, has not been so lucky in the case of yet another deadly infection, has dealt a deadly blow to piggeries more..

Nov 4 (DM) NDF Gampaha District Candidate Ruwan Wijewardene spent some of his busy time with the Daily Mirror to talk about the upcoming General Election where he said people still have some faith in the previous administration headed by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe despite the defeat at the recently concluded Prez Election. “What people expected from the new President is not what they have got. The economy is still a great issue, especially the debt. more..

Nov 4 (CT) There is an episode in the popular British ITV sitcom, Mind Your Language of the seventies. “It is comforting to know that my years at Oxford were not wasted,” says an Arab Sheikh to Ms. Courtney, the prude correspondent of the language school that teaches English to foreigners in London. Today, Prez Anura Dissanayake should be feeling the same way about his two-decade-long parliamentary experience and regret not being able to serve as a minister longer than a few months more..

Nov 4 (SO) I have written about the state of affairs of SL diplomacy as an outsider previously, the last time being in 2020. I thought of writing again as almost everything I had raised then remains largely unaddressed. Moving on from the challenges of our recent past, I look at the present juncture of our country as a moment of relative hope for a new beginning if we, for once, resolve to think and act smart. It is in this context that more..

Nov 4 (GV) During this campaign year, there are various discourses by political parties and alliances about how to develop the country or bring development in order to address the current problems faced by the people, institutions and the government? Central bank has its own formulae to address the debt problem. NPP which is headed by Prez Anura Dissanayake has suggested improvement of local production along with support for export-oriented manufacturing. more..

Nov 4 (DM) Today, I mark my one hundred and fiftieth Red Notes column. As I started writing this column, I reflected on if and how I should continue on this twice-a-month weekend preoccupation. If it were cricket, at a century and a half, I would have to consider if the pitch is changing and the light is fading, and how long to continue batting before getting all out or retiring. But what about in writing? Am I steady with my strokes; how is the world changing, and is anybody even reading? more..

Nov 3 (ST) The unusual political hype ahead of Sept 21 prez election appears to have evaporated markedly with just eleven days to go for the parliamentary elections. There is some suspense over the date—Nov 14—after a rights group petitioned the Supreme Court. It argued that Nov 14, announced first by Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake, was not within the law specified for elections. more..

Nov 3 (AD) Minister Vijitha Herath says that six individuals who allegedly acted in a manner that posed a threat to national security and the safety of tourists have been arrested, and that investigations are being carried out. A foreign national is also among the arrestees, the minister revealed. He stated that the suspects have been arrested in connection with the intelligence information received indicating a potential attack in the Arugam Bay area, as well as incidents involving more..

Nov 3 (SO) Officials of the Road Development Authority (RDA) in Badulla, Pradeshiya Sabha, Badulla District Secretariat, and the Uva Province Governor’s office held a joint discussion on improving the road infrastructure on the Dunhinda-Badulla road where Friday’s bus tragedy claimed the lives of two female students of the Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) students and injured 41 others seriously. KDU has made arrangements for the funerals of the deceased students, more..

Nov 3 (TM) Despite the Govt-enforced regulated price of Rs. 220 per kilo for nadu rice, market prices continue to exceed this amount, averaging approximately Rs. 235 per kilo. When contacted, CAA Chairman Hemantha Samarakoon stated that the reasons for the higher prices of nadu rice could not be pinpointed. Samarakoon explained that millers had indicated that they could not sell the rice at the regulated price due to their more..