Apr 16 (EN) Tensions within the crisis-riddled SLFP continue with the party’s acting general secretary now accusing party stalwarts of attempting to betray the party to its traditional rival the UNP. MP Dushmantha Mithrapala said that the SLFP, as one of the country’s leading centre-left parties, must continue to exist. He vowed to never allow the destruction of the party. “Some groups are trying to pin the SLFP on the UNP elephant’s tail, but the party members aren’t there. more..

Apr 16 (SLN) In another successful intelligence operation of the SL Navy, a local multi-day fishing trawler carrying a large haul of narcotics, with 06 suspects aboard, were intercepted about 133 nautical miles (about 246 km) off Dondra, south of SL. The operation also resulted in the seizure of another local one-day fishing trawler with 04 suspects, believed to have been there to fetch the consignment of narcotics mid-sea. The operation was mounted by deploying SL Coast Guard Ship (SLCG) more..

Apr 16 (AD) The Meteorology Department has issued a Heat Index Advisory for Northern, North-central, Eastern and North-Western provinces and Gampaha, Colombo districts for tomorrow (17). Heat index, the temperature felt on human body is expected to increase up to Caution level at some places in Northern, North-central, Eastern and North-Western provinces and Gampaha, Colombo districts, it warned. As per the advisory, under this level of temperature, fatigue is possible with more..

Apr 16 (AD) The govt of SL has concluded the initial restricted discussions with nine members of the Steering Committee of the Ad Hoc Group of Bondholders regarding its international sovereign bonds (ISBs). During the discussions, which spanned over the past three weeks (Restricted Period), SL was joined by its legal and financial advisors Clifford Chance and Lazard, respectively, while the restricted members of the Steering Committee were joined by more..

Apr 16 (EN) Minister of Justice Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe will decide whether or not to contest upcoming prez election, over the next few weeks, Rajapakshe said. Minister said several groups have requested that he consider running for president. “Many groups have made such requests from me. A majority of the central committee of the SLFP, members of the clergy [Buddhist and from other faiths] have made the same request,” he said. “I plan to think it over and take a decision over the next few weeks,” he added. more..

Apr 16 (FT) AIRPORT and Aviation Services (SL) Ltd., announced that Indigo, one of India’s leading airlines, has broadened its connectivity to SL by introducing direct flights from Mumbai to Colombo, effective from 12 April 2024. The new route will see Indigo operating flights three times a week, on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Indigo currently operates flights to three destinations in India from Colombo: Chennai twice daily, Bengaluru once daily, and Hyderabad six days per week. more..

Apr 16 (FT) A reader of the Part I of this article has brought to my notice that banks should make profits, in addition to the reasons mentioned earlier, to support them when they are financially insolvent. This argument has validity in the current legal context in Sri Lanka. It is the accepted policy of the Parliamentarians in SL, as revealed in the new Central Bank Act and the Banking (Special Provisions) Act that when banks get into insolvency, they should not be rescued through more..

Apr 16 (FT) We just witnessed Avurudu this year. Having been plagued by a planetary pandemic, the multi-faceted economic crisis intensified in creating chaos. At least a ray of hope for an economic recovery comes with a cautious optimism. In such a context, Avurudu can be seen as an invitation for awakening, individually as well as interactively. Let us discuss it further. Avurudu invites us to awaken ourselves. Typically, it is the time to rejoice, relax, reflect, and reinforce. more..

Apr 16 (Island) The uncertainty over the impending elections in Sri Lanka will cause a possible downward trend in the country’s economic outlook, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has said. SL is set to face a prez election in the last quarter of this year, while the parliamentary election is due mid-next year. However, political uncertainty prevails in the country as opposition parties have pledged to reverse the current IMF-linked reforms, more..

Apr 16 (EN) Secretary General of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), discussed measures to enhance regional cooperation, during his visit to the island last week. Ambassador Indra Mani Pandey, Secretary General of BIMSTEC visited SL from 07 – 12 April 2024, following his assumption of office as Secretary General of BIMSTEC in January this year. Secretary General “met with senior officials of relevant Ministries/Agencies to discuss more..

Apr 16 (Island) The British School in Colombo (BSC) celebrated the 2024 Sinhala and Tamil New Year with several cultural events and traditional games during Special Avurudu Assembly held recently at the school premises. The school’s student population, which is made up of over 53 nationalities, with students from all over the world, joined hands to celebrate this important event on a grand scale. The highlights of the event showcased many SL traditions and rituals, featuring more..

Apr 16 (EN) Iranian Prez Ebrahim Raisi will arrive in SL on April 24 on a one-day official visit to inaugurate Tehran-assisted $529 million worth Uma Oya multipurpose development project with 120MW hydro power generation capacity. The announcement on Prez Raisi’s visit comes two days after Iran launched explosive drones and fired missiles at Israel in its first direct attack on Israeli territory, a retaliatory strike that raised the threat more..

Apr 16 (TM) The future course of action concerning the opposition expressed by immigration and emigration officials against recent administrative decisions to change the existing system of providing services will depend on whether they receive an opportunity to discuss its concerns with the Immigration and Emigration Dept administration and whether its concerns are addressed. According to the SL Immigration and Emigration Officers’ Association’s (SLIEOA) Secretary more..

Apr 16 (EN) Sri Lanka’s state-owned enterprises incurred 744.6 billion rupees in losses in 2022, the SOE restructuring unit has said. “52 State-Owned Enterprises in Sri Lanka incurred losses of LKR 744.6 billion in 2022,” SOERU said in a social media post. “When divided by the total number of Citizen, each citizen needs bare LKR 33,949.” When state enterprises ran losses they were covered by loans taken from domestic banks as well as from capital markets. more..

Apr 16 (DM) Claiming that only vehicle imports have been restricted by now, State Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said that a committee is studying the possibility of permitting vehicle imports on a priority basis in the future. He said that 750 vans and 250 buses required for the tourism sector have already been permitted to be imported. He said import of some 1,500 items had been restricted due to the economic crisis and that restriction on all items except on vehicles had been lifted by now. more..

Apr 16 (FT) The expressways have proven to be a bustling thoroughfare during the recent Sinhala and Tamil New Year holidays, contributing significantly to the country’s revenue stream. Toll collections on expressways during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year spanning from 10-14 April have exceeded Rs. 191 million. Southern Expressway generated the most revenue. In addition a remarkable surge in expressway usage was observed as over 550,000 vehicles utilised the Southern Expressway, more..

Apr 16 (TM) Environmentalists say that for SL to properly benefit from the national policies on drinking water and water-related safety, the authorities should consider establishing a dedicated entity to the subject of drinking water and water sources, to continuously monitor the same. Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) said that such efforts are necessary due to several reasons, the main one being existing, mainstream systems more..

Apr 16 (DM) At least ten people were killed in eight road accidents within the past 24 hours in differenet parts of the country, Police said. Four people were killed in two accidents in Pussellawa and Hali-Ela while six individuals were killed in six seperate accidents in Mahiyangana, Kirindiwela, Ambalantota, Pugoda, Matara and Thanamalwila. Police Media Spokesman DIG Nihal Thalduwa said five of the eight road accidents were due to vehicles skidding off the roads. more..

Apr 16 (AD) Govt of India has lifted the export ban on onions for Sri Lanka, according to the Indian High Commission in Colombo. It said the export of onions has been permitted to SL, with export of up to 10,000 MT of onions permitted vide the notification of India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade. The exemption for SL reiterated India’s Neighbourhood First policy, adding to the Sinhala and Tamil New Year festivities here, High Commission said in a statement on Monday. more..

Apr 16 (FT) Coca-Cola has announced Kaushali Kusumapala’s appointment as the new Country Director for Sri Lanka and Maldives. Making history as the first SL woman in this position, Kaushali succeeds former Country Director, Pankaj Sinha, who assumed the role in 2019. In this position, Kaushali will closely collaborate with bottling teams, customers, partners, consumers and external stakeholders in Sri Lanka and Maldives. With a career spanning back to 2009, more..

Apr 16 (FT) In a promising start to April, Sri Lanka has welcomed over 50,000 visitors within the first nine days of the month, contributing to a cumulative figure of 686,321 tourists for the year thus far. During the first nine days, a total of 50,537 tourists have arrived in the country, signalling a positive trend for the tourism sector, which has gradually recovered from the multiple challenges over the past five years. Leading the tourist traffic are visitors from diverse regions, more..

Apr 16 (FT) SJB leader and Prez hopeful Sajith Premadasa on 7 April took the stage at the SJB National Conference with a clear message for the audience: “He stands apart from other politicians in SL today.” In fact, while the event was organised to outline the party’s future policies, Premadasa in his speech made a concerted effort to distinguish himself from the current political system and issued a clarion call for the rejection of politicians more..

Apr 16 (Island) Ruling party politicians in SL are unarguably more equal than others, like the Pigs in Orwell’s Animal Farm, but their counterparts in the developed world are not so lucky. Not that all politicians in the so-called five-star democracies are much better than the ones we are burdened with; the developed nations, too, have tainted politicians to contend with, but never can such characters rise above the law. Norway’s Health Minister Ingvild Kjerkol had to resign the other day. more..

Apr 16 (DM) Central Bank has purchased the most amount of dollars for a single month in March, a sign that the country is currently in a very comfortable position in its foreign currency liquidity, after two years into the worst currency crisis in the country. CB purchased US $ 715.1 million in March, which is the highest ever in the last decade. While the monetary watchdog sold none, the dollar purchase is a sharp increase from the roughly US $ 240 million purchased from the banking system in Feb more..

Apr 16 (DN) SL T- 20 preliminary cricket pool of 32 players were selected by National cricket selection committee headed by Upul Tharanga and they will commence their training after new year holidays .The dashing stroke maker Bhanuka Rajapaksa young leg spinner Vijayakanth Viyaskanth and experienced all rounder Lahiru Madushanka were among the 32 playersquad. The spinner from Jaffna Viyaskanth recently more..

Apr 16 (DM) Central Bank has purchased the most amount of dollars for a single month in March, a sign that the country is currently in a very comfortable position in its foreign currency liquiditiness, and resilience efforts during his inaugural trip to the country. Fakhoury’s agenda included meetings with several private sector clients as well as Govt dignitaries including the Minister of Power and Energy, State Minister of Finance, Advisor to the President of Sri Lanka, more..

Apr 16 (DN) SL Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Nethmi Ahinsa went down fighting to former Asian champion Chun Lei of China at the Asian Wrestling Championship bronze medal fight recently. This close fight showed Nerhmi's potential as she is heading to go for the Paris Olympics. The six minute full fight against Chinese wrestler was a thriller while 19 year old SL promising wrestler was outstanding at this meet said a senior official of the National Wrestling Federation. more..

Apr 16 (DN) Yupun Abeykoon, Asia’s fastest runner in the 150m race and winner of a bronze medal in the Commonwealth Games for the 100m sprint, came back strong after nearly a year lay off from competitive athletics. On Saturday he triumphed in the 150m race at the Florence Sprint Festival held in Stadio Luigi Ridolfi in the city of Florence, Italy. Abeykoon, who lives in Italy, dashed across the finish line in 15.19 seconds, leaving behind six Italian competitors in the first final race. more..

tmApr 16 (DN) I don’t think about the result but only think about my execution said Chennai Super Kings most successful bowler SL slinger action bowler Matheesha Pathirana who won the man of the match award against Mumbai Indians taking 4 for 28 . The right arm slinger action bowler Pathirana did to Mumbai Indians what Lasith Malinga did to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) last Sunday at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai the home of Mumbai Indians. The 21 year old right arm fast bowler more..

Apr 16 (FT) SL Tourism Promotion Bureau Chairman Chalaka Gajabahu expressed optimism about the tourism industry’s recovery, stating that 2024 is poised to be a significant year for the destination after multiple and unique challenges it faced during the past few years. Speaking during the first-ever SL Tourism roadshow in Australia’s multi-cities, he highlighted the resilience as a destination, stressing the remarkable progress made in more..

tmApr 16 (TM) South Africa registered a convincing win over Sri Lanka in the second ODI of the three-match series at Kimberley. Having won the toss, South African skipper Laura Wolvaardt invited the visitors to take first lease of the wicket at Diamond Oval Grounds in Kimberley. SL skipper Chamari Athapaththu once again managed to provide a good start chipping in with a vital half-century at the top of the order. The middle-order batters Hansima Karunaratne (33), Kavisha Dilhari (42) more..

Apr 16 (Island) One govt matter done with speed is withdrawing printed gazettes, withdrawing meaning: gazettes are printed, distributed and called back. This is totally stupid and lacking in responsibility. A matter has to be considered, thoroughly debated, and a clear, unambiguous statement/rule decided on unanimously or on majority consent. Not in this fair isle! A finger is thrust into the fire foolishly and finger withdrawn burnt. But no reprimand from on high (officials et al more..