Dec 10 (ST) Long-term visas are to be granted for foreigners who invest in the Colombo Stock Exchange, Treasury Bonds, condominium apartments, and other local investments, bringing in US dollar investments or deposits to the country, the Cabinet has decided. Those applying for this Residence Visa scheme will be required to obtain Defence Ministry clearance in addition to having a police clearance report from their respective countries. The processing of the applications more..

Dec 10 (FT) Ircon International Ltd. (IRCON) has secured an order on competitive bidding basis valuing $ 14.89 million in SL. �IRCON has awarded the work for procurement of Design, Installation, Testing, Commissioning and Certifying of Signalling and Telecom system from Maho Junction (including) to Anuradhapura (excluding) by SL Railways, Ministry of Transport, SL, under Indian Line of Credit at a total price of $ 14.89 million equivalent to approx. INR 122 Crore,� company said more..

Dec 10 (Island) The 23rd edition of the annual Journalism Awards for Excellence programme culminating with the Awards Night will be held in the Empire Ballroom of the Mount Lavinia Hotel on Tuesday, Dec 13. The programme is organised by The Editors� Guild of SL in partnership with the SL Press Institute and its affiliated unions, Newspaper Society of SL, Free Media Movement and the SL Working Journalists Association. The annual programme is to recognise professionalism more..

Dec 10 (EN) Unusually cold weather in northern province caused by the Mandous cyclonic storm in the Bay of Bengal has led to the death of hundreds of farm animals with hundreds more falling sick. An official said a drop in temperature below 20 degrees Celsius combined with strong winds triggered the death of nearly 350 cattle and 180 goats in four districts of the province. Dept of Animal Production & Health (DAPH), more..

Dec 10 (ST) Students, teachers, unions and principals have raised concerns about the Govt decision to reimpose the compulsory 80% attendance rule after a lapse of two years. Ministry of Education has announced that it will reintroduce the requirement for GCE A/L exam candidates. Students sitting for GCE A/L exam in 2022, GCE (O/L), and Grade five scholarship exam have to fulfil an 80% attendance requirement. This rule had been suspended in the past two years due to more..

Dec 10 (AD) An evident increase in air pollution has been observed in certain areas of SL, as per the latest Air Quality Index (AQI), issued at 08.00 a.m. this morning. The index is based on the measurement of particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), Ozone (O3), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) and Carbon Monoxide (CO) emissions. Accordingly, although Colombo received an orange alert yesterday, with a score of 117, which mostly impacted only those in sensitive more..

Dec 10 (TM) COPF Chairman, Samagi Jana Balawegaya Opposition MP, and economist Dr. Harsha de Silva yesterday (8) said in Parliament that approval had been granted to the rules and regulations issued under the Casino Business (Regulation) Act, No. 17 of 2010, subject to strict conditions, including the promise given by the Ministry of Finance officials to establish a casino regulatory authority by 30 Sept 2023, and more..

Dec 10 (Island) Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera has said 16 elephant corridors across the country have been obstructed by illegal settlements and constructions. Five elephant corridors in Anuradhapura District alone had been obstructed, he said. �Recently, we had a meeting with Wildlife officers, and they said that 16 main elephant corridors have been obstructed. Such obstructions, on traditional migratory paths of elephants, have increased in recent years. more..

Dec 10 (BU) The Indo-Sri Lanka Joint Project Monitoring Committee (JPMC) has launched the procurement process for the Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity Project (SL-UDI) after govt ministers met with the Indian High Commissioner, report outlets including the Daily FT. The scheme is expected to resemble India�s Aadhaar and run on MOSIP (Modular Open-Source Identification Platform), developed by the creators of Aadhaar. Major automated biometric systems more..

Dec 10 (EN) IMF Chief Kristalina Georgieva has called on China to speed up restructuring of debt in SL and Zambia following a meeting with the leaders of the country. �We had a very fruitful exchange, both on the G20 Common Framework and on some specific cases,� she said after the meeting. �We need to build on the momentum of the agreement on Chad�s debt treatment and accelerate and finalize the debt treatments for Zambia and SL, which would allow for disbursements from the IMF and more..

Dec 10 (HT) Sri Lanka has freed 461 of the 485 Indian fishermen detained during 2020-22 due to sustained efforts by the Indian government, minister of state for external affairs V Muraleedharan told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. Indian fishermen are arrested from time to time by Sri Lankan authorities for allegedly crossing the international maritime boundary and fishing in Lankan waters, he said in a written reply to a question in the upper house of Parliament. more..

Dec 10 (wsws) Around 3,000 workers from Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) and Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation (SLIC) protested in central Colombo on Thursday against privatisation. Hundreds of bank workers also demonstrated in the capital, as well as hundreds of state sector workers in provincial cities including as Matara, Kalutara, Badulla and Negombo, against the govt�s ruthless austerity measures. more..

Dec 10 (BBC) Three-year-old is losing weight and complains of leg pains and weakness. The doctor's diagnosis is clear - Nitisha is underfed and malnourished. But the treatment suggested is difficult to come by for her family - wholesome meals. Like many people in SL, this family from a tea estate village in Hanthana, in the centre of the country, have seen their finances collapse. "We manage two meals a day and it's the same thing - rice with potatoes or lentils. We can't afford more..

Dec 10 (LBO) SL foreign remittances are moving closer to a US$5bn annualized rate based on November monthly data. SL remittances for the month of November totaled US$384mn, up about 10% from the prior months figure. Before the economic crisis in SL, the country used to receive over US$7bn per year in foreign remittance. This figure had dropped in half to an annualized rate of approximately US$3.5bn during the worst of the crisis. Sri Lankans have been lining up more..

Dec 10 (TM) Observing that the Parliament has not acted in accordance with the Right to Information (RTI) Act, No. 12 of 2016 in relation to a request for certified copies of the reports containing the evidence provided by several witnesses before the PCoI that investigated the Easter Sunday terror attacks of 2019, the RTI Commission ordered the relevant Parliament officials to make a written submission before 5 Jan more..

Dec 10 (EN) Prez Wickremesinghe has banned the transport of beef and mutton between districts his office said, after hundreds of cattle and goats died amid unusually cold weather from suspected hypothermic shock. �Taking into account public health, transport of beef and cattle in between districts and provinces has been banned with immediate effect,� Prez�s office said. �This was after the sudden death of cattle, buffalo and goats in Kilinocchio, Mullativu, Trinco, Baticaloa, more..

Dec 10 (NR) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe has pledged to assist the University of Colombo to improve its quality. Prez Wickremesinghe gave this assurance during a discussion at the Dean�s Office of the Law Faculty having taken part in the Back to the Faculty-Faculty of Law, at the University of Colombo, which was organized to mark its 75th Diamond Jubilee today. Prez participated in the event as the first alumnus of the Colombo Law Faculty who became the Executive Prez more..

Dec 11 (SO) Sri Lankans love freebies. This trait has been exploited for the past 74 years by politicians of all hues to dupe voters. At election time, political parties and political leaders make all sorts of promises to canvass votes � once someone even promised rice from the moon and another promised eight grains. During one fairly recent election, all parties promised to sell bread only for Rs.3.50. Govts have had to go with the flow when it comes to this dependent mentality, at an enormous, more..

Dec 11 (ST) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe is venturing on yet another voyage seeking that elusive reconciliation with Northern political parties. These are not uncharted seas, and his well-meaning albeit unlikely objective is to see that unity prevails among the communities by the time the country celebrates its 75th anniversary of Independence only two months away, in February 2023. The friction and the North-South divide within the country go back beyond 1948 to a time when Donoughmore more..

Dec 11 (TM) As students prepare to return to classrooms for the new term, parents are grappling with the increased prices of school supplies and transportation. From stationery items, shoes, and uniforms, to school bags and even water bottles, the price tags on back-to-school essentials have soared this year due to inflation, in a context where families are adjusting their household budgets to absorb higher prices of all goods/services. more..

Dec 11 (TM) There is no denying the fact that SL is at the crossroads today, facing its worst-ever crisis, which is slowly but steadily transforming from primarily an economic one into a humanitarian one, with hundreds if not thousands of citizens being involuntarily added to the those in need of help list every week, as per UN data. Therefore, it is about time that the nation�s political leadership came up with a durable and sustainable plan to regain the nation that is slipping away more..

Dec 11 (SO) Former St Mary�s College, Dehiwela and Navy boxer turned professional coach in America, Bandula Ratnapala, predicted a bright future for SL�s professional boxing star Tharindu Madushanke who won a career-defining victory in the Countdown to the Middle East Crown (CMEC) Series 5 held in Colombo. Madushanke outpointed a tough opponent from Uganda, Tamale Lawrence, in Light Heavyweight to win by unanimous decision in only his second professional bout. more..

Dec 11 (TM) �Most of our people are politically savvy and today they are very silent. This silence means that they are going into a revolution. A silent revolution is coming and the old political party leaders must understand that. They must willingly leave and allow the youngsters to take over,� asserted MP Anura Priyadarshana Yapa. �Look at the old political parties � their dominance is gone. Old generation of leaders at the helm more..

Dec 11 (Island) The financial crisis that swept through South Asia in early 2022 did not, to borrow an oft-quoted Sinhala witticism, fall from the sky. They had their antecedents and they followed a predictable course. In both countries the unravelling of the crisis led to the expulsion of the President, in scenes that were reported by the mainstream media in terms which did not, I believe, do full justice to the complexity of the situation. But the media, despite its objective veneer, has a tendency to reduce, more..

Dec 11 (Islnd) The first budget proper of the Ranil Wickremesinghe presidency was concluded on Thursday with the third reading vote comfortably passed. So also the second reading. This was widely predicted and there were no surprises at voting time. The TNA and some of the other northern MPs absented themselves during the vote as they had earlier assured they would while former Justice CV Wigneswaran abstained as he had done on the second reading. more..

Dec 11 (CT) Addressing the SL Economic Summit 2022, an annual event organized by the CCC, President Wickremesinghe reportedly shocked the business audience, questioning, �What reforms, when we don�t have an economy!� To an audience that was apparently waiting to hear serious stuff about an economic reform plan, the President said, �What is the plan for reform? Frankly, I have no plan for it.� But he had a programme to announce and called it, The Next 25 Years. more..

Dec 11 (ST) After a committee stage debate lasting 13 days, Parliament passed the third reading of Budget 2023 by a majority of 43 votes on Thursday (8). The vote brought the curtain down on the debate of a Budget that is of profound significance, not just for next year but beyond as SL tries to overcome a crippling economic crisis that has set it back years. The final result was 123 votes for and 80 against. There were two abstentions while 19 MPs were not in the Chamber when the division was taken. more..

Dec 11 (ST) At the largely attended felicitation ceremony for Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe completing 50 years as a lawyer, Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation (SLIC) Chairman Ronald Perera PC presented the Prez with a Mont Blanc fountain pen with the initials RW engraved. The Prez was quick to respond saying �now I have a nice pen to sign Detention Orders.� Mr. Perera in his welcome address said; �Prez has an inspiring vision more..

Dec 11 (ST) My dear Diana, I thought I must write to you because you have become a hot topic these days, what with people talking about your citizenship and passports and whether you are eligible to sit in Parliament. If you carry on at this rate, you will soon become more famous than the other Diana, the late Lady Diana! I believe you are due to appear in Court tomorrow about this matter and I�m sure our justice system, in its infinite wisdom, will arrive at a decision about your fate in Parliament. more..

Dec 11 (Island) This week�s court ruling giving thumbs up to changes be made to the constitution of SLC has been welcomed in cricket circles. Don�t want to sound like a doomsday prophet but you can bet your bottom dollar that the aggrieved parties will fight tooth and nail to ensure the status quo remains. People have already started fearing reforms like the plague. One pities former Prez Kumaratunga. The iron lady took on the cricket establishment 2 decades ago making sweeping changes. more..

Dec 11 (ANI) In a nail-biting contest, which went right down to the last ball, Kandy Falcons beat defending champions Jaffna Kings by 3 wickets in the Lanka Premier League. Batting first, the Jaffna Kings posted a competitive total of 147 for the loss of 7 wickets. For Kandy Falcons, Pathum Nissanka and Andre Fletcher opened the innings. At 18, Zaman Khan dismissed Andre Fletcher for 11 runs from 11 balls. His innings was laced with 2 boundaries. more..

Dec 11 (SO) Sri Lanka Badminton (SLB) in an irregular act embarked on a joy ride at the expense of some 47 players for an Asian U-15 and U-17 tournament that was held in Thailand from Nov 29 to Dec 4 prompting former players and officials to call for a complete investigation. These players did not face any trial before they were picked to represent SL. They were told that SLB had no money to spend on their travel and stay in Thailand and asked to pay Rs 450,000 each if they wished to go on tour. more..

Dec 11 (ST) Alex Marshall, the head of ICC Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) will arrive in SL today on the invitation of SLC to investigate allegations of match-fixing during the recent Test series against Pakistan. Opposition MP Nalin Bandara made a sensational claim last month in Parliament that the two-match Test series played in July was fixed albeit any proof. �In the last Pakistan series, our team scored 400-odd [SL had set a target of 342 more..

Dec 11 (AD) An Ayurvedic Doctor has been arrested by the Gampaha Police Crimes Division in connection to the recent finding of packets of �Ice� drugs (crystal methamphetamine) inside a canteen at a school in the Gampaha area. The suspect, who was in possession of over 6,000 drugs at the time of the arrest, was taken into Police custody based on information revealed during investigations into the initial arrest. Earlier this week (05 Dec), the woman who ran the canteen of a school in Buthpitiya, more..

Dec 11 (TBTO) A Facility Agreement was signed today between Ambassador C. S. Poolokasingham, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka, and Wolfgang Hoffmann, Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO). The ceremony took place at the headquarters of CTBTO Preparatory Commission in Vienna. Sri Lanka is the thirteenth State Signatory, after Mongolia, to have signed such an agreement. more..