Nov 27 (CT) In passing the Second Reading of the Budget with 121 MPs voting for and 37 against, parliament reverted to nearly the same division (134-82) it showed when it elected Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prez on July 20. The President now seems to be well positioned to assemble different majorities in parliament for different purposes. The majorities for his election and now his budget are based mainly on the support of SLPP MPs acting in solidarity with the Rajapaksa family. more..

Nov 27 (SO) Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said that Prez Wickremesinghe has come forward and taken up the challenge of rebuilding the country. So, we should extend our fullest support and give him some time to see whether he performs well. Minister said �In my personal view, Prez is performing well and he has cleared many obstacles during the past three to four months. The MPs as the people�s representatives have realised more..

Nov 27 (TM) It was in 1994 that for the first time a presidential aspirant publicly campaigned and won based on the promise to abolish the Executive Presidency. That vote was a clear signal that people, or at least the majority, were in no mood to tolerate Executive excess; the most notable in a long list of excesses being the first Executive President�s decision to replace a General Election with a controversial referendum in 1982. Subsequently, ever since 1994 � for almost 3 decades now more..

Nov 27 (GV) In the lead up to the September session of the UNHRC the Govet of Sri Lanka floated the proposal of establishing a truth and reconciliation mechanism (TRC). In effect, this is nothing new as the Govt had already made this commitment exactly seven years ago. The TRC is one of a number of measures relating to transitional justice and human rights already agreed to by the Govt as part of the UNHRC Resolution 30/1, which it co-sponsored in Sept 2015. more..

Nov 27 (TM) Budget does not present any way out of this economic crisis and moreover still allocates heavily towards the defence sector, due to which the TNA is opposed to the Budget, said TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran. However, the party refrained from voting against the Budget because Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe has indicated he is willing to resolve the longstanding national question. �Prez has stretched out his hand and said more..

Nov 27 (ST) A war of words between Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa spread over several days marked the start of the committee stage debate of Budget 2023. On Tuesday (22), the second reading of the Budget was passed comfortably by a majority of 37 votes, with 121 votes for and 84 against. Some opposition MPs were quick to point out that 134 MPs voted to make Ranil Wickremesinghe the Prez in July and claimed Tuesday�s vote showed the govt�s more..

Nov 27 (ST) My dear Basil, I didn�t think I would be writing to you this week after writing to Gota maama last week about what would have been his third anniversary in office had he not left in a hurry. It came as somewhat of a surprise to see you in Paradise because we didn�t expect you to return from your Motherland so soon. Ah, what a difference a few months makes, Basil. It was a little over four months ago, in the middle of the chaos that forced Gota maama to flee SL, that you too tried more..

Nov 27 (Island) The second reading of the Budget 2023 was comfortably passed last week with Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe strongly affirming that he will not permit another aragalaya and will not hesitate to use armed services muscle and, if needed, a State of Emergency to prevent it. Not surprisingly, it was thrown at his face that he would today not be Prez, and in that capacity, Head of State and Head of Govt, but for the aragalaya. This is a fact of life that he cannot, and did not attempt to refute. more..

Nov 27 (ST) Cabinet of Ministers this week nodded its approval for an Anti-Corruption Bill even though some of them may have privately wondered if they were shooting themselves in the foot by doing so. The preamble of the proposed law is to give effect to the UN Convention against Corruption and other internationally recognised Best Practices: to appoint an independent commission to detect bribery and corruption; to prevent such crimes; to institute prosecutions and to bring the existing laws more..

Nov 27 (ST) While Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe commissioned the offshore Patrol Vessel P627 as the most recent inclusion to the fleet of the SL Navy as SLNS Vijayabahu at the Colombo Port this week, the third such ship donated by the US Govt, SL�s newly appointed Ambassador in Japan, Rodney Perera who is yet to present his credentials formally to the Emperor got the unique opportunity to meet with the Japanese PM, more..

Nov 27 (Island) There�s a lot of respect for Virat Kohli�s batsmanship but still, lot of people don�t like his attitude. But if you ask the Indian press about his work ethic and diet routines, you will realize that what makes him the player he is, the discipline that he has brought into his lifestyle. India last played a Test series here in 2017. The team hotel�s gym opens at 6am apparently but when King Kohli is in town, the gym has to be opened at 5 in the morning. Butter chicken and naan roti more..

Nov 27 (DM) Sri Lanka Premier League (LPL) tournament has been played without the approval of the Sports Ministry, Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe said. He told Parliament that neither the Sports Ministry nor he as the Sports Minister has seen the agreement. "I have sent a letter to the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) requesting for the agreement," he said. He said this while responding to a question by SJB MP Nalin Bandara Jayamaha during the Committee stage debate of Sports Ministry. more..

Nov 27 (TM) A Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official said that the PCB could not comment on Sri Lanka�s decision to call sport�s world governing body officials to probe allegations stemming from the Green Shirts� tour in the island nation earlier this year. Sri Lanka�s cricket board said it had invited the International Cricket Council (ICC) to investigate match-fixing allegations after Opposition lawmaker Nalin Bandara claimed in Parliament that the two-match Test series, drawn 1-1, had been fixed. more..

Nov 27 (TM) Sri Lanka suffered a 60-run defeat at the hands of the visiting Afghans in the opening game of the three-match ODI series which took place on Friday (25) at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium (PICS). It was a huge blow to SL�s hopes of securing automatic qualification for the 50-over Cricket World Cup (CWC) next year, while Afghanistan tasted a sweet victory in their first-ever bilateral series against SL. Afghanistan�s new white-ball skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi won more..

Nov 27 (ST) Chairman of Cricket Selectors, Pramodya Wickremasinghe, lashed out at his former skipper, Arjuna Ranatunga�the current head of the National Sports Council (NSC)�and Minister of Sports Roshan Ranasinghe for playing spoilsport. Ranatunga has repeatedly called for the heads of the selectors after Sri Lanka�s T20 side failed to earn a semi-final spot at the recent World Cup in Australia. more..

Nov 27 (SO) For the first time in the world, Tea Research Institute (TRI) will introduce Tea wine to the global and local market early next year. Director and CEO, TRI, Dr. Saman Hettiarachchi said that they had done over four years of research before launching this product. He said that they have already obtained a patent for this product. �Since we felt that the private sector would be the best to market it to the globe as the first made in Sri Lanka Tea wine we called for more..

Nov 27 (AD) The political parties representing the Tamil community in the northern and eastern parts of the island have agreed on three preliminary steps to resolve the issues faced by the Tamil community. The meeting took place at the official residence of MP R. Sampanthan. During the discussion, the focus fell on several issues of the Tamil community and a final agreement was reached to propose three preliminary steps to Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe in order to resolve them. more..

Nov 27 (TM) The delays in constructing the 20 km-long 220 kV transmission line from Kotmale to Polpitiya, built to transmit power from the Mahaweli Hydropower Complex, has caused the CEB to purchase supplementary power at a higher cost from private suppliers to provide an uninterrupted power supply to the island�s southern region. A senior engineer attached to the CEB, said that the total cost for the completion of more..

Nov 27 (TM) Minister of Sports Roshan Ranasinghe will shortly be completing six months in his appointed Cabinet ministerial role and within this short space of time he has faced some serious issues pertaining to several sports. Of the many issues that have taken place in the recent past, the biggest was his reluctance in sorting out a pending issue with Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) and also that of not issuing a fresh Govt gazette to nullify a similar order issued by former Minister Namal more..

Nov 27 (DM) From next week, it will be mandatory for all govt officers to report to work according to the recommended dress code as per the institution's policies, Public Administration Ministry said. State Minister Janaka Wakkumbura said the circular in this regard will be issued soon. In a statement to the media, he stated that prior to the COVID pandemic, separate circulars were issued for govt officers mentioning the appropriate dress code to report to work as a policy decision. more..

Nov 27 (DM) There is a new trend of increasing use of synthetic drugs known as ICE among schoolchildren NDDCB said. A senior NDDCB official said that parents should pay more attention to the activities of their children. It was reported that the use of ICE, heroin, and tobacco related products had become a trend among schoolchildren. It had become a trend of using certain medications tablets that use as psychotropic drugs. He stated that what the students used to accept will not be more..

Nov 27 (DM) The govt has decided to implement the law against people who come to SL as air passengers for the purpose of smuggling gold articles unnecessarily, State Minister Ranjith Siambalapitiya said. Accordingly, people arriving in the country wearing gold items of more than 22 carats without the permission of the Controller General of Imports and Exports will be suspended. Customs officials have been informed to use special techniques to ascertain the condition and more..

Nov 27 (ST) COVID-19 virus has made a resurgence in recent weeks claiming eight lives this week amidst a fast-spreading influenza virus. But health authorities will not impose any preventive regulations, including moves to restrict the arrival of foreigners in view of much-anticipated tourist arrivals in the coming weeks, officials said. Dr. Hemantha Herath said the Health Ministry had no plans to tighten health measures against the deadly more..

Nov 27 (DM) Chairman of the Public Finance Committee Dr. Harsha de Silva has instructed the Finance and Trade Ministry to calculate and give the final price at which an egg could be sold. The Chairman has instructed the officials to calculate the price of an egg in consideration of the regulations under the Import and Export (Control) Act No. 1 of 1969 related to the import of poultry feed into SL. This matter was discussed at the Committee on Public Finance held in Parliament recently more..

Nov 27 (AD) A total of 231,982 candidates (74.52%) among those who faced the 2021 GCE O/L exam have qualified for the GCE A/L exam. 10,863 have obtained �A� passes in all subjects. Meanwhile, the results of 498 candidates have been suspended. The results of the 2021 GCE O/L Examination were released online on Nov 25 (Friday). A total of 518,245 candidates faced the exam, which was held from May 23 to June 01 this year at 3,845 centres island-wide. more..

Nov 27 (TM) No hospital will have its electricity supply disconnected, with challenges regarding arrears in payment to be negotiated, Minister o Kanchana Wijesekera said last week. Minister�s comments come following controversy over allegations from Opposition MPs that there was an imminent threat of key medical institutions such as National Hospital of SL (NHSL) and Lady Ridgeway Hospital (LRH) having their power supply terminated due to delays in paying power bills, more..

Nov 27 (TM) Litro Gas Lanka will recommence full-scale distribution from Thursday (1) following the arrival of anticipated Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) shipments, Litro Gas Lanka Ltd. and Litro Gas Terminal Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. Chairman and CEO Muditha Peiris said. Litro had restricted supply last week due to high demand in the market ahead of the festive season. Peiris told The Sunday Morning that there was no shortage but that increased demand had been noticed due to the festival season. more..

Nov 27 (TM) A tanker carrying a consignment of 91,000 MT of Murban crude oil, the current preferred crude variant for SL�s only refinery, remains off the coast awaiting payment. The consignment of Murban crude oil is worth approximately $ 75 million and has been delivered by a different supplier than that of the previous crude shipment. However, although the tanker arrived last week (21), the Govt has not been able to more..

Nov 27 (ST) The Treasury has banned the conduct of parties and functions at state expenses to mark the retirement of public sector officials. The move came after reports that some of the senior public sector employees including secretaries and heads of state-owned enterprises were planning to have functions, some of them at five-star hotels to mark their retirement at state expenses. Some of the functions are being organised in halls or workplaces with catering services providing the food. more..

Nov 27 (EN) SL�s third meeting with its external creditors has not been scheduled yet, State Minister Shehan Semasinghe said, as Sri Lanka is facing a delay in its debt restructuring and IMF loan approval. Sri Lanka could not hold the third meeting with bilateral lenders scheduled for Nov 17 citing the creditors need some clarification before the next meeting. The creditors include geopolitical rivals China and India. No country has so far fully agreed with any of the debt restructuring system, more..

Nov 27 (ST) A high-ranking Indian official was in Colombo for talks with govt leaders last Monday. Samant Kumar Goel, head of the Research and Analysis Wing, India�s external intelligence agency, met Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe for wide-ranging talks. Associated with them were the Prez�s Senior National Security Advisor Sagala Ratnayake, and Milinda Moragoda, SL�s High Commissioner in India. Traditionally, the head of India�s more..

Nov 28 (DM) Tomorrow Nov 29, is recognized by the UN as the day of solidarity with the Palestinian people. The date of Nov 29 was chosen because of its meaning and significance to the Palestinian people. On Nov 29, 1947, General Assembly adopted the resolution, which came to be known as the Partition Resolution. Under that resolution it was, the Jewish state of Israel was carved out of the State of Palestine, with Jerusalem as a corpus separatum - a city given a special legal and more..

Nov 28 (DM) A Social activist filed a petition seeking a Writ of Quo Warranto [challenge a person�s right to hold a public or corporate office] seeking an order declaring State Minister of Tourism Diana Gamage is disqualified to be a MP. Petitioner claims that State Minister Gamage is a British citizen and not even a dual citizen. Under the terms of Article 91 read with Article 90 and Article 89 of the Constitution, Gamage who promotes growing Cannabis in the island as an export crop, and who talks of Night Life more..

Nov 28 (TM) Uncertainty looms over the supply of coal to the Lakvijaya Power Plant (LVPP) in Norochcholai, SK�s only power plant which generates around 40% of the total energy demand, as no supplier has come forward to supply coal on credit basis for both term and spot tenders called by Lanka Coal Company (LCC). This, as the energy regulator warned the Govt to inject required funding to purchase coal on an urgent basis more..

Nov 28 (ST) What is this uncanny fascination that SL politicians (and monks) have with the late most profoundly unlamented Adolf Hitler? It is almost like the vulgarly cheap reprints of Leonardo Da Vinci�s Mona Lisa that one finds hanging in the drawing rooms of Colombo�s nouveau riche, as if to boast one�s entry into the ranks of the elite. In an apt comparison, it seems that, not a week goes by without some President, PM or Minister invoking Nazi Germany�s genocidal tyrant by name. more..

Nov 28 (CT) On 25 Nov, an individual from Mahawa committed suicide after killing his wife the previous day by stabbing her as she was cycling back home after dropping their child off at school. Earlier this month, a son brutally attacked his parents at their residence in Polgollewa and the father succumbed to his injuries. A one-and-a-half-year-old toddler who was thrown out of a flat window in Samagipura, Grandpass by his uncle succumbed to his injuries while in the ICU. more..