Oct 17 (Island) JVP says Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe fears elections, given the UNP�s pathetic performance at the last general election (2020), where it failed to have at least a single MP elected by the people. JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, addressing the JVP-led NPP�s Kesbewa electoral organisation meeting on Saturday, said that the country needed an election to get rid of the dredges of an old system but the government was afraid of elections. more..

Oct 17 (Island) Colombo Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith has called on the country�s youth to rise against injustice and change the current system, which, he says, has become the cause of misery. Addressing a gathering at the premiere of the movie, titled Prana, at Colombo City Centre, recently, the Cardinal said: �The youth must rise up and fulfil their obligations; they must work hard to bring about true freedom to the country more..

Oct 17 (EN) Sri Lanka has scheduled power cuts of 2 hours 20 minutes from October 18- 21, Chairman of the PUCSL Janaka Ratnayake said. Groups ABCDEFGHIJKLPQRSTUVW All-Groups-2022-10 will have a 1-hour power cut during the daytime from 3pm and 1 hour and 20 minutes during the night from 6pm. Sri Lanka has been imposing power cuts due to a lack of fuel imports as the country struggles with the worst currency crisis in the history of the island�s intermediate regime central bank. more..

Oct 17 (Island) Close on the heels of the project that translocated cheetahs from Namibia, the Indian govt is considering a proposal from Colombo to export a number of gaurs, or Indian bisons, to SL to revive the population of gavaras that have been extinct in the island since the end of the 17th century. If the project is cleared, it would be the first such agreement between India and SL, and part of a global trend of wildlife or zoological diplomacy, say experts. more..

Oct 17 (DM) European Union (EU) in Sri Lanka said the Team Europe focus on green recovery, as a way forward to exit the ongoing multi-faceted crisis in Sri Lanka and that the EU has stood shoulder to shoulder with Sri Lanka to help the country recover from its civil war, the 2004 Tsunami, Covid-19 pandemic, and now the economic crisis. The Heads of EU member countries in SL said this in an opinion editorial in view of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty which falls today. more..

Oct 17 (DM) Former SL Ambassador to Russia Udayanga Weeratunga who coordinates Russian tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka said he requested the health authorities to do away with mandatory requirement of carrying Covid test report for tourists. He said that SL could not compete with other countries in the attraction and promotion of tourism. The Health Ministry circular says, �unvaccinated /partially vaccinated persons of 12 years and above should mandatorily carry a negative more..

Oct 17 (TM) Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) to investigate, inquire into, and report or take necessary action on the findings of preceding commissions or committees appointed to investigate human rights violations, serious violations of International Humanitarian Law, and other such offences chaired by SC Judge A.H.M.D. Nawaz is expected to obtain 100 statements from relatives of missing persons in Kattankudy, Batticaloa more..

Oct 17 (TM) The entomology team of the Medical Research Institute has discovered a new species of mosquito increasing the biodiversity of Sri Lanka. The mosquito species has been reported from the Mirigama and Kalutara areas of Sri Lanka. Speaking to The Morning, Association of Health Entomology Officers National Organiser Disnaka Dissanayake said the species called culex (lephoceraomyia) cintellus has been reported from countries like Thailand and India. more..

Oct 17 (DM) Around 40 MPS of the govt will form a new political entity independent of SLPP. These MPS include some Cabinet Ministers such as Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe. The proposed party will continue to support Prez Wickremesinghe. Minister Ranasinghe has already resigned from the Polonnaruwa district leadership of SLPP. According to the source, some MPs such as Diana Gamage and Aravinth Kumara who joined the govt from SJB will team up with the new formation. more..

Oct 17 (TM) The National Council�s sub-committee on identifying short- and medium-term programmes related to economic stabilisation, headed by MP Patali Champika Ranawaka, will initiate a dialogue with the experts from the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Trade, and other officials from the related sector on 18 and 19 October to discuss on how to meet the demand for food in SL. SJB�s MP Ranawaka yesterday said more..

Oct 17 (AD) SLPP member of the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC), Priyanka Jayasekara denies that she has stolen a luxury vehicle belonging to Ven. Muruththettuwe Ananda Thero. She further mentioned that the vehicle in question, a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado V8, was handed over to her by Ven. Muruththettuwe Ananda Thero himself to sell and obtain the money which he had owed her over a business deal. In response to the allegations levelled against her by the Thero, more..

Oct 17 (EN) The proposed 22nd amendment needs only 150 votes to be passed in parliament and a majority of the ruling SLPP support the existing draft of the amendment, Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said. He expressed his belief that a majority of the SLPP will vote for the 22nd amendment bill in its current form after it is taken up for debate in parliament on Oct 20 and 21. Media reports quoting SLPP secretary general Sagara Kariyawasam had said over the weekend more..

Oct 18 (DM) A new anti-corruption law proposed by the Govt envisages the creation of an Independent Commission to deal with corruption in the country. Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe had told media that the Bill will be presented in Parliament soon. SL has earned a very bad int'l reputation for corruption, with even the International financial institutions pressing the govt to take decisive action to minimize corruption as a prerequisite for their assistance to overcome the current economic mess. more..

Oct 18 (DM) China�s Prez Xi Jinping would be anointed for an unprecedented third term at the end of 20th National People�s Congress that began in Beijing on Sunday. In all substance, that move would take China�s political structure and its governing principles right into the reign of Chairman Mao Tse Dong, a period characterized by absolute leadership and cult worship of Great Helmsman, man-made famine and needless chaos of the Cultural revolution. Xi borrowed from Mao�s textbook. more..

Oct 18 (DM) A shortage of 170 drugs was reported from govt hospitals recently. Many say that the severe economic crisis is the reason for this shortage. But it was revealed that the drug shortage had been created as a result of a decision taken by top officials of the Health Ministry. Sri Lanka received a credit line from India and funds from the WB, WHO & ADB to import certain selected drugs. Several health sector officials maintain that more..

Oct 18 (TM) Ministry of Power and Energy is exploring the possibility of utilising some of the storage tanks of the Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Ltd (CPSTL) as a bonded warehouse to hold inbound fuel consignments ashore, in an effort to avoid incurring massive demurrage costs from tankers awaiting payments to unload, Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said. He said that the plan had already received the green light from the Standing Cabinet Appointed Procurement more..

Oct 18 (ST) Between politics and Mohamed Ali Sabry, there is an unfortunate disconnect. Each time Sabry is elevated to the cabinet, be it as Justice Minister, Finance Minister or Foreign Minister, trouble appears to follow him. Remember the public ha-ho in early Nov 2021 when Prez Rajapaksa appointment of that highly controversial monk Galagodaatte Gnanasara Thera to head a commission to draft the One Country, One Law. That caught Justice Minister Sabry quite more..

Oct 18 (SO) It has been 13 years since the 3 decade long battle against terrorism ended. But every year since then, allegations of human rights violations including war crimes are levelled against SL by the UNHRC, led by Western countries, are brought to the fore. This year seven countries voted in our favour while 20 countries abstained from voting. Admittedly some accusations against Sri Lanka are baseless. more..

Oct 18 (TM) The popular opinion is that the economic crisis cost the country much in terms of the economy and socially speaking, while there is some progress as far as the people�s contribution in altering the political movement is concerned. However, there is more to lose than what the country has already lost. Human capital � the skills, knowledge, and qualifications of a person, group, or a workforce that have a considerable value economically � is one such asset. more..

Oct 18 (CT) While bakery owners refused to lower the price of a loaf of bread, which is one of the staple foods that ordinary Sri Lankans consume, canteen owners opted to lower the price of kottu in response to the decline in wheat flour costs in the wholesale market. While bread is a food item that is consumed on a regular basis by all communities, starting with lower class families and moving up, kottu is not. Why is the public not qualified to gain from the decrease in wheat flour costs, more..

Oct 18 (DN) Skipper Dasun Shanaka has warned that time was running out for his team and today�s second qualifying round match against UAE in the T20 Cricket World Cup will provide them with very little breathing space. His remarks come in the aftermath of SL�s defeat at the hands of Namibia in the first qualifying round match that in all probability pushed them to now qualify as Group A runners up. Only a win in today�s match can keep SL afloat with the final qualifying round match against more..

Oct 18 (GV) Since I live far away from SL, digital media has been my main source of information about the country for years now. Reading articles online has given me an opportunity to update myself about the situation not only quickly but also with a variety of viewpoints, local as well as international. Out of the many items I came across in the past few days, three caught my attention probably because they all had some relevance to one topic � food, a topic that the whole world talks about. more..

Oct 18 (Island) United Rice Producers� Association (URPA) has alleged that the releasing of one million kilos of rice held at the Colombo Port will lead to a sharp drop in the rice prices and the rice market could even collapse. Muditha Perera, who heads Polonnaruwa-based URPA, said that farmers had been struggling to sell their produce. �If large stocks of imported rice are allowed into the market now, there would be more..

Oct 18 (ST) Letters of credit backlog has been cleared and inward remittances from migrant workers are firming up in the banking sector but prohibitive interest rates will jack up non-performing loans and block new projects and general business growth, analysts say. �The letters of credit backlog has been cleared. We are also seeing a modest month-on-month improvement in inward remittances,� a senior banker said. He said that in the next quarter the industry is expecting more..

Oct 18 (Island) There has been a real hullabaloo over the alleged leniency of the prisons authorities and the police towards Thilini Piyamali, a suspected swindler, currently being held in custody. They usually handcuff inmates taken out, on court orders, but Piyamali was recently seen without handcuffs while being taken by the CID to her office at the World Trade Centre, Col 1. Dept of Prisons and the police have trotted out some lame excuses, and now the press is not given access to the places more..

Oct 18 (FT) The manufacturing sector suffered a contraction in September whilst the services sector limped to marginal growth as per the Purchasing Managers Indices (PMI). The index compiler, Central Bank, said yesterday the manufacturing PMI declined indicating a setback in manufacturing activities on a month-on-month basis. Services PMI recorded an index value of 51.2 in Sept 2022 indicating a marginal expansion in the services sector driven by the increases observed more..

Oct 18 (FT) MP Udaya Gammanpila has challenged the Govt to dissolve Parliament if it is confident of a win at a forthcoming general election. The MP, speaking at a press conference held, said the Parliament should be dissolved and elections called as it appears the SLPP led Govt is agreeable to this suggestion and is confident of a resounding victory. �Those who claimed in Nawalapitiya that they would win at an election are the very ones who are against elections being held as scheduled,� more..

Oct 18 (ST) Govt will have to spend more than Rs 38bn in resettlement expenses alone for the construction of 9.5km of the proposed elevated highway from Rajagiriya to Athurugiriya by China Harbour Engineering Corporation (CHEC). This includes compensation for lands, homes and trees, self-relocation and rental accommodation, replacement of public and common properties, livelihood restoration and rehabilitation, more..

Oct 18 (Island) Sadeepa Anusanka of Moaratu Vidyalaya continued his unbeaten run in the schools circuit when he won the boys� title of the All Island Schools half marathon last week. Anusanka returned a time of one hour, 15 minutes and 38 seconds to win the title ahead of Northern Province athlete Suman Keeran of Mulankavil Maha Vidyalaya, Kilinochchi. A.K.D. Dilhara of Miriswatta National School finished third. Anusanka has been the undisputed champion in long distance track more..

Oct 18 (Island) By end May 2022, total outstanding domestic debt amounted to Rs. 12,522.1bn while the rupee value of total outstanding foreign debt amounted to Rs. 11,529.2 bn, according to Weekly Economic Indicators report of the CB. Meanwhile, outstanding central govt debt increased to Rs. 24,051.4 bn by end May 2022 from Rs. 17,589.4 bn as at end 2021. The reserve money increased compared to the previous week mainly due to increase in the deposits held by more..

Oct 18 (DM) The tea industry sounded the alarm on the govt�s latest move to increase the corporate income tax rate, highlighting that the move would negatively impact the competitiveness of Ceylon Tea in the global market. A similar concern was raised by the apparel sector last week. In a statement to the media, the Tea Exporters Association (TEA) pointed out that the move by the govt to more than double the corporate income tax rate would impact the already struggling industry in three ways. more..

Oct 18 (CT) Report of the third DNA test to confirm the death of Sara Jasmine, alias Pulasthini Mahendran has been concluded and presented to the relevant authorities. According to an official at Govt Analyst�s Dept, the DNA report has been submitted to the Police and the Court system. However, he did not disclose the outcome of the report. The investigators intend to re-examine the DNA to determine whether the remains of Sara, an Islamist extremist and member of Zahran more..

Oct 18 (TM) PUCSL hopes to cover the electricity tariff related revenue shortfall from religious institutions resulting from the 50% concession announced last week through additional hydropower generation made possible by the heavy rainfall recorded over the past few weeks or through the Treasury, Even though the Treasury said that they can bankroll only the proposals mentioned in the 2022 interim Budget. more..

Oct 18 (EN) SriLankan Airlines is likely to see a shortage of pilots around March 2023 as many trained local pilots working in the national carrier are moving for lucrative offers in Qatar Airways and Emirates amid an unprecedented economic crisis and tax hikes, sources who are aware of the move said. �We may see an over staff in December before suffering a shortage around March 2023,� a source said. �The pilots have been joining both Qatar Airways and Emirates since the crisis was on. more..

Oct 18 (FT) SJB MP Tissa Attanayake says the annual party conference of the SJB, led by the party will be held on 11 Dec in Colombo. Conference has been titled as The program to rebuild the fallen nation. Attanayake said the third consecutive party conference is considered special as it is being held at a critical juncture for the country. �Therefore, all representatives and organisers according to electoral constituencies, local Govt members and trade unionists will be invited for the event,� more..