Oct 26 (AD) A 2.5% social security tax will be added to the electricity tariff with effect from Oct 1, PUCSL says. This in a clarification issued to explain how the Social Security Contribution Tax affects electricity bills. As per the Social Security Contribution Levy Act, electricity supply by CEB is subject to Social Security Contribution Tax. Thereby, this tax will be charged with effect from Oct 1, 2022, on the purchase of electricity by the parties including consumers who receive electricity from CEB. more..

Oct 26 (EN) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe has issued an order allowing broken rice to be imported for animal feed as poultry farmers faced difficulties in getting maize and chicken and egg prices soared amid a currency crisis. Under a gazette notice issued by Wickremesinghe in his capacity as Minister of Finance, up to 25,000 metric tonnes of broken rice would allowed to be imported. SL has faced difficulties in importing maize, which has been under import licensing for many years to give more..

Oct 26 (Island) SLPP MP Mahindananda Aluthgamage said the Finance Ministry owed an explanation regarding its failure to regulate chartered accountants to increase state revenue. Former minister said so when asked whether the Finance Ministry had cared to verify accusations he made in Parliament on 20 Sept, about large-scale tax evasion and the role played by some chartered accountants/tax consultants in the racket. more..

Oct 26 (AD) Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe has requested Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena to appoint a Parliament Select Committee to amend the electoral system. This committee, pursuant to the provisions of the Standing Order 101 of Parliament, should not consist of more than 21 members, Minister Wijeyadasa noted in a letter addressed to the Speaker. Meanwhile, the Speaker should name the chairman and the members for this committee, the lawmaker said further. more..

Oct 26 (TS) On Oct 6, the UNHRC passed a resolution against SL with 20 countries voting in favour, 20 against and seven abstaining. Since the end of the war against the LTTE in 2009, this is the 10th resolution that has been passed against Sri Lanka to fix accountability for human rights violations committed during the last stages of the war. In September this year, the Tamils marked 2,000 days of protest seeking justice for their loved ones who disappeared during the war & after. more..

Oct 26 (DM) Former Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal was today released on bail by Colombo Chief Magistrate's Court over a private plaint filed alleging that he is responsible for the country's crippling economic crisis. Colombo Additional Magistrate Harshana Kekunawala ordered Cabraal to be released on a surety bail of Rs.10 million. The court further extended its order preventing former CB Governor Cabraal more..

Oct 26 (CT) All Ceylon Bakery Owners� Association (ACBOA) President, N.K. Jayawardena said conducting raids to detect low weight bread is absurd without providing solutions to the bakery industry. He said, several bakeries had been raided to investigate weight issues and that legal action had been taken against them. Speaking to the media, Jayawardena said, the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) had begun raiding bakeries to determine whether they adhered to the 450 g standard. more..

Oct 26 (AD) A vessel carrying 60,000 metric tons of coal reached SL last evening. Thereby, unloading this coal shipment will commence today. This coal shipment was imported from the previously contracted company. According to the Power & Energy Ministry, five more shipments of coal are expected to arrive in SL soon. Meanwhile, the fundamental rights petition filed by Venerable Omalpe Sobhitha Thero challenging the decision to award the coal tender for Lakvijaya Plant more..

Oct 26 (CI) SL have added fast bowlers Asitha Fernando and Matheesha Pathirana and wicketkeeper-batter Niroshan Dickwella as back-up players to their T20 World Cup squad in Australia following a series of injuries to their players. The trio has been called up should the need arise for them to replace players in their main squad. Tim McCaskill, head of SL Cricket's high-performance center, will also travel to Australia with the players. The decision comes a day after left-arm seamer Binura more..

Oct 26 (EN) Cabinet of ministers approved a proposal to sign a bilateral aviation agreement with the Netherlands to start direct flights to Sri Lanka in hopes of boosting tourism and investment. Minister Bandula Gunawardena said that even though the two countries started diplomatic relations in 1951, no aviation bilateral agreement has been signed between them. The proposed agreement is expected to boost tourism, education, trade, investment, agriculture and cultural sectors more..

Oct 26 (AD) Seven individuals who drove SUVs inside the Yala National Park in a reckless manner and two others who video-recorded the incident have surrendered to the park officers today. In addition, 07 SUVs that were among the fleet of vehicles were also taken into custody. Accordingly, 9 individuals and the 7 SUVs in question have been produced before the Tissamaharama Magistrate�s Court earlier. more..

Oct 26 (DM) There are over 4,000 policemen in the SL Police who are physically unfit to carry out their duties, IGP Chandana Wickramaratne has revealed. IGP revealed this at the consultative committee meeting of the Public Security Ministry today. Thus, IGP pointed out that there are about 4,000 policemen who are not at the standard level of health for a long period of time. Therefore the subject minister Tiran Alas has advised the SL Police dept to prepare the necessary proposal more..

Oct 26 (AD) The 09 suspects who were involved in reckless driving inside the Yala National Park have been granted bail by Tissamaharama Magistrate�s Court. Accordingly, they were released on a surety bail of Rs. 500,000 each. Seven individuals who drove SUVs inside Yala National Park in a reckless manner and two others who video-recorded the incident had surrendered to the park officers today. In addition, 07 SUVs that were among the fleet of vehicles were also taken into custody. more..

Oct 26 (DM) The Tangalle Magistrate Court today ordered the Director of Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) to appear in courts on Oct 28th for not reporting facts about the two IUSF leaders Wasantha Mudalige and Ven. Galwewa Siridhamma Thera, who are being detained under the PTA for 90 days. Magistrate Hemantha Pushpakumara made this order following the facts reported by the Attorney representing the two detainees, more..

Oct 26 (DM) The govt today approved SL migrant workers to import electric vehicles at the cost, insurance, and freight (CIF) value of up to 50% of the value of remittances they send to SL through official channels from May 2022 to Dec 2023. The cabinet approval in this regard has been granted by the decision on Aug 8, 2022, to provide identified relief with the objective of encouraging the migrant SL employees engaged in overseas employment to send remittances through legal means. more..

Oct 26 (AO) Arumuga Lakshmi, tormented by questions about the fate of her two children, missing for years, marched through a town in northern SL with a group of women, many holding up photographs, black flags and burning torches. During a brutal 26-year civil war between the SL govt and a militant group, LTTE, Lakshmi's daughter Ranjinithervy went missing in 2004, followed three years later by her son Sivakumar. "I just want to see my son's face," said Lakshmi, as she wiped more..

Oct 27 (DM) Asad Heider in his highly acclaimed book Mistaken Identity: Race and Class in the Age of Trump contends that identity politics cannot be equated to anti-racism. He argues that identity politics is essentially an exercise that lends to the neutralization of its movements. Moreover, he shows that identity politics subverts the passage from identity to solidarity and the collective struggle against an oppressive social structure. Heider�s thesis is obtained from movements in USA. more..

Oct 27 (CT) It is perverse to extract benefits for ourselves from the misery of others � the advanced (rich) economies; but actually, the suggestions I make in today�s column do no harm to anyone. They are passive benefits. The first question though is, will there be a global recession? The World Bank in a recent (15 Sept) press release entitled Risk of Global Recession in 2023 Rises Amid Simultaneous Rate Hikes says: START ABEVIATED QUOTE: �As central banks across world simultaneously more..

Oct 27 (TM) Although SL�s economic recovery is proving to be a painful process, the reforms that make it so painful are absolutely necessary to ensure this recovery. If the country resorts to unsustainable short-term measures for temporary comfort, the country will only face a more difficult situation moving forward. These are the prerequisites for the country�s economic revival, as explained by economic experts more..

Oct 27 (CT) Ceylon Today, quoting Chairman of National Child Protection Authority (NCPA), reported that NCPA has received 7,568 complaints of child abuse in the first 8 months of the year. According to NCPA Chairman, Dr. Chanaka Amarasinghe, the number of child abuse complaints includes sexual abuse, child labour and child begging. He also said over 8,700 children are currently on probation and it was due to a variety of issues. Every year, thousands of child abuse cases are being more..

Oct 27 (TM) Upon enactment of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution Bill is enacted as the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, the Parliamentary Council (PC) is to be reconstituted as the Constitutional Council (CC). Following this, the relevant decisions will be taken with regard to reconstituting independent commissions. The fact that these steps are to be taken in accordance with the amended Constitution is a good move, especially given the fact that the PC, more..

Oct 27 (CT) �I�m a male in my mid-20s. I really want to have sex with my girlfriend. But I�m so nervous about this. What would happen if I fail to please her? Will she leave me? Please give me some advice.� This anonymous post was published on a Facebook group a few days ago. This group is not moderated by qualified medical professionals, but a few fake Facebook profiles. It's public group, anyone can answer questions. more..

Oct 27 (DM) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe�s govt has taken several practical steps to rescue SL from its worst ever socio-economic and political crisis since independence in 1948. Backed by members of the SLPP, the President also got approval in Parliament for the 21st Amendment, which is expected to stabilize democracy in the country. But the ordinary people cannot eat constitutional amendments and we see a continuing crisis that millions of people find it difficult to find food, clothing, shelter, more..

Oct 27 (GV) SL is experiencing its worst economic crisis since independence with a rapidly declining economic growth rate coupled with widening deficits in the balance of payments, govt budget and investment and savings. The real GDP was reported to be -3.6 % in 2020 and 3.7 % in 2021. The GDP growth for the first half of the year 2022 is -4.8. According to the latest South Asia Economic Focus and the SL Update, the real GDP is expected to fall by 9.2 % in 2022 and a further 4.2% in 2023. more..

Oct 27 (DM) On October 16th, the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) opened in Beijing. I was honoured to join with leaders and representatives of 13 SL political parties both from the Govt and Opposition, as well as five China-SL friendship organizations, to watch the opening session and listen to the report delivered by Xi Jinping General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee together. In the report, General Secretary Xi Jinping proudly declared, more..

Oct 27 (EN) Stocks bucked the losing trends and recovered from a 2-1/2-month low on Wednesday as investors bought in some beaten-down shares, but the sentiment was dull with the turnover slumping to a two-month low, brokers said. The ASPI rose 1.02% or 86.57 points to close at 8,602.97, recovering from its lowest close since Aug 9. �There wasn�t any significant reason for the market to move up other than investors buying into beaten-down shares of big counters,� a market analyst said. more..

Oct 27 (ST) A SL Navy vessel which was reported missing for the past 30 days has finally come back to the country, with an officer saying there was an engine breakdown. Navy sent the vessel with a senior officer and some officers from the volunteer Navy force on September 16 for a special surveillance operation off the Southern coast. Due to bad weather at sea, the craft has drifted away for about 400 nautical miles (about 740 km) more..

Oct 27 (Island) Modern uni education was introduced to Ceylon by the British colonisers in 1921 with the establishment of the Ceylon Uni College, which eventually developed into the public uni system where academics and researchers could explore universal knowledge. In 1947, the very first Uni, Uni of Ceylon, was established. Later, Ceylon Uni Act No 01 of 1972 was to set up the institutional framework for the universities, which reflected and further entrenched colonial & patriarchal more..

Oct 27 (Island) Biggest problem ordinary Lankans are grappling with, amidst the national feeling of doom and gloom, is keeping the wolf from the door. Besides, the state coffers are empty and foreign currency reserves extremely low. SL continues to be mired in debt with no prospect of recovery in the foreseeable future. Hospitals are experiencing crippling shortages of all sorts, and children faint in schools due to hunger. The economy is in the doldrums despite the govt�s braggadocio. more..

Oct 27 (DM) Court of Appeal has commuted the death sentence of a teenager to seven-year imprisonment after taking into consideration the new amendments brought to the Penal Code in 2021 that death sentence should not be pronounced against a person who is under the age of 18 years, at the time of the commission of an offence. Court of Appeal Judges Nissanka Karunaratne and Justice R. Gurusinghe held that affirming a death sentence on an accused who was 15 years, more..

Oct 27 (DM) MP Wimal Weerawansa through his counsel today raised objections challenging the maintainability of the corruption case filed against him by Bribery Commission. Director General of CIABOC had filed indictments against Wimal Weerawansa for the alleged unlawful acquisition of money and assets, estimated at Rs.75 million within a period of six years while serving as a Minister between 2009 and 2015. Director General of the CIABOC alleged that the former Minister more..

Oct 27 (Island) COPA has found fault with Foreign Employment Ministry, Foreign Employment Bureau and other relevant institutions for failing to take advantage of the high demand for skilled workers for overseas jobs. COPA recently directed Foreign Employment Ministry to prepare an efficient programme to send trained personnel for overseas jobs in consultation with other institutions, including vocational training more..

Oct 27 (CB) Bangladesh have appointed former SL batsman Hashan Tillakaratne as the head coach of the women's team for the next two years. Tillakaratne, the current SL women's head coach, will arrive in November to take up the responsibility. Nadel Chowdhury, BCB women's cricket chairman, confirmed the development, adding that they finalized the deal during the just recently concluded Asia Cup, played in Bangladesh recently. "We have appointed him (Tillakaratne) for next 2 years more..

Oct 27 (FT) The sustainable energy sector warned of bankruptcy due to the non-payment of Rs. 35 billion in dues by the CEB. Employees in the sector yesterday staged yet another protest in Colombo demanding immediate settlement of dues. The sector accounts for 13% of the country�s energy supply. Protestors told the media it was said that even though there was an agreement to settle the dues it has only remained on paper. As the power is supplied to the grid at far below selling price more..

Oct 27 (FT) The Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS) Executive Director Dr. Dushni Weerakoon on Tuesday called for effective measures to minimise output losses owing to the current challenging macroeconomic conditions. Weerakoon said to ensure minimisation of output losses given the current challenges, in the short-term, Govt needs to conclude debt restructuring negotiations as swiftly as possible and establish credibility by more..