Oct 4 (Island) President of the Catholic Bishops� Conference, Rt. Rev. Harold Anthony Perera, who is also the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kurunegala has told Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe that the victims of the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage had been denied justice. Rt. Rev. Perera has stressed the responsibility on the part of the govt to bring the perpetrators of the Easter massacre to justice. more..

Oct 4 (Island) SJB in Parliament, said that the life of Inter Uni Students� Federation Convenor, Wasantha Mudalige, in custody, was in danger. Kandy District MP Lakshman Kiriella said that Mudalige had been taken out of the prison by the law enforcement authorities stating that he could lead them to show the locations he had mentioned during interrogations. �We have information that Mudalige has been taken out of the detention centre several times at night. more..

Oct 4 (CT) Peradeniya Police stated that another fourth -year undergraduate of the Engineering Faculty of the Peradeniya Uni had gone missing since 2 Oct. An officer from the Peradeniya Police stated that the student concerned, who had resided at the University Hostel, had gone out of the Campus premises at around 8 p.m. on the said date and since then his whereabouts had become unknown. Police added that the missing student, indentified as 25-year-old Pulasthi Perera, more..

Oct 4 (DM) Former Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa who returned back to the country recently after countries failed to give him asylum, has now begun a secret PR campaign to clear his failed image within the masses, to persuade the villages that he was misguided in making crucial decisions by those close to him. Senior sources said that a team put together by a media personality and business tycoon are now visiting the villages which Rajapaksa more..

Oct 4 (DM) SLPP MP Wimalaweera Dissanayake said that like himself, former Prez's son MP Namal Rajapaksa is also suffering from malnutrition. While answering a question raised by a journalist said that SL has become among the countries suffering from severe hunger, the MP said that not only in SL, malnutrition has existed in the history of any country to some extent, but not as much reported by the media. "Now it is said that the prices of eggs, milk powder, fish and meat are high and people more..

Oct 4 (FT) Sri Lanka has been facing a serious food crisis since 2021. This is due to the increase in prices of fertilisers, rice and other inputs. Food inflation is a major cause of food insecurity. SL ranks 5th among 10 countries with the highest food price inflation according to a World Bank report. According to the Census and Statistics Department (CSD), Colombo�s food inflation recorded 90.9% year-on-year (YoY) to this month. In 2009, 88% of households were food secure. more..

Oct 4 (AD) President of Iceland Guoni Th. Johannesson, congratulating his Sri Lankan counterpart Ranil Wickremesinghe on his election as the President of SL, has further assured to strengthen the bond of friendship between the two countries, the President�s Media Division (PMD) said in a statement. He also expressed confidence that the people of Sri Lanka will successfully deal with the economic challenges while preserving social harmony, which must be quintessential to SL. more..

Oct 4 (DM) The govt would not hesitate to introduce additional laws and regulations if and when necessary despite the withdrawal of regulations issued to set up 8 High Security Zones (HSZ) in Colombo to restraint recurrence of what the govt called acts of terrorism Minister Bandula Gunaardana said. In response to Daily Mirror when asked yesterday at the weekly post cabinet news briefing as to why no action has been taken against the Defense Secretary, General Kamal more..

Oct 4 (EN) Following a report by SL�s auditor general�s department, the parliamentary Committee on Public Finance (COPF) has recommended that action be taken against officials who oversaw a 2022-2025 coal tender for the Norochcholai coal power plant. Minister Kanchana Wijesekara shot back in parliament, asking the committee to hear out the officials� version of events before making recommendations. more..

Oct 4 (FT) Parliament is about to debate the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution Bill this week. Among its features (both positive and negative), there appears to be one conspicuous gap: the urgent Bill process is left untouched. One of the most egregious elements of the 20th Amendment was the reintroduction of the urgent Bill process. 19th Amendment had in fact repealed Article 122, which sets out this process. Yet, the Article was reintroduced through the subsequent Amd more..

Oct 4 (AD) Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesting university students at Dalugama, Kelaniya. The demonstration had been organized by the Inter University Students� Federation (IUSF) against the incumbent government and demanding the release of the protesters arrested under the PTA. Police fired tear gas and water cannons at the protesters in the Dalugama area as they were attempting to breach a police blockade during the protest march. more..

Oct 4 (EN) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe�s administration will likely bring in new legislation aimed at protecting the basic rights of the people, Minister Bandula Gunawardena said after the govt revoked a controversial return to war-time high security zones. Prez signed a declaration of several HSZ in Colombo on Sept 24 after months of protests. The legality of the move was widely questioned, after which decision was revoked more..

Oct 4 (TM) Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe (PC) yesterday noted in Parliament that he had communicated the language barrier-related issues faced by SL Law College students while sitting for internal examinations to CJ Jayantha Jayasuriya (PC), who presides over the Council of Legal Education. Dr. Rajapakshe noted this in a response to questions posed by SJB MP Buddhika Pathirana regarding Law College internal examinations being conducted only in the English language, more..

Oct 4 (Island) Colombo Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith says the govt will soon have to incarcerate the entire population if it goes on jailing those who express their dissent. Delivering a homily at the Holy Mass followed by the consecration of the newly-renovated Sacred Heart Church at Maththumagala recently, Cardinal Ranjith said that around 4,000 youth involved in the recent Aragalaya against the govt, were being arrested and detained. �These youth have been fighting for more..

Oct 4 (DM) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe today denied in Parliament the allegation made by SJB MP S. M. Marikkar that the President met Arjuna Mahendran, the former CB Governor who was accused of bond scam and had lunch with him in Singapore on his return journey to Sri Lanka from Japan. �We were told that the Prez had met a Singaporean Minister on his way back to SL from Japan. However we had information that he had in fact met Mahendran and had lunch with him,� more..

Oct 4 (ANI) Half-century from opener Harshitha Samarawickrama and top bowling spells from Achini Kulasuriya and Sugandika Kumari helped Sri Lanka clinch their second win in the Women's Asia Cup 2022 after defeating Thailand by 49 runs at Sylhet on Tuesday. With this win, SL is at third position in the table with four points and two wins in three games. On the other hand, Thailand is at the second-last spot in the table with no wins in both of their matches. SL hit 156/5 in their 20 overs, more..

Oct 4 (AI) SL authorities and the int'l community must fully incorporate human rights into their responses to the country�s economic crisis, Amnesty International said in a new report today, as people in the country face serious concerns around access to healthcare while being driven to the brink of starvation, widespread malnutrition, and deep poverty. The report, We are near total breakdown: Protecting the rights to health, food and more..

Oct 4 (wsws) On Sept 14, SL�s plantation-based CWC, suddenly held a protest to block the transport of finished tea products at 14 estates owned by the Maskeliya Plantation Company in Nuwara-Eliya district. The union�s action, which continued until September 23, was for estate workers to be paid the 1,000-rupee daily wage, between two to three US dollars. The blockade only involved local CWC leaders, the union directing workers at the estates to not to join the action. more..

Oct 4 (TM) British Tamil Forum (BTF), commenting on the final resolution by the Core Group of Countries on SL at the 51st UNHRC session, noted that the issues relating to SL should be referred to international criminal justice mechanisms. BTF General Secretary V. Ravi Kumar noted that his organisation endorses supporting the victim community�s grievances and aspirations to take tangible actions by referring this matter to international criminal justice mechanisms, more..

Oct 4 (Reuters) SL's central bank is likely to maintain interest rates on Thursday in an effort to get a grip on inflation which has remained stubbornly high despite a sharp contraction in the crisis-hit economy. Nine out of 14 economists and analysts polled by Reuters said they expect rates to remain unchanged as the Central Bank of SL (CBSL) waits for the effects of its earlier hikes to filter through to the economy and more..

Oct 4 (UCAN) A Catholic MP has expressed concern over the security cover provided to Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith amid claims of a renewed threat. State Minister of Defence Premitha Bandara Tennakoon said he was not aware of any threat to the head of the nation�s Catholic Church but assured to look into the matter in response to a question raised by the opposition in Parliament on Oct. 3 The issue was raised by Kavinda Jayawardane, a Catholic MP belonging to SJB. more..

Oct 4 (AT) To a large extent, Sri Lanka�s economic crisis is an outcome of the nation�s reliance on creditor nations and multilateral agencies for managing its chronic fiscal and current-account deficits. The country�s ratio of external debt to GDP has been above 50% for a long time. The debt structure is also fragile as short-term debt and private creditors who are susceptible to capital flight and interest-rate volatility account for 45% of the nation�s external debt. more..

Oct 4 (AD) State Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya says that the results of the govt�s decisions which were taken to strengthen the economy are gradually starting to be seen. He points out that, the decrease in the cost of imports has increased as a percentage due to the restrictions imposed on the import of goods. It has become possible to reduce the cost of imports by 25%, by the month of July this year compared to July 2021, he added. In addition, state minister Siyambalapitiya emphasizes more..

Oct 4 (NR) SJB MP Eran Wickramaratne says when looking back at the history of the past 40 years of providing tax incentives for foreign investments, it really failed in terms of govt revenue. Speaking in Parliament today the MP said some foreign exchanges have been brought to the country, while some are held in foreign countries by investors. He noted that jobs have been created yet claimed that the country has not been able to obtain govt revenue. more..

Oct 4 (MB) In the months leading up to SL�s presidential election in Nov 2019, leading candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa spoke about the need for leaders to implement policies without arguing about the law. It was important simply for politicians to understand national needs and to address them through national policies. He was speaking before a gathering of the Viyath Maga, an association of professionals from various more..

Oct 4 (Xinhua) The govt has decided to provide lunch for another 1 million school students, cabinet spokesman Bandula Gunawardena said on Tuesday. He said that the cabinet of ministers on Monday granted approval to the proposal submitted by Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe. The decision will be implemented immediately, he said. "In recent months, there has been a lot of concerns about the nutrition of school children. There were reports that due to the economic crisis, a lot of children more..

Oct 4 (DM) The milk powder companies have taken steps to increase the prices of local milk powder after the introduction of the Social Security Contribution Tax and the high cost of ingredients. The companies have increased the price of a 400g pouch by Rs.125. Accordingly, the 400g packet of Pelawatta milk powder has now been increased by Rs.125. Meanwhile, Renuka Perera, the Chairman of MILCO Ltd., has stated that the prices of milk powder packets will be raised as well. more..

Oct 4 (DM) Fresh hurdles have emerged in the way of the enactment of 22nd Amendment after SLPP which commands the majority support in Parliament objected to it in its present form, Daily Mirror learns. The bill which is listed for debate in Parliament today and tomorrow was taken up for discussion at the parliamentary group meeting of the govt on Monday evening. It seeks to reduce powers of the president to be vested with Parliament. more..

Oct 4 (EN) SL has drawn up laws to grow cannabis for medicinal purposes which will be presented for Cabinet approval soon, Minister for Indigenous medicine Sirira Jayakody said. �Canabis comes under the Ayurveda (Indigenous Medicine) Act,� he said. �It is a subject coming under Dept of Ayurveda. �We have to handle this with discipline. We cannot allow it to be used for recreational purposes. But we can use cannabis and cannabis extracts for medicinal purposes. more..

Oct 4 (DM) The prices of all types of mobile phones and accessories would go up again soon after the introduction of the Social Security Contribution Tax, All Ceylon Communication Owners' Association (ACCOA) said. The tax was imposed on major importers whose annual income is more than Rs. 10 million. "The major importers used to add the tax when selling the products to retailers. In turn, the retailers increase the prices with added taxes when selling their products to customers," more..

Oct 5 (DM) On an everyday basis, international news headlines are filled with gory stories of death and destruction coming out of the war in Ukraine. The Russo-Ukraine war is now dragging on into its seventh month. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has verified a total of 5,996 civilian deaths as at Sept 25, 2022, of them, 382 were children. A further 8,848 people were reported to have been injured. The OHCHR adds, real numbers could be higher. more..

Oct 5 (CT) With the lapse of almost an year since the controversy surrounding the procurement of organic fertiliser from China, the loss suffered by SL appears to be conveniently overlooked. In Oct 2021, despite authorities stating the ship carrying the said organic fertiliser will not be allowed into SL, as the Plant Quarantine Authorities had informed that the stock was contaminated, the ship entered SL waters. The Chinese company in question, Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group, later instructed SL to more..

Oct 5 (CT) On 27 Sept, World Tourism Day, several images and events related to tourism were circulated on social media, but had no bearing on SL�s broader tourism industry for reasons of political turmoil with major protests for a system change that would eradicate poverty, corruption, and political intervention in all sectors. The country�s image has been tarnished and the present status quo conjoins Easter Sunday more..

Oct 5 (DM) In view of the repression on peaceful protesters and the present Govt�s failure to resolve the issues faced by the people, the National Peace Council (NPC)-an independent and non-partisan organization that works towards a negotiated political solution to the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka-has issued a statement calling on the Govt to address the root causes of the protest movement while adhering to the norms of good governance. The full statement is as follows: more..

Oct 5 (GV) The failure of SL�s rulers to protect ordinary people and treat with them with dignity will be a focus of worldwide attention on Oct 6 when the UNHRC votes on an important resolution. The final draft of promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in SL outlines multiple failings and calls for justice, although it does not go as far as some critics of the regime would like in terms of mechanisms for accountability. However if passed it may lay the foundation for further, more..

Oct 5 (TM) Despite various efforts by the SL Govt, the adverse impacts of the prevailing economic crisis seem to be worsening, and crisis-hit Sri Lankans feel that the country is nearing a total breakdown. Vital sectors such as health, food production and provision, and social security are in dire straits, in addition to rising inflation. Given the seriousness of the situation, it is crucial that SL�s economic rebuilding efforts are supported by more..