Oct 5 (EN) SL is considering controlling rubber imports for export industries in a bid to keep domestic rubber prices up, Minister Bandula Gunawardana said. SL export industries approved by the BoI are allowed to import rubber when required. Some tyre firm in particular need lower grade rubber which are not available in sufficient quantities. Minister Ramesh Pathirana had informed cabinet that authorities were looking to control rubber imports to keep domestic prices up, more..

Oct 5 (Island) Govt would recruit as many as 8,000 new teachers in 2023 to enhance the level of education at the provincial level and to fill vacancies in the cadre, especially due to raising the retirement age to 60, from this December, Minister Susil Premajayantha said. He mentioned that 8,000 teachers would retire in 2023 and these vacancies had to be filled. Minister said Education Ministry had already called for applications, & teachers would be recruited on basis of an aptitude test. more..

Oct 5 (DM) US Embassy in Colombo announced that the 2024 Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery Program, popularly known as the Green Card Lottery, will be accepting online applications starting tonight. According to the US Embassy in Colombo, the DV2024 Diversity Visa Program (http://dvprogram.state.gov) is the only way to enter, and all processing is done electronically, with no paper entries permitted. The lottery application period will be open from Oct 5 (9:30 am) to more..

Oct 5 (AD) Leader of the Opposition, Sajith Premadasa today requested the govt to arrange for the release of IUSF convenor Wasantha Mudalige and the two others who are detained under the PTA. Making a special statement regarding the matter in the parliament today, he stressed the need to conduct a normal investigation if there are any charges against them. MP Premadasa further claimed that more..

Oct 5 (AD) Medical supplies worth over USD 2.74 million have been donated by HOPE Worldwide, a leading international humanitarian organization in the United States, to provide immediate relief to Sri Lankans. This is in collaboration with the Embassy of SL in Washington DC. This brings the total medical assistance to SL from American organizations to over USD 12 million during the past week. �We are thankful for the generous donation of $2.74 million in medical supplies from more..

Oct 5 (DM) A hill country leopard was seen trapped inside a house in Mount Vernon estate in Patana near Talawakele was safely captured and taken to Randenigala Veterinary Medical Unit by wildlife conservators from the Haggala wildlife office. Wildlife officers, led by Veterinary Surgeon Dr. Akalanka Pinidiya had taken more than five hours to capture the beast unhurt. They said the animal was giving chase to catch a prey might have entered the house at night and lost its way out. more..

Oct 5 (FT) Cabinet has approved to present the draft of the Appropriation Bill with enhanced expenditure for the financial year 2023 in Parliament. As per the draft of the Appropriation Bill for 2023, the total expenditure estimated for 2023 is a staggering Rs. 7.8 trillion as against Rs. 6.1 trillion for 2022. Recurrent Expenditure has been estimated at Rs. 4.6 trillion, while total Capital Expenditure at Rs. 3.24 trillion. more..

Oct 5 (DM) It was revealed in Parliament today that a Rs. 40 million worth Hummer vehicle which was seized by the customs Dept has been sold at an auction to the same person who illegally imported it for lesser than 33% of the estimated value. State Finance Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said he had called for a report over the incident. The Minister said this in response to a question raised by MP Vasudewa Nanayakkara. Hummer had been estimated by the Customs as Rs. 40 million more..

Oct 5 (FT) Govt has decided to double the spending on the school lunch program to Rs. 8 billion, to serve an additional one million students following support received from donor agencies and friendly countries. The proposal to this effect, submitted by Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe, was approved by the Cabinet Ministers on Monday. �Annually, Govt spends around Rs. 4 billion to implement the school lunch program covering 1.08 million students in 7,926 schools countrywide. more..

Oct 5 (DM) The National Zoological Garden in Dehiwala recorded the highest income on World Children's Day, which fell on Oct 1, Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation Ministry said. They said the total income earned by the Dehiwala Zoo on that day was Rs. 508,377. The management of the Zoological Dept informed Minister Mahinda Amaraweera about this yesterday, claiming that all other zoos were also able to notch a record income in one day, the World Children's Day. more..

Oct 5 (AD) The Court of Appeal has issued summons on State Minister Sanath Nishantha to appear before the court on Oct 13 to show cause over the contempt of court charges levelled against him. The Appellate Court bench consisting of Justices Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne and R. Gurusinghe served the summons after taking into consideration a petition filed by the Judicial Officers� Association of Sri Lanka, seeking punishment for the State Minister over contempt of court. more..

Oct 5 (Island) Dissident SLPP lawmaker Prof. G.L. Peiris has alleged that the Rajapaksa-Wickremesinghe administration has allocated 320 vehicles for the recently appointed 38 State Ministers and their staff. In addition, those who had been appointed District Coordinators had also been allocated vehicles, the he said. The ruling SLPP secured the lion�s share of state ministerial portfolios, as well as lucrative appointments more..

Oct 5 (AD) MP Kabir Hashim was elected today unanimously as the new chairman to the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA). Accordingly, MP S. B. Dissanayake proposed his name as the Chairman of the Committee and it was seconded by MP Niroshan Perera. SJB MP Kabir Hashim said that he hopes to get the support of the former chairmen and members of the committee to carry out the work of the committee more efficiently. The COPA held its inaugural meeting this morning (Oct 05). more..

Oct 5 (DM) Health authorities in the Anuradhapura district are perturbed by the increase in HIV infected cases and the death rate has reached alarming proportions. Senior Medical Officer of A'apura Sexual Health Services Centre Dr. Hema Weerakoon said 24 HIV infected individuals have been identified during the past nine months of the year and out of the 24 infected, four had died. The rate of HIV infections in the district reported this year was the highest when compared to more..

Oct 5 (TM) In response to the Govt�s recent decision to not proceed with the recommendations mentioned in the final report of the One Country, One Law Presidential Task Force (PTF), PTF Chairman Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera claimed that the said report does not contain recommendations targeting any race or religion, and that therefore, it is the Govt�s responsibility to implement it. He said that the PTF has more..

Oct 5 (TM) Following the re-emergence of fuel queues in selected fuelling stations islandwide due to the Petroleum Dealers� Association�s decision to withdraw from fuel distribution yesterday, Ministry of Power and Energy reversed its decision to impose a 45% commission on CPC-owned fuelling sheds in the country. An official from the Ministry stated that the imposition of the 45% commission has been postponed, and that the funds that were collected from the dealers on Monday (3) had been more..

Oct 5 (DN) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe has declared the supply of electricity and the supply or distribution of petroleum products and fuel as essential public services. Gazette Extraordinary, carrying the Prez�s proclamation under the Essential Public Services Act of 1979, was issued on Monday night by Secretary to the Prez Saman Ekanayake. Accordingly, all services, work or labour, necessary or required for the supply of electricity and the supply or distribution of petroleum products more..

Oct 6 (TM) It was reported earlier this week that in a bid to ensure food security and nutrition among communities that are most affected by food inflation, and to eradicate malnutrition, Cabinet of Ministers has granted approval to establish a Food Policy Committee. In this regard, Cabinet Spokesman Dr. Bandula Gunawardana stated that the Govt is working on implementing policies to ensure the said objective. Amidst a national crisis that has dealt a heavy blow to the access, availability, more..

Oct 6 (DM) In some corner of the world, atop a mountain, in a cave, by a stream, in a coffee shop or a corporate office, there could be someone who is a saint. Right next to such a person there could be someone else who may have acquired marga-pala � sovan, sakrudhagami, anagami or arahat. The vast majority of people in this world, regardless of what religious or philosophical doctrine they identify themselves with, it is safe to say, are not even close to achieving those lofty states of being. more..

Oct 6 (TM) Despite promises by successive govts to make scientific appointments of Ministers and Ministries, in SL, subjects and institutions assigned to ministries are subjected to change constantly, and in many cases, are unrelated. In a context where this has considerably increased the time and cost of the Ministries� operations, in the ongoing discussions regarding Ministers� qualifications and the high number more..

Oct 6 (DM) A tourist fresh from his/her homeland walking or driving along the roads of Colombo, could not be faulted for mistaking our country as a middle income nation. Luxury apartments and shopping malls have sprung up in all parts of the capital. Fancy and latest vehicles speed along our somewhat bumpy roads. Pubs and night clubs still remain well patronized. The periphery presents just such an air of well-being. Yet nothing could be further away from the truth. more..

Oct 6 (CT) The recent tariff hikes, particularly of electricity and water, have brought into sharp focus an underlying, though still growing, conflict between the State and the Buddhist clergy. Buddhist monks have vowed not to pay the revised bills, while the country�s Energy Minister, Kanchana Wijesekera, has stated that if they do not, power will be disconnected. The most vocal of these priests, Omalpe Sobitha Thera, a firebrand of the JHU and now a critic of the Rajapaksas, more..

Oct 6 (CT) A severe manpower shortage has developed in Sri Lanka Railways (SLR) stemming from the tug of war amongst State institutions to absorb permanent staff to the cadre of Railways Dept. This shortage affects not only commuters who use trains as a form of public transport, but also deprives trained and skilled workers who are aspiring for employment. SL Station Masters� Union (SLSMU) recently dropped a bombshell citing more..

Oct 6 (CT) The saga of coal tender for Norochcholai Power Plant reached its climax this week, when the Auditor General determined that the tender of buying coal for Norochcholai Power Plant for 2022-2025 did not follow the approved procurement guidelines. This was revealed when Chairman of COPF, Dr. Harsha de Silva tabled the AG�s report on coal procurement for Norochcholai Power Plant for 2022-2025 in Parliament on Tuesday. The AG, in the report said, the company that was awarded more..

Oct 6 (Island) The Rajapaksa-Wickremesinghe govt has proved once again that probity is anathema to it. Its leaders have engineered the exclusion of dissident SLPP MPs Prof. Charitha Herath and Prof. Tissa Vitharana from the COPE and COPA respectively. Never do they baulk at anything to cover up their corrupt deals, safeguard their interests, and protect crooks. When Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe prorogued Parliament in July, causing the COPE, the COPA, and more..

Oct 6 (TM) We are somewhat puzzled when it comes to commemorating those killed in SL�s civil war. Perhaps the Western diplomats � UN and UNHRC � may care to answer and put our doubts at rest. We are more than a little curious to know why the UN/UNHRC and Western diplomats� attention is always directed in favour of the LTTE; what about the Tamils killed by the LTTE? Don�t their lives matter? We notice TNA, Jaffna Uni academics & students, a number of Tamil organisations more..

Oct 6 (DM) The main platform of the younger generation known, as Aragalaya had been for a system change due to the absence of JUSTICE AND FAIRPLAY. The critical need that young and old yearn today is to have systems in place if the country is to progress. Next year we reach 75 having being governed by our nationals and what we observe is appalling, bankrupted while those who took command in 2005 are dollar billionaires. It had been flagrantly clear that under more..

Oct 6 (FT) The Central Bank has announced a diagnostic study of the Balance Sheet of nine systemically important banks including the two State-owned Bank of Ceylon and People�s Bank. The move was announced during a meeting convened by CBSL with relevant commercial banks on Tuesday. The study will also assess the impact on credit quality in a high interest rate environment. The exercise will be done by an auditor more..

Oct 6 (FT) PM Dinesh Gunawardena yesterday told a forum of provincial governors that people want immediate rewarding results not complicated plans. �They want results, results and results,� PM said at the first international conference on Local Governance and Leadership; Global Challenges and Experiences at the SL Foundation organised by the SL Institute of Local Govt. He added that identifying people�s problems and providing solutions to them through participatory democracy more..

Oct 6 (ST) SL�s cash-strapped govt has announced a taxation overhaul to boost revenue amid the country�s crippling economic crisis, hiking value added taxes and corporate income tax, and slashing the relief given to individual taxpayers. Govt is now striving to introduce more direct taxes on par with international practices with the aim of increasing tax revenue at least by 15%, Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said. He added that percentage of direct tax should be increased 15% to 35% more..

Oct 6 (ST) So far, 2,000 bakeries have been forced to close down due to the shortage of wheat flour, Bakery Owners Association said. Association president, N.K Jayewardene said that out of the 7,000 bakeries, 2,000 bakeries have now closed. The two companies that import flour have not supplied enough. �Normally US$15 million is spent for one shipment of wheat. But, the companies find it difficult to obtain dollars," he said. Mr Jayawardena said only a few bakers can afford to buy more..

Oct 6 (FT) President Ranil Wickremesinghe has instructed PM Dinesh Gunawardena to inquire from political parties in the Opposition regarding their final stance on the 22nd Amendment. Prez has asked the PM to seek their opinion and inform him of their decision immediately. Wickremesinghe has instructed Gunawardena after it was revealed that various groups in the Opposition had expressed contradictory views on the proposed 22A on several occasions. more..

Oct 6 (Island) SL�s former Ambassador to Myanmar, Prof. Nalin de Silva, has said that whatever amendments introduced to a particular Bill at the committee stage should be definitely subjected to the approval by the Supreme Court. The one-time Mathematics Don has stressed that the Speaker shouldn�t endorse the amended Bill until the Parliament obtained the Supreme Court�s consent. Prof. De Silva said so commenting more..

Oct 6 (Island) SL seafarers generate around US $ 300 million per year and that amount could be increased to US $ one billion if our seafarers are properly trained for overseas maritime related jobs, Vice President, Maritime, International Cooperation & Foreign Projects, CINEC Campus, Capt. Peshala Medagama said. �At present our seafarers mainly work on dry cargo vessels and we need to develop seafarers for work in any type of vessel. Our technology competencies are quite more..

Oct 6 (FT) Renewable energy giant WindForce is entering into the nascent Electric Vehicles space with a Rs. 200 million investment via two ventures. Company said its strategy is to continue to diversify its portfolio and explore new markets to drive sustainable growth in the renewable energy industry. Keeping in line with the company�s strategy and the renewable energy targets of SL, WindForce has identified Electrical Vehicles (EV) and its supporting services as a potential area to diversify into. more..