Sep 27 (ST) A Govt official heading the state-run Thriposha nutrition packs producer admitted this week that some samples had contained liver cancer-causing aflatoxins, a viral disease that infects corn, a main ingredient in the supplement given to the most needy SL children, pregnant women, and lactating mothers. �There was a small amount with a high level of alfatoxins [ie aflatoxins), (from) two to three months earlier. more..

Sep 27 (Island) SL�s Under-19s completed a tour of England last week where they played two unofficial Test matches and three one-dayers. While the Sri Lankans triumphed in the Test series, they lost all three limited over games. The tour highlighted several promising young talents and gave players a taste of what playing cricket in other conditions meant. Some of the younger members of the squad were getting out of the country for the first time and it was a whole new experience for them. more..

Sep 27 (DN) SL women�s team is brimming with confidence before the Asia Cup women�s T-20 cricket cup which will commence on Oct 1 said head coach Hashan Tillekaratne in an exclusive interview yesterday. Our girls got a big boost after winning the men�s cricket Asian cup as well as Netball Asia cup and now they are in high spirits before this Asia Cup tournament said former SL skipper Hashan Tillekaratne who is coaching the National women�s team for the last one and a half years. more..

Sep 27 (FT) FitsAir of Aberdeen Holdings will become Sri Lanka�s first private scheduled international passenger carrier from next week offering affordable and dependable air travel marking a major milestone in the country�s aviation industry. Fits Aviation, successor of Expo Aviation with origins spanning 25 years, will launch thrice weekly services from BIA to Dubai from 5 Oct, to Male from 10 Oct and to Trichy from 28 Oct. more..

Sep 27 (CT) Eight state-of-the-art Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) Screening Vehicles (mobile labs) valued at Rs 660 million were donated by the Chinese Govt to SL�s health sector yesterday, following the completion and opening of the USD 60 million National Nephrology Hospital in Polonnaruwa in the North Eastern Province last year. Chinese Embassy in Colombo commissioned its CKD screening mission collaborating with the Ministry of Health in A'pura, Polonnaruwa, Vavuniya, more..

Sep 27 (DN) The 36th National School Games, revived after a lapse of two years by the Ministry of Education, will be held in four stages in October and November this year. Over 20,000 schoolboys and schoolgirls are set to participate in this event, which will include a total of 32 sports disciplines. The event was last held in 2019. The first stage of the Games is scheduled from Oct 21 to 23 and the events that will be worked off are the half-marathon (Gampaha), beach volleyball (Kalpitiya), more..

Sep 27 (FT) Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith has called on the Election Commission of SL to hold local Govt polls in March next year. �It is our right. The people must be given an opportunity to respond to arrogant rulers,� he said. According to him, only an election will allow the people to express their sentiments regarding the Govt. The Cardinal made these comments while attending an event held at the Ragama Sacred Heart�s Church yesterday. more..

Sep 27 (Island) The CID has taken into custody a barber who allegedly attempted to extort money from former First Lady Ayoma Rajapaksa. Police headquarters sources said that the suspect had allegedly phoned the former First Lady and had attempted to extort one million rupees. The CID said that the suspect had been identified as a 37-year-old resident of Salamulla, Kolonnawa, and is reported to have demanded money from the former First Lady several times. Investigations have revealed more..

Sep 27 (TM) Due to the severity of the economic crisis and the lack of household finances, there has been an increase in the number of children being admitted by their families to children�s homes in the Northern Province. Data revealed that as of June 2022, some 246 children have been sent to children�s homes in the Northern Province as a result of the ongoing economic crisis, which has left parents grappling with financial instability, more..

Sep 27 (AN) Turning Mannar Island into a casino resort like Macau, well known as a gambling destination, could attract tourists and bring revenues to the country, this according to Tourism Minister Diana Gamage, who also backs the legalisation of cannabis, over which she clashed with the opposition. Idea of turning the island into a gambling mecca is controversial. Macau is the only city in China where gambling is legal (online betting is banned with repercussions for entire region). more..

Sep 27 (DM) Sri Lankans could be in for a long drawn-out path out of the economic misery that they have dug themselves into, as the prevailing cost of living crisis could grind on for years with inflation staying higher than the pre-crisis level, even after a year from now, that also if things turn out according to the forecasters� expectations. According to the medium-term inflation projections presented last week by the Central Bank together with the Finance Ministry to the country�s foreign creditors, more..

Sep 27 (DM) The Official Secrets Act of 1955 does not provide to prevent anyone from travelling along roads where important state buildings are located and thus declare these areas as high security zones, SJB MP Gayantha Karunatilaka said today. MP said that this legislation only provides provisions to prevent information on important state institutions from leaking out for their security. �It�s a wrong interpretation of the Official Secrets Act of 1955 on the part of the govt,� he said. more..

Sep 27 (FT) Govt yesterday launched the pension scheme titled Manusavi for migrant workers. Minister Manusha Nanayakkara said the social security contributory pension scheme was in appreciation of the contribution migrant workers make to boost foreign reserves and socio-economic development. He added the scheme fulfils a long felt need of migrant workers. �In the name of humanity, we thank all those who have supported to make Manusavi pension scheme a reality,� more..

Sep 27 (TM) A Fundamental Rights (FR) petition has been filed before the Supreme Court (SC) by the Socialist Youth Union (SYU) challenging the Gazette notification issued by Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe declaring a number of locations within the Colombo District as high-security zones (HSZs). Meanwhile, addressing a media briefing yesterday, Defence Secretary Gen. (Retd.) Kamal Gunaratne defended Prez�s decision, more..

Sep 27 (DN) Regional Plantation companies (RPC) have invested over Rs. 26 billion towards the expansion of oil palm cultivation up to 12,000 hectares but a ban on the industry has caused major devastation to commercial interests in oil palm cultivation, said Outgoing PA Chairman, Bhathiya Bulumulla. Palm oil cultivation consists of just over 1% of the total area planted with tea, rubber and coconut, producing nearly 48,000 MT of palm oil annually, and saving much-needed foreign more..

Sep 27 (DM) Human Rights Commission of SL (HRCSL) is deeply concerned about the govt�s approach to adopt the Official Secrets Act and declare high security zones, which grossly violates the fundamental rights of the people of the country. HRCSL Chairperson said that it was a fallacy without any justification that the HSZs are declared under the Official Secrets Act. Statement: �The notion that the HSZs be declared under the Official Secret Act is a fallacy without any justification or basis. more..

Sep 27 (AD) President Ranil Wickremesinghe says that discussion on restructuring SL�s bilateral debt has already commenced with India and China at a lower level and that he is visiting Japan to discuss their role it the process. He stated that talks with China would go to a higher level probably after the National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. The Prez stated this during an exclusive interview more..

Sep 27 (FT) Greetings from The Hospitality Sector in SL. I am delighted to give this message to commemorate the World Tourism Day on behalf of all our members from The Hotels Association of SL (THASL). This day is of special significance this year for all of us. Tourism will be a catalyst in helping the country to come out of the present crisis in the months to come. Net foreign exchange earnings from tourism is the highest of any industry in SL and 90% of the tourism forex earnings remain more..

Sep 27 (FT) As the visiting IMF, team boarded a return flight to Washington DC after a week in Colombo, Paris Club (PC), stepped in through a revolving door at the strategic Indian Ocean island�s BIA in the first week of September. The signing of a Staff Level Agreement with the deeply unpopular Ranil Rajapakse regime accused of Economic Crimes was announced before the IMF team�s departure. However, the contents of the agreement like the IMF�s Debt Sustainability Analysis more..

Sep 27 (GDI) Parliament of SL and the University of Colombo jointly initiated a short course on parliamentary affairs and procedures for the first time in history. The inaugural event of the course was held on the 16 th at the Uni of Colombo. The opening keynote speech was delivered by the Secretary General of the Parliament, Mr. Dhammika Dasanayake. The resources for this course, which was started for the study of the final year students of the Department of Political Science and more..

Sep 27 (AD) The member of Rajanganaya Pradeshiya Sabha and two others who were arrested in connection with the recent attempted bank robbery have been remanded until October 10. The suspects were produced before the Thambuththegama Magistrate�s Court earlier today. The incident occurred at around 2.00 p.m. on Monday (26) while a businessman from Thambuttegama economic center was carrying approximately Rs. 22.3 million in cash to more..

Sep 27 (EN) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe is likely to revoke a gazette he declared High Security Zones (HSZ) in the commercial heart of Colombo, two govt sources who are aware of the process said. Bar Association of SL has raised concern over the latest HSZ, citing that using Official Secret Act to declare HSZ was legally wrong. �The president has sought Attorney General�s advise on this. If the legal basis is wrong, more..

Sep 27 (Island) MP Champika Ranawaka says the Colombo Lotus Tower would require earning a daily-revenue of US$ 41,000 for the next five years in order to cover the loans obtained for its construction. At a meeting MP Ranawaka said that a total of US$ 105 million was spent on the tower and a further US$ 56 million is required to settle the loan in the next five years. �It�s a waste for a country like ours. We need to talk separately about the corruption that took place in this,� the MP said. more..

Sep 27 (CT) University Grant Commission (UGC), Ministry of Education (MoE) and SL Police should come together to solve the ragging crisis in State universities, said Defence Ministry Secretary General Kamal Gunaratne. He said that even though ragging is a known fact in the country, the individuals who are leading the students� unions in universities and the political parties who aid them have never come forward and address the issue. Gunaratne said it is very unfortunate more..

Sep 27 (EN) SL�s daily scheduled power cuts, already extended by an hour, will likely see further extensions following yet another breakdown at the Lakvijaya coal power plant in Norochcholai, Puttalam, an official said. Minister Kanchana Wijsekara tweeted a short while ago that the utility regulator has given approval to the state-run CEB to purchase power from private plants and that the state-run CPC will provide the fuel more..

Sep 27 (Island) On the invitation of the Vocational Training Centre (VTA), High Commissioner of Australia, Paul Stephens, launched a professional cookery project in the presence of delegates, govt officials, members of the Chef Guild of Lanka, VTA students, staff, and visitors at the VTA Centre, in Kandy, recently. A press release said: The launch was designed to mark the commencement of Industry validated Professional Cookery training, now available at key Govt training centres, more..

Sep 27 (AD) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe attended the state funeral of former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo today to pay tribute to the leader who was assassinated back in early July this year. Prez was accompanied by his Chief-Of-Staff, Sagala Ratnayake. Several foreign dignitaries including Vice-President of the US, Kamala Haris, also attended the funeral. A 19-gun salute was sounded in honour of the former leader Abe, as his ashes, carried by his widow Akie, more..

Sep 27 (TM) An increasing trend of Sri Lankans in Romania attempting to leave the country via semi-trailer trucks, by paying the drivers, has come to light. Speaking to The Morning�s investigation team, several Sri Lankans said that they had paid EUR 3,500-5,000 to truck drivers to leave the Romanian border in order to go to other European countries, especially Italy and France. �We know that this is risky, but we have to earn more money. We only get EUR 5-8 per hr in Romania, it�s not enough. more..

Sep 27 (TM) Election Commission has written to Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe, submitting the proposed Election Propaganda Expenditure/Campaign Finance Reform Bill to Cabinet for approval, and has informed that it hopes that the Bill will be gazetted no sooner than it receives Cabinet approval. Commission has noted that this Bill, which has been drafted by the Legal Draftsman�s Dept, and approved by the Attorney General�s Dept and the Special Parliamentary more..

Sep 27 (TM) All-Ceylon Nurses� Union (ACNU) claimed that due to the Ministry of Health not alloting the necessary financial allocations, the process of providing food to patients in all hospitals, including the National Hospital of SL (NHSL) in Colombo, has been affected, and that as a result, the nutritional status of the patients has seriously deteriorated. ACNU President S.B. Mediwatta claimed that the Ministry had failed to make relevant more..

Sep 27 (CT) With the growing food and medicine shortages, the next uprising of the people would be more dangerous than the recent protests that erupted over fuel and LP gas shortages, leader of the PHU, MP Udaya Gammanpila warned. He said, begging around the world is not the solution to this crisis, nor is making plans to destroy the people�s uprising. �So far, the Govt has not worked to find alternative solutions to the crisis. We need dollars to bring western medicine, but we do not need more..

Sep 27 (TM) The resolution by the UNHRC Core Group of countries on SL will be taken up for voting on 6 Oct, while the final day for submitting resolutions is scheduled for tomorrow. The informal session on the Core Group resolution was held on 23 Sept, and the revised version of the recommendations was made public. The resolution on SL is co-sponsored by the Core Group of countries, which consists of countries such as US, UK, Canada, Germany, North Macedonia, more..

Sep 27 (TM) Claiming that the Got always takes decisions thinking only of large-scale rice mill owners, the United Rice Producers� Association (URPA) stated that about 75% of small- and medium-scale rice mills across the country are inactive at present, and that the remaining 25% are not operating at full capacity. URPA President Kusumitha Perera said that 700-750 of the nearly 1,000 small- and medium-scale rice mills more..

Sep 27 (DM) Whilst expressing that the SJB will not allow the incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe to remain in power till 2024, MP S. M. Marikkar today said President Wickremesinghe will be surrounded from all corners wherever he resides, if he fails to resolve the starvation and other issues. "We will only wait for a few more days and will surround the area where he lives and will confine him to one location without allowing him to move," Marikkar told a press conference. more..

Sep 27 (TM) Mahanayaka (Chief Prelate) of the Malwathu Chapter of the Siam Sect Ven. Thibbotuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Thera inquired from Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera regarding issues such as the rising food prices and the food shortage in the country. An official of the Agriculture Ministry said that Amaraweera paid a visit to the Malwathu Maha Viharaya in Kandy on Sunday, where he met the monk. During the meeting, the official said more..