Apr 11 (FT Minister Manusha Nanayakkara had on 5 April told media, trade union leaders have not declared their assets and liabilities as required by law. His selective loss of memory made him miss the opportunity to tell media whether he had declared his and his family assets and liabilities annually according to law. This sudden move by Minister in discrediting TU leaders, comes with the tri-partite National Labour Advisory Council (NLAC) established according to ILO Convention more..

Apr 11 (FT) The Research Intelligence Units suburban apartment price index for February reveals that the apartment prices are continuing to decline in dollar terms making it an opportune time for foreign investors. However, this is not the case when the prices are calculated in rupee terms, RIUNIT says. According to the latest RIUNIT data, suburban average apartment price in rupee terms increased to Rs. 27,154 per sq.ft. in February from Rs. 26,902 per sq.ft. in January more..

Apr 11 (Island) The Liberal Youth Movement has expressed deep concern over the potential for state abuse and human rights violations that could be resultant from the newly proposed Anti-Terrorism Bill. The movement has in a statement said: It is essential that any legislation enacted to protect citizens from terrorism is designed with robust human rights protections to prevent misuse and uphold fundamental freedoms. While the Bill does incorporate some positive elements, such as more..

Apr 11 (AJ) Central Bank of SL (CBSL) has announced that it is mulling criminal action against a group that ran a crypto investment scheme dubbed Sports Chain, seven months after an Al Jazeera investigation exposed it as a scam. In a notice published on March 21, the monetary authority declared that the investment venture had been run as a pyramid scheme, which is prohibited under Sri Lanka�s Banking Act. more..

Apr 11 (AD) The body of a 58-year-old male who had died under suspicious circumstances was found this afternoon by the Kahatuduwa Police. Accordingly, the deceased has been identified as an engineer by the name P. A. Pushpakumara Nissanka, a resident of Siyamabalagoda, Polgasowita. Police have also uncovered that the deceased�s wife is a practicing doctor at the Batticaloa Hospital. The deceased was found lying in a pool of his own blood by a neighbour, more..

Apr 11 (EAR) A panel of SL experts constituted by the Pathfinder Foundation has identified SL�s developmental sectors that could tie up with India and Japan in a trilateral effort to integrate the island nation with the South Asian and Indo-Pacific regions. The contributors to the report published in January this year, were: Nihal Cooray, Prof. I.M. Dharmadasa, Prof. Siri Hettige, Dr. Malraj Kiriella, Mr. Rohan Masakorala, Eng. Sena Peiris, Mr. Nimal Perera, Dr. Krishnamurthy Ramanathan, more..

Apr 11 (AD) Election Commission says, for the second time, it is compelled to postpone the 2023 Local Govt polls, scheduled to be held on April 25. Commissioner-General of Elections Saman Sri Ratnayake said the decision was reached due to reasons beyond the control of the election body and the inadequacy of funds to go ahead with the preparations for the LG polls. Thereby, Returning Officers, after seeking more..

Apr 11 (TS) Be careful what you wish for. And what you�re willing to die for. A new novel about SL�s civil war will make you think about those fateful life and death choices. I�ve just finished Brotherless Night, by V.V. Ganeshananthan, a work of fiction based on a true-to-life storyline. It recounts the history of a country losing its sanity and sliding into brutality. Reading this book, I relived the years I covered the conflict, which pitted Hindu Tamils against Sinhalese Buddhists in a cauldron of nationalist more..

Apr 11 (DM) Claiming that the SLPP is yet to name its Presidential Candidate, SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam said Basil Rajapaksa was an ideal candidate who functioned as the Economic Development Minister when making SL one of the fastest developing countries in the world. He said that Basil Rajapaksa was a suitable person to give leadership to SL, who has showcased his potential. "He is a leader who obtained international support by working with int'l community more..

Apr 11 (CT) Owing to the contradictory nature of data collated by the Health Ministry, regarding the lack of staff in the nursing firmament, a crisis in the nursing sector would be visible in next 8 months, the All Ceylon Nurses� Union (ACNU) claimed. ACNU Secretary Ravindra Kahadawarachchi said although it had been estimated last year that a staff of 48,000 nurses would suffice to carry out the work in the sector, Ministry has predicted that a staff of 41,945 would be adequate to cater to the need. more..

Apr 11 (DM) An investigation has been launched by the CID following a complaint that a file has been taken away by an unidentified person from the office of former Attorney General Dappula de Livera. The CID has informed Colombo Additional Magistrate T.N.L Ilangasinghe yesterday about the progress of the investigations into the incident. The CID also informed the additional magistrate that they have taken over the investigations into the incident from the Narahenpita Police. more..

Apr 11 (CT) Pulmoddai residents claim that several of their lands have been taken over by the Department of Archaeology, claiming that they are historical sites. They say several paddy lands and private lands have been taken over, causing tension in many areas. In the last ten days, there has been unrest in many villages as a result of certain officials, backed by a monk in the area, attempting to demarcate land as belonging more..

Apr 11 (EN) China�s embassy in SL has slammed Tibetan Buddhist leader Dalai Lama, who is living in exile in India, after a video went viral where he apparently asked a asked a small boy to kiss his tongue. The 87 -year old 14th Dalai Lama has been living in India, and speaking against the annexation of his country by China. Footage of the uncomfortable incident which took place in February, according to foreign media, showed the moment the Tibetan spiritual leader invited the boy more..

Apr 11 (AD) Transparency International SL (TISL) has raised two concerns pertaining to the proposed Anti-Corruption Bill which is due to be tabled in Parliament soon. TISL noted that although the proposed legislature addresses several key points that various anti-corruption activists, including TISL, have been advocating for, it also seeks to override all other written law, and appears to send a negative signal to citizens willing to come forward as informants to report corruption. more..

Apr 11 (LO) A canine-loving journalist has completed a six-week volunteer trip to SL supporting street dogs. Former Bullivant Media Group editor Laura Kearns is trustee of Lucas Helps Dogs � a small charity ran by three friends who organise spay, neuter and rabies vaccination clinics. While in SL they ran three clinics, which saw some 120 dogs sterilised and receive rabies vaccinations. Team also rescued two abandoned puppies, more..

Apr 11 (AN) Indonesian Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah said that she is hoping to increase cooperation in the field of employment with SL. Indonesia and SL have enjoyed bilateral relations for more than 70 years, she noted in Jakarta. Currently, bilateral cooperation between the two countries is increasing, especially in the fields of economy, trade, and investment, as well as people-to-people. "Even though Indonesia and SL specifically do not yet have a cooperation in the field of manpower, more..

Apr 11 (ORF) Replying to the demands for grants for the departments concerned in the Tamil Nadu Assembly early this month, Highways and Minor Ports Minister E V Velusaid that efforts are underwayto launch a short ferry service between Rameswaram and SL in a few months� time. The idea is to link Rameswaram and Talaimannar first, covering a distance of 50 kilometres. This will be followed by another ferry service, linking Rameswaram and Kankesanthurai (KKS), more..

Apr 11 (EN) Sri Lanka�s stocks edged up to close at a over one-week high on Tuesday, with thin trading volumes ahead of the new year holidays and investors slowing down activity, an analyst said. The main All Share Price Index closed up 0.95%, or 88.94 points, at 9,411.69, the highest level since March 24. �The market still has thin share volumes because of the long weekend and the festive season that�s coming,� Ranjan Ranatunga of First Capital Holdings said. more..

Apr 11 (AD) Committee on High Posts has approved the appointments of two new secretaries to the ministries and a new ambassador. Accordingly, the committee has green-lighted the appointment of W.S. Satyananda as the new Secretary to the Ministry of Urban Development & Housing and M.M Naimudeen as the new Secretary to the Ministry of Investment Promotion. In addition, the approval of the Committee was given to appoint Dr. Chanaka Talpahewa as the Ambassador to Philippines. more..

Apr 11 (CT) Health Ministry�s distributing an anaesthetic drug, allegedly imported from Myanmar, to replace an anaesthetic drug, which allegedly led to death of a pregnant woman, who was admitted to Teaching Hospital Peradeniya for a caesarean section on 2 April, is highly suspicious, Association of Health Professionals (AHP) said. Sources at the Teaching Hospital Peradeniya, when contacted said the patient had developed more..

Apr 11 (DM) The Finance Ministry has decided to bring down the price of school bags and shoes immediately, State Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said. He pointed out that with the start of the new school term, parents are having a hard time buying shoes and bags for their children. he minister said this while attending a discussion held at the ministry today on the price of school bags and shoes. Currently, the import of shoes and bags has been completely suspended and more..

Apr 11 (AD) The total number of members elected to Local Govt bodies has been slashed to 4,714 in the new report on demarcation, Mahinda Deshapriya, the chairman of the National Delimitation Committee says. The report was handed over to PM Dinesh Gunawardena this morning. In the new delimitation report, the plethora of members of municipal councils, urban councils, Pradeshiya Sabhas and provincial councils - which amounted to more than 8,000 - has been reduced by nearly a half. more..

Apr 11 (AN) The SL people's struggle to defend their rights in the country's grave situation is a witness to the new life transmitted by the Risen One said the Archbishop of Colombo, Card. Malcom Ranjith, in his Easter Sunday homily delivered in the cathedral. It was a message linked to the fact that in the very same hours SL commemorated the first anniversary of the beginning of Aragalaya, the popular uprising more..

Apr 11 (TM) Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ali Sabry stated that he does not agree with certain points included in the proposed Anti-Terrorism Bill. He emphasized that all members of the govt are of the common opinion that the bill needs to be amended. �There are some things in general that I cannot agree with. I mentioned them in the Cabinet," he said. �The first thing is that I don�t agree with allowing a DIG to issue detention orders. It cannot be allowed. more..

Apr 11 (TM) Professionals� Trade Unions� Alliance (PTUA) hopes to take strict actions against the Govt�s new tax policy and the proposed Anti-Terrorism Bill after the Sinhala and Tamil New Year. Speaking to The Daily Morning after a meeting held yesterday in Colombo among the PTUA membership, Spokesperson of the GMOA, Dr. Chamil Wijesinghe said that the PTUA has observed that the Govt of Prez Wickremesinghe is not paying much attention to find solutions to more..

Apr 17 (GV) A cascade of reports from human rights organisations including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have drawn attention to rise of authoritarian and nationalistic regimes around the world that is having an adverse impact on human rights and the adherence of state to int'l human rights law. Authoritarian regimes were trying to wrestle away human rights based values and replace societies with autocracy, repression and war, warned AI�s Senior Director Deprose more..

Apr 17 (DM) How do you reconcile yourself to leaving a calling? Is it betrayal? I fought with these sentiments when I first saw the Aragalaya protest wave take off in Sri Lanka last year. My initial thought was to return immediately. But I stopped going through with that decision. I knew that I would plunge right back into reporting for int'l outlets. I also knew for sure that I would only be reporting piecemeal chunks and could only do that till the int'l media attention was on SL as a news story. more..

Apr 17 (SO) The death of Attorney-at-Law Dushmanthi Abeyratne from Ratnapura a few days ago still remains a mystery. Though initially it was thought the death may have occurred after a physical assault by her husband, the post-mortem carried out by forensic expert Dr. Sisira Dissanayake of the Kahawatta Base Hospital found no evidence of any attack on her body. While Dissanayake has forwarded several parts of her body for more..

Apr 17 (DM) The war in Ukraine continues unabated. Millions of Ukrainians have crossed into neighbouring countries and many more have been internally displaced. The escalation of the conflict has caused civilian casualties and destruction of infrastructure forcing people to flee. According to UNHCR by April 8,163,268 Ukrainian refugees had been registered. UNHCR, in February 2023 estimated that at least 8,000 civilians have been killed since Russia invaded Ukraine. more..

Apr 17 (CT) The last thing that airline passengers would want to go through is losing their valuables at airports. Whilst it is apparent that some may merely lose valuables due to their own negligence, it may not always be the case. There is always a risk of losing valuables at airports due to the large crowds, rush of people and the confusion that often accompanies travel. Given the number of people walking in and out, it is easy for items to get lost or misplaced, unfortunately, theft can also occur. more..

Apr 17 (CT) Amidst seeming scores of scandalous kidney-transplant rackets with large sums of money changing hands from perpetrators; individuals to organised groups alike to top-notch medical institutions in Colombo city, reportedly there have been incidences in the recent past where relatives have offered the organs of their diseased-stricken but heavy-hearted loved ones to help another to survive. more..

Apr 17 (CT) Three Easters have passed since the fateful Easter in 2019 which plunged the entire country into shock and terror of a kind not seen even during the three-decade long war. Synchronized attack by a team of 10 suicide bombers took the lives of 272 persons and injured another 500 or more in a total of six simultaneous attacks- on three churches and three luxury hotels. The victims included entire families, parents with their children and also foreigners who had come to enjoy more..

Apr 12 (Island) The Rajapaksa-Wickremesinghe govt has made a mockery of the electoral process and the Election Commission (EC), which has had to keep postponing elections instead of conducting them. The 21st Amendment was hailed as a progressive law that would help reduce the powers of the Executive President and strengthen the so-called Independent Commissions, including the EC. But nothing of the sort has happened. EC is only a shadow of its former self. more..

Apr 17 (TM) Taking a step towards reducing Govt expenditure through sharing the burden of maintaining and building infrastructure with the public, the authorities have come up with an initiative which charges a toll for the use of main and inter-Provincial roads. Named the Road Maintenance Fund (RMF), this initiative involves making all main and inter-Provincial roads toll-paying roads and aims at using the income generated through that to maintain and renovate existing roads and more..

Apr 12 (ST) Aldoris, the choon-paan karaya, came speeding down the road in his tuk-tuk but braked to a halt outside our gate when he spotted the trio. �Mokada mechchara haddisiyen (Why are you in such a hurry),� asked Kussi Amma Sera. �Mata mage duwage iskoleta yanna thiyenawa, paan wikunuwata pass� (I need to go to my daughter�s school after I sell the bread),� he said. �Den ithin oyage kaema-wala mila aduwenna ethi ne (So now your prices of food items would have come more..