Dec 10 (EN) Sri Lanka�s remittances coming through official channels went up to $537.3 million in November 2023, up 40% from $384.4 million in the same month a year earlier, due to improved exchange rate after better monetary policy. The official remittances rose on a month-on-month basis for the first time in five months after falling four months in a row. In the first 11 months of this year, SL received $5.4 billion from official channels, up 63% from $ 3.3 billion in same period in 2022. more..

Dec 10 (TM) The Japanese investor has reportedly decided to pull out of the Visumpaya deal, citing exorbitant valuations provided by the Govt Valuer. It is learnt that the Govt�s appraisal of the property is twice as high as the valuation conducted by the Japanese company. Visumpaya, which was used as the residence of many State leaders, was earmarked to be converted into a boutique hotel by the UDA to attract foreign investments to SL. more..

Dec 10 (SO) World�s highest sport jumping from a multi-facility tower from a capital city will be introduced at the Lotus Tower next March. A foreign company will launch this service which will be the first time in the world that a sports jump is initiated from a height of over 185 metres from the tower of a capital city, said CEO of Lotus Management Company Prasad Samarasinghe. He said they will also soon sign up for the first casino to be operated in the Lotus tower. more..

Dec 10 (Island) Cricket is in a crisis. For the first time in the history SL suffered losses in a World Cup to teams like Afghanistan and Bangladesh. While those two teams finished ahead of SL and qualified for the Champions Trophy, the 1996 champions finished a disappointing ninth and were knocked out of the Champions Trophy. Sri Lanka Cricket has borne the brunt of the criticism but the persons who were responsible for the team and players have been exempted from scrutiny. more..

Dec 10 (TM) The proposed new Electricity Bill mandates all licensees to enter into new Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), some of which have been initially established through competitive processes. Meanwhile, existing PPAs have been declared as valid for only nine months. In Section 10 (f)(i) of Part IV, licensees are required to engage in PPAs with generation licensees and transmission service agreements with transmission more..

Dec 10 (SLN) A special search operation conducted by the SL Navy near the Baththanangunduwa Island on 8th Dec, led to the recovery of a parcel weighing over 04kg of gold from the depths of Puttalam Lagoon. It is suspected that the valuable cache of gold has been intentionally sunk underwater by smugglers. The operation also led to the apprehension of 2 suspects and 1 dinghy, believed to be linked to the racket. The Navy carries out regular search operations and patrols more..

Dec 10 (DM) The female giraffe at the National Zoological Gardens in Dehiwala died on Thursday, However, Prez of the SL Podujana Zoological Garden Employees� Union Krishantha Christopher alleges that the animal was killed. Addressing the media, he said that giraffes are classified as critically endangered animals. He mentioned that the giraffes in the Dehiwala Zoo received special attention from the department, symbolized by a spotlight on their conservation efforts. more..

Dec 10 (Island) Aitken Spence Travels, Sri Lanka�s premier destination management company, will welcome simultaneous arrivals of three cruise ships�Vasco Da Gama, Mein Schiff 5, and MS Seven Seas Navigator on December 10 at the port of Colombo. Vasco Da Gama and Mein Schiff 5 will dock at the Colombo port by 7.00am and MS Seven Seas Navigator will dock at 1.30pm with approximately 4,000 passengers from all three vessels on a single day, company said. more..

Dec 10 (ST) SL women�s cricket skipper Chamari Athapaththu suffered yet another heartbreak when she went unsold at the Women�s Premier League (WPL) auction held yesterday. Coming into the auction, after a prolific run at the Women�s Big Bash League (WBBL), Athapaththu was left without a buyer even at her base price of Indian Rs.30 Lakhs. Playing for Sydney Thunder as an injury replacement, Athapaththu turned a corner by topping the league-phase run charts (552, 2nd-best more..

Dec 10 (TM) CEB will conduct a special investigation to determine the reason for yesterday�s sudden islandwide power outage. A major power outage was reported yesterday evening at around 5.30 p.m. CEB initially announced that the outage was due to a breakdown of the Kotmale-Biyagama transmission line. Within half an hour, the board managed to commence restoring power to certain areas and by around 7 p.m., more..

Dec 10 (ST) Colombo Fashion Week Luxury Resortwear Edition 2023 on November 30 saw a show-stopping finale of a fashion show at the Shangri-La Colombo Ballroom. This edition had opened the previous night in an intriguingly different setting � National Art Gallery on Greenpath where the ramp was the beautifully lit paved walkways outside, a magical setting against araliya trees and the Gallery�s imposing architecture. Two designers � Amilani Perera and Rizwan Beyg presented more..

Dec 10 (TM) The newly-gazetted Sri Lanka Electricity Bill will be re-gazetted to address minor mistakes, CEB Spokesman Deputy General Manager Noel Priyantha confirmed to The Sunday Morning yesterday (9). Reiterating the CEB�s involvement in preparing the new Sri Lanka Electricity Bill, he assured that the upcoming gazette would correct any identified errors. Concerns were raised in Parliament by Opposition political parties regarding the date of the gazette�s issuance. more..

Dec 10 (SO) Officials of the Intelligence Unit of the CIABOC told the Colombo Chief Magistrate Prasanna Alwis on Friday, December 8 that it has launched an investigation on the 200 luxury vehicles imported to Sri Lanka, depriving the Government of over Rs. 5 billion in tax revenue. The luxury vehicles had been imported to Sri Lanka without proper Customs clearance by feeding false information to the computer data system of the Department of Motor Traffic. more..

Dec 10 (ST) As Russia�s war in Ukraine intensifies, the SL Embassy in T�rkiye is requesting those who have joined the Ukraine defence force�s international legion to submit their names to the embassy as soon as possible. �The Embassy of Sri Lanka in T�rkiye is aware that three Sri Lankans have died on the Ukrainian war front. One of them is Mr. Ranishka Hewage. The embassy is awaiting official confirmation from the Ukrainian authorities regarding all three Sri Lankans. more..

Dec 10 (ST) One-and-a-half years after making sweeping changes to the national team coaching structure, SLC is looking at another major overhaul in the wake of Sri Lanka�s dismal show at the recent World Cup. However, this is in contrast to what was demanded by former players, fans and even the politicians, who wanted the entire Board to step down amidst disappointing performances and allegations of corruption. more..

Dec 10 (ST) Medicines as well as surgical and laboratory materials worth Rs. 349 million were withdrawn from use in state hospitals last year due to quality failures, National Audit Office (NAO) has found. Other medicines worth Rs. 32 million were suspended from use for the same reason. Separately, National Pharmaceuticals Quality Assurance Research Laboratory under National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) was so poorly equipped that it was not geared to more..

Dec 10 (ST) Three draft bills that will make obtaining divorces far easier are due to be presented to Parliament next month. The Matrimonial Causes Act, Recognition of Foreign Divorce Judgments Act and an amendment to the Civil Procedure Code will radically reform outdated laws that currently severely restrict grounds for obtaining divorce, Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said. At present, those seeking a divorce must prove one of three grounds in court: more..

Dec 10 (ST) The tussle continues between the executive and the legislature over rules for the discharge of the duties and functions of the Constitutional Council. The latest to join in is Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapaksha, with his own three-page draft rules to Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe. The Attorney General�s Department, has pointed out that some provisions in them reportedly contravened provisions of the Constitution. more..

Dec 11 (DM) Former Prez Mahinda Rajapaksa has been taking every possible effort to minimize the effects of the Supreme Court ruling on Nov 14 against him, two of his brothers and officials loyal to them, pronouncing that they were responsible for the economic crisis which the country is still reeling from. However, the court decision has smashed all efforts by some of the members of the Rajapaksa family to convince the country that it was the public uprising or the Aragalaya which shook SL more..

Dec 11 (DM) SL�s 2024 budget, touted as revolutionary, punishes the poor with sky-rocketing indirect taxes to reward owners of govt debt, by allocating the largest share of expenditure on domestic interest payments and servicing International Sovereign Bonds. This means that the public will pay more for essentials like fuel and electricity, while the unproductive rich owning govt debt get even richer. The budget also ignores massive debt fraud and tax evasion, more..

Dec 11 (TM) Health Ministry is grappling with a severe shortage of health workers, including qualified consultants, doctors, and nurses, leading to a strain on State hospitals, particularly in rural areas. This exodus is adversely affecting the quality of health service delivery as the existing staff shoulders an increased workload. ACNU President S.B. Mediwatta highlighted the merging of wards in many hospitals to manage patient numbers more..

Dec 11 (Island) A deep-fake video featuring a woman who identifies as Dwaraka Prabhakaran, daughter of Velupillai Prabhakaran, founder-chief of the LTTE, has gone viral in recent weeks. The video is believed to be an attempt by pro-LTTE groups in Scandinavia and Canada to revive the LTTE ideology in Sri Lanka, according to SL defense experts. The video could be used by certain political parties to gain political mileage in the upcoming parliamentary elections, they claim. more..

Dec 11 (TM) Sri Lankans, who now pay a cost�reflective price for electricity were let down once again over the weekend by the Govt, relevant ministries, a weak regulator and the ever- mischievous CEB, including its past and present administration, and its much celebrated engineers. Another islandwide power outage occurred last Saturday, lasting nearly 6 hours for some parts of the island. This, followed after two such earlier incidents which occurred in 2022 and 2021, more..

Dec 11 (TM) The recently-gazetted SL Electricity Bill has stirred discussions surrounding the proposed establishment of National Electricity Advisory Council, designed to advise the Power & Energy Minister on matters pertaining to the electricity industry. However, the council�s independence is now under scrutiny, raising questions about its autonomy in influencing crucial decisions in SL�s electricity sector. more..

Dec 11 (GV) There are actors, arrangements, acts, laws, regulations and institutions responsible for combating corruption. There are circulars issued on matters starting from admission to Grade 1 of a school to buying a ship or an airplane. Every successive govt has added to the existing legal arrangements, legislation and institutional structure to ensure transparency, accountability and good governance. Parliamentary Committees, Prez Commissions and Committees are more..

Dec 11 (ST) My dear Deshabandu, I am writing to congratulate you on your appointment as our Acting top cop after months and months of suspense and uncertainty. You may feel that it is only an Acting appointment for three months, but acting is nothing new to you. Some say all that you did for the past few years was just that, acting. On the other hand, look at the person who appointed you. He too first came into the job as a person who was �Acting�. Within weeks, he got rid of the Acting tag more..

Dec 11 (Island) The recently concluded Maaveerar Naal (Great Heroes� Day)/Maaveerar Vaaram (Great Heroes Week) commemorations underscored the continuing deep divisions within the Tamil community over the conduct of the LTTE during the war. The organizers of the main commemoration at Nallur, Jaffna, left out the name of the late LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran�s one-time Deputy the late Gopalswamy Mahendraraja aka Mahattaya out of the heroes� list displayed therein. more..

Dec 11 (TM) SL�s Value Added Tax (VAT) increase to 18% from January 2024 onwards along with reduction of VAT threshold to Rs. 60 million and removal of VAT exemptions from 97 items out of 138 goods is expected to increase the inflation by 2.5%, State Minister of Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said. Presenting the proposed VAT at Parliament, the State Minister made these remarks, as per the information from the Economic Research Unit of the Central Bank of SL (CBSL). more..

Dec 11 (Island) Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, yesterday found fault with Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena for the way he had handled the disciplinary inquiry in respect of State Minister of Tourism, Diana Gamage. Speaker Abeywardena had set a very bad precedent, Minister Rajapakshe said, stressing the responsibility on the part of the Parliament to avert a similar situation in the future. more..

Dec 11 (Island) Yesterday�s parliamentary session had to be adjourned until today for want of a quorum. While the VAT (Amd) Bill was being debated, an SJB MP brought it to the notice of the Chair that the session was inquorate. SLPP has about 124 MPs on its side, but most of them were absent. SJB MPs walked out in protest against what they called serious flaws in the list of commodities to be subjected to VAT. Inquorate parliamentary sessions are not uncommon in this country. more..

Dec 11 (FT) Sri Lanka�s number one denim specialist Orit Apparels Lanka Ltd., bagged the Gold at the NCE Awards in the Textile and Garment Sector � Extra Large category recording a momentous win at the awards ceremony on 2 Dec 2022. This being Orit�s pioneering effort in the NCE arena, emerging to the top was an astounding feat, a testament to Orit�s sheer commitment to excellence and perseverance in the manufacture and export of premium quality denim garments. more..

Dec 11 (ST) The Credit Information Bureau of Sri Lanka (CRIB), the first such institution in the South Asian region, is exploring the possibility of introducing a credit rating classification in addition to present credit score report under its financial information services. The CRIB is developing a new state-of-the-art credit bureau system replacing the present computer system with the assistance of one of the best credit bureau services, Finance Ministry sources divulged. more..

Dec 11 (DN) Defending champions Buwaneka Goonatilleka and Ranithma Liyanage once again emerged men�s and women�s open champions at the 71st National Badminton championship ended at Mercantile Badminton Association courts Colombo 7 yesterday. In fact former Richmond shuttler Buwaneka�s achievement was outstanding as he clinched the triple crown winning mens open singles, doubles and mixed double finals. Both Buwaneka Goonatilleka and Ranithma Liyanage had more..

Dec 11 (ST) The principals of 37 so-called popular govt schools were forced to admit 2,237 students to intermediate grades based on letters issued directly to them by the Education Ministry Secretary between Jan 2020 and May 2022, bypassing formal procedures that were introduced to ensure fairness, a special report by National Audit Office (NAO) states. Most letters were more in the form of an order, the NAO points out� more..

Dec 11 (FT) Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa over the weekend urged the Govt to temporarily suspend the operation of the parate law in SL for several months. Addressing Parliament, Premadasa underscored the challenges faced by Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) following the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Easter Sunday terror attacks and the country�s economic struggles. Premadasa emphasised that over 50% of the country�s GDP is contributed by SMEs. more..

Dec 11 (AD) The parliamentary session was adjourned by Deputy Speaker Ajith Rajapakshe, until 9:30 a.m. today due to a lack of quorum. Debate on the Second Reading of the Value-Added Tax (Amd) Bill and the Finance Bill was taken up in the House this morning. The debate was scheduled to be held until 04:30 p.m. today, as per a decision taken by the Committee on Parliamentary Business. The decision was taken at a meeting held on Nov 20, under the chairmanship of Speaker Mahinda Yapa. more..