Feb 20 (DM) The delay in China's positive response in restructuring SL�s debt has been the only obstacle in securing the IMF bailout at the moment, Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said. He said that SL needs the support of the IMF to secure the confidence of the international community in the country�s economy. He said suggestions were made in late 2021 that SL should seek IMF assistance and said "We were late to seek IMF assistance as the then CB Governor refused to do so," he said. more..

Feb 20 (TM) The 60th Battle of the Brothers encounter between Isipathana College and Thurstan College is all set to take place on 24 and 25 February at the SSC Grounds in Colombo. As the curtain-raiser for the school big match season, the Battle of the Brothers will be the first big match in the post-Covid era to have crowds in the stands to enjoy the game live. The encounter was first played in 1964 and the two schools are competing for the Blackham Wijewardena Memorial Trophy. more..

Feb 20 (AD) Police have recovered the body of another individual who was killed following the fatal bus accident that had occurred along the Norton Bridge - Diyagala road last night when the bus had toppled down a precipice increasing the death toll from the incident to three. The 33-year-old victim has been identified as Dilan Kaushalya, and a resident of the Kalupe area of Hikkaduwa, the police said. Earlier, two females were reported dead after the bus carrying a group of pilgrims toppled down more..

Feb 20 (CT) With Local Govt Elections being postponed indefinitely and Prez Wickremesinghe maintaining there will be no election until next year, Election Commission has urged Returning Officers to return vehicles deployed for election duties and to revert to their ordinary duties. Commissioner General of Elections Saman Sri Ratnayake sent a letter to all Returning Officers and Assistant Returning Officers with a list of instructions about the steps taken in connection with LG Polls. more..

Feb 20 (EN) Sri Lanka is facing a risk of losing lucrative European Union trade concessions due to the island nation�s failure to change the PTA, the German Ambassador to Colombo said. GSP+ trade benefits have helped SL�s top export revenue earner, garments and brought more foreign currencies from the European Union nations. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in October last year said they will more..

Feb 20 (CT) Minister Douglas Devananda said Ministry was considering permitting TN fishermen to fish in SL waters twice a week. Discussions will be held with the relevant authorities, including fisheries federations, to investigate the possibility of limiting traditional fishing vessels to two days of fishing in SL waters due to their low engine capacity of 40 to 50 horsepower. Minister however, said trawlers will not be allowed to fish in northern waters whatsoever as engines have a 150 horsepower. more..

Feb 20 (FT) The Paris Club, an informal group of Western creditor nations including Japan and the US, issued a press release last week supporting SL to obtain green light from IMF for a $ 2.9 billion bailout, following letters by Indian Finance Ministry and the Exim Bank of China offering support to ease SL�s debt burden. Ranil Wickremesinghe�s Govt has officially welcomed the latest developments. In his Parliament address last week, Ranil Wickremesinghe assured the country more..

Feb 20 (TM) The Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs has spent less than Rs. 1 million on the Janaraja Perahera which was held in Kandy yesterday, but the total cost of it would be much larger with the arrangements which have been made by the Temple of the Tooth (Sri Dalada Maligawa) in Kandy, the Sathara Maha Devalaya (Natha, Vishnu, Paththini and Kataragama), Tri Forces & Police. more..

Feb 20 (FT) Almas Equities Ltd. marks another milestone in Sri Lanka today with the launch of the pioneering White List Index. Almas Equities (former Assetline Securities) is one of the founding members of the Colombo Stock Exchange with a history spanning over 30 years. The objective of introducing a White List Index is to provide an aggregated view of the overall performance of the price movements of the shares in the Almas White List. Currently, in Sri Lanka, there are two main indexes more..

Feb 20 (DM) The bodies of two children lying near a well in a thick jungle area behind the line houses in St. Joachim estate in Karapinch in Ratnapura had been recovered on Sunday by Kuruvita police. The deceased were identified as seven year old Gajendrakumar Sarvanath and one and a half year old Gajendra Kumara Nishad of St. Joachim estate. The mother of the victims told police that the two children fell into the well in the early hours of Sunday morning and their bodies were taken out and more..

Feb 20 (DM) A survey conducted by the Public Health Inspectors (PHI) found that 18% of restaurants and hotels in SL served food unfit for human consumption, Chairman of the Public Health Inspectors Union of SL Upul Rohana said. He told reporters that 55% of food stations in Sri Lanka were in very good condition while some 27% were in satisfactory condition. He said the statistics were based on a survey conducted by PHIs on restaurants and hotels in SL in 2022. more..

Feb 20 (AD) Police have used tear gas and water cannons to disperse a protest march organized by the SJB near Technical Junction in Maradana, a short while ago. The protest march had been organized by the SJB against the alleged attempts by the govt to postpone the 2023 LG Election. Meanwhile Olcott Mawatha in Pettah, Colombo has been closed off completely by the police due to the protest march. Therefore, police had urged motorists to use alternative routes in order to avoid more..

Feb 20 (Island) Marking a historic day in SL politics, representatives from several major political parties came together to discuss their views on ensuring the rights of LGBTQ Sri Lankans. CWC Leader, Minister Jeevan Thondaman, SLPP MP Premnath C. Dolawatte, SJB MP Mayantha Dissanayake and Freedom People�s Congress MP Prof. Charitha Herath shared their views during a discussion jointly hosted by NextGenSL more..

Feb 20 (AD) Prez Wickremesinghe�s proposal to transform the historic city of Kandy into a well-planned, organized and developed city has received unanimous approval from the Cabinet of Ministers. To this end, the govt intends to take measures to accelerate the Central Expressway project that will connect Kandy with Katugastota. A special committee will be established, consisting of the Urban Development Authority, Kandy District Development Committee, MPs and ministers more..

Feb 20 (GT) Export-Import Bank of China has provided SL with a debt extension, China's Foreign Ministry said on Monday, noting that China is willing to negotiate a medium- and long-term debt disposal plan with the country in a friendly manner, and do its best to promote SL's debt sustainability. Remarks come as Bloomberg reported that the IMF is considering approving SL's bailout, even without the formal assurance of debt-restructuring support from China, citing people familiar with discussions. more..

Feb 20 (HM) Sri Lanka has been subject to a great lie: the IMF solution! For close to a year now, the country has been implementing the IMF�s recommendations with complete obedience. The sudden devaluation of the Sri Lankan rupee, a drastic increase in interest rates, the withdrawal of fuel subsidies and severe cuts to state expenditure all amount to harsh austerity measures. The consequence is economic devastation as more..

Feb 20 (DM) Director General of the South Asia Department of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Teruyuki Ito said that SL's economic reform program is progressing positively and that SL will be supported in the future through the programs of the JICA. A discussion was held today between the State Minister Shehan Semasinghe and Teruyuki Ito. In this discussion, the program; carried out by the govt to restore the economic situation in this country, was discussed. more..

Feb 20 (EN) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe has temporarily got a breather to go ahead with his reform agenda in line with the IMF reforms after the island nation�s Election Commission told the Supreme Court that it cannot hold the LG polls on the scheduled date. However, analysts see a growing public anger unless Wickremesinghe implements some policies to improve the public sentiment after his govt raised personal income taxes to as high as 36% and increased more..

Feb 21 (TM) The scheduled LG election is facing myriad challenges, gathering a cloud of uncertainty regarding the conduct of the election properly and on time. On the one hand, a number of administrative issues, especially those pertaining to the provision of resources, have crippled initial preparations for the election, and on the other hand, the Govt remains exceedingly silent and lethargic in this regard. Popular notion is that Govt is not at all interested in holding election simply because more..

Feb 21 (CT) Depending on the situation, poor mental health in schools may differ by age group. Unfortunately, the issue continues because parents, in particular and then teachers in schools, pay little attention to it. Whether they are aware of it or not, schoolchildren�s mental health is being negatively impacted by the pressure they are under. Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe also admitted that there needs to be more done for people with mental health concerns & people who are physically more..

Feb 21 (TM) Even though certain aspects of the economy such as exports and inflation are supposedly recovering, some aspects such as the health and education sectors appear to be on a downward trajectory. While various attempts are underway to improve those sectors, general idea is that those attempts do not look very promising. The situation of the health sector made national headlines recently due to a policy decision more..

Feb 21 (DM) President of the World Tamil Confederation, Pazha Nedumaran again has stated that V Prabhakaran, former leader of the LTTE which faced a crushing defeat at the hands of the SL armed forces in 2009, is still alive and will make a comeback very soon. When he said this on Feb 13, it understandably made headlines in SL and TN. And the SL army had to waste their time and energy to deny it with facts when journalists sought their response about it. more..

Feb 21 (CT) The local govt elections are unlikely to take place as scheduled on March 9. This is on account of the govt printer declining to print ballot papers without prior payment by the Election Commission (EC). The EC is on record saying that due to this delay in the printing of ballot papers, and the difficulty of completing the postal voting on time, the elections may need to be postponed. This unexpected turn of events throws the country�s democratic process into jeopardy. more..

Feb 21 (TM) As clouds of uncertainty engulf the LG Elections, with claims that the hidden hands of powerful State actors are at play, the Election Commission (EC) last week remained steadfast that judicial recourse would be sought at the earliest sign of a delay. Earlier last week, Dept of Govt Printing announced that the EC had not released the required funds to print ballot papers. Later, Head of the Dept also claimed that more..

Feb 21 (DM) Dr. Muttukrishna Sarvananthan of Point Institute of Development in Jaffna, says that Chinese lending to Sri Lanka between 2007 and 2022 was marked by an absence of due diligence, hidden conditions and aggressive lobbying with politicians and bureaucrats. These were predatory practices, he says. But still, he would classify Chinese lending as quasi-predatory rather than predatory because the lower rates of interest charged counter-balanced the predatory practices. more..

Feb 21 (Island) I was lucky both as Permanent Secretary and a researcher in the field of family planning to spend time in the east coast which is one of the loveliest parts of SL, with its pristine beaches and a large swath of blue sea. Information dept was a partner of Ministry of Planning under Wickreme Weerasooria in undertaking a communications campaign to promote family health. UNFPA provided a well-known communications scholar, Flora Rosario Braid, of Philippines more..

Feb 21 (GV) When the GotaGoGama Protest site was attacked by supporters of Mahinda Rajapaksa on May 9, a row of tents were destroyed and burned to the ground by the rowdy gang that descended on the peaceful protest site that day. One of the tents caught in the destruction was a gallery and studio set up by Visual Artist Sujith Rathnayake. The tent had been set up to encourage and elicit conversation around the site through the painting, drawing, displaying of mixed media artworks. more..

Feb 21 (Island) Opposition seems to have lost the plot. Rajapaksa-Wickremesinghe regime has almost succeeded in sabotaging the LG polls, which were originally scheduled for 9 March. Election Commission, which told the Supreme Court that it would hold the polls, has thrown in the towel, and the people have pinned their hopes on the judiciary. SJB and JVP-led NPP remain locked in a duel, as it were, with their leaders taking swipes at each other at the drop of a hat instead of joining forces more..

Feb 21 (ST) SL legend Mahela Jayawardena speaks in detail about what it takes to make Sri Lanka the best team in the world. Jayawardena is currently is SLC�s consultant coach and believes SL should raise the bar across all levels to achieve that. Q: One year into your job, how do you see the game�s progress in SL across all levels? A: After taking over, with the technical committee at the time, we produced a document more..

Feb 21 (FT) Hatton National Bank (HNB) said it demonstrated resilience and a staunch focus on sustainable business performance as it posted Rs. 15.7 billion in Group Profit After Tax during 2022, a year marked by extraordinary circumstances and challenges. Chairperson Aruni Goonetilleke said: �The year under review was unprecedented, with a combination of economic stress, social unrest, and political instability which resulted in systemic shocks affecting all Lankans & sectors of economy more..

Feb 21 (FT) UN World Food Programme (WFP) welcomed USAID�s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) Director for Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean Stephanie Wilcock, on a visit to SL. During the visit, Wilcock met with poor rural communities to understand their food and nutrition needs, and how WFP�s US-funded programs will help them overcome challenges brought on by the economic crisis. As part of the visit, Wilcock travelled to Ratnapura, where she spoke with more..

Feb 21 (Island) Asian Youth Championship medallist Nirmali Wickramasinghe of Wickramabahu Central, Gampola is among dozens of leading youth athletes vying to achieve qualifying standards for the next edition of the Asian event which will be held in Uzbekistan. The final selection trial to pick SL�s team for the Asian event will be held today and tomorrow at Diyagama. Despite a marked drop in performance standards at the last Asian Youth Championships, SLA has set tough qualifying standards more..

Feb 21 (DN) SL marks the Fiftieth anniversary of List A Cricket on the 21st Feb, 2023. Marylebone Cricket Club (M.C.C) led by Glamorgan cricketer Tony Lewis toured SL during Feb 1973 after their Indian leg of the tour and played three games in SL. They began their tour with a one day match against a Central Province team in Kandy (M.C C 273/8 in 50 overs beat Central Province 107 in 38.5 overs by 166 runs) before moving to Colombo for their unofficial Test against SL at the Colombo Oval. more..

Feb 21 (FT) The recent revised circular of the Inland Revenue Dept in relation to employment benefit valuation appears to be an eye wash in a critical sense according to tax experts with no significant benefit to the biggest employee base � the private sector. �Nothing has been removed except for the changes in methodology. New introductions are only for the betterment of Govt officers,� they opined. In ascertaining the gains and profits from more..

Feb 21 (ST) Presidential Secretariat will shortly issue a circular restricting senior state officials, including the Prez�s and the PM�s Secretaries from using business class travel on overseas official trips. Accordingly, several officials who enjoyed the facility so far will have to travel on economy class. Among those who were entitled to the facility were judges of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, secretaries to ministries, Cabinet Secretary, Central Bank Governor and Attorney General. more..