Feb 6 (Island) The spectre of state terrorism raising its ugly head again looms over the country. The Brownshirts of the incumbent regime, as it were, are now free to operate alongside the police to crush anti-govt protests. Old habits are said to die hard. Those violent characters were seen in action on 03 February night at Maradana, where a group of people staged a peaceful protest against the govt over the widespread waste of public funds, abuse of power, suppression of democratic dissent, more..

Feb 6 (Island) I am profoundly honoured to have the opportunity to deliver this prestigious Lakshman Kadirgamar Memorial Lecture 2023. I thank Foreign Minister of SL, Ali Sabry, for this honour. As an academician, it is my immense pleasure to share my thoughts with the esteemed audience of our close neighbour, Sri Lanka. I am also happy to return to this beautiful island, in less than a year, after the BIMSTEC Summit, held in Colombo. At the outset, let me pay my homage to more..

Feb 6 (ST) A gazette issued under the 21st Amendment by which the independent National Police Commission (NPC) retained powers of appointment, promotion, transfer, punishment, etc., of everyone above Chief Inspector (CI) rank�including OIC of police stations/functional divisions�was removed from the official website of Govt Printing Dept hours after it was published. These powers were earlier held by IGP more..

Feb 6 (Island) Several months ago I brought to my reader�s attention a straw-poll that I had conducted among my friends on the left of the political spectrum, university colleagues and liberal intellectuals on two matters; (i) their own voting intentions, (ii) what they perceived were the electoral prospects of the NPP/JVP. The replies were consistent. Most said that they would vote for the NPP/JVP or that they were mulling over it. Almost all declared that would not seriously consider more..

Feb 6 (EN) SL�s govt revenues were 158.7 billion rupees in January 2023 but expenditure and debt service remained high, Minister Bandula Gunawardana said. In Jan 2022 total revenues were Rs 104.5 billion. SL�s tax revenues have risen sharply amid an inflationary blow off which had boosted nominal GDP while Prez Wickremesinghe has also raised taxes. Departing from a previous strategy advocated by the IMF expanding the state and not cutting expenses, more..

Feb 6 (FT) Senior and highly respected business leader Chandra Schaffter spoke his heart out about his youngest son Dinesh and his untimely death on 15 Dec. Here is the full text of Chandra�s statement first since the death of Dinesh, a young investor, entrepreneur and philanthropist. I have been asked by several of my friends, acquaintances and even many people who do not know me, of the circumstances in which my youngest son, Dinesh, met his death & reason for his brutal murder. more..

Feb 6 (CI) A final decision on whether Pakistan will host the 2023 Asia Cup is now expected in March, after an Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting in Bahrain failed to reach a breakthrough. They will meet again in a month's time, around the next set of ICC meetings. The uncertainty around the 2023 Asia Cup began in October when the ACC president, and BCCI secretary, Jay Shah said it will be held in a neutral venue because India can't travel to Pakistan. The PCB took particular exception to that more..

Feb 6 (EN) Despite the drastic increase in prices of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) in the global market, Litro Gas Lanka (Ltd) only increased the price of the 12.5 kg domestic gas cylinder by about a third of the actual increase due to Litro having studied market trends and placing orders for over 7,000 metric tonnes (MT) of LPG in advance, Litro Gas Lanka (Ltd.) Chairman Muditha Peiris claimed. Peiris noted that price of a 12.5 kg cylinder, more..

Feb 6 (FT) The country has seen significant progress in int'l airlines operating in SL boosting connectivity and the attractiveness of the destination. As per the latest statistics, 20 top global international airlines are operating in the country and have almost come to pre-pandemic frequency levels. Apart from the national carrier, SriLankan Airlines; Emirates, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Edelweiss Air, Air France, Air India, China Eastern, Gulf Air, Etihad, Malaysian Airlines, more..

Feb 6 (TM) SL Tennis Association (SLTA) recently announced three back-to-back int'l wheelchair tennis tournaments to be held in the country during the month of February. With prize money allocations amounting to $ 3000, the tournaments are claimed to be among SL�s sports tournaments with the highest allocations for prize money. The three tournaments will attract top-ranking wheelchair tennis men and women players from around the world, with players from South Korea, China, more..

Feb 6 (EN) SL�s banks should explore restructuring loans of salaried employees hit by progressive tax, CB Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said as progressive income taxes were imposed at lower thresholds amid high inflation following a sovereign default. There have been complaints mainly by picketing state enterprise executives and also other workers of such agencies such SLPA that high progressive taxes more..

Feb 6 (DM) Eyeing to welcome 250,000 Indian tourists this year, Sri Lanka is exploring the possibility of adopting India�s home-grown cross-border digital payment systems as part of the country�s strategy to lure in more Indian tourists by enabling a cashless travel experience. SL High Commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda revealed that enabling payments using RuPay card and RuPay mechanism is being considered as a part of the country�s tourism strategy. more..

Feb 6 (Island) Two films, produced by Sri Lankans, have been recognized at the 2023 Int'l Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR). The movie Munnel by Visakesa Chandrasekaram, from Sri Lanka, has been awarded the Special Jury Award at the IFFR 2023. Special Jury Award was presented, describing the movie as a great simple story about a young man caught between revolution and authoritarianism. IFFR announced the competition winners for its 52nd edition, during its Awards Ceremony more..

Feb 6 (SO) In a moving testimony to the Govt�s commitment to communal harmony and reconciliation, National Anthem was sung in Sinhala & Tamil at the Independence Day celebrations at Galle Face Green yesterday. National Anthem was heard in Tamil Namo Namo Daaye at an Independence Day event after a lapse of several years. National Anthem was written in Sinhala by Ananda Samarakoon and this was translated to Tamil by Sinhala/Tamil expert M. Nallathambi. more..

Feb 6 (DN) A study on e-commerce in SL by Commonwealth and EDB (2020) found that e-commerce has grown rapidly, spurred by increased access to the internet and the COVID- 19 pandemic. Digital has become a more pressing issue especially within the trading community in SL, given the recent movement toward e-commerce. Since 2018, the number of internet users in the country has increased from 30% to 51 %, with 37 % of internet users active on one or more social media more..

Feb 6 (TM) Opex Holdings Managing Director (MD) and billionaire businessman 45-year-old Onesh Subasinghe has been found dead in a serviced apartment in Jakarta, Indonesia. Subasinghe had been on a leisure trip in Jakarta along with his Brazilian wife, his 4-year-old daughter, and another unidentified Brazilian female, whom the family had met in Colombo prior to their departure to Jakarta. Subasinghe was last in contact with more..

Feb 6 (AD) Ministers representing India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal who visited SL to participate in the 75th Independence Day Celebration called on Prez Wickremesinghe at the Prez Secretariat yesterday (4). India�s External Affairs State Minister V. Muraleedharan called on Prez first and during their discussion attention was drawn on the implementation of the 13th Amendment to the constitution and the measures taken to ensure ethnic harmony. more..

Feb 6 (CT) CBSL's six day fight to quell demand-pull inflationary pressure suffered a setback last Friday, where CBSL was forced to print non-demand pull inflationary money to the value of Rs 40,552.10 million to aid GoSL to settle its swap commitments due to a persistent lack of revenue. Howbeit, in the previous six consecutive market days to last Thursday, such face value money printing (FVMP) debt has fallen by a total of Rs 65,525 million, due to the retirement of maturing Treasury (T) Bills more..

Feb 6 (AD) A couple was arrested by the Kandana Police today (5) over the recent death of a businessman whose body was found in a swimming pool. The arrest was made based on a tip-off received by the OIC of the Kandana Police, Chief Inspector Gamini Herath. Accordingly, the couple, aged 23 and 27, were identified as residents of Narahenpita, the OIC confirmed, adding that although it was previously suspected that the duo had fled the country, it was revealed that more..

Feb 6 (DN) The ambient air quality dropped to unhealthy levels in several main cities of the country yesterday, NBRO Director Sarath Premasiri said, observing that the strong winds coming from the direction of India was the main reason for that occurrence. He said that the air quality would improve today, following the landfall of the cyclonic storm Mandous. The Cyclone, which was located over Southwest Bay of Bengal (300km north-east of Trinco) last morning, was to cross North TN, more..

Feb 6 (TM) PUCSL Chairman Janaka Ratnayake remarked that irrespective of who was appointed as members to the PUCSL to replace those who have resigned, he would continue to conduct his affairs as he sees fit. Ratnayake noted that he was unfazed by the new appointees to the regulatory Commission. �I am not worried by who is to be appointed; but they have to undertake certain duties according to the PUCSL Act. more..

Feb 6 (FT) Lanka Coal Company Chairman Shehan Sumanasekera has requested funds from Minister Kanchana Wijesekera to purchase coal stocks expressing concerns about the continued operations of the Norochcholai power station if the necessary funding for coal procurement is not received. LCC Chairman has requested $ 12.32 million or around Rs. 4.56 billion from the Minister to purchase coal. �A total of Rs. 15.3 billion immediately for the procurement of coal for the upcoming week. more..

Feb 6 (PMD) Fifty buses (50) were handed over to the Prez under the second phase of the project. A token of another fifty buses (50) were handed over to President Ranil Wickremesinghe at the Presidential Secretariat premises today in the morning (5) out of the 500 buses to be provided by the Indian Govt to uplift the public transport service in rural areas across the country. The documents of the buses were handed over to the President by Indian HC to SL Gopal Baglay. more..

Feb 6 (Island) The govt hasn�t received proposals from political parties regarding Prez Wickremesinghe�s decision to implement the 13th Amendment fully. Prez, on Jan 26, requested party leaders to furnish their suggestions, if any, by Feb 4 as he intended to brief Parliament on Feb 8 as regards the implementation of land & police powers. Political parties, represented in Parliament, had not responded to Prez�s request so far, more..

Feb 6 (FT) There is a crisis of authority. The ruling class has forfeited its consensus. It doesn�t lead but is dominant because it exercises the coercive power of the state. Italian thinker Antonio Gramsci in his prison cell wrote that when it happens the great masses become detached from their traditional ideologies, and no longer believe what they used to believe previously. The old way is dying and the new cannot be born. In this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appear. more..

Feb 6 (FT) Historically since 1965, SL has received IMF assistance on 16 occasions, which has been a necessity. However, the next question should be, when is Sri Lanka going to be self-sufficient? First and foremost the primary objectives; should include effective leadership from the front. Because; with economic development realities dawning upon the nation, good strong leadership is vital for the growth of the economy. The civil servants really have to recalibrate doctrine of being more proactive more..

Feb6 (EN) Expansion of state-run SLTB with 500 buses bought on credit from India will reduce passengers for private busses, the head of an industry association said. �The already hit private sector with the fuel price increase, the fee increase will further affect with more buses coming into the competition,� Wijeratne said. �Post Covid, we saw a decrease in the number of passengers we get and then after the fare hikes last year and people adopting transportation methods. more..

Feb6 (AD) SL�s Ambassador in Ankara says that all nine Sri Lankans believed to be in the earthquake-affected areas of Turkey are safe and that 08 of them have already been traced. The ninth person, who lives in a building that had collapsed in the quake, was not there when the incident occurred and has not been contacted as of yet, Ambassador Hasanthi Urugodawatte said. �Our reports indicate that 9 Sri Lankans were in the areas where the earthquake occurred in Turkey. more..

Feb 6 (FT) SL celebrated the 75th anniversary of independence from Britain last Saturday. This was done at a time when SL had been bankrupted economically and had fallen to an irrecoverable depth politically and socially. Given the present dire state of the economy, many critics had requested Prez not to spend Govt�s hard-earned money for this celebration. However, Prez justified his action that if Sri Lanka does not do it, more..

Feb 6 (FT) The need of the digitisation of public and private institutions in promoting investments in SL and establish a single point for obtaining all necessary approvals for investment promptly was taken into discussion at the Select Committee of Parliament to study the practical problems and difficulties that have arisen in relation to enhancing the rank in the Ease of Doing Business Index in SL and make its proposals and recommendations. It was discussed at the Select Committee more..

Feb 6 (DM) The Finance Ministry is yet to respond to the request by Chairman of the National Election Commission Nimal Punchihewa to provide an amount of Rs. 770 million for the activities related to the LG polls. The Election Commission Chairman had requested for the money this month for the basic expenses of the local govt elections. Election Commission has further requested the Secretary of the Ministry of Finance to take steps to provide this amount in one go or in installments. more..

Feb 6 (TM) Following the order issued by Colombo Magistrate's Court in Jan 2023, the CID has requested a report from the British High Commission (HC) on the citizenship of State Minister Diana Gamage. Social activist Oshala Herath, who filed the complaint with the CID alleging that Gamage's Passport, national identity card (NIC) and Birth Certificate are fake, based on which the relevant case is being heard more..

Feb 6 (PMD) Representatives of United Nations Development Program said that SL will be supported in achieving the country�s Sustainable Development Goals. They stated this during a recent discussion held at the Prez Secretariat about adding sustainable development goals to budgeting. The discussion was chaired by Prez�s Senior Adviser on Climate Change Mr Ruwan Wijewardena and Prez�s Adviser on Environment and Sustainable Finance Professor Ananda Malavitantri, more..

Feb 6 (CT) Chief Prelate of the Asgiri Chapter, Most Ven. Warakagoda Gnanarathana Mahanayake Thera said every time an election approaches, the Government brings up an unnecessary issue and this time around it was the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. This was at a time when the majority of citizens were going hungry. He said no politician in this country truly serves the country or the people. While noting that there is no proper plan for anything in the country and that most politicians more..

Feb 6 (AD) Supreme Court Justice and Chairman of the Prez Commission of Inquiry appointed to investigate the findings of preceding commissions and committees, A.H.M.D. Nawaz today submitted a synopsis of the recommendations in the draft final report of the commission, to Prez Wickremesinghe. Justice Nawaz emphasized the need to strengthen the institutional capacity of the Office on Missing Persons, Office for Reparations and the Office for National Unity & Reconciliation and more..