Jan 25 (PTI) Debt-ridden SL on Wednesday thanked India for issuing the necessary guarantees sought by the IMF that would help Colombo to unlock the USD 2.9 billion bailout package. India's ministry of finance recently issued a letter to the IMF to confirm its support to SL on the issue of debt restructuring. Also, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during his recent visit to Colombo gave the required assurances to SL's more..

Jan 25 (Island) The sub-committee of the parliamentary Committee on Public Accounts (COPA), during its recent meeting, emphasised on the need for the preparation of a joint plan to train workers to produce qualified workers to the foreign job market. This was discussed when the committee reviewed the training program prepared by the inter-ministerial committee on producing qualified and skilled migrant workers for foreign jobs. The committee met under the chairmanship of more..

Jan 25 (WCP) Indian coffee chain Barista has continued its expansion across Sri Lanka, opening its 19th store and targeting 50 locations by 2024. The New Delhi-based company, which operates more than 350 stores in India, opened the store at the UNESCO World Heritage site Galle Dutch Fort in the Bay of Galle. Barista, which launched in Sri Lanka in 2002, said it is continuing to strategically expand its footprint across the country and is set to reach at least 50 stores by 2024. more..

Jan 25 (DM) No payments have been made for nearly four months to the suppliers involved in providing lunch to school children, the Ceylon Teachers' Union General Secretary Joseph Stalin alleged today. With the nonpayment, schoolchildren face a severe risk of malnutrition and hunger when schools re-open for the next term, Stalin said. The govt had launched the nutritional project, targeting 1.1 million schoolchildren out of 4.3 million. more..

Jan25 (DM) Fundamental Rights petition filed by Dr. Shafi Shihabdeen, who was at the centre of the controversy surrounding the alleged sterilisation of female patients was today fixed for support by Supreme Court. SC 3-judge-bench comprising Justices Priyantha Jayawardena, S. Thurairaja and Kumuduni Wickremasinghe fixed the petition for support on May 16. Attorney Rushdie Habeeb filing this petition on behalf of Dr. Shafi Shihabdeen named Inspector Pushpalal, OIC of more..

Jan 25 (TM) The container throughput at the Colombo Port declined by 5.3% year-on-year (YoY) in 2022 as the decrease in global demand resulted in the decline of transshipments and import bans impacting import container volumes, SLPA revealed. Accordingly, total container handling at the Colombo Port dropped to 6.86 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in 2022 from 7.24 million TEUs in 2021, The transshipment volumes handled by the port declined by 3.7% YoY to 5.63 m TEUs, more..

Jan 25 (MFA) Newly appointed Ambassador of SL to Japan Rodney M. Perera presented the Letters of Credence to His Majesty Naruhito at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on 19 January. Credentials Presentation Ceremony is one of the most solemn and formal ceremonies held by His Majesty the Emperor of Japan. Escorted by the Master of Ceremonies of the Imperial Household Agency, Ambassador Perera was driven in a custom-built limousine courtesy of His Majesty from more..

Jan 25 (DM) It was revealed at the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) that the Revenue Administration Management Information System (RAMIS), which is established for tax revenue collection in the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) at a cost of Rs. 10 billion was not functioning properly. This was revealed at the Committee on Public Accounts which met in Parliament yesterday under the chairmanship of Kabir Hashim. IRD had started software system in 2014 to increase more..

Jan 25 (DM) Minister Bandula Gunawardana said that IMF has instructed the SL govt to tax all those who draw a salary or a monthly income of over Rs. 45,000 but this proposal has not been accepted by the govt. He said that the govt will maintain its policy of imposing taxes only on those who earn a monthly income of Rs.100,000 or more. Gunawardena said Prez had revealed this IMF proposal to the cabinet on Monday. more..

Jan 25 (DM) The FUTA today declared a black week protest against the govt's move to heap a burden on people by imposing an arbitrary tax policy, UTA Secretary and Senior Lecturer of Sri J'pura Uni, Sujeewa Hettiarachchi said. He said that the black week protest was declared as a collective decision with the university unions and employee unions connected to other institutions. "From Monday to this Friday, a black week has been declared and observed," association said. more..

Jan 25 (AD) Human Rights Commission of SL (HRCSL) has convened an urgent meeting at 4 p.m. this evening to further discuss the failure to provide an uninterrupted power supply during the month the GCE A/L exam is taking place. Accordingly, secretary to the Power & Energy Ministry, chairman of Public Utilities Commission (PUCSL), chairman of CEB, chairman of CPC, chairman of Bank of Ceylon (BOC) and the chairman of People�s Bank have been summoned by the human rights body. more..

Jan 25 (AD) All parties including the Ministry of Power & Energy, Public Utilities Commission of SL (PUCSL), they CEB and CPC have agreed before the Human Rights Commission of SL (HRCSL) to refrain from imposing power cuts during the GCE A/L Exam. HRCSL yesterday summoned PUCSL Chairman Janaka Ratnayake and Secretary to the Ministry of Power & Energy for an inquiry as to why they failed to prevent implementation more..

Jan 25 (CT) Cabinet approved a proposal made by the President to promptly implement an e-licence programme in the Import and Export Control Dept. The Export Control and Border Security Programme, operating under the United States Embassy, has agreed to provide the Information Technology Programme STRATLINK, worth USD 280,000, along with the complete source code to the Dept of Import and Export Control as a donation. The number of licences issued by the Import and more..

Jan 25 (AD) Members of the Public Utilities Commission of SL (PUCSL) stated before the National Council that they unanimously agreed to send documents to the Attorney General requesting for advice regarding the possibility of increasing the electricity charges retrospectively and requesting for prompt approval for the increase in the electricity charges. Accordingly, the members of the commission said that they hope to forward the relevant documents to the AG today. more..

Jan 26 (DM) As SL prepares to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Independence, Govt of Prez Wickremesinghe and the SLPP are struggling to get the country and the people out of its worst socio-economic and political crisis since independence in 1948. One of the basic needs is a good job with a good salary and the govt needs to give priority to this issue while cutting the costs of maintaining politicians at all levels and allowing them to get away with large scale robbery and corruption. more..

Jan 26 (TM) There are debates regarding whether the LG poll scheduled for March would contribute to some sort of positive change in the economic crisis-hit SL and whether holding election is a prudent move given the state of the economy. Upcoming LG election, according to political commentators and also the general public, should not be underestimated merely because many of the reforms necessary to change the country�s situation for the better should ideally come from Govt. more..

Jan 26 (CT) Hobson�s choice is not that bad because it offers you two options: you can either take what is offered or take nothing at all. However, the tradition of parents indoctrinating children with their inherited religion does not offer the second option of not taking at all to any child. We are all steeped in a tradition of taking our children as religious putty in our hands. The age old custom has made us think that it is natural more..

Jan 26 (CT) Election fever has gripped SL again. The year 2022 wrote a preamble of what could be expected in 2023. For the first time in the recent history of the country, just two and half years ago, the chief ruler had to run away, not only from his post, but also the land and the people who elected him. The people jammed the streets in Colombo and other big city centers. Aragalaya as a living organism came to life amongst the youth of the land. From Cinnamon Gardens mansions to Pettah more..

Jan 26 (Island) The govt is in overdrive to delay the LG elections while pretending that it is ready to face them. Experience is said to be the best teacher, and the public, having been taken for many a ride, tends to believe the obverse of what the ruling party politicians say. Prez Wickremesinghe has asked the UNP, which he leads, to get ready for the LG polls, and UNP has given a lot of publicity to his directive, subliminal message being that the govt is intent on holding the mini polls, more..

Jan 26 (TM) More than 180 prominent economists and development experts from around the world have made a global appeal to SL�s financial lenders to forgive its debt, even as other experts are not convinced it is the best way forward for the island nation. According to World Bank estimates, SL has an external debt burden of more than $ 52 billion as of Dec 2022. Of that, nearly 40% is owed to private creditors, including financial more..

Jan 26 (CT) Human Rights Commission of SL (HRCSL) observed that the right to equality of the students, sitting for the GCE A/L Exam, has been violated by the hours -long power cuts during the exam period. This paper, quoting the statement, reported that the Commission said it has written to the Secretary of Ministry of Power and Energy and Chairman of Public Utilities Commission of SL (PUCSL), to instruct CEB to refrain from imposing power cuts at any time during exam period. more..

Jan 26 (CT) While stating that there is a possible influenza outbreak in the country, Consultant Dr. Nandana Dickmadugoda said, viral infection can be fatal for pregnant women and the elderly. He said, the virus mainly affects the respiratory system and symptoms such as cough, sore throat, difficulty breathing, ear pain, and even vertigo can be observed in patients. He added that even though patients might recover from the virus after two, three days, a long-term cough could stick around more..

Jan 26 (GV) Hobson�s choice is not that bad because it offers you two options: you can either take what is offered or take nothing at all. However, the tradition of parents indoctrinating children with their inherited religion does not offer the second option of not taking at all to any child. We are all steeped in a tradition of taking our children as religious putty in our hands. The age old custom has made us think that it is natural as well as obligatory to drill the religion we have acquired more..

Jan 26 (Island) Economics primarily drive politics and this principle applies to SL�s relations with almost the entirety of the world�s regions. The fact that economic interdependence is compelling this country to break new ground in its ties with the Middle East bears this out fully. Over the decades, SL has prioritized the need to sustain vibrant ties with the Arab countries of the Middle East and this is quite in order when SL�s overwhelming dependence on the region for its oil supplies more..

Jan 26 (DM) Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said it would be happy to allow the National Sports Selection Committee (NSSC) of the Ministry of Sports to appoint the next cricket selection committee, if the NSSC would also take responsibility for the failures and successes of the national team. SLC had sent a list of ten names, including that of current national cricket selection committee chief Pramodya Wickramasinghe to Sports Ministry more..

Jan 26 (FT) Constitutional Council (CC) had its first meeting yesterday presided by Speaker and Chair Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana. The CC discussed about the future activities of the Council along with the mandate of the CC stipulated in the Constitution and the other Laws. The CC discussed about the constitution of the Commissions specified in Schedule to Article 41B of the Constitution and agreed to call for applications from interested and qualified individuals, through a paper ad. more..

Jan 26 (TM) State Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya has assured that a new draft bill related to the prevention of the influx of new illegal narcotics into the society, and the circulation of drug money within the country will be introduced soon. Accordingly, a draft of the Bill is due to be presented in Parliament soon, he stated while speaking at a special discussion held last afternoon. He assured that measures related to drafting the Bill are currently underway, and are in the final stages. more..

Jan 26 (SO) Players are bring made line judges and ask to pay large sums of money as entry as the governing body for badminton, Sri Lanka Badminton (SLB), is currently conducting the Nationals and Junior Nationals at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium and SLB courts in a very irregular manner. Even the notice put up at the venues state that it is the 70th Senior and 38th Junior Nationals respectively displaying total ignorance on the part of SLB. But in reality the occasion marks 50th annual event more..

Jan 26 (FT) Prez Wickremesinghe has convened an All-Party Conference today at 4 p.m. at the Presidential Secretariat. All party leaders representing the Parliament will attend the meeting chaired by Wickremesinghe. �The purpose of this conference is to come to a consensus and strengthen national harmony,� the PMD said. It said the Speaker, PM, Leader of the Opposition, as well as former presidents Mahinda Rajapaksa and Maithripala Sirisena, TNA Leader more..

Jan 26 (TM) Claiming that it was during his tenure as the Governor of the Central Bank (CB) that SL received the largest credit facility from the IMF, former CB Governor, Ajith Nivard Cabraal yesterday made critical comments regarding the suspension of foreign debt repayment and raising taxes. Commenting to the media on China and India responding positively to the debt restructuring programme, he said: more..

Jan 26 (FT) The Colombo stock market managed to make a comeback yesterday with improved activity and a pick-up in investor sentiment. The active S&P SL20 gained by 0.8% and the benchmark ASPI by 0.4%. This was a welcome change after the market on Tuesday suffered a loss ending a five-day winning streak. Turnover improved to nearly Rs. 2 billion from Rs. 1.48 billion on Tuesday. Volume of shares traded too gained to 91.7 million shares from 70.5 million shares the previous day. more..

Jan 26 (ST) Wednesday, January 18 morning, the new Football Federation of SL (FFSL) President and his new team was inducted ceremoniously to the FFSL headquarters with the usual pomp and pageantry that has over the years been drilled and perfected by the same old foot soldiers that have kept football where it is in this country. That parade went well and it was interesting to note that both the Secretary and Director General of the Ministry of Sports were present to welcome new team, more..

Jan 26 (FT) Monetary Board of Central Bank opted to keep policy rates unchanged, a stance maintained since July last year insisting the tight monetary regime is imperative to rein in inflationary pressures. �The Board, having noted the recent and expected developments and projections on the domestic and global macroeconomic fronts, was of the view that the maintenance of the prevailing tight monetary more..

Jan 26 (FT) The main Opposition Samagai Jana Balawegaya (SJB) said the public has been burdened with unfair taxes as the Govt did not consider workable alternatives, and it still has no sustainable plan to boost rupee income. SJB MP and economist Dr. Harsha De Silva said the Parliamentary Committee on Public Finances had recommended to Govt to follow the Indian model for personal incomes tax, which would have yielded just Rs. 7 billion less than the current projection. more..

Jan 26 (CI) Alex Lees lived up to the fast-paced standards that he had instilled in him during his summer in England's Test ranks, by striking a 94-ball century on the opening day of England Lions' tour of SL. Lees, who debuted in the Caribbean in March last year, played all seven of England's Tests in a remarkable summer under the new leadership of Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes, but was dropped for the recent tour of Pakistan after making 327 runs at 25.15, including 2 half-centuries. more..