Mar 14 (DM) A committee will be formed by Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe to identify suitable govt hospitals as teaching hospitals to provide clinical training for Medical Students enrolled at the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU), Dr. Neville Fernando Hospital, Lyceum Campus and other universities in Colombo, Kalutara, Gampaha, Kurunegala and Polonnaruwa, without hampering the training of students in State Universities. Accordingly, State Minister of Health more..

Mar 14 (AD) Former MP of SJB Mujibur Rahman today withdrew the Fundamental Rights (FR) petition he had filed before the Supreme Court concerning the 2023 LG election. The relevant petition was filed seeking an order directing the Election Commission to take measures to hold the 2023 LG election without any interference. The petition was taken up before the three-member Supreme Court bench consisting of Justices Vijith Malalgoda, Shiran Gunaratne, and Priyantha Fernando today. more..

Mar 14 (EN) The JVP supports the strikes planned for March 15 against IMF-backed progressive taxation but is not in favour of a sustained strike at this stage, JVP frontliner K D Lal Kantha said. He said unions should consider the govt�s response or lack thereof to the March 15 campaign and then take a call on continued trade union action. Lal Kantha was speaking at event organised by a collective of trade unions more..

Mar 14 (IE) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin Tuesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take necessary diplomatic steps to secure the early release of 16 fishermen apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy. He also requested the prime minister initiate steps for the release of a total of 102 fishing boats seized by the neighbours over the years. In his letter to PM Modi, Stalin cited the capture of the fishermen and their two mechanised fishing boats by the Sri Lankan Navy on March 12. more..

Mar 14 (AD) The Central Bank Trade Union Alliance is scheduled to stage an islandwide token strike tomorrow. The union noted that the Central Bank of SL (CBSL) will also be joining the token strike to be staged tomorrow by the Professional Trade Union Alliance (PUTA). Thus, they alerted the public of possible disruptions within the Employees� Provident Fund Dept, cash counters and Regional Offices. �We regret any inconvenience caused by this action�, the statement concluded. more..

Mar 14 (Island) Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa govt has stepped up attacks on the Election Commission (EC) in the wake of the Supreme Court directive meant to clear the way for much delayed LG polls. Urban Development and Housing Ministry quoted Chief Govt Whip Prasanna Ranatunga, apparently oblivious to what is happening, as having told the media at Udugampola earlier in the day the EC should examine whether the allocation made through budget 2023 for the independent more..

Mar 14 (DM) NPP member K.D. Lalkantha has understood the reality and is correct in opposing continuous strikes, UNP MP Vajira Abeywardene said. �Lalkantha seemed to understand the reality and the disruption caused by strikes and protests. This is why he said he is opposed to continuous strikes," Abeywardene said. �The general strike scheduled for tomorrow will push the country into a deep crisis and it will not be able to come out in 25 years if it succeeds. more..

Mar 14 (Island) Top Nidahas Janatha Sandhanaya spokesman Prof. G. L. Peiris alleged that Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe would not have taken on the judiciary without the backing from the ruling SLPP. Former Minister said so when the media sought his response to former Prez Mahinda Rajapaksa declaring the SLPP�s readiness to face local govt polls at any time. SLPP Chairman made the declaration at a public rally more..

Mar 14 (Island) Newly-appointed Chairperson of Sectoral Oversight Committee on National Security Rear Admiral (retd.) Sarath Weerasekera said that he would certainly discuss with members of his committee serious allegations pertaining to the presence of military personnel armed with wooden poles at the scene of confrontations between the police and protesters in Colombo. MP Weerasekera said that his committee would take up the matter with relevant authorities. more..

Mar 14 (EN) SL rupee closed at 336/341 to the US to the US dollar Tuesday in the spot market, down from 320/328 to the US dollar, dealers said. The rupee appreciated steeply after the central bank lifted a surrender rule ending a guided peg, leading to heavy selling by dollar holders and banks. Banks that oversold dollars can now make profits by covering their position, analysts said. The central bank is now operating an ad hoc peg without a transparent predetermined path, more..

Mar 14 (AD) Western Province Director of Education has instructed the authorities of all schools to postpone the end of term exams scheduled to commence tomorrow. Accordingly, Grade 9 term test exams will be postponed to 21 March, while the term test exams for Grades 10 and 11 are postponed to 22 March. The decision was taken owing to the collective trade union action that is scheduled to take place tomorrow, more..

Mar 14 (AD) NPP has filed a fundamental rights (FR) petition before the Supreme Court challenging the postponement of LG election. The petition was lodged by MP Prof. Harini Amarasuriya, former MP Sunil Handunnetti and party secretary Nihal Abeysinghe. The petitioners allege that deferring the LG election, which was initially scheduled to be held on March 9, has violated the fundamental rights of the people. A total of 35 state officials including the Finance Ministry�s Secretary, AG, more..

Mar 14 (AD) Court of Appeal today decided to appoint a five-member bench to hear former Prez Maithripala Sirisena�s writ application challenging a private plaint filed against him over the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks. Accordingly, the most senior judges of the Appeals Court will be appointed to this 5-member bench. Further, Colombo Fort Magistrate has been ordered to refrain from taking any action against the former Head of State pertaining to the said private plaint, until a verdict is delivered more..

Mar 14 (DM) Minister of Tourism Harin Fernando said that he doesn�t believe his statement regarding the Maldives was problematic, as he didn�t make any wrong statement. �I love SL and I promote it. I only asked tourists who visit the Maldives to visit SL after 5 days, as they are a small island. If I upset anyone, I have extended my apology,� he said. Fernando faced backlash after a statement made at an international travel and trade fair held in Berlin, Germany, where he said that more..

Mar 14 (TM) Director General (DG) of the Wildlife Conservation Dept Chandana Sooriyabandara said that removing crocodiles from water bodies located in the vicinity of Colombo is not a practical solution for the related issues as it takes place due to the migratory patterns of the crocodiles. He also said that the Dept will advise to remove them based on the specific locations where they find crocodiles. Speaking further, he noted that these migratory patterns of crocodiles � more..

Mar 14 (TM) MPs have disagreed with the decision taken by the Council of Legal Education to make the mandatory medium of examination of the SL Law College English. The Communication Dept of Parliament said the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Justice, Prisons Affairs and Constitutional Reforms did not agree with the decision taken by the Council of Legal Education more..

Mar 14 (FT) NDB Investment Bank made inroads into the African region by acting as the exclusive Financial Advisor and Manager to the recently concluded transaction of Hela Apparel Holdings PLC. NDBIB arranged a $ 14 million fund raising via Norfund directly to Hela�s investment holding company earmarked for its operations in the African region. The funds raised will be used to strengthen Hela�s supply chain partnerships in East Africa, particularly in Kenya and Tanzania. more..

Mar 14 (TM) The Naula Magistrate�s Court which conducted an inquest into the death of an area resident following an incident involving the Police, has ordered the Police to further probe the incident and report facts to the Court as evidence has come to light of the commission of a crime. Observing that matters leading to a crime have been discovered during the inquest of Aluthgedara Thushara, a resident of the Naula area, who was killed in a shooting during a raid conducted by more..

Mar 14 (AD) Professionals� Trade Union Alliance (PUTA), a collective of over 30 multi-sectorial trade unions, is scheduled to stage a 24-hour token strike tomorrow . Accordingly, trade unions of several sectors including power, water, education, medical, banking, postal, ports and railways are set to engage in tomorrow�s strike against the conduct of the govt, including the electricity tariff hike, unfair tax policy revision more..

Mar 14 (Island) Parliament has recently discussed the difficulties caused by abandoning some major construction projects. Minister Prasanna Ranatunga instructed the Ministry Secretary at the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Urban Development and Housing, to consult with relevant parties and take a decision regarding abandoned uncompleted buildings in the Colombo municipal area. Accordingly, minister also directed the Ministry Secretary to submit those recommendations more..

Mar 14 (AD) Several trade unions in SL Railways have announced that their members would not join the planned token strike tomorrow, General Manager of Railways says. Railways chief said discussions were held with all trade unions in the sector. Locomotive engine operators have pledged support for the collective trade union action while the Railway Guards� Union, Station Masters� Union, Railway Controllers� Association and several other trade unions decided otherwise. more..

Mar 15 (DM) Whether the country is reeling from an economic crisis or not Sri Lankans once in every few years witness a trend among some sections of the society taking drastic decisions to ruin their own life and that of their children. One might doubt if such a trend is in the making at present as well, given a series of self inflicted crimes committed by some people for the past few weeks, especially taking the lives of their own children. A man from Aranayake had killed his two children before committing more..

Mar 15 (GV) China has backed SL�s debt plan. To be more specific, as Bloomberg reported, it has given assurances that it will support SL�s debt restructuring. This is a significant breakthrough and it means that in the coming weeks, the country will receive that much hyped and much sought after IMF bailout of $2.9 billion. The bailout will be disbursed in a series of tranches over four years: not enough to salvage a debt-ridden economy, even on SL�s scale but according to certain analysts, more..

Mar 15 (Roar) In 2017, a photo of a Humphead Wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus) killed by spearfishing at the Unawatuna Beach stirred widespread attention on social media. This fish is listed as endangered under the Red List of the Int'l Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which sets the conservation status of species. However, a fish like Humphead Wrasse, with a bump on its head and diamond patterns of greens and blues more..

Mar 15 (CT) Recently, one of the rare Country �first Political Professionals in the current Parliament suggested holding both Parliamentary and LG Elections on the same day. Maybe as an economist, he wanted to make the budgetary provision of Rs 10 billion more meaningful, productive and cost-effective in the face of the dire Human and Financial/Economic catastrophe that the country is facing as a Bankrupt Nation. Further, it may to some extent, justify the estimated Rs 72 billion more..

Mar 15 (TM) Trade unions representing a number of sectors that have a direct and significant impact on the public�s day-to-day lives have threatened to launch an islandwide strike today. They represent education, health, banking, and ports sectors, and their opposition is against the Govt�s new tax policy. This is after failed attempts by the Govt to curb these protests. Govt�s approach to dealing with protests is problematic since it is not sustainable, effective, or public friendly. more..

Mar 15 (TM) The Treasury has channelled billions of rupees out of the accounts of Samurdhi � the social welfare scheme � for various govt activities over a period of 17 years and has failed to reimburse the funds despite continuous reminders sent by the authorities, the National Audit Office (NAO) reveals in a report. In its latest audit report on the Dept of Samurdhi Development, NAO has revealed that the funds allocated by more..

Mar 15 (Island) President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is also the Finance Minister, recently named three persons � all women -whose intervention supposedly brought relief to bankrupt Sri Lanka. UNP leader Wickremesinghe paid glowing tributes to Indian Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, US Secretary of State Janet Yellen, and IMF Managing Director and Chairman of the Executive Board Kristalina Ivanova Georgieva-Kinova. The IMF Chief is Bulgarian. more..

Mar 15 (Island) Warring trade unions are girding up their loins for a showdown with the govt, which is determined to crush today�s strike. What we are witnessing is a game of chicken, and the odds are that the ongoing workers� struggle against tax increases and the proposed divestiture programme, etc., will not be over anytime soon. The protesting unions have threatened to intensify their industrial action, depending on the outcome of today�s strike. Port workers who have resorted to more..

Mar 15 (CT) The construction industry was one of the most-affected industries during the pandemic, affecting both employees in the sector and prospective buyers. This was followed by the impact of the economic crisis during which the prices of construction raw material skyrocketed and the industry was on the verge of collapse. Construction has historically been one of the primary industries that has contributed to the country�s overall economic growth. more..

Mar 15 (ST) While some Air Force cadets and invitees who attended the passing out parade in Trincomalee recently might still be pondering President Ranil Wickremesinghe�s homily on parliamentary democracy how it cannot be achieved by public protestations on the highways and byways, in the capital city university students were being doused by water cannons and tear-gassed, possibly with outdated tear gas shells that the authorities have been trying desperately to hide. more..

Mar 15 (Stuff) When is a wide actually a wide in a test match? That question boiled to the surface on the final day of the first test between the Black Caps and SL at Christchurch�s Hagley Oval on Monday, won by NZ on the final ball of the match. SL left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya was warned by umpire Chris Gaffaney for bowling wide of leg stump with his second delivery of the 38th over in NZ�s second innings. Jayasuriya continued to more..

Mar 15 (Island) There was knee jerk reaction from the national selection panel following SL�s heart-breaking last ball defeat to NZ in Christchurch. Rather than addressing burning issues and long-standing problems, they were blaming Niroshan Dickwella for the defeat after the wicketkeeper had a poor game dropping Kane Williamson and making a little contribution with the bat. The current selection panel is quick to take credit when things go right but when things go wrong, they waste no time more..

Mar 15 (FT) Minister Bandula Gunawardena yesterday said the Govt is confident of International Monetary Fund (IMF) support for Sri Lanka, noting that it has already been positively reflected on the economic sentiments. �The stability of the rupee is one important factor that shows the market has welcomed the positive momentum. During the past few days, the economy saw an inflow of $ 500 million. These are funds that were held by individuals,� he said. more..

Mar 15 (FT) Board of Investment (BOI) new Chairman Dinesh Weerakkody says Sri Lanka�s value proposition is key to attract investors that can foster job creation and expansion of the economy. �The National Single Window System is a must and finding the right mix of techniques and organisation to do the promotion is key,� emphasises Weerakkody in this interview. Here are excerpts. Q: What are the measures taken by the BOI to increase FDIs in the country more..