Mar 21 (Island) Chief Government Whip Prasanna Ranatunga has accused the Human Rights Commission (HRC) of delaying investigation into attacks on his residence at Udugampola, Gampaha, on 09 May. The Urban Development and Housing Ministry quoted Gampaha District MP Ranatunga as having alleged that despite repeated requests, he had not been able to obtain an appointment with the HRCSL. SLPP Gampaha District heavyweight�s house was among 74 lawmakers� residences more..

Mar 21 (DM) Fuel prices would be reduced by a considerable margin at the routine fuel price revision according to the fuel price formula next month, Minister Kanchana Wijesekara said today. He told Parliament that the govt would be able to procure fuel shipments at a lower and competitive bidding after the IMF bailout was received. Minister said there were practical issues in opening LCs and obtaining credit facilities earlier as SL could not give a guarantee for the fuel suppliers. more..

Mar 21 (TM) President of SL Working Journalists� Association (SLWJA), Duminda Sampath said that no one will be able to report on what happens in Parliament in the future as the Govt is plotting a witch-hunt against the media in the guise of the Parliament (Powers and Privileges) Act. He said this while speaking at a media briefing to express their opposition to the Parliamentary debate which is to take place today on the alleged violation of the privileges of MPs due to the malpractices more..

Mar 21 (EN) The JVP has rubbished a crucial deal with the IMF, with the party�s general secretary Tilvin Silva claiming that the lender is only interested in bailing out corrupt govts. Silva said that SL�s freshly approved US$ 2.9 billion EFF from the IMF will be an addition to the island nation�s existing debt burden. He also insinuated that govt ministers, who he claimed have been starved of an opportunity to make money on the side more..

Mar 21 (DM) Chief Inspector of Police Nagoor Thambi Aboobucker who was arrested for aiding and abetting Pulastini Mahendran alias Sarah Jasmin, one of the main suspects in the Easter Sunday Attack, to flee the country, has been granted bail by the Batticaloa High Court. IP Aboobucker was arrested on July 13, 2020 under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) for concealing the information about Pulastini and escorting her in his vehicle to flee India. more..

Mar 21 (TM) Minister Bandula Gunawardena has assured that facts about the EFF received from the IMF will not be hidden from the public, emphasizing that a transparent procedure will be followed. Minister said that Prez too, has assured that once the IMF agreement is signed, all related matters will be presented before the Parliament. Commenting on the EFF approved by the IMF to SL last night, Gunawardena explained that as per the agreement, regardless of who comes into power within more..

Mar 21 (GT) China will continue to work with relevant countries and international financial institutions to play an active role in helping SL address its debt problem and achieve sustainable development. In response to the IMF approving a $3 billion loan program for SL, Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said that China sees this move as positive development and believes the move will be conducive to more..

Mar 21 (Island) Vavuniya High Court Judge, Mohamed Nihal, yesterday ordered former MP J. Sri Ranga to be remanded until 27 March. Ranga was arrested on 17 March. for allegedly influencing witnesses over an accident in Vavuniya in 2011, police said. Earlier, the Vavuniya High Court judge issued a warrant to arrest and produce the former MP Sri Ranga before the Court for influencing and intimidating the witnesses in a case pending before the Court, regarding the death of a sergeant, more..

Mar 21 (CT) Colombo High Court Judge Navaratne Marasinghe yesterday deferred further proceedings of the case against drug kingpin Wele Suda and another to 9 June. Samantha Kumara alias Wele Suda and another have been charged before the High Court, with unlawfully accruing profits amounting to Rs. 60 million, via the narcotic trade. When the case was called yesterday, the State Counsel, on behalf of the prosecution, informed Judge Marasinghe, that they intend to amend more..

Mar 21 (AD) National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) for the month of Feb 2023 was recorded at 53.6%, as measured by the Year-on-Year change. This is a slight increase in comparison to the headline inflation of 53.2% recorded in Jan 2023. Accordingly, contributions to the inflation recorded in February from the food group and non-food group stood at 22.1% and 31.5%, respectively. Food prices dropped from 53.6% to 49.0% from Jan 2023 to Feb 2023, while non-food inflation increased to 57.4% more..

Mar 21 (DM) Four youth who were bathing at Ellewala waterfall in Wellawaya have gone missing this morning, police said. They said the four victims were among a group of youth who were on a leisure trip at the Ellewala waterfall. The missing youth, aged 20 and 21 were identified as residents of Kalmunai and Saindamarudu areas. It has been revealed that the concerned youth went to bathe in a spot where there were signs put up indicating that bathing was not allowed. more..

Mar 21 (AD) The proposal to Parliament that all courses and exams conducted at the Sri Lanka Law College should be held in English has been defeated. The proposal was defeated during a vote at this morning�s Parliamentary session, when 113 MPs voted against the decision taken by the SL Law College to make English the mandatory medium of examination, with MP Chandima Weerakkody being the only more..

Mar 21 (EN) SL�s bank may need a 1.4 trillion rupee capital injection after bad loans from a currency crisis and debt -restructure hit their balance sheets, according to an analysis by the IMF. SL is in the midst of the worst currency crisis in the history of the island�s intermediate regime central bank which ended in sovereign default, higher than required interest rates due to the lack of a cut-off date for domestic debt restructure and impoverishment of the population leading to crumbling demand. more..

Mar 21 (TM) Vice President of Public Health Inspectors� Union (PHIU), K.A.T. Boralessa said that while it is too early to come to a conclusion about the actual place from where the Listeria infection originated as the report of the MRI on this incident is yet to be released, they would however, take necessary legal action against those who sold food unfit for consumption. He said that the PHIs of the relevant areas had collected food samples from the Nallathanniya and Erathna areas more..

Mar 21 (ST) SL has secured a US$3 billion loan from the IMF to help tide it over its worst economic crisis since independence. In a televised address on Tuesday, following the announcement late on Monday, Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe said: �We�re no longer a bankrupt country.� SL will get the first US$330 million tranche on Thursday. Nearly a year in the making, the IMF bailout is a lifeline for the bankrupt island nation that has barely more..

Mar 21 (CT) A delegation, including Minister of Justice Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe and Minister of Foreign Affairs M.U.A. Ali Sabry, will leave for South Africa today (21) to further study on establishing a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in SL. The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was set up by the Govt of National Unity to help deal with what happened under apartheid, which resulted in violence and human rights abuse from all sides in SA. more..

Mar 21 (AD) A private bus was completely destroyed in a fire this morning near the Boralugoda Investment Promotion Zone on the Horana � Ratnapura road. No casualties or injuries have been reported, however, despite there being nearly 40 passengers aboard the bus at the time the fire broke out. Police explained that the passengers had jumped off the bus as soon as the fire broke out, adding that the front part of the bus, plying from Ratnapura to Panadura, had caught fire more..

Mar 22 (CT) Tremors are no longer something to ignore in Sri Lanka. Several earthquakes have struck Syria, New Zealand, Ecuador and Turkey in recent months and weeks, causing significant damage and loss of life. Similarly, tremors in Sri Lanka can cause significant damage and disruption if authorities do not take them seriously. Therefore, it is important for the authorities in Sri Lanka to take proactive measures to reduce the risks associated with tremors. more..

Mar 22 (Island) Further to my article published in The Island recently, IMF Executive board has just approved the EFF arrangement for Sri Lanka at its meeting held on 20th March �23. In the meantime, our Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of SL (CBSL) in consultation with the financial advisory group hired for negotiations have finalised the latest position of Sri Lanka�s Public Debt as at end 2022 just prior to commencement of debt restructuring negotiations with creditors. more..

Mar 22 (TM) Despite various efforts such as making policies and raising awareness at various levels, it is widely accepted that SL has a long way to go when it comes to ensuring the social inclusion of and combatting discrimination faced by groups of diverse identities, abilities, and beliefs. Although marginalised and minority groups have received relatively more attention in the context of improving social security schemes for those groups more..

Mar 22 (CT) In parliament recently Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe suggested to an opposition member that he had no brains, furthermore adding that the MP neither had the power. The latter observation is obviously gratuitous, after all, the victim of the Presidential putdown is only an elected member of the opposition while the scheme of our constitution bestows immense powers on the office of the Prez. It is the former suggestion � a deficiency in the opposition legislator�s brainpower, more..

Mar 22 (DM) The present capacity of our universities is unable to accommodate the numbers of students qualified to enter these hallowed halls of learning. Statistics for 2020 revealed as many as 64% of the students who sat the GCE A/L exams in that year were eligible to apply to state universities. Sadly, according to the ministry, lesser than a quarter of those students were able to make it to state universities. Out of over 300,000 students who sit the GCE A/L exam every year, more..

Mar 22 (TM) In the context of the conflict over the overexploitation of fisheries resources beyond the Indo-SL coastal borders, restorative solutions such as coral and mangrove restoration, the restoration of the fish population via the implantation of artificial reefs or similar structures, establishing a bilateral and mutually acceptable no catch zone along IMBL or maritime protected area (MPA), the latter though uncertain in terms more..

Mar 22 (TM) With the much-awaited IMF's EFF receiving the IMF Executive Board�s approval this week, SL remains hopeful that resuscitating the collapsed economy would be possible in the foreseeable future. With the receipt of the EFF, the country is to witness more economic changes than it did during the past few months. While the EFF does not constitute the solution that SL desperately needs, it is indeed a significant enabler to begin a process to achieve a sustainable economy. more..

Mar 22 (GV) The plantation sector is vividly different from other sectors and is yet to be shown empathy and true care. Female workers leave home for work by 7 am and come home by 5 pm to avoid the dark for lack of safety. Housing is built differently for the plantation sector where there is a common ceiling for multiple houses. Female children are subject to all types of abuse when they are left alone. Parents send their female children to school with the hope of ensuring a stable future. more..

Mar 22 (DM) On March 4 in New York, 200 countries endorsed a UN treaty to protect biodiversity in seas beyond national jurisdiction also called the high seas. The treaty is described by Carnegie Endowment as the most significant environmental convention since the Paris Climate Agreement of 2015. Being an island State, surrounded by the Indian Ocean, SL whole-heartedly welcomed the convention. It is meant to enhance the international legal regime for the conservation of more..

Mar 22 (Island) The SLPP-UNP administration is cock-a-hoop at the unlocking of an IMF bailout package. What is the world coming to when a govt which has bankrupted a country, defaulted on debt and visited untold miseries on more than 22 million people, paints the town red after obtaining another loan on constricting conditions? At the height of Eelam War IV, Lakshman Kiriella, who was a UNP MP at the time, audaciously claimed that onema goenkuta yuddha karanna puluwan more..

Mar 22 (DM) Sri Lanka Railways (SLR) recently announced that with the retirement of train drivers there is a shortage of locomotive engine drivers. As a result SLR had also taken steps to cancel theservice of many trains expected to do long and short distance journeys. An investigation revealed that there are about 40 vacancies for train drivers exist. The last occasion when train engine drivers were recruited was in 2017. more..

Mar 22 (FT) Third year of the SL Vanithabhimana awards ceremony, organised by NDB Bank along with Sirasa News 1st, was held in splendour on the 16th of March 2023 to honour and empower SL women. SL Vanithabhimana 2022 took place nationwide, with 2384 entries from the provincial competition and 367 from the corporate competition, with the grand award ceremony held last week. SL Vanithabhimana is a very successful awards ceremony that has garnered much attention more..

Mar 22 (FT) DIMO, a leading diversified conglomerate in Sri Lanka, was recognised as the Overall Runner Up as well as the Winner in the Conglomerates and Diversified category at the prestigious ACCA Sri Lanka Sustainability Reporting Awards 2022. DIMO Group CEO Gahanath Pandithage shared his thoughts on the win: �This is a phenomenal achievement for the company, and as the perfect sustainability partner, we will always remain committed to fuelling the dreams more..

Mar 22 (ST) Young Reshan Algama earned a spot to represent SL at the Orion Group 36th Bangladesh Amateur Golf Championship 2023, which got underway at the Kurmitola Golf Club Course in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Reshan, a 15-years-old student of Colombo International School, made his amateur international debut alongside two top senior golfers in SL � Chalitha Pushpika of SL Navy and the national champion Chanaka Perera. Reshan�s appearance will be a huge opportunity for more..

Mar 22 (FT) Kapruka, recently debuted their prescription medicine delivery on their online pharmacy platform. Kapruka.com CEO Dulith Herath, said that the expatriate community living abroad can now order prescription drugs that will be delivered to any address in SL as a result of their online pharmacy. Customers benefit greatly from the efficient operation of their online pharmacy because it now makes it convenient for them to buy their prescription medications online more..

Mar 22 (TM) As a measure for the Govt to not face public criticism over tear gas purchases, IGP Chandana Wickramaratne has recommended that the proposed purchase of 20,000 tear gas shells and grenades be done under the direct contract system as opposed to the current practice of national competitive bidding following advertisements in the newspapers. Claiming that the Govt may be embarrassed by public criticism more..

Mar 22 (FT) Minister Bandula Gunawardena suggested taking a vote in Parliament to understand how many parties are in agreement with the IMF program supporting SL to overcome the economic crisis. Noting that the conditions of the IMF program will soon be tabled in Parliament, he emphasised that the plan must be obliged to be implemented irrespective of political parties, colours or ideologies. �SL has sought IMF assistance 16 times before, but halfway through under different more..

Mar 22 (PMD) Recovering from the challenging situation that the country is currently facing, requires a significant emphasis on the accountability of public officials in matters such as financial control, anti-corruption measures, and adherence to the rule of law, pointed out Mr. Sagala Ratnayake, Chief of the Presidential Staff. Sagala Ratnayake said this during a discussion held at the Ministry of Finance Auditorium with representatives of the IMF and Heads of Govt institutions. more..