Nov 13 (Island) Anyone�s death diminishes us. However, with apologies to Donne, we are diminished beyond measure when the veterans of the fourth estate depart. On Saturday (11), former editor of The Island Gamini Weerakoon crossed the Great Divide. His funeral took place yesterday. Our readers may recall the pivotal role he played in steering this newspaper through turbulent times, when independent journalism was a sufficient death warrant, demonstrating as he did more..

Nov 13 (SO) Pawan Ratnayake is a cricketer who captained Mahanama College Colombo as a promising right hand batsman and off spinner who displayed impressive skills with spectacular performances while representing the SL under-19 team with distinction. He was adjudged inter-school under 15 best batsman runner-up, best all rounder and became the under 15 schoolboy cricketer of the year in 2016. He was also adjudged U-19 Division One Observer-Mobitel best batsman, more..

Nov 13 (CI) As the SL squad arrived home after a disappointing 2023 World Cup, consultant coach Mahela Jayawardene attributed much of the team's struggles the types of tracks being produced for domestic cricket. These pitches, he said, neither allowed their batters to be in top hitting form heading into the WC on flatter decks in India, nor taught their spinners how to handle conditions that required them to work harder for their wickets. more..

Nov 13 (TM) Sri Lanka Tourism aims at increasing the air seat capacity for the foreign tourists that embark the island, simultaneously monitoring the traffic coming from large markets for the country with the ongoing promotional campaigns. Chairman of SLTDA, Priantha Fernando said: �Promotional campaigns are expected to succeed for nine major countries (for SL).� Data shows that approximately 36% of tourists chose the departure airports in Dubai, Doha & Chennai as their last stop more..

Nov 13 (CI) Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul led India's batting masterclass as the hosts completed their undefeated run into the knockouts with a hammer blow to Netherlands, who ended their World Cup with a 160-run defeat. Centurions Shreyas and Rahul staged a 208-run partnership after a 100-run stand between first-wicket pair Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill had laid the foundation for India's 410 for 4. Virat Kohli also passed fifty and put on 71 with Shreyas as the Netherlands bowlers - more..

Nov 13 (ST) The midden has hit the windmill, to put it politely. Do we have any cover now? Doesn�t look like it, as the ICC has finally slapped a suspension on SLC due to alleged govt interference. A statement issued on Friday evening says the SLC is in serious breach of its obligations as a member�in particular, the requirement to manage its affairs autonomously and to ensure there is no govt interference in the governance, regulation and/or administration of cricket in Sri Lanka. more..

Nov 13 (DN) D.A.D.G. Peramune from Vidyaraja Vidyalaya, Ratnapura, representing Uva Province, clinched victory in the 21km half marathon at the All-Island Schools Games 2023 in Galle on Saturday. Peramune completed the challenging course in 1h16m22s, showcasing a dominant performance among the 300+ participants. S. Keeran of Mulankavil Maha Vidyalaya, Kilinochchi, hailing from the Northern Province, secured the second position, finishing exactly 1 minute behind Peramune. more..

Nov 13 (TM) Medical and Civil Rights Professional Association (MCPA) alleged that the Police was dragging their feet on arresting the masterminds behind the substandard human intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) vials scam. President of the MCPA Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa stressed that the suspects involved in the relevant racket should be presented to the court before 15 Nov. Furthermore, he charged that Ministry of more..

Nov 13 (Island) Cricket is in shambles. The national cricket team has just returned home after our worst World Cup campaign. This is the first time that SL has lost World Cup games to Afghanistan and Bangladesh. A ninth-place finish has knocked us out of the Champions Trophy. This is a time for us to do a postmortem as to what happened during the sport�s showpiece event, but instead the Sports Ministry and Executive Committee of SLC are in a tug-of-war fighting a bitter battle to more..

Nov 13 (Island) While SL flopped during the 2023 World Cup, the performances of left-arm quick Dilshan Madushanka is one of the silver linings for the former champions. Playing in his first World Cup, Madushanka emerged as the tournament�s leading wicket taker with 21 scalps to his name and he accounted for every big wicket in the game from Rohit Sharma to Steve Smith. Fast bowling great Waqar Younis speaking to Sri Lankan reporters heaped praise on the young fast bowler. more..

Nov 13 (Island) SJB spokesman Mujibur Rahman alleged that a section of the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa govt seemed to be raising funds for the presidential election scheduled for next year. He said that a well-organised operation was underway to raise funds at the expense of the country. Rahman said that the recent increase in Special Commodity Levy (SCL) imposed on imported white sugar had been raised from more..

Nov 13 (FT) Hatton National Bank has posted a profit before tax (PBT) of Rs. 26.3 billion and a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs. 16.6 billion during the nine months ended Sept 2023. The Group recorded a consolidated PBT and PAT of Rs. 29 b and Rs. 18.8 b, respectively for the period. HNB Chairman Nihal Jayawardene stated: �Sri Lanka has progressed well during the year with signs of recovery as indicated by most macro-economic variables. While we remain positive on the country�s journey ahead, more..

Nov 13 (EN) Prez Ranil Wickremesesinghe, who is also Finance Minister had a final discussion with key officials on a budget which is to be delivered parliament on Nov 13. The meeting at this official residence was attended by CB Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe, Treasury Secretary Mahinda Sirwardena, Prez Secretary Saman Ekanayake, Prez Senior Adviser R.H.S. Samaratunga and Chief of Prez Staff Sagala Ratnayaka and Prez Media Director General Dhanushka Ramanayake. more..

Nov 13 (ST) High duty imposed on fuel purchases for fishing vessels has today become the cause of the collapse of a local and foreign fishing export industry causing an alarming situation that will adversely impact on revenues. According to officials at the Ceylon Fisheries Corporation the govt is attempting to reduce the costs and other service charges imposed on these foreign vessels. It is learnt that the Fisheries Ministry is attempting to submit a cabinet paper in this respect to more..

Nov 13 (FT) Critical tourism industry�s outstanding debt has swollen to a staggering Rs. 700 billion due to high interest rates prompting analysts to describe it as unsustainable and needs urgent response from the Govt and banking sector. Massive indebtedness of the tourism industry came to light during the pre-Budget webinar. Former Price water house Coopers Managing Partner Sujeewa Mudalige revealed that in 2018, the tourism industry outstanding debt was Rs. 300 billion it has doubled more..

Nov 13 (ST) More than 500,000 CEB customers have lost their electricity supply due to non-payment of bills as of Oct 2023. According to CEB Media Spokesman Noel Priyantha, the disconnections happen following the 30-day credit period of usage along with approximately 10 days� notice. �The criteria or disconnections vary sometimes based on areas and customer density,� he said. CEB�s action complied with Sec 28, more..

Nov 13 (ST) Three names have been submitted to Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe to fill two vacancies in the Court of Appeal. Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya has nominated the two senior most High Court Judges, Gihan Kulatunga and Damith Thotawatta, to be considered. Attorney General Sanjaya Rajaratnam has nominated senior Deputy Solicitor General Mahen Gopallwa to be considered for the vacancy. Prez is due to submit two of these names to Constitutional Council for approval. more..

Nov 13 (DM) As the postmortem begins into SL�s disappointing Cricket World Cup campaign, Consultant Coach Mahela Jayawardene blamed the poor fitness levels of the players as a key reason for the team�s performances during the tournament. The team returned to the island on Friday, having finished ninth out of ten teams in the Group Stage, which meant they did not qualify for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan, first time that SL will completely miss out on an ICC event. more..

Nov 13 (Island) Colombo Fort Magistrate Thilina Gamage on Friday ordered the arrest of two persons, including former MP Hirunika Premachandra, for not appearing before court when a case against 12 persons for having held a protest on 07 July 2022, in defiance of a court order, was taken up for hearing. When the case was called in the open court on Friday, the lawyer representing Premachandra informed the court that his client was ill. However, he failed to produce more..

Nov 13 (CT) Homagama Magistrate remanded a Grama Niladhari, charged with demanding a ransom of Rs 2 million from a female pre-school teacher, with the threat of harming her two children. The suspect, identified as a Grama Niladhari, from Suwapubudugama Grama Niladhari Division in Pitipana South, Homagama, will be held in remand custody until 16 Nov. The arrest followed a complaint from the pre-school teacher, who received death threats over the phone and was threatened more..

Nov 13 (EN) SL�s 2024 budget which will be presented to the parliament today is likely to focus on new welfare measures amid steep fall in govt�s popularity among the public while new revenue measures are expected in line with meeting IMF targets, govt officials say. Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe will present a tough budget that has least room for maneuvering as his hands are tied with the commitments the govt has made more..

Nov 13 (AD) World Cup-winning former SL captain Arjuna Ranatunga, expressing his views regarding the suspension imposed by ICC on Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), has called for a comprehensive investigation into the matter. Ranathunga further highlighted that Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe has to stand by his commitments against corruption and launch a separate investigation into the matter, in his official capacity, with the intention of punishing those who are responsible for betraying Sri Lanka. more..

Nov 13 (CT) Chairman of the Central Environment Authority (CEA), Supun Shashendra Pathirage, who was arrested by the CIABOC has been suspended from service with immediate effect, Dr. Anil Jasinghe, Secretary to the Ministry of Environment , announced. Pathirage, along with two other individuals, former MP Anuruddha Polgampala and Tennison Fonseka, were arrested by officers of the Bribery Commission in connection with allegations of soliciting a bribe amounting to Rs 10 million. more..

Nov 13 (FT) Govt will present its Budget for 2024 amidst what many described as most challenging times given little room to raise further taxes and the State�s inability curtail expenditure. As per the Appropriation Bill, Govt envisages an expenditure of nearly Rs. 8 trillion and a revenue of Rs. 4 trillion up from an estimated Rs. 3 trillion in 2023. Of the near Rs. 8 trillion expenditure is Rs. 4 trillion primary expenditure of which Rs. 2.7 T more..

Nov 13 (FT) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, is to present his second budget in Parliament this afternoon announcing the financial plan for 2024. His first budget was presented a year ago when the country had gone through the worst of its economic crises in 2022. He was to consolidate all the opposing forces to a single club, present a credible program of stabilisation acceptable to donors and foreign creditors, and distribute the pain of more..

Nov 13 (DM) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe today justified the allocation of the Nuwara Eliya Post Office to the tourism industry. During the Budget 2024 reading, Prez said the decision is not an isolated move but part of the broader Nuwara Eliya development plan. The proposal to hand over the 130-year-old Nuwara Eliya Post Office building and the Kandy Post Office to the private sector for development sparked major outrage last week among diverse stakeholders, including more..

Nov 13 (AD) Minister of Sports Roshan Ranasinghe has filed a motion requesting the lifting of the stay order issued by the Court of Appeals preventing the operation of the seven-member Interim Committee appointed by him for the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and the relevant gazette notification issued by him in this regard. The motion including the objections related to the relevant stay order, has been filed before the Appeals Court through Attorney-at-Law G.G. Arulpragasam. more..

Nov 13 (FT) The Budget 2023 included ambitious targets for Govt tax revenue and expenditure, as a percentage of GDP, of 10.3% and 19.2%, respectively (as per Budget Speech 2023). Due to tax policy changes effective 1 Jan 2023, the tax revenue collection by the IRD for the first six months of 2023 was reported as Rs. 696,946 million as per press release issued on 12 July 2023. The total estimated tax revenue for the year 2023 as per the National Budget Speech 2023 more..

Nov 13 (CI) Imagine the scene. You're the captain. A captain who had been thrust into the role a couple of matches into a World Cup. And your team? They have just lost two games on the bounce. Actually, five of the last seven. The latest one was against India - a perfectly in-sync, cricketing destroyer of worlds. In that, your team was not just routed, but ground into the Wankhede dust. What's worse, it's the second straight game against more..

Nov 13 (EN) Admitting the failure to boost tax revenue in the recent time, Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is also the finance minister, proposed to establish a revenue authority to boost tax collection. The island nation missed the tax revenue target this year and some of the ruling party legislators have blamed Inland Revenue Department (IRD), Excise Dept, and Customs for the failure. The govt considered the move to establish a revenue authority to monitor all three tax collecting more..

Nov 13 (EN) Sri Lanka�s 2024 budget has proposed several tough measures including prosecuting those who fail to file tax returns and making the submission of a copy of the Certificate of the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) mandatory for several transactions. The moves come after the govt failed to achieve its one million target on new tax files this year. President Ranil Wickremesinghe in his capacity as the Finance Minister has proposed the following proposals: more..

Nov 13 (EN) Prez Wickremesinghe�s budget proposals are aimed at elections, with questions arising on their feasibility, but can also be seen as an attempt to take the economy in the right direction amid challenges, Opposition MP Harsha de Silva said. �Prez did this from a very difficult place; we need not be disingenuous about that. But the question is, what is the ground reality? People are struggling to live. Even if all this is correct, more..

Nov 13 (AD) A group including religious leaders have handed over a memorandum to the Nuwara Eliya District Secretary requesting that the Nuwara Eliya Post Office building be preserved and not be used for any other business purpose. This memorandum has been signed by all representatives from postal and telecom trade unions, public sector trade unions and the general public. They have also urged the Nuwara Eliya District Secretary to take measures to hand over the relevant more..

Nov 13 (DM) Chairman of Central Environmental Authority (CEA), Supun Pathirage held in remand custody for alleged bribery charges was today granted bail after being produced before the Colombo Chief Magistrate�s Court. He was ordered to be released on a cash bail of Rs.25,000 with two sureties of Rs. 2.5 million each by Colombo Chief Magistrate Prasanna Alwis, taking into account insufficient evidence against the suspect. Chief Magistrate observed that there are no more..