Oct 12 (DM) In SL, while Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe and the SLPP Govt are expectantly waiting for the second tranche of the IMF assistance, various development plans are being finalized and the authorities need to ensure that the people are given fair, accurate and balanced information. Some print media groups and television channels appear to be biased and over-critical. They highlight or give prominence to the negative aspects of any project, while some social media networks are adding more..

Oct 12 (CT) A land mark political development has emerged this week. Based on reports that few weeks ago Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe (RW) and National Organiser of SLPP Basil Rajapaksa (Basil) discussed the future political agenda, a new situation has emerged. News analysts and some politicians have revealed that a plan is set to abolish the Executive Presidency, and as a result, allow the life of the current more..

Oct 12 (ST) The need to streamline tax revenue collection and enact urgent reforms to tackle corruption in tax collection was highlighted as Parliament took up several resolutions under the Customs Ordinance on Wednesday. Opening the debate, State Finance Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya criticised the opposition for behaving like a traditional opposition at a time when the country was affected with an unprecedented economic crisis. He pointed to a question more..

Oct 12 (Island) At least on paper the subject of public finance is under the total control of Parliament. Chapter XVII of the Constitution forms the foundation of Parliament�s powers over all public finances. Parliament powers and authority over public finance are dealt by Article 148, Article 149, Article 150, Article 151, and Article 154R. In terms of the Right to Information (RTI) Act (12 of 2016), The Island sought information from Parliament as regards projects implemented by more..

Oct 12 (TM) The key disadvantage of the ongoing exodus of human capital is the risk of depleting the human capital that is necessary for Sri Lanka�s regular economic performance as well as for the economic recovery activities needed to come out of this ongoing crisis, said IPS Research Fellow and Head of Migration and Urbanisation Research Dr. Bilesha Weeraratne. �The loss of human capital at this point is multi-faceted. more..

Oct 12 (TM) During the recent meeting between President Ranil Wickremesinghe and British Minister of State for the Indo-Pacific Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the President broadly shared his plans to introduce private universities to the Sri Lankan education system. Over the past few decades, we all have continuously heard the resistance against establishing private universities, raised by parties in favour of education being a completely State-owned sector. more..

Oct 12 (TM) In recent times, Sri Lanka has been experiencing a surge in the number of elephant deaths and violent encounters between humans and elephants. This raises several questions on whether the conservation initiatives that the country is supposed to follow are sufficient to ensure the well-being of the elephants and the people that are forced to co-exist due to the fast loss of land accessibility for both species given the rapid development that is underway. more..

Oct 12 (Island) Rajapaksa loyalists seem to have taken the masses for asses. Otherwise, they would not have expected the public to fall for their cheap ruses. Having crawled out of the woodwork, they are shedding copious tears for the people troubled by economic hardships. SLPP MPs are protesting against the high cost of living and demanding that the people be granted some relief immediately; they are behaving as if they were not part of the govt and had nothing to do with country�s bankruptcy. more..

Oct 12 (GV) Sri Lanka has had multiple reports of threats posed to the lives of blue whales off its southern coast, with incidents having increased in frequency in the recent past. Reports indicate that nine blue whale strandings and fifteen whale mortalities occurred between January 2010 and April 2012 and four blue whale deaths between January and May 2014 in this area. Studies undertaken by the Uni of Ruhuna have pointed out that SL�s existing Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS), more..

Oct 12 (DM) So far, Sri Lanka has conceded 773 runs in 98.2 overs in the World Cup and taken nine wickets. In terms of runs conceded, Sri Lanka tops the chart, although the 1996 World champions are yet to put points on the table. They lost the first match by a 102-run margin to South Africa and, in Hyderabad, despite being in a position of strength, allowed the Pakistani batters to run away with a comfortable six-wicket win. more..

Oct 12 (ST) The inaugural Gym for Life Challenge Gymnastics championship, which was organised by the National Gymnastic Association of SL, was a captivating display of athleticism and artistry. The tournament, which was held at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium earlier this month, showcased the talents and skills of over 2,500 young gymnasts from all across the country. The two days of competition saw the youngsters taking centre stage as they displayed their talents, more..

Oct 12 (ST) The Fisheries Ministry has initiated a comprehensive investigation into the Peliyagoda fish market ice plant tender awarded to a private firm over its alleged involvement in financial misdeeds depriving millions of rupees for the govt. The private firm has violated the tender conditions by not adhering to the monthly payment for the 25-metric tonne ice plant and a cold storage at the complex taken over by them on a 10-year lease agreement. Tender bid manipulation of the private firm more..

Oct 12 (DM) ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) is keen to participate in oil and gas exploration opportunities in SL and is waiting for the island nation to unveil its roadmap and policy on developing the upstream petroleum industry, the company said Wednesday. OVL is the overseas investment arm of India�s state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation. According to OVL managing director Rajarshi Gupta, a presence in oil and gas assets in SL would gain from the synergies of the larger ONGC group, more..

Oct 12 (CI) India vs Afghanistan was one of the closer encounters of the 2019 World Cup, but a blistering hundred from Rohit Sharma ensured there would be no double jeopardy in 2023. Any jeopardy at all was taken out of the game in the first ten overs or so of the chase, when Rohit, who went past Sachin Tendulkar for most hundreds at the ODI World Cup, took the attack to all Afghanistan bowlers, turning a potentially tricky chase of 273 into a net run rate boosting cakewalk. more..

Oct 12 (Island) Most fans back home are angry and disappointed at the start the SL team has had in this World Cup campaign. In Delhi, they concede the most runs scored in a World Cup game in history and three days later in Hyderabad, they let the opposition to chase down the highest target in World Cup history. Our bowling is awful. Our cricket is pathetic. A team that set high standards in cricket 2 decades ago has become the laughing stock. more..

Oct 12 (FT) The pharmaceutical sector has been identified as one of the promising and emerging sectors in SL, not only to be developed as an import substitution industry but also as an export oriented industry which could earn and save foreign currency. Considering the importance of strengthening the pharmaceutical industry and increasing the sector�s contribution to the economy, EDB with the help of the SL Embassy in Thailand and SL Embassy in Vietnam organised a first-ever more..

Oct 12 (FT) The members of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) engaged in extensive deliberations with PM Dinesh Gunawardena regarding Sri Lanka�s financial requirements for projects for the next 5 years at Temple Trees on Tuesday. Acknowledging Sri Lanka�s commendable and swift economic recovery following last year�s crisis, the ADB delegates expressed their contentment and commitment to supporting the country�s visionary projects. more..

Oct 12 (TM) Amidst the escalating tensions between Israel and Palestine, most of the nearly-8,000 Sri Lankans working in Israel have adopted a wait and see approach, and the SLBFE, if necessary, will coordinate with the relevant agencies including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to evacuate them to SL, the SLBFE stated. There are about 8,000 Sri Lankans who have gone to Israel for employment purposes, most of whom more..

Oct 12 (FT) Mawbima Janatha Pakshaya (MJP), led by prominent businessman Dilith Jayaweera made clear its commitment to addressing a gap in SL�s political arena by aiming to be a political party with a vision for economic, social, and political sustainability, with the ultimate goal of fostering a happier nation. Party leader Dilith Jayaweera expressed the party�s aspiration to build a SL State driven by an entrepreneurial mindset, particularly leveraging the support and creativity more..

Oct 12 (FT) Govt of India has reaffirmed its commitment to furthering the development agenda in SL. This commitment materialised through the allocation of additional funds to expedite the progress of nine ongoing development projects in the country, all of which are backed by the Govt of India. A formal agreement solidifying this initiative was signed yesterday in Colombo. The signing ceremony witnessed the presence of Indian High Commissioner in SL Gopal Baglay, more..

Oct 12 (AD) Vehicular movement on the Southern Expressway remains disrupted following the earth slip reported last night (11), the Road Development Authority (RDA) says. The earth slip was reported near the 102km Post between Pinnaduwa and Imaduwa interchanges as a result of the downpours that hammered the area yesterday. RDA Director-General L.V.S. Weerakoonsaid RDA authorities are working in tandem with SL Army personnel at the moment to clear the blocked stretch of road. more..

Oct 12 (FT) The ninth annual full-day Cyber Security Summit organised by the Daily FT in partnership with CICRA Holdings Ltd., will be held today at host venue Cinnamon Grand, Colombo. A flagship event in SL�s cybersecurity calendar, the summit brings together international and local experts to share key insights to the threat of cyber crime and strategies and solutions available to secure organisations and individuals. The summit is already sold out and expected to draw over 300 more..

Oct 12 (FT) CEB has informed the electricity regulator, Public Utilities Commission of SL (PUCSL) of a steady decline in income over the past 3 months, which prompted discussions of a tariff hike effective from October. Accordingly, the income statements of the CEB revealed that July income of Rs. 55,163 million decreased to Rs. 53,193 million in August and further dropped to Rs. 50,590 million in September. more..

Oct 12 (DM) A 42-year-old person wanted over a recent shooting was killed in a shootout with the Police Special Task Force at Thelwatta in Metiyagoda. Police said the suspect died after being admitted to the Balapitiya Hospital. Officers of the STF have gone to the Thewatta area based on information that a suspected underworld member is hiding in a house in the area. It is reported that the suspect, who was hiding in the house at that time, fired at the STF officers first. more..

Oct 12 (DM) The Supreme Court has been directed that university hostels be checked at night to prevent incidents of ragging in hostels, Higher Education State Minister Suren Raghavan said. He said that a total of 168,000 students have finished enrolling at all state universities around the country. He said the decision was taken due to the information received that harassment is more common in the hostels between 12 p.m. and 5 a.m. With the implementation of the programme, more..

Oct 12 (DN) World recorder holder and gold medallist in the Javelin throw at the Para Olympics in Tokyo Dinesh Priyantha and bronze medallist in the javelin throw Samitha Dulan have been included in the Sri Lanka Para Athletic team that will participate at the Fourth Para Asian Games to be held in Hangzhou China from Oct 22 to 28. The contingent will leave SL on Oct 16 in two batches. Dinesh Priyantha who will be the captain of the side, said that he wants to repeat his performance more..

Oct 12 (TM) The local agent that had imported the controversial batch of the human blood-based drug human intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), which was recently withheld from use, allegedly submitting forged documents, has imported a batch of the Rituximab injection that is administered to cancer patients, using a similar forged document, according to National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA). NMRA stated that it had been revealed that the said local agent had imported a batch more..

Oct 12 (Island) Former Governor of the CB Dr. Indrajith Coomaraswamy threw his weight behind the IMF's call for far reaching measures meant to stabilize the economy. The Washington headquartered lending agency recently suspended the US 2.9 bn bailout package, pending an agreement on 16 specific recommendations. Dr. Coomaraswamy said: �There is a strong case for tabling the IMF�s GDA more..

Oct 12 (FT) Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said the Govt has enlisted the expertise of an international consultant, who will bring valuable insights and best practices to guide the restructuring efforts of the national carrier, SriLankan Airlines. �To maintain transparency, the decision was made to engage an int'l consultant, whose appointment has now been confirmed. Active steps are underway to expedite the restructuring, with anticipated benefits expected to materialise by Feb 2024,� more..

Oct 12 (TM) The All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) organisation urged the Govt to expedite the legal actions taken against those who have allegedly insulted the Islamic religion on social media platforms. ACJU General Secretary Arkam Nooramith claimed that strict legal actions must be taken against those who insult any kind of religion or belief since it is a violation of the Fundamental Rights of the people which are enshrined in the country�s Constitution. more..

Oct 12 (DM) SL's political circle has gone into a quandary after information has spread that moves are underway to abolish the executive presidency before the Prez Election next year as no candidate or political party will be able to secure an over 50% win at the polls. The discussions to this effect have already been held by Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe and Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe has already drafted more..

Oct 12 (FT) Morally-ethically, in terms of values, the world is cleaved in two. All of us have had to pick a side. �I have declared a complete siege�No food, no water, no electricity, no fuel, no gas�we are fighting human animals� announced the Israeli Defence Minister, while simultaneously pulverising Gaza with unprecedented ferocity from the air. This is collective punishment along Nazi lines. Gaza is the Warsaw Ghetto of our time. UNSG Antonio Guterres expressed deep distress at more..

Oct 12 (FT) More than any other religion Buddhism has the capacity to capture the imagination of many people born to other faiths. Its intellectual clarity, its appeal to reason and foresight has appealed to those not born into the tradition. Being an outsider allows you to forsake the ritual and customs that parochialise all religions. The intellectual tradition of Buddhism is hard to resist and many the world over are drawn to its teachings. Shyam Selvadurai is one such person. more..

Oct 12 (CT) Teaching Hospitals at Anuradhapura and Karapitiya have an 18-month-long waiting list for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans, govt radiologists said. President of Govt Radiological Technologists Association (GRTA), Chanaka Dharmaratne said the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children (LRH) had a waiting list of one year for MRI scans. He said according to details taken in July 2023 there were 8,000 patients waiting Cardiac Catheterisation and angiograms at more..

Oct 12 (EN) Successive SL govt failed to explain the nature of the war between the state military and Tamil Tiger rebels to avoid the current situation where individual military leaders and political leaders being targeted by select countries, Sarath Weerasekara, head of Sectoral Oversight Committee on National Security, said. Several military leaders have been denied visas in the recent past including Weerasekara, former army chief Shavendra Silva, and more..