Oct 17 (AD) Sri Lankan national Anula Jayathilake, who was reported missing in Israel, was confirmed dead by the Israeli authorities, SL Ambassador to Tel Aviv, Nimal Bandara says. As per reports, she was killed in the recent attacks launched by the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Her remains are expected to be received by the SL embassy within two days. Amid the violence that erupted between Israel and Palestine last week, two SL women in Israel were reported missing. more..

Oct 17 (AD) Veteran film producer Deshabandu Buddhi Keerthisena has passed away this morning, according to family sources. The co-founder of Buddhi Batiks was aged 83 at the time of passing. His remains will lie in state at his residence on Lake Drive, Colombo 08 from Wednesday (18) to 9 a.m. on Thursday (19), and thereafter at Buddhi Batiks workshop in Koswadiya, Mahawewa until 3 p.m. on Saturday (21). Final rites will be carried out at 4 p.m. on Saturday at Koswadiya Cemetery, more..

Oct 17 (AD) Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva says that the govt will have to ground state-owned national carrier SriLankan Airlines, if there is no buyer to enter into a joint venture with the govt. Responding to the allegations of staff shortages, salary and debt issues within the airline, Minister refuted the allegations of staff shortages and declared that SriLankan Airlines has the necessary number of staff for running an airline, more..

Oct 17 (CT) Forty-nine families were evacuated from the former landslide site in Koslanda, Meeriyabedda in Haldummulla with the assistance of the Police as they were reluctant to leave the area despite warnings of landslide risk, Haldummulla Divisional Secretary K.J. Priyangika said. The Divisional Secretary said these residents were hesitant to abandon their homes, leaving behind their vegetable farms, chickens, goats, cows, and other animals. Nevertheless, it was deemed extremely more..

Oct 17 (FT) NCINGA has unveiled its revolutionary AI-powered TAC.Ai solution recently, providing businesses and IT systems managers with multiple transformative benefits. This latest innovation by the global systems integrator emphasises smarter, more efficient IT support and operations. TAC.Ai eliminates the pitfalls of reactive troubleshooting, simplifies the complexities of IT platforms and reduces issue resolution times significantly � thereby leading to more effective decision-making. more..

Oct 17 (DM) Supreme Court today granted leave to proceed with a Fundamental Rights petition filed by a man for detaining him for three days in prison custody despite the Court of Appeal having ordered his release from the case. The petitioner, Bandula Perera, a resident of Homagama challenged the delay for three days on the part of prison authorities to release him from prison after the Court of Appeal acquitted him from murder charges. Supreme Court 3-judge-bench comprising more..

Oct 17 (TM) The medical specialists of the Kalutara General Teaching Hospital have boycotted the opening ceremony of the maternity and children�s hospital complex built within the Hospital with a concessional loan provided by the Govt of the Netherlands, in protest of the SL Govt�s lack of interest in resolving the issues in the health sector. The opening ceremony of the said complex, built within the premises of the Kalutara General Teaching Hospital, was held on 15 Oct. more..

Oct 17 (EN) Power sector trade unions in Sri Lanka scuttled the establishment of low-cost generation stations and consumers have had to pay the price, a CEB official said following a request for a tariff hike. CEB Senior Engineers� Association Media Spokesman Nandika Pathirage said that allowing the unions to run the show would necessarily result in consumers having to pay bigger tariffs. Pathirage said, more..

Oct 17 (FT) The American Chamber of Commerce in SL (AmCham SL), part of the world�s largest business organisation and network, the US Chamber of Commerce, recently commemorated its 31st Annual General Meeting and election of the Board of Directors. In keeping with over three decades of tradition, the AGM was held under the esteemed patronage of US Ambassador in SL Julie J. Chung, who during her remarks commended the member business community on its strength and more..

Oct 17 (PMD) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe and Pakistan PM Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar engaged in bilateral discussions in Beijing this afternoon. This meeting took place on the side-lines of the One Belt � One Road international conference in China. During their meeting, both leaders emphasized the global imperative of cultivating a harmonious society free from animosity, prejudice and anger arising from racial, religious or ethnic differences. They stressed the paramount importance of addressing more..

Oct 17 (DM) A maiden and two wickets is a dream for any bowler - and Dilshan Madushanka had Australia�s destructive opener David Warner and Mr. Dependable Steven Smith trapped leg-before in his second over of the match to put them under early pressure chasing a below-par total of 210 to win their ICC Men�s Cricket World Cup match at Lucknow on Monday. After Lahiru Kumara, who went for plenty in his four-over spell more..

Oct 17 (DN) A young school boy aged nine was injured due to the collapsing of a wall in a primary school in the Wijerama area in Nawinna yesterday. The young student is suspected to have sustained injuries to his spine and is undergoing treatment at the Colombo South Teaching Hospital in Kalubowila. The principal of the school said that the wall belonged to the house of a SL artiste and had collapsed onto the roof of the washroom at the school in the afternoon yesterday. more..

Oct 17 (PCB) Pakistan U19 defeated Sri Lanka U19 by nine wickets on day three of the one-off four-day game at National Bank Stadium, Karachi. Sri Lanka U19 faced a first-innings deficit of 229 runs after getting bowled out for 204 in response to Pakistan U19�s 433-9 in 121.3 overs. After Pakistan enforced the follow-on, Sri Lanka were bundled out for 236 in 60.2 overs. It took Pakistan U19 just 1.4 overs to chase down the target of eight runs for the loss of one wicket. more..

Oct 18 (DM) Following the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, our economy experienced a steady decline. The subsequent outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated the situation. A number of silly mistakes made by past leaders -like the sudden ban on the import of fertilisers without a plan to meet the disruption- ended any hope of recovery. A while later the country declared itself bankrupt and chaos took over. In turn, it resulted in Premier Mahinda resigning and Mr Wickremesinghe being more..

Oct 18 (TM) Last week India and SL resumed a scheduled ferry service between the subcontinent and the island after a hiatus of 40 years. The ferry service - Cheriyapani, links Nagapattinam, TN with Kankesanthurai in the Northern Province of SL. Decades ago, the Indo-Ceylon Express that operated between the port city of Thoothukudi and Colombo through Chennai stopped operating in 1982 when the conflict in SL escalated. The resumption of the service is viewed as more..

Oct 18 (CT) Already weighed down by life�s burdens, the middle-income and economically downtrodden-population in SL turn to the free health service for treatment and care. National Hospital, Colombo and the Teaching Hospitals of Kalubowila and Ragama are witness to these masses who cannot afford the relief that the private health service could offer. Therefore, to cheat these masses through intrigue for even more..

Oct 18 (DM) According to media reports, Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe and Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe are discussing the prospect of replacing the Executive Presidential system with a Westminster-style parliamentary system before the next Prez election in 2024. They are also contemplating a parliament with 160 of the 225 members directly elected under the First Past the Post (FPP) system and 65 elected under PR system appointed under the National List. more..

Oct 18 (DM) 3 decades after ratifying the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), the treaty signed by the largest number of countries in the world, SL�s rhetorical promises to protect and promote the rights of children is a crystal-clear reflection of the history of the nation that has failed many generations. During the recent uprising Aragalaya, the citizens demanded a better country for our children but the slogan failed to insist on better, unscarred children for our country, more..

Oct 18 (TM) SL have faced two demoralising defeats at the hands of South Africa and Pakistan in the team�s two opening games of the ongoing Men�s Cricket World Cup tournament, and they are hoping for a change of fortune in Lucknow, India. The Daily Morning met with a man who needs no introduction � SL Cricket�s Consultant Coach, former captain Mahela Jayawardena � for a chat on the current affairs of the game. more..

Oct 18 (ST) Given the widely available content of Prez Wickremesinghe�s interview with Deutsche Welle, it was inevitable there would be contrary responses to the president�s reaction to a range of questions including two sensitive issues. But surprisingly a new issue has been raised whose intent appears to be to divert attention from what some have viewed as Prez�s sudden flare-up at interviewer Martin Gak thus doing damage to SL�s int'l image, and lay the guilt elsewhere. more..

Oct 18 (Roar) Only around 1% of all water on earth is available for human consumption and only an even smaller percent is safe for human consumption. So you can imagine how critical it is to bring water into the conversation around food safety. Beyond being a set of practices that help keep food safe and free of contaminants, food safety is also a vital way to combat food insecurity and food wastage in SL. But no strategy for food safety can be achieved without paying attention to water. more..

Oct 18 (Island) Three investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks have been completed so far, but the general consensus is that much more remains to be done to get at the truth and trace the masterminds behind the carnage. However, the need is not for another parliamentary probe. The govt�s hard-sell strategy to persuade those who are seeking justice for the victims of the Easter Sunday carnage to endorse the appointment of a parliamentary probe into Ch 4 allegations has come a cropper. more..

Oct 18 (FT) SriLankan Airlines was crowned the Leading Int'l Airline - South Asia at the South Asian Travel Awards (SATA) in Bangalore, India on 10 Oct. Sri Lankan further secured the title of Leading Airline Class - Business Class at the awards ceremony. Touted as the most prestigious travel industry awards in the region, SATA recognizes the most outstanding performers in South Asia�s hospitality and travel industry annually based on the votes of industry professionals and passengers. more..

Oct 18 (ST) Health Authorities still don�t know what was in the human immunoglobulin 5g vials that were sold to its Medical Supplies Division (MSD) by a local company named Isolez Biotech Pharma AG, purportedly on the basis of fake waivers of registration (WoR) containing the forged signature and stamp of the NMRA CEO. Two more drugs are revealed to have been ordered by Health Ministry from Isolez Biotech. more..

Oct 18 (Island) At the very centre of the catastrophe, are the people of Gaza themselves, caged in, bombed out, starved, parched, killed. Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the Palestinian diaspora, Israeli allies who are anti-occupation, anti-authoritarianism and pro-peace, citizens of the world with a conscience � all of us are shaken to our core. Helpless, we watch genocide play out on our tv screens, cheered on by warmongers, as those calling for peace, freedom, proportionality and more..

Oct 18 (FT) The Advocata�s Bath Curry Indicator (BCI) which is a price-index that tracks the monthly changes in the retail price of a basket of commonly consumed food items recorded a year-on-year increase of roughly 2% between Sept 2022 and Sept 2023 and a month-on-month fall of 1.6% in between August and Sept 2023. Additionally, the BCI also tracks the price of the same basket of food items as they retail at local supermarkets, which shows an annual decline of roughly 16% of the BCI�s more..

Oct 18 (ST) Attorney General (AG) has refused to appear for any of the 16 State universities cited as respondents in a fundamental rights petition filed in the Supreme Court (SC) over a ragging incident. The SC had ordered all 16 State universities to submit comprehensive reports on ragging incidents that had been reported in their universities over the past three years as well as measures they had taken to prevent them. Senior State Counsel (SSC) Dr Avanthi Perera though, more..

Oct 18 (CI) Scott Edwards' rousing unbeaten half-century gave his bowlers belief and they shot for the stars, demolishing South Africa's storied batting line-up to hand Netherlands a historic World Cup victory. South Africa, having won both their games at the tournament prior to this by more than 100 runs, after posting totals of 428 and 311, had insisted in the lead-up that they had moved on from a group-stage defeat to Netherlands which ended their T20 World Cup campaign last year. more..

Oct 18 (FT) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday led a key SL delegation to the Huawei Beijing DaVinci Exhibition Centre to discuss cutting-edge ICT and best practices for the digital economy. The multiple discussion aspects included digital port, digital education, national cloud, e-Govt, 5G, AI and green energy, etc. The delegation included Ministers Ali Sabry, Bandula Gunawardana, Senior Adviser to the Prez Sagala Ratnayake more..

Oct 18 (FT) In a bold stance against the recent proposal set forth by the CEB for an electricity tariff hike, PUCSL former Chairman Janaka Ratnayake asserted that the move is both invalid and unjust. Ratnayake, an outspoken critic of the CEB�s methods, highlighted glaring discrepancies and impracticalities within the factors cited by the Board to justify the increase. �The CEB�s data in these proposals has consistently proven to be inaccurate and unfounded,� he said, more..

Oct 18 (Island) Buwaneka Goonethilleka clinched triple crowns in the open category while Varangana Jayawardena secured a double apart from her Under-19 singles title at the SSC/WPBA All Lanka Open Badminton Tournament, organized by the SSC Sports Club, in collaboration with the Western Province Badminton Association (WPBA). The tournament, which took place at the SSC Indoor Badminton Courts and the Mercantile Badminton Association Indoor courts, featured a diverse more..

Oct 18 (TM) Parliamentary Opposition accused the Speaker of the Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana for not protecting Parliamentarians� privileges, following his refusal to release video footage related to the recent incident of the Defence Ministry Secretary and the Army Commander having allegedly threatened Opposition MP, attorney Chandima Weerakkody at a Parliamentary committee. more..

Oct 18 (Island) Dr. N.M. Perera, a former Finance Minister and a former Prez of the cricket board, had warned about the dangers of Executive Presidency in late 1970s. Too much power or influence ending up at one individual�s disposal is dangerous in any sphere of life. Whenever our cricket had faced challenging times, we had taken some extreme measures. Like in 2017 when we wanted to hire a new Head Coach, we changed the constitution in such a way that the Head Coach could be more..

Oct 18 (TM) In the midst of heavy rains and roads being flooded, health officials affiliated with the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) urged people living in the Municipality to stay alert to possible health hazards which could be caused by the prevailing weather. CMC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ruwan Wijayamuni said that the CMC had already informed people in affected areas in Colombo suburbs to be very concerned about their health conditions and sanitary status. more..

Oct 18 (EN) Sri Lanka Central Bank has collected 1.7 million rupees in penalties imposed on Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka & Finance PLC, Vallibel Finance PLC, LB Finance PLC, and People�s Leasing & Finance PLC for non-compliance with Financial Transactions Reporting Act (FTRA), the central bank said. �The penalty may be prescribed taking into consideration the nature and gravity of relevant non-compliance of the Financial Institution,� the central bank said in a statement. more..