Sep 7 (TM) Dept of Motor Traffic (DMT) has launched an investigation into the reports on the illegal import and registration of thousands of vehicles during the import ban, and is to submit details pertaining to the same, according to the directives given by the Finance Ministry. DMT Commissioner General Nishantha Weerasinghe said that they have been asked to submit the details on the vehicles which are allegedly registered illegally while the other details related to more..

Sep 7 (CT) SL�s ongoing debt restructuring process is at risk of not being thorough enough, leading to a potential default, the internationally recognised Financial Times newspaper reported in a recent article. The summarised version of the article is as follows: The IMF has set punitive targets for the country, arguing that its debt will be sustainable if it reduces its public debt to 95% of GDP by 2032. However, SL�s public debt is assessed as unsustainable due to exchange rate more..

Sep 7 (Island) Lawyers� Collective, consisting of some influential members of the legal fraternity, has urged the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) to take a stand on what it calls Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe�s continuing efforts to stifle democracy. The grouping warned that the failure to safeguard the independence of the judiciary, democracy and rule of law and sovereignty now would cause a catastrophe. more..

Sep 7 (DM) Claiming that there are reports of children and women being mostly used for begging, State Minister Geetha Kumarasinghe said steps will be taken to curb this practice. State Minister also said she will hold preliminary discussions with relevant institutions including the police, local authorities and the National Child Protection Authority to curb this situation. The matter was discussed when the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Women's, Children's Affairs more..

Sep 7 (FT) Sri Lanka will assume the Chairmanship of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) for the period 2023 to 2025 at the forthcoming 23rd Council of Ministers� Meeting hosted by Sri Lanka on 11 October 2023 in Colombo. The Council of Ministers� Meeting will be preceded by the 25th Meeting of the Committee of Senior Officials. This is the second time that Sri Lanka will assume the IORA Chairmanship, having previously served as the Chair from 2003 to 2004. more..

Sep 7 (DM) Sri Lanka received four Ring-tailed lemurs and three Emus last night from the Czech Republic, National Zoological Gardens' Director-General Tilak Premakantha said. He told Daily Mirror that two female Ring-tailed lemur;s were from the Zoo JH s.r.o., two male Ring-tailed lemur's, and three Emu's were from Jihočesk� zoologick� and Zahrada Hlubok� nad Vltavou. These animals were brought to the BIA at 9.10 p.m. on flight TK-6184 belonging to the Turkish Airline. more..

Sep 7 (DM) Pilgrims from distant areas to the Sri Dalada Maligawa expressed their concerns on pilgrims� rest in the old Jathika Pola ground in Kandy in front of the Diyawadana Nilame�s official residence, being occupied by a businessman. Pilgrims rest had been constructed under a project funded by the World Bank and declared open by former Prez Gotabaya Rajapakse. Pilgrims pointed out that the businessman who had padlocked the doors was carrying out new constructions. more..

Sep 7 (CT) State Minister S. Chandrakanthan (Pillaiyan), while rubbishing the controversial Channel 4 report on Easter bombings in SL as false news, said it is disturbing that a media outlet operating in Europe published such untrue news to confuse and mislead people without investigating the truth properly. �I saw Azad Maulana�s untruthful statement linking us to the Easter bombings in support of foreign more..

Sep 7 (DN) University Grants Commission (UGC) is now calling applications for university admission for the 2022/23 academic year from Sept 14 based on the results of the students who passed the GCE A/L exam held last year 2022. Accordingly, around 45,000 students will be selected to the national university system this year. Meanwhile several universities and faculties have taken steps to introduce 12 new degree courses this year and 20 new Departments have been started. more..

Sep 7 (TM) A final decision on the date of arrival and the territories of operation of the Chinese geophysical and seismic survey vessel Shi Yan 6 is to be taken by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, President�s Counsel Ali Sabry, and be referred to the Cabinet of Ministers as soon as possible. Spokesperson of the Ministry, Priyanga Wickramasinghe said that the Ministry is yet to reach a final decision on the date of arrival and the territories of operation of Shi Yan 6 more..

Sep 7 (TM) Catholic Church of SL called for an impartial, broad-based investigation into what the controversial Channel 4 documentary revealed and the involvement of an independent int'l investigation team assisted by domestic officials for investigations. Speaking at a press conference held yesterday in the wake of a documentary being aired by the UK�s Channel 4 News titled SL�s Easter Bombings more..

Sep 7 (DM) Retired doctors should be recalled immediately to work in hospitals where there are a large number of vacancies due to migration, a govt MP told Parliament. Govt MP Vajira Abeywardene who was speaking during the debate on the no-confidence motion said doctors who have retired should be recalled immediately to work in hospitals such as Karapitiya in Galle where there are a large number of vacancies. �Around 15 specialists and 30 other doctors who were attached to more..

Sep 7 (FT) When the COVID-19 pandemic brought the entire globe to a standstill, SL�s labour migration followed suit, hitting its all-time low since 1994 and standing at a mere 53,711 in 2020. In 2021, when both domestic and international mobility restrictions were alleviated, labour migration appeared to be returning to normalcy, inching closer to the pre-pandemic annual average of 245,000 (annual average calculated from 2005-2019). In 2022, 311,056 citizens migrated for employment more..

Sep 7 (SLN) Sri Lanka Navy took hold of over 6230kg of Tendu leaves, during special search operations conducted in the month of August alone in 2023. During these operations the Navy also apprehended 09 suspects and 03 dinghies in connection to these incidents. The Sri Lanka Navy conducts regular search operations and patrols in the coastal areas of the island, with a view to prevent the influx of smuggled and illegal items into the island, via sea routes. more..

Sep 7 (AD) As the 2nd phase of the Aswesuma welfare benefits programme, a payment of Rs. 1, 550 million for another 257,170 beneficiaries has been paid to state banks for the month of July, State Minister Shehan Semasinghe said. In a post on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), he emphasized that accordingly, the banks will credit the payments to the beneficiary accounts by tomorrow. Furthermore, Semasinghe mentioned that the Welfare Benefits Board more..

Sep 7 (DM) Former Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa vehemently denied the allegations made against him in British TV Channel 4�s new Dispatches documentary on the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings in SL. In a media release, Rajapaksa said this video is mostly an anti-Rajapaksa tirade aimed at blackening the Rajapaksa legacy from 2005 onwards and is a tissue of lies just like the previous films broadcast by the same Channel. more..

Sep 7 (FT) Do we know the country we�re living in? Do we understand how it is changing as a result of economic contraction? A new report reveals that we live in a country with two nations within it, by which I don�t mean ethnic nationalities, but social nations (if I may coin a term). Just as the world has the Global North and the Global South, Sri Lanka has its own socioeconomic North and South within it. A stunning UNDP Report reveals that over half our citizens are have-nots, caught in overlapping more..

Sep 7 (AD) Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe has asserted that the govt stands ready to conduct an international investigation into the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks. Despite his emphasis that the relevant investigation would be an international probe and not a domestic one, the Minister opined skepticism pertaining to Channel 4s� recent expos� on the Easter bombings, claiming that diaspora groups were often seen publishing such controversial videos against SL ahead of more..

Sep 7 (CI) SL Women's coach Rumesh Ratnayake has described his team's T20I series triumph over England as really huge for cricket in the country. SL blew their hosts away by seven and eight wickets respectively to come back from 1-0 down and hand England their first T20I series defeat by a side other than Australia since 2010. It followed SL's home 2-1 ODI victory against NZ in June and coincided with Pakistan's 3-0 sweep of SA more..

Sep 7 (TN) The Afghanistan Cricket Board complained to the Asian Cricket Council about Tuesday night's match between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, according to ACB�s spokesman, Mohammad Naseem Sadaat. Afghanistan was in Group B of the Asia Cup 2023. The Afghan team lost its first match against Bangladesh by 89 runs. On Tuesday, the Afghan team played against SL. SL won the toss and elected to bat first and put a 292-run target. In order to qualify for the semi finals, more..

Sep 7 (CT) MP Dayasiri Jayasekara who was removed from the post of SLFP General Secretary and suspended from Party membership said he was suspended because some people, particularly the Party Chairman were afraid he would take over the leadership of the Party. Addressing the media at a press conference, Jayasekara said he did his best to put the Party back on its feet since he was given the General Secretary post in 2019. Jayasekara said the Party�s decision was not the sentiment felt more..

Sep 7 (PMD) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe is set to depart for Cuba to address the G77 + China Leaders� Summit next week. This summit, themed Current Development Challenges: Role of Science, Technology and Innovation, is scheduled for Sept 15 and 16, in Havana, Cuba. Prez�s participation in the summit comes as a result of an official invitation from Cuban Prez Miguel Diaz-Canel. Alongside the summit, there are plans for bilateral discussions between Prez Wickremesinghe and more..

Sep 7 (TOI) Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has reportedly requested compensation from the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) due to the loss of gate revenue resulting from Asia Cup matches being hosted in SL. Although the PCB has not officially commented on this matter, it has been reported by some media outlets that PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf sent a formal letter to ACC president Jay Shah, outlining the demand for compensation. Ashraf has expressed his disappointment with how more..

Sep 7 (TM) With the latest migration of Dr. Udayanthi Nanayakkara, who was serving at the District General Hospital in Embilipitiya, the country has lost another of the very few neuro-anaesthetists left, allegedly due to deficiencies in the Health Ministry's process of assigning medical professionals to hospitals. The said anaesthetist had not reported for work since 1 Sept, and it had later been revealed that she had migrated, more..

Sep 7 (DM) State Minister Chamara Sampath Dassanayake, who repeatedly used Channel Eye instead of Channel 4 when referring to the Channel 4 exposure on the Easter Sunday attacks, swiftly corrected himself after being informed by a fellow MP. Minister went on to mention that Channel Eye had a personal grudge against the Rajapaksas and everyone in the country was aware of this. When reporting the war in SL, Channel Eye reported what the LTTE had done as something done by more..

Sep 7 (FT) SL Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) celebrated the successful conclusion of its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 2 Sept at Shangri La Hambantota. The event brought together esteemed members and industry leaders, reaffirming SLAITO�s unwavering commitment to fostering growth and innovation within SL�s dynamic tourism sector. The AGM served as a platform for SLAITO members to convene and engage in discussions regarding the latest more..

Sep 7 (EN) Parliament has passed a bill to hike income tax to force superannuation funds to agree to a restructuring of bonds in the EPF and other pension funds. The tax hike was passed with 103 voting in favouor and 58 voting against, Speaker Mahinda Abeywardana said. State Minister for Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said bonds had to re-structured to take an IMF program. A 9% return would be given to EPF holders, govt said. more..

Sep 7 (AD) A former Pradeshiya Sabha (PS) member of the SLPP has been sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for driving under the influence of alcohol. Accordingly, the Merinyage Mangala Pushpakumara Fernando was sentenced to two months of rigorous imprisonment and further fined Rs. 75,000 on orders of Gampola Magistrate Namal Perera. The suspect had been nominated for this year�s Local Govt election under the SLPP, from the Nawalapitiya Ganga Ihala Korale PS area. more..

Sep 7 (DM) Claiming that an Opposition MP was craving for the post of Health Minister, NPP MP Vijitha Herath said the Health Ministry had been a lucrative and highly demanding portfolio for some, as millions of rupees were involved in it. He told Parliament that the meager funds allocated for the Health Ministry is also defrauded and misused and said that only 40 to 50% of the WHO allocations for the Health Ministry is actually utilized for the intended purposes. more..

Sep 7 (DM) It has been proven that Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM2.5) in the air enters the human body by diffusion into the blood, causing an inflammatory response all over the body and thickening blood vessels, Environment Ministry Secretary Dr. Anil Jasinghe said. He said that the relationship between long-term exposure to PM2.5 and blood lipids have been investigated into. The WHO has calculated that seven million people in the world die annually due to air pollution. more..

Sep 7 (DM) There is no expectations of postponing the 2023 A/L exam as announced by the Examinations Dept, Education Minister Susil Premajayantha said. While participating in a programme at the Uva National College of Education, Minister said the A/L exam is scheduled to be held from Nov 27 to Dec 21. "If such a postponement is done, O/L and other exams will get delayed for a long time. Exam schedules and school time tables will again cause confusion," more..

Sep 7 (EN) SL has issued 538 soft alcohol licenses under regulations started in 2022 to support the tourism sector, State Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said. �Under a gazette notification in 2022 on a request by the tourism industry to promote tourism, the govt began issuing soft liquor licenses,� he said. �538 soft liquor licenses were issued after that. Anyone with a tourist permit was able to apply for this license for their more..

Sep 7 (TM) The COPF, during its recently held meeting considered and approved the Order under the Foreign Exchange Act, No. 12 of 2017, a the statement issued by the Committee mentioned. As a result, the eligible migration allowance for the emigrants who are claiming the migration allowance for the first time was increased from $30,000 up to a maximum of $50,000 or equivalent in any other designated foreign currency. The COPF discussion, chaired by Dr. Harsha de Silva, more..

Sep 7 (TM) A survey of beggars in Sri Lanka is to be commenced by the Department of Social Services this month. State Minister Geetha Kumarasinghe said that since it has been reported that children and women are mostly being used in begging, steps will be taken to curb this situation. Accordingly, she also stated that in this regard, she will hold a preliminary discussion with the relevant institutions including the Police, Local Authorities, and National Child Protection Authority. more..

Sep 7 (DM) 60% of the total vehicle fleet in the country cause air pollution due to their emissions, DMT Chief Nishantha Anuruddha Weerasinghe said. He said the DMT has registered a total fleet of eight million vehicles in the country. Therefore, as a result of a joint programme, DMT, Transport Ministry, and Environment Ministry launched the vehicle emission test programme around the country 10 years ago. more..

Sep 7 (AD) The NBRO on Thursday extended the early landslide warning issued to five districts. Accordingly, NBRO has warned that landslides are possible in the Galle, Kalutara, Kandy, Kegalle and Ratnapura districts, and the advisory is in effect until 04:00 p.m. tomorrow. The public have been urged to pay attention certain pre-landslide signs, such as the development of cracks on the ground or cracks in the floors or walls of buildings which are constructed on slopes, the slanting of trees, more..