Apr 30 (DM) NPP yesterday accepted the official invitation for the political debate to be held by the Daily Mirror and Lankadeepa, with the three main presidential candidates while the SJB leader Sajith Premadasa is yet to confirm his participation. The Daily Mirror invitation was accepted by NPP General Secretary Tilvin Silva, who said that NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake is ready for the debate and will attend. Daily Mirror handed over the official invitation to Opposition leader's office more..

Apr 30 (EN) Sri Lanka has seen some improvements in night time economic activities, but more steps need to taken to attract tourists, State Tourism Minister Diana Gamage said. Gamage, since became the State Tourism Minister, has promoting night time economic activities to create more options for foreign visitors into the island nation. �Well I think so far I have achieved when it comes to the night time tourism,� Gamage told reporters at a media briefing on Monday in Colombo. more..

Apr 30 (DM) The decision to not hold the annual SMMT International Automotive Summit in Sri Lanka for 2025 was influenced by the prevalence of beggar menace at traffic lights in Colombo, SL Automobile Association Secretary Devapriya Hettiarachchi said. Speaking to the media, he said that SL hosted the Asia Pacific Region II meeting associated with the SMMT International Automotive Summit conference more..

Apr 30 (FT) SL Bar Association of SL (BASL) has unanimously decided to decline the invitation extended by the SJB to serve as a mediator and coordinator in the planned debate between SJB leader Sajith Premadasa and NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake. The decision to decline the invitation was made during a general meeting of the association held recently. On 26 April, in a letter to BASL SJB MP Nalin Bandara invited it to act as an independent party to coordinate more..

Apr 30 (DM) Former Prez Chandrika Kumaratunga said Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe invited her on several occasions to take up a position and support the govt. Ms Kumaratunga said that she refused the invitation, claiming that she could not take up any position until thieves were there in politics. She said she was invited to take up the chairmanship of the SLFP and that she refused it too. �I don't like to do politics with current politicians. I will not take up any key position in the party. more..

Apr 30 (TM) As the saga to unravel the person or persons behind the horrific crash, at Fox Hill Supercross 2024 on 21 April continues, it has been revealed that the Ministry of Sports is yet to launch a serious probe of its own, to the calamity to date. The crash, the biggest in the annals of the country�s motor racing sphere, at Diyatalawa, claimed the lives of seven individuals, including an eight-year-old girl. This was after a car veered off the track and ploughed into spectators, more..

Apr 30 (FT) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe on Sunday hailed Dilmah for giving a new beginning for Ceylon Cinnamon as one of SL�s iconic tea brands made a strategic diversification to add value and market perhaps the country�s best of spices with far reaching health benefits and a culinary wonder. Dilmah is launching what it calls the finest Ceylon cinnamon of premium grade sourced from its plantations in Kahawatte to global and local markets. Prez Wickremesinghe was the Chief Guest at more..

Apr 30 (DM) Police Dept urged people not to give money to those begging from them in vehicles stuck at traffic lights within the Colombo city limits. Senior DIG Traffic Administration and Road Safety, Indika Hapugoda, mentioned that police officers from the 45 police divisions and 607 police stations have been instructed, through a circular signed by senior officers, to remove beggars causing disturbances to vehicular traffic. more..

Apr 30 (DN) Airport & Aviation Services SL Private Ltd announced that a project worth Rs. 852 million to upgrade the departure baggage makeup facility has been awarded to one of the leading professional and ISO-certified baggage service providers in Sri Lanka, MSN Engineering (Pvt) Limited. The project is implemented in line with the company�s program to enhance the infrastructural facilities at BIA continuously to facilitate the growing passenger volume at its main gateway. more..

Apr 30 (AD) The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) seized 86 kg of suspected heroin worth INR 6.02 billion from a Pakistani boat, which was on its way to Sri Lanka via Tamil Nadu, off the Porbandar coast in Gujarat and arrested 14 crew members on Sunday. The drugs were seized during a joint ICG operation with the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) during which the Indian side opened fire injuring one of the crew members. According to an official release, more..

Apr 30 (DM) Despite the public being heaped with tax burdens and a soaring cost of living, MPs, along with public servants in the executive category, are set to get concessionary vehicle permits soon. As many as 102 MPs out of the total 225 in the House had placed their signatures by yesterday on a letter submitted to Speaker Mahinda Yapa asking for permits to import vehicles under duty-free conditions. more..

Apr 30 (FT) Out of all the Lankan politicians, the most baffling case for me is Ranil Wickremesinghe. I mean, what leadership theory can explain his behaviour? What management theory can predict his actions? How can the same man ruin his party beyond repair and still become the president of a country? Who would even believe this stuff? It simply doesn�t add up, which makes it an interesting topic for research. Let�s try to analyse this anomaly, this outlier. Well, for starters, Ranil is one tough more..

Apr 30 (FT) As elections approach, the two Muslim parties, SLMC the senior and its breakaway junior ACMC, are on a bargain hunt looking for profitable deals with any of the national parties so that they could coalesce. This is not something new but had been the history of these ethno-religious adjuncts right from their inception. In fact, SLMC�s founding leader Ashraf�s whole strategy was to capture Muslim votes en bloc to bargain for privileges with competing national parties. more..

Apr 30 (AD) Gampaha High Court the Trial-at-Bar has deferred delivering the verdict in the case against a Brigadier and three soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army over the shooting to death of three persons and injuring several others during a protest by villagers demanding clean drinking water at Rathupaswala, Gampaha. The court was scheduled to deliver its verdict today, however when the case was taken up the Trial-at-Bar announced that the verdict will be delivered on May 17, 2024. more..

Apr 30 (EN) A majority of the SLFP will join President Ranil Wickremesinghe in a broad alliance in support of his development agenda, State Minister of Foreign Affairs Tharaka Balasuriya said. Speaking to reporters, Balasuriya said members of the SLFP including Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva come on board the president�s ongoing development agenda. �This is not a programme built on fairy tales. It president is following an agenda that is sustainable in the long term. more..

Apr 30 (Island) Dissident SLPP MP Dr. Nalaka Godahewa says in spite of several investigations, in some instances supported by foreign experts, govt hasn�t been able to convince the Catholic Church, as well as some other concerned parties, as to the origins of National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ) terror plot. Therefore, the urgent need to address the concerns and grievances of those who had been affected by the Easter Sunday more..

Apr 30 (CT) Animal welfare activists have welcomed a move taken by Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe to stop an elephant race in Maradana recently. �We learnt from elephant lovers that a New Year festival, where Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe is to be Chief Guest, was planning an elephant race with 12 captive elephants. We confirmed it with billboards fixed in Maradana and our team lodged a complaint against this at the Maradana Police Station,� Director, RARE, Panchali Panapitiya explained. more..

Apr 30 (CT) Medical and Civil Rights Professional Association of Doctors (MCPA) urged the President to appoint a powerful Presidential Commission to look into health corruption before the Prez Election. MCPA President, Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa, lashing out, said it was high time that those like the former CEO of the National Drug Regulatory Authority (NDRA), and the Board of Directors were brought before the law. Dr. Sanjeewa alleged that the public had lost trust in the Health Ministry more..

Apr 30 (Island) SLPP National List MP Gevindu Cumaratunga has asked whether moving of the Supreme Court to seek equal treatment to all members of the EPF influenced the govt�s decision to increase the interest paid to members from 9% to 13% for 2023. MP Cumaratunga said that though he felt the govt could have granted even a better interest rate, the decision was genuinely appreciated. The MP noted that more..

Apr 30 (EN) Welfare Benefits Board, which is responsible to disburse Aswesuma social welfare and poverty alleviation programme has started probe into recipients who had got the benefits through providing false information, Finance Ministry said. The World Bank-funded ambitious project is expected to reach 2.4 million households under four categories including people under extreme poverty. The govt has started the disbursement after initial due diligence of applicants. more..

Apr 30 (Island) Ever since 2020, there has been a significant drop in the annual birth rate in SL while annual deaths have increased. Senior Deputy Registrar General, Lakshika Ganepola said annual births were around 325,000 before 2020, but they have now decreased to around 280,000 in 2023. Ganepola added that annual deaths have increased to around 180,000, while the number was around 140,000 before 2020. The official said this trend will adversely affect country�s population growth. more..

Apr 30 (PMD) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe is scheduled to participate in two May-Day rallies tomorrow (1) in lieu of International Labour Day. The May Day Rally organized by the Ceylon Workers� Congress (CWC) to commemorate Labour Day will commence at 10 am at Kotagala Public Grounds. Prez will participate in this event, responding to the invitation extended by the CWC. The rally and parade are expected to draw a significant number of upcountry plantation workers. more..

Apr 30 (EN) SL will have to reconsider a minimum room rate for hotel rooms after a number of complaints, but there was also a demand for price floors from the section of the industry, State Minister Diana Gamage said. Tour operators have opposed the price controls, saying it amounts to illegal price-fixing in other markets. ��[B]ecause of the issues that are happening at the moment, the complaints we are getting from the hotel industry and things we will have to reconsider,� more..

Apr 30 (EN) SL�s main opposition the SJB has overtaken the leftist NPP in a voting intent poll for a future parliamentary election while SJB leader Sajith Premadasa has closed a gap with NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake for this year�s prez election. The Institute for Health Policy (IHP) which carried out the two surveys for March 2024 found that its revised SLOTS MRP model, confirm an increasing trend in support for the SJB more..

Apr 30 (AD) The overall rate of inflation as measured by the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) on year-on-year (y-o-y) basis increased to 1.5% in April 2024, DCS says. Last month, the CCPI-based inflation was calculated at 0.9%, according to the latest figures published by the DCS. On a year-on-year basis, the inflation of food group dropped to 2.9% in April 2024 from 3.8% in March 2024 while the inflation of the non-food group climbed to 0.9% in April from -0.5% in March 2024. more..

Apr 30 (EN) SL gears up for May Day celebrations with 40 rallies and marches planned islandwide for May 01 by all mainstream political parties. Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe�s UNP will hold its May Day rally at the P D Sirisena grounds in Colombo, UNP MP Vajira Abeywardena said. Party supporters will be transported from the south of the country by bus and train for the rally, he said. �This is becoming an event to show gratitude to Prez Wickremesinghe, national leader who salvaged the country,� more..

Apr 30 (DM) Supreme Court today issued an interim order preventing the President from nominating judges to the Supreme Court, other than the Chief Justice. This order will be effective till Oct 4. SC made this order consequent to a Fundamental Rights petition filed by a lawyer. The petitioner Sarith Pathirathne, an Attorney-at-Law by profession, filed this petition seeking an order directing the Constitutional Council to approve more..

Apr 30 (TM) The Collective of Pensioners' Unions (CPU) urged the Govt to pay the gratuity payment for pensioners who have not received it yet even after two or three years of retirement. CPU Co-Convenor G.W. Gamini said that some of the pensioners who retired in 2021-2022 have not received their gratuity yet, and that the Union is receiving so many grievances from many parties regarding the issue. Stating that the Treasury is reportedly making plans to pay the gratuity more..

Apr 30 (DM) SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara hit out at the party's Organizer Gamini Vijith Vijithamuni Soysa who has been critical of the party leadership lately. Former MP Soysa was reported to have complained that he has been sidelined by the SJB leadership. �Soysa was given the Katana organider�s post but he has proven to be a failure. He has been a failure in Moneragala as well,� he added. Meanwhile, Bandara expressed his uncertainty on the participation of more..

Apr 30 (CT) The Colombo High Court issued a notice, yesterday, directing SJB MP A.H.M. Fowzie to appear in Court on 22 May regarding the indictment filed against him on corruption charges. CIABOC filed the case against A.H.M. Fowzie for allegedly causing a Rs 1.07 million unlawful loss to the Government by misusing a vehicle belonging to the Disaster Management Centre between 2010 and 2015. CIABOC alleged that MP Fowzie unlawfully utilised a Land Cruiser Jeep more..

Apr 30 (DM) A serving UK Metropolitan Police officer who assaulted an innocent Sri Lankan after mistaking him for a criminal has been spared jail. PC Jonathan Marsh, 34, had been called out to Atlanta Boulevard in Romford, east London, on 13 November 2022 after a medical worker reported someone was damaging a sign outside and making threats to kill. Marsh mistook Rasike Attanayake, who had called 999, for the suspect and bundled him to the ground before punching him more..

Apr 30 (DM) The govt today approved the amendment to the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code for the banning of all corporal or physical punishments in all sectors. A recent study conducted in relation to the Sri Lankan context by the UN Committee on Child Rights revealed that a large number of children are prone to physical punishments, abuses and violence due to lack of legal provisions prevailing at home, more..

Apr 30 (DM) SLPP MP Mahindananda Aluthgamage was today acquitted and released from the money laundering case by the Colombo High Court. The Attorney General had filed this case against Aluthgamage for allegedly purchasing a house worth Rs. 27 million at Kynsey Road, Colombo 7 over a complaint that he had allegedly purchased properties through illegally acquired money for committing a predicate offence coming under the Bribery Act. Colombo High Court Judge more..

Apr 30 (TM) Around 18,000 executive-level officers of the public sector will launch a strike from 2-3 May to express opposition to long drawn-out salary and allowance related issues. The Joint Committee of Govt Executive Officers� President, H.A.L. Udayasiri, said that on 2 May and 3 May, around 18,000 executive officers representing around 18 trade unions will withdraw from work. The relevant officials have already been informed of this decision, according to him, who explained that more..

Apr 30 (TM) SL banking sector cheque returns value has surpassed Rs. 250 billion in 2023 with over 1 million cheques bouncing back, CB data said. 1.02 million cheques have returned in 2023, 20% increase year on year, with a total value of Rs. 262.4 billion compared to Rs. 212 billion in crisis year 2022. About 48% of the cheques were returned without proper funds to pay for the cheque in the drawer account while more..