Sep 30 (EN) Sri Lanka�s private credit surged 135 billion rupees in August 2024, up from 60 billion rupees in July, with credit to govt and state enterprises contracting amid better fiscal management, data shows. Central Bank contracted 51 billion rupees to 1,754 billion rupees from 1,806 billion rupees as deflationary policy continued. Commercial bank credit to state enterprise contracted 20.5 billion rupees. Credit to govt from commercial banks contracted 42.6 b rupees. more..

Sep 30 (TM) The results of the 2023 GCE O/L Exam were released yesterday. Hiruni Kumaratunga from Sangamitta Girls' College, Galle, has achieved the all island first place. Second position has been jointly secured by Wimansa Ratnaweera from Maliyadeva Balika Vidyalaya, Kurunegala, and Kulani Methsara from Musaeus College, Col 7. Additionally, Seshani Jayawardene from Visaka Vidyalaya, Col 4, Methuki Perera from Anula Vidyalaya, Nugegoda, and Naduni Ranawaka from Sangamitta Girls' more..

Sep 30 (DM) The committee, which consisted of educationists, educational psychologists, medical professionals, and statisticians has recommended awarding full marks for the three leaked questions to all students who sat for the 2024 grade five Scholarship exam as the most appropriate course of action. According to the recommendations, Examinations Dept has decided to adopt the above solution. A committee comprising local and more..

Sep 30 (AD) Sri Lankan cricketer Niroshan Dickwella is expected to be banned from all forms of cricket for 3 years. On Aug 16, SLC confirmed that Dickwella was suspended from participating in all forms of cricket with immediate effect due to an alleged anti-doping violation. Dickwella was found guilty of a doping violation during the recent Lanka Premiere League (LPL). This had reportedly been revealed following a doping test conducted by the Sri Lanka Anti-Doping Agency. more..

Sep 30 (TM) Police stated that once specific information about the incidents of disappearance of State-owned vehicles is revealed, the relevant agencies will complain about it to the CID, and investigations will be conducted accordingly. It was recently reported that a large number of State-owned vehicles have gone missing, and that the Presidential Secretariat has directed the CID to investigate it. However, Police stated last week that CID was yet to commence an investigation more..

Sep 30 (TM) Dept of Police have announced the immediate release of Police officers deployed on the operation Justice (Yukthiya) due to concerns that their involvement in these duties was affecting the performance of Police divisions and stations. In a circular addressed to senior police officers, IGP (acting) Priyantha Weerasooriya said that it had been noticed that the deployment of Police officers for the Yukthiya more..

Sep 30 (AD) A person has been injured and admitted to hospital after he was wounded in a shooting carried out by police in the Pallimulla area in Panadura. Panadura North Police had ordered a lorry to stop at a police checkpoint for a search operation. However, police had opened fire at the lorry as it had disregarded instructions to stop and had continued to move forward in a suspicious manner. One person traveling in the lorry was injured & he is currently receiving treatment more..

Sep 30 (FT) The election of Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil shocked the country�s political establishment and sharply divided opinion. While some warned that Bolsonaro�a far-right populist who admired Brazil�s military dictatorship�posed a serious threat to democracy, others believed that Brazil�s strong institutions, including an assertive press and independent judiciary, would curb his authoritarian tendencies. This debate mirrors the global discussion surrounding populist leaders. more..

Sep 30 (EN) Parliament of SL has signed an agreement with the Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services (PIPS) to enhance cooperation between the two legislative institutions. The MoU was signed by the High Commissioner of Pakistan to SL, Faheem Ul Aziz HI on behalf of PIPS and Parliament Secretary General Kushani Rohanadeera. �The purpose of this MoU is to promote parliamentary democratic values and strengthen legislative practices through more..

Sep 30 (FT) When the Britishers introduced tea as an export crop to old Ceylon in mid 19th century, it was a game changer. It transformed the traditional subsistence agricultural economy that prevailed to a modern plantation economy seeking to satisfy the demand for the new beverage called tea spreading like a pandemic across Europe and Americas. Initially, it was a beverage of the rich and the aristocrats. A pound of tea was sold, according to advertisements that were inserted in papers more..

Sep 30 (DM) NPP govt led by Prez Anura Kumara is to abandon initial plans by the previous rule to sell off or divest the cash-strapped SriLankan Airlines, an official said. The previous govt initially planned the sale process of the national carrier through the State-Owned Enterprises Restructuring Unit. After that the former Cabinet said it abandoned the sale process and decided to look at an alternate model to divest the airline. more..

Sep 30 (CT) Negotiations to merge UNP and SJB into an alliance ended in failure, due to two main conditions put forward by the SJB, officials from Sirikotha said yesterday. Notably, the UNP had nominated a delegation comprising Deputy Leader Ruwan Wijewardene and former MP Thalatha Atukorale to initiate discussions with the SJB, in order to form a broad political alliance to face the upcoming Parliamentary Election. Among the conditions proposed by the SJB were that more..

Sep 30 (AD) Former MPs have been informed to immediately hand over the firearms issued to them to the Ministry of Defense. Parliament Members� Services Division has notified the former MPs of this. Necessary steps will be taken to send the relevant letters to the former MPs immediately. All the facilities provided to MPs were withdrawn with the dissolution of the Parliament. Accordingly, former MPs will no longer receive their MP�s allowance, staff allowances, fuel provisions, stamp duty. more..

Sep 30 (EN) Election Commission (EC) has urged state authorities to refrain from implementing Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake�s instruction to increase fertilizer subsidy to 25,000 rupees per hectare to paddy farmers starting from Oct 1. The EC has called for Parliament elections on Nov 14 after the conclusion of presidential poll on Sept 21. Dissanayake on Sept 26 instructed the Treasury to provide an allowance of 25,000 more..

Sep 30 (FT) Colombo Rubber Traders� Association (CRTA), representing a diverse group of stakeholders within the natural rubber industry, has extended its heartfelt congratulations to Anura Kumara Dissanayake on his appointment as the ninth Executive Prez. On behalf of the CRTA and its members, CRTA expressed its optimism and confidence in Prez Dissanayake�s leadership, believing that his tenure will usher in a new era of development and progress across multiple more..

Sep 30 (EN) SL�s services exports are estimated to have grown 6.49% to US$ 318.77 million in August from a year ago, EDB said. The estimated value of ICT exports is expected to increase by 35.76% to US$ 146.26 million in August 2024 when compared to August 2023. The estimated value of logistics and transport services is expected to increase by 7.01% to US$ 146.37 million in Aug 2024 when compared to Aug 2023. The estimated value of services exports is expected to increase by 7.58% more..

Sep 30 (AD) Officers of the STF have arrested a suspect along with a micro pistol and live ammunition in Weliweriya. The arrested suspect is said to be related to the notorious underworld figure and drug trafficker Janith Madushanka alias Podi Lassi and Meetiyagoda Dasun Rajakaruna. Police further stated that a raid was conducted following a tip-off received indicating that the suspect was planning other crimes by utilizing phone numbers of foreign countries while under the pretext that more..

Sep 30 (DM) Colombo Chief Magistrate Thilina Gamage today ordered the Police to file the voice recording analysis report of match-fixing suspect Thamim Rahman, before court on Oct 10. Rahman, the owner of the Dambulla Thunders team, is alleged to have been involved in manipulating the player auction with the intention of procuring players to be involved in match-fixing during the tournament. This order was made by the Magistrate upon the Police Special Investigation Unit informing more..

Sep 30 (DM) The fleet of 107 vehicles that were returned to the Presidential Secretariat had not been given to the permanent staff of the Presidential Secretariat but to the former Prez's personal staff appointed under Article 41 (1) of the Constitution. The PMD said the vehicles have been parked outside the Presidential Secretariat not for the purpose of exhibiting but due to the lack of parking space at the Presidential Secretariat. more..

Sep 30 (Island) Attorney-at-Law M.A.A.M. Behshad has petitioned the Court of Appeal over his exclusion from the list of 38 selected as State Counsel. The court has been moved in terms of Article 140 of the Constitution. Among the respondents are Attorney General Parinda Ranasinghe, his predecessor Sanjay Rajaratnam, Chairman of Public Service Commission Sanath Ediriweera and Solicitor General Ayesha Jinasena. In his petition, Behshad has claimed that there were two lists, more..

Sep 30 (SLN) The Sri Lanka Navy seized 02 Indian fishing boats and apprehend 17 Indian fishermen while they were poaching in Sri Lankan waters, during a special operation conducted in the sea area north of Mannar this morning (29). The Navy continues to conduct regular patrols and operations in Sri Lankan waters to curb illegal fishing practices of foreign fishing boats, taking into account the impact of those practices on the livelihood of local fishermen. more..

Sep 30 (AD) As per the provisional data released by the SL Customs, merchandise export performance in Aug 2024 amounted to US$ 1,165.4 million, recorded an increase of 4.18 % compared to the month of Aug 2023. This was mainly due to the increase in earnings from export of Apparel & Textiles, Tea, Rubber based products, Coconut based products and Spices & Concentrates. Notably, after a gap of two years, more..

Sep 30 (Island) NPP�s winning candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) having secured 105 electoral wins from the 160 electorates in the country�s prez election, has snatched a 2/3rd majority of the electorates, leaving SJB�s Sajith Premadasa (SP) 49 electorates equating to 30%, North�s Pakkiyaselvam Ariyanenthiran winning six seats (3.8%), while then Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe had not won a single seat, former MP M. Zuhair, PC, has said. Zuhair said that though more..

Sep 30 (DD) It is more than two years since the Aragalaya Protests shook Sri Lanka to the core. Aragalaya means Struggle in the Sinhala language. The imagery of people storming the Presidential Palace and hoisting the SL national flag, amid slogans of Gota Go Home, is fresh in the minds of many, in this island nation of 23 million people. Gota is the nickname of the then Prez, Gotabaya Rajapaksa. He fled the country in the wake of the Aragalaya Protests, and, resigned afterwards. more..

Sep 30 (FT) Minister Vijitha Herath has been appointed as the President�s representative to the Constitutional Council (CC). Speaker of the Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena stated that this nomination was made by Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Accordingly, former Ports, Aviation and Shipping Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva has been removed from the CC. Additionally, PM Dr. Harini Amarasuriya has also been appointed as a new member of the Council. more..

Sep 30 (DM) SLPP politburo member Geethanath Cassilingham requested Prez Anura Kumara in writing to review the licences issued for liquor shops in the Northern Province and potentially close down unnecessary liquor establishments to protect the well-being of our communities, especially the youth. He said, that along the route from Paranthan Junction to Iranamadu Junction, there has been a significant emergence of these establishments in recent years. more..

Sep 30 (AJ) Transport a SL citizen from the early 1990s to the past week of the island�s politics, and you may just break their brain. Back then, the JVP, the Marxist outfit that the country�s new prez, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, now leads, was reviled in swaths of southern SL for having twice attempted violent revolution. Between 1987 and 1989, the JVP unleashed new horrors upon a nation already rent by ethnic war in the north. more..

Sep 30 (Island) In a solemn and dignified ceremony held at Trincomalee�s Ostenburg Point on Sept 27, the ashes of the late Lt Norman Schofield, a Royal Navy officer, and Mrs. Marian Schofield, his late spouse, were scattered with full naval honours. Navy hq statement: �Between 1956 and 1958, Lt Norman Schofield served as a communication officer at the HMS Highflyer naval base in Trincomalee, which was regarded as the second-largest naval base in the world during that period. more..

Sep 30 (AD) SL nationals are instructed not to travel to Lebanon and Syria until further notice due to the current volatile situation in the region, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. Issuing a notice, it said all Sri Lankans who are currently in Lebanon and Syria are strongly requested to be on alert and to take necessary precautions including restricting their outside movements and maintaining regular contacts with the SL Embassy in Beirut and the Honorary Consul of SL in Damascus. more..

Sep 30 (TM) The existence of a constitutional bar restraining the Central Govt from collecting property taxes has partly influenced the decision to introduce a rental income tax rather than a property tax as originally envisaged, Dept of Fiscal Policy reveals. Dept of Fiscal Policy Director General Dr. M.K.C. Senanayake revealed the existence of a constitutional restriction providing the power to collect property taxes to Provincial Councils more..

Sep 30 (AD) The accepting of applications for postal voting in the upcoming parliamentary elections will commence from tomorrow (1) and is scheduled to end on Oct 8, 2024. He noted that while the election was officially announced on Sept 25 and that the voter list certified by then is the voter list which was certified on July 8. Answering a question regarding the allocation of funds for the General Elections, the Commissioner General stated that if the Prez dissolves parliament as more..

Sep 30 (DM) Ragama police raided a Facebook party last evening, arresting 18 underage students, officials confirmed. The operation took place in a garage in Keselwatta, Nugawela, following a tip-off about a secret gathering. The garage was secured with a roller door, and among those arrested were 16 boys and two girls, all aged between 15 and 19. The students hailed from areas including Kotahena, Bloemendhal, Dematagoda, Wellampitiya, and Kolonnawa, and were reportedly attending more..