Dec 8 (AD) Chamika Karunaratne of the Kandy Falcons has lost four teeth following an injury during the match against the Galle Gladiators today. He received a blow to his face during the fourth match of the LPL 2022 series while attempting a catch and the ball hit his face. He was admitted to a private hospital in Galle for immediate surgery following the accident. Kandy Falcons Team Director said Chamika is stable and will be available for the Kandy stage. more..

Dec 8 (AD) The deep depression over southeast Bay of Bengal (370km east of Trincomalee) has concentrated into a cyclonic storm Mandous and located near latitude 9.2N and longitude 84.6E at 11.30 p.m. yesterday, the Dept of Meteorology says. It is very likely to move west-northwestwards and cross North TN, Puducherry and South Andhra Pradesh coast over the southwest Bay of Bengal in the late hours of Dec 9. Meanwhile, cloudy skies will prevail over most parts of the Island. more..

Dec 8 (DM) CEB is submerged in a huge financial crisis, and an increase in electricity consumption charges must be done to cover the cost of the board, CEB Chairman Nalinda Ilangakoon said. He said this situation has arisen due to the fact that the CEB has provided a unit of electricity at a lower rate and has not systematically increased the electricity tariffs since 2013 parallel to the increase in costs. Power and Energy Minister has given instructions to reduce the other expenses of the board. more..

Dec 8 (DM) Western Hospital, private hospital at No. 218 Cotta Road, Borella which was exposed in connection with the alleged kidney racket has denied any involvement with organ trafficking or the smuggling of organs. Western Hospital said that in no circumstances has it been involved, nor would they ever be involved in any manner whatsoever in organ trafficking or the smuggling of organs. more..

Dec 8 (EN) SL businesses are facing a drain of talent, top business executives said as the country suffers the worst flexible exchange rate crisis in the history of its intermediate regime central bank and people lose hope. “We are seeing a trend towards migrating,” Krishan Balendra, Chairman of John Keells Holdings told an economic policy forum. “We have seen an impact mainly on the tourist hotels side, quite an exodus of staff (migrating) to countries we have not seen in the past. more..

Dec 8 (EN) State-run Transport Board will resume its loss-making City Bus service from Jan 15, 2023 Cabinet Spokesman Bandula Gunawardena said, after the service abruptly discontinued with the state-run firm’s director board citing losses. City Bus service was introduced in 2021, under the govt of former Prez Rajapaksa, from Makubura to Pettah and Bambalapitiya. The service was started to reduce the number of automobiles travelling to and from Colombo and suburbs by providing more..

Dec 8 (Island) State Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said the govt would introduce some amendments to the Exchange Control Act No 12 of 2017 as part of its response to the continuing financial crisis. The SLFPer mentioned that amendments were necessary to restore the authority exercised by the CB in respect of regulation of foreign exchange before the enactment of the Exchange Control Act No 12 of 2017, adding that more..

Dec 8 (FT) LTTE supremo Veluppillai Prabhakaran along with many senior LTTE leaders was killed in the military confrontation with Sri Lanka’s armed forces in May 2009. With that military debacle in the Mullivaaikkaal area of Mullaitheevu district, the LTTE – known as the tigers – ceased to be a functional entity in the island. Among those reported dead in May 2009 was the LTTE’s much-dreaded intelligence chief Shanmuganathan Sivashankar alias Pottu Ammaan. more..

Dec 8 (FT) Lakshman Kadirgamar used to tell a joke about a political leader (probably apocryphal) who proudly proclaimed: “Ladies and gentlemen, our country has arrived at the very edge of the precipice! But do not fear! Under my leadership, the govt is determined to press on and undertake a Great Leap Forward!” So it was with Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his great leap forward overnight into organic agriculture. So it is with Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe. No mandate. No reform. Leap to 2050: more..

Dec 8 (AD) A 10-hour water cut is scheduled to be imposed in several areas within Colombo and its suburbs on Saturday (10), the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) reported. Accordingly, the water supply will be interrupted from 10.00 a.m. until 08.00 p.m. in the Colombo, Dehiwala, Mount Lavinia, Kotte, Kaduwela Municipal Council areas, the Maharagama, Boralesgamuwa, Kolonnawa UC areas ,the Kotikawatta and Mulleriyawa, PS areas, Ratmalana, Katubedda more..

Dec 8 (DM) A Sergeant of the STF drowned and two other personnel were rescued when they fell into the ZD Canal at Maduru Oya in Polonnaruwa today. Police said a Civil Security officer who was passing by, jumped into the canal and managed to save the lives of the two STF personnel. Police said the STF personnel who were travelling in a tractor from Medagama to Bogaswewa had fallen into the canal after the vehicle skidded off the road. Aralagangwila Police who are conducting the investigation more..

Dec 8 (AD) NBRO has warned that the quality of air in parts of the island has dropped further to an unhealthy level. The foggy or misty conditions observed these days in several parts across the island are a result of air quality dropping to very unhealthy levels due to the increase in dust particles in the atmosphere, according to the NBRO. NBRO says that an influx of dust particles contaminating SL’s air space through strong winds from more..

Dec 8 (FT) “On a relative scale, Sri Lanka has managed the COVID-19 pandemic quite well. At the start there were a few issues, but most of these got sorted out in good time,” opines Dr. Palitha Abeykoon, Senior Advisor to the World Health Organization and the Ministry of Health in Sri Lanka. He remarked that the world has the means, knowledge and technology to combat outbreaks, but the question remains whether these are available to all countries in an equitable manner. more..

Dec 8 (Island) During a recent examination of the Western Provincial Road Development Authority by the COPA, it was revealed that two concrete placing machines, and a curb machine, procured in 2012, at Rs. 158 mn and Rs 6 mn, respectively, had not been utilised properly. According to COPA, the two machines had been used for only 420 hours from 2012 to Nov 2022, and the curb machine had been idling. COPA also disclosed there had been 556 daily paid workers as at Dec 31st 2021, more..

Dec 8 (AD) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe made special revelations regarding the increase in electricity tariffs and claimed that Chairman of the PUCSL Janaka Ratnayake has no power in this regard. Prez addressed recent concerns pertaining to the proposed increase in electricity tariffs. Stating that the CEB is currently at a loss of Rs. 300 billion incurred since 2013, Wickremesinghe stated that in the event a drought takes place more..

Dec 8 (AD) Dept of Meteorology has issued an advisory for Cyclonic storm Mandous for deep and shallow sea areas from Mannar to Pottuvil via Kankasanturai, Trincomalee and Batticaloa and Southeast and Southwest Bay of Bengal. The cyclonic storm Mandous over Southwest Bay of Bengal (280km east of Trincomalee) located near latitude 9.7N and longitude 83.5E at 11.30 a.m. today. It is very likely to move west-northwestwards and further intensify into a severe cyclonic more..

Dec 8 (TM) Around the launch of its global report on protests, CIVICUS, a global civil society alliance, called on the Govt of SL to halt its assault on the right to protest, investigate all violations by security forces, and bring the perpetrators to justice, as the Govt’s actions appear to be inconsistent with SL’s obligations in the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Monitoring by the CIVICUS Monitor, an online research platform that tracks fundamental freedoms more..

Dec 8 (TM) A few days after State Minister of Defence Premitha Bandara Tennakoon opined that the death penalty should be implemented for drug-related offences, State Minister Geetha Kumarasinghe similarly said that the death penalty should be implemented against drug traffickers. While addressing the media on Tuesday (6), she noted that in countries like Singapore, the death penalty is implemented against those apprehended with drugs, and urged that such laws more..

Dec 8 (Island) The Foreign Ministry, in a statement issued, quoted State Minister of Foreign Affairs Tharaka Balasuriya as having informed Singapore’s Senior Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, Sim Ann, of Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe desire to implement the SL-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA). State Minister was on a short transit visit to Singapore on Dec. 7. Foreign Ministry said that they held wide-ranging discussions on augmenting bilateral relations with a specific focus on more..

Dec 8 (TM) The CEB stated that according to the data it has received, the following year (2023) would be one with average rainfall, during which the average cost for power generation would be Rs. 52.36 per unit, although Minister Kanchana Wijesekera stated previously that the CEB had assumed that 2023 would be a dry year in terms of rainfall and that it would cost Rs. 56.90 per unit for power generation. more..

Dec 8 (Island) Dept of Wildlife and Conservation has earned a record revenue from tourists who came aboard two luxury cruise ships that arrived in Colombo on Nov 3 and Dec 5. Most of the 551 foreign tourists in the ship which reached here Nov 30 had visited the Yala National Park in 110 vehicles; Wildlife Dept earned Rs. 6,219,560 on that day. 86 tourists on board the ship that arrived on Dec 5 had visited the Yala National Park in 18 vehicles, enabling Dept to earn Rs. 981,981 more..

Dec 8 (EN) SL will set up new dedicated power regulator and CEB will be split into separate units, State Minister for Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said. CEB is now fully state owned and the utility has been forced to acquire high-cost generators while by various interests while cheaper coal plants were blocked. Attempts have also been made to commit the utility to take or pay LNG contracts. CEB will be split into eight separate companies, under a re-structuring plan approved by the cabinet more..

Dec 8 (TM) Claiming that the shortage of pharmaceutical drugs and other medical supplies is growing more severe by the day, All-Ceylon Nurses’ Union (ACNU) stated that the number of patients suffering from conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart and kidney diseases, asthma, and cancer due to not receiving proper treatment has now increased, but that the deaths associated with the conditions are more..

Dec 8 (CT) Two in five households (42%) spend more than 75% of their expenditures on purchasing food, leaving little to spend on health and education, UNICEF in its recent report on SL said. UNICEF said an acute economic crisis since early 2022 has caused severe food insecurity in SL, and the situation is predicted to deteriorate between October 2022 and Feb 2023. An estimated 6.2 million people (28% of the population) are moderately acute food insecure, while 66,000 people are severely more..

Dec 8 (DM) Colombo Chief Magistrate's Court today sent a reminder to the Attorney General to expedite his legal advice regarding a case filed against former Minister Namal Rajapaksa and four others for their alleged involvement in money laundering amounting to Rs.15 million in a company owned by Namal Rajapaksa. CID conducting investigations regarding this incident informed Court that they were yet to receive Attorney General’s advice regarding the future legal action against the suspects. more..

Dec 8 (EN) President Ranil Wickremesinghe invited the parliament to set up a select committee to probe monetary and fiscal policy blunders that led to sovereign default on foreign debt worst currency crisis in the history of the island’s central bank. “If the House agrees I can appoint a Presidential commission of Inquiry,” Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe told parliament. “Otherwise have a select committee. The parliament has powers to do that. You’ll decide on that.” He was responding to more..

Dec 8 (Island) Sandya Ekneligoda is among BBC’s list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world for 2022. Global music phenomenon Billie Eilish, Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska, actresses Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Selma Blair, the tsarina of Russian pop Alla Pugacheva, Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi, record-breaking triple jump athlete Yulimar Rojas, and Ghanaian author Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah are among others, according to the BBC list. more..

Dec 8 (CT) The COPA has instructed the Western Province Provincial Road Development Authority to look into the possibility of confirming the employment of essential workers and consider removing the excess workers by giving compensation. It was disclosed there are 556 employees working on daily wage basis and under contract basis as at 31 Dec 2021, exceeding the number of employees of the approved more..

Dec 8 (TM) Catholic Church charged that projects such as commercial cannabis cultivation are absolutely inappropriate for a country like Sri Lanka, as it has a corrupt political culture where money and political power overrides the law. Catholic Bishops’ Conference National Director of Communications Fr. Jude Chrishantha Fernando said: “We have come to know that the Govt’s attention has been focused on the cultivation of cannabis for commercial purposes. The Catholic Church, more..

Dec 8 (DM) Each power plant will be run by respective companies as per the govt's restructuring plan of CEB, minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekara told Parliament today. Minister when responding to questions raised by opposition MP Champika Ranawaka on the plan to divide CEB into 18 companies, said the restructuring plan has to go ahead to ensure uninterrupted power supply. "No one should shout against the restructuring of CEB just because they were not able to restructure more..

Dec 8 (DM) SLPP made fresh engagements with PM Dinesh Gunawardane on the next Cabinet reshuffle expected after the final vote of the budget in Parliament today. A group of SLPP MPs held talks with the PM on Tuesday evening regarding a host of matters including the Cabinet reshuffle with the inclusion of new faces. The party initially proposed portfolios for ten of its MPs. The party made inquiries about it . more..

Dec 8 (NR) PUCSL has informed the CEB that no CEB faction should be given the annual bonus this year. Chairman Janaka Ratnayake in a letter to the CEB has informed that an entity that incurs massive losses cannot pay bonuses to its staff. The development comes as CEB announced that it continues to incur massive losses despite the recent tariff hike. CEB Additional General Manager Rohan Seneviratne said CEB will incur a loss of Rs.150 billion this year, despite the increase more..

Dec 8 (Island) Prof. G.L. Peiris, MP, has said that the existing Independent Commissions (ICs) should continue until the appointment of the Constitutional Council (CC) to pave the way for the reconstitution of the ICs in terms of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution. The 10-member CC consists of seven lawmakers and three civil society members. Former External Affairs Minister warned against any attempt to activate the CC before the selection of its civil society members. more..

Dec 8 (AD) The third reading of the Appropriation Bill for the fiscal year 2023 was passed in the parliament today by 43 majority votes. Following a division on the 13-day debate regarding the third reading this evening, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena announced the results: 123 voted in favour of the budget proposals, with only 80 against them and 2 abstentions from MPs C.V. Wigneswaran and Velu Kumar. more..

Dec 9 (DM) The drug menace raising its head inside schools and children falling prey to narcotics is a great cause for concern. The habit of depending on something like a drug is not a problem associated only with boys; girls too have come under scrutiny time and again for the use of drugs. In these present times we have heard enough stories about schoolboys and girls experimenting with narcotics. These drugs are sometimes sold inside schools; hence parents cannot think that their offspring more..

Dec 9 (CT) SL is one of the countries that are dealing with the consequences of climate change on a daily basis. With having contributed less to climate change, the country is now paying the price for its consequences. Previous few days saw an unusual increase in air pollution in SL, which is being attributed to winds from the Indian subcontinent carrying high concentrations of dust particles. Major criticism is always directed at rich industrialised countries for failing to keep promises on more..