Dec 12 (ST) Public listings have taken a beating owing to the ongoing economic crisis with some companies hitting the brakes on raising funding via this route. For instance, start-up company, Roar Global, a media network that builds, operates, and invests in distinct media brands producing content and media solutions across the Asian region was to be listed when the investor pulled out this year. “However we are looking at a buyout from a foreign party, perhaps next year,” more..

Dec 12 (DM) The employees of the Postal Dept around the country have launched a token one-day strike over several issues, including handing over proposed privatization of the Postal Department, and including a reduction in overtime hours, UPTUF convener Chinthaka Bandara said.The token strike would continue until midnight. More than 27,000 employees attached to 653 Postal Offices, 3,410 Sub-post Offices, and nearly 100 agency offices around SL are participating in the strike. more..

Dec 12 (ST) The Irrigation Ministry will terminate a multibillion-rupee ADB-funded contract awarded to a Chinese joint venture after the project showed less than three percent of progress in the past 18 months, officials said. The Rs 10.7bn initiative to build the North Western Province’s two largest reservoirs called Mahakithula and Mahakirula is now set to be further delayed as the ADB has said it cannot release funds for at least three years more..

Dec 12 (Island) President of Bar Association of SL, Saliya Pieris PC, called on people to stop waiting for a saviour and work hard to strengthen the institutions that could ensure the protection of their rights. Pieris PC said: “We as citizens must understand that we enjoy the right to life because we have human rights. We must establish the right to live with dignity in this country. We have a duty to stand against those who make statements letting down the human rights protectors. more..

Dec 12 (ANI) In order to switch to organic fertilisers, Sri Lanka yet again relied on a Chinese company, only to get deceived in the end as the organic fertilizer supplied could not pass the two rounds of the National Plant Quarantine Services (NPQS) test due to high contamination. Moreover, the Chinese firm also pressurized Sri Lanka for the payment of contaminated fertilizer during the island nation's worst economic crisis, Indo Pacific Centre for Strategic Communications reported. more..

Dec 12 (NDTV) Sri Lanka is set to resume flights from the northern Jaffna peninsula to Chennai from Monday, three years after the island nation discontinued the services due to Covid, a spokesman from the SL Airport Authority said on Friday. "The commercial flight operations from Chennai Int'l airport to Jaffna Int'l airport will be back effective 12th Dec 2022," SLAA spokesperson Sumith de Silva said. "This will be a resumption of flights since they were stopped for Covid," more..

Dec 12 (ST) Govt is proposing to establish a Parliamentary Select Committee to decide on local govt electoral changes including the reduction of the number of members to be elected at the next poll. Prez Wickremesinghe will meet with political party leaders on Tuesday to discuss the proposal of reducing the number of local council members to 4,400 from the present 8,700. Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said the objective would be to introduce amendments to laws, enabling more..

Dec 12 (TM) The newly formed People’s Accountability Movement headed by former Solicitor General and former CIABOC Director General (DG) Dilrukshi Dias Wickramasinghe, a sub-committee that falls under the National Movement for Social Justice (NMSJ) headed by former Speaker of Parliament Karu Jayasuriya, has proposed political amnesty be granted to individuals found guilty of bribery and corruption. more..

Dec 12 (DM) Kollupitiya police are yet to arrest the driver of the Mercedes car which was involved in a fatal accident in Kollupitiya last morning while returning from a night club. A 58 year-old man had died when a luxury car (Mercedes) returning from a night club at R. A. De Mel Mawatha, Colombo smashed against a three wheeler in Kollupitiya on Saturday morning. Investigation revealed that the driver was returning to his room at the Cinnamon Lakeside hotel when the accident took place more..

Dec 12 (AD) Former Vice Chancellor of the Peradeniya Uni Prof. Athula Senaratne has been assaulted by a group near his official residence and has been hospitalised due to injuries. Police revealed that some university students have had an argument with Prof. Senaratne last night (10), stating that his son’s car had collided with a parked motorcycle, and then a group of around 300 university students had attacked and damaged the official uni residence of Prof. Senaratne. more..

Dec 12 (TM) Stressing that SJB rejects extreme capitalism and extreme socialism and advocates instead for a middle path and a mixed economy, SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa, who was unanimously re-elected the SJB Leader at the party’s 2022 Convention, claimed that a future govt led by the SJB will provide lasting solutions to the issues faced by the people, including poverty, through a governance system centred on more..

Dec 12 (DM) President of Rotary International, Jennifer Jones, has arrived in SL on Sunday on a four-day official visit. First woman Prez of Rotary International, the world’s foremost service organization that also has a seat in the UN General Assembly, has selected SL as one of the countries to visit on her global Imagine Tour of Jennifer Jones, a statement said. The tour is in line with the Rotary theme for the year Imagine Rotary, as she urged people to dream big more..

Dec 12 (AD) Inter-University Students’ Federation (IUSF) Convenor Wasantha Mudalige has been further remanded until tomorrow (Dec. 13) by Colombo Magistrate’s Court until the Attorney General’s instructions are received. The order has been issued by the Colombo Additional Magistrate Tharanga Mahawatta, after Wasantha Mudalige who is currently detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act was produced before the court this morning (Dec. 12), more..

Dec 12 (FT) Int'l education requires the development and maintenance of partnerships with a variety of academic institutions, Govt agencies, for-profit and not-for-profit organisations for student and faculty mobility and international collaboration in other academic areas such as research. Thus, universities sign MoU with universities and institutions both within the country and around the world. MoU is used to show the intent of collaboration without yet committing to specific activities. more..

Dec 12 (FT) Prez Wickremesinghe, addressing the recently concluded SL Economic Summit 2022, posed a threatening question to private sector bastions packed shoulder to shoulder in a too small auditorium for that large crowd. Briefing them of his new economic model for the next 25 years, he warned them that year 2023 is to open with a huge hole in govt financing caused by unsound financial policies of the govt monopoly of electricity generation, CEB, amounting to Rs.300-400 b more..

Dec 12 (TM) Public Utilities Commission of SL (PUCSL) Chairman Janaka Ratnayake, in response to President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s allegations made in Parliament last Thursday (8) of a conflict of interest on the latter’s part, stated that it is immaterial if he is the chairman of hotels and apartment complexes as he does not pay the relevant electricity bills, but the residents, guests and owners of apartments or hotel rooms do. more..

Dec 12 (SLN) In a dedicated search and rescue operation, SL Navy rescued 4 fishermen, including a fisher trapped inside a multiday fishing trawler for 4 days, as their trawler was in distress in south-eastern waters, and rushed them to the Kalmunai Hospital for treatment today (11). Reportedly, the fishing trawler had capsized about 46 nautical miles (85km) off the Sangaman Kanda Point, following adverse weather. The fishing trawler Himsara left Trinco fisheries harbour on 26th Nov, more..

Dec 12 (DM) A delegation of the Foreign Employment Bureau and CID had left for Oman to investigate incidents related to human trafficking, SLFEB said. Team left on Sunday on the instructions of the Minister Manusha Nanayakkara to investigate the incidents related to human trafficking in Oman. Bureau said that the group includes an additional general manager of the SLFEB, three investigating officers and a police inspector and a female sub-inspector of the CID. more..

Dec 12 (AD) Twelve students of the Peradeniya Uni have been suspended, pending investigations, for allegedly assaulting the former Vice Chancellor of the Uni, Prof. Athula Senaratne and his son. Deputy Vice Chancellor Prof. Terrance Madujith stated that an inquiry was launched on uni level regarding the incident where the former VC and his son were brutally assaulted and their official residence was damaged, and more..

Dec 12 (AD) The Eastern Province Commissioner of Local Govt has announced that all slaughterhouses and meat shops, excluding chicken shops, will remain closed for one week starting from today (12) until Dec 18, as instructed by the Governor of the Eastern Province. In a letter issued to Commissioners of Local Govt bodies in the province, he says it has been reported that a number of cattle have died due to extreme cold weather in the Eastern Province for the last few days. more..

Dec 12 (TM) Parliament is to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the incident of SJB MP Nalin Bandara allegedly making a sexist comment about State Minister Diana Gamage during the Parliamentary session held on 8 Dec, based on relevant video footage and Hansards, and to decide on the future course of action based on its findings. Deputy Speaker of Parliament MP Ajith Rajapakse said that a few MPs had requested an investigation into the incident of Bandara allegedly verbally more..

Dec 12 (DM) The extradition of a former SriLankan Airlines official, convicted of sexually harassing a former employee in India, has been sought through a petition filed in a Delhi court. Complainant’s lawyer Advocate Ajay Verma said that a submission was made that the convict has absconded and that extradition proceedings be initiated against him. Metropolitan Magistrate -5, of the Patiala House Court, New Delhi, Ms. Taranpreet Kaur has decided to consider the case on Dec 24, 2022. more..

Dec 12 (DM) Italy has sought SL’s support in its bid to secure the rights to host the 2030 Expo in Rome. Russia, South Korea, Italy, Ukraine, and Saudi Arabia have submitted bids to hold the prestigious event. Gaetano Castellini Curiel, Deputy Coordinator of the campaign to make Rome the venue of the 2030 edition of the Universal Exposition, was in SL last week for talks with the Govt and other officials. Curiel said he picked SL as the first country to visit in Asia as part of the campaign to seek support more..

Dec 12 (FT) The public views the economy and economic crisis, followed by inflation as the top two problems facing SL – and no other concerns come close. In polling by SL Opinion Tracker Survey (SLOTS) during Oct and Nov 2022, respondents were asked to identify their top national issues currently facing the country. 7-in-10 Sri Lankans (73%) view the economy and the economic crisis as one of the top two problems more..

Dec 12 (AD) Ministry of Agriculture reports that the number of cattle and goats that have died due to the extreme weather conditions in the Northern and Eastern provinces has increased to 1,660 by noon today. Accordingly, 691 cattle have died within the Northern Province so far, while the total number of goats who have died in the Northern Province is 296. Approximately 329 animals are still reported to be in critical condition in the NP. Meanwhile 555 cattle and 108 goats have died in EP so far, more..

Dec 12 (Island) The State coffers would not be able rake in what it was due to it by way of excise duty as long as liquor producers continued to hold licences for retail sale of liquor, Parliament was told. Dissident SLPP MP and SLFP General Secretary, Dayasiri Jayasekera, participating in the debate on the Inland Revenue (Amendment) Bill, on Friday, said that a large number of liquor-producing licence holders also had licences for running liquor outlets. “Some of them own five to six bars. more..

Dec 12 (Island) TNA MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam (Batticaloa) and CP MP Weerasumana Weerasinghe (Matara District) urged the govt to initiate legal proceedings against the former Chairman of the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB), Senarath Hewage, and Director General Sajjana de Silva, sent on compulsory leave over corruption charges. The issues at hand couldn’t be swept under the carpet by their removal, more..

Dec 12 (FT) Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) as defined by the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises revolves around the key principle of due diligence, which means the responsibility of businesses to identify, prevent, mitigate, and report on risks related to their operations, products, and services. To highlight its importance and create a conversation around RBC, Embassy of Netherlands launched the Addendum on RBC Handbook on Doing Business in Sri Lanka last week more..

Dec 12 (EN) SL’s anti-govt Aragalaya protestors have formed a discussion group to prepare young leaders for local govt election with the aim to train them to take the country forward. A new movement of the Aragalaya- Aragalaya XCore was launched on Dec 12 with the aim to nurture potential youth leaders in the country who will seek public office. “It’s not a political party but, it’s a movement to bring the potential candidates out,” said Nipun Tharaka, a convenor of Aragalaya XCore. more..

Dec 12 (EN) SL is currently ranked at the top of countries which has searched for the word ‘Sex’ according to Google trend tracking data, with francophone Djibouti ranking in top place for the French word ‘Sexe’. SL has beaten Ethiopia which was ranked first for searching for sex in 2020 and 2019, according to Google trends. Vietnam is ranked as the second place while Bangladesh is ranked third. However if a small country has a large number of a particular search interest, then the result more..

Dec 12 (TM) Former Prez Chandrika Kumaratunga launched a policy statement containing proposals for political, economic, and social reforms, which has been prepared by taking the views of many parties such as senior politicians, scholars, professionals, youth and women representatives, trade unions, and civil society organisations. The policy statement includes proposals made under a number of sections such as the constitution, economic development, agriculture and food security, more..

Dec 12 (DM) Digging further deep into the ongoing controversy over pasting forged security stickers on liquor bottles as per the requirement of the Dept of Excise, Minister of Justice said the racket is now causing a Rs.60 billion loss to the govt. Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe making a statement at the Parliament during the third reading of the budget for 2023 said prior to the introduction of the security sticker feature in 2017 more..

Dec 12 (DM) Education Ministry announced that the admission of children to grade one is done only by the respective schools and not through the Ministry. When applying for A/L studies based on the 2022 O/L results, students from schools without an A/L subject stream, should send their application forms to relevant school. Ministry said those applications should not be forwarded to the ministry. Admission to intermediate classes in 2022 for the third term of this year has been halted as of Dec 5. more..

Dec 12 (AD) The Monetary Board of the Central Bank of SL (CBSL) has decided to permanently revoke the money changing permit issued to Prasanna Money Exchange (Pvt) Ltd. After conducting an inquiry into the non-compliances committed by Prasanna Money Exchange (Pvt) Ltd upon the temporary suspension of the permit issued to the company to engage in the money changing business at its head office and branch located at No. 42A, Mudalige Mawatha, Colombo 1 more..

Dec 12 (TM) TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran has observed that the PTA should be repealed, but also that the Govt must not re-introduce its provisions in the planned National Security Act, as this would defeat the purpose of repealing the PTA. “The Govt has decided to repeal this Act by bringing in a new Act. We have to be vigilant because we do not need a special Act for this purpose. Through a new Act called the National Security Act, more..

Dec 12 (TM) Duminda Nagamuwa of the FSP alleged that Sri Lanka has gained a reputation as a violator of human rights due to actions travelling back several decades. “Today, we have gathered here to commemorate the World Human Rights Day. This country had been historically, and also recently gained ill reputation for its violation of basic human rights of its citizens in the North and also the South, with this practice having continued over several decades,” claimed Nagamuwa. more..