Dec 19 (DM) Attorney General informed the Court of Appeal yesterday that the CID has acted in an irregular manner when conducting investigations under Money laundering against Pastor Jerome Fernando who is accused of defaming Buddhism and other religions, despite funds amounting to Rs. 12.26 Billion lying in the accounts of Jerome Fernando and his wife. This was revealed when a Writ application, filed by Pastor more..

Dec 19 (FT) 2024 is going to be an election year and it will dawn with an 18% VAT hike thanks to IMF and RW. The impact of that hike along with other increases in tariffs on public utilities will have a depressing effect on cost of living and that would no doubt dominate the campaign platforms of all political parties except perhaps Prez’s UNP. RW may well repeat what the newly elected prez of Argentina Javier Milei said to his people: There is no alternative to austerity and there is no more..

Dec 19 (AD) Minister Kanchana Wijesekera has emphasized that electricity tariffs will likely be reduced to earlier rates during the tariff revision scheduled for January 2024, as hydropower is currently being generated at maximum capacity. Joining a media briefing today Wijesekera stated that the previous tariff hike in October was carried out in view of the higher cost of electricity generation due to usage of fossil fuel, prompted by the arid weather conditions. more..

Dec 19 (FT) Advocata Institute this week called for greater competition within the construction industry to ensure housing for all. Advocata Institute in partnership with the Templeton Foundation hosted a conference on competition in the construction industry and launched the latest study Housing for all: The role of competition policy in construction. The goal of the study was to highlight the need for competition within the construction industry, in Sri Lanka and its neighbours, more..

Dec 19 (DM) Wanindu Hasaranga was signed by Sunrisers Hyderabad during the auction at the Coca Cola Arena in Dubai on Tuesday. Leg spinner Wanindu Hasaranga was signed by Sunrisers Hyderabad for his base price of Rs. 1.5 crore at the IPL 2024 auction in Dubai on Tuesday. Known to work a trick with his variations, Sri Lankan first became a part of the IPL in 2021 when Royal Challengers Bangalore brought him as a mid-season replacement for Adam Zampa. more..

Dec 19 (TM) Following media reports circulating about another possible islandwide blackout due to the non-completion of certain transmission lines, CEB assured a continuous islandwide power supply without any obstruction. Several media reports, quoting undisclosed sources within the CEB, have claimed the possibility of another islandwide blackout, allegedly due to several power transmission lines which carry more..

Dec 19 (NC) A sous chef has been charged with murder over the alleged stabbing death of a young female colleague in a kitchen storeroom at a Canberra zoo. Jude Wijesinghe, 29, was arrested on Monday night and taken to hospital under police guard with significant self-inflicted stab wounds. News.com.au can confirm the victim is a 29-year-old Bhutanese national. ATC Policing confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that Wijesinghe had been charged with murder. more..

Dec 19 (EN) SL State Trading (General) Corporation has imported 155 million eggs from Indian farms approved by the Dept of Animal Production and Health (DAPH). The cabinet gave the nod to import another 18 million eggs before the year end, to keep prices down to fill a gap in domestic production. “This will stabilise the price of eggs in the local market,” it said. SL’s chicken farms were closed and hatcheries killed layer parent stocks after the Consumer Affairs Authority, more..

Dec 19 (TM) National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) said that it has not been directed by any party to conduct a probe against SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa over allegedly unauthorised housing loans and projects. NHDA’s Acting General Manager Ajantha Janaka said that even though several media outlets claimed that the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing had directed the NHDA to launch more..

Dec 19 (EN) Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) said revised corporate governance rules will be applicable from Oct 1, 2023 to companies listed on the main board, Diri Savi board and Catalyst board. The revised rules are not applicable to the companies listed on the Empower Board. Some companies have already started to implement the requirements, the CSE said in a statement. “The revised Corporate Governance Rules of the CSE were formulated in line with global best more..

Dec 19 (CT) Interim Secretariat for the Truth and Reconciliation Mechanism (ISTRM) has successfully commenced its National Provincial Public Consultations from Jaffna in the Northern Province. The ISTRM convened with key stakeholders, including civil society organisations, religious leaders, senior professors and lecturers from the Uni of Jaffna, grassroots communities and women’s rights movements from 10 – 12 December. ISTRM delegation’s visit to Jaffna was aimed at more..

Dec 19 (AD) Nine vehicles worth Rs. 68 million owned by drug dealers have been taken into custody by the Illegal Assets Investigation Division of the Police during a 24-hour operation. Acting IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon vowed that all assets belonging to criminals, which they have acquired using ill-gotten money, would be confiscated. Inspecting the impounded vehicles at the Illegal Assets Investigation Division in Narahenpita, Acting Police Chief also vowed to apprehend more..

Dec 19 (DM) Recommendations have been made to extend the implementation of the Wolbachia special dengue control project to all Medical Officers of Health Divisions in the Colombo and Gampaha districts. The initiative has proved successful in controlling dengue in the Colombo North Medical Officer of Health Division and therefore Chief of Presidential Staff Sagala Ratnayaka has offered guidance to the relevant authorities to extend the project. more..

Dec 19 (LSE) To reflect on Sri Lanka 75 years on from her independence is a strange exercise. One cannot resist the questions: Whose independence? Independence on whose terms? Has liberation been achieved? Who has been liberated? The complexities of Sri Lanka are multiple, a country that is still in conflict, in a period termed post-conflict, and now facing a severe economic crisis. This is a SL in which some voices are heard and more..

Dec 19 (FT) SJB Deputy General Secretary Mujibur Rahman warned that the Sri Lankan public will be left destitute in 2024. He noted the Govt has failed to reduce prices of essential goods during the holiday season and costs of essential commodities remain significantly high. “Despite assurances that essential items such as onions would be imported through diplomatic channels, this shows the inefficiency of the Govt. Why does the country need a Trade Minister to merely import goods?” he asked. more..

Dec 19 (AJ) Devmith Kaggodarachchi’s beachfront hotel in the southwestern coastal town of Hikkaduwa, a tourist hotspot 136km (85 miles) from the capital Colombo, is nearing full capacity. The three-star hotel, with air-conditioned rooms and private balconies looking into the Indian Ocean, is busy serving tourists visiting for the Christmas season. That is not how it’s been for SL’s tourism industry over the past four years. Tourist arrivals dropped drastically in 2019 after bombings more..

Dec 19 (DM) Condemning the recent remarks by Public Security Minister Tiran Alles on eliminating underworld and drug operatives on sight, legal experts of the bar yesterday said Sri Lanka is not a police state to eliminate criminals when a legal system is in place. President of the Bar Association of SL (BASL) Attorney Kaushalya Nawaratne told the Daily Mirror it was a very serious statement made by more..

Dec 19 (WION) In a significant strategic and diplomatic blow to China, SL has reportedly imposed a 12-month moratorium on granting permissions to foreign research vessels to operate in its waters. The Economic Times reported that the decision was taken in a bid to prevent Chinese research-cum-spy ships from docking at Lankan ports. "The govt is considering a year-long moratorium on granting permission for foreign research vessels to conduct surveys in SL waters or her EEZ," more..

Dec 19 (AD) Public Security Ministry has issued an Extraordinary Gazette revising the maximum fee for uploading images to the e-photo studio software system of the Department of Registration of Persons. As such, a registered photographer can charge a maximum fee of Rs. 400 to upload the ICAO standard compliance digital image of a person who applies to obtain an NIC or duplicate of the identity card after registration, and thereafter for issuing the Photographic Reference Slip more..

Dec 20 (DM) Sri Lankan economy expanded by 1.6% in the third quarter of this year, slowly emerging from one and half years of contraction. With the service sector picking up and manufacturing showing a seasonal hike, the fourth quarter may log 7-8% growth, partially compensating for the first two quarters of negative growth. The momentum is finally here, though given the extent of the economic rout in the first half, the economic growth of 2024 would be negative. more..

Dec 20 (ST) Budget 2024, which may well turn out to be one of the most pivotal in modern SL history, was passed by Parliament on Wednesday by a majority of 41 votes after nearly a month of intense debate. There were no surprises in the outcome after a division for the Third Reading of the Appropriation Bill (Budget) was called at about 6.40 pm as the final day’s debate on the Committee Stage came to a close. The vote yet again confirmed the comfortable majority the SLPP led govt continues to more..

Dec 20 (CT) The Global Tamil Forum (GTF) has long aimed to tackle SL’s National question, much like many other international Tamil organisations. Notably, GTF stands out for its commendable efforts in spearheading a national dialogue, bridging the gaps within the reconciliation process from time to time despite being proscribed twice by the SL Govt. Presently, a GTF-led team is actively engaged in Sri Lanka, more..

Dec 20 (CT) In recent revelations by Head of Quality Management Unit at Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children Dr. Mahinda Wickramarachchi, a grave concern has emerged regarding the health risks posed to children through the use of substandard imported school items and stationery. Potential presence of harmful heavy metals in pencils and colouring pencils, which do not comply with international safety standards, underscores the urgent need for a comprehensive and more..

Dec 20 (DM) Former Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake is reported to have assured hard-pressed oil palm cultivators in Matugama that he would persuade the govt to lift the ban on oil palm cultivations in Jan 2024. The cultivators had told him that they could rake in an annual profit of Rs. 75,000 per hectare if full-scale cultivation was allowed. Palm oil imports and the local cultivation of oil palm were banned in April 2021 by then Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa citing a CEA’s report more..

Dec 20 (TM) The State of Sri Lanka should respect and protect the rights of human rights defenders, individually and in association with others, for such activists to benefit from an effective remedy when their rights are allegedly violated. The State should accordingly ensure that there is no culture of impunity with respect to the violation of the rights of human rights defenders, and that those who violate such rights face more..

Dec 20 (TM) SL, a nation rich in history, culture, and natural beauty, finds itself at a crossroads. The country is grappling with a complex web of issues that have led to its downfall to wherever it is today. One prominent aspect contributing to this decline is the pervasive trend of blindly following political nuances and religious beliefs, resulting in a society being driven by selfish motives rather than altruism. Some reasons behind this situation are the impact of self-driven motives, more..

Dec 20 (Island) SLPP leaders bragged ad nauseam at their second National Convention on 15 Dec, that they were strong enough to overcome any challenges on the political front despite what they called some temporary setbacks. Basil Rajapaksa, speaking as the SLPP National Organiser, declared that his party was confident of winning all future elections! He went on to warn their political rivals not to threaten, or trifle with, the SLFP supporters. But no sooner had those boastful claims more..

Dec 20 (TM) Crime fighting in Sri Lanka, generally, remains as rather a primitive affair compared to other nations, with law enforcement often being more about theatrics and less on the number of successful processions. Taking low-level offenders off the streets is a daily function of the Police, and yes the jails and remand prisons are overflowing with them. What is lacking, is the captains of organised crime being brought to book and prosecuted effectively. more..

Dec 20 (ST) As part of their restructuring, Sri Lanka Cricket will transfer Jerome Jayaratne, the Chief Operating Officer, back to the high-performance center as requested by the newly appointed Consultant Coach Sanath Jayasuriya. Jayasuriya has accepted a newly created role to oversee both players and coaches at SLC’s high-performance center in Khettarama for a period of one year, focusing on individual skill development strategies for players and monitoring the coaching staff. more..

Dec 20 (FT) Senior Advisor to the President Sagala Ratnayaka on Monday countered the negative perception associated with the term diaspora in SL. He emphasised that being part of the diaspora does not make someone an extremist or anti-Sri Lankan and any Sri Lankan living in another country, regardless of ethnicity or religion, is part of the diaspora. Ratnayaka acknowledged historical events in SL that have created distance more..

Dec 20 (DN) 15th SL Junior Open Championship, sponsored by Prima and organized by the SL Golf Union and the Junior Sub-Committee for Golf, is set to kick off today at the Royal Colombo Golf Club. This much-anticipated tournament, with a groundbreaking 112 entries from various locations, will wrap up with the awards ceremony on Dec 22 at 3:30 PM. SL Golf proudly announced a diverse participant lineup, including ten players from India, one from Singapore, and a balanced more..

Dec 20 (EN) Ceylon Petroleum Corporation will call tenders to sell furnace oil and naptha produced at its refinery after heavy rains reduced fuel demand for power generation. The refinery is producing about 1,400 to 1,500 metric tonnes of naptha a day, but industrial customers, other than the CEB only bought about 200 to 300 metric tonnes a day. CPC had now stockpiled 69,000 metric tonnes of product and it only had about 90,000 metric tonnes of storage available. more..

Dec 20 (DM) Ceylinco Life conquered the Everest of Brand Excellence in SL this week, winning the company’s second successive Brand of the Year title and three other Golds at the SL Institute of Marketing (SLIM) awards on Dec 18. SL’s life insurance leader was also adjudged the country’s Service Brand of the Year, Local Brand of the Year and Agile Brand of the Year and won the overall Silver award for CSR Brand of the Year in an unprecedented victory of the most prestigious more..

Dec 20 (DN) “I have a more focused approach on High-Performance Unit and U-19 cricket and these two areas are very important to build up SL cricket,” said SLC’s Overall Consultant, Sanath Jayasuriya. Former skipper Jayasuriya, has taken on a new role, hoping to use his ability to develop cricket during the challenging period. “The new job is a challenge for me, but as usual, I am very keen to take up this challenge and give more than more..