Dec 2 (Island) Inconceivable, unbelievable, incomprehensible, unfathomable, unaccountable, perplexing and plain shocking are the terms that came to Cassandra’s mind as she read the stunning news that the Prez sacked the Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs on 27 Nov, who was on the trail of allegedly corrupt SLC office bearers. The President was not voted in but selected by the SLPP, when its leader President Gotabaya Rajapaksa stole away to Male and elsewhere in a blue funk for his life. more..

Dec 2 (FT) Colombo stock market yesterday began the festive month of December in green with both indices gaining by over 1%. The active S&P SL20 was up by 1.23% and the benchmark ASPI by 1.2%. Turnover was Rs. 962.2 million involving 38.7 million shares. During the week the ASPI and the S&P SL20 gained 1.8% and 2.2% respectively whilst recording an average daily turnover of Rs. 982 million. ASPI continued its positive momentum for a third consecutive session on Friday and more..

Dec 2 (FT) In an open letter addressed to the Commissioner General of the Inland Revenue Department (IRD), Lanka Tax Founder Mahesh Yogarajan has appealed for an extension of the tax return submission deadline, citing recent system errors that affected many taxpayers. The request comes following the IRD circulating that taxpayers facing difficulties in filing their returns due to system errors more..

Dec 2 (FT) In its December edition, leading business magazine LMD reports that business confidence has plummeted to a 15-month low. It elaborates: “Biz confidence has nosedived. And we may have to tighten our seatbelts and prepare for a hard landing when businesspeople take cognisance of the 2024 Budget proposals presented in Parliament on 13 November.” The magazine notes that the Business Confidence Index (BCI) shed 17 basis points in November, to fall to 58. more..

Dec 2 (DM) A Fundamental Rights Petition has been filed on Tuesday before the Supreme Court seeking an order suspending the implementation of a decision taken by the Constitutional Council (CC) calling for a report from the Chief Justice regarding certain Judges of the Court of Appeal. The petition alleged that the CC had taken this decision in the context of those Judges being nominated by the President for appointment to the Supreme Court and different positions of the Court of Appeal. more..

Dec 2 (ST) Uncertainty continues in the electrical and electronic items market in view of the revision of VAT in January. Vendors and businessmen expressed concerns over price fluctuations and reduced purchasing power as salaries have not increased relative to the cost of living. Merchants expect sales to drop as the prices of newly imported electrical items rise due to VAT. They also expect greater availability of more..

Dec 2 (DN) In a bid to secure spots for four swimmers at the World Aquatic Championship in Doha in Feb 2024, the Sri Lanka Aquatic Sports Union (SLASU) is set to conduct a Selection Trial at the Sugathadasa Stadium Swimming Pool today (Saturday) starting from 8:30 AM for a three-hour duration. Sri Lanka has the opportunity to send two male and two female swimmers to the World Aquatics Championship in the Qatari capital, Doha, scheduled from February 2 to 18, 2024. more..

Dec 2 (DN) Susal de Silva and Oshini Gunawardhana won runner-up positions in the Western Asian Juniors and Girls Rapid Chess Championship held on Nov 29 at the Board of Investors Auditorium, World Trade Centre. Susal de Silva, a student from Nalanda College, clinched the second runner-up spot after a four-way tie for the championship with 5.5/7 points. The title went to International Master GB Harshavardhan of India, with Vepaly Halynyazow of Turkmenistan more..

Dec 2 (DN) Dialog Axiata, the first telecommunications service provider in the South Asian region to demonstrate 5G capabilities in 2018, has enabled over 200K Sri Lankans to experience the power of 5G on Dialog’s 5G Trial network. Customers connecting to Dialog’s 5G trial network can get the opportunity to experience the extraordinary potential of 5G technology, along with download and upload speeds of up to 1Gbps. Further, Dialog Roaming customers more..

Dec 2 (DN) Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said in Parliament yesterday (01) that the Cabinet has approved the import of 100,000 metric tons of keeri samba rice for the upcoming festive season. The Minister also stated that the Govt decided to import 50,000 metric tons of rice under the first phase and sell it only under the intervention of the state. He said this while replying to the question asked by Member of Parliament Rohana Bandara expecting oral answers. more..

Dec 2 (DN) Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is expected to get new trainer and physiotherapist for the National team to focus on next year National team assignments . SLC CEO Ashley de Silva has confirmed National team Trainer Grant Ludan and Physiotherapist Chris Clarke have already resigned form their respective posts after recently concluded ICC world cup cricket tournament held in India. Both of them had to complete two year contract more..

Dec 2 (AD) The Meteorology Department says the depression over southwest Bay of Bengal is located near latitude 10.3°N and longitude 85.3°E, at 11:30 p.m. on Friday (Dec 1) and about 490km northeast of Trincomalee. It is likely to develop into a deep depression during next 12 hours and further into a cyclonic storm by tomorrow (Dec 3). The system is expected to move west - northwestward near North coast of Sri Lanka towards North Tamil Nadu coast of India by Tuesday (Dec 5). more..

Dec 2 (AD) US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung has raised concerns pertaining to the continued use of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), highlighting the importance of the need to protect certain fundamental freedoms. In a post on ‘X’, formerly known as Twitter, Ambassador Chung raised concerns over the repeated use of the controversial legislation as a tool for the arrest of peaceful protesters and the inhumane treatment of detainees in prison. more..

Dec 2 (Island) Mahendraraja Gopalswamy alias Mahattaya, the deputy of the defeated LTTE, has been left out of its Heroes list displayed in Nallur, Jaffna, during the recent Mahaveer Naal celebrations. Sources based in Jaffna said that Mahattaya, who had been executed on Dec 28, 1994, on orders of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, wasn’t included in the list. Mahattaya was put to death after LTTE found him guilty of serving India’s premier intelligence agency more..

Dec 2 (DM) The judiciary is yet to respond formally to the request by Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana as the head of the Constitution Council to submit the details related to the performance of judges nominated to be picked for key positions. Earlier, Speaker wrote to Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya requesting him to submit such details such as the performance of the Judge concerned in terms of the number of Judgments delivered and pending delivery for the last more..

Dec 2 (EN) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe strongly pushed for a Climate Justice Forum (CJF) and investments in Tropical Belt and criticised the slow action against climate change-led disasters at the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) held in Dubai. This year’s climate summit features a raft of issues for countries working to find common ground in tackling climate change, including whether to phase out fossil fuels and more..

Dec 2 (DM) President Ranil Wickremesinghe, acting in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, has officially announced the imposition of the Special Commodity Levy on a range of goods, effective today (01). The presidential directive, communicated through a special govt notification, indicates that the levy will remain in effect until Dec 31, 2024, subject to the provisions outlined in Sub Section (3) of Section of the Special Commodity Levy Act, No.48 of 2007. more..

Dec 2 (DN) A group of young Pakistani females accompanied by their male manager, who had been brought into SL by a local man claiming to be a filmmaker and had exploited them to work as belly dancers at a Colombo nightclub, was rescued by the Dept of Immigration and Emigration yesterday. The immigration dept’s investigation division on information took six Pakistani females and a male whilst remaining in an apartment in Dehiwala. They had arrived in the country on Sept 18, more..

Dec 2 (AD) The Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court on Friday ordered for former Sri Lankan cricketer Sachithra Senanayake to assist in the ongoing investigations concerning his match-fixing allegations. Accordingly, Senanayake was ordered to assist the Govt Analyst, when requested by the police to do so. The order was issued when a complaint filed by the Special Investigations Unit of the Sports Ministry was taken up in court more..

Dec 3 (SO) The Budget 2024 presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe contained many progressive proposals. Among them was a proposal to revise the opening hours of liquor outlets (commonly called Wine Stores in this country, though they hardly sell any wine per se), which can now be opened only from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., except on designated excise holidays. Restaurants and bars with liquor permits can remain open till 11 p.m. However, many analysts have pointed out more..

Dec 3 (TM) With the dawn of the festive season, elaborate plans are being drawn up to light up Colombo with decorative illuminations imported from China. But the intentions behind it are not lost on a people strangulated by economic hardship brought upon by the economic crisis. Last week it was announced that Colombo would be lit up from the Presidential Secretariat up to Duplication Road in Colpetty to mirror Singapore’s famed Orchard Road. The announcement led to an outpouring of more..

Dec 3 (TM) Amidst the ongoing political chaos in the country with the sacking of a minister and appointment of new ministers while preparations are underway for national-level elections next year, the Ranil Wickremesinghe Govt was able to take a breather last week with the Official Creditor Committee (OCC) confirming its agreement in principle on specific financing terms to restructure SL’s debt in line with debt restructuring more..

Dec 3 (CT) Prez Wickremesinghe has now made repeated assurances that the presidential and parliamentary elections will be held in 2024. Financial allocations for the two elections were also announced in parliament. Parliamentary elections are expected to come first, apparently in March 2024, according to news reports citing sources close to the President. Let us assume that the sources are correct and start the political countdown before the official call is made early in the new year. more..

Dec 3 (Island) Following the unceremonious axing of Roshan Ranasinghe as Sports Minister, you expected a few celebrations at Maitland Place. However, the celebrations have been muted. While most Sports Ministers had played ball with SLC, Ranasinghe had turned out to be the cricket establishment’s bete noire. Harin Ferando had a brief spell as Sports Minister from 2018 to 2019 and he had endorsed the current establishment during his previous stint. more..

Dec 3 (SO) In an interview, UPF Leader and MP, Patali Champika Ranawaka, provides a thorough analysis of the current Budget and economic landscape in Sri Lanka. Q: As a representative of an independent party, how do you assess the current Budget? A: This budget lacks realism. The projected income appears unattainable and falls short of covering expenses. Doubts also arise regarding the anticipated foreign funds. more..

Dec 3 (Island) What has been widely described as the historic Supreme Court judgment which by a majority 4-1 decision of a five-judge bench held the Rajapaksa brothers, Mahinda, Gotabaya and Basil and other unelected officials including two past Governors of the Central Bank, a former Secretary to the President, a former Treasury Secretary and some members of the Central Bank Monetary Board responsible for landing the country in its current economic predicament. more..

Dec 3 (SO) Cricket business will be in full swing and its high flying untouchable keepers up to the same old closed door dealings with the war on corruption reaching a seemingly fearful anti-climax. Presently neither the media nor the common followers of Sri Lanka’s cricket team know what to expect other than witness the campaign to clean up a bigger than life system that offers a free run for administrators brought down to zero. SLC the private keeper of the public property wasted no time in putting out more..

Dec 3 (Island) In an earlier article I had written about the return of might is right to int'l geopolitics affecting for example Ukraine and Palestine. In both cases ambitions of imperial expansion by powerful nations is being met with resistance from the weaker neighbour in favour of values of freedom and territorial integrity. Political science students and military strategists are much influenced today by the notion of the Thucydides Trap coined by Graham Allison in his book more..

Dec 3 (EN) UGC is of the view to boost the number of Information Technology (IT) related degrees in state universities with an aim to pave the way for a digital economy. Sri Lanka’s higher education system has been producing more graduates in Arts stream while the degrees in highly demanded IT and other engineering services are being looked at only now. “We do have a high demand for engineering, science, AI, computer and electronical engineering studies,” more..

Dec 3 (TM) Another unsolicited proposal from a Chinese company to build a floating solar plant on Malwathu Oya is currently under evaluation by the Irrigation Ministry. It is reliably learnt that the proposal had been submitted to the ministry last week. Irrigation Ministry Secretary confirmed that the ministry had received a proposal for a floating solar plant on Malwathu Oya and that it was currently under evaluation. more..

Dec 3 (AD) Officials of the Excise Dept told the Sectoral Oversight Committee (SOC) on National Economic and Physical Plans that its monthly revenue has increased by Rs. 1 billion after raids to crack down on fake stickers on liquor bottles. This was mentioned when the SOC on National Economic and Physical Plans met in Parliament last week under the chairmanship of MP Mahindananda Aluthgamage. Excise Dept, Inland Revenue Department and SL Customs were more..

Dec 3 (DM) Some 938 metric tons of plastic are generated in SL every day, the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Sustainable Development revealed recently. Committee revealed that only 32% of the generated amount is collected and only 4% of the collected plastic is mechanically recycled. Officials pointed out that even if the rest is collected, it is being disposed of informally in the environment. This was discussed when the Committee met at P'ment recently, more..

Dec 3 (TM) SL Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) has defended the introduction of Minimum Room Rates (MRRs), claiming that the decision is backed by sound evidence on the benefits to the economy and pointing to the increased revenue observed by hoteliers after the MRR came into effect from 1 Oct. Following the introduction of the MRR, the 44 hotels located within Colombo City that were subjected to the relevant gazette had reported an increase in revenue of over $ 1.7 million. more..

Dec 3 (EN) The first review of SL’s IMF program is scheduled to go the lender’s Executive Board for consideration on Dec 12. SL officials were expecting the review to be completed in December as soon as official creditors gave their assurances. According to the notice SL had missed one performance criterion and has requested modifications. SL has outperformed on a number of quantity targets including inflation. In addition to quantity PCs there was also one non-accumulation of arrears. more..

Dec 3 (PMD) In a momentous move, Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe has presented the Climate Justice Forum (CJF) at COP28, in Dubai, UAE today (2) emphasizing the critical importance of addressing climate issues with a sense of justice and equity. The President was joined by prominent figures such as the former Prez of Maldives, Mohammed Nasheed, Minister of Health of Uganda, Dr. Aceng Jane Ruth and more..