Apr 22 (DM) Israel’s misguided (as the US Prez chooses to call it) attack on the Iranian Consulate in Syria, the retaliatory strikes by Iran on Israel and counter-strikes by Israel on Iran have set West Asia (referred to as the Middle East by the US and the West) in flames. By these actions, the taboo against direct attacks on each other has now disappeared. If there is another round-a conflict over Iran’s nuclear advances or another strike by Israel on Iranian military officers more..

Apr 21 (ST) The National New Year holidays are over but normal life is yet to return to normal in most areas. In Greater Colombo, most shops, and restaurants, like in other provincial towns, remained shut. One of the main reasons has been the inability of transport services to bring back those who had gone mostly to their homes. The rush was far too heavy, and they could not cope. An example was those travelling from Kandy more..

Apr 21 (ST) Iran’s Prez Ebrahim Raisi will arrive in the country as previously scheduled on Wednesday for an overnight state visit when he will also inaugurate the Uma Oya Multipurpose Development Project along with Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe. Though neither the Foreign Ministry nor the Iranian embassy in Colombo have confirmed the dates of the state visit, govt sources said they were going ahead with the visit as previously scheduled. The visit will include official talks between more..

Apr 21 (Island) Russian Embassy in Colombo, on Friday stated that it possesses no information regarding the involvement of SL citizens in the Ukrainian conflict on the Russian side, as well as any data on potential numbers of such individuals. Commenting on recent newspaper articles, the embassy said they are not aware of a local recruiting agency that hires Sri Lankans to fight for Russia under false pretenses and promises. Embassy also denied any connections with the return to SL more..

Apr 21 (Nikkei) Having hit a roadblock with international bondholders, uncertainty looms over the economy of crisis-hit SL and an upcoming review by the IMF, experts warn. South Asian island country announced on Tuesday that it has failed to strike an agreement with international bondholders on restructuring more than $12 billion in debt, a mandatory requirement set out by the IMF. Colombo-based economist Talal Rafi more..

Apr 21 (CT) With a special notification by Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe, over Rs 320 million has been allocated to six members of the SJB for development projects through decentralised proposals. In addition to the proposals presented by the district coordination committees for regional development projects in the decentralised budget programme 2024, it was revealed that Prez has instructed to release the allocations for the implementation of the development project proposals submitted more..

Apr 21 (TM) Despite earlier stipulations that all those above the age of 18 years must register for a Tax Identification Number (TIN) before 1 April, the deadline is no longer operational. A high-level official at the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) said that the Govt understood that the public needed some time to obtain the TIN, and therefore, while TINs were being issued for those who applied, the earlier mandatory deadline was no longer functional. Meanwhile, IRD General Employees’ Union more..

Apr 21 (CT) Major political parties are gearing up for May Day and are planning to hold their respective rallies on a grand scale, with the aim of demonstrating their strength with elections on the horizon. The organising committees of these parties are, in a bid to outdo one another, currently working tirelessly to draw the largest possible crowds to their respective rallies in Colombo on 1 May. Particularly, SLPP, SJB, NPP and UNP have expanded their organising networks, prioritising more..

Apr 21 (DM) Two female passengers of the Republic of Guinea who tried to enter SL by carrying Rs. 20 million worth of swallowed cocaine in their abdomens were intercepted by the Customs this morning. Officials of the Customs Narcotic Control Unit stationed at Arrival Terminal of the BIA questioned the foreigners on suspicion to realize that they had swallowed capsules containing cocaine. Authorities have managed to retrieve 29 and 11 capsules containing 500 grams of cocaine more..

Apr 21 (TM) The National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) is grappling with a severe shortage of around 30 vacancies in its laboratory, compromising its ability to conduct thorough quality tests on imported medicines. NMRA Chairman Dr. Ananda Wijewickrama said that the authority’s National Medicines Quality Assurance Laboratory (NMQAL), which conducts laboratory testing to determine the quality of medicines, more..

Apr 21 (ST) SLC has parted ways with Naveed Nawaz, the assistant coach of the national team, as his two-year contract came to an end this month. Nawaz, entrusted with the crucial role of team batting, departs amidst scrutiny of his performance. Having donned the SL jersey in Tests and ODIs previously, Nawaz transitioned to coaching, initially leading the Bangladesh U-19 team to glory in the U-19 Cricket World Cup in 2020. His appointment as assistant to Englishman Chris Silverwood more..

Apr 21 (DM) A 33-year-old pilgrim who climbed to Sri Pada went missing after he jumped off the protective fence at the Ratnapura-Sri Pada route at the Uda Maluwa. The victim was identified as a resident of Sooriyawewa, Hambantota. He had visited the Sri Pada with two other women yesterday (19) and as recorded on CCTV cameras, the man had suddenly ran down and jumpped off the protective fence while he was climbing down along Ratnapura-Sri Pada route. more..

Apr 21 (ST) SL could be facing another financial crisis with fund raising issues mainly from borrowings commencing by mid this year with political stagnation and periodic economic crises being the norm as in the past, a confidential report of the Finance Ministry revealed. The report has already been submitted to Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe who is also the country’s finance minister issuing a warning that the ability to raise funds from domestic borrowings more..

Apr 21 (ST) SL and its external bondholders are under immense compulsion to reach a consensus on the US$ 12 billion sovereign debt in the next few weeks by mid-May or early June before the country’s prez/general elections this year, Finance Ministry sources affirmed. But if an agreement on external debt restructure is not reached by June, SL’s elections may complicate the negotiations or, delay the debt restructure deal till 2025, a former treasury secretary, who has wide knowledge more..

Apr 21 (ST) Alleged irregularities within the Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminal Company’s (CPSTL) and its fuel distribution system has had an indirect impact on fuel consumption data countrywide which was a significant drop due to a decline in demand, Ministry of Power and Energy sources highlighted. CPSTL is a joint venture between CPC and LIOC, responsible for receiving fuel from ships, storing it and distributing it more..

Apr 21 (EN) Five years on, Sri Lanka’s Easter Sunday bombings has left us with more questions than answers. Both the Gotabaya Rajapaksa government and now the Ranil Wickremesinghe tenure has been shown up poorly in terms of ensuring the masterminds and those who failed to prevent the bombings are bought to book. As one sifts through various reports and discussions on the Easter Sunday bombings which took the lives of 315 and injured at least 600, one must, more..

Apr 21 (SO) SL may consider lifting the import ban of motor vehicles next year as the country’s economic situation is improving with foreign reserves almost reaching USD 5 billion, said Chief of Staff to the Prez, Sagala Ratnayake. “As the country’s economic landscape has improved, the ‘would be’ import bill for motor vehicles is not a big amount that the country should worry about. “But our concern is the protection of the local motor industry which is now making great progress.” more..

Apr 21 (CT) Prez Maithirpala Sirisena, who was also the Commander-in-Chief and Defence Minister, was apparently receiving medical treatment in Singapore when SL’s deadliest single day of terrorist violence and its first experience of Muslim-on-Christian mass violence took place on 21 April 2019. When considering the colossal damage caused by this manmade disaster on a single day, in a country that fought a 3-decade civil war, more..

Apr 21 (EN) Softlogic group has begun restructuring its debt and is seeking investors for hotels and ODEL retail project, while also selling off assets, according to its annual report for the year to March 2023. Softlogic group, which has interests in retail, hotels, finance and healthcare, posted a loss of 24.07 billion rupees for the year to March 2023, up from 8.1 billion a year earlier. Group revenues including insurance fell to 96.8 billion rupees from 111.2 billion rupees, more..

Apr 21 (SO) From a once competitive force in Asia, Sri Lanka now finds itself among the poorest of the poor in the sport of rugby at a four-nation championship called the Asia Rugby Division One tournament to be played from April 30 to May 4 at the Race Course ground in Colombo. Having ended as one of the best teams in Asia behind Japan and South Korea in the 1990s at what was called the Asiad, Sri Lanka struggling to be in the scrum will now take pride to be pitted against Qatar, more..

Apr 21 (TM) Trinity College, Kandy and Nalanda College, Colombo are set to clash in the 44th First XI cricket encounter at the Nalanda College Campbell Place Grounds on 26 and 27 April. The prestigious Mahela-Sanga Challenge Trophy will be up for grabs in this highly-anticipated match. The annual cricket encounter between Trinity and Nalanda has been a staple in the school cricket calendar since its inception in 1978. Named after two cricketing legends, Mahela Jayawardene and more..

Apr 21 (Island) Young fast bowling sensation Mathesha Pathirana is rocking India. His deadly death over bowling efforts for Chennai Super Kings had made him an overnight sensation last season. Madras fans are beginning to love him even more this season after he blew away arch-rivals Mumbai Indians with a four-wicket haul during Sunday’s double header. Such was his impact at Wankhede on Sunday that it felt unreal. Coming on to bowl the eighth over of the innings, more..

Apr 21 (ST) The move to allocate more than Rs. 300 million from the decentralised budget funds to a group of MPs from an opposition party on the instructions of Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe has set off alarm bells within that party’s hierarchy. The funds had been allocated following special instructions from the Prez and given to several of this party’s MPs who have good relations with him, sources said. more..

Apr 21 (Island) As Sri Lankans took time off to mark the national New Year last week, Iran launched a spectacle of drone and missile attacks against Israel. This was the first direct attack by Iran on Israel after the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Until now Iran has been using proxies to harass Israel – the Shiite Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Hamas and other groups among the Palestinians. Iran’s attack was more a spectacle than a serious punch and was intended as a retaliatory response to Israel’s Apr1 airstrike more..

Apr 21 (Island) The death last week of Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne, who founded and led the Sarvodaya movement in SL after a long life of 92 years, has robbed the country of a colossus of his generation. His own name, as well as that of the organization he created is very well known to everybody in all homes across the length and breadth of the country. A small made, soft spoken personality with a shock of white hair and an ever present smile, he had a face that could best be described by more..

Apr 21 (ST) My dear Satellite, I am writing to you after some time. That is after seeing you back in the limelight after many years, dabbling again in the affairs of the Blue Party. The last we heard, you had intervened successfully in court to obtain an order preventing Aiyo Sirisena from functioning as the Chairman of your Party. Honestly, I don’t know what your motives were. We understand if you felt you had to intervene to save the Party founded by your father and nurtured during difficult times by more..

Apr 21 (ST) Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi is due in Sri Lanka next week on a rare state visit abroad—unless unsettled circumstances in war-torn West Asia overtake events. Unlike in other constitutional presidencies, the Iranian Prez is not the numero uno of his country. That honour goes to its Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei who never leaves the country. Thus, the significance of the Prez’s visit. The G-7 countries (US and its allies) began making diplomatic noises about the timing of the visit more..

Apr 21 (CT) It has been five years since the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attack. Just like that fateful day, today’s fifth anniversary also falls on a Sunday. Despite the passage of time, numerous questions remain unanswered. It is no secret that the tragic events of that day had a significant impact on the political landscape, leading to the election of ousted Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the 2019 Prez Election and subsequent landslide victory in more..

Apr 21 (TM) One cannot help but ask MP Dullas Alahapperuma as to why he waited so long to urge former Presidents to bow out from active politics. If anyone puts this question to him, they cannot be faulted. Alahapperuma said recently that former Presidents Chandrika Kumaratunga, Mahinda Rajapaksa (MR), Maithripala Sirisena, and Gotabaya Rajapaksa (GR) should keep away from politics for their own health and for the sake of the people. Public funds which were spent on them more..

Apr 21 (CT) Today marks the fifth anniversary of the most devastating and deadliest suicide bombing SL has ever experienced. On 21 April 2019, a series of coordinated suicide bomb attacks targeted three churches and three luxury hotels in the commercial capital of the country, killing 269 persons and injuring over 500 others. In the five years since the Easter Sunday massacre, the fateful incident has been the centre of much discussions, debates and controversies in politics, communities and more..

Apr 21 (TM) As the country gradually moves out of the more than 10-day-long New Year holidays, a section of the nation continues to await justice for the havoc wreaked on their lives and loved ones by the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks. Today (21) marks five years since the dastardly attacks that also resulted in putting Sri Lanka on a politically – and eventually a socially and economically – devastating path in the aftermath. more..

Apr 21 (TM) Over a century ago, when the initial rumblings to obtain adult franchise in then British-ruled Ceylon surfaced, the Governor at the time, McCallum, made a pertinent observation, noting the immaturity of the electorate to appoint suitable people to represent them in matters of governance. Governor McCallum believed that the adult Ceylonese – above the age of 18 – were not mature enough to understand the concept of democratic governance and therefore were incapable more..