May 15 (FT) The historic Cathedral Quarter Hotel in St. Mary’s Gate Derby city centre in the UK has been bought by Lavendish Leisure, a firm owned by Sri Lanka’s Dedigama Group, a family owned, and managed diversified conglomerate. Reports from UK media said the Grade II-listed Cathedral Quarter Hotel in St Mary's Gate has been bought by Rashmi Dedigama and Peter Karan of Lavendish Leisure, a subsidiary of the Dedigama Group, for an undisclosed amount. more..

May 15 (DN) Paceman Nisala Tharaka finished with excellent figures of 6 for 42 as Sri Lanka ‘A’ recorded an innings and 26 run win over Afghanistan ‘A’ in their four day cricket game played at P. Sara Oval Stadium yesterday. It was a fine team effort by SL ‘A’ team led by Pasindu Sooriyabandara while Afghanistan ‘A in their follow on continued from 108 for 2 wickets overnight but Sri Lanka A bowlers from the beginning put more pressure while Nisala Tharaka SSC paceman was leading the way more..

May 15 (TM) Former SL skipper Angelo Mathews, speaking moments before the national team’s departure to the US for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup on Monday (13), was buoyant of his teammates’ ability to make their presence felt in the month-long event. “I think we were involved in some good preparatory work, during the past few weeks,” he told reporters gathered at the SSC grounds, before the team’s official send-off at the SLC. more..

May 15 (SO) There is overwhelming investor interest in the proposed 600-acre industrial zone in Trincomalee, said Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Chairman Keith D. Bernard. This zone is to be developed jointly by the SLPA and the Board of Investment (BOI). He said that global fertiliser producing companies along with solar products manufacturing firms and others industrial related companies have already expressed interest towards this Special Economic Zone (SEZ). more..

May 15 (FT) National Development Bank said it commenced the financial year on a positive note, with resilient performance for the first quarter of the year ended 31 March 2024. NDB’s CEO Kelum Edirisinghe commented that the Bank continued to face challenges on relatively low credit demand due to subdued economic activity. “Strong alignment to our strategic blueprint built on three core focus areas viz. optimizing cost of funds, enhancing fee based income through transaction banking and more..

May 15 (TM) In light of the Govt’s recent gazette notification that increased the daily wage of plantation sector workers to Rs. 1,700, plantation sector workers have provisionally halted the ongoing protests demanding that their daily wage be increased up to Rs. 2,000. Trade unions representing the sector assert that their protests have not, however, come to an end, and that their target of Rs.2,000 per day remains same. more..

May 15 (FT) Commercial Bank of Ceylon Group said yesterday it has ended the first quarter of 2024 with a loan book of Rs. 1.316 trillion, continuing the Bank’s focus on lending in a period where the appreciation of the Rupee negatively impacted the value of the loan book and resulted in a contraction of the balance sheet. In a statement, the Bank said the Group reported a net increase of Rs. 20 billion in its loan book in the first three months of the year and Rs. 129 billion in the 12 months more..

May 15 (TM) Family Health Bureau (FHB) of the Health Ministry said that it is working to recruit 1,000 new midwives to address the issue of a shortfall in available personnel. The move comes following observations made by medical trade unions and professional organisations that the national family and maternal healthcare system is facing a risk of collapse due to a dire shortage of midwives. FHB Director Dr. Chithramalee de Silva explained that the situation is not as critical as shown by more..

May 15 (Island) Election Commission announced, late last week, the conducting of a presidential election, between 17 Sept and the 16 Oct 2024, in accordance with the Constitution and the relevant statute, The announcement comes as no surprise since the term of office of former Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa, being served out as Prez by his second PM, Ranil Wickremesinghe ends on 17 Nov. The next Prez needs to be elected at least one month before the end of the term, giving the newly more..

May 15 (ST) The next electricity tariff revision, which is done once every three months, is due to be carried out in July, according to the Public Utilities Commission of SL (PUCSL) Chairman, Prof Manjula Fernando. He said the tariff revision would depend on the intensity of the southwest monsoon rains expected by the end of this month. Prof. Fernando said CEB was expected to submit its tariff plan to PUCSL by May 1. However, CEB sources said the utility had requested more time to factor more..

May 15 (ST) Academic work across all universities has been brought to a standstill due to an ongoing strike led by non-academic staff. The strike began at noon on Thursday. Non-academics are complaining that their salaries have been cut by 15% and that monthly allowances have not been increased. Peradeniya Uni’s Deputy VC, Prof. Terrance Madhujith, said that given the coronavirus epidemic and the economic collapse, more..

May 15 (FT) PickMe has crossed digital borders and will take the ride hailing market by storm with the launch of their latest technology partnership, JumJum (Let’s Go) in Nepal, a country where 78% of 3.22 million vehicles registered are motorcycles. Named as the Motorcycle city, Kath-mandu Valley claims to have over a million motorcycles on their busy roads. PickMe’s CEO Jiffry Zulfer said it made perfect sense to launch their services for Nepal’s motorcycle segment. more..

May 15 (DM) Media reports have been circulating of SL ex-military personnel being involved in the Russo-Ukraine conflict. With the war raging in Ukraine, many Ukrainian males of military age have fled to neighbouring EU countries to avoid military service. It should not be unexpected that recruiters would seek battle-hardened military men from foreign lands. Our country with a large number of battle-hardened troops either idling in camps or having deserted military service is therefore more..

May 15 (Island) The SLFP is embroiled in a legal mess again, with the Sirisena faction and its rivals obtaining enjoining orders against each other at a rate. It however is no stranger to internecine internal clashes, which have plagued it for the past four decades or so. Even the members of the Bandaranaike family fought among themselves, and their clashes got down and dirty. The latest legal battle over the SLFP leadership has taken a dramatic turn. more..

May 15 (TM) The lifesaving, 24/7 functioning, Suwa Seriya ambulance service established in 2018 is once again under the spotlight, struggling to sustain the critical service it offers the nation. The fact that this matter has not been taken up by the Govt more diligently highlights the poor track record of prioritisation the Govt has on many topics. Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe recently announced the allocation of Rs 1 billion for next year (2025) to research on the relationship between more..

May 15 (TM) As rain clouds gather overhead and the monsoon season looms, Colombo finds itself at a critical juncture, grappling with the dual challenges of blocked waterways and impending floods. Against the backdrop of invasive vegetation clogging drains and streams, concerns mount regarding the city’s preparedness to withstand the deluge. The activation of the monsoon season in the country serves as a serious reminder more..

May 15 (DM) Like the rest of his ilk in this part of the world, Mahinda Rajapaksa overstayed his welcome in the power. He ran the economy to the ground as he did with the national carrier, which he re-nationalized out of a fit of rage after its Emirates management refused to deplane fee-levying passengers to make room for his entourage. He tried on a dynastic power grab that went spectacularly wrong, ending in the worst-ever financial crisis since the independence. more..

May 15 (DM) Abolish the National List; empower the electorate to choose their representatives. The current system is flawed, with party leaders and secretaries often lacking insight. They appoint individuals with dubious backgrounds, including terrorists and non-citizens, merely for financial gain. This practice undermines the credibility of our democratic principles and turns them into a farce. Let’s restore integrity to our electoral process by allowing people to have a direct say in more..

May 15 (DM) The construction of the phase from Kottawa to Pinnaduwa- of the project titled Expressway Network of SL- was completed in 2011. During its construction, a medical student died as a result of a minor collapse of a bridge on the expressway in 2008. This incident sparked widespread concern regarding the quality and reliability of this expressway facility. Although the concept of expressways was relatively new to Lankans more..

May 15 (CT) It was troubling enough that we were sending thousands of Sri Lankan farmers to Israel – a country that is currently making the world the worst it has ever been and afflicting inhumane conditions upon people who do not deserve any part of this suffering – on a govt-to-govt agreement, that we learnt of, more SL nationals are flying off to another war-torn zone. This comes against the backdrop of extreme economic challenges Sri Lanka has been dealing with for the past several months more..

May 15 (ST) Shoot the messenger! That’s what the authorities initially planned against Sandaru Kumarasinghe, who – as they call it in colloquial Sinhala – created a huta pattey (commotion) at the BIA the other day. This was after a glitch in the immigration systems saw long queues of foreigners waiting impatiently to process their visas. Kumarasinghe’s Russian girlfriend was also in the queue sweating it out with others which eventually led to immigration officials taking control of more..

May 14 (AD) The non-academic staff of state universities have decided to withdraw from the essential services of the university system including water and electricity services from today (14). The strike action launched by the Joint Committee of Uni Trade Unions continued for the 13th consecutive day today, citing wage issues. Although the proposals concerning the monthly allowance and wage disparities of university non-academic staff was tabled during the Cabinet meeting more..

May 14 (EN) Public sector unions in SL have urged the govt to add 20,000 rupees to their basic salaries as opposed to ad hoc allowances to reflect increased living costs. Representatives from a number of public sector trade unions called for an increase in their basic pay. “There are many expenses that govt workers cannot afford such as transport costs, children’s education fees, inflation caused by various taxes, all of which they have had to bear under severe strain,” he said. more..

May 14 (EN) In a new twist to the controversial VFS Global visa deal which has shaken the country’s tourism sector, immigration and security ministry officials have dodged summons by the Committee of Public Finance. The COPF expressed deep displeasure after officials of the Dept of Immigration and Emigration and the Ministry of Public Security failed to turn up at a meeting, the statement said. more..

May 14 (DM) MP Chandima Weerakkody said he got to know that vehicle permits for MPs had been passed according to the request of the govt. He told Parliament that most people were expecting to import vehicles but the govt claimed that vehicles could be imported next year. "Most people are expecting to import vehicles. But, the govt said vehicles can be imported only next year. However, I heard that MPs' permits have been passed following your request" he told govt MPs in Parliament. more..

May 14 (DM) As higher rainfall spreads across the country and the southwest monsoon activates after May 20, temperatures, which have risen to a caution level for human comfort, are expected to decrease, Meteorology Dept said. They said higher rainfall would be experienced in most of the parts of the country. Accordingly, due to a low-level atmospheric disturbance, heavy rainfall of more than 100mm is likely after 1 p.m. in the Central, Sabaragamuwa, Eastern, Southern and Uva provinces more..

May 14 (Island) Professor Prathibha Mahanamahewa of the Colombo Law Faculty emphasised over the weekend the need for a robust civil movement to play a significant role in shaping national policies and fortifying the rule of law. Mahanamahewa insisted on the responsibility on the part of such a movement to pressure the powers that be to address growing concerns of the public. Mahanamahewa said so on Saturday more..

May 14 (CT) The Police have, over the weekend, gathered information on nearly 179,000 temporary residents from across the country. Investigations have revealed that many individuals involved in drug trafficking are currently residing in temporary accommodations such as rented houses, rooms and shops located outside the Police Divisions where their permanent addresses are registered. On the instructions of IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon, a nationwide operation, to gather information more..

May 14 (PTI) India on Tuesday extended the ban imposed on the LTTE by five more years for fostering a separatist tendency amongst the masses and enhancing the support base for it in the country, particularly in Tamil Nadu, besides threatening the territorial integrity of India. The Union Home Ministry imposed the ban invoking the sub-sections (1) and (3) of section 3 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. In a notification, the home ministry noted that the LTTE is an association based in SL more..

May 14 (DM) Fifteen motorcyclists involved in dangerous riding for money bets on the Galle Road in Bambalapitiya, Colombo were fined Rs. 427,500 and had their driving licenses suspended for six months by the Colombo Traffic Court today. The Bambalapitiya Police arrested these motorcyclists early morning on May 5 and released them on police bail after processing at the police station. The suspects, aged between 20 and 28, are residents of Colombo and its surrounding areas. more..

May 14 (DM) Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu met representatives of the NPP last evening at the Galle Face Hotel. US Ambossodor to SL Julie Chung and NPP MP Vijitha Herath, NPP Executive Committee Members Nalinda Jayatissa and Wasantha Samarasinghe attended the meeting. The matters concerning the current economic situation in SL, involvement of the IMF, ensuring the integrity of electoral processes, and security dynamics more..