May 14 (CT) The operations of the newly established Office of International Trade (OIT), located at the Presidential Secretariat, have been hampered due to the lack of required staff, COPF Chairman Dr. Harsha de Silva informed Parliament. The OIT was established, on the instructions of Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe, with the intention of handling all international trade negotiations. Dr. de Silva said according to A.G. Weerasinghe, more..

May 14 (EN) Hiring retired armed forces personnel by some private estate owners has led to violent actions against workers, Minister Jeevan Thondaman has said after an incident in Ratnapura involving violent action against workers. “What they do is for private estates, they will get a retired person from the army or the Police,” he said. “Back in the day it was only planters running the show, so planters knew you have to look after the workers to get good productivity. more..

May 14 (DM) Opposition MP Rauff Hakeem today urged the SL govt to consider withdrawing diplomatic ties with Israel if it fails to stop iys military offensives in Gaza. "Threaten Israel and inform it that Sri Lanka will withdraw diplomatic ties if the offensive is not stopped in Gaza. Do this as a last resort," Hakeem told Parliament. State Minister of Foreign Affairs Tharaka Balasuriya who responded said Sri Lanka's foreign policy is to establish and maintain ties will all countries. more..

~May 14 (DM) Claiming that the Uma Oya multipurpose development project was granted to Sri Lanka by the Iranian govt because of the huge recognition for former prez Mahinda Rajapaksa those days, MP Rauf Hakeem said today the current govt is looking to take the credit for it. He told Parliament that the Iranian Prez came to SL on the invitation of the Foreign Minister. “The Uma Oya project was initiated during former Prez more..

May 14 (AD) Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa alleged that 56 out of the 322 ambulances belonging to the 1990 Suwa Seriya free ambulance service are now out of service. Premadasa urged the govt to take immediate action to safeguard the Suwa Seriya Ambulance Service from collapse. He further highlighted that a significant number of Suwa Seriya ambulance drivers and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) have departed the country, leading to prolonged periods required more..

May 14 (DM) Minister Susil Premajayantha revealed today that only 6,000 out of 34,000 pre-school teachers and assistant teachers in SL are diploma holders. He told Parliament that there are 18,800 pre-schools in Sri Lanka and it is a serious matter that most of the teachers and assistant teachers are not diploma holders. Responding to a question, he said it is wrong to use even the terms Montessori and pre-school and that the correct term should be Early Childhood Development Centres. more..

May 14 (AD) The Court of Appeal ordered that the writ application filed by former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, seeking an order to invalidate the decision taken by the Maligakanda Magistrate’s Court to remand him in custody until the conclusion of the trial related to the import of substandard immunoglobulin vials, will be taken up for consideration on May 31.The petition was taken up for consideration before a two-member Appeals Court judge bench comprising more..

May 14 (AD) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe has instructed PM Dinesh Gunawardena to look into the possibility of invalidating the nominations accepted for the postponed 2023 LG election. Minister Bandula Gunawardena stated that accordingly, Prez has called on the PM to seek legal advice from the AG in this regard. Furthermore, the Head of the State has directed the Premier to discuss with other political parties regarding the nullifying of the accepted nominations, Minister added. more..

May 14 (Island) JJB yesterday declared that their coalition intended to introduce a new Constitution following the presidential poll scheduled to be conducted later this year. Attorney-at-law Sunil Watagala said that as it wouldn’t be possible to enact a new Constitution, soon after the election, the JJB would continue with the existing law of the land for some time. Watagala said that constitutional provisions that were beneficial to the people more..

May 14 (Island) Electricity Users’ Association yesterday launched a campaign to collect 100,000 signatures against the proposed restructuring of the CEB. The campaign got underway near the Fort Railway station. Sanjeeva Dhammika, Secretary of the Association, said that they intended to collect signatures from the public at Nugegoda today. Dhammika said that the proposed new law would enable the private sector to fleece the hapless public. The civil society activist alleged that more..

May 14 (ICC) SL opener Chamari Athapaththu and England bowlers Sarah Glenn and Lauren Bell have made notable progress in the ICC Women’s T20I Player Rankings after some fine performances over the past week. Athapaththu’s match-winning knock of 102 against Scotland in the final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier has helped the captain move up two places to seventh position among batters, just one off her career-best sixth position attained in April this year. more..

May 14 (AD) Colombo Magistrate’s Court today ordered the CID to submit a report pertaining to the progress of investigations into the death of the renowned businessman Dinesh Schaffter on July 23, 2024. This case was taken up before Colombo Additional Magistrate Harshana Kekunawela this morning. However, CID informed the court that further investigations are underway regarding the relevant incident. more..

May 14 (AD) The Cabinet of Ministers has granted approval for the proposal to commence G.C.E. A/L classes immediately after the conclusion of the ongoing G.C.E. O/L examination. As it takes at least 3 months for the Dept of Examinations to release the results after the completion of the G.C.E. O/L exam, students drop out of schools during this period, they are less inclined to continue studies and this leads to the creation of various social problems. Accordingly, it has been recognized that more..

May 14 (DM) SLFP MP Duminda Dissanayake today instituted legal action before the Colombo District Court challenging the appointment of Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe and Keerthi Udawatta as SLFP Chairman and Acting General Secretary respectively. The plaintiff Dissanayake is seeking an enjoining order preventing Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe PC and Attorney-at-Law Keerthi Udawatta from functioning as SLFP Chairman and party Acting General Secretary respectively. more..

May 14 (FT) On 30 Jan 2024, Director General of the National Secretariat for Non-Govt Organisations shared with a collective of civil society organisations a draft law to repeal and replace the Voluntary Social Services Act of 1980 (VSSO), titled Non-Governmental Organizations (Registration and Supervision) Act. It was highly unsatisfactory that the draft was only made available in English and three weeks given to respond. In fact, the informality with which the draft was shared fails to more..

May 14 (FT) In his article, Electricity sector: Without investment we will be in the dark again (Daily FT, 7 April, 2024), Professor Rohan Samarajiva, evidently the latest apologist for India’s Adani Group, writes, “An eminent public intellectual, Rohan Pethiyagoda, bemoans the fact that a unit of electricity produced by the wind power facility proposed by Adani will cost more than wind-produced electricity in the US and in India.” He goes on, in the manner of a gifted prestidigitator, more..

May 14 (FT) SJB MP Dr. Harsha de Silva in Parliament delivered a stern warning regarding the proposed external debt restructuring plan, emphasising the potential pitfalls and urging against signing the agreement in its current form. Speaking out against the restructuring proposal put forth in April, he highlighted critical flaws in the plan. De Silva pointed out that the proposed haircut for bondholders, set to be implemented in more..

May 14 (CT) Police used water cannons to disperse a protest held by university non-academic staff, at Polduwa Junction in Battaramulla. The protest was organised to highlight several issues, including salary cuts and reductions in monthly allowances over the past eight years. The university non-academic employees have been conducting a token strike for the past 12 days. Saman Kariyawasam, Media Secretary of the Joint Committee of Uni Trade Unions, condemned the conduct of Police more..

May 14 (TM) Parliament has affirmed that it can, if there is a request to do so, conduct an investigation into former State Minister Diana Gamage's utilisation of Parliamentary and State Ministerial privileges despite not being a SL citizen. The Supreme Court (SC) ruled on 8 May that Gamage is ineligible to retain her Parliamentary seat because of her status as a United Kingdom citizen. Subsequently, various parties including the Parliamentary Opposition have called for the recovery of all expenditures more..

May 14 (EN) SL should make greater efforts to bring back citizens in mercenary companies who injured in a war between Russia and Ukraine, including sending a special presidential envoy, legislator Dayasiri Jayasekera said. At the moment there is no SL ambassador in Russia. “If we can, send a special envoy from the Prez to Russia, and discuss with Defence Secretary at least to bring back the injured in Russian hospitals,” more..

May 14 (DN) Minister Susil Premajayantha, commenting on the controversy regarding the Science question paper for the GCE O/L Exam, said a separate marking system will be prepared and marks will be given accordingly so as not to cause any injustice to students. Minister said that a problem has arisen regarding some questions in the Science paper given at the O/L Exam this year and the group of teachers who prepared the question paper met on Sunday and discussed more..

May 14 (Island) Japanese Embassy in Colombo announced that a new skills test in the field of Building Cleaning would be introduced in July 2024 in SL for those seeking jobs in Japan as specified skilled workers. The Embassy said that together with the existing skills tests in Nursing Care, Food Service and Agriculture that have been in place since 2022, as well as recently added Construction, Airport Ground Handling and Accommodation Industry, skills tests would be available in more..

May 14 (FT) Minister Kanchana Wijesekera in Parliament reassured that the restructuring of CEB will proceed as planned, as former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has not requested otherwise. Responding to a query from MP Lakshman Kiriella regarding the potential postponement of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) restructuring, Minister clarified that while Rajapaksa had urged the halt of State enterprise sales, he did not seek a delay in CEB’s restructuring process. more..

May 14 (FT) Sri Lanka’s leading think tank Verité Research has established a governance and anti-corruption research division under the leadership of Sankhitha Gunaratne, an attorney-at-law who has championed transparent, accountable, and participatory governance for over a decade. Verité Research has made this strategic move against the backdrop of widespread, systemic corruption in Sri Lanka and the reform and accountability needs of the moment. more..

May 14 (DM) Central Bank emphasised the importance of businesses in SL understanding the current exchange rate system. As it would enable them to establish more precise expectations, thereby reducing the risk of incurring losses due to currency exchange fluctuations. SL’s businesses, exporters in particular, recently called for a stable and competitive exchange rate, amidst the recent sharp appreciation of the rupee. more..

May 14 (DM) A group of 22 young individuals, including five females, were apprehended by the Hunnasgiriya Range Forest Office for trespassing in the Knuckles Reserve and setting up illegal campfires, forest officials said. The suspects, hailing from various regions such as Bandarawela, Colombo, Badulla, and Kandy, are between the ages of 20 and 30. Among the arrested individuals are uni students, a person purportedly affiliated with the security forces & pvt sector employees. more..

May 14 (DM) In light of reports indicating involvement in various criminal activities, including drug trafficking, originating from temporary residences, the police have gathered information on over 178,600 temporary residents during a two-day nationwide operation. The programme was initiated in response to observations that individuals engaged in various criminal activities, including drug trafficking, were residing in rented accommodations outside their permanent police jurisdictions. more..

May 14 (FT) International Organisation for Migration (IOM) SL and the Ministry of Defence (as the Chair of the National Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force – SL) in collaboration with SriLankan Airlines, recently conducted a program for the trainers of national carrier on human trafficking with a special focus on the role and responsibilities of airlines in identifying, reporting, and effectively responding to incidents of trafficking. The participants were capacitated with the knowledge, more..

May 14 (Island) These days, the trend seems to be that every Sri Lankan cricketer wants to be captain. After barely spending three years representing Sri Lanka, players tend to think that they are eligible to become captain. Being Sri Lanka’s captain seems to be the crown jewel in the sport at present. In the last T-20 Sri Lanka played, against Bangladesh in March, apart from captain Wanindu Hasaranga, there were five other players who had already captained Sri Lanka. more..

May 14 (Island) The ongoing controversy over external involvement in the issuance of on-arrival visas at the BIA has taken a dramatic turn with FSP spokesman Pubudu Jagoda alleging that a private company was being paid USD 10 per single entry visa out of USD 50 received by the govt. Jagoda has said the beneficiary is the VFS Global-led group. Dept of Immigration and Emigration recently finalised a tripartite agreement with more..

May 14 (Island) Commander of the SL Air Force Air Marshal Udeni Rajapaksa recently discussed the planned acquisition of Beechcraft King Air 350 from Australia during his recently concluded visit Down Under. Air Marshal Udeni Rajapaksa, participated in the recently concluded Air and Space Power Conference 2024 in Australia. The conference, themed Building readiness and resilience in National Air and Space Power, gathered high-ranking defence leaders, policymakers and more..

May 14 (ST) The hotel industry needs to assess if it’s ready to welcome more tourists with improved quality and a unique experience with the added products and services in comparison with partners in the region. Hotel Show Colombo 2024 Chairman Trevine Gomez said that while the hotel industry has gone through tough times, however, they need to be ready to provide travellers with an improved experience by selling the product with high quality. It is in this respect that Hotel Show is important more..