Oct 6 (TM) The CIABOC yesterday said that they are unable to initiate an investigation into the allegations levelled against former Deputy Minister Nirupama Rajapaksa and her husband Thirukumar Nadesan in connection with the Pandora Papers, without a formal complaint being received. �We have not received a complaint in this regard yet. The Commission cannot begin an investigation without a complaint,� a senior official said. more..

Oct 6 (CT) State Minister Shehan Semasinghe said in Parliament the Opposition is trying to re-launch mudslinging campaigns against Prez Rajapaksa and PM Rajapaksa, like they did before 2015, using Pandora Papers revelations. Speaking after SJB MP Thushara Indunil, who raised question on Pandora Papers, which mentioned a relative of the President and PM, Nirupama Rajapaksa, and requested the Govt to launch a probe, State Minister charged that Opposition MPs are lacking in literacy skills. more..

Oct 6 (FT) COVID-19 vaccines were administered to 82,721 persons on Monday and 55.17% of the country�s population has received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. According to Our World in Data, 12.65% of the population is partially vaccinated against COVID-19. 55.4% of the 20 to 30 age group has received one dose of a vaccine, while 13.7% has received both doses. The first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine has been administered to 14,598,456 persons and 11,925,577 persons more..

Oct 6 (Island) Governor of the CB Ajith Nivrad Cabraal said that law enforcement authorities would have to initiate investigations into the Sri Lanka aspect in Pandora Papers revelations. Cabraal said so when The Island asked him whether CBSL would look into International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) disclosure pertaining to stunning disclosures of clandestine financial transactions by elites across the world. more..

Oct 6 (DM) Cabinet yesterday discussed Pandora Papers and the damaging effect it could have on the country. Govt sources said that the matter was raised when the Cabinet met last night. The Cabinet was scheduled to meet in person but a last-minute change saw the meeting being held virtually. At the Cabinet meeting a number of Ministers had made comments on the allegations made against former Deputy Minister Nirupama Rajapaksa and her husband Thirukumar Nadesan. more..

Oct 6 (DM) Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardena admitted in Parliament that there had been a massive garlic scam in the Lanka Sathosa. He told Parliament that this was not the first time such a scam had taken place in the Lanka Sathosa and said six cases pertaining to such massive scams had taken place during the previous regime that were being investigated by the CID. Minister said transaction with regard to this garlic scam had taken place outside the proper procedure and more..

Oct 6 (ICIJ) In early 2018, workers in a London warehouse carefully loaded an oil painting of Lakshmi, the Hindu deity of wealth, onto a van bound for Switzerland. The painting, by 19th Century Indian master Raja Ravi Varma, depicts the four-armed goddess clad in a red sari with gold ornaments and standing atop a lotus flower. It was one of 31 works of art, altogether worth nearly $ 1 million, that were being shipped to Geneva more..

Oct 6 (FT) Govt recently removed the maximum retail price (MRP) on rice with a decision to import a buffer stock of rice to prevent any shortages.1 This is an important step in the right direction. Opening up the market for more competition will reduce the market power of the alleged oligopoly of large-scale rice mill owners. While the removal of the MRP is commendable, the Govt�s action on this front has been anything but consistent. Despite the frequent use of price controls and their appeal to more..

Oct 6 (FT) Crisis is upon SL. Prez Rajapaksa decreed a state of emergency over food supplies last week, the dollar was being sold for over Rs. 230 on the black market (the only place it could be found), SL was downgraded to CCC- by Standard & Poor rating agency (Fitch had downgraded the country to this level back in November) and general panic is setting in. The most immediate impact an everyday citizen sees are empty shelves at supermarkets and pharmacies, more..

Oct 6 (Island) The arguments in respect of the application of appeal, filed by SLPP Ratnapura District lawmaker, Premalal Jayasekera and two other convicted persons, will be next called before the Court of Appeal on November 8, 25, and 26. These three applicants were convicted by the High Court of Ratnapura of murder and unlawful assembly, committed on January 15, 2015, prior to the Presidential Poll of that year. One person was killed and several others were injured more..

Oct 6 (DM) Arguably the best rugby players of the country are set to be overlooked for national selection due to incompetent administration. Police Sports Club are set to host what is called the Invitational Rugby Sevens at the end of this month with the participation of 12 teams where Navy SC and Army SC are sending three teams each while Police SC and Air Force SC are fielding two teams apiece. Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) a few weeks ago had submitted a squad of 30 players to be more..

Oct 6 (FT) Berlin, 20 Feb 1933 � 24 men, the cr�me de la cr�me of German industry, gathered to listen to the country�s brand new chancellor, Adolf Hitler. The meeting was a top secret, but posterity has the transcripts. �Private enterprise cannot be maintained in the age of democracy,� Hitler informed his captive audience. Nazi rule was the only guarantor of stability, only bulwark against communism. more..

Oct 6 (AD) The Petroleum Resources Bill has been passed in Parliament with amendments today. The second reading of the bill was taken up for debate from 11 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. during today�s parliamentary sitting. This bill provides for the establishment of the Petroleum Development Authority of SL and the formulation of a National Policy for the upstream petroleum industry covering the exploration, development, production, and management of all petroleum resources more..

Oct 6 (TM) Japan Lanka Friendship Association made a generous donation to the SL Air Force at a ceremony held at Air Force Headquarters yesterday. The Commander of the Air Force, Air Marshal Sudarshana Pathirana graced the ceremony where the Sri Lanka Airforce (SLAF) received two (2) Fire Vehicles and an Ambulance. The SLAF received these generous donations through the tireless efforts of Dr. Lal Thilakaratne and the Japan Lanka Friendship Association who made more..

Oct 6 (EN) Sri Lanka has rejected a request by Oman to grant them an area to look for oil in lieu of interest payments on US$ 3.6 billion credit line, Co-Cabinet spokesman Ramesh Pathirana said. The US$ 3.6 billion credit line had been discussed by the cabinet of ministers. �What we understand is that they have made such a request in relation to allocation of land for the investigation of oil reserves in Sri Lanka,� Pathirana said. more..

Oct 6 (Island) The environment Ministry will soon present a Cabinet Memorandum to regulate the proper use of burnt fuel oil discharged from ships here. This move follows, a tug of war between the Environment Ministry and some of the officials of the Central Environmental Authority on issuing permits for oil clearance. Cabinet paper will be presented to the Cabinet meeting next week after Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera and Ministry Secretary Dr. Anil Jasinghe returns from more..

Oct 6 (TM) In reference to the Pandora Papers, SJB MP Manusha Nanayakkara stated today in Parliament that the entire Rajapaksa family is �equally� involved in concealing the frauds committed by Nirupama Rajapaksa and Thirukumar Nadesan. �The land in Malwana was purchased for 64 mn rupees by Thirukumar Nadesan through a Hong Kong based company called Red Ruth Investments. A China based company called CMNC were the ones who transferred the funds more..

Oct 6 (CT) Jaffna District Secretary K. Mahesan, said he has instructed the people in the Jaffna District to follow the COVID-19 prevention health guidelines to the letter, despite the lifting of quarantine curfew. �Jaffna District is gradually returning to normalcy, as the quarantine curfew was lifted after several months. Inter-provincial passenger transport services are yet to be commenced, but a limited number of SLTB buses and private buses have been added to more..

Oct 6 (AD) Total number of people, who fell victim to COVID-19 infection in SL, moved up as 43 more fatalities were confirmed by the Director-General of Health Services on Tuesday (5). The new development has pushed the official death toll from the virus outbreak in the country to 13,185. The latest victims include 23 males and 20 females. As many as 36 deaths were reported among elderly people aged above 60 years. In addition, 7 people aged between 30-59 years have also more..

Oct 6 (EN) Businessman Thirukumar Nadesan, one of two Sri Lankans named in the Pandora papers expos�, has written to Prez Rajapaksa declaring his innocence and requesting an impartial investigation. �It is commonly believed that all persons whose names have been [divulged in the Pandora papers] are in some way guilty of wrongdoing. �I assure Your Excellency that my wife and I are totally innocent and are guilty of more..

Oct 6 (Island) Sri Lanka owes Iran USD 251 mn for crude oil purchased way back during Mahinda Rajapaksa�s presidency. In spite of talks between the two countries over the years, they haven�t been able to settle the issue over the outstanding debt. Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila confirmed outstanding payment when The Island raised the issue with him on his return from Iran following a four-day visit, commencing Sept. 24. Asked whether Iran wants interest on the delayed payment, more..

Oct 6 (DM) Claiming that the CID had failed to record a statement from the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) official who made allegations against him over garlic scam, Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardane today requested Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena to order the IGP and the CID to conduct an impartial investigation into his complaint. The Minister told parliament that there was a political conspiracy behind the garlic scam and that CID had failed to record a statement more..

Oct 6 (DM) Ratmalana Airport is set to launch international flights in the region after 5 decades and the first flight is scheduled to depart for the Maldives next month, the Tourism Ministry said. After lengthy discussions with the Maldivian Airlines, they have agreed to resume flights from Ratmalana. Initially, aircraft which can carry 50 passengers will be the first to fly between Colombo and the Maldives. Ratmalana Airport was established in 1938 more..

Oct 6 (DM) Former PM Ranil Wickremesinghe today said he does not regret much about not getting elected to Parliament at the last general elections, but saddened to note what the elected MPs were doing. He said this when ideas were exchanged between the govt and opposition MPs to raise questions at the PM and on the suspension of sectoral oversight committees. Mr. Wickremesinghe was replying to Minister Dinesh Gunawardena who made a comment on the former PM. more..

Oct 6 (AD) Prez Rajapaksa has ordered the Bribery Commission to investigate the SL links to Pandora Papers � one of the biggest leaks of financial documents that shed light on the secret wealth and dealings of world leaders, politicians and billionaires. Director-General of the Bribery Commission has been instructed to submit a report on the matter within a month. Some 35 current and former leaders and more than 300 public officials were featured in the files from offshore companies, more..

Oct 6 (Island) Sri Lanka has informed the Secretariat of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, in Geneva that the Humanitarian Demining Unit of the SL Army has so far destroyed nearly 12,000 stockpiled anti- personnel mines almost a year earlier than the deadline set by the treaty that bans the production, use, stockpile, and transfer of these indiscriminate weapons. Officials of the National Mine Action Centre (NMAC) more..

Oct 6 (FT) Commercial Bank of Ceylon yesterday announced it is now accepting digitally-signed documents from business customers using LankaSign operated by LankaClear, the only commercially operating certification authority in the country which complies with the Electronic Transactions Act. The bank recently signed a MoU with LankaClear as the first step towards embracing digital signatures. Commercial Bank is the first entity in SL�s financial sector to adopt LankaSign more..

Oct 6 (AD) State Minister Lasantha Alagiyawanna, addressing the parliamentary session today, said a hike in the prices of domestic gas cylinders in the near future is inevitable. The govt will be compelled to revise gas prices due to the soaring prices in the global market, he added. One metric ton of gas is sold at USD 800 at present, and these rates are expected to go up in the future, he noted. The stated minister also stated that they will not have any control over the increase in gas prices. more..

Oct 6 (FT) Pro-Litro activists have suggested that the dominant State-owned entity buy competitor LAUGFS� LPG storage facility with an international partner, instead of forming a questionable and financially disastrous joint venture (JV). Terrence Appuhamy, a spokesman for Litro Surakime Jathika Ekamuthuwa (LSJE), or Litro Surakime National Unity � a collective of employees and members of civil society � more..

Oct 6 (TM) Further to remarks made by Minister of Energy Udaya Gammanpila who stated that all oil tanks in Trincomalee were given to the Indian Oil Company (IOC) during the time of the Yahapalanaya Govt, SJB MP and Chief Opposition whip Lakshman Kiriella refuted such claims saying that only 15 tanks were given to the Indian Oil Company during the previous Govt, and that the remaining 85 tanks belong to Sri Lanka and are to be developed by Sri Lanka and India collaboratively. more..

Oct 6 (AD) The Cabinet of Ministers has given the nod to appoint a committee of skilled professionals in the public and private sectors to report on the Acts, Rules and Regulations required to attract investments of the companies involved in digital banking, blockchain technology and cryptocurrency mining. According to the Govt Information Department, the Project Coordinating and Monitoring Minister had submitted the relevant proposal to the most recent Cabinet meeting. more..

Oct 6 (DM) Claiming that Trincomalee Oil Tanks had not been handed over to India through the Indo-Lanka Agreement as claimed by Minister Udaya Gammanpila, NPP MP Vijitha Herath urged the Govt to reveal whether the oil tanks would be handed over to India by this Govt. He told parliament that it was regrettable that the Energy Minister was claiming that the oil tanks had been handed over to India completely when even the IOC was more..

Oct 6 (EN) Manila-based Asian Development Bank has provided SL US$ 150 million to import vaccines as part of pandemic support and the lender is also due to hold its annual meeting in the country from 2 to 5 May 2022. ADB Director General for South Asia Kenichi Yokoyama met Prez Rajapaksa in Colombo this week �SL has made remarkable progress on expanding vaccination and this will reduce negative impacts of the pandemic and support a faster return to more normal economic activity,� more..

Oct 6 (AD) The bail application put forward by the software engineer of Epic Lanka Technologies, who was arrested in connection with the erasure of National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) data, has been rejected. When the case was taken up this morning (6), the Colombo Chief Magistrate stated that the accused cannot be released on bail application at the moment as it would hamper the ongoing investigations. Accordingly, the suspect was remanded until the 18th of this month. more..

Oct 7 (DM) Inconsistencies and contradictions and the resultant confusion and uncertainty seem to overshadow the Gotabaya Rajapaksa Government since assuming office in 2019. A few examples will help clarify this point. The Daily Mirror in a front page news item on Sept 29 carried a report on co-Cabinet spokesman Ramesh Pathirana publicly contradicting State Minister Dr. Sudarshini Fernandopulle�s statement on the unfeasibility of vaccinating children aged 12 years and above. more..

Oct 7 (DM) Operations are under way to nab the so-called mastermind who planned and executed the Easter Sunday attacks a couple of years ago. The Mastermind? Really, well, technically, there could have been such a person. Outfits, especially terrorist organisations, have leaders. Such persons could be called masterminds, one supposes. Megalomaniacs thought they may be. Anyway, some people in Italy think there was/is a mastermind behind the Easter Sunday attacks or else they want others to more..

Oct 7 (DM) New Zealand opened a resident mission in Sri Lanka recently to promotion of bilateral ties to a new level. Its High Commissioner Michael Appleton in an email interview responded to queries about the new areas of bilateral cooperation, recent knife rampage in his country by a person of SL origin, security cooperation and geopolitics. Q: New Zealand has now opened its resident mission in Sri Lanka. more..