Dec 7 (DN) A Seven member Sri Lanka team left for Kathmandu Nepal yesterday to take part in the South Asian Table Tennis championship which will be held from 8 to 11 December. According to the President of the Table Tennis Association of Sri Lanka (TTASL), two men's paddlers Prasad de Silva and Nirmala Jayasinghe are in the team while five women paddlers Bimandi Bandara, Kasuni Pitigala, Maneesha Shalindi, Oneli Lehansa, and Tamadi Kawindya will also take part at this event. more..

Dec 7 (TM) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe used the political instability and economic depression in the country to become Prez similar to how Adolf Hitler came into power with the aid of the Nazi Party in Germany back in the 1930s, MP Dullas Alahapperuma said. �Wickremesinghe is a Prez born out of political anarchy and economic depression at the time. Back in the 1930s in Germany, Hitler came into power with the aid of the Nazis while Prez today came to power with similar help. more..

Dec 7 (FT) The World Bank on Monday approved Sri Lanka�s request to access concessional financing from the International Development Association (IDA). This type of financing, which is offered at low interest rates, will enable the country to implement its Govt-led reform program to stabilise the economy and protect the livelihood of millions of people facing poverty and hunger. The request is the result of SL�s sustained deterioration more..

Dec 7 (CT) Leader of the Up-Country People�s Front, member of the TPA, and MP for Nuwara Eliya District, V. Radhakrishan, compared Karnan to Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe, saying Karnan was a good man and a great giver, but because he was with Duriyodhanan, he was harassed by Lord Krishna. Similarly, President Wickramasinghe is a fine scholar. But he is on the wrong side, which is why many people, have rejected him for following the Dharma path. more..

Dec 7 (DM) Three people had lost their lives in separate incidents yesterday in Maligawatta and Gokarella police areas, the police said. They said a 44-year-old man was beaten to death by a group of people using an iron rod at the Jayantha Weerasekera Mawatha in the Maligawatte police area last evening. The victim died on admission to the Colombo National Hospital (CNH). Police investigations were initiated following an alert to 118 emergency centre. more..

Dec 7 (FT) Colombo stock market remained bullish yesterday, including continuous net foreign inflow. The active S&P SL20 index gained by 0.93% and the benchmark ASPI by 0.43% yesterday. Turnover was Rs. 3.1 billion involving 149.76 million shares. Foreigners recorded a net inflow of Rs. 928.3 million with Expolanka Holdings seeing most net buying worth Rs. 446.8 million whilst selling topped in BIL at Rs. 7.8 million. With yesterday�s net buying the amount so far in December is Rs. 3.7 billion more..

Dec 7 (CT) Thico Group owner Thilini Priyamali, who is remanded over financial fraud, filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of SL (HRCSL) through a lawyer, alleging she was strip-searched inside prison, violating protocol for prisoners. The complaint also said she sustained injuries to her private parts in the process. Speaking to the media after filing the complaint, the lawyer said the search had been conducted by prison officials violating the set procedure for such matters. more..

Dec 7 (SCMP) Eighteen months after the X-Press Pearl environmental disaster, SL has filed charges against the ship�s crew, but the govt stands accused of being opaque on the true extent of the unprecedented tragedy, being too slow in suing for compensation, and not demanding enough of it. Singapore-registered vessel, carrying hazardous chemicals and plastic pellets, caught fire off SL�s west coast in May last year, more..

Dec 7 (DM) More than 12,000 children are currently being abandoned in orphanage homes because their parents are drug addicts, and most of them received hospital treatment without their parents due to abuse incidents, LRH consultant paediatrician Dr. Deepal Perera said. He said that most of the children come to hospitals with their grandmother or grandfather because their parents are drug addicts. He also said the trend of all drug related addiction among schoolchildren is more dangerous more..

Dec 7 (Island) Minister Bandula Gunawardena said SL wouldn�t be in a position to be part of the international trading system unless it boosted its foreign reserves by selling some of its assets. Gunawardena, who also holds media and transport portfolios said so at yesterday�s post-Cabinet press briefing. Responding to a query about the govt�s decision to divest vital national assets, the Minister said that if Sri Lanka did not shore up its reserves to the tune of over three billion dollars, more..

Dec 7 (TM) Colombo Additional Magistrate Rajindra Jayasuriya yesterday imposed a foreign travel ban on six members of the Board of Directors of the Western Hospital/Infirmary on Cotta Road, Borella, who have allegedly been involved in a racket with regard to the sale of kidneys to local and foreign individuals by deceiving donors from poor families and giving them money. A request made by the CCD more..

Dec 8 (CT) A new year means fresh hopes and new beginnings. However, for Sri Lankans, upcoming year brings more uncertainty and more suffering. New addition to the heap of suffering in the New Year would be another massive electricity tariff hike in January. Ceylon Today on 1 December reported that Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) officials had told the National Council Sub Committee on Economic Stabilisation that to recover the losses of the CEB, another tariff hike by about 70% is needed. more..

Dec 8 (CT) Prez in announcing his intent to resolve the long standing North East Tamil national question has already ignored the NE Muslim factors which are indivisibly intertwined in any solution of the Tamil problem. He has ignored on more than one occasion the consequential Muslim problem that certainly would be created in any attempt to ignore a comprehensive solution to the two major minorities in the North East. Wisdom dawned, perhaps under Indian pressure, to solve Tamil issues. more..

Dec 8 (TM) The need to curb digital and internet-based harassment has remained an issue for years, and has, with technological advancements, become one of the most pressing issues. Although forming and strengthening the applicable laws is crucial, addressing this menace requires not only a law and policy-based approach, but one that amalgamates strong and updated laws, targeted regulations and awareness, and more..

Dec 8 (TM) SJB MP Velusami Radhakrishnan, on Tuesday, expressed willingness to extend his party�s support to Prez Wickremesinghe on the condition that the latter ensures a daily wage of Rs. 3,000 to estate sector workers and promises to resolve their housing and land-related issues. He added that the President should not be confined to the issues of the North and the East, but should also look into the issues of the Tamil and the Muslim communities in the plantation sector. more..

Dec 8 (DM) With Sri Lanka still facing its worst ever socio-economic and political crisis since independence in 1948, Prez Wickremesinghe is striving to pull the country out of its debt crisis. The cost of living is soaring and millions of families are in the poverty trap finding it difficult to provide two if not three meals a day, basic healthcare facilities and a proper education for their children. The parents know that higher education is vital for their children because it would play a key role there more..

Dec 8 (CT) Even without having a set date for the GCE A/L Exam to be held in 2023, Education Ministry shook up society by mandating an attendance rate of 80 per cent for A/L students. SL education system has now been turned into a battlefield, with students acting as worn-out, unprotected soldiers battling the unknown. They did not sign up for this battle. Students from primary and secondary levels of education had to deal more..

Dec 8 (DM) Six to seven million Sri Lankans are reportedly undergoing tremendous hardship for their second meal every day. The 303 Sri Lankans who ended up in Vietnam three weeks ago, rescued by a Japanese vessel from a virtually drowning Myanmar flagged fishing boat had one distressing message, take us anywhere but not to SL! This is a damning indictment upon our country. Large numbers of others are leaving the country for good. We all have a national role to play to overcome the crisis. more..

Dec 8 (DM) Cabinet of Ministers has made several decisions over the last few years giving rise to disastrous results to its citizens. Such decisions have been taken due either to misinformation, lack of information or both. Or misguidance. The best-known example is the in-famous fertilizer issue. The cabinet was entirely misguided by the fanatical idea of carbonic only agriculture. Some ministers now try to put the blame on a doctor and a few who advise on this, forgetting how na�ve more..

Dec 8 (DN) Openers Sadeera Samarawickrama and Avishka Fernando added a superb 115-run opening stand for Jaffna Kings as they recorded their second consecutive victory over Dambulla Aura in the third match of the LPL tournament which was played at Sooriyawewa yesterday. Dambulla Aura led by Dasun Shanaka gave a solid start after winning the toss while their openers Jordan Cox who notched up a 22-ball 43 with three fours and four sixes and 19-year-old Shevon Daniel provided him more..

Dec 8 (Island) Narendra Fernando, Sergeant-at-Arms of the crisis-ridden Parliament, has declared that the largest number of students, in the post-independence era, visited the House on Thursday (1). Director, Legislative Services, Janakantha Silva, quoted Fernando as having said that approximately 5,000 students, from 32 schools, received permission to visit Parliament on that day. The top official was further quoted as having said that was a world record. more..

Dec 8 (ST) The festive period is approaching and families are having to bear a shortage of eggs and a price tag of up to Rs 68 each, that makes the source of protein a luxury when the cost of living is at dizzying levels. Retailers are disregarding price controls for white and brown eggs imposed by the regulator and the poultry industry says it is grappling with high production costs. CAA had gazetted price at Rs 43 for a white egg more..

Dec 8 (Island) King Charles III is known for his affability, which has won him many admirers across the globe. But some people do not seem well disposed towards him. Well, it takes all sorts to make a world. Within the first few weeks of his accession and months ahead of his coronation, he seems to have realised how uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. He has already come under two egg attacks; the second one occurred in Luton, on Tuesday. more..

Dec 8 (FT) A NPP meeting held in the Weerambugedara DS in Polgahawela came under attack on Tuesday night by an unidentified group. The meeting had been organised to set up the party�s Panagamuwa division council and was well underway when the incident took place. Three NPP supporters including PS Councillor Somaratne Edirisinghe suffered injuries at the hands of the groups and were hospitalised for treatment. The group had also damaged a parked vehicle more..

Dec 8 (FT) Institute of Chartered Accountants of SL celebrated excellence in corporate reporting at the TAGS Awards 2022 on Tuesday by honouring leading corporates, multinationals, small entities, and non-profit organisations for producing insightful and transparent annual reports amidst increasing expectations from multiple stakeholders, including investors. Top conglomerate Hayleys PLC triumphed with the coveted gold award for Overall Excellence in Corporate Reporting more..

Dec 8 (TM) A Cabinet reshuffle is likely to occur over the next few days, with the ministers holding the portfolios of Sports, Ports, Industries, Highways, Health, Transport, Power, Wildlife, and Environment likely to be changed, well-placed sources said. Reportedly, the portfolios of Health, Transport, and Power and Energy are likely to be divided amongst MPs Duminda Dissanayake, Kumara Welgama, and Rajitha Senaratne, while several new State Ministers are also due to be sworn in. more..

Dec 8 (FT) The Asian Development Bank (ADB) this week expressed optimism over SL�s progress towards economic recovery but stressed the path to recovery is challenging and requires the support of all stakeholders. �The economy is on its way to recovery and this is very positive. The Govt is working on a stabilisation plan. It is a very comprehensive plan. We see some economic indicators showing positive signs,� more..

Dec 8 (FT) Govt announced a raft of measures to bring down the operational costs of the CEB following a high-level meeting held yesterday. A meeting to discuss the progress and challenges of SL�s power sector to reduce the expenditure at the CEB was chaired by Minister Kanchana Wijesekera. Part of the CEB�s Assistant General Managers and Deputy General Managers attended the meeting whilst some DGMs connected via digital technology. �We discussed measures that have already more..

Dec 8 (FT) UN Conference On Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in its new Review of Maritime Transport 2022 has revealed that the Port of Colombo is the highest-performing port in South Asia. The Review of Maritime Transport is a recurrent publication prepared by the UNCTAD secretariat since 1968 with the aim of fostering the transparency of maritime markets and analysing relevant developments. The data in the report suggested that despite the challenges of more..

Dec 8 (AD) Sri Lanka incurred a loss of staggering Rs. 5,978 million after the previous govt unilaterally decided to terminate the Light Rail Transit (LRT) project funded by Japan, a report compiled by National Audit Office revealed. Project was initiated in 2016 with the aim of reducing the traffic congestion in the city of Colombo and to provide better public transportation facility to the commuters. more..

Dec 8 (ST) An ongoing UDA project to establish a one stop unit for development approvals has doubled in cost from Rs. 350mn to Rs. 700mn�reportedly owing to the depreciation of the rupee, a senior official said. The project is in three phases, the first of which has now been completed at the cost of around Rs 90mn, the official said. This included the development of computer software for an online building approvals process that links all UDA local authorities and 26 other agencies more..

Dec 8 (SLN) A naval patrol conducted in SL�s waters northwest of the island on the night of 5th Dec led to the interception of 02 Indian fishing trawlers carrying over 4000 kg of Kendu Leaves. Navy also took hold of 08 Indian nationals involved in this illegal act, along with the large consignment of contraband. The Navy conducts regular patrols and search operations in coastal and sea areas of the island to prevent wide-ranging nefarious acts stemming via sea routes. more..

Dec 8 (EN) Sri Lanka�s domestic debt has already been re-structured de facto due to high inflation and rupee depreciation, Sharmini Cooray, a former IMF official who is an advisor to President Ranil Wickremesinghe said. �The high inflation and rupee depreciation has delivered has reduced the real value of domestic debt,� Cooray told an economic policy forum organized by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. �It has delivered a de facto restructuring up front to domestic debt holders.� more..

Dec 8 (DM) The Police has launched an investigation after a video of a person threatening two police officers on traffic duty has gone viral on social media. It was revealed that the related incident took place in Delkanda, ​​Nugegoda when the officers had signalled the driver of a car to stop the vehicle over violation of traffic rulles. An individual identified himself as Ramesh Ruwantha was seen obstructing and abusing the two police officers who were on duty. more..

Dec 8 (TM) Dept of Prisons has launched an investigation into the allegations made by the attorneys of suspected fraudster Thilini Priyamali � who is currently in remand custody on charges related to large-scale financial fraud, which involve well-known individuals, including politicians � that she was stripped naked during a search that caused injury to her genitalia. Prisons Media Spokesman said that Prisons Dept has commenced more..

Dec 8 (DM) Health Ministry has removed the restrictions that were in force on passengers travelling from overseas during COVID-19 pandemic. The requirement to produce a COVID-19 vaccination certificate by any person arriving from overseas has been removed. Moreover, the requirement for any person entering the country via any airport or sea port to produce a negative COVID-19 test on arrival or before boarding, including PCR & RAT, is no longer required. more..