Dec 16 (AD) The vice-chancellor of Buddhist & Pali University says the institution will remain closed until further notice, starting from December 19. Accordingly, all students were instructed to vacate the hostel premises before 4.00 p.m. today. This comes days after alleged ragging incidents at the university came to light recently. Meanwhile, the secretary of the students� federation of the uni Ven. Thalawe Dhammika Thero was arrested by the Homagama Police & remanded until Dec 27 more..

Dec 16 (DM) The initial investigation into the death of businessman and director of Janashakthi Group, Dinesh Schaffter has revealed that Schaffter had been planning to meet former cricket presenter Brian Thomas yesterday. Scaffter's secretary had informed this in the statement. However, according to SSP Nihal Thalduwa investigators are still probing whether the alleged financial involvement with Schaffter and Brian Thomas more..

Dec 16 (EN) Shares fell for the second session on Friday on profit taking and as sentiments dented following the report that GDP has contracted over 11% the third quarter. ASPI closed 0.84% or 74.34 points lower at 8,739.50. �Broad market skid down on weak investor sentiment as GDP contracted by 11.8% in the 3Q2022 amidst the record high inflation, shortages of essentials, inflated interest rates and shortfalls on construction activities,� First Capital Market Research said. more..

Dec 16 (AD) The market price at which eggs are being sold at has reportedly increased, following the suspension of the gazette extraordinary published by the CAA stipulating a maximum retail price (MRP) on eggs. On 19 August, the CAA declared an MRP on eggs, stipulating that a white egg be sold for Rs. 43.00 and a brown egg for Rs. 45.00. The Court of Appeal yesterday ordered, however, that the relevant gazette extraordinary be suspended till 6 February 2023. more..

Dec 16 (AD) Following the recent statement by Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith that politicians should not be allowed to legalise cannabis cultivation and promote nightlife just because a parangiya (a term used to refer to foreigners and those of the Portuguese community, and likely a reference to State Minister Diana Gamage�s citizenship-related controversy) wants such, Gamage, while claiming that more..

Dec 16 (EN) Sri Lanka�s Dialog Axiata, once a heavyweight in the island nation�s Colombo Stock Exchange, is out of top 20 liquid firms in the latest revision, the Stock Exchange said in a statement. The S&P SL20, or the Standard & Poor�s Sri Lanka 20, is one of the two SL�s stock market index, based on market capitalization, that follows the performance of 20 leading publicly traded companies listed in the bourse. They are the largest and most liquid index in the market. more..

Dec 16 (Island) Thirty-four port trade unions have said they will launch a strike if the government tries to sell the East Container Terminal (ECT) to another country or party. The ECT could earn 500 million US dollars a year, General Secretary of the All-Ceylon General Port Employee Union, Niroshan Gorakanage said. �There are rumours that the govt is trying to give the ECT to Japan or another party. If the govt tries to sell this national asset, we will strike work. more..

Dec 16 (DM) Three Fundamental Rights petitions filed challenging the legality of the Prez Pardon granted to former MP Duminda Silva were yesterday fixed for argument by Supreme Court. SC 3-judge-bench comprising Justices Preethi Padman Surasena, Mahinda Samayawardena and Arjuna Obeysekera fixed the petitions to be taken up for argument on Feb 7. On a previous occasion, former Prez Rajapaksa was added as a respondent since he was no longer holding the post of Prez. more..

Dec 16 (CT) Minister of Education Susil Premajayantha said, 81 schoolchildren have been directed to rehabilitation as a result of drug addiction. Therefore, as a remedy, the Education Ministry will launch a mindfulness programme, as a pilot programme for schoolchildren, on 4 January in all schools, in an effort to reduce stress on children�s minds, and in a bid to dissuade them from getting involved in illegal activities such as drug addiction and violent incidents. more..

Dec 16 (AD) Thilini Priyamali, the businesswoman who is accused of massive financial fraud, was released on bail by the Colombo Fort Magistrate�s Court this morning. Her associate, businesswoman Janaki Siriwardhana, also accused of being complicit in the crimes, was granted bail on 13 Dec. Duo were released by Fort Magistrate Thilini Gamage, for a cash bail of Rs. 50,000 and a personal bail of Rs. 1,000,000, each. more..

Dec 16 (TM) The Ministry of Agriculture stated that there is no preparation as of now to compensate livestock farmers for the cattle and goats that died in the Northern and Eastern (N-E) provinces in the last few days due to the inclement weather conditions. When contacted, Agriculture Ministry Media Secretary Dharma Wanninayake said: �Generally, animals like cattle and goats die due to various reasons. Similarly, cattle and goats have died due to such inclement weather conditions, more..

Dec 16 (DM) Security of Borella Cemetery where businessman Dinesh Schaffter was found tied in his car is being handled by Rakna Lanka, CMC said. �We have outsourced the security to Rakna Lanka in 2021. As per the agreement only hearse which carry remains of dead persons are allowed to come into the cemetery while vehicles of mourners have been asked to stop at car parks. The allegation which was made by a member of CMC that there was no cemetery keeper was denied by this officer. more..

Dec 16 (News) Danushka Gunathilaka will settle into life in Sydney after being accused of sexually assaulting a woman multiple times, a court has heard. 31-year-old appeared in Sydney Downing Centre Local Court on Friday after being charged with four counts of sexual intercourse without consent. He asked the court for permission to move into a one-bedroom apartment while he wrestles with his lengthy legal battle ahead. more..

Dec 16 (FT) The Cabinet appointed Committee Report to suggest reforms in the power sector was taken into discussion at the subcommittee on identifying the priorities in formulation of short-, medium- and long-term National Policies of the National Council. Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera, State Ministers D.V. Chanaka, Indika Anuruddha, MPs Pavithradevi Wanniarachchi, Asanka Navaratne, Sagara Kariyawasam were present more..

Dec 16 (EN) Sri Lanka will need higher tariffs to draw private investment into water Director of Urban Development and Water Division of the South Asian Dept of the Asian Development Bank Norio Saito said. �We appreciate the govt�s effort in providing water for the rural areas,� Norio said on the sidelines of opening a Centre of Excellence for Water and Sanitation in Ratmalana. �However, the PPP might be hesitating because they do not see a proper ROI for their investments due to low tariff. more..

Dec 16 (Island) Ministerial Consultative Committee on Environment recently discussed at length whether the Sinhala name of the national flower of SL is Manel or Nil Manel? Senior Professor of the Dept of Botany, Uni of Peradeniya Deepthi Yakandawala and Senior Prof of Faculty of Agriculture and Plantation Management, Uni of Wayamba Kapila Yakandawala made presentations on the unresolved and controversial issue as to what is the national flower of SL for many years. more..

Dec 16 (CT) Colombo Additional District Court Judge Mahesha de Silva, instructed former Prez Sirisena and other respondents to file written submissions on 10 Jan next year, in connection with the removal of Prez Wickremesinghe�s name from the 108 lawsuits filed, on behalf of those who had lost their lives or were permanently disabled, following the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks. She gave this instruction, based on submissions produced to Court by the former Prez and more..

Dec 16 (TM) Following the announcement of a general amnesty period by the Ministry of Defence to tri-forces absentees, over 15,000 military personnel have come forward to resign from their respective services. Brigadier Ravi Herath said that these personnel are longstanding absentees. Out of 15,891 other rank officers who were absent and have reported to their regimental centres, 15,619 were given the clearance to more..

Dec 16 (DM) Some members from my own party are unhappy with me for criticizing Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe, former MP and Head of Samagi Vanitha Balawegaya Hirunika Premchandra said today. She said these persons within the SJB who criticize her are class conscious. �There are some people within the SJB who are class conscious and go after the people who represent the elite society,� she said. �UNP, unlike the SJB, is dominated by elite class people. more..

Dec 16 (DM) A group of heads of local authorities held by the SLPP met with Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe and informed him that they were ready for local polls at the appropriate time, a party official said. SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam who accompanied them to the meeting told Daily Mirror that the heads of the local authorities requested the president to ensure that public life is not disrupted over issues such as fuel shortages during the election period. more..

Dec 16 (TM) TNPF Leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam accused the other Tamil political parties that they use the federal solution for the national ethnic question only to win votes, following which they would commit themselves to legitimising the 13th Amendment because India wants such. �As far as the Tamil parties are concerned, our accusation against these parties is that they use the federal solution only to win votes. more..

Dec 16 (Island) Supreme Court on Wednesday decided to take up the case filed by Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa against being suspended from duty for revealing that there is a high prevalence of malnutrition in Hambantota. Dr. Sanjeewa is the Chairman of the Professional Forum of Physicians on Medical and Civil Rights. The case was taken up before justices Buwaneka Aluwihare, Kumuduni Wickremasinghe and Janak de Silva. Dr. Sanjeewa was represented by SL Bar Association more..

Dec 16 (TM) It was revealed at the meeting of the National Council Sub-Committee on Identifying the Short- and Medium-Term Programmes related to Economic Stabilisation held yesterday that it had been difficult for certain print media organisations to pay salaries to permanent staff and that the economic crisis had decreased newspaper printing by 60-70%, while the amount of money allocated for advertisements has decreased by approximately 70% due to the increase in production costs more..

Dec 17 (DM) Today, the world is facing a new Cold War. The original cold war from 1945 to 1990s between both the US (plus its allies in the NATO bloc) and Soviet Union was an ideological conflict -the fear of communism in the US- as well as the emergence of nuclear weapons which led to the arms race. During the Second World War, the Soviet Union (predecessor to the Russian Federation) under the leadership of Joseph Stalin, allied with Britain, France, and US against Nazi more..

Dec 17 (DM) Despite the chairman of the Election Commission (EC) Nimal Punchihewa having announced that he would call nominations for the local govt elections during the end of this month (December), a group of Opposition MPs have filed two petitions in the Supreme Court seeking an order to the EC to hold those elections. One petition has been filed by the General Secretary of the SJB Ranjith Madduma Bandara and Prof G.L. Peiris who is a member of Nidahas Janatha Sabhawa, more..

Dec 17 (CT) President Ranil Wickremesinghe was at the Colombo University having a discussion on how to improve the institution�s quality. The discussion was held at the Dean�s Office of the Law Faculty. After having participated in the Back to the Faculty of Law, which was organised to mark its Diamond Jubilee. The President participated in the event as the first alumnus of the Colombo Law Faculty more..

Dec 17 (DM) As Sri Lanka seeks to attract Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) amidst its economic crisis and places a greater emphasis on exports to boost its reserves, this is an opportune time for parties entering into transactions with overseas partners to carefully examine whether their rights are protected in their commercial agreements with the inclusion of an arbitration clause that truly captures the worst case scenarios, so as to avoid being wiped out financially in case of a dispute. more..

Dec 17 (Island) The need to protect trees has come to be felt more than ever across the world owing to rising temperatures and the frighteningly high levels of air pollution. Needless to say, they are an effective defence against the ill-effects of climate change/emergency. Their destruction, be it in forests or elsewhere, is an environmental crime, but sadly it is not treated as such in most cases, and the perpetrators thereof are not made to face the full force of the law. more..

Dec 17 (CT) The death of scores of cattle, buffaloes, and goats made headlines last week, prompting the Prez to halt the transportation of beef and mutton at district and provincial levels. The cause is attributed to the sudden weather change, which experienced a temperature decrease of 20 degrees Celsius. When the temperature dropped, farm animals exposed to it suffered from fatal cold shock. Between Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu more..

Dec 17 (ST) SL is one of the cheapest countries to live, the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) says in its latest report on Worldwide Cost of Living 2022. This is crazy! We in SL experienced the highest ever inflation, which is also the highest in Asia, reaching 70% last September. But the EIU report shows that SL is one of the countries in the world having the lowest cost of living. In fact, the EIU report survey has covered the living costs in main cities, not the countries, so that for SL it is Colombo. more..

Dec 17 (TM) Having understood the damage done to Russia and its people, former Prez Boris Yeltsin stepped down and appointed the correct person � Vladimir Putin � as his successor in the role to repair the damage wrought and to lead the country. With full confidence, Putin went ahead to face the enormous challenges with all his previous experiences in the intelligence services, widely known as the Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti (Committee for State Security, more..

Dec 17 (GV) Following 3 decades of bloody and protracted civil war between govt forces and the LTTE, the group was dismantled in May 2009. As reported by the U.N. panel formed by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, an estimated 40,000 civilians died during the last months of the fighting while the govt collected 65,000 claims of enforced disappearances during 1995 to 2016. However, despite transitional justice being an essential matter, none of the 8 UNHRC resolutions adopted more..

Dec 17 (CT) A couple of years back, the police came to my home in Jaffna attempting to arrest me on an arrest warrant that had been recalled. Prez, then PM, sent me a message apologizing and assuring me that it would not happen again. But it seems to be happening again. These are critical times, especially as the TNA and Prez are negotiating on full implementation of the 13th Amendment in which Tamil was declared the language of Court in the N&E by Article 24 of the Constitution. more..

Dec 17 (ST) Alarming data about Sri Lankans living with HIV have thrown the Health Ministry into panic, cautioning the youth to be careful with their sexual partners. Std/Aids programme, which commemorated World Aids Day on Dec 1, issued a warning that those engaging in casual sex should know who their partners are. Statistics revealed that about 50 young people, including 14 university students and 3 schoolchildren, more..

Dec 17 (ST) Tissamaharama Magistrate Courts has ordered the Police to track down two more vehicles involved in the Yala off track driving incident in violation of park regulations. The two vehicles are reported to be from Vavuniya and Kalutara. The order was given after the court took up the case against 32 vehicles which reportedly entered the park and drove off track. So far ten suspects including Nuwan Amaraweera (29), Minister Mahinda Amaraweera�s brother�s son, more..

Dec 17 (CT) People living in the estates have been historically discriminated with repeated failure, by the successive Governments, to uphold their rights as they continue to struggle for survival whilst living in their estate line rooms. They lack access to basic necessities, infrastructure facilities, transportation facilities and despite repeated efforts of many, including politicians, there has not been any effective progress in their standards of living over the years. more..