Nov 9 (CI) Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) says it is paying for Danushka Gunathilaka's legal defence in Australia because the charges of sexual intercourse without consent were laid on him primarily because he was on national duty at the T20 World Cup. It is also not yet clear whether Gunathilaka breached SLC's own protocol by going on a date during an active tour, something the board CEO Ashley de Silva said was prohibited. more..

Nov 9 (ST) SL authorities will be testing a fungicide from India to ascertain if it could be used on the local rubber plantations in a bid to overcome the pesta disease. Following a workshop in India and understanding how they had contained the disease with another fungicide, SL has already made plans to get samples from India to test them here, Rubber Research Institute of SL (RRISL) Principal Plant Pathologist and Head of the Dept of Pathology and Microbiology Dr. Sarojini Fernando said. more..

Nov 9 (Island) The SLPP dissidents have stressed the need to secure international assistance to recover SL�s stolen funds, and adopt measures to ensure that revenue from taxes and tariffs will not end up in the ruling politicians� offshore accounts. One cannot but agree with them. Their call must have struck a responsive chord with the resentful public. But even if the incumbent regime is dislodged, the next govt is not likely to go the whole hog to recover the stolen public funds, more..

Nov 9 (FT) Colombo stock market began a new week with a sharp drop amidst lacklustre investor activity. Both indices declined by over 2.5% whilst turnover was Rs. 1.1 billion involving 46.5 million shares. Despite local pessimism, foreigners remained net buyers. Indices closed sharply lower due to broad-based selling pressure. The ASPI declined below the 8,300 mark to close at 8,268 (-224 points or -2.6%) and the S&P SL20 index ended at 2,519 (-2.6% or 67 points). more..

Nov 9 (FT) Republic of Korea, through the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) is investing $ 1.2 million to strengthen shrimp aquaculture in SL. Investment is part of a global project implemented by FAO in SL with a total investment of $ 3.9 million. The project will be implemented over a three-year period to ensure effective biosecurity in shrimp aquaculture through digital technology. Through the project, FAO will build national capacity on various aspects of more..

Nov 9 (TM) Former Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, whose resignation was followed by the then-Cabinet quitting en masse in the face of a severe economic crisis, is to publish a book titled Arthika Ghathakayan Meda (which translates to Among Economy-Killers). He made this statement in a video clip posted yesterday (8) on his official Facebook handle, captioned answers to all questions. more..

Nov 9 (FT) Anura Kumara Dissanayake says the State sector must be downscaled and be made more efficient. He said over the years, politicians have used the State sector to provide employment to their supporters. �Out of every Rs. 100 coming into the treasury, Rs. 58 is spent on salaries and pensions of State sector employees. Every election application is accepted to provide employment opportunities,� he said. Dissanayake recalled how supporters were asked to fill out application more..

Nov 9 (FT) The world�s leading travel and trade show opened in London, UK on 7 Nov on a positive note. SL Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) collaborated with the SL High Commission in London and the tourism industry stakeholders to showcase the destination and tourism experiences offered to travellers. At a time the country is returning to normalcy with increased airline connectivity and relaxed travel advisories on SL by tourism generating markets, more..

Nov 9 (TM) Following Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe informing Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena that Parliament has not achieved satisfactory progress in appointing committees related to far-reaching systemic changes, the Speaker�s office stated that the reason for such delays is the refusal of Opposition parties to be appointed to such committees, based on their demands being unmet by the Govt. more..

Nov 9 (FT) Sri Lanka Tourism displayed a strong message about the resilience and openness for business at the world�s largest travel fair in London WTM 2022, being held from 7 to 9 Nov. �We are a resilient nation and tourism is one of the main foreign exchange generating industries. The value for money tourists will get in Sri Lanka will in turn help to recover from the ongoing economic crisis as well,� said Tourism Minister Harin Fernando in a brief interview with the BBC more..

Nov 9 (DM) Proper hand washing and cleanliness are very important to prevent infection of the monkeypox virus, Lady Ridgeway Hospital (LRH) Colombo, Consultant Paediatrician Dr. Deepal Perera said. He said that the above methods would be used as the basic preventive method. "Monkeypox is a virus in between smallpox and chickenpox, and it appears as blisters, and the monkeypox or smallpox vaccine is not available in the country. more..

Nov 9 (ANI) UN team in SL and NGOs on Tuesday revised and extended their joint Humanitarian Needs and Priorities (HNP) Plan, which aims to provide life-saving assistance to 3.4 million people amid SL's worst economic crisis since independence. Since June, the HNP has been responding to the Govt's request for UN-backed multi-sector support for SL's debt and food and medicine shortages. "Govts and donor agencies have helped the humanitarian community reach over 1 million of more..

Nov 9 (FT) Colombo High Court Judge Damith Totawatta yesterday directed the IGP to investigate the complaint made by a State witness who had alleged that he was abducted in a van and after manhandling, had left him on the road. The victim is a State witness in the case against MP Dr. Rajitha Senaratne and SPC former Chairman Mohamed Rumi Azeem. The two were indicted in the High Court over a controversial press conference held by Rajitha Senaratne and for making more..

Nov 9 (TM) Minister of Education, Susil Premajayantha stated that a special programme was launched to educate teachers and principals of all 144 schools in Colombo regarding their behaviour towards students when dealing with specific incidents that could occur in schools, with the said programme to be expanded to also include schools in the rest of the island in the future. He said: �The Education Ministry commenced a programme more..

Nov 9 (Island) It�s been a World Cup full of surprises. Two times champions West Indies failed to show up having lost to Scotland and Ireland. Zimbabwe humbled Pakistan, the Dutch sent South Africa home, and the English will be wondering which Irish player to rope in having lost to them at MCG. After the Super 12 stage, the 16 nation tournament has reached the semi-finals with India and Pakistan progressing from one group while NZ and England qualified from the group that SL were in. more..

Nov 9 (Island) The govt has decided to evict people who are illegally residing in or near the 16 elephant corridors in the country and provide them with alternative lands for cultivation and settlement, and give them some compensation. Under the first phase of the project, three elephant corridors where elephant-human conflicts are raging would be cleared, Wildlife Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said, adding that the clearing of the other elephant corridors would start next year. more..

Nov 9 (EN) Sri Lanka will maintain two hour the power cuts from November 09-11, Public Utilities Commission (PUCSL) Chairman Janaka Ratnavake said. All areas (ABCDEFGHUKLPQRSTUVW) will have power cuts of 1 hour between 03.00 pm and 06.00 pm and another 1 hour power cut from 06.00 pm to 0900 pm November 09-11. Sri Lanka was struggling to secure a steady coal supply for 2023, with the tender awarded to a UAE firm in bidding was cancelled due to a court case. more..

Nov 9 (FT) A system fault at the Department of Immigration and Emigration yesterday, put thousands of people at inconvenience causing havoc in its Battaramulla premises. Despite having secured ,i>online appointments many passport-seekers were forced to wait in long queues, for hours way past the due appointments to go home empty-handed. The mismanagement of crowds at the premises led to both one day service and normal applicants being shoved into one long queue. more..

Nov 9 (Island) Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakse said that the party leaders were yet to respond to his request for the appointment of a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to examine TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran�s criticism of the Supreme Court. Minister Rajapakse said that he was quite disappointment over the inordinate delay on the part of the party leaders. Minister said that he had sought the party leaders� intervention more..

Nov 9 (AD) The 3-member panel appointed to inquire into the alleged incident involving national squad�s batsman Danushka Gunathilaka commenced its investigations this evening. Accordingly, head coach Chris Silverwood has recorded a statement with the committee. Meanwhile, captain Dasun Shanaka also appeared before the panel to provide a statement. The aforementioned committee was appointed by SLC earlier today and it is comprised of more..

Nov 9 (AD) Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has condemned and vehemently denied the truthfulness of a tweet made by a senior sports journalist claiming that the national cricket board was instructed to bear the legal costs in relation to the incident of Danushka Gunathilaka by a VVIP politician from the SLPP. SLC categorically denied the veracity of the said tweet and emphasized that it has in no way been influenced by a third party in carrying out the obligatory actions required to be taken more..

Nov 9 (AD) The School Principal and two police officers, arrested in connection with the Millaniya child abuse incident, have been remanded till Nov 16, after being produced to the Colombo Chief Magistrate�s Court. Meanwhile the school teacher and a police constable driver who were also accused over the incident have been granted bail by the court. Earlier, NCPA had launched an investigation into the incident more..

Nov 9 (FT) The election of Mahinda Rajapaksa as SL�s fifth executive president in Nov 2005 saw the war against the LTTE intensifying. The new prez appointed his US citizen younger brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the all-powerful Secretary of Defence. Gotabaya appointed retired colonel of the SL army, his erstwhile comrade at arms and fellow Anandian, General Sarath Fonseka as the Army Commander. Thereafter the war effort progressed under the political, administrative & military leadership more..

Nov 9 (FT) Over 2020 and 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented economic and labour market crisis around the world, mostly as a consequence of the lockdown and other containment measures used to stem the spread of the virus. ILO estimates that global working hours declined by 8.8% in 2020, equivalent to 255 million full-time jobs, while employment losses reached 114 million in that year. Certain groups and sectors, such as women, youth and MSMEs more..

Nov 9 (SLN) A coordinated operation carried out by the SL Navy and SL Coast Guard in the sea area southeast of the Delft Island, Jaffna in the wee hours of 09th Nov, led to the seizure of Kerala cannabis weighing over 458kg (wet weight) from a dinghy. SL Navy and Coast Guard regularly conduct search operations and patrols in island�s waters to ward off illegal activities taking place via sea routes. As an extension of these efforts, the Coast Guard Craft CG 402 attached to Northern Naval Command, more..

Nov 9 (AD) Immigration and emigration process for passengers at the BIA has been brought back to normalcy after the computer system malfunction at the Immigration and Emigration section was rectified, AASL said. It was reported this morning that the computer system malfunction at the Dept of Immigration and Emigration had also affected the services at BIA. Dept of Immigration & Emigration also notified that it took measures to provide the services at the airport manually, more..

Nov 9 (EN) As SL confirms its second case of monkeypox, health authorities say infections have been contained and that there is no need yet for a vaccine to be rolled out. However, if the need arose for a vaccine, the authorities will take measures to import it, an official said. SL recently announced that some seven million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine that was to be administered as the booster shot for COVID-19 more..

Nov 9 (Island) Young officials must not be denied opportunites for career advancement, and attempts by some Class 1 officers of the education service, who must retire by 31 December to remain in the service must be thwarted, General Secretary of the Ceylon Teachers Union (CTU) Joseph Stalin, said. Stalin said by the end of this year, 10,000 employees in the education sector would retire. Among them are 34 Class 1 officers and some Supra Grade officers, Stalin said. more..

Nov 9 (CI) Pakistan, who lost to Zimbabwe earlier in the tournament, who limped into the semis thanks only to Netherland's unlikely win over South Africa, have stormed into the final of the 2022 Men's T20 World Cup, having executed a near-perfect game. So much that is great about this Pakistan team fell into place in this game. Shaheen Afridi got his first-over wicket, trapping Finn Allen in front with a vicious inswinger third ball. Their seamers locked down the back end of the innings, more..

Nov 9 (TG) A Sydney woman has said she feared for her life on a date after meeting SL cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka on Tinder. The woman, who cannot be identified, was allegedly sexually assaulted four times in her Rose Bay home on 2 November after going out for drinks and pizza with the int'l sports star. Gunathilaka, 31, allegedly refused to wear a condom and choked the woman three times, according to more..

Nov 9 (AD) 13 inmates who recently escaped from the Kandakadu Treatment & Rehabilitation Centre are still at large, army media spokesperson Brigadier Ravi Herath says. On Sunday night (6), a clash was reported between two groups of inmates at the facility. As the situation was escalating, at least 50 inmates made their escape. Police and army have been called in for assistance to take the situation under control. A special search operation was subsequently launched to apprehend more..

Nov 9 (EN) SL�s tea growers say resuming fertilizer supplies will help boost output but a ban on weedicides also has to go for production to get back to levels that existed before Presidential interventions in agriculture. SL�s sudden policy changes without white papers without expert or public consultation � an economic problem known as regime uncertainty that picked up after the practice of appointing permanent secretaries to ministries ended in 1971 � and worsened more..

Nov 9 (DM) Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe today tendered an apology to the Australian govt, its people, the ICC and the concerned party in Australia over the irresponsible individual act of Cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka. "As the Minister in charge of the subject of sports, I wish to tender my apology," Ranasinghe said. "I'm deeply concerned and would take the responsibility on behalf of my country and it's people to take necessary and remedial action accordingly," Ranasinghe added. more..

Nov 9 (DM) There has been no discussion held about sighing the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) agreement by the present govt as yet, State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe said. He said this while responding to a question raised by SJB MP Chaminda Wijesiri whether there was any move to sign the MCC agreement by the present govt. Minister told Parliament that the Gotabaya Rajapaksa govt decided not to proceed with the MCC agreement following more..

Nov 9 (FT) During the Trump presidency, asked whether his extremely popular wife will be the next Democratic nominee, Barack Obama would say that there were only three certitudes in life, death, taxes, and Michelle not contesting the presidency. Just as death is a fact of human condition, taxes, in some form or other, have been a fact of political condition. The first recorded tax goes as far back as 5,000 years to ancient Egypt, more..