Oct 15 (AFP) Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus expressed concern Saturday about the cold weather in Australia, but insisted the African nation could set the T20 World Cup on fire by upsetting Sri Lanka in the tournament opener. Temperatures at Geelong, where the global showpiece starts on Sunday, have been hovering around 16 degrees Celsius (60 degrees Fahrenheit) and plunging to as low as four in the evening. That is nippy for a Namibian side more used to balmy weather at home more..

Oct 15 (Island) The SL political class has a measurement problem with the economic crisis in the country. Political leaders and organizations, specifically the current parliament, seem to be lacking in competence to come to terms with the magnitude of the current economic problem. This failure manifests itself in the same-old-same-old ways in which parliament is conducting itself, and in the Prez�s facile optimism that although the crisis is grave, the country has in him the man more..

Oct 15 (ST) Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa, says Foreign Minister Ali Sabry�that the former Cabinet in which he was a different avatar as Justice Minister and Finance Minister, lived in a world of its own, not knowing how bad the state of the economy was until it went bust. Speaking at a book launch he rambled on many subjects but what seemed to catch the audience�s attention was his revelation about more..

Oct 15 (Island) We run a front page report today quoting Mr. Wajira Abeywardene, the UNP Chairman who succeeded Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe to the party�s solitary National List seat in Parliament, making some interesting assertions at a Siri Kotha press briefing last Thursday. The MP, observers believe, will soon be made a cabinet minister when the president finishes the yet unfinished business of adding to the present 20 cabinet ministers now in office. more..

Oct 16 (SO) A major Chinese cargo airline operator has made inquiries about using Sri Lanka as a cargo hub, said SL�s Ambassador to China, Dr. Palitha Kohona. This will be for airlines operating on the Europe-China and Africa-China routes, he said. The Chinese cargo airline is exploring this possibility as it considers Sri Lanka to be a cheaper option than the Middle East. The Bandaranaike International Airport and the Mattala Mahinda Rajapaksa International Airport are options for them. more..

Oct 16 (Island) After a Covid-induced hiatus of two years, Killer Whale Aquatics, a pillar of absolute dominance in SL swimming, faced their first defeat since 2015 at the recently concluded 2022 LC National and Junior National Aquatic Championships. This year�s champion in the Men�s category, the seasoned and well-experienced SL Army Aquatics, won the title by just 12 points, highlighting a hard-fought battle between the two teams which served as a call back to more..

Oct 15 (SO) The much looked forward to 44th Observer SLT Mobitel School Cricketers of the Year 2022 will be held in mid-December. Negotiations are going on with the SL Schools Cricket Association (SLSCA) and umpires' associations with the final selection committee meeting to be held next month. Once the final section is done, the grand awards presentation will take place at the 44th Observer SLT Mobitel School Cricketers of the Year 2022 in December. more..

Oct 16 (TM) Master Blaster Sanath Jayasuriya said that he had been completely cleared by the ICC�s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) after his two-year ban ended more than two years ago. He made this declaration responding to a complaint made by National Olympic Committee of SL (NOCSL) Secretary General Maxwell de Silva to Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe. Barely a week ago, NOCSL Secretary General sent a letter more..

Oct 16 (Island) Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art SL showcases work of George Keyt, documenting and creating awareness on select paintings by the SL artist. The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art SL (MMCA SL) works with many lenders and private collectors to curate its exhibitions, with the objective of helping the public to learn more about modern and contemporary SL art. In 2021, museum was given access to the George Keyt Foundation Collection (GKF) more..

Oct 16 (TM) On 2 Oct, Prez�s Media Division announced that Govt had decided to remove all import duties on imported raw materials for domestically-produced sanitary napkins while providing zero VAT benefits for imported finished sanitary napkins. This is yet to be implemented; no gazette has been issued at the time of writing. The move to reduce tariffs is positive and doubtless well-intentioned and should be welcomed. These tax revisions will help to reduce the prices more..

Oct 16 (ST) All eyes will be glued on to the TV sets this morning as the ICC T20 World Cup gets underway in Geelong with Sri Lanka involved in the first game of the tournament against Namibia. There�s lot of momentum behind Dasun Shanaka and the boys after their extraordinary effort in the Asia Cup, where they put up a splendid performance. I just hope they go from strength to strength. more..

Oct 16 (ST) Cricket showed its cruel side on Saturday as a serious injury ended Dilshan Madushanka�s chance of making his first ever appearance at a World Cup. The rookie left-arm seamer, who was to share the new ball with speedster Dushmantha Chameera in today�s curtain raiser in the qualifying round against Namibia at Kardinia Park in Geelong, left the training session just four balls into his second over nursing his hip on Saturday morning. more..

Oct 16 (Island) A Pakistan-based drug lord has come under the scanner for allegedly trying to revive the LTTE in SL. The funding for it appears to be through the supply and sale of large quantities of heroin in India. The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) recently seized 200kg of heroin worth INR 12 billion off the Kerala coast, allegedly linked to a Pakistan-based drug cartel owned by Haji Salim, Indian officials said. Salim�s name first surfaced during investigations by NIA in July this year, more..

Oct 16 (SO) The defence authorities have called upon private gun holders to renew their firearm licences before December 31 or risk facing stiff fines, a senior official of the MOD said. He said there are over 35,000 firearms held by private citizens and organisations and the bulk of the weapons are in the 12 and 16 bore shotgun category. Most of the weapons are held by farmers meant to protect their crops from wild animals, wealthy land and estate owners and private security providers, more..

Oct 16 (Island) Colombo Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith says that Sri Lanka has become a country of uncertainty owing to the follies of the rulers and economic cost of theft, corruption and violence. Delivering the homily at the Festive High Mass of the 150th Jubilee Rosary Church, Aluthgama last week, the Cardinal said that the rulers came to power by creating disharmony among the races and trying to create religious division using the Easter Sunday terror attacks. more..

Oct 16 (TM) Despite Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe announcing in June 2022 that the CB would negotiate with the People�s Bank of China (PBoC) to change the conditions of the Yuan 10 billion (equivalent to $ 1.5 billion) currency swap requiring a three-month import cover to draw on the swap, there has been no development on that end, raising questions on whether the CBSL has resigned itself to treating the swap as a dead duck. more..

Oct 16 (ST) The fate of the Constitution�s 22nd Amendment (22A) hangs in the balance with the SLPP laying down two mandatory conditions to ensure its passage�including a clause to make members of independent Commissions accountable for their actions. SLPP also wants the clause prohibiting dual citizens from holding membership in Parliament removed, General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam said. A party delegation will meet Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe next week to convey more..

Oct 16 (SO) Nearly 9,834 undergraduates had given up their studies at state universities during the past 15 years due to brutal ragging by their seniors, according to the latest survey conducted in state universities countrywide. An informal survey has revealed that nearly 9,903 female undergraduates had been subject to sexual harassment by their seniors. Kurunegala District School Principals� Association President R.A.M. Jayasinghe Bandara told a meeting of school heads in Kurunegala more..

Oct 16 (ST) Over 200 audit reports by the Auditor General�s Dept exposing corrupt practices, financial misappropriation and irregularities of state institutions are stagnating without any action against relevant perpetrators and recovering losses caused to the state. Among these reports were findings on massive financial misappropriations and irregularities in recent mega transactions in the importation of essential commodities causing a loss of more than Rs.40 billion to govt coffers, more..

Oct 16 (AP) SL authorities have stepped up a search for a navy boat that went missing a month ago along with six sailors while patrolling in the Indian Ocean off the island nation. Capt. Indika de Silva said the sailors ventured out from SL's southern coast on Sept. 16 on a regular patrol and a day later, the navy had lost communication with the boat. He said that since then, the navy had deployed vessels to find the boat and the search operation intensified with the deployment of air force aircraft. more..

Oct 16 (ST) At least three people have been confirmed dead, while 55,435 people from 13,902 families have been affected by several days of adverse weather, including heavy rains, strong winds and severe lightning, according to figures released by DMC yesterday. Heavy rain and strong winds caused damages to property in 11 districts. At least five houses were completely destroyed while 178 others suffered partial damage. more..

Oct 16 (ST) The Govt is to carry out a phased withdrawal of more than 600 Special Task Force (STF) personnel who have been providing security to the outer perimeters of prisons. The Justice Ministry has agreed to a request by the Public Security Ministry for the move. The STF is presently deployed for outer perimeter security at several prisons countrywide, and the Public Security Ministry feels that they could be put to better use, a senior official said on grounds of anonymity. more..

Oct 16 (AD) The current heavy rains are expected to continue, due to the influence of the Intertropical Convergence Zone located in the vicinity of the island, says the Department of Meteorology. The Intertropical Convergence Zone or ITCZ is the region where the Northern Hemispheric wind and the Southern Hemispheric wind converge. Showers or thundershowers will occur at times in Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central and North-Western provinces and in Galle and Matara districts. more..

Oct 16 (ST) Three months after then Prez Rajapaksa gave up office and fled SL, the ruling SLPP is ambitiously embarking on a project to regain its power base in the country. With the launch in the south last week, the Ekwa Nagitimu or stand up in unity gets under way in the hill country today. There will be eight more to come. That the party�s leadership had gone into hibernation after protests began at the Galle Face Green and more..

Oct 17 (CT) A report prepared by UDA on the recent fire at Kajimawatta, which destroyed nearly 80 housing units, has determined that only 20 housing units will be provided to residents who meet the minimum qualifications. A total of 214 people, among the residents of Kajimawatta, have been identified as not meeting the minimum qualifications required to receive a house. As a result, approximately 20 housing units will be provided to the remaining residents who meet minimum qualifications. more..

Oct 17 (DM) SL�s economy is sinking deeper and deeper into an economic depression. The working peoples� day to day lives are breaking down with food inflation on the order of 80% to 90%. Yet, over the last three months, since the last great wave of protests that dislodged the Prez, the voices of trade unions and working peoples� movements about the rising cost of living and the continuing deprivation are bafflingly muted. How does one analyse the great protests triggered by economic crisis more..

Oct 17 (TM) Govt must speak with one voice and move to deliver on the promised domestic mechanism regarding human rights and reconciliation for SL, Foreign Minister Ali Sabry said last week. According to the former Minister of Justice turned top diplomat, SL cannot agree to external mechanisms advocated by the UNHRC due to its intrusive and unconstitutional nature. However, Sabry stressed that SL would continue to more..

Oct 17 (Island) Thieves live in fear of punishment in other countries, but here it is the victims of theft who have to face punitive action. Having stolen huge amounts of public wealth and bankrupted the country, the perpetrators of economic crimes, in positions of power, are now all out to recover losses at the expense of the people, who have had to pay for others� sins by way of massive increases in tariffs and taxes. Proposed tax increases, if implemented, will drive many people to suicide. more..

Oct 17 (TM) No student of contemporary SL politics can ignore the mass meeting of hardcore Mahinda Rajapaksa (MR) supporters organised by MP Rohitha Abeygunawardena on his home turf of Kalutara a few days ago. It has sent ripples of concern among our political, business, and diplomatic establishments. Former Prez Sirisena has pooh-poohed this meeting, calling it an artificial one. He knows that any progress by this group will firstly be at the expense of his rump SLFP, more..

Oct 17 (TM) In light of the recent controversy over the latest Strategic Development Projects (SDP) Act project to be approved, Committee on Public Finance (COPF) should do an investigation into how these projects were deemed to be strategic in the first place, asserts Economist and Centre for a Smart Future Co-Founder Anushka Wijesinha. �This is the problem with such poorly-designed schemes more..

Oct 17 (DM) Inflation is the topic at the tip of every SL�s tongue these days, given the skyrocketing prices of goods. Making matters worse prices seem to rise from day-to-day. Inflation is the phenomenon of prices increasing for all goods. Most central banks have a target of low and constant inflation, generally between 1.5 and 4% per year. However, since the end of 2021, global inflation has been rising, as seen in many of the world�s regions. The stark reality of what we are living through today, more..

Oct 17 (DM) Harini, who holds a doctorate in Social Anthropology from Uni of Edinburgh, and a senior academic at Open University, doesn�t beat around the bush: no mincing of words, she knows that prospects are better served through brief, clear language, to explain why SL has failed though being governed by major political powers over the past 75 years. She appears genuine; a lady with integrity, who is thorough and like a good sales rep, is fully convinced of the efficacy of her product! more..

Oct 17 (ST) When Prez Wickremesinghe uses gut wrenching imagery to equate Sinhalese mothers and fathers taking their children to protest sites with the LTTE using Tamil children as human shields against state forces, it is deliberate and premeditated. Prez�s well aimed play is on the familiar theme of protestors as fascists, used to excellent effect to frame his Office around twin motifs of stability and security. Well meaning responses by Sri Lankans have since hailed this Prez response as worthy of praise. more..

Oct 17 (CT) This phrase is reported as spoken by Jesus in the Gospel of Saint Luke. We tend to recall such proverbial phrases when encountered with similar situations. Some critics in their skepticism, satirically commented, he saved others, himself he cannot save, while referring to the crucifying of Jesus. The news appearing in a daily newspaper on 10th October, about �CB to launch study to assess banks� need for fresh capital� came amidst conjectures and apprehension about more..

Oct 17 (TM) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe will this week face the first litmus test on the strength of his alliance with the ruling SLPP when the 22nd Amendment Bill will be subjected to a vote that will require a two-thirds majority in Parliament. A group of SLPP MPs loyal to Basil Rajapaksa (BR) have expressed their unwillingness to support the 22nd Amendment Bill in its present form. The pro-BR group, while demanding the removal of more..