Sep 14 (AD) Sakvithi Ranasinghe, who pleaded guilty to 11 charges of criminal breach of trust for maintaining an unauthorized financial institution and promising high interest rates, has been sentenced to two years rigorous imprisonment for each charge suspended for five years. When this case was called before Colombo High Court Judge Amal Ranaraja today, the charges related to the case were read in the open court. Accordingly, Mr. Ranasinghe, a former popular English teacher, had informed more..

Sep 14 (DM) There is no entertainment activities in Colombo City after 10 pm and the city becomes dormant, Tourism State Minister Diana Gamage said. She said most people come to cities for dining and to spend time at the pubs. But here in Colombo City, the situation is entirely different. People don't have a nightlife here. All the shops and entertainment providers pull their shutters down after 10 pm. Therefore, we are hoping to develop the night economy in the country. more..

Sep 14 (CT) Govt is preparing plans to conduct a Samurdhi beneficiary programme through the QR code system. Secretary to Ministry of Women, Child Affairs and Social Empowerment Neel Hapuhinna said they have selected over 3.2 million citizens so far for the Samurdhi programme that is being initiated to assist those who are in need of financial support due to the current economic crisis. Accordingly, Samurdhi beneficiaries who more..

Sep 14 (AD) Police have found a body of a Buddhist monk who had died under mysterious circumstances inside a temple in the Seeduwa area. The deceased Buddhist monk has been identified as Ven. Nedagamuwe Mahanama Thero (55), the Chief Incumbent of the Sri Nandarama Temple in Weththawa, Raddolluwa. Police suspect that the Buddhist monk was murdered by strangulation. According to police, another Buddhist monk who had been residing in the temple in question more..

Sep 14 (AD) A group of depositors of Edirisinghe Trust Investments (ETI) Finance Limited engaged in a protest in front of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) this afternoon. During the demonstration, five of the protesters were provided the opportunity to discuss with the officials of the Central Bank. The officials had informed the depositors that they will be given the opportunity to have a discussion with the Governor of the Central Bank on Aug 23. The protesters then subsequently dispersed. more..

Sep 14 (TM) Minister Mahinda Amaraweera is purportedly unhappy with the fact that even though he has submitted a proposal to the Cabinet of Ministers to temporarily suspend the importation of rice, the relevant institutions including the CAA have not yet taken steps to implement it. An official of the Agriculture Ministry said: �Amaraweera recently proposed to temporarily suspend the import of rice as there is a sufficient stock of rice more..

Sep 14 (CT) Health Ministry says they are unable to give the specific number of drugs that are in short supply at the moment. DDG MSD, Dr. D.R.K. Herath, fielding questions regarding the prevailing medicinal drug shortage, said, �At the moment we are unable to give an update of the exact number of drug and medicinal supplies that are in short supply, but daily monitoring that is done due to the prevailing country situation shows a shortage in a number of essential drugs,� more..

Sep 14 (DM) Mahela Jayawardane has stepped down as the Mumbai Indians head coach in order to take up a broader role as the franchise's global head of performance. In his new position, Jayawardene will oversee the coaching and scouting at all the three teams the franchise owners now have - Mumbai Indians in the IPL, MI Emirates in the ILT20, and MI Cape Town in the SA20. Zaheer Khan, earlier the director of cricket operations, is now the global head of cricket development for more..

Sep 15 (DM) It never rains, but it pours. Since March this year, our country has been going through a period of turmoil. Miles-long queues of vehicles wound their way past petrol sheds. Fathers and mothers accompanied by children could be seen running hither and thither in search of cooking gas. Basic foods were scarce and medicines in short supply. The urban poor and middle class fixed income earners were probably the worst hit. Many others lost their avenues of income when more..

Sep 15 (ST) The original mandate of the IMF was to assist its member countries faced with foreign exchange crises; but if you scrutinise the key elements of the reform programme that has been agreed upon between the IMF and SL Govt as well as elsewhere; here�s another term: It�s Mostly Fiscal (IMF)! In the aftermath of the Great Depression in the 1930s and the World War II in the first half of the 1940s, IMF was established (in 1944) by its 44 founding member countries; more..

Sep 15 (TM) Communication plays a pivotal role in day-to-day affairs in the lives of modern-day people. Even though SL�s communication sector, mostly led by mobile phone-based communication service providers, was a thriving sector just a few months ago, it is now facing massive risks to its sustainability due to the economic crisis and related developments. The mobile phones and accessories industry, more..

Sep 15 (CT) Examples of the rank hypocrisy of Ranil Wickremesinghe after becoming unelected Executive President include: 1) In March 2022 while being the solitary MP from the UNP he led he demanded to know when the govt would be able to table in the House the recent IMF report on Sri Lanka. (The Island 10 March 2022). Today as Executive Prez and Minister of Finance he is effectively REFUSING to table in parliament the staff level agreement govt has reached with IMF. more..

Sep 15 (TM) It was reported by The Morning yesterday (14) that Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera remains unhappy about the relevant authorities not having followed decisions regarding rice imports. It was reported that even though the Minister had submitted a proposal to the Cabinet of Ministers to temporarily suspend the import of rice, the relevant institutions, including the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA), had not taken the necessary steps to implement the said decision. more..

Sep 15 (CT) Like all other govt and private sector employees, the stormy economic situation has affected the health services, driving health staff to look elsewhere for opportunities which may help salvage their personal economic situation. A request made under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, revealed that over 2,200 medical practitioners had received the good standing certificate from the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC). more..

Sep 15 (CT) Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry, speaking at the 51st regular session of the UNHRC, opposed the reference made to economic crimes in the report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on Sri Lanka, noting that it exceeds the mandate of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). He further argued that such reference is vague and recalled the paramount importance of adhering to UN General Assembly resolutions 60/251, 48/141 & IB package. more..

Sep 15 (DM) There is no doubt that the economic crisis which SL is facing at the moment has become a fully grown political crisis and a humanitarian emergency. The govt defaulted on its debt for the first time in its history in May, as years of economic mismanagement and the enrichment of an elite few left the coffers empty. This crisis shows how the previous and incumbent govt have ruled in SL. There is no doubt that the majority of the country�s sleepy public is also responsible for this. more..

Sep 15 (ST) This is with reference to the article appeared on your Sunday paper on 21.8.2022 under the above headline by Tee Gee. We are perturbed to note that its content is distorted and false. A newspaper of your stature is generally a responsible entity therefore it hardly contains misinformation that would smear a body such as ours and maliciously tend to tarnish its image as we are responsible to the international bodies it represents. As a seasoned scribe, I am sure that you would have taken more..

Sep 15 (Island) The only thing successive govts have done efficiently by way of problem solving, all these years, is to set up numerous committees, commissions, councils and task forces. These outfits have served little purpose, and the country continues to be beset with a bazillion problems including bankruptcy. The incumbent administration has undertaken to set up an outfit called the National Council (NC), which will be tasked with �determining the general priorities of Parliament to guide more..

Sep 15 (FT) The Govt has gazet-ted new legislation to finally legalise and regulate casinos as well as pave the way for new entrants if they qualify for a licence to operate. Tourism, leisure and entertainment industry analysts welcomed the move, saying legality gives more credence to existing businesses and those who may be keen to set up operations. At present there are only 2 operators & gaming business is among the most taxed more..

Sep 15 (ST) The CEB has revealed that domestic consumers such as households, small-scale businesses and organisations and bulk consumers including large govt and other institutions have defaulted bill payments to the tune of Rs. 14.6 billion by June 30 this year. It said Rs. 9.56 billion of the dues were from the Ordinary Domestic category. The amount due from Bulk Suppliers is Rs. 4.5 billion, of which Rs. 2.1 billion had not been paid for more than a year. more..

Sep 15 (FT) Addressing the immediate needs of the ongoing socio-economic crisis, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Sri Lanka has come forward to procure and deliver vital and essential medicines and medical supplies for the country, together with the World Health Organization (WHO) in Sri Lanka with the financial support of the United Nations� Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). The medicines and medical supplies were handed over to the Ministry of Health more..

Sep 15 (Island) In a classified diplomatic cable from Colombo, wartime US Ambassador here Patricia Butenis categorized Prez Mahinda Rajapaksa, Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Basil Rajapaksa and common candidate at the 2010 prez poll General Sarath Fonseka as war criminals. Cable released by whistle-blowing website Wikileaks, written by Butenis weeks ahead of the prez poll conducted in late Jan 2010, revealed how irresponsible the then US envoy had been. more..

Sep 15 (CT) SL leg-spinning all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga and left-hand batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa have been rewarded for their dominant performances at the Asia Cup by making giant strides on the latest MRF Tyres ICC Men�s Player Rankings. Hasaranga, a top-ranked bowler, has advanced in all three lists after a fine all-round effort in the final saw him smash a 21-ball 36 and follow it up with a late triple-strike with his leg-spin bowling. With a 3-wicket haul in the previous match more..

Sep 15 (FT) In a bid to safeguard over three million families affected by the worsened income disparities following the pandemic and ongoing economic crisis, Govt has deployed an identification of eligible persons to receive welfare benefits payment system. The new welfare benefits information system � Aswesuma will ensure clear identification and verification of cash beneficiaries & will come into effect early next year. more..

Sep 15 (FT) The BOI yesterday $ 35 million worth textile mill by Jay Jay Mills Lanka Ltd. will be the first project to be undertaken at the dedicated textile manufacturing zone in Eravur, Batticaloa with the ground-up development commencing at the site. The facility will feature state-of-the-art technology with knitting, dyeing and finishing capacities of 50 tons of fabric per day once in full operation and is designed to adhere to the latest environmentally sustainable norms. more..

Sep 15 (Island) Holy Cross College, Gampaha triple jumper Neha Hettiarachchi and Lyceum Int'l Wattala high jumper Tharusha Mendis established new meet records and Samudradevi Balika, Nugegoda high jumper Sithuli Sadithya reached qualifying standards for the Asian Youth Championships as they compensated for the frustrations in track events on day two of the Sir John Tarbat Senior Athletics Championships at Diyagama. For the second consecutive day, the officials struggled to more..

Sep 15 (Island) Frontline Socialist Party said that people had no option but to take to the streets to chase out the incumbent govt. �The govt has not learnt that people engage in protests because they no longer can put up with hardships. We have no other option but to beat off this govt. Ranil Wickremesinghe says that he has no home to go. He should not go home, he should be sent to a prison for the crimes he had committed,� more..

Sep 15 (TM) SL Tea Board Chairman Niraj De Mel, during the recently held Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Tea Exporters Association (TEA) Sri Lanka, stated that a blueprint for the tea industry has to be formulated by amalgamating the five-year tea strategy and Ceylon Tea Road Map (CTRM) 2030 in order to take the tea industry to new heights. The theme of this year�s event, which was the first in-person AGM of the association since the pandemic, was The Challenge of Change. more..

Sep 15 (FT) The Alumni Association of the Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIMA) will hold its first ever PIMA Strategic Forum on 20 Sept at the Shangri-La, Colombo. Titled SL�s turnaround strategies and the role of the int'l community the event will see some of the finest minds in SL�s corporate sector discuss the country�s turnaround strategies for overcoming the prevailing economic crisis. The vital role played by the international community in SL�s Road to recovery more..

Sept 15 (FT) Colombo stock market yesterday bounced back sharply with both indices gaining on improved turnover and more importantly higher foreign net inflow. The benchmark ASPI gained by 1.7% and crossed the 9,900 point level whilst the active S&P SL20 moved up by 1.5%. Turnover amounted to Rs. 4 billion involving 159 million shares. Foreigners recorded a net inflow of Rs. 673.7 million with net buying to the tune of Rs. 740 million in Expolanka Holdings. more..

Sep 15 (Island) A majority of govt hospitals, and health clinics, did not have Thriposha, Multiple Micro Nutrient (MMN) Supplement, or the BP 100 compressed biscuits recommended by WHO for the treatment of malnutrition in children, over six months, Devika Kodituwakku, the President of Govt Midwives� Association, said. The campaign to combat malnutrition among children had come to a halt because of this, she said. �These supplements played a big role in ensuring that our children more..

Sept 15 (TM) Due to the massive increase in the cost of living this year and the significant increase in the prices of sanitary napkins, many schoolgirls do not go to school on the days they are menstruating, adversely affecting aspects such as their education, mental and physical health, and personality. This was noted by many parties, including politicians, trade unions, teachers, doctors, and parents speaking to The Morning. more..

Sept 15 (DM) Fundamental Rights petition filed challenging the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers to allow former Prez Maithripala Sirisena to use of the residence at Paget Road has been reserved for judgment by Supreme Court. Accordingly, the Supreme Court would deliver its judgment regarding this case in due course. SC 3-judge-bench comprising Justices Priyantha Jayawardena, Gamini Amarasekara and Kumuduni Wickremasinghe concluded the arguments put forward by more..

Sept 15 (BN) Sri Lanka�s economy likely shrank the most in two years amid a debt crisis that triggered a default and widespread protests that brought the nation to a standstill leading to the ouster of the president. Gross domestic product probably fell 10% in the three months to June from a year ago, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists as of Wednesday. That�s the slowest reading since the corresponding quarter of 2020 and compares with a 1.6% contraction in January-March. more..