Apr 9 (DM) USNS Brunswick, a Spearhead-Class Expeditionary Fast Transport ship of the U.S. Navy arrived at the port of Trincomalee today. The US Navy Ship is a Military Sealift Command expeditionary fast-transport vessel that is capable of providing rapid intra-theater transport of troops and military equipment and can carry up to 600 short tons of equipment for distances of 1,200 nautical miles at an average speed of 35 knots (nautical miles per hour). more..

Apr 9 (DM) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe will contest the next Presidential Election and has hinted at a possible presidential poll to be held early next year. In a meeting held with minority political party MPs this week, Wickremesinghe informed them that he would contest as a presidential candidate and would call for an election early next year following consultations with the Elections Commission, Treasury & AG. more..

Apr 9 (ST) Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminal Ltd (CPSTL) and Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) are now facing serious financial consequences as a result of defaulting loans taken by its employees, a recent AG�s report exposed. This was in addition to massive loss and debt running up to billions of rupees by the CPC and the CPSTL due to honouring high prices by the limited suppliers with the rise in international oil price. The CPC recorded an accumulated loss of Rs.1,051 billion more..

Apr 9 (EN) Sri Lanka had signed an agreement with the China International Development Cooperation Agency to get a data forensic lab as part of foreign aid. Ambassador Deng Boqing, Vice Chairman of China International Development Cooperation Agency had visited Sri Lanka from April 04 to 07. He had met Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe, Minister of Transport and Highways Bandula Gunawardane, Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles, and Minister of Fisheries Douglas Devananda. more..

Apr 9 (DM) The new Anti-Corruption Bill, if enacted, will provide for the president, the provincial governors and members, the ambassadors, the high commissioners and the members of the independent commissions to declare assets to the proposed independent commission to be set up to investigate bribery and corruption, a Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said. They are not covered under current law for asset declaration. He said the bill, already announced in the gazette notification, more..

Apr 9 (ST) A new agriculture policy focused on entrepreneurial agriculture is to be introduced once the new draft is approved by Cabinet by the end of this month, official sources said. Sri Lanka is planning on introducing this new agriculture policy for human and animal consumption to ensure the food security of the country in future. The new policy is likely to be submitted to Cabinet for approval by the end of this month, officials stated. In the meantime, as part of this policy, more..

Apr 9 (TM) AG's Dept is planning to send final notices to the insurer of the controversial MV X-Press Pearl vessel, demanding approximately $ 6.4 billion as environmental damages caused to the marine environment when the ship caught fire and sank off Colombo on 20 May 2021. This, amidst concerns that SL is on the verge of missing out on the opportunity to effectively seek compensation for the country�s largest marine ecological more..

Apr 9 (Island) CSK�s SL recruits Maheesh Theekshana and Matheesha Pathirana will join the squad on April 10, in time for their next fixture � against Rajasthan Royals at Chepauk on April 12. The CEO of the franchise Kasi Viswanathan confirmed this development. Theekshana, who debuted for the franchise last season, is a vital player for the side as he was used in the PowerPlay by Dhoni. He claimed 12 wickets in nine games with his mystery spin last season and more..

Apr 9 (TM) Govt will tomorrow begin disbursing Rs. 1,514 million worth of compensation among fisher communities on the western seaboard who were affected by the MV X-Press Pearl vessel�s disaster. According to Minister Douglas Devananda, ministry plans to disburse the Rs. 1,514 million compensation received from the Treasury among the fishermen who were affected by the fishing ban around the western coast. The compensation, received by the Treasury from the insurers of more..

Apr 9 (DM) The brother of two Brits killed in the Easter Sunday attacks in 2019 is determined to know who is really responsible for the incident. David Linsey said that he and his family may never get closure, but he will continue to help the people of Sri Lanka in memory of his brother and sister who died in the Easter Sunday bombings at the Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo. David Linsey said that the 2019 attacks must be investigated to the fullest extent. more..

Apr 9 (AD) The progress of the ongoing project to fix rooftop solar panels on govt buildings and religious institutes has been reviewed by Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera. Accordingly, the Minister stated that 90% of the surveys in this regard have been completed thus far, identifying national schools, universities, technical colleges, teaching schools, armed force building, police stations and religious institutes of all religions that have no income, and other govt buildings. more..

Apr 9 (NZH) New Zealand Govt log of attempts by asylum seekers to reach NZ shows a fishing trawler and its 248 SL passengers have never been seen again. Immigration Minister Michael Wood has refused to be drawn on what information the Govt has about attempts to reach NZ shores by boat. On March 29, the day he introduced legislation extending the time people in mass arrivals can be held in detention from 4 to potentially 28 more..

Apr 9 (SCMP) Almost four years ago, Rupika Rosairo�s two daughters left the family home in Colombo in their Sunday best to attend Easter mass with their grandmother. But that evening, her 13-year-old younger daughter returned home in a coffin. Rosairo�s children were victims of Sri Lanka�s Easter bombings that killed more than 260 people and injured some 400, after eight local militants blew up three churches and hotels in a coordinated terrorist attack. more..

Apr 9 (AD) The body of a man was found buried in the Divithuruwatte area in Elpitiya last evening (7). Accordingly, Police found the body of a male buried in the Embilikanda area in Divithuruwatte, Elpitiya. The deceased has been identified as 21-year-old Chandrakumar Sarathkumara, a resident of the Athkandura area in Elpitiya. He had been reported missing for two days, and was last seen leaving the house with a group of friends. They added that a complaint had been lodged at the police more..

Apr 9 (ST) The Govt wants to introduce a National Unity and Reconciliation Commission of SL Act as part of its initiatives towards ethnic reconciliation. The purpose is to set up a Commission comprising 21 Sri Lankans. They will represent the pluralistic nature of Sri Lanka, including gender. Last week, the Cabinet of Ministers approved a concept paper for this purpose. Now, Legal Draftsman has been called upon more..

Apr 10 (CT) If there is one lesson that students of history and politics could learn from the experience of post-independence SL, it is the incompatibility between democracy, economic justice, and social cohesion on one hand and a socio-political and economic system built on the edifice of ethnoreligious nationalism on another. That system, whose origins go back to the 19th century, has pushed the country to a state ridden with multiple crises or polycrisis, which demands a new more..

Apr 10 (GV) The proposed Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), as many legal experts have already argued, can be more dangerous than the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). The legal reasons are now well known and will not be enumerated here. The Minister of Justice has delayed the presentation of the ATA to parliament. Robust civil society activism against the ATA appears to have worked, at least for now. However, it may be useful to briefly reflect on why the ATA is sought to be introduced more..

Apr 10 (TM) If SL�s education sector wishes to harness the benefits of innovations such as ChatGPT, which has immense power to change how education takes place world over, local educators should start by acknowledging the existence of Large Language Models (LLM) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) bots like ChatGPT and how its usage is becoming ubiquitous in education, said Education Forum SL Co-Founder and more..

Apr 10 (ST) If the Executive Presidency was foisted on Sri Lanka by her Old Fox President, JR Jayawardene in 1978 tying the country�s constitutional systems up in knots that could not be entangled decades later by far lesser minds, the 2023 Anti-Terrorism Bill under the (parliamentary endorsed) Presidency of Ranil Wickremesinghe promises far greater evils. To be clear, it does so because of its acutely confused contents rather than exceptionally clever clauses. more..

Apr 10 (ST) Exactly last year to the day, Lanka was in horrible flux. It wasn�t only the rising prices of food nor the shortage of essentials nor the winding queues for fuel nor the long power cuts that had driven the people out of their homes to the streets. A swirling mass of humbug on humbug, deceit upon deceit, lie piled on lie had fogged and befuddled the mind to deny common sense its true purpose; and, with judgment taken hostage by brutish political beasts who had crept out from the grottos, more..

Apr 10 (CT) Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said SL�s ports, like those in many developed countries, should be privatised. He said because the Colombo Port is strategically located, the SLPA has created a demand for new ventures. �Port business is not just for expansion, but also to attract more vessels and businesses,� he said. He added that the Trincomalee Harbour will be used for industrial purposes only & will be developed more..

Apr 10 (Island) Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe has taken a swipe at the opponents of the proposed Anti-Terrorism Bill (ATB). Anyone who does not intend to engage in terrorism need not worry about the ATB, he has said, implying that the critics of the proposed anti-terror laws have a proclivity for terror, hence their protests. His snide remark could be considered an instance of ad hominem, which is to attack a person instead of addressing his or her argument or position. more..

Apr 10 (TM) Last week, regional media outlets once again raised alarm over another Chinese Project in SL. Over the last few decades, time and again geopolitical reveries, lack of policy consistency and poor diplomacy has left SL in damage control mode in responding to rational, and at times irrational concerns raised by regional and extra regional powers. The repeated scrutiny of foreign investments and collaborative projects by Chinese entities in SL by other nations, more..

Apr 10 (CT) The short-term ripple effects of the first tranche of the IMF bailout received are making its presence already known. Fuel prices were reduced and the quota was increased, price of LP gas was reduced, bus fares were reduced, prices of a host of essential food items such as flour and milk powder were reduced, and much to the joy of govt workers talks are now underway to increase the salaries of the State sector soon. To the half full glass, these reliefs are enough to forgive and forget more..

Apr 10 (ST) Local media are awash with reports of the Kusala Sarojini Weerawardena report that was handed over to the Minister of Sports just before he emplaned on a personal travel out of the island. Grandstanding is the order of the day, so even before carefully perusing the report and making a deliberate study of its contents, frivolous snippets of news was released to the media just to entice and justify the absolute ignorance that Ministry of Sports (MoS) has displayed about football affairs. more..

Apr 10 (Island) PHU leader and MP Udaya Gammanpila has denied reports that he had talks with former Prez Mahinda Rajapaksa, recently. Gammanpila rejected as baseless a claim that he had discussed with Rajapkasa the IMF bailout and the move to privatise profit-making state enterprises. �I haven�t met Mr. Rajapaksa for about one year,� Gammanpila said. He said a social media platform was spreading a rumour that he and more..

Apr 10 (Island) During his address to the Economic Dialogue � IMF and Beyond, Prez declared that Sri Lanka is at a crossroad and it was the nation�s last chance to forge ahead or fail (Daily FT, 31, 2023). Now that Sri Lanka has committed itself to the terms and conditions stipulated by the IMF to get out of its debt crisis, Sri Lanka has no option but to live by the commitments made. The stated reason for canvasing the assistance of the IMF was to seek relief from the debt crisis. more..

Apr 10 (ST) At least 30% of Board of Investment (BOI) companies are downsizing and many are unlikely to re-start operations after the New Year holidays this year and 40% of those in the SME sector are also on the brink of downsizing and closure. As a result of the global economic downturn factories are facing closures as a result of lack of orders and the only orders that are available are mostly shifting to other regional states due to the pressures in SL�s economic recovery. more..

Apr 10 (TM) Dhanushka Sandaruwan of SL managed to show a remarkable performance winning the third place in the long jump event defeating Commonwealth Games 2022 Gold Medalist, and the 2019 world champion at the Miramar Invitational Athletics Championship 2023 held in Florida, USA. Seven players including Dhanushka and two other Japanese jumpers competed in men's long jump event. Start list also included Jamaica's 2019 world long jump more..

Apr 10 (TM) The General Secretary of SJB MP Ranjith Maddumabandara said that there are no serious internal problems within their party as some of its members had claimed last week. Commenting on a statement made by MP Rajitha Senaratne that the leaders of SJB should take steps to address the internal problems within the SJB during a press conference held recently, Maddumabandara said that there were issues within the main opposition party that they couldn�t address. more..

Apr 10 (ST) Action will soon be filed in Singapore to claim compensation made over the X-Press Pearl shipping disaster based on advice rendered by a Singapore law firm on several key advantages such a move would entail, Attorney General Sanjay Rajaratnam said. This Singapore law firm, which has been retained by the Australian legal experts liaising with the AG�s Dept on issues pertaining to X-Press Pearl, more..

Apr 10 (GK) Cricket star Sanath Jaysuriya Saturday urged people to visit Sri Lanka and see its breathtakingly beautiful beaches and loving locales. Talking to media persons on the sidelines of an education event at Doon International School (DIS) here, Jayasuriya, who is also the brand ambassador of SL Tourism, said instead of writing about the SL's conflict ridden past, media persons would do well by writing about the vast tourism potential of the country and help in its economic revival. more..

Apr 10 (FT) A group of environmentalists have written to Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe to express their concerns on the proposal to set up an apple farm within the watershed of the Kurundu Oya in the Maha Kudugala Division of the Pidurutalagala Conservation Forest. �Any clearing of these lands, for whatever purpose, has detrimental consequences to the ecological balance of this region, and the services it gives to the local communities downstream of it,� group said more..

Apr 10 (CT) It is not unusual to anticipate prosperity and abundance during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year season. As the dawn and fresh glory of April give the essence of new hope to humankind, both Sinhalese and Tamils prepare themselves for the seasonal warmth and exchange of goodwill. Considering the current situation and the burden people have been experiencing to make a living, Ceylon Today posed the question more..

Apr 10 (FT) Workers remittances hit a two year high of $ 568 million in March according to latest data released by the Central Bank. The previous highest was $ 580 million achieved in February 2021 whilst March 2023 overtook the past two year's second best figure of $ 519 million achieved in April 2021. The highest in the past two year period was $ 675 million in January 2021. Last year March workers remittances amounted to $ 318 million, lowest in a decade. more..

Apr 10 (FT) Chamber of Young Lankan Entrepreneurs (COYLE) in a statement yesterday urged the Govt to foster an enabling environment for entrepreneurship to thrive. Issuing a message to mark a happy and prosperous Sinhala and Tamil New Year, COYLE said the current stance on the economy of SL is one of optimism but tempered with caution. �As the nation begins to emerge from the turmoil of its recent political strife, the SL economy is starting to show the first signs of recovery. more..