Dec 29 (CT) Ousted SLFP General Secretary, MP Dayasiri Jayasekara, expressed his willingness to contest the forthcoming Prez Election if the majority of his Party consents. Furthermore, he insisted that before the Party agrees to such an action, his Party membership, revoked by former Prez Maithripala Sirisena must be reinstated. Jayasekara argued that the vacuum left by leftist progressive nationalist political forces cannot be filled by the outdated politicians from the 1950s who more..

Dec 29 (EN) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe has appointed Justice W M N P Iddawala as the Chairman of the CIABOC. Chethiya Goonesekera and Bernard Rajapakse have been appointed as other members of the Commission, with the appointments taking effect from Jan 1, 2024. �The Prez�s decision, made in accordance with Article 41B of the Constitution of SL and Section 4 of the Anti-Corruption Act No. 9 of 2023, aims to enhance the commission�s effectiveness in addressing more..

Dec 29 (TM) Claiming that former Health Minister Minister Keheliya Rambukwella and the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) are both plaintiffs related to the controversial substandard intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) import case, NMRA Director Board Member and attorney Manoj Gamage said that there is nothing wrong with him being on the NMRA Director Board and appearing as a lawyer for Rambukwella. more..

Dec 29 (DM) The prime suspect, the owner of Regal Sales, who rented an office within the BMICH, continues to evade arrest in connection to a financial fraud exceeding Rs. 45 million through a deceptive car dealership operation. Police said the suspect and accomplices rented an office at BMICH in Colombo, advertising vehicles for sale in newspapers. Two buyers responded to the ad with the intention of purchasing a car and a jeep on December 20. more..

Dec 29 (FT) Hambantota International Port (HIP) has welcomed over 6000 tourists to SL, in the latter part of November and during December. The passengers arrived on 5 cruise liners that called at the port. The Azamara Journey docked on 29 Nov carrying 620 passengers. The Luxury cruise liner Mein Schiff 5 which arrived in SL from Muscat on 10 December, called at HIP on 11, carrying 2200 passengers. A group of disembarking passengers from the luxury liner got on e-bikes to go more..

Dec 29 (FT) Ports and Airports Development Levy (PAL) currently imposed on fuel and gas is set to be removed upon implementation of the revised VAT. Accordingly, the 7.5% PAL on fuel and the 2.5% PAL imposed on Liquefied Petroleum (LP) gas will be lifted when the increased 18% VAT comes into effect on 1 Jan 2024, Advisor to the Ministry of Finance Thanuja Perera explained. VAT (Amendment) Bill was passed in the parliament on 11 Dec by a majority of 45 votes, 100 voting in favour, more..

Dec 29 (CT) OIC of the Ja-Ela Police, Chief Inspector Chaminda Edirisuriya, said two luxury houses and a luxury motorcar (SUV), belonging to infamous drug peddler Kudu Roshan, who is a resident of Colombo 15, had been seized yesterday. A team of CID sleuths had seized a two-storey luxury house situated at Rajawatta Terrace in Ekala, in the Ja-Ela Police Division, along with an SUV which had also been located from the said address & another luxury house situated at Nivannam. more..

Dec 29 (TM) Catholic Church claimed that it is in doubt as to whether Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe is allowing Public Security Minister Tiran Alles to continue making baseless accusations against Colombo Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith and the Catholic Church with the aim of undermining their (the Church�s) programme to demand justice for the Easter Sunday terror attacks of 2019. In the recent past, Alles was seen more..

Dec 29 (DM) When compared to previous years, there has been a considerable decrease in the use of fuel during the last long weekend, All Ceylon Filling Station Owners' Association (ACFSOA) president Shelton Fernando said. Demand for fuel during the festive season has reduced to 50%, and therefore the filling station owners have had to face many difficulties. Considering the current situation, the association requested CPC to provide considerable concessions for consumers. more..

Dec 29 (DM) Police have addressed concerns surrounding a video circulating on social media, depicting two officers using force during the arrest of a suspect in Kurunegala. In the video, two policemen are seen holding the suspect on the ground and securing him with a rope. One officer is seated on the suspect, while the other is tying the suspect's legs. SSP Nihal Thalduwa clarified that the incident occurred in the Doratiyawa area of Kurunegala on December 26. more..

Dec 29 (DM) Counsel appearing for the first suspect, owner of the company Isolez Biotech Pharma AG (Pvt) Ltd, involved in the substandard human immunoglobulin deal, told the court that he followed the instructions of the then Health Minister saying that "Minister asked me to do, I did it". Counsel Jaliya Samarasinghe told this in Court before Maligakanda Magistrate Lochana Abeywickrame. more..

Dec 30 (DM) As stated earlier, the Sri Lankan Army had re-captured Jaffna through Operation Riviresa in 1995-96. Earlier, the LTTE had been in control of the area. Even though the Jaffna peninsula was controlled by the state, Jaffna remained inaccessible by land from the rest of the country as the LTTE continued to control a major portion of the northern mainland, known as the Wanni. Transport to and from the Jaffna peninsula was possible only by air or sea. more..

Dec 30 (CT) Someone asked me; You have said that a Common Tamil Candidate should be put forward by the Tamils for the Prez Election. Mr. Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam has said the Tamils must boycott the Presidential Election. What have you to say? My response was; As usual his view is non pragmatic! When the Tigers were there, they were able to oversee the success of a boycott. Now the Military is ubiquitous in the North and East. How would Gajan ensure success of a boycott? more..

Dec 30 (CT) Following his years-old tradition of spending the final days of every year in Nuwara Eliya or Diyathalawa, Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe this time also left for Nuwara Eliya with First Lady Prof. Maithree Wickramasinghe. Since it was a long weekend, most ministers and other MPs were also enjoying the vacation with their families either in SL or elsewhere. Though he was away from Colombo and was intended to more..

Dec 30 (CT) Shanti Jayewardene�s fascinating study of Geoffrey Bawa discusses how art, culture, and knowledge have long been dominated by Western narratives and discourses. She charts Bawa�s evolution from colonial scion to national icon and questions his conceptions of art and architecture. She notes these as having been both hegemonic and anti-hegemonic. Assessing Kandalama, for instance, she reflects on how it incorporated the aesthetics of Sigiriya and Buddhist giri more..

Dec 30 (TM) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe announced for the first time at the last Cabinet meeting that he would contest the next Prez Election. Many in the inner political circles believed that he would gracefully retire from politics, and some politicians, including Wimal Weerawansa, openly predicted the end of Wickremesinghe�s political career. We have seen the common candidacy narrative in 2010 & 2015, courtesy of Fonseka & Sirisena, & this time, it is likely to be an independent candidate more..

Dec 30 (CT) Friedrich A. Hayek, an Austrian-British economist and political philosopher who died in 1992, once remarked, �I do not think it is an exaggeration to say history is largely a history of inflation, usually inflations engineered by govts for the gain of govts.� Sadly, scapegoating the people has become a global trend, and SL is no exception to this phenomenon. SL economy encountered a gradual build-up of turbulence, more..

Dec 30 (ST) Joy and sorrow. Christmas and searing memories of the tsunami inextricably linked for numerous Sri Lankans. Christmas, one of the holiest days for Christians followed by Poya, a day important for Buddhists. It was so in 2004 and it is so this year (2023). Back then soon after the Christmas festivities, huge waves engulfed SL�s eastern and southern coasts taking many to a watery grave on Dec 26. For a little family in Koralawella, Moratuwa, the joy of Christmas and more..

Dec 30 (Island) Sri Lankans are gripped by an anticipatory dread of another surge in the cost of living owing to the crippling effect of enhanced VAT and the expansion of its application. Hardly a day passes without people being shown on TV cursing the govt for the untold suffering it has inflicted on them. Their consternation is understandable, and there is no gainsaying that they deserve redress. Sadly, it is equally undeniable that they deserve the govts they elect, as a truism goes. more..

Dec 30 (wsws) Several workers� action committees in SL have joined their class brothers and sisters around the world in sending protest letters condemning the violent attack on two Socialist Equality Party (SEP) members in SL by pro-govt thugs. Those attacked were Dehin Wasantha, a veteran university worker and a well-known fighter for workers� rights and socialism, and Lakshman Fernando, a full-time SEP party worker. The workers� action committee letters were sent to AG more..

Dec 30 (TM) As this year comes to a close, the task of opening a new tax file is on the minds of many professionals and first-time taxpayers. A tax file needs to be opened with the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) for all those above the age of 18 years, from 1 January next year (2024). President and Minister of Finance, Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his 2023 Budget, urged all above 18 years of age on or after 1 January 2024 to open a tax file with effect from the said date. more..

Dec 30 (ST) Book prices, which escalated over the past year owing to the rupee devaluation, are set to skyrocket next year with the govt�s imposition of an 18% VAT for the first time on the sector. The levy will especially affect imported books, which are already prohibitively expensive. The impact on the education sector will also be significant, trade associations warned. �This is taxation on knowledge,� said Miles Brohier, more..

Dec 30 (DM) Two lawyers today filed a Fundamental Rights petition in the Supreme Court seeking an order quashing the decision of the President to appoint Senior DIG Deshabandu Thennakoon, as the acting IGP. Attorneys-at-law Amila Egodamahawatta and Manoj Nanayakkara filed this petition in view of the recently delivered Supreme Court judgment and having a number of pending cases against him. A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court on Dec 14, more..

Dec 30 (OM) The teardrop-shaped island of Sri Lanka is slowly but surely smiling again. Happy days are here as the nation recently clocked positive growth for the first time in two years after its economy had hit rock bottom. SL has been able to take baby steps towards recovery after riding piggyback on its robust tourism sector. Presently, the island is earnestly rolling out red carpet to tourists who want to enjoy the pristine charm of SL and even the residents of small hamlets more..

Dec 30 (AN) Father Nandana Manatunga is the director and founder of the Human Rights Office (HRO) in Kandy, an organisation that helps victims of torture and gender-based violence, as well as families of the missing or unjustly detained. Christmas �is something that all these people wish for every year,� he said. �They want to be happy together� and �build up good bonds between themselves.� This year the HRO held a meeting on Christmas Day at the Shrine of Fatima more..

Dec 30 (DM) In response to three recent deaths initially linked to Covid-19, the Health Ministry clarified that none of the deaths were caused by the coronavirus. Deputy Director General Dr. G. Wijesuriya said the respective deaths had occurred due to different prolonged diseases. �These three deaths from Kandy, Gampaha and Anuradhapura hospitals have nothing to do with Covid infection despite their PCR reports testing positive following postmortems,� Dr Wijesuriya stated. more..

Dec 30 (FT) Govt on Thursday assured a raft of measures to mitigate any adverse effect from a new VAT regime from 1 Jan 2024. Ministry of Finance, Tax Policy Adviser Thanuja Perera said that the Govt is diligently addressing the impact of the VAT revision. This involves the elimination of additional taxes on goods and services under VAT and implementing necessary tax adjustments. Perera conveyed this information during more..

Dec 30 (AD) Over 10,000 cases of dengue infections have been recorded in the month of December alone, bringing the total number of infections reported in 2023 to 87,078. Accordingly, 10,600 novel dengue cases were witnessed within this month alone, with the highest number of infections being recorded from the Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutara districts, as per health officials. From the 87,078 dengue cases, 39,543 cases were registered in the Western Province. more..

Dec 30 (DN) Killer Whale Aquatics (KWA), the reigning champions in both men�s and women�s categories at the Senior Nationals, continued their outstanding performance on the third day of SL National Swimming Championship at Hillwood College Swimming Pool in Kandy. On this day, KWA clinched 5 gold medals, 2 silver, and 2 bronze, securing the top spot on the medal tally. Gold medalists for KWA included Hiruki de Silva, Ganga Seneviratne, Kyle Abeysinghe, Matthew more..

Dec 30 (Island) Health Minister Ramesh Pathirana needs to change the tainted Board of Directors of the NMRA if he is really keen to address the issues in medical procurement, President of the College of Medical Laboratory Science (CMLS), Ravi Kumudesh, says. Attorney-at-Law Manoj Gamage, who represented former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, is a board member of the NMRA. more..

Dec 30 (DM) State Minister Sanath Nishantha's vehicle came under attack following an accident involving another car at Marawila this morning. The passengers in the car had attacked the State Minister's jeep and caused damages after it collided with the car. The accident occurred in front of the Modarawella Church in Marawila this morning when the State Minister was heading to Dankotuwa to attend an event. A millionaire businessman has been arrested in connection with the incident. more..

Dec 30 (DN) Players like Sanath Jayasuriya and Sidath Wettimuny gave good support to develop Sri Lanka Cricket in a big way said Sports Minister at the presentation ceremony of the inaugural ICCA champions trophy tournament held at MCA grounds. Former SL skipper and present SLC overall cricket Consultant Sanath Jayasuriya and former SL opener Sidath Wettimuny were present on the occasion and Sports Minister pointed out both former players as role models for young cricketers. more..

Dec 30 (DM) PM of Thailand Srettha Thavisin will travel to SL to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) in February following the latest round of talks between the two countries. Chotima Iemsawasdikul, director-general of the ministry's Dept of Trade Negotiations, yesterday said that SL hosted the ninth round of FTA negotiations with Thailand on Dec 18�20, which was attended by Auramon Supthaweethum, director-general of the Dept of Business Development and adviser to the FTA negotiation team. more..

Dec 30 (AD) The prices of all liquor products manufactured by the Distilleries Company of SL (DCSL) are expected to go up from 1 Jan 2024. Accordingly, the prices of all DCSL brands of liquor will be increased by Rs. 90, Rs. 50 and Rs. 20, per 750ml, 375ml and 180ml, respectively. The increased prices are slated to come into effect following the imposition of the revised VAT. VAT (Amendment) Bill was passed in Parliament on 11 Dec, and the relevant tax was thereby more..

Dec 30 (CT) NMRA had been in a very unhealthy position at the time the human immunoglobulin scandal had taken place, as only the former CEO had known the number and to whom the waiver of registrations (WORs) had been given, former Board members of the Authority revealed. They alleged on Friday, that just before appointing all members to the NMRA, the exiting Board had passed a resolution giving sole authority to more..

Dec 30 (DN) Janith Liyanage of Ragama CC and Akila Dananjaya of Colts CC are the top batsman and bowler, respectively, in the Major Clubs Limited Overs cricket tournament. Liyanage, the former St. Peters College Bambalapitiya cricketer, exhibited exceptional form, scoring 383 runs in 6 innings with an average of 63.83. He has already been selected for the preliminary 20-member ODI squad for the forthcoming Zimbabwe series. Galle CC batter Irosha Samarasooriya secures second place more..