Feb 7 (Island) �Despite SL�s free education policy and expansion of state activities in education, public spending on education has historically declined. Govt expenditure on education is low compared to Nepal, India and Malaysia, for example, although research indications are that non-state actor participation in the sector is growing', Director of Research at IPS Dr. Nisha Arunatilaka said. �Encouraging non-state sector participation in education services and expanding on more..

Feb 7 (FT) Govt revenue in November and the first 11 months of 2022 has risen higher than expenditure prompting analysts to question the accuracy of Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe�s recent claims to the contrary. Aided by recent tax revisions Govt revenue rose by a high Rs. 220 billion in November to boost the first 11 months cumulative figure to cross the Rs. 1.8 trillion mark. The latest figure reflects an increase of Rs. 486 billion or 37% in comparison to the first 11 months of 2021. more..

Feb 7 (TM) If the SJB ever gets elected to the helm of power, it will renegotiate the Personal Income Tax (PIT) minimum threshold with the IMF and bring it up to Rs. 250,000 minimum, MP and ex-banker Eran Wickramaratne said. It should be noted that the initial minimum taxable monthly income proposed by the IMF was Rs. 45,000, as claimed by minister Bandula Gunawardana a few weeks ago, but the Govt managed to negotiate and more..

Feb 7 (ST) As SL marked its 75th anniversary of independence from British rule, Kandy�s last king Sri Wickrema Rajasinha was commemorated in the South Indian city of Vellore on Jan 30. The king died 191 years ago and his descendants still conduct religious services to mark his death. The ashes of the king and the queen are interred in a place called Muttu Mandapam. Place where the king was kept in custody is a mansion called Kandy Mahal, a house that belonged to Tipu Sultan, more..

Feb 7 (DN) SL A team is going to strengthen the team by adding a few National players and top form players in their second 4-day unofficial cricket test which will commence today at Galle Int'l cricket stadium. All rounder Chamika Karunaratne who came from ICL T - 20 tournament in Dubai. Leg spinner Praveen Jayawickrama, paceman Vishwa Fernando and opener Lasith Croospulle, Kamindu Mendis and Lahiru Udara have been included for SL 'A' team while inform opener Oshada more..

Feb 7 (FT) The Professionals� Trade Unions Alliance has declared a trade union action for 8 Feb to protest against the Govt�s unfair tax hike. Holding a press conference yesterday, a collective of professionals representing various fields including health, banking and education said they will launch an island wide token strike on the day. The Secretary of the GMOA, Dr. Haritha Aluthge said doctors attached to the GMOA will refrain from engaging in private channelling practice and more..

Feb 7 (DM) Jakarta Police have begun investigations into the death of Managing Director of OPEX Holdings and billionaire businessman, 45 year old Onesh Subasinghe, whose body was found in a serviced apartment in Jakarta, Indonesia, a few days ago. However, Police in Sri Lanka said that they have so far not received a complaint regarding the death by the victim�s family or relatives and no investigation was being carried out by the police here in Sri Lanka. more..

Feb 7 (TM) CEB is facing an uphill battle to obtain funds to make urgent payments for three coal shipments due this week and is presently exploring the options of obtaining a loan from banks, the response for which has been unfavourable thus far, while also pursuing the possibility of utilising monies from customer bill payments received by them this week. CEB is attempting to obtain the loan to provide the funds necessary for more..

Feb 7 (FT) �A rise one more in the exclusive business barometer raises hope of better times,� said business magazine LMD, in its latest edition. LMD continued: �The implications of Budget 2023 will occupy the minds of corporates as the new tax rates and policies kick in. But there�s been a sense of optimism in recent times, even as people acknowledge and realise that difficult times lie ahead for everyone, if the national economy is to recover and stabilise.� more..

Feb 7 (TM) President of the Court of Appeal Justice K.P. Fernando, who was elevated to the Supreme Court (SC) recently, took oaths before Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday at the President's House in Colombo Fort. Meanwhile, Court of Appeal Judge Justice Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne took oaths as the President of the Court of Appeal while High Court Judge M.A.R. Marikkar was sworn in as a Judge of the Court of Appeal before President Wickremesinghe yesterday, PMD announced. more..

Feb 7 (TM) The losses of 52 strategically important State-owned enterprises (SOEs) have amounted to over a staggering Rs. 800 billion last year (2022), latest data has shown. Speaking of these losses, State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe said: �This is not an amount an economy like ours can continue to suffer. We will take a little more time, but we are concentrating mainly on the institutions that have caused more..

Feb 7 (FT) Politicians and their advisors tend to come up with policy positions making little effort to study the domains they are making policies for. An example is the Glyphosate ban implemented and withdrawn during the Sirisena presidency. Ven. Athuraliye Rathana, MP, provided the advice, but had not made the effort to identify acceptable substitutes. Unapproved chemicals worse than Glyphosate were used, leading to problems in the Japanese market for Ceylon Tea. more..

Feb 7 (FT) Many debate if democracy suits all countries, if democracy should be uniquely tailored to each country or if democracy should be a universal panacea as there is ample evidence of successful and failed nations that are democratic. Therefore, it is important to understand the fundamental principles of democracy before we can determine the merits of democracy for some of the people some of the time or all the people all the time. It is widely accepted that more..

Feb 7 (PMD) According to Dr Kapila Senanayake, Director General of the Dept of Financial Policy, the tax on personal income was imposed as a short-term strategy to resurrect the country from the existing economic situation, and this new tax system in SL is of a meagre percentage compared to other Asian countries. Mr Senanayake also stated that there is an opportunity to discuss short-term strategies to provide some relief by considering trade union leaders� & civil org more..

Feb 7 (DM) After 2028, no one will be given teacher appointments except for Bachelor of Education graduates from the National Uni of Education, Minister Susil Premajayantha said. He said that one national university, which combines all 19 faculties of education, will produce graduates in four years. "A/L Z-score recruits undergraduate candidates based on subject-wise vacancies from the first round. After three years of study, in the last year, practical training on teaching will be given, more..

Feb 7 (AD) The Embassy of SL in Ankara has set up two emergency telephone numbers to inquire about or provide information on the Sri Lankans living in Turkey where two powerful earthquakes and a multitude of aftershocks killed more than 4,300 people. Accordingly, the following numbers have been introduced for this purpose: 00903124271032 / 00905344569498. Earlier today, Ambassador of SL to Turkey more..

Feb 7 (AD) Several Fundamental Rights (FR) petitions filed demanding the annulment of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa�s decision to pardon former MP Duminda Silva, who was convicted and sentenced to death over the murder of Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra, was taken up before the Supreme Court this morning. The hearing was held before a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, comprising of Justices Preethi Padman Surasena, Gamini Amarasekera & Arjuna Obeysekera. more..

Feb 7 (DM) The Public Utilities Commission of SL (PUCSL) also has no right or authority over the decision-making process for the electricity tariff hike, Samagi United Trade Union Force (SUTUF) convener and media spokesman Ananda Palitha said. He told the Daily Mirror that the increase in the electricity bill is primarily based on the increase in the cost of producing electricity from fuel. The clause regarding providing fuel for the CEB is included in the PUCSL Act but not authorized. more..

Feb 7 (TM) The Office for Reparations has, as ordered by the Supreme Court (SC), established the Victim Fund to which respondents, including former Prez and Defence Minister and incumbent Opposition MP Maithripala Sirisena, should deposit the relevant payments of Rs. 311 million as compensation ordered by the SC to the victims of the Easter Sunday terror attacks of 21 April 2019 and their families. more..

Feb 7 (TM) There will be no increase in the prices of canteen food despite the hike in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices, confirmed Association of SL Canteen Owners Chairman Asela Sampath. He stated that though the LPG price hikes affect the industry, the corresponding decreases in the prices of several essential products such as flour, sugar, rice, big onions, potatoes, dhal, and vegetables would compensate for the price increase in LPG. �The prices of several essential goods more..

Feb 7 (AD) Cabinet of Ministers has given the approval to appoint committees to conduct a systematic review on 10 ministries to which a higher portion of allocations are made from the annual budget estimations. The proposal was submitted by Prez Wickremesinghe, in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilization and National Policies. According to the Govt Information Dept, the committees will be chaired by a Deputy Treasury Secy or a senior officer of Treasury. more..

Feb 7 (DM) A man and his 12-year-old daughter drowned after they fell into the Kumbukkanaruwa Oya in Pulasthipura while taking a selfie today. Police said the 46-year-old man and his daughter who went to see the Kumbukkanaruwa Oya had fallen and had been swept away by the current near the Galwala Junction area. The police, residents, police lifeguards, navy officers and volunteer divers immediately launched an operation to find the missing father and daughter. more..

Feb 7 (EN) Enterprising Sri Lankans have come up with the idea of a rage room to help people vent their anger as the country is in the grip of a deep economic crisis. A rage room, also known as a smash room or anger room, is a room where people can vent their frustrations by destroying objects, to relieve stress. �The idea of opening a smash/rage room came � when I and my partner were discussing new business concepts that could be introduced to SL to help battle its current more..

Feb 7 (Island) Prof. G.L. Peiris, MP, faulted the Attorney General�s Dept for the prosecution of illegally arrested IUSF Convener, Wasantha Mudalige. Referring to the judgment given by Fort Chief Magistrate, Prasanna Alwis, on Feb 1, in respect of a high profile case filed in terms of the PTA, former External Affairs Minister said that the police were found fault with for fabricating lies in a bid to implicate the student leader. more..

Feb 7 (TM) The main Opposition SJB is to boycott both the ceremonial opening of the fourth session of the ninth Parliament tomorrow (8) and the Govt policy statement to be delivered by Prez Wickremesinghe. Chief Opposition Whip and SJB MP Lakshman Kiriella said yesterday (6) that his party�s Parliamentary group met five days ago and decided to boycott the above. �By proroguing the Parliament, he has obstructed the smooth functioning of the Parliament. more..

Feb 7 (CT) While pledging to make education a fundamental right of the people when the Jathika Jana Balawegaya (JJB) comes to power, its leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said after that the people can go to Supreme Court to file a case against the Govt if there are no basic facilities in schools. Dissanayake noted that Government is responsible for the education of every child and it is not fair to differentiate education of students based on their economic levels. more..

Feb 7 (DM) Disclosing the expenses of the Independence Day celebration, the President's Office said the govt spent only Rs. 11 million on the 75th National Independence Day celebrations this year. President�s Media Division (PMD) issuing a statement on false news circulating on social media said the govt has spent only Rs.11,130,011.29 on the 75th National Independence Day celebrations this year. more..

Feb 7 (TM) China�s Finance Minister and its CB Governor will attend a roundtable with other creditors and some borrowing countries in February in India, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said during a CBS interview on Sunday. �China has to change its policies because low-income countries cannot pay,� she said. �What we are working towards is to bring all creditors, the traditional creditors from advanced economies, new creditors like China, Saudi Arabia, India, as well as more..

Feb 7 (TM) Bangladesh is expected to get back the money borrowed by Sri Lanka by September this year as the country�s economic situation is improving, according to Bangladesh�s Foreign Minister, The Business Standard reported. �SL is gradually doing better. They are recovering slowly. We have given them time till September (to repay the loan),� Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen had told Bangladeshi reporters, hoping for repayment by SL within the timeframe. more..

Feb 7 (CT) Petition filed by the Egg Producers� Association, challenging the Extraordinary Gazette issued in Aug 2022 setting a maximum retail price (MRP) of eggs, was withdrawn by the Petitioner yesterday, on the basis that they are satisfied with the new MRP for eggs. This was following a request made by the Petitioner to Court of Appeal Judge K.A. Swarnadipathi. Court of Appeal on 15 Dec 2022 issued an interim order suspending the Extraordinary Gazette until more..

Feb 7 (DM) The Opatha police have commenced an investigation to arrest a charmer (Kapua) who allegedly raped a twelve-year-old minor girl at a house in Opatha, Galle while performing a Pooja for 8 days. Police said that a woman had brought the suspect charmer to her house to remove an alleged curse on her husband. The custodian had reportedly performed a ritual on her husband. The charmer who saw the girl in the house, told the residents that he could invoke a divine blessing upon more..

Feb 7 (AD) The Paris Club of creditor nations have provided the required financing assurances to support the IMF) approval for the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Sri Lanka, PMD reported. The PMD reported that the Paris Club members expressed their commitment to negotiate debt restructuring with Sri Lanka in accordance with the comparability of treatment principle and with the goal of restoring debt sustainability. more..

Feb 7 (Island) Department of Agriculture has determined that Potassium deficiency is the root cause of yellowing paddy cultivation and other diseases are also caused by that nutritional paucity. It has emphasised that Potassium (K) deficiency is the basic cause of the yellowing of the paddy cultivation, which has been recorded in between 08 and 10 percent of the 770,000 hectares of paddy cultivated this maha season. Dept of Agriculture said that the research carried out in this regard more..

Feb 7 (AD) Former Deputy Minister Sarana Gunawardena was today granted bail by the Colombo High Court from a case filed by the CIABOC. Gunawardena had been charged with misusing a state vehicle valued at over Rs. 10 million belonging to the Development Lotteries Board (DLB) while serving as its Chairman back in 2007. Accordingly, the relevant case was called before HC Judge Amal Ranaraja, who ordered Gunwardena to be released on a cash bail more..

Feb 7 (AD) Supreme Court has reserved the order on issuing notice to the CEB and other relevant parties over the contempt case filed by Human Rights Commission of SL (HRCSL) accusing them of contempt by violating an order issued by commission to refrain from imposing power cuts during the A/L exam period. The case was taken up for the second day today before the 3-member SC bench comprising Justice Gamini more..