Feb 1 (AD) Ahead of the LG election next month, PAFFREL has set up a special unit to receive complaints against violations of election laws. The election monitoring organization urges the members of the public to inform of any incidents of bribing of voters, distribution of goods and misuse of public property including resources belonging to local govt bodies for election campaigns and promotion of election candidates, making of new appointments and transfers and promotions offered during more..

Feb 1 (DM) Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe through his lawyer today informed the Court of Appeal that there is no necessity to take action against Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) until a comprehensive report from the Auditor General on SLC T20 world cup-2023 expenditure is received. President�s Counsel Sanjeeva Jayawardena appearing for the Sports Minister made these remarks when a writ petition filed by SLC more..

Feb 1 (EN) Shares edged up on Wednesday pushed as investors bought in to beaten down shares following the previous session�s drop, market analyst said. �At this price level what we are seeing is a lot of confidence from the investors to collect when the prices drop. So, the market is not falling sharply,� a market analyst said. Market had also seen buying in Expolanka shares on speculation that the parent company of SG Holdings was buying back into the shares. ASPI edged up by 0.96% more..

Feb 1 (EN) John Keells Holdings said it is in talks for international gaming expertise for a casino at its Cinnamon Life resort. �..[T]he Group is currently engaged in discussions to secure the necessary int'l gaming expertise to operate at Cinnamon Life,� Chairman Krishan Balendra told sharehodlers. �Based on preliminary discussions, it is estimated that the overall fitout of the gaming space will take a period of approximately 12 months once the design aspects are finalized.� more..

Feb 1 (AD) The UK and the US have urged Sri Lanka to repeal the controversial PTA and decriminalize same-sex conduct. The UK and US representatives made this appeal at the UNHRC�s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group when SL's human rights record were examined for the fourth time today (1). Sri Lanka is one of the countries reviewed by the UPR Working Group during its 42nd session in Geneva. more..

Feb 1 (CI) Vishmi Gunaratne, fresh from captaining SL in the Women's Under-19 T20 World Cup, will now link up with the senior side, as SL announced their 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup. Gunaratne's inclusion is one of three changes to the squad that emerged runners-up in the Women's Asia Cup last October, with veteran seamer Ama Kanchana and allrounder Sathya Sandeepani also earning recalls. 23-year-old Sandeepani was drafted in as an injury replacement for Hasini Perera, more..

Feb 1 (AD) The Fort Magistrate�s Court today granted bail to Wasantha Mudalige, convener of the IUSF over three cases against him. Mudalige was also released on orders of Colombo Chief Magistrate Prasanna Alwis yesterday, from the charges filed against him under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). Delivering the order, the chief magistrate mentioned that the accused, who was detained since 22 August 2022, was not found to have committed any offices under the PTA. more..

Feb 1 (CI) Tom Haines' century on debut has put England Lions in a commanding position on day two of the second unofficial Test in Galle. The Sussex opener scored 118 from No. 3 as the Lions finished their innings on 467, establishing a first-innings lead of 331. The hosts were able to whittle that down to 103 by close, with a century from Oshada Fernando and unbeaten 91 from Nishan Madushka in a strong response of 228 for 1 in their second innings. Haines, 24, has been touted more..

Feb 1 (AD) SL has been listed amongst the 50 Most Instagrammable Places in the World 2023 on travel website Big 7 Travel. The island nation made it to the Top 10 of the list, ranking ninth, amongst Italy, England, France and USA. The list is developed via a comprehensive scoring system that analyses the number of hashtags and TikTok views per destination, while sample surveys from the Big 7 Media�s 1.5 million audiences and their global editorial team is also taken into account. more..

Feb 1 (TM) SL is ranked at the 101st place in Transparency International�s latest Corruption Perceptions Index of 2022 released yesterday and has scored 36 out of 100, one point lower than in the previous year (2021). SL ranks alongside Panama, Albania, Kazakhstan, Serbia, Ecuador, Peru & Thailand. Over the past decade, SL�s score has remained relatively the same, with highest being 40 in 2012 & lowest being 36. more..

Feb 1 (Island) Election Commission (EC) has expressed its disappointment at controversial statements made by some public officials about elections. It says some top government official, including the Director General of Government Information, are not familiar with the basic election laws and regulations laid down in the Constitution. The EC says it may be due to his ignorance that the Director General of Govt Information has issued the Special News Release, on 29 Jan, more..

Feb 1 (AD) Workers� remittances in 2022 recorded a decline of 31% in comparison to USD 5,491 million in 2021, Central Bank says. According to the CB�s report on external sector performance in 2022, the workers� remittances amounted to USD 3,789 million last year. However, a notable recovery was witnessed during the latter part of the year. Workers� remittances have increased to USD 476 million in the month of December last year, in comparison to USD 384 million in November. more..

Feb 1 (Reuters) US wants China to provide credible and specific assurances to the IMF along with other creditors to help SL unlock a $2.9 billion bailout, a senior U.S. diplomat said. SL entered into a staff level agreement with the global lender last September but needs financing assurances from key bilateral lenders China and Japan before disbursements can begin. India, the third significant lender, dispatched its more..

Feb 1 (DM) Colombo High Court today permitted Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella to travel abroad from Feb 21 to May 20. Minister Rambukwella whose passport was impounded by Court in connection with GI Pipes Case, sought Colombo HC�s permission to temporary lift his travel ban enabling him to supply essential medicines required for the country through the diplomatic channels. Bribery Commission had filed indictments in Colombo High Court against more..

Feb 1 (DM) Some 46 people die of cancer every day in Sri Lanka out of the 105 cancer patients who are detected daily, National Cancer Control Unit (NCCU) Director Dr. Ishani Fernando said today. She told a news conference in line with the World Cancer Day which falls on February 4, a total of 38,229 new cancer patients were detected in 2020 and 16,691 out of them died due to the disease. She said it was observed that females were prone to get cancer whereas mortality was high among males. more..

Feb 1 (DM) Catholic Church would have forgiven former President Maithripala Sirisena if he had accepted his shortcoming and resigned the day after the Easter Sunday bomb attacks, a spokesman for the church said today. �We would have forgiven the former President if he had resigned from the post the very next day after the bomb attacks after accepting the shortcomings on his part,� Archdiocese of Colombo social communications unit Member Fr. Cyril Gamni Fernando said today. more..

Feb 1 (AD) SL�s Catholic Church has decided to boycott the 75th Independence Day celebrations on the 4th of February. Speaking at a media briefing in Colombo earlier today, Rev. Fr. Cyril Gamini took issue with the govt�s move to allocate a sum to the tune of Rs. 200 million for the event, slamming it as a crime against the people and a huge waste. Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith and the other members of the Catholic Church will not attend the Independence Day celebrations, he added. more..

Feb 1 (Island) One-time Surveyor General Michael de Silva, who served as SL High Commissioner in Australia (2004-2007) says in spite of begging for medicine and medical equipment, health ministry sabotaged ongoing Australian Medical Aid Programme meant to assist state-run hospitals. Declaring that under the programme launched 15 years ago, 102 forty foot container loads of medical equipment worth over more..

Feb 1 (AD) Mahaweli Authority of SL has stated that they are no longer able to release adequate volumes of water from reservoirs for the uninterrupted supply of electricity. Accordingly, Deputy Director General of the Mahaweli Authority noted that only those volumes of water required for the usual generation of electricity, with the scheduled power cuts in effect, can be supplied. He explained that although heavy rains were expected in the Mahaweli river basins both yesterday and today, more..

Feb 1 (CT) Doctors gave an ultimatum of one week to the Govt to address the medicinal drug shortage and to amend the new tax policy. They vowed to initiate strong trade union action next week, with the support of over 40 trade unions, if their demands went unheeded. They said they will watch and wait this week before resorting to stronger action next week if the Health Ministry fails to provide a lasting solution to the medicinal drug issue and if the Govt does not amend new Inland Revenue Act more..

Feb 1 (TM) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe has ordered the submission of a complete report to the Cabinet of Ministers next week regarding the parties that have refrained from granting the necessary approval to import eggs. Cabinet Spokesman Bandula Gunawardana noted that there will be a higher-than-normal demand for eggs during the coming festive season and said that if there is no adequate production in SL, more..

Feb 1 (NR) SL�s National Report under the 4th Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) was taken up for consideration today by the UN Working Group on UPR during its 42nd Session in Geneva. Due to the 75th Anniversary of Independence celebrations falling during the same period, SL�s delegation to the Review was led by Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry by means of a pre-recorded video statement. Addressing the UN Working Group, Minister Sabry said SL is a state party to 16 major more..

Feb 1 (DM) Graduate teacher candidates were told not to attend extra tuition classes and prepare for the teacher exam, Education Minister Susil Premajayantha said. While addressing an event held at the Ministry today, he said the wider educational transformation process that goes beyond the education reform, does not hope to produce a group of people who memorize everything taught and write answers in the examination papers. He said this while commenting on an advertisement more..

Feb 2 (DM) Building bridges across boundaries is the theme of the UN World Interfaith Harmony week from Feb 1 to 7. This is an annual event observed during the first week of February, after the General Assembly designation in 2010. General Assembly pointed out that mutual understanding and interreligious dialogue constitute important dimensions of a culture of peace and established World Interfaith Harmony Week as a way to promote harmony between all people regardless of more..

Feb 2 (CT) I would like to outline the horrors of most public hospitals even in major towns across SL. Most of these health facilities seem to have stopped in a time warp from the mid 1960s' or so, except for some of the equipment used. I studied several hospitals while purportedly visiting patients. A cardinal principle in a hospital is that it should not cause harm to a patient, especially through neglect. It was shocking to observe invasive procedures ranging from insertion of a cannula, more..

Feb 2 (TM) Irrespective of the fact that SL�s plantation industry is still greatly contributing to the economy amidst the negative impacts of short-sighted policy decisions and the prevailing economic downturn, the industry is yet to receive adequate support from the Govt, especially in terms of favourable policy decisions, in order to recover. At the same time, the support of various stakeholders is necessary in order to implement several more..

Feb 2 (DM) Right now, we are all speaking of independence. But, what have we gained from independence? What have we carried with us through the years? What has proven positive for our nation? There was a huge struggle in India and there was agitation in SL. India lost a lot of lives and faced destruction during their fight for independence; but to SL, it was thankfully given without much bloodshed. All those who lost their lives for this cause, those who went to jail, and more..

Feb 2 (FT) SL formerly known as Ceylon is about to celebrate its 75th anniversary of independence from Britain on 4 Feb. The island nation has in its 75-year post-independence period experienced several troubles and upheavals ranging from communal pogroms to internal civil wars. In spite of these trials and tribulations, SL can be proud of continuing to remain a democracy. A democracy with many flaws but nevertheless a democracy! One of the many crises undergone by the island nation in its more..

Feb 2 (TM) Key individuals behind the proposed Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA) reforms have allegedly faced intimidation at the hand of groups opposing the change to legislation, but have decided not to lodge complaints with the Police so as not to aggravate the sensitive cultural issue. Sunday Morning learns that MMDA activists are facing intimidation and abuse both on social media as well in person over the telephone. more..

Feb 2 (TM) This first week of February has been declared by the UN as the World Interfaith Harmony Week, regarding which the UN General Assembly has said that mutual understanding and interreligious dialogue constitute important dimensions of a culture of peace. Recognising the imperative need for dialogue among different faiths and religions to enhance mutual understanding, harmony, and co-operation among people, it encourages all States to spread the message more..

Feb 2 (CT) The 7th Executive Prez of SL, Maithripala Sirisena, who is now a Member of Parliament, and is planning to take to the streets with a begging bowl to collect monies to pay compensation to the Easter Sunday Attack victims from the public he continues to conveniently deceive, on Tuesday, expressed his intention to run for Prez once more in 2024. Launching what appeared to be his presidential campaign, Sirisena extended an apology to Catholic community more..

Feb 2 (ST) Oh what a din! Aldoris was coming down the lane in his tuk-tuk with blaring music and stopped at the gate where the trio had gathered. �Aiyo, oyage sangeetha harima saddai-ne (Aiyo, your music is too loud),� exclaimed Serapina. �Samawenna miss. Mama ada sathuten inne mata Honda bisness thibba hinda eeiye (Sorry Miss, I am in a happy mood today as I had good business yesterday),� replied Aldoris with a sheepish grin, handing over some fish buns to the trio. more..

Feb 2 (Island) Prez�s Counsel Manohara de Silva recently questioned the failure on the part of the cash-strapped CEB to provide electricity, without interruption, at least during the GCE A/L exam. The outspoken lawyer raised the issue with the writer, on Jan 23, the day the delayed examination began at 2,200 centres, with 331,709 students sitting the exam, countrywide. It was, originally, to commence on Dec 5, 2022. The constitutional expert pointed out how even in the implementation of more..

Feb 2 (CT) When Uditha Hettige started out doing field excursions in 1990, in search of SLs rich bird life, he would visit Bodhinagala Forest Reserve in the country�s west each week. Overnighting at a nearby school, he recalls just how common it was to hear the call of species like the SL frogmouth (Batrachostomus moniliger) and to encounter the endemic green-billed coucal (Centropus chlororhynchos) in home gardens more..

Feb 2 (FT) With January arrivals breaking the 100,000 mark for the first time in nine months, SL�s tourism industry starts out in 2023 on a positive note. As per provisional data, a total of 102,545 tourists arrived in January. However, January arrivals could not beat the 106,500 recorded in Mar 2022 � highest for a month since the onset of the pandemic in Mar 2020. January tourist arrivals recorded an increase of 25% year-on-year, largely influenced by Russian tourists, maintaining more..

Feb 2 (ST) Former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Deputy Director General Dhammika Perera may come back to the old haunt, after his Wednesday�s acquittal by the Colombo High Court in a case of alleged misappropriation of state funds while in office. Along with Mr. Perera, SLPP MP Dr. Nalaka Godahewa, who was the SEC chairman at the time, and Tharunyata Hetak organisation Sports Director Ronnie Ibrahim were acquitted by the Colombo HC and released. more..