Jan 12 (FT) The talks between several Tamil political parties in Sri Lanka with Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe have been postponed indefinitely. The group including the TNA were set to engage in a marathon round of talks with Wickremesinghe commencing yesterday and continuing till 13 January. Instead, the parties have submitted three demands to Prez calling on him to provide solutions to these within a week�s time. They are demanding the full implementation of the 13th Amendment more..

Jan 12 (DN) Former SL paceman Chaminda Vaas who is presently working as the Head Coach of the Dhaka Dominators team at the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) said that the new role gives much-needed exposure for his coaching career while it's Vaas' first overseas franchise-based tournament. "I am really happy to work with Bangladesh cricketers as well as some foreign players in the BPL. As a former paceman, I have good experience but here in Bangladesh, they organize this tournament more..

Jan 12 (FT) Standard Chartered Bank this week said that SL�s critical debt restructuring is facing further delays posing fresh setbacks and estimates that a resolution to the entire exercise to be reached only by end 2023. The assessment by Standard Chartered Global Research is via its latest credit alert series. �We think debt restructuring could be pushed back to end-2023 due to delays in the IMF program,� it said. more..

Jan 12 (DM) The govt�s move to import eggs will be an utter failure and will be a waste of foreign exchange as the present shortage of eggs will be rectified in two months, AIEPA said. Sources within the industry also alleged that the decision to import eggs was done with ulterior motives best known to those in charge. AIEPA Treasurer Wijeya Alwis said that a similar decision to import eggs was implemented by former Trade Minister Johnston Fernando back in 2010 where he imported more..

Jan 12 (CI) The last time India and SL played an ODI at Eden Gardens, in 2014, Rohit Sharma smashed a world-record 264. He looked set for a big hundred in Tuesday's ODI in Guwahati as well before getting out for a 67-ball 83. Still, it was a big positive for India as Rohit was playing his first game after his hand injury in Bangladesh. Rohit's decisions regarding the playing XI too proved to be right. Before the opening ODI, he had announced that Shubman Gill was ahead of Ishan Kishan more..

Jan 12 (TM) Govt of SL (GoSL) has expressed deep regret in protest against the decision taken by the Govt of Canada to impose sanctions on former State officials including former Presidents Mahinda Rajapaksa and Gotabaya Rajapaksa over alleged gross and systematic human rights violations linked to the war. Accordingly, it was mentioned on the official Twitter account of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that more..

Jan 12 (FT) Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Sabry on Tuesday chaired the first diplomatic briefing for Colombo-based diplomatic corps for the New Year focussing on the current developments. He highlighted that Sri Lanka is looking towards 2023 as a year of socio-economic stabilisation, reconciliation and recovery and outlined several areas of progress made in the country towards recovery and initiatives taken amidst challenges which has led to a greater degree of stability for the people. more..

Jan 12 (FT) Issuing a statement, the Bar Association of SL said the decision to direct all District Secretaries to refrain from accepting deposits from candidates for the Local Authorities election could result in the nomination process to the local authorities being brought to a standstill thus effectively overturning the decision of the Returning Officers and the Elections Commission to receive nominations and thereafter to conduct elections to the Local Authorities in the country. more..

Jan 12 (EN) SL�s 5-member election commission is undivided on its position on holding the local govt elections as scheduled, Election Commission Chairman Nimal Punchihewa said dismissing reports to the contrary. At a press briefing held in Colombo on Wednesday, Punchihewa, flanked by his fellow commissioners, said the commission was united in its plans to see the election through. At least one weekend newspaper reported on Sunday that Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe had summoned more..

Jan 12 (Island) 95% of microbusinesses supported through the Govt and NGO mechanisms tend to become no longer active or successful within 5 years, according to an experienced mentor of entrepreneurship, Dr. Premasiri Gamage, Management guru and personality trainer specialized in rural entrepreneurship development and micro finance revealed. �15% of these micro businesses are constantly moving in a roundabout without making any progress and seeking more..

Jan 12 (BBC) SL's central bank has urged China and India to agree a write-down of their loans as soon as possible. The crisis-hit Indian Ocean state defaulted on its debt repayments and negotiated a $2.9bn (�2.4bn) bailout. But the IMF will not release the cash until China and India first agree to reduce SL's billions of dollars of debt. The governor of SL's central bank told BBC Newsnight it was in the interest of all parties to act quickly. more..

Jan 12 (TM) Sri Lanka�s passport, which has free access to only 42 countries � and is only marginally ahead of troubled Afghanistan which is at the 109th position with access to 27 destinations � has been listed in the 100th position of the latest Henley Passport Index which is a new quarterly report released by the London, UK based global citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley and Partners and which utilises data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for the purpose. more..

Jan 12 (Island) Executive Director of the Institute of Democratic Reforms and Electoral Studies Manjula Gajanayake said that the Secretary to the Ministry of Public Admin, Home Affairs, PCs and LG Neil Hapuhinna should resign from his post immediately. Gajanayake said Hapuhinna in his capacity as Secretary to the Ministry of Public Admin, Home Affairs, PCs and LG had by letter dated 10th Jan instructed all District Secretaries to refrain from accepting deposits from political parties more..

Jan 12 (AD) Adarsha Karadana, who was recently in the spotlight after releasing a controversial video of her estranged partner former MP Ashu Marasinghe, has been arrested by Police Computer Crimes Division of the CID. Accordingly, Karadana was arrested over a complaint lodged by the former Presidential Advisor, pertaining to a video released by the former in which Marasinghe is allegedly seen sexually abusing her pet dog. On 24 Dec, Marasinghe had filed a complaint with CID more..

Jan 12 (ABC) A Sydney magistrate has adjourned the rape case of Sri Lankan cricketer, Danushka Gunathilaka, so a police brief of evidence can be finalised. The 31-year-old is charged with four counts of sexually assaulting a woman he met on dating app Tinder in November last year, when he was in Australia to play in the T20 World Cup. Police say he had drinks with her in a bar in Sydney's CBD, before going back to her Rose Bay home in the eastern suburbs. more..

Jan 12 (TM) The SLFP has aligned with several other parties, including the Freedom National Congress and the Supreme Lanka Coalition, to contest in the upcoming LG election under the name of the Freedom People�s Front with the helicopter as their official symbol. The formal alliance was made last afternoon (11) at the SLFP head office premises. Accordingly, the members of the SLFP led by party Chairman former Prez and MP Maithripala more..

Jan 12 (AD) Supreme Court upheld the verdict issued by the Colombo High Court Trial-at-Bar on former Prez Maithripala Sirisena�s Chief of Staff and former Chairman of State Timber Corporation (STC), and confirmed their jail sentences over charges of accepting a bribe of Rs. 20 million. Accordingly, Supreme Court upheld the verdict issued by the High Court Trial-at-Bar, and confirmed the jail sentence on former Prez�s Chief of Staff, K. Mahanama and former STC Chairman more..

Jan 12 (EN) A top US security officials met President Ranil Wickremesinghe and discussed maritime matters, amid rising worries over Chinese activities in the Indian Ocean surrounded by the island nation. Rear Admiral Eileen Laubacher, US Senior Director for South Asia for National Security Council met Prez Wickremesinghe and said that the U.S. values SL�s partnership and is keen to further strengthen ties between the two countries through a broad array of partnerships, President�s office said. more..

Jan 12 (TM) While noting that there is no authority except for the Election Commission (EC) and the Judiciary to issue orders or instructions to Returning Officers after their appointment, the EC stated that it will summon the Public Admin, Home Affairs, PCs and LG Secretary Neel Hapuhinna to inquire about the letter which the latter had issued to all District Secretaries (DSs) on Tuesday (10) advising them to refrain from more..

Jan 12 (FT) A Prez who sabotages an electoral process is like a CEO who sabotages a fire-alarm system in his factory. Prez Wickremesinghe was completely correct to condemn the invasion of the National Assembly in Brasilia. Invasion of a parliament and government buildings by a mob which refuses to recognise and respect the results of a prez election (which has yielded a pro-people progressive president) and calls upon the military to intervene to restore the defeated more..

Jan 12 (FT) How can SL come out of the pit it has fallen into and rise up? Given the current situation in SL, it would be a hard call to attract large-scale foreign investments in the short term. This is due to a few reasons � unstable Govt due to the friction between the Govt and the people, alleged human rights violations, high inflation resulting in escalating production cost, return on investment risk in a declining economy, the risk of uninterrupted power and energy supply, to name a few. more..

Jan 12 (EN) Colombo Stock Exchange officials are optimistic about the market performance this year after more than 30% drop last year amid rising uncertainty over possible local debt restructuring. Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe�s government has yet to decide if it would go for local debt restructuring. But such a move could trigger a banking sector collapse and drag the risky assets this year, market analysts say. Dilshan Weerasekera, chairman of the CSE said the market is attractive more..

Jan 12 (AD) Western Province � South Crimes Unit have arrested a woman in possession of a haul of �Ice� drugs and heroin in the Dedigamuwa area of Hanwella. Police have also taken custody of 520 grams of �Ice� drugs and 202 grams of heroin, with an estimated street value of around Rs. 20 million, an electric scale and three bank passbooks found in the possession of the arrested woman. Stock of drugs were found inside her handbag, when the police had arrested and checked her, more..

Jan 12 (AD) The Supreme Court has found that former Prez Maithripala Sirisena, former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando, former IGP Pujith Jayasundara, former National Intelligence Chief Sisira Mendis and former Chief of State Intelligence Nilantha Jayawardena have violated the Fundamental Rights of petitioners, by failing to take action to prevent the Easter Sunday attacks despite receiving sufficient intelligence information. more..

Jan 12 (DM) Former Prez Maithripala Sirisena must accept total fault for the Easter Sunday Attacks, MP Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka said. He added that the former President must face a more severe punishment, as compensation cannot do justice to the victims and the country. Earlier today, the Supreme Court ordered Sirisena to pay compensation to the victims of the 2019 Easter bombings. The verdict by a 7-member bench headed by Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya more..

Jan 12 (AD) MP Namal Rajapaksa has condemned the recent sanctions imposed by Canada against four SL state officials, including two former Presidents, allegedly responsible for gross and systematic violations of human rights during SL�s civil war. While acknowledging that Canada has a sovereign right to decide such matters, the former Minister expressed his dissent towards the apparent double standards and hidden agendas adopted by Canada when assessing facts in this regard. more..

Jan 12 (TM) The GMOA which handed over a petition signed by 15,000 doctors across the Island to the Presidential Secretariat protesting the personal income tax reforms proposed by the Govt, also issued a warning that it will not hesitate to take strict measures in the future if the Govt does not revise the said tax policies. Speaking to the media after handing over the petition to the Presidential Secretariat yesterday (11), GMOA Secretary more..

Jan 12 (TM) A sum of Rs. 200 million has been allocated for the 75th Independence Day celebration to be held on 4 February at the Galle Face in Colombo, confirmed Secretary to the Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, PCs and LGs Neel Bandara Hapuhinna. He affirmed that the Treasury has already made the necessary budgetary allocations for the ceremony, adding however that the Ministry is attempting its best to cut down on the costs of organising the said event. more..

Jan 12 (AD) Adarsha Karadana, who was arrested by CID yesterday, has been released on bail by the Colombo Magistrate�s Court. Accordingly, Karadana was released on two surety bails of Rs. 500,000 each on the orders of Colombo Chief Magistrate Prasanna Alwis. Karadana was arrested by the Police Computer Crimes Division of the CID yesterday over a complaint filed by the former Prez Advisor, pertaining to a video released by her in which Marasinghe is allegedly seen more..

Jan 12 (EN) Sri Lanka has started to conduct a sequencing test to identify new COVID 19 variants in the country, a health expert said, after some new variants of the virus have been identified in other parts of the world. According to the WHO, 105,428 SARS-CoV-2 sequences have been sent to all the countries between Dec 2 to Jan 2. Among these, 103 723 sequences were the Omicron variant of concern (VOC), accounting for 98.4% of sequences reported globally in the past 30 days. more..

Jan 12 (TM) Minister Mahinda Amaraweera stated that Govt had to use a portion of the Rs. 10.05 billion earned by the Dept of Agrarian Development by selling urea and other types of fertilisers in the last Yala cultivating season and the 2022/23 Maha season in order to pay the salaries of public servants. Speaking during a meeting, he said: �The Department earned a sum of Rs. 10 billion by selling urea and other types of fertilisers during the last Yala and Maha seasons. more..

Jan 12 (EN) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe has held a video conference with Chairman of the Export-Import (Exim) Bank of China Wu Fulin on bilateral cooperation and debt issues, Chinese embassy in Colombo said. The embassy tweeted Wednesday (11) evening that the talks were fruitful and that the two sides agreed to further strengthen exchanges and collaboration on the resolution of Sri Lanka�s debt issues, more..

Jan 12 (DM) The Rambukkana Police Crimes Unit launched an investigation into the murder of two youth in the Rambukkana area. Police suspect that the two youth, residents of Mawanella, were reportedly murdered a few weeks ago over failure to pay the money after obtaining drugs. The family members of the deceased had lodged a complaint with the Kegalle police earlier over the disappearance of youth. The suspects had killed the youth and buried them in the same garden. more..

Jan 12 (DM) Due to the lack of Naphtha to operate the Kelanitissa Power Station, it might be disabled from tomorrow morning, CEB Chairman Nalinda Ilangakoon said. He said that the plant has enough naphtha to operate until tomorrow morning and also mentioned that the petroleum corporation is ready to give naphtha only for cash in hand. He further said that the CEB is negotiating with the authorities to find money to pay the CPC to buy the naphtha needed to operate the plant. more..

Jan 12 (TM) Noting that there was no progress at the meeting held on Tuesday between the Tamil political parties and the Govt representatives including Prez Wickremesinghe, TNA noted that a timeframe of one week has been provided to the Govt to examine the issues relating to missing persons and the release of PTA prisoners and lands in the North, depending on which reply, they would decide on whether or not to meet again. more..