Jan 12 (AD) SSP Nihal Thalduwa has denied recent allegations that both, the Police and other related investigative agencies are being bribed by a hidden hand to suppress the truth pertaining to the murder of famed businessman Dinesh Schaffter. Thalduwa asserted that if, in the event, such an attempt is made to conceal the truth, legal action will be taken against any such individual. He further explained that comprehensive probes are currently underway into the death of Schaffter, more..

Jan 12 (TM) SL�s tea industry is facing a continuing drop in tea production, as small tea estate owners are not investing in fertiliser, while the quality of tea leaves has dropped by over 70% due to the lack of fertiliser, said SL Tea Factory Owners� Association (SLTFOA). SLTFOA Director said that although many of the factories were developed in an effort to increase production in the past few years on low-interest credit facilities, tea production has dropped due to the shortage of fertiliser. more..

Jan 12 (EN) SL allowed Qatar Charity to open a country office after the Middle Eastern organization pledged $11 million worth of aid to help the crisis hit the island nation, a foreign ministry statement said, two years after the the main charity arm of Qatar Govt banned its alleged role in Easter Sunday bombing, CEO of the Qatar Charity Yousef Al-Kuwari had met Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Sabry and had assured �all possible support to SL, and stated that 11 million USD worth of projects more..

Jan 12 (TM) Over hundreds Sri Lanka�s profit-making Foreign Employment Bureau (SLBFE) workers surrounded the state-owned institution�s General Manager office, demanding their bonus, an official at The Ministry of Foreign Employment Bureau ministry said. �The COPE has recommended not to pay bonuses. Accordingly, the bonuses for the bureau employees were not paid. However, the bureau has made a profit last year unlike other loss-making govt enterprises,� the official said. more..

Jan 12 (Reuters) SL is preparing to issue two-year oil and gas exploration licenses for as many as 900 offshore blocks for foreign firms to scout for energy resources and bring in vital investments to the crisis-hit country. Starting up oil production is part of Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe�s plan to attract foreign investment as he seeks to stabilise the economy amid the country�s worst economic crisis in seven decades. more..

Jan 12 (TM) Members of SL Retailers� Association (SLRA) raised growing concerns about the plight of the local economy and the impacts of the current economic conditions on the retail industry. They addressed their concerns and questions to a panel of experts at the recently concluded SLRA Members� Forum. SLRA President Murali Prakash addressed the attendees on the SLRA�s strategies implemented to create a better understanding of the retail sector, its challenges, and the necessity for more..

Jan 12 (CT) Colombo Fort Magistrate Thilina Gamage yesterday, ordered to temporarily lift the overseas travel ban imposed on former Prez Mahinda Rajapaksa, for a period of 10 days. SLPP MP�s passport had been impounded by Court, in connection with the case, where a group of supporters of the former Prez, have been charged with assaulting a group of peaceful anti-Govt protesters, at Galle Face Green last May. Magistrate Gamage ordered to temporarily lift more..

Jan 12 (AFP) Sri Lanka's inglorious exit from the T20 cricket World Cup in Australia was accompanied by players partying at casinos, corruption and the influence of a fake prophet, an inquiry showed. Batsman Danushka Gunathilaka was arrested hours after Sri Lanka's tournament prematurely ended and has been charged with four counts of sexual assault on a woman in Sydney. An independent panel which investigated more..

Jan 12 (CT) State Minister Arundika Fernando said SL can expect to receive USD 6.5 billion in compensation for the MV X-Press Pearl Disaster that occurred on 20 May 2021, and that Govt officials should do everything possible to obtain the maximum compensation from the ship owner. MEPA handed over the second interim report on the maritime disaster, and Minister said a large compensation can be expected based on the report compiled by the panel of 40 experts. more..

Jan 12 (FT) SL has issued an all-time high of 874,955 passports last year with the Immigration and Emigration Dept amidst challenges rising to the challenge of unprecedented demand primarily influenced by migration. As per the dept's history, highest number of passports issued was in 2016, at 658,725 for the entire year. The output of 2022 is 33% higher than the previous high in 2016. Passport issuance in 2022 has increased sharply by 492, 435 or 129% from 382,560 passports in 2021. more..

Jan 13 (DM) SL�s politicians surprisingly aren�t desperate as yet. The educated and those wearing their thinking caps all the time are still a minority so they cannot be ready yet to offer an alternative to the people who are grieving in this country. Yes, the people of this country are grieving; more than they did during times like the war, tsunami and the arrival of one of the presidents from the South of this country. Before that we had several invasions with Kalinga Magha�s arrival having a shattering more..

Jan 13 (Island) SL is facing an unprecedented crisis mainly due to economic mismanagement and corruption in the various development sectors. During the last few weeks, at various discussions related to the country�s economy, the need to take effective action on the present economic situation in the country has been highlighted. Prez Wickremesinghe stressed the need for all sections of the govt to act unitedly to take the nation towards stability by the end of the year. more..

Jan 13 (TM) The fear of social stigmatisation as well as cultural, religious, and ethnic background prevents users from coming forward to divulge correct information regarding their drug habits and therefore, the use of illicit drugs represents an iceberg phenomenon. These observations were made in a story based on case reports titled Changing patterns in the types and methods of the abuse of illegal drugs in SL more..

Jan 13 (GV) A murder of crows peck at a katta karawala carcass outside a stretch of fishing wadiyas as the sun sets, leaving a long shadow over the Mullaitivu beach. Every now and again Pedurupullai Markupillay throws a stone in the general direction of the crows. He doesn�t care that the carcass is being attacked but doesn�t want to allow the crows to be too comfortable at settling outside his wadiya. Markupillay began fishing when he was 18 years old. more..

Jan 13 (CT) IMF does not say it directly, but IMF does not stand with authorities if the people of the member country do not stand with the govt. Elections are the way to test whether the people are standing with the govt and its authorities like Ministry of Finance and Central Bank. IMF does not provide financial assistance for military dictatorships. But it works with many countries categorized as not free or partly free by Freedom House, if elections are held regularly. SL is categorized as partly-free more..

Jan 13 (CT) �We are compelled to use accursed SL trains every day as we are born sinners. I take 10 train trips a week and have been using the train service for 19 years. Nine of those 10 train trips are either delayed, cancelled, or derailed. To catch the 5:15 a.m. train to Maradana, which is scheduled to arrive at 5:45 a.m., I must leave my home by 4 a.m. in order to arrive at the station by 5 p.m. However, in my experience, the train never more..

Jan 13 (TM) SL yesterday saw a landmark Supreme Court (SC) verdict which could easily be denoted the most significant court decision in the process of meting out justice for the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings. It ordered several high-profile figures, against whom the people have long been demanding action, to pay compensation from their personal funds to those affected. SC ordered that a victims� fund be established at the Office for Reparations, which must formulate a scheme more..

Jan 13 (CT) With preparations for the Local Govt Election underway, several controversies have unfolded, especially with the issuance of a letter ordering to not accept deposits for the LG Election. The saga began when Public Admin Ministry Secretary Neel Hapuhinna sent the relevant letter to District Secretaries. This took place in a backdrop that there are already debates on whether the LG Election will be held when due. The purported letter was sent on 10 Jan in accordance to more..

Jan 13 (DM) As the govt and the ruling parties appear to be resorting to every trick in the book to postpone the long-overdue local council elections, the crucial question is whether elections are the most important matter now when the country is struggling to cope with the economic crisis. Scaremongering govt ministers insist that the economic crisis will turn worse this year and say the funds available should be well managed. Some ministers say the money will be well spent if more..

Jan 13 (Island) Yesterday�s Supreme Court (SC) judgement by a seven-member bench, in a high-profile fundamental rights violation case against former Prez Maithripala Sirisena and four others for their failure to prevent the Easter Sunday attacks (2019), has infused the hapless people with some hope and optimism. It will serve to reinforce public trust in the judicial process. Sirisena has been ordered to pay Rs. 100 million as compensation for his failure to prevent Easter Sunday terror more..

Jan 13 (ST) Aviation Ministry is to again seek Cabinet approval to call for expressions of interest (EOIs) for possible direct and indirect aviation-related ventures at Mattala Rajapaksa Int'l Airport (MRIA) after an initial inquiry from UAE fell through. Successive Govts have desperately tried�and failed�to make MRIA viable, Cabinet papers obtained by the Sunday Times through a RTI application show. more..

Jan 13 (ST) SL national Thiru Sivakumar Nadesan, Managing Director of Express Newspapers and Chairman, SL Press Institute will be conferred the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA), 2023, during the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) convention in Indore, India on Tuesday (10). The award, the highest honour given by the Government of India to foreign nationals will be conferred on Mr. Nadesan and others around the world by the President of India Droupadi Murmu. more..

Jan 13 (Island) COVID-19 reversed SL�s progress across several SDGs, particularly on poverty, inequality, and decent work. Similarly, the economic crisis is likely to adversely affect the SDG progress and pose several new challenges to their achievement by 2030.Financing SDGs has become the biggest challenge for SL, becoming even tighter following SL�s inability to access int'l bond markets after the sovereign default in April 2022.Given the enormous challenges to achieving the SDGs, more..

Jan 13 (FT) SJB continues its cry against what it calls a State conspiracy to postpone the local Govt polls, and charged the Govt and the Prez are moving to deny people the chance to vote in a bid to cling on to power. SJB MP Eran Wickremaratne said despite the Elections Commission setting a date for acceptance of nominations and payment of sureties by contesting parties, a letter signed by an official of the Ministry of LG has directed returning officers to not accept payments until further notice. more..

Jan 13 (FT) Following the SC judgement on the Fundamental Rights petition filed in relation to the Easter Sunday attack, it is likely that the former Chief of the State Intelligence Service (SIS) Senior DIG Nilantha Jayawardena will now face an inquiry conducted by the Police. In the judgement delivered, the court ordered Jayawardena to pay Rs. 75 million from his personal funds to victims of the attack as compensation while the court also instructed the govt to initiate disciplinary action more..

Jan 13 (CI) Sri Lanka got to 102 for 1 in the 17th over, then threw their innings away in a collapse that cost them six wickets for 50 runs. The lower order pushed them up to 215 all out - the last wicket falling in the 40th over. But it was never going to be enough. And though Sri Lanka's bowlers made India's batters work, reducing them to 86 for 4 at one stage, India's run rate was too healthy, and their batting resources too rich. more..

Jan 13 (ST) Chairman of the Maharagama Urban Council, Tiraj Piyarathne said that a new official should be appointed immediately to control the minor staff as they were gambling during office time. At the council meeting held on Tuesday, the chairman revealed that 150 minor staff members have started to engage in gambling within the council premises during work days. He explained that the staff played cards after 3 pm each work day. He had also received information that more..

Jan 13 (FT) Former UNP MP Navin Dissanayake has slammed reports claiming the UNP has struck an alliance with the ruling SLPP calling it false news. Dissanayake accused members of the UNP breakaway group, SJB of giving the story a different twist to their political advantage. Dissanayake said while the UNP will contest either under the elephant symbol or a common symbol with any coalition partners, it will under no circumstances contest under the flower bud symbol of the SLPP. more..

Jan 13 (EN) SL�s taxes taken home by state workers and pensioners fell to 65 cents of every rupee collected up to Sept 2022 from 86 cents with more revenues being extracted from the public through high inflation and hikes in rates. SL�s salary and pension bill as share of taxes was 942 billion rupees up to Sept 2022 and pensions were 228.6 billion rupees, totaling 942.9 billion rupees. Revenues up to Sept 2022 rose to 1,448 billion rupees, more..

Jan 13 (TM) Claiming that only approximately 50% of bills worth nearly Rs. 4 billion issued by National Water Supply & Drainage Board (NWSDB) are paid within a month, NWSDB stated that it is currently facing difficulties meeting its expenses. NWSDB Deputy General Manager said: �NWSDB usually issues bills worth about Rs. 4 billion every month. Only about 50% of that amount, which amounts to around Rs. 2 b, is currently being paid by consumers within allocated time period of one month. more..

Jan 13 (EAF) SL entered 2022 beset by economic crisis and political upheaval. The economic crisis culminated in SL defaulting on payment for the first time. This led to the govt being completely cut off from most sources of int'l funding, including from official multilateral and int'l commercial sources. The govt�s effort to blame its debt default on the lost revenue from tourism due to the COVID-19 pandemic and increased fuel prices resulting from the war in Ukraine did not carry much weight. more..

Jan 13 (DN) A record number of 1,780 shuttlers in 72 events will be in action at the National senior and junior Badminton Champion which is scheduled to be held from January 16-22 at Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium. With these massive entries there are two other venues SLB courts at Maitland place and Mercantile Badminton Indoor Stadium at Malalasekera Mawatha will conduct the matches and this tournament will have more matches, events and bigger prize money said SLB President more..

Jan 13 (DM) SL team has made it to the bizarre list of most losses in ODI by a team, being at the top. SL has played 880 matches so far and lost 437 games. The winning percentage of this small country is 47.74. From 1990-2011, this team used to rule in the ODIs, but after the retirement of SL greats like Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene, and Kumar Sangakkara, the team lost its dignity in ODIs. They are yet to find match-winners, who can rescue them from this drastic phase. more..

Jan 13 (HRW) The change of presidents of Sri Lanka in 2022 did not lead to any improvement in the country�s human rights record, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2023. During 2022, thousands of Sri Lankans took to the streets after years of misrule, impunity, and corruption undermined the rule of law and contributed to a severe economic crisis that threatened millions. more..

Jan 13 (Island) Sanctions imposed by Canada on four Sri Lankans including Mahinda and Gotabaya Rajapaksa, will have a ripple effect with other countries undertaking similar measures based on their domestic laws, Gary Anandasangaree, Member of the House of Commons of Canada says. Anandasangaree said that SL was a place where impunity had prevailed and in its 75 year modern history one could see the constant evasion of any form of accountability for corruption, more..