Jan 17 (AD) Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of SL (PUCSL) has informed in writing to Cabinet Secretary, declining to revise electricity tariffs as approved by the Cabinet of Ministers. PUCSL Chairman Janaka Ratnayake has informed the Cabinet of this decision in writing, citing reasons as per the Electricity Act of 2009. On Jan 9, Cabinet approval was granted to amend the general policy guidelines for the electricity industry and to implement a cost reflective electricity tariff more..

Jan 17 (TM) The full payment for the eighth shipment of coal to the country, which arrived on the morning of 15 Jan, has already been settled, CEB said. When contacted to inquire into the status of the payments for 7th & 8th coal shipments, CEB said: �The payment for the seventh shipment was settled and we also settled the balance payment of 70% for the eighth shipment on 13 Jan. We had to settle 30% of the payment for all coal shipments as an advance payment.� more..

Jan 17 (DM) An Ayurvedic code is being drafted by the Department of Ayurveda and laws will be enacted soon to allow only females to massage females and males to massage males. An official of the department said once the draft is finalized the Ayurvedic code will be gazetted after approval by the cabinet. They said the decision has been taken as most of the Ayurveda spas operating in the country are misusing its license and more..

Jan 17 (TM) Despite the incumbent Mayor of Colombo Rosy Senanayake expressing her interest in contesting as the mayoral candidate at the upcoming LG poll, UNP has not made a decision regarding fielding the incumbent Mayor as the party�s mayoral candidate. UNP General Secretary Palitha Range Bandara said that discussions are underway in this regard. When queried as to whether the UNP is considering fielding Senanayake as the mayoral candidate, more..

Jan 17 (AD) Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has directed the Manager of the National Team to submit a report pertaining to SL�s heavy defeat faced against India in the 3rd ODI, which was played on Jan 15, at Thiruvananthapuram, India. Accordingly, the SLC has informed that the report should consist of views of the Captain, Head Coach, Selection Panel and also the Team Manager pertaining to the loss. Moreover, SLC has requested the Team Manager to submit the Report, within a 5-day period. more..

Jan 17 (EN) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe has pledged a full implementation of the 13th amendment as a solution to the country�s decades-long ethnic issue, though the opposition TNA is spectical. TNA MP M A Sumanthiran said that successive govts have made the same promise for 35 years, to no avail. �Nobody takes it with any seriousness because it has been constantly promised. It�s a question of implementing it. more..

Jan 17 (FT) Hejaaz Hizbullah�s tweet on the Supreme Court�s decision on the 12 complaints alleging violation of fundamental rights by Government action/inaction regarding the Easter bombings makes two points: Grateful to the SC for its judgement in the #EasterSundayAttacks FR. The Court has dealt with the issue with tenacity and expressed itself with discipline. However, there is more to this incident. I pray for the truth to be known & the unmasking of the real mastermind. more..

Jan 17 (FT) The following passage from the Britannica is a good commencement point to discuss the much debated Local Govt poll in Sri Lanka. Conducting the election is said to cost around Rs. 10 billion of State funds, assuming such funds are available to spend in the bankrupt Sri Lanka. Besides State money, individual candidate spending would be substantial. Two serious questions need to be asked. Firstly, whether the country could afford such an extravagance at this point. more..

Jan 17 (AD) The police have arrested a male university student, who is suspected to have hacked a fellow female undergraduate to death near the Race Course Ground in Colombo 07. The arrest was made in the area of Wellampitiya this evening. The suspect will be brought to Cinnamon Garden police station for interrogation. During preliminary investigations, the police uncovered that the deceased is a 24-year-old third-year student of the Science Faculty of the Colombo Uni, more..

Jan 17 (DM) A day after the Ayurveda Dept said that new laws would soon be drafted and presented to cabinet to prevent men from massaging women and women from massaging men in spas, two Ministers reacted in Parliament today saying no such laws had been drafted. Minister of Health Keheliya Rambukwella and State Minister of Indigenous Medicine Sisira Jayakjody told Parliament that no such laws had been drafted while Rambukwella even went as far as to blame the media for more..

Jan 17 (TM) A disciplinary inquiry will, as directed by the Supreme Court (SC), be initiated against SDIG and former State Intelligence Service (SIS) Director Nilantha Jayawardena, but only after IGP Chandana Wickramaratne submits an interim report to National Police Commission (NPC), according to NPC Chairman Chandra Fernando. He said: �On 13 Jan, we wrote to IGP Chandana Wickramaratne to ask what action will be more..

Jan 17 (TM) Sri Lanka�s inflation rate has risen to 106% in 2022, according to the latest report issued by Johns Hopkins University, last Thursday (12). Accordingly, Sri Lanka currently has the fifth-highest inflation rate in the world. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe has been ranked to have the highest inflation in the world, recording an inflation rate of 391%, while Venezuela, Lebanon, and Cuba, respectively, were ranked at second, third, and fourth places in the list. At the same time, more..

Jan 17 (SLN) SL Navy apprehended 10 suspects with 2 local fishing trawlers which were suspected to have smuggled narcotics into the island. The suspects and the fishing trawlers were escorted to the Port of Colombo today (16). Apprehension was made based on information revealed by the suspects of a local fishing trawler which was held during a special operation carried out by the Navy in waters west of Beruwala on 05th Jan. The same operation also led to the seizure of 23kg more..

Jan 17 (EN) PM Dinesh Gunawardena denied that the cabinet of ministers had decided not to accept cash deposits from nominees for the local govt elections scheduled for March. Responding to a question by opposition legislator Anura Kumara Dissanayake in parliament, the PM said the cabinet had not taken a decision pertaining to election deposits. �At every cabinet meeting, we discuss issues in the country. more..

Jan 17 (FT) The first trailer of the film Bawa: The Genius of the Place premiered over the weekend on YouTube. Bawa: The Genius of the Place is a ground-breaking documentary exploring the work of SL�s most important architect Geoffrey Bawa and how he decolonised 20th century architecture and inspired Asia to live more naturally, sustainably and beautifully. This documentary celebrates five of his most important projects � ranging from ocean fortresses like the Lighthouse Hotel and more..

Jan 17 (CT) Public Petitions Committee of Parliament (PPCP) has called for a report, from the Health Ministry, regarding the suspension of Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa, President of the Medical and Civil Rights Professional Association of Doctors (MCPA), who was serving at the Ministry. In a letter to Dr. Sanjeewa, the Public Petitions Committee said it had decided to call for a report from the Health Ministry, following receiving approval from the Speaker, regarding suspension of his duties more..

Jan 17 (FT) SJB will field MP Mujibur Rahman as its mayoral candidate for Colombo. Decision was made at the party working committee meeting on Saturday and announced by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa. Mujibur will now resign from his seat in Parliament and run for the post of mayor at the upcoming LG elections scheduled to take place in March. Former MP A.H.M. Fowzie is expected to take his seat in Parliament after he received the highest preferential votes in Colombo after more..

Jan 17 (TM) SL expects to record 240,000 tourist arrivals from China in 2023 despite fears of a new Covid-19 strain in China, and expects Chinese tourist numbers to pick up after February, following the Chinese New Year, stated SLTDA Chairperson Priantha Fernando. China is expected to generate a total of 200 million outbound tourists globally, and that the SLTDA is confident of achieving the 240,000 target for Chinese tourist arrivals in 2023 despite the Covid outbreak in China. more..

Jan 17 (Island) President of the Bar Association of SL (BASL) Saliya Pieris, PC, says the Election Commission (EC) has retained him as its Counsel as Attorney General Sanjay Rajaratnam, PC, does not appear for the EC in a fundamental rights case filed against the conduct of the scheduled local govt polls. The outgoing BASL Chief said so when The Island sought his response to accusations directed by more..

Jan 17 (Island) There would be social and economic consequences of the decision to downsize the military as the rural economy in SL had been in a state of crisis and stagnation long before the present economic crisis, Associate Prof of the London School of Economics and Political Science, Dr. Rajesh Venugopal said. He said that for a few decades the Army had been one of the few sources of formal sector employment for the rural south, particularly for young men of poor families. more..

Jan 17 (FT) Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva has instructed officials to expedite the procurement process for establishing electronic gate facilities similar to other modern and developed airports at international destinations at the BIA. At a special discussion with officials of the Airport and Aviation SL Ltd, the Minister gave instructions to establish two such electronic gates at the Arrivals Terminal and two at the Departures Terminal under Phase I of the project. more..

Jan 17 (Reuters) India has informed the IMF it will support SL's debt restructuring plan, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said, as the island nation races to secure a $2.9 billion bailout from the global lender. The country of 22 million people is facing its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948, and policymakers have been grappling with multiple challenges over the past year including more..

Jan 17 (AD) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe has assured that although it is not possible to pay the salaries of all public servants in one day, the due payments will be made over the span of a few days. �Even though we are unable to pay all govt wages in a day, we will make these payments across two or three days�, Wickremesinghe said in Parliament this morning, adding that the payment of pensions and Samurdhi allowances have been allocated as the govt�s second & third priorities, respectively. more..

Jan 17 (TM) In the wake of train operations being disrupted due to the retirement of about 500 employees of the Dept of Railways on 31 Dec 2022 as per the new retirement policy introduced by the Govt, the Ministry of Transport stated that it is looking to recruit 3,000 new employees. Minister Bandula Gunawardana said: �A total of 3,000 new employees are being recruited to the dept. Recruitments have not been done in a long time. There is no way to make recruitments and more..

Jan 17 (AD) Attorney General today informed the Court of Appeal that a charge sheet has been filed against State Minister Sanath Nishantha over the allegations of contempt to the court. The respondent Sanath Nishantha had appeared before the courts, when the plaints filed by two attorneys, namely Priyalal Sirisena and Vijitha Kumara, were taken up today, before Appellate Court Judge R. Gurusinghe. There, Deputy Solicitor General Lakmini Girihagama, who appeared on behalf of AG, more..

Jan 17 (DM) The tussle among party men to secure candidacy has resulted in SLFP, the key ally of the newly formed Freedom People�s Alliance, deciding to go solo at the Local Govt election in selected areas, a top source said. The SLFP led by former President Maitripala Sirisena has appointed organizers for electoral works within the local govt areas. With the formation of the latest alliance, some of them have to make way for the accommodation of candidates from other parties and groups. more..

Jan 17 (EN) As talks between Prez Wickremesinghe and TNA on a final solution to the island nation�s decades-long ethnic issue hang in the balance, the cabinet of ministers has greenlit a high-level proposal to initiate a truth and reconciliation mechanism. The cabinet has approved a consolidated resolution made jointly by the president, prime minister and five cabinet ministers to take measures needed more..

Jan 17 (Island) The SJB says the govt must go home as it is incapable of carrying out ruling the country properly. SJB MP S.M. Marikkar said: �When the current Prez was appointed, it was said he would receive international support and rebuild the country�s economy. But more than seven months have elapsed. Has the economy revived? Fuel is rationed, and we have to consume less food. There are power cuts. �Nothing has changed since Wickremesinghe became the President. more..

Jan 17 (DM) Former Prez Maithripala Sirisena said today he has had to pay a compensation of Rs. 100 million to victims of Easter Sunday attacks not because of his fault but because the officials appointed by him had not carried out their responsibility properly. Sirisena told Parliament that the Supreme Court ruling had clearly observed that he, as the then President, had not been informed of the intelligence information on the Easter Attacks by the responsible officials. more..

Jan 17 (PMD) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe invited the opposition to join hands through a new political system to provide relief to the people and free them from oppression. He made this request in parliament today. Despite the difficult economic background in the country, Prez emphasized that the govt is working to provide relief to the people, adding that he will take steps to allocate Rs. 30-40 b for medicines this year. more..

Jan 17 (AD) Cabinet Spokesman Bandula Gunawardena has assured that positive responses have been received thus far with regards to the bailout due to be received by Sri Lanka from the IMF. Responding to a question at the Cabinet briefing this morning (17), the minister noted that the Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry had assured that positive responses have been received pertaining to the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) which Sri Lanka is seeking from the IMF. more..

Jan 17 (DM) US Navy and SL Marine Corps including Airforce and Navy will commence a joint military exercise in Colombo from Jan.19 to 26. US embassy said CARAT/MAREX SL is a bilateral exercise between SL and the United States designed to promote regional security cooperation, maintain and strengthen maritime partnerships, and enhance maritime interoperability. This is the fifth CARAT/ MAREX exercise between the US and SL, and this year includes participants from more..

Jan 18 (DM) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe has come up with a more practical solution to what is generally called the ethnic problem than what he suggested during the recent budget debate in Parliament. During that debate, he called on the members of Parliament to get together to solve the ethnic problem before the 75th Independence Day which falls on Feb 4, this year. However, while addressing a gathering at the Jaffna Durga Hall on Sunday to mark the National Thai Pongal ceremony, more..

Jan 18 (CT) With Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe pledging to fully implement the 13th Amendment (13A) to the Constitution, a series of split opinions has arisen, with certain factions in favour of the move and certain others opposing it. Prez Wickremesinghe, while noting that he is working to establish a social justice commission to solve the problems of people belonging to all ethnicities, pledged the full implementation of the 13A. Speaking at the Durga Hall in Jaffna, more..

Jan 18 (CT) The new Russian Ambassador, Levan Dzhagaryan, has been here for just 7 weeks. Before coming to Sri Lanka, he was Ambassador to Iran for 12 years. As a fervent supporter of SL, he claims that Russia, is a friendly country, and that if someone sends positive vibes they would reciprocate in the same manner and not otherwise. Love and care must be reciprocated, he told Ceylon Today. more..