Mar 19 (AD) Transfers of over 12,000 teachers have been cancelled following the dissolution of the Teacher Transfer Board of the Education Ministry yesterday (17). Accordingly, transfers of 12,500 teachers have been cancelled after the immediate dissolution of the Board was called yesterday. However, Ven. Yalwala Pannasekera Thero decried these claims as false and assured that the respective transfers of teachers would be in place by the beginning of the new school term due to more..

Mar 19 (ST) A decision by Meta to leave a Facebook post asking for donations of pharmaceutical drugs to Sri Lanka during the economic crisis last year has been upheld by an independent oversight body despite the violation of Meta�s community standard that prohibits content asking for medication. The Oversight Board makes content-moderation decisions related to Meta�s social media platforms, Facebook and Instagram. The Sri Lankan case was referred to it by Meta itself. more..

Mar 19 (EN) Bar Council of England and Wales has called on SL rulers to respect the independence of the judiciary, in the wake of judges being called before a parliament panel following an order on releasing funds for a local election. SL�s Treasury has no far not provided allocated funds to hold an election, effectively delaying it indefinitely, after Prez Wickremesinghe set up a priority list for spending. Instead of carrying out the order, judges are to be called before a Parliament committee. more..

Mar 19 (ST) A digital tool introduced by the World Bank (WB) to strengthen accountability in fertiliser distribution after it allocated US$ 110mn to buy emergency stocks last year has got off to a patchy start with Agrarian Service (Govijan Seva) Centres being sluggish to adopt the technology. By Dec 2022, the WB had disbursed US$ 64.6mn on fertiliser for SL. The money was part of a crisis response whereby the multilateral more..

Mar 19 (ST) A passenger ferry service between Kankesanthurai (KKS), Jaffna and Tamil Nadu in India will be launched by the end of next month, Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said. SL would only be facilitating the ferry service and it would be handled by the Indian authorities. More than Rs 100 million had been spent on constructing the customs area and immigrations area including warehouse facilities and other arrangements for inbound and outbound passengers from KKS. more..

Mar 19 (EN) SL�s central govt debt has risen to 115.2% of GDP by end 2022 from 104.5% a year earlier based on the latest estimates. SL�s central bank�s gross debt was about 4.66% of GDP. The central bank has also spent special drawing rights, on which it h1s to pay interest. However, the central bank holds govt rupee Treasury bills which can be sold for dollars to rebuild reserves and repay the external debt as long as domestic credit is moderate and forex problems are not re-started more..

Mar 19 (ST) Last Wednesday�s strike by some 47 member unions of PTUA did cripple some sectors badly. The worst hit were the schools countrywide followed by services at state-run hospitals and Railways. Though it did not affect the people directly, there were disruptions at the Colombo Port, CEB and in District Secretariats where Development Officers and Agricultural Officers were among those who struck work. more..

Mar 20 (DM) Two days ago, former US Prez Trump announced, that he would be arrested on Tuesday and called on his supporters to launch mass protests. Former president had already announced his decision to challenge current Prez Biden at the next US presidential polls scheduled for Nov 5, 2024. He is the front runner in the race to win nomination of the Republican Party. Trump stands accused of paying hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels not to reveal details of an alleged more..

Mar 20 (ST) Undoubtedly there is a bizarre vibe in SL�s air these days. Cheering old boys gripped by nostalgia for the good old days jostle each other at the capital�s once forlorn cricket-playing fields. Festive schoolboys overcome by big match fever invade girls� schools to show their colours in puberty-inspired displays of distinctly ridiculous testosterone. Celebrations in the city�s choicest hotels to packed audiences in showy entertainment venues and privileged clubs continue without a pause. more..

Mar 20 (SO) The repatriation of alleged drug kingpins Nadun Chinthaka Wickramaratne alias Haraka Kata and Salindu Gunaratne alias Kudu Salindu from Madagascar to SL is a great victory to the SL Police. It is the longest distance extradition carried out in SL�s history. Previously drug kingpin Makandure Madhush was repatriated from Dubai on May 5, 2019 in a similar fashion by a team of CID sleuths led by SSS Indika more..

Mar 20 (DM) Growing up in Colombo, I was first exposed to the transgender community as a university student. I would return home every Summer and spend two glorious months in the island before returning to London. Almost all holidays in Colombo invariably included a game or two of cricket that I would go watch with my friends at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium. These games were always entertaining affairs, with papare bands playing popular baila tunes more..

Mar 20 (DM) Supreme Court on 3rd March issued an interim order to the Finance Secretary and the Attorney General who represent the Finance Minister preventing them from withholding any funds earmarked for the 2023 LG elections through the budget passed by Parliament. This order was made after the consideration of a fundamental rights petition filed by the SJB General Secretary MP Ranjith Madduma Bandara. MP Dolawatte told Parliament on 7th March that the powers more..

Mar 20 (TM) Reiterating his confidence in SL despite its ongoing economic crisis, Nepalese billionaire, MP, and CG Corp Global Chairman Binod Chaudhary let his actions do the talking by investing in Sri Lanka�s financial sector recently. CG Corp Global�s subsidiary CG Capital Partners Singapore acquired 70.84% of Union Bank Colombo (UBC) in Dec 2022, marking the group�s debut into the local financial sector. more..

Mar 20 (TM) Although the role of the law enforcement agencies is to protect and serve the public, and the connection and mutual trust and understanding between the two parties play a significant part in ensuring that the Police render its service in an effective and public-friendly manner, the trust the public had in the law enforcement agencies, especially in the Police, has severely declined during the past year. While this deterioration of trust and connection started more..

Mar 20 (Island) The US and its allies are in seventh heaven over the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for their bete noire, Russian President Vladimir Putin, for the alleged deportation of Ukrainian children. The US lost no time in welcoming the ICC warrant, and so did Ukraine. Russia has sought to pooh-pooh the ICC move and called it outrageous and unacceptable. The ICC action and the reactions of the US-led western bloc, Russia and Ukraine thereto reek of partiality and duplicity. more..

Mar 20 (ST) If Ranil Wickremesinghe is of the nervous sort then tonight will be one sleepless, with many harrowing tosses and turns marking his half-wake-half-sleep nightmare, as he lies, in a cold sweat, fretting what the inscrutable fates have ordained for the morrow at the IMF Board�s crucial meeting. Though IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva had tweeted on March 7 that she looks forward to presenting Lanka�s brief to the Executive Board on Mar 20 and had even praised him more..

Mar 20 (Island) In 2005, SL Supreme Court ruled in the seminal case Singarasa v. Attorney General (SC/SPLA/182/99) that the UNHRC (predecessor of today�s UNHRC) did not have jurisdiction, within Sri Lanka, to make recommendations on behalf of the petitioner. In doing so, the court decided that SL�s accession to the optional protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in 1997 had been done in a manner contrary to the Constitution & hence illegal. more..

Mar 20 (CI) Angelo Mathews, Dimuth Karunaratne, and Dinesh Chandimal have all been on four Test tours to NZ (this one included). Kusal Mendis has been there three times. Dhananjaya de Silva twice. By now, they've sat through days worth of meetings and analysis on how to bat in NZ, pored through many hours of footage of the opposition, discussed leaving on length at length & - such are this team's predilections more..

Mar 20 (ST) The phrase failures are the pillars of success, can be considered as the most appropriate to describe Chathurya Nilaweera�s journey as a professional tennis player. He is regarded as one of the future prospects, who is determined to break barriers and compete internationally and be one of the frontrunners to shine at global stage in years to come. Nilaweera�s passion for the sport was identified at the tender age of four by his father, Buddhika Nilaweera, who was also his coach more..

Mar 20 (FT) Former Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said SL�s deal with the IMF to unlock the $ 2.9 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) will be mainly building international reserves to meet external payments and support of macroeconomic adjustment and structural reform programs amidst economic and political crises. Karunanayake, who in 2019 effectively handled $ 1.5 billion IMF bailout deal to boost foreign exchange reserves and avert a balance of payments problem, more..

Mar 20 (FT) In line with its mandate to continuously uplift the standards of HR practices in SL, the Association of Human Resource Professionals (AHRP) is geared to launch the finale of its Human Resources Think Tank (HRTT) series, Creating Future-Proof Organisations: Focusing on Engaging and Retaining Talent in a Volatile Environment. The event will take place on 22 March at Courtyard by Marriott, Colombo; will feature an exclusive line-up of industry leaders across financial services, more..

Mar 20 (CI) NZ's bowlers propelled their side to the brink of a 2-0 series whitewash over SL, picking up ten wickets on the third day, forcing a follow-on and leaving the visitors still 303 runs behind with eight wickets and two days of cricket still to go. At the crease for the visitors were Kusal Mendis, unbeaten on 50, and Angelo Mathews on 1 - the pair that had so memorably saved a Test at the same ground back in 2018. Back then they had batted out the entirety of the 4th day before rain intervened more..

Mar 20 (FT) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday likened his role to the victorious Royal College First XI Captain Dasis Manchanayake and professed SL too will triumph despite setbacks whilst calling out for a good team to win that Big Match too. Speaking at the 32nd Interact District Conference held at Temple Trees Wickremesinghe emphasised that the Royal College cricket team�s effective captaincy ultimately more..

Mar 20 (Island) Royal beat the odds to register a stunning 180 runs victory against their arch-rivals S. Thomas� at the 144th Battle of the Blues at the SSC on Saturday. It was a victory no one saw coming as the outfit trained by Rohan Soysa entered the annual battle as underdogs. Royal�s back-to-back defeats at the hands of Trinity in the run up to the historic encounter were overshadowing even the couple of victories they had registered during the season and the fact that they had reached more..

Mar 20 (FT) Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva has requested airlines to reduce ticket prices in view of the fall of the dollar against the rupee and revealed ground handling at BIA has been taken off from SriLankan Airlines. Minister made this request during a meeting last week with representatives of airlines serving SL. Airlines representatives had revealed that air fares have been reduced by 20% and Minister de Silva requested further reduction to which the airlines had agreed, more..

Mar 20 (TM) Following the sudden breakdown of the Unit 3 generation unit (300 MW) at the controversial Norochcholai coal power plant, the repairs to the unit will leave the unit unavailable till mid-August. The repair of Unit 3, will take at least 120 days. Navarathne explained that the Unit 3 generation unit was expected to undergo scheduled maintenance in mid-April, which would have taken 120 days to complete. more..

Mar 20 (FT) President Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday tipped the dollar exchange rate will come down to Rs. 200 or Rs. 185 following the approval of the $ 2.9 billion Extended Fund Facility by the IMF slated for today. �Compared to the dollar the rupee has now gone up to 300. Once we have this agreement with the IMF, the rupee will gradually come down to 200 or 185,� the President said during his address at the 32nd Interact District Conference held at Temple Trees. more..

Mar 20 (Dawn) High Commissioner of SL to Pakistan Vice Admiral Mohan Wijewickrama has suggested the establishment of a working group between the two countries to promote cooperation in trade, economic, tourism, political and defence sectors. Addressing a function at the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, high commissioner said that SL and Pakistan should launch joint initiatives and promote people-to-people contacts to strengthen economic & trade ties. more..

Mar 20 (DM) Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa said that he wished to become a pilot if he didn�t venture into politics. �Just as a pilot is responsible for the lives of passengers, the govt is also responsible for safeguarding lives,� he said. Premadasa said that the govt was only making the economy smaller instead of strengthening it. He said even during the war, then Prez Ranasinghe Premadsa had discussed with the IMF and had implemented IMF agreements. more..

Mar 20 (DM) Chairman of National Delimitation Committee, Mahinda Deshapriya said that it is not appropriate for local govt polls to be delayed and that the possibility of holding local govt polls on April 25 are grim. �As the term of office of local govt bodies expires on Sunday, it is essential that polls are conducted as soon as possible,� he said. He said that no matter what the situation, it is not appropriate for LG polls to be delayed beyond the stipulated time. more..

Mar 20 (ST) As part of its plans to restructure the CEB, Govt is studying several proposals ranging from selling shares of more than 18 institutions in the stock market and forging public-private partnerships (PPP) to converting them to private limited companies, trade unions said. They said this was revealed by Minister Kanchana Wijesekera during a discussion with all CEB trade unions on March 12 at the ministry premises. more..

Mar 20 (ST) In a further tightening of state finances, Finance Ministry has issued a fresh circular to State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) which are not financed through the Govt Budget, to cut down recurrent expenditure by 6% in the approved annual Budget 2023. Circular will apply to commercial corporations, statutory boards, and govt-owned companies. The cuts to recurrent expenditure will apply across all areas except for 4 categories � salaries & wages, taxes, interest payments on borrowings more..

Mar 20 (DM) Vice Chancellor of Peradeniya University Prof. D.M. Lamawansa stressed that loving and hugging in Peradeniya Uni was not taboo but any excess activity would not be allowed. Referring to criticism on social media regarding the university administration�s action over the recent incident of two lovers hugging near the senate-house, he said Peradeniya University would not prohibit hugging. Prof. Lamawansa said more than 13,000 students studied on the uni campus more..

Mar 20 (TM) Ministry of Education is planning to hold a meeting with the Teacher Transfer Board today, it is learnt. Last week, Prez Wickremesinghe ordered the immediate dissolution of the Education Ministry�s Teacher Transfer Board, resulting in the cancellation of approximately 12,500 teacher transfers. It is understood that the decision was taken to prevent transfers from disrupting the education of GCE O/L and A/L students and also obstacles faced by school education process more..

Mar 20 (TM) The deadline set by the Election Commission to receive postal ballot papers for the LG elections will expire tomorrow, with no sign that the Govt Printer will be able to supply the required postal ballots by then. EC had earlier stated that postal voting of the LG elections would be held on scheduled dates which are from 28 to 31 March. However, Govt Printer, Gangani Liyanage said that it was totally impossible for the ballot papers to be handed over to the EC before then, given that more..