Mar 28 (ICC) SL have been docked a point in the ongoing Cricket World Cup Super League cycle for their slow over-rate in the first ODI against NZ at Auckland. As per Article 16.12.2 of the Super League Playing Conditions, a side is penalised one point for each over short. Consequently, SL lost one point from their points tally. The tourists were also fined 20% of their match fee for maintaining a slow over-rate against NZ on Saturday. more..

Mar 28 (AD) Minister Kanchana Wijesekers has called for the termination of employees of both the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and the Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Ltd (CPSTL) who disrupt the distribution of fuel. Minister stated that he has instructed the CPC and CPSTL Chairman to take the necessary disciplinary steps required pertaining to the termination of employment of those employees or trade union activists who disrupt the distribution of fuel and the work of more..

Mar 28 (TM) The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) has proposed to set up Sinhala and Hindi language departments in several Indian and Sri Lankan universities. The proposal was made by ICCR President Dr. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, who also proposed to increase the number of ICCR scholarships for Buddhist studies. The proposals were conveyed to PM Dinesh Gunawardena when Dr. Sahasrabuddhe called on the former at Temple Trees yesterday. more..

Mar 28 (APO) Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry, accompanied by the Minister of Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reforms Wijeyadasa Rajapakse, concluded the 3 day working visit to South Africa from 21-25 March 2023. It is recalled that the Cabinet of Ministers in January this year approved the concept of a Truth and Reconciliation mechanism as proposed by the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Reconciliation, more..

Mar 28 (NF) Cabinet granted approval for the construction of a Solar Power Plant in Sampur, Trincomalee via a Joint Venture between CEB and National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd � India. The 135 MW Solar Power Plant will be constructed at the site of the previously proposed Sampur Coal Power Plant. Phase One of the project will see the construction of a 50 MW Solar Power Plant at a cost of US $ 42.5 Million. In addition, US $ 23.6 Million will be spent for the construction more..

Mar 28 (DM) Education Ministry has decided not to issue letters pertaining to enrolling students in intermediate classes, Minister Susil Premajayantha said. He said the cabinet paper in this regard was approved today. Accordingly, an announcement will be made after the Sinhala and Tamil New Year due to ongoing grade one admissions and grade six enrolments after the grade five scholarship exam, he said. Soon after the above enrollments are completed, an announcement will be made more..

Mar 29 (DM) Today once again a repetition of the Cold war between the US and Russia is threatening to spill over into a military confrontation in the battlefields of Europe. The epicenter Ukraine � where the US is engaged in a proxy war with Russia. Sadly, the land of that country (Ukraine) has been laid waste, millions of its people made homeless and hundreds of thousands killed and wounded. At the same time the US is now, confronting nuclear-armed China, more..

Mar 29 (DM) Opposition MP Harsha de Silva, in response to the Prez�s speech on the IMF agreement, said that he was relieved that the Govt had finally obtained the approval of the IMF Board for the USD 3 billion facility. He commended the Prez for convincing his majority SLPP Govt on the IMF programme who until recent times was opposed to it. Dr de Silva stated the only political party that tabled its plan out of the crisis was the SJB. He said their plan, named the Blueprint,2022 more..

Mar 29 (DM) �Life is slowly ebbing away. And the minutes that tick by seem like an eternity. He lies bleeding, moaning and suffering. The world is becoming a blur...Every crimson drop that falls tells the story of a good man, a visionary who would never give up his crusade for justice and equality, a man who in his own words, walked tall and bowed to no man..� This is how Raine Wickrematunge describes her beloved more..

Mar 29 (DM) Rahul Samantha Hettiarachchi, my colleague from the deep south is a bit of cocky character. Abrasive at times, hard to deal with. But he is a heck of a journalist. he is one of the few who have mastered, at least somewhat how to pry open the secretive public information apparatus using RTI laws. He combines the RTI tools to add on to the feet on the ground journalism work. Recently he wrote a series of stories on pyramid schemes. His persistence has led to more awareness and more..

Mar 29 (ST) Hillwood Club girls from Kandy swept the boards at the �One-Whistle� Invitational Netball Tournament conducted by the Colombo Malay Cricket Club (CMCC) to mark its 150th anniversary celebrations which began in March 2022. Hillwood Club, formed by girls of Hillwood College, Kandy senior netball team, won the club final defeating Kalutara Balika Vidyalaya 11-7. Hillwood carried away the special awards with Kusalika Aluwihare crowned CMCC Netball Queen, more..

Mar 29 (TM) In a move that has been welcomed as progressive by activists striving to protect the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons and also persons of other diverse sexual orientations and gender identities (LGBT+), the Human Rights Commission of SL (HRCLS), last week, issued a set of guidelines to direct Police officers how to protect a transgender persons� human rights and engage with more..

Mar 29 (CT) A Colombo based Journalist asked me; Sir! What is ethnocracy? Is Sri Lanka an ethnocracy? My response was; A significant statement was made by an International Expert from Israel by name Professor Yiftachel a few years ago when he participated in our International Land Grabbing Conference. He is a highly cited Israeli Scholar in geography and urban studies. He formulated over two decades ago the theory of ethnocratic regimes. more..

Mar 29 (TM) Amidst a plethora of reforms that have received mixed responses from the citizenry, the Govt is taking the initiative to allow international players to enter SL�s fuel market with high hopes of reviving this sector which remains among the top debt stricken State owned enterprises (SOEs). As was reported earlier, Govt was considering the release of nearly 450 fuel stations to three international players, and now that the Cabinet has granted its approval to this plan, more..

Mar 29 (FT) Interbrand, in association with the Daily FT and Mastercard, will celebrate this year�s Int'l Women�s Day on the theme of DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality and #EmbraceEquity. The gala will be held on 7 April at the Oak Room of Cinnamon Grand Colombo. Interbrand, a leading global brand consultancy, specialises in brands and brand management, with 24 offices in 17 countries. The New York-based consultancy publishes Best Global Brands more..

Mar 29 (TM) Govt�s plans for reviving the economy show signs of working out for the time being. The long awaited IMF loan has been granted. This would enable the Govt to access other loans to tide over the current economic difficulties. The challenge will be to ensure that both the old loans and new ones will be repayable. Towards this end, Govt has begun to implement its new tax policy which increases the tax burden significantly on income earners who can barely make ends meet even without taxes more..

Mar 29 (FT) With arrivals surpassing the 100,000 mark in the first 26 days of March, SL�s tourism industry has welcomed over 300,000 visitors in the first quarter, starting 2023 on a positive note. This is also the first time SL�s tourism industry recorded over 100,000 tourist arrivals in three consecutive months after 2019. Led by Russian travellers, during the first 26 days of March, a total of 105,714 tourists arrived in the country, more..

Mar 29 (FT) Exterminators PLC, SL�s premier pest tech and environmental enhancement technology company, celebrates one year on 30 March 2023, upon its listing on the Colombo Stock Exchange. Founded with an initial investment of Rs. 75,000 way back in 1998, today's market capitalisation is over Rs. 470 million and the company also created history by becoming the first pest management company in South Asia and emerging and developing markets to be listed on CSE. more..

Mar 29 (CT) Hunger, low living standards, queues for basic necessities, coupled with shortage of food have been a common phenomenon over the past couple of years, severely affecting food security. While the reasons behind the plight of people was most often connected to the economic crisis that resulted from the Covid-19 pandemic together with years of mismanagement, the Ministry of Agriculture made a shocking revelation on food wastage. As we all know, the country is in no position for more..

Mar 29 (FT) The failure of global and regional institutions � hamstrung by the self-interest of their members � to respond adequately to global conflicts, climate change and global energy and food crises has disrupted an already weak multilateral system, Amnesty International said as it launched its annual assessment of human rights around the world. Amnesty International Report 2022/23: The State of the World�s Human Rights found that double standards on human rights abuses more..

Mar 29 (DN) Opener Navod Paranavithana (82) and Janith Liyanage (53) hit half centuries as Jaffna recorded an easy seven-wicket win over Kandy in their National Super league one day cricket fixture played at SSC grounds yesterday. Navod Paranavithana hit 68 balls knock of 82 with 13 fours while Nishan Madushka who came from NZ after the test series scored 52 in 46 balls with six fours and a six also added valuable 126-run stand while former St Peter�s skipper Janith Liyanage hit 53 more..

Mar 29 (TM) A feasibility study is being carried out by the UDA at present to look into the possibility of having all govt institutions located in and within the vicinity of Battaramulla with the aim of making Sri J'pura, Kotte, the administrative hub of SL. Director General of UDA, N.P.K. Ranaweera said that a feasibility study is being carried out to look into the possibility of locating all the Govt institutions to Battaramulla, with the aim of more..

Mar 29 (DN) The second ODI between SL and NZ scheduled to be played yesterday at Christchurch was washed out and was called off at 4.30pm (NZ time). SL will play their third and final ODI against NZ on March 31 at Hamilton and this is going to be very vital for SL to get a chance for World Cup direct qualification if they win it. if South Africas two ODIs against Netherlands will be washed out the third and final ODI SL must win to have a chance to get world Cup direct qualification. more..

Mar 29 (Island) Former Prez Maithripala Sirisena has requested the public to help him pay compensation for his lapses to prevent the Easter Sunday terror attacks in 2019. Supreme Court (SC) has ordered him to pay Rs. 100 million as compensation. He would have the public believe that there are only three months left for him to carry out the SC order, and he will have to go to jail if he fails to do so. Whether anyone will be so stupid as to part with his or her money in a bid to prevent more..

Mar 29 (TM) Compared to the current fuel prices in the world market, it is possible to reduce the prices of all types of fuel in Sri Lanka by 15%, but the Govt does not do so due to the need to hand over the petroleum-related operations including filling stations to foreign companies, the trade unions (TUs) of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) claimed. President of the SL Podujana Progressive Employees Union � Petroleum, more..

Mar 29 (Island) Constitutional Council has unanimously approved the recommendation of the President to appoint Retired High Court Judge K.B.K. Hirimburegama to the post of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (Ombudsman), which will be vacant from 31.03.2023. The Constitutional Council also considered the applications for the appointment of members to the Commissions referred to in Article 41B. Having considered the applications for more..

Mar 29 (DM) The proposed new refinery in Hambantota has received Expressions of Interest (EOIs) from seven companies, Power and Energy Ministry shared. Meeting the deadline, which fell on March 27 were; Grant & Shearer Ltd, Lagos - Nigeria, China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) - China, Petrichor Capital Sdn.Bhd - Malaysia, Vitol Group - Singapore, Matin Tejarat Co. - Iran, Harree Management Services Ltd with Marka Invest - SL and UAE based, and more..

Mar 29 (Island) Pasindu Marasinghe, the delegate of the Automobile Association of Ceylon (AAC) at the Federation Internationale De L�Automobile (FIA) organized Region II Ideas Forum, won an ECARS Digital Racing Car Stimulators competition at the 44th International Motor Show in Thailand Organized by Motor Sports Club of Thailand (RAAT) on Saturday. Twelve members from the Asia Pacific region participated in this competition. The winner was presented a Medal by Anothai more..

Mar 29 (DN) Colombo Chief Magistrate imposed a travel ban on six directors of a private company (OnmaxDT) who allegedly were involved in a pyramid financial fraud of US$ 100 million. Magistrate ordered that the details of the travel ban should be sent to the Controller General of Immigration & Emigration. Directors and shareholders of the company Sampath Sandaruwan, Athula, Gayashan Abeyratne, Madhuranga Prasanna, Saranga Randika and Dhananjaya more..

Mar 29 (DM) Right to Information Commission (RTI) concluding a hearing of an appeal made by a Tamil Mirror journalist requesting information about the LTTE members surrendered to the army reserved the judgment pending written submission by both parties. RTI Commission full bench lead by its Chairman Upaly Abeyratne concluded the hearing of an appeal made by former Tamil Mirror journalist Nirosh Kumar and more..

Mar 29 (DN) Sri Lanka is expected to receive the second tranche of around USD 330 million from the IMF between October and Dec 2023 according to First Capital Research�s (FCR) Sri Lanka�s Economic rebound report. This is expected to bring several benefits to Sri Lanka, including improved reserves, faster economic recovery, positive capital inflows to govt securities, possible easing of interest rates, technical assistance from the IMF, and restored investor confidence. more..

Mar 29 (ST) While the talk of the town is all about the US$3 billion IMF bailout package Sri Lanka received this week, businesses are hopeful of lower interest rates for bank loans. As small and medium enterprises (SMEs) were hit hard due to the economic crisis and banks increasing interest rates, borrowing became a nightmare. This was stated by Sun Match Company, Group Director and Chief Financial Officer, Prasad Rajan while speaking to the Business Times on the sidelines of more..

Mar 29 (TM) While the Election Commission (EC) is awaiting a response from PM and Minister of Local Govts Dinesh Gunawardena to their request for a meeting to discuss the situation which has arisen regarding the upcoming LG elections, Premier's Office stated that a positive response would be given in this regard to the EC soon. EC stated last week that they had requested Gunawardena for a meeting to discuss matters pertaining to the LG elections, including the procurement of necessary funds more..

Mar 29 (ST) Govt will not entertain any unsolicited bids for the seven businesses that it listed for restructuring this week while a decision on what shareholding�if any�the State will hold in them will be made only after valuations are completed, a top official said. �A decision on whether there will be a 100% divestment or whether the State will retain a stake will be taken once the sell-side due diligence, including future projections, and the work of transaction advisers are done,� more..

Mar 29 (FT) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe has issued 7-day notice of removal of PUCSL Chairman citing five grounds which Janaka Ratnayake denied alleging the move was pre-planned and malicious. Move by the Prez, was by virtue of the powers vested in terms of Section 7 of the PUCSL Act No 35 of 2002. The notice was issued on 22 March. Among five grounds cited were as member and Chairman of PUCSL, more..