May 25 (GV) As Sri Lanka marks the end of a long and bloody civil war 14 years on, the legacy of the brutal past remains unaddressed and continues to haunt the country. The root causes of the war have still not been dealt with along with enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and torture. While playing for time and paying lip service to the international community, no concrete measures have been taken to bring by successive govts to bring about justice and accountability. more..

May 25 (DM) Child labour does not appear to be a serious problem in SL. But social volunteers in their research have found that many wealthy families force children to work for them. Most of these children are from remote villages or estate areas. They are often not paid, not given basic education facilities, proper food or healthcare. Govt needs to find how many children are in this horrible situation because a religious leader has said when harm is caused to children the responsible or more..

May 25 (TM) Informal workers� contribution though prevalent in many sectors, the apparel sector, a leading foreign exchange earning sector has not received adequate attention on its informal workers� contribution. While the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on these workers have been considerable, they have also raised the importance of having in place proper social and legal protection measures for these workers and how more..

May 25 (Island) The outcome of yesterday�s vote in Parliament came as no surprise. The govt secured 123 votes for its resolution to oust Public Utilities Commission (PUCSL) Chairman Janaka Ratnayake. The Opposition could muster only 77 votes. The govt can now install one of its stooges as the PUCSL head and have all its decisions rubber-stamped. As for winning against the govt, Ratnayake had the same chances as a badger engaged in a fight with a pack of mastiffs. more..

May 25 (TM) Cabinet has granted approval to build a monument in Colombo to commemorate all civilians, including members of the armed forces and the Police as well as ex-combatants, who lost their lives in armed conflicts, political unrest or civil disturbances since the country�s Independence. According minister Bandula Gunawardana, it has been understood that any type of conflict based on race, religion, caste or political opinion is unhealthy to country�s journey to achieve development, more..

May 25 (DM) As SL enters its 17th IMF programme, a critical question remains. Will the country break from the past patterns of inconsistency and failure in following the plan it lays out with the IMF, or will those patterns be repeated? In this instance, what is required is not to lay the groundwork for another IMF programme in the future, but to develop the ability to sustainably recover from the present debt-driven economic crisis. SL successfully completed only 9 out of 16 previous programmes it undertook. more..

May 25 (FT) IronOne Technologies is pleased to announce the appointment of Manori as Vice President of Strategy and International Markets. In this role, Manori will lead IronOne�s global strategy, overseeing the company�s expansion into new markets and driving growth in existing ones. She will also be responsible for IronOne�s business development efforts, identifying new opportunities to bring innovative IT solutions to clients worldwide. Manori brings to IronOne over 20 years more..

May 25 (ST) Heavily indebted Sri Lankan Airlines says it will engage with holders of US$175 million (Rs 53.3 bn), 7% fixed coupon int'l bonds on which it did not pay interest in December and during the 30-day grace period, setting a default in motion. The balance as at March 31, 2022 was Rs 51.32bn. Sri Lankan Airlines had proposed modifications to Schedule 4 of the trust deed (of June 25, 2019 between Sri Lankan Airlines more..

May 25 (Island) The Jerome Fernando escapade, if rightly handled, will provide a golden opportunity to neutralise external threats to the prevailing peaceful religious coexistence in the Sinhalese Buddhist majority SL. I hope that the fair-minded reader will not immediately condemn me as a Sinhalese racist and a Buddhist extremist for stating a rational expectation in those terms based on facts. I am proud of my Sinhalese race, as an individual born to parents considered racially Sinhalese, more..

May 25 (FT) Sri Lanka Insurance said it has yet again recorded a stellar performance in the year 2022 to record a profit before taxation of Rs. 12.47 billion for the year 2022, with a combined Gross Written Premium (GWP) of Rs. 41.2 billion. Despite the adverse economic and social conditions that prevailed in the country in the year 2022, Sri Lanka Insurance was able to increase the asset base to Rs.274 billion and the Life fund to Rs. 156.7 billion to uphold the position as the largest and more..

May 25 (FT) Daraz Sri Lanka Managing Director Rakhil Fernando has been appointed as Chief Corporate Affairs Officer of the Daraz Group, headquartered in Singapore, with effect from 1 June 2023. The announcement follows the successful completion of Rakhil�s tenure as the Managing Director of Daraz SL. Throughout his leadership, the organisation saw tremendous expansion, and the brand successfully established itself as a well-known entity among Sri Lankans. more..

May 25 (CT) All hell has broken loose with the increasing crime rate, amongst which cybercrimes have hit the roof. Of course, the public have not forgotten when the State�s database was hacked and breached. The most recent incidents of illegal manipulating of photos of under-aged girls and even boys on social media and other crimes related to social media, created havoc. It gave vent to an ever-talked of topic which was diluted not by surprise, giving impression that it was nothing serious, more..

May 25 (FT) The Parliament yesterday unplugged the powerful PUCSL Chairman Janaka Ratnayake who however declared it wasn�t a defeat but anticipated warning it was a loss for the people and MPs who voted for it. �The outcome wasn�t a surprise but anticipated except the split of the vote. I had cleared my office on Tuesday ahead of the vote,� Ratnayake said after 123 Govt-aligned MPs voted for the motion for his ouster. more..

May 25 (DN) SL pace-spin combination of Matheesha Pathirana and Maheesh Theekshana shared four wickets between them as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) defeated Gujarat Titans by 15 runs in the IPL Qualifier-1 match played at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk, Chennai on Tuesday. Mystery spinner Theekshana captured two wickets for 28 and slinger Pathirana picked up two wickets for 37 as Gujarat were bowled out for 157, for the first time in the IPL history, more..

May 25 (Island) The track and field team for the Commonwealth Youth Games has been finalized with Ambagamuwa Central athlete Ayomal Akalanka heading a four member team inclusive of Asian Youth Championship medallists. Hurdler Akalanka, Vijitha Central Dickwella high jumper Nilupul Pehesara and Wickramabahu National School, Gampola athlete Nirmali Wickramasinghe, who won medals at the recently held Asian Youth Athletics Championships and more..

May 25 (TM) The main concern of VIce Chancellors of the Universities of Kelaniya, Sri J'pura and Colombo in requesting the Public Security Minister Tiran Alles to increasing security measures within university premises was mainly to curtail entry and use of drugs in the premises and safeguard female students from harassments. Vice Chancellors of these three State Universities had met Alles recently in order to discuss security issues more..

May 25 (FT) Marking a major step in one of South Asia�s most transformative development projects, Singapore-owned omnichannel retailer, One World Duty Free, and Port City Colombo have signed two agreements to operate SL�s first-ever downtown duty-free store. One World Duty Free (ODF) and the Colombo Port City Economic Commission (Commission) have taken a pivotal step in their alliance this week. The connected agreements were ratified with ODF committing to a strategic more..

May 25 (Island) Acting Minister of Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya told the media recently that he is making a report on tax evasions and ways to bring those who evade taxes under the tax net and the complete report would be presented to Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe on June1. �SL is one of the few countries in the world pursuing the hardest fiscal targets to restore stability, therefore, nothing matters more to reach these targets than maintaining the country�s fiscal discipline more..

May 25 (CT) Minister Bandula Gunawardana said in Parliament that the Dept of Railways had suffered a loss of approximately Rs 10 billion in recent years. He emphasised the need to revise train fares to mitigate these losses. Minister disclosed that the Railway Dept had generated an income of Rs 2.6 billion in 2021. However, Rs 2.3 billion was allocated for overtime payments and Rs 7 billion for salaries. �The total loss incurred by the Railway Dept in 2021 amounts to Rs 10 billion,� more..

May 25 (DN) Former SL fast bowler Chaminda Vaas has weighed in on the future of young SL bowler Matheesha Pathirana who is performing well at the ongoing IPL cricket tournament in India. Vass the SL legendary fast bowler who was later appointed as the National team�s fast bowling coach said that managing the workload of a fast bowler is crucial to ensure their performance, prevent injuries, and enhance their longevity. I saw Matheesha the 20-year right-arm fast bowler on TV more..

May 25 (TM) SL Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) and Ministry of Tourism have commenced drafting guidelines and criteria to register mobile phone applications (apps) and web based services which will cater to the tourism sector, following concerns raised by the domestic industry about moves to endorse a tourism app. When contacted, SLTDA Chairman Priantha Fernando said that Authority was in more..

May 25 (Island) Puttalam District Ali Sabri Raheem yesterday said that he would disclose the circumstances leading to the Revenue Task Force of Customs taking him into custody at the BIA on Tuesday. The disclosure would be made within the next few days. The MP said so after the Customs freed him having fined him Rs 7.4 mn in addition to confiscating the gold and smartphones, worth Rs 74 mn and Rs 4.2 mn, respectively, he attempted to smuggle into the country. more..

May 25 (Island) Leader of the 43 Brigade and newly formed United Republic Front MP Champilka Ranawaka says that the government is planning to issue seven new casino licences. �Arrangements are being made to issue seven new licences while the Finance Ministry and other responsible institutions have failed to collect at least a single dollar as tax revenue for the past 28 years from four casino licenses that had already been issued,� Ranawaka said on Tuesday (23) more..

May 25 (DM) SL sprinter Yupun Abeykoon finished second in the Men's 100m final at the Meeting Citta'Di Savona in Italy, clocking a time of 10.01 seconds. Abeykoon, who last year became the first Sri Lankan to run the 100m in less than 10 seconds, finished behind Reece Prescod of Great Britain, who clocked 9.94 seconds. Filippo Tortu, who was part of Italy's Olympic Gold Medal winning Men's 4X100m team, finished in sixth. Abeykoon clocked 10.04 secs in the heats, finishing second behind more..

May 25 (ST) Finance Ministry has introduced new conditions narrowing the scope where public servants can apply to go abroad for work for a maximum of five years on no-pay leave. According to a new Finance Ministry circular dated May 17, public servants can only obtain no-pay leave to go abroad for work if they have completed half or more of their mandatory service or contractual period. Employees must also have sufficient time left to complete their mandatory service or more..

May 25 (TM) PM Dinesh Gunawardena assured yesterday that a proper investigation will be conducted into the death of the woman while in custody of the Welikada Police in the face of criticism from several MPs representing the Opposition including SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa. There have been reports of deaths of persons in Police custody, of which the latest is the death of a female named A. Rajkumari more..

May 25 (TM) SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa expressed critical views on PUCSL Chairman Janaka Ratnayake and his family members not being allowed to attend the Parliamentary session yesterday when the resolution to remove Ratnayake as the PUCSL Chairman was debated. Criticisms were also made in the Parliament about not allowing Ratnayake and his family to watch the Parliamentary proceedings while a MP who had brought gold to the country illegally (Ali Sabri Raheem) more..

May 25 (TM) JVP led NPP of the Opposition is to consult with the relevant stakeholders, especially with the working community, regarding the new labour laws that are to be introduced by the Ministry of Labour and Foreign Employment. When queried about the NPP�s stance on the new labour reforms, NPP MP Vijitha Herath said that their Party is looking forward to having discussions with the relevant social groups that are directly affected by these labour laws in order to create a widespread more..

May 25 (DM) The sudden shift to organic farming in 2021 by former Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa resulted in a drop of more than 50% in paddy yield in the 2021/2022 Maha season, according to a research. The then govt enacted the Import and Export Regulations No. 7 of 2021 which banned the import of chemical fertilizers and other agrochemicals. Govt later revoked the gazette notification. HARTI conducted a survey more..

May 25 (FT) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe�s ongoing attempt in the face of TNA objections, to foist a puppet Interim Administration for the North and East, caricaturing President�s Rule in India instead of holding long-overdue PC elections (as repeatedly urged by India), is a dark portent of complete closure of the political system. Wickremesinghe�s refusal to hold PC elections and attempt to set up an Interim Administration instead, makes nonsense of the chatter about early prez elections. more..

May 25 (FT) It is widely observed that the boys� education in our country is in huge dilemma due to prevailing socio economic tendencies in the country. I would say it is not the root cause; rather it is a knock on effect. Gurian Institute of America which is a one of kind advocate for boys� education in the USA has published numerous researches on this subject matter. The institute predominantly aims at creating awareness on the crisis that boys encounter not only in school but in life as well. more..

May 25 (AD) The remains of businessman Dinesh Schaffter, whose death remains a suspicion, are being exhumed today (25) at the General Cemetery in Borella. The exhumation process is carried out under judicial supervision and armed security. The Janashakthi Group of Companies Director was found tied up in his car at the General Cemetery in Borella on Dec 15, 2022 and died a day later while receiving treatment at the ICU of the National Hospital in Colombo. more..

May 25 (FT) CIC Holdings PLC has concluded the financial year 2023 recording its highest ever Profit after Tax (PAT) of Rs. 10.05 billion on a revenue of Rs. 68.5 billion. In a statement CIC said the sterling performance by the agriculture rich diversified conglomerate amidst a challenging macroeconomic environment witnessed group revenue increasing by 68% and group PAT increasing by 131% as against the previous financial year. The group�s exceptional achievement comes on the backdrop more..

May 25 (DM) A renowned human rights lawyer has been threatened by a caller and it�s alleged that a minister is connected with the issue. Civil rights activist, writer and attorney-at-law Priyalal Sirisena received the threat by an unknown caller who demanded not to interfere with the minister�s activities. Repeated requests by Sirisena to the caller to divulge his name and the minister who is connected to issue produced no response. more..

May 25 (EN) Shares slipped at the close on Thursday as selling pressure increased following the govt�s decision to relax import restrictions imposed two years ago, an analyst said. The govt plans to lift import controls on 100 items that were banned during forex shortages in the past two years, which had been hurting small and medium-sized industries, State Minister Shehan Semasinghe said. �Stocks went down due to selling pressures resulting from relaxed import restrictions, more..