Jan 21 (ST) My dear Dumi, I thought I must write to you when I saw you on the news again. Even though you have been out of action and away from the limelight for a number of years, you somehow manage to capture headlines every now and then, thanks to your long-drawn-out court case and that remarkable lady, Hirunika. You first made headlines when Bharatha Lakshman was killed 13 years ago during local govt polls � an election so unimportant that Uncle Ranil doesn�t even hold it now. more..

Jan 21 (TM) Although the Govt previously announced its intention to decrease the size of the overcrowded public sector, no tangible actions or measures have been taken to date to implement this decision. Research Economist Rehana Thowfeek said that reducing expenditure was definitely important and it was not fair that the Govt had not offered many options for expenditure cuts such as reducing the public sector workforce. Despite this move being expected, there are political more..

Jan 21 (SO) Parents, guardians, educationists and even coaches are frowning on Sri Lanka Cricket�s decision to entice school goers as young as 13 years to play for money at the upcoming inter-school season. With its administrative image battered and in tatters over corruption, Sri Lanka Cricket decided in a desperate move to turn child students into hardened pros that is also likely to have repercussions on grooming future players for the National team where-in money and more..

Jan 21 (Island) Last week�s unanimous decision of a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, quashing former Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa�s Special Presidential Pardon to Duminda Silva, former MP and supervising MP of the Defence Ministry serving a life term for the murder of another former MP, Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra, has been widely approved by public opinion. We say welcomed by the public because there is a deep rooted perception that some are more equal more..

Jan 21 (ST) With the objective of revamping cricket administration, Sports Minister Harin Fernando has appointed a five-member committee to draft a new constitution for Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC). The development follows a proposal from the Cabinet subcommittee appointed by Prez Ranil Wickremasinghe to look into the issues currently faced by SLC in changing the existing constitution and structure of the SLC. more..

Jan 21 (ST) SL team is set to commence their ICC U-19 World Cup campaign against Zimbabwe in a Group �C� encounter at the Diamond Hall ground in Kimberley today. Under the leadership of Sineth Jayawardena, SL team had mixed results in the two warm-up matches. They secured a victory against Bangladesh by 112 runs on the D/L method but suffered a defeat defending champions India by 9 wickets in the second match. SL, in their recent preparations for the ICC U-19 World Cup, more..

Jan 21 (ST) Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) faced an unexpected embarrassment when former South African cricketer and current fielding coach refuted claims made by SLC about engaging him for training its national cricketers and coaches. A recent media release from SLC stated that the board had decided to seek the services of well-known international cricket talents to provide advanced training for local coaches, trainers, and physiotherapists through periodic training programmes. more..

Jan 21 (CT) Angelo Mathews hailed T20I skipper Wanindu Hasaranga�s captaincy skills, praising him for keeping the dressing room secure and making players feel that they have the captain�s backing. �Very happy to be among top performers, and moreover, happy about ending the tournament on a high. I think my mistake cost us the previous game because I couldn�t execute my plan. �Moving onto the last T20I, as a team we played well in all three departments. more..

Jan 21 (SO) One time SL cricket captain Dasun Shanaka seems to be enjoying a kind of immunity that many players before him may not have had the luxury of savouring and that includes being able to hold back the mainstream media from taking him head-on despite a litany and list of serial failures with the bat. Among mainstream media personnel the cautionary rule is never take on a cricketer with political or Selection Committee clout for fear of having to eat their own words with the player more..

Jan 21 (TM) CEB is set to float a new tender to procure nearly 150 MW of supplementary power to address the expected deficit during the upcoming dry season, starting from the end of March. Discussions are underway to initiate a new tender instead of finalising a supplier under the previously-floated tender last year. Despite receiving Expressions of Interest (EOIs), there had been several issues in finalising them due to more..

Jan 21 (CT) SL�s foreign reserves bled by USD 17.64 million (Rs 5,679 million) on Thursday, due to the settlement of the Govt of SL's foreign debt servicing commitments to multilateral donors. Conversions are based on the offer value of the benchmark spot as of Tuesday, which was Rs 322 to the US dollar. Consequently, the market net shortfall increased by 2.34% (Rs 5,602 million) to Rs 245,373 million and GoSL�s non-demand-pull inflationary face value money printing (FVMP) debt by more..

Jan 21 (CT) In an effort to better position and promote quality Ceylon Cinnamon exports, the Int'l Finance Corporation (IFC), Plantation Industries Ministry and SL Export Development Board (EDB) identified the first batch of Geographical Indication (GI) certified Ceylon Cinnamon growers in the country, IFC said. As part of the project, Euromonitor International, the world�s leading independent provider of strategic market research, carried out an assessment to identify more..

Jan 21 (ST) Even though the govt has made it mandatory to register with the IRD and obtain a tax payer information number for all individuals who are 18 years of age or more, it does not mean that all of them have to pay tax. This was stated by State Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya when he clarified the implementation of TIN following the mounting public pressure against it. Meanwhile the Finance Ministry has extended the deadline for more..

Jan 21 (DM) A leaked audio conversation between a police officer and a female lawyer, suspected of representing a relative of organized criminal Ganemulla Sanjeewa who is being held at the Weeragula Police Station, has surfaced. It is alleged that during the conversation, the lawyer engaged with an ASP from the Narcotics Unit and attempted to offer a bribe. It was reported that a team of officers from the Police Narcotics Bureau was dispatched to investigate a house more..

Jan 21 (SLN) SL Navy today (20) seized a local multi-day fishing trawler carrying over 65kg of heroin, and another multi-day fishing trawler suspected of assisting it, during a special operation carried out about 185km off the Dondra Head, in southern waters. The operation also led to the apprehension of 11 suspects in connection to the smuggling racket. To realize the national aspiration of eliminating the drug menace, Navy is actively engaged in anti-drug operations more..

Jan 21 (AD) Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has urged Minister of Public Security to withdraw the proposed Online Safety Bill. In a joint letter addressed to the Minister, the CPJ, together with 58 other organisations, urged Minister Tiran Alles to withdraw the relevant Bill, and to conduct meaningful consultations with all stakeholders including local groups in this regard. They further raised concerns that the proposed Bill is slated to be presented in Parliament later this month, more..

Jan 21 (DM) Police provided a compensation of Rs. 1 million to the family of a lorry driver who lost his life in the shooting incident in Narammala. Acting IGP Deshabandu Thennakoon personally handed over the compensation at the residence of the deceased driver in Alawwa. The incident occurred on Thursday night when a 41-year-old lorry driver became the victim of an accidental discharge from a sub-inspector's firearm. The Sub Inspector and a Constable had signalled the driver to stop, more..

Jan 21 (ST) The JVP-led NPP has declared it has no issues dealing with the IMF, but the global institution�s programmes should be in keeping with the national interest. Former MP Sunil Handunneththi, who took part in the discussions with the IMF delegation, said that the party�s position was that it was not opposed to dealing with IMF but would call for drastic changes in keeping with national responsibility. more..

Jan 21 (CT) National Audit Office (NAO) has disclosed a significant issue, concerning 50 railway crossing bell and light warning systems that had become inactive years before the expiration of the warranty period provided by the contractor. This has resulted in a substantial loss of approximately Rs 243 million for the Dept of Railways. In response, NAO has strongly recommended that the Department of Railways promptly take action to recover the incurred loss from the supplier. more..

Jan 21 (ST) Colombo Port City has urged the Govt to introduce draft banking and financial services regulations that will allow investors to transact in foreign currencies and deal with counterparts offshore to avoid any mandatory conversion or repatriation of monies, authoritative sources said. Investors are registered to do business within the Port City as offshore companies under Colombo Port City Economic Commission Act. They are also seeking clarity on the applicability of more..

Jan 21 (SO) Trade, Commerce & Food Security Ministry Secretary Priyanka Athapaththu assured that the ongoing crisis of soaring vegetable prices would be resolved by the middle of next month. He said that the stronghold of middlemen who have been manipulating prices with hoarded vegetables, such as carrots and beans, will no longer be a tool for unjustified profit. The middle-men will be compelled to release their stocks to Dedicated Economic Centres (DECs) at lowered rates, more..

Jan 21 (OM) SL court on Friday released 32 fishermen from Tamil Nadu who were arrested and imprisoned by the SL Navy. �Repatriated safely! A group of 32 Indian fishermen board for their flight back to India from Colombo,� High Commission of India in Colombo posted on X. SL Navy had arrested 32 Indian fishermen and seized their trawlers for allegedly poaching in the island nation's waters in three separate incidents. 18 fishermen were arrested, and their two trawlers seized more..

Jan 21 (TM) Inland Revenue Dept (IRD) is to collect taxes from sugar importers who had profited during the sugar scam and is to submit a report on the status of the matter to the Committee on Public Finance (COPF). IRD Commissioner General W.A.S. Chandrasekara said the IRD was responsible for taxing any additional profits that would have been incurred by importers during the period in which the sugar scam occurred. more..

Jan 21 (OM) A 23-year-old German tourist visiting Ambalangoda had a terrifying encounter on Thursday evening while enjoying a solo stroll along the picturesque beach. An unidentified man suddenly lunged at her, leaving her with minor injuries and a deeply unsettling experience. The young woman, who was staying at a local hotel, was enjoying the tranquil beach setting when the incident occurred. According to her statement to the Ambalangoda police, attacker unexpectedly more..

Jan 21 (ST) CEB has projected a profit of Rs. 73 billion for this year in its internal approved budget but has forecast a markedly short surplus of Rs. 23.7 billion to the regulator, Public Utilities Commission of SL (PUCSL), to justify its request for a mere 3.34% reduction of the average tariff. According to its approved budget, CEB�s operational expenses budget for 2024 has also ballooned from Rs. 97 billion in 2022 to a projected Rs. 164 billion in 2024�a nearly 70% increase. more..

Jan 21 (ST) It was nearly two centuries ago that a British statesman uttered these words about politics. It has since reverberated in the dovecotes of political power although its complete relevance now stands to question. Henry John Temple, the Third Viscount Palmerston, in the 19th century, declared that in politics, �there are no permanent enemies, and no permanent friends, only permanent interests.� more..

Jan 22 (DM) Since the economic meltdown, many of us realise that bad practices of the past � spending far more than we earn � has led us down to the sorry path we find ourselves in. Political leaders claim that we are no longer a bankrupt nation and have substantial dollar reserves. The reality sadly is, the situation is not so rosy. A portion of these reserves comprises credit lines, funds lent by the IMF, World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB) and other multi-lateral lending agencies. more..

Jan 22 (DM) As far as the Tamils are concerned in Ceylon/SL, their situation during the pre-independence era was hunky-dory, whereas in the post-independence era, it has stirred up a hornet�s nest and hamstrung the political and social fabric, which was a consequence of the act of political hanky-panky and the hegemony of the native rulers. The plight of Tamils has been agonizing and antagonistic, with deaths and destructions, wounds, loss of limbs, disabilities, more..

Jan 22 (DM) Russian Ambassador Levan Dzhagaryan, in an interview with Daily Mirror, discusses the current status of bilateral ties, and what is being planned for the future. Q: How did the recent visit of a top level Russian delegation help elevate bilateral ties? A: We are satisfied with the current level of our bilateral relations. Another indication of it was the visit of a high-ranking Russian delegation. more..

Jan 22 (DM) Followers of wholesome Dhamma need not be disturbed by individuals like Jeromes, Sepalas, Natashas, Ruwans, or Avalokiteshvaras; these are insignificant outside influences, a phenomenon that existed even in the times of the Buddha. The growing concern lies in the emerging threat posed by Devadattas operating within the Sasana. Isms can be unwarranted, whether they take the form of theism, atheism, vegetarianism, Buddhism, or any other philosophical stance. more..

Jan 22 (TM) The fatal shooting of a 41-year-old motorist in Narammala by a Police officer last week gave many Sri Lankans an eerie feeling that we've heard and seen before. The Police claim that the motorist ignored orders to stop but failed. The victim, a lone driver in a budget lorry, who was driving at night, is pursued by two Policemen, in civilian attire, stopped, approached, spoken to, and then at point black range, shot at, causing terminal injuries. Much of the incident is on CCTV and more..

Jan 22 (GV) The Tripitaka is silent on the subject but the Buddha�s three visits to the isle of Lanka constitute an article of faith for most Sinhala-Buddhists. Kelaniya is believed to have been the main destination for the third visit, its ancient temple a place of utmost sanctity. In the modern era, Kelaniya has become a magnet for visitors of a rather different sort. In 2019, just days before the presidential election, it was to Kelaniya more..

Jan 22 (Island) The IMF has told the Rajapaksa-Wickremesinghe govt some home truths. Stressing the need to expedite the finalisation of agreements with foreign creditors on external debt restructuring for the next trance of the extended fund facility to be released, the IMF has urged Sri Lanka to increase state revenue further so as to improve its creditworthiness internationally for foreign loans to be obtained. One may have misgivings about the IMF�s policies, conditions, agenda, etc., but more..

Jan 22 (TM) In a historic day for club rugby in Sri Lanka, CR&FC beat Kandy Sports Club 38-26 at Nittawela yesterday to break a 23-year-long wait to beat the undisputed defending champs at their home fortress in a match of a lifetime. It was way back in 2001 that CR&FC, under talismanic skipper Kishan Musafer, beat mighty Kandy under Nalaka Weerakkody at Nittawela. CR�s last win in any format against Kandy came in 2010 under current Head Coach Dushanth Lewke�s captaincy. more..

Jan 22 (Island) Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute (LKI) hosted a panel discussion SL as a Destination: From Antiquity to Modernity as part of its outreach activities to promote Cultural Diplomacy in Koggala on Saturday (13). Held with the Indian Ocean as the backdrop at the Long Beach Hotel, Koggala, this interactive discussion was organized as part of Rhythms of Paradise � the cultural spectacle of Galle Concerto 2024, with the aim of promoting the Southern coastline of SL more..