Mar 20 (TM) The controversial new draft Bill proposing amendments to the Penal Code governing the punishments regarding statutory rape, is intended not to infringe on protections afforded to minors, but to accommodate the practical realities of romantic relationships involving youths, Justice Ministry sources claimed. The proposed provisions would allow for adult males below 22 years of age who are convicted of statutory rape to be given more lenient sentences more..

Mar 20 (TM) The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) is expected to maintain its current policy rates throughout 2024, as inflation is projected to stay above CBSL�s desired range during the remainder of the year, Bloomberg Intelligence said. The independent research arm of Bloomberg said that it expects the CBSL to extend its unchanged rates from January throughout 2024 for two main reasons. It said that inflation will likely remain above the CBSL�s target of 5% through 2024, more..

Mar 20 (TM) Former Health Minister and incumbent Govt MP Keheliya Rambukwella may have been sent to Court in a bus allocated for female inmates� children, according to the Prison authorities, in order to keep him separate from the other suspects related to the case regarding which he is facing charges. Adding that the Court has issued instructions to produce the eight suspects of the case in a manner that prevents contact more..

Mar 20 (DM) Global Conversions, a leading SL-owned company specialising in automobile re-engineering, has achieved a remarkable milestone in the automotive industry, with successful conversion of the world�s first Hummer EV SUV to right-hand drive. This groundbreaking achievement exemplifies Global Conversions� commitment to innovation and excellence in the field of vehicle conversions. Global Conversions has been at the forefront of automobile re-engineering, specialising in more..

Mar 20 (DM) The wildlife officers attached to the Sinharaja Forest Reserve observed that one of the two elephants living in the vicinity of the forest reserve had not been seen for the past one and a half years. They said the two male elephants used to come out of the forest reserve when they went into musth. But within the past one and a half years, only one elephant (around 45-years-old), which has a belt around its neck, has been seen by the villagers. The elephants in the Sinharaja Forest Reserve more..

Mar 20 (TM) Opposition MPs Dayasiri Jayasekara, Prof. Charitha Herath, S.M. Marikkar, Shanakiyan Rasamanickam, Hesha Withanage, and Gamini Waleboda have decided to resign from the COPE, bringing the total number of Opposition MPs to quit the Parliamentary Committee thus far to seven. It is understood that SLFP MP Jayasekara has forwarded his letter of resignation to the Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana. Prof. Herath said that he had officially communicated his decision more..

Mar 20 (EN) Sri Lanka has decided to explore the option of relocating Ceylon Petroleum Corporation�s oil refinery to Trincomalee, Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said. The cabinet of ministers this week approved a proposal to spin off the refinery as a separate company to raise capital from local and foreign investors to modernize the 1969 structure. �It was also decided to explore the option of relocating the Sapugaskanda Oil Refinery to Trincomalee in the future�,� more..

Mar 20 (FT) SJB MP S.M. Marikkar claimed that Central Bank of SL (CBSL) employees are willing to reduce their salaries, but it is the trade unions that are resisting. Marikkar said the CBSL top management has come to realise that the salary increase was unjust, particularly after the matter was continuously highlighted by the opposition led by the SJB. He claimed that as a result, the top management has requested more..

Mar 20 (Island) Secretary of Electricity Consumers� Association Sanjiva Dhammika said that the CEB charged Rs 10,000 more than LECO to provide new electricity connections. Dhammika said that according to a document on the pricing formula released by the Public Utilities Commission with effect from March 5, LECO charged Rs 34,600 whereas the CEB asked for Rs 45,500. The trade union activist said that earlier the CEB had charged Rs 3,000 to restore electricity in case more..

Mar 20 (FT) Govt of India has pledged $ 61.5 million grant to fully develop the Port of Kankesanthurai Port (KKS) in Jaffna. The message was conveyed during a meeting between Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha and Ports, Shipping and Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, a communiqu� from the Ministry noted. �As part of the project, a new breakwater will be constructed, and the port will be dredged up to a depth of 30 meters to accommodate deep-draft vessels,� it read. more..

Mar 20 (AD) The World Bank has hailed SL�s toll-free 1990 Suwa Seriya ambulance service for saving countless lives, while providing citizens the highest level of pre-hospital care. In a blog post, the WB�s Vice President for the South Asia Region, Martin Raiser further commended the ambulance service for reducing complications caused by delayed care, and enabling them to get back into the workforce in record time more..

Mar 20 (TG) Sri Lanka�s govt-backed traditional astrologers have failed to unanimously agree on the best date for new year rituals, with squabbling seers warning of disaster and accusing rivals of misinterpreting the position of stars. Astrologers are hugely influential figures consulted by the island�s Buddhist and Hindu communities, and their advice for auspicious dates guides everything from marriages to business deals � and even national elections. more..

Mar 20 (FT) The Green Campus as it is popularly called, National School of Business Management (NSBM) in Homagama, has been given the greenlight by the Cabinet to establish a Faculty of Medicine. All NSBM courses from foundation to general degree and postgraduate degrees are fee levying and the proposed medical degree would also be a fee levying degree. IUSF and GMOA were up against the SAITM medical degree in 2017-2018 claiming it would lead to privatising of free more..

Mar 20 (AD) Leader of NPP Anura Kumara Dissanayake and SLFP MP Duminda Dissanayake too have stepped down from the COPE. Two Dissanayakes today joined a parade of MPs to quit the COPE over the appointment of SLPP MP Rohitha Abeygunawardena as its chairman. Communicating his resignation to Speaker of Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena in writing, the SLFP MP said he decided to quit the COPE membership as the committee no longer more..

Mar 20 (DM) Supreme Court today ordered the remand of a lawyer accused of his contemptuous behavior in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court further ordered the prison authorities to produce this lawyer before the court again on April 3. The court further ordered the suspension of this attorney from engaging in legal practice until the conclusion of the hearing into the case. It was alleged that Attorney-at-Law Susil Jayatunga repeatedly made his submissions disregarding more..

Mar 20 (AD) Committee on Public Finance (COPF) has recommended that the Central Bank of SL (CBSL) defer the salary increase until a mutually acceptable solution is reached on the matter. This was mentioned in the COPF report on the Central Bank Salary Revision 2024-2026 presented to the parliament by the committee�s chairman Dr. Harsha de Silva on Wednesday. COPF compiled this report on the recent salary more..

Mar 20 (DM) An analysis of over 20,000 U.S. adults found that people who limited their eating across less than 8 hours per day, a time-restricted eating plan, were more likely to die from cardiovascular disease compared to people who ate across 12-16 hours per day. This is according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association�s Epidemiology and Prevention│Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Scientific Sessions 2024, March 18- 21, in Chicago. more..

Mar 20 (AD) The World Happiness Report for 2024, released earlier this week, indicates that while the top 10 countries in the list have remained the same since before the Covid-19 pandemic, the United States and Germany have fallen in the rankings, making way for several Eastern European nations to rise on the list. As expected, Finland topped the list for the seventh year in a row, followed by Denmark, Iceland and Sweden. Israel too made it to the top five of the ranking. more..

Mar 20 (DM) Meeting a record annual tax revenue target of Rs.232 billion for the year 2024 is questionable, as SL�s liquor consumption has drastically decreased in recent years owing to its ever increasing prices, as revealed by the Chief of Excise Dept. The country�s liquor production as compared to the year 2022 has dropped by 6.5million litres last year, which was a significant amount. more..

Mar 20 (AD) MP Wasantha Yapa Bandara joined a parade of parliamentarians to quit the COPE over the appointment of SLPP MP Rohitha Abeygunawardena as its chairman. Shortly after the parliamentary session commenced this morning (March 20), the Deputy Speaker announced the appointment of Bandara as a COPE member. However, the MP announced his resignation with immediate effect, asserting that he would communicate his decision in writing as well. more..

Mar 20 (Island) The publishing of ousted Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa�s memoirs, almost predictably titled, The Conspiracy to oust me from the presidency, provides an opportunity to re-evaluate those tumultuous events that did led to the fleeing abroad of the former president in 2022 and his resignation, including the political discourse that arose from the Aragalaya. The political discourse of the Aragalaya is relevant, as we come to the constitutionally mandated prez election year more..

Mar 20 (FT) Fostering a strong Manufacturing and Production (M&P) sector is crucial for addressing SL�s current economic challenges and therefore it is a key sector studied by Great Place to Work� in Sri Lanka. It contributes an estimated 16.3% to the national GDP in 2023 albeit a 2.1% reduction over the previous year (CBSL, 2023). The decline can be attributed to various economic woes, including inflation of costs, global supply chain disruption, import restrictions, decrease in export more..

Mar 20 (EN) All SL districts including in the island nation�s North and East will sign a sister district deal with China�s Chongqing province for investments and improve production capacity, State Minister Anupa Pasqual, said. Sovereign debt defaulted Sri Lanka has been looking to attract investments into grass root level across the country and the island nation has been in discussion for sister district concept with China�s Chongqing, which has around 33 million population. more..

Mar 20 (DM) Following a concerning rise in organized criminal activities in the Western and Southern provinces, a special operation targeting 20 identified organized criminal gangs in the country under the Yukthiya initiative was launched yesterday. Accordingly, 20 special police teams have been deployed to crackdown on those identified underworld gangs. IGP said that 99 shootings related to organized criminals were reported more..

Mar 20 (AD) Another suspect has been arrested in connection with his alleged complicity in the fatal shooting reported in Pitigala last week. The 31-year-old was taken into custody in Kahaduwa of Elpitiya police division on Tuesday afternoon (19). Additionally, 2g and 250mg of heroin were also found on the suspect at the time of the arrest, according to the police. Meanwhile, earlier this week, two other suspects, aged 35 years, were apprehend over the shooting incident that killed two more..

Mar 20 (PMD) Governor of the Eastern Province, Senthil Thondaman says the debt crisis of the country can be resolved by successfully executing the development projects outlined for the region under the guidance of Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe. As the Prez is the only leader capable of reconstructing the nation, it is incumbent upon all parties to rally behind him and offer their support, Thondaman further commented. The Eastern Province Governor made these remarks more..

Mar 20 (EN) A doctors� professional association has written to Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe demanding that the govt revoke plans to approve the establishment of private medical universities in SL. Secretary of the All Ceylon Medical Officers Association Jayantha Bandara said that the association would take trade union action against the decision if the govt did not revoke it. Bandara spoke to the reporters outside more..

Mar 20 (AD) State Minister Shehan Semasinghe has assured that the economic reforms being implemented will not be disrupted by the coming elections and that the govt is ready to make the ongoing reforms a law of the country. The State Minister had stated this during a discussion with the IMF�s Executive Director for India, SL, Bangladesh and Bhutan, Prof. Krishnamurthy V. Subramanian. �During the discussion, ensured that the reforms implemented will not be disrupted with more..

Mar 20 (DM) Three members of underworld gangs were arrested during a special operation launched yesterday to crack down on organized criminal activities. In response to a concerning increase in organized criminal activities in the Western and Southern Provinces, a special operation targeting 20 identified organized criminal gangs in the country was launched under the Yukthiya initiative yesterday. As part of this operation, 20 special police teams have been deployed to crackdown on more..

Mar 20 (Wisden) Less renowned are his skills with the red ball. Up until his retirement from the format at the age of 26 last August, he had played four Tests, averaged north of 100 with the ball, and made one fifty. Calling it quits was less about him turning his back on the game�s traditions than it was him and Sri Lanka sensibly agreeing that he was better off not bothering. Hasaranga missed the inaugural season of Major League Cricket due to attending a Test camp for a series more..

Mar 20 (FT) Sri Lanka is grappling to balance between the reforms required to extricate the country out of its economic collapse whilst ensuring minimum disruption to households, but the data does not reflect the same. Seven million people are in poverty as per research by LIRNEasia. According to the Dept of Census & Statistics, 53% of children�s education is disrupted with 44% of them struggling to buy their stationary, whilst 108,330 micro and small enterprises have shut down. more..

Mar 20 (HRW) Eight Tamil Hindu worshippers arrested by SL police while engaging in festival rituals last week were detained for more than 10 days and allegedly abused. A magistrate released them on March 19. In recent years, SL govt authorities and nationalist Sinhala Buddhist monks have been targeting Hindu as well as Muslim religious sites in the country�s north and east in violation of the right to freedom of religion and more..

Mar 20 (AD) A total of 33 individuals have been arrested during the protest staged by the Jana Aragala Viyaparaya in Pettah today, DIG Nihal Thalduwa said. 29 persons including 02 Buddhist monks and 03 females have been arrested during the protest staged by the Jana Aragala Viyaparaya in Pettah today (20), police said. It is reported that FSP activist Duminda Nagamuwa and youth activist Lahiru Weerasekara are among those arrested during the protest. more..

Mar 20 (DM) Cabinet endorsed a proposal to draft constitutional amendments for the introduction of a new parliamentary electoral system that will enable the election of 160 MPs under the previous First-Past-the �Post System and the remainder under proportional representation, Daily Mirror learns. Currently, Parliament consists of 225 MPs. Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe presented the proposal approved by the Cabinet. A new piece of legislation will be drafted for enactment by Parliament more..

Mar 20 (NDTV) Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it is closely following the prevailing situation in Haiti where the citizens are reeling from the spiral of violence that erupted after armed gangs took control of the capital city Port-au-Prince and other areas. The ministry asserted that it is in contact with companies operating in Haiti employing SL nationals. �The companies have confirmed that the [SL] nationals are safe and away from more..