Mar 25 (TM) The deadlock between SL Customs and the Finance Ministry saw a breakthrough last week as Customs unions opted to suspend their strike following discussions with State Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya. National Audit Office (NAO) has meanwhile expressed concern over the Customs Officers� Reward Fund. The decision to call off the strike, which was to have been in effect until 31 March, more..

Mar 25 (ST) My dear other Mahinda, I am writing to congratulate you on surviving the motion of no confidence against you moved by some in the opposition. It was a comfortable victory too because some 117 MPs voted to support you, a creditable achievement because the pohottuwa party is divided into so many camps now. Is it true that the debate on the motion of no confidence was to be for two days but was extended to three days? This is not to give the opposition more time to wash more..

Mar 25 (Island) Former Prez Maithripala Sirisena has got obfuscation down to a fine art. He is also given to making various claims which he does not care to substantiate; instead, he muddies the waters when he is asked to furnish evidence in support of them. On Friday (22), he claimed, in Kandy, that he knew who the mastermind behind the Easter Sunday terror attacks (2019) was. He, true to form, refused to elaborate on his claim and name names purportedly for fear of reprisal. more..

Mar 25 (GV) The world is becoming less democratic and more autocratic (i.e. authoritarian). One of the best sources of information is the annual Democracy Report issued by the V-Dem Institute in Sweden. The Institute continuously measures the extent to which national govts are either democratic or authoritarian and the directions in which they are moving. Its 2024 Report tells us that on average the world has moved steadily in a more autocratic direction since 2009. more..

Mar 25 (CI) 3 - Number of instances of two players from the same team with twin hundreds in a Test match - Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis did it for SL in Sylhet. Chappell brothers - Ian and Greg - scored twin tons against NZ in Wellington in 1974, while Azhar Ali and Misbah-ul-Haq did the same against Australia in Abu Dhabi in 2014. There have also been three Test matches where one player from each side scored twin hundreds - Arthur Morris and Denis Compton in Adelaide in 1947, more..

Mar 25 (CI) Dhananjaya de Silva etched his name in the record books as the first SL captain to score twin hundreds in a Test, on day three in Sylhet, as he and Kamindu Mendis brought SL's innings back on track for the second time in this game. The pair also became only the third in Test history to add 150-plus runs twice in the same Test. In the first innings, they had revived the innings from 57 for 5. Now they did so from 126 for 6, more..

Mar 25 (FT) The IMF last week said it is witnessing the beginning of a virtuous cycle in Sri Lanka which must be sustained rather than reverting to a vicious cycle as the country is on a knife edge path. The frank assessment was shared by IMF�s Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka Peter Breuer at the media briefing following the conclusion of the Second Review of the $ 3 billion four year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program and Article IV consultation. more..

Mar 25 (SO) St. Peter�s College left the field guilty of killing off any prospects of a worthwhile finish to their 90th cricket encounter against St. Joseph�s College that ended in a tame drab draw at the SSC ground in Colombo yesterday. Even on a pitch that favoured the bat over the ball, the Peterites in their second essay preferred to defend most of the time after going past the 200-run lead in the final session of play unable to figure out the direction they were heading. more..

Mar 25 (FT) Power of Play, a company utilising performing arts for advocacy has partnered with Advocata Institute and Sahana Social Development Alliance to provide SL youth with an innovative opportunity to increase their economic literacy and communication skills, through performing arts. This project is a direct response to the disadvantages faced by youth, where traditional education systems fail to foster critical thinking skills so they engage meaningfully with complex socio-political more..

Mar 25 (FT) The IMF last week suggested the Central Bank should demonstrate a high degree of transparency on the benchmarks used to determine the recent salary hike. �We don�t have much to say with respect to the salary hike. What�s important is that there be a high degree of transparency on the part of the Central Bank to explain how it is benchmarking its decisions. And the key is to preserve Central Bank independence,� IMF�s Senior Mission Chief for SL Peter Breuer told more..

Mar 25 (CI) Bangladesh nosedived in the dying moments of day 3 in Sylhet, losing 5 wickets for 43 runs in 13 overs before stumps. Slump though came when Bangladesh were anyway in a dire situation. Earlier in the day, Kamindu Mendis had struck 164 and Dhananjaya de Silva had also completed his second hundred of the match, leaving the hosts with an improbable 511 target to chase. Still, their dramatic collapse has left more..

Mar 25 (FT) Confident of future prospects, Trillium Group announced a mega $ 20 million or Rs. 6 billion worth expansion into the real estate and hospitality industry. Among projects unveiled include $ 12 million investment to put up Trillium Duplex Colombo 5; $ 3 million on Trillium Residencies Nugegoda and $ 6 million on second Trillium hotel in Colombo 7 the Trillium Express: Colombo 7 at the former Dasa Building at Ward Place. Identifying itself as a beacon of innovation and resilience, more..

Mar 25 (DN) Over here in Kandy the 117th big match Dharmaraja College beat Kingswood College by innings and in the 42nd one day game Trinity College beat St. Anthony�s College. Dharmaraja College did well to beat their arch rivals in cricket Kingswood College by innings and 69 runs in their 117th big match, called the battle of the Maroons at the Pallekelle International Cricket Stadium and won the T.B. Tennakoon challenge trophy. On the first day Dharmaraja College did well with the bat more..

Mar 25 (Island) The three-day debate on the No-confidence Motion against Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena offers an insight into the prevailing dump the lot public opinion on the incumbent legislature. Listening to what some MPs said during the debate helps understand the present mood in the country that the incumbent legislature has long lost its mandate which must be urgently restored through a general election. more..

Mar 25 (EN) SL�s central govt debt to gross domestic product was largely unchanged at 105.49% by Dec 2023, compared to 105.45% in September, but down from end 2022. Central govt local and foreign debt was reported at 29,145 billion rupees by December 2023, with the rupee at 323.92 to the US dollar, up from 28,424 billion in Sept 2023. Rolling GDP for the four quarters ending in Dec 2023 was 27,629 trillion rupees, up from 26,636 billion to September as the economy started to recover. more..

Mar 25 (AD) Police have arrested four suspects involved in a long-running racket of stealing motorcycles, disassembling and selling the parts. During the operation, police have recovered 116 motorcycle number plates that were found in their possession. The arrested suspects, aged between 29 and 44, are residents of the Sravasthipura area of Auradhapura, Kithulhitiyawa, Mirisgoniyawa Junction, and Heen Moragolla areas of Dambulla, according to police. more..

Mar 25 (AD) IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon has stated that the procedure does not entail the immediate arrest of individuals willing to provide information regarding the perpetrators of the Easter Sunday bomb attacks and instead the focus should be on investigating the information provided to apprehend the suspects. Tennakoon made these remarks while addressing the media concerning the recent controversial comments made by former Prez regarding the Easter Sunday attacks. more..

Mar 25 (ST) Telecom operators, supermarkets, online retailers, digital platforms of web aggregators and others will be given an opportunity to become insurance distributors of relevant companies under new regulations to provide easy access for customers to insurance. This will be a new role of an insurance distributor in addition to the traditional brokering agents, a Finance Ministry official said. This is part of the industry�s transformation with new regulations and high technology, more..

Mar 25 (TM) SL Govt will discuss the issue of Foreign Marine Scientific Research (MSR) vessels during the upcoming cabinet meeting today and at the National Security Council (NSC) this week. The move comes as four Chinese research vessels, the latest; Yuan Wang 3, an older vessel in the class of satellite and missile tracking ship Yuan Wang 5 which called on Hambantota Port in Aug 2022, has entered the Indian Ocean, more..

Mar 25 (DM) SL�s official unemployment rate slipped to 4.3% in the final quarter of last year from 4.7% in the quarter before as the economy expanded in the final three months of the year. This is roughly thrice the pace of the third quarter growth. Sri Lanka's GDP, the value of total products by an economy, expanded by 4.5% in the fourth quarter of last year from 1.6% in the third quarter as the country was recovering from the shortage of foreign currency which reached a breaking point in early 2022. more..

Mar 25 (ST) The inclusion of Wanindu Hasaranga in the Test squad has raised eyebrows, as his return to the longer format of the game seems sudden and unexpected. Having previously announced his Test retirement in Aug 2023 to concentrate on white-ball cricket, Hasaranga�s selection begs the question of what criteria selectors have employed in bringing him back to the fold�other than to complete his recently-imposed playing ban. With only 4 wickets to his name in four Tests at an unimpressive more..

Mar 25 (ST) The Justice Ministry has withdrawn its draft bill to amend the Penal Code�s Sections 363 and 364, which deal with statutory rape, Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said. �We informed the Supreme Court on Thursday when the matter came up that we are not proceeding with this,� he said. He has convened a meeting next week with stakeholders, especially those interested in the subject, including leading women�s rights activists and organisations, to discuss related matters. more..

Mar 25 (AD) Department of Meteorology has cautioned the people of rising atmospheric temperatures at some places in Western, North-western, Southern provinces and Mannar, Vavuniya and Anuradhapura districts tomorrow. The advisory, issued at 4 p.m. today (24), will be in effect until tomorrow evening (25). As per the advisory, under this level of temperature, fatigue is possible with prolonged exposure and activity while continuing activity could result in heat cramps. more..

Mar 25 (DM) Colombo Commercial High Court issued an enjoining order preventing Rusi Pestonjee, Managing Director of Abans PLC or his servants from in any way or manner to use the name McDonald�s or any name in any way or manner similar to the name McDonald�s. Comercial High Court Judge Sumith Perera further issued an enjoining order preventing Rusi Pestonjee from selling McDonald�s food and menu items more..

Mar 25 (DM) National People's Power (NPP) will not allow the govt to implement the proposed Constitutional Amendments to introduce a new parliamentary electoral system before the Presidential polls, NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said. Speaking at a meeting with the SL community in Toronto, Canada, he said the govt was making every effort to evade a national election at this juncture as they are purturbed with the predictions that they are going to lose power. more..

Mar 25 (FT) Central Bank on Saturday said its senior management has decided to revisit the recent salary increase. The recent salary revision for the period 2024-2026 made by the CBSL, post the collective agreement between the Governing Board and the employee representatives, created much discourse among the public. CBSL said in response to this situation, a majority of the senior management and professionals of CBSL made a collective decision to consider a revision to their salaries. more..

Mar 25 (TM) The CID has informed former Prez, MP Maithripala Sirisena to make himself available to record a statement regarding the controversial statement the former prez made regarding knowledge of perpetrators involved in the 2019 Easter Sunday Bombings. CID has begun an inquiry into the controversial statement made by Sirisena, and the former president is expected to provide a statement this morning. more..

Mar 25 (FT) American economist William A. Niskanen, writing to the American Economic Review in 1968 presented a model in which the govts and govt agencies have incentives to enlarge their budgets. He called this the budget maximising behaviour of bureaus � spending units in the govts � to enhance the personal benefits for themselves rather than for the citizens. This model, further developed by him, was published later in 1971 in book form under the title more..

Mar 25 (FT) Application of banking ethics in SL � refer: Daily FT dated 21 March 2024 was a brilliant Guest Column by B.G. Wimalarathna Banda ex-banker � subtly classifying the Excellent, Good, Bad, Ugly and Evil Bankers. I have emphasised excerpts to help reduce use of valuable time and space. Also added in mini brief the much larger context I have advocated over six decades of Accountability, Transparency, Truth and Trust (ATTT) bankers to attempt to micromanage customers more..

Mar 25 (FT) McDonald�s local franchisee Rusi Pestonjee is to challenge the ex-parte enjoining order issued against him over a dispute concerning the sale of shares. Pestonjee owns 98% stake in International Restaurant Systems Ltd, the local franchisee of McDonald�s. Colombo Commercial High Court Judge Sumith Perera last week issued an enjoining order preventing Pestonjee from using the name McDonald�s in any way as well as sale of its food menu in 11 outlets until 4 April. more..

Mar 25 (DM) Amid fears that the current programme with the IMF will be derailed in case of a regime change, the govt is planning to enact an economic transformation law to ensure sustainability of the project despite political changes, a minister said yesterday. The International community, particularly the Western countries, has emphasized the importance of continuity with the economic reform programme supported by a 4-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement. more..

Mar 25 (CI) Mominul Haque resisted for 148 deliveries, making 87 not out, and he had the company of Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Shoriful Islam for significant partnerships. But SL's quicks nevertheless hunted down the last five fourth-innings wickets and finished the job midway through the second session of day four, with Kasun Rajitha completing a second career five-wicket haul to finish with figures of 5 for 56. more..

Mar 25 (DM) The Colombo Chief Magistrate today overruled a request by the Cinnamon Gardens Police to seek the Attorney General�s opinion against the National Organizer of the SJB Women�s Wing, Hirunika Premachandra and 14 others for participating in a street drama at Torrington Square. Senior Counsel Athula Ranagala appearing for 13 suspects asserted that the Police while performing an unofficial duty had come before the court and made false allegations that more..

Mar 25 (AD) Sri Lankan PM Dinesh Gunawardena arrived in Beijing on Monday for a six-day official visit to China at the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang. Chinese leaders will have in-depth exchange of views with Gunawardena on continuing China-SL traditional friendship, deepening political mutual trust, expanding practical cooperation, as well as international and regional issues of common interest. China and Sri Lanka are neighboring countries that share traditional friendship. more..

Mar 25 (EN) Missing pages in a Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) report on Easter Sunday attack will be given to SL�s Catholic leaders in the near future, Public Security Minister Tiran Alles said after complaints of over 1,500 missing pages in the report. Despite five years since the incident, Sri Lankan authorities are yet to conclude the investigations into the Easter carnage that killed at least 269 people more..