Nov 17 (FT) Tourist arrivals are averaging an improved 1,800 per day this month as against 1,355 in October, mainly boosted by Russian travellers. SL has welcomed 27,213 tourists during the first 15 days of the month, comprising 12, 431 during the first week and 14,782 the balance eight days. It is evident that the daily arrivals on the two days – Monday and Thursday that the Russian flag carrier Aeroflot is operating to Colombo, more..

Nov 17 (FT) SL Embassy in Moscow has initiated a banking cooperation between People’s Bank in SL and National Investment Industrial Bank in Russia to devising a platform for Russian tourists to make payments seamlessly in rupees with effect from 22 Nov. According to this collaboration, Russian tourists will be able to remit funds to People’s Bank in SL prior to their visits, in liaison with National Investment Industrial Bank in Russia without having any intermediate banks involved. more..

Nov 17 (Island) President Ranil Wickremesinghe interspersed his budget speech with some quotations to bolster his argument for adopting unpopular measures to straighten up the economy. He referred to Lee Kuan Yew’s claim that Singapore had followed the hard yet right path, but Sri Lanka under Bandaranaike had chosen the popular path. SLFP General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekera has taken exception to what he calls the President’s wrong interpretation of history. more..

Nov 17 (CT) CB Governor, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe said as SL seeks relief from external creditors to achieve sustainability in its public debt, all of us as citizens should be ready to bear the brunt. He was addressing a post-Budget conference held at the CB Auditorium. The call for citizens to tighten their belts and be responsible comes in the backdrop of a proposal to increase the medical insurance of MPs. CEO of PwC SL, Sujeewa Mudalige echoing the sentiments of many, more..

Nov 17 (FT) SJB MP Eran Wickramaratne in Parliament alleged that the 2023 Budget presented by Prez and Finance Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as one fraught with lofty ideas without practical solutions. MP said as a result, the Budget has made the Parliament and the people of the country walk in a dream among the stars. “But when we wake up from sleep, it seems that the whole country has been pushed towards abysmal,” Wickramaratne said during 2nd reading debate more..

Nov 17 (ST) Last week’s riots at the Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre for drug dependent prisoners at Kandakadu, during which more than 500 inmates escaped, has pushed the govt to move amendments to the Poisons, Opium & Dangerous Drugs Act quickly. Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe presented amendment to the Act which includes several provisions that would reduce congestion in prisons and also empower law enforcement more..

Nov 17 (TM) The Colombo High Court yesterday ordered to begin the hearing of evidence pertaining to a case against former MP Hirunika Premachandra – for allegedly abducting, wrongfully detaining, and threatening a youth in 2015 – on 30 Jan 2023. The case was taken up before Colombo High Court Judge Amal Ranaraja, and the witnesses of the case were ordered to appear before the court on 30 Jan 2023, to give evidence. Informing the court that the defence needed time to study the footage more..

Nov 17 (DM) Budget 2023 proposed the appointment of a tax ombudsman to boost the confidence of the taxpayers, which has been well received by tax experts, though concerns prevail in the implementation of the proposal. KPMG Principal of Tax and Regulatory Division Suresh Perera said the govt must not repeat the mistakes made in the past by having a tax ombudsman, for which it is essential to have the proper constitution in place for the appointed official to operate. more..

Nov 17 (Island) SLPP dissident MP Prof Charitha Herath said Budget 2023 contained proposals to place state lands under the purview of District and Divisional Secretaries on the pretext of promoting cultivation. Prof. Herath said the proposal, if implemented, would enable the cronies of the ruling party to get hold of govt lands. “The LRC lands had been misappropriated for the political gains by every govt, since 1977. more..

Nov 17 (TM) FSP Leader Kumar Gunaratnam has demanded a referendum to be conducted along with the next Parliamentary election in order to decide the nature of SL’s next Constitution, stating that an election without such a referendum would be a pointless exercise. “A Budget has been prepared according to an IMF recipe and the entire burden of the economy has been loaded onto the people. Everybody is demanding an election as the only solution to all these problems. more..

Nov 17 (TM) Colombo Fort Magistrate Thilina Gamage yesterday issued orders to remand two directors of a company named Athens Int'l Education Centre located on Nawala Road, Kotte, who are alleged to have defrauded more than Rs. 3 billion obtained from various persons, claiming to be for investments, until 30 Nov. The suspects, who were placed in remand custody, were Dilum Kumara and Medani Tharanga. CID had launched an investigation into the said company based more..

Nov 17 (CT) Former SL player and current Elite Panel Cricket Umpire for ICC Kumar Dharmasena believes apart from the talent, luck did not favour SL in the recently concluded ICC T20 World Cup in Australia. “Team is in good shape. According to me, if we are playing in such a tournament we should play for the situation. We cannot get ready with less than a month for a World Cup, especially in Australia. There should be a plan (coaching staff and managers are for that), and more..

Nov 17 (Island) Sri Lanka’s sports have been disgraced of recent due to unpardonable events that took place in Australia and South Korea. First we got to hear about cricketer Dhanuhska Gunatilake’s issue where it’s alleged that he sexually assaulted a woman in Australia. In the incident that took place in South Korea a few days later the captain of the SL women’s national rugby team went missing after the final day of matches. Gunathilake’s incident is now being contested in a court of law and more..

Nov 17 (FT) The SJB, echoed its call to conduct LG polls and a general election on the same day, come March next year, as the present Parliament does not reflect the will of the people. SJB MP Harshana Rajakaruna said the Elections Commission has stated it is ready to conduct the LG polls early next year, but charged the Prez together with Govt is trying various ploys to delay its occurrence. more..

Nov 17 (DM) The budget 2023 speech of the executive Finance Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was the same old grandiloquence the people in SL have heard over the last couple of decades with no relief at all to the people or to the economy, the SLFP charged. General Secretary of the SLFP, former minister Dayasiri Jayasekara said the biggest problem for 22 million Sri Lankans who expected some breathing space from the budget 2023 to their unending struggle for survival is how more..

Nov 17 (DM) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K Stalin has promised 650 houses for Sri Lankan returnees affected by the transfer of Tamil Nadu Tea Plantation Corporation (Tantea) to the Forest Dept in TN. The assurance was given during a meeting with the leader of the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) Senthil Thondaman. Thondaman said that he met Stalin in TN on Tuesday and discussed the issue concerning the SL returnees affected by the transfer of Tantea to the Forest Dept. more..

Nov 17 (FT) President Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday instructed the relevant officials to implement the Singapore-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (FTA) immediately. He issued these instructions during the discussion held at the Presidential Secretariat on the implementation of the Singapore-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. The existing problems in this regard were discussed at length and the Prez highlighted the need to provide quick solutions to all the existing problems. more..

Nov 17 (EN) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe recalled his interactions with Vietnam the latest country the money printing nation looks at in envy, even as the South East Asian nation teeters on the brink following pressure from Washington to spend more. “I recollect another personal experience of mine,” Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe said presenting as budget for 2023. “In 1991, when I was the Minister of Industry, Minister of Industry of Vietnam came to Sri Lanka. He wanted to study more..

Nov 17 (DM) A suspected human trafficking racket has been exposed after a number of women stranded in Abu Dhabi in the UAE contacted a celebrity couple in SL and appealed for help. The racket came to light after a domestic worker who was employed by the celebrity couple decided to leave saying she had received work in Oman. The domestic worker had later made contact with her daughter; said she was locked up more..

Nov 17 (DM) The National Council Sub Committee on Economic Stability has determined that SL has been too late to seek IMF assistance. Chairman of National Council Sub Committee on Economy MP Champika Ranawaka who presented the initial report of the subcommittee to media said the inquiries made by the committee has revealed that SL has been too late to seek IMF assistance. “SL has made the mistake by seeking IMF assistance when its foreign reserves were at zero level. more..

Nov 17 (Island) Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyedasa Rajapakse, has requested President of the Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC) Sival Illango and its Executive Director Danton Thurairajah to visit Colombo. The invitation was extended when the Justice Minister received Panchalingam Kandiah, of the CTC yesterday (16) at the ministry. Kandiah has handed over a letter from the CTC thanking the Sri Lankan govt for delisting the organisation enabling it to take part in the reconciliation process. more..

Nov 17 (TM) With the third and final reminder having been sent to CEB yesterday, an enforcement order will be likely issued tomorrow and legal action will subsequently be taken by Public Utilities Commission of SL (PUCSL) if the CEB does not comply with its directives in providing concessions to religious institutions, while the CEB stated that there has been a discrepancy in the letter-cum-order that had been sent to CEB more..

Nov 17 (DM) A five year old boy of Detagamuwa in Kataragama who received serious injuries on Wednesday when an air rifle misfired, succumbed to his injuries today at the Karapitiya teaching hospital in Galle. He had been admitted to Debarawewa Base Hospital and transferred to Hambantota General hospital and from there to Karapitiya teaching hospital. He had undergone an urgent surgery at Karapitiya hospital. Victim Nilesh Asith (5) of Detagamuwa colony was a Grade 1 more..

Nov 17 (FT) My great-grandfather was an entrepreneur in the 19th century. My two grandfathers from either side served the Govt of Ceylon under British rule. Following in their footsteps my father ended up as a govt servant as well. Growing up things were difficult at home as we were living on my father’s meagre salary. However, he was a man with contentment and enjoyed working for the Govt until the 1980 July strike came when he lost his job. I had not turned even 19 when more..

Nov 17 (AD) The Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court today extended the overseas travel ban imposed on State Minister Diana Gamage until December 15. The state minister’s foreign travels were initially barred by the Colombo Chief Magistrate Nandana Amarasinghe on November 11 over a complaint challenging the veracity of her identity documents including the birth certificate, the National Identity Card (NIC) and the passport. The complaint had been filed by social activist Oshala Herath. more..

Nov 17 (DM) Two in every five Sri Lankan women are subjected to sexual harassment as per research findings, State Minister Geetha Kumarasinghe told Parliament today. The State Minister therefore called for reforms to be set up to address this situation. “There is no proper environment for the women who have been sexually harassed to lodge their complaints with the police. Everyone in the police gather around when a woman comes to a station to complain about harassment. more..

Nov 17 (AAP) SL batter Danushka Gunathilaka has been banned from using Tinder and his social media accounts after being granted bail while awaiting trial on charges of sexual intercourse without consent. Gunathilaka, 31, was arrested in the early hours of Nov 6 at Sydney's Hyatt Regency Hotel, where he was staying while the SL team were in Australia for the T20 World Cup. He is facing four counts of sexual intercourse without consent more..

Nov 17 (FT) MP Dilan Perera said a law preventing any person to be elected to Parliament exceeding three terms must be introduced to defeat the family bandysm prevalent in SL politics. “This is the only way to end the greed for power and family bandysm,” he said. The MP made these comments during a press conference held by the National Freedom Congress yesterday. Perera opined that 50% of those elected to Parliament at the next Gen. Election should be newcomers to politics. more..

Nov 17 (EN) Sri Lanka shares fell on Thursday dropping to their fresh lowest in three-and-a-half months dragged down by index heavyweights as investors awaited direction on local debt restructuring and IMF, brokers said. “Investor sentiment dented as they waited for direction on local debt restructuring and the IMF deal,” an analyst said. However, early today, State Minister for Finance Shehan Semasinghe said there was no decision taken on local debt restructuring. more..

Nov 17 (WO) A school girl who passed an IQ test with flying colours is now officially smarter than Einstein. Ariana Hewage, aged 10, took a Mensa IQ test and scored a whopping 162 which is thought to be genius level. Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking, widely considered to be benchmarks of intelligence, both have an estimated IQ of 160. Ariana has beaten them and has now been invited to become more..

Nov 17 (FT) In his Budget speech, Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe proudly proclaimed that the reforms he was proposing were not limited to those suggested by the IMF, which he added, were for the purpose of stabilising the economy. The rest were long overdue reforms to ensure a strong, high-growth economy, he said. Translated, this means that Ranil Wickremesinghe overloaded the reform package with his own longstanding economic ideology which had failed to get him elected more..

Nov 17 (EN) Croplife sri Lanka, a industry association has warned that there are smuggled agro-chemicals in Sri Lanka which may be below the required standard as the country is in the grip of the worst currency crisis in the history of its central bank. Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa banned agrochemicals as money was printed for stimulus. A survey conducted in the last quarter of 2021 had shown that cost of crop production had risen 67% but yields had fallen 54%. more..

Nov 17 (AD) A Gazette Notification has been issued on the revision of motor vehicle registration fees from tomorrow. The regulation has been made by the Minister Bandula Gunawardena under section 237 of the Motor Traffic Act (Chapter 203). Cited as the Motor Traffic (Fees) Regulations No. 04 of 2022, the regulations shall come into force on 18th November 2022. Accordingly, the annual revenue license fees, fees for first registration of vehicles, fees for delayed first registration, more..

Nov 17 (AD) Civil Appellate High Court of Mount Lavinia today ordered National Sports Council chairman Arjuna Ranatunga to pay a compensation of Rs. 25 million to former president of the national cricket board Thilanga Sumathipala. The order was issued with regard to a defamation case filed by the former SLCpresident against the former national cricket team captain over a statement made in 2003. Sumathipala had sought compensation of Rs. 500 million from Ranatunga more..

Nov 17 (EN) Stocks, rupee, and bond markets hardly moved according to a statement by State Minister Shehan Semasinghe who said the govt has not decided yet on restructuring local debts. The markets have been expecting the worst with regard to local loans in Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring process including haircut, both on the return, and deferment of maturity. Financial analysts have warned of a banking sector collapse more..