Oct 28 (DM) CID has launched an investigation into a new financial fraud which so far has involved Rs.14 billion with 8,000 people being victims in a fake crypto currency scheme. The alleged fraud was carried out by a Chinese couple and a SL citizen and 8,000 people had fallen victim to it since 2020. The suspects had invited selected individuals to five star hotels and influenced them that there would be high profits by investing in crypto currency. more..

Oct 28 (FT) I have not written in these pages for a few years, not since I was an adviser to Ranil Wickremesinghe’s spectacularly misnamed Yahapalanaya Govt until 2018. I was absent from SL for over two years due to the pandemic, and watched the beginnings of the present catastrophe from Singapore, where I lived until recently. But I returned in April this year and spent eight weeks travelling in a crisis-ravaged island. What follows are my observations on the causes of this crisis, more..

Oct 28 (FT) Due to a sudden illness, I had to refrain myself from writing for two consecutive weeks. I must admit that the comment made by Shehan Karunathilaka, the Booker Prize winner 2022 about my book titled Paradise in Tears, which was published in Sept 2008, generated an innocent pride in me while I was confined to a sick bed recently. Karunathilaka, who was eight when the war began, says that he found his memories came back when he read a book called Paradise in Tears more..

Oct 28 (AD) Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to the Prez Sagala Ratnayake met with the outgoing IMF Resident Representative for SL, Tubagus Feridhanusetyawan and the incoming IMF Resident Representative, Sarwat Jahan at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday. IMF team met with Ratnayake and exchanged views on prior action and debt restructuring. Ratnayake assured the IMF team that he would brief Prez Wickremesinghe on the matters that were discussed at this meeting and more..

Oct 28 (DM) SL Attorney-at-Law cum Solicitor Jana Dhanabalasingam has been ranked among top lawyers in Britain and among world’s top 4% of lawyers. He has featured in the Chambers and Partners Guide 2022. Chambers and Partners is the world's leading legal rankings and insights intelligence company. For over 30 years, Chambers has differentiated the very best legal talent by identifying and ranking law firm departments and lawyers globally. more..

Oct 28 (DM) Sri Lanka’s hotel sector yesterday asserted it will not tolerate any protests that will eventually result in severe negative implications to the industry, specially at a time when some improvement is seen in international travellers visiting the country. Hotel Association of SL (THASL) said it is high-time the political fraternity stop with their drama and start looking into the best interest of the country and its people. more..

Oct 28 (AD) The govt has permitted the import of wheat flour through Open Accounts effective from today, the Ministry of Trade, Commerce & Food Security says. This was announced during a meeting between Minister Nalin Fernando and the representatives of the Essential Food Commodities Importers & Traders Association at the ministry earlier today. The focus of the discussion fell on providing essential food items to the general public without a shortage during more..

Oct 28 (DM) The Lady Ridgeway Hospital (LRH) has a due payment of Rs. 30 million for their electricity bill, LRH Director Dr. G. Wijesuriya said today. Due to the unavailability of sufficient funds and the current economic crisis, the hospital management was unable to settle the amount. "Therefore, we had to experience power disruptions on Wednesday (26) at canteens and security offices, but it had not affected the hospital patient treatment centres," Wijesuriya said. more..

Oct 28 (EN) Three more SL athletes – this time, wrestlers attending the Under 23 World Wrestling Championship in Spain – have gone missing. Two members of the all-male six-member team had disappeared on Oc 22, followed by the third sportsman the next day, an official for SL Wrestling Federation said, requesting anonymity. This is the latest in a series of disappearing acts pulled by Sri Lankan athletes in Europe. more..

Oct 28 (Island) SLPP MP Sarath Weerasekera said that about two dozen SLPP lawmakers had been ready to vote against the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution Bill but due to pressure exerted by the government they had skipped the vote. Weerasekera said that at the voting time his colleagues had succumbed to pressure. About 45 members either abstained or were overseas on the day of the vote. The former Public Security Minister said that his efforts to convince PM more..

Oct 28 (DM) Sabaragamuwa University Teachers Association today filed a Special Determination petition in Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of the proposed Inland Revenue Bill which is placed on the order Paper of Parliament on 21st of Oct. University Teachers Association and two senior lecturers filed this petition annexing relevant materials in order to illustrate how they would be affected by the proposed changes in the tax regime by the proposed Bill. more..

Oct 28 (FT) The Gazette notification stipulating the laws and regulation pertaining to the Colombo Port City Development Project will be issued in a couple of days, said Investment Promotion State Minister Dilum Amunugma. He made these remarks during a site visit to the Port City yesterday. The State Minister said: “Sri Lanka is benchmarking with global standards and in the process of promoting ease of doing business and thereby, make Port City another Dubai and Singapore. more..

Oct 28 (CI) Australia and England took a point each from their Group 1 match at the T20 World Cup after a wet, unsafe outfield led to their match being abandoned at the MCG. Both teams now have three points, after a win and a loss apiece in their opening two games. As a consequence, Friday's fixture between these two old rivals had been billed as a "loser goes out" encounter. Alas, following rain throughout the day and intermittent showers in the evening, the umpires eventually decided more..

Oct 28 (TM) Claiming that the SLPP has received a good response from the people during its Ekwa Negitimu (Let’s Rise Together) rallies held in Kalutara and Nawalapitiya earlier, and in Puttalam yesterday, SLPP Leader MP Mahinda Rajapaksa said that SLPP will not only rise again, but also formulate the programme to rebuild the country by overcoming the prevailing crisis. Third of the SLPP’s Let’s Rise Together series of rallies, more..

Oct 28 (TM) TPA Leader and SJB MP Mano Ganesan has requested President Ranil Wickremesinghe to establish a Presidential Task Force (PTF) to address issues faced by plantation-sector estate Tamils. Ganesan said that he had requested Prez to establish a PTF to look into issues faced by Tamils employed in plantations during the Deepavali celebrations held at the Prez Secretariat early this week, adding that he would soon meet the Prez to discuss the matter further. more..

Oct 28 (CI) Afghanistan and Ireland shared the points on offer after persistent rain prevented any action - or even the toss - from taking place in their men's T20 World Cup match at the MCG on Friday. For Afghanistan, the result came just two days after their game against NZ, at the same venue, had also been abandoned. With the point they earned today, Ireland, who had beaten England earlier, climbed up two steps to No. 2 in the group, behind NZ, who are on three points from two games. more..

Oct 28 (TM) The Trade Union Co-ordinating Centre (TUCC) and the Combined People’s Movement (CPM) staged a protest rally yesterday backed by the JVP at the Hyde Park in Colombo, making several demands of the Govt and Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe. The demands included providing adequate allowances to public, private, and estate-sector employees, stopping the Govt’s suppressive programme, revoking the PTA, more..

Oct 28 (TM) Although the Govt had initiated a programme to establish more than 200 new police stations islandwide in 2020, the establishment of the new police stations and checkpoints has been temporarily suspended due to the unavailability of the necessary financial allocations and a shortage of police officers, according to the Public Security Ministry. A senior official of the Ministry said that there is currently a shortage of police officers to carry out normal duties due to several more..

Oct 28 (IANS) Sri Lanka reiterated that that the Indian Ocean should not be an area of conflict or the playground for world military powers. "This Ocean as a vital channel of sea communication facilitates a large volume of energy, raw material and food supply between the East and the West, thus it is imperative that we keep it safe. We don't want this to be an area of conflict and war or the playground of world military powers," State Defence Minister Premitha Bandara Tennakoon said. more..

Oct 28 (CI) Fatigue-wise, New Zealand have had a kind start to the tournament. They thrashed Australia in Sydney, then took the short flight to Melbourne, where their match against Afghanistan was rained out without a ball being bowled. They'd have preferred to play that match, of course, but they've not had to contend with crazy schedules or serious changes in timezone. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, have been whipped around, and they arrive in Sydney in some disarray. more..

Oct 28 (TM) State Minister Geetha Kumarasinghe stated she will officially request Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe today to prevent mothers with children below five years of age from working abroad. Kumarasinghe said that she would officially hand over a letter to Prez Wickremesinghe, making the said request. “Tomorrow, I am taking the letter to the President. I’m a Minister of State and therefore, I cannot pass Cabinet papers. I have to ask my subject Minister to produce Cabinet paper,” more..

Oct 28 (TM) Medical and Civil Rights Professional Association of Doctors raised concerns over what they termed low-quality medicines entering the local market. Association President Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa said that they have concerns over paediatric drugs with high levels of toxic content, manufactured by the Indian Company Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd. The WHO has issued an alert over four contaminated medicines more..

Oct 28 (Island) The PAFFREL has questioned the rationale behind the move to appoint another Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to recommend electoral reforms; it has said a PSC on electoral reforms, headed by Dinesh Gunawardena, as the Leader of the House, made recommendation. Rohana Hettiarachchi, executive director, PAFFREL has, in a letter dated 27 Oct., addressed to PM Gunawardena, said that it has been disturbed by the govt’s efforts to further delay local govt polls. more..

Oct 28 (MoD) Ministry of Defence declares general amnesty for the Tri-Forces absentees, enabling them to receive a legal discharge from their respective services. The period of general amnesty will be in force from 15.11.2022 until 31.12.2022. Accordingly, the Tri-Forces personnel who have been absent without leave (AWOL) on or before 25.10.2022 will be able to receive their discharge from military service and if any amount is due, it should be settled prior to discharge. more..

Oct 28 (TM) Delivering the decision on the appeal related to a request for information made by Journalist Tharindu Jayawardhana regarding the alleged use of expired tear gas, fired at recent protests, and the purchase of said tear gas, RTI Commission yesterday ordered the Police to release the relevant information before 14 Nov. The appeal with regard to a request for information made by Jayawardhana regarding the alleged use of more..

Oct 28 (DM) Buddhashasana, Religious & Cultural Affairs Minister Vidura Wickremanayake said a new mechanism would be in place to have the Nayaka Theras informed regarding the monks involved in anti-religious activities and to implement the law against them as well as to take disciplinary action. He said this at the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Buddhasasana, Religious & Cultural Affairs recently. He said that Nayaka Theras would be informed in the case of an allegation more..

Oct 28 (AN) In a country brought to its knees by a devastating economic crisis and harshly tested by COVID-19 pandemic, most beautiful examples of solidarity come from poor. “No need to purchase new shoes for all of us, because some of us can further use our old shoes. Also, we do not want new socks, we can use our old socks further,” said Father Basil Rohan, national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies, citing as an example a family of blind people who live in village Nayanagam. more..

Oct 29 (ST) Several years ago signs sprang up in Colombo during road construction/pipeline laying work funded by a multilateral agency that read: Your tax rupees at work. They were meant to show people that the taxes paid by them were utilised honourably by the state. But is that the real thing? Does the govt use taxes frugally and for just causes? The simple answer is no, if you consider the level of corruption and mismanagement in a plethora of projects and tenders. more..

Oct 29 (CT) Sri Lankans have been battered time again, over the past three years, than ever before and to add fuel to the fire, the Government recently increased the Value Added Tax (VAT) making it completely unbearable on the public. Govt and authorities seem to be of the opinion that the only manner in which the country can overcome the economic crisis is by further exploiting the public while the latter is sadly left with no choice but to face unbearable cost of getting through each day. more..

Oct 29 (CT) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe experienced a historic moment in his life last Saturday. That was his being able to meet the current prefects’ team from his alma-mater Royal College, Colombo. It has been a custom among Royalists to have an audience with an old boy of the school who emerges as the Head of State here. This tradition has been followed over time and it has not come into being overnight. more..

Oct 29 (DM) At the outset we as sovereign voters exhort that all Politicians and the people with the Country at heart must realize and agree that the objective of holding Local Govt (LG) elections is not to test the popularity or unpopularity of their party but to elect genuine, acceptable and uncorrupt individuals who can serve their Grama Niladhari Division (GND) in each District Secretary Division (DSD) as impartial facilitators for solving problems of people in the locality mainly relating more..

Oct 29 (DM) Over the past week media -both traditional as well as social media- has been focusing on the ugly incident which took place at the world famed Yala sanctuary on the 23rd of this month. The story of a number of rich young men, breaking a plethora of laws which governs the parks, in plain sight of authorities still continues. The crime was committed in the presence of those expected to keep the parks safe for the denizens who inhabit those jungles. more..

Oct 29 (CT) A startling revelation by the Director of the National STD/AIDS Control Programme (NSTD/AIDSCP) has not only sparked many debates on social media, but has also left funding organisations and local medical experts worried. Medical experts who did not wish to be named owing to present restrictions with regard to commenting to the media, said Director of National STD/AIDS Control Programme had blatantly more..

Oct 29 (ST) The highest rate for employee income has been increased from 18 per cent to 36%. It appears that the revenue planners of this country do not like to learn from developed countries how to recover the cost of govt services to the people. They would instead stick to the traditional methods of taxing income earners. There are other ways of recovering the costs of the govt and services. The only success story in this in Sri Lanka is the passport office. more..

Oct 29 (Island) There seems to be no end to bad news casting a pall on this country. Reports that provide some uplift are hard to come by, but a story that adds a little bit of sunshine to an otherwise dreary, grey day has been reported from the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC), of all places. CMC has come to be synonymous with waste and corruption, lethargy and dereliction of duty. But its cultivation project has become a success, we are told. Not many expected that more..