Nov 8 (SLN) A special search operation mounted by the Navy led to the interception of a dinghy carrying Kerala cannabis weighing over 137 kg in the sea area off the Eluvaitivu Island, Jaffna in the dark hours of 6th Nov. During the operation, the Navy also nabbed 03 individuals suspected of involvement in this unlawful activity. The Navy conducts regular patrols and search operations in the coastal and sea areas around the island, with a view to prevent the influx of narcotics more..

Nov 8 (EN) Sections of Sri Lanka’s state sector that does not generate revenue must not disrupt those who do, govt MP Vajira Abeywardena said, calling on unions not to sabotage ongoing efforts to increase wages for both state and private sector workers. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Abeywardena said “shouting and holding placards on the streets” achieves nothing and only results in the disruption of economic activity, which the MP insinuated ends up financing their salaries. more..

Nov 8 (Reuters) Sri Lanka and Argentina remain very vulnerable amid a worsening in global financial conditions while China has suffered a sharp deterioration in financial resilience since pre-COVID times, a think-tank study found on Wednesday. The resilience indicator, published by the Washington-based Center for Global Development, assesses which countries would be most economically and financially affected more..

Nov 8 (AD) The Anti-Corruption (Amendment) Bill was passed in Parliament today. The Bill was initially passed, with amendments, without a vote, on 19 July. It was, however, later withdrawn, on account of being inconsistent with the Constitution of Sri Lanka. The Bill, when presented initially, was surrounded by much controversy, however, as several parties, including Transparency International SL (TISL), had highlighted key concerns within the clauses of the Bill, stating that more..

Nov 8 (DM) Four more dengue-related deaths have been reported while the tally of Dengue cases recorded for 2023 has surpassed the 70,000 mark. The fresh fatalities pushed the total number of deaths to 43. As of Nov 08, 70,178 cases have been reported in 2023, with the highest number of cases being from the Colombo district, which stood at 14,884. Western Province has recorded over 33,000 cases, the highest province- wise while the month of Nov has also logged 1,685 Dengue cases. more..

Nov 8 (AP) U.S. announced a $553 million project Wednesday to build a deep-water shipping container terminal in SL's Port of Colombo as it competes with China in international development financing. The project is billed as providing critical infrastructure for the South Asian nation with the potential to “transform Colombo into a world-class logistics hub at the intersection of major shipping routes and emerging markets," more..

Nov 8 (DM) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe has to decide whether he wants me or Betting Shammi, Minister of Sports Roshan Ranasinghe told Parliament while dropping bomb shells on SLC. "Some interested persons are out to mislead the President by giving him false information on cricket. Some in the Prez's Media Unit are also involved in this conspiracy. Prez's security was breeched when he went to wach the LPL finals as some underworld figures who happened to be body guards more..

Nov 8 (AD) SLC has decided establish an independent committee to inquire into audit reports, and make recommendations to ensure the prevention of corruption. SLC assured that it is committed to upholding the principles of integrity, transparency, and accountability in the administration of cricket in SL. Accordingly, SLC says that it has taken a proactive step to invite respected individuals appointed by the Minister of Sports through a recent gazette notification to form an independent committee. more..

Nov 8 (CT) Civil Rights Professional Association of Doctors (MCPA) condemned SL Administrative Service Association (SLASA) for allegedly attempting to influence the decision taken by Health Minister Dr. Ramesh Pathirana to remove corrupt administrative officers. MCPA President, Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa, criticised SLASA for attempting to influence the Health Minister’s decision by writing to him questioning his decision to reorganise his Ministry by removing high-level officials more..

Nov 8 (DM) The service extension of IGP C.D. Wickramaratne has not been approved by the Constitutional Council (CC) and therefore, his service extension is not legal, Opposition MPs claimed in Parliament. Opposition MP Wimal Weerawansa, while raising a question, said the CC has not approved the service extension of the IGP which was given by the President and questioned if his extension was legal. Weerawansa said there was no legally appointed IGP in the country and more..

Nov 8 (AD) Minister of Sports Roshan Ranasinghe alleges that SL Cricket Board led by Shammi Silva has spent an amount totaling Rs. 34,600,000 as fees for lawyers alone during the last period, as per the audit reports. “According to the AG’s report, they have spent Rs. 34,600,000 as fees for lawyers alone… There are children without shoes. They spend this amount of money just to cover up their fraudulent activities”, he said. more..

Nov 8 (EN) NPP may have to reach out to individual MPs of other parties in the event the NPP is victorious in a parliamentary election but is unable to secure 113 seats, party leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said. Speaking to a group of SL expats living in the US, Dissanayake said if the election result indicates that the voters have attempted to form an NPP govt as opposed to relegating it to its traditional role of watcher or security guard of parliament, party would be obligated to more..

Nov 8 (DM) Chinese Ambassador Qi Zhenhong who visited the northern province for the second time said Chinese enterprises are keen to invest in the north. Chinese embassy said the ambassador made his second visit to donate 5,000 boxes of dry rations worth Rs. 37.5 million under the Faxian Charity Project to needy families in Jaffna, Vavunia, Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi, and Mannar. Ten donation ceremonies were held in district secretariats, Buddhist temples, Hindu kovil, & church, more..

Nov 8 (EN) Cabinet of ministers has approved a proposal to initiate the establishment of a proposed Economic Commission designed to replace and merge the Board of Investment (BoI) and the Export Development Board (EDB). A statement from the Govt Information Department said on Tuesday that the cabinet had approved the proposal by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to follow up on recommendations made by more..

Nov 8 (TM) The Executive has applied its shut up and sit down attitude over the country’s Legislature and Judiciary in the same manner as the Prez using his powers to make parliamentarians sit down in the House, alleged former Bar Association of SL (BASL) President, President’s Counsel Saliya Pieris. He said that the most recent example where President Ranil Wickremesinghe overruled the Constitutional Council's (CC) decision to repeal his (Wickremesinghe’s) decision to extend more..

Nov 8 (Island) Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva recently received an assurance from Saudi Arabian Ambassador to SL, Khalid Hamoud Nasser Alkahtani, that KSA would support ongoing economic recovery efforts. They met on Nov 6. During the meeting, the Saudi Arabian Ambassador expressed appreciation for the rapid progress achieved by SL’s shipping and aviation sectors in a relatively short time following the country’s efforts to recover from the recent economic recession. more..

Nov 8 (DM) SL has been identified as a soft target for cybercriminals, and according to the 21st edition of Microsoft's Security Intelligence Report, cryptocurrency mining malware, where cybercriminals seek illicit profits by using victim's computers to mine cryptocurrency coins such as Bitcoins have increased in the country, according to the Supreme Court determination on Online Safety Bill. According to the determination, concerns are growing over foreign involvement with more..

Nov 8 (FT) In the realm of compassionate service to underprivileged senior citizens in SL, HelpAge SL (HASL) stands as a beacon of hope and dedication. Established in 1986, this esteemed charity organisation has been on a transformative journey, guided by its mission to enhance the lives of the elderly with unwavering commitment. At the helm of this noble cause is Tilak De Zoysa, the esteemed Chairman of HelpAge Sri Lanka. A respected business leader and philanthropist, more..

Nov 8 (AD) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe has issued an Extraordinary Gazette notification this evening declaring the postal service as an essential public service. Gazette has been issued by virtue of the powers vested in the Prez in terms of Section 2 of the Essential Public Services Act, No. 61 of 1979. Accordingly, the postal service has been declared to be an essential public service considering it necessary that more..

Nov 8 (CI) Angelo Mathews was aware he was in danger of being timed out when he walked in to bat in Sri Lanka's World Cup game against Bangladesh on Monday in Delhi. ESPNcricinfo has learned that as soon as Mathews, who replaced Sadeera Samarawickrama, walked onto the field, he was told by Richard Illingworth, one of the on-field umpires, that he had 30 seconds left to be ready to face the bowler. Eventually, with a broken chin strap on his helmet also causing a delay, more..

Nov 8 (PMD) State Minister Anupa Pasqual, announced that, under the guidance of Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe, they are actively crafting a fresh legislation dedicated to improving the rights and well-being of differently abled individuals. The state minister emphasized the govt’s commitment to ensuring that differently abled citizens are no longer considered a dependent population and that they should be treated as equal citizens, not relegated to second-class status. more..

Nov 8 (TM) National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) said that the lack of required facilities and institutional support have intensified the issues persisting in the country’s probation and child-care sector. NCPA Chairman Udayakumara Amarasinghe said that some of the probation and child-care centres do not have the minimum facilities, and that therefore, many children have started fleeing such centres. more..

Nov 8 (AD) Colombo Magistrate’s Court has issued an order directing the officials of the relevant insurance companies to suspend for a period of one week the life insurance payments to beneficiaries on behalf of the late businessman Dinesh Schaffter who died under mysterious circumstances. Colombo Additional Magistrate Rajindra Jayasuriya issued this order today, after considering a request made by the Police Homicide and Organized Crimes Division to issue an order to the relevant officials more..

Nov 8 (DM) Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has invited the three retired judges, who were part of the Interim Committee formed by Minister Roshan Ranasinghe on Monday, to form an independent committee of its own. SLC said the mandate of the committee will remain the same as outlined in the gazette issued by the Minister on Sunday, when he appointed the Interim Committee. "SLC is committed to upholding the principles of integrity, transparency and accountability in the administration of cricket more..

Nov 9 (ST) Every decade or more SL’s functioning president or the Speaker of parliament, euphemistically called an august assembly, tries to tame its temporary inhabitants to conduct themselves as respectable and respected representatives of the people. I wonder how many remember that way back in the early 1990s President Ranasinghe Premadasa tried to bring some order and dignity to the House of Parliament which had moved to its new abode by more..

Nov 9 (GV) In SL, only 7.7% of working age females are engaged in formal employment with decent wages and decent working hours. The country’s persistent challenge of low female labour force participation is compounded by a multitude of unique barriers to improving women’s access to decent work. Decent work is multifaceted, incorporating productive work that delivers a fair income in conditions of freedom, equity, security, and human dignity. Due to the heavier household and more..

Nov 9 (DM) On 14 Oct 2020, taxes on imported sugar were slashed overnight from LKR 50 to LKR 25 cents per kilogram. That is a reduction of 99.5%. This led to much discussion in media and parliament about the large undue profits that accrued to those who had been primed in advance to keep large stocks ready to clear from customs soon after this reduction. This policy was reversed last week but more..

Nov 9 (CT) Market centres or economic centres are very crucial players in an economy, whereby the farmer-buyer interaction that takes place there, decides the food prices of the whole country. Dambulla dedicated economic centre, in this regard, is critical, as it distributes around seventy per cent of Sri Lanka’s vegetable needs within a single night, receiving vegetables and fruits from all corners of the island. Set aside the economic aspect and small-scale farmer empowerment, more..

Nov 9 (DM) For thousands of years, women have played or have been forced to play a secondary role in society and often in the family for various reasons including violence. Fortunately, the trend towards gender equality is growing in thought, word and deed and in SL there is a legal provision that 25% of Parliamentarians and other Local Councils should be women. But that is only in law for various reasons including the reluctance of women themselves to move into positions of authority. more..

Nov 9 (TM) As far as sports psychology is concerned, what SL needs to do above everything else is to overcome the fear that it has and the perceived stigma associated with the words psychology and psychologist. In fact, due to the outdated and narrow notion that sports is a mere physical activity, as well as the sports-related authorities having limited sports science-based education, the country’s efforts in developing its sports more..

Nov 9 (TM) Few things unite Sri Lankans, and central amongst them is the love for the sport cricket. For cricket, we make time, travel great distances, endure much hardship, spend money, and band together with others who we don’t see eye-to-eye with. Granted, few things in Sri Lanka over the last few decades have given Sri Lankans an opportunity to come together and have an evening of distraction from the daily grind, like cricket has. Sri Lankans have always liked the underdog more..

Nov 9 (Island) Glenn Maxwell made the impossible possible in Mumbai on Tuesday. He scored a stunning double century in just 128 balls, enabling Australia to make an unbelievable comeback and clinch victory against Afghanistan. Writhing in pain and struggling to run, he lit up the limited-overs formats virtually on no legs, as Ricky Ponting said. Maxwell saved his side and has become a hero to all cricket lovers. Equally stellar was Minister Roshan Ranasinghe’s performance in Parliament more..

Nov 9 (CT) Political Column in Sunday Times, back on 15 Aug 2021, reflected on what awaits the TNA post Mr Sampanthan era. They speculated that TNA is likely to disintegrate as Mr Sampanthan hadn’t considered succession planning and that the infighting between the leaders and other sitting MPs of constituent parties of the TNA is likely to result in such disintegration. Just over 2 years later since they wrote, it appears their predictions have been realised as fundamentally there is no more more..

Nov 9 (Island) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe recently referred to the worst ever battlefield defeat suffered by the SL Army during the war against the LTTE. Addressing a distinguished gathering at his alma mater Royal College, on Oct 27, the UNP leader, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, recalled the supreme sacrifice made by two Royalists, namely Brigadier Percy Fernando and Colonel Bhathiya Jayatilleke during the chaotic withdrawal from the Elephant Pass base more..

Nov 9 (FT) The United States yesterday signified its biggest boost for Sri Lanka’s hub status for shipping in the Indian ocean with its International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) committing a 20 year financing worth $ 553 million to upcoming Colombo West International Terminal (CWIT) by a joint venture involving Indian giant Adani, Sri Lanka’s top blue chip John Keells Holdings and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority. more..