Nov 6 (Island) The ink on the latest electricity tariff hike announcement is still not dry. Customers are severely stressed, with Sri Lanka’s electricity prices now reaching the highest in the region. A grocery shop in SL pays the same price for electricity as his or her counterpart in Singapore, the highest in south and southeast Asia. A factory in Bangladesh, South Korea, Malaysia or Vietnam pays 40% less for electricity than in SL. A medium household in SL pays twice more for electricity more..

Nov 6 (TM) Excise Dept said that only one company out of the five which had their licences revoked has made the instalment payments of due taxes, according to the payment schedules given by the Dept. Dept last week announced that 5 liquor manufacturing companies’ licences were suspended due to their failure to pay due taxes. Accordingly, licences of Synergy Distilleries, Finnland Distilleries Corporation, more..

Nov 6 (CI) Virat Kohli gifted himself a record-equalling 49th ODI century and India their eighth successive victory in this World Cup, on his 35th birthday. When Kohli drew level with Sachin Tendulkar, with a punched single in the penultimate over of India's innings, a crowd of 60,000 at Eden Gardens celebrated with Kohli and made it a memorable birthday bash. Kohli, who walked out to bat in the sixth over after Rohit Sharma had won the toss and challenged India to bat, more..

Nov 6 (FT) Consulate General of SL to Dubai and the Northern Emirates, in collaboration with the Dept of Commerce, the Sri Lanka IT Professionals Association in Dubai, and Trainocate Gulf, organised a dynamic business networking session for the participating Sri Lankan IT companies at the Expand North Star and GITEX 2023. The event took place at the Millennium Plaza Downtown on 17 Oct. The event commenced with a warm greeting by Consul General of SL to Dubai and more..

Nov 6 (Island) Pollution in Delhi had raised serious questions about the World Cup fixture between SL and Bangladesh going ahead with both teams cancelling some of their training sessions. There were suggestions of Lucknow and Dharamshala being looked at as alternative venues, but eventually the game stayed in Delhi and will be played today. Pollution in Delhi has been a problem for some 20 years now. Burning of crops after Diwali celebrations up north in Punjab and Haryana more..

Nov 6 (CI) Since the 2017 Delhi Test between SL and India, in which many players had vomited after stints in the field, and other reported respiratory problems, the ICC drew up guidelines in which poor air quality would be treated the same as weather events that impede play, or compromise player safety, such as rain, or lightning. This means that air quality will be monitored by BCCI staff via handheld devices in the stadium (the nearest measuring station is over one kilometre away), more..

Nov 6 (FT) Plaintiff Hamilton Reserve Bank (HRB), has recently filed a Memorandum of Law in Response to the Statement of Interest and AMICUS Brief opposing the cross-motion to stay the defendant Govt of SL requested from US District Court, Southern District of New York. In its Memorandum of Law, the HRB requests that the court deny the cross-motion to stay Sri Lanka wants, whereas, for decades, more..

Nov 6 (Island) Reiterating the urgent need for tax reforms, Chairman of COPF Dr. Harsha de Silva, MP, recently pointed out that regardless of various claims tax revenue stood at only 8% of GDP, a stark contrast to the 20% it once represented during President R. Premadasa’s time. The former UNP State Minister and current top SJB spokesperson on economic matters addressed the issues at hand at an event held under the theme, Insights with Harsha: Smart Policies & Economic Revival more..

Nov 6 (PMD) Ten newly appointed Ambassadors to SL handed over their credentials to Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe at the President’s House in Kandy, this morning (5). New ambassadors have been appointed for Republic of Latvia, the Kingdom of Cambodia, Portuguese Republic, Suriname, Djibouti, Angola, Finland, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the Kingdom of Norway. Accordingly, the following listed ambassadors presented their credentials to President Wickremesinghe. more..

Nov 6 (Island) Jaffna District ITAK MP M.A. Sumanthiran has said that TNA leader R. Sampanthan should retire from Parliament without further delay as the 90-year-old politician finds it extremely difficult to function as a lawmaker. Sumanthiran said the Trincomalee District MP had not been able to attend Parliament regularly since the last general election conducted in August 2020 or address vital issues due to ill health. more..

Nov 6 (EN) Sri Lanka’s central bank has lost about 230 billion rupees in Sept 2023 amid a domestic debt restructuring but is still sitting on large profits made from currency gains and interest earnings during the year, official data shows. The central bank’s equity, which broadly measure profit and losses from cashflow operations as well as asset valuations plunged 234 billion rupees in the month of September, after making steady profits in earlier months. more..

Nov 6 (EN) China has sought approval from SL authorities for another research ship in early next year, but the approval is yet to be granted, two govt sources said amid rising objections from the island nation’s neighbour, India, over the region’s security concern. Sources, however, said unlike the earlier approved requests, the latest has come without a local partner and the research area being decided by Beijing. “The approval has not been granted yet and China has requested approval for more..

Nov 6 (AD) The inaugural district conference of the Mawbima Janatha Party (MJP) was held in the Galle Municipal Hall this morning (05), under the patronage of the party’s leader, entrepreneur Dilith Jayaweera. The conference was also attended by Senior Leader of the MJP, Hemakumara Nanayakkara, Chairman of the party Sarath Amunugama and several other distinguished guests. Addressing the event, Mr. Jayaweera expressed that his party is ready to change political culture more..

Nov 6 (ST) In a majority decision, the Court of Appeal has dismissed three petitions filed by judicial officers associations seeking to prevent the imposition of the Advanced Personal Income Tax (APIT), formerly known as the PAYE tax, on judicial officers. In a decision reached by a majority of judges on the five-member bench, it was decided that it was the responsibility of both the legislature and the executive to impose taxes and determine their percentages. more..

Nov 6 (TM) Former Prez and one-time SLFP Leader Chandrika Kumaratunga on 4 Nov stressed that she has not decided to support any political party for politics. Addressing an event to grant scholarships for schoolchildren, Kumaratunga denied reports that she had asked for a special position within the SLFP to return to active politics. Late last week, media had reported that Kumaratunga had decided to make a political more..

Nov 6 (EN) Sri Lanka’s private credit grew for the fourth straight month in September 2023, official data showed, while credit to the government contracted in the wake of a domestic debt restructure. Private credit grew by 69.9 billion rupees in September, up from 5.5 billion rupees in August. Sri Lanka’s private credit usually recovers about 12 to 18 months after a successful float ends a balance of payments crisis triggered by bureaucratically decided rate cuts. more..

Nov 6 (ST) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe has directed the Treasury to take a final decision about the continuity of the facility for migrant workers to import electric vehicles on concessionary terms, following complaints of abuse. Prez directive comes after the Treasury expressed concern to him over the facility being abused to a large extent amidst an inquiry by Customs. Treasury sources said initial investigations had shown that there were abuses, including undervaluation of vehicles. more..

Nov 6 (ST) The disgraced SL company Isolez Biotech Pharma AG (Pvt) Ltd, which allegedly sold counterfeit human immunoglobulin vials to the Health Ministry, imported neither the medication nor the raw material required to manufacture it—human blood plasma—through official channels, Customs data obtained by the Sunday Times show. The company’s owner, Hewage Sudath Janaka Fernando, was arrested this week and remanded. But no action has been taken against officials more..

Nov 6 (TM) The Ministry of Health will await action by the Chairman of the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) regarding the allegation about an incident where the institution's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is said to have destroyed some official documents. Allegations have been levelled against NMRA’s CEO, Dr. Vijith Gunasekera, claiming that he had attempted to destroy some documents belonging to the NMRA. He has however denied the allegations. more..

Nov 6 (FT) The approval rating of the Govt fell from 21% in June 2023 to 9% in October 2023 according to the latest round of the Gallup style Mood of the Nation poll of Verité Research. The survey showed that satisfaction with the state of the nation also dropped by half to 6%, from 12% in June 2023. The economic confidence score also fell from negative (-) 44 in June to negative (-) 62. Poll is conducted three times a year more..

Nov 6 (DM) The same sugar importer who was involved in the massive sugar scam in an earlier occassion was involved in the second similar scam after the recent tax increase in sugar imports, former NPP MP Sunil Handunnetti said. He said the govt increased the import tax on sugar from 25 cents to Rs. 50 last week which had allowed this particular sugar importer to earn undue profits. He said the controversial sugar importer had imported a shipment of 8,600 MTs of sugar on Oct 30 more..

Nov 6 (AD) The 11 Sri Lankans who crossed to Egypt from the Gaza Strip have arrived in the island early this morning (5) onboard a flight from Doha in Qatar. The group, which is from two families includes two adults and nine children, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Issuing a statement, the Foreign Affairs Ministry stated that the Consular Affairs Division of the ministry coordinated the arrangements for their return in collaboration with SL Missions in Cairo, Ramallah and Tel Aviv. more..

Nov 6 (AD) Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe has appointed a 7-member Interim Committee for Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), chaired by World Cup-winning former captain Arjuna Ranatunga. Accordingly, under the authority granted to him by the Sports Law No 25 of 1973, Sports Minister has formed an interim committee for SLC. Interim Committee for SLC with Arjuna Ranatunga as Chairman will come into effect from today more..

Nov 6 (FT) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe addressing the nation in June 2023 announced that his Govt will use lab approach to decide the strategies to be followed by SL to deliver richness to people by 2048, when the country celebrates the centenary of independence from Britain. This lab approach is a technique borrowed from the Growth Lab of the Center for Int'l Development or CID of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Govt. Wickremesinghe has a bias for CID because he himself more..

Nov 6 (FT) While the aim of developing a country’s IT sector is to enhance its overall IT capabilities, establishing startups within that IT sector, is what fosters innovation. Startups are about entrepreneurship, and small/medium/large and super large business growth. Therefore, developing the IT sector and establishing IT startups are both vital components of a modern, competitive economy. They complement each other in driving technological advancement and economic prosperity. more..

Nov 6 (DM) An Interim Committee, appointed to assume control of the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Board during its suspension, has been assigned the responsibility of investigating allegations of misconduct and corruption within the SLC. An extraordinary gazette notification has been issued by Minister Roshan Ranasinghe suspending the SL Cricket Board and appointing an Interim Committee with effect from Nov 5. The Minister said the SLC board was suspended to investigate and more..

Nov 6 (FT) The Schaffter family has welcomed the upholding of justice following Additional Magistrate, Rajindra Jayasuriya delivering a verdict of homicide at the inquest of Dinesh Schaffter on 1 Nov 2023, almost 11 months after his death. “We, Dinesh’s family, are relieved that the long and painful wait is over. That finally justice has been upheld at the inquest. For the past several months, we have struggled to avert the injustice of a false narrative of suicide,” family said in a statement. more..

Nov 6 (Island) Civil society activist Oshala Herath said he would move the Supreme Court soon against the dismissal of a case seeking disqualification of SJB MP Diana Gamage over a citizenship issue.The Court of Appeal dismissed the case filed by the defeated Colombo district UNP candidate, in a majority decision last week. Justice K.K.A.V. Swarnadhipathi agreed with the President of Court of Appeal Nissanka Karunarathna more..

Nov 6 (DM) In what is a first in int'l cricket, Sri Lanka batsman Angelo Mathews was given timed out during the ICC Cricket World Cup match against Bangladesh, after he attempted to replace a broken helmet before he could take strike. Coming into bat after the wicket of Sadeera Samarawickrama, Mathews called for a new helmet, but as he had not taken strike within the two minutes stipulated in the laws of the game, he was adjudged timed out following appeals from the Bangladeshis. more..

Nov 6 (AD) The All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC), led by former minister Rishad Bathiudeen has decided to revoke the party membership of MP Ali Sabry Raheem, who has been accused of being involved in the smuggling of gold and mobile phones into the country. The Chairman of the ACMC, M.S.S. Ameer Ali stated that the decision to expel MP Ali Sabry Raheem from the party was taken following a comprehensive inquiry commenced by the Disciplinary Committee of the party. more..

Nov 6 (AD) The appointment of the Interim Committee for Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) will be taken up for discussion at the Cabinet meeting today, as Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe has not been notified about the decision to appoint such a committee or the composition of its members. Accordingly, it is reported that the decision to suspend the registration of the SLC by Minister of Sports Roshan Ranasinghe and more..

Nov 6 (EN) CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) Scott Nathan is to visit Colombo to participate in a launch event for a new DFC investment at the Port of Colombo. The investment will provide critical infrastructure for the South Asian region. Nathan will also participate in a signing ceremony for DFC’s investment commitment to Citizens Development Business Finance (CDB), which in collaboration with USAID SL will promote inclusive lending more..

Nov 6 (DM) The initial investigations into the alleged assault on State Minister Diana Gamage at the Parliament lobby revealed that all three MPs, namely Diana Gamage, Sujith Sanjaya Perera and Rohana Bandara, who were involved in the incident, had acted while tarnishing the dignity of Parliament, Deputy Speaker Ajith Rajapaksha said today. The five-member committee appointed to probe the alleged assault on State Minister Diana Gamage met in Parliament today. more..

Nov 6 (AD) Minister of Sports Roshan Ranasinghe emphasizes that cricket in SL should be brought back to a position where victories can be achieved once again very soon. Commenting regarding the Interim Committee appointed for SLC this morning, Ranasinghe said that the relevant committee was appointed with a view of achieving two main goals; investigating fraud and corruption that occurred and stabilising the situation of the game in the country and immediately getting back more..

Nov 6 (EN) The leftist collective National People’s Power (NPP) must encourage diversity within its ranks but its objective of capturing state power must remain intact and unwavering, according to K D Lal Kantha, who also said he was prepared to join an armed struggle if the need were ever to arise. Lal Kantha is former MP who currently serves as a politburo member of the formerly revolutionary and Marxist-Leninist JVP, the NPP’s controlling and largest constituent. more..