Sep 29 (PMD) Acting Finance Minister Shehan Semasinghe announced that negotiations to secure the second tranche of funding from the IMF are progressing positively. He emphasized that the govt’s economic reform efforts are currently under evaluation by the IMF. Furthermore, Minister noted that discussions to finalize the staff level agreement required for receiving the second instalment are more..

Sep 29 (Island) The govt has taken a number of steps to pass the IMF’s first review of its loan, Prof. Priyanga Dunusinghe, Dept of Economics at the Colombo Uni says. “The IMF made several recommendations. One of them is increasing the tax revenue of the govt. It also wanted the govt to make the Central Bank independent and ensure that the state-owned enterprises adhere to cost reflective pricing. IMF also wanted a strong safety net. Some progress has been made on these fronts,” more..

Sep 29 (DM) Shereen Balasingham, a community medicine expert at the Directorate of Non-Communicable Diseases Division of the Health Ministry, said that the number of deaths and hospitalizations due to heart failure has increased significantly. She stated that 52% of deaths in govt hospitals in 2020 were due to heart attacks and that both men and women between the ages of 18 and 28 as well as between 29 to 39 years of age suffer from heart attacks. more..

Sep 29 (DM) China, more than any other country in the region or elsewhere, offers exchange programmes to the parliamentarians from Sri Lanka. In the previous Parliament, all 225 members were offered chances to undertake familiarisation tours to China and to engage with the Communist Party of China (CPC) as part of its international engagement. A fair number of MPs from the current Parliament has also travelled to China currently, and more..

Sep 29 (CT) Swaps between the Central Bank of SL (CBSL) and Govt of SL (GoSL), where the former swapped rupees for foreign exchange (FX/US dollars), enhanced liquidity by Rs 187,550 million (Rs 187.55 billion/USD 577.08 mil) during Wednesday’s (27) trading. Consequently market’s net shortfall by 77.32% (Rs 182,390 mil) to Rs 53,506 million and GoSL’s face value money printing (FVMP) debt by 0.17% (Rs 5,160 mil) to Rs 3,094,316.63 million (Rs 3.09432 trillion) more..

Sep 29 (DM) Mullaitivu District Judge T. Saravanarajah has tendered his resignation from his posts due to threats on his life and a lot of stress. His resignation letter was sent to the secretary of the Judicial Services Commission on Sept 23. According to the letter, he resigned from the post of District Judge, the post of magistrate, the post of family court judge, the post of primary court judge, the post of small claims court judge and the post of Juveniles court judge. more..

Sep 29 (DN) NDB is proud to announce its appointment as a member of the LankaPay USD Online Payment System. SL Interbank US Dollar On-line Payment System is yet another payment product introduced by LankaPay with the aim of assisting Central Bank of SL (CBSL) and the economy by curtailing the foreign exchange outflow from the country when processing US Dollar transfers. Prior to the introduction of the USD On-line Payment System, any domestic more..

Sep 29 (DN) Chairman and President of Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry known as VCCI, Pham Tan Cong, had a comprehensive and detailed bilateral meeting with the Ambassador of SL to Viet Nam, Prof. A. Saj U. Mendis, at the VCCI Head Office in Ha Noi. VCCI is the largest and most influential business chamber in Viet Nam consisting of nearly 15,000 members/corporates. VCCI plays a seminal and pivotal role as the most reputed business chamber in navigating and more..

Sep 29 (TM) Asgiri Chapter of the Siam Sect yesterday said that it is the responsibility of the Govt to take decisions which do not create unnecessary tensions between ethnic groups in its effort to protect archaeological sites in the Northern and Eastern provinces. A proposal has reportedly been made by the Buddhasasana, Religious, and Cultural Affairs Ministry to allocate three acres outside the Kurundi archaeological site more..

Sep 29 (CT) Former President of the Football Federation of SL (FFSL), Anura de Silva, is confident Prez candidate Dacshitha Sumathipala will gain majority of votes at the upcoming AGM and will be elected the new President of Football House at Independence Avenue. On the eve of a crucial secret ballot scheduled for Friday (29), Anura de Silva, a supporter of the Dacshitha Sumathipala’s faction, said they have met about 90% of the league voters to convey and gather their feedback. more..

Sep 29 (DN) Bourse rallied with a gain fueled by bullish optimism continuing its winning streak from the previous session. Both the ASPI and S&P SL 20 indices closed in the green zone at 11,336 and 3,198, respectively, reflecting renewed confidence following S&P Global’s upgrade of SL’s local currency rating from SD (Selective Default) to CCC+/C post domestic debt restructuring. This positive sentiment also bolstered the market turnover which was recorded at LKR 1.4Bn, more..

Sep 29 (DN) Women’s Squash Week celebration held at Cinnamon Lake squash courts last Sunday proved to be an exhilarating experience for all participants. Led by senior coach and former champion Yasmin Zarook, the event featured a multitude of engaging games that left attendees of all ages cheering in delight. The event was made possible through the dedicated efforts of Kushani Daluwatte, SL Squash Vice President and former champion, who not only organized more..

Sep 29 (Island) Cricket administrator Jayantha Paranathala has passed away at the age of 72. He captained Police, rose to the rank of Senior DIG and was a Vice-President of SLC. He also had a stint as Team Manager of the national cricket team and served as a member of the National Selection Panel. He was instrumental in bringing BRC to its current glory. In remembrance of his service to the club, the remains of Mr. Jayantha Paranathala will be brought to BRC today (28) from 2:00 PM to 5:30 PM, more..

Sep 29 (TM) The increase in the number of SL migrants who enter the Sultanate of Oman on visit and tourist visas has caused inconvenience to the procedures of the SL diplomatic corps in Oman. In the wake of around 130 illegal migrant workers being stranded in Oman at the moment, Ambassador of SL to Oman, Ahamed Lebbe Sabarullah Khan said that the SL Embassy had repatriated more than 400 migrant more..

Sep 29 (TM) SL is looking to commence negotiations with Malaysia and South Korea for FTAs following the completion of the trade agreement with Thailand, with the vision of joining the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Int'l Trade Office Chief Negotiator K.J. Weerasinghe said. He said the FTA negotiations with RCEP countries, such as China, Singapore & Thailand, should be completed prior to SL joining the RCEP, as per the vision of the Govt of SL. more..

Sep 29 (DN) The much-awaited Football Federation of SL (FFSL) elections are set to begin today at the SL Foundation Institute’s Auditorium. at 3 PM, the proceedings will be under the watchful eyes of officials from FIFA and AFC, with guidance from the Sports Ministry. This electoral showdown sees two rival parties vying for the prestigious roles of President and the Executive Committee, entrusted with steering the FFSL’s course until Sept 2027. From the FFSL’s 67 affiliated leagues, more..

Sep 29 (DN) We are looking to give our best as a team during the forthcoming World Cup cricket tournament in India and we have selected the best SL team said the Chairman of National Selection Committee Pramodya Wickramasinghe said before the team’s departure. 15-member team with one standby player was named for the World Cup led by Dasun Shanaka. Team selection for the World Cup is not an easy task but more..

Sep 29 (Island) Coca-Cola SL Ltd. proudly continues its mission to safeguard Sri Lanka’s shorelines by extending the Adopt A Beach initiative for a triumphant third year. This exciting announcement aligns with the celebration of International Coastal Cleanup Day on Sept 16, 2023, emphasizing the paramount significance of coastal preservation. Commemorating the partnership with an exclusive beach cleanup and an enlightening session at Crow Island Beach, more..

Sep 29 (DN) Matthew Abeysinghe set a new national record in the men’s 50m butterfly event held yesterday at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Aquatic Sports Arena swimming pool at the Asian Games. He joined the 5th match in the preliminary round of the event and set this record by finishing in sixth with a time of 24.58 seconds. In this competition, Matthew broke the record of 24.89 seconds set by Akalanka Peiris at last year’s Commonwealth Games. more..

Sep 29 (ST) Age was no barrier for Withanage Leelawathi Aslin Dharmarathna when she decided to pursue higher studies. At the age of 97 Ms Dharmarathna, hailing from Nawalapitiya has completed a Master of Arts Degree in Buddhist Studies from the University of Kelaniya recently. She was also successful in the Pali language and the Thripitaka Dharma exams conducted by the Vidyodaya Uni & Sumangala Commemorative councils, passing with honours. more..

Sep 29 (DN) Suranga Perera of SL Army won men’s under 23 Cycling event while Susantha de Silva of Kadirana Speed CC won the Over 50 race at the Nestle Nestomalt Cycling Challenge concluded successfully last Sunday at the Viharamahadevi Park. Soldier Suranga finished in 58 minutes and 25 seconds to come first in this under-23 38km race while Kalpa Rasanjana of Sri Lanka Navy was placed second with 58.29 seconds and third place was won by Air Force cyclist Chamath more..

Sep 29 (ST) Leniency on the part of university authorities and reluctance shown by students to pursue complaints are setbacks in efforts to curb the ragging crisis, a senior police officer said. He called on the uni authorities to strictly implement the Prohibition of Ragging and Other Forms of Violence in Educational Institutions Act, No. 20 of 1998. He said ragging continued in universities largely because of the mitigation of more..

Sep 29 (Island) There was a pall of silence over who accompanied our Prez to the Big Apple for the Big Meeting of the UN. Hence our curiosity was roused, minds scratched around for news. Cassandra WhatsApped a good friend of hers now living in California and asked her whether she knew who accompanied our Prez. We thought in these hard times only the very essential and relevant to the occasion VIPs would be taken along: a lean contingent would be Prez’s orders. more..

Sep 29 (DM) Leading Japanese scholar Prof. JIMBO Ken who has specialised in international relations was in Sri Lanka recently and shared his views in an interview with Daily Mirror on topics related to geopolitics and Sri Lanka’s strategic positioning. JIMBO Ken is a Professor at the Faculty of Policy Management, Keio University. He served as a Special Advisor to the Minister of Defence, Japan Ministry of Defence (2020) and a Senior Advisor, to the National Security Secretariat (2018-20). more..

Sep 29 (Island) Rajapaksa-Wickremesinghe govt continues to be at loggerheads with irate professionals, who are demanding solutions to their problems. Many of them have already left the country never to return thanks to the govt’s callous disregard for their grievances. Uni teachers staged a protest in Colombo the other day in a bid to jolt the govt into addressing the various issues that affect the education sector, but it is doubtful whether they succeeded in their endeavour. more..

Sep 29 (ST) One of the interesting developments in recent years is the engagement of the Central Bank with state and non-state actors on various issues of concern. In the arena of non-state actors, the CB’s recent parley with trade unions to assuage fears of unduly touching the funds of the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) in the Domestic Debt Optimisation (DDO) exercise is a welcome move. Some years ago, a similar meeting was held by the two sides, when the trade unions wanted more..

Sep 29 (TM) SL literary circles were abuzz with one particular topic of conversation recently: How original are the covers of books that adorn our shelves and win literary awards? These conversations were mainly centred around literature in the Sinhala language and were of significance as they occurred during Literary Month. Given that a cover is among the first things that attract a reader to a book, The Daily Morning reached out to more..

Sep 29 (CT) Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since independence, worsened by fatal tax cuts and the Covid-19 pandemic. The country’s immediate socioeconomic well-being is now dependent on the decisions of the IMF's staff and executive board. IMF’s first review under the EFF programme concluded this week without reaching a staff-level agreement, leaving the country with uncertainties. To reach a staff-level agreement, SL must prioritise two key economic factors. more..

Sep 29 (DM) One key aspect about the many events lined up for September is that there is room for plenty of thoughts on religion. September is a month full of religious activities. And Sri Lanka being a multi-religious country will benefit from the fact that the Govt allows the practice of all religions; something which most Muslim or middle eastern countries forbid. In September alone Sri Lankans have marked in their calendars events such as the Celebration of birth of Mother Mary (Sept8), more..

Sep 29 (DM) On September 8, a shocking news item revealed that a nine-year old girl from Mawathagama, was reportedly severely abused by her own father. But several weeks later, the Police is still seeking public assistance to nab the suspect. Making things even more horrific is a revelation by Justice Minister Wijeyedasa Rajapakshe who once said in Parliament that 33% of lawsuits in magistrate’s courts are those more..

Sep 29 (TM) The export of unskilled labour has had a long-term impact on some segments of SL society and those who engaged in such work. The unskilled labour trade is also one of SL’s many dark chapters, and one that keeps continuing. It is a long-term practice, which occurs out of inequality, poor governance and out of desperation, and we Sri Lankans should be ashamed to be party to it. The labour trade, particularly the unskilled segment which makes up a majority is one that more..

Sep 29 (DN) In the year 2023, the Binara Full Moon Day falls on September 29 and it is very important for all Buddhists around the world, especially for all female disciples of the Buddha. The Order of the Buddha was established by four disciples namely, monks (Bhikkhus), nuns (Bhikkhunis), male devotees (Upasakas), and female devotees (Upasikas). Of these, the females’ domain is very important for both the nuns and female devotees to practice their spiritual activities more..