Sep 27 (DM) SL politicians are a surprising lot. At the height of the political crisis when the local economy collapsed and the country ran out of money, all political leaders appealed to the int'l community for help. And in goodwill many countries stepped forward to assist the nation, some with their own interests while others came forward in friendship. While Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe to date maintains that the nation will maintain good more..

Sep 27 (FT) For the second time, Ranil Wickremesinghe has inaugurated a National Evaluation Policy (NEP) for SL. The first one was in 2018 and also in September at the Global Parliamentarians Forum for Evaluation (GPFE) held in Colombo. As its website said, “The NEP of SL, was launched by PM Ranil Wickremesinghe at EvalColombo 2018, the first ever global conference on evaluation organised by the Global Parliamentarians Forum for Evaluation.” more..

Sep 27 (FT) Rasiah Partheeban alias Thileepan engaged in a fast unto death protest on 15 Sept 1987. The LTTE stalwart died after 12 days of fasting on 26 Sept without even drinking water. Thileepan’s 36th death anniversary was on 26 Sept 2023. This column focuses on the LTTE martyr Thileepan in this two-part article. The first part published last week was on Thileepan the person and his role in the LTTE. This second part is about his death-fast and its aftermath. more..

Sep 27 (FT) Top blue chip John Keells Holdings yesterday regained its long-lost status as the most valuable listed entity in SL. JKH’s share price gained by Rs. 1.50 or 0.8% to Rs. 192.50 but that was enough to boost its market value to Rs. 266.9 billion. JKH saw 1.5 million of its shares change hands via 251 trades for Rs. 298 million. Expolanka on the other hand saw its share price dip by Rs. 1.25 or 0.9% to Rs. 135.25 finishing the day with a market capitalisation of Rs. 264.4 billion. more..

Sep 27 (EN) Shares were up at close of trading on Wednesday ahead of the four-day weekend and due to some speculative activity. “There was some positivity with the rating upgrade,” an analyst said. “And after rates falling with yesterday’s bill auction.” “There was some activity in the export-related counters and also the primary dealing unit on speculation of potential dividends.” “I think the speculation on dividends pushed the market up.” Turnover was 1.3 billion rupees. more..

Sep 27 (Reuters) The IMF is concerned about a shortfall in revenue collection by SL’s govt this year, though that is unlikely to derail a $2.9 billion loan programme for the crisis-hit country, two SL sources said. A delegation from the IMF met with Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is also the finance minister, and its central bank governor, earlier on Tuesday as part of the first review of 4-year loan deal agreed in March. more..

Sep 27 (DN) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe will leave for Germany today to participate in the Berlin Global Dialogue. The Berlin Global Dialogue to find global solutions to the current geopolitical and economic challenges is scheduled to be held on Sept 28 and 29 in Berlin, Germany. The Prez is scheduled to make the opening remarks at the Leaders Dialogue session on the first day of the conference where he will talk about climate change and debt restructuring. During his 4-day visit Prez will hold talks more..

Sep 27 (AD)Trincomalee Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday issued a court order prohibiting the commemoration of Thileepan, a member of a proscribed organisation, in several areas within Trincomalee, on account of the inconvenience likely to be caused to the public. Accordingly, Trinco Court issued the order prohibiting any sort of celebrations, demonstrations, parades or protests commemorating Thileepan in the Kulakottan Hall and the Gandhi Roundabout within more..

Sep 27 (TM) Professionals’ Trade Unions Collective (PTUC) stated that the Govt must take measures to address the demands of professionals since the IMF has granted authority to the Govt to make suitable changes to its new tax policy. Several trade unions representing professionals led by the GMOA met the IMF delegation on Monday (25) to discuss several demands including tax relief. Speaking to the media after the meeting, more..

Sep 27 (CT) Legislation to restructure the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) will be presented to Cabinet within the next two weeks, revealed Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekara yesterday (26). The Minister addressing a seminar on restructuring loss-making State enterprises at the Ministry of Finance said the draft Bill of the new legislation was sent to the Attorney General for changes to be made to the Bill. more..

Sep 27 (DN) Education experts have requested the Govt to hold GCE A/L exam on the dates currently scheduled. They say that the students who faced various exams faced severe difficulties due to the postponement of the exams due to the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Experts say that as the situation has become normal now and exams should be held as scheduled. They say that if the exam is postponed for any reason, all other exams, and evaluation of answer scripts, will again be delayed. more..

Sep 27 (FT) Freedom People’s Congress (FPC) member and MP Prof. Charitha Herath yesterday expressed his concern about the Govt’s attempt to introduce a two-year tax holiday for major investors. Herath emphasised the need for a thorough and comprehensive discussion of the proposal. “This is a country fraught with tax frauds. Every six years, successive govts provide tax holidays, essentially pardoning companies that have evaded taxes for an extended period,” he said. more..

Sep 27 (TM) With the legal provisions for the issuance of Environmental Protection Licences (EPLs) having been revised, Central Environmental Authority (CEA) has launched a programme to identify places including factories that have not yet obtained the EPLs under the new criteria. A chemical factory in the Katuwana Industrial Zone in Homagama was destroyed due to a fire on 17 Aug 2023, and it was later revealed that the factory was not in the possession of an EPL. more..

Sep 27 (DN) Sinopec China will make what would be SL’s largest FDI in recent times when they enter refinery operations in SL, said Minister Kanchana Wijesekera at an event where Sinopec announced its official entry into SL’s dynamic fuel retail market in Colombo. A felicitation event for local distributors followed. He said that this will be announced and an agreement signed in October when Prez Wickremesinghe visits China. more..

Sep 27 (Island) CID informed Fort Magistrate Court that British citizen Kathiravelpillai Satkunam admitted to have pocketed the broker’s fee in a case involving approximately Rs 195 mn, which been fraudulently obtained from a group of shareholders following the sale of a plot of land at Kollupitiya, the majority shareholder being a UK-based limited liability company. Latest court papers filed indicated that the accused Satkunam of 43, Hays Walk, Sutton, an affluent suburb in the UK, more..

Sep 27 (FT) PHU leader MP Udaya Gammanpila yesterday claimed the Govt will not meet the International Monetary Fund’s condition of setting up a website to reveal information on all Govt dealings. “It is a promise they will never fulfil,” Gammanpila said during a press conference at the party head office. The MP pointed out that although the Government should have fulfilled 57 conditions outlined by the IMF up to this point, it has managed to accomplish only 38 of them. more..

Sep 27 (DM) A woman has been ordered to be remanded till September 27 by the Colombo Chief Magistrate's Court after she was accused of sharing her nude videos online to make money. CID's Computer Crimes Division had arrested the woman, a mother of one child and produced her before court for allegedly committing offences under Section 2 of the Obscene Publication Ordinance and Section 286 of the Penal Code. CID alleged that the suspect had shared her nude videos online more..

Sep 27 (Island) SL’s injury woes during and prior to recent big tournament is legendary like it was the case lead up to the Asia Cup. With almost all the bowlers who would have featured in the playing eleven injured, the selectors were forced to scratch the barrel and the replacements did a commendable job taking the team to the finals of the six-nation tournament. Lead up to the sport’s showpiece event – the ICC Cricket World Cup – the team suffered another massive blow as star leg-spinner more..

Sep 27 (FT) SL’s export sector in August managed to marginally grow over $ 1 billion compared to July 2023, though on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, it fell by 11% due to sluggish demand in major markets. Earnings from merchandise exports increased by 6.8% month-on-month to $ 1.09 billion in July 2023, but down by 10.91% YoY. EDB said the decline in merchandise exports is due to decreased demand for more..

Sep 27 (DN) Prasad de Silva of Emjay International Pvt Ltd and Ishara Madurangi of Sri Lanka Port Authority emerged open men’s and women’s champions at the All Island Ranking Table Tennis Championship concluded Sunday at the Indoor Stadium, Bandaragama. Prasad de Silva made a five setter game to beat Nimesh Ranchagoda of Sri Lanka Navy at the men’s open final .The first set won by Prasad 1-5 but second and third set won.by Nimesh 12-10,11-6 to take 2-1 lead. more..

Sep 27 (TM) SL’s banking sector may have seen about 10,000 employees leaving in 2023 out of which a significant number has migrated, as banks resort to massive recruitment drives to fill in the vacancies, a top banker said. Speaking at a webinar held yesterday, Hatton National Bank (HNB) Managing Director/CEO Jonathan Alles said that he thinks the banking industry might have lost 10,000 staff in 2023, of which a significant number may have left for migration purposes. more..

Sep 27 (FT) S&P Global Ratings yesterday raised its long and short-term local currency sovereign credit ratings on Sri Lanka to ‘CCC+/C’ from ‘SD/SD’ (selective default). “At the same time, we affirmed our ‘SD/SD’ long- and short-term foreign currency ratings. The outlook on the ‘CCC+’ long-term local currency rating is stable. We also raised the issue rating on SL’s local currency bond maturing in Oct 2023 to ‘CCC+’ from ‘D’,” more..

Sep 27 (DN) In an incredible show of swimming talent, Dinali Karunadasa, representing Champions Visakha Vidyalaya, achieved a historic feat at the recently concluded All Island School Games Swimming Championship at Sugathadasa Swimming Pool. Not only did Karunadasa secure three gold medals, but she also shattered three records, marking a significant milestone in her young career. Visakha Vidyalaya claimed their fourth consecutive championship. more..

Sep 27 (Island) "Sri Lanka’s proximity to emerging and developing markets and its already developed air and seaports in Colombo and Hambantota gives it a unique opportunity to be the next leading logistics hub in the region, with the potential to overtake Singapore and Dubai, if the cards are played right and the right governance and Ease of Doing Business regulations are handled sensibly", logistics and supply chain specialist Sanjeeva Abeygoonewardena (SA) said. more..

Sep 27 (DN) SL 7-member rugby team, which went to Hangzhou, China under the Asian Olympic flag, had to finish its event at the Asian Games in 10th place. Due to an international ban, the SL rugby team, which entered the competition under the Asian Olympic flag, had to compete for places between 9-13 due to losing both matches in the preliminary round. However, the SL players, who won the first two matches of the 9-13 round, managed to record a great victory of 68-0 points in the match more..

Sep 27 (FT) Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal in this regard presented by Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe in his capacity as the Finance, Economic Stabilisation and National Policies Minister on Monday. These loans are intended to support the implementation of two vital sub-programs and under the first sub-program; a focused effort is underway to expedite comprehensive reforms aimed at fortifying the conflict management framework and stabilising the finance sector. more..

Sep 27 (ST) Supreme Court has directed the CEB to identify and take appropriate action against officials responsible for blocking a solar power project of a private company that had fulfilled all the conditions to secure a letter of intent from the board. The findings and action taken in this regard must be reported to court, the judges said. The stinging ruling saw Justice Yasantha Kodagoda hold the first respondent CEB and 2nd respondent SLSEA more..

Sep 27 (Island) Parliament last week wasted two days on a much hyped debate on national security and the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage carried out by local Muslim extremists radicalized by ISIS ideology. The debate didn’t help political parties represented in Parliament to reach consensus on the post-Easter Sunday reconciliation plan. But, the ruling Pohottuwa party and the solitary UNP National List MP Wajira Abeywardena defended the handling of the Easter Sunday investigations, more..

Sep 27 (Island) It is heartening that justice has finally caught up with a retired top cop, albeit after a lapse of more than eight years. The Ratnapura High Court, on Monday, sentenced former Senior DIG Lalith Jayasinghe to a five-year jail term for having ordered the OIC of the Kahawatte police station not to arrest the then UPFA MP Premalal Jayasekera alias Choka Malli over a shooting incident in the run-up to the 2015 prez election. The victim of gun violence succumbed to his injuries. more..

Sep 27 (CT) Sri Lanka is still reeling from the after effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the crippling economic crisis that followed. Although we were grossly unprepared to face the devastating pandemic, economically, our healthcare system rose to the occasion, rendering a stellar service in containing the spread of the virus and treating those who were affected. Even amidst limited resources, the dedication of the healthcare professionals, at all levels, in controlling the virus more..

Sep 27 (TM) SL Judiciary recently sentenced the former SDIG in charge of the Sabaragamuwa Province to five years imprisonment over trying to influence a fellow police officer and prevent a govt politician being arrested over a shooting. The wheels of justice turning and holding those who enforce it accountable, is a refreshing sight. Particularly, due to the long-standing impunity some police officers seem to work with. Over the last several decades, lack of oversight, politicisation of the service, more..