Apr 28 (TM) CEB has received a draft MoU from Power Grid Corporation of India to connect the electricity grids of the two countries. It is learnt that the CEB is currently examining the MoU, expecting to sign it as soon as it is finalised. Last year, Govt announced its decision to proceed with the India-SL grid connectivity project, with Minister Kanchana Wijesekera assuring its implementation by 2030. more..

Apr 28 (AD) Committee of Public Finance (COPF), at its most recent meeting, has examined the effectiveness of recent tax increases on tobacco and liquor, aimed at discouraging consumption and boosting govt revenue. Drawing attention to the Laffer curve in taxation, the COPF observed a decline in govt revenue over the past two months compared to the same period last year, attributing it to higher taxes that have led to increased smuggling and the adoption of alternative measures. more..

Apr 28 (DM) Defence Secretary Kamal Gunaratne met Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation where they discussed a wide range of topics, including counter-terrorism efforts, cyber security and defence cooperation, Ministry of Defence said. The meeting took place recently in line with the 12th International Meeting on Security Matters held in Saint Petersburg, Russia attended by high-ranking officials from around the world. The meeting between the two secretaries more..

Apr 28 (Island) SL’s junior relay quartet shattered the ten year old 4×100 metres national junior record as they qualified for the finals of the men’s 4×100 metres on day three of the Asian Junior Athletics Championship in Dubai on Friday. The team anchored by Ananda College sprinter Merone Wijesinghe clocked 40.32 seconds to finish second behind China in the relay heats held in the morning. SL will carry the third fastest time from the two heats to the final which will be held on Saturday. more..

Apr 28 (ST) SL is unlikely to lift the ban on oil palm cultivation in an election year that has much at stake if this should go ahead. This industry has already lost approximately US$35 million in revenue had the cultivation of proposed 20,000 hectares been carried out into 2024. Oil Palm Growers Association during meetings with the relevant authorities and politicians are left baffled as the latter have continuously agreed on the importance of cultivating the crop but have not yet taken steps more..

Apr 28 (TM) Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) is in urgent need of $ 400 million for crucial gap financing to complete the construction of its Terminal II. Terminal II comprises a substructure and a superstructure. It is learnt that the substructure of the project is currently being constructed by Access Engineering and is due to be completed by November. AASL Chairman Athula Galketiya said that Access had begun more..

Apr 28 (Island) A video clip from Benson & Hedges tri-nation series in the year 1990 involving two greats of the game Aravinda de Silva and Wasim Akram has gone viral. The short clip indeed is pure gold. It not only has two of the greatest entertainers of the game in action but you can also hear former Australian captains Richie Benaud and Ian Chappell in commentary. The action takes place at Gabba. Not the concrete jungle that they have at present, but one of the most beautiful grounds more..

Apr 28 (TM) A prominent motorsport union has hurled barbs at another motorsports body, while the latter has called for the outcome of an independent inquiry, as the saga to expose the perpetrator of the horrific crash at Fox Hill Supercross 2024 rumbles on. The tragic incident, which arose after a car veered off the track and rammed into spectators, resulted in the deaths of seven, while injuring 23 others. It was also ironic that it happened on the very day the country marked more..

Apr 28 (ST) Last Sunday, the 28th Fox Hill Super Cross event was supposed to create that much anticipated hype, since this year’s edition marked the comeback of the virtual national motorsport event of the country after a lapse of five years. Creating the hype…it indeed did, but unfortunately for the wrong reasons. The 28th Fox Hill Super Cross unfolded with high expectations last Sunday morning at the Diyatalawa Military more..

Apr 28 (TM) Following a lull in the spree of restrictive legislation aimed primarily at weighing the scales in favour of those in power, it appears that a rare piece of legislation that will actually help SL clean up its act has finally found its way to the legislative table. Previously-enacted legislation in the recent past that has proven to be controversial and looked at as largely in favour of the political authority include the Online Safety Act, the yet-stillborn Anti-Terror Act & Broadcasting Authority Bill. more..

Apr 28 (ST) AG’s Dept has filed indictments against Indian nationals Yogi Patel and P. Akash who were involved in the unsanctioned Legends Cricket League in Kandy last month on charges of attempting to fix matches at the Matale and Kandy High Courts. The Indians are accused of attempting to fix matches in the Legends Cricket League held between March 8 and 19 at Pallekele International Stadium. Patel owns the Kandy Swamp Army team in the league, while Akash manages Punjab more..

Apr 28 (SO) A brilliant bevy of girls from Holy Family Convent (HFC) Bambalapitiya made sparkling history in schools basketball by winning the Under-20 All Island Inter School Basketball Championship for the fourth time in a row. No other girls’ school team has ever achieved the monumental feat before in the tournament’s history. The final game was super thrilling at the HFC courts in Bambalapitiya last week as the home grown girls played against Good Shepherd Convent (GSC) Kotahena more..

Apr 28 (ST) International stars Barbar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, James Neesham, Tim Southee and Ish Sodhi are among those over 400 foreign cricketers registered for this year’s Lanka Premier League auction. The player registrations will conclude on Monday where the organisers will prune down the list to around 150 to come under the hammer at the auction. The auction is likely to be held on May 16 at a five-star hotel in Colombo. Though the player registration was to more..

Apr 28 (ST) The party office of SLPP MP Johnston Fernando at Wilgoda in Kurunegala had been burned down during the Aragalaya period. The building where the Wilgoda office was located was about 105 years old. It was only this week that the newly rebuilt office was declared open by former Prez Mahinda Rajapaksa. Most of those in attendance at the event, though, were completely unaware that Mr. Rajapaksa would be at more..

Apr 28 (ST) Dept of Census and Statistics (DCS) is collaborating with donor agencies to improve the accuracy of its GDP estimates to avoid a situation similar to Argentina’s recent loss in a court case, highly placed sources said. DCS, the authorised agency to compile National Accounts Estimates for SL, disseminated by National Accounts Division of the Dept, now follows the guidelines of the system of National Accounts 2008 (SNA – 2008), which includes the latest set of boundaries, more..

Apr 28 (SO) SL’s new teenage swimming sensation MF Muhammad of Zahira College made waves yet again at the 48th National Age Group Swimming Championship clinching his third new meet record and securing his fifth gold medal in the competition at the Sugathadasa Swimming Pool yesterday. The young athlete achieved this feat by setting a new meet record in the boys U-17 100m Breaststroke event on the tournament’s fourth day. Clocking in at an impressive 1:08.28 in the boys U-17 more..

Apr 28 (ST) My dear Justice Wijey, I wanted to write to you after hearing that you too had been appointed as Acting Chairman of the Blue Party, this time by those led by Aiyo Sirisena. We really don’t know whether to laugh or to cry. It is honestly difficult to decide whether this is a comedy or a tragedy for what was once a great Party. So, let us get this straight. You have been appointed as Acting Chairman by Aiyo Sirisena’s group. Before that, Satellite got Nimal Sleepy de Silva as more..

Apr 28 (ST) Workers of the World Unite’, a battle cry coined by Karl Marx urging the working class to rally together to upend the capitalist system has long been relegated to the dustbin of history, not least by the countries that espoused such catchy slogans. Those words were even entrenched in the former Soviet Union (USSR) Constitution and its state emblem only to be discarded with its collapse in the 1990s by its successor, the Russian Federation. May Day next Wednesday is dedicated more..

Apr 28 (TM) Sri Lanka last week was a hive of geopolitical activity with visits from several key foreign dignitaries to the country. It was quite a test for the Ranil Wickremesinghe Govt to balance these dignitaries, some representing opposing factions in the international arena. All these geopolitical activities took place amidst preparations of all political parties to engage in pre-polls political posturing at the upcoming May Day rallies more..

Apr 28 (Island) There are many who believe that Mr. Karu Jayasuriya, though not in active politics now, is the best president this country never had. His accomplishments in the political field are too numerous to list and his integrity is widely acknowledged. Given the proximity of the event, people even in this country notorious for their short memories, remember his sterling performance as speaker in Oct 2018. That was when then Prez Maithripala Sirisena, elected to office in 2015 more..

Apr 28 (CT) What larks! Ranil can’t make up his mind whether he is UNP or SLPP (the party of govt bearing fealty to Mahinda) candidate. Mahinda’s colour is a beastly cherry; the workers’ dye is purple now, it got mixed up with blue somehow goes the ditty. Sajith is torn between a deal with the UNP (Ranil), or going it solo, or come what may, stitching together some other combine. The perkiest comedy in town is the SLFP where they are quarrelling about, (i) whether Mrs B had masculine more..

Apr 28 (CT) Stringent security measures were in place in view of the arrival of Iranian Prez Ebrahim Raisi in SL. Iranian Prez, who arrived at the Mattala Airport, was received by PM Dinesh Gunawardane and from there he visited the Uma Oya project by road. Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe and other key Cabinet Ministers were waiting at the project site to welcome Iranian Prez. Security convoy for the Iranian Prez comprised tri-forces personnel more..

Apr 28 (SO) Nationalisation was in vogue in the 1950s and 1960s, not only in Sri Lanka but also in developed Western countries. The premise behind nationalisation is that the State should be in control of main utilities and services to provide a better service to the public. This was socialism or communism in action, even though many Western countries such as UK and Germany also followed this doctrine at that time. Today, the tables have turned and even some of the most more..

Apr 28 (CT) A week ago, tragedy struck in the hills of Diyatalawa as an accident that occurred during one of the races resulted in the loss of seven lives. When the much-awaited Foxhill Supercross was organised after a long hiatus, the expectations and the excitement were much higher and perhaps that too must have played a significant role in the heightened magnitude of the tragedy. Following the accident, a lot of opinions have surfaced, mainly in the line of who is to be blamed. more..

Apr 27 (EN) SL has allowed a German research vessel for replenishment in Colombo port for the second time following the clarification from SL's Foreign Ministry after Chinese protest. “It’s the same German research vessel came last month. It came around New Year time when it was returning and the ship was allowed,” a top Foreign Ministry official said referring to SL’s traditional New Year celebrated on April 14. more..

Apr 27 (DN) The govt has decided to bring in legislation soon to confiscate property acquired through illegal means. According Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardhana, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved to a proposal submitted by Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe and Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe to draft the relevant bill. Minister said that the govt is bound to bring in legislation for the recovery of assets through illegal means by 2024 as per the agreement with the IMF. more..

Apr 27 (Island) President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s past attempts to privatise medical education led to disastrous consequences, spokesperson for the Govt Medical Officers Association (GMOA), Dr. Chamil Wijesinghe said, commenting on the fee-paying medical degree programmes at the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University. KDU will offer a paid medical degree programme to students who qualify through the Z score and other qualifications, govt has announced recently. more..

Apr 27 (FT) TNA MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam on Thursday accused the infamous Tripoli platoon, a paramilitary intelligence unit, of involvement in the Easter Sunday attacks in 2019. He said the group had been involved in a spate of killings since early 2005, long before the Easter Sunday attacks. MP said the platoon made up of Muslim, Tamil and Sinhalese operatives was set up in 2005 and persons linked to it such as more..

Apr 27 (FT) NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said Govt must stop chanting the Ibrahim mantra and instead take action if Mohammed Ibrahim, father of two of the Easter Sunday suicide bombers has in fact committed any wrongdoing. “There is no point in chanting the Ibrahim mantra if the Govt is not carrying out its duty,” he said while participating in the parliamentary debate on the Easter Sunday attack. “It has been 5 years since but the govt has failed to file a single charge against him” more..

Apr 27 (FT) SJB MP Eran Wickramaratne yesterday disclosed his party’s plans to deliver justice to the victims of the Easter Sunday terror attack under a Govt led by them. “A future SJB Govt will ensure that truth is revealed and there is justice to provide redress to victims while punishing those who are responsible for the Easter attack or those who failed to prevent the Easter attack in the year 2019,” he said. Speaking at the debate on the Easter Sunday terror attack, more..

Apr 27 (DN) Yashith Wijesundara, representing DS Senanayake College, made an impact at the 48th National Age Group Swimming Championship by shattering the Boys Under-17 800m Freestyle record on the third day of competition at the Sugathadasa Swimming Pool Complex yesterday. The event, organized by the Sri Lanka Aquatic Sports Union, witnessed the establishment of four new meet records. Wijesundara, a product of the Colombo Swimming Academy under the guidance of more..

Apr 27 (FT) Colombo stock market yesterday ended the week with sharp gains with turnover on Friday crossing Rs. 4 billion mark. During the week ASPI gained by 3.8% and the active S&P SL20 by 5.4%. In contrast last week, the ASPI and the S&P SL20 lost 2.3% and 3.4% respectively. Average daily turnover this week was Rs. 2.71 billion, up from Rs. 1.95 billion in the previous week. Asia Securities said the indices closed out the week on a high note with the ASPI crossing the 12,200 levels, more..