Oct 20 (CT) Elections Commission issued a circular setting out the maximum spending limits for candidates’ campaign expenditures during the 2024 General Election. These limits apply to candidates, political parties, independent groups, and National List candidates, with variations depending on the district. All future national elections will be governed by new campaign finance laws, which cap the funding that candidates, political parties more..

Oct 20 (ST) A considerable number of stakeholders from the local rugby community have expressed concern over the blatant delays in establishing a duly elected administration for Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR), with the deadline set by World Rugby (WR) approaching in a few weeks. SLR is currently under the authority of Dr. Shemal Fernando, the Director General (DG) of the Dept of Sports Development, after the Ministry of Sports imposed a suspension on four affiliated sports bodies for more..

Oct 20 (ST) Defending Asian Netball champions SL, produced a commanding performance on the second day of the competition, thrashing debutants Saudi Arabia 118-5. The game, held at the Koramangala Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru, saw SL lead 59-2 at halftime, and they continued their dominance throughout all four quarters. Sri Lanka, eyeing their third consecutive title, were in control from the start. They led 27-2 at the end of the first quarter, and with each passing minute, more..

Oct 20 (SO) One of the most adverse results of the economic crisis was the abrupt stoppage of several important infrastructure projects mid-way or even before they were slated to begin. The countries which were funding these projects were rather reluctant to lend funds for the projects as Sri Lanka’s debt sustainability was in serious doubt. There was another factor at play – some Govt Ministers and officials had demanded bribes and kickbacks from the foreign Govts and/or contractors to give more..

Oct 20 (CT) After an agonising 24-year wait, justice has finally been served in a long-standing homicide case in Galle. A 50-year-old man, a resident of Imaduwa, was found guilty of murder for deliberately electrocuting another individual in 2000 using an unauthorised electricity connection. On 16 Oct, the Galle High Court pronounced the death sentence, bringing a semblance of closure to a case that had been dormant for far too long. However, this closure is bittersweet, for it exposes more..

Oct 20 (TM) Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) and his Govt – which is an Interim Govt, to be precise, with only a 3-member Cabinet – seems to have its plate full, mainly with issues related to Govt finances and the country’s recovering economy. AKD Govt is under pressure from the Opposition and public over the raising of loans after running a campaign during the Prez Election on the loans being taken by successive govts. more..

Oct 20 (TM) Even though SL’s political landscape underwent a dramatic change on 21 Sept with the election of Anura Kumara Dissanayake as Prez and the unceremonious exit of the old guard thereafter, there are increasing signs of the envisaged change being diluted at the upcoming General Elections next month. It is no secret that the majority of the population heaved a collective sigh of relief when the old guard, primarily represented by Mahinda Rajapaksa on one flank and Ranil more..

Oct 20 (ST) Some opposition ex-MPs bitterly criticize Prez AKD (Minister of Finance as well) for borrowing funds like ex-Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe (RW), so there is no difference between them. It is basically for mud-slinging aiming at the general election on the one hand and their ignorance of the subject matter on the other hand. Indeed, ignorance needs to be cured. It is customary that any govt in power borrows funds to meet govt expenditures based on Treasury Bills (T-Bills) and more..

Oct 20 (ST) During its campaign, the NPP has been stressing the need to send new blood to Parliament, arguing that many of the former MPs who have been in politics for decades are corrupt and inefficient. NPP’s candidate lists are mostly comprised of relatively newcomers to politics. This has also provided ammunition to its opponents to attack the NPP. SJB Kurunegala district candidate and former MP Thushara Indunil likened more..

Oct 20 (ST) My dear Namal baby, I thought of writing to you because we hear you commenting on various issues these days when campaigning for the pohottuwa for the general election. This is while you are desperately trying to salvage some pride after receiving a rude message from the voters at the presidential election. Politics is a funny sport, isn’t it, Namal baby? After all those years of taunting the maalimaawa chaps and calling them seeyata thunai or 3 per cent, more..

Oct 20 (ST) When the heavens open up, bringing torrential rains, floods, and misery to people, it is also a heaven-sent opportunity for politicians, especially aspiring Members of Parliament, to rise to the occasion by taking dry rations, drinking water, and other relief to the affected. The inclement weather came at no better time for most of them with less than a month to go for parliamentary elections. It’s not just floods across this country; there is freak weather around the world. more..

Oct 19 (Island) The failure of the Dept of Wildlife and SL Railways to reach an agreement on measures to reduce elephant-train collisions has resulted in numerous elephant fatalities, waste of hundreds of thousands of litres of fuel, and significant damage to railway tracks, Supun Prakash, Director of the Biodiversity Conservation and Research Circle (BCRC) says. In the wake of two elephants deaths, and waste of about more..

Oct 19 (CT) Internal sources within the Election Commission have revealed that several members have expressed concerns in writing regarding the legality of holding the 2024 Parliamentary Election this year. According to these sources, the members stated that conducting the election under the current proposed timeline violates existing electoral laws. Some members, while supporting the notion of holding the election within 2024, have flagged that the proposed date is not in line with more..

Oct 19 (FT) Sri Lanka welcomes over 63,000 tourists in the first 15 days of October, pushing the cumulative total for 2024 to over 1.54 million visitors. Despite the figures reflect a steady recovery for the country’s tourism sector; the visa processing issues have hampered growth, particularly in the early weeks of the month. Tourist arrivals in the first half of October averages 4,233 visitors per day, with the first two weeks struggling to exceed 35,000 tourists per week. more..

Oct 19 (ST) Shortcomings in the entire public health sector procurement system resulted in the fraudulent purchase of falsified human immunoglobulin and rituximab injections that were then administered to patients around the country, an internal preliminary Health Ministry inquiry has found. The procurement system includes the Health Ministry’s Pharmaceutical Production, Supply & Regulation Unit (PSRPU), more..

Oct 19 (FT) Arjuna Herath, a distinguished Chartered Accountant with extensive leadership experience in the corporate, finance, and regulatory sectors, has been appointed as the new Chairman of the Board of Investment (BOI). Herath brings a wealth of expertise to the role, having previously held key positions in both the private and public sectors, including Senior Partner and Head of Consulting at Ernst & Young in SL and the Maldives, and Chairman of SL Personal Data Protection more..

Oct 19 (FT) The Colombo stock market yesterday ended a week of volatile sentiments leading to a mixed closure. ASPI ended with a mere 0.2% gain whilst the active S&P SL20 was down by 0.5%. Turnover averaged Rs. 1.75 billion. First Capital said at the week closing, the broad market experienced another volatile trading day as investors maintained mixed sentiment throughout the session. However, the index managed to close the week in green at 12,313, gaining 23 points. more..

Oct 19 (DN) With the implementation of the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) and Individual Registration Programme for Income Tax, the number of individual income tax registration files for the year 2023/2024 has increased significantly compared to year 2022/2023. The number of income tax reports submitted for the assessment year 2022/2023 was 333,313. Inland Revenue Commissioner General Sepalika Chandrasekara stated that the number has increased by 868,009 during 2023/2024. more..

Oct 19 (DN) Tomato out grower project, launched in Nov 2023 by KIST, in partnership with the USAID to catayze SL private sector development activity, has made significant progress. This initiative has been instrumental in bolstering the use of locally sourced tomatoes in the popular KIST sauce range, reducing the reliance on imports and driving income back to rural agriculture community. This also guarantees the right bright red color, taste and texture of KIST sauces without adding any artificial more..

Oct 19 (FT) SL’s tea crop has seen an improvement in volumes, despite the adverse weather conditions and other constraints. As per provisional data released by SL Tea Board, September registered a seven-year high of 24.13 million kilos, a healthy 27.7% over last year’s exceptionally lower figure of 18.9 million kilos. The first nine months of 2024 crop also saw a marginal increase of 1.79% compared to 2022 more..

Oct 19 (Island) Oshara Rajapaksa is making waves in the UK cricket scene, taking giant strides on the field in London and quickly becoming a name to watch for the future. Recently, she earned her stripes by securing a spot in the Middlesex County Cricket Club Under-12 team, a testament to her promising talent. Her selection at the county level comes on the heels of a stunning hat-trick in the Middlesex League last season. Oshara, a right-arm medium pacer who often shares the new ball, more..

Oct 19 (FT) The Institute of Certified Management Accountants of SL (CMA) signed a MoU with Rajarata University to provide opportunities to Management undergraduates to obtain a dual qualification; a degree and a professional management accounting qualification which will provide skills and competencies to make them suited for industry requirements. Rajarata Uni VC Prof. G.A.S. Ginigaddara and CMA SL President Prof. Lakshman R Watawala signed more..

Oct 19 (FT) Sri Lanka is making significant strides in climate action and sustainable finance, with support from the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI). Speaking at the 13th Assembly and 17th Council Joint Session of GGGI in Korea, Environment, Wildlife, Forest Resources, Water Supply, Plantations, and Community Infrastructure Ministry Secretary Prabath Chandrakeerthi outlined the key initiatives being undertaken to enhance SL’s climate resilience and sustainable development. more..

Oct 19 (ST) Despite the election of a new Prez, the formation of a new Cabinet and the appointment of an Acting IGP, incidents of deadly shootings continue, posing a serious challenge to maintaining law and order in the country. In the latest such incident, a 55-year-old businessman succumbed to gunshot injuries on admission to the Avissawella Hospital on the night of Sept 30 after being shot by an assailant at Neluwaththuduwa in Hanwella. The businessman was shot with a T-56 firearm more..

Oct 19 (ST) CEB suffered a significant loss of Rs. 17.27 billion in 2023 due to the high cost of purchasing naphtha for the 165 megawatt Kelanitissa Combined Cycle Power Plant. CEB bought naphtha from the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) at inflated prices, ranging from Rs. 161 to Rs 263 per litre, while the global market price stood at about Rs. 110 per litre. Rs 17.27b loss was fully recovered through a 3% increase in electricity tariffs. more..

Oct 19 (CT) Spinner Maheesh Theekshana has risen five places to claim the fifth spot in the latest ICC Men’s T20I rankings for bowlers. Theekshana recently faced a challenging period on the international stage, resulting in a drop to 10th place in the ICC T20I rankings as of 7 October. However, he made a remarkable comeback following a strong performance in the T20I series against the West Indies. This impressive display propelled him back up to 5th place in the rankings. more..

Oct 19 (Island) Dilki Nehara of Sri Sumamgala Balika, Panadura and young long jump prodigy Dilni Rajapaksha of Lyceum International Wattala hogged the limelight as they shattered meet records on day one of the All Island Schools Games Athletics C'ship at the Sugathadasa Stadium on Friday. Nehara recorded some outstanding jumps on her way to creating a new meet record and the year’s best feat in her age category triple jump. The athlete trained by former national champion Nayana Prasad, more..

Oct 19 (ST) A total of 690 nomination lists from political parties and independent groups were handed over for the 2024 general elections to the Election Commission (EC) on Friday (11). 74 nominations that had been submitted were rejected. Many of the major recognised political parties have submitted nominations to contest in all of the country’s 22 electoral districts. The nomination lists include veteran former MPs, but more..

Oct 19 (DN) Sri Lanka’s golden girl, Imesha Warnakulasuriya, scored the only goal of the match, leading the SL women’s team to a 1-0 victory against the Maldives in their opening match of Group ‘B’ at the SAFF Women’s Football Championship, yesterday at the Dashrath Rangasala Stadium in Nepal. Warnakulasuriya brought pride to her nation with her goal in the 17th minute of the first half. This victory marked a significant turnaround for SL, who had lost their previous four matches. more..

Oct 19 (Island) NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake is the fourth Prez trying to get to the bottom of the Apr 2019 Easter Sunday carnage, the only post-war major violent incident. If his predecessors in the top seat had been compromised in some way or another, and that was the reason for their failure, then he is our true hope! The nearly 30-year brutal internecine war that appeared to drag on endlessly was brought to a successful conclusion in May 2009 to the surprise of many, more..

Oct 19 (DN) Our top order batsmen batted really well and they gave their best shot in the final T -20 game during the chase of 163 runs. We chased their total with nine wickets in hand in 18 overs and it was a really good effort from the three batsmen Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis and Kusal Perera said SL skipper Charith Asalanka who gave fine leadership throughout the series. We made good plans before the match and it was well executed said Skipper Charith. more..

Oct 19 (CT) In a significant case whose proceedings could have consequences for the nation’s economic recovery and inevitably and intricately accompanying foreign policy, Prez Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s govt told a five-Judge Bench of the Supreme Court that they needed time until after the 14 Nov Parliamentary Election and the consequent /subsequent expansion of the 3-member Cabinet to review the green energy pact signed with India’s Adani Group, by the predecessor govt. more..