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President Ranil Wickremesinghe visited Male on Friday for the inauguration of the newly elected Maldivian President, Mohamed Muizzu. After warmly congratulating the new president, the Sri Lankan leader held talks with him on bilateral and multilateral issues, with the two countries being caught in the Indian Ocean geopolitical crossfires.
VAT net widens: Range of exempted items included
Tax on everything from books, magazines, library services to jewellery, phones and machinery from January next year The government has proposed to Parliament that it remove a host of VAT exemptions. Once approved, everything from books and magazines to fruit seeds, pearls, diamonds and public library services by the state, a provincial council or local [...]
IRD officials claim Rs. 453 million as incentives, but Treasury to insist on targets first
By Damith Wickremasekara The Treasury is set to maintain a strict policy of payment to Inland Revenue Department (IRD) officials, who have claimed up to Rs 453 million as incentive payments due to them for collecting taxes. According to a senior Treasury official, at a meeting with IRD officials next week, the Treasury will insist [...]
China seeks permission for another vessel to visit Lanka
The Foreign Ministry has received a request from the Chinese embassy for permission for another Chinese research vessel to enter Sri Lankan waters early next year. The fresh request came less than a month after the arrival of the Chinese research vessel Shi Yan 6, which received permission to enter Sri Lankan waters despite security [...]
Tough new action against owners of poaching vessels
By S. Rubatheesan In a fresh approach to counter Indian bottom trawlers from engaging in illegal fishing activities in the northern waters, the Fisheries Ministry has decided to prosecute the owners of the poaching vessels, in addition to the current practice of taking legal action against only skippers and the crew. “We hope this step [...]
Suspect drug company involved in another scandal: Health Ministry collects details of patients
By Namini Wijedasa The Health Ministry has started gathering details of all patients who were treated with the counterfeit Rituximab 500mg injection sold to the Medical Supplies Division (MSD) by Isolez Biotech Pharma AG, the company that sold fake human immunoglobulin to the government. An MSD circular states that it is “collecting details of all [...]
Life threats to Trincomalee businessman: Sinnathurai Kopalakrishnan not a suspect
Trinco police are looking for at least three suspects over alleged life threats on a businessman in Nilaveli, police said. A senior official attached to the Divisional Crime Unit of Trincomalee police said they have identified the individuals who were involved in causing threats to businessman Selvarjah Suthakaran. A suspect named as Nagarasa Jeyakarana surrendered [...]
Cricket controversy: A new bench, the 4th, to take up case tomorrow
By Ranjith Padmasiri A fresh Court of Appeal (CA) bench will tomorrow consider the writ petition requesting for an order against the Interim Committee appointed by Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe in place of the elected administration of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC). The writ petition will be taken up tomorrow before CA Justices Sobitha Rajakaruna and [...]
Xi Jinping’s special envoy in Colombo
A Chinese delegation led by President Xi Jinping’s special envoy and State Councillor Shen Yiqin, arrived in Sri Lanka last evening. The delegation consisted of 18 officials. They were welcomed by Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Tharaka Balasuriya. Pic by T.K.G. Kapila
Furnace oil fiasco for CPC as CEB not drawing out expected quantities
Recent heavy rains have seen an increase in hydropower production and a low demand for furnace oil Bad planning by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has left the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) with a surfeit of furnace oil—as heavy rains have increased hydropower generation and reduced the need to operate expensive thermal power plants, authoritative [...]
The budget shatters expectations of relief, raises fears of more taxes
By Kasun Warakapitiya and Dilushi Wijesinghe People have expressed mixed reactions to the budget, with some of their expectations of relief on the cost of living shattered as the budget was more focused on strengthening the economy. People, already battered by the economic crisis, expected the government to reduce prices of essential goods, relax more [...]
Child abuse gallops along with economic devastation
By Renishka Fernando Earlier in February this year, a 33-year-old father in the Godigamuwa area in Aranayaka killed his two children aged 6 and 9 over an alleged family dispute. He then committed suicide. In September, it was reported that a 9-year-old from Mawathagama had been abused by her father. A total of 168 rape [...]
SC holds Ramzy’s arrest for calling an ‘ideological jihad’ a violation of his fundamental rights
Finds police officers not allowed by higher authorities to use discretion; bringing in criminal proceedings of this nature has chilling effect on others By Ranjith Padmasiri The Supreme Court this week held that the fundamental rights of Mohamed Razik Mohamed Ramzy, who was arrested in 2020 by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and spent over [...]
SC vetoes anti-terrorism bill; ‘‘no definition for the term violent extremist religious ideology’’
By Ranjith Padmasiri The Supreme Court has held that the “Prevention of Terrorism bill-or de-radicalisation from holding violent extremist religious ideology-Regulation No. 1 of 2021” is in violation of the fundamental rights granted under the Constitution. “It is not practically possible for this Court to suggest amendments to rectify the regulations to align with all [...]
Schools being asked to guard personal info from extortionists
The Education Ministry will be advised to instruct school authorities and parents to take all possible measures to prevent the personal information of students and their families from reaching outsiders, the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) said. Parents and school authorities are advised to be extremely vigilant after a number of money-extortion incidents via phone [...]
Two-year-old boy drowns in swimming pool
A two-year-old boy drowned in a swimming pool at a guest house in Bentota, Police said. The incident occurred last Sunday around 7 p.m. when the boy had wandered into the pool area unnoticed by the parents, Bentota OIC Thusitha Kariyawasam said. The family residing in Colombo was on a holiday in Bentota. Police said [...]
Cyclonic conditions cause flooding in the North ahead of monsoon
The Meteorology Department has warned that the Northern Province will face thunderstorms throughout November, ahead of the North-East monsoon. However, with heavy rains caused by the cyclonic conditions in the Bay of Bengal, some areas are already facing flood conditions. In Jaffna, which received over 100mm of rainfall over two consecutive days, 978 families have [...]
Downpours cause death of one family, disrupt lives of more than 10,000
Heavy monsoonal rains have claimed the lives of four people and caused hardship for many. More than 10,000 people have been badly affected, officials say. The Department of Meteorology stated that showers or thundershowers will occur at several places in most provinces of the island after 1 p.m. Heavy showers of about 100 millimetres are [...]
Indo-Lanka ferry service on choppy waters, hit by teething problems
The Indo-Lanka ferry, which was re-launched on October 14, amidst much fanfare, has been halted owing to the North-East monsoon but will reopen in January. Passengers hope that many of the teething problems that had marked its recommencement would have been resolved by then. For instance, while the Sri Lanka Government spent Rs. 450mn to [...]
Dengue patient count leaps past 63,500; 45 high risk areas identified
The National Dengue Control Unit has warned of an upsurge in dengue cases in the coming weeks. The biggest impact is in the Western Province, which accounts for almost half of all cases in the country at 34,396 (47.5%). Consultant Community Physician of the NDCU, Dr. Nimalka Pannila Hetti, revealed that up to the third [...]
A close look at injuries and prevention
It occurs in the blink of an eye. Injuries not only impact on the victim by bringing about death or major and lifelong disability but also on the family, society, economy and country. The data with regard to injuries are chilling: Sri Lanka loses about 35 people due to injuries every day. Injuries [...]
Sri Lanka agrees that to deal with plastic pollution, humanity must change
The third Intergovernmental Negotiation Committee (INC) to develop a legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, began its sessions at Nairobi in Kenya earlier this week. Parties, which include Sri Lanka, engaged in negotiations on the zero draft that was prepared by the INC Chair and shared on October 1. INC-3 [...]