May 9 (Nikkei) Apparently moving to counter China's formidable presence across Sri Lanka, President Ranil Wickremesinghe's administration is increasingly engaging Indian companies for vital projects. On Tuesday, SL govt said it had approved a 20-year power purchase agreement with India's Adani Green Energy, which will invest $442 million to develop two wind power stations in Mannar and Pooneryn in the north, totaling 484 megawatts. more..

May 9 (TM) CEB is yet to submit the proposals regarding the reduction of electricity tariffs to the Public Utilities Commission of SL (PUCSL), according to PUCSL chairman Prof. Manjula Fernando. Accordingly, the proposals were initially expected to be submitted to the PUCSL by the 1st of May. However, the PUCSL had granted an extension until tomorrow in response to a request from the CEB. Consequently, the PUCSL has instructed the CEB to submit proposals before the deadline more..

May 9 (EN) Sri Lanka has seen good results under the IMF program, but the country has to complete debt restructuring and continue on a reform path to ensure strong growth, Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe said. �A lot of good results (sadaneeya prathilaba resak) are coming from the IMF program,� Wickremesinghe said. �An appreciating rupee has brought down prices of imported goods, including milk powder and gas. The falling interest rates are benefiting businesses.� more..

May 9 (CI) Wanindu Hasaranga will captain SL's squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup, after missing the whole of IPL 2024 with a heel injury. Hasaranga made his return in the ongoing T20 practice games in Sri Lanka, where he scored 9 and 28 for SLC Yellow but did not bowl in either game. SL are in group D at the T20 World Cup along with Bangladesh, Nepal, Netherlands and South Africa. They play their first game of the tournament against South Africa on June 3 in New York, more..

May 9 (CT) Four elderly patients succumbed to the prevailing hot weather at the Jaffna Teaching Hospital, as reported by Hospital sources. Teaching Hospital sources when contacted yesterday (8) said the patients who were over 70 years of age had died earlier this week of heat stroke due to the prevailing high temperature experienced in several parts of the country including the Jaffna District. They had no infections but were mostly psychiatric and neurologic patients. more..

May 9 (DM) Cutting back on alcohol consumption during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year festival has resulted in notable dip in incidents of conflict and quarrels associated with alcohol use during the festival season. This was revealed in a survey conducted by the ADIC, SL concerning alcohol consumption and related information during the season. The survey encompassed a sample size of 415 individuals across all 9 provinces of SL. more..

May 9 (Island) The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) had not taken legal action any errant wholesalers in 2023, it was revealed when the COPE met. CAA officials told the COPE that they had no authority to act against large businesses. CAA officials also said that the Act is being amended and that the final draft could be presented within the next six weeks. COPE members told CAA officials that in 2021 only one raid had been carried out against errant wholesale fertiliser traders. more..

May 9 (FT) When I went to register the birth of our son, I wasn�t asked to provide our marriage certificate � the fact that a man is willing to accept paternity by putting his name down is generally accepted as proof of legitimacy. While this patriarchal practice is discriminatory � impugning the dignity of the child, who is a human being regardless of the relationship between his or her parents � I have no qualms on employing this practice on a policy document. more..

May 9 (DM) Popular travel influencer Will Davis, also known as TrekTrendy on YouTube, took to Instagram to raise alarm about a concerning data breach related to SL's visa issuing system. Davis shared his distress over receiving daily emails containing tourist visas, complete with sensitive personal information such as full names, addresses and passport details. He said that despite having his visa approved a long time ago, more..

May 9 (EN) SL�s stance on Palestine in the face of Israel�s offensive push with human rights violations has helped the island nation to regain its reputation among the countries in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) after strong criticism over forced cremation of Muslim Covid victims, Foreign Minister Ali Sabry said. Govt of former prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa led by current ruling party SLPP forced Muslims and Christians to cremate the dead bodies of those who died of Covid-19 in 2020. more..

May 9 (AD) The Colombo Magistrate�s Court has issued an overseas travel ban on former State Minister Diana Gamage today (09). This order was issued by Colombo Magistrate Thilina Gamage after considering a request made by the attorneys of the petitioning party in the case related to her dual citizenship. The copies of the order were also forwarded to the office of the Controller General of Immigration and Emigration and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. more..

May 9 (AD) Investigations carried out so far have revealed that six Sri Lankans sent to Russia by human traffickers to join the military have died, Police Media Spokesman DIG Nihal Thalduwa said. Meanwhile, two other Sri Lankans who joined Ukrainian forces by illegal means have also been confirmed dead, the police said. The Police Spokesman also assured that further investigations are in progress to find out the exact number of individuals involved with the matter. more..

May 9 (Island) The population of SL jackals has dropped by about 60 percent during the last two decades and this is an indication of serious problems in the SL environment, Prof. Sampath Seneviratne, of the Dept of Zoology and Environment Sciences, Uni of Colombo has said. Prof. Seneviratne, one of the authors of the research study, titled The Way of the Jackal, said that jackals and their cousins, the fox and the wolf, were spreading rapidly in other parts of the world, more..

May 9 (EN) SL will hold Presidential polls between Sept 17 and Oct 16, 2024, as required by law, Elections Commission said. Commission said it will call for nominations within the specified period. �Election Commission will call for nominations for the prez election within the specified timeframe in terms of the provisions of the Constitution of SL and the Prez Elections Act No. l5 of 1981, and that by virtue of the powers more..

May 9 (CT) Nearly 30 million red notices were issued between 2022 and 2024 due to delayed payments of electricity bills, Minister Kanchana Wijesekara revealed yesterday. He also revealed that over 1.3 million consumers had their electricity connections disconnected due to failure to settle their bills on time. Minister also disclosed that the accounts of over 126,000 consumers had been closed, while nearly 1.9 million new electricity connections had been established during more..

May 9 (DM) The Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) has decided not to temporarily divulge any details on the visa fiasco because of its sensitive nature, CoPF Chairman Harsha de Silva said today. "The examination of the SL visa outsourcing contract began at the CoPF in Parliament today. We will meet again on 14 May to continue the discussions. As Chair of the committee, this is all we wish to state to the media, given the ongoing sensitive nature of the matter," Dr. de Silva said. more..

May 9 (AD) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe states that for the reconstruction of the fallen country, economic stabilization and recovery programs were formally implemented and that as a result, the journey of economic growth started in the middle of 2023. In a special statement in Parliament today, Wickremesinghe said he assumed leadership of the country without any conditions, despite being a sole member of Parliament. more..

May 9 (EN) Sri Lanka is in the process of drafting a National Cyber Security Act, as social network users rise, State Minister Kanaka Herath said. �The user base across all social networks has surged from 60 million to 74 million. There is an imperative for a National Cyber Security Act. Plans are underway to draft pertinent legislation by May 2024,� Herath said. �Collaborative efforts involving 29 govt agencies, alongside CERT, have been undertaken to strengthen cyber security.� more..

May 9 (AD) The hearing of the petitions filed before the Supreme Court seeking an order declaring that certain clauses of the SL Electricity Bill, submitted by the government to the Parliament recently, are in violation of the Constitution commenced today. The petitions were taken up for hearing before a three-member Supreme Court judge bench consisting of Justices Vijith Malalgoda, Shiran Gunaratne and Arjuna Obeysekera. Additional Solicitor General Viveka Siriwardena, more..

May 9 (EN) Sri Lanka will invite new companies to set up emission testing services ending a duopoly that now exists, Trade Minister Nalin Fernando said. At the moment Laugfs Eco Sri Limited and CleanCo Lanka Limited offer vehicle emission testing in SL. �Considering the number of vehicles in Sri Lanka, complaints we have received from the public, and that the desired emissions reduction has not happened, we have proposed to call for bids, or expressions of interest from other vendors,� more..

May 9 (FT) Tyrannical Tiran Alles is about to learn a lesson in politics that his distinguished, respected father would have taught him had he been around. The worst time to play tough guy is in an election year with six months max to go to vote. Citizens (including officials) are impatient to vote, and are unintimidated because they know they have the power to bring the whole power structure down soon, if they so wish. Minister concerned is an unelected parliamentarian whose name more..

May 9 (TM) Election Commission (EC) has informed President's Secretary Saman Ekanayake and the other relevant authorities that it is better to hold the LG elections than establishing community advisory committees to oversee development projects under LG bodies. Govt recently announced plans to establish these committees, with the alleged intent of having them oversee development projects within LG bodies. more..

May 9 (TM) The Election Commission (EC) is to accommodate requests made by several international organisations such as the European Union (EU) to observe the upcoming elections including the Prez Election, in a timely manner. Local election monitoring body, the People�s Action for Free and Fair Elections, had recently requested the EC in writing to urgently make necessary arrangements to invite a delegation of election observers representing int'l community. more..

May 9 (DN) Former National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Vijith Gunasekara has been arrested by the CID yesterday evening (8) over the controversial scandal of the alleged importation of substandard immunoglobulin. Dr. Gunasekara was summoned to the CID yesterday to record a statement pertaining to the importation of a batch of substandard human intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) vials into Sri Lanka. more..

May 9 (FT) Opposition MP Dayasiri Jayasekara levelled accusations against the Govt, alleging that a Govt MP was given a plot of land at the BIA to establish a jet fuel storage facility. When prompted by Govt MPs to identify the MP in Parliament, Jayasekara declined to disclose his name, asserting that the Govt was evidently already aware of his identity. Furthermore, he hinted at the person�s potential candidacy for Presidency. more..

May 9 (DN) Health Secretary Dr. Palitha Mahipala said that 46% of women and 10% of school children in Sri Lanka are suffering from obesity. He also stated that the life expectancy of women, which was limited to 80 years a few years ago, has increased to 83 years. He also stated that today, 89% of deaths in this country are caused by non-communicable diseases such as cancer, heart disease, lung disease and diabetes. A majority of deaths occur due to heart disease and stroke. more..

May 9 (Island) Former President of Sri Lanka Cricket and Asian Cricket Council Thilanga Sumathipala launched a book last week in Colombo. Titled, Wave Maker the book deals on inner dynamics of Sri Lanka�s Cricket Legacy. Thilanga in 1998 became the youngest SLC President ever at the age of 33. He oversaw some testing periods for cricket in the country that included the chucking controversy in Australia. Under Thilanga�s dynamic leadership, SLC were able to clear Murali after more..

May 9 (AD) Two retired officers of the Sri Lanka Army have been arrested for illegally recruiting Sri Lankan army soldiers to be employed in the Russian military. Accordingly, a retired Major General and a retired Sergeant were apprehended by the CID in Kurunegala on Wednesday (08). Earlier on Wednesday, the Ministry of Defence announced the launch of an operation to arrest the suspects implicated in directing retired SL Army soldiers to join Russian or Ukrainian forces by illegal means. more..

May 9 (DN) Sri Lanka should focus on entering more Free Trade Agreements (FTA) and those should be negotiated in favour of the country, said Chairman, Exporters� Association of SL (EASL) Ranil Goonetilleke. Through more FTA�s SL should be able to grow exports, he said at a joint press briefing organized by National Chamber of Exporters of SL (NCE) on Tuesday. Goonetilleke stated that small and medium entrepreneurs are getting lack of support from the govt. more..

May 9 (EN) Hundreds of SL ex-soldiers recruited by multiple teams were dying in their hundreds in the killing fields of the Russia-Ukraine border amid drone warfare, according to a fighter who escaped the region. Over 200 SL ex-soldiers are believed to have died and a similar number are being treated in hospitals in regions like Donetsk, he said. The retired soldier said he went to Russia after paying 1.6 million to recruiting more..

May 9 (Island) After their first attempt to improve Road to Paris 24 rankings went awry last week, three of SL�s top athletes will compete against odds to reach Olympic qualifying standards when they compete in Osaka, Japan. Asian Games medallists Tharushi Karunaratne, Nadeesha Ramanayake and Kalinga Kumarage left for Osaka yesterday, three days ahead of the competition where they will vie to improve their rankings. Last week Ramanayake produced a below par performance more..

May 9 (DN) Former skipper Dasun Shanaka led SLC Team Red to victory over SLC Team Yellow in the fourth match of the SLC T20 World Cup Preparation Tournament played yesterday. Shanaka�s unbeaten 63 off 38 balls, peppered with 4 fours and 5 sixes, was the highlight of the match, and helped his team set a commanding total of 192 for 8 wickets in 20 overs. Alongside Shanaka, Kamindu Mendis (30) and Avishka Fernando (25) also contributed to their team�s score with some impressive batting. more..