Sri Lanka News : InfoLanka News Room (2024)

Jun 2 (AD) State Minister of Higher Education Dr. Suren Raghavan says that the govt intends to engage in discussions with the university non-academic staff trade unions currently on strike over various demands. “Discussions with the union leaders currently on strike are scheduled for next Monday. We hope to reach a mutually agreeable solution,” he said. Raghavan emphasized that the govt, including Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe, is committed to finding best possible resolution.more..

Jun 2 (DM) A shortage of 5,000 private buses is making it difficult to provide adequate passenger transport services, LPBOA chairman Gemunu Wijerathne claimed. He said that 70% of buses with valid route permits are running in the country, while the remaining buses are not operating properly. He noted that buses with valid route permits cannot provide proper services because some are undergoing major repairs or are engaged in other services.more..

Jun 2 (ST) Tourism industry insiders say that the move to outsource e-visa processing continues to damage the country’s tourism prospects and are urging the govt to follow Thailand’s example and extend visa-free entry to more countries. The govt’s tripartite agreement to outsource online and on-arrival visa processing involves GBS Technology Services, IVS Global-FZCO, and VFS VF Worldwide Holdings Ltd. Following a Cabinet decisionmore..

Jun 2 (DM) Renowned Sri Lankan author Ramya Jirasinghe's Father Cabraal's recipe for love cake bagged the coveted Gratiean Prize at the 31st Gratiaen Awards ceremony held at The Stables at the Mews. Addressing the gathering after receiving her award Jirasinghe said that she never expected to win the award. "This year had one of the strongest shortlists of authors for the Gratiaen Prize. There were two previous winners and accomplished writers amongst the shortlist of authors.more..

Jun 2 (Island) Legendary basketball coach Phil Jackson is given the cold shoulder by Chicago Bulls General Manager Jerry Krause, who ahead of the 1998 NBA season says no matter how strong the team finishes, this will be Jackson’s last season. The Coach names his final season The Last Dance. It’s beautifully captured in the Netflix series. SL cricket team’s Head Coach Chris Silverwood is on his last series as well and you wonder what would the Yorkshireman call his last hurrah.more..

Jun 2 (ST) Attorney General’s Dept has directed CID to delve into the allegations of financial misconduct involving the country’s National Olympic Committee (NOC) in relation to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. This development came to light after Mohammad Huzam Usuph, the complainant, filed a RTI request with the Special Investigation Unit of the Ministry of Sports, seeking an update on the status of his 2021 submission regarding the suspected misuse of funds by high-ranking officials of the NOC.more..

Jun 2 (EN) Sri Lanka’s current dollar earnings from merchandise exports, remittances, tourism and other services exceeded imports by US$ 579 million in April 2024. Sri Lanka’s hard goods exports were US$ 877.6 million in April, up from US$ 848.6 million a year ago, in a holiday month which usually has a 20% downturn. Remittances were US$ 543.8 million, up from US$ 454 million last year. Net services income was US$ 367.7 million up from US$ 290 million last year.more..

Jun 2 (ST) The much criticised and unprecedented 70% salary hike proposed for Central Bank employees has been rejected and reversed to previous levels on the recommendations made by the Independent Remuneration Committee appointed by the Prez. The increase in monthly gross salary bill during the previous salary hike period of 2021-2023 was 27.5%. The committee has handed over the report to Prez more..

Jun 2 (Island) UNP General Secretary Palitha Range Bandara last week set the cat among the pigeons by saying that both the prez and parliamentary elections should be postponed for two years by way of a referendum. This outrageous suggestion drew the predicable flak from all directions with nobody publicly expressing support for the proposal. Quite the contrary. In fact with not only political parties and groupings but also legal professionals, commentators and even the ECmore..

Jun 2 (DM) Claiming that he never meant to call billionaire businessman Elon Musk an economic hit-man, NPP Economic Council member Sunil Hadunnetti said today he expresses his regrets to Elon Musk. Hadunnetti said his reference to economic hit-men was to James Packer and George Soros who were brought into the country during the previous Ranil Wickremesinghe govt. "I was misquoted on what I said about Elon Musk. I didn't mean to call Elon Misk an economic hit-man.more..

Jun 2 (TM) With only three months remaining before the next coal unloading season begins, the closing date for the long-term tender to procure 50% of the coal requirements for the Norochcholai Coal Power Plant has been extended for the second time to 24 June. The tender, covering the periods 2024/25 and 2025/26, aims to secure a total volume of 2.25 million MT of coal. It is reliably learned that the SCAPCmore..

Jun 2 (AD) SL Police on Friday arrested the alleged handler of four Sri Lankan suspected ISIS terrorists, who were taken into custody in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad Airport. The 46-year-old suspect, Osman Pushparaja Gerard, was arrested following a joint operation by the CID and the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) in Colombo. After the arrests of four suspects by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) for having links with terrorist outfit ISIS, Sri Lanka launched a high-level investigationmore..

Jun 2 (TM) Govt received an initial application from Starlink in March to commence operations in SL and it is in the process of formulating the requisite regulations to allow the operation of the satellite internet service provider, the State Minister of Technology reveals. State Minister Kanaka Herath revealed that SL had received an initial formal application from billionaire businessman Elon Musk’s Starlink – the satellite unit of SpaceX – in March and that they were presentlymore..

Jun 2 (ST) Sri Lanka has not been this confident ahead of a major international tournament for at least a decade. As they prepare to take on South Africa in their first Group ‘D’ clash of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in New York, they will look to transform this confidence into a strong performance to kick off their campaign in style. After spending two weeks in the USA to acclimatise, Sri Lanka enters the tournament with a point to prove, having faltered in recent editions despitemore..

Jun 2 (SO) Just when it kicked off to raise its head again, rugby in SL has come under threat of being pulled apart by three protagonists, the Sports Minister, the current set of elected custodians and an outside faction waiting to sneak in. World Rugby and its regional partner Asia Rugby are both watching from the touchlines as the outside party braces for a barge-in while Sports Minister Harin Fernando using his powers grabbed custody of the sport’s incumbent Sri Lanka Rugby membership more..

Jun 2 (ST) Excise Commissioner General M.J. Gunasiri is to discuss the possibility of permitting happy hour, the time when alcoholic drinks are served at discounted rates, at establishments with liquor licences. This is after a recent directive by National Authority on Tobacco & Alcohol (NATA) warned that a fine would be imposed on happy hours and similar alcohol promotions. “Tourism is important to the country.more..

Jun 2 (FT) Four Sri Lankans were arrested on Monday (20), at the Ahmadabad Airport in India for smuggling of gold and drugs. SL’s state intelligence has asked for further information from India’s state intelligence to verify the background of these alleged suspects, as well as to probe if they are actually linked to ISIS network. Thus so far there was no report of their involvement in any organisation promoting violence. One should not forget govt in power in India is extremely hostile tomore..

Jun 2 (TM) When ruling SLPP Founder cum chief strategist Basil Rajapaksa recently called for a General Election ahead of the scheduled Prez Election later this year and subsequently met President cum UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe on at least two subsequent occasions behind closed doors, those in the know knew something was brewing. And, it seems that these days Sri Lanka is being treated to the scripted drama behind those closed doors, one episode at a time.more..

Jun 2 (ST) Apey Mahanayake hamuduruwaney, I thought of writing to you after seeing that you had written to Uncle Ranil requesting that Gnanasara hamuduruwo be offered a pardon. Reading that letter, hamuduruwaney, I am convinced that you must have been misinformed by someone because the reality is quite different from what your letter states. One of the main reasons cited in that letter is that Gnanasara hamuduruwo worked for national unity. I am not sure how you came tomore..

Jun 2 (ST) The UNP General Secretary caused some excitement for a few hours earlier in the week with a proposal that went viral. His proposal to postpone elections by two years through a Parliamentary vote followed by a Referendum would normally have been dismissed as a somewhat deranged suggestion, except for the position he holds. Straightaway, one would be excused for suspecting it was the voice of Jacob and the hand of Esau. Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe,more..

Jun 2 (TM) The dawn of the month of June has put the Ranil Wickremesinghe Govt on a strict timeline on several fronts, key among them being the fast-approaching deadline to finalise SL’s debt restructuring programme prior to the IMF decision this month on releasing the next tranche under the nearly $ 3 billion EFF with SL. It is learnt that the Wickremesinghe Govt is confident of finalising the debt restructuring programme more..

Jun 2 (Island) A report in The Island (May 20, 2024) states that the UN human rights office has criticised the SL govt’s failure to acknowledge and hold accountable the perpetrators of tens of thousands of enforced disappearances … Authors of the report also accuse the LTTE of engaging in abductions which were described as tantamount to enforced disappearances” (May 20, 2024). Continuing, the report adds that the UN. The High Commissioner for Human Rights had stated:more..

Jun 2 (SO) Cricket, the quintessential English sport, was once more popular than baseball in the United States, a fact that is hard to believe or comprehend now. Today, cricket is the second most watched sport in the world, next only to soccer. While only around 10 countries play the sport at the highest level (Test matches), almost 100 countries play at associate or other leagues within the ICC structure. Baseball, though very similar to cricket since it is also a bat and ball sport,more..

Jun 2 (CT) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe while participating in the What’s New dialogue, on legal reforms, with young legal professionals, at a workshop held at the Presidential Secretariat on Tuesday, emphasised that none of the candidates aspiring to run in the Prez Election have announced their intention to abolish the executive powers associated with the position. Addressing a forum of legal professionals, Prez stressed thatmore..

Jun 2 (CT) General Secretary of UNP, Palitha Range Bandara, kicked the political hornets’ nest last Tuesday with his controversial proposal to postpone the presidential election and the general election by at least two years via a parliamentary majority followed by a referendum. Backing his statement which allows Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe to be at the helm for additional two years, if passed, Range Bandara said the current economic crisis necessitates stability, continuity in leadership.more..

Jun 2 (CT) The rise of NPP from the ashes of Aragalaya and led by a new generation of JVP leadership, which has distanced itself from that party’s insurrectionary past, and NPP’s tireless campaign to convince the voting public that SL’s economic malaise is not an isolated phenomenon, but part of an overall systemic paralysis that had been sapping for decades the vitality of a once peaceful and prosperous nation, and that it cannot be rectified unless there is a radicalmore..

June 1 (DN) Colombo Chief Magistrate Thilina Gamage ordered the Intelligence Investigation Unit of the CIABOC Colombo to immediately arrest all officials of the Motor Traffic Department (formerly RMV) and those others who were involved in the illegal import of vehicles depriving the Govt of over Rs.10 billion in tax money. The Court ordered the arrest of all the officials who illegally entered data into the information system of the RMV,more..

June 1 (DM) The CID arrested a wanted suspect, Gerard Pushparaja Osman Gerard, suspected to be the person who co-ordinated the sending of the four alleged ISIS terrorists from SL to India and who were arrested in India. Earlier, CID announced a reward of Rs. 2 million for information leading to the arrest of the suspect. The suspect was arrested in a joint operaion conducted by the police in Colombo. SL security forces suspect that the 46-year-old suspect acted as a handlermore..

June 1 (FT) Colombo Additional Magistrate’s Court is expected to reveal the cause of death of prominent businessman Lalith Kothalawala on 11 June. Colombo Additional Magistrate Pasan Amarasinghe made this announcement yesterday. The post-mortem report regarding Kotelawala’s death was submitted to the court on 22 May. Initially scheduled for announcement on 28 May, the court’s decision was later postponed to 11 June. Renowned SL entrepreneur Lalith Kotelawala passed awaymore..

June 1 (DM) The Court of Appeal today issued a Writ of Mandamus directing the Director General of Wildlife Conservation, CID, IGP and the Attorney General to take necessary steps to prosecute all individuals who illegally kept the elephants referred to the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court and Matale Magistrate’s Court, who have not been lawfully registered in terms of the law. Court of Appeal Justices Sobhitha Rajakaruna andmore..

June 1 (DM) SJB demanded Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe to hand over the UNP headquarters Sirikotha to the SJB. The party’s election manager Sujeewa Senasinghe said that SJB has a right to claim Sirikotha. “We have a right to claim Sirikotha as we are former UNPers,” he said. Expressing concerns about UNP’s current plight, Senasinghe also said “We hope that UNP leader will work according to his conscience and handover the Sirikotha to us.more..

June 1 (DM) Examinations Dept has announced the top island rankings for various streams. Leading the list of achievers are: Chirath Nirodha of Ananda College, Colombo, who excelled in the Physical Science (Mathematics) stream. Shehani Navodya of Ginigathhena Central College, who topped the Engineering Technology stream. Upani Lenora of Sanghamitta Balika Vidyalaya in Galle, who achieved the highest rank in the Science stream. Thasun Rithmika of Richmond College, Galle, more..