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Former President Maithripala Sirisena, chairman of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), has highlighted that there are no plans for the SLFP to join hands with the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP).

Speaking to the media in this regard, Sirisena noted, however, that the SLFP aims to present a manifesto targeting the upcoming election, and to expand its work at the district-level.

Football Sri Lanka (FSL) has named a strong 23-member squad to face Yemen in the first leg of the world cup qualifiers scheduled to be held in Saudi Arabia on 12 October.

The islanders will be in action after almost 17 months since the FIFA ban, which has now been lifted.

The Golden Army were out of action since January 2023 due to the ban and the boys have now recommenced practices under the watchful eyes of head coach Andy Morrison.

Interestingly, no captain was named and it is believed the captain will be announced today or tomorrow.

It is reported if Sri Lanka wins, each player will get Rs.250,000 as a cash prize, and in the second leg, too, if the islanders can produce a win, they will get an additional Rs.250,000, and if they qualify for the next round, they will get another Rs.250,000, totaling Rs.750,0000.

The team is set to take wing on Sunday (8).

Sri Lanka will next host Yemen in the second leg on 17 October at the Race Course, Colombo.

Squad: Sujan Perera, Prabath Ruwan Arunasiri, Nicholas Harsha Fernando, Charitha Bandara Rathnayake, Chalana Chameera, Asikur Rahuman, Faizer Mohamed Aman, Kaveesh Lakpriya Fernando, Shenal Sandesh Pingho, Mariyathas Nitharshan, Nawshad Afeel Mohamed, Jude Supan, Faizal Mohamed Aakib, Waseem Razeek, Nazeer Mohamed Shifan, Chathuranga Madushan, Mohamed Shabeer, Chamod Dilshan, Rifkhan Mohamed, Kavindu Ishan, Naizer Mohamad Fasal, Senan de Silva and Aris Mohamed Hasmeer

Extreme Weather: Red Alerts were issued for landslides in several divisional secretariat areas in Galle, Kalutara and Matara districts, the National Building Research Organisation said.

Landslide Early Warnings issued for several divisional secretariat areas in Kegalle, Kandy, Ratnapura, Colombo, Gampaha and Hambantota districts.

Fitch Ratings has affirmed its ratings on fifteen (15) Sri Lankan banks, while 14 of them have been removed from ‘Rating Watch Negative’ (RWN) and assigned stable outlooks.

The Ratings Agency affirmed Bank of Ceylon’s (BOC) Long-Term Local-Currency Issue Default Rating (IDR) at ‘CCC-‘ and removed it from RWN while adding that the Outlook is Stable.

At the same time, Fitch has also affirmed the National Long-Term Ratings of the following banks, removed them from RWN and assigned Stable Outlooks.

– BOC at ‘A(lka)’

– People’s Bank (Sri Lanka) at ‘A(lka)’

– Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC at ‘A(lka)’

– Hatton National Bank PLC at ‘A(lka)’

– Sampath Bank PLC at ‘A(lka)’

– National Development Bank PLC at ‘A-(lka)’

– Seylan Bank PLC at ‘A-(lka)’

– DFCC Bank PLC at ‘A-(lka)’

– Nations Trust Bank PLC at ‘A-(lka)’

– Pan Asia Banking Corporation PLC at ‘BBB-(lka)’

– Union Bank of Colombo PLC at ‘BBB-(lka)’

– Amana Bank PLC at ‘BB+(lka)’

– Sanasa Development Bank PLC at ‘BB+(lka)’

– Housing Development Finance Corporation Bank of Sri Lanka at ‘BB+(lka)’

Fitch further affirmed Cargills Bank Limited’s (CBL) National Long-Term Rating at ‘A(lka)’ and removed it from RWN, adding that it has assigned a Negative Rating Outlook.

The RWN on these banks’ senior and subordinated debt ratings, where assigned, has also been removed.

BOC’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency IDR of ‘CC’, Short-Term IDR of ‘C’, Viability Rating of ‘cc’ and Government Support Rating of ‘ns’ were not considered in this review.

Full report : https://shorturl.at/huCLZ

The low-lying areas of the Nilwala River valley belonging to Matara, Malimbada, Kamburupitiya, Tiihagoda, Athuraliya and Akurassa Divisional Secretariats have been threatened with a MajorFlood Situation.

The residents of the area and drivers of the vehicles running through those areas are requested to pay high attention in this regards in order to save lives and properties.

Showers or thundershowers will occur at times in Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and North-western provinces and in Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts.

Fairly heavy showers above 75mm can be expected at some places in Western,Sabaragamuwa and Southern provinces.

Showers or thundershowers will occur at several places in Eastern and Uva provinces and in Polonnaruwa, Matale and Mullaitivu districts during the evening or night.

General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.

Former finance minister Ravi Karunanayake has stressed the need to raise the range of taxpayers, and not burdening the masses with taxes, in order to take the country out of its economic crisis.

Also the UNP leader for Colombo district, Karunanayake said,

“The IMF has been saying for years and stressed this time as well, the need for financial discipline and the support for all in that regard. At this moment, what we should do is increase the range of taxpayers. Increasing the range of taxpayers does not mean burdening those who already pay taxes with more taxes, but getting their numbers increased.”

“In my analysis, the IMF has seen certain weaknesses of ours in the beginning, but westerners need not point out those weaknesses to us. As a country, we reduced the amount of taxpayer files at a certain time. So, what should be done now is increasing the number of those files and collecting more and more taxes. Those tax files should be increased as much as possible for the country’s speedy development.”

“Had the journey we undertook in 2015 gone ahead as planned, this country would never have become bankrupt, but there would have been more tax payments and the country developed too. The country and the people cannot bear up raising the tax burden. What we should do is increasing the range of taxpaying and charging a bearable tax from the people.”

“We cannot raise the taxes on the people by 50 or 60 percent merely because the IMF told us so. People should be able to pay. It should be reasonable. Everybody should contribute too.”

“Small and medium scale businesses have a bearable limit of paying taxes. They cannot stand the considerable increase in interest rates. Everything should be practical. Government officials should know how to discuss and resolve this matter. If we want Rs. 100, we should know how to earn that. Westerners need not advise us on that.”

“The concept of the late president J.R. Jayewardene is the best suited one for the country. In 1977, he took the country to the world through open economy to bring about modernization. At a time when closed economies had collapsed everywhere in the world, he introduced open economy and took the country to the world along with development.”

“What politicians do is boasting only. They attack those who work and those who are capable. If the country is to be revived, all of us should work tirelessly as one. People should be informed as much as possible. Brain drain should be stopped.”

Narges Mohammadi, an Iranian women's rights advocate serving 12 years in jail, won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday in a decision likely to anger Tehran's theocratic government. Mohammadi is the 19th woman to win the 122-year-old prize and the first one since Maria Ressa of the Philippines won the award in 2021 jointly with Russia's Dmitry Muratov.

"This prize is first and foremost a recognition of the very important work of a whole movement in Iran, with its undisputed leader, Narges Mohammadi," said Berit Reiss-Andersen, head of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

The Nobel prize also came just over a year after the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of morality police for allegedly flouting the Islamic Republic's dress code for women, whih sparked months of protests across Iran against the government.

Authorities jailed Mohammadi in 2021 after she attended a memorial for a person killed in violent 2019 anti-government protests in Iran over rising gas prices. The award-making committee said the prize was testimony to all those behind recent unprecedented protests in Iran and called for the release of Mohammadi, who has campaigned for both women's rights and the abolition of the death penalty.

“The more of us they lock up, the stronger we become,” she once wrote from prison in an opinion piece for the New York Times.

The U.N. human rights office said the Nobel award highlighted the bravery of Iranian women. "We've seen their courage and determination in the face of reprisals, intimidation, violence and detention," said its spokesperson Elizabeth Throssell. "They've been harassed for what they do or don't wear. There are increasingly stringent legal, social and economic measures against them.They are an inspiration to the world."

In conversation with reporters, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa says Sri Lanka needs a new leader.

Journalist: “Do you intend to retake power?”

MR: “No. I think I have ruled enough. A new leadership is needed to move forward”

Journalist: “The people are facing serious difficulties at present. Will you raise this issue? Are you on the side of the people?”

MR: “We have told the government that it is essential to assist the public at this time. Of course! We have been on the side of the public since back then.”

Journalist: “To be honest, the situation was much better under your rule and the people did not face this much difficulty.”

MR: “That is true. If you are saying this, then it is absolutely correct.”

The Supreme Court in a landmark judgment today (06) determined that the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress' decision to expel Minister Naseer Ahamad from the party membership is legally valid.

With this Supreme Court judgment, Naseer Ahamad's expulsion will lead to the loss of his parliamentary seat.

The Supreme Court three-judge-bench bench headed by Justice Preethi Padman Surasena observed that there is no reason to interfere with the decision of the party to expel petitioner Naseer Ahamad from party membership.

The application of the petitioner was dismissed accordingly without costs.

The SLMC decided to expel Environment Minister Naseer Ahamad following his decision to vote in favour of the budget at the Third Reading on December 10, 2021.

The High Command of the SLMC had unanimously resolved to expel the petitioner from party membership.

Sanjeeva Jayawardena PC with Ruwantha Cooray, Rukshan Senadheera and Punyajith Dunusinghe appeared for the petitioner.

M.A. Sumanthiran PC with Viran Corea, Anne Kulanayagam and Divya Mascranghe appeared for the SLMC.

(dailymirror.lk)

President Ranil Wickremesinghe suggests that part of the money from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Employees’ Trust Fund (ETF) should be invested abroad.

Speaking in Parliament today (04), Wickremesinghe stated that the government will bring in both the EPF and ETF under an independent board for the future actions in this regard.

“We want both EPF and ETF to be brought in. The question is that the other independent funds also should come into it”, the President expressed.

“Part of that money should be allowed to be invested abroad. I think we should.”

“As the situation improves, these are the savings of people in the country. So we’ll allow it to be even invested abroad. Let us..”

“We should discuss about this”, he added.

Five passengers, all men, succumbed to injuries they suffered when a tree fell onto the bus they were travelling in this morning (06), police said.

A bus belonging to Mathugama Depot was on its way back to Deniyaya when it met with the accident near Liberty Roundabout in Colombo. Twelve more wounded passengers are receiving treatment at Colombo National Hospital.

Police said Duplication Road has been closed as the fallen tree still blocks the road.

GCE A/L 2023 will be held from January 4th 2024 to January 31st 2024, Ministry of Education announced today.

In September, Minister of Education Susil Premajayantha informed Parliament that the scheduled 2023 GCE Advanced Level Examinations will be postponed.

The Minister said at the time that the exams were postponed following requests by both ruling and opposition MPs over the insufficient time for students to prepare for the examination.

The 2023 GCE Advanced Level examinations were earlier scheduled to take place from November 27 to December 2.