- The Inland Revenue Amendment Bill which empowers the Govt to “tax” EPF & ETF at 30%, passed in Parliament103-58: FUTA’s Ramindu Perera says SL is the only country that has exclusively used pension funds when restructuring domestic debt: analysts point out that former CB Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal had warned in December’21 that Superannuation Funds would be subjected to a massive “haircut” if Sri Lanka seeks an IMF programme.
- UK’s Channel 4 beams video with allegations about SL’s Easter Sunday attacks implicating certain SL leaders: video mainly based on “whistle-blower” Hanzeer Azad Maulana, previous spokesman for LTTE’s breakaway group led by current State Minister S Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan: in the Channel 4 video, Swiss asylum-seeker Maulana claims the plot to create insecurity in the country was to pave the way for former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to win the Presidential Election later in 2019.
- Cardinal Ranjith calls for an “impartial, broad-based investigation” into what the Channel 4 documentary has “revealed”: asks that domestic investigation officials provide assistance to an “independent international investigation team” in that regard: wants certain officials in the Police and the Intelligence services suspended “to make the new investigations transparent”.
- Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa says the latest “film” by Channel 4 is mostly an “anti-Rajapaksa tirade” aimed at blackening the Rajapaksa legacy from 2005 onwards and is a tissue of lies just like the previous films broadcast by the same Channel.
- President Ranil Wickremesinghe appoints Professor Jayantha Balawardane as Chancellor of the Uva Wellassa University with effect from 9October’23.
- State Minister Geetha Kumarasinghe says a survey of beggars is to be commenced by the Dept of Social Services this month: also says it has been reported that children and women are mostly being used in begging and steps will be taken to curb this situation.
- State Minister for Home Affairs Ashoka Priyantha says swift action will be taken to fill nearly 4,000 vacant Grama Niladhari positions: also says an “e-GN programme” to digitalize all 14,022 Grama Seva domains across the country is in progress.
- Minister of Justice, Prison Affairs & Constitutional Reforms Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe confirms that the new Anti-Corruption Act is due to be effective from 15 September.
- Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga says President Ranil Wickremasinghe did not go for an election because he feared defeat: claims the President is unable to move forth because he is working with “corrupt politicians”: also says she doesn’t think “Ranil is stealing, but everyone around him steals”.
- SL Women’s Cricket coach Rumesh Ratnayake describes his team’s T20I series triumph over England as “really huge” for cricket in the country: SL defeated England by 7 & 8 wickets respectively to come back from 1-0 down and hand England their first T20I series defeat by a side other than Australia since 2010.
