Prof. Hudson McLean
Should Vocational Guidance with Market Orientation Play a Vital Role? Target the Education to Satisfy the Demands of Foreign Country Needs. -IT, Nurses, Health workers, Hair dressers, Cooks, Childcare etc…. President urges education reform to align with global demands for future growth. Posted on October 16th, 2024 https://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2024/10/16/president-urges-education-reform-to-align-with-global-demands-for-future-growth/ The Ministry of Education and Culture Finland announced the PISA 2022 survey. “Foreign students arriving in Finland Lack Skills!” Sri Lankans with University Degrees are Working as Office &... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/10/24)
Sarath Wijesinghe President's Counsel, former Ambassador to UAE and Israel and President Lanka Ambassadors forum UK /Sri Lanka
War on drugs and organized crime with the underworld War on drugs has commenced again at a rapid rate in Sri Lanka and world over due to the escalation of drug and crime rates as a result of fast communication skills, adopting new modes of transport, capacity to generate large income with risk-taking, and various other methods and channels. The most dangerous aspect of this unfortunate scenario is the rapid rate of addiction and the impact on the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/10/24)
Asoka Weerasinghe Gloucester, Ontario. K1J 6G1,
October 17, 2024 The Editor (Letters) THE OTTAWA CITIZEN Pierre Poilievre, it is time that you tell Liberal Prime Minister Justine Trudeau, to stop painting themselves lillywhite about foreign interference, when we were interfering in Sri Lanka's internal ethnic Eelam war,'letting Canadian-Tamil separatists collect two million dollars a month for13 Liberal years to stuff their Eelam war chest to buy sophisticated armouries. .And then let a Tamil Tiger separatist cut a cheque in 1994 from a bank in Vancouver to pay... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/10/24)
by A. Abdul Aziz
Part of being grateful is remembering to express gratitude towards other people. The Prophet of Islam Muhammad (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “He who does not thank people, does not thank God” (Ahmad, Tirmidhi). I travelled with my wife from Chennai to Colombo on 10th September 2024, via FITS AIR – An Aircraft between Colombo / Chennai / Colombo and my Gas Stove (an important kitchen need) was returned back to my daughter's house, based on the baggage policy of the airline. I contacted FITS AIR... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/10/24)
by A. Abdul Aziz (Source: Al Hakam, London)
Islam believes 124,000 prophets have come before and preached submission to the Creator. These prophets came to different peoples and languages. The Quran only mentions 25 prophets, yet there are many of whom we do not know of. The Quran declares: “And We did send Messengers before thee; of them are some whom We have mentioned to thee, and of them there are some whom We have not mentioned to thee; and it is not possible for any Messenger to bring a Sign except by the leave of Allah. But... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/10/24)
Courtesy NewsIn.Asia
Oct 16 (NewsWire) – The government has received Rs. 419 Billion in treasury bills and bond loans, in the 13 days from 02-15 October 2024, former Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Matale District MP Rohini Kavirathna said. Issuing a statement, former MP Kavirathna said the government is continuing to take unlimited loans, but the country is not receiving any tangible relief. The former SJB MP gave the following breakdown of the government’s loans between 02-15 October; October 02 – Rs. 142.2 Billion October 09 – Rs. 85 Billion... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/10/24)
Jayati Ghosh and Kanchana N. Ruwanpura Courtesy The Jordan Times
COLOMBO — More than a year after the mass protest movement known as the Aragalaya ousted Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sri Lankans have once again taken to the streets. The impetus for the resurgence of public discontent is the recent bailout agreement between the International Monetary Fund and President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s government. The deal, which aims to address the country’s ongoing balance-of-payments crisis, offers Sri Lanka less than $3 billion over four years, a tiny fraction of what... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/10/24)
උපුටා ගැන්ම ලංකා ලීඩර්
ජනාධිපතිවරණයට පෙර ජාතික ජන බලවේගය ජනතාවට මොනතරම් පොරොන්දු දුන්නත් බලයට පත් වූ පසුව ජනාධිපති අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක අනුගමනය කරන්නේත් රනිල් වික්රමසිංහගේ ආර්ථික ප්රතිපත්තියම බව කොළඹ විශ්වවිද්යාලයේ ආර්ථික විද්යා අධ්යයන අංශයේ ජ්යෙෂ්ඨ කථිකාචාර්යල ආචාර්ය ප්රියංග දුණුසිංහ මහතා පවසයි. ඒ අනුව මැතිවරණ පොරොන්දු දැනටමත් කඩ කර අවසන් නමුත් එය රට පැත්තෙන් ඉතා යහපත් බවත් හෙතෙම කියා සිටී. "ජනාධිපතිවරණයට පෙර මැතිවරණ වේදිකාවල සිට ජාතික ජන බලවේගය ජනතාවට විවිධ පොරොන්දු දුන්නා. විශේෂයෙන්ම ජාත්යන්තර මූල්ය අරමුදලට අදාළව ණය තිරසරභාවය පිළිබඳව විකල්ප විශ්ලේෂණයකට යනවා කියලා ඔවුන් කිව්වා. නමුත් මේ වනතුරු ඔවුන් එවැනි විකල්ප විශ්ලේෂණයකට යොමුවෙලා නැහැ.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/10/24)
Courtesy The Daily Mirror
Colombo, October 17 (Daily Mirror) - While pointing out how Ministers rob government assets, former President Maithripala Sirisena noted that Ministers cannot steal without the knowledge of their secretaries and chief accountants. Addressing the 45th National Conference of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka), he stated that later, the secretaries and chief accountants begin to follow the Minister's example, and this practice trickles down to lower levels as well. https://youtu.be/wTSfhYSlxVY Meanwhile, former President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that, except for unsolicited procurement,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/10/24)
Courtesy Adaderana
The leader of the United National Party (UNP), former President Ranil Wickremesinghe has called on voters to elect to the Parliament candidates with proven experience in managing economic crises as the country faces ongoing challenges. Making a special statement ahead of the upcoming parliamentary election, Wickremesinghe emphasized that those who have worked with him over the past two years are best suited to guide the nation forward. “In these difficult times, it is vital that we have leaders in Parliament who know how to handle an economic crisis. Whether you are in... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/10/24)
Courtesy Adaderana
The government has announced an increase in taxes on certain imported goods, effective from October 14 to December 31, 2024. This move comes under the directive of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who also serves as the Minister of Finance. Under the new regulations, a special merchandise tax will apply to several key imports. Whole and flaked Mysore lentils, as well as yellow lentils, will now incur a tax of 25 cents per kilogram. Additionally, a special commodity levy of Rs. 302 per kilogram has been imposed on maldive fish and... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/10/24)
Courtesy Adaderana
The government has spent only 53% of the welfare budget allocated for the year within the first 8 months up to August, according to a report. A latest report from the Ministry of Finance indicates that the welfare budget has primarily been used to fund the ‘Aswesuma’ welfare program. Meanwhile, the report also states that Sri Lanka is expected to receive 1.69 billion US dollars in loans from multilateral agencies within the next 3 to 5 years. In the Pre-election budgetary report by the Finance ministry, it is reported that,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/10/24)
Courtesy Hiru News
The Election Commission of Sri Lanka has released a circular outlining the maximum campaign spending limits for candidates, parties, independent groups, and national list candidates for the 2024 General Election. These limits are based on district allocations. The upcoming national elections, including the 2024 General Election, will be conducted under new campaign finance laws, restricting the funding that candidates and political entities can spend. This follows the implementation of similar limits during the 2024 Presidential Election held in September. The Election Commission had consulted with various stakeholders to establish these limits... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/10/24)
Shenali D Waduge
One mass murder managed to send 3 President’s home & brought one President to power based on assurance given to deliver justice to the victims. While LTTE committed over 300 gruesome terror attacks over 30 years, these victims were never lucky to have 4 Presidential Commission reports & 1 Parliamentary Report. All victims must be treated equally & justice can have no favoritism. Why is it that the 2 final reports are not been released for the public to make their own deductions given that the current JVP-NPP Government sought public mandate... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/10/24)
KAMALIKA PIERIS
The Ceylon Tamil, despite the label, is not ‘Ceylon’ at all. The Ceylon Tamil originated in Tamilnadu. The British got down Tamils to carry out “Settler Colonization” in Ceylon. “Settler Colonization”is the introduction of a foreign settler group, to crush the existing indigenous group and take over the country. “Settler Colonialism” is a strategy where the colonial power deliberately brings in outsiders to a new country, to occupy its land and push out those who were living there earlier. The original residents are displaced and later eliminated. The settlers then dig in and create... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/10/24)
Garvin Karunaratne, Former SLAS, G.A Matara
The Small Industries Textile Manufacturing Programme This began with handloom training provided in village areas. Textile Handloom Programmes were commenced all over the island from the early Fifties and the Small Industries Department imported yarn and sold them to the entrepreneurs at cost. The Department of Small Industries employed Textile Demonstrators who trained the handloomers. What was very special was that sarees and other textiles could be done bespoke – according to the colour and style ordered. No one ever went to Bangkok to find an... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/10/24)
Sarath Wijesinghe (President’s Counsel, Senior Solicitor, former Ambassador to UAE and Israel, President Ambassador’s Forum UK / Sri Lanka)
Foreign Policy Foreign Policy of a state in the family of Nations is how it acts and reacts in matters of policy economics, and behaviour , with the rest of the world and international organizations led by the United Nations. Nations give special attention and priority to foreign policy due to the importance of the subject for the successful existence in the family of nations they live in. USA gives top priority to the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/10/24)
Chanaka Bandarage
The 2015 – 2019 Maithree/Ranil Government is perhaps the most disastrous and dysfunctional government Sri Lanka has ever had. We must try everything to avoid a similar situation arising in November 2024. Maithree, Leader of the SLFP went on one road; Ranil leader of the UNP went on another. They never went on the same road together. Two of them constantly fought with each other – like cat and dog. None of them cared about the people. The country suffered tremendously. Maithree/Ranil in a race like manner appointed their... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/10/24)
Sarath Wijesinghe (President’s Counsel Solicitor in England and Wales, former Ambassador to UAE and Israel and President Ambassador’s Forum.)
Tourism and hospitality are interconnected and interwoven to each other in many ways linking contributing and interacting with and benefiting each other. Tourism is the visits to other countries for various purposes for a short stay they say less that limited to one year and more than one day. Official definition of WTO tourism is travelling to strange places outside the usual environment more than one consecutive year for leisure, business or any other purpose used often. Presently tourists... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/10/24)
Prof. Hudson McLean
Has Sri Lanka Gone Communist? Journalistic Reaction to Landslide Electoral Victory of Janatha Vimukti Peramuna (JVP). This is typical journalistic BS! Time will Tell! What is Communism Political ideology The Definition; Communism is a Sociopolitical, Philosophical, and Economic Ideology within the Socialist Movement, whose goal is the Creation of a Communist Society, a Socioeconomic order Centred around Common Ownership ... …. Wikipedia When a country and the population is brought-down to its knees and beyond, by a bourgeois bunch of... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/10/24)
Sugath Kulatunga
Many political pundits claim that Aragalaya was the genesis of the present radical political transformation. This assertion denies credit to the NPP for their crusade at the grassroots level over a long period, educating the masses about the misdemeanors and inefficiency of the past governments. NPP also established dedicated cadres with the masses to impart their political fundamentals. The Galle Face Aragalaya was mainly an urban episode undertaken by, as a cynic said, jean-clad young men and women, which was actively supported by the Bar Association and the Catholic Church who had their own... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/10/24)
Orpheus Perera
Strange things happened after the end of the war. Ranil Wickremesinghe spent 3 months at Massachusetts Institute in Boston(Where there is strong support for tigers). Marshal Sarath Fonseka was nominated for the TO contest for the presidency as a UNP candidate. In 2015 SLFP leader Sirisena gave his nomination to contest against Mahinda after Hopper's dinner with Mahinda.Strange enough he could have stayed as president until 2020, but the Presidential election was held in 2019 followed by the general election. These incidents all, I see as alternate plans discussed with the students of the Institute of... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/10/24)
South Asia Foresight Network (SAFN)
Abeyagoonasekera outlined how Sri Lanka's evolving political landscape under the NPP offers an opportunity to strengthen its role within the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). He emphasized the importance of fostering pragmatic, synergetic cooperation between Sri Lanka and China, particularly through the BRI, as a pathway to support national development and modernization in a rapidly changing global environment. Xi’an, China (14th October 2024) - At the 2nd Belt and Road International Think Tank Cooperation and Silk Road International Communication Forum in Xi’an, China, renowned Sri Lankan geopolitical analyst and former... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/10/24)
Nava Thakuria
Now it’s official-Assamese (Asomiya) as a classical language. The Union Cabinet on 3 October 2024 approved to confer Classical Language status to Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Bengali (Bangla) and Assamese languages. The classical languages serve as a custodian of Bharat’s profound and ancient cultural heritage, embodying the essence of each community’s historical and cultural milestone. Assamese, which is spoken by over 20 million people, gets entry to the prestigious category already comprising Tamil, Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Odia languages.The Union government in New Delhi decided to create a new category of languages as Classical in October... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/10/24)
Ministry of Defence - Media Centre
In the realm of national security, our defence apparatus is entrusted with protecting the safety and wellbeing of our people - Defence Secretary “We have seen the impact of conflict and have also experienced the healing power of peace. As you step into the next phase of your journey, I urge you to take with you the lessons of our nation's past. Let us never forget the value of peace, stability and cooperation”, said Defence Secretary Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha (Retd) addressing the Convocation of General Sir John Kotelawala... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/10/24)
Courtesy NewsIn.Asia
Oct 16 (NewsWire) – The government has received Rs. 419 Billion in treasury bills and bond loans, in the 13 days from 02-15 October 2024, former Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Matale District MP Rohini Kavirathna said. Issuing a statement, former MP Kavirathna said the government is continuing to take unlimited loans, but the country is not receiving any tangible relief. The former SJB MP gave the following breakdown of the government’s loans between 02-15 October; ADVERTISEMENT October 02 – Rs. 142.2 Billion October 09 –... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/10/24)
Courtesy The Daily Mirror
Colombo, October 16 (Daily Mirror) - Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that he is not ready to retire from politics and that his retirement is temporary. "I thought about not contesting the general elections, but politicians never truly retire," he said. Commenting on the upcoming general elections, the former President said that everything is ready and that the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) will easily secure victory. https://youtu.be/PigEWq0jBAE "I did not listen to the statement made by President Anura Kumara Dissanayaka claiming that politicians... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/10/24)
Courtesy Adaderana
The Court of Appeal has issued an interim order against the Gampola Divisional Secretary preventing her from interfering with the activities of the first cable car project in Sri Lanka, which is being built in the Ambuluwawa area. This order was issued by the Appeals Court after considering a petition filed by a private company alleging that their project is being unduly hindered by the said official. The application was taken up for consideration today (16) before an Appellate Court bench comprising Judges Mohammad Lafar Tahir and P. Kumaran Ratnam. ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/10/24)
Courtesy Adaderana
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake emphasized the need to rebuild Sri Lanka’s education system in alignment with global demands to achieve the country’s educational goals. He pointed out that children must be equipped with knowledge to improve the nation’s human capital for Sri Lanka’s future progress. The President further highlighted that the responsibility of creating the workforce needed by the world over the next decade falls on education officials, stressing the importance of aligning educational projects with this vision, the President’s Media Division (PMD) stated. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake made these remarks today... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/10/24)
Courtesy Hiru News
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake emphasized that enhancing the efficiency of road development projects is crucial for achieving rural economic development goals.<br /><br />He highlighted the need to streamline the procurement process for these projects, ensuring that local communities benefit rather than allowing contracts to concentrate in the hands of a few.<br /><br />The President made these remarks during a progress review meeting for the Ministry of Transport, Highways, Ports, and Civil Aviation held today (16) at the Presidential Secretariat. The meeting extensively covered various projects under the ministry, with a particular focus on the construction... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/10/24)
උපුටාගැණීම මුහුනුපොත
පාස්කු ප්රහාරය සම්බන්ධයෙන් වන දැනට ප්රසිද්ධ නොකල එස් අයි ඉමාම් වාර්තාව සහ ඒ එන් ජේ ද අල්විස් වාර්තාව ප්රසිද්ධියට පත්කිරීමට තමන් ආණ්ඩුවට දින 7ක කාලයක් ලබාදෙ බව පිවිතුරු හෙළ උරුමය නායක නීතිඥ උදය ගම්මන්පිල මහතා පවසයි. එසේ නොමැති නම් තමන් විසින් එම වාර්තා ප්රසිද්ධියට පත්කරන බවත් එම වාර්තා ප්රසිද්ධ කල පසු අනුර පානයෙන් මත්ව සිටින ජනතාවකට සිහි එළවා ගත හැකි වෙනු ඇතයි තමන් විශ්වාස කරන බවත් ඒ මහතා වැඩිදුරටත් ප්රකාශ කර සිටියේය. අද දින (14) පිවිතුරු හෙළ උරුමය පක්ෂ මූලස්ථානයේ පැවති මාධ්ය හමුවකට එක් වෙමින් පිවිතුරු හෙළ උරුමයේ නායකයා මෙම අදහස් දැක්වීය.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 16/10/24)
Prof. Hudson McLean
Countries Don't Go Bankrupt Countries Do Not & Cannot Go Bankrupt! Sri Lanka Is Not Bankrupt! "Countries don't go out of business....The infrastructure doesn't go away, the productivity of the people doesn't go away, the natural resources don’t go away. And so their assets always exceed their liabilities, which is the technical reason for bankruptcy. And that's very different from a company." Walter Wriston Citicorp Chairman "The time bomb was the debt burden and grotesquely high interest rates being carried by... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 16/10/24)
Courtesy The Telegraph Online
Colombo seeks support from BRICS leaders for membership, citing multilateralism goals Sri Lanka's newly-appointed Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath on Monday said that Colombo will apply for membership of the BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) and the New Development Bank. During an interaction with the Colombo-based Diplomatic Corps, Herath said Sri Lanka considers BRICS to be an effective partnership to realise aspiration for mutually beneficial cooperation, peace and development, through strengthened and inclusive multilateralism within the framework of the UN Charter, News 1st Lanka portal reported. Herath said that he and... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 16/10/24)
Courtesy Outlook India
Voting for the parliamentary election is to take place on November 14, almost 10 months ahead of the schedule. Sri Lanka elections result 2024: Marxist lawmaker Anura Kumara Dissanayake | Photo: AP/Rajesh Kumar Singh President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's visit to Delhi at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will happen only after November this year, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said on Tuesday. “We will discuss dates for the visit only after we form the new government,” Herath told reporters here. Voting for the parliamentary... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 16/10/24)
Courtesy Adaderana
Addressing the progress review meeting of the Ministry of Energy this morning (15), President Anura Kumara Dissanayake advised that the projects aimed at achieving the energy sector’s goals over the next three years must be structured and expedited. The President pointed out that, similar to other countries where the energy sector holds a prominent position, Sri Lanka too has given the energy sector a leading role, and he also mentioned that the Ministry of Energy is one that generates revenue, and with higher earnings, there are societal discussions about possible irregularities. Dissanayake... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 16/10/24)
Prof. Hudson McLean
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For Knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while Imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”― Albert Einstein Competitions & Incentives to Increase Domestic Production of Food for local consumption. Offer Government Loans, Incentives, Technology, to Start Aqua-culture for Domestic & Export. See how Thailand has increased its export of Coconut, Mango, Papaya, with Imagination & Spices to USA & EU. Thais have re-innovated the packaging of Coconut without... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/10/24)
By Raj Gonsalkorale
The current administrative arrangements do not seem to have brought the required equality and equity to children with disabilities and addressed the challenges faced by them although some headway has been made over time. A high-level State agency is needed for policy formulation, to coordinate implementation of policies and for monitoring progress Who are children with disabilities? UNICEF states that “The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) recognizes the human rights of all children, including those with disabilities. Along with the CRC, the Convention on the Rights of Persons... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/10/24)
by Prof Sunil J. Wimalawansa
Eliminating corruption, re-establishing judicial independence, curtailing wastage and unnecessary imports, and embracing technology are key priorities for the new National People’s Power (NPP) government in Sri Lanka. Now is the time for the NPP leadership to deliver on their promises, ensuring that appointments to government positions, such as chairmanships, are made based on merit rather than favors. Furthermore, public corporations and departments are overstaffed and top-heavy. Instead of mindlessly filling these positions, it is in the country’s best interest for the President to carefully assess and eliminate unnecessary roles first. Prioritizing... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/10/24)
මතුගම සෙනෙවිරුවන්
මහ මැති වරණයක් පැවැත්වෙන පරිසරයක බුද්ධි ගෝචර කරුණු සාකච්ඡා කිරීමට බොහෝ අය අකමැත්තක් දැක්විය හැකිය. බලය බලය සඳහා පමණක් ය යන අදහස මත කටයුතු කරන ගතානුගතික පුද්ගලයන්ට නම් මෙවැනි බුද්ධි ගෝචර අදහස් ඉදිරිපත් වීම නයාට අඳුකොළ මෙන් විය හැකිය. එහෙත් මේ අවස්ථාවේදී සංවේදී ජනතාවගේ උත්සාහය වන්නේ පවතින ක්රමය උඩුයටිකුරු කිරීමට තම බලය පාවිච්චි කිරීමයි. කීප වතාවක්ම එලෙස කරන්නට ගොස් අසාර්ථක වීම නිසා හටගත් සන්තාපයෙන් බොහෝ අය සිටිති.ඒ නිසා පක්ෂා පාට නොබලා අතීත ක්රියාකාරකම් කුමක්දැයි නොවිමසා පවතින ක්රමය ප්රතික්ෂේප කිරීම සඳහා පෙළ ගැසී සිටිති. මේ පියවර එක් අතකින් සමාජ ප්රගමනයට සුභදායකය. අනෙක් අතින් සමාජය වල්මත් කරවීම... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/10/24)
Dr Sudath Guanasekara:
A Master Plan to restore the lost physical stability of the central hill country and protect it from the ongoing environmental devastation and reinstall its historical role given in appendixes 1 to 1V below played in ancient times in nation building and defending the motherland from all Indian and colonial invasions and to open up a new chapter in the saga of socio-economic and political landscape in central Sri Lanka, (HADABIMA) sans ethnic strife and pollical gambling. Dr Sudath Guanasekara: Former Permanent Secretary to Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranayaka and the founder of the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/10/24)