Jul 21 (CT) Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) will incur a Rs 10 million loss on a daily basis until the COVID-19 pandemic is over, SLTB, Chairman Kingsley Ranawaka said yesterday. He however reiterated they would not increase bus fares. While insisting that the normal daily income of the SLTB was Rs 75 million, Ranawaka emphasised that it has dropped to Rs 65 million at present. But, said that there was a slight increase when schools re-opened and other duties in the country resumed. more..

Jul 21 (DM) Himaya Niyas is a Colombo district candidate representing Independent Group 10. She is an active social worker and an entrepreneur in the beauty industry, who also trains youth through an entrepreneurship training programme at the Maharagama UC. Q: Your educational and professional qualifications? A: I have completed my secondary school education, sat for the O/L and A/L Exams. more..

Jul 21 (MoD) Completing another successful research project, the Defence Ministry�s Centre for Research and Development (CRD) recently introduced a Blue Gun production methodology to SL Army�s Special Forces. This initiative would minimize the damages caused to real weapons of high value while increasing its lifetime and ensure safety of trainees. CRD has fabricated replicas of Browning HP Pistol and an HK Gun for the purpose. Blue Guns are heavily used by more..

Jul 21 (AD) Former Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa says that all the promises made by the incumbent govt to the country�s youths during the last prez election have now become broken promises. Speaking during an election meeting of the SJB in Ratmalana, he stated that today the youth have been made to go chasing behind politicians and to worship them. Premadasa said that hundreds of thousands of youths lost their jobs due to COVID-19 pandemic and accused more..

Jul 21 (DM) Hirunika Premachandra topped the list with the highest numbers of votes in the Colombo District at the 2014 Western Provincial Council Election from the SLFP. In the 2015 General election, she joined the UNP list in Colombo and was elected to parliament. Q: Your educational and professional qualifications? A: Bachelor of Laws from Kingston Uni, UK. Q: Your ideas for improving employment prospects of youth? more..

Jul 21 (AD) Fort Magistrate has ordered former Minister Rishad Bathiudeen to appear before the CID at 9.00 am on the 27th of July. The All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) leader will be recording a statement on Easter Sunday terror attacks in 2019. According to reports, he had been issued notices on two previous occasions to record a statement with the CID pertaining to its probes on the coordinated bombings, however, the former minister had failed to make an appearance. more..

Jul 21 (TM) The Kurunegala Mayor told media today that the 13th Century building believed to be the King�s Court of King Buwanekabahu II in Kurunegala was merely a modern day prostitution, and abortion centre. He said he was prepared to face any punishment provided that anyone could prove that the building was built during King Buwanekabahu�s era. The Mayor further pointed out that the building was built with modern day raw materials. Earlier in the week, media reports indicated that more..

Jul 21 (EN) Companies in Sri Lanka tracked by Fitch Ratings are expected to lose 30 billion rupees in revenues in the year to March 2021, or 40 billion if two telcos are excluded, with hotels being the hardest hit, the rating agency said. Fitch has downgraded the rating or outlooks of 30% of rated firm in SL. �This suggests the possibility of further downgrades should recovery prospects be delayed, although a faster recovery than we expect more..

Jul 22 (CT) It is important to separate the military serving in the public interest � floods, earthquakes, coronavirus epidemic and emergencies � from any involvement in politics. When a president makes the military a main tool in his duties he opens the road to two dangers: Either he bypasses legislature and judiciary, undercuts democracy and sets off on the road to dictatorship, or the second more dangerous option is that he becomes redundant encouraging the Brass to take power into its own hands. more..

Jul 22 (CT) Economic stability amidst the current pandemic is an essential constituent globally, pertaining to favorable policies and better financial implementations brought forward by governments. Many countries have implemented strategies and schemes in order to succor the economy and businesses that have critically been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Sri Lanka, a lower-middle-income country with a GDP per capita of USD 3,853 (2019) and a total population of 21.8 million, more..

Jul 22 (CT) Despite the current ban imposed halting all repatriations of Sri Lankan nationals into the country, three flights arrived into Colombo on the 17th and 18th of July 2020 flying in selected groups of passengers from the UAE, Qatar and India respectively. On the 17th July 2020 an Emirates Airline flight (EK 648) brought in a group of 60 selected passengers from Dubai, whilst media reports confirmed that a further two flights more..

Jul 22 (DM) On March 26, 2020, Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa granted a presidential pardon to former Lance Corporal Sunil Rathnayake, a prisoner on death row for the murder of eight persons in Mirusuvil in 2000. Rathnayake was sentenced to death by a Trial-at-Bar bench of the Colombo High Court in June 2015. In the case of Rathnayake Mudiyanselage Sunil Ratnayake Vs Attorney General, SC TAB 01/2016, decided in April 2019, a 5-judge bench of SC affirmed this sentence. more..

Jul 22 (GV) This is a callout to Sri Lankans who have enjoyed our forests. If you have ever spread your picnic lunch in the soft shade of a roadside forest or gazed out from a lookout point over scattered lakes and tree-lined river courses meandering through forested valleys, marvelling at how green our island is� you have enjoyed our forests and the fertility they bless this country with. Today those same shady forests, glistening rivers, lakes and even those panoramic views more..

Jul 22 (CT) Former Northern Provincial Council Minister and Leader of Eela Thamilar Suyaathchchi Kalagam launched in 2018, Ananthi Sasitharan speaks on local politics and shares her opinion on the upcoming General Election. Her Political Party is an alliance of TMTK led by Former CM C.V. Wigneswaran and she said that they are the alternative party to TNA which has represented the Tamil people of North & East so far. more..

Jul 22 (CT) Though the recently discovered Kandakadu COVID Cluster, the country�s second COVID cluster, appears to be bigger in its original size compared to the Welisara Navy Cluster, which was the first, the spread of the disease via Kandakadu has, however, to a great extent, being checked, compared with Welisara, according to information supplied by the Epidemiology Unit�s (EpU�s) COVID-19 website at the time of writing on Monday (20). For instance when more..

Jul 22 (DM) The foreign policy followed by SL in its first few years of independence was largely determined by two factors: its proximity to India and its colonial past. The one influenced the other. The nature of the colonial bourgeoisie, who became the legatees of power once the British left, and their ideological orientation, had a say as well. The conflux of these factors has led several commentators, Marxist or otherwise, to argue that SL�s foreign policy was structured along elitist more..

Jul 22 (Island) Many an eyebrow was raised when NFF and PHU signed a five-point agreement, on Saturday, to function as a pressure group, within the SLPP, to protect national interests. Having signed the agreement, at the parliamentary polls Operations Room of NFF leader Wimal Weerawansa, the one-time JVP heavyweight and former JHU lawmaker pledged to follow a common programme. The declaration was made on the basis that the SLPP would comfortably form the next govt. more..

Jul 22 (Island) A decision by the British govt to make it mandatory for everyone to wear facemasks in shops has sparked protests in London. Some protesters staged a march at Hyde Park, the other day, condemning the govt move, which they called a severe blow to their human rights. These anti-mask campaigners are not alone in opposing the mandatory use of face coverings. There are many others of their ilk across the pond, and they include US President Donald Trump, himself, who, more..

Jul 22 (CT) Sri Lanka will finally hold the General Election 2020 which was twice postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The country, which is known as the oldest democracy in Asia and the first country in Asia which granted the citizenry the right to vote, always held Elections on time even during the most critical occasions since the Donoughmore reforms. This is the first time where Sri Lanka postponed an Election in this way. more..

Jul 22 (DN) Sri Lanka Basketball Federation (SLBF) resumed their activities after obtaining the necessary approval from the Ministry of Sports under strict health guidelines recently, said its general secretary, Dr. Chula Senaratne speaking to the Daily News yesterday. The SLBF has circulated these guidelines to their 34 affiliated associations including schools, clubs and mercantile sector to adhere strictly to the health guidelines and commence their activities. According to the secretary it is likely that more..

Jul 22 (MFA)Minister Dinesh Gunawardena has taken the initiative to assist SL workers in Italy to benefit from the amnesty granted by Italian authorities under the SANATORIA 2020 programme from 01 June to 15 Aug 2020. Taking into consideration the difficulties faced by SL workers in the COVID-19 context, Minister has taken steps to waive off penalty fees for lack of documentation for workers applying for SL passports and has brought down the fees to Euro 140 (from 330 & 420). more..

Jul 22 (Island) While highlighting the need to have sports events to keep the youth athletes interested in sports, Olympians Sunil Gunawardena and Sriyani Kulawansa backed the Ministry of Education (MoE) decision to scrap competitions for the Under-13 age category from 2021. Both Asian Games medalist cited the quest of result oriented coaches to win at any cost at lower age categories as one of the reasons for more..

Jul 22 (FT) BBS General Secretary Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero yesterday called on the Ambassador of Kuwait in Sri Lanka to grant a further grace period of three months for Sri Lankans stranded in Kuwait without visa or residence permit. In a letter dated 21 July, Ven. Gnanasara wrote to the Ambassador of Kuwait in Sri Lanka seeking permission to extend a further three months� grace period to Sri Lankans in Kuwait without visa or residence permit, while charging SL Embassy more..

Jul 22 (FT) Moody�s Investors Service yesterday extended its review for downgrade on Bank of Ceylon�s (BOC), Hatton National Bank PLC�s (HNB) and Sampath Bank PLC�s (Sampath) long-term local currency deposit and foreign currency issuer ratings of B2. The extension of the review for downgrade on the banks� ratings follows the review for downgrade that remains in place on SL�s B2 sovereign rating. Moody�s believes that there is a high level of dependency between the creditworthiness of more..

Jul 22 (PMD) President Gotabaya Rajapaksa instructed officials to look into and address teacher shortage and other issues in schools in Nuwara Eliya district. Attention was drawn to appoint teachers from Nuwara Eliya itself and closest districts in order to fill existing teaching vacancies. President also took measures to provide on the spot solutions to other shortcomings in schools including the lack of sports & extracurricular facilities more..

Jul 22 (DN) The inaugural SL women�s Chess Grand Prix will commence from July 25 at the Chess Federation hq. According to the General Secretary of South Asian Chess Council and Commonwealth Chess Association and Vice President of Asian Chess Federation Luxman Wijesuriya after the successful 7th SL men�s Chess Grand Prix the Chess Federation of SL (CFSL) is expected to conduct this first women�s Grand Prix which includes 11 rounds on a round robin basis. more..

Jul 22 (DM) PM Mahinda Rajapaksa said today said there appeared to be a common link between the election manifestos of the SJB and the TNA. He said this at a SLPP election rally held at Theldeniya in Kandy and added that SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa was in the forefront of the attempts made to split the UNP, the oldest political party in the country. �Mr. Premadasa who divided the UNP will not be hesitate to divide the country as well. He always asks for a mandate to carry forward more..

Jul 22 (CT) Colombo Fort Chief Magistrate Ranga Dissanayaka yesterday, ordered former Minister Rishad Bathiudeen to provide a statement to the CID in connection with the probe into the 21 April 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks. He gave this order after perusing the B Report compiled by the CID and the subsequent request made by the latter. As per the order issued by Dissanayaka, Bathiudeen has to report to the CID more..

Jul 22 (ST) The govt on Friday rejected claims by trade unions that a cabinet paper was submitted seeking approval to go ahead with the agreement entered into with India and Japan to privatise the East Container Terminal (ECT) of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA). Ports and Shipping Ministry Secretary M.M.P.K. Mayadunne speaking with the Business Times today said that his ministry had not submitted any cabinet paper on the ECT. He noted that only a five-member committee more..

Jul 22 (Island) In response to crucial and growing needs in the current business and commercial world, the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) launched a new study programme in Human Resource Management titled the Chartered Qualification in Human Resource Management (CQHRM) last Friday. Launching the study at the Waters Edge, Battaramulla, president, CIPM, Dhammika Fernando said the discipline was necessitated by the fact that CQHRM more..

Jul 22 (DN) PM Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday ordered the Wildlife Dept to conduct an immediate probe into incidents of illegal poaching, after several leopards were killed in snares. PM has directed Wildlife Director General M.G.C Sooriyabandara to conduct a prompt investigation into illegal poaching activities and to initiate legal action against the culprits. His directive comes in the wake of yet another incident where more..

Jul 22 (EN) SL�s nation-wide consumer prices rose 6.3% in the 2-months to June 2020, rising from 5.2% in May, with prices rising 1.4% in the month. The food sub-index index spiked 3% in the month rising to 143.2 points from 139.0 points a month earlier. A period of extreme monetary instability was triggered in Mar & Apr 2020, with unprecedented money printing and a highly unstable flexible exchange rate driving the rupee close to 200 to US dollar attracting a sovereign downgrade. more..

Jul 22 (DM) UNP National Organizer and Nuwara Eliya District UNP candidate Navin Dissanayake said on Monday a leadership struggle had erupted between SJB leader Sajith Premadasa and SJB candidate Patali Champika Ranawaka. Addressing a meeting at Thispane in Kotmale, he said Patali was planning to buy over elected MPs to his side and he was eyeing to contest the next presidential election. Mr. Dissanayake said the SJB was a rented political party formed to divide the UNP. more..

Jul 22 (MB) Yala National Park, the island�s most visited wilderness area, has introduced a new information center that lets visitors identify the area�s star attraction: SL leopards (Panthera pardus kotiya). The Yala Leopard Center (YLC) contains information on 102 leopards documented through an identification initiative called the Yala Leopard Diary (YLD), started by wildlife enthusiast Milinda Wattegedara and his team in 2013 more..

Jul 22 (TM) The Election Commission (EC) said that the Public Health Inspectors (PHIs) would not refrain from assisting on election day. EC Director General Saman Sri Rathnayake said the PHI unions had assured they would not obstruct the election process. �They will help us in their duties on election day. They indicated this during our discussions,� he said. He also said that he didn�t believe that the PHIs would go ahead with the strike. �During our discussions, it appeared that they wouldn�t more..

Jul 22 (DM) Former MP and Colombo District UNP candidate Ravi Karunanayake today held former President Maithripala Sirisena responsible for splitting his party. In brief remarks to the media, he said Mr. Sirisena first tried it unsuccessfully in 2018 by forming the 52-day govt and roping in members of the UNP and had even offered the premiership to a member of the party by unseating then PM Ranil Wickremesinghe. �That was done purposely to engineer a defection of UNP members. more..

Jul 22 (Island) The SLPP alleged that the Election Commission (EC) was playing politics with the electoral process by interfering in a high level CID investigation into the alleged involvement of ACMC leader and SJB Vanni district candidate Rishad Bathiudeen with those involved in the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks. The EC consists of Mahinda Deshapriya (Chairman), Prof. Ratnajeevan Hoole and Nalin Abeysekere, PC. more..

Jul 22 (Island) The anti-corruption NGO, Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) has launched an online election monitoring platform today for the public to lodge complaints on abuse of state resources during the upcoming election. The web platform ApeSalli.lk utilizes open source technology, which enables citizen participation in combating state resource abuse, the TISL said. ApeSalli.lk is a user-friendly tool through which the public can submit complaints on incidents of more..

Jul 22 (DM) The information released by the govt on the COVID-19 situation is questionable and might lead to more health officers keeping away from prevention activities, UNP Deputy General Secretary Ruwan Wijewardene said. �COVID-19 seems to be spreading across the country and it is doubtful whether correct information is being revealed to the people. Sri J'pura Uni Laboratory had decided to stop conducting PCR tests because of alleged cover ups with regard to testing. more..