Aug 27 (AD) Unit 1 of the Lakvijaya Power Plant in Norochcholai, which remained inoperative since last week, resumed operations last evening (26), CEB says. The generator, which was initially expected to be restored by Monday (29), has added 300 megawatts of electricity to the national grid after recommencing functions. On Aug 15, Minister Kanchana Wijesekera announced a breakdown in Unit 1 of the Norochcholai power plant. The national grid lost 270 mw of electricity as a result. more..

Aug 27 (EN) SL has awarded a deal to supply coal to Ceylon Electricity Board on a 6-month credit facility, Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said amid opposition queries. The tender was awarded to the lowest bidder, Minister said. �Due procurement process followed with evaluation & approval from STEC, SSCAPC. Supplier will provide 6 months credit facility from the date of supply of each shipment,� he said. MP Harsha de Silva queried why are two year deal was awarded to a company more..

Aug 27 (EN) Sri Lanka is cutting cross-border transaction costs for expatriate workers and making official channels more competitive with a new remittance app, Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said. SL�s central bank has been encouraging the use of technology in banking to cut costs and online take up was growing, Governor Weerasinghe said at an event to promote Lanka Remit, a mobile application to more..

Aug 27 (DM) A good 500 workforce instead of the 4,200 could do the job efficiently at Ceylon Petroleum Coporation (CPC), Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Ltd (CPSTL) and half of the 26,000 workforce at the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), minister Kanchana Wijesekera said. He said all state-owned enterprises (SOEs) need to be restructured. "There are capable and efficient workers at CEB, CPC and CPSTL. The majority are inefficient and incompetent," more..

Aug 27 (DM) Wild boars, monkeys and hedgehogs (porcupines) have been removed from the National list of Animal Protection Act so far, Agriculture and Wildlife Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said. Minister said that elephants, wild boars, hedgehogs, monkeys and peacocks have been categorised as creatures that are causing harm to crops and agrarian activities. A committee was appointed to look into this and is still being discussed subsequent to the removal of animal species from the list. more..

Aug 27 (ST) Just this week, three elephants, including a tusker and a calf, died from electrocution in Mihintale. One tusker was only about 15 years old, and the calf was about five years, according to sources of the DWC. Mid week, another elephant died of electrocution in Vavuniya and at the start of the month, a Kalawewa tusker named Barana also died from electrocution. As of first week of Aug, 258 elephants have died more..

Aug 27 (ST) Fishing communities on the coastal belt are continuing their protests demanding kerosene and action against Indian raiders from Tamil Nadu. Anthony Jesuthasan, project manager of the National Fisheries Solidarity Movement, said the community has not got kerosene for a few months. The scarcity of kerosene has brought them on to the streets again. Several associations on the coastal areas staged protests this week. A mass protest was held in Kalpitiya on Tuesday. more..

Aug 27 (DM) Five passengers coming from Oman with a large stock of counterfeit cigarettes worth over Rs.16 million was seized by SL Customs at the BIA. Customs officials at the BIA Arrival Terminal on suspicion searched a group of male passengers coming on an Oman Airline flight WY612 at 7.45am yesterday and found the large stock of foreign cigarettes in their baggages. Sleuths found 162, 000 sticks of cigarettes of Marlboro and Manchester in 810 cartons, which had been valued more..

Aug 28 (SO) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe is due to present an Interim Budget to Parliament on Tuesday (30) in his capacity as the Finance Minister. This is a step in the right direction because many of the factors that drove out former Prez Rajapaksa from power still exist in one form or the other, though their severity may have lessened following Prez Wickremesinghe�s assumption of office. This will no doubt be a very challenging Budget, as the people expect swift deliverance from many travails more..

Aug 28 (SO) Much hype and propaganda has fooled the world and Sri Lankans into believing China has trapped SL in debt. For every woe SL suffers the credit is put on China. This has been the fashionable sing-song-of Colombo cocktail circles who want to dictate how the entirety of SL think. SL�s economic woes have naturally being pinned on China. The ugly truth is that SL�s foreign debt is owed to the West and not China. Holding 81% of SL foreign debt the West & its allies are breathing down SL. more..

Aug 28 (TM) The recently-increased kerosene prices have hit the most vulnerable communities hard. The price hike is also impacting those who contribute to export industries, which earn much-needed foreign exchange. With the economic crisis worsening, the recent hike in kerosene prices is likely to push more coastal fishermen to move out from their fishing communities in search of new jobs in towns. more..

Aug 28 (TM) Sri Lanka's leading fashion designer Dimuthu Sahabandu is a couture fashion designer and custom clothing creator. He has created some of the most iconic couture clothing and customised items under his eponymous brand. Dimuthu is renowned for creating cutting-edge designs by combining feminine, sexy, and unique colours with playful proportions. He has an exceptional eye for colour, structure, and design, which enables him to create breathtaking pictures. more..

Aug 28 (SO) It was nice to see the cream of schoolboy cricketers in the recently concluded 2021-2022 inter-school season being rewarded for their hard work with a tour of England. Touring SL Under-19 team began their assignments with the first Youth Test against the England U-19, concluded in Chelmsford last Wednesday. Lankan team, led by Nalanda and Tamil Union batsman Raveen de Silva, did well to score 407 all out in their first innings with Katugastoda Antonian Asitha Wanninayake more..

Aug 28 (SO) When an all-party govt was proposed by me no one had taken to the streets. But every party opposed the proposal then. Later everyone again took an interest in the proposal with the rise of the citizen�s struggle, said Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe. Some are of the opinion that the Constitution does not have the provisions to facilitate this. That only displays their lack of knowledge of the Constitution. more..

Aug 28 (ST) Last week�s front page news item in this newspaper must surely be a deplorable indictment of SL�s collective reputation; the World Bank has agreed to step in to underwrite the import of urgently needed fertiliser, but with strict regulations to ensure a fraud-and-corruption-free process takes place. The World Bank will supervise records and other documents relating to the procurement process and the accounts are to be audited by those appointed by the Washington-based bank. more..

Aug 28 (ST) My dear Ranjan, It would be a lapse on my part if I didn�t write to you this week. You must be a relieved and happy man as you celebrate your first few days of freedom after spending 19 months behind bars, while men who committed greater crimes not only roam free but also occupy seats of power. Honestly, Ranjan, we were in doubt whether you would indeed be released on Friday. That is because we had been told so many times that your release was imminent, more..

Aug 28 (ST) Ragama CC�s man in-form, Nishan Madushka slammed the first triple century of the ongoing Major Club Cricket Tournament, hitting an unbeaten 300 against Sebastianites C&AC on day two in the match played at the Thurstan ground. This in fact was Madushka�s third successive three figure mark from two matches, following his knocks of 150 and an unbeaten ton in the first match against Galle CC last week. Madushka, who was unbeaten on 155 on first day, reached his triple ton in 415 balls. more..

Aug 28 (CT) Protests aimed at the toppling of governments, attract diverse crowds and different classes. Commentators tend to portray them as monolithic movements, united despite class and social differences because of their objective of regime and system change. Yet the failure to formulate an action plan after achieving that objective has usually revived those differences, putting an end to whatever unity they possessed at their inception. more..

Aug 28 (CI) A thrilling all-round performance saw Afghanistan crush SL by eight wickets in the first game of the 2022 Asia Cup. The bowlers set the foundation, reducing Sri Lanka to 5 for 3, with Fazalhaq Farooqi responsible for most of the carnage. Despite a brief resurgence in the middle thanks to a 44-run stand between Danushka Gunathilaka and Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Afghanistan struck back hard, running through the lower more..

Aug 28 (SO) The series of promotional drives to promote the destination will augur well for the tourism industry with travel advisories being relaxed gradually, said SL Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) Immediate Past President Mahen Kariyawasan said. He said the industry has the potential to get back to what it was before the Easter Sunday attacks and the global pandemic to contribute its share to the economy. SL tourism targets almost one million arrivals this year more..

Aug 28 (ANI) Following the 8-wicket defeat against Afghanistan in the first match of the Asia Cup 2022 on Saturday, SL skipper Dasun Shanaka said that the first two overs of their innings changed the whole match for them. Mohammad Nabi-led Afghanistan outplayed Sri Lanka in all three departments of the game to register an eight-wicket victory in the opening game of the Asia Cup 2022 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Saturday. Hazratullah Zazai smashed 37* while more..

Aug 28 (ST) With An IMF delegation in Colombo, the much-discussed topic in diplomatic circles this week was China�s response to SL�s repeated requests for the restructuring of bilateral loans since it makes up more than 40% of the total Govt to Govt (GtoG) debt the country owes. Chinese downplayed the critical requests from SL side, except for sugarcoated diplomatic words such as extending support to the SL govt to relieve more..

Aug 28 (SO) The recent move by the Central Bank to slash possession of foreign currency by a resident individual was hailed by economists as a sound measure to redirect forex to the formal banking system. Senior Lecturer, Uni of Ruhuna, Dr. Nandasiri Keembiyahetti said reducing the amount of foreign currency retained in possession by a person in, or resident in SL from USD 15,000 to USD 10,000 is a commendable attempt to redirect the forex to the formal banking system. more..

Aug 28 (TM) Easter Attack in 2019 is still fresh in our minds � what is usually a joyful celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ will forever be remembered as a day the country stood still. Churches as well as hotels were bombed and over 250 people were killed. The survivors of the Easter Attack have over the years shared their memories of the day, what they lost, and delayed justice they keep waiting for. One platform through which these stories are told is the Easter Attack Survivors more..

Aug 28 (ANI) China, Colombo's largest bilateral lender dodged the request for debt relief and said that the ball is in Sri Lanka's court. A spokesman for the Chinese embassy said that the ball is in Sri Lanka's court, not China's, reported SL publication Daily Mirror. "We sent proposals to the Finance Ministry. But, there was no response from them. Also, Sri Lanka insisted that it should complete the agreement with the IMF first. The ball is in SL's court," the spokesman said. more..

Aug 28 (Hindu) Amidst signs of New Delhi�s disappointment over Colombo�s decision to allow a Chinese tracking vessel to dock in Hambantota, SL�s envoy in India called for building a new framework on how to deal with such maritime security concerns in the future. Speaking to The Hindu days after the Chinese satellite and missile tracking ship, the Yuan Wang 5 had departed from the SL port after refuelling and replenishing supplies, High Commissioner Milinda Moragoda said that more..

Aug 28 (ANI) In a hard-hitting response to the remarks of Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong, the Indian High Commission in Colombo said on Saturday that his views were a violation of basic diplomatic etiquette and maybe a personal trait or reflecting a larger national attitude. Indian High Commission also said that Qi's view of Sri Lanka's northern neighbour may be coloured by how his own country behaves. more..

Aug 28 (DM) Two Anglican Clergymen Fr. Andrew and Fr. Niros, who were victims of May 9 incident, were awaiting for those most responsible to be treated according to law and justice, the Church of Ceylon said. The Church of Ceylon in a statement published the detailed description of events on May 9 as revealed by the two Pastors. The description of events as revealed by the two Pastors are as follows: �The barricade placed to keep the public at a distance from Temple Trees could have more..

Aug 28 (Island) The recent big news was the govt�s decision to allow the State of Emergency it had declared to lapse and thereafter revert to the much derided Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) to deal with some Aragalaya frontliners belonging to the IUSF. This organization is affiliated to Kumar Gunaratnam�s FSLP which broke away from the JVP but is now engaging in a fence mending exercise. We have said in this space before that the Aragalaya was widely labeled, more..

Aug 28 (TM) Port trade unions last week claimed that nearly $ 290 million in Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) funds earmarked for the development of the East Container Terminal (ECT) have been used by the then Finance Minister to plug gaps in forex reserves, leaving the State-owned terminal unable to proceed with the project. The approved Indo-Japanese project was halted following a controversial about-turn by more..

Aug 28 (EN) Power and Energy Minister said the country has ordered additional stocks of all fuel products in the next three days to make up for the delayed time in distributing fuel for island wide stations, amid fears of the country could face another fuel crisis in the near future. Many fuel stations have complained of no stocks and some are closed with vehicle queues have started to appear in capital Colombo and suburb in the last few days. �Delays in distribution, unloading and more..

Aug 28 (EN) SL�s construction sector is in a deep crisis as contractors are in owed 150 billion rupees in arrears on work carried out for the state, head of National Construction Association of SL (NCASL) said amid slowing business in construction after the country�s economic crisis. SL has temporarily halted imports of building materials in its latest list of over 300 items from Aug 23 until further notice. Some industrial machinery including metalworking machinery, packing machines and more..

Aug 28 (ST) Prez Wickremesinghe�s interim budget 2022 to be presented on Tuesday is likely to contain a food ration scheme covering essentials like rice, wheat flour and dhal for the poor and to strengthen nutritional assistance. Interim budget is considered crucial to sustaining SL�s recovery from the current economic crisis and social instability triggered by food, fuel and energy scarcity, Prez Secretariat sources said. Agricultural loans to farmers who have land below two hectares will be written off, more..

Aug 28 (Hindu) The survival of commoners remained a challenge in Sri Lanka, said 35-year-old R. Sasikumar, a casual worker, one of the eight persons from the crisis-hit country who arrived at the first islet of Dhanushkodi in an illegal vessel in the early hours of Saturday. Reaching Indian waters around 2 a.m., the SL from Talaimannar district said though Parliament had elected a new President and the media were reporting that the situation would improve, nothing had happened till now. more..

Aug 28 (TM) The Ministry of Agriculture has decided to amend a tender for 150,000 MT of urea needed for the Maha cultivation season, due to the lack of interest by bidders and complications caused by bureaucratic constraints and financing. According to a senior Ministry official, the Ministry has only received bids for 12,500 MT of urea out of the 150,000 MT tendered for. The tender is to be closed on Monday (29). more..

Aug 28 (ST) Sri Lanka is to hand over between 500 and 700 fuel stations for retail operations by foreign oil companies as the fuel import bill soared with estimates showing the country would need more than USD 2 billion to buy fuel for the next four months. The Power and Energy Ministry is considering 27 proposals from various companies, including the Sinopec Group from China and the British Shell company. �Ministry plans to short list the proposals before taking a final decision. more..