Aug 24 (DM) Manthri.lk platform of Verit� Research, launched as Asia�s first-ever parliament monitoring platform in 2013, celebrates its 10th anniversary today (23). In this period, the platform has coded, quantified, catalogued and analysed every single line of Hansards covering over 1,000 sittings of parliament, and ranked all those who have been MPs based on their contribution, Verit� Research said. Manthri.lk helps MPs to be recognised for their positive contribution in parliament more..

Aug 24 (DN) In a stunning display of skill, St. Peter�s College�s IM Haathim shattered a long-standing 100m Butterfly record on the opening day of the MILO sponsored 48th SL Schools Swimming Championships held at the Sugathadasa Swimming Pool. The championship kicked off with a thrilling start yesterday, showcasing 5,000 young talents from 200 schools across the nation. Competing in the Boys Under-14 100m Butterfly finals, Haathim not only secured victory but also etched more..

Aug 24 (Island) Sri Lanka begin their Asia Cup preparations today at Sinhalese Sports Club ground with the team expected to regroup following the LPL that concluded on Sunday. Several players whose LPL campaign had ended early had been training individually at the High Performance Center at RPS and today will be the first team training session. There will be an inter-squad warm-up game on Thursday before team leaves more..

Aug 24 (DN) In a historic move, Bishop�s College�s rising star Kithmi Marambe will lead the SL diving team in the annual Hong Kong Age Group Diving Championship, set to take place in the bustling Northern Hong Kong City of Kowloon from Aug 30 to Sept 5. This marks the first time in history that a SL team will be participating in the prestigious event. The seven-day diving competition is organized by the Hong Kong China Swimming Association, the governing body of aquatics sports in HK. more..

Aug 24 (FT) The apparel industry�s agony over dwindling fortunes continued in July with exports declining to a new month-low of $ 401 million. The previous lowest in a five-year span was in 2021 at $ 425.75 million. In comparison to July last year, 2023 exports were down by 23%. In June this year, exports amounted to $ 401 million. Total exports during the seven-month period from January to July 2023 declined 19% to $ 2.68 billion over the corresponding period in 2022. more..

Aug 24 (DN) In a bid to expand the Katunayake International Airport to meet the increased number of passenger traffic steps will be taken to construct a terminal building on a temporary basis. This will be done within six months, said Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva. While the existing airlines flying to Colombo have added frequency, new airlines have added Colombo to their radar. With the winter season coming and SL averaging over 125, 000 arrivals per month the airport needed to be expanded. more..

Aug 24 (PMD) A progress review meeting on climate change initiatives was held at the Presidential Secretariat this morning (23), underscoring SL�s commitment to climate action and international collaboration. The meeting, presided over by Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe, brought together key advisors and experts to discuss strategies to strengthen the nation�s response to climate change. Prez stressed the importance of resilience on both local and global fronts. more..

Aug 24 (Island) The Cabinet-approved national energy policy related to the development of natural gas infrastructure has been suspended by the govt following representations made by Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera. Dissident SLPP MP Prof. Charitha Herath said that the Cabinet-of-Ministers, headed by Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe, has approved Minister Wijesekera�s proposal in this regard. more..

Aug 24 (CT) Colombo Commercial High Court Judge Pradeep Hettiarachchi, yesterday, deferred further hearing of the compensation claim, filed against the owners of the cargo vessel MV X-Press Pearl, to 9 October. The aggrieved party in the case has moved the said Court, to issue an order to the owners of the cargo ship based in Singapore and the UK and from five other representative firms, to pay them compensation to the tune of USD 6.4 million, for the damages incurred by more..

Aug 24 (PMD) The State Minister for Education Aravinda Kumar announced plans for the recruitment of eight thousand teachers for government schools in the near future. He indicated that this recruitment will include 5,500 graduate teachers and 2,500 teachers specializing in second language instruction. These statements were made by the State Minister of Education, Mr. Aravinda Kumar, during his participation in a press conference at the Presidential Media Centre (PMD) more..

Aug 24 (FT) State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe confirmed that the Treasury has disbursed a sum of Rs. 2,684 million to all District Secretaries for the month of July to provide essential allowances to kidney patients, differently-abled individuals, and low-income elderly citizens. Under this initiative, eligible elderly citizens will be able to collect their allowances from local Post Offices, while differently-abled individuals and kidney patients can collect their allowances from DSs more..

Aug 24 (DN) Fort Frederick in Trincomalee has opened for local and foreign tourists to visit as the latest tourist attraction in Sri Lanka. Trincomalee Fort Frederick which is also known as Trincomalee Fort or Fort of Triquillimalee is a historically, culturally and archaeologically significant ancient tourist attraction in the Trincomalee District similar to the Galle Dutch Fort situated in Galle. This ancient Fortress was built by the Portuguese at Trincomalee in the Eastern Province more..

Aug 24 (Reuters) Sri Lanka kept its key interest rates unchanged in a surprise move on Thursday but announced caps on lending rates in some segments to ensure policy loosening done so far filters through to the economy. Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) kept its standing deposit rate and standing lending rate unchanged at 11% and 12% respectively. CBSL had cut rates by a total 450 basis points over June and July. more..

Aug 24 (TM) Opposition alleged that due to the inconvenience caused to many law students by the increase in the exam fees of the Sri Lanka Law College (SLLC), consequently, legal education has once again become a symbol of a certain privileged community. Leader of the SJB, Sajith Premadasa questioned as to what was the basis for increasing the fees by such a large amount at once. �A recent Gazette notification has increased the exam admission fee by 257%. more..

Aug 24 (FT) SJB MP Rohini Kumari Wijerathna aired the difficulties faced by the country�s maize farmers in light of the recent decision by the Govt to slash maize import taxes. �In recent times many of the major tax frauds that take place are linked to the import of goods. This is evidenced by incidents such as the scams connected to the import of sugar, coconut oil and fertilisers. The latest is this maize scam,� she alleged. MP highlighted that the Govt will face significant losses more..

Aug 24 (Island) SJB MP Buddhika Pathirana told Parliament that a tax scam where fake revenue stickers were pasted on bottles of alcohol to avoid paying tax was carried out with the assistance of senior officers of the Excise Department. MP Pathirana said that he had received information that the fake stickers had been distributed from a house belonging to an Excise Superintendent. �We have information of another incident when more..

Aug 24 (FT) New public opinion polls out from In'l Health Policy (IHP) SLOTS tracker, taken together, reveal 10 political trends. Here�s the most dramatic takeaway from Dr. Rannan-Eliya, IHP Executive Director: �These latest results again confirm that a large share of the electorate is increasingly uncertain who to support. This would suggest that none of the major parties have succeeded in making a convincing case to the public, and it implies that there is potential for big changes more..

Aug 24 (FT) The long-awaited global sustainability disclosure standards were released on 26 June 2023. Better late than never is what can be said as there is a plethora of frameworks and standards that can be used to measure and report on sustainability and other non-financial information that causes confusion and uncertainty in the market. It is estimated that more than 300 mandatory reporting schemes and more than 200 voluntary reporting schemes are used globally. more..

Aug 24 (MoD) The Acting Defence Minister Premitha Bandara Tennakoon officially accepted a US$ 6.2 million worth Emergency Command and Communication System Vehicle Fleet (11 automobiles) from the Chinese Ministry of National Defence. These vehicles embedded with ultra-modern communication devices have been originally designed for military purposes. Following the acceptance of military-to-military donation from the Defence Attach� of Embassy of China more..

Aug 24 (EN) Shares closed down on Tuesday, on profit taking and selling interest in the banking sector after favorable performance indications combined with anticipations on lowered rates and better economic outlooks on investment, an analyst said. ASPI was down 1.08% or 122.95 points to 11,262.92, this is the lowest the market has been since July 27, while S&P SL20 was down 1.65 percent or 53.52 points to 3,195.65. A team from the IMF will be in Sri Lanka from Sept 14 to 27 more..

Aug 24 (TM) Although there is uncertainty regarding the harvest of the Maha cultivating season as well as the upcoming Yala season, the Ministry of Agriculture stated that the Govt is not in possession of any paddy reserves other than 215,672 metric tonnes (MT) of paddy. This is in the wake of the Ministry instructing Paddy Marketing Board (PMB) to prepare a proposal to inform the Cabinet to take further steps regarding more..

Aug 24 (DM) Temperature felt on the human body is expected to increase up to Caution level at some places in the North-Central and Eastern Provinces and in Vavuniya, Mullaitivu, Moneragala districts, the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre of Meteorology Dept said while issuing a heat index. According to the heat index issued by the department, Mullaitivu, Vavuniya, Anuradhapura, Trincomalee, Polonnaruwa, Batticoloa, Ampara and Moneragala Districts will be affected more..

Aug 24 (NDTV) Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar pledged continued development assistance in every possible area to SL amid its ongoing economic crisis. S Jaishankar addressed the parliamentarians who are part of the SL-India Parliamentary Friendship Association through a video link and emphasised that India was in every aspect working towards strengthening the Indi-SL ties. "India will continue to provide developmental assistance to SL in every possible area," more..

Aug 24 (TM) Concluding that they have committed a serious violation of the relevant provisions of the Right to Information (RTI) Act by not responding to an information request, the RTI Commission warned of legal action against the Designated Officer of the Police Dept under RTI Act (IGP) and the Information Officer of Police, if they continue to ignore the said Act. Through a request dated 21 April of this year (2023), more..

Aug 24 (DM) Professionals of Supplementary Medical Service across the country have decided to stage a 24-hour token strike commencing from 8 a.m. today (24). Accordingly, the Joint Force of Supplementary Medical Services, representing 7,000 officers from five professional categories, has taken this action to address a series of pressing concerns outlined in the seven demands including persistent delays in the revision of recruitment procedures and the issuance of circulars more..

Aug 24 (PMD) The President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Gem and Jewellery Authority Mr. Viraj de Silva stated that they anticipate generating annual revenue of US$ 2 billion by the year 2025 through the export of gems. The chairman highlighted that during the initial 7 months of this year, they have already amassed a revenue of US$ 312 million through gem exports. They further project that by the end of this year, the earnings will reach US$ 500 million. more..

Aug 24 (NT) The Central Crime Branch (CCB) of the Bengaluru police arrested three SL nationals staying at an apartment in the city. It is suspected that the three have potential links with the LTTE � a banned insurgent outfit from Sri Lanka. According to TV9 Kannada, CCB officials arrested Kasin Kumar, Amila Nuvan and Ranga Prasad and a local, Paramesh alias Jack, who rented them the apartment in Yelahanka. Paramesh allegedly has a murder case previously registered against him. more..

Aug 24 (PMD) In a letter addressed to His Excellency Narendra Modi, PM of India, Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe extended his heartiest congratulations to the PM, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the people of India, on the remarkable achievement of Chandrayaan-3�s successful soft landing on the lunar south pole, and that being the first time in history. Prez upheld that SL having India as the closest neighbour sharing a robust more..

Aug 24 (CT) Forty (40) out of 139 permitted pesticides in SL under the Gazette Extraordinary No. 1994/71 on 24 Nov 2016, have been found as Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs), a report released by CEJ revealed. This is with reference to the Pesticide Action Network (PAN) International consolidated list of banned pesticides, 6th Edition in May 2022. Accordingly, 14 out of those 40 HHPs, have been recommended for domestic use more..

Aug 24 (PMD) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe addressing a special Committee meeting drew parallels to the successful implementation of the Mahaweli Development Project during the 1980s, affirming a similar commitment to expediting the Eastern Development Project. He emphasized the imperative of fostering a conducive environment that reinvigorates the nation�s economy, stressing on the need to engage India�s assistance for this endeavour. more..

Aug 24 (DM) Referring to news reports of Flight UL 195 from Colombo to Delhi making an emergency landing at the Indira Gandhi Int'l Airport yesterday, SriLankan Airlines clarified affirming that such reports are false and that no emergency was declared for flight UL 195. Issuing a statement, the airline said the flight did, however, encounter a minor issue with one of its three hydraulic systems. Such things happen from time to time, and the airline�s crew are fully trained to handle them. more..

Aug 24 (AD) A circular focusing on measures to accelerate the fall in market lending rates is due to be issued by the Central Bank on Friday (25). Accordingly, a circular is due to be issued tomorrow focusing on methods to ensure that the lending rates reflect the recent Monetary Policy relaxation, CB Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe explained. He further added that the expectation of at least a 3% reduction in interest rates more..

Aug 24 (AD) A 40-year-old female was reportedly stabbed to death at a hotel in Bandarawela on Thursday afternoon. The deceased has been identified as a resident of Atampitiya, Badulla, police said, adding that traces of poison had also been found in her body. It remains unclear, however, as to whether the poison had been administered to the deceased by her attacker, or whether she had administered it herself. The deceased�s body was found on a bed in a room more..

Aug 24 (DM) Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will visit Sri Lanka early next month and travel to Trincomalee where India has embarked on strategic investments with the final aim of establishing a pipeline linking the two countries for the transfer of petroleum products. He is expected to be in the country either on September 2 or 3, according to an informed source. During the visit, he will hold talks with Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe and his Chief of Staff Sagala Ratnayake. more..

Aug 24 (CT) The fast depleting stocks of a general anaesthetic inhaler in State hospitals has caused severe disruption to scheduled surgeries, All Ceylon Medical Officers� Association (ACMOA) lamented urging the Treasury to release funds for the purchase of essential pharmaceuticals inclusive of the fast depleting stocks of a commonly used anaesthetic inhaling agent. General Secretary ACMOA, Dr. Jayantha Bandara urged the Treasury to release required funds for the purchase more..