Aug 6 (SO) SL men�s 4x400m relay team could be destined to achieve something as they gear up for the 19th World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, scheduled to take place from Aug 19 to 27. With newfound confidence, SL has achieved a significant milestone by securing a spot in the semi-finals, a feat that has eluded SL in the championship�s history. Traditionally, SL has faced challenges progressing beyond the initial stages of the World C'ships in 4x400m relay category. more..

Aug 6 (ST) Presidential Secretariat has issued instructions to its entire staff telling them not to solicit or take personal photographs or selfies with any visiting head of state, VIPs or dignitaries in the future. The staff have further been instructed that any information on such visits should be confined to the respective official media statements. The instructions came after attention was drawn to Presidential Secretariat staff having taken more..

Aug 6 (ST) The brief but meaningful high-profile visits by the French President and the Japanese Foreign Minister over the last weekend brought home the importance of SL as a geographically significant location. And it has been well said that this very location can be both a blessing and a misfortune. It all depends on how well it is handled. With SL�s domestic wellbeing well and truly intertwined with the outside world, there is a crying need to redouble its focus and therefore more..

Aug 6 (ST) My dear Mother Lanka (or Sri Lanka Maatha), I thought of writing to you this week because everyone is talking about you (or how to address you) for the past week ever since a singer sang the National Anthem and made you sound like Mr Sri Lanka. What has happened since then tells us much about our country � and what�s so wrong with it. This is not the first time this anthem has led to controversy. It was initially written as Namo Namo Maatha by Ananda Samarakoon and more..

Aug 6 (Island) We Lankans are famous (or should we say notorious?) for frequently talking like the proverbial fisherman boasting about the one that got away. In our case we are fond of recalling where Singapore was in terms of development and where we were when the sun finally set over the British empire. The older among us still remember Singapore�s Miracle Man Lee Kwan Yew going on the public record during a visit to our newly independent island after Singapore herself more..

Aug 6 (EN) Sri Lanka�s Foreign Minister Ali Sabry met with his Irarian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Saturday and discussed bilateral relations as the island nation is in the process of starting a crude payment through exporting tea to Tehran. Sri Lanka inked a deal in December 2021 to set off export of tea to Iran against a legacy oil credit owed by state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation to the National Iranian Oil Company, without busting US sanctions. more..

Aug 6 (TM) Sri Lanka is likely to soon have access to the contentious CNY 10 billion (equivalent to $ 1.5 billion) currency swap with the People�s Bank of China, as the country is on the verge of being in compliance with the three-month import cover required under the terms of the currency swap agreement. Although the official reserves of the country stood at over $ 3.7 billion as of end-June, this figure included more..

Aug 6 (ST) Royal College put their disappointing performance at Pallakelle to rest and played a ferocious game to beat Trinity College 27-17 at their home grounds yesterday, which helped them retain the Bradby Shield at its 77th edition, but not without a fright. With this win Royal has retained SL�s school�s blue ribbon rugby encounter, the Bradby Shield for a record seven years in succession and made amends in the second leg after losing the first leg by 3 points at Pallakelle a fortnight ago. more..

Aug 6 (EN) Second stage of welfare benefit scheme Aswesuma could face a delay due to the backlog of the first programme which is not finalized yet due to 1.1 million appeals from applicants and objections against some listed beneficiaries. Prez Wickremesinghe�s govt was to call for applications to select the second batch of Aswesuma beneficiaries by August amid protests by tens of thousands of people citing that their names have not been included in the list, despite they are eligible. more..

Aug 6 (EN) In the wake of the severe power shortage looming over the southern part of the country due to the prevailing drought, CEB said that it was yet to decide on the purchase of supplementary electricity from a Private Power Plant to meet the deficit. The water storage at the Samanalawewa hydropower reservoir is now said to be sufficient to provide an uninterrupted power supply to the south for the next two months more..

Aug 6 (TM) Kusal Mendis played a captain�s knock as Aura set up 192 and sealed victory by 10 runs over Colombo Strikers in the LPL at Pallekele yesterday. Mendis got the support of Sadeera Samarawickrama to post 192 after Dambulla Aura was asked to bat first by Colombo Strikers skipper Niroshan Dickwella. The chase was tense with Nuwanidu Fernando showing his power hitting game but despite cameos from Chamika Karunarathne, Strikers fell short by 10 runs thanks to more..

Aug 6 (TM) Jaffna Kings made a triumphant return to the winner�s circle by defeating the previously unbeaten Galle Titans in Match No.7 of the LPL 2023. The match took place at Pallekele on 4 August. Galle Titans Skipper Dasun Shanaka won the toss and opted to bat first. Sticking with the same XI, the Titans faced off against the Kings, who made two changes � introducing Andre Burger and Nuwan Thushara in place of Hardus Viljeon & Dilshan Madushanka. more..

Aug 6 (AD) Director-General of Health Services says a ministerial-level investigation would be initiated against Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) Dr. Ruhul Haq, who had conducted post-mortems including two significant ones, despite a suspension imposed by the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC). Dr. Haq had performed the post-mortems of the well-known late businessman Dinesh Schaffter, whose murder still remains a mystery, and the child who died at the LRH following a kidney surgery. more..

Aug 6 (Island) Renowned astrophysicist and accomplished academic leader joins JHU from Cornell, where he has served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences since 2018Ray Jayawardhana, an accomplished academic leader, renowned and widely published scientist, and award-winning author who presently serves as dean of Cornell University�s College of Arts and Sciences, has been selected as Johns Hopkins Uni�s 16th provost. Jayawardhana has led Cornell�s largest more..

Aug 6 (ST) The govt is to hold back some of the structural reforms approved by the IMF under its economic reform programme for SL due to lack of political and public support. Revenue administration reforms including the restructuring of revenue collection authorities are needed to adapt the operations of tax collection agencies, expenditure rationalisation measures by developing strategies to limit growth in the public sector more..

Aug 6 (AD) Ministry of Ports, Sipping and Aviation has decided to reconstruct the Talaimannar pier to facilitate passengers from Rameswaram, India. The move was made in a bid to further improve people-to-people ties with India, sources reported. The pier is set to be reconstructed after 37 years, with the project having an estimated cost of Rs. 1.8 billion. Issuing a statement in this regard, the Ministry revealed that parallel to the reconstruction of the pier, nearly 10 acres of state-owned more..

Aug 6 (Island) Philip Gunawardena, who earned the appellation Boralugoda Lion for his fearless fights for democracy, would never approve of his son, PM Dinesh Gunawardena�s quest to deprive people of their right to vote, Nigel Hatch PC told the Supreme Court last week. He was leading an elite team of lawyers supporting the JVP-NPP sponsored fundamental rights petition against the govt�s delay in the holding of the local council polls. Hatch pointed out in court more..

Aug 6 (ST) No-confidence motion against Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella has been published as an addendum to the order book of Parliament. The motion has been signed by 45 MPs led by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa. It has been signed by MPs representing several different opposition parties and alliances. They include Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), National People�s Power (NPP), Tamil National People�s Front (TNPF) and FPC of MP Dullas Alahapperuma. more..

Aug 6 (PMD) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe emphasized that SL has demonstrated a strong commitment to addressing climate change goals. Going forward, SL architects will play a pivotal role in this endeavour. They will need to integrate climate change criteria into their designs, ensuring that the built environment aligns with sustainable and environmentally responsible practices. Integrating sustainable and environmentally conscious practices into our architectural designs more..

Aug 6 (ST) The CEB request for a fresh electricity tariff hike has been rejected by the PUCSL. In a letter dated July 21, the CEB�s General Manager requested approval from the PUCSL for an immediate tariff hike. The CEB sought the tariff hike on the grounds that it is estimated to lose around Rs. 33 billion by the end of this year owing to the tariff reduction approved by the PUCSL for the second half of this year. more..

Aug 6 (AD) The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) on Friday raided a warehouse in Wattala, which led to the seizure of a large stock of rations and canned food deemed unfit for human consumption. The raid took place at a warehouse in the Hendala area in Wattala, while the stock of food items, including rice and canned fish, is valued at an estimate of over Rs. 500 million. This is believed to be the largest raid conducted by the CAA. Ada Derana�s Ukussa visited the warehouse in question more..

Aug 6 (ST) Amidst the ongoing health crisis and calls for the resignation of the minister in charge, the Health Ministry has placed more than a dozen orders to procure essential drugs and other medical resources to meet the current acute shortages in public hospitals. At least thirteen procurement announcements categorised as Emergency Notices were published on Friday at the e-govt procurement portal (www.promise.lk) with short notice of bidding closure on Aug 15 under more..

Aug 6 (ST) This week has seen a clear escalation in political battles among constituents of the govt. Amidst tight security where even fire-fighting equipment was on standby, UNP, in limbo since its humiliating defeat at the Aug 2020 parliamentary elections, was busy regrouping. Its policy-making body, the Working Committee, met at SriKotha last Wed. It decided that the party�s 76th annual convention will be held on Sept 10 more..

Aug 7 (DM) While we Lankans are still engrossed in the mispronunciation of a single word in our National Anthem, many earthshaking events are taking place all around us. A particular MP has suggested that had such a mispronunciation occurred in some of our neighbouring countries, the incident could have even led to the unleashing of murder and mayhem. However, while our minds are focused on such grievous outrage, NWSDB called for a 30% to 40% increase on the tariff on water supplied by it. more..

Aug 7 (DM) One of SL�s great achievements beginning in the late colonial period and continuing to this day is its free education system. However, there have been many shortcomings. One was the historical exclusion of children from viable schools for example in the plantations that undermined their capacity to seek higher education and reduced. Budgetary allocations for the education in recent decades are serious concerns. Nevertheless, for generations of youth from rural and more..

Aug 7 (DM) The country�s health sector has recently witnessed allegations of massive corruption involved in the purchase of medicinal drugs and medical devices as of now. High profile members of the health sector are accused of being involved in corrupt activities when purchasing medicine; done in the guise of obtaining emergency purchases. As per Section 109 of NMRA Act No: 5 of 2015, any medicine or more..

Aug 7 (DM) Prez Wickremesinghe aims to bolster the nation�s healthcare system by formulating a new Medical Act within six months to address existing shortcomings and enhance healthcare services. For a more inclusive approach to ensure an effective and comprehensive Medical Act, the Committee should recognize and study the proposals formulated by Professor Senaka Bibile, which have proved immensely helpful in addressing the medicinal needs of developing countries. more..

Aug 7 (ST) While not projected into headline making news as much as other draft laws such as the Anti-Terrorism Bill and the Anti-Corruption Bill, Govt�s proposed Contempt of Court Bill is undeniably of major public interest. Generally, SL�s academics and lawyers alike, let alone laypersons think not once but perchance, a hundred painful times before critiquing or even for that matter, commenting on judicial decisions. Just a few decades ago, the thrust and parry of informed debate more..

Aug 7 (TM) National Innovation Agency (NIA) firmly believes in innovation being the most suitable medicine for the economy, asserted NIA Chief Innovation Officer (actg) Prof. Ajith de Alwis. �From day one our mantra was on pursuing innovation � looking at whatever we do and the way we do it and believing in being creative and then creating value,� he said. Speaking on the NIA�s research into rupees approach, he noted: more..

Aug 7 (TM) The last year has not been kind to Sri Lankans, with many struggling to get by while their dreams and plans have been dashed. A silver lining amidst the doom and gloom created by poor governance and bureaucracy, was the public health system which a great many Sri Lankans depend on. However, medicine shortages, questionable quality of medicines available, gaps in capacity and an increasing brain drain of medical professionals have dented reputation of national health service, more..

Aug 7 (Island) Minister of Education Susil Premajayantha has said the govt will take action to fill the vacancies created by the unprecedented migration of university dons. Circumstances may have left it with no alternative but to do so in a bid to mitigate the ever-worsening crisis in the higher education sector with so many teachers voting with their feet. But the proposed course of action will end up being an exercise in futility in the long run unless the factors that drive more..

Aug 7 (CT) Post-independent Sri Lanka (Lanka) has suffered from recurrent economic crises; the more notable ones being in August 1953, in the late 1970s and most pertinently the current crisis which essentially bankrupted the country. The trigger for the current crisis was the prolonged pandemic that affected the world and the Russian � Ukrainian war in February 2022. The government�s misguided policies on agriculture, taxation and other sectors made the crisis worse. more..

Aug 7 (DM) Sri Lanka is hopeful of starting tea exports to Iran under the barter deal from this month onwards with formalities to operationalise the arrangement reaching completion. Although, the barter deal was agreed in 2021 for oil imported in 2012, it was delayed due to the forex crisis last year, which plunged the country to its worst financial crisis. Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB) Chairman Niraj de Mel revealed that SLTB soon plans to enter into an agreement with CPC more..

Aug 7 (FT) Aggression by commercial banks to execute parate action has angered borrowers who are still going through the effects of the country�s worst crisis amidst continuous contraction in the economy. They alleged that parate actions by banks have been made public without proper price notice and in some cases amidst negotiations for revised settlement plans. Most borrowers had come to know of action only more..

Aug 7 (CT) Presently, the Govt is restructuring the economy in the image of the IMF � our financial saviour. One of the elements in the IMF�s economic panacea is the provision of income support to the poor. This method of distributing wealth among the poor has been in operation for ages and the increase in the poverty rate from 11.6% to 25.6% in 2022 � suggests that this initiative clearly doesn�t work. However, Sri Lanka is in no position to negotiate spending mechanisms and more..

Aug 7 (SO) The end of an era for SL happens today at the World Cup in South Africa when one of the world�s most iconic exponents plays her last match: After a remarkable netball career spanning over a decade, SL�s iconic goal shooter, Tharjini Sivalingam, fondly known as �Gene,� bids adieu to her illustrious career at the Netball World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa today. At 44 years, Gene, hailed as one of the world�s best netball shooters of all time, confirmed that this World Cup marks more..