Jul 4 (DM) President of the Govt Medical Officers' Forum Dr. Rukshan Bellana charged that Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella was soliciting bribes, causing the downfall of the health sector of the country. He also alleged that the Director General of Health appeared to be more focused on taking part in foreign tours rather than attending to his duties. "We exposed the Minister's attempt to offer the Director General of Health Services a seventh tour this year,� more..

Jul 4 (FT) The former Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) Chairman Janaka Ratnayake stressed the need for accurate data and fair practices in determining electricity tariffs, with a focus on minimising the burden on consumers and ensuring their rights. Issuing a statement yesterday he raised concerns over the recent reduction in electricity tariffs, stating that the initial increase in February was based on inaccurate data. more..

Jul 4 (DM) Chamari Athapaththu has moved up to top spot in the ICC Women's ODI batting rankings, becoming only the second Sri Lankan, after Sanath Jayasuriya, to hold top spot since the rankings were introduced. Athapaththu scored two match winning centuries in SL's 2-1 series win over New Zealand women which contributed to her ascension to the top of the rankings. She scored an unbeaten 108 in the first ODI, before smashing 140 not out off just 80 deliveries more..

Jul 4 (DM) SLC said it had appointed Tharindu Perera as the new Assistant Coach for the Women's national team. A ECB Level 4 Specialist Coach, Perera has coaching experience with Warwickshire Country Cricket Club, Adelaide Strikers, and West End Red Backs, among several other teams. "During his stint with Warwickshire as a High Performance Coach, he has worked with its Coaching Team during the County Championship, Royal London One Day Cup, T20 Vitality Blast & Warwickshire Academy," more..

Jul 4 (CT) The employees of a restaurant in Panadura, who were reportedly assaulted by singer Saman de Silva on 1 June, have been compensated with Rs 25,000, after agreeing to withdraw the complaint, Panadura South Police said yesterday. Police said that after receiving the money, the complainants informed the Police that there was no need to investigate the complaint further. After that both parties were warned and sent away. It was reported that the singer had gone more..

Jul 4 (FT) FPC member MP Prof. G.L. Peiris slammed the Govt�s efforts to restructure domestic debt over the weekend and said its claims that domestic debt restructuring efforts will have no impact on the EPF are false. Peiris said the entire process of domestic debt restructuring is a deception. �The EPF belongs to the people of this country. Its fate was our main concern. The Govt kept insisting the EPF will not be negatively affected. This is false,� he said. more..

Jul 4 (FT) TNA MP M. Sumanthiran launched a scathing attack on the Govt as well as the Central Bank and the Monetary Board over the Domestic Debt Optimisation (DDO). Speaking during the debate Sumanthiran alleged that exclusion of primary dealers, domestic private Bond holders or money market players who are high net worth individuals are the friends of Wickremesinghe and funders of the Govt and who get kick-backs and figured in the bond scam. more..

Jul 4 (FT) Air Seychelles recently expressed confidence in using the twice weekly operations to Colombo, first destination post-COVID, a success especially catering to travellers to and from the South Asian region. The flights will be served by the airline�s Airbus A320 Neo aircraft in a 12 business class and 156 economy class configuration. It has firmed up an interline partnership with SriLankan Airlines whilst discussions are ongoing for a Code Share. more..

Jul 4 (TM) Following a statement made by JVP led NPP Executive Committee member and former MP Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, that 300 out of 1,400 medical graduates who had completed the internship in April of this year (2023), have not obtained appointments as doctors. The Ministry of Health said that they have not been notified of such an issue. When queried, Secretary to the Ministry Janaka Sri Chandraguptha said that the Ministry has not been notified of such an incident so far, more..

Jul 4 (TM) IUSF has urged the relevant authorities to make the related regulations within the university system flexible so as to allow students to engage in part-time jobs without disruptions in view of the acute financial issues that they face in the prevailing economic situation. While there is a tendency for uni students to resort to part-time jobs at present, the IUSF stated that certain regulations within the university system have hindered such solutions. more..

Jul 4 (TM) Against the backdrop of Public Security Minister Tiran Alles instructing the relevant authorities to initiate action against �inefficient� senior police officers and OIC, who allegedly fail to curb various crimes in their respective areas, the Police will ensure that officers capable of actively working to impede crimes are deployed to areas with high rates of crime. Former IGP Chandana Wickramaratne recently informed Alles that the increase in murders and crimes in more..

Jul 4 (DM) In the wake of the elephant Muthu Raja who was badly abused while being kept at a Buddhist temple, several Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are attempting to publicize the notion that elephants should be removed from the perahera culture, Asgiriya Chapter Venerable Narampanawe Ananda Thera said. He told the media that Muthu Raja was a well-tamed elephant. This is a planned propaganda that NGOs always resort to during every perahera season, Thera said. more..

Jul 5 (DM) Parliament approved a domestic debt restructuring program that would rework nearly half of the country�s US$ 42.1 billion domestic debt. The plan covered US$ 19.5 billion of Domestic debt in Treasury bills and bonds held by Central Bank and superannuation funds (mainly the EPF & ETF) and excluded the domestic banks due to the fears of destabilizing the banking sector. Superannuation funds would have the choice of swapping their short-term bills and bonds more..

Jul 5 (DM) This article focuses on the evergreen Dingiri Dingaale song from the Tamil film Anbu Engey? (Where is love?) that was first screened 65 years ago. Although a Tamil film song, the number was hugely popular among Sinhalese too. I have written about this song in my blog earlier. This is the first time I am publishing an article about it in a newspaper. Dingiri Dingaale Meenatchi Dingiri Dingaale, Ulagam Poara Poakkaip Paaru Thangamay Chiillaaley more..

Jul 5 (TM) Gratiaen Prize was established by Michael Ondaatje when he won The Booker Prize for The English Patient as a means of developing, nurturing and fostering writers of English literature. Since the first Prize in 1993, awarded jointly to Carl Muller and Lalitha Withanachchi � the former for The Jam Fruit Tree and the latter for The Wind Blows Over the Hills � Short Stories, the Prize has added an expansive range of writing more..

Jul 5 (CT) Domestic debt restructuring (DDR) is the second half of the debt restructuring (DR) strategy mooted by IMF as precondition for its $2.9 billion Extended Fund Facility. CBSL Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe (NW) introduced the idea of voluntary domestic debt optimization (VDDO), which confused the community and demanded clarification. Ultimately, when negotiations ended it became clear that it was voluntary concession by CBSL and Prez Ranil Wickremasinghe (RW) to the banking more..

Jul 5 (CT) Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa made a valid point recently when he mentioned traditional and indigenous medicine practices in Sri Lanka should be protected. The Opposition Leader also referring to the newly published Ayurveda (Amd) Bill, was of the view that hastily introduced Bills are ineffective, which again could be the gospel truth when looking back to the number of bills that were enacted in the past five years or so. Govt is under criticism for potentially jeopardising more..

Jul 5 (TM) Given the socio-economic hardships that have befallen SL in recent memory, social welfare programmes are now more necessary than ever before. The country is quite familiar with such programmes, as it was more or less a welfare State even before the prevailing crisis erupted, and programmes such as Samurdhi have played a noticeable role when it comes to low and lower middle income classes. more..

Jul 5 (TM) Constitutional Council (CC) Chairman and the Speaker of the Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana feels that the recent letter sent to Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe and the CC by the Archbishop of Colombo, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, regarding the filling of the vacant Inspector General of Police (IGP) position is totally inappropriate. This however is a letter which the Catholic Church feels is acceptable, as they believe that it is rightful to make such an intervention. more..

Jul 5 (TM) Coinciding with the events at the UNHRC session in Geneva, Switzerland, there was a launch of a report on the past investigations into mass graves and on missing persons in Sri Lanka by five leading civil society organisations. Civil society activist and long time founder of the Families of the Missing Brito Fernando said: �After three decades and 20 attempted exhumations, only a handful of bodies have ever been identified and returned to the families. more..

Jul 5 (FT) This year 2023 marks the bicentennial of the arrival of people from India as indentured labour to work in SL. Though persons from India have been coming over to the island from time immemorial, it was in Feb 1823 that people were first brought officially as workers. This was during British colonial rule. The man responsible for this was the then British Governor Sir Edward Barnes who served in Ceylon � as SL was known then � as acting Governor and Governor from 1820 to 1831 more..

Jul 5 (ST) SL has been gripped this week by social welfare fever and domestic debt restructuring, the latter of which we would discuss next week when the policy becomes clearer. Protests, akin to the demands by farmers last year over the chemical fertiliser ban, have been mounting across the country, by Samurdhi recipients accusing the authorities of removing them from the new scheme. This week�s column was triggered by the conversation between Aldoris, more..

Jul 5 (FT) Colombo stock market yesterday had its best ever performance in many years thanks to investors turning extremely bullish following a re-rating of listed equities returns and positives of Domestic Debt Optimisation (DDO). Several Records were broken as investors turned jubilant over the Govt�s DDO and its positive impact on equities and economy. ASPI rose 6.7% or over 633 points crossing the 10,000 points mark more..

Jul 5 (DN) I get good support from other batters of the team and that makes it easy to play my normal game said SL women�s cricket team skipper Chamari Atapattu after the New Zealand cricket ODI match series at Galle. Actually winning the NZ ODI cricket series is a great achievement and we had to work hard to get this win and all my new supporting staff headed by Rumesh Ratnayake gave good support and and also SLC with their tremendous support to women�s cricket. more..

Jul 5 (Island) The age-old saying, Health is wealth, has apparently taken on a whole new meaning in Sri Lanka, where the health sector has become a Golconda of sorts for some corrupt politicians, their bureaucratic lackeys, and the greedy private hospital mudalalis, who thrive on other people�s misery. These characters sans any sympathy for fellow human beings have come under fire once again for making the most of the health needs of the public to amass colossal amounts of wealth. more..

Jul 5 (Island) The highly awaited National Human Resource Conference (NHRC) 2023, which is the nation�s premier event for human resource management, organized by the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM), Sri Lanka, was held on the 21st and 22nd of June 2023 at Monarch Imperial, Sri J'pura. This flagship conference marked its return after a three-year hiatus, attracting a global gathering of esteemed HR professionals and industry representatives, more..

Jul 5 (CT) England will play 18 cricket matches in the 2024 summer, with four different teams including Sri Lanka scheduled to visit the United Kingdom next year. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced the schedule for next year�s summer on 4 July. The first team to visit England will be Pakistan. Since it will be a T20 World Cup year, the Men in Green will prepare for the mega event with four matches against the defending champions from 22 to 30 May. more..

Jul 5 (FT) Power and Energy Minister Kanchana declared that the State-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) is now in a stable financial position following series of measures implemented during the past one year. Minister admitted that settling the $ 750 million in supplier arrears was the most daunting task, but all unpaid invoices were paid by April 2023, confirming the CPC is currently debt-free. �A sizable chunk of the project loans more..

Jul 5 (FT) Colombo Port City has taken a significant step towards planned and sustainable urban development with the publication of the updated Development Control Regulations (DCR) in the extraordinary gazette No 2334/47 on 2 June. This updated version represents an enhanced version of initial publication in April 2022. Publication of DCR 2023 marks an important milestone, as it enables Colombo Port City Economic Commission to accept development proposals for evaluation. more..

Jul 5 (ST) For the first time in history, Sri Lanka hosted a youth training camp and coaching programme under the auspicious of Asian Shooting Confederation (ASC), with National Shooting Sport Federation of SL (NSSF) organinsing the event. The programme, the 11th Asian Shooting Confederation Youth Training Camp and Coaching Programme 2023, was held from June 20 to 28 at the Mt. Lavinia Hotel, with 42 participants � 22 athletes and 20 coaches � from 15 countries. more..

Jul 5 (EN) Sri Lanka has issued Request for Proposal (RFP) for China�s state-run Sinopec and Singapore-based energy firm Vitol after evaluating seven bidders to build the country�s largest refinery with a minimum investment of $4 billion, Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said. Sovereign debt defaulted SL has been struggling to attract foreign inflows. Refinery is part of a strategy to attract more foreign investments more..

Jul 5 (FT) Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said that SL is evaluating offers for nuclear power plants from various countries, including Russia, US, India, and several European nations. Minister dismissed claims of a deal with Russian nuclear giant Rosatom, emphasising the need to determine the appropriate technology for the country and pre-plan various factors. �Besides Rosatom, other companies and countries, including India, European nations and US, have presented proposals more..

Jul 5 (CT) Skipper Dasun Shanaka is proud of his team�s performance in the ODI World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe as he regarded the qualification to the marquee event as a Big Achievement, especially given their past performance in the World Cup. Sri Lanka is well on top in the ODI World Cup qualifiers, as they played exceptionally well in the league stage and super six stages to seal their spot. They are currently placed at the top of the points table and they will look to continue more..

Jul 5 (AD) An official delegation from Israel met the senior EDB officials last Thursday and had a fruitful discussion to explore avenues to promote trade and economic cooperation between Israel and Sri Lanka. The delegation from Israel was represented by Ophir Kariv, Head of Bureau, Economic Affairs Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel and Hagar Sapiro-Tal, First Secretary of the Embassy of Israel in India (with accreditation for Sri Lanka). During the discussion, more..

Jul 5 (AD) Resuming operations to SL, Air China�s first flight arrived at the BIA in Colombo last night with 142 passengers onboard. Accordingly, Air China will operate three flights a week from Chengdu Tianfu Int'l Airport to Colombo. Air China reinstated services between BIA and Chengdu Tianfu Int'l Airport with 3 flights a week from Chengdu-Colombo-Chengdu on 03rd July 2023. Resuming its operations, the first flight arrived at BIA at 20.20 hrs. on 3rd July with 142 passengers. more..