May 19 (AD) Two units of the Uma Oya Hydro Power Plant will be made available to the CEB for power generation this year, Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said. Accordingly, Unit 01 will be made available by August this year, while Unit 02 will be made available later in September. Minister noted that 120 Megawatts (MW) of hydropower will be added to the national grid once completed. This was conveyed to the Minister by Farab, the construction company of the Uma Oya more..

May 19 (DM) EU has expressed its willingness to extend support to SL as it adapts to the impacts of climate change. EU has said it is committed to working with SL to help the country build a more resilient and sustainable future. While briefing the island nation on the implementation of the European Green Deal, EU shared its desire to work closely with SL bilaterally and in multilateral fora, on climate financing options and climate change actions as well as environmental protection. more..

May 19 (DM) Imported eggs from India have begun to appear in Sri Lankan markets priced at 35 rupees per egg. Though initially intended for use only in the cake and biscuit industry, later these eggs became available to consumers as well. Importing eggs from India were intended to address a shortage of local eggs and to provide consumers with eggs at a more affordable price at a time when local eggs are sold at higher prices. more..

May 19 (DM) The influenza virus is spreading rapidly among children, and LRH consultant pediatrician Dr. Deepal Perera advised parents not to send their children to schools, private classes, or child care centres if they suffer from high fever, cough, cold, or breathing problems. He said the virus is currently spreading at schools, private classes, and child care centers. If a child exhibits these symptoms, they can quickly spread to other family members. He requested that parents keep those children more..

May 19 (FT) Two accused who are in remand for over four years afflicted with complicated health problems are seeking bail from the Court of Appeal. Two bail applications filed by Rasheed Ibrahim, 14th suspect and Akram Ahkam, the 25th suspect in the Easter Sunday bomb case were taken up for inquiry in the Court of Appeal before Justice Sampath Abayakoon and Justice P. Kumararatnam on Thursday. According to the Petition for bail filed in the CA, Rasheed Ibrahim is a cancer patient more..

May 19 (DM) The incumbent Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) office-bearers are set to be re-appointed for another term when SLC conducts its AGM tomorrow. Barring any late drama, Shammi Silva will return as President, Jayantha Dharmadasa and Ravin Wickramaratne as Vice Presidents, with Mohan de Silva to continue as Secretary, with no opposing nominations to challenge a re-election. Their re-appointment comes in backdrop of more..

May 19 (CT) Minister Susil Premajayantha announced the ministry�s plans to hold both, GCE O/L and A/L exams in the same year and bring the education system back to normal. Ministry would update the exam timetable accordingly. As part of these efforts, ministry has appointed 7,800 graduates from teacher training colleges to address the shortage of teachers in national and provincial schools. A decision regarding the simultaneous conduct of both exams will be made by more..

May 19 (AD) The hearing of the writ petition filed by Senior DIG in charge of Western Province Deshabandu Tennakoon, seeking an order against a private plaint, began at the Court of Appeal today. In his petition, SDIG had called for a court order preventing the hearing of the private complaint filed against him before the Colombo Fort Magistrate�s Court. The petition was heard before the President of the Court of Appeal Justice Nissanka Karunaratne and Justice A. Marikkar. more..

May 19 (FT) The Federation of Information Technology Industry SL (FITIS), the apex body of the ICT industry, recently elected its Board of Directors for the year 2023/2024 at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on 28 April 2023 at JAIC Hilton, amidst a large gathering of its membership. Top industry professional Indika De Zoysa was unanimously elected as the new chairman after Industry veteran Dr. Prasad Samarasinghe completed his 2-yr term as FITIS Chairman. more..

May 19 (TM) Committee on High Posts has approved the appointments of two ministerial secretaries and six chairpersons of state institutions. Committee has approved the appointment of Mrs. Yamuna Perera as the new secretary of the Ministry of Women, Child Affairs & Social Empowerment and Mr. R.M.W.S. Samaradivakara as the new Secretary of the Ministry of Water Supply & Estate Infrastructure Development. In addition to that, the committee approved the appointment of more..

May 19 (MFA) Ministry of Foreign Affairs unreservedly rejects the statement issued by the Canadian PM Justin Trudeau on 18 May containing outrageous claims of genocide relating to the past conflict in SL. Such irresponsible and polarizing pronouncements by the leader of a nation breeds disharmony and hatred both in Canada and SL, instead of promoting peace and reconciliation. SL urges Canada and its leaders to refrain more..

May 20 (ST) With last week�s coronation at Westminster Abbey, King Charles III became the head of state for the United Kingdom as well as for 14 more sovereign states in the world including Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Sri Lanka also remained a country within this dominion of the Commonwealth until it was made a Republic in 1972. However, leaving the Commonwealth and changing the name of Ceylon did not improve the fortunes of the country. more..

May 20 (ST) The attack on a foreign investor, an Omani businessman, on March 30, reveals the fragility of foreign investments in the country. It was only after the media reported the incident that the govt sprang into action after weeks of dilly-dallying. While govt ministers scrambled (most probably prompted by Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe) to reassure the affected investor, safety for himself and his staff, no action has so far been taken against the perpetrators of this violent act. more..

May 20 (CT) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe went to his office last Sunday (14) to discuss the development programme of the Western Province according to a formal plan. The Surbana Jurong Company in Singapore related to the development of Western Provinces had first presented this plan in 2004. Wickremesinghe announced that a Cabinet sub-committee would be appointed to implement the Surbana Jurong plan for the development more..

May 20 (CT) The mismatch between the number of staff in local healthcare services and the increase in the population has resulted in a visible void in the service. Although there are qualified graduates to fill vacancies in the health sector, the process is currently rather sluggish. Professionals have thereby moved for the re-establishment of a Human Resource Unit (HRU) at the Ministry of Health in order to fill such void. As reported in this paper on Friday, Academy of Health Professionals more..

May 20 (CT) I refer to the article Political Buddhism & Corruption: The Unholy Twins by Dr. Ameer Ali (AA) in the Colombo Telegraph Website and wish to comment on some views expressed by him, therein: 1. Firstly, the conjoining of the phrases, Political Buddhism, Corruption and Unholy Twins is controversial. There is no religion called Political Buddhism as there are no religions as Political Christianity, Political Hinduism or Political Islam. Religions are based on doctrine, more..

May 20 (CT) Former Chairperson of the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA), Darshani Lahandupura, lodged a formal complaint with the Speaker of the House Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena on 16 May. The complaint concerns remarks made by Prof. Charitha Herath, SLPP MP and former Chairman of the COPE, during the two-day debate on the X-Press Pearl maritime disaster held on 10 and 11 May in Parliament. more..

May 20 (DM) Former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by the LTTE on 21 May 1991. He was killed at a place called Sriperumbhudur in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Death came in the form of Dhanu a young Tamil woman from Sri Lanka. Dressed in a churidar she came up to the smiling Rajiv and garlanded him. The girl bent low to touch his feet as a mark of respect. Then came the deadly explosion. Rajiv Gandhi was no more! more..

May 20 (Island) Private bus operators are in a perpetual state of agitation, and behave as if they were above the law. In fact, their will takes precedence over the writ of the state, to all intents and purposes. They defy govt decisions aimed at serving the interests of commuters and always have the last laugh. They have emerged so powerful thanks to the impotency of successive govts. The political authority resorts to coercion only when it deals with the public, and shamelessly gives more..

May 20 (DM) Israel and Palestine are once again in the news, for all the wrong reasons. Seventy-five years ago, the UN without the consent of the Palestinian people decided to divide Palestine into two States Palestine and Israel. On 14 May 1948, Israeli leader David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel in what was earlier undivided Palestine -a date celebrated by Israelis. For Jews, especially in the aftermath of the holocaust-where it is claimed over six million more..

May 20 (Island) Derana Chief Dilith Jayaweera says the Port City Colombo could have given SL economy the turbo boost it required but, unfortunately, the powers that be failed to handle it properly though the country accepted the modern concept. The mega project was in line with contemporary global economy, therefore SL�s move received global recognition, Jayaweera said, calling it a progressive economic decision. But SL missed the opportunity for want of a cohesive strategy more..

May 20 (FT) SL�s tea exports in value in the first four months of this year have increased, whilst volume dips. January - April earnings have increased sharply by 11% to $ 407 million compared to $ 367 million in the same period a year earlier. In April earnings increased by 16% to $ 93 million compared to $ 80 million in April 2022. The higher earnings were possible because of the high FOB per kilo, a value which more than compensated more..

May 20 (FT) Future Life Investment is one of the leading microfinance institutions that provide financial strength and the right guidance for our own Sri Lankans who are striving to win in life, through their extensive relationships in the field of small and medium-scale businesses and gain the trust of the Sri Lankan people in a very short time. FLi was also awarded as the best microfinance institution of the year under the large category in 2022, subject to a wide range of evaluations more..

May 20 (EAR) The present UNHRC has been functioning since March 2006, replacing the UN Commission on Human Rights � UNCHR that functioned since 1946. It investigates and resolves issues related to human rights around the world. In other words, this is the UN�s main legislative body working to promote and protect human rights. The last UN HRC 52nd session was held from Feb 27th to April 4, 2023. This year, Mr. Vaclav Balek, UN Geneva Representative of the Czech more..

May 20 (Island) The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art SL (MMCA SL) opened its new exhibition titled The Foreigners on 4 May 2023, at its premises on the ground floor of Crescat Boulevard, Colombo 3. Curated by Sandev Handy and Sharmini Pereira, �The Foreigners� brings together the works of 15 contemporary artists who use varying media to address the entangled ways in which foreignness is inscribed onto them, marking them as strangers, outsiders, or transgressors. more..

May 20 (FT) Daraz has announced the launch of DarazMart Sundays, an initiative that aims to provide customers convenient and affordable access to groceries. The onset of the pandemic caused an upsurge in e-commerce in SL, especially for the purchase of groceries and other necessities. A recent study by Daraz and SLASSCOM revealed that groceries and household items were the second most popular items bought online. As consumer preferences continue to shift towards more..

May 20 (EN) Sri Lanka will start licensing more farmers to use firearms to protect crops as more farmland is coming under attack from wild animals, State Minister Premitha Bandara said. �We had to take this decision because of the high wastage of crops and because this has been a requirement by farmers for a long time because of the several grievances they face,� he said. At present, farmers with more than 5 acres more..

May 20 (Roar) The fourth mural of the Fearless Collective, which creates public art centering on women and underrepresented communities, was unveiled in Slave Island on Monday (15). The mural portrays several women living in the building the artists have painted on, or are in close vicinity to it. �Some of the ladies were ridiculed for having their faces up on the wall by people in the area,� Minal Wickrematunge, one of the lead artists of the mural, told Roar Media. more..

May 20 (FT) 2200 passengers arrived at the Hambantota Int'l Port (HIP) yesterday, on board cruise liner, Mein Schiff 5. The vessel is on a 60 day cruise from Hong Kong to Heraklion in Greece, visiting several ports in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, SL, Oman, Jordan and Egypt in between. The cruise ship passengers who had approximately 12 hours in Hambantota, visited the Yala national park, Udawalawe Wildlife Park & historical rock temple of Mulkirigala, more..

May 20 (ST) Efforts to provide mid-day meals to schoolchildren are continuing with funding from the World Bank and with the involvement of United Nations organisations. Slightly more than 1 million schoolchildren are provided with mid-day meals compared with a schoolchildren population exceeding 4 million. There are concerns that meals in some schools may not be nutritious enough because the Govt allocates just Rs 87, more..

May 20 (FT) The SJB announced it will not support the Government�s proposal to remove the current Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of SL (PUCSL) Janaka Ratnayake from his post. According to Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella, Ratnayake has fallen foul of the Govt only because he attempted to be fair to the consumers. �In the proposal presented to Parliament for his removal there are no allegations of corruption or fraud against him,� Kiriella revealed. more..

May 20 (Island) Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC), appointed to make suitable recommendations for the expansion of higher education opportunities in SL, was of the view that when granting UGC approval for affiliated universities and courses, strict measures should be taken to ensure that it is not misused for various marketing purposes. This was discussed at the PSC to make suitable recommendations for the expansion of higher education opportunities more..

May 20 (CT) To ensure the protection of foreign investors, Govt has decided to set up foreign invested factories only in Investment Promotion Zones (IPZ). Prez Wickremesinghe has reached this decision following the recent attack on Omani investor, who is an owner of a garment factory in Katana. Several new Investment Promotion Zones are to be established in several areas in the country and on-site inspections have already been carried out for the establishment of more..

May 20 (FT) AirAsia marks another foray into South Asia by offering direct services between Colombo and Bangkok from July. This 4-time weekly flight service is slated to commence operation on 9 July with special promotional all-in fares starting from Rs. 29,900* one way to experience the vibrancy of Thailand. AirAsia Thailand CEO Santisuk Klongchaiya said: �SL has always been a promising destination for AirAsia. This time we are relaunching the flight from Colombo to Bangkok more..

May 20 (TM) Four important South Asian designers of international repute paid a visit to the campus of College of Fashion and Design (CFD). CFD is associated with international design centres and is created in a manner where there is an opportunity for students to interact with successful and influential designers. In the sphere of fashion design, there are numerous creators who have made a mark and continue to enthral and more..