Aug 28 (EN) There will be owed 656 billion rupees of debt taken over by Sri Lanka�s central govt to be offset by taxes on fuel by the beginning of 2025, Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said. The Treasury took over 1,200 billion rupees of debt (US$ 3.4 billion) in 2022 and a 25 rupee tax was imposed on fuel, he said. The tax was later increased to 50 rupees in 2023, he said. At the end of it is estimated that 656 billion rupees will remain to be offset by taxes, Wijesekera said. more..

Aug 28 (AD) The Executive Director of the Institute for Democratic Reforms and Electoral Studies (IRES) Manjula Gajanayake raised concerns about three candidates who have submitted nominations for the upcoming presidential election but remain unaccounted for. Gajanayake pointed out that 39 candidates have entered the presidential race, with one of them recently passing away. However, he also raised concern about more..

Aug 28 (EN) State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe has called leftist presidential candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake�s election manifesto a wish list that does not reflect ground reality. �Sorry to say the NPP�s manifesto is just a wish list. It is a wish list that does not reflect ground reality,� Semasinghe said. He also claimed that the NPP has copied certain aspects of its reform proposals from Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe, whose candidacy Semasinghe supports. more..

Aug 28 (DM) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe announced that he will establish a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC), in consultation with other party leaders, to investigate into the accountability of those who recommended the cremation of Muslims and other religious groups during the Covid-19 outbreak. Prez made this statement in response to a request during a meeting held yesterday with the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU). He visited the organization's headquarters in Maligawatta, more..

Aug 28 (AD) Port City Colombo has achieved a significant milestone, on-boarding 100+ companies as Authorised Persons (AP�s), as of August 24th, 2024. These companies represent a diverse range of sectors identified to the Colombo Port City Special Economic Zone, including IT, Finance, Professional Services, Shipping, Logistics, Tourism, Healthcare, Real Estate Development, and Global Capability Centres. more..

Aug 28 (AD) Ministry of Agriculture has decided to grant a fertilizer subsidy of Rs. 4,000 to support rubber cultivation across SL, aiming to boost the country�s latex yield, which has seen a significant decline in recent years. Agricultural Ministry confirmed that the subsidy will be available starting this week, in response to concerns raised by the SL Rubber Research Institute that the rubber cultivation has been hindered due to the lack of fertilizer application over the years, more..

Aug 28 (NW) An injunction order has been issued preventing the expulsion of non-Cabinet Minister Ali Zahir Moulana from the SLMC. Injunction order was issued by the Colombo District Court today. Order has been issued against the Leader, Secretary and the High Command of the SLMC preventing the expulsion of MP Ali Zahir Moulana from the party. In October last year, SLMC Batticaloa District member Ali Zahir Moulana took oaths as a MP following the disqualification of member and more..

Aug 28 (DM) The ambulance driver of Vavuniya General Hospital and a hospital employee had been arrested on misunderstanding that they attempted to abduct a lady doctor. Investigations revealed that the doctor, under the impression that they were taking her to a lonely spot had jumped out of the ambulance. The driver of the ambulance that transported meals to the Ayurvedic hospital in Paimpemadu had agreed to give a lift to the lady doctor at her request, to drop her off at more..

Aug 28 (NW) Long queues have been reported in front of the Dept of Immigration and Emigration in Battaramulla in the past few days with people attempting to obtain passports. The public states that some people have been waiting in queues for days, with some staying in front of the passport office overnight without food or washroom facilities. They further alleged that the passport office has failed to implement a proper system for applicants, which has severely inconvenienced the public. more..

Aug 28 (NW) Kamindu Mendis' second-innings 113 for SL in their defeat to England in Manchester left him with a batting average of 92.16. It is the second-highest in Test history among players with more than 500 runs, and he explained at Lord's ahead of Thursday's second Test that it owes to a simple mantra: "Do basic things, and try to keep calm." Kamindu made his debut against Australia two years ago, deputising for Dhananjaya more..

Aug 28 (NW) Open Cycle phase of the Sobadhanavi 350 MW Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Combined Cycle Power Plant at Kerawalapitiya was declared open today. Marking a significant milestone in SL�s energy future, the power plant was declared open by Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe. The Sobadhanavi Power Plant is the first SL power plant to be operated on LNG as the primary fuel. Recently, a MoU was also signed to develop infrastructure for the storage, regasification, and supply of more..

Aug 28 (ABC) Refugee advocates have gathered to protest the death of a 23-year-old Tamil asylum seeker who died after setting himself on fire in Melbourne's south-east. Friends of Mano Yogalingam said he had arrived in Australia from SL in 2013 and had been on a bridging visa for roughly 11 years. A Victoria Police spokesperson said emergency services were called to a skate park in Noble Park on Tuesday night. A man with life-threatening injuries was taken to hospital, more..

Aug 28 (Island) Six hundred and two out of 607 police stations in the country are engaged in election duties, acting police media spokesman, DIG Ruwan Gunasekera said. �We have police stations in places like the Uda Maluwa, which have special tasks,� he said. There are 45 police divisions. �We have established election monitoring centres in these 45 divisions and the 602 police stations. This was done as soon as more..

Aug 28 (AD) The name of Karunarathna Paranawithana of the SJB has been Gazetted by the Election Commission to fill the parliamentary seat which fell vacant by the resignation of Ratnapura District SJB MP Thalatha Athukorala. Parliament on Friday informed the Election Commission that a vacancy has been created in the House following the resignation of Thalatha Athukorala as a Member of Parliament. Accordingly, the Secretary General of the Parliament Kushani Rohanadeera more..

Aug 28 (DM) Former Chairman of the Election Commission, Mahinda Deshapriya said that the difference between genuine and fake opinion polls are difficult to distinguish and therefore voters should be cautious to discern fact from fiction. He said opinion polls purportedly attributed to the European Union (EU) and in circulation on social media are against the rules and regulations governing the electoral process. EU released a statement saying it has not conducted election polls, more..

Aug 28 (NW) A combined search operation by the Navy and Police at the roadblock in the Karamba area of Puttalam on 27th Aug, led to the arrest of a suspect found in possession of 650 mobile phones, suspected to have been smuggled. The arrest was made when the suspect was transferring the devices by a cab. Upon receiving information, naval personnel from SLNS Thambapanni in the Northwestern Naval Command, in collaboration with Norochcholai Police, conducted this search more..

Aug 28 (FT) Spinner Cycling Events, a pioneer in promoting cycling competitions in Sri Lanka, successfully concluded Race Across Sri Lanka on 24 and 25 Aug, with 50 cyclists from India, Germany, South Africa, the USA, and SL, converging to challenge themselves and each other in a breathtaking race across the country. The winner of 2024 edition was Neoshan Durairajah of SL for second consecutive year. 1st Place: Neo Durairajah 11:47:05; more..

Aug 28 (TM) Opposition MP Champika Ranawaka claimed that the process commenced in November of last year to temporarily cancel the licences of liquor manufacturing companies that have defaulted on tax payments and to collect the relevant tax money, has now been abandoned. He said that according to the relevant legal provisions, liquor is sold for cash, but that the relevant companies have however defaulted more..

Aug 28 (DM) In light of the rising temperatures in the country, medical experts warn of an impending increase in skin diseases. Specialist Dr. Deepal Perera noted that skin problems are becoming more common among children due to rising temperatures across the country. �Higher temperatures can make skin conditions worse and increase the risk of dehydration, especially in young children,� he pointed out. As such, the expert advised public to avoid unnecessary exposure to sunlight and more..

Aug 28 (CW) Sri Lanka opener Chamari Athapaththu has made notable progress in the ICC Women�s T20I Player Rankings after some fine performances over the past week. According to the ICC, Athapaththu�s match-winning knock of 102 against Scotland in the final of the ICC Women�s T20 World Cup Qualifier has helped the captain move up two places to seventh position among batters, just one off her career-best sixth position attained in April this year. more..

Aug 28 (EN) SL govt�s failure in supplying an adequate number of passports has led to a long queue similar to what the island nation saw during the economic crisis in 2022. SL saw long queues for fuel, cooking gas, and medicines when former leader Gotabaya Rajapaksa�s govt ran out of foreign currency after the rupee collapsed in 2022 due to wrong economic policies. However, Rajapaksa�s successor Ranil more..

Aug 28 (TM) Regional reporters have expressed concerns that the media reports submitted by them on certain matters including the Prez Election are being considerably altered by some mainstream media institutions. The manner in which the alterations are done, sometimes amounts to a violation of the election-related media guidelines and media ethics, the Journalists for Rights organisation charged yesterday. This, they added, is a concerning situation, because some media institutions more..

Aug 28 (Nikkei) I had just returned to SL from a trip to India, Nepal and Bhutan. Just before dusk in Colombo, when the city's sweltering heat eases into a salty sea breeze, I decide to leave the house for a grocery run. A couple of blocks away, I stop at one of several local air-conditioned supermarkets, where the vegetable aisle is full of large onions. I soon notice that they are not Sri Lankan produce. They are not like the onions my parents cooked at home, and they look similar to onions more..

Aug 29 (DM) While political leaders are promising heaven on earth in their intensified campaign for the Prez Election on Sept 21, Sri Lankans also need to reflect on international issues such as nuclear testing since many have been predicting a looming 3rd World War with the tensions going on in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Today (29), UN marks the International Day Against Nuclear Tests. In a statement, the UN emphasised that since nuclear weapons testing began on July 1945, more..

Aug 29 (DM) Somebody quite perceptively named the upcoming rush for the presidency an election like no other. As though there isn�t enough evidence to justify this, the govt, in its latest move that oozes with wisdom and foresight, has decided to offer arms to MPs ahead of next month�s political bust-up. What is not mentioned is whether these weapons are for defensive or offensive purposes. Nobody really knows who will use which for what purpose because already MPs are entitled to sidearms. more..

Aug 29 (TM) Since the onset of SL�s economic crisis towards the end of 2021, there has been a notable increase in large-scale State procurements bypassing the Govt�s established tender process. This trend, which has been reported in the media for years, has become more pronounced, particularly in critical sectors such as power and energy, healthcare, and agriculture. National Procurement Guidelines (NPG), more..

Aug 29 (DM) Sri Lanka is a country where we see the occasional individual rise from poverty and then lift the rest of the clan out of misery. Such individuals are later hero worshipped. From agriculture to education, and in later years during the civil war, saw so many heroes emerge and etch their names in the history books of this nation. Mrs. Bandaranaike brought in the land reforms act in the 1970s to provide lands to cultivate for those who had none. She was hailed by the downtrodden masses more..

Aug 29 (CT) The debate on social welfare in which all citizens are to receive monetary aid, in one form or the other, has come back to the forefront of SL�s political stage, as the titans of the upcoming Prez Election have started launching their manifestos. While no candidate nor party has directly addressed the question of universal basic income (UBI) or even unemployment benefits (dole) for all citizens thus far, many of the candidates have been making social promises along those lines, more..

Aug 29 (TM) Sri Lanka needs a mindset overhaul to motivate the nation and its workforce with an entrepreneurial drive and to recover and grow to become a nation where the citizens feel happy and that they are equal citizens of this land, asserted Sarvajana Balaya presidential candidate and Mawbima Janatha Party (MJP) Leader Dilith Jayaweera. Jayaweera, an entrepreneur turned politician, said that a future govet of his more..

Aug 29 (ST) In modern-day cricket, the need for a formidable fast bowling attack has become crucial to consistency and winning matches. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has recognised this and prioritised the development of fast bowlers in recent years. A significant step in this direction is the establishment of the new Fast Bowling Academy at the High-Performance Centre (HPC) at the R. Premadasa Stadium, a move aimed at grooming the next generation of pacemen in the country. more..

Aug 29 (CT) A diagram of the number of presidential candidates who contested the elections since 1982 in SL would look like a tick mark. Six candidates contested the first election in 1982, and the number went down to three in 1988. Since then, the numbers have been in ascendency. In 2019, 35 candidates were in the field. This time around, a total of 39 candidates are in the fray. Most of them are proxies strategically fielded to divide the votes of one of the leading candidates. more..

Aug 29 (TM) Last year, reports stated that the eyesight of a group of patients who underwent cataract eye surgeries at the Nuwara Eliya District General Hospital has been weakened due to the presence of germs in a medicine imported from India, sent shockwaves around the island, and its impact reverberates to date with allegations levelled recently that nearly 70 victims of the tragedy are yet to receive adequate compensation. This tragedy, one of many that is largely forgotten by more..

Aug 29 (ST) With less than a month to go for the prez election, the printing of ballot papers is underway while the Election Commission is also engaged in other preparatory work, Election Commissioner General Saman Sri Ratnayake said. He said that while the printing of ballot papers was underway at the Govt Printer�s Dept, steps were being taken to ensure that the operation went according to the schedule. Pointing out that the deposit and nomination processes were more..

Aug 29 (CI) Dhananjaya de Silva hopes that his SL team-mates can earn more opportunities in county cricket through their performances in England, which he believes would be particularly beneficial to their batters. Counties have been allowed to field two overseas players in their XI in each format since 2021. A relaxation of visa criteria has enabled a series of players with minimal or no international experience to win deals, more..

Aug 29 (Island) The upcoming presidential race has reached feverish pitch, with the contestants therein hurling invectives and insults at one another, and making various promises. Some of them are seeking a mandate to have the corrupt thrown behind bars and usher in good governance. The proverbial wisdom contained in the cliched saying, �It takes a thief to catch a thief�, is being questioned in Sri Lankan politics, where thieves co-operate to safeguard their interests. more..

Aug 29 (DN) The second Test cricket match of the 3-match series between SL & England will begin today at Lord�s, London, at 3:30 pm (SLT). England head into the second Test at Lord�s today with confidence after securing a five-wicket victory in the first match at Old Trafford, while the SL team, led by Dhananjaya de Silva, is expected to make a strong challenge after displaying a good performance with fighting spirit in the first Test. SL will try to level series by rectifying their mistakes. more..