Jul 24 (AD) The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has recently entered into an agreement with the Federal Reserve Bank, New York (FED) as a temporary source of US dollar liquidity to be used when required. The facility, in technical jargon, is an overnight Repurchase (Repo) facility available for “Foreign and International Monetary Authorities” (FIMA). Many central banks in the world have resorted to this facility to meet their short-term US dollar liquidity requirements. more..

Jul 24 (AD) Another person has tested positive for COVID-19 this evening (24), taking the confirmed positive cases tally to 2,764, the Ministry of Health said. This latest coronavirus case is an arrival from the United Kingdom. As per the Epidemiology Unit’s statistics, a total of 659 patients infected with the virus are currently under medical care at hospitals. In the meantime, the number of recoveries reported from the disease in the country moved up to 2,094 earlier today. more..

Jul 24 (AD) The COVID-19 patient, who escaped from the IDH, has been apprehended by the SL Army. The escapee was located near the National Hospital of SL in Colombo. Several teams of the Army were deployed earlier to discover the suspect who had fled this morning . Senior DIG Deshabandu Tennakoon, the escapee had initially gone to the Main Street in Pettah after breaking out of the hospital at around 2am today. more..

Jul 25 (CT) In March 2015, the then Minister of Finance presented a bill to parliament for the limit on government Treasury Bill issuance to be raised from Rs. 750 bn. to Rs. 1,150 billion. Treasury bills (as opposed to bonds) are short-term borrowing instruments issued by the government with maturities of less than 12 months. They are critical because the central bank, in terms of its statute, can only buy short-term bills and is prohibited from buying longer-term bonds. more..

Jul 25 (CT) Any sensible nation would have learnt from the gory events that changed this island nation’s history and sent a once booming economy into a downward trajectory, with billions of dollars since been spent on and thousands of lives lost as a result of the thirty year old ethnic strife that followed Black July. Although war ended in 2009, Sri Lanka is nowhere yet near a point where bitter lessons were learnt to transform itself into an inclusive nation. With no political will and pseudo more..

Jul 25 (CT) Q: Are you still the National Organiser of the SLPP? A: I have never held the position of National Organiser. Q: But, you are referred to as such? A: No, I have only conducted the creative work of the party. Mahinda Rajapaksa has functioned as the leader of our party. Q: Haven’t issues pertaining to election laws and regulations come to the fore? A: I am not the main representative. In the past, I was entrusted more..

Jul 25 (DM) It is a time-tested and time-honourned truth that a good family is the foundation of a good society. If society or the world is in turmoil today with the Covid-19 pandemic causing an unprecedented health and economic crisis we need to reflect deeply and go to the roots of what is going wrong and where as we mark the United Nations International Day of Friendship next Thursday. An inspiring and memorable song may help us in this heart-felt reflection. more..

Jul 25 (CT) A recent agitation by 30-odd trade unions, big and small and also all the employees of the SLPA, calling upon the Govt to rescind the tripartite memorandum with India and Japan, to develop Colombo Port’s Eastern Container Terminal (ECT), has the potential to strain bilateral relations with the two countries. Gen. Daya Ratnayake (retd.), post-war Army Chief a decade ago, is the SLPA Chairman appointed by Prez, and the labour protests have caused eyebrows to rise. more..

Jul 25 (DM) Rajapaksa regime is all out to get a two-thirds majority in parliament through the forthcoming elections on Aug 5. The avowed objective of such a steam-roller majority is to promulgate a new Constitution or enact Constitutional amendments unilaterally. According to SLPP ideologue Prof. G.L. Peiris, a strong govt is necessary to bring about Constitutional changes without relying on smaller political parties. more..

Jul 25 (CT) The ongoing Public Health Inspectors’ (PHIs) strike demanding more powers to combat the spread of COVID-19 entered a new phase when the PHIs Union Vice President, S.A.U.T. Kulathilaka, announced that its inspectors will be reporting sick from Friday (24). Boycotting work last week, PHIs have said that no acceptable solution has been provided to their demands by either the State or the Health Ministry for a broader mandate in order to combat the pandemic. more..

Jul 25 (ST) The lockdown kept people shuttered for weeks and months in their homes. It made them realise how difficult it is to stay locked up in homes for too long, no matter how comfortable the home is. The problem still exists, and uncertainty has not yet disappeared, but the relaxation of lockdown a few weeks ago was a welcome move for people who were longing to get out of their homes. While we were also out during a weekend, my attention was drawn to some little children playing more..

Jul 25 (Island) The foreign policy followed by SL in its first few years of independence was largely determined by two factors: its proximity to India and its colonial past. The one influenced the other. The nature of SL’s colonial bourgeoisie, who became the legatees of power once the British left, and their ideological orientation, had a say as well. The conflux of these factors has led several commentators, Marxist or otherwise, to argue that SL’s foreign policy was structured along elitist more..

Jul 25 (Island) The incumbent administration markets itself as a govt of patriots by patriots for patriots. Its leaders never miss any opportunity to wrap themselves in the flag and rub their brand of patriotism on others. They are so proud of the country’s glorious past that they have undertaken to prove that millennia before the Wright brothers invented the first motor-operated airplane, mythical King of Lanka Ravana had flown an aircraft, called Dandumonera, which is believed to have. more..

Jul 25 (Island) Electoral politics has taken a huge leap back into history. King Buvenakhabahu II and the Kingdom of Kurunegala are big players in the politics of 2020, pushing the realities of economic and social hardships of the country and people into a holding bag among the key opposition players. Pohottuva Players in the current political drama must be having great pleasure in seeing how the electoral politics have moved away from more..

Jul 25 (DM) The party brought independence to the nation. The party revived agriculture, brought free education, and started providing free text books and free midday meals to school children. The party introduced the Suwaseriya ambulance service and the Suraksha Health Insurance scheme for school children. The party in govet, also increased salaries of public servants. These are among the claims made by present-day UNP members and those of breakaway Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB). more..

Jul 25 (DN) Indigenous people are the true pride of a nation. They are the people who express and augment the natural essence of that nation. The native tribes of the Cherokee in America, the Aborigines of Australia and the Masai Mara in Tanzania represent these beautiful cultures. The adventurous Englishman, Robert Knox wrote about the Veddah of ancient Ceylon, as he was intrigued by their lifestyle. Due to their stealth in the dense jungles the Veddah were once deployed as more..

Jul 25 (Island) The age limit restrictions that will come to effect from 2021 for school sports competitions is unlikely to have a big impact on the lowest age group tournament organised by the SL Schools Cricket Association (SLSCA) according to its secretary J.A.K.S. Indrajith. Ministry of Education (MoE) has decided to scrap competitive sports for the Under-13 age category from 2021. Instead of competitive sports the MoE will encourage more..

Jul 25 (DN) In a landmark achievement, three promising female umpires received promotions to higher grades from SLC during a ceremony held at the SLC Hq. Out of the three umpires, former Sri Lanka batter Dedunu de Silva has made vast strides in the field and have being promoted to Level-3 along with former SL ‘A’ Team all-rounder Nimali Perera. In addition, former SL and Air Force Sports Club batter Sanduni Lakshika has been promoted to Level-4 among the panel of umpires. more..

Jul 25 (SLN) SL Navy which conduct regular patrols to preserve the marine resources around the island, apprehended 27 persons who engaged in illegal fishing, along with banned nets and other fishing gear, during the search operations carried out in the Eastern Naval Command from 18th to 23rd July. Accordingly, eighteen persons who engaged in illegal fishing on 3 dinghies, using banned nets in the seas off Paul Point, were apprehended during 2 search operations conducted on 18th July. more..

Jul 25 (FT) The Central Bank is ratcheting up the rolling out of the Saubagya COVID-19 Renaissance Facility, expanding its approvals in the last two weeks by 3,985 new loans amounting to Rs.11.8 billion and taking the total value of approved loans to Rs.72 billion. Central Bank approved 3,985 new loan applications, amounting to Rs. 11,829 million, submitted by licensed banks under the Saubagya COVID-19 Renaissance Facility more..

Jul 25 (DN) Sri Lankan Beatrice Ranjini Bandara, who came to compete in Bengaluru in the late 60s and then became Beatrice Hegde - as the State’s daughter-in-law -passed away last Wednesday following a brief illness. She was 70. Beatrice, who married Shankar Hegde, her classmate at the YMCA College of Physical Education, was a regular in the State squad in the 70s. She excelled in sprints, hurdles and javelin throw. From YMCA, she joined the Sacred Heart School here as a more..

Jul 25 (DN) The Sri Lankan cricket pool, divided into four groups, have already started their training at the R. Premadasa cricket stadium training centre from last July 21. The 40 players have been divided into four groups, with every group consisting of 10 players. They will not meet other groups, and all activities are under health officials’ regulations and senior officials of SLC. The senior players groups are named A, B, C, and D, while 12 junior players are in the special group ‘E’. more..

Jul 25 (FT) SL’s effort to establish the origin of aviation through King Ravana’s legend has drawn over 100 submissions, whilst the deadline is on 31 July. Civil Aviation Authority of SL (CAASL) last week called on the public to contact it directly if they are willing to share any documents or books related to King Ravana’s expedition. The initiative is led by the CAA’s Environment, Research and Project Section, which last year kicked off a research more..

Jul 25 (DM) Department of Excise has fired the Excise Guard found with Crystal Methamphetamine in Puttalam with a group of civilians, from his service with immediate effect yesterday, and has warned stern action if any other Excise official was known to be linked to the case. Excise Commissioner General Ariyadasa Bodaragama ordered to dismiss from service the 30-year-old Excise Guard, who had been on a three-year probation service of non-permanent cadre attached to Vavuniya Excise Station. more..

Jul 25 (DM) Kalutara North Police informed Kalutara Magistrate's Court regarding the mysterious death of a 14-year-old child inside an open Almirah in a house. The child was a resident in Dediyawala named Dasanuka Sas. An investigation was launched by the police on a complaint lodged by the boy's mother Shanthi Renuka. Police said the death had occurred when the child’s father had gone to the hospital for medical treatment and his mother had gone to a shop to buy food stuff for the family. more..

Jul 25 (CT) SL’s 15-member stockbroker community (full members) voted against the re- election of recognised economic and stock market analyst, Murtaza Jafferjee, who is a veteran free market think-tank head and the Chairman of JB Securities, to the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) Directorial Board during CSE’s recently-held AGM. “This is the 2nd occasion he has been voted out by the stockbroker community during CSE AGM. more..

Jul 25 (HT) The postponed Indian Premier League (IPL) that is scheduled to be held in the UAE will begin on September 19 and run until November 8. IPL chairman Brijesh Patel confirmed the schedule on Friday, although the Indian board is awaiting the govt’s green signal to take IPL out of India. “We have written to the Indian government. We are expecting a reply soon. Once it comes, an IPL Governing Council (GC) meeting will be called next week to finalise all other details.” more..

Jul 25 (CT) The Sri Lanka Wushu Federation (SLWF) distributed wushu equipment to around 50 wushu clubs spread across the country recently valued at over Rs 4 million. A ceremony was held at the Sports Ministry to distribute the equipment, and among those present was Secretary to the Ministry of Sports K.D.S. Ruwanchandra, DG of the Sports Development Department Amal Edirisuriya and the Chairman of SLWF Manel Dharmakeerthi. Speaking on the occasion Dharmakeerthi stated that more..

Jul 25 (PMD) Prez Rajapaksa has paid his attention to amend the Antiquities Ordinance in order to strengthen the preservation of antiquities and historical national heritage. Prez has decided to appoint a committee comprising Maha Sangha and experts in the field to study how the amendments should take place. Proposed amendment seeks to stop the destructions caused to antiquities that has been going on for a more..

Jul 25 (PMD) COVID-19 Health and Social Security Fund has allocated Rs. 36,605,812.00 to the Ministry of Health to carry out essential PCR tests. Chairman of the Management Committee of the Fund and the Governor of the CB Prof. W.D Lakshman handed over the cheque pertaining to the allocation to the Secretary to the Ministry of Health Dr Sanjeewa Munasinghe today (24). The money will be utilized to conduct PCR tests and health security consultation programmes. more..

Jul 25 (DM) Terrorists should be treated as terrorists no matter what ethnic or religious group they belong to, while extremism should also not be tolerated, UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said. He told an election rally in Batticaloa that terrorists should not be given an ethnic or religious label. “There are terrorists among the Muslims, Tamils and Sinhalese. I do not know whether there are terrorists among the burghers in SL. We should get rid of extremism. Extremism and terrorism go together, more..

Jul 25 (Island) The Election Commission (EC) has cleared the way for the UNP breakaway SJB in the wake of UNP Colombo District candidate Oshala Herath moving CIABOC against the EC over what he called procedural violations in the re-naming of the party. SJB leader Sajith Premadasa told The Island that they really appreciated the EC setting the record straight amidst attempts to confuse the electorate. more..

Jul 25 (AD) Court of Appeal has postponed until Monday (27) the supporting of the writ petition filed by the interdicted Superintendent (SP) of the Negombo Prison, Anuruddha Sampayo. The petition was taken up today (24) before a judge bench comprising President of Appeals Court Justice A.H.M.D Nawaz and Justice Sobitha Rajakaruna. Deputy Solicitor General Milinda Gunathilaka, appearing on behalf of the Attorney General, raising preliminary objections before the court more..

Jul 25 (DNA) India and Sri Lanka on Friday agreed for US $400 million currency swap agreement. The agreement signed by Reserve Bank of India extends the swap facility for SL till Nov 2022. The development comes as a relief to SL amidst COVID-19 and will help in its post-pandemic economic recovery. A currency swap is a transaction in which two parties exchange principal and interest in different currencies. Companies doing business abroad often use currency swaps to get more..

Jul 25 (CT) Police Department has initiated a detailed probe into a case where around 50 Police records concerning noted underworld gangster Samsunge Sampath Chamara alias Army Sampath going missing from the Grandpass Police Station. The missing records document acts of crime and illegal drug peddling of the noted underworld gangster which had been kept at the Police Station for over two decades. more..

Jul 25 (Island) The recent demolition of the Raja Sabha Mandapa - AssemblyHall of King Buvanekabahu ll on the instructions of the Mayor of Kurunegala, was not taken up for discussion by the Cabinet, says Minister Bandula Gunawardane. Asked during the weekly post-Cabinet Press Briefing on Thursday, why those responsible for bulldozing the building in question, had not been arrested, Gunawardane said that it was the function of the law enforcement authorities. more..

Jul 25 (FT) Three beautification projects for Colombo and Sri J'pura Kotte, including a new green infrastructure project for Galle Face Green, was approved by the Cabinet this week. The projects, which will be implemented by the UDA, are aimed at improving the liveability in the capital by providing environmental and social infrastructure. “The three projects are a green infrastructure network plan around Galle Face Green, pedestrian centre on Baladaksha Mawatha, and developing more..

Jul 25 (Island) In 2015, then Prez Maithripala Sirisena had not thought there would be a threat to national security and had agreed to hold the National Security Council (NSC) meetings once a month, instead of once a week as before, former Secretary to the Prez P.B. Abeykoon told the PCoI. Sirisena, PM Ranil Wickremesinghe and other stakeholders had agreed to hold the NSC, which used to meet once a week before, more..

Jul 25 (DN) Prez Rajapaksa is a tower of strength and a beacon of hope for the country. If not for his astute leadership, the country would have suffered dire consequences as a result of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, said former Minister Mahinda Amaraweera addressing an election propaganda meeting. He said that if the Yahapalana Govt was in power during this period, the country would have been gripped by the COVID-19 pandemic and the people would have been in grave danger. more..