Jul 27 (SO) People’s Bank, a leading State- owned commercial bank, will aim at becoming the No. 1 bank in the country in the coming years, People’s Bank Chairman Sujeewa Rajapakse said. “We have been the number two bank in the past and now we are well geared with competent staff to achieve this feat soon,” he said. With a staff of over 7,500 and a network of 750 branches, it provides banking and treasury services for personal, commercial and corporate entities across the country. more..

Jul 27 (CT) The benchmark spot marginally weakened by between seven and three cents in two-way quotes to trade at Rs 185.77/83 to the US dollar in two-way quotes as at 4pm on Friday due to continued net foreign outflows (NFOs) from the financial markets because of uncertainty. In the calendar year to Friday, the spot has weakened by between 2.47% and 2.44% (between Rs 4.47 and Rs 4.43) in two-way quotes, thereby causing cost-push inflationary pressure as more..

Jul 27 (Island) Raids conducted by STF commandos, on Saturday and Sunday, helped net 10 underworld characters and a haul of firearms along with stocks of heroin. The STF, on Saturday, raided an underworld weapons factory at Imbulana in Rathnagala, Ruwanwella and seized a haul of arms and ammunition. A person suspected of operating the weapons factory was arrested by STF. Raiders recovered three 12-bore shotguns more..

Jul 27 (FT) LYNEAR Wealth Management Ltd. has announced the appointment of highly respected former CB Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy as the Chairman of the company’s Board of Directors. Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy will work the team at LYNEAR, drawing on his extensive int'l experience to provide the firm with the strategic advice and insight on global macroeconomic issues and emerging markets. LYNEAR Wealth Management is an investment manager regulated by SEC. more..

Jul 27 (Island) London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has announced that Arjuna Nanayakkara has been appointed as the Head of Shared Services Centre – Sri Lanka. He will be responsible for managing, building, and extending the capabilities of the centre in SL. Nanayakkara joins LSEG from Global Market Technologies (GMT), formerly known as Mubasher/Direct FN where he held multiple leadership roles during a 13-year tenure. He was part of the strategic leadership responsible more..

Jul 27 (ST) The CID has started a probe on Yahapalana administration’s controversial US$ 3.85bn (Rs 700bn) oil refinery project in Hambantota. It was announced in March last year that the Omani Ministry of Oil and Gas would have a 30 percent stake in this project. But it later emerged that Oman had no shareholding in the project which was mooted by a Singapore-registered entity called Silver Park International. more..

Jul 27 (Island) PM Mahinda Rajapaksa will meet Public Health Inspectors today to discuss the issues they face. A spokesman for the Public Health Inspectors (PHIs) union said that they had postponed an executive committee meeting scheduled for today as they could take up their grievances with the PM. PHIs withdrew from COVID-19 prevention programmes as well as dengue and other duties involved in combatting communicable diseases last week following govt’s failure more..

Jul 27 (Island) Former President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday said he would obtain the highest number of votes in the Polonnaruwa District. He said he would poll more than 150,000 preferential votes at the August 05 general election. The former President said so, speaking a rally in the Polonnaruwa town. "After Aug 5, I will take charge of developing Polonnaruwa once again. When I started serving the peolpe of Polonnaruwa, 25 years ago, some of my present critics were children. more..

Jul 27 (DM) Tony Hawke, brother of former Miss Sri Lanka -1962 Jennifer Ingleton seek public assistance over the suspicious death of Miss Jennifer Ingelton. Jennifer, 78-year-old widow, without any children and without any relations living in SL had died under suspicious circumstances according to her brother who is presently living in England. According to him, she could have been saved if proper attention more..

Jul 27 (FT) Nava Sinhala Ravaya General Secretary Magalkande Sudantha Thero last week charged the Department of Excise is akin to a den of thieves, and its officials are engaged in providing protection to artificial toddy racketeers in the country. Thero stated the apprehension of several Excise Officials with the drug ‘ice’ in Puttalam last week proves his continuous claim that Excise Department officials are corrupt. He called on the Prez to investigate and apprehend all politicians and more..

Jul 27 (AD) Army Commander Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva says that the repatriation of Sri Lankans abroad will be resumed within the next week. He stated this speaking to the media following a religious program held in Kaduwela. Responding to a question raised by a journalist regarding the escape of a COVID-19 patient from the Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH), the Army Chief said that the police have taken necessary action regarding the security situation at the hospital. more..

Jul 27 (AD) The count of coronavirus reported in SL has risen as 5 more people have tested positive for COVID-19 infection. Four of the new cases are recent arrivals from Qatar while another is detected from the Kandakadu Rehabilitation Center cluster. With the addition of new cases, 8 new cases have been identified within the day. Total count of coronavirus cases in the country now stands at 2,777 cases. more..

Jul 27 (PTI) Sri Lanka cricket legend Kumar Sangakkara has backed Sourav Ganguly for the ICC chairman's post, saying the BCCI president's astute cricket brain and vast experience as an administrator make him a very suitable candidate for the role. Admitting that he is a big fan of Ganguly, Sangakkara said the former India captain has an international mindset which is necessary to remain unbiased in an important position. "I think Sourav definitely can make that change. more..

Jul 27 (AD) Leader of the National People’s Power Movement (NPPM) Anura Kumara Dissanayake says that his team is the only group in the current parliament that is not involved in crime. The reason why the public do not like the parliament is that the majority there are involved in various crimes and have no discipline or policy, said Dissanayake. Thereby, there is anger and hatred towards Parliament in the minds of the majority of the people, he added. more..

Jul 27 (DN) North Colombo Teaching Hospital (NCTH) Ragama liver transplant team together with expert doctors from across the country, was able to perform a living-donor liver transplant on a 9-year-old girl. This marks the first successful liver transplant performed for a child in Sri Lanka, Prof. Rohan Siriwardana said. With this transplant, NCTH liver transplant team has reached a milestone of performing 50 liver transplants more..

Jul 27 (FT) If you think nothing will change, then do not bother to read this essay. We control our future with what we choose now. If you think nothing will change, indeed nothing will change. The absence of resolve, the presumption of the impossibility to make a change is self-fulfilling. Powerlessness can be transformed into a force capable of achieving justice. History does not teach fatalism. There are moments when the will of a handful of free men breaks through determinism and opens new roads. more..

Jul 27 (AD) The Ministry of Health confirmed that fifteen more patients infected with COVID-19 have completely recovered from the disease. The recovered patients have been discharged from their respective hospitals today (27). Accordingly, the total count of recoveries from COVID-19 has increased to 2,121. Following the detection of 12 more coronavirus-positive cases during the last 24 hours ending from 6 am today, Sri Lanka’s infections tally has soared to 2,782. more..

Jul 27 (Island) National coordinator of the Center for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) Manjula Gajanayaka, addressing the media, yesterday, voiced his concern about the increase in hate speech within the past few days. He said incendiary words uttered by leaders of political parties or posed on social media could result in pre-election as well as post- election violence. Gajanayaka said the CMEV was more concerned about intra party battles over preferential votes. more..

Jul 27 (DN) PM Mahinda Rajapaksa addressing several meetings in the Badulla district pledged to implement a series of measures which would immensely benefit the public, including Agrahara Insurance benefits to all state sector pensioners, separate wards for them in govt hospitals and a daily wage of Rs 1,000 plus to plantation workers and a higher price for locally grown potatoes. PM said that Cabinet approval has been granted to provide Agrahara Insurance Scheme benefits more..

Jul 27 (FT) An enthusiastic reader of the article in this series last week has brought to my notice two propositions for SL to attain a quick economic recovery – dubbed as V-shaped recovery – after the present COVID-19, or in short C-19, monster has been fully caged in. In the above-mentioned article, it was suggested that Sri Lanka could at most bargain for a prolonged recovery – called a flattened U-shaped recovery – more..

Jul 27 (AD) PCoI on political victimization has informed the court that JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake and 2 others will not be called before the Commission until the Appeal Court case on the matter concludes. Along with Dissanayake, former Director of the CID Shani Abeysekara, and Senior State Counsel Janaka Bandara will also won’t be summoned to record statements on the matter. Previously, 17 parties, including Dissanayake and Abeysekara, were issued summons to more..

Jul 27 (AD) Mobile polling station program for voter currently under quarantine due to the COVID-19 outbreak will not be carried out on July 31 as previously scheduled, states the Election Commission of SL. The decision has been taken at the meeting held at the Elections Commission today, said Mahinda Deshapriya, Chairman of the Commission. This decision has been based on two issues; one is logistics and the other is the lack of legal provisions in SL on advanced voting. more..

Jul 27 (EN) With a week of campaigning left in the Parliamentary General Elections watchdog groups have found that the SJB has outspent everyone else while the SLPP has violated election laws more than any other party. The CMEV found that the parties had collectively spent Rs514mn with the SJB leading the way with Rs185mn. SJB has invested heavily in electronic media spending Rs168mn for advertising on TV and Radio. more..

Jul 27 (Island) Natural enemies of the yellow spotted grasshoppers have gone missing. The mynah populations were not seen feeding on a delicacy, during young growth stages of the grasshopper. Further, villagers were worried that the Toque Macaque (rilawa) invasions had destroyed the nesting grounds and eggs of many birds and it had driven away many predatory birds, a top scientist said. Professor Buddhi Marambe, Senior Professor, Weed Science, Dept of Crop Science, more..

Jul 27 (FT) Registrar General’s Department, established by the colonial govt in 1864, maintains a low profile. Unusually, it found itself in some controversy in recent days. It announced changes in the format of birth certificates and within days walked them back when Colombo District candidate Wimal Weerawansa vehemently objected to the removal of race and religion from the certificate. Jehan Hameed, a supporter of SLPP, added her objection to religion being removed. more..

Jul 27 (EN) Sri Lanka’s economy could contract up to 4% in 2020 and the budget deficit could expand to as much as 11% gross domestic with import controls amplifying the impact of Coronavirus on revenues, analysts said. Sri Lanka’s manufacturing activity has rebounded strongly by June according to a Purchasing Managers Index compiled by the central bank, while the services recovery is weak, with tourism down and more..

Jul 27 (Island) The Piliyandala police arrested 39 youth who took part in an unauthorised motorcycle race on the Piliyandala - Kesbewa bypass in the early hours of yesterday. Police said that they had also arrested 27 motorcycles. The event had been organised through Facebook and the youth were trying to emulate motorcycle street racing that they had seen in movies. The police had received a tip-off about the races via its emergency line. Piliyandala police sent 3 teams who surrounded the area more..

Jul 27 (Island) The courts had declared that SJB was a separate party and UNPers who would try to subvert the party by working with them would be punished, UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said addressing a rally in Hatton. "Some people are saying that they will capture Sirikotha. If they try to do that they will have to go to jail. We are trying to capture the govt not party offices," he said. Wickremesinghe added that when they removed those who had joined SJB more..

Jul 27 (AD) SL Police says that two new hotlines will be introduced for the public to provide information regarding criminal activities such as drug rackets and organized crime. Police Spokesman SSP Jaliya Senaratne said that the hotlines will be operated by a special unit at the Police Headquarters and will come into operation from tomorrow. The public can provide the information by calling the following hotlines: 1997 & 1917. more..

Jul 27 (DM) The suspect arrested on charges of sexually abusing underage boys had been identified as a set designer for a children’s reality show on television in addition to being an English teacher. 54-year-old suspect was arrested by the Kollupitiya Police following a tip-off that underage boys were being sexually abused. It is alleged that video footages were sold to clients in foreign countries. The suspect was remanded till August 5 after being produced in the Nugegoda MC yesterday. more..

Jul 27 (CT) A major health risk has broken out at the District General Hospital (DGH) in Negombo after officials have been forced to carry post-mortems on human remains in open corridors as the mortuary is nearly non-functional, a senior-most medical official disclosed on 24 July. The Hospital’s mortuary is almost non-functional with near zero equipment needed to perform autopsies and this has led to a precarious situation as the remains are exposed to the elements, warned more..

Jul 27 (CT) Rajaratnam Kavitha, mother of Pulasthini Mahendran alias Sarah Jasmine, requested the Security Forces not to release National Thowheed Jama’ath (NTJ) leader Zaharan Hashim's wife, Abdul Cader Fatima Hadiya, who is currently in CID custody, until exact information about what happened to Pulasthini after 21 Apr 2019 is revealed. She said Pulasthini had been with Zaharan's wife, from Feb to 26 Apr 2019, more..

Jul 27 (Island) Air Force intelligence officers had informed the State Intelligence Service (SIS) of the activities of Islamic extremists on several occasions since 2014, a senior Air Force officer, told the PCoI. The witness said that they had provided information to the SIS, on 26 Aug 2014, about a group of Pakistani nationals engaged in extremist activities in Kattankudy. The Pakistanis had been directly working with several Thowheed Jamaat organisations in the area, he said. more..

Jul 27 (ST) Covid-19 pandemic will create opportunities for Singapore and SL to deepen trade ties with agri-business and digitalisation singled out for particular focus during a webinar on Monday. Addressing the webinar, Singapore's HC, Mr S. Chandra Das, spoke of new opportunities despite the fact that Covid-19 has been "a very tiring period both (for) diplomatic and business cooperation". "New ideas will continue to multiply as we move to reopen our economies and societies. more..

Jul 27 (MoD) “Children need to be safeguarded from all forms of abuse and it is a must that we create a secure and safe environment for children”, Defence Secretary Maj. Gen. (Retd) Kamal Gunaratne said. He expressed these views speaking at a meeting jointly organized by the Defence Ministry and National Child Protection Authority (NCPA), today. Defence Secretary said discussions were already held to form more..

Jul 27 (FT) he Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has fined five firms for the failure of doing proper customer due diligence. Penalties amounting to Rs. 6 million were imposed mainly on the violations of Financial Institutions (Customer Due Diligence) Rules No. 1 of 2016 in relation to third party deposits, obtaining approval for Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs), sanctions screening and financial transaction reporting under Section 6 of the FTRA. The five financial institutions are more..

Jul 27 (Island) Sugarcane farmers of Sevanagala and Pelwatte staging a protest at Embilipitiya town on Saturday urged the government to continue with the ban it had on ethanol imports. President of the Sevnanagala Sugarcane Farmers’ Federation D.B. Jayailaka said that several ethanol importers had teamed up to campaign for the overturning of the ban imposed by the incumbent govt. "We hope that the government will not succumb to their pressure. Sevanagala and Pelwatte sugar factories are more..

Jul 27 (CT) A large-scale drug trafficking network involving the sale, distribution and packaging of drugs, has been busted by the Nugegoda Anti-Corruption Unit. A sum of Rs 1,800 million had reportedly been circulated among drug traffickers involved in this racket. Based on a tip-off received about a suspicious individual who was seen near the Bellanwila Raja MahaViharaya, recently, the Police apprehended and interrogated an individual. more..

Jul 27 (AD) A Sergeant attached to the Colombo Remand Prison has been arrested by police for allegedly assisting underworld drug traffickers. The prison officer in question was arrested at Peliyagoda today by officers of the Western Province (North) Crimes Division, under the supervision of Senior DIG Deshabandu Tennakoon. Information has been uncovered that the arrested Sergeant, dressed in his official uniform, had provided security for the transport of large sums of money more..