Jul 20 (AD) The Motion of No Confidence brought against Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila by the opposition has been defeated by a majority of 91 votes. A total of 61 MPs had voted in favour of the motion while 152 MPs voted against it. Members of the SJB, TNA and JVP voted in favour of the motion while members of the ruling party, SLPP, and SLFP cast their vote against. Parliament was subsequently adjourned until Aug 3. more..

Jul 20 (Island) SL Ambassador to China Dr. Palitha Kohona attended the opening of the China-South Asia Emergency Supplies Reserve in Chengdu on July 9. SL Embassy in Beijing said: The emergency reserve was the result of a Zoom meeting convened by Foreign Minister Wang Yi in April and attended by the Foreign Ministers of Afghanistan, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and SL. Given the regularity with which natural disasters seem to afflict the South Asian region, the creation of the emergency more..

Jul 20 (AD) President of the Maldives, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has arrived in Sri Lanka for a three-day official visit. Reportedly, a contingent of 15 top-level Maldivian Foreign Ministry officials has accompanied Mr Solih to the island nation. A special flight chartered by SriLankan Airlines with the Maldivian delegates aboard touched down at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) at around 11.30 am this morning (20). They are expected to stay in the country until Friday (23). more..

Jul 20 (TM) Colombo Additional Magistrate Rajindra Jayasuriya yesterday ordered the relevant telephone companies to submit the telephone records of MP Rishad Bathiudeen’s wife to the Borella Police for further investigations into the death of a 16-year-old girl who was allegedly working as a maid at Bathiudeen’s residence. This was after the Borella Police requested the court to issue orders to the relevant telephone more..

Jul 20 (AD) 13 committees including the COPE and Ministerial Consultative Committees have been scheduled to meet during the next three weeks, according to the Communications Department of the Parliament. Accordingly, the National Film Corporation has been summoned before the COPE on the 19th July under the chairmanship of Prof. Charitha Herath. Ministerial Consultative Committee on Highways is scheduled to meet on the same day under the chairmanship of more..

Jul 20 (DM) The country has so far received 10,172,800 vaccines to be used as shield against Covid-19. SL has received a total number of 1,264,000 of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines, 7.1 million of Chinese Sinopharm vaccines, 180,000 of Russian-made Sputnik V vials, 128,700 US-made Pfizer-BioNTech and over 1.5 million of Moderna vaccines. Among the total number of vaccines, over 3.3 million were received as donations while the Govt had to procure over 6.8 million of them. more..

Jul 20 (DM) There could be a possible gas shortage as the LAUGFS Gas PLC, which is one of the largest suppliers of LP Gas in SL has stopped all its imports. LAUGFS Deputy Chairman U.K. Thilak De Silva said they had been compelled to stop imports due to two main reasons like difficulties faced in opening Letters of Credit (LCs) and severe shortage of foreign currency with the banks. more..

Jul 20 (CT) The body of a software engineer, a resident of a luxury housing complex at Orchid Gardens, Halbarawa, Thalahena, was found yesterday, Mulleriyawa Police said. The deceased had been identified as a software engineer attached to a private firm in Malabe. Police said the victim had resided in the ninth floor of the housing complex along with his mother and sister. The victim’s mother had received a call on her mobile phone that her son was lying unconscious near a tree at more..

Jul 20 (CT) SLPP MP Tiran Alles in Parliament questioned whether the SJB was attempting to jeopardise Minister Udaya Gammanpila’s plans for the country’s development, by moving a No-Confidence Motion against him. Speaking during the debate on the NCM against Gammanpila, over recent fuel price hike, Alles said throughout the history patriotic leaders were subjected to mudslinging campaigns and Gammanpila has also become a victim of that. more..

Jul 20 (DM) Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) today warned that the country is heading towards the first phase of the COVID-19 fourth wave outbreak, SLMA President Dr. Padma Gunaratne said. She said there is an imminent threat of a fourth wave outbreak and warned the general public of this. She said, despite the travel restrictions, there was no significant decline in the number of COVID positive cases. more..

Jul 20 (Island) Only China and New South Wales in Australia had so far managed to contain outbreaks of the Delta variant of COVID-19, Executive Director of the Institute for Health Policy (IHP), Dr Ravi Rannan-Eliya said. “Given that even highly vaccinated countries, like UK, USA, and Israel are experiencing explosive outbreaks of Delta variant, SL needs to be especially vigilant. “We have also seen an outbreak in Singapore and that was sourced to the airport staff who had more..

Jul 20 (Island) Ven. Uduwe Dhammaloka Thera on Sunday flayed those who opposed the controversial Sir John Kotelawela Defence University Bill. The former JHU lawmaker alleged that attempts were being made to derail government efforts to expand the much-needed capacity of Universities to meet the growing demand. The Thera said so addressing a gathering at Bodagama, Thanmalwila, where dry rations worth about Rs 20 million were distributed among those affected by Covid-19 epidemic. more..

Jul 20 (EN) Cabinet of ministers has approved a proposal to permit Muslims to marry under the Marriage Registration Ordinance, as provisions in the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA) were found to discriminate against women, the cabinet office said. A cabinet statement said that under section 12 of the constitution no citizen shall be discriminated against on grounds of race, religion, language, cast, sex, political opinion, more..

Jul 20 (EN) Sri Lanka Tourism said it is requesting further debt relief for the tourist industry which has been hard hit by the Coronavirus pandemic. “With the third wave of the pandemic severely affecting the Industry, tourism authorities have requested new relief from the Central Bank of SL in addition to the extended debt moratorium from banks and finance companies, as well as concessionary working capital which was arranged for the industry in 2020/2021,” SL Tourism Development Authority said. more..

Jul 20 (EN) SL plans to establish a judicial training academy as part of a proposed move to develop the country’s judicial system, the cabinet office said. The academy is expected to help strengthen and update the knowledge and skill levels of SL’s judiciary, the cabinet statement said. Currently, the Sri Lanka Judges’ Institute serves as the only establishment for judicial training. The cabinet statement said the Judges’ Institute’s contribution to judicial training in SL has not been satisfactory. more..

Jul 20 (FT) SL’s export has sector sustained its resilience despite the pandemic and other challenges posting robust growth year-on-year in June and in the first half of 2021. Export Development Board (EDB) said, as per the latest statistics released by SL Customs, that the export sector performance has been able to maintain its upward trend in June 2021 with exports increasing by 9.41% to $978.2m compared to June 2020 more..

Jul 20 (CT) Nurses warned they would resume trade union action if the Health Ministry failed to issue the two circulars related to their promotions and re-awarding of staff grade recognition to the service. President of Govt Nursing Officers’ Association (GNOA), Saman Ratnapriya, said there was a delay in sanctioning approval from the Public Service Commission (PSC) and the Ministry of Public Administration for the two circulars. Fielding questions, he said the Health Ministry had more..

Jul 20 (Island) The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) has asked Commander of the Air Force, Air Marshal Sudharshna Pathirana, to submit a report on or before 20th July 2021, explianing non-cooperation with the HRCSL, which tried to obtain relevant information to hold a preliminary inquiry as regards the way its quarantine facility is run. According to the complaint to the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, the Commission has drawn attention to the following matters. more..

Jul 20 (Island) Federation of University Teachers Associations (FUTA) yesterday urged the govt to restructure the existing Kotelawala National Defence University so that it served its intended purpose of providing higher education and training to officers of the tri-forces. A statement signed by Rohan Laksiri, General Secretary of FUTA said: The FUTA expresses its grave concern and dismay regarding the remarks made by Prez more..

Jul 20 (FT) Moody’s Investors Service (Moody’s) yesterday placed the Govt of SL’s Caa1 foreign currency long-term issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings under review for downgrade. The decision to place the ratings under review for downgrade is driven by Moody’s assessment that SL’s increasingly fragile external liquidity position raises the risk of default. Moody’s said this assessment reflects governance weaknesses in the ability of the country’s institutions to more..

Jul 20 (FT) Building on the success of Integrity Icon 2020 and drawing from past experiences, Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) yesterday announced that nominations were now being accepted for Integrity Icon Sri Lanka 2021 to name and fame honest public officials battling on the frontlines of the pandemic. TISL said over the past one-and-a-half years COVID-19 has tested the strength of public institutions in countries all over the world. more..

Jul 20 (DM) Colombo High Court Trial-at-Bar today permitted the prosecution to proceed with the second Central Bank bond issuance case, in absentia of former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran and Ajahn Gardiye Punchihewa. Trial-at-Bar bench comprising High Court Judges Damith Thotawatta, Manjula Tillekaratne and Mohammed Ishadeen made this order pursuant to Attorney General's request to proceed with more..

Jul 20 (FT) The Colombo stock market yesterday lived up to its true expectations or relived past glory generating over Rs. 6 billion turnover with strong investor play pushing indices up. The All Share Price Index gained by 0.7% or over 55 points to finally settle comfortable above 8,000 points at 8,022.55 points. The S&P SL20 gained higher by 1.7% or over 51 points. Turnover was a five-month high at Rs. 6.22 billion with 439 million shares traded. The Colombo bourse however continued to suffer more..

Jul 20 (AD) Two individuals who were in possession of heroin have been arrested on Monday, says police spokesman. Following a lengthy investigation, the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) had made the arrest in the area of Kotugoda, Ja-Ela. According to SDIG Ajith Rohana, law enforcement authorities have seized 1.225 kg of heroin estimated to be worth nearly Rs. 12.5 million. In addition, a car and Rs. 868,000 in cash suspected to be drug money were also recovered by the police officers. more..

Jul 21 (CT) There was a big response to Rajan’s lullaby to Basil (Over the Ocean), Ameer Ali’s Addendum to my A Fire has been Lit and my The Only Way forward for the JVP. That’s good, people are serious about how to get together to confront a common threat and the importance of action-unity for defensive purposes. Almost all emails or phone calls, as well as Colombo Telegraph Comments were supportive. However they included a few defeatist or narrow-minded outbursts. more..

Jul 21 (CT) Economic policy makers who are advising the Rajapaksa Regime (RR) seem to be advocating what they call an alternative path to development, without detailing in any document or forum what constitutes that path and how smooth or rough the journey along that path going to be for the economy and people. If the distance covered so far, is any evidence, then there is no doubt that the path is pointing towards a cul-de-sac. Sri Lanka’s economic crisis is multidimensional. more..

Jul 21 (TM) It is an open secret that Sri Lanka’s plantation sector community is a segment of the population that receives step-motherly treatment from the authorities, and endures abysmal living conditions. Poverty has become the community’s defining characteristic, and what is more unfortunate is how it persists through generations, despite some attempts to provide better education and a better life for children more..

Jul 21 (DM) There is confusion in Indian society and its judiciary over the legitimacy of live-in relationships, which appear to be growing, despite the fact that India is still a very traditional country. Urbanization, rapid economic development and social mobility are disrupting the traditional concepts of marriage and family at least in the upwardly mobile middle class in the cities. Though there is no specific law on live-in relationships, Indian Supreme Court has recognized live-in relationships more..

Jul 21 (DM) Tharindu Jayawardhana is one of Sri Lanka’s most outstanding and promising young journalists. His writings and MediaLK, the news website he founded in 2019, are noted for highlighting some of the most critical injustices and rights violations faced by numerous ethnic minorities in the country, such as Tamils and Muslims. But concerningly, Ministry of Mass Media is currently refusing the registration of MediaLK, due to lack of clearance from the Ministry of Defence and more..

Jul 21 (DM) SLPP MP S.B. Dissanayake expressed concerns about not getting a Ministerial post in the current Govt. Amidst speculations about a Cabinet reshuffle, he responds to questions in this regard during an interview with Daily Mirror. Q: You remained a Cabinet Minister for a long time. Now, you are only the chairman of the Nuwara-Eliya District Development Coordinating Committee. What do you feel about your more..

Jul 21 (CT) Re-opening the country was to put the economy on track, Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa said, recently. The lockdown of the country, in the past few months, has disrupted the flow of funds to State coffers from local and foreign entities, as a result a decision was taken to re-open the country and put the economy on track as soon as possible, Minister told at a meeting of heads of Local Govt institutions at Temple Trees, adding that he would bring relief to the people through more..

Jul 21 (TM) The number of allegations levelled by certain parties, especially Opposition parties, against the Govt’s Covid-19 management efforts are too numerous to mention. Some of these have been fair criticism while others have been unreasonable. It is a fact that there are certain shortcomings on the part of the Govt and the health authorities, even allowing for the fact that we are a debt-ridden, socio-economically unstable and politically divided country. However, last week, international community more..

Jul 21 (Island) The defeat of the SJB’s no-faith motion against Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila yesterday in Parliament came as no surprise. As for winning the vote, the Opposition had the same chance as a cat in hell. The SJB may have sought to give a boost to its anti-govt campaign with the help of its no-confidence motion. It has to remain politically active and be seen to be so to bolster its supporters’ morale. It also held a protest near Parliament on Monday. more..

Jul 21 (Island) The curriculum taught at a university shapes the way its students perceive education and its roles and purposes, as well as the academic discipline(s) they study. It occupies the heart of the educational apparatuses by which ideologies (of dominance) are naturalised and socialised. The curriculum can also be a site where pathways of resistance are creatively carved out. Therefore, universities need to take the tasks of designing and revising their curriculum seriously. more..

Jul 21 (DN) Muslims across the world celebrate Eid-ul-Adha or Hajj Festival whilst millions of people gather in the holy city of Makkah in Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj (this year, only Saudi nationals and foreigners residing in Saudi Arabia can participate due to the pandemic). Eid-ul-Adha is also known as the Festival of Sacrifice. The observance commemorates the Prophet Ibrahim’s readiness to sacrifice his son in order to demonstrate more..

Jul 21 (ST) Cometh the miracle man: Accolades and bouquets from members and supporters of the party that the new finance minister put together from scratch continue. Like 3 Wise Men who followed the star to Bethlehem, envoys from countries near and far have trekked to the Finance Ministry to meet the man tasked with uplifting the country’s faltering economy as he did a few years back with the political fortunes of the Rajapaksas. Basil Rajapaksa has earned a reputation as Mr Fix It. more..

Jul 21 (DM) Sri Lanka, or Ceylon back then, first took part in Olympic Games in the 1948 London Olympics, where Duncan White won a Silver medal in the 400m hurdles event. Since then the island nation had to wait 52 years to see another athlete winning a medal. It was Susanthika Jayasinghe who won a Silver medal in the 200m event at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. In 1964, SL was recognised by the ICC as an Associate Member along with the USA and Fiji and competed in top-level more..

Jul 21 (CI) Sri Lanka had India by the collar. Chasing 276, the visitors were 116 for 5 at one stage. When No. 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar joined No. 8 Deepak Chahar at the crease, they still had 83 runs to get off 89 balls. But they refused to be beaten. Chahar, with one List A half-century to his name before this innings, fought doggedly and intelligently, producing a stirring 69 not out that wrenched the game from SL's fist. more..