Jul 30 (FT) UNP Deputy Leader Ruwan Wijewardene has been appointed as Presidential Advisor on Climate Change. In 2016, SL signed the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Currently, the attention of many people around the world is focused on preventing the damage to the earth caused by climate change. Sri Lanka also has a vast responsibility towards this global responsibility. This appointment was made by Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe to get the advice & support more..

Jul 30 (Island) Ministry of Agriculture had decided to establish a dollar account for the development of the agriculture sector for the country’s food security, a senior Ministry official said. Chairman of the Presidential Committee on National Food Security, Dr. Suren Batagoda, said that if SL’s food security is not ensured, the people of the country will suffer a major nutritional deficiency next year. A discussion was held at the Ministry of Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation, more..

Jul 30 (CNA) There is a sense of calm on the streets of Colombo this week. Looking at the business district along the scenic Galle Face promenade, once a magnificent venue for horse racing during British rule, one might think that order has returned to the island nation. But just a few weeks ago, angry protesters stormed the presidential palace and his ocean-front office, demanding the resignation of then-prez more..

Jul 30 (DM) Amidst ongoing acts of suppression of stakeholders in the Galle Face aragalaya, two police teams raided the headquarters of the FSP party and had started searching the premises claiming they were looking for Wasantha Mudalige. A group of about ten unidentified men in civvies had arrived in a van lead by a person in a police uniform they had entered the party’s head office at Melder Place in Nugegoda at around 7.30am yesterday and had started searching the premises without giving more..

Jul 30 (Island) The govt must reveal who is responsible for developing the computer application used for the National Fuel pass; who the owner is, and how much the govt has paid for the app, Head of the National Employees Union of the CPC Ananda Palitha, said. He said that the application was not yet used countrywide. “The app was to be used countrywide from 25 July. Now, the launch has been postponed to 1 Aug. The plan was to ration fuel using the app, but that is not happening more..

Jul 30 (Island) Many professionals including medical specialists were spending days and nights in fuel queues, but the engineers of CEB had no such problem as the govt giving priority to supplying fuel for power generation, a senior Power and Energy Ministry official said. Despite everyone else undergoing untold hardships trying to find fuel, CEB engineers have been happily tapping into the large diesel reserves at Kelanitissa plant, more..

Jul 30 (FT) The SLFP submitted a nine-point proposal to Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe setting out the structure for a future National Govt. The proposal was presented to the President during the meeting held yesterday with former Prez Maithripala Sirisena and several members of the SLFP at the Ministry of Finance. Among the proposals set out, the SLFP has suggested the establishment of a Crisis Management Cabinet and the inclusion of all MPs in the attached committees for Ministries, more..

Jul 30 (8News) Four people-smuggling boats from Sri Lanka have been intercepted in Australian waters as economic unrest grows in the south-east Asian country. Operation Sovereign Borders carried out by Australia's Border Force released a monthly report revealing four boats with a total of 125 people onboard were intercepted in June. "All 125 passengers and crew were safely returned to Sri Lanka in close cooperation with the Sri Lankan Govt," the report said. more..

Jul 30 (DW) SL said bailout discussions with the IMF had resumed Friday after the World Bank said it would not be able to offer the country fresh funding without deep structural reforms. The island nation of SL is bankrupt, and its economy is in a death spiral. Fresh figures released on Friday showed year-on-year inflation in July hitting a record 60.8%. The news comes as China plans to send a military ship more..

Jul 30 (FT) An observant visitor will not fail to note the existential disorder the SL society stumbles into when asked to define itself. In the popular social discourse, the question is addressed expansively, if not loosely. There are so many stories of SL ingenuity; Lee Kuan Yew the celebrated founder of dazzling Singapore was working with a blueprint drawn up by a Sri Lankan, our skills provide the oil that lubricates Dubai – that miracle in the sand, if not for the brain power from this island will more..

Jul 30 (FT) Shock and awe is a military strategy of using overwhelming force at the outset of a conflict in order to break the enemy’s will to resist. The phrase became well known after the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the US. Since then, the phrase has been used in different contexts. In this article it is used in its entire sense for some events and in others it is used as two separate words with their respective meanings of surprise and an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, fear, etc., more..

Jul 30 (DM) Weightlifter Isuru Kumara won SL's first medal at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, in the Men's 55kg category, on Saturday. He finished behind Mohamad Aniq Bin Kasdan of Malaysia who won Gold, and India's Sanket Sargar, the winner of the Silver medal. Kumara lifted 105kg in the Snatch and 120 in the Clean & Jerk to finish with a total of 225. Kasdan lifted 107 in the Snatch and 142 in the Clean & Jerk, the latter a Games record, for a total of 249, with Sargar finishing more..

Jul 30 (EN) Bairaha Farms, a poultry group, said its profits grew more than 200% in the June 2022 quarter from a year earlier led by increase in other operating income and join venture profits, interim accounts showed. The quarter saw sharp increase in the chicken prices. The poultry group recorded a profit of 369.5 million rupees in the June 2022 quarter, an increase of 274.1% from 98 million rupees a year earlier. The group reported earnings of 23.10 rupees per share for the quarter, more..

Jul 30 (ANI) In SL, which is battling a crushing economic crisis, is now facing another predicament with its women, most of them who have lost their jobs in the textile sector, now forced to become sex workers to earn a livelihood. In the wake of the unprecedented crisis in the country, 22 million Sri Lankans are facing enormous hardship and prospects of poverty. The difficulties brought by the current situation in the country have pushed more..

Jul 30 (CT) Colombo High Court Judge Damith Thotawatta on Friday, without calling for testimony from the defence, acquitted and released from the trial 13 persons, who were indicted with stabbing to death an individual. Announcing the verdict, Judge Thotawatta, stated that perusal of the testimony put forth before him, by the prosecution, had shown that they were unable to prove the charges filed against the accused, sans a reasonable doubt. Hence, he stated that he was ordering for more..

Jul 30 (EN) SL’s state-owned utility service provider, the National Water Supply and Drainage Board has announced an 11 hour water cut for several areas of Colombo on Saturday. Colombo 9, 10, 11 and 12 will have water cuts will be effective from 9 pm Saturday (30) till 8 am on Sunday (31). Officials said the water cut is for the maintenance of power lines running through the area. This is the second disruption to the same area within the month. A similar water cut was implemented a week ago more..

Jul 30 (Island) Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has still not paid for a ship carrying 40,000 tonnes of diesel that had arrived in Colombo Port on 16 July 16. The CPC has to pay US$ 52 million to the Dubai based Coral Energy before unloading the diesel. Moreover, the CPC also has to pay US$ 198,000 as late charges, port charges and insurance fees. A senior CPC official said that they purchased the diesel shipment under more..

Jul 30 (TM) Looking for a tattooist with a distinctive style and character? You will not regret getting inked by the 25-year-old Khoëlie Thea Perera. Her artistry is infused with her passion and personality, and her spiritual take on tattoos gives you a whole new perspective on things. It was my pleasure to catch up with her, especially considering that I have been a long-time silent admirer of her work. Q: How would you define yourself? A: I think there are three things that define me as a person – art, more..

Jul 30 (FT) Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, says the current economic policy of the Govt comes at the expense of the small and medium businesses, and millions of livelihoods are impacted due to draconian measures pursued by the present administration. Premadasa noted that over 4.5 million people were directly employed by the SME sector, contributing to over 50% of GDP, and the impacts would be felt far and wide throughout the country. more..

Jul 30 (EN) SL’s Customs said a racket involving smuggling methamphetamine tablets over the postal system has been busted drugs with street value of 29.7 million rupees seized. Central Postal Division of the SL Postal Dept, Narcotics Control Division of the SL Customs, and Narcotics Bureau of the SL Police worked in detecting the drugs. The package was said to contain a foot massager, but when inspected was found to contain 2,973 methamphetamine tablets weighing 1.1 kilograms. more..

Jul 30 (DM) The postal department is to increase the charges for airmails from Aug 1, Postmaster General Ranjith Ariyaratne said. He said the charges would be increased considering the price revision of fuel, airline fares, Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) and train fares and rapid depreciation of the rupee (LKR) against the US Dollar (US$). Amendments to the fare increase published through an extraordinary gazette notification (2289/08) dated January 1. The post master general advised the public more..

Jul 30 (CT) While alleging that the mastermind of the Central Bank robbery is in the main chair of the Cabinet, JVP MP Vijitha Herath claimed that, innocent people who are fighting against the crooked Govt, are being labelled as terrorists. He claimed that former CBSL Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, was banned from leaving the country, through the intervention of the common people. However, he added, more..

Jul 30 (ST) Dengue-infected Sri Lankans have now increased to 44,084 in the country and health officials fear an epidemic, with a sudden surge in cases this month. Nimila Samarasinghe, 29, from Wellawatte, was diagnosed with dengue for the first time in his life. He had started to show symptoms of fever on July 11. As the fever did not subside, Mr Samarasinghe got an NS1 dengue antigen test done. It was then that he was diagnosed with dengue. “Until the fever subsided, it was hell,” more..

Jul 30 (ST) Community kitchen programmes are picking up islandwide with many people giving a helping hand. In the face of Sri Lanka’s worst ever economic and political crises people have stepped up to to help many families who would otherwise go hungry. In small neighbourhoods and communities people are concerned about the plight of their area residents. Amali Perera an Ayurvedic physician from Obeysekarapura, Rajagiriya runs a community kitchen at her home for children under 15 yrs. more..

Jul 30 (DM) Power and Energy ministry requested the public to send photo or video evidence through WhatsApp of illegal fuel hoarding or selling and other related activities to the contact number 0742123123. The access of the QR code of those people will be temporarily blocked for repeated offenders and legal action will follow accordingly, the Minister said. Meanwhile, the motorists who are not able to register with more..

Jul 30 (SLN) SL Navy today (28) bade farewell to Rear Admiral Thilak Sigera who retired from his distinguished naval service that spanned over 35 years. Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne along with the Board of Management extended best wishes to the retiring senior officer who is celebrating his 55th birthday today. Thereupon, Rear Admiral Thilak Sigera was accorded a Guard of Honour in accordance with naval traditions. more..

Jul 30 (ST) A meeting to review the arrangements for the Kandy Esala Perahera – which commences on Aug 2 – was held at the maligawa auditorium on Friday. The meeting was chaired by Diyawadana Nilame Pradeep Nilanga Dela and District Secretary C Tennakoon. At the meeting, Basnayake Nilame of Kandy Kataragama Devale Gemunu Walisundera pointed out that since there is no school vacation scheduled during this period, there would be a problem of housing performers in schools, more..

Jul 30 (Hindu) The indefinite strike announcement made by the fishermen associations here since July 22 to protest against the arrest of six fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy personnel was withdrawn as fishermen ventured into the sea on Saturday. On July 20, when six fishermen were engaged in fishing near Dhanushkodi waters, the Lankan Navy personnel arrested them on charges of poaching near Talaimannar and jailed them. The mechanised boat was also impounded by the authorities. more..

Jul 30 (ENS) Indian shuttlers dished out another splendid show to outclass SL 5-0 in their second group A match of the mixed team competition at the 22nd Commonwealth Games here on Saturday. India were by far the better team on display as they completely dominated the proceedings at the Arena Birmingham. A day after blanking Pakistan 5-0, India notched up another convincing win to go top of group A and qualify for quarterfinals with one tie still remaining in the league stage of competition. more..

Jul 30 (ANI) SL's free ambulance service 1990 Suwa Seriya, which was provided to SL under Indian grant assistance, turned six this year on Friday. The project was launched in 2016 when PM Narendra Modi provided a health package in the form of a grant of USD 7.6 million. Initially, ambulance services were provided in the Western and the Sabaragamuwa provinces and the project was methodically started with a fleet of 88 more..

Jul 30 (ANI) India has sufficient foreign exchange (forex) reserves, external debts are low and the country is not having the economic problems like SL and Pakistan, former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said. "We have sufficient foreign exchange reserves. RBI has done a good job in increasing the reserves. We are not having problems like SL and Pakistan. Our foreign debts are also less," Rajan said. India's foreign exchange (forex) reserves stood at $571.56 billion for the week ended July 22. more..

Jul 30 (Hindu) The vessel will be in Hambantota from August 11 to 17, mainly for replenishment, including fuel, said a Sri Lankan defence ministry media spokesman. Days after denying reports of the scheduled arrival of a Chinese research vessel, and following New Delhi’s clear message about carefully monitoring the development, Sri Lanka's Ministry of Defence on Saturday confirmed that the vessel had sought clearance to call at the southern Hambantota Port in August. more..

Jul 30 (AD) All govt and govt-approved schools will continue to function during regular hours on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from the 1st to 5th of Aug, Ministry of Education says. Meanwhile, home-based learning activities or online teaching will be provided on Wednesdays and Fridays when lessons are not delivered onsite. The decision was taken following a virtual meeting chaired by Education Minister. more..

Jul 30 (AP) SL’s president said Saturday that an agreement with the IMF to help pull the bankrupt nation out of its economic crisis has been pushed back to September because of unrest over the past weeks. Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his first speech since he was elected by Parliament on July 20, said even though he as the PM had aimed to reach an agreement by early August, it has now been pushed back by a month. Wickremesinghe was elected to complete the five-year term more..

Jul 30 (AD) The best way to resolve the current crisis situation in the country is an all-party govt, President Ranil Wickremesinghe says. He made this remark delivering a special statement while at the President’s House in Kandy this evening (July 30). The Head of State, who is currently on a visit to Kandy, also paid homage to Sri Dalada Maligawa. This marks his first visit to the historic landmark site after taking office as the President of Sri Lanka last week. more..

Jul 31 (GV) The leopard is a big cat in the genus Panthera (Panthera pardus) that has a distribution throughout sub-Saharan Africa, through the Middle East and into several countries in Asia. Once occupying a vast contiguous land mass of varied climate and terrain and split into nine distinct subspecies based on genetic variation, even today (although much reduced in both range and numbers) the leopard remains the most widely distributed large feline in the world. more..