Aug 15 (ST) Two teams of wildlife officers have been sent to the area believed to be the starting point of the fire to carry out investigations to learn how the fire within the Thabbowa Wildlife Sanctuary occurred, Karuwalagaswewa wildlife ranger D. Ramasinghe said. He said the teams were carrying out investigations to learn how the fire had occurred and find the culprits if the fire was due to arson. He added that the fire occurred on Friday afternoon and that it took 10 hours to control it. more..

Aug 15 (FT) Sampath Bank has reported robust financial performance during the first half of 2023 with a profit before tax (PBT) of Rs. 13.2 billion and a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs. 7.7 billion representing growth of 46.6% and 8.1% respectively compared to 1H 2022. Key financial highlights for 1H 2023 compared to the same period in 2022 include Growth in Net Interest Income (NII) supported by higher AWPLR; A 13.6% increase in net fee and commission income driven by more..

Aug 15 (DN) The National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) said that 11,000 partially completed houses have been selected for supply of solar power free under a joint project of the Urban Development and Housing Ministry and the Power and Energy Ministry. Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said that Cabinet approval has been obtained for providing solar power to 25,000 low-income households. These 11,000 houses have been selected from 15 projects implemented by more..

Aug 15 (DM) Six individuals, including two women, have been arrested in connection with the murder of a man in Kopai, who was accused of sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girl. The Kopai Police initiated an investigation after receiving information about the fatal beating of a 52-year-old man at a residence in Kopai on Saturday. Following the investigations, police arrested two women aged 28 and 42, as well as four male suspects ranging in age from 16 to 38. more..

Aug 15 (TM) While the Ministry of Health is to initiate legal action against medical professionals who migrate without the proper permission, medical specialists have raised concerns regarding the treatment of those who transition from Govt hospitals to private hospitals for permanent service in a similar manner. The ministry recently claimed that nearly 120 medical officers who returned to SL after completing their more..

Aug 15 (DN) Top seeds Zaidh Zihar and Githmi Fernando stole the limelight at the 108th National Tennis Championships, continued at the SLTA Courts in Green Path, Colombo yesterday. Zihar, the schoolboy from S. Thomas’ College, rallied around through his experience to beat the bottom seed Vichinthya Nilaweera in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 in the Boys’ Under-18 Singles final. Earlier, Githmi, from Ave Maria Convent, Negombo lived upto expectations as the top seed and more..

Aug 15 (EN) Shares close down on Monday on profit taking and selling interest due to constant gains in the previous sessions, an analyst said. ASPI was down 1.76% or 203.94 points to 11,392.22, this is the lowest the market in six sessions and the lowest the market has been since July 26, while S&P SL20 was down 3.2% or 108.48 points to 3,311.08. Prez Wickremesinghe has said debt restructuring is matter involving public finances coming under parliament and not courts, more..

Aug 15 (FT) SJB MP Eran Wickramaratne challenged Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena to disclose the identities of his legal advisors, as the latter had asserted he had sought legal counsel before making a decision that approved Domestic Debt Optimisation (DDO) motion was not open to legal challenge in the Courts. He emphasised that it is widely understood that the Parliament is the arena where more..

Aug 15 (CT) Former SL cricketer Sachithra Senanayake, who has been charged with fixing matches, was on Monday banned from travelling overseas by the Colombo Magistrate’s Court. The 38-year-old Senanayake, who played a solitary Test, 49 ODIs and 24 T20 Internationals between 2012 and 2016, has been accused of trying to fix games during the 2020 Lanka Premier League. He allegedly enticed two players to fix games over the telephone. Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court ordered more..

Aug 15 (ST) High restaurant bills are keeping patrons at bay with some lamenting that electricity, transportation, and gas price decreases have not been passed on to the customers by the owners. Certain owners of restaurant establishments the Business Times spoke to said that their costs are very prohibitive in terms of increasing taxes. They are also under stress with the four different taxes they need to pay the govt. Colombo Municipal Council rates, Tourism Development Levy, more..

Aug 15 (DM) In another case of negligence in the health sector, a baby that dropped to the floor of the delivery room at the moment of delivery due to the fault of medical staff, died yesterday at the Intensive Care Unit of the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital. A mother who is from the village called Kallanchiya in the Anuradhapura District had this tragic experience when she was transferred to the Anuradhapura Hospital for the delivery of her baby. Her husband Kumarasinghe Dissanayake, 41, more..

Aug 15 (AD) Two SL-born scientists at the Uni of Hong Kong have been ranked amongst China’s top microbiologists. Accordingly, Prof. Lakshman Samaranayake and Prof. Malik Peiris ranked 11th and 15th respectively, out of 43,737 scientists analysed by the national scientometric analytic firm. Both professors hold honorary professoriate appointments at the University of Peradeniya, and are world renowned for their clinical microbiological work and have received honorary doctorates more..

Aug 15 (Island) Prof. G.L. Peiris appealed for a common Opposition strategy against Prez Wickremesinghe-led govt. He stressed the urgent need for a consensus to pressure the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa govt on multiple fronts. The one-time top law academic said so addressing the media, comprising 12 lawmakers. Alleging that the govt sought to divide the Opposition, Prof. Peiris warned the delay on their part to work more..

Aug 15 (PMD) Minister Harin Fernando stated that a Policy for Tourism that does not change when the Govt or the politicians are changed to be urgently presented to the county. The minister mentioned that the policy, which was prepared after extensive study by the experts in the field, has now been forwarded to the cabinet, and the way of its operation will be presented to the country in the next two weeks. He expressed these views while joining the news conference held at more..

Aug 15 (TM) A 37-year-old was found hacked to death inside a house in the Dodangoda area early last morning. The deceased has been identified as Matara Arachchige Dimuth Chamika, a father of one, residing in the Dolelanda area in Dodangoda. He had reportedly been murdered while staying at his wife’s parents’ house due to ongoing repairs at their own residence in Dolelanda. The incident took place at 2:30 a.m. yesterday, when a group of people had broken into the house and attacked more..

Aug 15 (DN) Atamasthanadhipathi Ven. Pallegama Hemarathana Thera recently admonished Minister Bandula Gunawardhana for the failure of authorities to provide public transport services from Anuradhapura Railway Station to the sacred Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi for devotees who come by train, despite repeated requests. Thera told the Minister that repeated requests to authorities to provide a SLTB bus for devotees to travel to Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi premises from the railway station has more..

Aug 15 (DN) Director of the Hambantota General Hospital Dr. Suranga Ubeysekera said that almost 30 surgeries were performed at the hospital yesterday, despite the absence of an anesthesiologist. Dr. Ubeysekera added that all these surgeries were performed under the supervision of the specialists and surgical anesthesiologists currently working at the hospital. He said that, even though the only anesthetist in the hospital went abroad suddenly without notice, more..

Aug 15 (FT) In light of the prevailing peaceful environment in the country, authorities have decided to minimise security procedures at Departure Terminal at BIA to enhance passenger convenience. This strategic approach aims to streamline security processes without compromising safety measures, ensuring a smoother experience for travellers. These changes are anticipated to have a positive impact on overall passenger satisfaction as the current more..

Aug 15 (DN) Kalutara South Police said the Kalutara Municipal Council’s Fire Dept has managed to rescue a 7-year-old girl trapped for about 30 minutes between two walls at the Kalutara Katukurunda Roman Catholic School. The girl lives in the Kalutara Katukurunda Kalamulla area and is a second year student at the school. After being informed by the Kalutara Disaster Management Assistant Director Aravinda Amarasekara and the Kalutara South Police that a girl was trapped between more..

Aug 15 (FT) The Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) Board of Directors on Friday issued the following statement in connection with recent media coverage of Boardroom changes at SLT. This note is to provide factual information and clarity on the corporate identity of SLT, the role, responsibilities, authority and accountability of management and the Board (including the Chairman of the Board), and in particular the separation of powers between the Board and Management. more..

Aug 15 (TM) Electricity Consumers’ Association (ECA) has claimed that an extravagant expenditure would be incurred by the Govt if it is to maintain the office to be established for the restructuring of the CEB, including a monthly payment of about Rs. 2.4 million as a salary to its head. ECA General Secretary Sanjeewa Dhammika alleged that the Ministry of Power and Energy has appointed a consultant for the said office on more..

Aug 15 (FT) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe has reiterated that, in the march toward richness by 2048, his Govt will follow the economic ideology known as the Social Market Economy. As I have mentioned in the previous article in this series, this is not new for him. Even in 2015, when he formed the Govt, the declared policy ideology of his Govt was the same. This ideology, borrowed from post-war Germany, emphasises the need for following the middle path avoiding both the extreme more..

Aug 15 (FT) The Presidential pardon has once again become a controversial issue which is highly discussed within the Sri Lankan society with the recent incident of releasing convicted LTTE cadres involved in the Central Bank bomb attack on the pardon granted by the incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe on 18 July. In the verdict at the Colombo High Court, Judge Sarath Ambepitiya found the accused guilty and sentenced to death. The Central Bank attack is observed as more..

Aug 15 (AD) Arunalu Siththam – the island-wide children’s art competition conducted by the Commercial Bank of Ceylon – has been launched for the fourth year, and the Bank has announced it is opening the competition to SL children currently living overseas, a new category. Exclusively for children between the ages of four and 16, the competition is hosted under the banner of the Bank’s popular children’s savings account Arunalu and will be conducted online this year for 3rd time, more..

Aug 15 (EN) SL is seriously moving with a new laws which will prevent any of its future govts from backtracking bilateral and multilateral deals signed without the consent of the relevant parties involved, a govt document showed. The new move comes three years after the govt of former leader Gotabaya Rajapaksa unilaterally cancelled several bilateral and multilateral deals including East Container Terminal (ECT) and Light Railway Transit (LRT) projects and resulted in diplomatic hiccups more..

Aug 15 (DM) In the backdrop of numerous medical specialists leaving the country, Health Ministry and SL Medical Council (SLMC) have failed to reach consensus on actions to be taken against the doctors who have migrated illegally. 105 medical specialists have so far been blacklisted and the Ministry is yet to inform the SLMC in this regard. However, SLMC seemed to have adopted a sluggish move in taking more..

Aug 15 (FT) Nations Trust Bank has reported a strong performance in 1H2023 posting a Profit Before Taxes (PBT) of Rs. 12.6 billion, up 174% year-on-year (YoY) and a Profit After Taxes (PAT) of Rs. 6.1 billion, supported by a 35% growth in Operating Income (YoY). Hemantha Gunetilleke Director and CEO said: “The Bank recorded a strong first half, highlighting steady growth across our customer segments. The Bank’s strengths lie in its continued focus on digital empowerment, more..

Aug 15 (AD) PM Dinesh Gunawardena, who is on a four-day official visit to China, has arrived at Kunming International Airport this morning. He departed Colombo last evening to begin his visit to China’s Yunnan Province. Upon his arrival at the airport, the PM was accorded a warm welcome by Vice Chairman of the CPPCC Yunnan Provincial Committee Zhao Jin, Protocol Chief and other senior officials and Charge D’ Affairs at SL Embassy K.K. Yoganadan and other officials of the mission. more..

Aug 15 (TM) Mahaweli Authority said that issues related to releasing lands owned by the Authority have arisen as a result of giving lands located in another region to people who are living in different Districts outside the District where the distributed lands are located. Authority said that according to the powers assigned to the Minister in charge by the Mahaweli Authority Act, Authority is only assigned to distribute the land according to the list more..

Aug 15 (EN) Cabinet of ministers has approved a proposal by Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe to establish a National Productivity Commission to serve as an independent entity tasked with ensuring productivity. A statement from the govt said that the cabinet has approved a resolution by Prez Wickremesinghe in his capacity as Minister of Finance to appoint a committee of public intellectuals that will submit a report on the institutional structure of the proposed Productivity Commission. more..

Aug 15 (DM) An express train service between Talaimannar and Colombo will begin from Sept 15, Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe said today. Speaking to the devotees at Madhu Church in Mannar, the Prez said a TNA MP played a significant role in resuming the express train service. “I would like to thank TNA MP Charles Nirmalanathan for the role he played in getting the express train service started. I would also like to thank others who worked on the project,” he said. more..

Aug 15 (AD) Ministers Manusha Nanayakkara and Harin Fernando have filed a Fundamental Rights (FR) petition before the Supreme Court. Accordingly, the petition was filed seeking an order to nullify the SJB's decision to suspend their party membership and disqualify them of their parliamentary seats. Respondents named in the petition include SJB Gen Secy Ranjith Madduma Bandara. On 18 July, the SJB Working Committee decided to expel Fernando & Nanayakkara from the party. more..

Aug 15 (FT) Indo-Pacific Environmental Security Forum (IPESF) 2023, co-hosted by the US lndo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), SL Navy (SLN), and SL Coast Guard (SLCG), commenced at Shangri-La Colombo yesterday. The inauguration of the forum, held in a dignified sequence, was graced by US Ambassador to SL Julie Chung, Senior Adviser to the Prez Ruwan Wijewardene, Chief of Defence Staff General Shavendra Silva, Commander of the Navy Priyantha Perera, more..

Aug 15 (DM) Many public housing schemes in Colombo were constructed after 1973 when SL Communist Party politician Pieter Keuneman held a cabinet portfolio as Minister of Housing and Local Govt. Some of the major public housing projects in Colombo include the Bambalapitiya Flats, Police Flats in Thimbirigasyaya, Anderson Gold Links (Narahenpita), Maligawatta and Soysapura. more..

Aug 15 (CT) Services at the National Hospital, Colombo (NHSL) were severely disrupted for nearly 10 hours, due to blackouts in various parts of the Hospital yesterday, thus, compromising the services provided in ICUs and theatres. By 10.00 a.m. yesterday the NHSL started experiencing power outages at intervals in sections of NHSL, Colombo causing even the hospitals telecommunication system and the water supply to be affected in affected areas of the hospital. more..