Aug 17 (Island) Justice Sobhitha Rajakaruna was sworn in before Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe as the Acting President of the Court of Appeal (CA), yesterday. He will function in that position until the return of the CA President Justice Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne, who is currently overseas. Curiously, Prez Wickremesinghe has refused to appoint an Acting IGP in defiance of a Supreme Court (SC) order. Following the aforesaid SC order, last month, Prez Wickremesinghe claimed that more..

Aug 17 (FT) President Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday highlighted the significance of the newly signed Puluwan Sri Lanka (Sri Lanka Can) agreement, stressing that it is not intended to form a new political party but rather to unite the nation and build a brighter future. The agreement, endorsed by 34 political parties and alliances, symbolises a collective commitment to overcoming the country’s challenges and more..

Aug 17 (FT) Ambassador of SL to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Omar Lebbe Ameer Ajwad met with Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Foreign Trade (GAFT) Governor Mohammad Alabduljabar at GAFT Headquarters in Riyadh on 7 August. While welcoming Ambassador Ameer Ajwad to Saudi Arabia, GAFT Governor Mohammad Alabduljabar stressed the importance of enhancing bilateral cooperation between the two countries in potential sectors for win-win benefits. more..

Aug 17 (FT) The five-day winning streak at the Colombo stock market ended yesterday, though it managed to close the week with a 2% gain. Both indices yesterday saw a 0.2% decline, but thanks to improved sentiments earlier on, CSE finished the week with the active S&P SL20 up by 2.4% and the benchmark APSI by 1.8%. Daily turnover averaged Rs. 740 million, though yesterday’s figure was only Rs. 540 million. After five days of consecutive gains and with the index gaining by 1.8%, more..

Aug 17 (MB) It was a proposal by SL that resulted in the UN deciding in 2022 to designate March 1 as World Seagrass Day. And earlier this year, SL received a U.N. award for its efforts to conserve mangroves. These achievements in service of conserving two types of largely overlooked but vital marine ecosystems have given SL a reputation as a state committed to protecting its major blue carbon ecosystems and contributing to fight against more..

Aug 17 (TG) It’s a sweltering night on the western coast of SL, and on Mount Lavinia beach there’s an unusual flurry of activity. Several young people in orange hi-vis vests are squatting in a circle, digging in the sand in the semi-darkness. The team of volunteers is patrolling a popular tourist beach on the outskirts of Colombo, SL’s capital, scouting for turtle nesting sites. Finding the nests can involve a bit of detective work. “We keep searching for [turtle] tracks and then follow the trail,” more..

Aug 17 (FT) A top award winning Indian journalist Raj Chengappa will deliver a talk on elections and the media at a forum organised by the SL India Media Friendship Association (SLIMFA) today at 9.30 a.m. at the Taj Samudra, Colombo. Chengappa, who is India Today Group Editorial Director (Publishing) and India Today magazine Editor, will share experiences from the recent Indian elections. Given the recently concluded General Elections in India, and the upcoming Prez Elections in SL, more..

Aug 17 (BBC) Clinicians from a Lincoln hospital have joined a project to improve CPR training in Sri Lanka. They will travel to South Asia later this month to help develop advanced life-support skills among medical staff. Consultant cardiologist Dinal Taleyratne, who was born in Sri Lanka, said high-quality resuscitation training was not easily accessible in the country. Mr Taleyratne, who helped plan the trip, added: "I have always wanted to return and offer my support." more..

Aug 17 (DM) The shares of Cable Solutions Limited (CODE: CSLK-N-0000) commenced trading on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) on Aug 14. The shares have been listed on the Diri Savi Board of the CSE. The occasion was marked with a special Bell Ringing Ceremony. Company’s IPO for over 80 million ordinary voting shares for sale, at Rs.7.50 per share, was notably oversubscribed on the opening day itself. Event was attended Cable Solutions Ltd (CSL) Chairman Suren Madanayake, more..

Aug 17 (Island) Election Commission Chairman R.M.A.L. Rathnayake said that unlike any previous presidential poll, they may have to go for a second count due to there being several prominent candidates in the fray at the Prez Election. Rathnayake said so when The Island asked him whether the EC would launch a special programme to educate the voters regarding the pivotal importance of the second and third preferences. more..

Aug 17 (Island) There has been a two-percent increase in the number Sri Lankan women seeking foreign employment, compared to 2023, according to Dr. Bilesha Weeraratne, Head of Migration and Urbanisation Policy Research at the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS). The number rose to 46% in 2023 from about 40% in the pre-pandemic period. Dr. Weeraratne shared these insights on Thursday (15) during a policy dialogue, titled Shaping the Future: Population Dynamics in Sri Lanka, more..

Aug 17 (FT) SJB MP S.M. Marikkar has declared that within the next 40 days, SJB leader Sajith Premadasa, the leader of the common people, will be elected Prez. Speaking at the inaugural rally launching Premadasa’s election campaign in Kurunegala yesterday, Marikkar asserted that not all 39 candidates running in the election are genuine contenders. He noted that, aside from Premadasa, there are only three other serious candidates. Comparing the 3 candidates to Premadasa, more..

Aug 17 (ST) The kidney transplant programme of the semi-govt Sri J'pura General Hospital (SJGH) has descended into turmoil, causing major hardship to severely-ill patients. SJGH’s one-and-only Post-Graduate Institute of Medicine (PGIM) certified Kidney Transplant Surgeon has been interdicted (weda thahanam kara atha) by a letter dated Aug 3, which also states that the action follows a decision taken by the hospital’s Board of Directors at its meeting on July 30. more..

Aug 17 (ST) A pungent smell wafts over the village of Aluthwatta in Kandy, the final resting place of tons of garbage coming from all over the district. The villagers are somewhat accustomed to the compost yard, which has been in operation for years, but renewed attempts to start sewage treatment at a unused plant have reinvigorated their efforts to protect their homes. Villagers said gully bowsers have been entering the plant under the cover of darkness. more..

Aug 17 (DM) The latest decision by the Cabinet to increase the salary of public sector employees by Rs. 25, 000 from 2025 could have a serious influence on the free vote of the govt workers in the Prez Election, the independent observers have complained to the Election Commission. Cabinet of Ministers who met on Tuesday decided to grant a cost of living allowance of Rs.25, 000 to the govt employees and also give a 24% raise more..

Aug 17 (DM) BOAC Vickers VC10 flight 775 coming from Bahrain via Bombay, was hijacked by the Popular Front for Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and brought to Dawson’s Field in 1970. The aim of the PFLP mission was two-fold -to free Leila Khaled- a Palestinian freedom fighter held in a British jail and to highlight the plight of Palestinians at the hands of the Zionist regime in Israel. Though most Lankans still do not know it, on board that aircraft was the son of a Lankan family travelling to London more..

Aug 17 (CT) Total expenditure for the prez election by the main parties is projected to exceed Rs 30 billion this year, according to estimates from election monitoring organisations. Based on current conditions, including advertising costs, it is estimated that parties will need to spend around Rs 400 per voter. As a result, each political party or candidate may need to allocate at least Rs 7 billion for their election campaign. Currently, several political parties have spent at least Rs 70 million on a major more..

Aug 17 (DM) A few key candidates, in their meetings with the Election Commission to decide on a ceiling on campaign financing, have sought to spend as much as Rs.1,000 for a voter according to the new law whereas some others have quoted as low as 50 cents, a source said. There were also candidates who quoted Rs. 350 per voter. The Commission called for a meeting yesterday to discuss the amount of money to be spent more..

Aug 18 (SO) The recent race riots in the UK highlight the dangers of Far-Right sentiments permeating the wider society. These riots and attacks targeting immigrants, the Muslim community in particular, are a blight on one of the world’s leading democracies. Until they were trounced by Labour at the recent General Elections, the Conservatives had engaged in anti-immigrant propaganda, with slogans such as Stop the Boats, not to mention the infamous Rwanda repatriation plan. more..

Aug 18 (CT) It is highly likely that the denial by ousted Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina of her purported claim that she lost her job of more than a decade solely because of her refusal to yield a military base to the US is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Staying as a guest of the Indian neighbour, Hasina has enough diplomatic niceties left not to embarrass her gracious hosts by leaking what was supposed to be her last speech before departing her previous job & more..

Aug 18 (TM) That politics makes strange bedfellows was further consolidated in SL during the past week, with the many political pole-vaultings of members of SLPP, SJB, and alliances affiliated to them to the camps of the key contenders at the Prez Election. There were also a few instances where pole-vaulters returned to their former parties. There’s no doubt that the political jumps that continued through last week and more..

Aug 18 (CT) Nominations for the prez elections were formalized on Thursday, leaving 37 days on the countdown to the national vote on 21 Sept. 39 candidates are in the fray and one of them, Prez Wickremasinghe, has been assigned the Gas Cylinder symbol for the ballot. No more candidates or elephant rides for the UNP. Mr. Wickremesinghe is standing as an independent candidate, the last of the Lake House Mohicans, so to speak. He could use the Gas Cylinder symbol to remind voters more..

Aug 18 (ST) My dear Sajith, I thought I must write to you even though it has been a very busy week for you, what with decisions in important court cases going your way and then having to submit nomination papers for the big election. After your performance five years ago, you must be hoping you will be second time lucky! Sajith, you have many critics, but you must be commended for being able to keep most of your team of telephone chaps together for this long. more..

Aug 18 (TM) SJB MP, Sarath Fonseka entered the Prez Election 2024 as an independent candidate. He pointed out that politicians use the poverty stricken communities to catch their supporter base and pin them as long as possible to the party as slaves. And therefore, only when Sri Lankans escape from political slavery, will we be able to see the election of correct leaders and thus the enabling of the country to move forward, more..

Aug 18 (ST) Presidential Derby was officially flagged off with the nominations last Thursday and contestants running in the furlongs to the finish line on Sept 21. The contest for the country’s top job numbers a record 39 offering themselves to the 17.1 million registered voters. Unlike in the USA, where only two candidates and a few independents are in the race for their Presidency, SL has so many that the Govt Printer has an unenviable task to include all the names in a ballot paper that fits her more..

Aug 18 (Island) Cynics may well view Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe’s choice of a gas cylinder as his election symbol as the most titillating bit of news to emerge on Nomination Day last Thursday. With no fuel queue available as an election symbol, RW made the next best choice of a gas cylinder to remind voters of what he has achieved following the 2022 Aragalaya that dethroned the Rajapaksas and miraculously catapulted him from zero to hero. It was he, after all, who led the UNP to more..

Aug 18 (TM) With exactly a month to go as of today for campaigning to come to a close for Sri Lanka’s most important election, it appears that most of the 17 million eligible voters have already made up their minds on their man. This stems from the fact that voters have had an extended period of time during which to weigh the pros and cons of each candidate, given that the call for elections is over two years old and the likely candidates have been on the radar since. more..

Aug 18 (ST) It was a game that had everything—tension, pace, discipline, and strategy—displayed not just by one side but by both. However, the team that maintained these elements until the very end, St. Peter’s College, emerged victorious, defeating Isipathana College 6-3 to retain the Dialog Schools Rugby League title for another year. Havelock Park yesterday was overly crowded, and hampering the thrill and excitement was the torrential downpour, that surely took away a potential blockbuster more..

Aug 18 (ST) Just as Foreign Minister Ali Sabry summoned the hapless Canadian envoy for the nth time to express SL’s deep disappointment at Canada’s encouragement of the SL separatist groups in that country, he probably had to also thank the Ottawa Govt for continuing with the ban on the LTTE in that country. The coincidence occurred as the Canadian Govt extended the ban on the LTTE as a terrorist org, and one of its city councils, more..

Aug 18 (ST) Ceylon Biscuits Group, with its flagship Munchee brand, is setting the stage to make a global footprint in the coming few years. A food conglomerate primarily known for its iconic brand, Munchee over the years expanded into various categories, establishing a brand in nearly every market it operates in. Munchee journey has been one of innovation and bringing to SL consumers choice and differentiation. Within SL, these brands command, market leadership so driving more..

Aug 18 (Island) Obviously, everyone love going to world famous cricket grounds in England like Lord’s, The Oval and Old Trafford. That’s where Sri Lanka will be playing their three Test matches this summer. Usually, the English and Wales Cricket Board gives the Sri Lankans at least one Test in a small centre like Cardiff, Chester-Le-Street or Southampton. But this year they will be playing all three matches at big venues. There’s growing respect for our cricketers around the globe. more..

Aug 18 (ST) Vishmi Gunaratne achieved a rare milestone in Sri Lankan women’s cricket by scoring her maiden One-Day International (ODI) century. Her unbeaten 101 against Ireland in the first ODI not only marked her first century but also made her the youngest Sri Lankan batter to reach this milestone in ODI cricket. At just 18 years and 360 days, she broke the previous record held by current Sri Lankan captain, Chamari Athapaththu, who had set the record in 2011. more..

Aug 18 (SO) More brickbats and bouncers are finding space on the bandwagon in the anti-corruption drive against Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) as controversial Sports Minister Harin Fernando found himself blown offside on a court order and the final call for a clean-up gathering steam. While former captain of the 1996 World Cup winning team and firebrand critic Arjuna Ranatunga re-launched his onslaught on SLC this week at a public meeting, Tillekaratne Dilshan, a T20 World Cup hero, more..

Aug 18 (ST) This week’s suspension of Niroshan Dickwella from all forms of cricket for an alleged anti-doping violation due to a dangerous drug is not just another scandal. It is a glaring reminder of a troubling trend within SL cricket—the steady erosion of discipline and integrity. This incident underscores the urgent need for stringent guidelines and enforcement mechanisms to curb the growing indiscipline that threatens more..

Aug 18 (TM) Govt is considering granting either tax credits or tax holidays to potential investors as part of the package of incentives and concessions to spur investments in SL which is proposed to be included in the 2025 Budget, according to the BOI. BOI Director General Renuka Weerakone revealed that the BOI, together with the Ministry of Investment Promotion, had appointed a committee to formulate a proposal for a package of incentives and concessions to be offered to any investor more..

Aug 18 (EN) Central Bank may consider publishing the minutes of its monetary policy decision minutes, but it is not the best time to make the discussions on the key policy rate decisions public now, a top official said. The new central bank act has made the monetary authority to be more transparent and accountable for its decisions. Many central banks including the US Federal Reserve, India’s Reserve Bank, and Bank of Mexico release the minutes of their monetary policy meeting to ensure more..