Jul 15 (FT) Aseni, the whiz kid in economics, and her grandfather, Sarath Mahaththaya, a former official of the Ministry of Finance, have been in very intense interactive discussion of the debt and debt restructuring problem of Sri Lanka. In the previous episode, they discussed why only bilateral and commercial borrowings of Sri Lanka have been earmarked for restructuring when the country’s total foreign debt had been a massive amount. The multilateral debt from IMF, WB & ADB, etc. more..

Jul 15 (FT) Universal free healthcare has been the hallmark of the Sri Lankan public healthcare system. This has been part of the broader agenda of the Sri Lankan welfare state that acclaimed a name for the country in the 1960s and 1970s for being a good outlier among the low-income countries. The SL welfare state was, however, not built on sustainability principles. Persistent budget deficits since 1956 financed through borrowings led to a huge buildup of public debt. more..

Jul 15 (EN) Nishan Mendis, Head of Deloitte SL and Maldives said he plans to make Sri Lanka a global hub for technological innovation, after being appointed Chairman of SL Association of Software and Services Companies (SLASSCOM). “My vision is to position Sri Lanka as a global hub for technological innovation and excellence,” he was quoted as saying in a statement. “By harnessing our heritage of collaboration, resilience, and innovation, I am confident that we can achieve this vision. more..

Jul 15 (Island) Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said that a final decision hadn’t been taken regarding his candidature at the forthcoming presidential election. Minister Rajapakshe said that he was engaged in talks with the relevant parties at the moment in this regard. The Justice Minister said so when The Island asked him when would he resign from Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Cabinet to contest the prez election on the ticket of a political party backed by former Prez Maithripala Sirisena. more..

Jul 15 (AD) Public Utilities Commission of SL (PUCSL) has approved a reduction of electricity tariffs by 22.5% overall, PUCSL chairman Prof. Manjula Fernando said. According to this tariff revision which will be effective from midnight today, tariffs have been reduced by 25% for consumers who consume less than 30 units of electricity in the domestic sector. Unit price they pay has been reduced from Rs 8 to Rs 6. more..

Jul 15 (DM) The eleven children who were admitted to the Anuradhapura Hospital following complications from a medicinal tablet have been reported to be in stable condition, with some already discharged, Director General of Health Services Dr. Asela Gunawardena said. Though initial reports suggest that complications were caused due to a vaccine, health authorities confirmed that the minor complications were caused after administering two drugs. The health officials suspect that more..

Jul 15 (CT) Many crocodiles have been found mysteriously dead, floating near the Mavadippalli Bridge on the Kalmunai-Ampara Main Road in the Ampara District. The area is now filled with a foul stench, causing immense difficulty for people travelling through the region due to the stench from the decomposing crocodile bodies. The crocodile population in the area has become endangered. Previously, there were more than 30 crocodiles but now only 10 to 15 remain. more..

Jul 15 (DM) Fundamental Rights petition filed by a lawyer seeking a declaration that the Presidential election should not be held without a referendum on the 19th amendment to the Constitution, was dismissed by the Supreme Court with a Rs. 500,000 cost a short while ago. Supreme Court three-judge-bench comprising Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya, Justice Arjuna Obeysekera and Justice Priyantha Fernando decided to more..

Jul 15 (AD) The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Kuwait said that a total of 10,615 Sri Lankan nationals, who were illegally staying in Kuwait and overstayed their visas, have left the country during the general amnesty period declared by the Kuwait government for 2024. This general amnesty period was declared from March 17 to June 30, 2024 as a result of the discussions held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Kuwait and the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Kuwait. more..

Jul 15 (PMD) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe highlighted the history of the Urumaya program, which was initiated in 2002 and 2003 but was subsequently halted due to a court decision. He emphasized that if the program had been implemented 20 years ago, the people of this country could have been granted free land rights earlier. Prez further stated that judicial power remains within Parliament and reiterated his longstanding view that the judiciary more..

Jul 15 (SLC) Sri Lanka Cricket will host the Annual Conference of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in Sri Lanka from July 19th to 22nd, 2024. The mega cricket conference will bring together over 220 delegates from 108 ICC member countries from across the world, covering regions such as Africa, Americas, Asia, East Asia Pacific and Europe. The pinnacle gathering of cricket administrators and stakeholders from around the globe, ICC Annual Conference provides platform for discussions more..

Jul 15 (EN) SL’s cabinet has approved the drafting of a law to create village communities in areas where people mainly descendants of former workers are resident in plantations. “..[I]’t is expected to introduce a new law amalgamating estate houses and line rooms available in estate areas and creating villages for them,” according a proposal by Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe. Minister Jeevan Thondaman said that about 176,000 families are expected to get 10 perch blocks of land under the plan. more..

Jul 15 (DM) Chairman of Richard Pieris Group, Sena Yaddehige, will be arrested upon his return to the country in connection with the alleged sexual abuse of a female business analyst from the company. Kollupitiya Police had earlier obtained a travel ban against Yaddehige from the Fort Magistrate over the allegation. An official said that there has been no update regarding the Chairman's whereabouts, and he will be more..

Jul 15 (DM) Minister Lohan Ratwatte said he will not allow NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake to become the Prez of this country as long as he remains in politics. "Has Anura Dissanayake constructed even a small culvert for the people? We won't allow him to become President of this country as long as I am around in politics," he said during a rally in Kandy. "It is not worth speaking of Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa who looked at a man's hight & said he is good only for a security job" more..

Jul 15 (FT) With the assistance of the authorities in the UAE, two SL underworld criminals were successfully apprehended in Dubai and escorted back to SL on 12 July. The arrested criminals are 26-year-old Dimuthu Chathuranga and 48-year-old Dinesh Sharman, wanted in connection with several murders committed in SL. Chathuranga was listed by the Colombo Crimes Division for committing two murders in 2022 and 2016, while Sharman was charged with aiding and abetting a shooting more..

Jul 15 (DM) Former Prez Maithripala Sirisena today sought a six-year time period to pay the total compensation amount for the victims of the Easter Sunday bomb attacks. President's Counsel Faizer Mustapha, appearing for Maithripala Sirisena, informed the Supreme Court that his client has already paid Rs. 58 million in compensation to the victims and further stated that the remaining Rs. 42 million will be paid within next 6 years. more..

Jul 15 (CT) Govt should be accountable for the security of Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and should provide necessary protection for him, as he is also the SJB’s Presidential candidate, SJB MP Eran Wickramaratne said. Wickramaratne, who referred to the assassination attempt on Former US Prez Donald Trump that same morning, expressed concerns regarding Opposition Leader Premadasa’s security, noting that certain parties might be trying to delay the election. more..

Jul 15 (CT) Director of Environment Protection of the Govt of Hong Kong Dr Samuel CHUI pointed out that Sri Lanka as a developing country is facing increasingly serious air pollution issues. “China and other nations have prioritised air quality during industrial development. However, SL is now seeking expertise from experts in countries like China, Australia and Canada to address this pressing concern,” he said. Dr Samuel was addressing air pollution related issues at more..

Jul 15 (CT) Keeri Samba Seed Paddy Cultivation Project initiated by the Paddy Marketing Board (PMB) in the Hambantota District has been successful. In light of the shortage of Keeri Samba rice in the country, Minister of Agriculture and Plantation Industries, Mahinda Amaraweera, advised the Paddy Marketing Board to implement a Keeri Samba cultivation project for seed paddy in the Hambantota District. Accordingly, PMB commenced a Keeri Samba cultivation project for more..

Jul 15 (EN) Sri Lanka's private credit expanded 60.7 billion rupees in May 2024, reversing a contraction in April, while credit to state enterprises were flat. SL’s private credit has expanded only 71 billion rupees over the first 5 months of May 2024, amid low inflation and easing import prices, as well as stable exchange rate, which may lead to importers using supplier’s credit. Domestic demand is just starting to pick up amid low or falling inflation, with some private sector salaries increased more..

Jul 15 (DM) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday urged SJB and NPP to turn Sri Lanka into a developed nation and pledged to revive SJB Leader’s UNP membership if the former decides to support him. President Wickremesinghe who addressed a rally in Kandy said the Leader of Opposition Sajith Premadasa’s UNP membership will be reinstated if he supports the govt. “Tell the SJB leader that his membership of the UNP more..

Jul 15 (Island) 12 members of Parliament Committee on Public Finance (COPF) had opposed a report presented to the House on Friday by COPF Chairman Dr Harsha de Silva regarding the VFS visa scam, SLPP MP Mahindananda Aluthgamage said on Saturday. Aluthgamage said that he and 11 other members of the Committee had not accepted the report presented to Parliament by the Committee Chairman de Silva, on issuance of online visas to tourists because the report contained errors. more..

Jul 15 (DM) Madhushani Herath of Nannapurawa MV, Bibila shattered a 26-year-old record on the third day of the SL Athletic Junior National Championships, which continued at the Mahinda Rajapaksa Sports Complex in Diyagama. This meet is also the final selection trial to form the junior national athletic pool in preparation for the fourth South Asian Junior Athletic Championships 2024, which will be held in September in Chennai, India. Record-holder Madhushani produced more..

Jul 15 (Island) The Committee on Ways and Means has expressed its strong displeasure to the Excise Dept for its failure to act on the recommendations given by the Committee since last April to collect the total tax amount of 1.1 billion rupees for the year 2023 from liquor manufacturers. It was recently revealed before the Committee that the Excise Department had not been able to collect the revenue on or before June 30, 2024, more..

Jul 15 (DM) Attorney General today gave an undertaking before the Court of Appeal that SL model Piumi Hansamali will not be arrested until her writ petition is taken up for support on Sept 20. Piumi Hansamali had filed a writ petition before the Court of Appeal challenging the legality of the investigations conducted by the CID's Illegal Assets Investigations Division over the alleged suspicious acquisition of property. Deputy Solicitor General Shanil Kularatne, more..

Jul 15 (DM) A representative from the Starlink satellite system, founded by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk of SpaceX and Tesla, visited SL this week and is set to return next week to complete the final stages of obtaining the necessary licence for operations in the country. “A Starlink representative based in New Delhi was in SL and held initial talks with the necessary institutes including Director General of TRCSL and will be back most probably by next week to finalise everything,” more..

Jul 16 (DM) In its first six months the year 2024 had seen 1,103 road accidents in Sri Lanka in which 1,154 fatalities have been reported, according to State Minister Lasantha Alagiyawanna. He pointed out at a press conference on July 11 that there were 2,557 deaths in 2,200 traffic accidents in 2023. In another media report published last year quoting govt official data, it was said that at least one person has died in 10 road accidents every three hours in Sri Lanka since 2016. more..

Jul 16 (GV) Labour law reforms are drawing strong resistance from local and transnational labour and civil society groups. Minister Manusha Nanayakkara, presented an Employment Draft Bill to the National Labour Advisory Council (NLAC) last week to review and propose amendments by July 21. Following the pandemic, the reforms are packaged as a solution to the ongoing acute economic crisis in the country. Trade unions and civil society groups claim that these reforms are undemocratic and more..

Jul 16 (TM) The development of infrastructure to facilitate public transportation across the country has halted over the past two years due to the economic crisis and recent debt restructuring. However, as of April this year, Ministry of Transport & Highways has managed to settle a majority of the outstanding bills owed to its contractors. Despite the economic crisis, Govt had allocated Rs.390 bil over the past 2 years more..

Jul 16 (CT) The recent assassination of Club Wasantha, a prominent figure in the nightclub business, has sent shockwaves throughout Sri Lanka, highlighting a chilling mafia-style attack. Club Wasantha was gunned down by two marksmen in a professional manner, and in a well-publicized mission, it appeared in a footage that one gunman was picking up a banana or some sweet while escaping the scene. Numerous CCTV footages depicted the disturbing nature of the crime, more..

Jul 16 (ST) Little did Club Wasantha know that the man who invited him as chief guest to open his tattoo salon, was part of a Dubai-hatched plot to gun him down in broad daylight in the heart of Athurugiriya town. Rajapaksa Appuhamilage Surendra Don Wasantha Perera—also known as Club Wasantha—who owned a string of questionable nightclubs in Colombo and at various other locations in the country, was killed on Monday morning, minutes after lighting the symbolic more..

Jul 16 (CT) Recent reports on the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs’ renewed efforts to restitute the infamous Statue of Tara, which has been on exhibit in The British Museum in London since the mid-19th century, have many SL netizens locking horns once again. The 4’ 8” gilded bronze statue is believed to be the only surviving statue of its size from the A'pura era and is considered by many to be one of the more..

Jul 16 (CT) Although elections are an integral part of any democracy, In SL, elections are hard to come by. Whether or not the lack of elections is an indicator of how democratic SL is, is questionable. It is safe to assume that, upholding the country’s democracy is not the first priority of the political parties. Understandably, and as claimed by politicians, when a political Party enters an election, its first priority is winning. While maintaining a winning mentality is not necessarily a bad more..

Jul 16 (TM) Over the last weekend it was reported that the Public Security Ministry had strongly advised a group of senior police officers who made a mockery of the investigation procedure, and that of obtaining confessions, during the ongoing investigation into the recent double murder which occurred in Athurugiriya in broad daylight. The warning is but a slap on the wrist of senior police officers who should have been taken to task. It is learnt that the police officers had apologised more..

Jul 16 (SO) Call her anything that suits her personality as a teenage idol who could be sought after by potential investors looking for a perfect head-turning pin-up girl, a role model for the discerning sportswoman. Unknown to many, one of SL’s gymnasts has been scaling the bars of success challenging herself not only in the arena but away from it all overcoming an ankle injury, dengue fever, bouts of influenza and the deadly Covid 19 pandemic to come out on many an occasion more..