Jul 29 (DN) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe emphasized the importance of adhering to the current programme agreed upon with the IMF during the Ekwa Jaya Gamu – Api Galle public rally held on Saturday at the Galle Municipal Council Stadium. He asserted that any claims suggesting they are operating outside this framework are false and will jeopardise the nation. “As the economy develops, we are looking to the future, more..

Jul 29 (Island) Mahinda Rajapaksa, as the Prez, provided unwavering political leadership for defeating the LTTE and ending decades of terror, much to the relief of all peace-loving Sri Lankans. But what he did to the country afterwards has been rightly likened to a person raping a damsel in distress after saving her life. He received a sobering knock from the public in the 2015 prez race. The people gave him another chance which he, ably assisted by his family, squandered big time. more..

Jul 29 (Island) St. Peter’s College Bambalapitiya sprinter Sugitharan Nijesh was the fastest in the Under 15 boys 100 metres among athletes in the Colombo and Kalutara districts as eight athletes clocked sub 12 seconds in the 100 metres dash at the stage one competition of the Sir John Tarbat Junior Championship which ended at Bandaragama on Saturday. Sugitharan clocked 11.74 seconds to lead the sprinters from the Colombo and Kalutara District leg of the multi stage championship. more..

Jul 29 (CI) Having hinted for several months that she may be close to an int'l retirement, Chamari Athapaththu confirmed following SL's Asia Cup victory, that she aims to be around for her national team until next year's ODI World Cup at least. Athapaththu, 34, has been coy about her future over the last several months. She is SL's captain and almost indisputably their best player. However, she had posted on social media that a series in South Africa in April would be her last duty more..

Jul 29 (DN) Badminton player Viren Nettasinghe, who was the first competitor from SL to compete in the Paris Olympics, was defeated 2-0 by Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia. Yesterday at 1.40 pm SL time, the score of the match played at the Paris Porte de la Chapelle Arena indoor stadium was 21-14 and 21-12. The match between Malaysia’s No. 1 player Lee Zii Jia, who is ranked 7th in the world badminton ranking, and Viren Nettasinghe, who is ranked 70th in the same ranking, was like a battle between more..

Jul 29 (CT) Collective for Democracy and Rule of Law (CDRL), comprising senior academics, professionals, and activists, has made far-reaching proposals for a new constitution for SL under the title Principles and Proposals for Political and Constitutional Reform for Democracy. CDRL advocates the complete replacement of the present Constitution with a democratic constitution that will give effect to the people’s hopes. more..

Jul 29 (ST) AFP’s coverage of the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics had been meticulously prepared for a year, with every detail scrutinised to determine the optimal position for the best shot or the best reportage. It was an unprecedented ceremony on the River Seine — an Olympics had never opened before outside the main stadium — and it merited unprecedented coverage. At this Olympics, Paris-based AFP are also playing at home. But all the planning was put in more..

Jul 29 (ST) Govt’s temporary suspension of foreign debt payments leads to US $8.6 billion outstanding over 24 months, the Finance Ministry’s latest fiscal position report revealed. According to this report, unpaid debt from April 12, 2022, to April 30, 2024, is $6,020 million. The unpaid interest during this period amounts to $2,586 million. Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, Mahinda Siriwardena, stated that the mid-year fiscal performance report was submitted to Parliament more..

Jul 29 (FT) A new analysis shows that SL’s bondholders are set to be repaid significantly more than Govt creditors such as China, under the in-principle restructuring deal agreed in early July. The calculations by UK-based Debt Justice, together with SL campaigners Yukthi and the Institute for Political Economy (IPE), find that bondholders will be repaid 80 cents for every dollar lent, using the IMF’s own Net Present Value concept. more..

Jul 29 (SO) It has been a long wait for javelin thrower Dilhani Lekamge to qualify for the Paris Olympic Games that commenced on Friday (26). She has been in the sport for 20 long years and never gave up until her dream came through, to represent Sri Lanka at an Olympic Games. Now she has set a determined target to be among the medal winners this time. Her coach Pradeep Nishantha who will be beside her during the Games to encourage & guide her on correct technique more..

Jul 29 (DM) Sri Lanka has urged Myanmar to facilitate the rescue of the group of Sri Lankans held captive for forced criminal activities at a camp in the cyber criminal area operated by a terrorist group in Myanmar. In December last year, it was reported that a group of 56 Sri Lankans had been brought to Thailand for jobs related to the IT industry and instead they had been held captive in a camp in the cyber criminal area operated by a terrorist group in Myanmar. more..

Jul 29 (EN) Sri Lanka has lifted import controls on several cereal grains, which were maintained despite a rise in malnutrition and poverty from a currency collapse triggered by aggressive macro-economic policy. Sri Lanka originally slapped import control on 3,500 items including after the central bank and Treasury economists cut rates and printed vast volumes of money to target potential output, through printing money for growth was not a legal aim of the central bank. more..

Jul 29 (DN) SL should urgently form a holding company to monitor and administer State-owned enterprises, said State & Enterprises Reform Unit Board Member Mangala Yapa at the Advocata Institute hosted Business Dialogue event. He said that the holding company scheme is already in the act and what is needed is the implementation of it. This will help to lay guidelines for State-owned enterprises about better management and most importantly publish accounts more..

Jul 29 (ST) Japan will resume funding 11 stalled infrastructure projects, including the expansion of the BIA, after Sri Lanka successfully restructured its foreign debt. The 11 Japanese-funded projects are: Kalu Ganga Water Supply Expansion Project, Anuradhapura North Water Supply Project, Kalu Ganga Water Supply Expansion Project, Kandy City Wastewater Management Project, Project for Formulation of Western Province Solid Waste Management more..

Jul 29 (TM) RDA Chairperson C.P. Athaluwage, has resigned from his position citing excessive interference from the Ministry as the primary reason for his decision. He said that the letter of resignation had been directed to the President’s Secretary, and that he had further informed Minister Bandula Gunawardena in this regard. In his resignation letter, Athaluwage reportedly had emphasised that persistent interference from the Secretary of the Ministry of Transport and Highways more..

Jul 29 (TM) The ruling SLPP politburo is scheduled to meet today to take the final decision regarding whether or not to field an SLPP candidate for the Prez Election to be held on 21 Sept. When contacted yesterday (28), SLPP General Secretary and MP Sagara Kariyawasam said that the politburo would meet today. "We (SLPP) are yet to decide on a candidate for the Prez Election. There are various rumours going around, but we will make the final decision at the politburo meeting." more..

Jul 29 (DN) Telco Hotel Jaffna and Blue Ocean Group Colombo, are building Northern Province’s largest apartment complex, Yarl Royal Palace in Jaffna. Total investment for the project is Rs. 1.8 billion making it the current biggest private sector development project in Jaffna. The construction has already begun and will be completed in 20 months. “We are not new commerce in Jaffna as we recently completed a govt hospital complex in Jaffna to the value of around Rs. 700 million.” more..

Jul 29 (AD) Minister Susil Premajayantha has unveiled the govt’s plan to transform 1,250 of the country’s top schools into smart schools which enables a centralized management of school proceedings from the Ministry of Education at once. He revealed that this initiative will be backed by a USD 20 million aid package from China. Minister made these remarks during an event held at Sirimavo Bandaranaike Vidyalaya in Colombo, where all classrooms from grades 1 to 5 more..

Jul 29 (CI) It was around an hour after the winning runs had been struck, and the once packed-to-the-literal-brim 16,000-capacity Dambulla stadium had filtered clear. A pocket of fans, largely kids, had been let onto the ground, near the players' dugouts. Standing behind a minimal police cordon, they called out for Chamari akki [older sister]. They were at it for almost 10 minutes straight, when suddenly decibel levels rose exponentially. more..

Jul 29 (TM) United Republic Front (URF) is yet undecided on whether to field a separate candidate or support another mainstream candidate in the upcoming Prez Election, said URF Leader and MP Champika Ranawaka. He emphasised that the URF will not endorse any prez candidate who is supported by the Rajapaksa family. He stated: "We cannot be on the same stage with the Rajapaksas." He noted that this stance stems from him and his party's firm opposition to Rajapaksa family, more..

Jul 29 (DM) A police constable has been interdicted following a viral video on social media in which he allegedly attempted to arrest a group of youth by planting cannabis in their car during a traffic check. The incident, which occurred on July 24 in Kollupitiya, involved a car stopped by police officers. The car, coming from Grandpass area, had about 5 men inside. In the video, the youth accused the police officer of trying to place cannabis in the car to extort money after spotting cash inside. more..

Jul 29 (TM) President Ranil Wickremesinghe called upon Speaker of Parliament and the Chief Justice (CJ) to engage in discussions and address the crisis regarding the IGP position following the Supreme Court's (SC) interim order which bars Deshabandu Tennakoon from functioning as the IGP. Addressing a gathering held yesterday, he opined that the SC should have consulted the EC before issuing the interim order. more..

Jul 29 (FT) Aseni and Sarath Mahatthaya have been continuing their interactive conversation on SL’s debt and the process involving the debt restructuring to facilitate the country to get into debt sustainability, a requirement under the ongoing Extended Fund Facility or EFF from IMF. Previously, the conversation focused on the borrowing of the central govt from the domestic market and the foreign sources, country foreign debt which constitutes, in addition to central govt foreign debt, more..

Jul 29 (FT) We are living in an era where nature pleadingly seeks human support for its survival and sustainability. Even though it is truly disheartening to see how actions caused by humans have paved the way toward the degradation of nature over the years, it is at least relieving to see that the world has now started to understand the gravity of this major problem. Since the spillover effects of these sustainability issues tend to pose a greater threat to the present as well as future generations, more..

Jul 29 (AD) Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe has stepped down from his ministerial position. Rajapakshe announced this decision while speaking at a press conference today. Dr. Rajapakshe says he will step down from his ministerial position, to run for the Office of President in the upcoming election. Commenting further, he said: “I have stated that I am not running for the Prez Election from the SLPP, but another alliance. No one who is contesting from the SLPP in the Cabinet has come forward yet. more..

Jul 29 (DM) Election Commission (EC) has stopped Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa from conducting the Sakwala and Husma programmes to distribute IT equipment to schools and medical equipment to hospitals. The stoppage comes two days after the Prez elections 2024 was declared by the Commission. Following the stoppage SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara has urged the EC to act impartially. Madduma Bandara, in a letter addressed to Chairman of EC more..

Jul 29 (AD) SLPP will not support current Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe in the forthcoming Prez Election, SLPP MP Sagara Kariyawasam said. Meanwhile, he said that the Politburo of the SLPP decided to field a Prez Candidate of its own. Furthermore, Kariyawasam expressed that the party will further look into qualified individuals to contest for the presidency and that the person with most likelihood to win will officially be named more..

Jul 29 (NW) The Peoples Struggle Alliance formed by Aragalaya activists has named Lawyer Nuwan Bopage as its Prez Candidate. Representative of the new political movement, Lahiru Weerasekera made the announcement during an event held at the Colombo Public Library today. Lahiru Weerasekera said Nuwan Bopage, who has dedicated his life and profession to the common people’s struggle to advance the aspirations of the citizens under the current political situation, more..

Jul 29 (DM) A coordinating secretary for Minister Bandula Gunawardena filed a complaint with the Homagama Police regarding an SLPP meeting attended by SLPP MP Namal Rajapaksa in the Homagama electorate. The complaint has been lodged against SLPP Provincial Councillor Janaka Weliwatta. Complaint alleges that MP Rajapaksa violated party disciplinary codes by arranging the SLPP meeting without informing Bandula Gunawardena. more..

Jul 29 (CI) It was Feb 2023, and with roughly a week left for the start of the Women's T20 World Cup, SL were still without a coach. Hashan Tillakaratne, who had been in the post since June 2021, had resigned in October 2022 to take up the head coach position with Bangladesh Women. And this meant, with a major tournament looming ever closer, the SL women's side were yet again in danger of being an after thought more..

Jul 29 (DM) Three female soldiers, aged 22, have been arrested for deserting their posts and hiding in a house at Maththegoda without reporting for duty. The soldiers, attached to the Kokavil and Sandunpura army camps, were identified as residents of Hasalaka, Denipitiya and Polgasowita. The soldier from Polgasowita was on leave, while the other two had visited her and stayed at the house for several days. A resident of the house reported their presence to Police 119. more..

Jul 29 (EN) State-run Airport and Aviation Services (SL) Ltd plans to float a new tender to resume work on the second terminal in mid -September after a bilateral debt restructure made funds from Japan available, Chairman Athula Galketiya said. The original contractor self-terminated the contract, after completing only 5% of the terminal, when Sri Lanka defaulted on its debt in 2022. As a result, Sri Lanka had to pay 52 million in termination fees under the contract terms. more..

Jul 29 (EN) Minister Ali Sabry, has said that he was not surprised by SL’s team winning the Women’s T20 Asia Cup 2024. Sabry was part of the cabinet-appointed subcommittee to inquire into the issues faced by SLC. “We extensively interviewed a wide segment of stakeholders, including members of both the Men’s and Women’s Cricket teams. “This is what we had to say about them, which is why we are not surprised that the Women’s team is making great progress and strides!” more..

Jul 29 (EN) State Minister of Foreign Affairs has called for decisive action against cybercrime centres and employment rackets taking place in some parts of the Asia-Pacific region at a regional forum. Speaking at the 31st Ministerial Meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum held in Laos on July 27, Tharaka Balasuriya called for the Asia Pacific region “to concertedly address emerging challenges including security-related aspects of new and emerging technologies such as AI, more..

Jul 29 (TM) Sri Lanka had collected record revenue of about Rs. 400 billion in May as revenue collection is starting to exceed the high inflation impact. During the five months ending May 2024, govt revenue and grants increased to Rs. 1,619.2 billion compared to Rs. 1,122.4 billion in the corresponding period of 2023. Frontier Research Senior Macroeconomist Thilina Panduwawala said that average monthly revenue collection since more..