Sri Lanka News : InfoLanka News Room

Jul 31 (DM) Finally the date of our widely expected prez election has been announced. Lankans will cast their vote to elect a new president on Sept 21 this year. The result of the election will be crucial as the country is still to overcome the challenges of navigating its way out of an unprecedented economic crisis of 2022. Nor has it completely recovered from the mass protests which led to the resignation of former Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa. As has been usual in our elections, more..

Ranil has a better shot at presidency without Rajapaksa’s endorsement

Jul 31 (DM) Monday night, SLPP finally parted ways with Ranil Wickremesinghe, announcing plans to field its own candidate at the prez election. The move effectively split the Pohottuwa and saw Prez Wickremesinghe affiliated SLPP MPs, 11 of them, leaving the party’s central committee meeting and assembling at the UNP headquarters to endorse the candidacy of Wickremesinghe. Pohottuwa’s split was predictable, and so was its plan to field a separate candidate in a desperate bid to more..

Is Kotte MC selling reclaimed land by bending the law?

Jul 31 (DM) At the end of 16th Lane on Ananda Balika Mawatha in Pita Kotte, a marshland originally designated for drainage purposes has been gradually reclaimed. Sri J'pura Kotte MC has constructed a 10-foot-wide road through a nearby children’s park leading to this reclaimed land. Despite protests from local residents, the council has proceeded with plans to build the 10-foot-wide road to reach this reclaimed marshland. more..

IGP appointments: Historical analysis of 20th century’s first-half

Jul 31 (DM) The Supreme Court has issued an interim order preventing IGP Tennakoon from functioning in the role of IGP. This move comes amid various parties questioning the legality and appropriateness of his appointment. The govt has responded to the determination by quoting the “Supremacy of Legislature over Judiciary.” The Speaker is of the view that Tennakoon’s appointment cannot be challenged in court because it was constitutional and endorsed by the CC, more..

Speaker under parliamentary fire for distorting CC ruling on the IGP

Jul 31 (ST) The instant IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon learned at the Bambalapitiya Police Station, where he had arrived to supervise security arrangements for an event to be attended by the Prez, that the Supreme Court had temperorily stripped him of his post and denied him the trappings of office, he had immediately left the scene. SC order, issued in respect of a fundamental rights petition filed by Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith and eight others against IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon, more..

1983 Black July: A tale of ethnic violence that never fades

Jul 31 (CT) Turning back to the July 1983 ethnic pogrom against the Tamils in SL, exactly this week, is still frightening and chilling. After 41 years, recalling that week of horror and fear remains deeply unsettling. It remains one of the most -heinous acts of destruction inflicted on the lives and property of Tamils. The pogrom, triggered by the killing of 13 soldiers in the North by the LTTE, who were not even fully formed at that time, more..

Major party fragmentation

Jul 31 (TM) Election season in SL heralds many changes, once powerful parties and coalitions fall-apart and new ones, often with the same old faces, are reformed, with lofty banner names, and symbols. The era of grand old parties are dying a slow and painful death. UNP led by incumbent Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe was the first to face the bitter experience, as many young, under-appreciated and side-lined members, revolted against the elitist leadership which had long constrained them. more..

Protect them; Pay them!

Jul 31 (CT) On Sunday 28 July, at Rangiri Dambulla Stadium, National Cricket Team made history by raising Women’s T20 Asia Cup 2024 after humbling defending champions India by eight wickets. At a time when SL Men’s Cricket has fallen from being a national obsession to a great depression, SL Women’s Team, or rather its skipper Chamari Athapaththu single-handedly was able to attract crowds to watch women’s cricket and packed Dambulla Stadium was testament to it. more..

රට පුරා පෝස්ටර් ගැහුවේ හසා ද...?

Editorial: Justitia’s sword in the wrong hands

Jul 31 (Island) The govt has made it clear that it will not abide by the Supreme Court (SC) order that IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon be suspended and an Acting IGP appointed. Obviously, it manipulated the Constitutional Council (CC) process to elevate Tennakoon as the IGP for a purpose; it apparently cannot think of any other top cop to help further its interests better during a crucial election, which it cannot afford to lose. Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe pretends that he has nothing to do with more..

Homeowner’s nightmare: The looming tax on imaginary rent

Jul 31 (Island) SL is set to introduce a new tax on homeowners as part of a wider effort to boost Govt revenue. This levy, known as the Imputed Rental Income Tax (IRIT), will extend to both owner-occupied and vacant residential property. Tax burden will be determined by the deemed rental income these homeowners could generate if they rented out their homes. While the IRIT is expected to bring in new revenue for govt, whether this will translate into significant revenue generation is still more..

Prescribing Safety Assessment for medicines to be introduced in Sri Lanka

Jul 31 (ST) It was good news for a country which has been grappling with serious allegations and issues over the safety of medications being doled out to the public. Plans to introduce a Prescribing Safety Assessment (PSA) were announced with much enthusiasm at ClinPharm 2024, a landmark conference held by the SL Association of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (SLACPT) in collaboration with more..

Viren, Kyle & Ganga to return home tomorrow

Jul 31 (DN) Badminton player Viren Nettasinghe lost 2-0 to Spain’s Abian Pablo 9-21 qnd 19-21 in the second match of the preliminary round at the Paris Olympic Games worked off at the Porte de la Chapelle Arena indoor stadium. Meanwhile, Kyle Abeysinghe, who participated in the 100m freestyle preliminary round competition held yesterday at the Defense Arena swimming pool, finished 54th out of 79 world’s best swimmers with a time of 51.42 seconds. more..

Sanga tipped to take over as England coach

Jul 31 (Island) Former SL captain Kumar Sangakkara is tipped to take over England’s white ball team. England sacked the team’s ODI and T-20 Head Coach Matthew Mott and put former opening batter Marcus Trescothick as Interim Coach. Jos Buttler is expected to remain as captain and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is on the hunt for a revolutionary new coach—one with a proven track record in international cricket as glittering as and a keen mastery of white-ball formats. more..

පරණ පුරුදු සටන

Chamari, Harshitha and Kavisha move up in Women’s T20 rankings

Jul 31 (DN) Two left-handed openers Smriti Mandhana of India and Chamari Athapaththu of SL have progressed in the ICC Women’s T20I Batting Rankings after some fine performances over the past week in the Women’s Asia Cup played in Dambulla in which SL beat India by 8 wickets to take maiden title. Mandhana has progressed one spot to take fourth position after scores of 55 not out against Bangladesh in the semifinal and 60 against SL in the final, two places shy of her career-best more..

Thales wins SL's biometric passport contract

Jul 31 (BU) Thales and local partner Just in Time Technologies (JITT) have been awarded the contract to supply Sri Lanka’s biometric passports, which are planned for a rollout next year. The first batch of 100,000 chip-based passports are scheduled for delivery by Thales by July 2025, with an agreement to supply one million passports annually over five years. A previous govt statement suggested the first biometric passports would be ready for issuance in January. more..

India sweep T-20 series in Super Over thriller

Jul 31 (CI) In one of the most bizarre finishes to a T20I, India beat Sri Lanka in the Super Over to complete a 3-0 whitewash in Pallekele. For the majority of the match, SL outplayed India in all three departments but they had a great fall towards the end. They needed just nine from the last two overs with six wickets in hand. Rinku Singh, who had never bowled previously in T20Is, sent down the 19th over, conceded just three runs, and more..

Telco and banking leaders in strategic partnership to empower SMEs in Sri Lanka

Jul 31 (Island) In a landmark move to drive digital transformation for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Dialog Enterprise, the corporate ICT solutions arm of Dialog Axiata PLC, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC, GlobalLinker, and Databox Technologies, on Commercial Bank LEAP GlobalLinker, an innovative web solution designed to empower entrepreneurs through digital marketing and e-commerce. more..

Rajakaruna wants Dharshana to reach personal best at Olympics

Jul 31 (Island) SL’s two track athletes will look to make the most of the repechage round when track and field events of the Paris Olympics commence on Aug 1. Sprinter Aruna Dharshana and 800 metres specialist Tharushi Karunaratne will be looking to gain the maximum when the repechage round comes to effect at the Olympics. “Our goal is to achieve the personal best performance. That is the realistic goal that we can set. Knowing that there is a repechage round will help athletes not only more..

JKH goes for highest ever Rights Issue worth Rs. 24 b

Jul 31 (FT) Top blue chip John Keells Holdings (JKH) announced its biggest ever Rights Issue of Rs. 24 billion to support the project funding requirement at its subsidiary Waterfront Properties Ltd., developing the City of Dreams Sri Lanka integrated resort. The Rights Issue proposed is 1 for every 10 held at Rs. 160 each. The move will see issuance of 160.263 million shares raising Rs. 24.04 billion. more..

Sri Lanka, Pakistan discuss further cooperation, FM visit: Foreign ministry

Jul 31 (EN) SL and Pakistan have discussed further cooperation in economy and trade, defence and security, among other matters, at an annual consultation. The seventh round of Bilateral Political Consultations between the two countries concluded at the Pakistani Foreign Ministry in Islamabad on Tuesday. Foreign Secretary Aruni Wijewardane and the Foreign Secretary of Pakistan Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi reviewed the current status of relations between the two South Asian neighbours. more..

'Do not compromise regulations to accommodate commercial fintech products'

Jul 31 (DM) The Central Bank emphasised that Sri Lanka should not compromise its regulatory integrity just to accommodate a few highly publicised commercial products and payment platforms. CB Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe noted that while SL is open to adopting new digital technologies to better manage its finances, global corporations will still have to respect and abide by national regulations in their product schemes. “Anyone can come and introduce their technologies. more..

මුංට වෙච්ච දෙයක්

5 new companies to operate tea shops at BIA

Jul 31 (FT) The Cabinet of Ministers on Monday approved awarding contracts to five new tea companies to operate in the waiting area for the departure terminal of BIA in Katunayake for the next three years. The selected companies are Euro Scan Exports Ltd, English Tea Shop (UK) Ltd., Sunshine Consumer Lanka Ltd, U.H.E. Exports Ltd, and Ceylon Royal Teas Ltd. The decision follows a national competitive bidding process aimed at maintaining existing tea shops in this area. more..

Korea resumes development aid

Jul 31 (Island) Close on the heels of Japan resuming Yen loans to Sri Lanka, South Korea has informed Sri Lanka that it would recommence development assistance. Many countries suspended development assistance in the wake of the government declaring bankruptcy in April 2022. The following is the text of the statement issued by Korea Eximbank, Colombo Representative Office: “The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) on July 30 officially notified SL’s Ministry of Finance, Economic more..

Asalanka replaces Kusal Mendis as Sri Lanka's ODI captain

Jul 31 (CI) SL's selectors have appointed Charith Asalanka as the new ODI captain, replacing Kusal Mendis. Asalanka had been named T20I captain as well, ahead of the ongoing series against India after Wanindu Hasaranga had resigned from the role following SL's early exit from the 2024 T20 World Cup. The same set of selectors had appointed Mendis as the ODI captain in Dec 2023, though he had also led SL in several matches more..

Airline operations up by 25% compared to 2023

Jul 31 (DN) Airline operations in SL have increased by 25% compared to 2023 as the country attracted 36 airlines in 2023 and by July 2024 this has increased to 46. This increase was also evident in the passenger as well as cargo operations which also saw a significant increase. Chairman of Airports and Aviation Services (SL) (Private) Company Atula Galketiya, said that by July 2024, airports attracted 4.3 million international passenger movements. “We believe that this number will be around 9 m more..

JVP-NPP alleges significant decrease in AKD’s security

Jul 31 (TM) The JVP-led NPP of the Parliamentary Opposition stated that while they have not made a special request for special security arrangements, the overall security of the people, including of their leader, MP and presidential candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has significantly decreased, leaving everyone with inadequate protection. Following the recent assassination attempt on former United States President and incumbent Republican Presidential contender Donald Trump, more..

හිරු ටීවී පත්තරේ විස්තරේ

Namal reiterates SLPP won’t support Ranil

Jul 31 (Island) SLPP National Organiser Namal Rajapaksa yesterday reiterated that his party would not back Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe in the upcoming presidential race. Rajapaksa said so addressing the media. The former Minister alleged that some MPs appeared to have used this opportunity to attract support for themselves whereas the presidential election was meant to elect a leader. MP Rajapaksa said that party would pursue a national agenda. more..

‘Ranil works against SLPP policies’

Jul 31 (TM) The ruling SLPP stated that it decided not to support Prez and independent candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe in the upcoming Prez Election due to reasons such as continuing to work against the SLPP's policies and not having any prior discussions with the SLPP about running for the Prez Election. SLPP General Secretary and Govt Parliamentarian, attorney Sagara Kariyawasam said that when Wickremesinghe became the Prez, he (Wickremesinghe) had a bankrupt Party more..

Gammanpila questions SLPP’s move to withdraw support for President

Jul 31 (FT) PHU leader Udaya Gammanpila has expressed concerns that the ruling SLPP decision to withdraw their support for Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe in the upcoming election might be an attempt to bolster his currently weak support. Gammanpila said the SLPP’s decision to field its own candidate raises questions about whether this move is intended to weaken or strengthen the President’s support system. more..

President to hold special meeting with Speaker on IGP issue

Jul 31 (DN) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe has decided to hold a special meeting with regard to the situation concerning the post of the IGP after the Speaker returns to the country from Iran. Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena is currently in Iran to attend the swearing in ceremony of the new Prez of Iran. Earlier it was stated that the Speaker and the Chief Justice should resolve the issue concerning the IGP position. However, Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe is expected to hold a special meeting more..

TISL challenges controversial visa deal in Supreme Court

Jul 31 (FT) Transparency International SL (TISL) yesterday filed a fundamental rights petition in the Supreme Court by calling for action against the procedural violations and abuse of public trust by officials in the procurement of private entities to handle the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system for the issuance of visas for tourists visiting Sri Lanka. This matter was filed in the public interest, considering the lack of transparency and non-adherence to guidelines more..

Prez makes big catch, brings in Premier to lead his campaign

Jul 31 (Island) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe and an influential section of the SLPP backing him at the prez election have agreed to form a broader alliance led by PM Dinesh Gunawardena. The decision had been made following talks between Prez Wickremesinghe and the SLPP group at his official residence at Paget Road and later at UNP leader’s political office at Flower Road. Prez Wickremesinghe proposed that more..

Succession planning: Neglected tool in managing HR risks

Jul 31 (FT) The process of succession has been in play, and succession planning has been in operation, in various forms, shapes and sizes since the days of yore. Commencing from the replacement of a chief of a hunter-gatherer clan of Homo Habilis about 1.5 million years ago, the process of succession, often natural and spontaneous and sometimes deliberate, has become second nature to homo sapiens. It has ranged from god-driven succession such as from Abraham to Isaac more..

Sri Lanka’s international bond deal: Have we been punching below our weight?

Jul 31 (FT) On 3 July 2024, Govt of Sri Lanka announced its successful conclusion of discussions with the members of the ad hoc group of international bondholders. The purpose of this article is to contribute to the current debate on the agreed deal by pointing out apparent issues in the approach and processes underlying the negotiations. The views so far expressed as to the favourability of the agreement for Sri Lanka differ immensely. While the Govt and several local analysts more..

මර්දනයේ කම්පනයෙන් අරගලය වැටුණා!