Aug 11 (FT) Wunderman Thompson�s So Sri Lanka � Wild Guides viral film for Sri Lanka Tourism took home the coveted award for Best Viral Film in the Brand Film Awards in London recently. Hosted by PR Week and Campaign, the Brand Film Awards is a prestigious award that celebrates the use of branded content within marketing. Not only did Wild Guides pick up the Viral Film Award, it was also recognised as a finalist in consumer goods more..

Aug 11 (DM) SL authorities were urged to devise a sustainable and practical model for operating hundreds of tourist sites before they start decaying and being inflicted with permanent damage, losing their natural or archaeological value, prior to visitors start returning in numbers as the pandemic dissipates and borders reopen. Millions of visitors, both local and foreign, are attracted to hundreds of sites of natural and man-made wonders in SL but mostly scant regard is being given to more..

Aug 11 (EN) Angel Fund, a start-up fund that has collected 100 million rupees says it is looking for innovative early-stage entities in SL with a regional and global potential to provide funding and support in the post-COVID period. �The Angel Fund aims to invest in approximately six to ten early-stage startups in SL, irrespective of their sector or geographic location,� the fund said. �In addition to providing investment, the Angel Fund offers a pool of centralized professional services, more..

Aug 11 (AD) Former Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Japan, Professor Dammika Ganganath Dissanayake passed away today while receiving treatment at Apeksha Hospital in Maharagama. Prof. Dissanayake has served as the Chairman of the ITN of Sri Lanka and as an Associate Professor of the University of Sri J'pura. He served as the Chairman of the SL Rupavahini Corporation (State Television), SLBC and Chairman of the Lanka Puvath more..

Aug 11 (FT) Commercial Bank Managing Director S. Renganathan, who played the lead role in the negotiations that led to the IFC agreeing to make an equity investment in the bank via a private placement, speaks candidly on the rationale for such an investment and why it is the best option at the present time. Q: What was the rationale behind the bank�s decision to raise equity capital via the IFC? A: Commercial Bank�s Business Plan which targets annual growth of 10% to 12%, more..

Aug 11 (Island) Mahindra Finance, India�s leading Non-Banking Finance Company together with Ideal Finance Ltd, the finance arm of the Ideal Group, recently introduced a special COVID Sahana package to facilitate buyers of Mahindra personal and light commercial vehicles with affordable hire purchase plans. Mahindra Finance previously entered into a joint venture with Ideal Finance in order to leverage on its socially inclusive business model facilitating the local consumers with more..

Aug 11 (AD) The General Secretary of Our Power of People Party (Ape Janabala Pakshaya/OPPP), Ven. Wedinigama Wimalatissa Thero, who allegedly went missing, has reportedly visited a house in Uthuwankanda, Mawanella. However, when Ada Derana reporter visited the relevant house upon the tip-off, it has been revealed that the Thero had left the house. Thero had reportedly arrived at the residence of OPPP Kegalle District more..

Aug 11 (DN) All Tamil political parties except the TNA have decided to stand in support of Shashikala Raviraj, the wife of the late Nadaraja Raviraj, who is alleged to have been subjected to a severe injustice by contesting from the TNA in the Jaffna District. Shashikala Raviraj alleges that three TNA MPs had taken various steps to prevent her from being elected to Parliament. Former Northern Provincial Councilor M.K. Sivajilingam has come forward to take legal action against the injustice more..

Aug 11 (TM) Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Russia, Prof. M.D. Lamawansa visited the Moscow Clinical Centre for Infectious Deceases yesterday named Moscow region in order to hand over 46 boxes of Ceylon tea as a token of appreciation from Sri Lanka to the medical staff combating COVID-19 and saving patients� lives on 10 Aug. The Moscow Clinical Centre for Infectious Deceases, Voronovskoye branch is a newly constructed hospital facility which had been built within 5 weeks on more..

Aug 11 (DM) A satellite image showing a building located in Hambantota in the shape of the word China created a buzz on social media. Google Earth shows the building managed by China SLK Harbour Service at Mirijjawila-Sooriyawewa Road, Hambantota in the shape of the word China. The image went viral on social media as from a distance, in the air, it looks like Hambantota was actually China. more..

Aug 11 (FT) Sri Lanka Tourism confirmed that the all-inclusive Sri Lanka Tourism app was now ready and awaiting authorisation from the Immigration and Emigration Department to be linked with the online visa process. �We have now prepared the Cabinet paper required for the app to be authorised along with the online visa procedure. It will be one of the first Cabinet papers by Sri Lanka Tourism for the new Cabinet of Ministers,� Sri Lanka Tourism Chairperson Kimarli Fernando said. more..

Aug 11 (Island) All elected MPs should publish their asset declarations online to help evolve a transparent and accountable political culture, National Coordinator of CMEV Manjula Gajanayake said. The laws regarding asset declaration needed to be changed so that elected representatives would be compelled to hand them over in time to allow the general public to access them. �The law says that it is mandatory for candidates to declare their assets and liabilities to EC. more..

Aug 11 (FT) Several civil society leaders and senior members of the vanquished UNP and dominant Opposition party SJB have recently called upon former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya to come forward and unite the Opposition to the Govt both inside and outside of Parliament, party sources said. High on their minds is the symbolic role played by the former Speaker in introducing the 19th Amendment and Right to Information Act, more..

Aug 11 (NR) Ministry of Health said 29 persons who had contracted COVID-19 recovered and were discharged during the past 24 hours. 18 individuals were discharged from the Kandakadu Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre, five from the Welikanda Base Hospital, three from the Minuwangoda Base Hospital, two from the Panagoda Army Hospital and one individual from the IDH. Accordingly, 238 active coronavirus patients continue to receive in-house treatment. more..

Aug 11 (DM) UNP will decide on the best option with regard to the new leader of the party and on the national list slot, Party�s Deputy General Secretary Ruwan Wijewardene said yesterday. Mr. Wijewardene told journalists that the party will discuss and decide on the best person for the posts. �It is someone who could win the hearts of the country�s population and the party members who should be appointed as the new leader of the party,� Mr. Wijewardene said. more..

Aug 11 (EN) In-fighting over who should have a seat in parliament from the Our People�s Power Party (OPPP), led by ultra-right-wing Buddhist monks is turning from ugly to a fiasco. While the party failed to win a single seat at the recently concluded parliamentary election, the OPPP, known in Sinhala as the Ape Janabala Pakshaya (අපේ ජනබල පක්ෂය) qualified for a seat on the National List as it received 67,758 votes more..

Aug 11 (EN) Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka has replied to reports about the google map image that had emerged in social media showing multiple buildings in Hambantota spelling out CHINA SW saying that it was initially constructed to show CHINA ❤️ SLK. The official Twitter account of the Chinese Embassy in Colombo tweeted saying it was originally designed to spell out as CHINA ❤️ SLK by China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) when the Hambantota port was built. more..

Aug 11 (CT) Hotlines 1917 and 1997 introduced by the Police Department to report information on organised crime and activities related to money laundering, are now successfully operational, said Police Media Spokesman, SSP Jaliya Senaratne. He said, information has been received on these hotlines, regarding organised crime, drug trafficking and money laundering activities. So far 1,263 complaints have been received through the 1997 hotline alone. Of them 66 were successful, more..

Aug 11 (CT) Leader of TMTK and Parliament-elect C.V. Wigneswaran said although they were confident that they would secure at least four seats in Jaffna and the Vanni and three seats in the East, they were defeated. He said his Party will assess the issues as to why they could not secure more seats. He said only two reasons come to mind and that this could be due to poverty and that people are vulnerable and could be easily cheated. more..

Aug 11 (AD) Five new cases of COVID-19 have been identified hiking the number of virus-positive cases in the country to 2,880. The new cases have been identified as recent arrivals from Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates the Department of Govet Information confirmed. Accordingly, a total of 9 new cases have been detected in the country within the day. As per the Health Ministry, 247 active cases are currently under medical care at hospitals. more..

Aug 11 (CT) There is speculation whether Amani Thanji, who had been living with underworld boss Angoda Lokka, had poisoned him to avenge the murder of her husband in SL. Suspicions arose after a post-mortem report revealed that the finger and toe nails of the deceased gangster had turned bluish, indicating poisoning. Police said, they suspect that Lokka was killed as Media reports in SL indicated that Lokka, who is wanted by Interpol and the SL Police for various crimes, more..

Aug 11 (CT) 26 suspects including 19 males and seven females who were in possession of heroin were arrested by Police during raids carried out at several places in the Colombo and Kalutara Districts on 9 Aug. Two male suspects and a female who were in possession of heroin were arrested in a raid carried out on information received by the Homagama Police on the same morning. The raid was carried out in the Pragathi Mawatha more..

Aug 12 (Island) Even after he became President, the UNP�s Govigama establishment kept up a latent but relentless campaign to undermine Ranasinghe Premadasa. In August 1991 Gamini Dissanayake and Lalith Athulathmudali succeeded in surreptitiously getting the support of the opposition to present a motion in parliament to impeach the President, accusing him of everything from treason to corruption. It contained 123 signatures, including 47 of the 121 UNP MPs. more..

Aug 12 (CT) Even though the recently concluded General Election was conducted amid uncertainty and fear surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, it is considered by many to be a successful and at the same time a peaceful election. According to authorities and election observers, only a meagre number of election law violations were recorded during the Election and the overall voter turnout exceeded 70%. It was also South Asia�s first election after the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic more..

Aug 12 (TM) SL�s northern seas are considered to have the highest density of crustaceans, which automatically attracts a larger school of fish. Given that these international waters are required to be shared with India and the Maldives, many of the fishermen in the region are in a constant battle to secure their catch for the day. During a recent visit to the northern peninsula, The Sunday Morning met up with several fishing more..

Aug 12 (DM) What happened over Aug 6 night as ballot counting reached its conclusion in Jaffna is testament to the growing influence of social media during an electoral process. As the counting neared the end, the accusations started flying, a daughter of one candidate accusing another of rigging the preferential votes. The allegations were stark, no surprise there. But where they moved was new. They were placed on Facebook as public posts. This continued into the next day with both parties more..

Aug 12 (CT) Greetings Dayan, You conclude your latest piece with the suggestion that the intelligentsia must recognize that only a social-democratic reformist program can save SL, and in the global South, the only feasible form of social democracy is a progressive, pluralist populism fused with a moderate nationalism. Hardly. As is readily evident from the US to the UK, Brazil to India, populism, and in particular nationalist populism is precisely one of, if not the greatest political threat more..

Aug 12 (TM) The northern peninsula is still scattered with partially built houses that have been abandoned, and within one of those compounds, there is a temporary shelter which houses a small family. Eleven years since the civil war ended, one might presume that the region would have experienced some form of development as was promised to the people by 3 govts since then that were tasked to uplift the livelihoods of those more..

Aug 12 (Island) Schools have reopened at last, and attendance is reportedly improving. What with the threat of a second wave of COVID-19, all precautions have been taken to ensure the safety of students, we are told. Media reports say facilities have been provided for hand-washing, and temperature tests are being conducted. Schools cannot remain closed indefinitely. Education Ministry was finally left with no alternative but to reopen them. However, we have to tread extremely more..

Aug 12 (DM) The much-awaited August 2020 general elections have been completed. A new govt elected, and the Prime Minister sworn in. The electoral tidal wave, brought about by the electors saw two of the oldest political parties in the country literally blown away. The brand new Pohottuwa � Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) � of Prez Gotabaya and PM Mahinda Rajapaksa swept the United National Party (UNP) and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) into the wilderness. more..

Aug 12 (DM) What happened on August 5 was an epic rout of the Opposition. No time since the proportional representation system was adopted under the 1978 Constitution, had the Opposition been relegated to oblivion as it was at the parliamentary election held last week. Not even before that. Many refer to the UNP landslide in the Parliamentary election in 1977 when it won 140 seats out of 168 in the National State Assembly, the then Parliament. The SLFP won just eight. more..

Aug 12 (CT) The early indications from the newly elected govt elected by an astounding majority is that they are serious about making a difference and in making a constructive break with the past. The hope of all Sri Lankans will be that it will also be a lasting difference and not be limited to good intentions that quickly go awry as has been the case too many times in the past giving rise to great cynicism. A sustainable democracy needs not only elections but also a solid foundation of more..

Aug 12 (WB) Think of the last time you went to the movies, a sporting venue, or any public place, and had to use a restroom. Did you notice that the queues for the women�s restroom were generally longer than the men�s? Most building codes provide for equal toilet areas for both men and women � in which case the men get more urinals in the same amount of space as the women - or for an equal number of toilets. more..

Aug 12 (ST) �The numbers have come in,� exclaimed Arthika, my nonsensical economist friend better known as good-for-nothing Somey, on Friday morning. He woke me up with his call after I had spent a long night listening to the parliamentary election results in which the SLPP swept the polls, while the once-dominant UNP was virtually wiped out , coming in a poor fourth in the race. For the first time at a poll, UNP leader and former PM Ranil Wickremesinghe ended up without winning more..

Aug 12 (Island) RIP, UNP? When I wrote a piece, under this title, way back in 2013, I was sincerely hoping it would never happen, perhaps, because there was still a trace of UNP DNA running through my veins. After all, my father was the first UNP MP for Matara albeit for only 33 days, elected in March 1960 to the shortest-lived Parliament of Sri Lanka. In fact, the full title of my article was RIP, UNP? Hope not! (The Island, 25 Nov 2013) which I concluded with the following plea: more..

Aug 12 (Roar) With its sunny beaches and signature cuisine, Sri Lanka is amongst the world�s top travel destinations. Many Sri Lankans depend on tourism for their livelihood and income, but the hospitality sector has faced its challenges during the past few years. In the year following the devastating Easter Sunday attacks, tourist arrivals in SL fell by 22%. Nonetheless, we made a steady recovery, and by Dec 2019, more..

Aug 12 (FT) Investor sentiments appear to have improved as the Colombo stock market yesterday bounced back to post a near 1% gain with turnover touching a new recent high. ASPI increased by 0.89% or 45.65 points to close at 5,196.40 points, while the S&P SL20 Index also increased by 0.96% or 21.30 points to close at 2,231.78. Turnover increased by 301.2% relative to Monday to Rs. 2.7 billion. Yesterday�s gain brought relief, especially for capital market promoters and brokers since more..

Aug 12 (ST) Government plans to assist tea smallholders affected by the drought with replanting are insufficient since allocations are made for only those registered amounting to just six million plants on 480 hectares. Tea Smallholders Development Authority (TSHDA) officials told the Business Times that allocations are made to assist only 8160 farmers impacted by the drought who have smallholder properties that had in 2017, 2018 and 2019 obtained plants from the authority. more..

Aug 12 (CT) Former SL captain Angelo Mathews made unbeaten 173 runs against Saracens CC at P. Sara Oval in the Super 8 round of the SLC Major League Tier �A� Cricket tournament. Mathews' unbeaten 173 runs came in 262 deliveries with 12 boundaries and 2 sixes. Kusal Mendis scored 139 runs in 225 balls with 19 boundaries against Ragama CC at MCG Katunayake. Seven Batsmen made centuries in the matches namely more..