Aug 6 (Island) Sri Lanka has so far been spared the riots and political instability that has rocked other countries facing debt repayment crises. Kenya and more recently Bangladesh have seen large scale rioting that are directly the consequence of economic problems that have sharpened the pain felt by the masses of people. Sri Lanka too was heading in a similar direction at the time President Ranil Wickremesinghe took over the reins of govt. The prez�s handling of the economy, more..

Aug 6 (Island) Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina did a Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday, although it had been widely thought a few days ago that the latest round of popular uprising led by students, too, would be quelled. But thousands of protesters stormed the PM�s official residence. Hasina fled overseas, the way Gotabaya did in 2022. About 300 lives have reportedly been lost in the bloody clashes that rocked Bangladesh. PM Hasina did everything in her power to suppress anti-govt protests. more..

Aug 6 (FT) Post-Supreme Court Friday�s ruling to revert to the previous visa processing scheme, the tourism industry appears to be grappling to wear a smile and welcome perplexed visitors. The Department of Immigration and Emigration has announced the deactivation of the www.srilankaevisa.lk website until further notice. Dept further informed that efforts are being made to restore the online visa process at the earliest. more..

Aug 6 (Island) This is the second part of my article under the title Monks driven from pillar to post with the Mahanayakas pandering to politicians published in The Island on July 26. Here, I would like to remind my readers that I added an important postscript to the end of the first part of my column. Below is that Postscript: �The writer believes, now that Gnanasara Thera has been released on bail pending the hearing of his appeal, further unnecessary humiliation of the concerned monks more..

Aug 6 (FT) Embassy of SL in collaboration with Export Development Board (EDB) organised a webinar on SL Pharmaceutical Industry for Vietnamese pharmaceutical companies a couple of days before the Medipharm Expo 2024 in Ho Chi Minh (HCM) city. This was organised in order to raise the awareness as well as the potential of SL pharma sector to leading importers and manufacturers of pharma in Viet Nam. The webinar was attended by over 100 pharma companies more..

Aug 6 (FT) In a decisive move by the Public Utilities Commission of SL (PUCSL), the payments for rooftop solar power plants will remain unchanged. This decision, detailed in a circular issued by the CEB General Manager Dr. Narendra Silva, confirms that the price of Rs. 37 per unit of solar electricity, imposed in 2022, will continue to be valid. The circular, dated 29 July, amends the effective date of Rooftop Solar PV schemes to 25 Oct 2022, while maintaining rest of the content unchanged. more..

Aug 6 (TM) Director General (DG) of Sports of the Ministry of Sports Prof. Shemal Fernando says that World Rugby (WR) has granted a grace period till 8 November for Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) to introduce requisite amendments to its constitution and hold its stalled Annual General Meeting (AGM). Speaking to The Daily Morning Sports, on the sidelines of a media briefing held at the Ministry yesterday linked to the Sri Lanka Sports Fiesta � a celebration of sports and entertainment, more..

Aug 6 (FT) SJB MP Eran Wickramaratne raised critical questions in Parliament regarding the denial of access to SL Cement Corporation (SLCC) land to Puttalam Ilmenite Ltd (PIL), which has invested over $ 20 million over the past decade. Wickramaratne pointed out that this obstruction is hindering the realisation of a $ 100 million investment, the largest ever in the country�s mineral sector and a significant boost to FDI more..

Aug 6 (FT) Colombo stock market yesterday plunged further as investor sentiment remained wary amidst low turnover. The active S&P SL20 declined by 2.3% and ASPI by 1.67%. �ASPI halted the day in red at 11,252 plummeting to an over 4-month low, losing 191 points marking the year to date second highest loss,� said First Capital. Turnover was Rs. 863.8 million involving 45.7 million shares. Bourse struggled to maintain the momentum of the previous week, with both indices closing the day in red. more..

Aug 6 (DN) Sri Lanka Sports Fiesta 2024 organized by Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs, along with Ministry of Tourism will take place from Aug 16 to 18 in Colombo. The Mega Fiesta will feature over 3000 athletes competing in seven thrilling team sports � cricket, rugby, football, volleyball, netball, hockey and basketball. This is the first time in history that seven sports are taking place in the same vicinity. Dialog Axiata powers the SL Sports Fiesta 2024 being the principal sponsor of the event. more..

Aug 6 (DN) 400m champion Aruna Darshana, who sets a remarkable mark in Olympic history for a SL athlete to reach the semi-finals, will take to the Paris Stade de France track tonight at 11.05 SL time. Aruna Darshana has become the only player from Sri Lanka to reach the semi-finals after Duncan White in 1948 London Olympics and Susanthika Jayasinghe in 2000 Sydney Olympics. Aruna Darshana, who participated in more..

Aug 6 (TM) Claiming that the Govt that ruled the country during the past five years has caused an unprecedented social, economic and political decline, the Samagi Intellectuals Forum, a group affiliated with the SJB, claimed that the present Govt�s denial of the Judiciary�s authority poses a severe challenge to the rule of law. The forum�s member, Dr. Mahim Mendis, said that such a challenge to the Judiciary would exacerbate the country�s downfall, and make it difficult for more..

Aug 6 (DM) MP Rohitha Abeygunawardena of the SLPP was seen riding unregistered high-engine-capacity motorcycles in violation of the Dept of Motor Traffic Act and the Road Traffic Act. This was done to show his support for Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe in the upcoming 2024 Prez Election. The MP, along with several other riders, rode to a meeting hall in Talduwa, Kalutara North, to make this announcement. The motorcycle ride covered a distance of one and a half kilometres, more..

Aug 6 (DN) Steps should be taken to modernise the SL agriculture sector which is still mostly operating in a traditional manner, observed Verite Research non-resident fellow Prof. Shanta Devarajan at a seminar in Colombo. �The sector contributes the least to GDP and agricultural productivity has hardly grown.� The overwhelming share of farm households produce paddy which is almost 50%. Paddy used to be the least productive crop of all the possible crops that gives you the distribution of productivity. more..

Aug 6 (TM) A group of activists from the aragalaya movement, previously known as the Black Cap Movement, expressed their support for President and independent presidential candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe, citing his clear policy framework as a standout among the presidential candidates. Co-Convenor of the Movement, Hemapriya Kaviratne, claimed that the Prez is the only candidate with a well-defined strategy for the country�s future. He criticised the other major Prez candidates more..

Aug 6 (TM) Polls monitor, PAFFREL called upon the authorities to prevent public servants from using public money to promote Presidential candidates, citing it as a severe Election violation. PAFFREL�s Executive Director Rohana Hettiarachchi emphasised that certain public servants are engaging in promotional activities for Presidential candidates under the guise of initiating new projects, which he described as an illegal practice. more..

Aug 6 (Island) The deadline for the submission of applications for postal votes has been extended until midnight 9 August. Election Commission Chairman R.M.A.L. Rathnayake said completed applications must be handed over to District Returning Officers through the District Election Office on or before 9 August. Heads of all media institutions were summoned to the Elections Commission yesterday. �There were two meetings. In the morning, we met heads of all media institutions. more..

Aug 6 (ST) The government will submit the bill to amend the Provincial Council Elections Act on Tuesday for the second reading in Parliament with the objective of holding PC elections soon after the presidential polls are concluded. The bill, which was submitted originally as a private member bill by Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchchi (ITAK) MP M.A. Sumanthiran, was cleared recently by the Supreme Court after it was challenged by two Fundamental Rights petitions. more..

Aug 6 (Island) Parliament is meeting today amidst speculation that there will be some crossovers to and from both sides of the Well during this sitting week. Parliament sources said some SLPP MPs opposed to Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe�s candidacy would cross over to the opposition ranks and while some prominent Opposition MPs would join the government. As per the agreement reached at the last meeting of the Committee on Parliamentary Business, Chaired by Speaker Mahinda more..

Aug 6 (CT) Any violation of laws by public officials during the election period, including the misuse of State property and resources or the direct and indirect promotion of presidential candidates, will hold the relevant officials personally accountable, Chairman of the Election Commission (EC) R.M.L. Ratnayake said. Addressing the media heads, during an event to inform them about media regulations and guidelines during the election period, at the EC premises, Ratnayake said more..

Aug 6 (TM) Ministry of Public Security announced significant disruptions in the issuance of visas in SL following an interim order by the Supreme Court (SC). Ministry's Secretary Viyani Gunathilaka, stated that only on-arrival visas can currently be issued, severely limiting the range of available visa types. Gunathilaka explained that the SC's interim order has made it impossible to issue visas under the previous system. more..

Aug 6 (ANI) Minister Ali Sabry voiced his solidarity with the people of Bangladesh amid political unrest. Sabry said that SL is there for Bangladesh during these challenging times. He said, "Our hearts are with the people of Bangladesh during these incredibly challenging times. The recent events have led to significant unrest and, tragically, the loss of many lives. We extend our deepest sympathies to the families of those affected and to all who are suffering during this difficult period. more..

Aug 6 (DM) MPs who raised their hands and joined Ranil Wickremesinghe will return soon and those who made the decision will learn a good political lesson, SLPP MP Johnston Fernando said. He said that the majority of the MPs and voters are with Mahinda Rajapaksa. "We will be the only political party to present the winning candidate, and the announcement of that candidate will be made on Wednesday. All other candidates presented by the other parties are old and have lost elections. more..

Aug 6 (TM) Dept of Police assured that all necessary security measures requested by the Election Commission (EC) for the upcoming Prez Election thus far have been diligently implemented. SDIG in Charge of Elections, Asanka Karawita, confirmed that the Dept has deployed officers in accordance with the EC�s requests on several occasions. However, he mentioned that no calculation has been made regarding the total number of Police officers more..

Aug 6 (FT) SL reached a debt restructuring agreement with commercial creditors in July 2024 to restructure $ 12.5 billion in the country�s outstanding International Sovereign Bonds (ISBs). Parties agreed on core financial terms of restructuring the ISBs, which are now embodied in a joint working debt treatment framework (the Joint Working Framework). The framework proposes a 28% cut on the face value, an 11% reduction on past interest, with interest payments commencing in September. more..

Aug 6 (FT) The specialised bodies proposed to be set up by the Bill will be able to facilitate these industries by providing incentives for businesses operating within the zones, such as tax breaks, grants, and easier access to funding along with investment ready infrastructure such as innovation hubs, grants for research activities and streamlined processes for hiring skilled foreign workers and incentives for local talent development. These differences suggest a more dynamic and targeted approach more..

Aug 6 (AD) Leader of the NPP MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake has placed deposits at the Election Commission this morning to contest the upcoming Prez Election. The NPP placed the deposit on behalf of Dissanayake to contest the presidential poll as its candidate, MP Vijitha Herath said, adding that they are ready to submit nominations for Dissanayake on Aug 15 accordingly. He expressed: �The people of the country are ready to hand over the country�s power to Anura, so we laid the foundation for that.� more..

Aug 6 (DM) SLPP MP Namal Rajapaksa has resigned from the Sectoral Oversight Committee on International Relations, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardhane said today. He told Parliament that MP Premanath Dolawatte was appointed to the Committee to fill the vacancy. Namal Rajapaksa was the Chairman of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on International Relations. Speaker announced that committee which was convened on August 2, 2024 decided to appoint Dolawatte as a member of the Committee. more..

Aug 6 (DM) MP Jagath Priyankara proposed that elephants should be exported, claiming that the elephant population has increased drastically in the country. He told Parliament that SL has a larger elephant population in comparison to the extent of the country and proposed the Wildlife Minister either to export the wild elephants, release them in sanctuaries or provide them to people for domestication. Responding to the proposal, more..

Aug 6 (AD) The Railway Department says that train services from Colombo Fort have been temporarily disrupted due to workers at the Dematagoda Yard withdrawing from duties. The department says that employees at the Dematagoda Yard have stopped work on claims that proper action is not being taken to find a fellow employee who has gone missing. Accordingly, this is expected to likely result in some train cancellations and delays in relevant services from the Colombo Fort railway station. more..

Aug 6 (EN) A Regional Centre for Maritime Studies will be set up in Sri Lanka with the support of France. The centre will be set up at the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence Uni with assistance from the Trincomalee Naval and Maritime Academy. The Cabinet has approved the proposal presented by Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe as Defence Minister to enter into a bilateral agreement between the Government of SL and Govt of France to set up the Regional Centre for Maritime Studies. more..

Aug 6 (FT) Demand for software engineering has doubled in three years, with emerging needs for QA automation and DevOps professionals, reveals latest Employability Skills in the IT Industry Survey of SLASSCOM-Deloitte. �Software engineering continues to be a top profession, though software quality assurance (SQA) has surged from 5th to 2nd place, and system/network engineering has dropped out of the top five. Demand for software engineering has increased from 14% in 2021 to 30% in 2024, more..

Aug 6 (AD) Police have questioned a Grade 8 student concerning a recent incident in which the music room at his school in Anamaduwa was almost completely destroyed in a fire. In addition to this student, another student from the same school is also suspected of being involved in the suspected arson incident. The music room of the school was gutted in a fire which broke out on Aug 4 while the principal and several other teachers from the school had managed to control the fire and prevent it from spreading more..

Aug 6 (FT) State Minister for Trans-port Lasantha Alagiyawanna yesterday announced that the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) has officially decided to support President Ranil Wickremesinghe in the upcoming Presidential election, with 90% of the executive council and a majority of the party�s MPs agreeing to this decision. He also highlighted that the SLFP�s robust organisational network has already started efforts to secure President Wickremesinghe�s victory. more..

Aug 6 (CT) The UAE, India and Sri Lanka are in the shortlist to be back-up venues in case the ICC is forced to shift the women�s T20 World Cup later this year out of Bangladesh. Bangladesh has been rocked by anti-government agitations over the last few weeks, leading to several deaths. On Monday, prime minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and flew to India, with army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman assuming charge with a view to establishing an interim govt. more..