Aug 8 (AD) The number of Sri Lankans who were injured due to the catastrophic blast in the Lebanese capital on August 04 has escalated to 14, says the Embassy of SL in Beirut. The injured are currently receiving treatment at hospitals, Embassy said, adding that none of them are in a critical condition. Despite the minor damages to the Chancery and residences of the Embassy officials, the Embassy continues to remain open for queries and serves the public between 0800 hrs to 1600 hrs daily, . more..

Aug 8 (DM) Eight female candidates have been successful in entering the upcoming parliament while there were nearly 59 female representatives who received nominations to contest the Parliamentary Election. Accordingly, Sudarshani Fernandopulle polled 89,329 votes while Kokila Harshani received 77,922 from the Gampaha District representing the SLPP. From Malate District Rohini Kumari Kaviratne polled 27,587 votes more..

Aug 8 (DM) While expressing his heartfelt thanks to those who voted for him, Sarath Weerasekara, who topped in the Colombo District at General Election said the 19th amendment should be abolished soon. Addressing a news briefing, he said today that they were ready to abolish the 19th amendment when necessary. He asked whether independence had been ensured from those independent commissions, which were established under the 19th amendment. “These commissions only crippled more..

Aug 8 (CI) Lanka de Silva, the former SL Test wicketkeeper, has been made interim head coach of SL women, replacing Harsha de Silva. He will be in charge until the end of the year while SLC searches for a long-term option. "Lanka de Silva is also free to apply for the role," SLC CEO Ashley de Silva said. Lanka has long been a coach within the Sri Lankan system, and recently worked with the men's Under-19 team. SL do not have any matches scheduled until the end of 2020, more..

Aug 8 (EN) Ultra Right-Wing Buddhist Monk Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero will be nominated to be in Parliament by a small party called Our Power of People Party (OPPP) his Media spokesman said. The party which fielded numerous Buddhist Monks did not win enough seats in any electorate they contested but under Proportional Preferential system won enough votes to nominate a single member to Parliament on National List. more..

Aug 9 (ST) Vox Populi – the Voice of the People, have spoken loud and clear. The message reverberates throughout the country. The Rajapaksa Brothers convincingly cantered home at Wednesday’s Parliamentary elections. The country not just endorsed their Presidential victory back in November last year, but the performance was improved upon to garner 59% of the total vote – up from 52%. The good, the bad and the rascals are all back in the long awaited Parliament now. more..

Aug 9 (Island) John Dalberg-Acton, or Lord Acton, a British historian of the late 19th and early 20th century famously said that power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely… Absolute power is what the SLPP of Rajapaksas won last Wednesday and the biggest challenge for Prez and brother Mahinda, who will continue as PM, is to ensure that Acton’s words do not come true in SL. Theirs was a stunning victory belying even the wildest expectations of their most optimistic more..

Aug 9 (SO) Minister Dr. Ramesh Pathirana said that the SLPP will form a Govt with a two-thirds majority with the help of other constituent parties who supported the SLPP led political alliance. Minister Pathirana said the people at the Aug 5 General Election have responded to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s request to give him a resounding mandate to form a stable Govt to carry forward his vision. more..

Aug 9 (GV) The general elections on 5 Aug had turned out to be an outstanding victory for the SLPP, Rajapaksa Family and the Sinhala Buddhist nationalists representing both the elite and ordinary members of the country’s majority community. Despite many allegations made about the corrupt and criminal acts of certain candidates put forward at the election by some of the political parties, the electorate elected most of them. Sadly, the candidates who are known for exposing more..

Aug 9 (SO) The victory of the SLPP at the Aug 5 General Election was a foregone conclusion, but its scale (just a few seats short of a two-thirds majority) once again confirmed that the SLPP has become the de facto choice of voters in just a short span of two years. Despite fewer votes being cast overall, the SLPP held on to its 2019 Nov vote base and percentage in many areas, even though it is unfair to compare that election and the General Election, where local and provincial issues also more..

Aug 9 (SO) General Secretary of the SLFP Dayasiri Jayasekera says that the SLFP is focusing on strengthening their voter base in the North and the East following the considerable victory SLFP recorded in Jaffna in the General Election 2020. He discussed more plans to be rolled out in the future. Q: The General Election ended with a landslide victory for the SLPP and SLFP coalition. What is your reading about the election result more..

Aug 9 (GV) The general election to parliament is concluded and the official results are out. The anticipated landslide victory to the ruling SLPP has materialised with the SLPP winning a grand total of 145 seats through garnering a total of approximately 6.8 million votes or 59% of the valid votes cast. Through its stated allies, SLFP (1 seat), EPDP (2 seats), TMVP (1 seat) and others in the pro-govt political space, it has effectively reached the two-thirds majority it craved, or 150 seats, more..

Aug 9 (ST) My dear Ranil, I thought of writing to you because you must be relaxing these days after weeks of gruelling campaigning for the election, an election in which you achieved what no leader in this country has been able to achieve in almost 75 years – the demise of the United National Party (UNP). A party which has governed the nation for almost 40 years, a party which should have celebrated 75 years next year and a party which you led for the past 26 years is now almost dead. more..

Aug 9 (CT) There is no other way to describe it. The SLPP has won a stunning victory. It won 128 out of 196 elected seats and added 17 more from the National List for a total of 145 seats. The shortfall of five seats for the coveted two-thirds majority, which was laughably insignificant, is already made up. What is significant is the SLPP’s district level sweep in seven of the nine provinces, barring of course the north and east outliers. The SLPP led in every district in the seven provinces, more..

Aug 9 (CT) Let everyone first congratulate Deshapriya, Hoole, Abeysekara and election staff for conducting a truly first-rate election under trying circumstances – COVID, political interference, a not very helpful AG and numerous court challenges by different interest groups against each other. We will be the poorer when their term expires and I dread to think who their replacements will be. Recently I read somewhere that Abraham Lincoln mused “Elections belong to the people. more..

Aug 9 (ST) Around 1.30 am on Friday, the Jaffna Central College counting centre was chaotic as STF personnel on duty made a baton charge, when a group of people tried to enter the counting room. In the ensuing chaos, two people were injured, one of them being a local councillor. The group, consisting of supporters of TNA candidate Sasikala Raviraj and those who gathered alleged foul play in the preferential vote counting process as more..

Aug 9 (Island) With the seats won by the SLPP on its own, together with the seats of allied political parties like the EPDP, TMVP, and the SLFP (Jaffna) the Gotabaya Rajapaksa govt easily crosses the 150 seat mark to obtain a two thirds majority in Parliament. This writer still remembers listening to the results of the 1977 election over the radio as a 13-year old. The results of every electorate as they were read out seemed to go to the UNP. At that time, what constituted a landslide was for more..

Aug 9 (SO) The ruling SLPP which contested a General Election for the first time secured an unprecedented, landslide victory at the August 5 election indicating that the party is in a position to form a stable Govt with a two-thirds majority. The SLPP obtained 145 seats securing an overwhelming majority in 19 districts. This is the third consecutive electoral outing for the SLPP, having gained major victories at the February 2018 Local Govt Elections and the Nov 2019 Prez Election. more..

Aug 9 (CT) General Election 2020 concluded once again giving a two-third majority to a governing party led by Rajapaksas. While, there is no clear-cut idea as to what has been the deciding factor in voters’ mind when they exercised their franchise at South Asia’s first General Election to be held after global pandemic COVID-19, it certainly proves that Sri Lanka’s political framework has changed. more..

Aug 9 (ST) With the stalled domestic cricket season all set to begin tomorrow following the pandemic forced break, Head coach Mickey Arthur expects his charges to use the opportunity to fine tune ahead of Bangladesh’s tour of Sri Lanka in October. Bangladesh is likely to arrive here in Sri Lanka to complete their postponed series of three Tests in October if Sri Lanka Cricket gets the greenlight from govt and the health authorities to resume international cricket. more..

Aug 9 (SO) Club cricket in Sri Lanka is set to return tomorrow with the recommencement of the Premier League championships which was put on hold in March this year due to the coronavirus outbreak. All the top leading clubs will be in action at venues in the country that will also showcase Sri Lankan players at their respective domestic teams who have not featured in any competition for more than four months despite being engaged in practicing for more than two months. more..

Aug 9 (ST) SL is a country that thrives on spin bowling. Despite the abundance of spinners, only a few have been successful at int'l level. One of the major reasons for the decline in the quality of spinners is that several SL bowlers have been suspended for illegal actions in the recent past. Once their bowling actions have been remodelled, they lose their wicket-taking ability and eventually decide to bid farewell to their career more..

Aug 9 (Island) A deal set to be signed by SLC with a Dubai based company awarding commercial rights is set to bring them close to US$ 11 million over a five year period. SLC has received a proposal from Innovative Production Group (IPG) who are offering US$ 1.9 million for the rights of the inaugural edition of the LPL. They will provide a further US$ 1.9 mil in 2nd year and then there would be an increase of 10% each for the next three years making it a total of US$ 11 m over a 5 yr period. more..

Aug 9 (ST) After a lapse of almost six months football will resume action today with the commencement of the Vantage FFSL President’s Cup 2020, with objectives of scouting potential players for the national squad, besides bringing back the sport alive. The 23-day long competition will be the first field sports event to be held in Sri Lanka since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, featuring 20 elite football teams from the country. The urtain raiser will include two games more..

Aug 9 (ST) There will be no glamour and grandeur of a typical T20 cricket tournament. Health requirements will likely keep spectators out of stadiums. But when the Lanka Premier League (LPL) finally takes off on Aug 28, there will be many glued to their TV sets for a glimpse of the action in the middle. Sri Lankans have been starved of cricket since February when several scheduled tours were postponed due to the global health crisis. more..

Aug 9 (TM) About half of the CEB’s outstanding payments to the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) were settled by the Ministry of Power and Energy recently using the Govt’s Fuel Price Stabilisation Fund, Ministry Spokesman Dharma Wanninayake said. Ministry has made the settlement utilising Rs. 48 billion from the Fund created by increasing the Import Duty on a litre of local fuel when global oil prices hit negative levels during the peak of the pandemic a few months ago. more..

Aug 9 (SO) Export Development Board (EDB), apex body for export development, will present proposals to the Govt to help exporters manage their cash flow issue and be competitive in the post Covid-19 global market apart from continuing the broader National Export Strategy (NES), EDB Chairman Prabhash Subasinghe said. He said a major concern of exporters during the pandemic was on managing their cash flow. Requests have been made by exporters to provide significant assistance more..

Aug 9 (ST) By taking products or services int'l, a SL business is replicating its model for another set of circumstances, a different locale and culture, with a different market, demands, needs and expectations. At least nine companies and banks from SL have manoeuvred unchartered waters like this, quite successfully. LOLC Group has by far been the most triumphant at imprinting its mark on foreign soil and flying the SL flag. more..

Aug 9 (SO) Fisheries trade union representatives, calling for urgent amendments to the laws pertaining to the fisheries sector, expressed displeasure over the exploitation of the country’s marine resources by foreign fishing vessels, leaving crumbs for local fishermen who make a salient contribution to the economy. “The legislation governing the fisheries sector of the country serves the interests of foreign entities exploiting the seas within our boundaries,” All Ceylon Fisher-folk Trade Union more..

Aug 9 (Island) Ceylinco Life employees and their families collected 990 kilograms of potentially toxic electronic waste, thanks to an ‘E-waste Collection Day’ initiative of the Company’s Green Club, which saw abandoned and malfunctioning electronic equipment being responsibly recycled. Among the discarded devices collected from Ceylinco Life offices and homes of employees were electronic equipment such as printers, personal computers and parts, laptops, networking equipment, more..

Aug 9 (TM) Even though the Central Bank has been in contact with PayPal on establishing the payment giant in Sri Lanka as a domestic partner bank for inward remittances, no significant progress has been made up to now. The discussions have been conducted by the CB with the PayPal office in India through PayPal’s regional headquarters in Singapore, but India is yet to confirm an all-important visit to SL to meet relevant officials. more..

Aug 9 (CT) People have voted in 64 new faces, out of the 225 members elected to represent the 9th Parliament. The highest number of fresh faces, which stands at 53, is elected from the SLPP. Another four were elected from the SJB. Apart from them, a fresh face will take oaths as an MP on 20 Aug in the ninth Parliament representing ITAK, EPDP, ACMC, TMVP, ACTC, SLMC and MNA. Out of the maiden MPs, the highest number of preferential votes has been polled by more..

Aug 9 (ST) The Employees’ Trust Fund (ETF), a non-contributory benefit scheme where only the employer makes a contribution on behalf of the employee, has made investments in govt securities thereby stabilising the money market at 7% interest rate on a govt directive, official sources said. The asset base of the fund is intact as it has invested in Treasury Bonds and Bills only in accordance with the government’s directive issued in March this year, a senior ETF official said. more..

Aug 9 (ST) Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is seeking to attract short haul travelers mainly from Asian markets as some of country’s key markets are closing the borders due to a possible second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the circumstances the authorities are hoping to attract at least Asian countries in short haul travel, SLTPB Acting MD Madubhani Perera said. She explained that at first they had hoped to attract more..

Aug 9 (Island) The SJB was Cock-A-Hoop about its performance at Wednesday’s General Election, but in reality it helped the SLPP obtain a two-thirds majority, says veteran UNPer John Ameratunga who stayed with Ranil Wickremesinghe and the UNP. He said ” We respect the peoples’ wishes, but Sajith Premadasa in deciding to break away from the UNP, has failed to achieve what should have been his first objective – preventing the SLPP from getting two-thirds of the seats in Parliament.” more..

Aug 9 (ST) The Central Bank has printed money totaling more than Rs. 450 billion up to July since the last week of February this year. It has pumped Rs. 164.9 billion in March and another Rs. 92.5 billion in April, totaling more than Rs. 257 billion in these two months alone, informed source said. In the meantime, according to Treasury estimates, it is expected that govt borrowings for 2020 on a net basis would be in the region of Rs. 1,257 billion. However, a senior Treasury official said more..

Aug 9 (ST) Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa will swear-in a Cabinet of Ministers numbering 26 next Friday (14) and not avail himself of a Constitutional provision that allows him to enlarge his Cabinet if he opts to go in for a National Govt with parties outside the SLPP alliance. The 19th Amendment permits a Cabinet of 45 Ministers if there is a National Govt. Prez has decided that the SLPP will function as a single political entity more..

Aug 9 (ANI) Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay on Saturday called on PM Mahinda Rajapaksa to congratulate him on the emphatic victory of the ruling SLPP in the parliamentary election. High Commission said in a statement that the strong mandate received by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa provides a fresh opportunity for New Delhi and Colombo to enhance bilateral engagement including mitigating the adverse economic effects of the COVID-19. more..

Aug 9 (DM) The Acting Ambassador of the Embassy of China who presented PM Mahinda Rajapaksa a congratulatory message from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), said Beijing was glad to hear Mr. Rajapaksa’s election victory. Acting Ambassador Hu Wei called on the PM at Temple Trees this evening and said, “Beijing was glad to hear of your victory. Most sincere congratulations to you and your party. It must be the strongest govt in history.” more..