Aug 10 (Island) Understanding the importance of minimising the impact COVID-19 has on the education of Lankan undergraduates, 99X Technology’s university outreach programme Dotitude stepped in, conducting webinars for universities and higher education institutes across the country. In a time where almost every industry and even simple daily activities have been disrupted and are struggling to enter the digital arena, the emergence of a pandemic has been more..

Aug 10 (FT) State of Palestine Prez Mahmoud Abbas has congratulated newly elected PM Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Govt. Following is his message. It is our great pleasure to send to you and to the friendly SL people, on behalf of the State of Palestine, its people and on my own behalf, our greetings and heartfelt congratulations for your impending appointment as PM for the new Govt, after the remarkable success at the General Election, which was held in a significantly more..

Aug 10 (FT) The apparel industry fears job losses owing to the COVID-19 pandemic-led downturn in business will be far worse than expected, as order books beyond August are bleak. JAAF estimates that close to 100,000 people engaged in the industry will be unemployed owing to COVID-19 pandemic impact with multiple waves experienced in major markets, which are continuing with restrictions on mobility and events. more..

Aug 10 (FT) Except for the SLPP, other parties which won national lists seats are yet to submit the names of their appointees to the Election Commission (EC). The appointment of a member to the single Nation List seat won by a party of Buddhist monks led by Ven. Athureliya Ratana Thera named OPPP has run into trouble with two of its members claiming the seat. Central Committee of the Party endorsed Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera to the seat but more..

Aug 10 (Island) Colombo-Kankesanthurai express train derailed at Kanagarayankulam, Vavuniya yesterday morning after colliding with an elephant. Although passengers escaped unharmed in the accident, the elephant was killed. The wildlife officials removed the carcass. Environmentalists claim that a number of areas where elephants cross railway lines have been identified and successive govts have tried to solve the issue unsuccessfully. Anuradhapura-Habarana and the stretch more..

Aug 10 (Island) The UNP leadership is scheduled to meet today to decide who should get the National List seat the party received at the general election. Senior UNPer John Amaratunga said that as number one on the party’s National List, he would stake a claim to the seat if leader Ranil Wickremesinghe was not interested. All indications were that Wickremesinghe was not keen on being in the legislature at this juncture and more..

Aug 10 (NR) Another 446 Sri Lankans stranded overseas due to travel restrictions imposed amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, arrived in the island onboard special flights, from three countries. The flights arrived at the BIA and the MIA this evening, from France, Singapore and the UAE. A SriLankan Airlines flight carrying 16 Sri Lankans from Singapore arrived at the BIA around 4.05pm. 422 Sri Lankans from UAE arrived at Mattala Airport at 4.30pm onboard a special flight from Dubai. more..

Aug 10 (DN) India has told Sri Lanka to operate the first international flight to the newly upgraded Kushinagar airport in Uttar Pradesh. Conveying a message from Indian PM Narendra Modi, India’s High Commissioner to SL Gopal Baglay who met Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said this offer is particularly significant to SL’s Buddhist pilgrims since the airport is located near a number of sites sacred to Buddhists. In June this year, the Indian Govt took a decision to declare more..

Aug 10 (Island) Two leading polls monitors-PAFFREL and CMEV received approximately Rs 50 mn and Rs 6 mn respectively from donors in support of their operations. Executive Director of PAFREL Rohana Hettiarachchi and National Coordinator of CMEV Manjula Gajanayake said that they would be issuing detailed reports soon on the operation undertaken at the 2019 general election. The Island sought explanation regarding more..

Aug 10 (FT) The victory of GR-MR-BR’s Podujana Peramuna was expected by almost everyone, but the margin of that victory, which is nearly a landslide, escaped everyone’s calculation. A post-mortem is pointless at this stage except to state the two obvious factors: Ranil Wickremesinghe and ultra-nationalism championed by Cold War Monks. The former’s class consciousness, utter selfishness and policy bankruptcy not only threw out his govt from power, but also destroyed his political party. more..

Aug 10 (Island) Deshapremi Eksath Jathika Pakshaya has urged UNPers to rally around Prez Rajapaksa and PM Rajapaksa in the wake of debilitating defeat suffered by the UNP and its breakaway faction, the SJB. General Secretary of the party Sugath Hewapathirana told The Island that the result of the Aug 5 general election proved beyond doubt both parties had been rejected. Hewapathirana pointed out that under Wickremesinghe’s leadership the UNP polled more..

Aug 10 (FT) I stumbled upon an article in an English news daily from 2013, published by Verite Research. It stated that the number of days it takes to enforce a contract through the court system in Sri Lanka was 1,318. That is in excess of three-and-a-half years. The information was drawn from a World Bank study on the ease of doing business, with enforcing contracts being one of the metrics. A contract is one of the basic means of legal recourse. The article also showed that in Vietnam and Malaysia, more..

Aug 10 (DM) An owner of a hotel and 18 others including 5 females were arrested with drugs during a raid on a party organised through Facebook at a hotel in Bellantudawa in Millaniya yesterday. The police also recovered 2.4 grams of heroin, 13 grams of cannabis and five narcotic pills in possession of the suspects. The arrested aged between 17 and 60 were identified as residents of Bandaragama, Mellamulla, Dehiwala, Panadura, Dodangoda, Yatiyana, Kaduwela, Horana, more..

Aug 10 (AD) Former PM Ranil Wickremesinghe has decided to step down as the Leader of the UNP, after 26 years at the helm. UNP General Secretary Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, Assistant Leader Ravi Karunanayake, National Organiser Daya Gamage and Vajira Abeywardena have been nominated to the position. The Working Committee of the party is expected to decide on the next leader of the UNP, more..

Aug 10 (CT) SLPP succeeded in obtaining 78.17% of the votes in the Kamburupitiya Electorate at the General Election and has recorded the highest percentage of votes. This is the fourth time that the Kamburupitiya Electorate, under the leadership of former Minister Dulles Alahapperuma, has recorded the highest percentage of votes. Previously, the electorate recorded the highest percentage of votes received in the 1994 General Election, 2018 Local Govt Election and the 2019 Prez Election. more..

Aug 10 (FT) Chitranjali Dissanayake has been appointed as the Director General (DG) of SL Export Development Board (EDB) with effect from 4 August. She succeeds Jeevani Siriwardena. Prior to her appointment as DG, she was the Director of Industrial Products division and Acting for Additional Director General (Development). Dissanayake joined the EDB as a Research Assistant in 1986 and gained wealth of knowledge and experience on Export Development during her 34 years of more..

Aug 10 (DM) Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) led by Mano Ganesan which contested the general election under Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) says 15 MPs from his party, SLMC and ACMC led by Rishad Bathiudeen would sit as a separate group in Parliament if they are not given slots from the national list, as promised by the SJB leadership. Mr. Ganesan in his Facebook post said "Do not play with the National List. more..

Aug 10 (DM) The driver who was arrested over the accident in which a student was killed and eleven others were injured when a double cab ran over them at Aralaganwila had been charged with murder, Police said today. A 16-year-old student was killed and 11 others aged between 14 and 16 years were injured when a cab travelling from Dehiattakandiya to Aralaganwila crashed into a group of students returning from a private class at Bogas Junction in Aralaganwila around 3 p.m. on Sunday. more..

Aug 10 (DN) Gampaha District SLPP leader Prasanna Ranatunga said that all hostile forces to the country were utterly defeated at the General Election on Aug 5, and there was no room for further conspiracies against the country under the Gotabhaya-Mahinda Govt. He was speaking at a welcoming ceremony in Kehelbaddara in Minuwangoda yesterday. Ranatunga said that the new Govt will elevate the country to the top of the world and the next five years will be a golden more..

Aug 10 (AD) The Kurunegala Magistrate has re-issued warrants for the arrest of Kurunegala Mayor Thushara Sanjeewa and four others in the case filed over the demolishing of the Buwaneka Hotel, a building of historical value in Kurunegala. Due to the failure by the Kurunegala Police to execute the warrants previously issued for their arrests, the magistrate has re-issued the warrants through the Acting IGP, the DIG and more..

Aug 10 (PMD) Gamini Senarath, an experienced senior officer in the SL Administration Service has been reappointed as the Secretary to the PM. He received his Letter of Appointment from Prez Rajapaksa at the Presidential Secretariat today. Mr Gamini Sarath had served as the Additional Secretary and the Chief of Staff to the President during the tenure of Prez Mahinda Rajapaksa. He was appointed as the Secretary to the PM following Mahinda Rajapaksa’s appointment as the PM more..

Aug 10 (AD) One person was killed after a train collided with a car near an unprotected railway crossing at Pelana, Weligama. Police said that a train plying from Beliatta to Maradana had collided with the car on the railway crossing last evening (09). The deceased is a 35-year-old father of one, employed at a tourist hotel in the area. Residents in the area say that railway gatekeeper at the crossing had not been present yesterday and that the signals at the crossing had not worked. more..

Aug 10 (AD) SL Police says that steps will be taken to confiscate all the assets and properties in SL of notorious underworld kingpin Lasantha Perera alias Angoda Lokka, who is alleged to have died in India. Coimbatore city police in India had recently confirmed the death of the SL underworld kingpin, in the city where he was living in hiding for at least three years. SSP Jaliya Senaratne said that DNA samples & finger print records more..

Aug 10 (EN) Sri Lanka is in talks with Myanmar Airways Int'l (MAI), a private carrier based in Myanmar to establish direct air connectivity between the two countries, Colombo’s Embassy in Myanmar said. The Ambassador-designate of SL to Myanmar Dr Nalin de Silva had stressed the importance of cultural and historical ties between SL and Myanmar in a meeting held with the top management of MAI. CEO Saravanan Ramasamy and Chief Commercial Officer Tanes Kumar represented MAI more..

Aug 10 (SM) A defeated candidate of the SLPP who contested for Ratnapura District at the last Wednesday's Parliamentary election has requested Ratnapura District Deputy Election Commissioner Suranga Ambagahatenne to recount the preferential votes of one counting centre designated to Kolonne electorate, claiming that the preferential votes he had obtained must be higher than what is declared by the Election Commission, according to his agent at the counting centre. more..

Aug 10 (AD) The Colombo High Court has issued summons on former minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne and former Chairman of State Pharmaceutical Corporation (SPC) Mohamed Rumi, in connection with the controversial press conference on white van abductions. They have been issued summons to appear before the court on August 28, Ada Derana reporter said. High Court Judge Gihan Kulatunga issued the summons more..

Aug 10 (EN) SL’s election verdict last week is an opportunity for inclusive and results-based governance, National Peace Council (NPC) said. Congratulating the SLPP on securing a two-thirds majority in parliament, the NPC expressed its hope that Prez Rajapaksa and the new parliament will act responsibly and set the stage for an era of magnanimous politics. “It is our hope that the opposition works in cooperation with the govt but also be a check and balance and be more..

Aug 10 (DM) Norwegian diplomat and former peace envoy to Sri Lanka, Erik Solheim said today that had they been successful in Sri Lanka’s peace process, tens of thousands of lives could have been spared. Mr. Solheim, who was the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme from 2016 to 2018, said this in response to a tweet. The first tweet said, “This guy (Erik Solheim) once the major income, nutrition and caregiver to LTTE. Now he is an environmental activist?” more..

Aug 10 (AD) The new Cabinet of Ministers and the new State Ministers will be sworn in before Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Wednesday (12). The swearing in ceremony will take place at the historic Magul Maduwa (Audience Hall) of the Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa through an Extraordinary Gazette notification announced the Ministerial structure consisting 28 Ministries and 40 State Ministries. more..

Aug 10 (CT) The Prisons Department has decided to build a new security fence around Welikada Prison’s female ward in an attempt to prevent banned items being hurled over the wall from the Wanatamulla area. Commissioner (Administration) Chandana Ekanayake said that they have noticed an increasing number of banned items being thrown from the other side of the prison and that Prisons officials has faced difficulties in controlling the situation. The Commissioner noted yesterday (9) that more..

Aug 10 (CT) SL Centre for Human Rights congratulated the women elected to Parliament this time. Executive Director of the Centre, Surangi Ariyawansa, stated that this increase in the representation of women is a matter of national importance, regardless of whether they are elected or by National List. Pavithra Wanniarachchi, Sudarshani Fernandopulle, Kokila Gunawardena, Geetha Kumarasinghe, Muditha Zoysa, Rohini Kaviratne, Thalatha Atukorale, more..

Aug 10 (DM) Total number of rejected votes outnumbering the UNP and JVP led JJB in this year’s general election is a noteworthy fact. The rejected votes which totalled more than 700,000 at this year’s general elections which is higher than the 249,435 which the UNP and 445,000 obtained by the JJB. Rejected votes outnumbered the former ruling party UNP in almost all districts at this year’s election. more..

Aug 10 (NR) 23 persons have tested positive for the coronavirus today. The infections in SL accordingly rise to 2,867. The 23 were identified as inmates of the Senapura Rehabilitation Centre who were undergoing quarantine. 263 COVID-19 positive cases continue to receive in-house treatment while 70 persons suspected to have contracted the virus are also under observation. Earlier today 14 individuals who contracted the coronavirus were discharged after recovering increasing more..

Aug 10 (TW) Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s SLPP has secured a landslide win in the general elections held last week. For an election held in Sri Lanka under the proportional representation system, this victory is an unprecedented one. With the support of its allies, the SLPP has crossed the two-third majority mark in the next parliament. The UNP, which contested under the leadership of former PM Ranil Wickramasinghe, could not even poll 5% of the total votes in any of the electoral districts. more..

Aug 10 (USE) US Govt, through USAID, awarded US $1.5 million to the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement to support local community leaders in developing emergency response and mitigation strategies in disaster-prone areas across SL.  The new funding will strengthen community resilience and improve coordination between local stakeholders and int'l relief agencies over two years. more..

Aug 11 (DM) Parliamentary election which had been postponed twice due to issues related to the spread of COVID-19 in the country, is over and the SLPP along with its friendly parties has swept the electorate with two thirds majority in Parliament. Now it is time to look ahead without wasting time on celebrations. The first and foremost duty of the new govt would be to resuscitate the economy which is in a very bad shape. However, the govt did not present a plan or programme in this regard more..

Aug 11 (CT) UNP’s losing leader Ranil Wickremesinghe of Sedawatte fame has decided to resign, it was reported yesterday. His successor, if he has actually decided to resign, thus far, will have to be picked from among another four losing UNP MPs and Ministers, all of whom are Wickremesinghe’s men, namely Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, Ravi Karunanayake, Daya Gamage and Vajira Abeywardena. Funny, why former UNP MP and Minister John Amaratunga’s (80) more..

Aug 11 (SO) Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara said that the UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and his group should be held fully responsible for the downfall of the UNP and its worst ever electoral defeat on August 5. In an interview with the Sunday Observer he said the people have given a perfect answer to the UNP due to the grave mistakes committed by its leader and more..

Aug 11 (ST) The successful conclusion of the 2020 parliamentary elections has brought to the forefront the issue of how individual candidates are assessed by the voter prior to casting his preference. Political commentators will undoubtedly mull on the reasons for Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna’s margin of victory and the poor showing at the polls of the two oldest political parties, UNP and SLFP – the parties widely identified as the country’s main political parties. There is however a third matter more..