Jul 4 (ST) SL cricketers protesting over their annual contracts are likely to meet their Waterloo with cricket authorities deciding to shut the door on those refusing to sign the deals on offer. This was a major point of discussion on Friday, when Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) hierarchy met with members of the cricket technical advisory committee (CTAC) and national selectors. Aravinda de Silva heads the CTAC with Mahanama, Sangakkara and more..

Jul 4 (ST) In an attempt to create a more competitive first-class structure, a proposal has been made to play 5-team National Cricket League–a tournament similar to the inter-provincial tournament. The Sunday Times is in possession of a copy of the draft designed by the cricket technical advisory committee headed by Arvinda de Silva. Under the proposal, the existing 26 clubs are being clustered into the five centres of excellence (CoE) namely Colombo, Galle, Kandy, Dambulla and Jaffna. more..

Jul 4 (ST) All-rounder Shakib Al-Hasan, James Faulkner, Nicolas Pooran, Sheldon Cottrel and Usman Khawaja are among those high profile cricketers to have registered with the second edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL). The tournament will be held from July 30 to Aug 22 where all matches will be played at Hambantota like in the first edition due to COVID pandemic. Also who have joined the draft are Ben Cutting, Temba Bavuma, Brendan Taylor, Tamim Iqbal, Sherfane more..

Jul 4 (ST) On and off the field, Sri Lanka cricket is in shambles. A team that enjoyed rousing success across all formats for years after winning the 1996 World Cup is now a global farce. If the performance in the current England series didn’t expose the depths cricket has fallen to, last Sunday’s incident in Durham shows that team discipline too has eroded worse than on-field performance. more..

Jul 4 (SO) Sri Lanka has not won a medal in athletics since the 2006 Doha Asian Games when Susanthika Jayasinghe bagged a silver and bronze in the 100 and 200 metres respectively. There is a ray of hope once again after SL’s performance at the 60th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Patiala, India where they bagged several medals in their first int'l since dominating at the 2019 Kathmandu South Asian Games (SAG). It would be premature to say that SL has found more..

Jul 4 (SO) Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa contends he sees a bright future for Olympians in the country who can come through his long term vision as SL looks forward to the Tokyo Games this month. “Athletes have done really well so far despite the pandemic and we managed this with the advice of the National Sports Council. We see good results to get them into events overseas,” he said. “I have given the athletes the utmost respect and looking after them like in the rest of the world. more..

Jul 4 (ST) With barely 19 days remaining for the Tokyo Olympics, Sri Lanka is yet to make a confirmed statement on what the finishing providence of representatives on and off the field. Weeks earlier, National Olympic Committee of SL (NOC) issued an official statement which said of a strong team of eight athletes, with a total of 15 — officials and others included. By yesterday, the number of athletes have gone up to nine, more..

Jul 4 (Island) As far as presidential discretion goes, pardoning Duminda Silva was hardly an unprecedented act. This is nothing to be surprised at; it has happened before, it will happen again. The issue, therefore, is less about why it happened than why now. The timing was wrong. The optics were wrong. The man being pardoned may or may not have deserved a pardon – let history be the judge of that – but letting off someone convicted by the country’s SC of one of the highest crimes more..

Jul 4 (SO) Judoka Chamara Dharmawardana and gymnast Milka Gehani de Silva will lead the SL contingent at the forthcoming XXX11th Olympic Games in Tokyo as the men’s and women’s overall team captains. Unlike in previous Olympic Games where a single overall captain was appointed, the Tokyo Games organisers have requested that a country name an overall men’s captain and an overall women’s captain. Thus, Dharmawardana and De Silva will proudly carry the Lion flag more..

Jul 4 (ST) A large offshore trader heavily into trade financing on Tuesday received a positive response from the Central Bank (CB) through the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) to honour his international settlements, but other importers are left rudderless embroiled in a forex crisis with no end in sight. With the liquidity crisis and the balance of payment deficit, the banks are refusing to service basic trade finance which is a critical element for cross-border trade. more..

Jul 4 (ST) Despite assurances that SL has won approval to receive IMF funding from a new facility, the IMF is still to receive a request from Sri Lanka to consider the approval of the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) Facility which is a unique instrument that would benefit all its member countries, a fund official said on Friday. In in a public statement issued this week, CB Governor W.D. Lakshman noted that “inflows expected to the Central Bank include the SWAP facility of USD 250 million more..

Jul 4 (TM) In the wake of the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the detection of the highly transmissible Delta variant in the community has raised several red flags. Although there has been a slight reduction in the number of cases being reported, as well as the number of fatalities on average, neither the health sector nor the general public can afford to let their guard down at this point in time. Against this backdrop, more..

Jul 4 (DM) A Captain and three soldiers of the Army have been arrested for abducting and assaulting an individual in Norochcholai. A complaint was made to the Norochcholai Police station that men dressed in uniforms similar to those of Army attire have abducted and beaten up a resident of Norochcholai and left him on the beach side on June 30. The victim’s wife claimed that four persons dressed in army-like uniform and a civilian came to their home & wanted to take her husband for questioning more..

Jul 4 (ST) Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic third wave and the mobility restriction imposed to control the spread of the virus, the Excise Dept’s revenue collection from fines and excise duty is feeling the pinch due to the closure of liquor bars and sales outlets, a senior official of the department said. Excise duty on sale of liquor has come down as all wine stores and outlets have been kept closed for almost a month (in May-June) affecting cash inflows and missing the revenue target of the dept more..

Jul 4 (ST) The long-awaited home-isolation and management of asymptomatic (without symptoms) or mildly symptomatic COVID-19 positive patients has become a reality in the Western Province. The strong network established to ensure the safety of these patients includes: The Medical Officers of Health (MOH) and Public Health Inspectors (PHIs). The Patient Home Isolation and Management System (PHIMS) which will more..

Jul 4 (ST) The Trade Ministry is to revert to imposing a price control system on retail rice sales in an attempt to keep rice prices low. Cabinet approval will be sought next week by Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardena to impose a maximum retail price on four varieties – Nadu, Red Kekulu, Samba and Keeri Samba. A gazette notification is due to be issued specifying the prices of rice after the required calculations are made, Minister said. To ensure compliance with the price control gazette, more..

Jul 4 (DM) Minister Prasanna Ranatunga, on Thursday visited the Batticaloa domestic airport and pledged to re-develop and upgrade it and give it a much-needed facelift for the convenience of tourists, both local and foreign. During his visit, Ranatunga advised officials to prepare a suitable plan for this purpose and to list the basic facilities required for air operations. During his visit, Ranatunga said the Batticaloa airport should be developed as an attractive travel destination for tourists more..

Jul 4 (TM) Denying claims made by various parties against the Government regarding excessive money printing, State Minister Ajith Nivard Cabraal said the Govt had printed money to settle the provisional advance taken by the annual budget. He explained the money printing that took place on 28 June amounted to Rs. 200 billion. He said: “Every central bank in the world gives a provisional advance. more..

Jul 4 (SO) The govt has substantially reduced its foreign debt to GDP ratio due to timely measures taken by the Govt and the CB, said CB Governor Prof. W.D. Lakshman responding to concerns raised by individuals and media about an assumed shortage of foreign currency liquidity in the domestic market, preventing banks from facilitating imports. He said as a result of the measures taken by the in the past one-and-half years the Govt has substantially reduced its foreign debt to GDP more..

Jul 4 (ST) The Finance Ministry has submitted a Cabinet paper seeking approval to sell the 51% majority shares it holds in a diesel power plant to a US-based company. Kerawlapitiya West Coast Power owned by Lanka Transformers Limited (LTL), a subsidiary of the CEB, manages the Yugadhanvi diesel plant. The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) owns 23.9% of the plants shares and the sale to the American company, New Fortress Energy (NFE), had been rejected by the EPF trustees. more..

Jul 4 (ST) SL’s fertiliser crisis is reaching a critical stage, as farmers continue to intensify their protests. Amid heated political debates on the issue, the govt remains firm in its stance that it will not reverse the ban on the import of chemical fertiliser. Prez Rajapaksa spent the last weekend in Kandy. After visiting the Dalada Maligawa to pay homage to the Sacred Tooth Relic, he called on the Chief Prelates of the Malwatte and Asgiriya more..

Jul 5 (CT) It is a shame that Sri Lankans are yet like Ostrichs with heads buried in the sand. In this modern age when information is at a click of a button, millions of our people at home remain in a slavish state by choice. Loss of shame, slothfulness and a sense of entitlement have seeped into our people. Such a mindset cannot be wished away. It is simpler to demolish a house than to build one. There is more. Consider, if a child is (he/she) is aware that his/her father has never held a regular job more..

Jul 5 (CT) Amidst the growing concerns about the sinking economy, the battle at play, between some of the economic wizards from both the opposition and the govt on the subject matter, has turned into an interesting stage. The message we get indicates that the conclusions of the debaters are at great variance like the N and S poles. Opposition spokesman categorically state that there is no in between solace for the falling economy other than the assistance from IMF while the State batsmen maintain more..

Jul 5 (TM) SL is currently experiencing a debt and economic crisis along with its third wave of Covid-19. Many socioeconomic and political experts are of the view that Govt has to reconsider several important recent moves that would affect the whole country. SJB MP and former State Minister of Finance Eran Wickramaratne, who had previously served as Vice President of Citibank SL and CEO of NDB, shared some important more..

Jul 5 (DM) First patient diagnosed with the dreaded coronavirus as we knew it at that time, or the Covid-19 as it has been rebranded today hit this country on Jan 27, 2020, after a 44-year-old Chinese female from Hubei was admitted to IDH. By 20 March, total cases in the country had risen to 70 and on the same date, the govt imposed a lock down in an effort to contain the spread of the pandemic. By end March, 45 quarantine centres had been built and around 3,500 persons placed in quarantine. more..

Jul 5 (ST) People may be compelled to brace themselves for a brewing financial storm that may make landfall soon and possibly leave the country’s economy flattened in its relentless trail. On both the domestic and the international front, the rupee has come under siege with no relief in sight. In the domestic sphere, Govt took the extreme step of physically printing an unprecedented Rs 208 billion on Monday, after having already printed Rs. 23 billion last week. more..

Jul 5 (DM) The Daily Mirror spoke to Erik Solheim, former peace negotiator, who acted as the main facilitator of the peace process in SL from 1998 to 2005. Followers of the discussion on Twitter had the unique opportunity to pose questions and engage with Solheim directly, during this live DM Twitter Space. Excerpts of the discussion: First of all, I believe that Sri Lankans will have to find a solution to the SL problem. Not foreigners. more..

Jul 5 (ST) As the seething fury of Sri Lanka’s farmers spills over onto village roads and sets the country ablaze with war cries of give us fertilizer to farm our crops, our paddy lands and our vegetable fields, the best role that an utterly inept and incompetent Opposition can play is to refrain from polluting this anger by putting their grinning faces in front of that mass outpouring. The anger of this nation’s tillers of the land is genuine. It transcends party divisions and party loyalties. more..

Jul 5 (DM) This is an age when education is said to be about teaching students through the best online medium and preparing students with the competencies for the job market. In contrast to this technocratic view of education shaped by experts and technology, what should education in a democracy look like? A group of progressive academics are spreading refreshing perspectives into contemporary debates on education, and writing a column every other week titled Kuppi Talk. more..

Jul 5 (ST) The awards ceremony of the Olympic Solidarity Advanced Sport Management Course 2019/2020 was held at the National Olympic Committee’s Hemasiri Fernando Auditorium recently. On this momentous where the inner sanctity IOC gospel protruded nineteen young men and women walked aisle to be heralded real Olympic people. Speaking on the occasion NOC SL’s programme Director B.L.H. Perera explained the concept of course in this manner more..

Jul 5 (CT) Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) officials said on Saturday that seven of their cricketers named in the draft of the Lanka Premier League 2 will not be available from the start of the tournament due to national commitments. The LPL is scheduled to be held from 30 July to 22 August this year in SL, while Bangladesh is expected to host a five-match T20 series against Australia from 2 to 8 August at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka. Bangladesh is also scheduled to host NZ more..

Jul 5 (TM) While the construction work of a new apron and taxiways (referred to as Package B) of Phase II of the BIA Terminal 2 expansion project has been delayed by more than a year, issues have now surfaced over the selection of subcontractors for the construction of a new passenger terminal building and associated works (referred to as Package A of the project). It is learnt that the issues regarding the contractor more..

Jul 5 (TM) SL shows signs of being on the brink of an economic collapse, and it is at a crossroads where it has to decide whether to fight or flee. Successive govts have preferred to ignore the major issues without acknowledging and addressing them – but the cost to the country has been immeasurable. There are countless reasons to suggest that two of the biggest disasters SL faced – the Easter Sunday attack and the war waged by the LTTE – could have been prevented, more..

Jul 5 (CT) Sanity prevailed at last with representatives of the Public Service United Nurses Union (PSUNU), led by its President Ven. Muruththettuwe Ananda Thera, agreeing to meet Prez Rajapaksa at the Presidential Secretariat on Friday in a bid to resolve their long-lasting vexed issues. Prez held discussions with them and decided to immediately implement five of the seven demands put forward by them, namely, opening a university for Nursing, reinstatement of staff status more..

Jul 5 (CI) SL's last innings on a horror tour of England was perhaps their most abject yet, but rain saved them the indignity of a whitewash. Under cloudy Bristol skies, SL nosedived in the early overs, continued to plummet once the fielding restrictions were relaxed, and never seriously threatened to scramble out of the pit of tragicomedy, where they have wallowed more or less since the start of the (preceding) T20 series. more..

Jul 5 (Island) We are happy to publish today a reader’s letter unreservedly complimenting the ongoing covid vaccination process at Colombo’s Sugathadasa Stadium last week where people over 70-years old received their second AstraZenecca jab which they had been long waiting for. There have also been similar anecdotal reports from elsewhere in the Colombo Municipal area. Readers are very well aware of earlier vaccination trauma in many parts of the country having been treated, more..

Jul 5 (ST) Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic third wave and the mobility restriction imposed to control the spread of the virus, Excise Dept’s revenue collection from fines and excise duty is feeling the pinch due to the closure of liquor bars and sales outlets, a senior official of the department said. Excise duty on sale of liquor has come down as all wine stores and outlets have been kept closed for almost a month (in May-June) affecting cash inflows and missing the revenue target of more..

Jul 5 (FT) Fabric and Apparel Accessories Manufacturers Association (FAAMA) has urged the Govt to give due recognition for its growing value addition to the economy and foreign reserves as required support can help tap a $ 2 billion business opportunity faster. This key sub-sector of the $ 5 billion apparel industry has grown to account for $ 800 million up from $ 500 million a few years ago. more..