Aug 29 (TM) With long queues having formed outside fuel filling stations in multiple areas across the island over the past few days, The Morning learnt that the stocks of petrol available at the Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminal (CPSTL) are in low quantities and are being managed to last the next few days until the arrival and distribution of the next shipment of petrol. The stocks of petrol available at CPSTL are insufficient to fulfil more..

Aug 29 (FT) US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, a Senate organ that has existed for more than 200 years, has spelt out in a Twitter message some of the conditions that should be satisfied before an IMF bailout is extended to SL. One such condition is that SL’s Central Bank should be made independent. This has been one of the preconditions stipulated by IMF too. Though CB’s independence is a matter which SL’s citizens should take up, in this case, it is outside bodies more..

Aug 29 (FT) Crisis and turmoil are probably the opposite of sun and sand. The very whiff of these words associated with a country in the news deters most travellers from visiting even the most beguiling of destinations. The discerning traveller, however, spots opportunity, for not all crises are equal. Some can, in fact, lead to a six-star vacation at a three-star price. Put another way, a European for example, could consider the option of a four-month tropical holiday as opposed to footing a gas bill more..

Aug 29 (SLN) Navy took hold of 44 persons whom were suspected to be on illegal migration attempts from the country via sea routes, on the night of 28th August 2022. The apprehensions were made during special search operations conducted by the Navy off Trincomalee and in the beach area of Valaithottam, Batticaloa. Accordingly, Eastern Naval Command conducted a special search operation off Trincomalee in the dark hours of 28th August, deploying Fast Attack Craft P 465 and P 4443 more..

Aug 29 (AD) Veteran cinematographer Donald Karunaratne has passed away at the age of 77 in Los Angeles, United States. Karunaratne’s legendary contribution to the development of Sinhala cinema from the heady days of the early 60s includes classics like Ahas Gawwa (1974), Ahasin Polawata (1978), Karumakkarayo (1980), Ganga Addara (1980), Kaliyugaya (1981), Dadayama (1983), Sagara Jalaya Madi Handuwa (1988), Golumuhude Kunatuwak (1991), more..

Aug 29 (FT) SJB MP Eran Wickramaratne, who expressed confidence that the country’s economic crisis could be resolved with the help of the IMF, said that if the country is to see real progress, it should think about an all-inclusive work plan that goes beyond economic and financial gains. Many people question what the solution for the economic crises are. There are short-term, medium-term, and long-term more..

Aug 29 (DM) A task plan to provide free mid-day meals for all schoolchildren will be included in the budget for next year, Leader of the House Susil Premajanyantha told Parliament today. He said that arrangements will be made to provide mid-day meals for all schoolchildren through the next year’s budget. Leader of Opposition Sajith Premadasa actually requested that the mid-day meal program should be resumed considering the UNICEF report which said SL is in the 6th slot when more..

Aug 29 (AD) Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva says that proposals are to be called for from desiring investors to invest in 49% shares and administration of SriLankan Catering and also 49% shares and administration in SrLankan Airlines’ Ground Handling. He stated this at a press conference held today regarding the restructuring of SriLankan Airlines, the country’s national carrier. He stated that currently the SriLankan Catering is making more..

Aug 29 (AD) Three suspects have been arrested in relation to the incidents of attacking the houses of three MPs and damaging their property. Suspects were arrested for the damages caused to the houses of MPs Wimal Weerawansa, Lasantha Alagiyawanna and Arundika Fernando. A 37-year-old resident of the Hokandara area was arrested regarding the attack on MP Wimal Weerawansa’s house by Malabe police, yesterday. Suspect arrested in connection with damaging more..

Aug 29 (AD) A 14-year-old boy has reportedly successfully faced the G.C.E. A/L exam in the year 2021. Thus, the student who has passed the A/L exam after sitting for the exam at the age of 14 is named Dewum Ranasinghe and he is a resident of the Kadawatha area. Dewum had faced the A/L exam in the Commerce stream, and he has scored three ‘B’ passes at the exam. He says that he managed to reach this special achievement after preparing for the exam for a short period more..

Aug 29 (EN) Stocks slipped for the fifth consecutive session on Monday (29) to its lowest close in near three weeks with the day’s turnover slumping to a one-month low as most investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of an interim budget debate on Tuesday. ASPI fell 0.69% or 60.92 points to 8,732.47, its lowest since Aug 10. The market generated 1.2 billion rupees in turnover, the lowest since August 1 and, less than half of this year’s average daily turnover of 3.11 billion rupees more..

Aug 29 (DM) The process of procuring fuel and coal should be entrusted to the Opposition through a Parliamentary committee appointed on the matter, Minister Kanchana Wijesekara said today. He told Parliament that a committee should be set up in Parliament on the procurement of fuel and coal and its chairmanship should be handed over to the Opposition. Minister said opposition MPs including former minister Champika Ranawaka had claimed that fuel could be provided at lower rates. more..

Aug 29 (ANI) Maldives Speaker Mohamed Nasheed held talks with External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar in New Delhi on Monday and discussed Sri Lanka's financial crisis and issues facing Indian Ocean island nations. "Lovely as always to meet @DrSJaishankar. We discussed the Maldives and issues facing Indian Ocean island nations. Of course, Sri Lanka's financial crisis worries us both. I'm always impressed by the Minister's depth and breadth of knowledge," tweeted Nasheed. more..

Aug 29 (EN) Minister Kanchana Wijesekara defended electricity tariff hikes, insisting that the burden on consumers would not have been so great if timely tariff revisions had been implemented. Speaking during an adjournment debate on the impact of tariff hike, He argued that wrong policies were not exclusive to one govt and that steep hikes were inevitable given large costs of power generation. more..

Aug 29 (EN) A collective of eleven former coalition partners of ruling alliance that now sit independently in parliament will form a grand alliance together with other parties on Sept 4, former minister Wimal Weerawansa said. He told reporters on Monday that the 11 parties, together with other parties he did not name, will announce the new historic coalition at an event to be held at the Maharagama youth centre on Sept 4. “It will be a progressive, pro-people coalition founded not just to overcome more..

Aug 29 (EN) Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa has sought a parliamentary debate on a recent UNICEF report on growing child malnourishment in the cash-strapped country. He said citing the UNICEF report that SL is now ranked sixth in the world in child malnourishment and second in South Asia. SJB leader requested a statement from Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella to be made to parliament within the week on the contents of the UNICEF report. Premadasa also called for more..

Aug 29 (EN) Sri Lanka must provide direct cash transfers to low-income households and small & medium enterprises (SMEs) affected by a recent hike in electricity tariffs, opposition MP Kabir Hashim said. Speaking in parliament during an adjournment debate on the impact of the tariff hike, the MP said rate hike unfairly impacted consumers that consumed the lowest number of units of electricity per month. more..

Aug 29 (DM) It is extremely doubtful that donor countries or global financial agencies would extend a helping hand or their good offices to SL to come out of the current economic, political and social mess when they review the handling of the economy and law and order in the country under the Ranil Wickremesinghe regime, the SLFP said. The senior vice president Rohana Lakshman Piyadasa said that almost all the UN agencies and the entire global community were unhappy over the use of more..

Aug 29 (CT) Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry handed over letters of appointment to a group of Sri Lankan trained nurses, who are scheduled to begin their employment at hospitals in the United Kingdom, at a ceremony held on 25 Aug at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute. This is the first batch of trained nurses, under the programme implemented by the International Institute of Health Sciences (IIHS), Welisara, SL, with the facilitation of the Sri Lanka High Commission in London. more..

Aug 29 (Island) Answering to an issue raised by MP Harsha de Silva – Chairman Public Finance committee and giving an interview to a media about countries biggest ever tender to procure 4.5 million metric tons of coal for a value of 1.5 billion USD , LCC Chairman has admitted that standing Cabinet appointed tender committee (SCAPC) changed the qualification criteria of the bidders, after shortlisting the qualified bidders and after the pre bid meeting on 28 th July. more..

Aug 29 (DM) Over-staffed CEB don’t have much work today as new connections, disconnections and erecting poles are carried out by outsourced companies, Govt MP Mahindananda Aluthgamage told Parliament today. He said that even cutting tree branches are carried out by private companies today. “This situation continues despite CEB being overstaffed. Therefore CEB workers who do nothing should be made to carry out all the work,” MP said. “A CEB labourer draws a monthly salary of more..

Aug 29 (AD) A petition has been filed before the Court of Appeal requesting the court to punish SLPP Puttlam District MP Sanath Nishantha on the charges of contempt of court. The petition has been filed by Attorney-at-Law Priyalal Sirisena while the Attorney General, the Bar Association of SL (BASL) and MP Sanath Nishantha have been named as respondents in the petition. The petition has further sought a court order prohibiting more..

Aug 29 (AD) The Deputy Speaker of Parliament today announced the names of the MPs nominated to the Committee on Ethics and Privileges, Committee on Standing Orders and four new members nominated for the Committee on Parliamentary Business. Deputy Speaker Ajith Rajapakse announced to the Parliament today that four more members have been nominated by the Committee of Selection to serve in the Committee on Parliamentary Business. more..

Aug 29 (EN) Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa has asked the govt whether opposition MPs Kabir Hashim and Eran Wickramaratne are still going to be appointed chairs of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) and Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) as promised. Several SJB MPs speaking in parliament claimed that Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe when he was PM a few months earlier had said the chairmanship of COPE, COPA and COPF must go to opposition. more..

Aug 29 (DM) A local court has issued a historic ruling ordering protection for a lesbian woman from her abusive parents. The Kaduwela Magistrate has granted an interim protection order to protect a lesbian woman from her abusive parents. This is the first time such an order has been granted for a matter of this kind. The woman is a victim of severe abuse, where for weeks her parents kept her unlawfully imprisoned at home because of more..

Aug 29 (RW) The first tranche of food assistance pledged by the Govt of Japan earlier this year has been provided through the UN World Food Programme (WFP) to SL, where more than 6 million people -- nearly 30 percent of the population, are facing a worsening food crisis. Mizukoshi Hideaki, Ambassador of Japan to SL, handed over the donation to Minister Nalin Fernando, in the presence of Abdur Rahim Siddiqui, WFP Representative and Country Director, more..

Aug 29 (DM) Claiming that the govt is planning to privatize state-owned enterprises such as the CEB in accordance with the IMF conditions, NPP MP Vijitha Herath today said that similar move to privatize the CEB on IMF conditions were thwarted by the JVP in 2005. He told Parliament that there were moves in 2005 to privatize the CEB on IMF conditions when the JVP was in the Cabinet during the Chandrika Bandaranaike govt and that the move was annulled due to the intervention of JVP. more..

Aug 30 (DM) In a community survey conducted by a TV station over the weekend, a girl of about five years old, was heard saying that she has been served with an egg by her mother only on the day her father brings home his salary. This heart-wrenching statement by one of the children of our country is no doubt genuine and it reflects the pathetic situation being experienced by millions of people in the country, against the backdrop of the severe economic crisis that has engulfed more..

Aug 30 (DM) The demand in the UNHRC for the repeal of Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and its replacement with a law consistent with int'l norms has been persistent. In the Sept 2022 session of the council, it is likely to get top billing, given the recent events related to the civil disturbances in the island. In February, Gotabaya Rajapaksa govt had drafted a Counter-Terrorism Bill (CT bill) to be in conformity with int'l standards. But the CT bill was not substantively different from the PTA. more..

Aug 30 (TM) We are a group of feminists writing to call urgent attention to the extra-Constitutional attempts of the Govt of SL to suppress dissent. Lacking a popular mandate, hunting down student protestors and activists, including a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning & intersex (LGBTQI+) activist has become a central strategy of the political elite in order to retain power. Latest move by GoSL is to brand 3 student leaders more..

Aug 30 (DM) Prasanna Ranatunga is the current Minister of Urban Development. He was also a convicted extortionist. Colombo High Court found Minister Ranatunga guilty of extorting money from a businessman over a land deal and sentenced him to a two-year suspended jail sentence and a fine of Rs. 25 million. Court ruled that Ranatunga had threatened a businessman named G. Mendis, demanding Rs. 64 million to evict unauthorized occupants of a plot of land in Meethotamulla more..

Aug 30 (TM) Section 6 of the proposed Bill although granting access to areas of information that are not covered by the protected list in Section 5(1) appears to be redundant due to the wide interpretation given to the provisions in gene. Further to the wide interpretation of the provisions mentioned in Section 5 of the Right to Information Bill, it must also be noted that the proposed Bill does not seem to supersede the Establishments Code despite Section 3 of proposed Bill stating that it shall prevail more..

Aug 30 (TM) The media briefing on the Monetary Policy Review: No.6 of Aug 2022 by the Central Bank held 18 Aug revealed that the CBSL and Ministry of Trade, Commerce, and Food Security are currently at an impasse regarding the future and continued use of the Open Account Payment (OAP) terms for the importation of essential commodities. Previously, Minister Nalin Fernando speaking in Parliament claimed that the relaxation of more..

Aug 30 (CT) Ranil may have already settled in. If not, the optics are such that he seems to have. Because the time has come for relative economic stability, which is one of the factors that the IMF is looking for, if a favorable outcome is the wish. However, parliamentary Opposition and the rest of the country’s agitation against the continuation of Ranil Wickremesinghe’s govt would have to come to terms with the reality of new political paradigms that seem to haunt collective mindset of the land. more..

Aug 30 (CT) Awareness programmes alone may not be enough to conserve the hill country leopard, but complemented by a crop insurance scheme, they may. This has to be looked at in the context that several leopard deaths, particularly in the hill country, occurred due to leopards being caught in snares laid for vermin such as wild boar which destroy vegetable patches, despite such awareness programmes. This newspaper ran two stories on Friday with regard to leopards being more..