Aug 5 (Island) One of the important ways, the current economic crisis in SL has directly impacted our lives is having to go through long and seeming unending queues, to access petrol, diesel, kerosene and even our dear passports. Queues have multiplied, sprung up on either side of the road and across the road in some instances adding to traffic jams, accidents and related road risks and public grievances stemming from the economic crisis. Frustrations arising from the failure at the end more..

Aug 5 (TM) “Threat of Covid-19 is real, and yes, we have to be careful about it. But, how we are supposed to do it is the challenge. We do not have the luxury of staying at home like before, because we have to do overtime work to manage even the basic expenses. We cannot wear facemasks for hours in the scorching sun while waiting to get some fuel. There is absolutely no way to maintain social distancing in public transport, and more..

Aug 5 (CT) It doesn’t seem fair that news of the latest sharp rise in Covid-19 cases is coming right at the most difficult time in the economic and fuel crisis in SL. Yet it also seems inevitable, given that we are still only about 2.5 years through what seems to be a five year pandemic. How can I cite such clearcut numbers? They are merely estimates, based on research done into the major pandemics that have afflicted the world over the past several centuries. SARS (2002-2004) was the most recent one. more..

Aug 5 (GV) There is good news on the foreign aid front. Foreign aid from official donors reached an all-time high at $179 billion in 2021 as developed countries increased their assistance to developing countries hit by the Covid-19 economic shock. Moreover, emerging donors like India and China are playing an increasing role in foreign aid. India’s well-timed help to Sri Lanka, grappling with a crippling economic crisis, has been welcomed by the people of Sri Lanka and praised internationally. more..

Aug 5 (GV) Ever since the aragalaya began in April this year, Father Jeewantha Peiris has been a familiar figure in the forefront of the protesters, easily identifiable by his flowing black hair and bright white cassock, a striking Christ-like figure. Media friendly and bilingual, he quickly became a spokesman for the struggle against the corrupt and ruthless regime of the Rajapaksas. Many religious clergy have been supporting the call for system change and in the process have been a target more..

Aug 5 (Island) SL’s struggle to shore up its crumbling economy continues, and there are no signs of promised foreign assistance materialising anytime soon. Cabinet has just retained the services of some foreign firms for external debt restructuring, which is one of the main conditions for the IMF bailout package. When the country finally decided to ask for IMF help, after months of dilly-dallying, which took a heavy toll on its foreign reserves, it expected some bridge loans to tide it over until the finalisation more..

Aug 5 (TM) Despite being granted formal citizenship, the previously State-less hill country Tamil community continues to be one of the most socio-economically and politically marginalised communities in SL, because as a community that was previously State-less, the granting of citizenship has not been able to eliminate the structural disadvantages and discriminations that were intrinsic to this State-lessness. more..

Aug 5 (TM) The confiscation of the passport of a British woman for allegedly defaming SL by being actively involved in the Galle Face protest has already gone viral on social media platforms, and the matter is now int'l news. According to the available information, the passport, which is currently in the custody of Dept of Immigration and Emigration, will only be returned once the relevant investigations are concluded, and the foreign woman is forced to stay in the country until that. more..

Aug 5 (TM) Yupun Abeykoon, who won the bronze medal in the 100m event at the Commonwealth Games, claimed that this medal was a small gift to all the Sri Lankans who believed in him. It is the first medal won by SL in the 100m event at the Commonwealth Games. It was also the first medal in athletics for SL, in a Commonwealth Games since 1998, 24 years ago. In 1998, Sriyani Kulawansa won the silver medal in the women’s 100 m hurdles event, & Sugath Thilakaratne won the bronze more..

Aug 5 (Island) Ambagamuwa Central hurdler Dhanuka Dharshana shattered the national junior 400 metres hurdles record as junior athletes continued to beat odds at the World Junior Athletics C'ships in Cali Colombia. The hurdler trained by veteran coach Anura Bandara advanced to the semi-finals of the 400 metres hurdles with an outstanding 51.41 sec feat as he finished second behind Ismail Nezir of Turkey in the seventh heat. Of the 50 athletes who took part in first-round heats, more..

Aug 5 (TM) Chief Incumbent of the Rajopawanaramaya Temple in Gatambe Ven. Kappitiyagoda Siriwimala Thera has requested Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe to personally intervene and invite former Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa to return to Sri Lanka, and give the latter all the privileges and security to which he is entitled to as a former Prez. In a letter dated Monday (1) and addressed to the President, the monk said that Rajapaksa sacrificed his dual citizenship in the hope of rendering more..

Aug 5 (FT) The Colombo Port City Commission has granted six fresh Indenture of leases for a 99-year period to the investors valued at approximately $ 200 million and investors have projected a collective investment commitment of $ 600 million. The update on the leases is contained in the Colombo Port City Economic Commission’s second biannual progress report which covers the activities of the Colombo Port City project more..

Aug 5 (ST) Sri Lanka Thriposha, a state-owned company providing a nutrition supplement required by pregnant and lactating women, recently resumed production. Thriposha distribution was disrupted from November last year due to a low yield of local maize, corn and soya beans and the soaring prices of imported corn. Maize is the core ingredient due to its high nutritional value. SL Thriposha Chairman Deepthi Kularathna said production had recommenced with local raw materials. more..

Aug 5 (FT) The unprecedented crisis in SL has seen all sections of society being badly affected. The healthcare sector was no exception with hospitals facing numerous problems due to shortages of medicines, supplies and fuel. For several weeks hospitals were forced to carry out only emergency surgery due to shortages of anaesthetic drugs and consumables. Even though there has been some improvement there are still serious shortages of many items which makes it difficult for more..

Aug 5 (FT) SL has issued nearly 600,000 passports during the first seven months, indicating that the race to migrate for greener pastures has intensified amidst the economic crisis. Passport issuance in the first seven months of the year has increased sharply by 330% to 590,260 from 147,192 passports in the same period last year. “We received a total of 101,777 applications for both one-day and normal service passports in July, more..

Aug 5 (ST) Several special measures will be introduced from next week to overcome difficulties that prevent academic activities in schools returning to normalcy, an Education Ministry official said recently. This follows many school children and teachers unable to attend school last week, due to a lack of public transport. Accordingly arrangements have been made with the National Transport Commission (NTC) to provide a special bus service to schools to resolve the transport crisis, more..

Aug 5 (FT) MAS Holdings has launched a new venture by acquiring the assets of BAM Knitting Ltd, a leading fabric manufacturing and finishing operation in SL. MAS Holdings takes the majority stake in the new venture, with BAM Knitting as its joint venture partner. This investment further enhances MAS’ capabilities in the knitting, dyeing and printing space for cotton fabrics and expands its backward vertical integration on the island. The new joint venture will benefit from the technical more..

Aug 5 (ANI) SriLankan Airlines has dismissed the assertion made by a passenger in a video on social media that meals are unavailable on flights. A video shared on social media showed a passenger raising concerns over the unavailability of a meal he had ordered in a SriLankan Airlines flight. In a clarification, Sri Lankan Airlines gave out a statement and categorically denied the assertion on the unavailability of meals in the Business Class and cites this as a deliberate misrepresentation more..

Aug 5 (FT) Ceylon Chamber of Commerce welcomed the call by Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe to initiate the formation of an all-party Govt, as a concerted and united effort is necessary to address the current challenges facing the country. “At this extremely crucial juncture for SL, all political parties must join hands and put SL First over individual agendas,” the Chamber said. It said an all-party Govt that is acceptable to all sections of the public and equitably represents views of all parties, more..

Aug 5 (Island) SJB MP Mujibur Rahuman said that Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe’s govt owed an explanation regarding the re-appointment of SLFPer Nimal Siripala de Silva as Ports, Shipping & Aviation Minister in spite of serious bribery accusations directed at him. Rahuman alleged that the incumbent govt had quite conveniently forgotten that former Prez Rajapaksa in first weeks of July asked de Silva to more..

Aug 5 (TM) Three-wheeler drivers are complaining that five litres of fuel as their weekly quota is wholly insufficient for a week’s travel, while the Lanka Private Bus Owners’ Association has said that the QR code system is impractical. All-Island Three-Wheeler Drivers Association President Lalith Dharmasekara said that they request that three-wheeler drivers be allocated at least five litres daily for six days of the week, which amounts to a total of 30 litres per week. more..

Aug 5 (FT) The Embassy of SL in Washington D.C. continues its joint efforts in obtaining essential medicines to SL from NGOs in the United States. Under the guidance of Ambassador Mahinda Samarasinghe, and the Embassy as the key facilitating body, Heart-to-Heart International, a renowned global humanitarian organisation is yet again providing a second successive in-kind donation of urgent medicinal items worth an approximate of $ 6,689,985 to people of SL. more..

Aug 5 (EN) State-run CEYPETCO will supply fuel only for those filling stations using the National Fuel Pass QR system, Minister Kanchana Kijesekera said. The island nation is forced to go for fuel rationing via a QR system to ensure fair distribution among motorists who were compelled to wait days for fuel because less imports amid dollar shortage. “National Fuel Pass QR system was discussed and informed the distribution of fuel will only take place to stations with the QR system,” more..

Aug 5 (Island) The police no longer had adequate resources to deal with organised crime and that had led to an increase in gang related violence in recent months, retired Senior DIG Priyantha Jayakody said. He said that when there was an economic crisis, the crime rates went up. “This is natural. However, the problem is that the Police are now entrusted with many duties unlike in the past,” he said. The former SDIG said that police stations across the country must deploy policemen to protect more..

Aug 5 (EN) SL’s protesters who ousted the country’s president and forced the cabinet to resign twice have vowed not to leave the agitation site near the presidential secretariat where they have been protesting for the past 117 days. The protesters at the struggle or popularly know as Aragalaya in local language have been given second warning to vacate the Galle Face Green area by the Police on Thursday. more..

Aug 5 (DM) A number of Sri Lankans who have been visiting Malaysia under visit visas with the belief that their visas could be converted to work visas were denied entry by the Malaysian authorities, the Defence Ministry said. Accordingly, at least 20 Sri Lankans per week are reportedly being deported directly from the airport to SL. The Defence Ministry said that it has been brought to the notice of the National Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force that an increasing number of Sri Lankans more..

Aug 5 (DN) SL leg spinner Prabath Jayasuriya was felicitated by his first school Christ Church College Matale last week after his remarkable performance at the recently concluded Australia and Pakistan series. He was adjudged the Man of the Series against Pakistan having 29 wickets in three matches including three five-wicket hauls in three consecutive innings. The 30-year-old leggie started his cricket career at Christ Church Matale representing College U-13 and 15 and Matale District XI U-15 more..

Aug 5 (TM) Fewer crowds were observed in fuel queues this week, particularly in Colombo and its suburbs, after the quick response (QR) code system of fuel rationing was fully implemented on Monday (1) by scrapping the previous licence plate-based system. Several vehicle owners said that they were able to obtain fuel after less than a couple of hours of waiting. “I think that this QR system works very well. more..

Aug 5 (FT) Things in the country are happening in a ludicrous manner. Regardless of the likes or dislikes of the people engaged in the Aragalaya (youth struggle) there is one important outcome that the Aragalaya has produced in the political sense: It has been able to oust Gotabaya Rajapaksa from his office who lacked adequate knowledge for statecraft, but was able to be elected as the Head of State by a massive popular mandate when he had completed only half of the official term, and pave the way for more..

Aug 5 (FT) PrM Ranil Wickremesinghe became acting Prez when Aragalaya forced Gotabaya Rajapaksa to run away from the country and resign from Presidency. A new Prez had to be selected by the MPs in a secret vote. Of the four initial contestants Sajith Premadasa resigned, hoping to become PM under Dullas Alahapperuma. With most party leaders supporting Dullas in public, he was expected to win, but party members refused to follow and Ranil became President with a clear majority. more..

Aug 5 (AD) Several private bus owners’ associations have launched an island-wide strike action effective from midnight yesterday (Aug 04). They allege that the stocks of fuel provided to them to operate their buses are insufficient. The general secretary of the Private Bus Owners’ Association Anjana Priyanjith said they decided to suspend services on routes in protest of the government’s move to reduce the fares when bus operators are supplied with inadequate fuel volumes. more..

Aug 5 (HT) Under the cloak of a research and survey vessel, a Chinese Space and Satellite Tracking ship Yuan Wang 5 is headed towards China leased port of Hambantota in SL on Aug 11 despite serious objections from Indian Navy. A Luyang class guided missile destroyer with Type 071 Landing Platform Dock (LPD) is also transiting the Indian Ocean and headed towards the Chinese base in Djibouti on the eastern seaboard of Africa. SL regime under Ranil Wickremesinghe has given approval to satellite tracker military ship more..

Aug 5 (EN) Amid widening gap between the rich and the poor in SL, the island nation will have to go for higher taxation including on wealth, Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Friday while delivering a keynote speech at an economic forum. The crisis-hit country is struggling with lower state revenue and higher govt expenditure with the 86% of each rupee of tax revenue is spent on state sector wages and pensions. Tax rates are expected to rise under an IMF programme in the future. more..

Aug 5 (EN) Sri Lanka should consider a report on possibility of using nuclear energy, Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Friday when delivering a keynote speech at Reform Now economic forum organised by Colombo-based think tank Advocata Institute. “I think we need to seriously consider getting a report on using nuclear energy in SL,” he said when he was explaining the way forward with new avenues to boost economy. “More energy you have, more energy you can sell to India. more..

Aug 5 (DM) Colombo Fort magistrate refused to make Hirunika Premachandra and 10 others suspects for protesting outside the presidents house on July 6. The 10 including Hirunika were noticed to appear before the court today by the Fort Pice station. Premachandra and others were the first to protest outside the presidents house calling for the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Counsel making submissions on behalf of the persons said that there is no provision in law for facts to be reported in the manner it has. more..