Jun 30 (DM) Leader of the JJB Anura Kumara Dissanayake said his party was planning to mobilize the entire nation to oust the present rule and requested the people to be prepared for that campaign. Addressing a rally in Matara on Tuesday (28) he said the entire country would grind to a halt in couple of days due to the short-sighted decisions of the failed government. He said wrong decisions taken by incompetent elders was now ruining the future of the younger generation. more..

Jun 30 (FT) With reference to the Daily FT article titled Strom over Govt offering Adani 500 MW wind power project ignoring local developers published on 3 June, the CEB has sent the following clarification. Pursuant to the policy decision of Govt to meet the 70% of the national electrical energy demand of the country from renewable energy resources, Mannar and Pooneryn areas has been declared by more..

Jun 30 (FT) It is bitterly ironic that having been swept into office on a wave of Islamophobia long before Zahran’s jihadi terrorist organisation was born, and having callously enforced the cremation of Muslim corpses during COVID-19 long after the WHO had deemed it unnecessary, the Gotabaya regime has to plead with Qatar for oil. How would the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) have responded to this emergency, had Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Ranasinghe Premadasa, more..

Jun 30 (FT) Finally, the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution that seeks to reverse the damage done by the 20th Amendment rammed through by the Rajapaksas has been gazetted. It is likely to fall short of the 19th Amendment. Those who want to undo the damage will have to push for further amendments at the committee stage. Under the 19A, the Prez was not allowed to hold any portfolios. Under an interim provision, President Sirisena who was in office at the time the amendment more..

Jun 30 (DM) A temporary grandstand has collapsed in Galle as a fierce storm swept across the ground before day two of the first Test between Australia and SL. The roof of the stand gave way in the wild weather, minutes after the Australian team arrived at the ground. The match is being played in the middle of monsoon season in Galle, which is in the south-west of SL. Initial reports indicate nobody has been injured in the collapse. Grandstand that collapsed was fully occupied on day one of the match. more..

Jun 30 (AD) SL Police says that a court order has been obtained against carrying out protest demonstrations in the Colombo Fort area, from 3 pm to 6 pm today, disturbing the public and vehicle traffic. The Fort Police OIC had made a request to the Fort Magistrate’s Court to issue an order preventing a protest organized by a group of individuals as it could inconvenience the public. Accordingly, the court has issued an order preventing any attempts to stage a protest more..

Jun 30 (EN) Sri Lanka has lifted a ban on Qatar Charity, a top minister said, months after the govt froze the charity’s accounts accusing it of funding Islamic terrorism together with a prominent lawyer. A former police minister and a close ally of Prez Rajapaksa, Sarath Weerasekara told parliament on Jan 7 2021 that the ringleader of the Easter Sunday suicide bombers Zaharan Hashim had conducted lectures in an organisation more..

Jun 30 (EN) SL’s newly gazetted 22nd amendment to the constitution bill does not curtail the powers of the president nor introduce checks and balances in any meaningful manner, contrary to the demands of the people of SL, the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) said. In the absence of any genuine attempt to address the inherent problems of governance, this attempt at reform will only worsen the existing political and economic crisis and destroy whatever little remaining faith citizens more..

Jun 30 (FT) SL Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) has set up a special Emergency Unit to facilitate uninterrupted services provided by the industry amidst the economic crisis. The new unit has been established under the direction of Tourism Minister Harin Fernando and Ministry Secretary Chulananda Perera, while the special Emergency Unit will be headed by SLTDA Director – Domestic Tourism and Community Relations Upali Rathnayake. more..

Jun 30 (EN) SL will increase bus fares by 22% from June 30 midnight onwards, National Transportation Commission (NTC) officials said. NTC Director General Nilan Miranda said the price revision is according to a policy decision to revices prices on July 01 every year under the national policy. With the Central Bank of SL letting the rupee float in mid-March, all services and goods increased in prices overnight to make up the loss with more..

Jun 30 (NR) Parliament will convene on the 4th, 5th and 6th of next week. Secretary General of Parliament Dhammika Dasanayake said the decision was reached at a meeting of the Committee on Parliamentary Business this morning held under the patronage of Speaker of House Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena. On the 4th of July time has been allotted between 10am and 3:30pm for 50 questions for oral answers that could not be taken up in Parliament previously due to various reasons. more..

Jun 30 (AD) The Consumer Affairs Authority says all traders, manufacturers, store owners, importers and distributors are required to display the maximum retail price, weight or volume and the date of manufacture and other details of the products they intend to sell or distribute. This was announced in a special gazette notification issued by the CAA Chairman Shantha Dissanayake on Wednesday (29). According to the communiqué, the directive comes into effect from the 28th of July. more..

Jun 30 (AD) Proposals for 22nd Amendment, brought forth to clip the powers in the presidency, have been published in a gazette notification issued on Wednesday (29). Earlier this week, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal to gazette the new constitutional amendment and to present it to the Parliament. The amendment, which had been referred to as the 21st Amendment so far, is in fact the 22nd Amendment, as another draft 21st Amendment has already been gazetted. more..

Jun 30 (CT) National Organiser of All Ceylon Farmers’ Federation and JVP Politburo member Namal Karunaratne challenged Prez Rajapaksa, PM Wikremesinghe and the Cabinet to hold a ‘Gama Samaga Pilisadara’ programme now. He was speaking at a protest organized by the JJB on 27 June in Kurunegala. “We cordially invite the President to a Gama Samaga Pilisadara now. We will plan the discussion. I challenge you to bring your Cabinet with you. more..

Jun 30 (EN) Latest talks with SL has made significant progress towards developing a policy package to stabilize the country the IMF said, but the country also has to move forward on debt restructuring to finalize a bailout. “The staff team and the authorities made significant progress on defining a macroeconomic and structural policy package,” an IMF said. “The discussions will continue virtually with a view to reaching a staff-level agreement more..

Jun 30 (CI) SL's police and army have removed anti-govt protesters from the fort ramparts overlooking the ground at Galle, on each of the first two days of the ongoing Test against Australia. The public is ordinarily allowed to hold banners and placards as they view the match from the fort. These are mostly related to cricket. However, these protesters had held placards asking for the resignation of Prez Rajapaksa, and have as a result been removed, even though the ramparts are public space. more..

Jun 30 (EN) The Consular Affairs Division of SL’s Foreign Ministry has restricted its services to three days of the week until July 10. Due to the current fuel crisis in the country, the Sri Lankan govt has taken measures to curtail fuel consumption in the state sector by limiting the number of working days per week. Consular Affairs Division will be open to the public on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with effect from June 30 until July 10, the statement from the information dept said. more..

Jun 30 (CI) Two sensational seventies from Cameron Green and Usman Khawaja gave Australia a vital lead over SL on a weather-affected second day in Galle as the pitch continued to deteriorate quickly. Green made 77, his fifth Test half-century, and Khawaja 71 while Alex Carey put on a sweeping masterclass to add a valuable 47-ball 45. The trio produced the two highest partnerships of the match on the difficult surface. more..

Jun 30 (NR) United States Ambassador to SL Julie Chung during discussions with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has stated that Sri Lanka will receive US support in seeking solutions to the present economic crisis. Ambassador Julie Chung today called on President Rajapaksa at the President’s House in Fort this afternoon. A high-level US diplomatic delegation during their recent visit to Sri Lanka said the United States will support efforts to strengthen ties initiated with the IMF. more..

Jun 30 (CT) SJB claimed, the Govt is trying to use the fuel crisis to silence journalists and the Media. MP Harshana Rajakaruna inquired from the Govt whether the education sector and media aren’t essential. “The Govt always says things that will never be done. They introduced a token system for fuel and then announced that it will only be provided to essential services. We ask whether education is not included as an essential service. Also, whether the Media is essential or not; more..

Jun 30 (TM) Former PM Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Chief of Staff Yoshitha Rajapaksa today refused to comment on the reports of the former PM being hospitalised. When The Morning reached out to several private hospitals, they were unwilling to disclose if the former Prime Minister was admitted at their facilities due to patient confidentiality reasons. However, a source close to The Morning claimed that Rajapaksa is currently hospitalised at a private hospital after undergoing a surgery last night. more..

Jun 30 (Island) Chairperson of the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus, Dr. Sudarshini Fernandopulle says accountability and transparency in a parliamentary system have become vital issues as the country makrs the International Day of Parliamentarism today. In a statement by the Caucus, Dr Fernandopulle said: International Day of Parliamentarism, which recognises the role of parliaments in national plans and strategies and in ensuring greater transparency, accountability more..

Jun 30 (EN) Bar Association (BASL) expressing its displeasure over the actions of police and army wrote to the both IGP and army chief asked to ensure that the fundamental rights of the people. A Video shared in social media showed a man in army uniform surrounded by another two in uniform was trying to snatch the placards from the protesters in Galle Fort where SL cricket team is playing its first test against Australia. more..

Jun 30 (TM) SLPP and Govt under Prez Rajapaksa doesn’t want the help of the opposition despite having messed up already, says SJB MP Dr Harsha De Silva on a twitter post further to a discussion held with the US Treasury, State Dept representatives and US Ambassador Julie Chung. “SL crisis is utterly complicated. Coming months will be very tough. Fact is the IMF can’t lend to us until our creditors give an assurance on their agreement with SL on debt restructuring now complicated with case more..

Jun 30 (Island) SJB spokesman Mujibur Rahman said that having publicly admitted that his failure to address economic issues in a prudent manner had led to the current crisis, Prez Rajapaksa had no moral right to remain in office. He said that it wouldn’t be fair under any circumstances to continue the remaining period in office as he didn’t want to quit as a failure. MP explained why the SJB would step up campaign against the President against the backdrop of SL acknowledging bankruptcy. more..

Jun 30 (TM) Although investigations are being carried out into the shootings that have culminated in a total of 11 killings over the past few days in various parts of SL, the latest of which was a shooting that resulted in the death of two persons in Moratuwa yesterday, only one direct perpetrator of the shootings has been arrested. SSP Nihal Thalduwa said: “There has been an increase in the number of shootings this month compared to the same more..

Jun 30 (DM) Claiming that both the teachers and children were facing difficulties in attending school due to the scarcity of fuel, SL College of Paediatricians said online education has the potential to be the solution until the country overcomes this challenging series of adversities. They said in a statement that online education has its disadvantages, but given the limited number and modes of the substitutes available to provide uninterrupted education, online education more..

Jun 30 (EN) Stocks slipped on Thursday, ending the month in red as negative sentiments in the market continued while sharp increase the yields of T-bills at the weekly auction also weighed on the appetite, brokers said. IMF statement after a series of discussions with the government authorities did not impress investors. ASPI closed 0.32% or 23.59 points lower at 7,342.33. “The market activity was extremely low and there was a lot of gloomy sentiments. There’s a lot of selling pressure, more..

Jun 30 (CT) Govt of Japan (GoJ) provided USD 681,812 (Rs. 244 million) through the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP) to Delvon Assistance for Social Harmony (DASH) for humanitarian demining activities in Northern SL, Japanese Embassy in SL said yesterday. The grant contract was signed on Tuesday (28) at the DASH operational area in Muhamalai in Kilinochchi, between Japan’s Ambassador to SL Hideaki Mizukoshi, more..

Jun 30 (TM) The 48-hour trade union action launched by paramedical trade unions is to continue today (30) demanding fuel for paramedical services. Public Health Inspectors’ (PHI) Union Secretary S.I. Bopitiya said that a total of eight health categories of paramedical staffers, including PHIs, entomologists, school dental service providers, electroencephalogram (EEG) and electrocardiogram (ECG) recorders, dental technicians, dispensers, and public health laboratory technicians more..

Jun 30 (Reuters) SL's govt on Thursday proposed amending the constitution to trim presidential powers and beef up anti-corruption powers to help shore up stability and defuse unrest provoked by the country's worst financial crisis in decades. South Asian island of 22 million people is close to running out of fuel and has struggled for months to find enough U.S. dollars to pay for essential imports such as food, cooking gas more..

Jun 30 (Island) Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said that the police or the intelligence services hadn’t at least bothered to inquire from him the alleged use of drones (unmanned aerial vehicles) by those who mounted a wave of violence against marked out individuals, looting and arson right across the country in the wake of the 09 May incidents in the Kollupitiya and Fort police areas. The Leader of the House said so when The Island asked him whether law enforcement authorities sought more..

Jun 30 (AD) Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe has been re-appointed as Governor of the Central Bank for another term of six years by Prez Rajapaksa. PM Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his capacity as Finance Minister, made his recommendation to the Prez yesterday, to extend Dr. Weerasinghe’s tenure as Governor of the Central Bank for a new term. PM had reportedly informed Prez Rajapaksa in writing recommending Dr. Weerasinghe for another term as CB chief. more..