May 27 (DN) SL champion sprinter Yupun Abeykoon renewed his own National Men’s 100m record, as well as the South Asian record with a time of 10.06 seconds (wind-0.2), at the Anhalt 2022 International Athletic Meet in Germany yesterday. It was a superb run by 27-year-old Abeykoon who is based in Italy for further training focused on the next International Games such as Commonwealth Games, Asian Games as well as World Athletic Championships. Yupun ran in the fifth lane and produced more..

May 27 (EN) Sri Lanka’s insurance losses from riots which broke out after loyalists of ex-PM Mahinda Rajapaksa attacked peaceful protestors is likely to exceed a billion rupees, Fitch Ratings has said. State-run National Insurance Trust Fund (NITF) provides Strike, Riot, Civil Commotion and Terrorism (SRCCT) cover in the island which is re-sold by all insurers. The SRCCT Fund will bear the brunt of the losses with insurers experiencing little impact, Fitch said. more..

May 27 (Island) Sri Lanka, facing the threat of food shortages due to the rapidly deteriorating economic situation, has sought urgent assistance from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP). PM Ranil Wickremesinghe and Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena have warned of a food shortage in the near future. Minister of Foreign Affairs Prof. G.L. Peiris met Vimlendra Sharan, the UN Food and Agriculture Org (FAO) Representative more..

May 27 (TM) The COPE recently revealed that the Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) of state-owned People’s Bank increased to 45.94% in 2020 compared to 2017, driven mainly by around 10 enterprises who had defaulted on loans borrowed from said bank during the period 2017-2021. Yashoda Group was among the top borrowers who had defaulted on their loans. Apart from Yashoda Group, CML MTD Group, Mihin Lanka, more..

May 27 (FT) Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) has written to IGP and AG requesting action be taken in regard to violence against the peaceful protestors at GotaGoGama and MynaGoGama by persons and groups affiliated with former PM Rajapaksa. CPA notes that speeches made on 9 May, the day of the attacks, tantamount to inciting violence which were made by the former PM, former Ministers, and MPs to the gathered at Temple Trees before they were unleashed upon peaceful protestors. more..

May 27 (FT) National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) clarified that the main reason for the medicine shortage was the foreign exchange crisis. “Steps have been taken to release medicine and medical equipment donated to the country without delay after assessing the quality of the drugs,” NMRA noted in a statement issued yesterday in response to allegations that the authority was responsible for the prevailing shortage in the country. It also clarified an allegation more..

May 27 (Island) Bar Association has rejected the 21st Amendment to the Constitution that has been presented by Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakse, PC, to the Cabinet recently. SJB, too, has rejected the 21 A in its present form. SJB spokesperson Eran Wickremaratne explained why the SJB wouldn’t support the proposed law as it would further enhance the executive. A spokesperson for the BASL said that more..

May 27 (DH) India will continue to stand with the people of Sri Lanka and support democracy, stability and economic recovery in the neighbouring nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday. He also said that India has also spoken strongly in the international forum for extending economic support to Sri Lanka. In his speech after laying the foundation stone for various projects, including the Chennai-Bengaluru expressway, Modi said Sri Lanka is passing through difficult times. more..

May 27 (TM) The Attorney General’s Department informed the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday (25) that several persons including former PM Mahinda Rajapaksa, and SDIG in charge of the Western Province Deshabandu Tennakoon, who were barred from travelling abroad in connection with the incident of peaceful protestors being attacked by a group of SLPP supporters in Colombo on 9 May, have not yet submitted their passports to the Court. more..

May 27 (FT) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe said that he will make a special statement to Parliament next week on the economic situation in the country. He also said talks with the IMF are progressing satisfactorily and the Govt hopes to finalise its program to be presented to the Fund within two weeks. “I have spoken with the IMF and so have our officials. We have come up with a basic program which we hope to finalise within two weeks. Following which IMF delegation will visit SL. more..

May 27 (TM) General Shavendra Silva will be replaced by Major General Vikum Liyanage on 1 June as Commander of the SL Army, while a high-powered military committee has been appointed to look into any lapses by the tri-forces during the unrest at Mirihana on 31 March, and the nationwide tensions that erupted on 9 May and the following days. Gen. Silva is set to assume office on 1 June as new Chief of Defence Staff, after relinquishing the office of the Commander of Army on 31 May, more..

May 27 (DM) In a move to push for the 21st amendment to be accepted by the party leaders today, PM Ranil Wickremesinghe will lobby for it at the party leaders' meeting at 3.30 pm today in order to reduce the powers of the Prez and also remove dual citizens from holding a parliamentary seat, which in turn will end Basil Rajapaksa's political career in SL. The party leaders who have already been given a draft of the 21st amendment for them to study more..

May 27 (FT) SL has defaulted on a foreign loan interest component for the first time in its history. It is a day of shame for a country that boasts of such a rich and ancient cultural heritage, and which has produced so many people of eminence in so many fields of expertise over the years. It is regrettable that the people of SL had been remiss in their responsibilities and acumen not to have had accountability, credibility, and honesty as priorities in selecting their political leaders to govern more..

May 27 (FT) In the immediate aftermath of the ending of the internal civil war, it occurred to me that Sri Lanka would soon go bankrupt and plunge into anarchy in the face of the deterioration of the State and the socio-political system caused by the neglect of essential reforms. By that time, the Sri Lankan State had faced two major internal uprisings; though they had been defeated with much difficulty, these two uprisings had caused serious damage to the State and the socio-political system. more..

May 27 (AD) The Parliamentary Council decided to concur with the recommendation to appoint Mr. Anthony Nihal Fonseka as a member of the Monetary Board of the Central Bank of SL, the Secretary-General of Parliament said today. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Parliamentary Council chaired by the Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena on Thursday. PM Ranil Wickremesinghe, Minister of Fisheries Douglas Devananda & Opposition MP Kabir Hashim more..

May 27 (DM) If the Health Minister does not take action to revoke health workers' pay cut completely within a week, the GMOA said they would resort to serious trade union action, GMOA General Committee Member Dr. Prasad Kolabage said. He said the health services were disrupted during the fuel and gas crisis in the country and the govt had decided to impose pay cut of health workers. Following discussion with the Health Minister and he was informed about this, he assured to solve more..

May 27 (EN) Former Minister Wimal Weerawansa’s wife Sashi Weerawansa was sentenced to two years in prison on Friday over a fraudulently obtained passport. Weerawansa was also fined 100,000 rupees by the Colombo Magistrate’s Court, and failure to pay the fine will result in additional six months in prison. The former minister’s wife was accused of submitting forged documents to apply for two passports more..

May 27 (DM) People who are over 20 years of age are requested to get their COVID-19 fourth vaccine dose, including first, second, and third doses against the coronavirus, from the CMC Vaccination Centres today. The people who are eligible to get the vaccine should be over 20 years old and should have completed three months since their last COVID-19 jab. Accordingly, the people are requested to visit the Maternity Home, New Bazzar, MOH office, Wellawatte, MCH & MOH offices at more..

May 27 (CT) Trade union coalition action scheduled for yesterday, was called off following a meeting with Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella and Ministry officials in which the latter party agreed to pay back deducted salaries and annul a circular that led to salary cuts. The discussions focused on possibilities of reimbursing the extra duty payments and allowances that had been deducted. The joint trade unions said the Minister and his officials agreed to their request to pay the deducted amounts more..

May 27 (AD) Prez Rajapaksa has called on the experts in the power sector to assist in making a significant contribution from renewable energy sources to the national grid. PMD said the govt has set a target to generate 70% of the total electricity demand from renewable energy sources. The potential is already there to generate nearly 700 MW of electricity from solar energy. However, public opinion is that more..

May 27 (Island) Around 4.5 million Sri Lankans employed in the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) might lose their jobs in the coming months unless the govt stepped in and assisted businesses, Chairman of SL United National Businesses Alliance (SLUNBA), Tania Abeysundara told the media in Colombo on Wednesday. She warned that a lot of SMEs might collapse in the next month unless the government arranged a debt moratorium. “4.5 million people work in SMEs. more..

May 27 (AD) Sapugaskanda oil refinery will resume its operations for the first time since March 20 with a crude oil shipment being unloaded today, Minister Kanchana Wijesekara says. He stated that the refinery will start producing fuel oil in six days. As of yesterday, 23,022 metric tonnes of diesel, 2,588 metric tonnes of super diesel, 7,112 metric tonnes of 95 Octane Petrol, 39,968 metric tonnes of 92 Octane Petrol and 3,578 metric tonnes of JETA1 aviation fuel were in stock in SL, he said. more..

May 27 (EN) Sri Lanka has allowed marine bunker firms to import diesel and furnace oil for industries as the state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation struggles to fund dollars after money printing has created forex shortages. “Approval was given to all the Private Bunker Fuel Operators to Import and provide Diesel and Fuel Oil requirements of Industries to function their Generators and Machinery,” Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said in a twitter.com message. more..

May 27 (Reuters) Australia's new government said on Friday it would give temporary visas to a SL asylum seeker family held in immigration detention since 2019, a step towards closure of one of the country's most controversial migration cases. The Tamil family of four, Priya and Nadesalingam Murugappan and their two daughters, have been a cause celebre since being detained in the rural Australian town where they settled years earlier. The family was taken into the country's more..

May 27 (CI) Asitha Fernando's searing post-lunch spell burst through Bangladesh's defiant middle order, then swiftly uprooted the tail, to thrust SL toward victory, which they achieved by 10 wickets in Mirpur. Envenomed by reverse swing, Asitha engineered a collapse that saw the last five Bangladesh wickets fall for 13 runs in the space of eight overs. He took 6 for 51 for the innings - easily the best innings return of his 5-Test career. more..

May 27 (AD) The attorneys representing the wife of MP Wimal Weerawansa have filed an appeal challenging the two-year prison sentence handed down to their client earlier today. The appeal was lodged before the Colombo Magistrate’s Court, to be forwarded to the High Court. Taking up Weerawansa’s appeal, Colombo Additional Magistrate Harshana Kekunawala said it would be called for consideration on the 30th of May. Shashi Weerawansa was sentenced to two years more..

May 27 (FT) Industry giant Bank of Ceylon has managed to improve its lending and deposits in the first quarter whilst profitability suffered due to heavy provisioning influenced by external factors. During the first quarter ended 31 March 2022, BOC’s total assets grew by 10% and reached Rs. 4.2 trillion, preserving its industry leadership. The key contributor factor is growth in loans and the investment book which denotes about 92% of the assets of the Bank. more..

May 27 (EN) It was a hard choice to Shermila Mohamed, a national flag vendor at the protest site on May 09 near the presidential secretariat where hundreds of protesters had been demanding the resignation of Prez Rajapaksa and his govt for one month. A hoard of former PM Rajapaksa’s supporters, hours before his resignation, stormed the Galle Face Green protest site where Shermila had been running a successful flag business more..

May 27 (NP) TUI has announced its cancellation of further flights to Sri Lanka due to weeks of political and economic instability in the country. The airline has been forced to suspend its departures to Sri Lanka up to and including June 12 as the country is currently in a state of emergency. Several incidents on May 9, 2022, involving violence against peaceful protesters throughout Sri Lanka which led to injuries and losses of life has led to the country being deemed unsafe to travel to. more..

May 27 (BNN) SL’s political turmoil is prompting some shipping lines to detour to Indian ports instead of calling at Colombo, one of the key supply-chain hubs in Asia. Political protests and a lack of fuel have slowed the number of trucks available to transport containers of textiles and other goods between Colombo’s terminals and supply chains, according to freight forwarders and analysts. That’s created a growing backlog of boxes at the port that shipping companies want to avoid, they said. more..

May 27 (DM) While adopting limitation in issuing fuel continuously, there is room for suspicions that the government is making a clandestine attempt to increase the prices of fuel again within the next two weeks and to hike the price of kerosene to an unaffordable range, Samagi United Trade Union Force (SUTUF) convener Ananda Palitha said. He told the Daily Mirror that the govt stocks diesel and petrol excessively in an attempt to increase the prices, as they did recently. more..

May 27 (CT) Govt of SL’s face value money printing (FVMP) debt increased by Rs 10,300 million to Rs 2,821,926.39 million (Rs 2.8219 trillion) on Wednesday to record its third largest FVMP debt to date. Its highest being Rs 2.8610 trillion registered on Friday (20) and second highest, Rs 2.8488 trillion recorded on 13 May. However, Wednesday’s MP increase was non-demand pull inflationary causing, as it was used to meet an external commitment. Market’s net shortfall increased by more..

May 27 (BN) Sri Lanka is receiving Russian crude oil that it will use to make fuel as the bankrupt nation faces crippling shortages of everything from gasoline to diesel. The Russian grade of Siberian Light will be processed at CPC’s refinery in Sapugaskanda, Chairman Sumith Wijesinghe said. The country’s sole refinery is set to receive crude on May 28, enabling its restart for the first time in over two months, according to its power more..

May 27 (NR) The US Ambassador to SL Julie Chung called on Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena today at the Parliament Premises. During talks with the Speaker, the U.S. Ambassador emphasized on the need to carry out political reforms desired by the people and to safeguard democracy in the country. Ambassador said she hopes the govt, including the new PM, would be able to bring about political stability and overcome the current economic crisis. During today’s talks the Speaker also more..

May 27 (EN) SL police arrested four people on Friday (27) on suspicion of a mob attack unleashed upon two members of parliament on May 09, police said. Two suspects were arrested by the CID in connection with the attack on SJB MP Kumara Welgama at the Kottawa entrance to the Southern Expressway on May 09, a day that has come to be known as Black Monday. “On May 09, during the island wide mob attacks MP Kumara Welagama, a Police Sergeant and his driver were attacked more..