Aug 7 (EN) Shares close up high on Monday after buying interest was stimulated through senses of economic stabilization, an analyst said. The main ASPI was up 0.41% or 48.15 points to 11,681.66, this is the highest the market has been since Feb 18, while S&P SL20 was up 1.07% or 36.38 points to 3,447.44. “The economy has channeled some stability and some recovery, resulting in buying power for the banking sector and blue chip counters,” an analyst said. more..

Aug 7 (CT) Minister Kanchana Wijesekera announced that 15 Mega Watts of wind power were successfully integrated into the national grid in Mannar. The wind power plant, a joint effort by WindForce and Hiruras Power, features six wind turbines and was not only constructed by local engineers but was also commissioned ahead of the scheduled completion date. Situated in the wind-rich Mannar wind belt, this project is a pivotal milestone in SL’s journey towards renewable energy, more..

Aug 7 (DN) “The Tamil Community does not like Sajith Premadasa. Hence, he is not suitable for the Presidency”, said C. V. Wigneswaran, responding at a news briefing in Jaffna, on the current political situations. He said, “Even though the 13th Amendment is not one of the best solutions to the North-East problem, Sajith Premadasa will not speak anything about it. Without resolving the North-East problem, no one can say the country can be developed. more..

Aug 7 (AD) SL Police have arrested four officers of the Excise Department over an incident where they had allegedly opened fire at a vehicle near a fuel station at Marine-Drive in Bambalapitiya, suspecting that those in the vehicle were drug traffickers. A shooting incident had been reported in the Bambalapitiya area in Colombo this evening. It was reported that several individuals, who had arrived in a van, had opened fire at an SUV near a filling station at Marine Drive, Bambalapitiya. more..

Aug 7 (EN) Cabinet has approved a proposal to continue uninterrupted power supply islandwide while releasing maximum water levels possible from the Samanalawewa reservor. Minister Kanchana Wijesekara tweeted that the cabinet has approved his proposal to release 3.5 million cubic metres of water per day from the Samanalawewa reservoir from August to 10, generating maximum hydro power. more..

Aug 7 (TM) Following the statement made by the Minister of Education Susil Premjayantha that permission will not be granted to conduct pre-schools without the training provided by the Education Ministry or an accredited institution, the Education Ministry is gearing up to set up a programme to regulate the early childhood institutions in SL, The Daily Morning learns. When contacted, the Secretary to the Ministry Nihal Ranasinghe said that the programme more..

Aug 7 (AD) Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) has released further details regarding the two Air Force personnel who were killed in the tragic aircraft crash that took place this morning, at China Bay in Trincomalee. Two victims of the accident are identified as the pilot of the aircraft, Wing Commander Tharindu Herath and Engineering officer, Flying Officer Peshan Warnasooriya, according to SLAF. A PT-6 trainer aircraft belonging to the No. 1 Flying Training Wing at SLAF Academy China Bay more..

Aug 7 (DN) Officers of the special raid unit of SLTB detected 52 passengers in a SLTB bus plying from Kadawatha to Galle on the Southern Expressway, with counterfeit tickets. The two conductors and the driver of the bus were arrested and handed over to the Kadawatha Police. They were subsequently produced in the Mahara Courts and remanded till today. One-way fare per person, between Kadawatha and Galle more..

Aug 7 (AD) The limitation of movement which was imposed within the Vavuniya Prison owing to the spread of measles inside the prison is to be lifted as per a decision by relevant authorities. Dept of Prisons took steps to impose movement limitations within the prison premises as an immediate precautionary measure to reduce the spread of the disease once an inmate and a prison officer was identified to have contracted measles in the prison. Accordingly, the limitations which were more..

Aug 7 (HRW) Last month, SL’s electricity company cut power to Shanti’s home in a town near Colombo, where she lives with her sixteen-year-old son. Shanthi lost her job last year during a severe economic crisis still roiling the country, and now earns 300 rupees (US$0.95) per day – around half her previous wages – as a domestic cleaner. The crisis, which led to the govt defaulting on its debt, also triggered soaring inflation, including for food, and Shanthi and her son began relying on more..

Aug 8 (TM) Sri Lanka has shown a remarkable capacity to repeat mistakes, with few or no lessons learnt, each time over. The climate-driven food security crisis in the South of the island, is a bitter reminder that the state apparatus remains in the response mode, and has yet to switch to the prevention and preparedness role, Sri Lankans had hoped would happen after the economic and political turmoil of the last two years. There can be no reasonable argument that more..

Aug 8 (DM) The incidence and nature of suicide in SL have varied over time. The cause, frequency and method of suicide have changed with changing conditions. In the last three years (i.e.: 2020,2021 and 2022) 15.6 out of every 100,000 of the population in SL had died by suicide. And for every successful suicide, there were 15 unsuccessful attempts, according to Dr. Rohan Ratnayake of the SL National Institute of Mental Health. Globally, SL occupied the 30th place in suicides. more..

Aug 8 (SO) Authorities were yesterday finding it hard pressed to control the overcrowding in the country’s jails and conceded that immediate action must be taken to rectify the situation or else it could spiral out of control. At present there are 29,000 plus inmates inside the country’s 30 jails and the numbers are ticking on out of which 29,000 are remandees mainly drug offenders who need to be rehabilitated more..

Aug 8 (DM) The plight of the farmers in the Udawalawe area who have been severely affected by the prevailing drought was the most prominent news item carried in the Sinhala language newspapers yesterday. The water capacity in the Udawalawe Reservoir which is said to be 217,000 acre-feet has reduced up to about 2,000 acre-feet (less than one per cent of the full capacity), according to reports that quoted the engineer in charge of the reservoir as stating. more..

Aug 8 (SO) Gurukula Vidyalaya opened its doors to students as an English medium mixed school established by the Peliyagoda Vidyalankara Sangha Sabha on the grounds of the famous Vidyalankara Pirivena on July 1, 1948, just a few months after the country gained Independence. The founding fathers of the school, including Ven. Yakkaduwe Pannarama Thera, Ven. Ratmalane Dharmara Thera, Ven. Naththandiye Pannakara Thera, Ven. Kiriwanthuduwe Sri Pannasara Thera, and more..

Aug 8 (TM) Did you know that a certain cowboy in Asia is Sri Lankan? Meet Ty Nitti, a horse loving, 10 gallon hat wearing cowboy with over three decades of experience in horse wrangling and training. Nitti schooled at Saint Benedict’s College, Kotahena, and spent his childhood years riding horses in Nuwara Eliya, prior to migrating to US in 1984. Nitti spends his time riding, breaking, training, and schooling horses in his ranch, more..

Aug 8 (ST) Does anyone know Mulaparthi Ramaraju? No? Well, nor do I. That is until a few days ago, when, quite by chance, I turned on a video clip while searching for some background information. What intrigued me was the headline that accompanied the video. “Ideal politician”? said the first two words. That should have been enough to stop even those who disdain local politics, in their tracks. Well, it did me, though I wouldn’t claim to have much faith in politicians after more..

Aug 8 (TM) SL working people have a rich history of fighting for democratic rights against all odds, persecutions, repressions and political betrayals. The past half a century of SL history is the history of two written Constitutions: Constitution of 1972 of PM Sirima Bandaranaike’s coalition Govt and the Constitution of 1978 of Prez J.R. Jayewardene of UNP Govt. During this period, under these two republican Constitutions, SL working people and the poor of all ethnicities bore more..

Aug 8 (FT) Haycarb PLC, a global leader in high-value coconut shell activated carbon and a member of the Hayleys Group announced the launch of ACTIVATE, its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Roadmap 2030. ACTIVATE lays out a vision for integrating Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) considerations across the company’s strategy, processes and business operations, in alignment with the broader targets set out under the Hayleys Lifecode, more..

Aug 8 (FT) In an uncertain economic landscape, companies have accepted environmentally sustainable business models as an effective way of utilising resources and reducing waste at the time of consumption. Breaking away from the linear take-make-dispose concept has been challenging due to high costs and a lack of information and technology required to transform production. Traditional linear economic model is about choosing profit over sustainability as raw materials are made more..

Aug 8 (ST) The night before the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) election, Suresh Subramanium, the voting representative from the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of SL, wrote to Maxwell de Silva, NOC Secretary General, instructing him not to violate the IOC Code of Ethics. “If I am questioned, I will have to tell the truth,” he wrote. This was after Subramanium, the incumbent president of the NOC SL got complaints more..

Aug 8 (Island) To say that our national anthem has had a rocky road, perhaps, is a gross underestimation. Afterall, the composer of this beautiful anthem sacrificed his life because of a totally avoidable controversy! As an ungrateful nation, we have forgotten the creator of the modern Sinhala music, Ananda Samarakoon. Though the city of Colombo is littered with roads, named after many who have done very little, compared to what Ananda Samarakoon did, no govt seems to more..

Aug 8 (CT) Exams have long been a vital marker of academic progress, serving as a fair reference point for a student’s performance. And while that brings with it a manageable amount of pressure of preparation, over the years, Sri Lankan parents have nurtured a competitive culture. Meaning, right from primary grades onwards they groom their young children to take extra tuition classes for almost all subjects that are studied in school, making it almost a necessity that more..

Aug 8 (DN) Viharamahadevi Balika Vidyalaya Kiribathgoda made an impressive debut in the School Boxing Tournament, securing the prestigious Neiva Embuldeniya Trophy at the Seevali College Boxing Gymnasium Ratnapura. The tournament witnessed a record-breaking participation of 701 boxers representing 98 schools. The Viharamahadevians’ boxing team, comprising five talented boxers, achieved commendable success by claiming 2 gold medals and 2 bronze medals. more..

Aug 8 (Island) Former Chairman of the Election Commission (EC) Mahinda Deshapriya, who serves as the Head of the National Committee on Delimitation of the Divisions of Local Govt (LG) Bodies, seems to be full of optimism. He is reported to have said he expects either the local govt polls or the Provincial Council (PC) elections to be held before 15 September, when the International Day of Democracy Day falls. Does he think the incumbent regime is a respecter of democracy! more..

Aug 8 (TM) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe expecting the Parliament’s support for the implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution is futile and an act aimed at deceiving the people, claimed Opposition MP Prof. G.L. Peiris. He claimed that Wickremesinghe is to address the Parliament tomorrow (9), seeking the Parliament’s support to implement the 13th Amendment. more..

Aug 8 (DM) Dambulla Aura inflicted the third defeat of defending and three times champions Jaffna Kings with a nine runs win in the 11th match of the Lanka Premier League played under floodlights at the Pallekele International Stadium on Monday. The win also saw them avenge their first round match defeat of 21 runs at the hands of Jaffna Kings played last week at the R. Premadasa Stadium and chalking up their third win of the tournament. Jaffna Kings in their run chase of 135 runs more..

Aug 8 (CT) St. Joseph’s and Musaeus won the Boys and Girls Overall Pentathlon Swimming Championship 2023 held at the Sugathadasa Indoor Complex Swimming Pool from 4 to 6 August. Almost 600 male/female swimmers from across Sri Lanka representing 102 schools/clubs were seen in action. Pentathlon Championships conducted by SL Aquatic Sports Union (SLASU) is the ultimate swim against time in all four strokes and the individual medley to record the total best time for more..

Aug 8 (TM) Following a request to all political party leaders to submit their proposals and suggestions on the 13th Amendment by 15 Aug, the majority of political parties representing the Parliament are planning to submit their proposals to the Presidential Secretariat while some Opposition parties do not intend to do so. The ruling SLPP, SJB, and the SLFP of the Opposition are to submit their proposals to the Presidential Secretariat more..

Aug 8 (Island) Veteran runner Gayanthika Abeyratne has decided to skip the World Athletics Championships in consultation with her coach Sajith Jayalala to concentrate on Asian Games, Sri Lanka Athletics announced yesterday. Abeyratne is one of the three athletes to have reached qualifying standards for individual events to represent Sri Lanka at the World Championships, which will commence in Budapest on Aug 19. Abeyratne qualified through ranking quota after more..

Aug 8 (Island) Colombo Strikers stayed in the hunt in the LPL with a thrilling 7-wicket win over Galle Titans at Pallekele yesterday. Galle the table toppers faced bottom-paced Colombo yesterday and a defeat could have made things extremely difficult for Niroshan Dickwella’s side to make it to the knockout stage. But a thrilling win gave them some breathing space although they need to do a bit of work with their Net Run Rate. Colombo owed it to their star performer Babar Azam, more..

Aug 8 (FT) SL Tourism achieved a significant milestone yesterday, as it crossed the 800,000 arrivals mark year-to-date, signaling continuous momentum. Minister Harin Fernando lauded the achievement, highlighting its positive impact on the sector’s vitality. During the first six days of August, a total of 30,303 tourists entered the country, solidifying the country’s appeal as a preferred travel destination. Among the leading contributors to this surge in tourist arrivals in the first six days, more..

Aug 8 (FT) Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts will welcome Mo Gawdat, the former Chief Business Officer of Google [X], for a profound keynote discussion on the future of AI and organization happiness, at Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo on 28 Aug. With his expertise in navigating Al and its journey, he will sit down for a meaningful conversation here in SL, to explore the entity while questioning what is the future of technology and human performance? more..

Aug 8 (Island) SJB MP Eran Wickramaratne says the importation of inferior medicine by way of emergency procurement and non-functioning medical, surgical and other test equipment in hospitals have ruined the public health sector. He said that this pathetic situation in the health sector has been further aggravated by the brain drain. Though a doctor’s initial combined salary exceeds Rs.160,000, market opportunities more..

Aug 8 (ST) The Power and Energy Ministry has sent letters to firms with renewable energy (RE) projects that have been making little or no progress and crowding out other potential bidders. “The ministry wants to release the already awarded but stalled projects and give them to others who are interested in doing them. The minister has already written to firms with projects worth 100 megawatts requesting them to hurry up with the projects or to hand them back to the ministry,” more..