Feb 5 (ST) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed a trip to Beijing after a Chinese spy balloon was tracked over the US. It was a visit during which Mr. Blinken was expected to take up SL’s debt woes with Prez Xi Jingping, according to a top US official who was in SL this week. Victoria Nuland, US Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs, while in Colombo on an official visit this week, told Prez Wickremesinghe that more..

Feb 5 (ST) My dear Mother Lanka, I am writing to you with mixed feelings as we mark the 75th anniversary of gaining independence from British colonial masters. I think it is more accurate to say that we marked independence instead of saying we celebrated, because there has been precious little to celebrate as a nation lately. We did celebrate yesterday with a ceremony at Galle Face. There is nothing wrong with an event to mark the occasion, but the fact that there was opposition more..

Feb 5 (ST) And so, amidst the usual grumbling about the wastage of public funds and black flag protests, the country commemorated its 75th year of Independence from 450 years and more of white domination. The event was abridged – truncated as it were, to a minimum. While the country, no doubt, is in the throes of an economic crisis, it is the rolling of the armoured vehicles, the marching of the uniformed infantry battalions, the flypasts and gunboats, that fire imagination of little more..

Feb 5 (SO) Mishen Silva played school cricket as an all-rounder (right arm fast bowler and top order batsman) for his Alma mater St. Sebastian’s College, Moratuwa. He captained the team in 2017 at the inter-school tournament and went on to represent the SL under-19 team with Charith Asalanka as captain and Avishka Fernando also in the ranks. At present he is playing for Bloomfield CC in the Premier tournament. Although having a toy bat for company in his childhood, serious cricket more..

Feb 5 (SO) One of the island’s finest ambassadors of sport, Rumesh Ratnayake, came to the rescue of a troubled SLC administration to bail them out just in time ahead of the women’s T20 World Cup commencing on Feb 8 in South Africa. Ratnayake will be the coach of the team in the 10-nation championship that will showcase modern women whose technique and style of play is no different from their male counterparts. “When someone comes up to you and tells you that more..

Feb 5 (TM) Consumers are unlikely to see an increase of their electricity bills this month as the PUCSL remains uncertain on whether the regulator can complete the ongoing electricity tariff reviewing process by 15 Feb as instructed by the Cabinet. PUCSL Chairman Janaka Ratnayake said that the commission would follow the stipulated mechanism when reviewing the proposed new tariff system and therefore it could not predict more..

Feb 5 (SO) Sri Lankans celebrated the 75th anniversary of their Independence from colonial powers yesterday, with the main ceremony at the Galle Face Green. It would have been inappropriate not to celebrate this landmark event as some quarters suggested, because this is the best time to inculcate a sense of belonging to the Motherland among people belonging to all communities and religious groups in a country yearning for peace and reconciliation. Indeed, as Prez more..

Feb 5 (Island) Sri Lanka Cricket and Ministry of Sports are at daggers drawn and virtually naming of new selectors has become impossible after SLC submitted the same set of names to be reappointed. SLC wants a fresh term for Pramodaya Wickramasinghe under whose tenure the team won the Asia Cup. The Sports Ministry meanwhile wants Wicky gone. Among other things, they aren’t happy that he retained Danushka Gunatilleke on tour after he was injured during the World Cup. more..

Feb 5 (ST) Right-handed opener Nishan Madushka has continued his sublime form with the willow by crunching back-to-back centuries against the visiting England Lions, pushing himself towards a national call-up during the next month’s Test series against NZ. Madushka–a wicket-keeper batter who represents Ragama CC in the domestic circuit–hit an impressive 150 (retired out) for SL Board President XI in a warm up game against the England Lions. He backed this up with a masterful more..

Feb 5 (Island) Dilmah was awarded ‘Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability’ in the category of Businesses with Less than Rs. 15 Billion Annual Turnover, for the third consecutive year at the Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability (BCCS) Awards organized by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce; recognizing that Dilmah has successfully achieved a sustainable balance between social, environmental, and economic performanc, a company news release said. Evaluated by an independent & expert more..

Feb 5 (AD) Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland has reinstated the fact that SL is not alone in the crisis it is currently facing. Speaking at the Inaugural Lecture for Geopolitical Cartographers yesterday (3), Scotland said, “I know that SL continues to feel the weight of political and economic pressure. The pressure can be hard to bear. It can be destabilizing, isolating, and frightening, and I am here because I want more..

Feb 5 (EN) State Finance Minister welcomed the letter sent by the island nation’s sovereign bond holders to the IMF over their willingness to engage in debt restructuring talks. “The SL govt welcomes the letter sent by bondholders to the IMF,” Minister Shehan Semasimghe said in his twitter platform. “We continue to engage in good faith dialogue with our private creditors to find a solution that will help us achieve debt sustainability and will enable SL’s economic recovery.” more..

Feb 5 (AD) Three persons belonging to an unidentified group of persons who had reportedly attacked those engaged in the Sathyagraha protest that took place near the Elphinstone Theatre in Mardana last night (3) have been remanded. While water cannons and tear gas were fired by the Police in attempts to disperse those protesting, another group of persons is also believed to have carried out an attack on the protesters at around 10 p.m. last night. A heated situation then arose between more..

Feb 5 (ST) Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) and the main Colleges this week turned down a meeting chaired by Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella to discuss lowering drug prices, saying the priority was to solve dire medicine shortages and to stop the purchase of unevaluated drugs. The influential medical community has been fighting for weeks against Health Ministry moves to import drugs from locally-unregistered more..

Feb 5 (Island) JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva accused main political parties of arousing communal feelings making use of the debate on the full implementation of the 13th Amendment. “This is a trap. We call on people not to fall prey to it,” Silva said. “Prez was the one who opened this debate. Until that moment none in this country in the recent past had any worries about this amendment. People in the North and South were speaking only of the unbearable cost of living, skyrocketing prices more..

Feb 5 (SO) The celebration of Independence Day on Feb 4 despite the economic crisis will have a positive impact on SL’s global tourism destination marketing image, said President the Hotels Association of SL, M. Shanti Kumar. SL has been generating huge negative publicity recently with the ouster of Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa due to violent street protests and subsequently a change of govt. Burning of public property and houses of politicians were also highlighted in global media. more..

Feb 5 (PMD) Japanese Govt donated 150 motorcycles, 74 vans and minibuses and 115 pieces of surveillance equipment for the use of the SL Police Dept. Donation was symbolically handed over to Prez Wickremesinghe at the Prez Secretariat yesterday (3. Japanese Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mr Takei Shunsuke presented the documents related to the delivery of this equipment to Prez. Following the inspection of these vehicles, Prez engaged in cordial conversation with more..

Feb 5 (DM) A scientist of SL Institute of Nanotechnology (SLINTEC) was killed in a road accident at Kumbuka in Gonapola, Horana last night. Police said the 37-year old scientist, a resident of Gonapola who was returning home in a luxury car, died after his car hit with a concrete post of a road barrier. His car had toppled. It was reported that the car's air balloon had activated soon after the accident and a piece of plastic thrown from it had severely cut his neck. more..

Feb 5 (TM) While Sri Lanka struggles to secure adequate coal for power generation, the rupee crunch in Colombo has forced the Lanka Coal Company (LCC) to seek funds for coal importation from the Power and Energy Ministry, following the CEB informing it that it was out of funds. The Sunday Morning reliably learns that an official request made by LCC requesting funds from the CEB has been turned down due to more..

Feb 5 (GT) LuLu Group’s world-class sourcing, food processing, and export unit in Sri Lanka has been playing a significant role in increasing Sri Lanka’s exports to Qatar, a top official has said. Speaking on the sidelines of the Taste of Sri Lanka festival held Saturday, Dr Mohamed Althaf, director of LuLu Group International, emphasised that the South Asian nation has been developing a wide range of organic lines, which LuLu Group brings to Qatar in large quantities. more..

Feb 5 (DM) The Prez's office has refuted social media posts regarding the diplomatic event that was held at the Prez’s House in Kandy on Feb 2, where 11 newly appointed Ambassadors and 6 High Commissioners presented their credentials to the Prez. Certain groups have criticized the police escorting the diplomats under special security, to attend the event, President's Media Division said. Several special functions including the programs of 75th National Independence Day celebration more..

Feb 5 (TM) SL Govt has informed the Chinese Govt of the expectations of the IMF from SL’s key bilateral creditors in order to proceed with SL’s planned Extended Fund Facility (EFF) with the fund. A highly-placed Govt source said that the Govt had last week conveyed to the Chinese envoy in SL of IMF’s expectation from China in relation to the country’s support to SL’s debt restructuring programme. “We (SL Govt) have conveyed to Chinese Govt through the Chinese envoy in Colombo about more..

Feb 5 (PTI) India is always a dependable partner and a reliable friend of SL, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said. His remarks came as he attended SL's 75th Independence Day. Several other foreign dignitaries also attended the event. Muraleedharan said he was happy to represent India at friendly neighbour SL's 75th Independence Day celebrations. "This milestone coincides with 75 years of establishment of diplomatic relations between both countries more..

Feb 5 (AD) Prez Rani Wickremesinghe addressed the nation, in view of SL’s 75th Independence Anniversary. In his speech, the Head of State discussed SL’s looming economic crisis, stating that the only way out of it was by making difficult and unpopular decisions. “Sugarcoated stories by politicians will not resolve this crisis”, he said, adding that he will continue to move forward with reforms such as those implemented thus far, more..

Feb 5 (ST) The Election Commission is to raise objections with the Treasury over the estimates submitted by the Police Dept to assist in the conduct of the upcoming local council polls, after the figures showed a three-fold increase compared to the 2018 local polls expenses. Police Dept has sent in an estimate of Rs 2.8 billion as the required amount for services to be provided for the March 9 local council elections in contrast to the claim for the local polls five years ago. more..

Feb 5 (SO) Education Ministry will recruit 26,000 new graduate teachers and 8,000 Science College teachers before the start of the new school term in March, said Minister Susil Premajayantha. Minister Premajayantha had obtained special permission for this program from a Cabinet Review Committee chaired by the Secretary to the PM. Graduates in Govt Service, under 40, are eligible to apply for the teacher positions. They have time until Feb 10 to submit their applications. more..

Feb 5 (ST) What lies ahead for Sri Lankans as they crossed the milepost of 75 years of Independence yesterday? Do the events singularly or collectively foretell a turn for the good or will the bleak scenario drag on under the heavy weight of the main issue – a speedy economic recovery? The questions and many related issues are much in the minds of discerning Sri Lankans as they are taken through another journey of pomp and more..

Feb 6 (DM) Our Independence Day celebrations are now over. The reality however, is we - everyone of us - irrespective of his/her political party affiliation faces is the international debt, which we have to pay. It hangs like the Sword of Damocles over our collective necks. Our country is bankrupt. Until we become internationally credit worthy, we will be unable to purchase basic food and drugs, to name a few commodities we are dependent on. To get out of this problem we have approached the IMF more..

Feb 6 (DM) The 75th anniversary was celebrated amidst a certain degree of vagueness and tension. This would be an ideal occasion for both, the rulers and the people to ponder on the issues which would form the country’s future. All political groups have failed to deliver. Today people are left with no alternatives. Most people see none and those that are able to, are leaving the country in search of greener pastures. We badly need an alternative to unskilled & corrupt politicians who hang on, more..

Feb 6 (SO) Minister Jeevan Thondaman said he personally feels that it is not appropriate to spend Rs. 16 billion on the LG election which is not going to change the economy, Prez or PM. He said if 10% of that money is allocated to the upcountry community, their livelihood will be much better. Unfortunately, here politics becomes prejudiced and overrides logic. Everybody in the political sphere knows the fact that more..

Feb 6 (DM) It is hardly too much to say that if we treat them strictly as a Dominion, they will behave very like a loyal colony: whereas if we treat them as a colony, we may end in driving them out of the Commonwealth. … Socially, Ceylon is a mixture of feudalism and 18th Century landed aristocracy. There is relatively little caste and practically no communal tension. … A great need in Ceylon is a genuine radical Labour Movement based on proper Trade Unions. … more..

Feb 6 (ST) It is a long, long way on the Chinese belt road for Lanka to arrive at IMF’s gateway to recovery. The moment the nation clears one hurdle on this tortuous route, she is immediately faced with another. Last month’s visit by Indian External Secretary Jaishankar certainly brightened the skyline when he formally announced that India will join the crucial debt restructuring talks. Dark clouds that had hovered over Lanka were blown away when, in the same breath, he said: more..

Feb 6 (TM) The domestic prices of eggs in SL rose steeply following the rapid depreciation of the SL rupee, and the disruption of farming due to price controls. In this context, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the importation of eggs without restrictions to ensure affordability to the general public. However, SL Veterinary Association (SLVA) would like to stress that while this policy measure has been implemented with good intentions, more..

Feb 6 (ST) I wonder what a mother, struggling to find medicine for her child in Colombo (one does not have to go into rural areas to witness the abject desperation of those caught up in SL’s spiralling financial crisis) would have thought of the pomp and glamour paraded at the Galle Face Green on Saturday (4)? Certainly nothing of this was much out of the ordinary, just the same grandiose balderdash that is spun each Independence Day. Perhaps there was a wee nod to minimum political more..

Feb 6 (TM) IUSF Convenor Wasantha Mudalige’s release is not just the end of his detention under the oppressive PTA. Given the nature and gravity of the allegations he levelled following his release, his release could also be the beginning of a new discourse on how State-backed oppression continues despite pressure from local and international actors against it. Some of the allegations levelled by Mudalige are extremely serious, as they pertain to abuse of power more..