Jul 11 (SLN) The French Naval Ship Lorraine this morning (11) arrived at the port of Colombo on a formal visit. The ship was welcomed by the SL Navy in accordance with naval tradition. The 142.20m long ship is an Air-Defence Multipurpose Frigate manned by 154 crew members and she is commanded by Captain Xavier BAGOT. Meanwhile, the Commanding Officer of the ship called on Commander Western Naval Area, Rear Admiral Suresh De Silva at more..

Jul 11 (TM) Following the recent statement made by Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Vidura Wickramanayaka that new legislation will be enacted to deal with threats posed to religious unity, Ministry has already directed the Legal Draftsman’s Department to draft the said religious harmony laws. Secretary to the Ministry Somaratne Vidanapathirana said that the approval of more..

Jul 11 (FT) In Jan 2023, I wrote about the sources of the fragility of the Sri Lankan state and predicted that SL’s position in the Fragile States Index (FSI) would decline. The 2023 index has been published. Sri Lanka has indeed suffered the worst decline after Ukraine, dropping from 56th place to 30th (though we were much worse back in 2008, in 20th place). In this index, the higher the rank, the greater the fragility. Somalia is ranked 1st and Yemen 2nd. Norway is 179th. more..

Jul 11 (CT) High Commissioner of Pakistan Umar Farooq Burki HI inaugurated 102 individual and community water wells in Addalachenai during his visit to the Eastern Province. The drinking water well project is a first of its kind initiated by the Pakistan High Commission in Sri Lanka on behalf of the Pakistani govt. The project will benefit more than 150 families in the area. These wells are a part of a project which targets different parts of the island, specially areas where more..

Jul 11 (AP) SL’s foreign minister said that his country welcomes the Netherlands’ plan to return hundreds of colonial-era artifacts — including a bejeweled, ceremonial cannon — and said the Indian Ocean island is working to preserve the historic items. Dutch govt last week announced that it will return 478 objects of cultural significance to Indonesia and to SL. It said the objects were wrongfully brought to the Netherlands more..

Jul 11 (DM) Colombo Chief Magistrate Prasanna Alwis today ordered to release former Minister Priyankara Jayaratne and his private secretary from a corruption case following the Bribery Commission's decision to withdraw the charges. However, Chief Magistrate observed that the order of release would not be an impediment for the prosecution to file a fresh case. Bribery Commission had filed this corruption case against the two accused for causing an unlawful loss to more..

Jul 11 (EN) Washington-based International Finance Corporation was selected to help divest SriLankan Airlines, Sri Lanka Telecom and Lanka Hospital Corporation, Cabinet Bandula Gunwardana said. Alvarez and Marsal will advise on the sale of Sri Lanka Insurance, Deloitte India will advise on the sale of Canwill Holdings Pvt Ltd, and Litro Gas Lanka. Colliers Singapore will advise on the sale of Hotel Development Lanka, which owns the Colombo Hilton building. more..

Jul 11 (Island) A 28-year-old man was killed in an accident during a leadership training programme conducted at the Uva-Kudaoya Commando Training Centre, police said. The victim, who is a resident of Diyatalawa, was an employee of the Engineering Division of a private telecommunication company. A group of employees of the company, including the victim, participated in the leadership programme at the Uva-Kudaoya Commando Training Centre on 06 July. more..

Jul 11 (AD) Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra met with Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe during his official visit to SL this morning. The meeting took place at the Ministry of Defence and focused on enhancing bilateral relations and working towards future economic and social goals that would benefit both countries’ populations. During the meeting, Prez Wickremesinghe briefed the Indian Foreign Secretary on the govt’s reform program aimed at strengthening the country’s economy. more..

Jul 11 (CT) While 3,315 nursing students were to be given appointment letters for training in nursing schools, Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said an agreement had been reached to commence a nursing university in SL. Spokesman for the Health Minister quoting Minister Rambukwella said the Minister had indicated that an agreement had been reached regarding the submission of a Cabinet Paper in this regard. more..

Jul 11 (TM) The Sri Lanka Association of Govt Medical Laboratory Technologists (SLAGMLT) is to launch a two-day strike urging to take immediate action against the Chief Microbiologist of the Colombo National Hospital who is, according to them, creating many problems in the pathology sector by obstructing the proper performance of the duties of the authorised medical laboratory scientists through her alleged arbitrary administration. SLAGMLT President Ravi Kumudesh more..

Jul 11 (DM) At least 900 children are diagnosed with cancer and 100 with diabetes each year, and now it has become common among children, Consultant Paediatrician at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children. Dr. Deepal Perera said. He said this kind of situation had not been reported ten or fifteen years ago. Due to multi-factorial causes, this kind of cancer and diabetes situation can occur among children. Dr. Perera requested that the parents should refrain from giving their children more..

Jul 11 (AN) At least 300,000 Sri Lankans will leave their crisis-hit country for overseas jobs this year, with most of them choosing to work in Gulf countries, the Bureau of Foreign Employment said on Monday. More than 152,000 Sri Lankan workers have left the country since the beginning of the year, with over 112,000 of them going to the Gulf Cooperation Council region, opting first for Saudi Arabia, followed by Kuwait, Qatar & UAE. more..

Jul 11 (DM) Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa is to appoint a committee to look into how SL went into bankruptcy and has even planned to gather information from foreign institutions, SJB MP Tissa Attanayake said. He said that Mr Premadasa will go ahead with the appointment of a committee on his own and will even get information from foreign institutions and experts as well. Asked about the legitimacy of a select committee appointed by the Leader of the Opposition, more..

Jul 11 (HM) On May 18 2023, Eelam Tamils came together to commemorate Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day, also referred to as Mullivaikal Remembrance Day, marking the end of the war between the SL state and the LTTE. In the North and East of SL – traditional homeland claimed by Tamils, stretching between Amparai and Jaffna – various events were held in schools, temples, churches and other public places. Kanchi, the simple rice porridge provided by the LTTE that gave meagre more..

Jul 12 (GV) When the Easter Sunday bomb attacks brought tears to the world I, too, cried in Toronto for myself saying, “I am not safe here”. The images of Easter bombings brought memories of Navaly bombing; images of piled body pieces in front of Jaffna Hospital mortuary made me sick after 24 years. I heard the 1995 lament of Navaly in Toronto on April 21, 2019. I, at 39 years old, felt I was in Navaly as a 15 year old girl. I couldn’t swallow anything when Easter Sunday attacks more..

Jul 12 (CT) The stock market boomed after the much awaited domestic debt restructuring programme (DDR), but the national economy continues to be in deep trouble. It does not seem to have the productive capacity and the general population does not have the purchasing power to lift itself out of the doldrums. Even those at the top end of the production chain, the owners of factories, are lamenting the lack of consumer demand for their goods and services. more..

Jul 12 (TM) The legal profession in SL is in need of considerable improvements in line with global developments in the profession. While SL’s legal community too is striving to embrace the necessary changes, particularly in terms of enacting new laws and amending existing ones to meet modern-day requirements, it is simultaneously endeavouring to fulfil its duties to the country, including safeguarding the people’s rights, more..

Jul 12 (DM) Justice and good decision-making flows in part, from the discipline of public reasoning. The belief in democracy is anchored in the hope of harnessing the power of reasoned decision making that is openly and dialogically shaped by the informed engagement and consent of society systematically flouting that expectation is a recipe for political instability – and Sri Lanka’s post-colonial history is no stranger to that truth. In the spirit of promoting public reasoning more..

Jul 12 (TM) With the unprecedented socio-economic crisis that erupted last year (2022) has come to unprecedented reforms. While the Government has already launched many programmes the country’s socio-economic situation warrants, many more are in the pipeline. However, how many of them truly benefit the public or are intended to benefit the public, is a public concern. Those concerns in the general society and in the political arena have been intensified by the recently-issued more..

Jul 12 (TM) Since May 2022, nearly 250 Sri Lankans who undertook a perilous and inhuman journey to Australia by illegal sea routes, were intercepted and repatriated. They were charged in accordance with local legislation and were produced before a magistrate. Those who made the journey are victims of people smuggling networks who mislead many vulnerable groups and charge them almost all their savings for a journey that will bring more..

Jul 12 (ST) That was a holiday that was. Five days in a row and the great minds that earn more than their living from the House at Diyawanna Oya were summoned on a Saturday to contribute their intellectual worth to the birth of a new phenomenon. Some might call it Destructive Debt Recovery (DDR). For others, Central Bank Governor’s new coined phrase sounded far more impressive though less intent on clarity. Well, it certainly would be so for the hoi polloi who haven’t got even more..

Jul 12 (CT) This newspaper’s front page lead story yesterday, reported that 16 people were killed and 98 were injured within a short span of 24 hours, in a wave of fatal road accidents that shocked the nation. On Sunday night (9), a bus plying from Polonnaruwa to Kattankudy fell into the Mahaweli River, while crossing the Kotaleeya Bridge in Manampitiya. Eleven died and 40 others were injured in the accident. It was later revealed that the bus that was involved in the accident more..

Jul 12 (DM) Our country is gradually pulling itself out of the financial crisis of yester-year. Even though the foreign debt restructing process is not complete, govt has pushed ahead with the domestic debt restructuring process as a means of speeding up the process of restoring the country’s creditworthiness. As millions of words have already been written on the pros and cons on that subject we will not add to them. What is clear is that since we face a shortage of foreign currency, more..

Jul 12 (FT) SL Export Development Board (EDB) in collaboration with the Swiss Import Promotion Program (SIPPO) is organizing a webinar series on the opportunities available in the Swiss and European markets for Value Added Textiles, Fish and Seafood and Processed Food for the SL’s exporters/ potential exporters. The webinars on Value Added Textiles/Apparel, Fish and Seafood and Processed Food are scheduled on 13 July at 1 p.m., 20 July 2023 at 2 p.m. and more..

Jul 12 (Island) Sprinters Aruna Dharshana, Rajitha Rajakaruna and Nadeesha Ramanayake will kick start Sri Lanka’s campaign when they enter the men’s and women’s 400metres heats on day one of the Asian Athletics Championships in Thailand today. The fourth fastest man in the one-lap race in SL’s track and field history, Dharshana will vie to book a place in the final. He has what it takes to excel in both the individual and more..

Jul 12 (ST) The Domestic Debt Optimisation (DDO) was put down by critics as a mathematical gimmick and being unfair to superannuation funds, but Finance Ministry (FM) officials rejected this claim, saying this was the optimal solution. “The DDO is targeting superannuation funds. The Central Bank (CB) has to examine which option gives them the best returns and then decide. It is the 30 per cent taxation on Employee Provident Fund (EPF) that is discriminatory. more..

Jul 12 (Island) What’s the world coming to when a country is unable to find a successor to an outgoing police chief? Rajapaksa-Wickremesinghe govt has undertaken to accomplish the gargantuan task of eliminating the netherworld of crime and drugs, but regrettably it cannot ever so much as appoint a new police chief! IGP C. D. Wickramaratne retired after completing a service extension recently, but the govt has, in its wisdom, asked him to serve as the police chief for another three months. more..

Jul 12 (DN) Our preparations are high and my team is having good physical and mental fitness for the forthcoming Netball World Cup said National Netball Head coach Thilaka Jinadasa. We always focused on players mental fitness and mind set has to develop for any sport and famous Motivator Nalaka Hewa Madduma gave good support with lectures to motivate our team while strength and conditional training is done by me as a coach and finally we have to get team doctor service from more..

Jul 12 (FT) The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB), in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Embassy in Thailand, facilitated the visit of six Sri Lankan companies to ProPak Asia 2023. The six-member delegation, comprised of Graphic Systems Ltd, Wilkins Spence Packaging Lanka Ltd., Ceylon Biscuits Ltd., Overdime Exports Ltd, Bliss International Ltd, and The Auto Printer, participated in networking events and company visits parallel to the exhibition. more..

Jul 12 (ST) The CEB is seeking to waive off Rs 167.6mn incurred in just three years as expenditures for the defunct Lakvijaya coal power plant 300MW extension project. A fourth unit was never built in Norochcholai and the project management office was disbanded last year. The request to “write off the expenditures incurred and recorded in the books of accounts” is contained in a board paper that has not yet been approved. more..

Jul 12 (ST) Sri Lankan Pasindu Liyanaarachchi has been appointed as the Head Coach of the Maldives National Men’s Cricket team as well as its Under-19 team. A former alumni of D.S. Senanayake, Liyanaarachchi is an ICC Level III qualified coach, who has experience in coaching top school and club sides locally. Liyanaarachchi began his coaching career with Mahanama College as junior head coach, before moving to St. Joseph’s College in the same capacity. more..

Jul 12 (DM) The UK welcomed SL’s constructive engagement with the Universal Periodic Review process and the initial steps it has taken to make progress in some areas since its last review. In a statement, the UK said it welcomed SL’s support for the UK’s recommendation relating to concerns around land expropriation and restrictions in the north and east by govt departments. The UK also urges SL to reconsider its position on the UK’s other two recommendations relating to more..

Jul 12 (TM) The Police Department said that the Mullaitivu Magistrate has called all relevant institutions tomorrow to discuss future proceedings regarding the excavation of the Kokkuthoduvai mass grave in Mullaitivu. SSP Nihal Thalduwa said that while the excavation of the mass grave is currently halted under the orders of the Mullaitivu Magistrate, it will however be commenced soon after the discussions. more..

Jul 12 (FT) The Cabinet of Ministers approved engaging in discussions with Indonesia regarding the signing of a preferential trade agreement. Speaking at the post-Cabinet meeting media briefing Minister Bandula Gunawardena emphasised the significance of Indonesia as one of the largest economies in South East Asia. He highlighted that the discussions aim to provide preferential treatment to selected goods, facilitating increased export opportunities and competitive imports. more..

Jul 12 (EN) Sri Lanka must ensure adequate nutrition for all pregnant and breastfeeding women amid the ongoing financial crisis, Amnesty International said. In a research briefing titled Foregoing Meals to Make-Do on the impact of the crisis on access to nutrition for pregnant and breastfeeding women, Amnesty International has found that falling incomes, loss of livelihoods and inflation have reduced women’s purchasing power while govt-funded programmes aimed at more..