Jul 14 (EN) Sri Lanka has invited the UK’s former Paymaster General Francis Maude, who oversaw the creation of the Govt Digital Service in 2011, to visit the country and share his insights on digitalisation with a view to boosting state revenue. Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe told officials at a committee meeting on Wednesday that SL’s new revenue generation strategies draw inspiration from the UK, whose own methods have been greatly refined and improved over time. more..

Jul 14 (AD) Court of Appeal on Friday issued an interim order against the Sports Minister’s gazette notification suspending the activities of Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) and its chairman Rizly Illyas. The interim order, issued by the Appeals Court President Nissanka Karunaratne and Justice A. Marikkar, thereby prevents the implementation of the said gazette notification. A writ application filed by the chairman of the country’s rugby governing body was taken up before the Appeals Court bench more..

Jul 14 (TM) The main reason that has contributed to the failure of primary education in SL has been the recruitment of untrained teachers to the primary grades, said Minister of Education Susil Premajayantha. He pointed out that the goals of primary education cannot be achieved through the recruitment of untrained teachers to the primary classes and that it should be done by well-trained teachers since primary education plays more..

Jul 14 (DM) People who seek treatment from government hospitals have become laboratory rats due to the import of inferior quality drugs under emergency purchases, NFF Leader Wimal Weerawansa said. He said that the Health Ministry had purchased drugs from India under emergency purchases without checking the quality of the drugs. "The Health Ministry had purchased drugs from India without doing any quality checks under emergency purchases. more..

Jul 14 (TM) In view of the potential resignation of all Opposition Parliamentarians from the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) that was appointed to look into the causes of economic bankruptcy in the country, Speaker of the Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana is to consider appointing new members or appointing a PSC anew. The PSC, of which the majority members are those representing the ruling SLPP, was appointed by Abeywardana to look into the causes of economic bankruptcy more..

Jul 14 (TM) Ministry of Agriculture has decided to cancel the licences of traders who refuse to buy vegetables and fruits from farmers who bring their produce to dedicated economic centres islandwide as well as those who have transferred their stalls to other interested parties. An official of the Ministry said that farmers from several areas had complained to Minister Mahinda Amaraweera that certain traders from economic centres refuse to directly purchase their vegetables and fruits. more..

Jul 14 (Dawn) Pakistan’s favourable draw in the previous World Test Championship cycle had even the most pessimistic supporters pandering to the possibility of the men in green qualifying for the final. Babar’s boys were pencilled in to face a perceivably weaker opposition away from home, in Sri Lanka, the West Indies, and Bangladesh, whereas they were scheduled to host three major SENA countries in Australia, England, and New Zealand, in what was billed to be a marquee home season more..

Jul 14 (Island) Committee on Public Finance (COPF) had not received the data that the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance had when it discussed the resolution on domestic debt restructuring, SJB MP Harsha de Silva said. “We held discussions with officials of the Central Bank, the Ministry of Finance, and other stakeholders for two days based on the data available to us. more..

Jul 14 (DM) Asia Rugby today announced that it has upheld its suspension of Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) Prez Rizly Illyas, after his appeal was dismissed by an AR Appeal Panel. "Asia Rugby led by its principles of Transparency and Accountability appointed an Appeal Panel in March 2023 to address the appeal of Mr. Mohamed Rizly Illyas, the Prez of the suspended SLR union," an AR release read. "Mr. Illyas was found guilty on charges of breaching Asia Rugby’s Code of Conduct by more..

Jul 14 (TM) Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) said that it has changed its earlier decision of writing to Indian PM Narendra Modi and his Govt on the eve of Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe’s prospective visit to New Delhi next week. Earlier, TPA, along with several other Tamil political groups who support them, was to write to Modi about the issues faced by the Tamil community in SL, with the intention of pressurising the incumbent SL Govt to provide them with fruitful solutions for those issues. more..

Jul 14 (Island) The Govt Medical Officers’ Forum (GMOF) yesterday (13) pointed out that India couldn’t absolve itself of the responsibility for the alleged supply of low quality Indian medicines to Sri Lanka under the USD 1 bn credit line opened over a year ago. GMOF President Dr. Rukshan Bellana said so, referring to the third death due to low quality drugs reported on Wednesday (12) from the Peradeniya Teaching Hospital. more..

Jul 14 (TM) Against the backdrop of Opposition groups in the Parliament accusing the ruling SLPP of attempting to prevent the passage of the proposed Anti-Corruption Bill (ACB) in the Parliament, the SLPP stated that they are not opposed to the entire Bill, but to several clauses in it that could be used to suppress political opponents. The second reading of the said Bill was passed unanimously in the Parliament on 6 July, while the Committee stage was however postponed more..

Jul 14 (Island) SLPP MP and retired Rear Admiral and Sarath Weerasekera, replying to a Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) statement published in The Island on 12 July, yesterday rejected the allegation that his speech in Parliament on 07 July was a brazen attack on the judiciary. Weerasekera’s response: “I think your press release was to show your solidarity with the lawyers in Mulativu without probing the relevant incident at Kurundi Buddhist Temple Complex. more..

Jul 15 (CT) In a historical judgment issued by the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, former President Maithripala Sirisena, and four other former officials along with the State were held accountable for failing to prevent the tragedy of the bombings that took place in April 2019, despite receiving intelligence ahead of the attack. The result was a horrendous attack that shook the very country to its core, claiming the lives of 269 people, and injuring over 500. more..

Jul 15 (GV) It is tragic fact that Sri Lanka is a mentally ill nation. Despite its stunning physical beauty, delicious food and rich history, the country has unaddressed trauma leading to violence, aggression, child abuse, sexual violence, domestic violence, suicide and substance abuse. From ethnic violence beginning in the 1950s to the two JVP uprisings, the tsunami and the 26 year war, people of this country have witnessed unimaginable acts of brutality and horror. more..

Jul 15 (CT) President Ranil Wickremesinghe will celebrate his first anniversary in office on Thursday, 20 July. On the very day of the anniversary, Wickremesinghe is scheduled to undertake an official visit to India. Prez had apparently instructed his officials not to stage any official events or functions at the expense of the public to mark the completion of the first year of his appointment to office. more..

Jul 15 (CT) We the undersigned organisations are writing to express our deep concern about the Government’s proposal to establish the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC). While we do believe that truth seeking is an important part of addressing past violations and suffering endured by communities, especially in the areas of the country most affected by the war, we are unable to support this proposed mechanism for the following reasons. more..

Jul 15 (ST) As SL’s debt restructuring attempt has now approached from the foreign debt to domestic debt, our discussions over it have got intensified too. Many seem to have felt earlier that as long as it is foreign, it is beyond our worries. Nevertheless, we were in panic mode in the last couple of days, only when it reached our doorstep targeting domestic debt restructuring. The bottom line is that whether it is foreign or domestic, we have borrowed beyond our capacity and, more..

Jul 15 (TM) As India’s Adani Group awaits the green light for the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the proposed wind farm in Mannar, residents remain concerned that the region’s delicate environment would be affected due to development and encroachment. Adani Green Energy received approval last year to construct two wind farms in order to generate 500 MW of power in the North, specifically Pooneryn & Mannar. more..

Jul 15 (FT) The economic model that was put in place with vengeance by the then President JR in 1978, and which crashed and made the economy bankrupt after nearly four decades, is the same one that his nephew and prez Ranil Wickremesinghe (RW) and his SLPP partners are trying to resurrect with IMF assistance. RW had already stated in no uncertain terms that he would transform Sri Lanka into a high-tech and renewable energy powered competitive free market wonder and more..

Jul 15 (Island) Opposition is reportedly planning to move a motion of no confidence against Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella for the procurement of, inter alia, substandard drugs, which have already caused several deaths and visual impairment in a number of patients, in some state-run hospitals. Most of the drugs imported from foreign companies that are not registered with the National Medicines Regulatory Authority have been found to be of low quality, according to media reports. more..

Jul 15 (DM) Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa known as Gotabaya or Gota Rajapaksa made a glorious entry to the pinnacle of political power through a grand victory at the presidential election held on 16 Nov 2019. The former military officer and ex-secretary of defence who polled 6,924,255 votes (52.25) at the hustings was sworn in as President at the historic Ruwanweli Seya in Anuradhapura on 18 November 2019. Thirty-two (32) months later Prez Rajapaksa made an inglorious exit more..

Jul 15 (DM) Just a few years ago, the health service in our country was among the best in the world. Our country provided free medical examination, hospitalisation, and medicines, not only to all of our citizens but even to foreign visitors irrespective of their wealth or social standing. Medicines provided were of high quality. Financial crisis of yesteryear has changed all of that. Over the past month or more there have been serious charges of substandard drugs causing ill effects to patients. more..

Jul 15 (FT) Sinopec Energy Lanka Ltd., yesterday signed an agreement with the Board of Investment (BOI) for a $ 100 million investment in the import, storage, and sale of petroleum in Sri Lanka. As part of this endeavour, Sinopec will have a total of 200 fuel stations countrywide, by assuming the control of 150 privately-owned fuel outlets currently operated by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), and by additional 50 new filling stations. more..

Jul 15 (PMD) The aim of the govt is to create a critical Sri Lankan who is a global citizen to find out answers to modern and futuristic problems, State Minister of Higher Education Dr. Suren Raghavan said. “Internationalization of our higher education is a number one priority we have. We want to infuse the international standards to our universities so by at least 2030 SL universities will be respected universities in the region, if not in the world.” he said. Govt would facilitate overseas SL scholars more..

Jul 15 (FT) Colombo stock market’s benchmark ASPI crossed the 10,500-points level for the first time in over a year as it ended the week with a 3% gain fuelled by rebound in investor sentiments. ASPI gained by 103.5 points or 1% to close at 10,595 points. S&P SL20 rose by 1.6%. This was an improvement compared with mixed performance on Thursday. For the week both indices gained by 2.8%. Turnover averaged Rs. 3.1 billion down from Rs. 4.6 billion in the previous week. more..

Jul 15 (FT) Cinnamon Air, has announced the launch of scheduled flights to Jaffna, providing travellers with easy access transport to the most popular city in the northern region of the island along with an exceptional travel experience. It operates weekly departures from BIA and Sigiriya Airport to Jaffna International Airport every Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. At the same time, Cinnamon Air will resume daily scheduled flights to Trincomalee and Batticaloa from BIA. more..

Jul 15 (DM) Govt intends to allocate money in the next year’s budget for the relocation of the President’s House, Temple Trees, the PM’s office and the Presidential Secretariat to Sri J'pura Kotte so that these buildings can be developed for tourism as Colombo Heritage Square, Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said. He said a plan is now being worked out for the relocation of them. “The govt intends to allocate money for the whole purpose in the budget. UDA is carrying out work in this regard,” more..

Jul 15 (CB) When SL skipper Dimuth Karunaratne will walk out with his Pakistan counterpart Babar Azam to complete the formalities of the toss for the opening Test at Galle on July 16, it will be fifth Test for SL in 2023. Islanders will play one more Test against Pakistan and following that game will be without red-ball cricket for the remainder of the year. This year Australia has already played nine Test matches while more..

Jul 15 (FT) Minister Manusha Nanayakkara in Jaffna called for people of north and south to unite to rebuild SL. “Govt is working hard to rebuild the fallen country while treating all equally regardless of caste, religion, colour and party, and stressed that the people of both North and South should unite and support this effort irrespective of differences,” Nanayakkara said after inspecting the preparations for Glocal Fair 2023 organised by the Ministry at the Muttraveli Stadium more..

Jul 15 (ST) Amidst attempts to go ahead with renovation work on a Portuguese-built church in Mannar despite an interim order issued earlierlast month, the Court of Appeal has instructed the Registrar to redirect the notices prohibiting the demolition of any part of the structure until a final determination is made on the archaeological importance of the shrine. Three parishioners from St. Mary’s Church, situated in Arippu of Chilawathurai in Mannar, Arulappu Sellaiya Loorththamma, more..

Jul 15 (TM) As the cost of living in Sri Lanka rapidly increases, the student population in the State university sector is faced with multiple challenges in reading for their degrees. With the Govt having failed to pay student scholarship allowances through the Mahapola Trust Fund since April, more and more university students appear to be seeking part-time employment to cover expenses. more..

Jul 15 (FT) State Minister of Technology Kanaka Herath this week said the Govt is to accelerate SL’s economy towards an inclusive digital economy by leveraging advanced technology-based solutions. A key thrust of this initiative is DIGIECON 2030 program encompassing a digital master plan and regulatory policy framework, along with a series of annual events which will give direction and a gesture of the commitment of the Govt towards facilitating a digital ecosystem, he further said. more..

Jul 15 (DM) Police personnel were stationed near panel boards at Kelani Bridge and highways after a string of thefts that took place recently incurring a loss of Rs 275 million, Director General of the RDA L.V.S. Weerakoon said. This was revealed in a news briefing held today (14) where he said the losses caused due to the removal of such accessories on the New Kelani Bridge, Katunayake, Central and Southern expressways had been estimated at a sum of approximately Rs. 275 million. more..

Jul 15 (FT) A large group of Chinese entrepreneurs called on PM Dinesh Gunawardena to discuss possible investments in many spheres. PM said there is vast potential for investments in many fields including tourism and hospitality industry, gem and jewellery, agriculture, medicine, food processing, renewable energy and entertainment industry. Daguowen Culture Co, Chairman Zhang Qihua said he is dealing with international cultural exchange, global sustainable development promotion more..