Jul 17 (DM) Govt has decided to conditionally lift the ban on five Islamic organisations out of 11 organisations which were banned following the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks on April 21, 2019. Former Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa issued a gazette notification in April 2021 banning these five organisations along with six others under the PTA. The ban on the five organisations is being lifted in line with recommendations by a committee comprising experts from investigative more..

Jul 17 (TM) More than 70% of the nearly 100,000 disputes referred to Mediation Boards between 01 January and 31 May this year (2023), have been resolved thus far, the Ministry of Justice said yesterday (16). It is understood that a majority of disputes referred for mediation are related to financial transactions between two parties. The Ministry's Media Secretary Sampath Deshapriya said that nearly 300,000 disputes are referred to Mediation Boards in a year. more..

Jul 17 (FT) Sri Lanka had verifiably met 33 of the trackable program commitments of the IMF program as at the end of June 2023 but had failed eight, according to the IMF Tracker, an online tool launched by Verité Research. Growing number of failed commitments, the number of unfulfilled commitments doubled from four (including one partially met) in May, to eight in June 2023. These include, obtaining Cabinet approval for more..

Jul 17 (FT) Prez Wickremesinghe has announced that his target has been to make SL a rich country by 2048. This goal has been specifically chosen from a sentimental point. That is, the year 2048 touches the hearts of Sri Lankans because it is the centenary of old Ceylon’s gaining independence from Britain. Consequently, Ceylon which was a prosperous country with an enormous promise in 1948 can at least after a century join the rich country club, and hence it is really a worthwhile goal to pursue. more..

Jul 17 (FT) SL is progressing on debt restructuring with foreign and domestic creditors. Restoring debt sustainability and fiscal surplus is key for SL to emerge from the economic crisis. In this context, it would be worth paying attention to public assets and its potential to mobilise additional revenues. Countries with a stronger govt net worth (assets less liabilities) experience shallower recessions and recover faster in the aftermath of economic downturns, according to IMF research. more..

Jul 17 (DM) Minister Keheliya Rambukwella has appointed a five-member committee headed by Prof. Chandima Jeewandara of the Uni of Sri J'pura to conduct a full investigation and report on the issues related to the health sector. Minister said that the Committee is also tasked with inquiring into the deaths in govt hospitals within the last few months. He said the committee comprises experts who have extensive knowledge and understanding of both medicine and nursing, as well as allergies. more..

Jul 17 (FT) The unique rooftop restaurant, bar and lounge Headquarters by W15 is now open at 464, T.B. Jayah Mawatha (Darley Road) Colombo 10. Located on the 9th floor of the iconic HQ Colombo building, this sophisticated and contemporary establishment transcends the traditional rooftop bar experience. It is a sanctuary that embraces the essence of island life, Colombo’s nightlife, while paying homage to the thrilling tapestry of SL’s dynamic street food culture. more..

Jul 17 (TM) Opposition and civil society representatives of the Constitutional Council (CC) had initially raised concerns over approving the three-month service extension granted to IGP Chandana Wickramaratne, but later approved it. Wickramaratne, whose initial service extension expired on 26 June, was granted another three-month service extension by the Prez on 9 July, and the same was approved by CC on 14 July. more..

Jul 17 (DM) SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam urged Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa to act maturely without being childish regarding the matters involving the Parliamentary Committee to probe reasons for the country's financial bankruptcy. He said the Speaker has appointed those who are committed to truth-seeking and have the potential to do so as the members of the committee. "If a select committee of this nature acts on political agendas, more..

Jul 17 (EN) Stocks closed up on sixteen month high on Monday after domestic bond restructuring assurances had been given on the state front and fears on investing in the banking sector diminished, sparking interest in the banking counters due to undervalued share price, an analyst said. ASPI edged up 1.61% or 147.09 points to 10,742.11, this is the highest the market has been since March 14 2022, while the most liquid index S&P SL20 was up 2.1% or 65.27 points to 3,172.04, more..

Jul 17 (TM) A patient who was admitted at the Anuradhapura base hospital has died, following the administration of an anesthesia drug, claims family members of the deceased. The daughter of the deceased, Nethu claims that her mother, aged 58 years, was physically well upon admission. "My mother had a lump in her armpit and after speaking to a doctor we had channelled privately, we admitted my mother to hospital more..

Jul 17 (DM) Party Leaders today approved a motion to appoint a select committee to ascertain whether the privileges of MPs have been violated by the actions of former members of the Election Commission and to make suitable recommendations. The Parliament media unit, which quoted Secretary General Kushani Rohanadeera said party leaders approved the motion when they met Speaker Mahinda Yapa at the chair. It has also been decided to have a debate more..

Jul 17 (AD) Minister Susil Premajayantha says that measures will be taken to provide opportunity for the students to follow a vocational training course within their respective schools itself during a period of around three months after the completion of the O/L exam until the results are received. He emphasized that the students can acquire certain skills and knowledge for their future professional life through this programme, even if they will not continue studies for A/L exam. more..

Jul 17 (PHC) PM Shehbaz Sharif telephoned Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday and discussed with him matters relating to the current economic situation of both the countries. He thanked the Sri Lankan president for supporting Pakistan with regard to the country’s agreement with the IMF. “You have played role of a true friend and a well wisher of Pakistan, and I thank you on behalf of the people of my country,” the prime minister told the Lankan president. more..

Jul 17 (Island) The JVP-led NPP says the govt is planning to introduce a 12-hour workday. JVP propaganda secretary and NPP MP Vijitha Herath, said that the govt was trying to deprive the workers of their legitimate rights by abolishing labour laws at the behest of the IMF. MP Herath said the govt was planning to abolish 13 Acts including the Shop and Office Employees Act and the Wages Boards Ordinance. “The Shop and Office Employees Act ensured the rights of working women. more..

Jul 17 (Island) Sri Lanka has lost about 947,370 hectares of forest between 1960 and 2010, Sajeewa Chamikara of the Movement for Land and Agricultural Reform (MONLAR) says. The last survey on forests was carried out in 2010 by the Forest Conservation Department. By 2010 the forest cover had shrunk to 29.7% or 1, 951, 472 hectares. Between 1992 and 2010, Sri Lanka lost 16, 922 hectares of forests in the wet-zone. more..

Jul 17 (DM) Three Fundamental Rights petitions filed by three protesters against the alleged violation of their Fundamental Rights during a protest held near former Prez Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’s residence in Mirihana on March 31, 2022, was dismissed today by the Supreme Court. These petitions had been filed by three protestors alleging that they were tortured and illegally arrested during the Mirihana incident on 31 March 2022. Mirihana incident was the initial protest of the Aragalaya movement more..

Jul 17 (CT) Brandix was felicitated once again as Sri Lanka’s largest corporate blood donor by the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS), for the 11th consecutive year. Last year, Brandix staff from all over Sri Lanka donated over 5,700 pints of blood – the gift of life – to the NBTS, bringing its total contribution up to 42,041 pints since 2011. One in every 100 blood donors in Sri Lanka is part of the Brandix family. During an event at the NBTS in Colombo, more..

Jul 17 (CI) A see-sawing day ended with Pakistan wresting back the momentum from Sri Lanka thanks to a counter-attacking partnership between Saud Shakeel and Agha Salman. Half-centuries for the two in an unbeaten stand of 120 means Pakistan are now just 91 runs behind SL's first-innings total of 312, and might well have made a deeper dent into that deficit if monsoon rains hadn't brought the day to a premature close. more..

Jul 17 (CT) Plans are afoot to move a motion requesting a Parliamentary Special Committee be appointed to ascertain whether the privileges of MPs have been violated by the activities of the former members of the Election Commission and to make suitable recommendations. A decision will be taken by the Committee on Parliamentary Business chaired by Speaker today. Proposal submitted by 14 MPs including MP Sampath Athukorala has been included in supplements of the Order Book more..

Jul 17 (HM) The global garment industry is no stranger to scandal – the 2013 Rana Plaza building collapse in Savar, Bangladesh, is perhaps the most obvious and egregious example. Two decades earlier, reports of child labour and other abuses brought widespread condemnation of sweatshop conditions in factories, located primarily in the Global South, producing cheap clothing for markets in Europe and North America. At the time, consumers as well as labour advocates mobilised more..

Jul 17 (TM) The National Dangerous Drug Control Board (NDDCB) said that the board cannot take any legal action against unregistered rehabilitation centres since the institution is not mandated to do so by the laws under which it was established. Last week, officers of Dehiwala police have arrested a pastor and another person who ran a rehabilitation centre for drug addicts which was not registered with the Drug Control Board, on Mallawatta Road in Dehiwala. more..

Jul 17 (PTI) Daily commercial flights between Chennai and Sri Lanka's Jaffna city have commenced with India's Alliance Air increasing the frequency from the earlier four-times-a-week service, a move that is set to further boost travel and trade between the two countries. The move to increase the frequency of flights between Chennai and the Tamil-dominated Jaffna city was announced earlier this month by Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia during the TAAI. more..

Jul 17 (Island) One of the main reasons for the sorry state of affairs in the health sector is corruption and the Health Minister must show his sincerity by sacking senior officials who are facing serious allegations, Dr. Haritha Aluthge, Secretary of the GMOA said. He added that health officials had ignored the repeated warnings of professional organisations, and there were allegations that they subjugated the interests of the public to more..

Jul 17 (EN) Including Sri Lanka primary dealers and individuals who already pay a higher rate of tax would have made a domestic debt exchange complex without making a material contribution to effort, Nandalal Weerasinghe has said. The equity or fairness issue was measured by the contribution made to the govt. In Sri Lanka, pension funds were taxed at 14 percent, private corporations around 30 and the individual marginal tax rate was at 36%. “The contribution can be made by taxes or more..

Jul 17 (TM) Executive Committee of the Bar Association of SL (BASL) is to discuss an allegation levelled by SL Buddhist Lawyers' Association (SLBLA) against it with regard to the selective issuance of statements. SLBLA President, Uditha Egalahewa, claimed that although it agrees with the sentiments expressed by the BASL to uphold the rule of law and to safeguard the independence of the judiciary, it strongly condemns the partisan and selective approach displayed by the BASL more..

Jul 17 (SCMP) President Ranil Wickremesinghe must be careful to protect Sri Lanka’s security interests in talks with India, experts have warned, as an ongoing debt-restructuring programme casts a new complexion on his first official visit to New Delhi. Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Ali Sabry last week said officials would discuss renewable energy projects, a potential oil refinery, an energy hub and a port in eastern Trincomalee, more..

Jul 17 (EN) Agricultural Minister criticized the move by environmental groups to stop proposed monkey business with a Chinese firm through a court order and demanded the same groups to find a solution for crop damage by the animal. Sri Lanka made global headlines when Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said he was in discussion with a Chinese firm to export 100,000 monkeys for some zoos in China. Thirty petitioners including some environmental organizations filed action more..

Jul 17 (DM) SL Paralympian Dinesh Priyantha won a bronze medal in the F46 Javelin Throw at the World Para Athletic Championship in Paris, France today. He threw a distance of 65.38 metres to be placed third. India's Ajeet Singh (65.41) and Rinku (65.38) won the gold and silver medal respectively. This is the second medal for SL in this competition. Samitha Dulan won a bronze medal earlier in the F64 Javelin throw event. Priyantha has won the most number of medals for SL in World Para Athletics, more..

Jul 18 (DM) Sri Lanka has witnessed many political insurrections, a 30-year ethnic conflict, and class struggles up until the most recent people’s resistance (Aragalaya). In each of these uprisings, the oppressed communities sought justice. Or equality, in other words. Against this backdrop, it is quite apt to remember Nelson Mandela, an individual who was determined to end the apartheid era and bring about a multiracial democracy. In appreciation of his one-man fight and legacy, more..

Jul 18 (DM) The month of July has had an uncanny relationship with landmark events in recent Sri Lanka history. The latest took place only last year. A cataclysmic mass movement (Aragalaya) resulted in an elected Prez fleeing the country and being replaced in an unprecedented manner by one whose party had been comprehensively defeated in the preceding parliamentary elections. However, the truly epoch-making series of events took place way back in July 1983. more..

Jul 18 (TM) Target 5.4 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) calls upon nations to recognise and value unpaid care and domestic work, which most often is deemed women’s work. Globally, 75% of unpaid care work is done by women. According to the IPS, women devote one to three more hours each day for housework than men and two to 10 times the amount of time a day to care. In June 2023, Women and Media Collective more..

Jul 18 (CT) SL has faced recurring economic crises since gaining independence, including the current crisis that has left the country bankrupt. Pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian war exacerbated the situation, along with misguided govt policies in agriculture, industry, taxation, and other sectors. Pandemic caused a downturn in the economy, that is heavily reliant on foreign remittances, tourism, and exports. The global debt-to-GDP ratio increased, affecting even major economies more..

Jul 18 (TM) Tamil people in the plantation sector, both in India and Sri Lanka, have demanded an international intervention into their miseries, socio-economic backwardness, the division of families and the loss of lives and property for over decades at a meeting in Tiruchirappalli (Trichy), Tamil Nadu. A resolution to this effect seeks to take India, Sri Lanka, and UK to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to seek redressal for the gross violation of human rights for two centuries. more..

Jul 18 (TM) In SL, among the many commercial industries which use native spices as raw materials, the food and perfumery industries related to cinnamon products are of significance as Sri Lanka provides around 80% of the world’s commercially-utilised cinnamon. That said, any chemical component ingested or exposed to humans exceeding the recommended levels, may lead to harmful health effects. more..

Jul 18 (TM) The recent news about the raid of an unregistered drug rehabilitation centre in Dehiwala, which, as the media showed, lacked not only permission but also an adequately livable environment for service seekers, has received mixed responses from the public. While some think that the existence of private rehabilitation centres is crucial to support drug addicts and that their legal status is immaterial to provide such services, some are concerned about the standards, more..