May 30 (FT) Tourism Minister Harin Fernando said that the much-awaited 10-year National Tourism Policy is being finalised and will be unveiled during the first second of the year. “It is being reviewed by various experts and committees. Thereafter, we will submit a Cabinet paper for approval for immediate implementation. This will help the industry have a clear vision of the industry objectives and goals,” he said. The 10-year National Tourism Policy comprises a comprehensive strategy covering more..

May30 (Island) Fast bowler Dushmanta Chameera returns to the side after a seven month layoff having undergone ankle surgery as the selectors picked a balanced squad for the three-match series against Afghanistan starting later this week at Suriyawewa. Although Chameera has been named in the squad, there was no place for top order batsman Kusal Janith Perera, who had returned to 20 side in NZ two months ago. KJP on that occasion had only been picked for T-20s & there are question marks more..

May 30 (DN) All rounder Janith Liyanage made a fine unbeaten 57 with six fours and a six as SL A came up with a good team effort to beat Afghanistan by 46 runs in their warm up cricket game played at CCC grounds on Sunday. SL A team led by Sadeera Samarawickrama scored 267 for 8 wickets in 50 overs while Afghanistan were bowled out for 221 for 46.2 overs. The opener Lasith Croosepulle (32), Niupn Dhananjaya (31), Lahiru Udara (21), Ashen Bandara (37) and Dunith Wellalage (25) more..

May30 (ST) SL ‘A’ team coach Avishka Gunawardena says the forthcoming series against South African ‘A’ side will provide the fringe players with an opportunity to join the national squad as selectors are to finalise the squad for next month’s World Cup qualifiers. SL is among 10 countries battling out grab the two remaining spots to join the main draw of the 50-over World Cup. “Players’ performances will be keenly observed during ODI series, more..

May 30 (FT) Speaking in Parliament last week, SJB MP Dr. Harsha de Silva called for a mindset change in the house and urged greater trade integration for debt sustainability. His comments came soon after a speech by President Ranil Wickremesinghe at the Nikkei Asia Forum in Tokyo on Friday. De Silva emphasised the need for Parliament to move beyond petty politics, and called on all MPs to unite in determining the future of the country, raising three key points. more..

May 30 (Island) Sprinter Yupun Abeykoon who suffered an injury during last week’s 100 metres final of the Savona International Meet will stay away from competitions for few weeks. “After the MRI test which I took after my race in Savona, it is unfortunate that I have to inform you all that due to a minor hamstring injury I have to stay away from competitions for a few weeks due to medical advice given by experts,” said the Italy based sprinter in a statement yesterday. more..

May 30 (EN) Sri Lanka’s recent appreciation is starting to squeeze apparel exporters as their domestic costs including wages and energy, were hiked over recent months, when the rupee fell steeply, an industry official said. Companies had raised salaries and emoluments at rates averaging 25% for workers while transport costs have also gone up but not has come down, Yohan Lawrence Director General of JAAF said. more..

May 30 (Island) Havelock City Mall, the newest and most vibrant retail haven in SL, opens its doors in Aug 2023. The release adds: ‘Nestled at the gateway of Havelock City, the largest and most innovative integrated mixed-use project in SL, Havelock City Mall is developed by Overseas Realty (Ceylon) PLC the owner, manager, and developer of the iconic World Trade Center. ‘Spanning over 200,000 square feet, Havelock City Mall is a retail paradise, housing six premier anchor tenants more..

May 30 (TM) State Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said that a Cabinet paper will be submitted this week, seeking the Cabinet approval to resume the interest-free loan scheme given by the Govt for those who wish to study in private universities. He said that 5,000 students who are not eligible to enter State universities will be benefited by this loan scheme. Siyambalapitiya also said that an interest-free loan amounting to Rs. 900,000 will be available for studies under this loan scheme. more..

May 30 (TM) Sri Lanka’s rising technology companies might avoid listing themselves on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) once they are fully established, moving to advanced markets, Serial Entrepreneur Jeevan Gnanam said. The Co-Founder of Hatch said that the future of Sri Lanka is tech companies and that the true global tech companies that might come out of Sri Lanka will probably move to advanced markets where there is more capital available than the CSE. more..

May 30 (FT) TPA Leader Mano Ganesan, taking to Twitter called for the laws relating to hate speech to be applied equally to Buddhist clergy as it is applied to civilians and those of other religious faiths. Directing his tweet at Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and NPP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Ganesan expressed his concerns about the selective application of the law. MP demanded that Buddhist clergy and certain activists must be stopped more..

May 30 (FT) State Minister Dilum Amunugama on Friday revealed that $ 604 million worth of projects had been processed by the BoI as the country aims for a $ 2 billion full year target. He said the BOI has got investment commitment of $ 604 million in the first five months of 2023, with 22 new projects and six expansions. State Minister asserted that there is an appetite for foreign direct investments (FDIs) as the country has gotten more..

May 30 (EN) Paper marking of GCE A/L exam has been delayed again as teachers withdrew from duties after govt failed to pay the promised allowances, All Ceylon Teachers Union said. Teachers were promised an allowance of 15,000 rupees, however, the Union complained that only 10,000 rupee was given by the govt for the teachers who have been involved in paper correction in over 30 centers across the country. “As many teachers are stationed in exam centres away from their more..

May 30 (DM) Three veterinarians, a mahout, two assistants and a specially-built cage will be flown to Sri Lanka on a chartered flight on July 1st to bring Saksurin, an ailing and aging Thai elephant, back home after about 21 years abroad. According to Sittidet Mahasawangkul, a veterinary expert with Thailand’s Forest Industry Organisation, the mahout, Thongsuk Malingam, will be flown to Sri Lanka to train the elephant on how to enter and exit the cage and to become familiar with it more..

May 30 (Island) Police are trying to trace the whereabouts of a private security guard of former President Maithripala Sirisena’s brother, Chaminda Sirisena, for fleeing with a ring worth over Rs 10 million, US$ 5,000 and Rs 100,000. Polonnaruwa SSP LHM de Silva said that a special police team had been dispatched to arrest the suspect. He said that the former Prez’s brother had lodged a complaint that some valuables had gone missing with the decamping of the security guard. more..

May 30 (TM) SL’s automation industry joining the global manufacturing value chain is not feasible due to the brain drain in the country as a result of the unprecedented economic crisis, an industry expert said. Fine Finish Engineering CEO Dr. G.B. Hewawasam stated: “One might think that with brain drain, automation might be a solution. But with the Govt (of SL) encouraging people to migrate to another country and bring dollars back, the skilled labour departs to another country. more..

May 30 (TM) Despite Parliamentary party leaders deciding to call on all MPs to make an official request to MNA Puttalam District MP Ali Sabri Raheem, who had smuggled a consignment of gold and mobile phones into the country, to relinquish his seat in Parliament, the latter is not willing to step down as an MP. SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam said that Parliamentary party leaders had, more..

May 30 (CI) At 1:35 am on the third day of a T20 match, Chennai Super Kings emerged as the new IPL champions, winning their fifth title to draw level with Mumbai Indians. Ravindra Jadeja pierced the silence built by tens of thousands of people when he hit the final two balls of an incredible, chaotic, unbelievable chase for boundaries. One straight in front of him. The other behind. An equation of 171 off 15 overs reduced to 13 off one. Mohit Sharma made it even tougher - 10 off 2. more..

May 30 (TM) President Ranil Wickremesinghe had called the Cabinet of Ministers and District Leaders of the ruling SLPP for a special discussion, during which the appointment of a few new Cabinet and State Ministers was scheduled to be discussed. Prez had called PM Dinesh Gunawardena, the Cabinet, a select number of State Ministers, former Cabinet and State Ministers who are SLPP’s District Leaders, and representatives of the UNP for a discussion at the Prez Secretariat at 5 p.m. yesterday. more..

May 30 (FT) In a significant move aimed at preserving the nation’s religious harmony Prez Wickremesinghe instructed the Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles, to immediately establish a dedicated police unit to take action against those threatening the peaceful coexistence among communities in the country. It is reported the swift decision comes after the Prez was briefed about an organised attempt by certain groups more..

May 31 (DM) In the run up to what is now referred to as Black July the media was one of the culprits in propagating hate speech, often quoting person of the cloth who roused racism. In the end those acts of violence led to a near 30-year ethnic war which resulted in thousands of deaths of innocent Tamil civilians, attacks homes and businesses owned by them and the creation of hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing from Lanka to various parts of the world. more..

May 31 (DM) Two SL economists, Gayasha Samarakoon and Muttukrishna Sarvananthan say that a road and rail bridge across the Palk Strait will bring down the transport cost in India-SL trade by 50%. Making a strong pitch for the revival of a 2002 Indo-SL plan to build a road and rail bridge across the Palk Strait, the economists say that it will boost trade, investment and economic development in both countries. In their paper entitled: Economic rationale for the proposed bridge between more..

May 31 (TM) In the context of the spread of rabies, carrying out a survey to estimate dog population density within Colombo district is needed while the sterilisation of dogs, which is usually carried out in collaboration with Public Health Veterinary Service (PHVS), should be expedited. These recommendations were made in a brief report on Laboratory confirmed three rabid spotted deer in the Colombo suburbs: Does it ring alarms, more..

May 31 (CT) The responsibility of Children’s homes in ensuring the well-being of children is one that should not be taken lightly. Children’s homes are essentially institutions that provide housing, care, and support for children who are unable to live with their biological families for various reasons. They are vested with the responsibility to provide a stable and nurturing environment for children who have been separated from their families. However, SL Children’s homes have been faced with more..

May 31 (TM) In light of media reports on several incidents in which children were victims and sometimes perpetrators of various offences during the past few months, the political authority is contemplating meeting with the media to discuss how these incidents should be reported. As per the reports, media institutions are slated to be summoned to the Parliamentary Caucus for Children in order to discuss the prevention of child victimisation, which takes place owing to more..

May 31 (DM) *Shiva has been collecting parking tickets at the Galle Face Green for the past five years. His job is to earn Rs. 2000 during week days and Rs. 7000 during weekends to be remitted to his company. But the uncertainty of his job is such that he would either earn more or less, depending on the crowd and the vehicles parked. For him, his daily earnings would either be a profit or a loss. But this is his only mode of more..

May 31 (Island) Rajapaksa-Wickremesinghe govt is in overdrive purportedly to protect Buddhism and preserve religious harmony. A comedienne has been arrested and remanded for making some derogatory utterances about Prince Siddhartha, and an unruly Buddhist monk notorious for spewing out streams of profanities via social media has been similarly dealt with for propagating incendiary messages and promoting religious disharmony. A controversial pastor, who is currently overseas, more..

May 31 (CT) Recently the Canadian Parliament passed a resolution to commemorate in May every year as Tamil Genocide week. This provoked widespread condemnation from Sinhalese across party divide both in SL and abroad. Tamils across the world welcomed it, and strangely one Muslim group in UK handed over a petition to the govt endorsing genocide of Tamils. Several govts in the west are likely to follow, causing embarrassment to SL govt and its fellow travellers. more..

May 31 (ST) They call Sri Lanka a country like no other not without cause. But it is not for the reasons that tourism blurb writers first created it. Recent events in this unique country have fortified the sobriquet first used to attract tourists from wherever. Now they come in their hordes to personally verify that there is indeed no other country like this. Where would you find a nation-state where its leaders and their political acolytes pray for the wellbeing of the country at night and prey on it more..

May 31 (Island) The following is a public proposal respectfully offered for what it is worth by a senior Sri Lankan to the Most Venerable Mahanayake Theras of all Nikayas on behalf of all Sri Lankans of like mind: I believe that the Mahananayke Theras have been alive to the events of the past few weeks that bear upon the survival of the 2,270-year-old Buddha Sasana in our country. The facts are obvious for all to see; so, they need no explicit elaboration. more..

May 31 (TM) SLC released a 16-member squad for the upcoming ODI series against Afghanistan which is scheduled to begin this Friday. As the Cricket World Cup Qualifiers are looming close, Sri Lanka is set to face the Afghans who are touring for the second time in the last 12 months. 3-match ODI series will be the final bilateral series before the Lions take flight to Zimbabwe with their pride on the line. more..

May 31 (FT) Ven Ajahn Brahmavamso Mahathera on Monday expressed confidence in SL’s capacity for economic resurgence and urged Lankans to re-think migration on account of the economic crisis. “This is your country. It is home. It is a wonderful place that I have come to consider as a home too. There is much that could be done with the resources in SL to innovate and create entrepreneurship and new businesses,” Ven. Ajahn Brahm told a group of business community members and more..

May 31 (FT) Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Bandula Gunawardena said yesterday that the Finance Ministry will inform its strategy for debt restructuring framework and plans to increase the Govt debt ceiling in the coming weeks. “Sri Lanka can no longer raise money by borrowing from the international markets or by printing. Thus, the Treasury will announce its new strategy to run the Govt activities smoothly,” he said at the post-Cabinet meeting media briefing yesterday. more..

May 31 (TM) The spreading of non-communicable diseases in society is much higher, and people, especially parents should be very careful when giving cheaper foods to their children, such as an array of soft drinks sold in the market, as they contain excessive sugar, salt and fat, Health Ministry's Nutrition Division Director and specialist Dr. Lakmini Magodarathne said. Addressing the media, she said the nutritional level of these cheap foods and drinks is not optimal. more..

May 31 (PMD) A meeting took place at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday between Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe and representatives from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The primary focus of the discussion was the digitization of data in SL’s agricultural sector. Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe emphasized the importance of continuing the govt’s efforts to modernize the agricultural sector, improve nutrition, address climate change, and enhance financial security. more..