Jul 21 (EN) Saman Ekanayake has been appointed Secretary to the President of SL, the president’s office said shortly after Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the country’s eighth executive president. Ekanayake was Secretary to the PM since his appointment on May 12 following Wickremesinghe’s appointment as PM after the resignation of ex-PM Mahinda Rajapaksa. He had served as Secretary to the Prime Minister three times before under the tenure of Wickremesinghe from 2015 to 2019. more..

Jul 21 (AD) Ranil Wickremesinghe took oaths as the 8th Executive President of SL a short while ago. He was sworn in before Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya at the parliament complex. SL’s 225-member parliament voted Wickremesinghe in as the new Head of State with a total of 134 votes cast in his favour. He faced off SLPP’s dissident MP Dullas Alahapperuma who was polled second with 82 votes. NPP leader MP Anura Kumara Dissanayaka secured only 03 votes. more..

Jul 21 (SLE) Ambassador Mahinda Samarasinghe met with the Chief of World Food Programme (WFP), Executive Director David Beasley, on 20th July in Washington D.C. to discuss his forthcoming visit to SL at the invitation of Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe. Ambassador Samarasinghe briefed Mr. Beasley on the election of Prez Wickremesinghe on 20th July in the Parliament by an overwhelming majority and reiterated Prez Wickramesinghe’s intention to closely work with the WFP in addressing food security-related issues more..

Jul 21 (AD) Secretary-General of Parliament Dhammika Dasanayake has informed Chairman of the Election Commission Nimal Punchihewa in writing that a vacancy has emerged after Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the Presz of SL. Prez Wickremesinghe took oaths before Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya at the parliamentary complex this morning. Prez Wickremesinghe has informed in writing that since he assumed duties as the Head of State, resignation will be effective from today, Secretary-General added. more..

Jul 21 (EN) The US and UN have recognised the appointment of a new Prez in SL and have stressed on the need for a united effort in overcoming the economic crisis while ensuring freedom of assembly and expression. US Ambassador Julie Chung tweeted that the US looks forward to working with newly sworn in Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe. “In these challenging times, it will be essential for all parties to redouble efforts to work together to tackle the economic crisis more..

Jul 21 (AD) The demonstrators at No Deal Gama located outside Temple Trees in Kollupitiya have decided to vacate the protest site. Protest site came to being after the GotaGoGama protest site at the Galle Face Green, which was established to urge former Prez Rajapaksa to vacate the presidency, gained momentum earlier this year. The demonstrators later staged a new protest site called MynahGoGama outside the Temple Trees in May to urge then-PM Rajapaksa to step down. more..

Jul 21 (Island) The much-awaited fuel distribution will commence today from Colombo and countrywide from next Monday as instructed by Minister Kanchana Wijesekera on Tuesday. 1236 CPC filling stations will dispense fuel using the new app with QR code and the last number on the vehicle number plates. To date, more than one million motorists have registered under the new system. Motorcycles will be permitted fuel up to a limit of Rs.1,500, three-wheelers Rs. 2,000 and cars, vans, lorries, buses Rs.7000. more..

Jul 21 (Island) High Commissioner of SL to India Milinda Moragoda interacted with a group of Latin American and Caribbean Heads of Mission and briefed them on the present developments in SL. As part of a series of engagements with concurrently accredited Diplomatic Missions to SL from New Delhi, this was the fourth time that HC Moragoda interacted with concurrently accredited Heads of Mission in this manner since assuming office. This group of Heads of Mission included 7 Ambassadors, more..

Jul 21 (AD) A new Cabinet of Ministers will be sworn in tomorrow at the Prime Minister’s Office in Kollupitiya. The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled to commence at 9.00 a.m. Newly-elected Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was voted in by SL’s parliament to the office of President vacated by his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa, took oaths this morning at the parliament complex. Accordingly, a new Cabinet of Ministers will be formed under administration of Prez Wickremesinghe. more..

Jul 21 (EN) SL’s govt debt has surged to around 126% of gross domestic product by the first quarter of 2022, with central bank debt contributing close to 10% of GDP in foreign debt, official data shows. SL’s central govt debt rose to 21.6 trillion rupees of 117.4% of revised GDP by March 2022, from 104.6% as a flexible exchange rate or soft-peg collapsed from 200 to 360 to the US dollar weighed down by a surrender requirement and low rates. more..

Jul 21 (CT) As per the advice of Minister of Public Security, Tiran Alles, decisions have been taken to expand the welfare of all Police officers. Accordingly, Cabinet has given approval to increase the monthly travel allowance paid to the Police officers from 14 to 21 days from 1 Jan 2023. According to the Public Security Ministry, Cabinet has also approved the Minister’s proposal to establish a legal aid fund for the legal matters that the Police officers have to face while performing their duties. more..

Jul 21 (SLN) SL Navy apprehend 33 individuals, suspected to be on an illegal migration attempt to a foreign country via sea, during a search operation carried out in seas off Negombo this morning. The apprehension was made by the Fast Attack Craft P 435 of 4th Fast Attack Flotilla in the Western Naval Command, after intercepting a suspicious local fishing trawler in seas off Negombo this morning. In the group of 33 individuals who were suspected to be on an illegal migration attempt to a foreign country by the trawler, more..

Jul 21 (ANI) Ministry of External Affairs reiterated its stance to stand by the people of SL at the time of crisis, saying that India has been at forefront of extending economic assistance to SL and will continue to do so. "India has been at forefront of extending economic assistance to SL as per what they require and we are one of the countries that have provided the maximum amount of assistance at the time of need. We will continue to stand by the people of SL in whatever manner we can," more..

Jul 21 (SLN) SL Navy seized an Indian trawler with 06 Indian fishermen aboard for poaching in the island's waters, during a patrol carried out in the seas north of Mannar on the night of 20th July. The Navy regularly conducts patrols and operations in SL waters with a view to curbing the impact on the local fishing community as well as the damage caused to the biodiversity of the marine environment of SL, due to illegal fishing activities carried out by foreign fishermen in the country's waters. more..

Jul 21 (AD) Business tycoon Dhammika Perera has decided to step down from his parliamentary seat. Perera was sworn in as a MP on the 22nd of June, to fill the National List parliamentary seat left vacant by the resignation of former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa. Two days later, he took oaths as the Minister of Investment Promotion before then-Prez Rajapaksa. However, on the 10th of July, Perera vacated his ministerial portfolio, amidst growing anti-govt protests in the country. more..

Jul 21 (AD) Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court has issued warrants for the arrest of IUSF convenor Wasantha Mudalige and Ven. Rathkarawwe Jinarathana Thero today for failing to appear before the courts over a case filed against them. The case filed by the Colombo Fort Police against the accused for constituting an unlawful blockade during a protest staged in the Fort area in 2021 was called before Colombo Fort Magistrate Thilina Gamage today. Wasantha Mudalige and Ven. Rathkaravwe Jinarathana Thero, more..

Jul 21 (RW) The economic crisis in SL is tipping into one of the country’s worst humanitarian crises in decades, with 6.7 million people now in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. Millions of families are facing shortages of food, fuel, cooking gas, essential supplies, and medicines as the humanitarian impacts of the economic crisis continue to multiply. Int'l Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) holds particularly grave concerns for 2.4 million people already living below the poverty line more..

Jul 21 (ANI) CIA chief has held China responsible for SL's economic collapse, saying Colombo's dumb bets on high-debt Chinese investment have led to the catastrophic outcomes. "Chinese have a lot of weight to throw around and they can make a very appealing case for their investments," William Burns said at the Aspen Security Forum on Wednesday. "Nations should look at a place like SL today--heavily indebted to China--which has made some really dumb bets about more..

Jul 21 (CI) Pathum Nissanka has recovered completely from a bout of Covid-19 and will return to the Sri Lanka Test squad, the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has announced. Joining him will be right-arm offspinner Lakshitha Manasinghe, who will take Maheesh Theekshana's place. Theekshana, the SLC revealed, had suffered an injury to one of his fingers on his right hand - his bowling hand - during the first Test against Pakistan, which Sri Lanka lost by four wickets. more..

Jul 21 (Island) Alumex, SL’s leading fully integrated aluminium profiles manufacturer and member of the Hayleys Group, recently expanded its network of home-grown aluminium fabricators to over 15,000 with the addition of 2,000 Lumin experts. Kick-starting the initiative over two decades ago, Alumex established a fully equipped training centre to equip local aluminium fabricators with the latest technology. In addition to improving the knowledge base of fabricators in SL, the company continues to train more..

Jul 21 (EN) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe’s election in parliament by 134 MPs was fundamentally down to an existential threat posed by violent protestors that Wickremesinghe alone could address, MP Wimal Weerawansa said. MPs had assured themselves that only Wickremesinghe could guarantee the security needed by MPs who couldn’t return to their hometowns due to fear of violent assault, claimed Weerawansa. more..

Jul 21 (ANI) As SL scrambles to get back on track following the election of a new President, the people in the country -- who are facing severe economic hardship -- are still uncertain about the future. Amid this uncertainty, Sri Lankans from across the country are lining up at the passport office in Colombo to get a new passport or get their old one renewed, desperate for a way out of the crisis-marred country. "There is no food, no fuel and no money in the country. What will we do and how we will survive? more..

Jul 21 (EN) Sri Lanka’s Covid 19 death toll is on the rise and has increased to 16,535 with 12 deaths reported in July, a Health Ministry report showed. A WHO report released on Wednesday showed there is a 22% increase in average number of COVID-19 cases reported in SL. Sri Lanka has withdrawn the mandatory rule of wearing mask on June 10 in the public and thousands of people are now compelled to travel in bus and trains because there is only a few public transport because of fuel shortage. more..

Jul 22 (DM) Sri Lanka needs plenty of solutions to its economic woes more than an election, but Wednesday’s voting that took place to elect a new president was worth it. Ranil Wickremesinghe was elected as the eighth president of the country during an exciting election. The political scene in the country was slowly progressing towards bursting point largely because Wickremesinghe’s name featured amongst the candidates for the presidency. Till then the Aragalakaruwo more..

Jul 22 (DM) For his admirers, Ranil Wickremesinghe is the president SL has lost and found. The late former minister Mangala Samaraweera once described Wickremesinghe as the best president SL never had. In his previous two outings as a prez candidate, the victory was his, but on both occasions Wickremesinghe lost through no fault of his own. In 1999, opinion polls predicted Wickremesinghe’s victory at the presidential election, but a botched assassination attempt by the separatist LTTE more..

Jul 22 (SO) A country’s youth are its greatest asset. There may be no other resource in a country greater than youth. Youth are characterised by new ideas, creativity and energy. The power of youth is incomparable. In order to move towards a new world, to start a new era, the energy, power and the participation of the youth are needed. Although we call older people experienced and mature, maturity can also be seen in youth. more..

Jul 22 (CT) Politics is the art of the possible, said the 19th century German statesman Otto Von Bismarck, and Ranil Wickremesinghe (RW) is the embodiment of that truism. How else could one describe this man’s mercurial rise from a zero to hero within a matter of two and a half years and without any support from the people this country? By being an impostor if not a doppelganger of Rajapaksas and a trustworthy insurer of their ill-gotten fortunes, he won their trust, identified himself with their political more..

Jul 22 (GV) Is Ranil Wickremesinghe an Accidental Prez? His many detractors will believe this is the case. They can point to a politician who was ignored by the electorate; to a party leader whose following deserted him; and to a puppet of the Rajapaksas. Yet, despite all the empirical evidence, we have in our midst the eighth Executive President of the Republic of SL. Even as an Accidental Prez, he is a man who, despite all the odds, stuck it out and was clever enough to seize the moments more..

Jul 22 (TM) In the face of the economic crisis, triggered mainly by the lack of foreign reserves, scores of Sri Lankans seek to leave the country while the Govt too is encouraging people to seek foreign employment opportunities. About 2,000 people, most of whom are youth between 20 and 30 years, visit the Immigration and Emigration Dept daily to obtain passports. What is more concerning than these numbers is the fact that illegal more..

Jul 22 (TM) Even though there are mixed responses to the election of UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe as President, he is now the country’s leader, and he will be, for at least a year. He will also be the one leading the talks with external parties in SL’s quest for economic revival. The next major appointment is that of a PM in order to fill the position that became vacant after Wickremesinghe took over the Presidency. Given the status quo of the country’s political, economic, and social affairs, more..

Jul 22 (CT) Wednesday will see 4 MPs, among a total of 225 contesting for the Presidency as at yesterday. They are UNP Leader, Premier and acting Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe, Opposition and SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa, JJB/JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake and SLPP MP Dullas Alahapperuma. SLPP commands the majority in the House. These four will vie for the votes of the remaining 221 MPs, who will vote by secret ballot to elect the new Prez to serve the remainder of more..

Jul 22 (EN) SL stocks gained for a fifth consecutive session on Thursday (21) on hopes of political stability under new prez Ranil Wickremesinghe as months-long protests showed signs of easing, brokers said. ASPI closed 0.31% or 24.29 points up at 7,736.37, its highest close since June 14. “The market after opening over 1% stronger, consolidated in the first hour of trade today as the events speculated by the investors has now been realised with the appointment of the Prez thereby more..

Jul 22 (Island) A dramatic batting collapse, a determined sixth wicket stand and a decisive half century by a fresher made an intriguing first day’s play as S. Thomas’ reached 207 for six wickets at stumps against arch rivals Royal at the 143rd Battle of the Blues at the SSC ground on Thursday. The dramatic post lunch collapse saw Thomians struggling at 84 for five wickets at one stage but Senesh Hettiarachchi and Charuka Peiris managed to steady the ship posting a valuable 94 runs more..

Jul 22 (FT) NPP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayaka yesterday said the NPP is ready to lead the most powerful uprising of people seen in Sri Lanka to herald a complete political transformation. “We are prepared to end corruption, suppression as well as this ruinous political and economic systems along with the destructive Rajapaksa political camp,” he said. “We will gather and organise the people to ensure this end,” he added. more..

Jul 22 (TM) India has gone the extra mile to support SL in the hope that its leadership would take tough decisions to resuscitate the economy, but it all petered out in political manipulations. Now Ranil Wickremesinghe will have to swallow the IMF bitter pill of restructuring the economy through hard reforms. Although the IMF wants to complete rescue talks with SL as quickly as possible, the election of Ranil Wickremesinghe – a princeling of the pearl nation – as Prez indicates that things will go more..

Jul 22 (Island) The task ahead for SL is to transform its economy from an inward-looking, public sector driven, debt dependent one into an export-driven, private sector-led economy that a broad share of the population can participate in and benefit from. A set of structural reforms based on global best practice can be undertaken unilaterally by SL to begin to set its economy on this path without waiting for externally imposed conditions. Proactive steps in this direction can send strong positive signals more..