Jul 28 (CT) Dr. Darshanie Mallikarachchi, a specialist in the National STD/AIDS Control Programme, said according to statistics, there is an increase in HIV infections this year compared to previous years. She said it is a situation that requires immediate attention. “By the end of March this year, the total number of cases found in SL was 4,556. Last year, 410 HIV infected people were reported and 244 cases more..

Jul 28 (CT) SL’s current economic woes are of unprecedented severity and threaten the lives and livelihoods of millions of Lankans. They are the root of the popular outrage that sent the Prez and his family scrambling for shelter from protesting citizenry. How surreal it must have felt, hunkered down at the Trincomalee Naval Base and looking for a way out of the country, as their ancestral home burned, and family statues toppled. This was a far cry from complete impunity and near royal more..

Jul 28 (ST) With much speculation of a global recession, should we expect more impediments to expected foreign exchange inflows to SL and further delays in the country’s recovery from the economic crisis? It was a timely issue that was raised at a webinar by PricewaterhouseCoopers Academy where I had to deliver a speech a few weeks ago. The world economy is entering another recession and we are caught up in it too. SL is already in an unprecedented economic crisis of its own more..

Jul 28 (Island) The Rajapaksas and their cronies have not stopped making themselves out to be patriots in spite of having bankrupted the country and inflicted unbearable suffering on the public. Minister Prasanna Ranatunga, taking part in the Emergency debate in Parliament, launched into a tirade against anti-govt protesters whom he accused of having insulted the police and the armed forces personnel. Painting a black picture of them as the scum of the earth chasing the dragon, and more..

Jul 28 (Island) US Ambassador of Korean extract Chung tweeted Friday (22) that she had expressed grave concern over the unnecessary and deeply troubling escalation of violence against protestors overnight. “Prez and Cabinet have an opportunity and an obligation to respond to the calls of Sri Lankans for a better future. This is not the time to crack down on citizens, but instead to look ahead at the immediate and tangible steps the govt can take to regain trust of the people, restore stability, more..

Jul 28 (CI) It was a damp December week in Rawalpindi in 2019, one of myriad rain delays in Pakistan's first home Test match in a decade. It was the fourth day, with the first innings of the Test still only halfway through. That particular morning had seen no play at all, and none was expected for the foreseeable future, so there wasn't much to do, and plenty of time to do it in. "Who's the most elegant batter from either side," we wondered idly. more..

Jul 28 (FT) Leading blue chip John Keells Holdings (JKH) has kicked off the new financial year with strong performance in the first quarter with all businesses witnessing a sustained recovery momentum. Group revenue saw a 84% year-on-year (YoY) increase to Rs. 71.52 bil. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) at Rs. 13.33 billion reflect a 180% increase from the 1Q of FY22. The Group profit before tax (PBT) saw a significant increase more..

Jul 28 (DN) "Thank you for being my biggest fan," said Angelo Mathews during his 100th test match at Galle as there was a stranger came to see the match on the third day. The lady Nuwandi Samaradiwakara (Randi) from Kandy came to see Mathews' 100th Test in Galle. She is the biggest Mathews' fan but first time met on last Tuesday at the Galle International cricket stadium. Randi the 25 year old Physiotherapist had a dream to meet Angelo Mathews from last 13 years and more..

Jul 28 (FT) Premier blue chip John Keells Holdings Chairman Krishan Balendra strongly urged all parties to leave aside political differences and work together in the national interest towards a common economic program and enhanced governance and accountability. He said the appointment of a new Prez on 21 July and the subsequent appointment of a PM and Cabinet, in line with the relevant constitutional and Parliamentary procedures, should result in the achievement of political stability more..

Jul 28 (ICC) The host nations for every major ICC Women's tournament between 2024-2027 have been confirmed during the ongoing ICC Annual Conference in Birmingham. The ICC has announced that four women's tournaments will take place in four years, starting with the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024, which will take place in Bangladesh. This will be the second time that Bangladesh will be hosting a women's T20 World Cup. Tournament will be held between Sept-Oct, and comprise 10 teams more..

Jul 28 (Island) Sarvapakshika Aragalakaruwo (all-party agitators), in a statement issued strongly condemned the arrest of one of their key members, Dhanis Ali by the CID at the BIA while he was about to leave the country, in a complete new look, sans his overgrown beard and hair. The grouping alleged that the arrest of Ali at the BIA and four other persons near the S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike statue on Tuesday was part of a major more..

Jul 28 (FT) Independent MP Patali Champika Ranawaka claims a conspiracy is in play to seize power outside of democracy through the imposition of emergency laws. According to him, Govt is therefore attempting to continue the emergency regulations imposed to empower the security forces to suppress any opposition that may arise as a result. Ranawaka pointed out that on the other hand 5.5 m families have been left destitute and they have been forced to engage in a struggle more..

Jul 28 (CT) The grand finale of the Mrs Tourism Sri Lanka 2022 Pageant will be held on Saturday at the Nelum Pokuna Auditorium with the participation of a large number of foreign diplomats, selected number of senior political representatives from Sri Lanka as well as from overseas, senior film, teledrama and stage play artistes and former Beauty Queens. A senior member of the panel of Judges of the Mrs Tourism SL 2022 Pageant, Dr. Arosha Fernando said the Mrs Tourism SL 2022 Pageant more..

Jul 28 (EN) Nine SL Navy sailors who were among personnel expected to return on a vessel gifted by the US have jumped ship, as the country reels from a monetary meltdown which has triggered a spike in boat people. The 9 sailors are aged between 27-36 years belonging to several ranks. The incident comes as Sri Lanka is suffering the worse currency crisis in the history of the island’s intermediate regime central bank. more..

Jul 28 (CT) Newly-reappointed Chief Govt Whip, Minister Prasanna Ranatunga, speaking in Parliament yesterday, called for the removal of protesters from the Galle Face protest site. Minister Ranatunga also pointed out that he, as Urban Development Minister, is of the opinion that the allocated protest site adjoining the Presidential Secretariat is in no way a suitable site. “This had been clearly evident during the recent past,” he told the House. more..

Jul 28 (DN) Overall captain of the SL contingent at the XXII Commonwealth Games Indika Dissanayake made a clarion call to all athletes to raise the bar and fight for medals to bring glory to the nation which is undergoing economic hardships. “The National Olympic Committee and Sports Ministry have supported us wholeheartedly despite economic hardships to assemble the biggest ever contingent from SL in Birmingham. We owe it to the country to bring happiness with good performances. more..

Jul 28 (TM) Illegally hoarded stocks of fuel seized through Police raids over the past few months are yet to be returned to the CPC. When contacted to inquire into the reasons for this, SSP Nihal Thalduwa said that samples of the seized fuel stocks will first be produced in court, where court orders will be obtained to send the samples for testing. “With the court orders, the samples will be taken to the CPC for testing. Once the reports are obtained, we will present them to the courts and more..

Jul 28 (AD) One person has been gunned down and killed in a shooting incident reported in the area of Galagoda in Ambalangoda this evening (27). According to the police, another person, who sustained injuries in the shooting, also succumbed to injuries after being rushed to the Balapitiya Hospital. An unidentified gunman who arrived on a motorcycle has opened fire at the two victims, the police said. The deceased, aged 44 and 49 years, are reportedly residents of Kuleegoda area. more..

Jul 28 (TM) Proclamation on the State of Emergency, announced by then-Acting Prez and incumbent Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe on 17 July followed by a Gazette on 18 July, was debated and passed in Parliament yesterday, with 120 votes in favour of it and 63 against. This proclamation was made by Wickremesinghe through the Special Gazette No. 2288/30 and according to the legal provisions, if the approval of Parliament more..

Jul 28 (FT) Sri Lanka’s Shehan Karunatilaka is among the 13 longlist for the prestigious Booker literary prize. Shehan has been short listed for his “The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida” a rip-roaring epic is a searing, mordantly funny satire set amid the murderous mayhem of a Sri Lanka beset by civil war. Shehan, a former Commonwealth Booker winner, is considered one of Sri Lanka’s foremost authors. In addition to his novels, he has written rock songs, screenplays and travel stories. more..

Jul 28 (Island) UK Guardian journalist Aakash Hassan has been barred from boarding a SriLankan Airlines flight UL 196 scheduled to depart the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi on Tuesday evening. Hassan tweeted that he was on his way to report on the developing crisis in SL. Hassen alleged that immigration authorities at the New Delhi airport took his passport and boarding pass and compelled him to sit in a room for four hours before he tweeted. Alleging that he had not been told more..

Jul 28 (ANI) Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina conveyed her congratulatory wishes to newly-elected Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe and expressed her conviction for strengthening the ties between the two nations. "On behalf of the Govt and the people of Bangladesh and on my own behalf, I would like to congratulate you on your election in the parliament as the Prez of SL." "I am confident that your wealth of experience, wisdom and political acumen will be instrumental in bringing about desired peace more..

Jul 28 (Island) SJB MP Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka told Parliament that he and his party would join the final battle to get rid of corrupt rulers from this country on 09 Aug. Participating in the debate on Emergency Regulations, Fonseka said that incumbent PM Dinesh Gunawardena could become the Prez of the country once there was a regime change after the launch of the 9 Aug struggle. Fonseka called on his fellow MPs and security forces not to protect corrupt politicians. more..

Jul 28 (DN) The new govt is willing to listen to the democratic public protests, PM Dinesh Gunawardena said. He said the govt will listen to the voice of non-violent public as the govt upholds the same values. However, PM said the govt is not in any way ready to accept any act of terrorism. He said MPs should not support terrorism in any nature that jeopardises democracy. Gunawardena also noted that there could be more..

Jul 28 (DM) An activist of the Inter-Uni Students Union and the GotaGoGama, Anthony Veranga Pushpika has been arrested by Colombo South Divisional Crime Detective Bureau (DCDB) today in connection with causing damages to public property during a recent protest near the Police HQ. It was reported on social media that the activist who was returning on a bus after taking part in a demonstration in Colombo had been forcibly taken away by an unidentified group in a jeep more..

Jul 28 (FT) Senior Politician and Education Minister Dr. Susil Premajayantha was appointed as the new Leader of the House of Parliament yesterday. Separately Urban Development and Housing Minister Prasanna Ranatunga was re-appointed as the Chief Govt Whip of Parliament. The appointment letters were handed over by the PM Dinesh Gunawardena at the PM’s Office in Parliament. The 18th Leader of the House of Parliament, Dr. Susil Premajayantha was educated at St. John’s more..

Jul 28 (TM) Key figures of the aragalaya (struggle) are facing intimidation at the hands of the Govt, the Police, and the military, activists allege, with arrests as well as surveillance measures, including wiretapping their phones, taking place. Attorney Nuwan Bopage, Catholic priest Fr. Amila Jeewantha Peiris, IUSF Convener Wasantha Mudalige, and former IUSF Convenor Lahiru Weerasekara are facing intimidation by govt. more..

Jul 28 (FT) Ranil Wickremesinghe presidency began with the assault on the Aragalaya protestors. It was an attack of choice, not of necessity. That start signals the trajectory. Just as its predecessor, Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration, Ranil’s presidency too will not end well, because it cannot, having been precluded by its own choice from doing so. The Ranil regime was born with congenital birth defects and its first moves should have been to compensate for those defects. Instead, it chose to accentuate them. more..

Jul 28 (FT) With the whole world watching the deteriorating political, economic and humanitarian situation unfolding in Sri Lanka, and while we pray for swift solutions to food, fuel and medical shortages, there is now an opportunity to reinvent how countries like ours recover from crippling debt and re-emerge as healthy, functioning economies. SL is in a difficult position. Corrupt govts have mismanaged the nation’s finances and agreed to predatory loans with exploitive interest rates. more..

Jul 28 (AD) Colombo Fort Magistrate Thilina Gamage has ordered the OIC of the Fort Police today, that the money found by the activists in the President’s House and handed over to the police be presented to the court immediately. The money was found by the protesters on the 9th of July when they stormed the presidential residence during mass anti-govt protests. The Fort Police had previously informed the court that more than Rs. 17.8 million in cash was handed over to the police by the protesters more..

Jul 28 (EN) SL’s local currency debt which has taken almost 44% hair cut as the rupee collapsed from 200 to 360 to the US dollar may be at risk of a second cut, a rating agency has warned. A hair cut on rupee debt would also hit bank capital forcing the govt to get into more debt to bail them out. “A default on local-currency debt could erode local banks’ capital positions, possibly leading to govt capital injections into the banking sector that would erode the net benefits of such a restructuring, more..

Jul 28 (CI) Pakistan went into the final day with nine wickets in hand, having batted outstandingly in the fourth innings at Galle last week, and probably needing to play out a little over two full sessions, with the light likely to deteriorate in the afternoon again. But outside a 79-run third-wicket stand between Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, they could not resist SL's rampant spinners. Prabath Jayasuriya, perhaps the find of SL's home season, claimed his fourth Test five-for in six innings, more..

Jul 28 (AD) On the instructions of Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe, the President’s Secretary Saman Ekanayake has appointed two new Senior Advisers to the Prez. Accordingly, Prof Sunanda Madduma Bandara has been appointed as the Prez’s Senior Adviser (Media) and Shenuka Seneviratne as the Prez’s Senior Adviser (Int'l Media). They recently assumed duties in those positions. Prof Sunanda Maddumabandara, a former Vice-Chancellor of Uni of Kelaniya, has also served as the Head of the Dept of Economics more..

Jul 28 (Island) Executive Director of the Institute of Democratic Reforms and Electoral Studies (IRES) Manjula Gajanayake says the new regime has not learnt lessons from the administrative blunders made in the past. Gajanayake pointed out that one could not blame former Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa alone for mismanaging the country’s economy and that the entire Cabinet, MPs of the ruling party, advisors to the Prez and officials who held decision-making posts, during his tenure, should be equally blamed. more..

Jul 28 (CI) A little over three weeks ago, Prabath Jayasuriya was not in the SL squad, let alone the XI. But when Lasith Embuldeniya was dropped following a poor Test against Australia, and Praveen Jayawickrama got Covid-19, SL needed fresh spinners in the camp, and captain Dimuth Karunaratne insisted on Jayasuriya. The two had played together at domestic level, for both the SSC, and for the same National Super League (SL's 4-day competition) side. more..