Jul 11 (FT) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe asserted the importance of boosting the cultivation of high-quality cinnamon varieties, noting Sri Lanka’s legacy as a leading cinnamon producer and exporter. He made these remarks at the inauguration of the main office of the newly established Dept of Cinnamon Development and launched its official website yesterday in Karandeniya in Galle. The initiative originates from a proposal in the 2023 Budget, aimed to revitalise Ceylon cinnamon industry. more..

Jul 11 (TM) Clarifying the notion that private firms are not willing to offer employment opportunities to female inmates (both suspects and convicts) – in particular to those who are in rehabilitation, the Prisons Department explained that the situation stems from the low female inmates’ population, which makes it difficult for firms to devise programmes targeting them. Prisons Commissioner (Operations, Intelligence and Security) and the Prisons Dept’s Media Spokesperson more..

Jul 11 (DM) Suresh Wasantha Perera, alias Club Wasantha, who was shot dead this week had revealed in an interview with Danu Innasithamby on the Lankadeepa YouTube channel on November 18, 2022 that more than 60 percent of those in Parliament are his friends. Here are some of the photos of Club Wasantha with politicians, being shared on social media. more..

Jul 11 (DN) Making a triumphant return after a year-long pause, Rukshika Wijesooriya defeated defending champion Saajida Razick 2-1 in the Women’s Singles Open Final of the ongoing 109th Colombo Tennis Championship. The final played on the hard court at Queen’s Club in Colombo yesterday. Wijesooriya faced an early setback, losing the first set 4-6 to Razick. Undeterred, she mounted a remarkable comeback, winning the next two sets convincingly with scores of 6-0 and 6-2. more..

Jul 11 (DN) The fifth edition of the Lanka Premier League Cricket (LPL) is currently in progress and after Pallekele and Dambulla legs LPL will move to R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium from July 13. Dambulla Sixes is owned by former SL first class cricketer and Maliyadeva Kurunegala cricketer Priyanga de Silva wanted to add specialty at this LPL. They want to give good message through cricket and already they have started their job to make a difference in the tournament. more..

Jul 11 (FT) The Cabinet on Tuesday approved designating 13 businesses as strategically important under the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Act No. 11 of 2021. This designation grants these businesses proposed exemptions and incentives as specified under Schedule II of the Act. The businesses granted this strategic status include; Horizon Group USA Global, Satguru Travel and Tourism, Pagero Lanka Software Engineering, KPMG Professional Services, more..

Jul 11 (Island) Sri Lanka Athletics will look for possible candidates to form men’s 4×100 m and 4x400m relay teams for the World Junior Championships when it conducts the Junior National Athletics Championship at Diyagama from Saturday. With more than one athlete reaching entry standards for both the men’s 100 metres and 400 metres, athletics authorities are eager to form relay teams for the upcoming World Junior Athletics Championship which will be held in Lima, Peru. more..

Jul 11 (CT) SL’s medal-winning athletes at the Asian Games 2023 are yet to receive their prize money from the Sports Ministry, even though a year has passed since their remarkable triumph. Dr. Shemal Fernando, Director General at the Dept of Sports Development, who was appointed to his position just a year ago, stated that necessary steps have been taken to settle amounts due. “We faced a problem regarding the payment since there was no more..

Jul 11 (DN) Rushalee Dissanayake of Musaeus College shone brightly at the 49th MILO All Island Schools Aquatic Championship, setting a new meet record in the Under-14 Girls 100m Freestyle on the second day of the competition at the Sugathadasa Stadium Swimming Pool Complex yesterday. Dissanayake clocked an impressive 1:05.11, breaking the previous record of 1:05.14 set by Hiruki de Silva of Gateway College Colombo in 2018. This is Rushalee’s second record at the meet. more..

Jul 11 (DN) Rilee Rossouw recorded the fastest century in LPL history off 44 balls, leading the Jaffna Kings to a seven-wicket win over the Colombo Strikers with nine balls to spare in their match at Dambulla International Cricket Stadium yesterday. It was a solid all-round performance by Jaffna Kings. Chasing a target of 189, Jaffna Kings reached their mark with seven wickets in hand. South African left-hander Rossouw led the charge with an unbeaten 108 off 50 balls. more..

Jul 11 (TM) Committee for Protecting the Rights of Prisoners (CPRP) condemned the trial by media of the Police questioning a murder suspect inside a Police station in the presence of the electronic media. Police, on Tuesday arrested seven suspects including the owner of the tattoo and piercing studio in Athurugiriya (Dulan Sanjula) where the shooting incident took place on Monday, resulting in the deaths of Surendra Perera more..

Jul 11 (FT) Seylan Bank’s listed debenture issue worth Rs. 10 billion was oversubscribed on its official opening day which was yesterday. The initial issue was 50 million Basel III compliant tier 2, listed, rated unsecured subordinated redeemable five and seven year debentures with a non-viability conversion at Rs. 100 each with an option to issue 30 million said debentures in the event of oversubscription and a further option to issue another 20 million debentures of the same on oversubscription. more..

Jul 11 (ST) The British wanted change—as did SL’s Aragalaya protest movement two years ago—and they got change. When the public went to vote last Thursday, the intent was quite clear. Get rid of the rascals who had held power for 14 years. It was not so much that the British public saw Labour as its saviour. It was more that they wanted the Conservative Party out, the party that is a member of the Int'l Democracy Union, a gathering of the rightist parties of which our own UNP is a member. more..

Jul 11 (FT) Cabinet on Tuesday approved introducing a new law that will facilitate the re-registration of companies incorporated or registered under the Companies Act No. 07 of 2007. Cabinet has approved instructing the Legal Draftsman to prepare a Bill based on a concept paper developed for this purpose. This new law will ensure that the re-registration process is streamlined and that the data on active companies is up-to-date, aiding in more accurate policy-making & economic planning. more..

Jul 11 (USE) The United States, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is supporting the Sri Lankan Ministry of Finance to modernize the country’s trade facilitation infrastructure through the implementation of SL’s Trade National Single Window System (TNSWS). The TNSWS, when operational, will streamline the collection of information required for trade, leading to increased transparency and efficiency, reduced costs, and more potential revenue. more..

Jul 11 (FT) Govt has taken a decisive move to expedite the imposition of necessary laws to cancel land lease agreements with Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) that have failed to pay the stipulated wages to estate workers despite having the capacity to do so. The decision follows the recommendations of an appointed committee tasked with confirming each company’s financial capability to meet the wage requirements. more..

Jul 11 (FT) Govt has taken a decisive move to expedite the imposition of necessary laws to cancel land lease agreements with Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) that have failed to pay the stipulated wages to estate workers despite having the capacity to do so. The decision follows the recommendations of an appointed committee tasked wTogo, putting Star on the global map as more..

Jul 11 (DN) Uber announced the launch of its global flagship sustainability product, Uber Green, in Colombo. With an aim to accelerate its transition to zero emission mobility by 2040 in Sri Lanka, Uber plans to expand on-demand electric vehicle (EV) rides with Uber Green in the island nation. The option of choosing Uber Green will be available to riders who can now request a green ride across the city, including rides to and from the Bandaranaike International Airport. more..

Jul 11 (Island) SLPP-UNP govt has become an epitome of absurdity. Its leaders made frantic efforts recently to grant Attorney General (AG) Sanjay Rajaratnam a service extension amidst protests. They even strove to manipulate the Constitutional Council to compass their end. Thankfully, their plan went awry. Rajaratnam, however, should consider himself lucky; if they had succeeded in extending his term, he would have ended up having to pull a lot of political chestnuts out of the fire for them. more..

Jul 11 (TM) Over the last few weeks, SL’s slow and cumbersome state sector has staged their annual roaring. Hibernation has ended, with the arrival of the election season, and it is timely for the taxpayer-funded giant to take to the streets. Yes, the last few years have been hard on us all, and all except a few of the elite have not gone unscathed. We have all made sacrifices and many have been pushed below the poverty line. It must be acknowledged that some in the public sector are poorly paid. more..

Jul 11 (TM) From its establishment in 1978, the Medical Faculty of the Uni of Jaffna (UoJ) has grown into a valuable contributor to healthcare and medical education in the region. Over the decades, it has not only expanded its academic and research-related capabilities but also played a pivotal role in community health initiatives, particularly in the Northern Province. UoJ Medical Faculty Dean, Prof. R. Surenthirakumaran, more..

Jul 11 (GV) Uncover photography exhibition, curated by the Act Now Initiative, is a profound visual and narrative exploration into the themes of truth, justice and life in SL. Exhibition is a reminder of the country’s tumultuous history and ongoing struggles, inviting visitors to confront the harsh realities faced by many Sri Lankans. The exhibition delves into various critical issues such as enforced disappearances, land grabbing, militarisation, religious discrimination and the plight of more..

Jul 11 (CT) Last Friday, airport authorities intercepted a serval cat, a wild feline native to Africa and protected under the CITES (Convention on Int'l Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna & Flora) convention. This incident is part of a broader pattern of illegal wildlife trade, as evidenced by the arrest of a couple attempting to smuggle 88 live animals from Thailand and the Navy’s seizing of a trawler involved in the smuggling of bird and reptile species on 27 March and 7 July respectively. more..

Jul 11 (CT) National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency, known as NARA, a research arm of the Fisheries Ministry, conducts various scientific research on the surface and under the seas surrounding the island of SL. This is to ensure the protection of aquatic resources and to boost fisheries by disseminating research findings to the relevant authorities for implementation. NARA also significantly contributes to the national more..

Jul 11 (DM) The issuance of visas to enter Sri Lanka became a much discussed topic in May 2024, after a SL national challenged the way in which his foreign wife’s entry visa was handled at the BIA. The concerns of foreign nationals running visa counters at the SL border, the procurement process by which VFS Global (Visa Facilitation Services) was selected to implement the e-Visa programme, and increased costs of visas to SL were widely debated in the media after this incident. more..

Jul 11 (DM) With the Sri Lankan political parties and the citizens focusing mainly on the Prez Elections to be held later this year, the country has an urgent need not just for smart political leaders but a statesman who will work for the next generation and not for the next election. SL has produced few if any such statesmen who are in the calibre of Nelson Mandela. If we could mention a few who come near that status it could include our first PM D. S. Senanayake and his son Dudley Senanayake more..

Jul 10 (TM) SJB emphasised that public sector employees should be satisfied and be empowered within the State mechanism, and that their demands should be looked at in a fair manner. SJB MP Thushara Indunil cautioned that the public would have to face the consequences of failing to take measures to improve the public sector employees’ lives, and that it is a concerning situation. He pointed out the importance of the Govt being more receptive when it comes to dealing with protests more..

Jul 10 (DM) The strikes that are prevailing in the country could be the beginning of another Aragalaya that might destabilize the nation, Minister of Transport Bandula Gunawardene told Parliament today. “Strikes that are prevailing today could be the beginning of an exercise to destabilize the country that might end up with the burning of the parliamentary complex,” the minister said. “The strikers are making an impossible demand for an upward revision of salaries. more..

Jul 10 (Skift) SL’s tourism industry is witnessing a resurgence. Central Bank of SL reported that earnings from tourism soared to over $1.5 billion in the first half of 2024, marking a 78% increase year-on-year. Tourist arrivals hit 1.01 million, up 62% from the same period in 2023. By June 2024, tourism earnings had climbed to $151.1 million, a 23% increase year-on-year, despite a slight month-on-month decline. more..

Jul 10 (DM) Claiming that governors in some provinces were spending colossal amounts of money for various things such as vehicles, Vesak and Poson zones without adhering to any circulars or laws, NPP MP Vijitha Herath said such arbitrary actions must be stopped immediately. MP told Parliament that governors in certain provinces have appointed advisors using their arbitrary powers. Governors in the Western Province take decisions without considering any circular or law more..

Jul 10 (DM) Govt MP Mahindananda Aluthgamage today criticised the Election Commission for allowing the appointment of SJB MP Mujibur Rahaman through the national list. Aluthgamage, speaking in Parliament, faulted the Election Commission, questioning how a candidate who intended to contest the Local Govt election was appointed to Parliament via the national list. “The Election Commission talks about the appointment of coordinating officers to Governors. more..

Jul 10 (EN) Freedom Peoples Congress (FPC) led by MP Dullas Alahapperuma, a breakaway faction of the ruling SLPP, will join an alliance led by SJB, MP Charitha Herath said. Herath told reporters that the FPC’s discussions with the SJB have been successful and the group intends to join the mainstream opposition as part of a broader alliance. “A very decisive prez election is likely to be held this November. more..