Jul 23 (TM) With the declaration of the Prez Election round the corner, several Tamil political parties and representatives from civil organisations have reached an agreement to present a Tamil common candidate for the forthcoming Prez Election. Agreement was signed in Jaffna yesterday by several parties including seven Tamil political parties and seven civil society representatives. The political parties include the TELO led by Opposition MP Selvam Adaikkalanathan, more..

Jul 23 (AD) Former Member of Parliament Hirunika Premachandra has been ordered to be released on bail by the Colombo High Court. Colombo High Court Judge Amal Ranaraja has issued this order today (22), when the bail application filed by her attorneys was taken up for consideration. Colombo High Court Judge Amal Ranaraja issued this order following the objections raised by the Attorney General’s Department against the relevant bail application on July 11. more..

Jul 23 (DN) The Attorney General informed the Supreme Court (SC) yesterday (22) that the Govt will conduct a special interview for the development officers currently serving as teachers in govt schools and all those who meet the required qualifications will be absorbed into the teaching service. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Viraj Dayaratne, who appeared for the Attorney General, informed the Supreme Court that Education Minister Susil Premajayantha will submit the relevant proposal to the Cabinet of Ministers. more..

Jul 23 (DM) The enactment of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution in Parliament is heading to be unrealistic because it is all set to deny two-thirds for the ruling party in case a vote is taken. The bill has already been published in the gazette. After seven days after the publication in the gazette in terms of Article 78 of the Constitution and on the request of any Minister, a Bill is placed in the Order Paper for First Reading in terms of Standing Order No. 50(1). more..

Jul 23 (TM) The SJB, lodged a formal complaint yesterday with the Election Commission (EC) regarding the alleged misuse of Police officers and resources for election campaigning purposes. The complaint was lodged by the SJB General Secretary, Opposition MP Ranjith Madduma Bandara and a few other SJB MPs. In the complaint, Madduma Bandara asserted that members of the Community Police Advisory Committees are orchestrating events purportedly as workshops organised by the Prez. more..

Jul 23 (TM) Election Commission (EC) is to inform the Prez's Secretary to hold public meetings related to programmes such as Urumaya and Jayagamu SL without the participation of politicians, as the Prez Election is to be declared soon. Several groups, including opposition political parties and election monitoring bodies, allege that Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is anticipated to contest in the upcoming Presidential Election, is using public meetings including more..

Jul 23 (FT) Minister Harin Fernando challenged NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake to disclose the funding sources for his recent foreign trips, expressing disappointment in the latter’s understanding of the tourism industry and progress made so far. Dissanayake had recently criticised Fernando, alleging that despite his extensive travels abroad, there has been no real increase in tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka. Fernando clarified that out of the 14 overseas trips he has undertaken as Tourism Minister, more..

Jul 23 (FT) HSBC SL has been recognised as the Best International Bank in SL by Euromoney in their Awards for Excellence 2024. The award recognises HSBC’s commitment to digitisation and providing competitive financial services by delivering exceptional financial results in 2023. This has further highlighted key achievements in areas such as Wholesale Banking, Sustainable Finance and the Bank’s strategic sustainability efforts in environmental conservation and women empowerment. more..

Jul 23 (DM) The Medical Research Institute (MRI), the apex institute which performs laboratory testing, laboratory diagnosis and consultations has come under fire for neglecting a significant number of its testing. This follows the allegations made by trade unions representing the health sector which claim that 50% of MRI investigations are currently not being performed. According to the trade unions the Rabies test, Candida Ab ELISA test, more..

Jul 23 (EN) Sri Lanka has on average about 12,000 electricity customers who are without electricity after being disconnected for not paying bills, and not a million or hundreds of thousands as claimed, Power Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said. “There was a picture painted that one million electricity customers were in the dark,” Minister Wijesekera said. “But when a connection is disconnected a person will get the connection back in a day or two. Sometimes in an hour two. more..

Jul 23 (EN) More than 135,000 Aswesuma poverty alleviation beneficiaries cannot receive their monthly dues due to lack of bank accounts. Despite the govt has approved 1.8 million households as the Aswesuma beneficiaries from the last year’s applicants still around 200,000 beneficiaries have not received any benefits, the official said. Aswesuma benefits are channeled only through a formal banking channel to selected beneficiary to prevent all elements of corruptions, govt officials say. more..

Jul 23 (FT) The SL Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), in partnership with the Tourism Ministry and four key agencies, signed a historic MoU yesterday to foster collaboration and strengthen the tourism sector. The move aims to boost the overall experience for visitors coming to the destination ensuring a better experience for travellers and promoting sustainable growth in the industry. MoUs were signed between the SLTDA and more..

Jul 23 (FT) Nuwara Eliya Acting Magistrate Jayamini Ambagahawatte has ordered the arrest of State Minister Jeevan Thondaman and several other suspects over the storming of the Pedro Estate Tea Factory in May. The Acting Magistrate issued the order to the Nuwara Eliya police yesterday after Thondaman and other suspects did not present themselves before the Magistrate despite the court’s summons. State Minister and a group of supporters are accused of storming the Pedro Estate Tea Factory owned by more..

Jul 23 (FT) In a significant move aimed at enhancing the transportation infrastructure for the tourism sector, SL Tourism Development Authority yesterday gave away the first 10 approvals for travel and tourism industry players to import electric and hybrid vehicles. Tourism Minister Harin Fernando handed over the first 10 approvals for travel and tourism related companies to import vehicles on the side-lines of an event. These firms include; Lanka Sportsreizen, Karusan Travels, Jungle Beach Resort, Colombo Courtyard Ltd, Tangerine Tours, more..

Jul 23 (FT) In a landmark move to drive digital transformation for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Dialog Enterprise, the corporate ICT solutions arm of Dialog Axiata PLC, has signed a MoU with Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC, GlobalLinker, and Databox Technologies, on Commercial Bank LEAP GlobalLinker, an innovative web solution designed to empower entrepreneurs through digital marketing and e-commerce. Dialog Enterprise, the premier digital innovation catalyst more..

Jul 23 (ST) The recent money laundering-related (Club Wasantha) assassination which shook the country will surely put Sri Lanka on the spot with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), grey list, top officials predict. When the FATF places a jurisdiction under increased monitoring, it is often referred to as being on the grey list. This means that the country has committed to resolving the identified strategic deficiencies in its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing measures more..

Jul 23 (CI) Rilee Rossouw bludgeoned 106 off 53 balls, Kusal Mendis crashed 72 off 40 of his own, and together sent Jaffna Kings soaring to a target of 185, inside 16 overs. It was a record-breaking chase on at least two fronts. Their unbroken stand of 185 (Pathum Nissanka had been out first ball), was the highest for any wicket, across all LPL seasons. Kings' chase was the highest in any LPL tournament. And their victory means that a Jaffna franchise has won four out of the five LPL more..

Jul 23 (ST) Undefeated female martial artist Nimesha Kumari, a rising star in kickboxing, will be bolstered by the generous sponsorship of Asian Security Group, who has stepped up to enhance Sri Lanka’s future potentials in the field of sports. Nimesha, (22), a young pugilist who elevated her status to Karma Fight League (KFL), the Sri Lankan edition of combat sports, such as Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and Kickboxing, will be backed by the Asian Security Group for a period of two years, more..

Jul 23 (CI) Bhanuka Rajapaksa kept Galle Marvels in Sunday's LPL final with an 82 off 34 deliveries, but his most consequential role in the game might have been in riling up Rilee Rossouw. It's not uncommon for athletes to search for added motivation in high-pressure contests. This was revealed about Michael Jordan, for example, in the Last Dance documentary, which showed him picking fights and sometimes even conjure slights out of thin air to help fuel his game. more..

Jul 23 (DN) The Ministry of Sports has awarded financial sponsorship of Rupees one million each for the six Sri Lankan athletes who will be participating in the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Sports Director General Prof Shemal Fernando said Sports Ministry and Sports Development Department made a great effort for the athletes who were included for High Performance Unit and these assistance paved the way to Road to Olympics. Especially Viren Nettasinghe the youngest shuttler more..

Jul 23 (DN) Sri Lanka women’s made an easy 144 runs win over Malaysia women’s in their Asia Cup T -20 cricket fixture played at Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium yesterday. Sri Lankan lasses scored 184 for 4 wickets while Malaysian lasses were restricted for 40 all out with one ball to spare. After skipper Chamari Athapaththu’s century to make Sri Lanka’s challenging total Malaysian batters showed a dismal batting performance to shot out for 40. more..

Jul 23 (ST) Despite the recent reduction in monthly electricity tariffs, various sectors report that the anticipated benefits cannot be passed on to people. This is due to significant increases in other operating costs. Prez of All Ceylon Bakery Owners’ Association, N.K. Jayewardena said electricity is a substantial part of the operating costs for bakeries, which rely heavily on ovens, refrigerators, and other equipment. more..

Jul 23 (Island) The issue of the proposed 22nd Amendment which cast doubt about the holding of the presidential election in view of its requirement of a referendum and focus on the length of the president’s term of office has hopefully been dealt with. In his recent speech while opening the judicial complex in Galle, Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe went out of his way to assure his distinguished audience including judges of the Supreme Court of his commitment to democratic norms. more..

Jul 23 (Island) Prez Ranil Wickremesnghe may not have thought he was providing grist to the Opposition’s propaganda mill when he sought to scapegoat former Yahapalana MP Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne for what he called the inadequacies of the 19th Amendment. His tongue-in-cheek apology to the public for the ambiguities in that constitutional amendment and his attempt to use them to cast Dr. Wickramaratne in a bad light blew up in his face. Dr. Wickramaratne lost no time in setting the record straight; more..

Jul 23 (DM) The exact date for the much-anticipated prez election, has not yet been released. A report in our sister paper the Sunday Times anticipates the elections to be held on September 21. At the same time, political parties and civil society groups are pressurising the office of the Commissioner of Elections to announce the day of nominations as early as possible. Chairman of the Election Commission R.M.A.L. Rathnayake has announced that Treasury officials had assured him more..

Jul 23 (DM) Hot on the heels of a string of work stoppages by employees of several departments of the public sector which earned the wrath of the public, the unions of govt teachers and principals announced a work-to-rule campaign for two weeks from yesterday. The prevalence of grievances among the teaching community and many more sectors is an undeniable fact. Teachers are currently demanding among others the two-thirds of the balance payment of an allowance due to them, for the past several years. more..

Jul 23 (TM) Amidst the uncertainty faced by the State-owned National Carrier, SriLankan Airlines, The Sunday Morning reliably learns that its management is currently attempting to appoint a consultant to engage with its bondholders. This effort comes against the backdrop of Fitch Ratings affirming the rating on SriLankan Airlines Ltd’s $ 175 million Govt-guaranteed 7% unsecured bonds due 25 June at ‘C’ and subsequently withdrawing the rating. more..

Jul 23 (ST) Consternation reigns in SL following Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe’s directive to gazette an inconsequential draft 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, denounced by his critics to be a transparent political ruse for the purpose of delaying a highly anticipated Presidential elections in respect of which a date is to be declared soon by a jittery Elections Commission. This week, the President was in unnervingly fine fettle, first lambasting the judiciary for interfering more..

Jul 23 (CT) The Teacher-Principal Trade Union Alliance has announced a two-week work-to-rule campaign starting from yesterday and continuing till 2 August. During this period, teachers and principals will limit their activities strictly to their core duties, excluding all external tasks such as meetings, service sessions and document filing. As part of this campaign, principals will withdraw from WhatsApp groups managed by the Provincial, Ministry and Zonal Education Offices. more..

Jul 23 (TM) Despite significant reductions in fuel, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and electricity tariffs in the recent past, consumers across the country are not experiencing corresponding decreases in the prices of essential goods and services. The persistent issue has raised widespread frustration, with many pointing out that the Ministry of Trade, Commerce and Food Security, and Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) and the other relevant institutions have not implemented more..

Jul 23 (TM) As the Election Commission finds its feet to move on declaring a date for the Prez Election, there is growing concern that a long-established practice of using state funds and assets to bolster the image of govt figures in the run up to elections, has returned in force. Even though the date for the Prez Election has not yet been announced, the state mechanism seems to already be in overdrive, celebrating the achievements of Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe, praise about govt ministers more..

Jul 23 (CT) Arguably, far too much importance had been attached by economists to the different techniques of developing an economy and promoting economic growth without paying much attention to the crucial link between an economy and the society in which it operates. An economy is the product of a society, its culture, organizations and their governance. Even the Classical Economists whose writings were more about political economy than pure economics good governance was assumed as a given more..