Jul 21 (DM) Kalpitiya police have arrested Puttalam District MP Ali Sabri Raheem after he surrendered to the police this morning. Earlier, Puttalam Additional District Judge and Magistrate Ayonara Wimalaratne issued an open warrant for the immediate arrest of Ali Sabri Raheem when he failed to appear in court for a case filed by a NGO at the Puttalam Magistrate’s Court, related to charges of trespassing and property damage. He is expected to be presented before the court later today. more..

Jul 21 (AD) The Lunar Occultation of Saturn which is a rare astronomical event will be visible to SL just after midnight on July 24, 2024. The Arthur C Clarke Institute for Modern Technologies said that the event will start at approximately 00:50 a.m. on 25 July, 2024 and will be visible to the naked eye by looking at the Moon starting around 00:40 a.m. on July 25, from SL. Furthermore, Arthur C Clarke Institute added that a telescope or a pair of binoculars will enable the observation of more..

Jul 21 (DM) Dr. Jayampathi Wickramaratne, the former MP who played a key role in drafting the 19th Amendment, said the upper limit of the term of President and Parliament as mentioned in Article 83 of the Constitution was not touched at that time only to avoid a referendum, and therefore it is regretted that Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe placing the blame solely on him for the constitutional error. Issuing a statement in response to the President’s remarks, more..

Jul 21 (Island) Chamod Yodasinghe took a giant step towards cementing his position as one of the top sprinters in the country when he clocked a blistering time of 10.27 seconds to establish a new meet record in the men’s 100 metres at the National Sports Festival at the Sugathadasa Stadium last week. The 24-year-old overtook Umanga Surendra (10.36 secs), Shehan Ambepitiya (10.31 secs), Chinthake de Soysa (10.29 secs) and Vinoj Suranjaya (10.27 secs) to occupy the third place in the all time best more..

Jul 21 (EN) Net foreign assets of Sri Lanka’s banking system turned positive in May 2024, official data showed, amid a steady reduction in the negative reserve position of the central bank helped by the current interest rate structure and domestic credit. In May the combined net foreign assets position of commercial banks and the central bank was about 311 million US dollars by May, up from a negative 178 million US dollars a month earlier, central bank data show. more..

Jul 21 (ST) The second terminal construction of the BIA extension project will begin shortly after the delay of over one year under a concessionary Japanese International Agency (JICA) loan scheme, Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva said. The construction of the second terminal at the BIA began at a cost of Rs. 145 billion under the ‘JICA’ soft loan scheme. in 2020, but has been stalled since 2022 as a result of Sri Lanka’s economic crisis. more..

Jul 21 (AD) A massive fire erupted on a container cargo merchant vessel about 102 nautical miles south west of Goa on Friday. The vessel was on way from Gujarat’s Mundra to Colombo. On receiving the information, Indian Coast Guard diverted the ship to proceed to the distressed vessel with maximum speed. Also, a Dornier aircraft took off for aerial assessment. The ship is carrying Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) cargo and explosions have been occurring on front part of the merchant vessel. more..

Jul 21 (TM) Govt has incurred a staggering loss of nearly Rs. 22 billion in tax arrears and penalties over the past five-and-a-half years due to the inefficiency of the Inland Revenue Department (IRD), as revealed in the latest audit report from the National Audit Office (NAO), issued last week. The report has highlighted that nearly 20% of the VAT revenue identified for collection has become irretrievably lost. It has further revealed that as of 31 December 2022, more..

Jul 21 (ST) Serious interest from major Indian operators have been seen flowing in for national carrier, SriLankan Airlines for the past few months and some are likely to firm up after the Cabinet decided to cancel its sale, as per a statement by the state’s restructuring agency on Thursday. “Globally there’s no real appetite for this carrier,” a source close to its restructuring told the Sunday Times Business on Friday. He said what was ongoing was a bailout situation. more..

Jul 21 (TM) The opening ceremony of the first phase of the Polonnaruwa National Cricket Stadium took place on Thursday under the patronage of Sports Minister Harin Fernando. This new stadium was constructed under the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) National Development Pathway programme, which aims to provide equal opportunities for talented cricketers to represent the national team. The ceremony was also attended by former President Maithripala Sirisena and SLC President Shammi Silva. more..

Jul 21 (ST) Binura Fernando, Chamindu Wickremasinghe, Dinesh Chandimal, and Kusal Janith Perera have earned their places in the national T20 side to face India in the three-match series starting next Saturday at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. They have replaced Dilshan Madushanka, Angelo Mathews, Sadeera Samarawickrema, and Dhananjaya de Silva, who were part of the T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies last month. Left-arm seamer Fernando impressed many during more..

Jul 21 (SO) Continuing public protests, a Code of Conduct for cricketers and an Investigative Report compiled by a Supreme Court judge that lies in limbo have coincided with an ICC meeting in Colombo. Ironically SL is hosting the annual ICC meeting for the first time when the controlling body of cricket in the country has been surviving on a knife’s edge amid an unprecedented call from Parliament for an overall followed by a Probe or Recommendation by retired Supreme Court judge KT Chitrasiri. more..

Jul 21 (ST) It was near but yet far for Kandy Falcons who needed 17 runs in the last over and Ramesh Mendis almost brought them to the winning post, But they fell short by two runs which ensured a thrilling 1-run win for Jaffna Kings in the Qualifier 2 of the fifth Lanka Premier League at the R. Premadasa Stadium yesterday. An unbeaten 105 in 54 balls inclusive of 12 boundaries and five sixes by Kusal Mendis and supported by spin pair Fabian Allen and Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, more..

Jul 21 (ST) After SL bowlers restricted Bangladesh women to a below-par score, Vishmi Gunaratne played a masterful knock to lead SL to a comfortable 7-wicket win in their opening Group B Asia Cup fixture at Dambulla yesterday. Gunaratne, 18, showcased her class with some beautiful strokes. SL, chasing 112 to win, reached 114 with 2.5 overs to spare. She was ruthless with her batting, taking the bowlers to the cleaners. She reached her third int'l half-century off just 43 balls, more..

Jul 21 (ST) My dear new Maco Rathnayake, I am sorry to write to you at this time when you must be very busy, what with an upcoming election and an announcement about its date expected at any time. I hope you don’t mind me calling you the new Maco though you are really the chairman of your Commission. That is the term we are used to. When you called a press briefing this week, everyone was excited. They thought you will announce the date of the big election. more..

Jul 21 (ST) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe and Minister Harin Fernando were set to attend the 48th National Sports Games at the Sugathadasa Outdoor Stadium on Wednesday. Instead, in an ironic plot twist, Prez Wickremesinghe chose to distribute title deeds to 50,000 low-income families living in Colombo flats at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium. With elections around the corner, perhaps it was more advantageous for the President to attend the title deed distribution event more..

Jul 21 (Island) One key reason for India’s recent cricketing glory is the IPL that was launched in 2008. It must be mentioned that Indian cricket officials weren’t all that fancy about T-20 cricket two decades ago. Test and ODI cricket were already bringing them much wealth and the game was thriving. A T-20 league was initiated by the Indian Board to counter the rival Indian Cricket League, which was a private venture. The sole purpose seemed to keep the leading players within the system more..

Jul 20 (Island) R. Sampanthan MP, the accredited Tamil political leader for the last fifteen years, passed away on June 30. I am late in writing this obituary. There have been many commentaries on Sampanthan’s life and politics, including Sanjana Hattotuwa’s excellent cross-sectional summary (in Groundviews) of the commentaries on the late MP and political leader. Along with citing Meera Srinivasan and Narendra Modi, Dr. Hattotuwa presents what he calls snapshots from a divided country. more..

Jul 21 (Island) The govt on Thursday backed out of its announced decision to enact a 22A to the present constitution. Or so we thought on the authority of Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe who formally announced that he had directed the matter be held over until the prez election is concluded later this year. But this, as our tourism blurbs proclaim, is a country like no other. Within hours of the Justice Minister’s press communique on the subject, The relevant gazette is published under the hand of the Prez! more..

Jul 21 (TM) That Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe is working according to his own agenda of trying to create confusion over the holding of the Prez Election is now evident with his move to gazette the controversial 22nd Amendment despite a directive by his Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe to hold the gazetting of the piece of legislation until the conclusion of the election. The irony of Wickremesinghe’s latest drama is the fact that he had first presented to Parliament more..

Jul 21 (ST) The forthcoming prez election seems to have given the wrong message to trade unions and their handlers that it is an opportune time to strike. The JVP’s prez candidate admitted to this newspaper that his party was masterminding the string of strikes unleashed in recent weeks. The railway strike, for instance, prevented poor daily wage earners, the working class, from commuting to the city and getting back home. Clearly realising the backlash it was facing from the public, more..

Jul 21 (TM) For too long now, elections in this country have been won by those who succeeded the most in fooling the masses. With a Presidential Election now at hand, there appears to be intense competition among political parties to prey on the people who, as history has shown, are remarkably easy to fool. On Friday (19), President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who has mastered the art, made a pronouncement at a public event which the media in general considered as newsworthy. more..

Jul 21 (CT) President Ranil Wickremesinghe publicly announced last Sunday (14) that if Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa supports his efforts to rescue the country, the membership ban imposed on Premadasa will be lifted. President Wickremesinghe who said the country has been saved from bankruptcy, acknowledged the SJB’s stance on the need to eliminate corruption and expressed his willingness to collaborate with them in combating it. more..

Jul 21 (SO) Ours is a world connected and indeed run by computers. It would be virtually impossible to print this newspaper without the aid of computers. In fact, without noticing, computers have quietly taken over almost every aspect of our life, from travel to health. And that is without even factoring new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning. The extent to which computers dictate and control our lives became apparent on Friday, when a worldwide computer or IT outage, more..

Jul 21 (CT) Sri Lanka’s partnership with the UNESCO, spanning over seven decades, has significantly elevated the nation’s global standing in education, culture, and sciences. Sri Lanka’s journey with UNESCO began in 1949, initiated by the first Prime Minister and External Affairs Minister, D.S. Senanayake. This partnership has played a crucial role in preserving Sri Lanka’s cultural and natural heritage, fostering education, and promoting sustainable development. more..

Jun 20 (Island) Criminal gangs often access embarrassing or demeaning images of their victims and publicise them through social media, DIG Nihal Thalduwa said. He said that following the assassination of Club Wasantha, images of his bloodied body in the mortuary were released on social media platforms. “This was probably done initially by social media accounts that are linked with those who carried out the attack. more..

Jul 20 (DM) SL exporters have expressed their strong opposition to the planned removal of the Simplified Value Added Tax (SVAT) system, highlighting its negative implications on the export sector and broader economy. “Without SVAT, the exporters will be required to pay VAT upfront on their purchases, significantly straining cash flow and tying up capital essential for business operations,” a statement issued by National Chamber of Exporters (NCE), sole chamber representing more..

Jun 20 (AD) SL Computer Emergency Readiness Team (SL CERT) has initiated an investigation into 40 govt information systems in order to determine if they have been compromised by the mass global IT outage in software provided by a leading US-based cyber security firm. Senior Information Engineer of SL CERT Charuka Damunupola confirmed that reports have been called to ascertain whether the relevant govt information systems operate using Microsoft applications, which have been more..

Jun 20 (PMD) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe urged that there should be no fear regarding the constitutional amendment. He emphasized that when making constitutional amendments, he entrusts the responsibility to experienced professionals. He mentioned that in the past, lawyers like K.N. Choksi were involved in such matters. However, since Mr. Choksi had passed away by the time of more..

Jun 20 (FT) Major US airlines ordered ground stops on Friday citing communications issues, while other carriers, media companies, banks and telecoms firms around the world also reported system outages were disrupting their operations, said media reports. American Airlines, Delta, United Airlines and Allegiant Air grounded flights less than an hour after Microsoft said it resolved its cloud services outage that impacted several low-cost carriers. It was not immediately clear whether more..

Jun 20 (FT) The third Bay of Bengal Economic Dialogue concluded successfully at Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, centred around the theme New World Order and BIMSTEC: Curtain Raiser to the Sixth BIMSTEC Summit. This significant event, co-hosted by the South Asian Network on Economic Modelling (SANEM), brought together key stakeholders from Bangladesh, India, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand to deliberate on pivotal regional issues. more..