Jul 18 (Island) A company entrusted with establishing a passenger transport management system based on GPS technology recently told the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Energy and Transport that the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) had not provided necessary data to successfully complete the project. SLTB had also not installed the GSP devices on an adequate number of buses, the representatives of the company informed the committee. more..

Jul 18 (EN) Passenger traffic at the BIA is set to exceed pre-pandemic volumes by year-end and technology can be used to address congestion, an international aviation technology company said. Self-service check-in, biometrics, reducing passenger touch points and off airport processing are some of the strategies now used to boost efficiency. Passenger traffic, which includes regional transit passengers, at the BIA has topped 4 million by April and is likely reach 9.5 to 10 million more..

Jul 18 (NDTV) A recent picture of Sri Lanka's World Cup-winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga has gone viral on social media and users cannot believe the legendary cricketer's body transformation. Ranatunga was a star performer for Sri Lanka in the 1996 World Cup and under his captaincy, they went on to win the title for the only time in their history. Ranatunga entered politics after taking retirement from the sport and he was also a Member of Parliament in Sri Lanka. more..

Jul 18 (AD) Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles says that one suspect has been arrested in connection with the murder of former captain of SL’s Under-19 cricket team Dhammika Niroshana. Dhammika Niroshana, also known as Jonty was shot dead on Tuesday night (16) in front of his house at Kande Mawatha in Bogahawatte, Ambalangoda. Niroshana was shot by an assailant who was armed with a 12-bore rifle, while he had been shot in the head killing him instantly. more..

Jul 18 (EN) If there was 80% turnout at SL’s 2024 prez election, a candidate would have to obtain over 7 million votes to win, the UNP said, claiming that this would be an insurmountable challenge for rival party NPP. UNP general secretary Palitha Range Bandara speaking at an event on Wednesday said there are 17.1 million Sri Lankans registered to vote at the presidential election due to be held between Sept 17 and Oct 17. more..

Jul 18 (DM) SJB has raised concerns about a recent meeting between senior UNP members and Election Commission officials. SJB MP Mayantha Dissanayake emphasized the need for transparency regarding the discussions held by the UNP General Secretary and its Chairman with the Election Commission members, especially since the UNP leaders have publicly called for early Presidential elections. Dissanayake stated that while the Election Commission will eventually announce more..

Jul 18 (DN) State owned enterprises reforms must continue without interruptions or the benefits that were obtained from the debt restructuring process would be useless, CEO of Advocata Institute Dhananath Fernando said at Unlocking Economic Potential: Why Debt Restructuring Alone Won’t Suffice without SOE Reforms event. He said that the govt annually has to pump in billions to keep these institutions up and it is not viable to continue this traditional process. more..

Jul 18 (AD) Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles says that all but two suspects involved in the recent shooting and killing of popular businessman Wasantha Perera alias Club Wasantha in Athurugiriya have been arrested by the police. “Athurugiriya incident. I can’t go into much detail. We have arrested most of the suspects that need to be taken into custody. I think there’s only two more left (to be arrested).” more..

Jul 18 (Island) Police investigators suspect that the two hitmen who assassinated Surendra Wasantha Perera, alias Club Wasantha, on 08 July, at the opening of a tattoo parlour in Aturugiriya town, have fled the country. Wasantha’s driver was also killed while four others were wounded in the daring attack close to the Aturugiriya police station. Several senior police officers say the two men must have left the country in a trawler from the Southern coast of the country. more..

Jul 18 (SLN) A search operation conducted by the Navy in the beach vicinity stretching from Wellamundalama to Kolankanaththa in Puttalam in the evening of 17th July 2024 led to the recovery of about 778kg (wet weight) of dried turmeric. It is suspected that the consignment of dried turmeric was smuggled into the country via sea routes. SL Navy remains ever alert and conducts patrols and search operations in the coastal areas of the island to prevent the influx of illegal items. more..

Jul 18 (CT) With the exposure of medical negligence and corruption at Chavakachcheri Base Hospital in the Northern Province by its Acting Medical Superintendent, Dr. Archchuna Ramanathan, significant issues arose for many medical practitioners at the hospital. In response, Health Minister Ramesh Pathirana led a team to visit both Chavakachcheri Base Hospital and Jaffna Teaching Hospital, engaging in discussions with govt officials and hospital administrations about more..

Jul 18 (DN) Colombo Dockyard (CDPLC) inked an agreement with Hambantota International Port Group (Pvt) Ltd (HIPG), to set up a fully-fledged workshop at the HIP facility on July 16, 2024. Once the workshop is set up, this will augment the service availability and the speed of service to the clients, improving the economics to the end user. This new workshop, when in operation, will extend the service footprint of Colombo Dockyard to the southernmost tip of Sri Lanka. more..

Jul 18 (PMD) Cabinet has approved the proposal presented by Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe to identify areas occupied by Plantation Workers on state-owned plantation lands managed by the State Plantation Corporation and regional plantation companies and to draft legislation to formally designate these areas as new settlement villages. A special discussion in this regard was also held at the Presidential Secretariat, more..

Jul 18 (CT) Anura Wasgewatta, Head of the Raids Division of Kandy Municipal Council, has lodged a complaint at Kandy Headquarters Police, alleging that K.D. Lalkantha, an Executive Committee member of the NPP, threatened him during a recent NPP public rally in Kandy. The complaint is related to an incident where Wasgewatta allegedly tried to remove an NPP cut-out near the Clock Tower in the city. Lalkantha, addressing the NPP public rally, claimed such individuals should be more..

Jul 18 (AD) Fort Magistrate’s Court has ordered for underworld criminal gang member Piyum Hasthika alias Piyuma to be remanded in custody until July 31. This order was issued when the suspect, who was detained under the custody of the CID after being repatriated to SL from Dubai, was produced before the court today. Piyum Hasthika alias Piyuma, who is reportedly the main accomplice of the notorious underworld figure and drug trafficker Salindu Gunaratne alias Kudu Salindu, more..

Jul 18 (AD) Court of Appeal has granted bail for BBS General Secretary Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thero, who had been sentenced to four years of rigorous imprisonment for making defamatory comments on Islam at Kuragala, until the hearing of the revision petition filed by him. This order was issued when the revision petition filed by Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thero was taken up for consideration this morning. more..

Jul 18 (DM) A teacher of a leading government school in Anuradhapura has been interdicted with immediate effect for conducting private tuition classes during school hours. Director of Education (NCP) S.M.W. Samarakoon said he had received several complaints from the residents of the area that the mathematics teacher of the school was in the habit of conducting private tuition classes during school hours and that he often signed attendance at school and left for private tuition. more..

Jul 18 (EN) USA has given vital equipment to SL’s Disaster Management Centre (DMC) to strengthen the island’s preparedness for climate-related emergencies, as climate change intensifies. The donation was made by the USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA), through the UN World Food Programme (WFP). The consignment is part of a broader US$ 2.5 millio (approx 760 million rupees) USAID-funded WFP project and will complement govt efforts to improve more..

Jul 18 (FT) Doing things differently and doing different things are two primary mechanisms we must embrace to come out of this economic mess that we are in. Well, the answer to why change is because repeating the past that led us to this present predicament is not at all a sound idea. I am not yet sure that we have understood this. Even with our backs against all the walls in and around us we still plan, and discuss doing more of the same that we were doing before. more..

Jul 18 (FT) Early in his presidency or rather, the balance of Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s presidential term, to complete which he was selected by the Rajapaksas and elected by the vote of the discredited ruling SLPP, Ranil Wickremesinghe chaired a conference at the Presidential Secretariat. He said “we can talk about holding elections after fulfilling the agreement with the IMF, completing the debt restructuring efforts and placing the economy firmly on a high-growth path”. more..

Jul 18 (TM) Election Commission (EC) stated that all appointments made by certain Provincial Governors during this period of the indefinite postponement of the LG elections have been suspended. This move followed complaints from Opposition parties and election monitors, who accused Southern Province Governor Lakshaman Yapa Abeywardana and Central Province Governor Lalith U. Gamage of violating election laws by more..

Jul 18 (Island) Election monitors threatened to take state officials, who are mandated to act according to election laws, to court if they continued to ignore blatant election-related violations. Executive Director of the PAFFREL Rohana Hettiarachchi said that politicians would not be able to violate election laws without the support of state officials.“We have to put an end to this. We have to move courts. The Governors of the Uva, Northern, Wayamba, Sabaragamuwa and North Central Provinces more..

Jul 18 (DM) Four women including the mother were arrested today in Aranayake following a video circulated on social media, which showed a six year-old child being beaten by some women. Police Spokesman DIG Nihal Thalduwa said the four women were arrested at Ehelagasthenna in Aranayake. He said the incident had occurred on July 12 noon and the video had been released on social media today. Aranayake police acted swiftly on the video and arrested four women. more..

Jul 18 (DM) As Sri Lanka awaits the removal from restrictive default, a status discouraging the potential investors, experts are optimistic about the nation’s ability to move beyond this ranking. The country has implemented crucial and painful measures to restructure its debt. It is now awaiting the final approval from the IMF to confirm the negotiated terms with the creditors. Once this approval is received, SL will gain more..

Jul 18 (TM) Electricity Consumers' Association (ECA) claimed that the CEB continues to fail to implement the conditions imposed by the Public Utilities Commission of SL (PUCSL). ECA General Secretary Sanjeewa Dhammika said that the PUCSL imposed seven conditions on the CEB when the electricity tariff revision was being approved on Monday. Although such conditions were imposed even when previous tariff revisions were being made, he charged that the CEB did not fulfill more..

Jul 18 (Island) Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) welcomed the recent decision by the PUCSL to implement a 25.3% reduction in industrial electricity tariffs, parallel to a 27% reduction for domestic customers and a 22.5% overall reduction effective from July 16, 2024. A press release said: ‘In addition to easing the burden on retail customers, JAAF commended the PUCSL decision for providing much-needed relief to SL’s apparel and export industries, enhancing competitiveness more..

Jul 18 (TM) Committee for Protecting the Rights of Prisoners (CPRP) has filed a writ of mandamus application in the Court of Appeal (CA), seeking the provision and facilitation of a voting process for prison inmates (convicts and suspects in remand custody) in order for the latter group to exercise their sovereign franchise and universal suffrage. The petition notes the absence of a proper voting mechanism within the prison system. The respondents named in the petition filed more..

Jul 18 (FT) SJB has denied allegations that their leader Sajith Premadasa refused the Premiership when it was offered by former Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa. de Silva disclosed that on the evening of 10 May 2022, four SJB members met with Rajapaksa to discuss the transition of power. “Four MPs — I, Eran Wickramaratne, Kabir Hashim, and Ranjith Madduma Bandara — met with Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and the discussion lasted until 10:20 p.m.,” de Silva said at the briefing more..

Jul 18 (EN) SL’s non-financial public sector enter which lost 910 billion rupees in 2022, as macro-economists printed money to boost growth and bungled a float with a surrender rule has made profits of 282 billion rupees in 2023. In 2022 the same state owned enterprises made 910 billion rupees of losses. A major turnaround was seen in CPC which lost 617 billion rupees in 2022 as the currency collapsed and the country was hit by more..

Jul 18 (TM) Election Commission (EC) stated that all appointments made by certain Provincial Governors during this period of the indefinite postponement of the LG elections have been suspended. This move followed complaints from Opposition parties and election monitors, who accused Southern Province Governor Lakshaman Yapa Abeywardana and Central Province Governor Lalith U. Gamage of violating election lawitha of Northern Province came to the highlight when she set up a new meet record in the women’s pole vault event yesterday at the National Sports Festival’s Athletics Meet commenced at Sugathadasa Stadium yesterday. Dhaksitha, an undergraduate from Jaffna Uni last month set up a new National record with 3.72m performance this time not at her best, but had a leap of 3.51m to create a new National Sports Festival meet record. more..

Jul 18 (FT) One of Adani Power’s renewable energy projects – 234 MW in Pooneryn – has likely to have hit a fresh legal hurdle after the Court of Appeal last week issued notices to several Ministries and others in a case filed by a private firm that had planned a 50MW wind power plant prior to the Indian giant’s proposed project on the same site in Pooneryn. The latest development follows the Court of Appeal’s consideration of an application preferred by the Petitioners, inter alia H.J.A.W. International more..