Constitutional amendment: No one can oppose 22A now: Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe

Constitutional amendment: No one can oppose 22A now: Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe 22nd Amendment will be 19th Amendment Plus and more Ministry of Defence cannot be alienated from President Elections possible only when environment is right SOE was declared unwillingly and will not be kept for long New COPE, COPA members can continue work they were doing Differentiating peaceful protesters from violent elements a struggle Disagree with allegations of double standards in application of law By Asiri Fernando The Government is confident that it can muster adequate support to pass the…

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President puts onus on IMF deal to all parties, MPs

President puts onus on IMF deal to all parties, MPs Opines program with IMF is the only solution whether people like it or not Recalls when negotiating with IMF, one of the biggest issues is “Government changes and the policies change” Says issue is not the substance but are we prepared to standby and to support IMF agreement Says Parliament could discuss any alternatives and make final decision Warns if MPs not prepared collectively then Parliament must take responsibility for consequences Insists MPs cannot say we are for half and…

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Net cast at Sri Lankans coming home to lift tourist numbers

Net cast at Sri Lankans coming home to lift tourist numbers By Nadia Fazlulhaq   Tamil Hindu devotees take part in the Ther Festival (Chariot Festival) at the Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil (Nallur Temple) in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, on August 21, 2017. Hundreds of thousands of Tamil Hindu devotees from across the globe attended this festival. (Photo by Creative Touch Imaging Ltd./NurPhoto via Getty Images)[/caption] Indian visitors and the Sri Lankan diaspora will be the target segments next month to help revive tourism. Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau Chairman Chalaka Gajabahu said…

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President calls for new economic model

President calls for new economic model  (Financil Times 6th Aug) President Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday declared that there can be no reliance on old economic models any longer and there should be innovative thinking, while paying prompt attention to the global changes.  The President made these remarks delivering the keynote address at the inauguration of the two-day “Let’s reset Sri Lanka” forum organised by the Advocata Institute.  President Wickremesinghe pointed out that whether the International Monetary Fund (IMF) proposal is good or bad, whether anyone likes it or not, it should…

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CWG 2022: Sri Lanka’s Nethmi Poruthotage wins bronze in wrestling

CWG 2022: Sri Lanka’s Nethmi Poruthotage wins bronze in wrestling Sri Lankan wrestler Nethmi Poruthotage today (Aug 05) won a bronze medal in the women’s 57kg freestyle wrestling event at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham. Earlier today, she was defeated by India’s Anshu Malik in the semi-final stage via technical superiority (without any point scored by the opponent). However, in the bronze medal match, the 18-year-old successfully secured victory over Australia’s Irene Symeonidis by technical superiority. This is the fourth medal bagged by Sri Lanka’s contingent at Commonweal Games.…

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Pro-’Aragalaya’ Scottish woman being probed, passport confiscated

Pro-’Aragalaya’ Scottish woman being probed, passport confiscated Accused of defaming SL internationally Aragalaya priest Fr. Jeewantha files FR YouTuber Ratta granted bail IUSF alleges ‘white van’ abduction First man to storm Secretariat remanded (BY Ruwani Fonseka and Dinitha Rathnayake – The Morning) The Sri Lanka Police has launched an investigation into a Scottish woman who was residing in Sri Lanka, named Kayleigh Fraser and better known by her social media name Kayz Fraser, for being actively involved in the “aragalaya” movement centred around Galle Face, through which she has allegedly brought disrepute…

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Constitutional reform and economic downturn

Constitutional reform and economic downturn Media reports say that the draft 22nd Amendment (21st Amendment if enacted) is to be debated in the Cabinet today. They also claim that the current draft is different from the 22nd Amendment prepared under the instructions of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Interestingly, both drafts were prepared by the same Justice Minister and he who justified the earlier draft will also explain the basis for the new draft as well. It is ironic that the Gotabaya Rajapaksa government that enacted the 20th Amendment in October…

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Sri Lanka private credit negative in June 2022, Rs 189 bn printed

Sri Lanka private credit negative in June 2022, Rs 189bn printed ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s credit from commercial banks to private borrowers fell 21 billion rupees in June 2022 with dollar denominated loans falling, while 189 billion rupees had been printed by the central bank official data showed, as forex shortages continued to persist. Credit to private sector from rupee banking units went by 16 billion rupees to 6,959 billion rupees, while dollar denominated loans fell from 794.6 billion rupees to 738.1 billion rupees. Sri Lanka is facing steep inflation…

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Opinion: Remembering the India-Sri Lanka accord and how it was derailed

Opinion: Remembering the India-Sri Lanka accord and how it was derailed MR Narayan Swamy (News Minute) It has been thirty-five long years since an experiment failed to herald peace to Sri Lanka. One wonders what the island nation could have achieved if the key players had not scuttled the India-Sri Lanka agreement of July 29, 1987.  When the pact was signed by Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President Junius Jayewardene, two Indian ministers shared with Gandhi their insight of the situation. External Affairs Minister PV Narasimha Rao…

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SPORTSCommonwealth Games 2022

Commonwealth Games 2022 Sri Lanka to commence beach volleyball campaign against tough opponents Sri Lanka is set to commence the beach volleyball campaign in the Birmingham Commonwealth Games when the men’s and women’s teams meet Canada and Australia respectively at the Smith Field on July 31. In their first encounter, Malintha Yapa and Ashen Rashmika will encounter Canada. The women’s team of Deepika Bandara and Chathurika Madhushani will meet Australia. Sri Lanka’s opponents are the silver medallists from the last edition. Of the 54 Commonwealth nations, 24 teams (12 women’s…

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