Dec 6 (CT) Influence by senior National players when it comes to selecting national coaches was no secret during the past era of SLC, where some top ex-national players turned coaches had to give up their posts due to strong objection by certain national players. But the present Cricket Committee Chairman, Aravinda de Silva, assured coaches that era is over, and SLC is fully backing coaches to do the right thing. "One thing we can assure coaches is if they do the right thing we will be back them. more..

Dec 6 (FT) Russia’s Ambassador Alexander Karchava asserted that Sri Lanka could do a lot better to lure tourists from his country. Karchava said Sri Lanka had been unable to attract Russian tourists despite two destinations that are favoured by them, Turkey and Egypt, becoming less attractive propositions of late. Sri Lanka, which remains a preferred destination among Russians, has not been able to capitalise on the current global political status quo, he claimed.  more..

Dec 6 (CT) Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has taken the initiative to pitch an advance coaching plan and vision to develop knowledge right through to grass root level of their coaches when they conducted their first coaches' conference headed by National Coaches, High Performance Manager Simon Wills, Chairman of Cricket Committee Aravinda de Silva and COO of SLC Jerome Jayaratne at the Sports Ministry yesterday. more..

Dec 6 (FT) Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake stressed that funds allocated to provincial councils by the Central Govt through its Budget 2017 had not been reduced. In a statement released by his office, Minister claimed that there was no basis for the charges made by certain provincial council chief ministers that Budget 2017 had curtailed the amount of money allocated to provincial councils compared to previous budgets. Minister’s statement however highlighted that system of allocating more..

Dec 6 (DM) At least three members of the same family including a four-year-old child were shot dead following a shooting incident in Balapitiya this evening, police said. The victims were identified as 31-year-old man, his 28 year-old wife and five year-old child. They were in front of a garment factory in the area, when a gunman opened fire at them. Soon after the incident, the critically injured victims were admitted to Balapitiya hospital, where they succumbed to their injuries. more..

Dec 6 (Hindu) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa is no more. Seventy-four days after being admitted to hospital here, the general secretary of the AIADMK passed away at 11.30 p.m. on Monday. She did not respond to emergency life support treatment administered after she suffered a cardiac arrest a day earlier. She was 68. Late in the night, her body was being taken to Veda Nilayam, her residence in Poes Garden in Chennai. more..

Dec 6 (DM) The earnings from tourism arrivals recording US $ 249.3 million in October while the 10-month earnings peaked to US $ 2.75 billion as the arrivals rose by 14.6% to 1.66 million.    This is in comparison to the earnings of US $ 2.4 billion recorded for the same period last year. Meanwhile, the workers repatriated earnings of US $ 607.5 million in October, an increase of paltry 0.4% YoY while the worker remittances for the 10-month period increased by 3.5% YoY to US $ 5.99 billion.  more..

Dec 6 (Island) US Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco will increase bank interest rates in 2017 under the new Donald Trump administration, which will have a negative impact on countries like Sri Lanka, CB Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy said. Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams said he supports an  interest-rate increase in 2017 and will likely aim at Fed’s 2% goal, reports said earlier. "To face the challenge Sri Lanka has placed the macro economic consolidation more..

Dec 6 (Island) Several individuals of the Rajapaksa Foundation would be appointed to the Director Board of Diyagama International Cricket stadium as they had invested money in its construction, Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara said. He made this comment in reply to a query by JVP MP Bimal Ratnayake during the Committee Stage debate of the Budget when Finance Head of Sports Ministry was taken up in Parliament. more..

Dec 6 (DM) Central Bank is awaiting Parliament nod for the 2017 budget to decide on as to how it could implement the proposal to double the minimum capital levels of licensed commercial banks, but the Governor said he welcomed the proposal as it could consolidate the overcrowded banking sector.  Budget 2017 proposed to increase the minimum core capital level from the current Rs.10 billion to Rs.20 billion of all licenced commercial banks, but was silent on the timelines of implementation. more..

Dec 6 (Island) Keeping up with the current industry trends, Mercmarine Training, one of Sri Lanka’s foremost maritime training institutes—a member of the Mercmarine Group--has now come forward to train young Sri Lankan women to secure high-paying job opportunities on ocean going foreign vessels or related shore jobs. In the recent times, global organizations including the IMO (International Maritime Org) have held several conferences to discuss the advancement of women more..

Dec 6 (CT) Lack of fast bowling replacements had hurt SL during many international competitions, including Cricket World Cup 2015 and recent England tour, and will once again be in focus when SL tour South Africa for Three Tests, Three T20s and Five ODIs starting from 18th of this month. After a number of injuries during the England series, Sri Lanka went in with a fully fledged spin bowling attack during the home series more..

Dec 6 (DM) Inter Provincial Private Bus Association (IPPBA) President Sarath Vijitha Kumara said today that the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation Secretary Nihal Somaweera had informed of a decision to issue new spot fine sheets for drivers. Discussions were held at the Presidential Secretariat this afternoon with the participation of Transport Ministry Secretary Nihal Somaweera, representatives of Sri Lanka Police, Motor Traffic Commissioner General Jagath Chandrasiri, more..

Dec 6 (Island) Ports and Shipping Minister Arjuna Ranatunga yesterday urged the Sports Minister to table in Parliament the details of all appointments made in cricket administration since the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) election last January. He said so participating in the Committee Stage debate of the Budget 2017 when the Finance Head of the Sports Ministry was taken up yesterday. Ranatunga said there had been irregularities in many of those appointments. more..

Dec 6 (DN) The Joint Opposition parliamentarians too will have to take the responsibility for the threat levelled by the protesters on Saturday along Parliament Road if the members were present at the site, PM Ranil Wickremesinghe said in Parliament. PM made this observation referring to JO protest along Parliament Road on Saturday after JO MP Dinesh Gunawardena raised a privilege issue. more..

Dec 6 (DN) 25 tons of Triposha dispatched by train by officers of the Rajagiriya Factory to the Badulla District Health Services Office for distribution among expectant mothers and low weight children in Badulla district have been lying idle in two goods compartments at the Kotagala Railway Station for the past two weeks. The stock of Triposha had been handed over to the Railway Department on Oct 3 for dispatch to Badulla. As 2 months had passed since handing over the consignment to the railways more..

Dec 6 (Island) President Maithripala Sirisena is scheduled to visit Moscow in late March next year. President Sirisena would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 23, Russian ambassador in Colombo Alexander Karchava announced. Addressing the media, Ambassador explained the status on bilateral relations and efforts to further strengthen trade and investment. Responding to a query, the Ambassador said that Russia could meet Sri Lanka’s defence requirements. more..

Dec 6 (CT) Minister Rajitha Senaratne said he will bring laws to regulate private hospitals. He gave this assurance yesterday when participating in the debate on the vote of Ministry of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine, during the Budget Select Committee stage in Parliament. Minister, who said that in order to dress a wound, at a private hospital, a sum of Rs 14,000 was being charged and the private hospital bill of more..

Dec 6 (ENS) North SL Tamils are fervently praying for the recovery of the TN Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa, who had suffered a cardiac arrest, Northern Province CM C.V. Wigneswaran said on Monday. “As a leader, Jayalalithaa has won the hearts of the Northern Tamils, and is loved and respected by them. It is in her nature to say what she wants to say fearlessly and that in a cut and dry manner.  Our prayer is that she would recover fully and continue to shine in political firmament,” more..

Dec 6 (CT) Russian Ambassador Alexander A. Karchava said Russia has no intention of pushing or squeezing in to make its presence felt in Sri Lanka. However, it would gradually and quite naturally make it happen. To the question, by the media, as to where Russia is in the global competitor list, who are wooing Sri Lanka to do business, the envoy said, "Gradually and quite naturally we want to promote bilateral relations in the area of tourism, science, military technical cooperation more..

Dec 6 (DN) The investment in Sri Lanka by London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) technology facility is a clear example of the investment confidence foreign countries have on Sri Lanka, PM Ranil Wickremesinghe said. Speaking at the opening of the LSEG Technology Facility at the TRACE Expert City yesterday he said that unity govts formed by two rival political parties is not something very common in the world but more..

Dec 6 (DM) More than a hundred SLTB buses which were deployed during the strike by private bus operators on Friday had been pelted with stones apparently by the strikers at various places in the country. It left 22 SLTB employees and eight passengers injured, one of them in a critical condition. Police had arrested more than 50 miscreants allegedly involved in the attacks on the SLTB buses.    This shows one of the darker sides of the mindset of trade unions in our country. more..

Dec 6 (DM) The Port City project -stalled, suspended and recommenced-has been under public scrutiny for various reasons. Five years in the making, the project has withstood regime change, public protests and spurious criticism levelled by political parties and personalities who have changed their tunes according to election whims. Nevertheless a group of activists who voiced their concerns over the detrimental consequences of the project have remained relentless. more..

Dec 6 (DM) Tamara Kunanayakam is best known in Sri Lanka as former Ambassador to the UN in Geneva from 2011 to 2012. It is less well known that she chaired the UN Working Group on the Right to Development from 2011 to 2015 and was Ambassador to Cuba from 2008 to 2011. Following the outpouring of condolences from around the world on the death of Fidel Castro, she responded to some questions for Daily Mirror. more..

Dec 6 (Forbes) A recent delegation to China led by former president Mahinda Rajapaksa warned that there may be public unrest if China carries out a new plan to create a 15,000 acre special economic zone in remote Hambantota district. Together with the former Minister G.L. Peiris, the delegation personally delivered their doomsday message in Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. Hambantota is location of many large-scale, more..

Dec 6 (SL) Environmentalists have accused Iranian engineers of a lackadaisical attitude on the Uma Oya Project saying their methodology is the prime cause for the water shortage that had affected more than 3,000 families in Bandarawela. Naturalist Indaka Kamaladasa, a resident of the area, said for the last one year they had been getting water from trucks. “Each family gets 500 litres of water once in three days. more..

Dec 6 (DM) On October 2, 2016, a 28-day odyssey from Point Pedro in Jaffna down to Matara, covering the entire length of the country began to collect funds to establish a cancer treatment facility in Karapitiya. Among the celebrities, who joined this venture was Mahela Jayawardena, the former Sri Lanka skipper who trail blazed the entire 670km along with hundreds of other people to support the venture. more..

Dec 6 (PSL) President Maithripala Sirisena says he would make the required institutional and constitutional background to draft a national education policy for disabled children and to avoid defects in operating of international charters and agreements on the persons with disabilities and to ensure their will not face.  President was speaking at the celebration of the Int'l Day of Persons with Disabilities 2016, more..

Dec 6 (DM) Leader of the JVP Anura Kumara Dissanayake asked Thilanga Sumathipala, the Deputy Speaker who also happens to bePresident Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) not to use his parliamentary post to defend employees of SLC.    He said this when Sumathipala was trying to respond to allegations made by Minister Arjuna Ranatunga regarding some employees at SLC. “We have an issue with the way deputy speaker more..

Dec 6 (DM) In an important symbol of enduring friendship with Sri Lanka, U.S. Ambassador Atul Keshap and the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) Principal Deputy Director William Moser, alongside local officials, broke ground yesterday on the new U.S. Embassy in Colombo. The multi-building complex will be located on the current Embassy site, which has expanded to include an adjacent property. more..

Dec 6 (NR) The Colombo High Court today acquitted former Minister Basil Rajapaksa in case filed against him for allegedly misappropriating Divi Neguma funds to publish almanacs during the period leading up to the 2015 Presidential Election. Former Minister Basil Rajapaksa and former Director of the Divi Neguma Department Kithsiri Ranawaka were indicted at the Colombo High Court on six counts by Attorney General under offenses more..

Dec 6 (Island) Chairman of Anti-Corruption Front Ven. Ulapane Sumangala Thera demanded that President Sirisena launch a full investigation into a recent incident, where the IGP received a call allegedly from the Law and Order Minister, urging him not to arrest the former working director of Lanka Mineral Sands Ltd who was also the Basnayake Nilame of Devinuwara Vishnu Devalaya. more..

Dec 6 (ST) Just three days after last year’s presidential election, someone predicted the Perpetual Treasuries Ltd (PTL) bond issue on an online website for stock market investors. The man wrote on Sri Lanka Equity Forum: “PTL owned by Free Lanka Capital Holdings owners will mostly get a large amount of business volumes of Treasury Bills and Treasury Bonds business in new Yahapalana Govt of Maithri-Ranil Regime more..

Dec 6 (CT) Every year we experience at least two dengue outbreaks. Both of which are accompanied by the monsoon rains. This year, sticking to its strict schedule, it has turned up again to cull our population. This year the last dengue outbreak was reported in July where 10,636 cases were reported, by and large the highest number of cases reported this year. During the last 11 months of this year, 44,535 suspected dengue cases have been reported to the Epidemiology Unit from more..

Dec 6 (CT) Oppressive govts over time, have employed diverse means towards silencing dissent. For instance govts usually employ a three-fold strategy to impose restrictions on civil society organizations, namely through, legislative; judicial; and extra-legal means. Aside from this a fourth strategy is employed especially in post conflict societies to control civil society and NGOs by including them in State led processes (albeit in a tokenistic way) in an apparent non-hostile environment. more..

Dec 6 (Reuters) Shares ended slightly weaker on Tuesday, ending a four-session run of gains, to slip from a near three-week high as investors booked profits. CSE ended 0.28% or 17.72 points down at 6,350.40, slipping from its highest close since Nov. 15 hit on Monday. The bourse gained 1.17% last week, recording its first weekly gain in four weeks. Despite recent gains, investors are concerned that proposed increases in various taxes and fees would reduce disposable income and challenge consumption-led growth. more..

Dec 6 (Island) The Provincial Health Service Drivers’ organisation yesterday threatened to stage a strike. The officials of the All Island Provincial Health Service Drivers’ Organisation said that if there was no positive response to their demands they would resort to a token strike on Dec. 21.  After the token strike the authorities would be given another week to solve the workers’ problems and unless they complied, a continuous strike would commence on Dec. 28, more..

Dec 6 (Xinhua) Sri Lanka on Tuesday condoled over the death of India's Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa Jayaram, who was very outspoken on issues related to Sri Lanka. President Maithripala Sirisena said former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa Jayaram was dearly loved by her people. The President expressed his condolences over the death of Jayalalithaa who passed away on Monday after suffering from cardiac arrest. more..

Dec 6 (SLT) Sun kissed beaches, lush greenery, an ancient and an exquisite culture and heritage, exactly what a holiday maker would want. Sri Lanka is a country blessed with all the resources that any ordinary traveler would need. As the key institution in Sri Lanka to promote Sri Lanka worldwide, Sri Lanka Tourism is carrying various tourism promotional activities to promote Sri Lanka as a high – end tourist destination. At the moment, it has taken a new step of promoting more..