July 28 (DM) As suspected, at least by some, the two main partners of the coalition government are pledged to stick together till the next election in 2020. The chief argument advanced is stability to ensure investor confidence and the governance reform project to redeem the pledges made to the electorate in the two national elections in 2015. Underlying this commitment to each other is also a political interdependence, an acknowledgement that they need each other to secure more..

July 28 (SO) A new feather will be added to the country’s irrigation system admired for centuries, the world over when treasure objects to commence construction of the main dam of the Kaluganga reservoir, a part of the Moragahakanda Kaluganga Development project will be placed by President Maithripala Sirisena. Considered second only to the Mahaweli Development Project, Moragahakanda Kaluganga Project is slated more..

July 28 (Island) Often SLC’s Provincial and District level coaches do not get the credit they deserve for spotting raw talent. As debutant Lakshan Sandakan was foxing the Australian batsmen here at Pallekele, it emerged that how veteran cricket coach Keerthi Gunaratne identified Sandakan’s talent and had got him a scholarship to De Mazenod College, Kandana to pursue the sport at the top level. "I was initially studying at Karunaratne Vidyalaya, Mattumagala and my first coaches were more..

July 28 (PMD) President Maithripala Sirisena says special attention has been drawn towards the prevention of selling illicit drugs near schools targeting the school children under the national drug prevention programme. President also emphasized that the laws will be strictly enforced against those who involved in drug smuggling to protect our future generation. He made these remarks participating at the annual prize giving ceremony of the Kathaluwa Central College, Galle, today (27). more..

July 28 (DN) SL’s new bowling find Lakshan Sandakan said that it was hard to explain how he felt when he was told that he was playing in his first Test against Australia at Pallekele. “Australia are the world number one team and everyone wants to do well in Test cricket against them. I got an opportunity and I wanted to do well. Hard to explain how I feel,” said Sandakan after taking four wickets for 58 to dismiss Australia more..

July 28 (TRF) Indians workers stranded in the United Arab Emirates with expired work permits, no pay and limited food, water and sanitation have appealed to Indian govt for immediate repatriation and financial assistance. "Please help us reunite with our families," a migrant said in a video clip, adding that there were nearly 100 workers stuck with no money or documents to get back home. Fifteen workers from TN, who are among those at a camp for migrant workers, more..

July 28 (Yahoo) Cricket was introduced to the island of Sri Lanka by the British, and the first official match was played in 1832. Sri Lanka, which was known as Ceylon back then played their maiden first-class match in 1905 but made their international debut in the 1975 World Cup. On 21 July 1981, Sri Lanka was accorded full member status by the International Cricket Council on July 21, 1981, and played their first Test match against England in February 1982. more..

July 28 (Island) Customs Director General Chulalananda Perera or top ranking customs officers had not so far ordered the customs officials to seize 62 vehicles illegally assembled by Vehicles Lanka PVT Ltd, Jayapalawatte, Minuwangoda. SL Customs Central Investigations Bureau (CIB) raided the car sale yard on July 11, and uncovered mega vehicle racket amounting to Rs. 248 million. more..

July 28 (MD) Oman represented by Ithraa will be participating in the World Export Development Forum (WEDF), the annual flagship event of the Geneva-based International Trade Centre (ITC). The forum will be held in Colombo, from Oct 12-13. ITC is known as the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the UN. According to a press release, the 16th edition is co-hosted by the ITC and Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade of Sri Lanka through the EDB, more..

July 28 (FT) The Govt yesterday announced the Steering Committee would present an interim report to the Constitutional Assembly, which in this case is the Parliament, to be deliberated on before the formal drafting of the new Constitution can begin. A statement from the Steering Committee Secretary Neil Iddawala who is also the Chief of Staff and Parliament Deputy Director General however failed to give dates for the report being presented to Parliament. more..

July 28 (DM) Members of SLFP who participate in the Pada Yatra today will be considered to be traitors, Southern Province CM Shan Wijayalal De Silva said. “SLFP requests all party members not to participate in today’s Pada Yatra. Participating in the Pada Yatra will be an unforgivable offence,” he said. “Pada Yatras are not a new phenomenon in the country. We have many records of people conducting similar Pada Yatras in history.” more..

July 28 (CT) Fort Magistrate yesterday ordered the NFF Media Spokesman and former MP Mohammad Muzammil, who was arrested by the FCID, to be further remanded till 10 August. A written bail application submitted to Court by attorneys for the suspect was perused by Fort Magistrate before remand was extended to 10 August on which date she will be announcing her decision on it. FCID apprehended the suspect on charges of misusing a vehicle provided to the NFF by more..

July 28 (NST) The Youth and Sports Ministry plans to expand its volunteer programme, MyCorps, to Sri Lanka in 2017. Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said this is being done on the heels of its successful programme in Cambodia. "Just like the first programme, Malaysian youths will be recruited and sent to Sri Lanka for three months next year. "This follows the success of our 50 MYCorps volunteers who helped build water tanks and toilets in Cambodia this year," he said. more..

July 28 (DN) Six former Army personnel who were indicted over an incident where 24 Tamil civilians were killed, using firearms in 1996, were acquitted of all charges by Anuradhapura HC Judge. Jury consisting of six members returned unanimous not guilty verdicts. Final hearing continued for a month when it was taken for hearing after 20 yrs. Former Army personnel were accused of massacring 24 unarmed Tamil civilians more..

July 28 (FT) The Supreme Court yesterday listed to be mentioned on 11 August the Fundamental Rights petition filed by former Lankaputhra Development Bank General Manager and Chief Executive Lasantha Amarasekera challenging his removal on 28 June. Following the removal from his position at the bank, Amarasekera filed an FR petition with the Supreme Court, stating that his fundamental rights were violated by the management of the Lankaputhra Development Bank. more..

July 28 (CT) Former Auditor General Sarath Mayadunne, the govt's decision to assign to a three-man Committee some of the powers now vested in the Auditor General in the proposed Audit Bill raises serious doubts about its objectives. The former Auditor General said "Auditor General, an office established back in 1799, has to date functioned without any problems. There has been speculation about a proposal to vest some powers now vested in the Auditor General, in a 3-man Committee. more..

July 28 (Island) Two riot squads had been deployed to the Pallakele Cricket Stadium, but not in view of pada yatra organised by the Joint Opposition (JO) scheduled to start today, DIG, Priyantha Jayakody said. He said the two police video teams sent to Kandy would record the protest march from the beginning to the end like they do to other protests or any other event. DIG said that the police would arrest those who violated more..

July 28 (DN) Speaker Karu Jayasuriya yesterday returned to the country after medical treatments in Singapore. The Speaker’s media division said the Speaker under the medical advice would rest in the next few days and refrain from attending events. However, the release said the Speaker would pay his full attention towards Parliamentary affairs in the coming days. The Speaker also thanked everybody who wished him speedy recovery and all who inquired about his health. more..

July 28 (Island) In the wake of yesterday’s court order restraining an Opposition protest march scheduled for today from Kandy to Colombo, Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne said that such demonstrations had never helped overthrow governments. The order relating to the Jana Satana Pada Yatra was issued by the Kandy Chief Magistrate yesterday morning. He also restrained the UNP from conducting a membership drive within the Kandy City limits. more..

July 28 (CT) Mawanella Magistrate ordered the Joint Opposition (JO), which is set to start its march from Kandy to Colombo today, to use alternative routes circumventing the Mawanella town and its city limits. The JO is set to kick off its much touted four-day protest march from Kandy to Colombo this morning and its first stop was to be at Mawanella town. However, the UNP has decided to carry out a UNP membership drive today and more..

July 28 (DN) The Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CAFFE) has requested the major parties constituting the good governance government to desist from causing obstructions to the Kandy Colombo march planned by the Joint Opposition (JO) or attempting to stage a show of force against it. The CAFFE in a statement said other political parties have organised social activities at short notice at venues along the route taken by the Joint Opposition march. more..

July 28 (DM) COPE Chairman Sunil Handunnetti said an institution has been set up under the name Sri Lanka Cricket Aid Guarantee Company Limited with a capital of Rs.15 million belonging to Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC). He said this institution had been made up of life-members and it was illegal to invest funds belonging to the SLC to set up such an institution. Objective of the company is to raise money from the sale of tickets to foreign countries. Parliament should have been informed more..

July 28 (Island) Kandy Magistrate after considering an application by the police ordered the organisers of the JO’s protest march from Kandy to Colombo starting today to commence the march from outside the city limits. The magistrate also ordered the membership drive organised by the UNP to follow suit this afternoon. In the wake of the court ruling, JO announced that Jana Satana Pada Yatra would begin from Getambe at 9 am. more..

July 28 (DM) Despite the marvels of modern medical technology different forms of cancer are raging worldwide for various reasons. Yesterday was world head and neck cancer day and the International Federation of Head and Neck Oncology Societies says the burden of this form of cancer is putting a strain on the national health care systems and impoverishing individuals, families and society. In a statement the federation says it now has the support from 55 such societies around the world, more..

July 28 (DM) A mild and entertaining debate was sparked when President Maithripala Sirisena took part in a ceremony to enshrine treasures at the site of the Moragahakanda-Kalu Ganga Irrigation Development Project. The question was one of bragging rights. In short, the question was whether it was Mahinda or Maithri who owns the project. That’s politics in Sri Lanka, good for a bit of banter both ways, but not enough to warrant serious comment. What turned light into heavy more..

July 28 (SL) Startling revelations have come to light of how Director General, Civil Aviation Authority who is accused of mismanagement of state funds and openly violating civil aviation safety regulations, has allegedly violated govt financial regulations for personal benefit. H.M.C. Nimalsiri, who has been holding office as Director General CAASL for the past 13 years, is accused of violating govt financial regulations more..

July 28 (DM) Northern Province Chief Minister and former Judge of the Supreme Court, C.V. Wigneswaran spoke to Dailymirror the at his official residence in Jaffna. He spoke of the recent clash at Jaffna Uni, personal and the political and much more. Q: The recent clash which occurred at the Jaffna university has given rise to renewed discourse among Sinhala & Tamil polity. What, as Chief Minister, are your views on it? more..

July 28 (DN) Existing laws on infant milk powder advertisements are not strict enough. Therefore, new laws will be introduced soon by the Health Ministry to regulate and minimise infant milk powder advertisements, Health Services Director General Dr. Palitha Mahipala said. Addressing the media, he said the Health Ministry is now in the process of formulating new laws to regulate and minimise infant milk powder advertisements. more..

July 28 (Island) Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam had agreed to admit doctors’ children to public schools thus obviating the need for trade union action top officials of the Govt Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) said yesterday. GMOA Ex-Co member Dr. Nalinda Herath said that at a meeting with the GMOA on Tuesday, Minister Kariyawasam had agreed to admit 200 children of doctors to schools by next Monday. more..

July 28 (ST) At least four members on the Council of the National Institute of Education (NIE) have received letters informing them of their removal from the council. Prof. Jayadewa Uyangoda, Prof. W.D.W. Jayathilaka, Prof. D.S. Epitawatta and Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri are the recipients of these letters that have no formal explanation for their removal.It is learnt that Prof. Epitawatta had tendered his resignation much earlier, more..

July 28 (Xinhua) Canadian Foreign Minister Stephane Dion said on Thursday that Canada encourages Sri Lanka to take advantage of the current momentum to move forward on reforms, including those to strengthen good governance and economic stability. "It is clear that delays in the implementation of these critical reforms are not in the public interest," he said following talks with his SL counterpart Mangala Samaraweera. more..

July 28 (AD) CB governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy says that while stock market sentiment is presently subdued, he does not believe there are any quick fixes to the problem and that trying to create sugar highs by artificially boosting asset markets or growth will not help. He was addressing a gathering this morning, during his first visit to the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) since assuming duties as the central bank chief. more..

July 28 (ST) Indian govt assisted Emergency Ambulance Service in Western and Southern Provinces launched today at the Galle Face Green in Colombo. Following a written request by PM Ranil Wickremesinghe for assistance for setting of an emergency ambulance service in SL, the Indian govt agreed to support it. Commitment of Indian govt was formalized through a Letter of Exchange ceremony that took place in Sept more..

July 28 (Island) The military said that the outcome of three separate inquiries into explosions at the Salawa Army Camp ammunition dump in Kosgama on June 5 , would not be swept under the carpet. The public will be informed of what exactly happened, Brigadier Jayanath Jayaweera assured a Press Briefing in response to a question. When journalists said it was very rarely the findings of investigations into various incidents more..

July 28 (DM) As part of a global rollout, a new visa application form, Access UK, has launched in Sri Lanka for customers applying for a UK visit visa. The new form will make it quicker and easier for customers to apply for their UK visa. Benefits include: -A shorter form, with questions logically ordered based on customer feedback -More local languages, although customers will need to provide their answers in English more..

July 28 (CT) The previous and current govts in Sri Lanka have their own volition or for reasons of political expediency, been playing major roles in the emerging Big Power machinations to wrest control of the Indian Ocean. The enormity of the Indian Ocean power struggle behind the scenes is dominated by China's decade-old strategy to wrest control of the region by investing heavily in infrastructure projects in countries earmarked as virtual satellite States in its string of pearls strategy. more..

July 28 (CT) The following record of the welcome event is compiled from the experiences of several members of the Science Faculty in Jaffna who were present. The event is a warning when taken alongside sectarian violence in other Lankan universities, recently in Sabaragamuva, Uva Wellassa and Eastern, where the response of the authorities has been constrained by factors, which include local prejudices and peer pressures, bias in the university security services and more..

July 28 (Reuters) Sri Lankan shares ended slightly firmer on Thursday, snapping three sessions of losses as investors picked up diversified and manufacturing shares, while the market awaited directions on the country's economic policy. The benchmark Colombo stock index ended up 0.15%, 9.73 points, at 6,392.15. "There was institutional buying today, and the good thing is that we saw renewed interest from foreigners as well," said Yohan Samarakkody of SC Securities. more..

July 28 (Island) Madhavi Malalgoda Ariyabandu of UNISDR revealed that according to the data from 141 countries affected by disasters between 1981 and 2002, 10,000 women died every year from weather-related disasters such as tropical storms and droughts, compared to about 4,500 men. Women, boys and girls were 14 times more likely to die than men during a disaster and women comprise 20 million of the 26 million people estimated to have been replaced by climate change, more..