Sept 7 (SL) Having different ideas is a main feature in a democratic State. People get matured when they have to review different ideas and actions. But differing ideas in SL do not nourish its society. The fallacy does not lie in the opposing ideas. It is more of a question from where the different ideas derive from. The public witness the opposing views on electronic and in print media. When the media has to report only the bad and irrelevant opposing views, the public will not benefit from them. more..

Sept 7 (SL) Minister Mahinda Amaraweera says SLFP is renowned for its salient leadership and effective policies, and added that they started off well at some occasions but fell back because of bad activities of some of its members. “If a few people do not agree with the majority, then we will move them aside and rebuild the SLFP to its former glory,” he added. Q: Is there a MoU between SLFP and UNP? A: Yes, more..

Sept 7 (Island) Pirates and buccaneering politicians have many things in common. The former plunder sailing vessels and the latter the ship of state. Besides, they believe that dead men tell no tales and resort to violence to neutralise enemies, both real and perceived. But, as for the murder of ruggerite, Wasim Thajudeen, one may doubt the validity of the aforesaid saying, the origin of which is usually traced to pirates. The story of his tragic end has now become known to one and all. more..

Sept 7 (DN) The safety of Sri Lankan diplomats abroad have been brought to the forefront in the wake of the recent attack on SL High Commissioner to Malaysia, Ibrahim Ansar by a group of protesters at the Kuala Lumpur Airport on Sunday. It not only shocked the island nation but it has also moved us to question the responsibility of host states to protect our citizens. The attack had taken place when an angry mob protesting against former President Rajapaksa were disappointed to more..

Sept 7 (CT) Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara shared his views about progress made during his one year in office at the Sports Ministry. Q: You have completed one year in office. Are you happy with the progress you have made? A: Yes. We did not have a stable plan in the past, but now we have set short, medium and long term objectives to achieve goals. We have initiated a talent identification programme with the assistance more..

Sept 7 (NS) Hundreds of family members of those who had disappeared gathered in Colombo to commemorate International Day of the Disappeared on Aug 30. The issue of the disappeared has once again become a hot topic in the recent times thanks to the moves to establish an Office on Missing Persons (OMP). This move as usual has evoked mixed responses from the govt and the opposition. The issue of enforced disappearances was a matter of great concern during the final stages of more..

Sept 7 (DM) World Health Organization has always played a crucial role in supporting the Sri Lankan healthcare system with its years of dedicated service, focussed on the improvement of child nutrition and maternal healthcare, creating awareness against non-communicable diseases and empowering the healthcare system in SL. Recognized as the highest governing body for health in the South East Asian region, WHO Regional Committee for South East Asia will be hosted more..

Sept 7 (CT) The appearance of Tiger woman soldier in Malaysia who was in charge of the security of Dwaraka, Prabhakaran's daughter during the end of the war in Vellamulliwaikkal was a surprise to the Tamil community living in Malaysia as well. It was a mystery at that time how, after Dwaraka died, she went to Malaysia. There are a large number of Tamil Tiger leaders who surrendered to the Army and later went abroad, subsequent to Prabhakaran being destroyed on info received from Karuna. more..

Sept 7 (Island) The admission by UN’s Secretary General Ban Ki Moon during his visit to Sri Lanka from 31 Aug to 2 Sept 2016 that the UN made big mistakes and learned very hard lessons in SL is in keeping with the traditions set by former UNSGs whenever the UN failed to meet its obligations as happened in Rwanda, Bosnia and more recently in Haiti. Continuing, he is reported to have stated: "Reports by experts, independent panels that I appointed found serious systemic problems more..

Sept 7 (FT) Battle-hardened soldier Maj. Gen. Kamal Gunaratne, who has shed his Army uniform which he wore for 35 years, yesterday urged political leaders of the country to maintain the hard-earned peace. Maj. Gen. Gunaratne, who is credited for commanding his troops of the 53 Division to fight the 45-minute final battle of the Eelam IV war, which killed LTTE Leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and put the curtains down on more..

Sept 7 (SC) In what was an enthralling match, with the result always in doubt until the final over, the Zimbabwean team completed an exciting 14-run victory at Harare Sports Club on Monday. Both sides suffered top-order batting collapses, followed by a recovery from the middle order.  Brian Chari, the scourge of Sri Lanka, was the sole success in Zimbabwe’s top order, making another invaluable fifty. Carl Mumba this time did not star with the ball, although he finished with more..

Sept 7 (CI) Before he took the full house at Pallekele on a marauding adventure, Glenn Maxwell sold them a red herring. His first six, in the fifth over, was a reverse-sweep over the point boundary, off Sachithra Senanayake. Next ball, he tried the shot again, but didn't connect quite as well and got a four. When he went for the same stroke a third time and just about avoided being caught by the point fielder after mis-hitting it, it seemed, perhaps, that Maxwell was merely at the crease more..

Sept 7 (CI) In 90 minutes of outlandish clean-striking, Glenn Maxwell marked a monumental return to form, sent Sri Lanka into freefall, and stole their T20I world record from under their noses. The scorecard says he hit nine sixes in his 65-ball 145 not out, but it felt like he had hit so many more. It says there were 14 fours in this Maxwell mauling, but so quickly did they come, one after the other, that who is to tell when more..

Sept 7 (CI) 260: The previous highest total in T20Is, by Sri Lanka against Kenya in the 2007 World T20. Australia bettered it with 263 for 3 in this match. Australia's total is also the joint highest in all T20s, equalling the 263 for 5 scored by Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2013. 1: Individual score in T20Is higher than Glenn Maxwell's unbeaten 145. Aaron Finch holds the record for the highest individual score in the format, with 156 against England in Southampton in 2013. more..

Sept 7 (CI) International cricket's future hangs in the balance this week. As a select group of senior administrators meet in Dubai to finalise a proposed model for radical changes to the game's schedule, the players have warned of a massed exodus to Twenty20 leagues if nothing is done. ICC working group of board chief executives, including the Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland, the ECB's Tom Harrison, the BCCI's Ajay Shirke, the PCB's Subhan Ahmed, South Africa's Haroon Lorgat more..

Sept 7 (DM) Sri Lanka and the Australian state of Tasmania are set to deepen govt, business and sporting ties with a Tasmanian trade delegation visiting Colombo this week. The delegation, headed by Tasmanian Premier, Will Hodgman, along with Minister for State Growth, Matthew Groom, includes senior govt and business leaders from the Tasmanian tertiary education and vocational training sector, renewable energy more..

Sept 7 (FT) Shareholders of the Distilleries Company (DCSL) at their Extraordinary General Meeting overwhelmingly approved the special resolution to make Melstacorp Ltd. the holding company of the Group. The resolution was approved with 99.9987% voting in favour and 0.0013% voting against in the poll held. EGM was convened on the orders of the Commercial High Court of Colombo based on an application made by DCSL Plc to restructure the group under the provisions of more..

Sept 7 (FT) Long forgotten depositors of now defunct Finance and Guarantee Ltd. of fallen Ceylinco Consolidated earned the PM’s attention in Parliament. Opposition Lawmaker Anura Dissanayake, while highlighting the difficulties the depositors faced over a period of eight years, demanded the Govt’s intervention. “With the depositors were seeking Supreme Court assistance the Central Bank of Sri Lanka was entrusted with the task of revising Finance and Guarantee Ltd. more..

Sept 7 (CT) A sum of Rs 10,459.68 million was creamed off the money market in yesterday's trading, an interpretation of Central Bank open market operations data showed. The possibility of this creaming off may have been due to the Govt's foreign debt servicing commitments, where required US dollars are obtained from Central Bank's foreign reserves in exchange for rupee liquidity from the money market. more..

Sept 7 (LR) A public visitation will be held on Saturday Sept 3, at Chapel Ridge Home on Woodbine between 6 pm to 9 pm for a mother and her four-year-old daughter killed in tragic crash on Monday. Inoka Liyana-Waduge, 42, and daughter Savani, 4, were travelling east along 16th Ave in Markham Ontario. A black Infinity G35 crossed the centre line before the two vehicles slammed into each other head-on. Liyana-Waduge and Savani were found without vital signs; both were more..

Sept 7 (AN) The 16th World Export Development Forum (WEDF) is scheduled to be held in Colombo, from Oct 12 to 13 under the theme of Trade for Success: Connect, Compete, Change. The WEDF is an annual flagship event of the International Trade Center (ITC), Geneva, which brings together around 400 business practitioners from around the world to debate and identify practical solutions that contribute to trade-led inclusive sustainable development. A special feature of WEDF 2016 in Colombo more..

Sept 7 (DM) Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka were up by 11.8% to 186,288 in August from a year ago with India, China and the UK leading the pack while the total arrivals too rose by 16% to 1,359,906 during the first eight months. While the earnings for the same period have still not been published, the sector has brought in US $ 1.9 billion for the first seven months. Sri Lanka targets 2.2 million arrivals this year but more..

Sept 7 (FT) Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) have a tendency to focus solely on tariff-related barriers at the border of the importing country while ignoring the numerous other obstructions that hinder export growth, and if SL’s exports are to see a significant improvement, companies need to build capacity and competitiveness of their exports, Head of Economic Research at Verité Research Subhashini Abeyinsghe said. Delivering a presentation titled A Ship Without Sails: Trade Access without more..

Sept 7 (Island) "Sri Lanka's development activities are occurring in a more sustainable manner and we hope to bring more Chinese investments into the country in the future, a top Chinese business delegation said in Colombo recently. "Sri Lanka has all the potential to become a leading business and economic hub in the region and China could be one of the main development partners in this endeavour, the Chinese business delegation from Jiangsu Province said. more..

Sept 7 (Island) The verdict on the murder of Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra and three others on Oct 08, 2011, day of the last LG election at Kolonnawa, will be delivered tomorrow by the three-judge High Court bench that heard the case. The case was heard before High Court Judges Shiran Guneratne, Padmini Gunatillake and M.C.B.S. Moraes. In this case 13 persons, including former MP Duminda de Silva, were indicted more..

Sept 7 (CT) Dharmapala College were bowled out for 16 runs against Prince of Wales College Moratuwa in the 'Singer Trophy' Under-19 Inter Schools Cricket Tournament match played at Pannipitiya yesterday. This is the lowest score in the history of the U-19 Schools Cricket Tournament. Anjula Sahan took 6 wickets for 12 runs. Prince of Wales scored 361 runs for 8 wickets. Mahima Weerakoon took 8 wickets for 87 runs. Match will be continued today for day two. more..

Sept 7 (Island) SL’s external sector performance remained moderate in June 2016 with a widening trade deficit and relatively low growth in workers’ remittances and tourist earnings. Trade deficit which showed gradual improvements in the first four months deteriorated in May and June with weak performance in both exports and imports. Earnings from tourism recorded a low growth in June compared to previous months while growth in workers’ remittances also moderated. more..

Sept 7 (FT) Ten Expressions of Interest (EOIs) have been received for SriLankan Airlines, which will be whittled down in the coming months before the Govt begins official talks to enter into a public-private partnership with an international company, but a debt sharing agreement appears unlikely. Minister Kabir Hashim that the national carrier had received ten applications from international companies seeking a stake in more..

Sept 7 (MK) A US federal lawsuit alleged that a Malaysian diplomat and her husband treated their SL maid virtually as a slave. The report, which cited the lawsuit, said the Parimaladevi Jeganathan was made to work 15-plus hours a day for no more than US$ 1.71 per hour, at least when she was paid. The diplomat, Tamil Arasi Krishnan, and her husband Danish Kumar, also allegedly forbade Parimaladevi from leaving their apartment and threatened her that something would be done to her if she did. more..

Sept 7 (DN) Skipper Angelo Mathews confirmed yesterday that he will be out of action for between four to six weeks after suffering a Grade 2 calf tear on his right leg during the fourth ODI against Australia at Dambulla Stadium last Wednesday. Mathews suffered the injury while batting. “I’ve just started to walk but my leg still hurts when I do that,” said Mathews. “I saw the physio and I currently am doing my rehab. It’s a grade 2 tear and it will take some time to heal. more..

Sept 7 (FT) Local Govt elections are looming closer with the ongoing delimitation process conducted by the National Delimitation Committee expected to be completed before 15 September, Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya said yesterday. He noted that the process of making delimitations in most districts including Colombo and Jaffna had already concluded. He added that more..

Sept 7 (CT) Attorney General (AG) informed Colombo High Court Judge that Minister Palitha Range Bandara being aware of indictments to be handed over to him on charges of misuse of vehicles as per the Penal Code was intentionally absconding instead of answering summons. Though the AG was supposed to hand over indictments citing the afore-mentioned charges to Range Bandara and Jagath Liyanage yesterday, this could not be done as they had skipped Court again. more..

Sept 7 (CT) Colombo Additional Magistrate ordered five cell phone companies to supply detailed reports of phone conversations recorded in their back-up systems related to 13 mobile phone numbers used by the killers of late millionaire businessman Mohammad Sulaiman. Magistrate also ordered the five cellular phone companies to submit further detailed reports related to five mobile phones used by eight suspects in remand on suspicion of involvement in the murder of businessman. more..

Sept 7 (Island) Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said that Sri Lanka’s war against LTTE terrorism couldn’t be compared under any circumstances with acts of genocide in Rwanda and Serbia. He said Sri Lanka had never adopted a deliberate policy of ethnic cleansing during the war. He was responding to recent print media reports that outgoing UNSG Ban Ki-moon had compared SL’s case with acts of genocide in Rwanda more..

Sept 7 (DM) With the World Health Organisation’s South and Southeast Asian Regional Council holding its session in Colombo, the spotlight is on the epidemic of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and a Colombo declaration was adapted on Monday calling for strengthening of the delivery of services for these diseases at the primary health care level. Regional Council’s 11 member states are Bangladesh, Bhutan, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, SL, Thailand and more..

Sept 7 (DM) In 2009, then President Rajapaksa had to let in thoughts begrudgingly, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on an impromptu visit here for that would serve both men -for Mr. Ban who was facing criticism from the Human Rights lobby for the UN’s perceived failure to intervene in Sri Lanka, it was a last ditch effort to show some influence over an increasingly maverick State. For Mr. Rajapaksa who had done his job by defeating an egregious terrorist insurgency at home, more..

Sept 7 (DM) The youngest premature baby in Sri Lanka was born on June 19 of this year, at Sri Jayawardenapura Hospital. The baby girl is in good health. To find out more about the baby, we interviewed her parents and the NICU (Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit) Staff of the Sri J'pura Hospital. The tiny baby girl looked healthy and was being showered with love and care by the NICU staff. She is just 75 days old. more..

Sept 7 (Hindu) After completing her AS levels — equivalent of class 11 — at a Colombo school, Sasmithaa Manickam is exploring her options in higher education. If her dream materialises, she may be, in a couple of years, studying at a premier institution in India, learning the fundamentals of computer science engineering. She has set her sights on the Indian Institutes of Technology. “I got to know about the IITs more..

Sept 7 (SL) Tensions have emerged between Ministers John Amaratunga and Mano Ganeshn over the construction of a school building in Wattala. The foundation laying ceremony for a new school building at Oliyamulla, Wattala was held recently under the instructions of Minister John Amarathunga and Western Province CM Isura Devapriya. However, the construction of the school building had given rise to a lot of disputes more..