July 21 (EN) SL is expecting the parliament to vote on a new income tax law that will expand the tax net by August 2017, which applies from the 2018 fiscal year, Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera said. Finance ministry is currently in talks with industry groups and other stakeholders, whose views, if reasonable, will be incorporated at the committee stage or third reading in parliament. "There are cases filed in Supreme Court, and we will incorporate changes that are suggested," more..

July 21 (CB) Sri Lanka's fast bowling coach Chamapaka Ramanayake stepped down from his role Friday (July 21) morning, ahead of the Test series against India. Former Sri Lanka pacer Chaminda Vaas has been requested by SLC to help the senior side for the India series. Ramanayake confirmed that he has stepped down. He added that there have been a few offers and that he will weigh in the options before taking up a suitable job after a brief break. more..

July 21 (AD) Three Customs officers attached to the container yard in Orugodawatta have been transferred over the stock of cocaine recently recovered from the Ratmalana Economic Centre.  Seven suspects have been arrested so far in connection with discovery of a cocaine haul, weighing 218.6 kg and estimated to be worth around Rs. 3.2 billion, on Wednesday. Ministry of Industry and Commerce said that more..

July 21 (LBO) Export of travel-related products from SL will enjoy duty free entry to the United States following a decision by the US administration to approve the inclusion of travel goods from all GSP beneficiary countries, including SL, in the expanded US GSP scheme on July 1, 2017. Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that this would enable the duty-free entry of products such as bags, wallets and backpacks in to the US market after being previously charged 6 to 20% tariffs. more..

July 21 (LBO) SL Institute of Directors and global strategy consulting firm Stax, highlighting their 2017 Family Business Survey, says 32% of Sri Lankan family firms do not have a succession plan. In addition, one out of two Sri Lankan family firms in the second generation (sibling partnerships) have reported that they do not currently have a long-term strategy. These findings reveal some of the ambiguities and challenges experienced by Sri Lankan family businesses today. more..

July 21 (DM) The commotion that was created when a group of police officers, some in uniform and others in civvies, attempted to arrest Medical Faculty Students' Action Committee (MFSAC) Convener Ryan Jayalath at the conclusion of a joint meeting by GMOA and several other organisations to protest against the SAITM, ended in failure. It was reported that Jayalath along with several other MFSAC representatives had more..

July 21 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's consumer prices in June rose 6.3% from a year earlier, slowing from the previous month's 7.1%, Department of Census and Statistics said on Friday. The National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) rose 1.3% in June on a month-on-month basis, after rising 0.7% in May. The 12-month moving average inflation, for which data is available since December 2015, remained at an all-time high of 6.1 percent in June, unchanged from a month ago. more..

July 21 (CI) Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav claimed seven wickets between them, wiping out a strong SL Board President's batting lineup for 187, on the first day of India's two-day practice match. Led by KL Rahul's rapid half century, the visitors then ended the day on 135 for 3. Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane remained not out in the thirties. Despite the President's XI's modest score, it had been Danushka Gunathilaka, who had made the greatest individual batting impression more..

July 21 (DM) GMOA today complained to the National Police Commission saying some people under the guise of being police personnel in civvies had attempted to abduct the Medical Faculty Students Action Committee (MFSAC) convener Ryan Jayalath. It submitted the video footage and the pictures of the incident which took place at the premises of the Organisation of Professional Associations (OPA) yesterday. more..

July 21 (DN) Minister Champika Ranawaka was entrusted with the task of clearing blocked canals in and around Colombo. The Cabinet Sub-Committee which met on Wednesday gave the full authority to Minister Ranawaka on this regard. Minister, who was previously given full authority to ensure proper and efficient garbage disposal in Colombo, could shoulder the task successfully in the last few weeks. The new assignment comes on the heels of this success.    more..

July 21 (C365) Pothas feels that Sri Lanka should look to emulate India’s approach to replacing superstars but it is plain to all but the most casual observer that the Islanders do not have the cricket infrastructure and base that their Asian rivals possess. India have an unending conveyor belt of talent drawn from a cricket mad populous of over a billion people, SL has a population of just over 20 million people and lack the facilities to ensure the best talent does not slip through their fingers. more..

July 21 (EN) Sri Lanka's will re-examine the income tax holiday granted to the President under the existing law, Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera said, with a new income tax bill proposing the sweeping away of ad hoc tax exemptions granted over the years. A central theme of the draft income tax law was to end the tax exemptions granted as favours to various people at various times, he said. more..

July 22 (CT) Feeling proud about one's own ethnicity is a very normal human behaviour. It is applicable to any community. It is also natural for some to go to extremes. It becomes absurd only when such extremists become so self-centred and delve into their own dreams. When the military power of a community grows beyond its limits it becomes a cause for concern. Enthusiasm that sprang up in S. India due to social conflict that came into being as a movement of Tamils Against Brahmins more..

July 22 (FT) It is of no doubt, that Sri Lanka has tainted its history with the blood of the innocent. After gaining independence from the British we turned our attention towards, quite literally, killing each other. Some call it nationalism, some ethnic cleansing and some pure mundane madness. Whatever it may be, it is essential that we as a people understand the true events that led to an unwarranted war that claimed the lives of the very same we sought to enrich. more..

July 22 (Roar) It has been three and a half centuries since the Portuguese colonisers left Sri Lanka, but the language they spoke while here still lingers in the eastern coast of the country. Although few are aware of the existence of this language, Sri Lankan Portuguese Creole (SLPC) is spoken by the Portuguese Burghers, descendants of the early mestiços or the people of mixed Eurasian origin. This language was formed in the contacts more..

July 22 (CT) Sri Lanka's long history has been intimately conditioned by the monsoonal winds that buffet its shores and the tides and waves of the vast Indian Ocean. The greed and ambitions of its regional and distant neighbours who followed the winds and rode the waves coveting its treasures and its unique strategic position have been a bane as well as a blessing. While, time and time again, it was forced to ward off marauding attention of external powers during the course of its long history, more..

July 22 (CT) DIG Lalith A Jayasinghe was arrested and is now being remanded for harbouring an offender and aiding the escape of the chief suspect Swiss Kumar, for the gang rape and the murder of 18 year old Sivaloganathan Vidya on 13 May 2015.  The DIG is suspected of having committed an offence punishable under Section 209 of the Penal Code. The relevant part of which is as follows; “… Whenever an offence has been  committed,  whoever harbours, conceals,  assists,  or more..

July 22 (CT) President of the All Island Trishaw Entrepreneurs Federation (AITEF) M.J. Dissanayake says there was a segment of society which was trying its utmost to stifle us by bringing in a Statutory Authority through the Provincial Council Administrations. Q: There were a large number of criticisms and allegations levelled against the business, running and the operations of trishaws or three wheelers in Sri Lanka. more..

July 22 (NS) Being in debt in this commercially-driven world is not something that is unusual. We live in a world where we have to depend on each other for our own survival, whether an individual, or a nation. Sri Lanka is no exception. The country is in debt and is still looking for ways and means of paying them off. However, what is alarming is the rate of increase of household debts in the country. It was reported last week that according to statistics released by the Central Bank, more..

July 22 (Island) Madness has cynically been defined as doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. Sri Lankans have been doing likewise at successive elections since Independence. They religiously exercise their franchise and vote for self-serving politicians in the hope that they would get a better deal only to be taken for a ride after every election. Yahapalanaya or good governance, the incumbent leaders promised them, two and a half years ago, more..

July 22 (CT) Accusing the media of criticizing the govt, President Sirisena stated recently that media personnel had forgotten the sufferings they underwent during Rajapaksa regime. He claimed that it was his govt that freed the media and had given the freedom now enjoyed. Of course, it is common knowledge that there are plenty of Rajapaksa stooges all over including in the media. The talk has been that there are plenty of Rajapaksa mercenaries, stooges and ghost writers more..

July 22 (IPS) GCE O/L exam is a watershed in education for youth in SL. Success at the O-Levels opens avenues for further education and better skills, but this is a full stop in education for many, due to poor performance. Education and skills are essential ingredients to any strategy that aims to empower youth, a key goal embodied in World Youth Skills Day that is commemorated on 15 July. This March, as usual, when the O/L results were released, articles spotlighting top performers more..

July 22 (CI) Opening the batting is usually easier in Asia than in other parts of the world: the pitches and the conditions normally don't offer as much by way of pace, bounce, seam and swing as they do elsewhere. However, Sri Lanka is one country that has consistently bucked that trend. The overhead conditions there have often been more favourable for swing, while the pitches too have had a bit by the way of pace and bounce. more..

July 22 (Island) Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur Ben Emmerson’s haughty statement at a media briefing in Colombo on 14 July,with the UN Resident Representative at his side not contradicting the special rapporteur in any way, and his official communiqué in Geneva on 18 July, is arbitrary, judgmental, arrogant, accusatory, threatening, interventionist, and insulting. It reeks of the worst white supremacist holier than thou attitude with regard to the non white world. more..

July 22 (Island) In the midst of all the political and governing, urban and rural, garbage and drivel, secular and religious cons we are facing today, there is the new story about the World Capital Centre or WCC. We are really moving higher. The WCC will be the world’s largest and ninth tallest building in Colombo. It looks as if some guys in business think we have not heard enough of tall tales in recent times, not necessarily about tall buildings. Just keep in mind it is a BoI approved project. more..

July 22 (NS) The local racket involving the trade of pictures of schoolgirls   in various stages of undress or intimacy, also known as nudes, amongst schoolboys and the sale of them to online porn sites, involving 70 reported cases including of related attempts of blackmail and/or extortion, masterminded and orchestrated in an extremely organized manner by schoolboys as young as 14 years of age, has come to light. more..

July 22 (DN) Kyle Abeysinghe came up with a marvellous performance winning a silver medal in the 100 metres free style event in a time of 50.93 seconds at the Youth Commonwealth Games in Bahamas. The gold medal was won by Scott Alex of Scotland in a time of 50.46 seconds while the bronze was bagged by Singapore's Jonathan Tany 51.10 seconds. This is a great achievement by a Sri Lankan swimmer as earlier Sri Lanka had won only one medal at Asian & South Asian Games. more..

July 22 (IPS) Since the conclusion of a nearly three-decade long conflict in 2009, Sri Lanka’s prominence in Indian Ocean politics has grown significantly. Whereas during the conflict its outlook was predominantly security-oriented, island nation has now become prominent in economic and political matters in the region. However, despite its role as a pioneer of South Asian regionalism through the SAARC, Sri Lanka is increasingly turning towards broader engagement with East Asia. more..

July 22 (ST) Proposed plans by the govt to import fresh coconuts have sent shock waves amongst the Coconut Growers Association (CGA) who say such a move will have serious repercussions on the industry. CGA President Lionel Fonseka said that the moment they heard about the news of the govt’s intention to import fresh coconuts, a delegation of the CGA met the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Economic Development more..

July 22 (BBC) Northants spinner Seekkuge Prasanna will miss the entire 2017 T20 Blast competition with a hamstring injury. The 32-year-old Sri Lanka leg-spinner had re-signed for the county after playing 11 times in T20 last season. Northants already have South Africa spinner Tabraiz Shamsi lined-up for the next two games as a replacement. "We have looked for potential replacements but we're going to stick with our own," head coach David Ripley told BBC Radio Northampton. more..

July 22 (NS) The annual main summit of the Ethera Api branch of the United Kingdom was held at the Novotel Hotel Heathrow in Cherry Lane with the participation of the Chairman of the organization, MP Sunil Handunnetti. Along with the Branch’s Board of Officials and Members, religious leaders and many special invited guests including Deputy Mayor of the Harrow Council, Kareema Marikar and Councillor of the Newham Council, Paul Sathianesan participated in the occasion. more..

July 22 (FT) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe pledged to take steps to boost local livestock production, encourage dairy farming and livestock breeding to further strengthen the industry with the engagement of private sector investors.  Inaugurating LANKALIVESTOCK’17, country’s biggest international feed, livestock production and animal health exhibition and conference held at the SLECC, more..

July 22 (NS) The govt last week said it would establish a special authority to monitor cashless transactions. Minister of Special Assignments Dr. Sarath Amunugama last week at a meeting in Hataraliyadda pointed out that a large number of monetary transactions were taking place without the use of cash. “Credit cards are used sometimes even to pay taxi fares. There will be a time when coins and currency notes would have completely disappeared,” he said. more..

July 22 (Island) Sri Lanka’s hopes for regaining her Davis Cup Group-II promotion lies in their semi-final today, against Qatar, at the Asia-Oceania Zone Group-II, sponsored by BNP Paribas, at the SLTA clay courts in Colombo. Six-day event will come to an end today and as Sri Lanka are the Group ‘A’ champions, they are more fancied to win today. Qatar are the Group ‘B’ runners-up. Further the two players representing SL have shown reasonable form in the three previous ties: more..

July 22 (DM) Colombo Swimming Club (CSC) Officials today said that they were taken by surprise when the RDA officials entered their premises with a Court Order and started demolishing the buildings and walls behind the CSC swimming pool, to make way for the Colombo Extension of the Marine Drive without prior notice. President of CSC Tony De Livera said RDA officials arrived at the scene with armed Police, more..

July 22 (ST) Plans are underway to set up a joint Thai-SL industrial park on a 600 acre estate in Horana which will be the first industrial zone to be set up in recent times where Japanese, Chinese and others will set up 200 factories. “We hope to sign a MOU in about two months’ time,” said State Minister Sujeewa Senasinghe who was the Chief Guest at the launch of Thailand Week 2017 held at the BMICH on July 7-9 July. Event was organised by Lanka Exhibition and Conference Services more..

July 22 (FT) The awarding of a retender to operate the second Core Category Duty Free Shop at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) has been further delayed due to objections raised by one of the bidders. Although the final decision on the bids had already been made, the awarding of the tender was halted as one of the unsuccessful bidders filed an objection after the Intention to award letter was sent, Transport and Civil Aviation Secretary Nihal Somaweera said.  more..

July 22 (FT) Brushing up policy priorities, Ministers Managala Samaraweera and Eran Wickramaratne pledged to engage with stakeholders on the Inland Revenue Bill with its implementation expected in the next financial year. Two Ministers also expressed confidence of meeting the 2017 fiscal deficit targets.   Both ministers backed the bill, insisting that it was critical to increase public revenue and put tax system more..

July 22 (PTI) Eight fishermen from Tamil Nadu were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy for allegedly fishing in their territorial waters, a senior fisheries official said. This is the fifth such incident this month. The fishermen from Nagapattinam district were arrested for fishing off Neduntheevu near the Sri Lankan coast and have been taken to Kangesanthurai port, Nagapattinam joint fisheries director Amala Xavier said. On Monday, four fishermen from Jagadapattinam in Pudukottai district more..