June 4 (CT) Unless the govt shows that it is capable of delivering results soon, the slow progress of problem solving at the ground level will continue to erode public support for the govt. The weak performance of the economy is on the minds of most people. The expected job creation through industrial growth has not materialized nor has there been technological improvement that could raise the level of incomes of agricultural and fishing families. Instead of rising standards of living more..

July 4 (Island) Sri Lankans call the coconut tree a kapruka (kalpavriksha) – wish fulfilling divine tree- because every part of this tropical palm is so very useful to human life. The process (of latent Maha Sangha unity becoming manifest) can be likened to a coconut (seed-nut) germinating slowly as it normally does. The seedling, however, becomes a sapling in a short time. A coconut sapling needs to be protected from foraging animals. Some dishonest politicians in positions of power or influence, more..

July 4 (ST) Coaches get the sack around the world owing to poor results or when administrators see no prospect of a turnaround–but the case of Graham Ford is different. When Ford was enticed into taking on the SL team last year, it was a part of a long-term Board strategy to hire an experienced hand to see them through a transition. SLC knew the road ahead was bumpy and that only a patient approach could change the fortunes more..

July 4 (Island) These modalities of destabilisation have by no means ceased with the toppling of the Rajapaksa regime. What is of direct salience to a reappraisal of evidence for the claimed intensification of Buddhist-Muslim rivalry is that the same regime change strategies are now being pursued with enhanced vigour for protecting the tottering regime installed in 2015, with a short-term focus on averting its probable collapse at the forthcoming all-island local govt elections more..

July 4 (CT) Hit men are used where a job cannot be completed by the one hatching the plot. Did Graham Ford's departure have some kind of similarity as seen now with the story that has been unfolding? Since 2011 SL have had eight different coaches including the two terms served by Ford and it is said there is immense instability being the coach of SL. There have been stories that with the appointment of Gurusinha as manager & thereafter as selector made him almost more powerful than coach. more..

July 4 (Island) Police have wrapped up the Rs 7.7 million robbery of cash belonging to Candy Garments’ Wattala branch near Basilica College, Ragama last week with the arrest of all five suspects involved in the daring daylight heist and recovery of nearly Rs. 4,050,000. Police Headquarters said it was a quite an achievement as investigators had also been able to recover the vehicle used in the robbery along with more..

July 4 (CT) Battle for 800m supremacy between Nimali Liyanarachchi and Gayanthika Abeyrathne is set to resume in Bhubaneshwar at the Asian Athletics Championship 2017 set to start on Wednesday. The event is a prime medal target as Gayanthika has already beaten the defending champion, India's Tintu Luka, during the Asian Grand Prix early this year and the islander will hope for one more such race which would give SL their first Gold medal at Asian C'ship in 8 years. more..

July 4 (DM) Hot on the heels of Finance and Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera calling for the restrictions on the sale of alcohol on certain days to be liberalized, State Minister Eran Wickramaratne said he was stunned to find out that women cannot legally purchase liquor in Sri Lanka. “I was at a meeting in the Excise Department. For the first time I heard that women cannot legally purchase arrack in Sri Lanka. I asked where did that come from? I was amazed at it,” he said. more..

July 4 (Island) Sri Lanka’s Asian Athletics Championship team member Pradeep Kumara has been slapped with a provisional suspension from all sports after being found positive for a prohibited substance. Following the SL Anti-Doping Agency (SLADA) directive, the 400 metres sprinter trained by a reputed coach has been recalled from India where the Sri Lanka team is attending training ahead of this week’s Asian Athletics C'ship. more..

July 4 (FT) Since labour force supply should be consistent with labour demand for rapid growth, Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) is seeking private sector cooperation to conduct its annual labour demand survey this month, it said.  A sample of 3,500 establishments and enterprises has been selected using appropriate sampling techniques to conduct this survey. The officers of DCS will visit the establishments selected to collect detailed data on labour demand.  more..

July 4 (FT) In a hard-hitting evaluation of the tourism sector, top private sector professional Kishu Gomes yesterday criticised the achievements of the sector and insisted stronger polices were needed to push the country forward in world rankings.  He pulled no punches while delivering the keynote address at the 38th graduation ceremony of the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (SLITHM), the country’s leading hospitality education provider. Presenting his evaluation on more..

July 4 (Island) A special investigation conducted by the Auditor General has found that National Lotteries Board (NLB) has erred in procurement relating to the print and delivery of lottery tickets last year. A report prepared by AG, at the request of COPE, says the NLB has failed to adhere to the regulations and guidelines in procurement and delivery of Govisetha, Wasana Sampatha, Supiri Wasana Sampatha, more..

July 4 (CT) Joint Opposition MP Vidura Wickremanayake said that he was dissatisfied with the Joint Opposition (JO) as it lacked strategic plans for a future govt. He expressed his personal view that the Joint Opposition lacked an action plan which would enable it to take over governance when the failing incumbent Govt collapses. "I don't see any systematic plans to take over the Govt. I feel that we are not living up to the expectations of the people," he said. more..

July 4 (Island) Stock-broking and equity research firm NDB Securities Ltd (NDBS) published an update on the outlook of the banking sector along with an analysis on nine listed licensed commercial banks. This report comes as an update to a comprehensive banking sector report done earlier by NDBS. The update delivers better data, analysis and strategic direction on the overall banking sector environment coupled with CBSL stringent requirements laid out by Basel III. more..

July 4 (Hindu) SL army on Monday returned 54 acres of land in the fishing village of Myliddy in Jaffna peninsula to its original residents, after occupying it for nearly three decades. Consequently, about 200 families living in welfare centres for the war-affected and with friends and relatives returned to where they lived before the country’s civil war displaced them. Fisher folk from the coastal village, who have for long sought more..

July 4 (Hindu) Beginning this weekend, tourists going to Sri Lanka need no longer go to Chennai or Hyderabad to catch flights to the island country. Sri Lankan Airlines will operate direct flights from Vizag to Colombo, four days a week with effect from July 8. Apart from Indian tourists going to Sri Lanka, the direct flight provides a convenient option to tourists from Sri Lanka visiting the tourist spots and Buddhist heritage sites in Visakhapatnam city and North Andhra districts. more..

July 4 (Island) The Importance of Sri Lankan businesses aligning their growth plans with greener practices to help develop a sustainable era, will be discussed intensely at the upcoming Sri Lanka Economic Summit 2017. The topic will be discussed at a thematic session titled, Realizing a Greener Growth Path - Walking the Talk, with the participation of thought leaders and industry practitioners. The session will kick off with a presentation by Dr. Rae Kwon Chung, more..

July 4 (FT) Launching wide-ranging reforms to improve the investment climate in the country, PM Ranil Wickremesinghe said that wider powers will be needed to implement certain changes while proposed legislative and sub-legislative changes will be expedited. PM, speaking at the launch for the Roadmap on Investment Climate Reforms in Sri Lanka, said that identifying and implementing the legislative reforms and more..

July 4 (CT) IGP Pujith Jayasundara submitted a report to the National Police Commission (NPC) on the incident involving the alleged use of force against university students during an anti-SAITM protest. Secretary of the NPC, Ariyadasa Cooray confirmed that the report had been received by the Commission. Sources said that the report would be reviewed by the Commission on Thursday. Furthermore, they also added that a future course of action would be decided after the review. more..

July 4 (DN) Higher Education Ministry has planned to set up three new State sector Medical Faculties before the end of next year. Three new faculties will be established at Kurunegala, Ratnapura and Moratuwa. The first in these series will be set up at Kurunegala by the end of this year, said Minister Lakshman Kiriella. Work on Ratnapura State Medical Faculty will be launched at the beginning of next year and the Moratuwa new faculty will be launched during the latter half of next year, more..

July 4 (CT) SL Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) in collaboration with Ministry of Health and CMC has launched a project to upgrade food safety, hygiene and service of eating places supplying food to foreign and local tourists. Project is titled Certification Scheme for Tourist Friendly Eating Places. SLTDA is planning to expand this project initially launched within Colombo Municipality limits but aims to cover suburbs of Colombo soon. more..

July 4 (CT) Health Ministry has appointed a Competent Authority to combat the Dengue virus that has claimed more than 200 lives for the prevailing year. Former Director General of Health Services Dr. Ajith Mendis has been appointed as the Competent Authority by Minister Rajitha Senaratne. The appointment was made followed by a special discussion at the Ministry regarding plans to control dengue. The Ministry has decided to recruit 10 Public Health Inspectors (PHIs) for more..

July 4 (CT) National Secretariat for Elders has commenced a survey to identify those the age of 100 and those over 75 with more than 15 children, Ministry of Social Empowerment said. Secretariat is seeking this information to pay tribute to those in these two categories on the National Elders Day which falls on 1 October. National Secretariat for Elders, requested those who have any information on such persons to inform the closest Divisional Secretariat before 31 July. more..

July 4 (Island) It was yet another heated exchange between Acting Attorney General Dappula de Livera and Counsel Chanaka de Silva appearing for Arjuna Mahendran, when the sittings of Commission probing the bond scam resumed. Members of the Commission had to intervene and bring the situation under control. Incident occurred after Counsel for Arjuna Mahendran asked Acting AG to get into the witness box, more..

July 4 (Island) Supreme Court has recently ordered the state to pay as compensation one million rupees each to family members of two youths arrested by the Batticaloa police on Oct 3, 2008 and later found dead in custody. The OIC of the Batticaloa police during that time was ordered to pay personally Rs. 50,000 each to family members of the two youth. The family members who had complained were S. Pushparajah and A. Selvarajah. Saliya Pieris P.C. appeared for the petitioners. more..

July 4 (CT) A final decision on whether to sustain the Anti Corruption Secretariat which saw its term expire on 30 June will be taken during the Cabinet meeting to be held today, sources said. They said a special report is also due to be submitted to the Cabinet on the work carried out by the Secretariat over past one and a half years. Secretariat was formed in Jan 2016 to probe large scale corruption, fraud etc. committed allegedly by previous regime. Secretariat which was initially set up for 12 months more..

July 4 (Island) Minister Rajitha Senaratne has urged his officials to ensure all Sri Lankan women benefit from Human Pappilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine given free of charge with effect from yesterday. Addressing a gathering at the introduction of HPV Vaccine into National Immunization Programme, he said money should not be an issue in ensuring that women benefitted from cervical cancer preventing vaccine. more..

July 4 (DM) The blazing battle between US President Donald Trump and the US media provides good headline lessons for Sri Lanka’s media on how we acted or reacted during similar periods in the country, especially from 2010 to 2015. During the past few weeks President Trump has been using his infamous twitter weapon to blast major news networks such as the CNN, senior news anchors of other major TV networks and newspapers such as the Washington Post & the New York Times. more..

July 4 (DM) Mangala Samaraweera, the new finance minister wants to open liquor shops on Poya Days. In an opinion poll in the Daily Mirror website, 69% of readers agreed with him. If the govt wants to have a pulse of the people, it ought to take a note. Daily Mirror may not be read by many millions whose right to a decent education was plundered by misplaced Swabasha education policies, however still a sizable, aspirational and often bilingual community read it. more..

July 4 (DM) Ahead of President Sirisena’s visit to Bangladesh, Bangladeshi High Commissioner Riyaz Hamidullah, said his country was a land of opportunities for Sri Lankan businessmen. He said some companies had made headway in Bangladesh in the manufacturing sector. Q: How do you look forward to the visit of President Sirisena to your country?  A: As for this visit, the focus will be essentially economic and development. more..

July 4 (DM) Parliament will approve a fresh set of Standing Orders which, among others, will change the present criteria stipulated for the impeachment of the Chief Justice, Judges of the Supreme Court or the President of Judges of the Court of Appeal. Currently, a Parliamentary Select Committee is appointed to inquire into allegations in the event of an impeachment motion being handed over to the Speaker after an inquiry by MPs. more..

July 4 (ST) Houses collapse, walls crack, wells dry up, village economy suffers: People seek answers as a controversial irrigation project continues regardless As affected residents rose as a force on Wednesday to shake the hills to draw the Govt’s attention to the serious problem they have been grappling with for months without hope, Sunday Times journalists Anthony David and Kasun Warakapitya accompanied by photojournalist more..

July 4 (SL) With the aim of finding a solution to the SAITM issue, three options are being considered. Among the options considered were transforming the institution into a charity institution,  turning it into a public-private institution or the govt taking over 51% of shares while the balance 49% would be given to private investors. However, GMOA and IUSF are vehemently against this decision by the government. more..

July 4 (CT) University of Moratuwa has not completely closed down as some media reports indicated, Vice Chancellor Ananda Jayawardena said. According to the VC, the university only decided to give a two-week vacation to the students. But academic and official activities related to postgraduate students are being conducted without any interruption, he said. "The decision of giving students a vacation was not taken in haste. more..

July 4 (DM) Congratulating American President Donald Trump as the United States celebrates its 241st Independence Day, President Maithripala Sirisena said he was confident that under the leadership of Trump, the Sri Lanka - US Partnership will receive further impetus based on the commitment of both countries to democratic values and mutually beneficial vibrant trade and business relations. The President also said relations more..

July 4 (DM) Army Chief of Staff Major General Mahesh Senanayaka has been appointed as the new Army Commander by President Maithripala Sirisena. The President’s Media said he was promoted to the rank of Lt. General prior to the appointment as the 22nd commander of the Sri Lanka Army. Mahesh Senanayake served as the Security Forces Commander in Jaffna and also the Colonel of the Special Forces Regiment. more..

July 4 (DM) Former Additional Solicitor General and President’s Counsel Kapila Waidyaratne has been appointed as the new Defence Secretary by the President today. Mr. Widyaratne was appointed to the post following the resignation of Karunasena Hettiarachchi. Waidyaratne was educated at S. Thomas' College, Mt Lavinia. He graduated from the University of Colombo and the Sri Lanka Law College. more..

July 4 (PMD) Secretary to the President, Austin Fernando said the duty of the officials at the Presidential Secretariat is to carry out the policy outlined by the President Maithripala Sirisena and develop new policies where there are no established policies, inspired by the vision of the President. Assuming duties today, Mr Fernando said that public institutions work closely with all, and strengthen the Brand President’s Office. more..

July 4 (AD) Archbishop of Colombo, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith today called on the GMOA to postpone their planned strike action in order to assist patients affected by dengue.  Addressing the media at the Bishop’s House in Colombo today on the waste management issue and the dengue threat, he request the govt doctors to avoid launching a strike at this moment as there is a risk of a dengue epidemic spreading in the country. more..