May 23 (CT) State should identify the implications of fertility rate increase SL experienced in the last decade and develop overall strategies to curb the unexpected trend, Prof. Indralal de Silva said. He noted that the total fertility rate has increased to 2.4 in 2011 from 1.9 reported in 1998 and claimed that if strategies are not implemented to curb fertility rates then country's population could even rise to 26-27 million in a few decades time. more..

May 23 (Island) The much spoken of cabinet reshuffle has now been completed and in the end it turned out to be a damp squib. Whether this will help the govt to get its act together is highly debatable. As foreign minister, how different will Ravi K be to Mangala Samaraweera? Perhaps Ravi K may not have agreed to the controversial UNHRC resolution of October 2015 with the same enthusiasm as Samaraweera had he been the foreign minister at that time. more..

May 23 (ST) In the past few months going through a lot of literature, events and even new coffee table books as SL’s primary export commodity tea marks its 150th anniversary, there seems to be something missing in the celebrations: The worker! SL Tea Board and the industry at large have prepared a year of celebrations to mark a momentous occasion when the father of tea, Scottish lad James Taylor planted the first tea seedlings at Loolecondera estate in Galaha in the central hills in 1867. more..

May 23 (CT) The Bribery Commission, the Large Scale Corruption Commission and the Corruption Secretariat have simply become name boards only. The thieves from then and those of today are all waiting to close down the FCID, according to Adviser of Anti-Corruption Front (ACF) Keerthi Tennakoon. "One month after Lacille de Silva was removed from his post as Secretary, PRECIFAC became a notice board only. more..

May 23 (CT) After much preparation, high intensity residential training, hiring experts, several lavish Media displays and send off, SL camp has not gone as planned where the islanders were comprehensively beaten by seven wickets by associate nation, Scotland who isn't even in the top 12 ODI rankings. SL had their usual problems during the innings as they lost the last five wickets for just 13 runs failing to finish off well. Thereafter came the concern which SL suffered more..

May 23 (Island) The current debate on constitutional change reminded me of this old joke about drunkard guy looking for a lost key. I shall use the old Marxian term - the national question - rather than the conventional terms - Tamil ethnic question or the ethnic problem - commonly used in the current discourse. It has been incessantly argued with some justification that a new constitution or revolutionary changes in the existing constitution is the key to resolving the national question as more..

May 23 (FT) Hayleys Plc said it had concluded the 2016/17 financial year with its strongest performance to date, setting a new benchmark for turnover among listed Sri Lankan corporates. Revenue during the year increased by 21% Year-on-Year (YoY) to Rs. 111.4 billion supported by strong performances across the group’s core businesses spanning transportation, purification, agriculture, construction materials and power and energy. more..

May 23 (FT) Expressing optimism over investing in the capital market, newly-appointed Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) Chairman Ray Abeywardena said the support of all stakeholders was key to ensuring rapid yet sustainable capital market development in the country. “Globally a stock market is the barometer of the vibrancy of the country’s economy. We need to develop the Colombo Bourse the same way for which due recognition of and cooperation from all stakeholders is necessary. more..

May 23 (CB) Kumar Sangakkara will retire from first-class cricket at the end of the current English county season, he announced on Monday. Former SL international, now playing county cricket for Surrey, went past 20,000 first-class runs in the county's latest County Championship match at Lord's against Middlesex. Those runs, first Sri Lankan to reach the milestone, have come at an average of 51.18. more..

May 23 (DN) The following is a compilation of key Executive Committee decisions taken at the Executive Committee meeting held on the 20 May at the Sri Lanka Cricket Headquarters. 1) Renovations & Repairs to the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium; 2) Augmentation of Stadia & Online Ticketing; 3) ExCo members to travel to UK at own cost; 4) National Development Projects; 5) Annual grants to the membership; 6) Sri Lanka to support Zimbabwe’s bid to host ICCWC 2019 more..

May 23 (CT) Bus fare on the Southern Expressway (E01) is too high and the National Transport Commission (NTC) needs to look into the matter, when annual bus fare revision takes place in June, LPBOA President Gemunu Wijeratne said. He said the bus fare on Southern Expressway is thrice the normal fare and needs to be reduced. "There is an issue with categorization of the bus services here. Buses operating on the Southern Expressway are categorized as super luxury. more..

May 23 (DN) Malaysian govt and private sector were looking at investing nearly US$ 300 million on theme parks and other leisure sectors. In addition Malaysian investors were also keen to invest in oil, gas and energy sectors in SL, said Malaysian High Commissioner, Wan Abdullah. “We are encouraging Malaysian companies to engage in projects in SL like the construction of power stations and construction and more..

May 23 (CG) The United Nations (UN) has urged the Govt to act against those inciting hatred. UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka, Una McCauley said that last week Sri Lanka celebrated Vesak and this week the teaching of the Lord Buddha are being drowned out. She urged the Government and the people of Sri Lanka to stand united against those inciting hatred. Her statement followed a spate of attacks targeting Muslim property, including mosques and business establishments. more..

May 23 (DN) A group of underworld gangsters including Notorious criminal Angoda Lokka, who is said to have been involved in the attack on Prison bus at Kalutara has been arrested in India. Seven suspects including underworld figure Aruna Udayashantha alias Samayan and two prisons officials were killed, when a bus carrying prisoners was shot at in Ethanamadala, Kalutara on Feb 27. Police launched a massive man hunt following the incident to arrest the culprits. more..

May 23 (ST) As the SL e-commerce sector blossoms from infancy to maturity, govt is gearing to regularise the sector and impose taxes on online transactions. A common platform is to be created to facilitate online firms such as Amazon, e-bay, etc to collect taxes on behalf of the govt for transactions carried out within SL. Information Communication Agency (ICTA) will create a common platform to facilitate these online more..

May 23 (DN) Lakdhanavi Limited, power generation arm of LTL Holdings Group, has been awarded another contract by Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) through international competitive bidding process. This is to construct a 114 MW thermal Power plant, using Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) on Build, Own & Operate Basis to supply electricity to the national grid of Bangladesh for 15 years. Relevant Letter of Intent (LOI) was issued to Lakdhanvi Ltd on May 15, 2017. more..

May 23 (DM) Colombo High Court today ordered garment factory owner Rollin M. Perera to pay Rs.2 million to President R. Premadasa’s daughter Dulanjali Jayakody as compensation for the mental and physical agony she underwent. Mr. Perera had paid back a loan obtained from Ms. Jayakody with 403 currency notes which the private bank where she had gone to deposit the cash found them to be a bundle of forged notes.   On pleading guilty to the charges, High Court Judge Gihan Kulatunga more..

May 23 (DM) A proper interpretation is needed from legal experts to determine the validity of today's Cabinet reshuffle as it is questionable whether it has gone beyond the provisions set out in 19th Amendment, JVP said. JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that his party would seek legal advice on this matter. He said according to 19th Amendment, Cabinet had to be limited to 48 with 45 deputy ministers but however, more..

May 23 (DN) Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCISL) with the concurrence of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce will shortly introduce a nationwide program to bring all micro, small and medium scale businesses to a mainstream platform with the objective of lending support and guidance for a productive and improved overall performance by this sector. “We will support those engaged in any formal or informal business or trading that provides a service to more..

May 23 (FT) Newly appointed Minister of Lands and Parliamentary Reforms Gayantha Karunathilake said yesterday that he has heavy responsibility from now on. “I was working as the Media and Parliament Rehabilitation minister since last two and half years. I believed that ministry gave me opportunities to work with media institutions and other relevant authorities to establish a sound media freedom in the country. When President Sirisena took over the country in 2015, more..

May 23 (Island) Ports and Shipping Minister Arjuna Ranatunga who has thwarted repeated attempts to finalise a controversial agreement with China on the Hambantota port lost his ministerial portfolio to Mahinda Samarasinghe in the mini Cabinet reshuffle yesterday. Of the changes made yesterday in keeping with an agreement between Prez and PM, SLFP took over the Ports & Shipping Ministry from UNP. more..

May 23 (Island) Convenor of Joint Postal Trade Unions said that there was an attempt by the govt to sell heritage buildings of Department in Kandy, Galle Fort and Nuwara Eliya for a song on the pretext of promoting tourism. Post office in the Galle Fort was one of the five oldest post offices in the country. "If those buildings are to be renovated that has to be done by Postal Department and if the govt ignores the warnings of the postal workers they will resort to strong trade union action," more..

May 23 (DM) Ravi Karunanayake who was sworn in as the new Minister of Foreign Affairs is to be assigned additional subjects and institutions which were previously not under the purview of this ministry. Institutions such as the Development Lotteries Board, the National Lotteries Board and the Mahapola Scholarship Trust Fund that were under the Trade Ministry are to be subjects allocated to the Foreign Affairs Ministry. In line with the decision taken jointly by President and PM more..

May 23 (FT) President Sirisena yesterday effected a mini yet decisive reshuffle of the Cabinet of Ministers, reinforcing his authority in the Coalition Govt despite reservations from UNP leader and PM. Contrary to expectations of a wide-scale change, what the country saw yesterday was a revision of the status quo of nine Ministers, most notably the swap of portfolios between the Ministers of Finance and Foreign Affairs. more..

May 23 (DM) During the second half of the 19th century, Prussian historian Leopold Von Ranke popularized a school of thought known as Primacy of foreign policy, (Primat der Aussenpolitik) which called for the strict subordination of domestic factors to the external needs of the State. He argued that foreign policy should be able to override domestic opposition. Ranke’s thought became so influential that Bismarck became one of its adherents. He observed: Foreign affairs are a purpose of more..

May 23 (DM) A Cabinet reshuffle had been one of the main topics discussed in the media during the past few weeks and the politically-minded people were keen to know how the reshuffle would pan out. Finally it became a reality yesterday. However, many of the ministers are still unsure as to the real purpose of ministries being shuffled from one minister to another.  Various reasons were given for Cabinet reshuffle. There have been clashes between ministers who represent the UNP more..

May 23 (DM) Elections Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya, speaks about the reason for the present deadlock in the conduct of the LG elections, PC elections pending and controversy surrounding dual citizenship. Q: The local authorities’ elections is long overdue. What are the reasons for such an inordinate delay?  A: There are three factors that matter in conducting these elections. Actually, the reason is not more..

May 23 (EN) Sri Lanka may require legislative changes to formally move into an inflation targeting framework where the Central Bank is steadily building capacity and laying the groundwork, officials said. Inflation targeting involves the Parliament or the govt formally giving an annual price target for the Central Bank to follow, Deputy Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe told members of Sri Lanka's Foreign Correspondents' Association. more..

May 23 (SL) The issue of unemployed graduates still continues unresolved and to date the graduates have no other alternative than to protest. The current good governance regime has taken some measures to provide employment for the unemployed graduates. However, when inquired, we discovered that there is no sustainable plan in order to ensure employment opportunities for the unemployed graduates in the future. more..

May 23 (CT) It was a few years ago, when a friend called me to ask not to accept a Facebook friend request from a certain person whom she revealed as her former lover. "I am compelled to deactivate all my social media accounts, because this person keeps sending messages to my friends, making false allegations", she explained, adding that she is being forced to keep quiet because of her family's view that taking any action against it more..

May 23 (LBO) Verité Research argues that the disqualification of a candidate does not invalidate nomination papers due to two main reasons. Releasing a research note, the firm argues that a Returning Officer is not authorized under the Parliamentary Elections Act (PEA) to reject a nomination paper on the grounds that a particular candidate nominated in the nomination paper is disqualified. Other key factor is that more..

May 23 (Island) The Mirihana police special investigations unit has arrested five suspects in connection with an attack on a group of Police Narcotics Bureau officers in Piliyandala recently. Under interrogation one of the suspects had said that PNB officers were a real menace to them and, therefore, they decided to kill them and flee the country, but their plans had gone awry. A senior officer said vital information about the incident could be more..

May 23 (DM) Minister John Amaratunga shied away from accounting for the numerous foreign tours of tourism officials at the cost of millions of rupees in taxpayer money over the past two years despite noting their lack of contribution to SL’s tourism industry. Speaking at the PATA Annual Summit, he admitted that tourism growth was driven by tourists coming to Sri Lanka recommending the island to their friends and acquaintances. more..

May 23 (PMD) Sri Lanka and Australia enjoy strong bilateral relations, and the current state visit of President Maithripala Sirisena will give them quantum jump, says Sri Lankan High Commissioner in Australia, Mr. Somasundaram Skandakumar. Bilateral cooperation has steadily improved over the years has spread into new areas of cooperation in recent years he said further, in an interview with President’s Media Division. more..

May 23 (ST) The new Foreign Exchange (FE) Bill which will relax Exchange Control by liberalising inward and outward remittances of both local and foreign currencies, will be taken up for debate in Parliament today following The Supreme Court’s (SC) determination that the Bill is consistent with the Constitution. The new Bill will replace the old FE Control Act and remove criminal culpability of those found guilty of violating FE laws, more..

May 23 (Island) President of the GMOA Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya yesterday told the Court of Appeal that he was not guilty of the charge of contempt of the Court of Appeal levelled against him. The inquiry against him was fixed for August 2, 2017. The charge sheet was read out to him and he was given a copy for reference. The charge sheet said that on April 7, 2017, GMOA had launched a protest march in Colombo against more..

May 23 (CT) After much hype, the government went for a Cabinet reshuffle that has not impressed anyone. The new profiles handed over to the not so new faces of the politicians in the Cabinet come as a dire failure of the current administration. It unhealthily feels as if the ministerial portfolios were rotated among the politicians of the Government after a poorly managed, drawing of strings among them. The portfolios were simplified into a bunch of straws that were circulated among politicos, more..

May 23 (CT) Hon’ PM, Hon’ Ministers, Hon’ MPs, Hon’ Members of NPC, High officials of Central and Provincial Services, my dear brothers and sisters, We are pleased to have the Hon’ PM discussing with Political Representatives and our Officials the Govt Economic Development Programme and Jaffna District Development Projects. This is a process we have been agitating for and not long ago in this very Hall we had Hon’ Malik Samarawickrama taking the trouble to find out our point of view more..