Oct 10 (CT) ICC is set to approve plans for its long-awaited World Test Championship at a meeting in New Zealand this week. The sport's governing body has argued for years that a Test championship is needed to boost the 5-day format's popularity as crowds and television viewers flock to the big-hitting Twenty20 version of the game. But squabbling over formats and fears that some nations will be disadvantaged have twice stymied efforts to launch a league structure since 2010. more..

Oct 10 (ST) Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera appointed Attorney-at-Law Palitha Kumarasena to reconsider the ban imposed on Kalutara PCC and Panadura SC players after fresh evidence emerged of gross manipulation of the inquiry process. In a letter addressed to Ashely de Silva, CEO Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), the suspended players of the Panadura CC have said they had been kept in the dark right through the more..

Oct 10 (Island) Addressing a gathering of the country’s most respected plantation industry professionals at the 163rd AGM of the Planters’ Association of Ceylon, SL Tea Board Chairman, Rohan Pethiyagoda strongly commended the country’s regional plantation companies (RPCs) for their continuing success in the face of severe adversity and called for proactive steps to be taken by the Govt to resolve the long-standing challenges faced by the sector’s labour force. more..

Oct 10 (FT) Two top WTO officials, among them the Chief of Trade Agreements, are in town for a high-level trade information session organised by Department of Commerce in Colombo today. “Regional Trade Agreements cover a wide range of WTO members and are a major player in today’s global trade,” said Minister Rishad Bathiudeen, welcoming the high level WTO trade experts. “WTO has always been supporting SL’s trade development for which we thank them.” more..

Oct 10 (FT) World Bank, one of the biggest supporters of Sri Lanka, has called for fast-tracking of reforms, better governance and a balance Budget if the country is to ensure sustained growth and development. The listing of priorities for Sri Lanka by the World Bank is contained in its just released twice-a-year South Asia Economic Focus (SAEF). World Bank, which accounts for over 10% of multilateral donor funding, said more..

Oct 10 (CI) Sri Lanka batsmen put in contrasting performances in both innings in their first ever day-night Test in Dubai. After putting up 482 runs in 159.2 overs in the first innings, they were bundled for just 96 in 26 overs in the second innings. This was only the sixth instance in Tests when a team was bowled out for under 100 after posting a 400-plus total in their first innings. Sri Lanka were involved in the previous instance as well, with scores of 400 and 82 against England more..

Oct 10 (CT) LEISURE 2017, the 23rd International Trade Fair for Travel and Tourism, was held at the Moscow Expo Centre from 19–23 Sept 2017. Sri Lanka Tourism participated at the event with the Sri Lankan Embassy in Russia, hosting a vivid stand to capture the attraction of visitors interested in the themes of Pristine, Essence, Heritage Festivals and Bliss. 12 travel companies participated with the Sri Lankan delegation to promote Sri Lanka to the Russian market more..

Oct 10 (CI) Chasing 136 at Abu Dhabi, Pakistan lost what seemed to be an un-losable Test. Having been 52 for 5 in the pursuit of 317, they have now left themselves a chance of winning what appeared to be an unwinnable one. In a series that has been enlivened by a flood of dramatic twists, final session of day 4 saw another one: an unbroken partnership of 146 between Asad Shafiq and Sarfraz Ahmed. SL still have 5 wickets to get. more..

Oct 10 (FT) With reference to the article that the Commercial High Court refuses to accept confidential information through a USB flash drive published yesterday, Daily FT has been informed that there is no blanket finding that the Commercial Court would not entertain confidential information submitted through a USB or in any other form and permit such to be inspected under the Court’s supervision, but has very clearly warranted that notice should be given to the other side to more..

Oct 10 (FT) The first shipment of rice ordered from India is scheduled to arrive at the Colombo Port today. Shipment is the first in a series and consists of 12,500 MT of Nadu rice. This is the first shipment of a total of 72,000 MT of Nadu rice ordered from an Indian private supplier and a result of SL Govt’s Indian private sector order. The orders were placed on the direction of the Cost of Living Committee to overcome rice shortages and price manipulations by unscrupulous elements. more..

Oct 10 (FT) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday commenced a two-day official visit to Finland on the invitation of Finnish PM Juha Sipilä. Starting his official visit, PM met with top executives of three leading business entities in Finland for a lunch meeting in Helsinki yesterday. Top officials from Finnish state-owned financing company, Finnvera, Nordic Investment Bank, and Finland’s leading technology more..

Oct 10 (ST) A local software solutions company has invested over Rs. 5 million to find you a honda bass (hondde-good) at no cost to the public or the worker thus employed. Xiteb, a software solutions provider to a number of companies in the country and a partner at the recent Cinnamon Future of Tourism summit showcased their services and also identified itself as the honda bass service provider when contacted by the Business Times during the coverage of the conference. more..

Oct 10 (DN) Three new chambers set up at the Natural Science Museum situated in the Colombo National Museum Complex were opened for public exposition by Minister S.B. Nawina yesterday. They are the plant science chamber, geological science chamber and the bone science chamber. They will be open for public viewing from 9 am to 5 pm daily. The bone science chamber is a new addition while the other two chambers which were already in existence have been repaired & refurbished. more..

Oct 10 (DM) Every country should be cautious when working with China due to China’s lack of transparency in certain engagements, a top US Military Officer said. Rear Admiral Donald Gabrielson of US Navy expressed these views upon asking whether the US was concerned about Chinese presence in the region particularly in Sri Lanka. He said they were concerned about the fact that why China was now trying to rearrange more..

Oct 10 (DM) No sooner the first-ever national small and medium enterprise (SME) policy of the country has been unveiled, Sri Lanka is moving to implement it without delay, the country’s Industry and Commerce Ministry said. “It is time we publicise the policy more and start implementing it,” stressed Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen, who was addressing a progress review meeting joined by his top officials and the ministry Secretary K.D.N. Ranjith Ashoka. more..

Oct 10 (DN) National Chamber of Exports (NCE) said that though they have forwarded several proposals for the budget most of them have not been implemented. The Chamber notes that some of the proposals submitted by the them during the preceding years including the proposals to establish an EXIM bank, strengthening of the Sri Lanka Export Credit Insurance Corporation, Venture Capital Financing, Assistance for Innovation, and the creation of a Cinnamon Training Academy more..

Oct 10 (Island) Govt presented to Parliament its estimated expenditure for the next year in which the expenses of the President’s office has been increased by more than 50%. The expenditure of the PM is expected to increase by 29%. The appropriation bill presented to Parliament by Acting Finance Minister Eran Wickramaratne has estimated the total govt expenditure at Rs. 3,982 billion. more..

Oct 10 (DM) SP Ruwan Gunasekera said that the statements scheduled to be recorded from ASP Daluwatta in connection with assault of a youth arrested in the protest against transfer of the Mattala Airport and Hambantota harbor to India on a long term lease. An investigation has been commenced under the supervision of DIG Galle, Chandana Alahakoon on a directive of IGP in this connection. A report has to be handed over to the IGP after recording a statement from ASP Daluwatta. more..

Oct 10 (CT) UPFA MP Namal Rajapaksa and two PC members were given a written notice to appear before the Hambantota Police Headquarters today. MP Rajapaksa arrived at the Hambantota Police Headquarters to give a statement yesterday over the protest staged in the area last Friday. SP Ruwan Gunasekara said, that MP Rajapaksa along with MP D.V. Chanaka, SPC members Upali Kodikara and Sampath Athukorala and Ajith Prasanna were summoned to Police to record statements more..

Oct 10 (FT) Ongoing cross-examination of former CB Governor Arjuna Mahendran before the PCoI focused on the EPF’s participation in the secondary market towards the end of Mahendran’s tenure as Governor. Deputy Solicitor General Milinda Gunatillake, reading from a CB press release issued on 2 June 2016, recalled that the Monetary Board of CB had, noting the large resource needs of the Govt, pointed out that: more..

Oct 10 (Island) Army Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Amal Karunasekara said that attempts were being made to hold officers and men of fighting formations deployed on the Vanni front accountable for alleged war crimes committed during the eelam war IV. Maj. Gen. Karunasekara said so when he was asked on Sirasa Pathikada to explain measures taken by the SLA to address alleged accountability issues. The previous govt brought the war to a successful conclusion in May 2009. more..

Oct 10 (Island) Speaker Karu Jayasuriya informed the House that the PC Election (Amendment) bill had been duly passed in Parliament in accordance with Standing Orders. The Speaker, making a clarification of media reports on the process of passage of the bill, said that some newspapers had reported that the bill had not been passed properly. "I have observed that adverse public opinion is being formed about the process of passing the PC Elections (Amendment) bill on Sept 20. more..

Oct 10 (DM) Litro Gas Chairman Shalila Moonasinghe was arrested by the CID in connection with the alleged transferring of USD 1.1 million from Far Eastern Int'l Bank of Taiwan to his personal account in Sri Lanka. Moonasinghe, who was appointed as the Litro Gas Chairman by the then Minister Ravi Karunanayake in 2015, is being interrogated by the CID officials. Far Eastern International Bank of Taiwan was hacked and more..

Oct 10 (DM) An ASP attached to the Hambantota Police Division was caught on camera last Thursday assaulting a man during a protest led by the JO against the leasing of the loss-making Mattala Airport, with the video going viral in the mainstream electronic and social media. ASP was seen unashamedly assaulting the man while he was held by two fellow policemen. On the previous day, Negombo Police arrested the Acting Crimes OIC of Divulapitiya Police in connection with more..

Oct 10 (DM) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe has remarked during a recent visit to a public school in Colombo, that his govt would soon introduce a 21st century education system. What that education system entails is not yet clear, and, many past reforms coated in such blissful slogans had delivered very little. Education reforms which are conducted in secrecy and became a prerogative of a few could do more damage than good. Not least because in principle, reforms in such a key more..

Oct 10 (DM) 83-year-old Gnanatheepam (Gethsie) Shanmugam, a Sri Lankan teacher and a psychosocial counsellor, who counselled war widows and orphans, was one of the six winners to win the Ramon Magsaysay Awards, considered to be Asia’s equivalent to a Nobel Prize. She shared her inspiring life story with its twists and turns, giving an insight into her childhood and her future ambitions. She braved the war, bloodshed more..

Oct 10 (SL) Due to the drought affecting many areas of the country, many people are suffering without waterfor drinking and their daily requirements. Among the districts most affected by the drought is the Puttalam district and the people of the Karuwalagaswewa village are facing untold hardships. Currently there are around 100 families living in Karuwalagaswewa Horapalana area who are suffering the worst effects of the drought. more..

Oct 10 (ST) It was a solemn occasion when Parliament met on Tuesday to commemorate the 70th anniversary of its 1st sitting as an independent Legislature, but the absence of a large number of MPs dampened the atmosphere. PM Ranil Wickremesinghe moved the Motion commemorating the 70th anniversary, in which it was noted that the Parliament of SL is the oldest Parliament in the Asia region, elected by more..

Oct 10 (AD) The Colombo Fort Magistrate has issued a stay order barring any university student activist from forcibly entering any public institutions during today’s anti-SAITM protest in Colombo Fort. Convener of the IUSF Lahiru Weerasekara, Convener of the IUBF Ven. Tampitiye Sugathananda Thero and Acting Convener of the Medical Students’ Action Committee Susitha Perera have been more..

Oct 10 (Island) Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva told Parliament yesterday that he and other SLFP leaders had remained silent, out of fear, when former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was giving away the Port City and Shangri La to Chinese companies during the previous regime. Participating in a debate on a motion moved by UPFA MP Dullas Alahapperuma at the time of adjournment on last week’s clash between police and protestors more..

Oct 10 (DM) Litro Gas Lanka Ltd., wishes to assure all our stakeholders and the general public that the company had no connection to or knowledge of the alleged transaction that the Chairman of Litro Gas Lanka Ltd., Mr. Shalila Moonesinghe has been implicated in according to recent media reports. In our capacity as a state-owned entity, Litro Gas Lanka complies with the stringent regulatory framework more..

Oct 10 (DM) Former Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva told the Supreme Court that the Attorney General was guilty of misleading Parliament through his opinion on the amendments introduced to the PC Amendment Bill during the committee stage of its passage. Making submissions as a citizen of the country in support of his fundamental rights application in the Supreme Court, he said he was not challenging Speaker's endorsement more..

Oct 10 (DM) DSG Milinda Gunatilleke during the cross examination of former CB Governor Arjuna Mahendran expressed the view that the EPF could have gained much higher profits it had bid at the primary auctions (Oct 30, 2015 and Jan 28, 2016) at the same time as other primary dealers did without purchasing the same bonds at lower rates in secondary market from those same primary dealers (mainly PTL) more..

Oct 10 (AD) Ministers Malik Samarawickrama and Kabir Hashim have been summoned to appear before the PCoI investigating the treasury bond scam tomorrow. Meanwhile it has been reported that UNP Puttalam District MP Hector Appuhamy, who is a member of the COPE, has been notified to appear before the commission today. The Centre for Human Rights (CHR) has recently stated that State Enterprises Development Minister Kabir Hashim, more..

Oct 10 (AD) Iresha de Silva, a directress of Gowers Corporate Services which is allegedly owned by MP Namal Rajapaksa, has been arrested on arrival at the BIA in Katunayake this morning. She had been named a suspect in the investigation conducted under the Money Laundering Act for purchasing shares worth millions of a company called Hellocorp, allegedly using ill-gotten funds by Gowers Corporate Services Limited headed by Namal Rajapaksa. more..

Oct 10 (CT) Sri Lanka Navy's proud brainchild, the Galle Dialogue - the seventh International Maritime Conference since 2010, commenced with grand proceedings, yesterday. With the sole purpose of providing a common platform to all stake holders of national and international repute to discuss and deliberate maritime related issues, the Galle Dialogue seeks to enhance cooperation of maritime security and sharing of knowledge and information amongst the stakeholder countries. more..

Oct 10 (FT) For the past two years, Social Enterprise Lanka (SELanka) and Lanka Impact Investing Network (LIIN) together with ITN have been working to develop the new hit TV show Ath Pavura (Wall of Tuskers) which airs on ITN every Sunday 9:30 p.m. Let me set the record straight once and for all, it has absolutely nothing to do with the UNP. Ath Pavura is a factual TV show where social entrepreneurs pitch their new social business ideas or plans for expansion to five Impact more..

Oct 10 (EN) SL's agriculture and tea exports may suffer due to the use of alternative chemicals after glysophate, a weedicide, was banned without scientific evidence, a top official has said. Sri Lanka suddenly banned glysophate two years ago, following unproven claims and an outcry that it was responsible for chronic kidney disease, which seems to strike farming communities in hot dry areas. "Who should have taken that decision? We have a registrar of pesticides, more..

Oct 10 (WB) Two years ago, we started counting how many Sri Lankan agencies were involved in trade facilitation processes such as issuing permits and managing the movement of goods in and out of the country.  We counted at least 22 agencies in this assessment, and today, the Department of Commerce estimates that number at least 34 agencies are involved in issuing permits or publishing regulations that affect trade. We know trade is critical to Sri Lanka’s future and more..