Sep 22 (ST) Sri Lanka has some dope software developers with major common denominators, but all the stakeholders can and need to do more, says Sanjiva Weerawarana, Founder, Chairman and Chief Architect, WSO2, IT Advisor, SL Army. Delivering the IESL Ray Wijeyawardena memorial lecture titled Nobody to Leader: Achieving Global Leadership with Software in Colombo last week, he said that what is common about firms such as Creately, 4Axis Solutions, Paraqum more..

Sep 22 (ST) 33rd All-Island Schools Games will be held from October 2 to 15 in Colombo, Panadura, Negombo and Sri J'pura. The Ministry of Education has made arrangements to conduct the games at the above mentioned venues. The opening ceremony will be held on October 2 at 2 pm at the Royal College Rugby Complex. The chief guest will be the person who inaugurated the National School Games, PM Ranil Wickremasinghe. 28 sports have been entered to the All Island School Games. more..

Sep 22 (DN) Lahore leg of Sri Lanka’s series against Pakistan is still under consideration according to SLC’s CEO Ashley de Silva. Sri Lanka is scheduled to play a T20 international at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Oct 29 which will be the final match of their tour of UAE, but De Silva said that they would need to first assess the security situation before sending the team to play there. “We will assess the security situation whilst the tour more..

Sep 22 (TTT) SriLankan Catering Limited (SLC), a fully owned subsidiary of SriLankan Airlines, was named the winner of yet another Presidential Export Award, the third such award in recent years. SLC was rewarded for its contribution of value added exports amounting to USD 45.23 million during the financial year 2016/17, an increase from the USD 42.15 million over the previous year. Minister Malik Samarawickrama, presented the award to SriLankan Airlines Group Chairman Ajith Dias more..

Sep 22 (TOI) In a first in the district, a group of top-level managers of knitwear manufacturing companies will be trained professionally in production management by a renowned private consultancy firm from Sri Lanka. The eight-day training, to be held in two phases at the NIFT-TEA College of Knitwear Fashion, will begin in the last week of October. The first phase will be held from October 24-27 and the second, from October 31 to November 3. more..

Sep 22 (ST) Insurance claims from the May 2017 floods are estimated at around Rs. 4 billion from affected Sri Lankan businesses but this is significantly lower than the estimated Rs.17 billion claimed from the May 2016 floods, according to Fitch Rating. “However, despite these large claims, we estimate the net impact on non-life insurers due to the May 2016 floods to have been around Rs. 0.5 billion-0.6 billion, mainly from retention and reinstatement costs. more..

Sep 22 (FT) Supreme Court yesterday re-fixed support on Nov 2 for granting leave to proceed with the Fundamental Rights petition against the impugned steps to dump garbage in the Muthurajawela sanctuary. The Bench comprised Justices B.P. Aluvihara and Priyantha Jayawardane. 35 Petitioners who are residents of the close proximity of Muthurajawela sanctuary cited the CMC, its Commissioner, UDA, CEA, Wattala Pradeshiya Sabha, Commissioner General of more..

Sep 22 (FT) Govt denied that elections reforms were targeted at delaying polls and emphasised it would work to hold elections as soon as possible, with efforts to complete the provincial council delimitation process in four months. Minister Faiszer Mustapha said that the latest amendment to the Provincial Council Elections Act was only aimed at providing a definitive system for elections to be held. more..

Sep 22 (CT) Finals of the 43rd National Sports Festival (NSF) will begin today which will go on till Sunday at Kotawila Sports Complex in Matara which includes a three day track and field competition. NSF which is considered the local Olympics includes 29 sports where 23 of them are already finished with only Track and field, Volleyball, Boxing, Football and Body Building left to be worked off. Once again the athletics competition of the biggest sporting event of the country will be worked off more..

Sep 22 (FT) A new report by the UNICEF has urged Sri Lanka and others to implement national policies to support families with young children. UNICEF said whilst SL does provide paid breastfeeding breaks during the first six months to women working within the govt sector, women in other sectors and especially those employed in the informal sector have little or no provision. Further parental leave is not uniform, if provided at all, and as yet two years of free pre-primary education more..

Sep 22 (DN) The second heart transplant planned at the Kandy General Hospital was abandoned at the last minute yesterday due to a tug-o-war between consultants not to remove the beneficiary’s heart. This situation has arisen even after the heart was harvested from the donor and fixed to a machine pending the transplant. The consultant surgeons who were prepared to perform the surgery were inconvenienced after more..

Sep 22 (Island) Thilak Karunaratne, Chairman of Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) would be able to write an autobiography not only on entrepreneurship and membership in the Legislature but also on his commitment to the regulatory responsibility at the SEC that has consummated his life's work. However, come mid-January 2018, Karunaratne is going to leave his job at the SEC with unfinished work – most of which – he initiated himself. more..

Sep 22 (DM) A young man who had visited former president Rajapaksa’s official residence in Wijerama Mawatha, Colombo today was arrested when he threatened to commit suicide saying that he won’t leave till he meets Mr. Rajapaksa. Police said the suspect had tried to stab himself once he found out that Mr. Rajapaksa was not at his residence at that time. He was overpowered by one of the policemen providing security to MP Rajapaksa and handed over to the Police thereafter. more..

Sep 22 (FT) The latest Economic Outlook of the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) suggested there was an urgent need to reorient Sri Lanka’s economy towards a more sustainable means of development finance, adding that the country was in a very disadvantageous position both in terms of Govt revenue and gross debt. Concurrent to debt-led infrastructure development and low exports, it was pointed out that this has more..

Sep 22 (ST) The Labour Department is currently in the process of recruiting Tamil speaking officers to ensure assistance is provided to workers in the North and East in an area where the language barrier has arisen since a number of factories have sprung up. Labour Commissioner General R.P.A. Wimalaweera told the Business Times on Thursday that the department was in the process of recruiting 24 labour officers for the North and East. He was responding to the question more..

Sep 22 (Island) The United Nations Resident Coordinator in Colombo, Una McCauley says that an International Day of Peace was declared to strengthen the ideals of peace, within and among all nations and peoples. "On International Day of Peace which fell on September 21, we were called to remember our obligations as an international community and the impact of violent conflict and discrimination upon the most vulnerable. We are called to do this together. more..

Sep 22 (Island) Ongoing battle between GMOA and health ministry over the SAITM issue has taken a new turn with the former seeking AG Gamini Wijesinghe’s intervention to probe what a senior trade union official said were illegal transactions involving SAITM and the govt. GMOA has called for probe into Treasury making available funds to Neville Fernando Teaching Hospital (NFTH) without following proper procedure. more..

Sep 22 (Island) Executive Director of the World Bank for the constituency of India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka, S. Aparna, together with the World Bank’s Country Director for Sri Lanka, Idah Z. Pswarayi-Riddihough, called on the Minister Mangala Samaraweera, on Thursday, at the Ministry of Finance. Executive Director Aparna commended the government on the positive social indicators displayed in the fields of health, education, literacy rate and life expectancy. more..

Sep 22 (CT) A petition, signed by parents of SAITM students, would be submitted to President Sirisena and PM Wickremesinghe requesting their children be transferred to the Kotalawala Defence University (KDU), the SAITM Parent Collective told Ceylon Today. "Dr. Harsha de Silva's Committee recommendations include a process for setting the minimum standards for medical qualifications, restructuring the institution and converting SAITM into a non-profit making entity. more..

Sep 22 (Island) SLMC leader and Minister Rauff Hakeem has requested Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana, to summon Colombo based Myanmar Ambassador over on-going violence directed at Rhohingya people in that country. He has made four recommendations in respect of the situation there. Hakeem’s letter to Marapana: "Not a single day passes without the international media as well as the human rights community reporting more..

Sep 22 (DN) The govt has decided to pay Rs. 6,000 million in compensation to residents whose lands and houses were acquired for the construction of the first and second stages of the Central Expressway. Accordingly, 1,225 residents who were deprived of lands and houses due to the construction of the first phase and another 3,800 residents under the second stage would be granted compensation within next few days. Minister Lakshman Kiriella presented compensation cheques to 25 residents more..

Sep 22 (FT) The former President and the Chairperson of the Office of National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR), Chandrika Kumaratunga, stressed that the country’s universities should play an important role in national unity and reconciliation which has now been in need of strong support and assistance to rebuild the bond between the communities. “We all must work hard to achieve this goal keeping in mind that we are all Sri Lankans,” the former President said more..

Sep 22 (CT) Sharp differences have emerged between the two main constituent parties in the Unity Govt over constitutional reforms. SLFP firmly asserted its position that a President with certain executive powers was essential for the stability of the country, while the UNP wants to abolish the Presidency and introduce an Executive Prime Minister. Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said, that SLFP firmly believed an Executive President more..

Sep 22 (DM) Yesterday was the UN International Day of Peace with the theme being together for peace, respect, safety and dignity for all.   Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on September 21. General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples.   According to the UN the theme honours the spirit of TOGETHER, a global initiative that promotes respect, safety and dignity more..

Sep 22 (DM) Yahapalana Govt seems to be fond of being caught in unnecessary troubles and controversies. It could have got the two recent Bills on Provincial Council elections- the 20th Amendment and the PC Elections Bill- passed in the Parliament without much controversy.   But it did not do so.  The leaders of the Govt, especially the UNP leaders claimed that the main purpose of the 20th Amendment was to conduct the elections for all nine Provincial Councils in one day, more..

Sep 22 (DM) I have been given many epithets for trying to promote a decent and a civilised North-South dialogue for a common and a shared future with due respect to each other’s cultural identities. This week began with epithets like Voice of (Tamil) Diaspora and A dollar paid Traitor. Another called me a Sinhala Buddhist basher.   All commenting online, on the feature article which carried excerpts of NP CM C.V. Wigneswaran’s more..

Sep 22 (ST) A local politician continues to draw ridicule and raise suspicions in Sri Lanka and beyond its shores for suggesting that there are too many elephants and they should be rounded up from the wilds and be sold overseas. An elephant calf in Sri Lanka sells for upwards of US$ 150,000 (Rs 19 mil). In Sri Lanka, there are more elephant deaths than that of humans. More than 270 elephants have been killed last year, more..

Sep 22 (NS) Minister Susil Premajayantha speaks about the crisis within the SLFP and the need for both factions to unite. Q: Isn’t the crisis within the SLFP getting progressively worse? A: The crisis is mainly in relation to policy matters. One within the unity Govt and the other involves the country, the village. There are 14 Ministries operating within the Govt. The rest of the Ministries belong to the UNP. more..

Sep 22 (DM) Elections Commission (EC) should announce it stance in relevance with the govt’s move to delay PC Elections and PC Election Amendment Bill which was passed with the two third majority in parliament, SLPP Leader G.L. Peiris said. He said that it was questionable as to why the PC was still reluctant to come out with a specific clarification over the incidents occurring which were applicable to EC. more..

Sep 22 (CT) Two fundamental rights petitions were filed in the Supreme Court (SC) seeking an interim injunction against the activating of two agreements the Govt had signed with China, to lease the Hambantota Port, as it has been alleged that the agreement that was presented to Parliament was not the one signed with Beijing. One petition was filed by Ven. Prof. Maduru Oya Dhammissara Thera, Ven. Muruththettuwe Ananda Thera, more..

Sep 22 (PSL) The Under Secretary for Political Affairs, Thomas A. Shannon says the political, social and economic rebuilding process of Sri Lanka in the post- conflict era is highly commendable. He made these remarks when he called on President Maithripala Sirisena on the sidelines of the 72nd Session of the UNGA, in New York, yesterday. President recalled the long-standing friendship between SL and U.S.A more..

Sep 22 (PSL) The Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba said that the commitment shown by Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena for the activities of the SAARC is significant and the gratitude of all the SAARC countries must go to him in this regard. He made these remarks when he held bilateral meeting with President Maithripala Sirisena on the sidelines of the 72nd Session of UNGA, in New York yesterday. more..

Sep 22 (NR) Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera says the COPE is eagerly awaiting the results of the Commission appointed to probe the controversial bond issuance. Speaking in Parliament, COPE member Minister Jayasekera said Maximum punishment should be meted out to the perpetrators. He said they are awaiting action against the perpetrators adding the COPE also raised several valid points. more..

Sep 22 (AFP) A Sri Lankan couple is under investigation for deploying hundreds of school children to carry the train of the bride's saree during a wedding ceremony. About 250 students of a state-owned school carried the train of the 3.2-kilometre (two-mile) long saree worn by the bride as she and the groom walked down a main road in the central district of Kandy Thursday. Another 100 students served as flower girls at the wedding. more..

Sep 22 (Island) The Steering Committee, tasked with drafting a new constitution has raised the hackles of some of its members by proposing that the term, unitary state be done away with. The Steering Committee interim report submitted by PM Ranil Wickremesinghe to the Constitutional Assembly yesterday states that people in the south are scared of the term, federal while the people in the North fear the word, unitary. more..

Sep 22 (CT) "In foreign affairs, we [USA] are renewing this founding principle of sovereignty. Our govt's first duty is to its people; to our citizens, to serve their needs, to ensure their safety, to preserve their rights and to defend their values. As President of the United States, I will always put America first. Just like you, as the leaders of your countries, will always and should always put your countries first." Thus began one of the most terrifying and incredibly confusing speeches more..

Sep 22 (FT) In war, facts are often among the first casualties. In peace time, truth is. During those dark days, bodies littering the streets of Colombo were par for the course – whether dead editors once bloodied but unbowed. Or badly beaten investigative journalists bruised for their brutal exposés. Because despotism knows no mercy towards its detractors.  Today the only corpses in sight are those lining the bullpen – critics and social commentators who have fallen asleep at their desks, more..

Sept 22 (EN) CEB should act quickly to buy 60MegaWatts of emergency power and immediately tender for 150MW of thermal capacity to come on stream early next year to avert a blackouts, power regulator has said. Public Utilities Commission of SL said if rainfall is weaker than normal, 60MW of emergency generation should be brought on stream from an expired power purchase agreement. The international power firm Agrekko has kept an ageing plant in Colombo knowing that CEB will more..