Sep 28 (CT) SL’s indifference to the ongoing genocide of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, described as the most terrifying calamity in Asia, stinks of racist politics on a burning humanitarian issue that the world excluding Israel, India and China had condemned. SL and its Foreign Ministry had never failed to promptly condemn explosions and bombings in far-away Western capitals but terrorizing a half million men, women and children into fleeing their generational places of birth, more..

Sep 28 (CT) UPFA MP Keheliya Rambukwella said that the masses are displeased with this Govt that is already very unpopular, and that such a govt will fall soon. Q: How are you these days? When are you joining the Govt? A: What nonsense, I will not join the Govt. Q: There are rumours that you will be joining the Govt? A: This story has been doing the rounds for the last two years. Q: Is it true? A: No. I will remain with more..

Sep 28 (GV) In his articles in The Island (20th & 21st Sep), Dr Dayan Jayatilleka starts by asking the correct question, provides a correct answer and goes on to identify the critical challenges in formulating a new Constitution. Dayan does not, as so many others do, mindlessly reject the need for a new Constitution or any radical amendment to the existing one. Instead, he prescribes limits to what could be included in such a constitution or an amendment. more..

Sep 28 (Island) The Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council stands dissolved and its powers have been transferred to the provincial Governor. There is no guarantee that provincial council elections will be held in the foreseeable future in spite of a govt undertaking to conduct them early next year. The yahapalana promises are like the pie crust; they are made to be broken. The fate of the Sabaragamuwa PC is bound to befall other PCs as well sooner or later. The crippling of the PC system is more..

Sep 28 (GV) Media have a significant role to play in times of natural disasters in terms of responsible and ethical coverage. However, electronic media coverage of the floods and landslides in some parts of SL in late May 2017 came under heavy criticism on social media. Criticism was mainly directed at a group of privately-owned media channels for misusing the catastrophe as a way of marketing their brand image. Some channels were also criticised for sensationalist and insensitive coverage more..

Sep 28 (DN) Sri Lanka’s pioneering tissue culture technology company, Serendib Horticulture Technologies, which completed consultancies in Qatar and Rwanda during the past few years, has now been consulted by companies and foreign govts to introduce new systems and improve existing systems to ensure food security in Pakistan, Iran and Rwanda. Serendib Horticulture Chairman Dilip de Silva explaining further said that the Sindh govt of Pakistan is encouraging pvt sector of Pak more..

Sep 28 (Roar) As we drifted into the second half of 2017 on the tail end of the monsoon, secondary school students all over SL were propelled into a different kind of whirlwind—one involving back-to-back tuition classes and frantic preparations for the most important exams of their school lives. Application deadlines for GCE O/L and A/L exams were wrapped up in June, taking away the peace of mind of more..

Sep 28 (Island) The landmark judgment of the three-bench Supreme Court in Chandrasoma v Senathiraja and Thurairajasingham has given a ruling that Federalism is not Separatism. This has at last released this constitutional system from the dark cloud of suspicion that the very word federal seemed to evoke among a section of the population in this country. It is, therefore, a most fortuitous and welcome decision. No less welcome is the visit of the Chief Minister of Northern Province, more..

Sep 28 (Island) Opener Kaushal Silva and middle order batsman Lahiru Thirimanne will make their way back into the Test team in today’s opening Test against Pakistan here at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The venue named after the former ruler of Abu Dhabi, who is the main driving force behind the formation of UAE, has hosted games regularly since Pakistan were forced to play their games in the UAE. Kaushal was axed after Sri Lanka’s tour to South Africa early this year and more..

Sep 28 (CI) For all the talk of rebuilding that has followed Sri Lanka around, on the bowling front, at least, there is now considerable experience. The two leading fast bowlers, Suranga Lakmal and Nuwan Pradeep, have now each toured the UAE twice before, even playing important roles in the 2014 victory in Dubai. Lead spinner Rangana Herath, meanwhile, is by far the most-capped cricketer in the series - more..

Sep 28 (EN) Sri Lanka is not ready to allow large scale exports of rupee notes to other countries as it may complicate monetary policy. Central Bank Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy said the practice was currently illegal when asked whether it could be liberalized, or even traded abroad. Last week SL's customs seized over 80 million rupees of Sri Lanka currency which was being smuggled to Dubai ostensibly to be paid out to Sri Lankans who were willing to get payment. more..

Sep 28 (FT) Stressing the need to allow the private sector to drive the economy, Minister Sarath Amunugama said that the communist-style State that countries from the South Asian region inherited from the colonial era should be abandoned in order to move forward. Speaking at the inauguration of the CPA Regional Management Conference 2017 organised, he said that the time had come to transform the system to address the needs of economies and the issues faced.  more..

Sep 28 (FT) Sri Lanka Tourism yesterday celebrated World Tourism Day in Colombo focusing on the UNWTO’s theme for this year Sustainable Tourism: A Tool for Development. Recognising the importance of this year’s theme, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) organised a two-day program at the Independence Square Arcade to draw public attention to outline the importance of sustaining the country’s tourism industry and to mark the global event. more..

Sep 28 (ST) Sri Lanka Aquatic Sports Union (SLASU) has scheduled its Special General Meeting (SGM) to approve accounts to be held this morning at 10:00am while the national championships in synchronized swimming and water polo are being simultaneously held throughout the day at the Sugathadasa Stadium pool. The scheduling of the meeting raises doubt whether the Executive Committee of the national body is genuinely interested in promoting aquatic sports or more..

Sep 28 (FT) An ex-founder member of the internationally notorious hacktivist groups Anonymous and LulzSec has found over 43,000 individual data leaks belonging to .lk domains in just 32 out of a total 2,500 breaches. The leaks, covering a span of about six years, are spread out across political, financial, military and business interests, the researcher claims. Speaking on the sidelines of 5th annual Cyber Security more..

Sep 28 (CT) 29th National Youth Sports Festival marked its opening ceremony yesterday at Anuradhapura and events will begin today with 18 athletics finals on the card. The athletics schedule will begin with the 10,000m final at 8 a.m. and will go on until 4.30 p.m. The day will also see Men's and Women's Netball finals at the indoor stadium. Men's football finals is set to start at 4.30 p.m. and expected to be a crowd puller. Championship will see more than 3,000 athletes competing more..

Sep 28 (ADB) Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Board of Directors has approved a $50 million loan to help fund rooftop solar power generation systems in SL to increase the share of renewable energy sources in the country’s energy mix. ADB will also administer a $1 million technical assistance from the Asian Clean Energy Fund under the Clean Energy Financing Partnership Facility to help build capacity, increase awareness of stakeholders, and support the project’s implementation in SL. more..

Sep 28 (DN) Minister of Sports, Dayasiri Jayasekara yesterday said an independent inquiry will be launched into the Premier Tier B match between Panadura Sports Club and Kalutara Physical and Culture Club played at Surrey grounds, Maggona from January 23-25. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) which had held initial investigations into the game had stated that both clubs were guilty of misconduct and more..

Sep 28 (ST) As a result of a major aid reform, AFD, France’s development agency, is poised to promote Sri Lanka’s green growth and social cohesion under its new five year strategy in the island nation for 2017-2021. It was presented by Martin Parent, AFD Director in SL at the 5th annual consultation meeting held at AFD headquarters in Paris recently. The main operational objectives of the strategy are to support the urban transition to promote sustainable management of natural resources more..

Sep 28 (DN) The minimum room rate introduced for Colombo City hotels by Sri Lanka is a regulation that is highly unwarranted, said General Manager of Hilton Colombo, Mahesh Fernando. Speaking to Daily News Business at the hotel’s 30th anniversary celebrations, he said that they don’t want any authority dictating terms to them. “Why do you need ‘somebody’ to tell us what to do with our room raters? Let the market sources (demand and supply) decide that,” he said. more..

Sep 28 (Island) Supreme Court has given attorney-at-law Nagananda Kodituwakku time till Jan 16, 2018 to respond to a charge sheet issued by it on the basis of a complaint made by Justice Vijith Malalgoda, in respect of an incident that had taken place 2.5 years ago, when he was the President of the Court of Appeal. Kodituwakku appeared before CJ Priyasarth Dep, Justice Buweneka Aluvihare & Anil Goonaratne more..

Sep 28 (FT) Govt this week decided to award the contract to construct the gas filling factory of Litro Gas Lanka Company Hambantota to Dockyard General Engineering Services. The decision was made on the recommendation of both the Standing Cabinet Appointed Procurement Committee and Technical Evaluation Committee following the company’s successful bid for the job quoting a sum of Rs. 647,250,555.86. Once completed, the filling plant facility at the LPG Tank Farm Complex more..

Sep 28 (Island) Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said, after 13 years since the country experienced the devastating tsunami in 2004, that it had no proper data to evaluate whether the country was prone to uncommon disasters like earthquakes or not. Speaking at a workshop held for journalists to raise awareness on the use of data for better reporting of disasters and environment-related issues, DMC Additional Director General Priyantha Samarakkody said more..

Sep 28 (FT) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe is to chair a meeting today to decide the fate of the four remaining Airbus A350-900 aircraft ordered for SriLankan Airlines under the $ 2.5 billion re-fleeting program initiated by the previous Govt.  The latest committee appointed by the Prime Minister is to look into the restructuring and monitoring of SriLankan Airlines. It is expected to make a decision on how best to handle more..

Sep 28 (DM) Ministry of Prisons is to commence installing CCTV camera surveillance systems in selected prisons next week to ramp up security, a top ministry official said today. Full HD (high-definition) cameras will be installed at prisons in Welikada, Angunakolapelessa, Pallekele, Mahara and Negombo. The project will be initially implemented at the recently constructed Super Prison in Angunakolapelessa, and is scheduled to be completed within an year. more..

Sep 28 (MoD) Galle Dialogue 2017, annual International Maritime Conference organized by SL Navy is to be held on 9th and 10th Oct at the Galle Face Hotel in Colombo. The conference will be held for the 8th consecutive year with the participation of 38 countries. Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Travis Sinniah said that the Galle Dialogue provides a common platform for stakeholders of national and international repute to discuss and deliberate issues related to maritime security. more..

Sep 28 (Reuters) The United Nations raised concern for the safety of Rohingya Muslim asylum seekers in Sri Lanka after Buddhist monks and hardline nationalists forced them to flee a U.N. shelter in Colombo. The refugees, who were detained in April along with two suspected Indian human traffickers in a boat off Sri Lanka’s coast, are now in a camp in southern Sri Lanka to ensure their security after the incident in the capital. more..

Sep 28 (ANI) MDMK party member on Wednesday staged protest outside Sri Lankan High Commissioner over Sinhalese objection to MDMK general secretary Vaiko's speech at a UNHRC meet. The angered party members condemned the act in their slogans and also burnt Sri Lankan flags while protesting. A protesting party member, while talking to media, informed, "Our general secretary Vaiko was delivering speech on genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka at UNHRC, Geneva. After the speech, more..

Sep 28 (DM) In the wake of reports of alleged irregularities taking place in the construction of the Central Expressway and extension of the Southern Expressway, RDA Chairman Nihal Suriyaarachchi said today the construction work was based on recommendations by experts. He said in a statement that the construction work was being carried out after studies by engineers, environmentalists, surveyors, scientists and technicians attached to the RDA, Ministry of Highways, CEA, more..

Sep 28 (Island) Trial-at bar, which heard the Vidya murder case in Jaffna sentenced seven of the accused to death yesterday. Bench comprised High Court Judges Shashi Mahendran (President), Anna Lingam Ravi Shankar and M Illancheliyan. The 332 page verdict was read out by the President of the Trial-at-bar and Vavuniya High Court Judge Shashi Mahendran. Bench found the accused guilty of all 41 counts. more..

Sep 28 (DM) Interestingly the Constitutional Assembly Steering Committee’s interim report, presented to Parliament by PM Ranil Wickremesinghe on Sept 21, was largely a document containing ethnically sensitive issues. In the light of the report, one would wonder whether constitution-making is nothing other than handling ethnically sensitive matters.  The report deals with devolving power to the provincial councils, merger of provinces, unitary state and federalism, more..

Sep 28 (DM) It is no secret that among the least respect people in Sri Lanka are politicians and police officers. Other state employees, barring perhaps the security forces, are not respected much either. Corporate entities on the other hand, among whom are the biggest crooks, embezzlers and wheeler-dealers, appear to be a rarified lot, perhaps because of the way they are cocooned and remain distanced from the public eye.   What’s strange about this lack of respect is that it is a mind-thing. more..

Sep 28 (DM) There is a tradition in the field of politics in Sri Lanka that the political leaders will become rulers. But, this is the first time that a businessman is going to contest the forthcoming Presidential Elections in 2020 thereby breaking that age-old tradition. He is none other than Rohan Pallewatta. Businessman Pallewatta spoke of his future ambitions in an interview with the Daily Mirror. Following are excerpts. more..

Sep 28 (NR) The March 12th Movement says a change in the country’s present political culture can be established within the next several years. Executive Director of the PAFFEL Rohana Hettiarachchi said they are displeased with the country’s state of affairs in order to establish cultured politics in the country. He said many organizations are in approval of the March 12th movements objectives and a turnaround was possible in country’s more..

Sep 28 (ST) Thousands of dengue mosquito breeding sites are still being found in the country regardless of campaigns to reduce the hundreds of innocent deaths and hundreds of thousands of infections. Another outbreak is feared with the onset of seasonal rains. From January to Sept 21, latest official data show that 154,529 people have been infected with deadly dengue. During the second week of Sept alone 1,273 dengue patients more..

Sep 28 (EN) Central bank wanted the property sector to have sustained growth and there was no intention to stifle the sector, Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy said. Sri Lanka had low interest rates up to 2015 and excessive money printing from then on which pushed up asset prices and generated balance of payments crisis, until Governor Coomaraswamy tightened policy and engaged in consistent signalling more..

Sep 28 (BBC) Sri Lankan authorities have admitted in a Dutch documentary that thousands of babies born there were fraudulently sold for adoption abroad in the 1980s. Up to 11,000 children may have been sold to European families, with both parties being given fake documents. Some were reportedly born into baby farms that sold children to the West. Sri Lanka's health minister told the Dutch current affairs programme Zembla more..

Sep 28 (PMD) President Maithripala Sirisena emphasized that all parties should fulfill their responsibilities for the preservation and conservation of archaeological sites.  He made these remarks addressing a ceremony held at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute in Colombo on September 27 to hand over the research book on Tampita Vihara in SL to the President. This book was presented to the readers as a result of high standard research more..