Aug 21 (DM) In a letter to President Maitripala Sirisena with regard to the imprisonment of Bodu Bala Sena general secretary Ven. Galagodaathte Gnanasara Thera, the Mahayanayake of the Kotte chapter of the Siyam Nikaya, the Most Ven. Ittapane Dhammalankara Thera has highlighted several points including the one that if monks who speak on behalf of the people and the country were imprisoned, it would pose a challenge to the entire Bhikkhu community. more..

Aug 21 (Island) The General Secretary of Sihala Ravaya Ven Magalkande Sudaththa Thera yesterday submitted a memorandum to IGP Pujith Jayasundara, demanding an investigation into a recent statement by a group of rehabilitated LTTE cadres that two ministers had amassed around 5,000 firearms that had earlier been used by the LTTE. Ven. Sudaththa Thera, in his memorandum, has said that a group of rehabilitated LTTE cadres, during a press conference held on Aug 18, in Colombo, more..

Aug 21 (Island) Northern Province Chief Minister CV Wigneswaran has instructed local govt institutions in the North to give foremost place to the Tamil language on name boards. They should have Tamil on top, English below it to help tourists and Sinhala at the bottom. Wigneswaran gave this order at a meeting with a group of officials attached to the Northern Provincial Council on Saturday. The Chief Minister said that most name boards displaying street and area names in Jaffna had Sinhalised names on them. more..

Aug 21 (CT) The National Police Commission (NPC) has recommended that future promotions in the Department should be equally based on both merit and service, a senior official disclosed on Sunday. He said that the present procedure allowed those with a longer service to be at the front of promotions with lesser consideration given to those packing a performance record, thereby causing much heartburn to both rank and file who count a lesser period of service. more..

Aug 21 (DN) At least 27 youths participating in a late night party at a hotel in Mount Lavinia on Sunday had been arrested by the Police on charges of possessing narcotics. Police sources said the majority of persons arrested were youth and they were between the ages of 19 and 45. Police sources said it appeared that the youths had consumed high amounts of liquor and illicit drugs. According to Police sources, the party had been organised by a woman for a group formed through social media. more..

Aug 21 (CT) The GMOA on 17 August urged the Government to refrain from coming up with temporary solutions through the new Salaries Commission in order to address salary related issues. Secretary of the GMOA, Dr. Haritha Aluthge noted that a majority of the strikes within the years 2002 and 2003 were due to the basic salaries of State sector employees. As a result, the Government at the time established the National Salaries and Cadre Commission (NSCC). more..

Aug 21 (DN) By the end of 2017, the government has generated 700,000 income sources including 430,000 direct employments, self-employments and foreign workers, PM Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday. PM also said that during the two year span from 2015 to 2017, the number of employees receiving pension or EPF schemes have increased from 7.8 million to 8.2 million. PM also said that the government’s target is to decrease the total debt of the country to 60% of the Gross Domestic Product by 2025. more..

Aug 21 (Island) A senior SriLankan airlines official was yesterday asked whether they selected institutions to work with them based on poor performance, after it was revealed that former CEO Kapila Chandrasena had selected a company that had come third during the evaluation process as the airline’s General Sales Agents (GSA) in Pakistan. Chairman of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) on irregularities at SriLankan Airlines, SriLankan Catering and Mihin Lanka, more..

Aug 21 (Island) The International Center for Ethnic Studies in Colombo has made arrangements to screen a documentary film of religious syncretism in Sri Lanka under the title ‘The Hybrid God: Khorasan Ismail Wathhimi Bandara at the ICES Auditorium at 4.30 pm on Aug 30, a promotional flyer said. It said: The ‘Galebandara’ Shrine in Kurunegala has attracted devotees from different faiths for many years. It has become a common ground for many communities, with each community interpreting the legend in unique ways. more..

Aug 21 (Island) Top officials at SriLankan Airlines had not followed the proper procedure, detailed in its 2009 manual, when selecting General Sales Agents (GSA) for a number of countries, it was revealed at the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) on irregularities at SriLankan Airlines, SriLankan Catering and Mihin Lanka, yesterday. Shiromi Cooray, Manager, Industrial Relations at SriLankan revealed this, testifying before the commission. more..

Aug 22 (CT) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe, addressing a gathering in Kegalle on Aug 19 to distribute Title Deeds to 1,364 persons on the completion of three years of Good Governance by the Yahapalana govt held sway of the abundance of democracy in the country. He complained that although the govt has created a climate of democracy in the country, there are those who abuse it. The PM stated, “We live in a democratic society. There are those who make use of this freedom while there are those who misuse it”. more..

Aug 22 (CT) The unexpected resurrection of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s hope to be a third term president of the country has taken the centre stage of political debate. It also highlights the vulnerability of the rule of law. One of the memorable phrases of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission appointed by the former president to cope with the international demand for accountability for war-time violations of human rights was that the Rule of Law rather than the Rule of Men more..

Aug 22 (SO) Clad in coloured clothing and some even covering their heads with a piece of cloth to fight the scorching sun, ten women inmates at the Welikada Prison climbed on top of a roof on Monday (13) morning. They were later joined by 15 others who called out to the Minister Thalatha Athukorala, prison officials and passers-by to have sympathy and look into their grievances. Our children are suffering at home. Please grant us bail, they lamented. more..

Aug 22 (DN) The latest debate in the politics of the next presidential election stakes, due in 2020, is whether former President Rajapaksa is eligible to contest yet again for a third term. Now Mahinda Rajapaksa has the unenvied distinction of being the only incumbent SL president to have lost a bid for re-election. This despite the legislative success of ramming through a draconian 18th Amendment to the constitution which enabled him to try and seek such an unprecedented third term. more..

Aug 22 (DN) The Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil which is also known as the Nallur Murugan Kovil is one of the most famous Hindu temples in the Jaffna peninsula. It is situated in the Nallur town and the Nallur Kovil festival is one of the longest festivals which usually runs for about 25 days. During these 25 days, Jaffna is filled with people from far and wide and many Tamil expatriates come to Sri Lanka to pay their various vows and take part in the festival rituals. more..

Aug 22 (Roar) To continue to attract inflows of foreign investment capital - a crucial step in SL’s development path - requires a stable, liquid, and credible finance and investments industry that strives for global best practice. The veracity of our local finance professionals is an essential component in the future financial markets in SL, The sixth edition of the CFA Capital Market Awards was held on the 26th of June 2018, to encourage those in the investment profession more..

Aug 22 (CT) Six out of the ten members of the Panel of Experts have presented a confidential document for discussion only for the Steering Committee of the Constitutional Assembly. The document seeks to facilitate the Draft Constitution Bill. The Panel of Experts consists of persons nominated and appointed by political parties represented in Parliament. In critically analyzing it, one finds that the application of any approach taken under the various rules of statutory construction or interpretation more..

Aug 22 (CT) Assuming that plans are the results of policies which are formed in response to the needs of the people as it cannot be anything else if what is meant by the word governance is management of all the resources and everything else for the benefit of the people. In other words, it is the wise and careful use of the wealth of the nation for the benefit of its citizens, who are considered the most important element in the wealth of the nation. more..

Aug 22 (SO) Muslims in SL celebrate Hajj festival on Aug 22, as decided by the Colombo Grand Mosque in association with the Dept of Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs and the All Ceylon Jamiayathul Ulama (ACJU). Eid-al-Adha or Hajj Festival as it is popularly known is considered the Festival of the Sacrifice. It is also known as the Greater Eid, Eid e Qurban and is the second most significant religious holiday in the Islamic calendar, celebrated with great spirituality more..

Aug 22 (DM) Commencing from around the third week of July the farm gate price of coconuts has dropped from a high of around Rs 45.00 to Rs 28.00 by Aug 15. The years 2016 and 2017 experienced a sharp increase in coconut prices owing to climate change conditions, caused due to the lack of monsoon seasonal rains. The coconut yield dropped by 40-50 % in the coconut triangle area and the nut weight reduced by 30-40%. The farm gate price peaked at Rs. 55/= and the retail nut price at Rs 100/=. more..

Aug 22 (DM) In my previous column, I emphasized the need for any political party, if it were to be successful, to name its candidates well ahead of time. However, I do repeat my argument so that its appeal to the reader is surpassed by its urgency to the one leader who has shown some remarkable ability to keep ahead of his followers by avoiding doing just that. The need to retain the leadership of the UNP seems to play an integral part in the political calculus of Ranil Wickremasinghe. more..

Aug 22 (Island) Statism or dirigisme is an anachronism in the modern world, and the need for the private sector participation in a country’s economic affairs cannot be overemphasised. But on no grounds should vital state ventures be weakened if a healthy competition between the public and private sectors is to be maintained for the benefit of the ordinary people. During the SLFP-led United Front govt (1970-77) we had a hermetically sealed economy and in 1977, the UNP, which captured power, more..

Aug 22 (Island) The decision of the Superior Court of California, San Francisco County on DeWayne Johnson v. Monsanto Company et al, of 10 August appeared to have justifiably pleased the world. The jury in the case decided, after listening to a wide array of testimonies and scientific evidence, that the cancer of the type non-Hodgkin Lymphoma that is killing the groundskeeper Mr DeWayne Johnson was caused by Roundup and other glyphosate-based weed killers. more..

Aug 22 (Island) The Island of Aug 11, reports an attempt by State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Wasantha Senanayake, to overcome (the) devolution impasse. The main thrust of his approach is to repeal the 13th Amendment and devolve power to District Councils. The State Minister’s Proposal for Devolution states: "… those for whom devolution seemed most vital now grant that Provincial Councils, as they exist today, do not significantly bring about devolution as intended". more..

Aug 22 (Island) Ven. Dr. Omalpe Sobitha thera recently flayed the Office of National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR) over the launch of a radio drama series meant to promote post-war national reconciliation. Alleging the radio drama series ridiculed and undermined Buddhist values, Ven. Sobitha blamed twice President (1994-2005) and Chairperson of ONUR Chandrika Kumaratunga for the controversial initiative. The former leader of the JHU and former JHU lawmaker referred to some of those controversial more..

Aug 22 (CT) The UNP, the island’s second largest political party, the first being former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s proxy fledgling party the SLPP, is known for its liberal policies, in politics and economics. SLPP became the largest party after their resounding and shock win at the 10 Feb LG Poll, garnering 40% of the vote, after being recognized as a political party by the Elections Commission in Nov 2016. Until then, the UNP, from the time the multiparty system came into vogue with more..

Aug 22 (ST) Kantale Sugar Factory revival is now embroiled in legal issues, a scrap iron tender and bribery scams delaying the project indefinitely with the relevant line ministries grappling to trace missing documents and files owing to the change of the subject from the Lands Ministry to the Ministry of Public Enterprise and Kandy City Development, officials said. Ministry of Public Enterprise has sought the opinion of the Attorney General to find out as to how more..

Aug 22 (CT) Veteran opening batsman Upul Tharanga smashed a sensational century as Colombo defeated Galle by 90 runs in the first game of the SLC T20 at R. Premadasa Stadium yesterday. Opting to bat first Colombo made a gigantic 197 for 5 at the end of their 20 overs, largely thanks to Upul Tharanga who made an unbeaten 124 off 67 balls, where he struck 11 sixes along with 5 fours. Colombo were shocked early when they lost 3 wickets for just 34 runs, but Tharanga and Shehan Jayasuriya put up a partnership worth 67 runs more..

Aug 22 (CT) A 15-member Nepal cricket team arrived in SL to play three practice matches against local teams in order to prepare for the upcoming Asia Cup Qualifier 2018 to be held in Malaysia from 29 August to 6 October. They are due to play against Army, Bloomfield and Colts on 22, 24 and 26 August respectively before flying to Malaysia the following day. Opening batsman Sagar Pun, who is in sparkling form for the Kuala Lumpur outfit in the Malaysian Premier League, has returned to the national fold, more..

Aug 22 (DN) SL women’s kabaddi team were beaten by 38 points to 12 by India in the Asian Games held in Tarman Indra, Indonesia yesterday. This is the second defeat suffered by the Lankan lasses having lost to Thailand by 15-41 in an earlier match. With this victory India remains unbeaten and enters the pre quarter finals of the tournament. Thailand who has also won two matches are in second position. If the Thais win Wednesday’s game against host Indonesia they will also go through more..

Aug 22 (Island) Hayleys PLC, generated strong top-line performance across all of its key business verticals resulting in a 74% Year-on-Year (YoY) increase in revenue up to Rs. 50.6 billion during the quarter ended 30th June 2018 (1Q19). The Group’s first quarter results reflect a significant expansion in turnover led by its Consumer & Retail , Transportation & Logistics and Manufacturing segments. Revenue within the Consumer & Retail segment expanded substantially from Rs. 1.2 billion to more..

Aug 22 (FT) As many as 496 young entrepreneurs who are qualified to receive Thurunu Diriya loans were identified from the Sabaragamuwa Province, the Prime Minister’s Office said yesterday. This was revealed at the progress review meeting for the Sabaragamuwa Province, which was held on Friday at the Ratnapura District Secretariat. It was also revealed that 12 loans had been disbursed for young entrepreneurs in this province while business plans for 105 entrepreneurs more..

Aug 22 (FT) The new branding and marketing campaign of Sri Lanka tourism will be unveiled at the World Travel Mart (WTM) in London in November in a bid to boost more high-end visitors to the country. “We are now in the process of selecting a global branding agency for this purpose. Our objective with this initiative is to give Sri Lanka a distinct brand identity which will help us differentiate our island in the global competitive tourism landscape,” more..

Aug 22 (FT) The Sri Lanka Institute of Packaging, supported by professional event partner CDC Events together with the support of Govt and private sector organisations, will host Lankapak 2018 – one of the most anticipated and respected event in the packaging and printing sector calendar which runs from 14 to 16 Sept at the BMICH. The three-day event celebrates its 37th anniversary this year and is already shaping up to be the biggest and best show in its history. more..

Aug 22 (FT) Sri Lanka has briefed Norwegian peace envoy and now United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Erik Solheim on the ongoing reconciliation process. SL’s High Commissioner to Kenya Sunil de Silva presented his Letter of Appointment as the Permanent Representative of SL to the UN Office in Nairobi (UNON) to Solheim. Solheim had been designated by the UN Headquarters to accept Letters of Appointment in the absence of the Director General of UNON. more..

Aug 22 (PMD) Attention has been drawn to further strengthening the maritime security cooperation between Japan and SL. This was disclosed during the meeting between Japanese Minister of Defence Itsunori Onodera, who is on a two-day official visit to SL, and President Maithripala Sirisena held at the Presidential Secretariat, today (21). This is the first time that a Japanese Defence Minister is visiting the country, and the Minister was warmly welcomed by the President. more..

Aug 22 (EN) SL's listed conglomerate Melstacorp, the parent company of listed liquor producer Distilleries Company, said it was entering the healthcare industry, initially setting up diagnostic infrastructure and managing select hospitals. "The company will be entering the healthcare industry shortly through subsidiaries incorporated to undertake such activities," goup said in a stock exchange filing Tuesday. The group has incorporated Melsta Health Private Limited for the purpose. more..

Aug 22 (AD) Police Spokesman says that an Inspector and two Constables were mistakenly arrested in connection with a robbery in Kalutara. The STF had arrested an Inspector and two Constables attached to the Panadura Division Anti-Vice Unit this morning (21). The arrests were made by the STF near the Kalutara Bridge during an operation, it was reported. They were arrested on suspicion over a robbery in Kalutara and handed over to the Organized Crimes Prevention Division. more..

Aug 22 (Island) One-time top govt trade negotiator Gomi Senadhira urged the ruling coalition to immediately halt the importing of garbage of all sorts in accordance with SL-Singapore Free Trade Agreement. Stop it now or face the consequences, Senadhira, who served successive govt over a period of 32 years as a commercial diplomat said. Former Director General of Commerce (2009-2011) and SL’s Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization (2004-2006), more..