Aug 24 (Roar) Two hours from Jaffna town is Delft, an arid, rocky island that is home to approximately 5,000 people in the northern peninsula. The island has always been a place of wonder and intrigue — for both Sri Lankans and tourists. The most iconic photographs of Delft feature its best-known attractions: wild ponies (believed to be a legacy of Portuguese colonial rulers), azure seas, and a centuries-old more..

Aug 24 (DM) This nation has proved time and again that it needs stricter laws and also a strong president who can keep a check on activities which can get out of hand. These days, quite regularly, we get to read so much in newspapers about gang violence and people being arrested with narcotics in their possession. Some of them end up in jail and a few are sentenced to death, with the latter verdict still being converted into a life imprisonment. The bottom line to all this is that more..

Aug 24 (EN) Sri Lanka's cement imports have surged in May 2018 and domestic production has also picked up slightly ending steep contraction seen in the first quarter, which may point to a recovery in the construction sector. Cement imports surged 56% from a year earlier to 633,000 metric tonnes in May 2018, taking the total imports in the first five months to 2.3 million metric tonnes up 1.5% from a year earlier. Domestic production grew 0.5% to 220,000 metric tonnes in May more..

Aug 24 (DN) Matthew Abeysinghe came up with the highest achievement by a Sri Lankan swimmer in Asian Games history when he competed in the men's 100m final and finished in sixth place clocking 49.28secs at the 18th Asia Games continued in Jakarta yesterday. Matthew was also the first Lankan swimmer to qualify for an Asian Games 100m final. Matthew had earlier recorded a better timing of 49.11 secs more..

Aug 24 (FT) The Govt will bring in amendments to legislation pertaining to finance and microfinance companies before the presentation of Budget 2019. Minister Mangala Samaraweera said that amendments would be introduced to ensure that the Central Bank is able to fully implement its relief program to bail out women who have obtained high interest loans from microfinance companies, particularly in the North of the island. “To address that loophole, we will amend legislation more..

Aug 24 (FT) The report of the Provincial Delimitation Commission is set to be rejected by Parliament today with the UNP and Joint Opposition to vote against it, sources said. The Delimitation Report, which is up for a vote in Parliament today, needs a two-thirds majority of the House for its ratification. According to sources, the UNP parliamentary group had met at the parliamentary complex yesterday where party leader PM Ranil Wickremesinghe had decided to vote against Delimitation Report. more..

Aug 24 (DM) Minister Sajith Premadasa recently called for an open economy with a human face saying it is the right way to establish a just society. He expressed this sentiment while speaking at the SL Institute of Marketing (SLIM) awards ceremony recently. “It must be understood that full-blown capitalism is not the order of the day. A just and fair society can only be established through systems, structures and procedures that more..

Aug 24 (DN) Two persons were arrested yesterday in connection with the abduction and rape of a 19-year-old student in the Palai area, according to the Police Media Spokesman’s Office. The suspects were produced at the Mulaithivu Magistrate’s Court yesterday. The student had sat for the A/L examination and was on her way home, when the suspects had followed her in a black jeep and motorcycle and had abducted her in the Udayarkattu area in the Palai Police Division. more..

Aug 24 (NR) Traffic police personnel can in no way refuse to issue spot-fines because sufficient books of spot-fine sheets have been distributed to all police stations in the country, SP Indika Hapugoda said. He said they had received several complaints about a video footage that had gone viral on social media, where a traffic police officer had refused to issue a spot fine to a motorist because the officer had run out of spot-fine sheets. He said immediate disciplinary action would be taken against more..

Aug 24 (PMD) The inauguration ceremony of renovating 2,400 rural tanks connected with ellanga gammana or Cascaded Tank-Village system in the Dry Zone and the commencement of the Second Stage of the Wayamba Ela, will be held under the patronage of Prez Sirisena at 10 a.m. in the premises of the Kubukulawa Tank, Polpithigama. The ellanga gammana or Cascaded Tank-Village system in the Dry Zone, more..

Aug 24 (FT) From 12-16 August 2019, the World Association of Girl Guide and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) Member Organisations from across the Asia Pacific Region will meet in Colombo at their 13th Regional Conference. With the theme of UNITE-THRIVE-GROW, the conference will bring together Member Organisations across the Asia Pacific, to celebrate the achievements of the past years and to discuss strategies for the future development of the Movement. more..

Aug 24 (FT) For the first time in the history of Tamil language media in Sri Lanka, a comprehensive investigative reporting training session of international standards was successfully completed, with journalists receiving training through real world events. The six-day long immersive training, organised by the Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR) for member journalists of the Tamil Speaking Women Journalists Organisation (TSWJO), targeted Tamil-speaking women in more..

Aug 24 (FT) Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) is waiting on clearance from Registrar of Pesticides to commission the first consignment of glyphosate after the ban was lifted in July. “The CPC has called for tenders and the Pesticide Technical and Advisory Committee appointed by the Registrar of Pesticides has to now select an eligible supplier to bring down the weedicide to Sri Lanka. more..

Aug 24 (DM) Minister Ranjith Madduma Bandara told Parliament that during the past two months, 38 ‘Ava’ group members had been arrested and four motorbikes, four swords and an axe taken into custody. Responding to a statement by EPDP leader Douglas Devananda that the Ava group had inconvenienced the people in Jaffna, the minister said some 100 police officers had been deployed in the North to control the situation. Mr. Devananda said this armed group had engaged in more..

Aug 24 (CT) President of the Kabaddi Federation of SL, Anura Pathirana, resigned from his post after Sri Lanka failed to get a medal during the ongoing Asian Games in Indonesia. Sri Lanka had high hopes of a medal in Kabaddi and after winning a few games it was a distinct possibility, but in the end the team failed to achieve that. In a letter addressed to the Minister of Sports Faiszer Musthapha, Pathirana has accepted full responsibility for the losses, stating that it’s time someone new took over more..

Aug 24 (FT) The Office of Missing Persons (OMP) will present an interim report later this month, detailing recommendations on the welfare of families of the disappeared and possible measures for justice, an official said yesterday. The report is to be handed over to Prez and PM and subsequently released to the public, OMP Chairman Saliya Peiris said. The handing out of the report will take place at a ceremony to mark the International Day of more..

Aug 24 (DM) Minister Mangala Samaraweera urged the Cultural Affairs Minister to reconsider the ban imposed on radio dramas produced by the Office of National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR). He told Parliament the notion that these dramas insulted Buddhism was incorrect. “I checked the titles of these radio dramas when I heard about the complaint and found that the aim is to influence the younger generation to embrace the culture of the country which is based on Buddhism. more..

Aug 24 (AD) Prez Sirisena has taken steps to appoint a Special Commission to make recommendations to provide solutions to minimise salary anomalies in the Public Service while focusing on the existing salary circulars in relation to the salaries and allowances of the Public Service. President Sirisena proclaimed the establishment of this Special Commission, according to a decision taken at the Cabinet on 14th Aug 2018. Commission is chaired by Mr. S. Ranugge and more..

Aug 24 (DM) Peoples' Bank General Manager is under fire for asking for an extension of service, drawing an exorbitant salary and drawing salary arrears to the tune of Rs.70 million and the Ministries of Finance and National Enterprise Development had agreed to carry out the recommendation made by the COPE to stop the service extension. COPE Chairman MP Sunil Handunnetti informed the House that more..

Aug 24 (FT) With the Parliament promising State patronage and constant efforts to pursue Pandith Amaradeva’s vision, President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday moved the second reading motion to establish the Amaradeva Aesthetic and Research Centre. The President, fondly remembering Pandith Amaradeva for his immense contribution, said: “He was not only an exceptional artist, but also a man of an era who was a prominent intellectual, a scholar, a visionary and a humanist. more..

Aug 24 (CT) Informed sources said that sports goods valued at Rs. 70 million, purchased by the Sports Development Department affiliated to the Ministry of Sports, has gone to rack and ruin due to lack of storage facilities. Sources said these goods have been stored haphazardly at the Sports Development Dept in Colombo 7 and at the artificial hockey grounds at Torrington. They added that these sports goods had been bought during the past two-year period in order to be distributed more..

Aug 24 (FT) Port and Shipping Ministry is preparing to present a Cabinet paper for procurement of equipment needed to operationalise the East Container Terminal, set to be managed by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), utilising its own funds. Denying reports that the ECT was to be managed as a Public-Private Partnership, subject Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said that the Cabinet has given approval for the Terminal more..

Aug 24 (DM) Chief Sanga Nayaka of the Southern Province Venerable Omalpe Sobitha Thera alleged that the Buddha statue that was in the office of Colombo Mayor Rosy Senanayake has been removed. Thera said this during a function held to mark the centenary of the Daham Pasala at the Vajirarama Temple held at the BMICH last evening. “The Buddha Statue which was in the office of the Colombo Mayor has been removed. There have been a number of non Buddhists who have more..

Aug 24 (CT) Office of the Missing Persons (OMP) which has intervened in the Mannar mass grave and funding the excavation process, said that they hope to intervene and take in charge of other suspected mass graves as well, as the law empowers them to go before the Judicial Magistrate to ask for excavation of those sites. Chairman of the OMP Saliya Peiris at the first ever press conference after the Office was launched, on the Matale mass grave site, which has not been further investigated, more..

Aug 24 (DM) UNF, JO and the TNA have decided to vote against the report of the Delimitation Committee on Provincial Councils. Parliamentary Groups of these Parties met separately in Parliament yesterday and both groups have unanimously decided to vote against the report. The report has to be passed with a two thirds majority in Parliament in order to hold the PC elections under the new electoral system. more..

Aug 24 (Island) Members of Parliament would have us believe that they are not capable of any wrongdoing. They lay all their sins on the executive presidency, which is made out to be a wellspring of evil. They blame even their absenteeism on that much-maligned institution which, they claim, has undermined the national legislature. State Minister of Finance Eran Wickramaratne subscribed to this view at a media briefing on Wednesday, as we reported yesterday. more..

Aug 24 (Island) Ambition is but avarice on stilts, but masked noted Walter Savage Landor and Shakespeare - Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself/ And falls on the other. Among many despicable characteristic of ours – Sri Lankan, mostly Sinhalese – one is nasty, self seeking ambition. It is rampant. Consider the run-of-the-mill politician, the private bus owner, GMOA office bearers. It’s ambition that drives them. Ambition for what? MONEY, and in first case power too. more..

Aug 24 (DM) The US is excited to try out the air logistics hub concept which utilizes Sri Lanka’s strategic location in the Indian Ocean to ensure the quick availability of relief supplies, equipment and other material when needed by the US and partner militaries and humanitarian organizations, an official of the US Embassy in SL said today. In a statement issued over the arrival of the USS Anchorage at Trinco Port, more..

Aug 24 (Island) Minister and SLFP spokesman Mahinda Samarasinghe yesterday said that the govt was yet to reach consensus on a major Chinese housing construction project in the Northern region due to the four-party TNA opposition to the initiative. Samarasinghe, who is also the Vice President of the SLFP said that the cabinet expected a report in that respect from Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe soon. more..

Aug 24 (Island) The Treasury had reneged on its pledge to provide a treasury comfort letter as a guarantee for SriLankan Airlines to obtain a USD 35 million loan from the Bank of Ceylon in 2012, it was revealed at the PCoI. Appearing before the PcoI, Upul Dias, Manager Offshore Branch of the Bank of Ceylon (BoC) said that Treasury Secretary PB Jayasundara had promised a Treasury Comfort Letter to Bank of Ceylon on Dec 29, 2009 more..

Aug 24 (CT) JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake pointed out several loopholes in the proposal the Govt had brought to ease the suffering of women who have obtained loans from microfinance companies at a higher interest rate. He noted that although the Govt promised to put a cap on interest rates of microfinance companies, CB officials have indicated that they cannot interfere with that more..

Aug 24 (CT) The Govt has indicated that even though railway trade unions were planning to go on strike, more trains would run this time around. Some Railway trade unions have decided to go on strike but many others told Ceylon Today that they will desist from joining the strike, although, the last time they joined the strike. A member of the Executive Committee of the Railway Trade Union, said that a Railway strike will be launched more..

Aug 24 (CT) The suggestion by State Minister Dr. Harsha de Silva that salaries of skilled professionals be brought in line to that of the private sector, to stem the brain drain, roused the ire of MPs. Dr. de Silva told Parliament that this was the best way to stem the brain drain in the State sector. However, JVP’s Sunil Handunnetti, in his capacity as Chairman of COPE vehemently opposed a service extension to People’s Bank, more..

Aug 24 (Island) Minister Ranjith Maddumabandara, told Parliament that he would initiate a fresh investigation into the killing of two JVP cadres if the party could furnish additional information. He said so when JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake demanded to know why there had been an inordinate delay in investigations into the killings of two JVP cadres, Chandradasa Naiduwawadu and Nandana Balage. more..

Aug 24 (AD) Attorney General’s Department today filed a case with the newly set-up Permanent High Court at Bar against former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and 6 others, over the misappropriation of state funds when building the D.A. Rajapaksa Museum. Attorney General’s Dept filed the indictments today based on the investigation carried out by the FCID. The seven defendants named in the case including more..

Aug 24 (CT) In a shock move, Govt scuttled a Motion to give a pay hike to the Auditor General (AG), Gamini Wijesinghe, an act, the Opposition says is in revenge for the AG exposing serious irregularities in the Govt sector. The matter came up in Parliament yesterday, when the Govt decided to withdraw a Motion, included in the Order Paper, to increase the salary and allowances paid to the AG and when the Opposition more..

Aug 24 (AFP) Former president Mahinda Rajapakse's chief of staff was indicted Friday for embezzling millions of dollars from a state insurance firm. A new court set up to investigate major corruption began its work by hearing the case against Rajapakse's top aide Gamini Senarath and three others accused of siphoning off 500 million rupees ($3 million). The four took the money during the construction of a hotel in Colombo more..

Aug 25 (CT) We in the North fear troops. It is just not Tamils. We have seen viral videos of the IGP assaulting a staff member and the Navy Commander a reporter. In a democracy, troops must be kept out of civilians lives. However, not in our democracy. In 1970, I was assaulted for no reason by a group of policemen. In the early 1980s troops on their way to buy cigarettes in three trucks swung a bicycle chain at me and other passers-by. Soon, our guardian troops were murdering us. more..

Aug 25 (CT) According to a media report released by President’s Media Division, a committee of experts has been appointed by the President to examine and report on the practical impact and use of the proposed officer policy guidelines and recommendations on framing SL’s future trade policy. The choice of the 5 experts, it appears, has been done carefully drawing on the multitude of expertise which they possess not only on trade but also on all other aspects of economic policy. more..

Aug 25 (SO) With Colombo’s waterways and marshes being home to saltwater crocodiles, should the people taking part in recreational activities around these be concerned? With the emergence of walking paths, recreational paths and wetland parks around Colombo and the suburbs, reports of crocodile spotting have become more and more frequent. The likelihood of crocodiles being found around Weras Ganga walking path more..