Jul 28 (Island) The Association of Medical Specialists (AMS) accuses certain elements of the Medical Profession with vested interests of trying to put paid to the efforts being made to enact special laws to save the public from bogus medical specialists. The association says those in the medical profession and some trade unions have launched a joint operation to derail the process. Following is the statement issued by more..

Jul 28 (Island) SL Under-19 suffered heavy innings and 147 runs defeat to concede 2-0 series loss to their Indian counterparts as the hosts were bowled out for 150 runs well before tea on the final day of the final Youth Test at Sooriyawewa on Friday. SL Under-19 needed 250 runs on the final day to avoid an innings defeat but their batting line-up failed once again as only three batsmen topped 20 runs in the second innings. Nuwanindu Fernando (28) and Sandun Mendis were the only batsmen to more..

Jul 28 (NR) Police say 3,325 suspects have been arrested in an island wide operation from 9pm yesterday (26) to 8am today over various offences. The operation was carried out based on orders issued by Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara. Police media spokesperson said cases were also filed against 5,808 persons over traffic violations. 16,422 Police officers had been deployed for the operation. He noted 541 persons were arrested for driving under the influence. more..

Jul 28 (DN) The new Bribery Commission Act being formulated will criminalise bribery in the private sector and bribery of foreign public officials, Commission’s Director General Sarath Jayamanne PC said. The DG was addressing a press conference to wind up the three-day Global Expert Group Meeting on the Jakarta Principles in Colombo, yesterday. UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Chief of the Corruption and more..

Jul 28 (Island) Administration of the Peradeniya Uni yesterday closed the entire uni until further notice following continuous protests by students. VC Prof. Upul Dissanayake has announced that all faculties of the university have been closed until further notice due to several administrative issues. Accordingly, all resident students were ordered leave the uni dormitories before 6:00 p.m. yesterday. VC has said the uni has decided to give two months’ vacation to the students from today. more..

Jul 28 (Island) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe told leaders of political parties on Thursday in Parliament that the govt had decided to hold the provincial council elections before the next Presidential and parliamentary polls. The PM said so at the party leaders’ meeting held at the Parliament complex on the provincial council polls. The Premier informed the party leaders that the govt could hold PC elections on a single day in seven out of nine provinces, parliament sources said. more..

Jul 28 (AD) Minister Arjuna Ranatunga denied that Prez asked him not to look into the affairs of the Sports Ministry during a recent Cabinet meeting, as claimed by a local newspaper. He emphasized that reporting such false news is an insult to the Prez. Minister Rajitha Senaratne has also stated that the Prez did not make any such statement to him, minister said. He further stated that false news of this sort is created by more..

Jul 28 (DN) CEB has been summoned before the COPE on Aug 7. “The letter of summons sent by the COPE Secretary was received by the Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy,” Ministry Secretary Suren Batagoda said. Accordingly, the Secretary to the Ministry of Power and Energy and Chairman of the CEB and several other administrative officers will appear before COPE representing the CEB. The COPE inquiry would focus on payments done on purchasing electricity from private-owned more..

Jul 28 (DM) People in SL, especially children, should learn Sinhala, Tamil & English languages in order to bring about reconciliation, PM Wickremesinghe said. He said this at a ceremony held to felicitate schoolchildren who excelled in the second language at the GCE O/L exam in 2017. “If people learn Sinhala, then everyone should be conversant with the language of the majority. If one learns Tamil, then that person will be able to benefit from the development that is taking place in TN. more..

Jul 28 (DM) Chairman of the Elections Commission Mahinda Deshapriya said that unless a system is decided upon by the Parliament, Provincial Council Elections cannot be held in whatever manner. He said that it is the Parliament that should decide whether the Provincial Councils are to be held under the old preferential system or under the new mixed system, and until the Parliament arrives at a decision and clears legal barriers, more..

Jul 28 (Island) Referring to simmering disputes over the allocation of water in some parts of the world, Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe on Wednesday said the multi-purpose Moragahakanda-Kalu ganga project would strengthen post-war national reconciliation effort. Samarasinghe said so addressing the media at SLFP office. Samarasinghe, who had been war winning President Rajapaksa’s human rights envoy explained how those living in the Eastern region and more..

Jul 28 (AD) Five customs officials have been hospitalized after they were allegedly assaulted by a Kuwaiti couple at the BIA after they were asked to quarantine their pet dog. The couple arrived in Sri Lanka this morning from Kuwait bringing their pet dog with them, but were not willing to abide by the SL Animal Quarantine regulation. The Kuwaiti couple allegedly attempted to forcibly exit the Arrival Lounge of BIA in Katunayake while attacking the Customs Officials. more..

Jul 28 (Island) Wartime Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa on Thursday told Colombo-based senior Tamil print and electronic journalists that countrywide economic empowerment was the key to post-war stability. Rajapaksa stressed the pivotal importance of economic empowerment of all communities, particularly those who had been denied of opportunities due to the conflict. more..

Jul 28 (DM) From the cradle to the grave, maybe a cliché but it is vital and true in the case of breastfeeding. People-friendly nutritionists have found that if babies are breastfed for at least 6 months or preferably more, their immune system would be stronger, their confidence and IQ higher and they are likely to play a bigger role in making society a better place. World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year from Aug 1-7 to encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of more..

Jul 28 (DM) Can more medical doctors reverse the continuing decline in our health service? JVP MP Dr Nalinda Jayatissa has moved two private member motions to establish medical faculties at the Uva Wellassa and Moratuwa Universities, with Badulla and Nagoda Hospitals proposed as Teaching Hospitals. His argument is that SL has only 50 per cent of the required number of medical doctors and medical faculties in State Universities can only accommodate 1,200 to 1,300 medical more..

Jul 28 (ST) The thousands of vehicles jamming city roads have reduced metropolitan speeds to an agonisingly slow 10kmph on average despite all the spending on new highways, a transport expert said. Outside cities the picture is almost as bad: the average speed on Western Province roads in general is 15kmph, with traffic congestion at record levels – more than one vehicle for every five people, according to research by Senior Professor more..

Jul 28 (AD) Representing Sri Lanka at the Conference to Advance Religious Freedom, Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Prasad Kariyawasam remarked that Sri Lanka remains committed to advance and uphold the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. He also stressed that Sri Lanka will join the international community to foster what the world needs most today to progress – peace, compassion, more..

Jul 28 (DM) So many articles had been published in newspapers this week about the 1983 ethnic riots, commonly known as the Black July. Tamil papers reported several commemorative events that had been held in the north, especially at the Jaffna University premises which is fast becoming a hotbed of Tamil nationalism since lately. July 24 this year marked the 35th Remembrance of the beginning of a week-long anti-Tamil riot that more..

Jul 28 (DM) The current Sathya Gaveshana is probing into this unresolved crisis that exists at the Technology Faculty of the South Eastern University. A Technology Faculty was first opened at the South Eastern University. That was on the June 29, 2016, under a special Gazette notification number1973/28. This notification was signed by the then Minister of Higher Education and Highways Lakshman Kiriella. more..

Jul 28 (DM) Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa said the govt was attempting to remove his name from all constructions named after him. Following are several questions and answers exchanged between a journalist and Mr. Rajapaksa, when the latter visited the Homagama Purana Temple to pay his last respects to the late Ven. Madowita Pagnakiththi Thera who was the Chief Sanghanayake of the Seenadhi Siu Koralaya. more..

Jul 28 (Island) President Maithripala Sirisena says it is the responsibility of everyone to do everything in his or her power to help free people from poverty, and the govt’s development plans had to be implemented properly to eliminate poverty. President said so, participating in the Sabaragamuwa Province Action Committee of the Grama Shakthi People’s Movement held at the Ratnapura Provincial Council Auditorium more..

Jul 28 (CI) The last time these two sides met in bilateral ODIs, South Africa stomped to a 5-0 victory. Sri Lanka were at the start of their shambolic 2017, and South Africa still had AB de Villiers, while Imran Tahir only needed to stare at a Sri Lanka batsman in order to get his wicket. Things are a little different now - mainly for South Africa. They are without de Villiers, who is retired, and are missing Tahir on this trip - more..

Jul 28 (PMD) The Green Champion Award 2017 was presented to the Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration by President Maithripala Sirisena at the Awards Ceremony held at premises of Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration Colombo yesterday (26). This competition was organized by the Foreign Ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Ministry of power and Renewable Energy. more..

Jul 28 (EN) The Negombo magistrate has released on personal bail a Kuwaiti couple arrested over an assault that resulted in the hospitalisation of five customs officers who tried to stop them smuggling a pet dog. The couple was produced before magistrate Nelson P. Kumaranayaka and granted bail on Saturday night, officials said adding that a further hearing has been scheduled for Monday. more..

Jul 28 (DM) Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa had held talks with envoys appointed during his Presidency to serve in Sri Lankan missions abroad and requested them to come up with suggestions on Sri Lankan’s foreign policy to be adopted under a future govt. Former External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris told the Daily Mirror that all envoys appointed by Mr. Rajapaksa had attended the meeting. more..

Jul 29 (SO) An ancient civilisation founded the SL science of irrigation and water management; the modern island nation now takes our legacy to new heights. The country’s single giant multipurpose infrastructure development programme, the Mahaveli River Valley Development Programme, began in the 1970s, accelerated in the 1980s and now nears completion with the commissioning of the last of its massive dam and river diversion project last week. more..

Jul 29 (CT) Today marks the thirty-first anniversary of the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord (ILPA), signed in Colombo on 29 July 1987 between President J. R. Jayewardene and Indian Premier Rajiv Gandhi. A local editorialist described the ILPA as being shoved down the old man’s throat. The shover was Gandhi and the old man, Jayewardene. The genesis of the ILPA was when Colombo on 26 May 1987 launched a successful military operation called Operation Liberation to rid North of Tamil insurgents, more..

Jul 29 (SO) Nine years after the end of Sri Lanka’s long drawn conflict between Govt forces and the LTTE, the Northern Province is confronting a very different type of war. Communities struggling to rebuild homes and livelihoods nearly a decade after the guns fell silent are finding themselves mired in debt. The reason is a combination of factors. From extreme poverty to a severe drought and failure of the rural more..

Jul 29 (Island) We believe that the majority of the people of this country regard the Provincial Councils to be no less than massive white elephants burdening the long-suffering taxpayers of Sri Lanka. The long-standing Tamil demand for regional autonomy resulted in the creation of this monster that has only benefitted the political class with very little evidence of the devolution that was the raison d’etre for setting them up to be seen. Instead we have seen the multiplication of elected, more..

Jul 29 (ST) Left arm spinner Malinda Pushpakumara wrecked the second innings of the South Africa Emerging Players XI’s batting as he led the fight back for the Sri Lanka Emerging Team to make a comeback with a vengeance in the first two sessions of play on day three of the first unofficial Test match played at the Chilaw Marians ground in Katunayake. Later midway in the second session Sri Lanka Emerging Team being set a target of 310 runs for victory saw skipper Kaushal Silva guiding more..

Jul 29 (CT) Secretary General of Amnesty International (AI) Salil Shetty who stepped down from his post, recently, in the belief that leaders should not hang onto their posts, whether in Govt, Corporations or NGOs, said, While the war has ended, many feel the conflict has not. Q: The Amnesty has been using UN expert panel statistics which estimated that up to 40,000 SL civilians were killed in the final, bloody months of the war. more..

Jul 29 (ST) The rain had ceased and Kussi Amma Sera and her two amba yahaluwo (mango friends) were seated under the margosa tree chatting about events in their village and so on. "Nangi, ara midwife nona hariyata udaw karanawa apey gamme kattiyata (that midwife Madam is very helpful in our village),” Kussi Amma Sera was telling Serapina with Mabel Rasthiyadu listening intently. KAS was referring to the public health midwife (PHM) and responding to a comment by Serapina more..

Jul 29 (ST) My dear Imran Khan, I thought I must write to you to congratulate you on your success at this week’s election in Pakistan. You have come a long way from being a head of a relatively new political party with only a few seats in Parliament to now claim power, becoming the leader of the party with the most number of seats. Of course, we in Paradise have known you long before that and that was as a great cricketer. On the cricket field, winning was nothing new to you and more..

Jul 29 (Island) The national cricket team has been quite impressive in Test cricket against the Proteas, but it remains to be seen whether they can continue to be clinical in the shorter format of the game as well. Last year was disastrous for SL in white ball cricket. The team suffered three 5-0 drubbings at the hands of South Africa, India and Pakistan apart from losing a first-ever series to Zimbabwe. The losing trend saw the team struggling to qualify automatically for the ICC World Cup in 2019. more..

Jul 29 (CT) With SL’s whitewash of the South Africans in the Test series, it’s time to move to the ODI series, played with the white ball between the two sides. Hence, my attempt is to try and understand the thinking of the Sri Lankans. To start with, there have been a surprise or two in the selection process - which wasn’t expected by many - and the first is the reinstatement of Angelo Mathews as the skipper. On a personal note, I am delighted for Angelo as skipper of white ball ODI more..

Jul 29 (CT) Last Monday (23), Senior Colonel Xu Jianwei, Military, Naval & Air Attaché of Embassy of China in SL, hosted a reception at the Shangri-la Hotel to celebrate the 91st founding anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Altogether, 600 invitees including the Ambassador of China Cheng Xueyuan, former President Rajapaksa, Ministers, high-level military, police and govt officials, members from diplomatic corps, more..

Jul 29 (ST) The recent mea culpa by British MP Ian Paisley for not disclosing to the House of Commons that he and his family accepted a freebie holiday in SL, and the punishment meted out to him by the Standards Committee of that country’s Parliament seem to have excited some local MPs. He was found guilty of paid advocacy. One of these local MPs from the ruling coalition called for an inquiry on the matter to embarrass the previous Govt which had engaged the British MP at the time. more..

Jul 29 (ST) World champions India made amends for their 1-2 ODI defeat in the Indo-SL bilateral Cricket series by pulling off an easy 4-1 victory in the T20 series concluded at the BRC grounds last Tuesday. In the T-20 5-match series, India started off with a 7-wicket win in the 1st match and went on to dominate the series as World champs. Sri Lanka managed to win the 3rd match by 9 runs. India’s batting strength was exhibited by Sunil Ramesh (B3), Durga Rao (B3) and skipper more..

Jul 29 (ST) Did opener Dhanushka Gunatilleke who is now in the centre of a controversy over the hotel room incident really did get lured into a honey trap? Former Sri Lanka Cricket’s Anti Corruption chief Lakshman de Silva thinks so. Gunatilleke and a male friend allegedly brought two Norwegian women into a plush hotel room in Colombo and Gunatilleke’s friend in the meantime is now accused of raping one of the women. more..