Sep 9 (SO) How does a nation weave its flag, its insignia, its founding narrative? Will it be the energies of all its people that combine in a creative unity that inspires the imagination for a long term vision of national community? Do we follow the path of extensive negotiation, public consultation, intensive deliberations and a painstaking search for the exact, suitable, structures of polity and nationhood? Or, do we let personal and clan ambitions and rivalry exploit religious, cultural and ethnic differentiation for more..

Sep 9 (Island) Those who have had the opportunity of visiting the luxury reception/banquet hall built at Temple Trees, the PM’s official residence during the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime are well aware that it is an extravagance that a country in our economic situation could ill-afford. The building of the opulent carpeted and chandeliered air-conditioned facility is without doubt an act of utmost profligacy of a governing elite that thought nothing of expending billions of tax rupees for more..

Sep 9 (SO) A week after the world commemorated International Day of the Disappeared, on August 30 a woman sat in a make-shift tent with her five-year-old twins in front of Galle Face Green holding up posters imploring the authorities to bring back her husband. This is not the first time Mayuri Jayasena, 37, sat by a main road as people passed by, looking optimistic whenever someone stopped to inquire about her plight, hoping they were govt officials finally noticing her and looking into her case. more..

Sep 9 (ST) Last Wednesday’s People’s Power (Jana Balaya) rally could be dismissed as just another Opposition mass mobilisation protest march that went nowhere, or seen as a pincer move to destabilise an already wobbly coalition Govt. It could be a bit of both as well. The goal of a democratic Opposition is to bring down a democratically elected Govt and secure political power. How they do it is their business. The incumbents in power and place have done it when they were in the Opposition. more..

Sep 9 (CT) The Independent commissions (ICs) led by the Constitutional Council (CC), appointed after the passing of the 19th Amendment (19A) to the Constitution in April 2015, curbed the powers of a dictatorial President empowered by the 18th Amendment (18A) and passed in September 2010, which removed President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s maximum two-term limit, to perpetuity and simultaneously arrogated powers to Rajapaksa to also appoint members to those commissions and the CC. more..

Sep 9 (CT) Northern Province Chief Minister C. V. Wigneswaran who is at loggerheads with the Tamil National Alliance tells Ceylon Today the coalition is not doing what its constituents want. He says the alliance has no clear policies and “is run by a coterie which has ceased to reflect the needs and aspirations of our People. That (coterie) includes the gentleman (MP M A Sumanthiran) whom you mentioned. There is no People’s participation.” more..

Sep 9 (ST) My dear pohottuwa brothers and sisters, I thought I must write to you after seeing your protest march or satyagraha this week which you called Janabalaya Colombata. I am not saying it was an utter flop, but even you must admit that it wasn’t the great success it was meant to be. I am sure you must be disappointed about that. Protest marches and satyagraha’s are nothing new to our politicians. When SWRD was in power, it was JR who took the lead in organising a march from Colombo to Kandy more..

Sep 9 (ST) It has become a ritual nowadays. As extreme heat or extreme rain hits the country throughout the year, the authorities are either grappling with floods or urging people to conserve water. This time of the year, it’s about conserving water. Kussi Amma Sera and her friends Serapina and Mabel Rasthiyadu had also got into the debate and to use a popular phrase: “Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink.” I couldn’t hear much of the conversation as they were huddled in the corner of the garden more..

Sep 9 (Island) Last Wednesday, as the whole country remained transfixed by the JO’s demonstration in Colombo, the JVP presented to Parliament their private Member’s Bill to abolish the executive presidency. This was not unexpected because this 20th Amendment Bill had been in the pipeline since May this year, and its presentation to Parliament was just another step in the process that was already in motion. According to the procedure laid out for Private Member’s Bills in the Standing Orders of Parliament, more..

Sep 9 (CT) A mammoth gathering of protestors in Mullaitivu on Tuesday (28) chanted slogans to halt colonization under the Mahaweli System L in the Northern Province being carried out with State patronage. The Northern Provincial Council has been agitating that land powers under the 13th Amendment be granted to it. However, it was evident from the mammoth protest, plans have also been mooted to divert the longest river in the island to spearhead State-backed colonization in the province. more..

Sep 9 (CT) Following a massive propaganda campaign and a change of dates a few times, earlier, in the run up to Janabalaya Kolambata protest, the JO finally was able to show its strength by bringing tens of thousands of people to Colombo last week. Masses gathered in front of the Lake House blocking all three roads to and from Colombo, as the JO and SLPP occupied Colombo in an overnight protest. Crowds surged behind former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, more..

Sep 9 (SO) One time rugby great and Sri Lanka crowd favourite Hisham Abdeen sacked his own team and evicted them out of an Academy tournament last week for causing a fight and disregarding the norms of fair play on the very ground from which he showcased his brilliance in the 1980s. Abdeen, who directs and runs the HARFA Academy that conducted the tournament, disqualified his players along with another team for their part in a brawl that he viewed as unbecoming of sportsmanship and more..

Sep 9 (ST) A potent weapon in Test cricket, Dilruwan Perera, now wants to grab the Asia Cup opportunity to establish himself in the limited-over format leading into next year’s cricket World Cup. Dilruwan was last week included for the six-nation Asia Cup tournament starting Saturday (15) in Dubai. It is little more than a year after he played his last ODI against Bangladesh at home. He was part of the Champions Trophy squad but did not get a chance to play. more..

Sep 9 (Island) Sri Lanka are the defending champions of Asia Cup having won the event when it was conducted in the 50 over format four years ago in Bangladesh. (In 2016, the tournament was played in T-20 format where India emerged champions). When Angelo Mathews’ side was crowned champions in 2014 convincingly beating Pakistan in the final in Dhaka, the big three – Sanga, Mahela and Dilshan – were very much part of the side. Yet, Lahiru Thirimanne was named Player of the Series, more..

Sep 9 (ST) Thailand’s Yo Narapitchit Pudla claimed the Men’s Asian Freestyle X Championship 2018 while Japan’s Aya Oshima emerged the Women’s champion as Anishka Dinel clinched the Sri Lanka Freestyle X National Championship at Kalpitiya yesterday. The dual Kitesurfing competition was conducted by KTA Sri Lanka with the sponsorship of Sri Lanka Tourism Ministry with over 70 kiteriders from 13 countries taking part. The wind throughout the day pushed up to between 20 -25kts, more..

Sep 9 (ST) Besides meeting the Chinese Olympic Committee authorities and signing an MOU on training Lankan athletes, the Lankan Olympic Committee secretary Maxwell de Silva said that they met IOC top brass on an official capacity at the conclusion of the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia. The most significant outcome of the meeting was the IOC top brass’s expectation that certain changes would be effected in the Sports Law of SL. De Silva said the changes would be made in consultation more..

Sep 9 (ST) Dominant Sri Lanka put themselves within sight of that elusive crown after they registered a fighting 55-46 win over spirited Hong Kong in the semi-finals of the Asian Netball Championships played at the OCBC Arena in Singapore yesterday. Sri Lanka’s passage to next year’s World Cup in Liverpool in England. Along with Sri Lanka is Singapore who beat Malaysia 51-43 in the second semi-finals to send the defending champions crashing out of the finals. more..

Sep 9 (Island) At the moment cricket fans are awaiting the Asia Cup 2018 due to begin on September 15 with Sri Lanka placed in Group B alongside Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Unfortunately Sri Lanka is starting on the wrong foot with Chandimal on the injured list while Akila Dananjaya will in all probability miss two games and has informed the selectors to excuse him since he wants to be present when he is due to become a father for the first time shortly. more..

Sep 9 (SO) In keeping with the govt’s aim of developing Sri Lanka’s boat building industry as one of the six sectors of the economic drive, stakeholders are looking at a strategic approach to fuel its growth. “The boat building industry will receive support from Poland to develop the sector which is looking at production locations to set up manufacturing of small boats. Poland is the largest manufacturer of small boats for export and are considering other locations for this purpose. more..

Sep 9 (ST) Using a leased vehicle and constantly in fear that it would be seized on the road by tough debt collectors, if your payments are not made on time? Not to worry. Responding to a public outcry over outsourcing practices of SL’s Licensed Finance Companies specially harassing customers in debt recovery, Central Bank (CB) has issued tough guidelines this week restricting such functions. Although the outsourcing can bring cost savings and other benefits more..

Sep 9 (CT) ITC Hotels, India’s second-largest luxury hotel chain, plans to sell Sri Lanka’s largest and most expensive penthouse, comprising 19,000 square feet on the top of its first-ever branded residential project called Sapphire Residencies, for US$ 10 million, Welcom Hotels Lanka Vice President (Commercial) Subi Koshy George told Ceylon FT on Friday. The Sapphire Residences will be launched to the global market in 2 October this year by Sotheby’s International Realty, he said. more..

Sep 9 (Island) A senior hotelier with decades long experience owning and managing two mid-sized Colombo hotels has focused on some deficiencies in the tourist arrival numbers game as presently played in the annual report of Renuka City Hotels PLC which has posted what he called an impressive profit of Rs. 344 million with 77% occupancy in the year ended Mar 31, 2018. Mr. Ravi Thambiayah has said that the official count of tourist arrivals had signaled 7% growth last year more..

Sep 9 (CT) Drug use and the drug trade have hooked onto Sri Lanka as never before. With the State doing throwing a cordon around drug peddlers and bringing them to book of late, there is still a steep rise in drug use, especially among the under 25s. It is in this backdrop that CT spoke to two research officers involved in a Study regarding drug use. Study has revealed that curiosity, peer pressure, a need for fun and enjoyment, and using drugs as a solution to more..

Sep 9 (DM) Deputy Minister Ashok Abesinghe said a Cabinet paper had been submitted to hand over 25% of the motor vehicle examinations to the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) and the Automobile Association of Sri Lanka (AA). He said this in response to a question raised by JVP MP Sunil Hadunnetti on whether the govt was going to hand over 75% of motor vehicle examinations to the private sector. He said the decision was taken to put a stop to the large number of fraudulent activities more..

Sep 9 (BP) A Sri Lankan drug trafficking suspect, wanted by Interpol, has been arrested by police in southernmost Thailand, said a police general on Saturday. Deputy Tourist Police Commissioner Pol. Maj. Gen. Surachate Hakparn said the police in Narathiwat province, about 1,140 kilometers south of Bangkok, arrested the Sri Lankan national, identified as Saliya Perera Wiwala Arachchige, who had been hunted by Interpol for transnational drug trafficking charges. more..

Sep 9 (CT) The National Police Commission (NPC) is to seek an urgent meeting with the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundera aimed at finding a solution to the festering issues faced by both parties and to work according to the instructions of Speaker Karu Jayasuriya. “The IGP is obliged to be present for a meeting with us at the very earliest, since there are several issues to be discussed and solutions sought,” NPC officials said yesterday. more..

Sep 9 (DM) Despite efforts taken by SL, the country still faces emerging challenges such as violent extremism, migration, refugees, inequality and climate change, Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said. He expressed these views at the High Level Forum on the Follow up to the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace at UN Headquarters in New York on Wednesday. He said the impact of these challenges transcends national borders and required multilateral action to solve. more..

Sep 9 (DM) JO MP Bandula Gunawardane said the govt had imposed a 15% VAT on imported fabric and timber from Aug 16 this year and urged the govt to reconsider it saying it was a huge blow to the related industries. He told parliament that the previous regime had imposed a cess of Rs.100 on a kg of imported fabric used as raw material in garment factories but this govt in addition had imposed a 15% VAT. "This has resulted in the industrialists now having to pay more than Rs.2 million more as tax more..

Sep 9 (ST) Treasury owes commercial banks more than Rs 22.92 billion in reimbursement for higher interest rates paid on senior citizens fixed deposits on Govt instructions, data gathered under Right to Information Act show. Govt through its 2015 budget mandated commercial banks to grant a special interest rate of 15% for senior citizens’ fixed deposits up to Rs 1 million. In 2017, the Finance Ministry increased the upper limit of the fixed deposit to Rs 1.5 mil more..

Sep 9 (EN) Govt could allow more payment gateways and reduce fees to expand electronic commerce, a draft road map on reforms in the sector has suggested. Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) and interested parties should actively work to increase the presence and participation of national and international e-commerce companies, the report prepared by the International Trade Centre (ITC) said. “The participation of several companies shed new light into current operational challenges, more..

Sep 9 (ST) Govt Analyst has been called in to investigate a suspicious fire that broke out on Friday afternoon engulfing the building housing the local office of international audit firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). PwC Senior Partner Lasanga Abeysuriya said the data bank with the firm was intact despite the fire, but did not wish to speculate on the extent of the damage caused. Fire Brigade Headquarters chief U.S. Kalansuriya said his men were doing a drill in the vicinity more..

Sep 9 (SO) After three years of investigations and mounting accusations about delayed justice in corruption cases, former Defence Secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, arguably the most powerful member of the previous administration, will be indicted tomorrow, on charges of misappropriating tens of millions in public funds while his brother was President, to build a memorial for their parents in the Hambantota district. The second case to be filed at the Permanent High Court more..

Sep 9 (SO) Maharagama Urban Council (UC) employees assaulted by its Chairman Tiraj Piyaratne on Thursday are demanding a public apology from him. The controversial UC Chairman first made headlines when it was revealed that he had displayed a notice asking employees of the UC and the public to address him only as ‘Sir’. While he later denied putting up the notice, he, however, did admit he requested the staff to address him in the manner. He found himself embroiled in yet another more..

Sep 9 (ST) A Danish wind turbine manufacturer has won a tender to build the 100 MegaWatt wind farm in Mannar but the project is held up by delays at Cabinet level. The Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers’ Union (CEBEU) has now urged Cabinet to speed up approval of the US$ 140 million (Rs 22,68 billion) project which Vestas Asia Pacific A/S, Denmark, secured, following evaluation of international competitive bids. The venture is expected to be completed by May 2020. more..

Sep 9 (ST) Wednesday’s Joint Opposition (JO) protest ended the way it began – clouded in secrecy, confusion and even some chaos. Other than a handful of organisers who kept their strategies close to their chests, most participants were blissfully unaware, not even of the venues they were to gather at. Merrymakers who guzzled bottles of arrack fell by the wayside. There were no buth packets for lunch nor bottles of water for many, the standard rations on such occasions. more..

Sep 9 (Island) It’s a fair comment to make that the people who cut short work and desperately tried to get out of Colombo early on Sept 5 by far exceeded those who came in as part of Namal Rajapaksa’s Jana Balaya campaign. Social media posted photos of hapless commuters hanging precariously on trains leaving Fort Railway Station, as the city braced itself for what was called by some involved in the protest, an invasion of Colombo. But it is evident that not all the sons of Apachchi more..

Sep 9 (Island) Namal Rajapaksa, the politically aspiring Rajapaksa scion, has called his protest in Colombo last week, the largest ever in SL’s history. That can only make sense if SL has had no history before him, or if he is ignorant of any and all of the country’s modern political history before the Rajapaksas collectively arrived in Colombo. Only the latter can be true. Politicians with no knowledge of history are no longer strange animals, courtesy the Donald Trumps of America and elsewhere. more..

Sep 9 (ST) Constitutional Council (CC) has cautioned Police Chief Pujith Jayasundera that he would face disciplinary action if he does not heed directives of the independent National Police Commission. The move follows a meeting the Council had on Friday with Mr Jayasundera and members of the Police Commission. It was chaired by Speaker Karu Jayasuriya. After a lengthy discussion, the CC gave the Police Chief two weeks’ time to more..

Sep 9 (CT) The flood valley national wildlife park, located in the Polonnaruwa District, is a forest with high bio-diversity and contains marshy lands, a number of swamps and shallow lakes as well as massive trees like kumbuk, milla, mee, palu, burutha etc. During a certain period of the year for several months, a part of this forest is inundated by the water overflowing from the Mahaweli river. more..