Sep 25 (CI) India women wrapped up a dominant tour of Sri Lanka with a 51-run victory in the final T20I in Katunayake. The victory meant India won the series 4-0, with the second game in Colombo being washed out. They had also won the preceding three-match ODI series 2-1. Early on, the SL bowlers validated their captain Chamari Atapattu's decision to field first by dismissing both India openers, Smriti Mandhana and Mithali Raj, inside the first five overs to reduce them to 30 for 2. more..

Sep 25 (FT) Institute of National Security Studies Sri Lanka on 20 September, conducted a round table discussion on Sri Lanka’s Role in the BIMSTEC. The panellists were Kithmina Hewage, Research Officer at the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka, Rohan Masakorala, CEO of Shippers’ Academy Colombo, Prof. Hemanthi Ranasinghe, Dean of faculty of Graduate Studies Uni of Sri J'pura, Commodore Sanjeewa Dias, Director of Naval Operations and Natasha Fernando, Research Assistant at more..

Sep 25 (CI) Days after he was removed from ODI captaincy, Angelo Mathews has been dropped from ODI squad over fitness concerns. Mathews has responded almost immediately, demanding the selectors allow him to take a fitness test. The ODI squad for the forthcoming series against England has not yet been released, but it has been named and sent to the sports ministry for minister's mandatory approval. more..

Sep 26 (DN) The next Presidential election in SL is scheduled to be held in Jan 2020. According to article 30.3 of the Constitution; the poll for the election of the President shall be taken not less than one month and not more than two months before the expiration of the term of office of the President in office. Accordingly, if the President wishes, the election can be held within two months after any day preceding Nov 10, 2019. Despite this provision, article 30.3 (a) of the constitution states that; more..

Sep 26 (CT) Ehi Passiko, is a methodological statement in expressed in Pali and attributed to the Buddha. The sage asserted that his Dhamma must be experienced to to be proven. Come and experience (ehi passiko)! Former Sri Lankan President, Mahinda Rajapaksa has said the same about his solution to the currency crisis. Hand over back to me and you will experience the solution like seeing something currently unseeable, in broad daylight. I am thoroughly amused watching more..

Sep 26 (SO) As Colombo Metropolitan Region’s application to be declared a Ramsar Wetland City is tabled at the 13th Ramsar Conference of Parties (COP) in October, unplanned development and encroaching threaten to eliminate parts of the wetland eco-system in Sri Jayawardenepura destroying the habitat of a small wild cat, already included in the IUCN Red List. A fishing cat habitat on the west bank marshes more..

Sep 26 (CT) Contrary to promises made in Geneva that in the name of peace and reconciliation the Sri Lanka government would dismantle High Security Zones, close army cantonments and return lands seized from the people, the Northern and the Eastern Provinces, considered the Tamil homeland, continue to be occupied zones even nine + years after the end of the war. There are 14 Divisions station in the Northern Province:- Jaffna District: SFHQ-Jaffna- 51, 52 & 55 Divisions more..

Sep 26 (CT) By visiting neighbouring India’s capital of New Delhi with politician-son Namal Rajapaksa and his SLPP party chief and ex-ministerial colleague G. L. Peiris, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa may have sought to send out a message of sorts, back home. The message was clear: India is no more an adversary. Nor possibly was India adversarial to his return to power, as Mahinda R. in particular had averred after his historic electoral defeat in January 2015. more..

Sep 26 (DN) For many years Prof. Rohan Gunaratna has been advising and informing consecutive Sri Lankan govts on counterterrorism measures and existing terrorist threats in the country. Professor of Security Studies at S. Rajaratnam School of Int'l Studies, Nanyang Technology University (NTU), Singapore, has been a controversial figure over the years, both lauded and criticised for his claims in the field. more..

Sep 26 (CT) Carriage is an integral part of trade irrespective of being domestic or int'l. Modern businesses require timely and speedy delivery of goods from the seller’s point to the buyer’s destination. Ever since trade activities commenced in this world, delivery of goods was a major concern among the trading parties apart from the practice of hand-to-hand delivery in a direct sale. Historically, many means of transportation were used for this purpose ranging from human & animal more..

Sep 26 (Island) Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith drew the ire of a couple of prominent persons, the other day, over a statement on religion and human rights. The prelate has put the matter to rest with a clarification. It is puzzling why the aforesaid notables chose to shoot from the hip. One cannot but agree that a person who leads a truly religious life respects the rights of others; he or she does not have to be harangued on the virtues of human rights or asked to uphold them. more..

Sep 26 (WB) Sri Lanka has a long history of coping with weather impacts. About two thousand years ago, the country built one of the world’s first irrigation system to control its water supply. This feat of engineering, which boasted hundreds of kilometers of channels, tanks, and innovative valve pits, helped the great kingdoms of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa flourish into sophisticated societies and protect their people against hunger. Not unlike these early civilizations, more..

Sep 26 (Island) The rupee depreciated by Rs. 29 from 2005 to 2014 and the average year-on-year depreciation of the Sri Lankan Rupee was 2.8% per year. The Official Foreign Reserves increased from USD 2.7 billion to USD 8.2 billion over the same period. In stark contrast, the average year-on-year depreciation of the Rupee from 01.01.2015 to 21.09.2018 was 9.2% per year. The Official Foreign Reserves have been almost flat at around USD 8.4 billion when compared to level at end 2014. more..

Sep 26 (Island) Minster of Higher Education is after some eight hundred million of rupees. In the country of ours, which has become a land of grand corruption, the words minister and millions might look boringly familiar. And, of course, even the luxury cars of ministers that look like wheeled-castles, routinely demonstrate that ministers and millions are inseparable. This time, however, the minister is going after a different more..

Sep 26 (GN) Rainmaker Worldwide, working with its local partner, Rainmaker Water PVT Ltd., has delivered its first innovative Air-to-Water unit to Colombo, to make preparations for the production of clean bottled water to districts affected by drought as they lack access to clean drinking water. Rainmaker’s core Air-to-Water technology will be combined with Rainmaker Water's state-of-the-art water bottling facility, located in Colombo, to meet needs of the most water scarce communities. more..

Sep 26 (Island) A senior journalist covering a hastily arranged media conference at Sirikotha last Friday (21) sought Public Administration and Management and Law and Order Minister Ranjith Madduma Bandara’s response to the predicament of Maj. Gen. Chagie Gallage. The Gajaba veteran, designated as a war criminal by Australia, retired on Aug. 31, 2018. The Moneragala District MP expressed confidence that Gallage would be able to overcome difficulties soon. more..

Sep 26 (EN) Suzuki small cars continued to dominate new and pre-owned vehicle registrations in Sri Lanka in August as well as hybrids, an analysis by an equities research house shows. In the brand-new segment, August recorded 890 units, marginally down from 904 units the previous month and 1,183 units 12 months ago, JB Securities said. Small cars below 1,000cc accounted for 93.4% of total volumes, it said. more..

Sep 26 (Island) Sri Lanka has just been through the 154th birth anniversary of Anagarika Dharmapala, one of its most undervalued and misunderstood national heroes, as signified by the muted remembrance of his birth. Correcting the misconceptions about the Anagarika would be essential if SL’s hopes of transitioning from the currently grave political, economic and cultural despair to a religiously enlightened and ethnically harmonious nation capable of providing more..

Sep 26 (FT) League of Multinational Corporates (LMNC), a consortium of leading multinational corporates operating in Sri Lanka, is all set to host its inaugural business forum featuring Jim Lawless, a globally renowned keynote speaker, and the author of the bestselling book Taming Tigers. PM Ranil Wickremesinghe will attend the event as the Chief Guest. The exclusive event will bring together many high-profile business personalities and heads of corporates, making it the most anticipated more..

Sep 26 (FT) Govt yesterday said that it would soon roll out a series of measures to convert Sri Lanka into a technology hub to foster entrepreneurship and improve ecosystems for startups and tech enterprises, while calling on the corporate sector to use Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence (AI), drone technology and analytics to move the country’s economy up the value chain. Addressing inauguration of Blockchain Sri Lanka 2018, more..

Sep 26 (EN) Sri Lanka's non-bank primary dealers have been cut - off from open market auctions of cash of central bank that injects or takes away money from the credit system, market participants said. Open market auctions are conducted earlier in the day and dealers able to get funds to buy more bonds even in case they cannot find client money to participate in the auctions. However the central banks informed dealers last month that they would lose access to the facility from Sept 25. more..

Sep 26 (EN) Sri Lanka has injected 75 billion rupees through a overnight and 7-day term reverse repo auction to sterilize a liquidity shortage that has cropped up amid pressure on a rupee soft-peg with the US dollar. The central bank injected 30 billion rupees for 7-days through an open market auction, at a weighted average yield of up to 8.17%. The central bank has an overnight liquidity facility rate of 8.5% could inject 7-day money at a higher rate closer to SL Interbank Offered Rate to help more..

Sep 26 (FT) Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday blamed the liberal economic policies followed by the current govt for the continuous depreciation of the Sri Lankan currency. In a statement released to the media, Rajapaksa called into question the role played by the current govt, while admiring the policies followed by the Trump administration. “The role of a govt is to keep abreast of worldwide developments and more..

Sep 26 (CT) Jason Dissanayake of Kandy Sports Club will not participate in the Asia Rugby 7s Series, 2nd leg in South Korea, as a result of the ongoing investigation about him choosing to represent Kandy Sports Club over the National team. Jason took part in the Asia Games where Sri Lanka finished fourth. But, later he had told the selectors that he is not able to participate in the Asia Rugby 7s Series, sighting family commitments as reasons. But, he had taken part in a regional rugby tournament more..

Sep 26 (DN) Following the sacking of one-day captain Angelo Mathews by the national cricket selectors comes the news that Sports Minister Faiszer Mustapha has sent a letter to Sri Lanka Cricket’s (SLC) CEO Ashley de Silva instructing him to immediately remove the selection committee headed by Graeme Labrooy it is learnt. Moreover the Sports Minister it is understood has also instructed SLC to include Mathews in the ODI squad against England. more..

Sep 26 (ST) Tea industry is currently looking at options to open up a new market wave through proper regulation in selling inferior quality teas – a process that would be completed within the next four months. With 30 million kg of refuse tea produced annually, termed by the industry as BM Fannings, these graded teas considered of an inferior quality compared to other premium grades are currently receiving state patronage. more..

Sep 26 (FT) State Finance Minister Eran Wickramaratne said he is fully supportive of the digitalisation and the use of new technologies which promote and enhance the efficiency of the common payment infrastructure to drive financial inclusivity in Sri Lanka. Addressing the second edition of the LankaPay Technnovation Awards 2018, organised by LankaClear Ltd., he stressed on the importance of sharing the benefits of innovative electronic payment products throughout the country, more..

Sep 26 (Hindu) The DMK and the Congress were fully responsible for the genocide of a large number of Tamils during the final phase of the Eelam war in SL, and should be booked for war crimes, Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami said. Speaking at a protest meeting organised by the AIADMK to highlight what the party alleged was the role played by the DMK and the Congress in the massacre of innocent Tamils in Sri Lanka, Mr. Palaniswami said the tragedy occurred only after Karunanidhi, more..

Sep 26 (Island) An Indian national with alleged links to a plot to assassinate President Maithripala Sirisena and former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa had said there had been a conspiracy to kill the entire Rajapaksa family and President Sirisena, the CID informed Fort Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne. CID Chief Inspector Ranjith Munasinghe informed the court that they would conduct extensive investigations more..

Sep 26 (DM) We would support the Govt unconditionally if it comes out with an early proposal to dissolve Parliament, Joint Opposition (JO) said. JO MP Shehan Semasinghe said the only option left open to the Govt was to go for a General Election in order to resolve the prevailing economic crisis. “Economy is in a great jeopardy consequent to the continuous deprecation of SL rupee against the US dollar and poor economic management. The people of this country cannot tolerate anymore. more..

Sep 26 (CT) Colombo Chief Magistrate Ranga Dissanayake today (25) released on bail the President’s former Chief of Staff H.I.K. Mahanama and former Chairman of the State Timber Corporation (STC), P. Dissanayake, who had been in remand on charges of bribery. The duo was arrested while accepting a bribe of Rs. 20 million. Accordingly, the suspects were each granted bail in Rs. 100,000 cash and three sureties in Rs. 2 million each. One of the sureties should be more..

Sep 26 (DM) Following the Supreme Court (SC) verdict over the SAITM graduates issue, Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) was confused as to whether they should implement the SC verdict or the amended Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) Act, the GMOA said. GMOA Secretary Dr. Haritha Aluthge said that the SLMC would be liable for contempt of Court in both instances, even if it implemented the SC verdict and violates more..

Sep 26 (DM) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe had ordered the police to carry out a probe to determine as to who was behind the publishing of semi-nude pictures taken on Pidurangala Rock, which is a part of Pidurangala Viharaya, source close to Prime Minister’s office said yesterday. According to sources, the Prime Minister had instructed the police to seek assistance from TRC if needed. Prime Minister had said this following the reports published over media on the incident on Monday. more..

Sep 26 (DM) JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said yesterday that they would prefer the proposed 20th Amendment to the Constitution which was presented in parliament by his party was subjected to a referendum in addition to the approval of a two-thirds majority in parliament. He told a news conference that various MPs in parliament view the 20A in different perspectives and added that it could be blocked in parliament by certain MPs on their political ideologies. more..

Sep 26 (Island) Former CEO of SriLankan Airlines Manoj Vass Gunawardena, giving evidence before the PCoI said correspondence with a company named Ameration Corporation on modernising the airline fleet had not been made available to him. Gunawardena said that there had been an exchange of letters between the national carrier and Ameration Corporation and such correspondence was not made available more..

Sep 26 (Island) It is said that out of 291 listed companies in the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), 185 companies are trading under their established book value. Of those 185 companies, 83 companies are trading in the market below 50% of their established book value. "In this scenario it is an excellent opportunity for SL investors to buy stocks from the CSE because currently most foreign investors are exiting Asian markets in order to invest in US stock markets more..

Sep 26 (DN) Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne has instructed the Ministry Secretary to suspend the salaries of all doctors and nurses who did not report to their respective service stations on transfer. A Health Ministry spokesman said Senaratne had informed the Health Secretary to take disciplinary action against all Hospital Directors who do not release doctors and nurses who had received transfers. In addition, funds given to their (Directors’) hospitals for development activities more..

Sep 26 (FT) In a bid to curtail further rupee depreciation, Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera yesterday called on people to buy more local products, limiting the importation of luxury items and vehicles. Releasing a statement to the media, the Finance Minister said that curtailing imports would help in stabilising the economy. “We cannot say for how long this will go on as it depends on the global economy. more..

Sep 26 (DM) Twenty years have passed since the Colombo Declaration on Media Freedom and Social responsibility was signed by The Editor’s Guild of Sri Lanka (TEGOSL) in April 1998 together with the Newspaper Society of SL and the Free Media Movement. An international conference has been organized from Sept. 27 (tomorrow) to 30 to mark the 20th anniversary of the Colombo Declaration. It is organized by the Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI) in partnership with its constituent partners, more..