Sep 7 (EN) SL is reviewing a proposal made earlier in the year to mandate real time alerts on banking transactions, CB Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy said. "We are reviewing the proposal," he said. A roadmap for central bank's reform and monetary policy in 2018 said text message and email alerts will be made compulsory. "We will mandate real-time SMS/e-mail alerts for transactions made through debit/credit cards, internet banking & mobile phone based banking" more..

Sep 7 (Island) Minister Plantation Industries Naveen Dissanayake, guest of honour at the Annual General Meeting, Tea Exporters Association (TEA), said Colombo should be attributed hub status. But this possibility eluded us. There are other locations where tea is traded although this commodity was not produced in such identified areas. He said Rs.500 million will be allocated for brand promotion of Ceylon Tea. more..

Sep 7 (GDI) Tech giant, Google has introduced a new search experience that makes it easier for jobseekers in three South Asian countries including Sri Lanka to find employment opportunities on popular job listing websites, online classifieds and companies. The new feature is directly integrated into Google Search to provide a complete list of jobs on the web. At the launch, the job search will have hundreds of thousands of job listings from thousands of sites. more..

Sep 7 (FT) The newly appointed Ambassador of SL to the Russian Federation, Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka assumed duties at the Mission on 3 Sept. Addressing the staff of the Embassy upon assumption of duties, Ambassador spoke on the decades-old ties between Sri Lanka and Russia outlining the main political focus of his further work in Russia as the Ambassador of SL and outlining the deep importance and continuous development of SL’s bilateral relations with Russia. more..

Sep 7 (Island) JVP presented to Parliament a bill titled 20th Amendment to the Constitution to abolish the executive presidency. The bill was presented to the House by party MP Vijtiha Herath. It seeks to amend Article 4 of the constitution, which has vested the executive power in the President, elected by the people. Article 30 of the present Constitution, which accredits the Head of State position to Prez is to be amended by the bill, more..

Sep 7 (DM) There was a large crowd of mourners at the Medamulana mahagedara when Number One arrived there the other day to pay his last respects to the departed Rajapaksa family member. He was warmly welcomed by his former big boss, the former Speaker and others of the bereaved family. After paying his last respects to the departed, Number One was chatting with family members and friends when he was invited to tea. According to the security rules being observed, all food and drinks more..

Sep 7 (Island) Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development and Rural Economic Affairs Minister Vijith Vijithamuni Zoysa, briefed the media on govt efforts to boost local milk production by importing 20,000 high yield cows from Australia and New Zealand. Sri Lanka entered into an agreement with an Australian supplier in this regard on Oct 14, 2014. However, the relevant financial agreement had been finalized on Dec 6, 2016 after the change of govt, the minister said. more..

Sep 7 (DM) While claiming that political parties had a right to organise street protests, JVP said that the Janabalaya protest march organized by the JO had undermined the peoples’ genuine protest against the govt. JVP MP Vijitha Herath said that JO protest was more of a drama than a protest where drunken people had fun on the streets. “Wednesday's protest was a comedy with the people partying on the street after more..

Sep 7 (DN) The Sri Lanka netball team, currently having a dream run at the Asian Netball Championship in Singapore and is on the path to secure a World Cup berth by beating top ranked teams in the region. In the group stages, SL have performed well to beat Chinese Taipei with a convincing margin of 137-5, India 101-29, regional rivals Singapore 74-61, Hong Kong 71-48 and 2016 champs Malaysia 62-59 in a nail-biting finish. If SL goes onto win the Asian Championship more..

Sep 7 (ST) Two SriLankan Airlines pilots are still grounded over an incident in which the A330-300 aircraft they were piloting veered towards the edge of the runway and damaged some ground lights in May this year. “This is considered a serious incident and a formal inquiry is being conducted by the authorities in India where the incident occurred,” Civil Aviation Director General H M C Nimalsiri said. He said SriLankan Airlines was cooperating with the Indian Civil Aviation authorities. more..

Sep 7 (DM) The service rendered by retired military officers as Sri Lanka’s envoys abroad was more immense and better than that of the others, former defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa said. He expressed these views at the launch of the novel titled Kadol Eththu authored by Maj. Gen. (Rtd.) Kamal Gunaratne in Colombo. He said “Some asked why retired military officers were appointed as diplomats. more..

Sep 7 (AD) A fire occurred in a two-storied house in Boralesgamuwa-Bellanwila has brought death to a pregnant lady doctor. The husband of the doctor and a 5 year old boy had also been admitted to the Kalubowila Teaching Hospital. The deceased is a 37 year old named Vidarshi Dias who had left her service at Horana State Hospital. The injured husband is also an eye specialist doctor at Sri J'pura Hospital. The fire had occurred at around 1.25 pm this afternoon (06). more..

Sep 7 (DM) UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa said today he would undertake the task of strengthening the party and bring 100,000 people to Galle Face Green for a rally if PM Ranil Wickremesinghe approved of such a move. He said this at a ceremony held at the UNP headquarters, Sirikotha to mark the 72nd anniversary of the party. He called for unity among party members if the party was to win the 2020 presidential and general elections to build the nation. more..

Sep 7 (DN) Jana Balaya Kolambata protest campaign organised by the JO had failed to get the desired outcome and turned out to be a flop while one person had died and 16 people were admitted to Hospital. “One person who had died on admission to the Colombo National Hospital is said to have suffered a heart attack. Another person died in an accident in Nittambuwa. He has got down from the bus to buy pineapples more..

Sep 7 (DM) While stating that the Janabalaya Kolambata was the most successful protest campaign ever in the political history of Sri Lanka, the Joint Opposition challenged the Govt to go for a General Election if they claimed that the protest was unsuccessful. Addressing a news briefing, JO member Namal Rajapaksa said they were able to accomplish the task more than they intended amidst Government’s moves to sabotage the protest and prevent it from taking place. more..

Sep 7 (DN) Former Minister Ravi Karunanayke was noticed to appear before court on Nov 16 by the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court to give evidence regarding a corruption case filed against former General Manager of Lanka Sathosa Wimal Perera. Former Trade, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Ravi Karunanayake has been summoned to provide evidence with regard to the case filed against the accused by CIABOC in an incident where a sum of Rs.4 million loss more..

Sep 7 (FT) The Colombo International Financial City (CIFC) is to be inaugurated in mid-October, Minister Champika Ranawaka said yesterday as the Govt gears up for the next stage of the Port City project. CIFC is integral to Govt plans for its share of the 269 hectares of the Port City project. Minister Ranawaka outlined plans to inaugurate the project on 18 Oct while addressing an event in Welimada yesterday, more..

Sep 7 (DM) A stock of more than 15 million high-dose Tramadol pills was nabbed yesterday at the SL harbour by the Police Narcotic Bureau (PNB) Officers, Police Media Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekera said. He said the contraband was found in a container following a tip-off to the PNB officers. The raid was conducted with the support of the customs officers, he said. “Each pill contains 225 milligrams dosage of Tramadol which is higher than the dosage recommended by physicians” more..

Sep 7 (FT) Claiming the Janabalaya Kolombata protest was a success, the SLPP plan on replicating similar rallies in each district in the coming months. JO MP Mahindananda Aluthgamage said that they were planning on organising a similar rally in Kandy soon. “Colombo rally was a great success. Our next location will be Kandy and we will have a rally even larger than Janabalaya Kolombata.” Rejecting allegations made by the Govt to the effect that the JO had claimed to topple the Govt more..

Sep 7 (DM) In its first interim report, the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) recommended the govt to suspend state officials including members of the armed forces and police who were named as suspects or accused in criminal actions relating to abductions and enforced disappearances, pending the final determination of such cases. OMP report said the govt should ensure that suspected officials are not transferred, promoted or more..

Sep 7 (Island) The Joint Opposition (JO) is cock-a-hoop about its Janabalaya Colombata protest, which brought Colombo to a virtual halt, on Wednesday. School attendance was low and most workers left the city by noon, fearing trouble. The govt has sought to paint the worst possible picture of the event, which it says, only inconvenienced the public. True, political demonstrations are a public nuisance, but the fact remains that the Janabalaya Colombata was a success as protests go. more..

Sep 7 (DM) Janabalaya Colombata organised by the Joint Opposition sent thoughts of the Govt, which were to silence voices of dissent, into oblivion when the opposition and their supporters poured into Colombo on Wednesday resembling a high tide. Riding on the back of a successful campaign at the last LG Polls, the opposition forces- spearheaded by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa- once again showed that they can gather the numbers needed to stand up and be counted. more..

Sep 7 (Island) Parliament sittings ended abruptly within five minutes of commencement yesterday morning due to lack of quorum (20 MPs). The business of Parliament and several committee meetings scheduled parallel to the sittings had to be postponed. The quorum of members was requested by UPFA MP Bandula Gunawardena after the presentations of papers and public petitions. Deputy Speaker Ananda Kumarasiri, who was more..

Sep 7 (DM) A number of Sri Lankan Muslim groups have called on the govt to medicalise female circumcision. In representations made to the Parliamentary Committee on Women and Gender, members of the All Ceylon Jamiyathul Ulama, All Ceylon YMMA Conference, Centre for Islamic Studies and United Religions Initiative urged the Health Ministry to withdraw a recent circular prohibiting medical professionals from more..

Sep 7 (ST) The Central Environment Authority (CEA) is warning of a possible threat to SL’s traditional cash crops as palm oil cultivation expands. “A threat has been posed by palm oil cultivations on all existing traditional plantation crops like tea, rubber and coconut and if the current trend continues, the remaining rubber plantations will be converted into palm oil cultivations in the future,” a recent study by CEA on palm oil reveals. more..

Sep 7 (Island) One-time SLFP General Secretary and MP S.B. Dissanayake acknowledged that standards had deteriorated to such an extent parliament was now regularly struggling to maintain the required quorum. Dissanayake said that it was a major national issue and a very tragic situation. The National List MP said so when The Island pointed out that the adjournment of parliament about one and half hours before more..

Sep 7 (Island) Attorney-at-law and public interest litigation activist Nagananda Kodituwakku said that President Maithripala Sirisena’s call for hanging those found guilty of misappropriation of public funds should be examined against the backdrop of the failure on the part of CIABOC probe a spate of major complaints lodged by him since the change of govt in January 2015. Kodituwakku said that it would be President Sirisena’s responsibility to ensure more..

Sep 7 (Island) IGP Pujith Jayasundara had watched Wednesday’s Jana Balaya Colambata protest march, organised by the JO, from 2.00pm to 11.30 pm via 12 CCTV cameras, police sources said. A high ranking police officer said: "The IGP wanted to personally look into the traffic issues, the behaviour of the Police as well as protesters. It was feared that the protest might turn violent but luckily nothing untoward happened. more..

Sep 7 (USE) USAID, with the USAID Development Credit Authority (DCA), Hatton National Bank PLC and Sampath Bank PLC have announced a new partnership for a program of up to $9 million for local financing available to private, micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) throughout Sri Lanka. This seven year program will help to address the current lack of financing to these key borrower groups. more..

Sep 7 (DM) Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne said a Cabinet Paper would be submitted soon to develop the Neville Fernando Teaching Hospital (NFTH) and Mulleriyawa Base Hospital as the Colombo East Teaching Hospitals. He told parliament that there were some issues in providing full staff to the NFTH as the final agreement had not been signed to take over the Hospital. "When the agreement is finalised, more..

Sep 7 (NR) President Maithripala Sirisena says the law to issue stern punishments will be implemented in future against those engaging in ragging incidents through the proper implementation of the Prohibition of Ragging Act. The President said ragging will not be permitted within universities claiming it destroys the future of students. Speaking at a ceremony at the National Vocational Training Authority, President said according to more..

Sep 7 (DN) The UNP has decided to re-appoint former Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake to Cabinet. The decision was taken at the UNP working committee meeting held under the patronage of PM Ranil Wickremesinghe on Tuesday (5) at the Public Administration Ministry. UNP national organiser Plantations Minister Navin Dissanayake, General Secretary Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, Minister Ranjith more..

Sep 8 (CT) Around early 1985, when I was working with Dubai based English Language Daily Khaleej Times, there were speculations of Dubai govt planning to start an international airline. Many dismissed it as wishful thinking. However some said it could be made a success story. I asked Mr. Maurice Flanagan, then Manager of Dubai National Air Travel Agency, who later became the founder and General Manager of Emirates Airline. He confirmed and on 25 March 1985 Emirates more..

Sep 8 (CT) In an unprecedented first, the legendary American Newspaper the New York Times (NYT), published an anonymous editorial page opinion purporting to be from a senior official in the highly dysfunctional unethical Trump White House. It is shocking. Of course predictably, His Excellency President Trump and his supporters including police officers etc. cheer when he attacks the yankee NYT. And he continues to spew divisive hateful speech and attacks the media. more..

Sep 8 (CT) When Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon in 1969, 65-year-old Lalith Salgado—like thousands of people around the globe—followed the historic moment on radio. “I vividly remember the moon landing being relayed live, and being glued to the radio while it was happening,” he smiles. “We were doing our Ordinary Level exams at the time, and we keenly followed the entire Apollo program.” more..

Sep 8 (DN) The hubbub is over. They came. They protested. They went. Janabalaya Kolambata - People’s Power to Colombo- had its political exercise, and the politics moves on, with the UNP celebrating the 72nd anniversary of its founding. The Janabalaya message is one of uncertain political trends among the organisers, with a focus on the sharp revival of family bandyism in political leadership, and no message of any future policy changes for the people. more..

Sep 8 (DN) Recent so called uprising organised by Mahinda clan finally ended as a joker’s paradise or Moda carnival. They claimed the uprising will be against the division of the country with the connivance of imperialism. The new constitution is with expanded devolution, giving police and land powers to PCs. This is the heinous crime of Yahapalanaya. Weerawansa wanted to imitate late Wijeweera by claiming to save motherland from treacherous leaders of Yahapalanaya. more..

Sep 8 (CT) The middle-aged farmer woke up at the crack of dawn and peered out at the vast acres of farmland now parched to a golden brown as a result of the never ending drought that has hit the Anuradhapura District for several months, with no changes to the weather. For 50-year-old R. S. Wimalasena, a father of four, the new day brings in more misery that he and his family have been forced to endure for the past year, as the scheduled rains have held back and more..

Sep 8 (DM) Today is the UN’s International Literacy Day and the world body says it gives an opportunity for govts, civil society and stakeholders to highlight improvements in world literacy rates, and reflect on the world’s remaining literacy challenges. The issue of literacy is a key component of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The SDGs adopted by world leaders in Sept 2015, promotes, as part of its agenda, more..

Sep 8 (CT) It is a conspicuous fact that the Govt has been intentionally procrastinating on the debate on the Bonds Scam Report for six months. Recently, TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran revealed at a media meet held in Jaffna that the English translation of the Bonds Scam Report, that was to be debated, was ready and the debate could have been proceeded with, but the Govt willfully postponed it. Although there is no legitimate reason for the Govt to hold back the debate on the Bonds Scam Report, more..