Aug 29 (RN) Defence Ministry Secretary says that the best way to combat extremism is to ensure income equality, education and justice. Retired General Shantha Kottegoda said the growth of non-state actors in posing a threat to peaceful societies is alarming “We are now dealing with terrorist groups who have a global reach far beyond our borders and a mix of lone militants inspired by ideologies,” he said more..

Aug 29 (AD) UPFA MPs S.B. Dissanayake and Dilan Perera have obtained the membership of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP). The MPs obtained their membership today. Recently, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Central Committee removed the 2 MPs from the posts they held in the party as a disciplinary action. This was due to them attending the SLPP national convention held on 11th of August. more..

Aug 29 (PMD) President Maithripala Sirisena instructed relevant officials to take steps to release lands without creating any hindrance to national security. During the last five years the govt took special efforts to release private lands which were under the control of the military to their owners following the end of the armed conflict, said the President. The President instructed the officials to estimate the extent of lands and more..

Aug 29 (AD) The prez candidate of the UNP will be announced within the next one and a half weeks, stated Minister Sujeewa Senasinghe. Minister mentioned this commenting to the media following a meeting held last evening (28). A meeting of the UNP members who support the Deputy Leader of UNP Minister Sajith Premadasa was held in Colombo last evening. The meeting was held at the residence of Minister Mangala Samaraweera more..

Aug 29 (Island) The PCoI investigating corruption in the current administration, ordered the Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminal Limited (CPSTL) to present an oil bowser it purchased from Transmec International in 2017 to compare it with a bowser submitted by rival bidder Senok Trade Combine (Pvt.) Ltd on Sept 3. In 2017, the CPSTL purchased five 13,200-litre oil bowsers from a bidder who had quoted the highest price, Transmec International. Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC), more..

Aug 29 (DM) SL seems to be a nation which relates well to indiscipline. The country’s lawmakers promote indiscipline and its citizens haven’t been taught any other way of living by those who wield political power. We read in newspapers that the UNP is about to take disciplinary action against ministers Ajith P.Perera and Sujeewa Senasinghe for criticising the party, its policies and the leadership. We also see Dy Leader of the Party Sajith Premadasa going about promoting more..

Aug 29 (AD) Police have recovered three claymore mines and a small pressure bomb at the Paragammana forest reserve in Pannala. The mines and pressure bomb were discovered under a tree in the reserve at around 4.00 p.m. today (28) during a operation carried out based on information received by Pannala Police. No information regarding any suspects has been uncovered as of yet while Pannala Police is conducting further investigations. more..

Aug 29 (FT) Politics used to be the art of the possible – at least in days gone by. It was so in 1971 when Butler popularised the phrase. And it was certainly the art of the attainable when Bismarck made an obscure Prussian prince the Emperor of all the Germans. Today, it has become the last refuge of amateurs, armchair technocrats, bullying backbenchers with more brawn than brain, craven conspirators in their coffee klatches, demagogues without a proper podium canvassing more..

Aug 29 (AD) Allied forces have a significant role in ensuring the security of a multicultural society, said the Commander of the SL Army Lt General Shavendra Silva. Implementing security through new methods that safeguard the rights of all communities has become a necessity of the era, he said. The Army Commander expressed these views addressing the Colombo Defense Seminar – 2019. The SL Army’s most prominent symposium more..

Aug 29 (AD) SLFP has decided to take disciplinary action against MP S. B. Dissanayake and MP Dilan Perera. SLFP Spokesperson Weerakumara Dissanayake stated that disciplinary action will be taken against the 2 MPs considering them as having left the party. MPs Dissanayake and Perera obtained the membership of the SLPP, this morning. Along with the 2 MPs, 35 Local Govt Councilors, 4 former MPs, 3 provincial A group of SLFP representatives from Hanguranketha, more..

Aug 29 (EN) SriLankan Airlines is planning to break up its existing cargo terminal space at BIA into separate dedicated areas to handle different types of cargo to improve efficiency, the airline’s head of cargo said. “We have two terminals –we are trying to maximize their use,” said Chamara Ranasinghe, Head of Cargo at Sri Lankan Air Cargo, the national carrier’s cargo arm. “Initially, in the next financial year what we are trying to do is break the terminal space into three dedicated areas,” more..

Aug 29 (EN) Abans Group, which has interests in consumer durables, property and auto distribution has acquired the agency for Korea's Hyundai and is recovering from a drop in consumer demand. "We will add on more related products to existing portfolio. For example, within the electronic space, or we might add some new brands," Sriyan Wijeyratne, group CEO said. "There are always new businesses that we keep looking at. more..

Aug 29 (Island) A doctor attached to the Pallai hospital now in police custody for allegedly aiding and abetting terrorism and having close links to the Tamil diaspora backing the LTTE has recently told investigators that there is a plot to kill SLPP Prez candidate and former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Suspect Dr. Sivaruben, who was LTTE supremo V. Prabhakaran’s personal doctor, has said that as Tamil diaspora found that it was difficult for former LTTE cadres to do the job, more..

Aug 29 (AC) A salty coastal breeze and the usual early hour scenes welcome me as I disembark the train at Hikkaduwa. Men in their office slacks and women in colorful sarees rush past me for a day’s work. I hop on a running tuk-tuk—my driver might be male but, where we’re going, we won’t need male tuk-tuk drivers. As we drive past the center of beach town Hikkaduwa, the rush hour buzz isn’t quite as buzzy as it used to be. Many breakfast shacks are closed for operation, more..

Aug 29 (DM) Colombo Chief Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne today directed Minister Ravi Karunanayake to report to the CID within the next two weeks to provide further statements regarding the inquiry being conducted in connection with the giving of false evidence at the Bond Commission on Aug 2, 2015. Court also directed the prosecution to inform the minister about the court order. The AG’s Department informed Court that the minister more..

Aug 29 (DM) Three accomplices of underworld figure Angoda Lokka were arrested today in connection with a double murder, in which a businessman and his driver were shot dead in Hanwella. A 43-year-old soil businessman W. Vijith Premalal alias Sumedha and 32-year-old M.G. Ravindum were shot dead by two unidentified gunmen at Pahathgama in Hanwella on Aug 25. SP Gunasekera said the Hanwella Police and the Western Province (South) crimes officers more..

Aug 29 (EN) Hirdaramani Group has teamed up with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Make Fashion Circular initiative to improve resource use and reduce waste with better design in apparel manufacturing, one of the world’s most polluting industries. The move towards the circular economy is based on reducing waste and pollution and encouraging regenerative efforts, said Nikhil Hirdaramani, Group Director of the Hirdaramani Group. more..

Aug 29 (AD) Archbishop of Canterbury has emphasized the need for Christian unity as he paid tribute to the victims of the Easter Sunday bomb attacks at the St. Sebastian’s Church in SL. The figurehead of the Church of England, Justin Welby on Thursday visited St. Sebastian’s Church in Negombo soon after he arrived on a 3-day visit to SL. More than 100 people died in the church in Negombo, known as The Little Rome more..

Aug 29 (AD) Gotabaya Rajapaksa is the strongest candidate the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) could nominate and therefore the choice of SLPP is correct, says State Minister Wasantha Senanayake. The UNP State Minister stated this to the media following a discussion held last evening (28). Accordingly, the UNP should also nominate their strongest candidate as well, he pointed out. Senanayake further said that you cannot put a donkey to run a race with a horse. more..

Aug 29 (CT) A four-member European Union (EU) delegation arrived in the country on 27 August on a factfinding mission that is related to the Generalised Scheme/System of Preferences (GSP) Plus trading concessions facilities, sources said yesterday (28). They said that the delegation is billed to hold discussions with trade unions from both the employer and employee sectors as well as members of civil society groups, and with Government and Opposition lawmakers, he said. more..

Aug 29 (RN) Claiming that UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa has the backing of over two-thirds of the party’s parliamentary group, UNP heavyweight Minister Mangala Samaraweera said Premadasa must therefore be the main contender for the party’s prez candidacy. Samaraweera said though a number of potential UNP candidates have thrown their hat into the ring, Minister of Housing enjoys the widest support within the party. more..

Aug 29 (FT) Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) is calling for renewed commitment from the State and citizenry to ensure the transformative impact of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Launching the 2019 Implementation Assessment of the RIT Act in Sri Lanka, TISL noted that whilst Sri Lanka ranks fourth in the Global RIT Rating, which is a reflection of the strength of the RTI Act, the current implementation of the RTI Act has yielded a mid-range (yellow) grade for the country. more..

Aug 29 (CB) Mahela Jayawardene and Charlotte Edwards have been appointed head coaches for the men and women's Southampton-based teams respectively for The Hundred. Mark Nicholas has been named Chairman. Jayawardene will work alongside Shane Bond who is assistant coach in the tournament with the pair having previously worked together at the the Mumbai Indians in the IPL. Additionally, Jimmy Adams and Richard Halsall, England's former fielding coach, more..

Aug 29 (RN) UNP-led Alliance will bring a Social Democratic focus to its policies when contesting future elections, but the burning question as to who its candidate for the Presidential elections will be is yet to be settled, Minister Rajitha Senaratne told reporters today. He said that the Alliance leaders met on Tuesday 27 Aug night to work out outstanding issues pertaining to its Constitution and related matters. more..

Aug 29 (9N) A Tamil asylum seeker family being deported from Australia has won a last-minute reprieve after a Melbourne judge granted an eleventh-hour injunction to block the move. Last night, Priya, her husband Nadesalingam and their two Australian-born daughters boarded a plane that left Melbourne Airport for Sri Lanka after they were removed from a small Queensland town of Biloela. However lawyers acting for the family's supporters say they have won an interim injunction in more..

Aug 29 (CI) The last time we saw Colin Munro, he was struggling to keep his place in the New Zealand side, eventually elbowed out as they went into the World Cup final on the back of several hair-raising finishes. The team wanted fast starts. He couldn't provide them. Someone else took his place. Simple logic. And yet it never applies in T20 cricket because somehow the left-hander just raises his game when it's shrunk like that. Munro produced another vintage show in Katunayake more..

Aug 29 (AD) SL’s state run job skilling apparatus, the Technical, Vocational Education Training (TVET) sector, is now poised to receive its largest project funding in its history. Once agreements are finalised, a US $ 50 million facility is set to spawn a fully-fledged Ocean University in SL. Also nine new hi-tech training facilities across the country, modelled on the lines of the ground-breaking and ultra-modern South Korean more..

Aug 30 (CT) Whatever the mistakes in the past or in recent times, the SLFP is an important component in the democratic equation in the country. It has been the middle path party, the general orientation of which the country needs in politics, economics, external relations and cultural/national issues, although the party itself had failed many times in these respects. Critics may remember the Sinhala Only policy in 1956. Obviously, there is no straight line in the middle path. more..

Aug 30 (Island) The idea that key appointments in the state should not be made by elected people’s representatives but by a panel of unelected, wise, politically uninvolved men and women came to the fore with the 17th Amendment which was passed into law in Oct 2001. The 17th Amendment was all about the Constitutional Council and independent commissions. At that time, a great deal of power was concentrated in the hands of the President who made most, if not all the appointments to more..

Aug 30 (Island) Minister Rajitha Senaratne, cut his political teeth as a dental science undergraduate at the Peradeniya University. He was the President of the SLFP Students’ Union of the University, in 1972, and the General Secretary of the International SLFP Students Union, the following year. He was the leading member in forming the Yahapalana movement, which defeated the Mahinda Rajapaksa govt in 2015. more..

Aug 30 (CT) Ever since the terrible slaughter of 259 people – nearly all of them Christians – on Easter Sunday 2019 the air has been thick with various analyses, inquiries, theories, speculations, accusations, and recriminations about who was responsible for the carnage and who must be held responsible for not preventing it. Whether posturing politicians, raging fanatical Buddhist monks, grouchy cardinals, self styled pundits or sections of the fake media and press, the tragedy has been more..

Aug 30 (CT) At a recent speech, Major General Kamal Gunaratne noted that today in Sri Lanka that there are only two kinds of people - those who love this country and those who do not. This statement warrants further probing for what could be the decisive factor in deciding who belongs to which kind. As part of a democratic constituent, we have the freedom to affiliate with any legally recognised political entities without getting branded as either patriots or traitors. more..

Aug 30 (TM) The SLMC revealed that only the UNP had approached them thus far, to form a political alliance to face the upcoming election. In addition, SLMC MP Faizal Cassim said that he believed the UNP-led Govt had done more for the Muslim community than the previous Govt of the UPFA. Q: What is the stance of the SLMC with regard to the prez election? A: We know thus far that Gotabaya Rajapaksa will be contesting more..

Aug 30 (DN) Agriculture is a risky venture as it is usually subjected to the vagaries of nature such as flood, drought and wind, as well as pests and diseases. All these events that are beyond the control of the farmers severely affect farmers through loss in production and farm income. Hence, there is a need to adapt and find ways to alleviate the damage caused by climatic changes and other uncertainty in production in order to sustain agricultural productivity and achieve food more..

Aug 30 (Island) There has been a recent flurry of media attention paid to the potential candidacy of Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa as the candidate of the Pohottuwa group at the next Prez election. While his is obviously a very well-financed campaign if the demonstrations of support that have been organized for him all over the country are anything to go by, I am somewhat bemused at the fact that, most recently, a journalist who could hardly be characterized as anti-Rajapaksa has more..

Aug 30 (DN) The entry of the JVP in to the presidential election this year, confirmed by the declaration that its leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake would be its candidate, creates a new dimension into what has already become a fascinating contest. With the SLPP declaring Gotabaya Rajapaksa as its candidate on Aug 11, JVP’s announcement of Dissanayake followed one week later. That leaves the two major parties in the country for the last seven decades, more..

Aug 30 (Island) Cass is fit to burst a precious blood vessel or explode – not through uncontrollable rage or insurmountable frustration – not at all - but sheer dismay as our collective name is used in vain. Listen to any politician or his pandankaraya and the loudest and most frequently used announcement is: For the People. To elucidate Cass’ statement about internal combustion to bursting point in her is that every political VIP and now, more especially, the prez candidates, whether Party nominated or more..

Aug 30 (SO) It is believed that approximately two-thirds of the world’s gecko species remain undiscovered by science, with some becoming extinct even before being discovered. The Herculean task of describing and naming the rest of the undiscovered species before they fade into extinction lies with scientists and taxonomists. Recently, a group of scientists from SL described 6 new species of day geckos new to science, more..