Jan 30 (CT) The rift between President and PM was openly obvious yesterday, when a ceremony to handover the appointment of Chairmanships of two institutions coming under Sri Lanka Tourism, were called off at the eleventh hour, as PM Ranil Wickremesinghe had reportedly noted that the approval for the appointment was obtained only from President Sirisena’s and that it was insufficient. more..

Jan 30 (DM) Social media is no longer an afterthought. It now forms an integral part of any company, any public personality and any public movement -- anything anyone wants to be known by someone else is more often in social media than not. It most certainly should when at least a fifth of your own country’s men and women are likely to be members of the world’s largest social media platform. Last year, the impact of social media on the Sri Lankan society was made clear twice more..

Jan 30 (DM) The dietitians are surely having a field day. Sri Lankans in their tens of thousands are rushing to them to shed weight -- a trend that was only seen in Europe and the US until a few years back. We grew up with the belief that food, besides nutrition, brings us happiness. However, until two decades ago, we knew the limits. When we were children, our food was largely restricted to the three square meals, mostly comprising rice. At 10.00 a.m. and 3.00 p.m. was tea -- more..

Jan 30 (DM) The brother of President Maithripala Sirisena and a leading businessman Dudley Sirisena in an interview with Lankadeepa said that he intends becoming a pioneer in taking steps against politicians who are wallowing in corruption and the wastage and plundering public money. Sirisena stated that the people would take a clear decision regarding such politicians at the upcoming elections. more..

Jan 30 (FT) Sri Lanka’s IT/BPM (Business Process Management) industry surpassed $ 1 billion IT exports last year and it currently earns $ 1.2 billion in exports and has a 23% compounded average growth rate. This means that the industry must reach about $ 1.8 billion in exports this year and needs to add more than $ 500 million in 2019 alone. In this outset, SLASSCOM Chairman Jeevan Gnanam sat with Daily FT to discuss more..

Jan 30 (FT) The need for much focused reforms in the primary care health structures in the region was emphasised by minister Rajitha Senaratne, at the opening of the WHO Executive Board meeting in Geneva last week. He made remarks that the healthcare provided in the community-level needs to be uplifted so that the countries would be better geared to combat Non-Communicable Diseases. more..

Jan 30 (AS) About a century ago, a British expedition stumbled upon the remains of an ancient pagoda in the jungle in what was then called Ceylon. The members duly mapped the coordinates of the site, and then the matter seems to have been forgotten until now. Japanese volunteers recently rediscovered the remains atop a massive rock at the summit of Mount Thalaguruhela in the country now called Sri Lanka. more..

Jan 30 (ST) Foreign drug traffickers are increasingly using luxury apartments as safe houses to store large quantities of heroin, moving their operations from one apartment to another every few months to avoid detection, senior officer at Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) revealed. Compared to individual houses, such luxury apartments are advantages to foreign traffickers, said DIG Sajeewa Medawatte in charge of the PNB. more..

Jan 30 (FT) SLPP called on the UNP to declare their stance on holding PC elections and fast track the report of the committee appointed to resolve issues on delimitation. SLPP wants PM Ranil Wickremesinghe to fast track the work of the review committee that was appointed to review the Delimitation Committee Report that was presented to Parliament last year. Parliament failed to approve the report. more..

Jan 30 (AJ) On Saturday, dozens of members of Sri Lanka's Tamil minority marched towards a sprawling Keppapulavu army camp in the country's northern Mullaitivu district, determined to breach its perimeter and reclaim their homes. Keppapulavu's residents fled their houses in 2008 during the bloody last phase of Sri Lanka's 26-year civil war, which was fought between the govt and the LTTE, a separatist group more..

Jan 30 (Island) US Dept of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (J/TIP) has awarded a grant to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to implement a 30 month project to combat trafficking in persons in SL, said that IOM Sri Lanka. It said: The project titled Strengthening Counter-Trafficking Efforts in Sri Lanka aims to enhance the capacity of district and national level stakeholders to more..

Jan 30 (Island) National Election Commission (NEC) Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya on Monday (28) pointed out the impracticability of having Provincial Council polls with parliamentary or presidential elections, simultaneously due to parties changing political alliances to suit their strategies. Deshapriya said so in response to query raised at NEC briefing at its Rajagiriya head office. Commenting on the conduct of more..

Jan 30 (DM) All-rounder Thisara Perera has called for a change in the limited over captaincy in order to bring in unity and stability in the national side ahead of this year’s cricket World Cup in England. In a letter addressed to Sri Lanka Cricket CEO Ashley de Silva, Perera added there is no environment of unity in the side since Lasith Malinga took over the captaincy ahead of the recent New Zealand series. more..

Jan 30 (CT) Corruption, nepotism and cronyism were the causes for the defeat of President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the 8 Jan, 2015 Presidential Poll and also that of the UNP/UNF/UNFGG Govt’s, shock and humiliating defeat three years later at the 10 February, 2018 Local Govt (LG) Polls to Rajapaksa’s fledgling SLPP. Whereas the public may have forgotten about the evils of Rajapaksa’s, in the more than nine years that he was in power, however, the corruption of the present UNP more..

Jan 30 (DM) The list of Island Re-convicted Criminals (IRC) includes 608 children including some students, the Police Crimes Information division reveals. There are 13 female children among them confirmed a senior officer of the division. The notorious criminals of the Island are identified as IRC when they have been severely punished on more than one occasion as indicated in the Crime Prevention Ordinance. This list includes, murder, burglary, assaults and rape. more..

Jan 30 (DN) he new tea factory of Maxims Holdings Company established at Mulleriyawa, Ambathale area was opened by the Prez Sirisena yesterday. This modern tea factory with an investment of Rs 2 billion, composed of the cutting age technology, a computerized store house complex and most modern office complex and has the capability of making tea with machines and packing systems and other technological procedures. A business approved by the BOI, this tea factory will more..

Jan 30 (FT) The Govt of Sri Lanka has embraced Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) as a key focus of the national trade and development strategy. The rationale of this policy choice has been intensely debated in Sri Lankan policy circles. The debate has reached a new heights following the release of the report of the Committee of Experts (CoE) appointed by the President to evaluate the Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement. The purpose of this article is to assess this debate. more..

Jan 30 (CT) The Homagama High Court today put a damper on Prez Sirisena’s plan to release Galagoda Atte Gnanasara on Presidential pardon on Feb 4 when it scheduled the verdict on Gnanasara’s appeal against the 06-month imprisonment on Feb 8. The High Court was expected to deliver the verdict today. However, Homagama HC Judge Amal Thilekaratne said he was not ready to deliver the verdict today. more..

Jan 30 (DM) Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT|CC) and Coordination Centre warned computer users to be cautious of infecting Rumba ransomware when downloading fake Windows updates, cracks for pirated software, freeware software tools as well as corrupted links and torrents. CERT|CC Information Security Engineer Ravindu Meegasmulla said 5 complaints had been received by them from people who had downloaded freeware video editing software and more..

Jan 30 (DM) State Minister Ranjan Ramanayake yesterday said some prominent members of the UNP had informed that they will back him in the event disciplinary action is taken against him for criticizing the UNPers for attending former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s son Rohitha’s wedding. “Some prominent UNPers commended me for criticizing the UNPers for attending the wedding and told me that I have come out with something which they could not come out with,” he said. more..

Jan 30 (DM) Customs-Trade Unions Alliance today launched a strike over the appointment of a retired navy officer as the Customs Director General. The Director Generals to the customs department had been appointed so far from the customs service and added that the new DG was not in the customs or in the administrative service. He said according to the rules and regulations of the department, the DG should have held more..

Jan 30 (DN) The case filed against former MP Tiran Alles and three others was yesterday fixed for trial on June 3 by the Colombo High Court. Attorney General had filed indictments against four accused for allegedly conspiring to misappropriate Rs. 200 million of public funds belonging to the RADA in 2005. The Attorney General had filed indictments against the four accused – former RADA Chairman Tiran Alles, former North and Eastern Provinces LTTE financial head Emil Kanthan, more..

Jan 30 (Xinhua) Chinese embassy in SL has released a guidebook offering consular protection and assistance to Chinese nationals visiting the island country. In a ceremony held here on Tuesday, Chinese Ambassador Cheng Xueyuan unveiled the book together with SL's Minister of Tourism, John Amaratunga. The guidebook was then handed over to a group of tourists who had attended the ceremony and to representatives of SL and Chinese companies based in Colombo. more..

Jan 30 (DM) Criticising the govt’s move to absorb more Samurdhi recipients, Opposition today said the number of Samurdhi recipients should gradually decrease instead of being exponentially expanded. Earlier, Minister Daya Gamage said the govt would absorb 800,000 low income families into the Samurdhi programme by increasing the number of Samurdhi recipient families to 2.2 million by 2020. MP John Seneviratne said absorbing more Samurdhi recipients means poverty-stricken more..

Jan 30 (FT) The fashion development journey that started in 2003 turns another leaf in taking the fashion design industry to the next level in 2019. Colombo Fashion Week popularly known as CFW envisioned this journey at the beginning of the last 15 years which it completed in 2018. Staying true to the vision of creating a platform that developed the fashion design industry, it expands this vision further to include new aspects that support the industry and the fashion design talent of Sri Lanka. more..

Jan 30 (DM) Making seething criticism and sweeping statements on state sector workers, the Central Provincial Governor said yesterday that he would interdict any state sector official found hanging out on Facebook during work hours. He said that such officials would be interdicted with immediate effect before initiating disciplinary inquiries. “If I receive any complaint about any govt official, who often used smartphones or more..

Jan 30 (DN) Education Ministry yesterday cancelled the circular that prevents schools from collecting funds for development. The Ministry cancelled the circular on the instructions of Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam. Ministry sources said that the Ministry arrived arrived at this decision due to the possibility of corrupt practice. Accordingly, the Circular on Planning and Procurement for School-Based Quality, Quantitative and Structural Development (26/2018), more..

Jan 30 (AD) New boards of directors for the institutes affiliated to the Ministry of Power, Energy and Business Development have been appointed by the subject Minister Ravi Karunanayake this morning. Accordingly, new appointments were made for the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), SL Atomic Energy Board, SL Sustainable Energy Authority, SL Atomic Energy Regulatory Council, Lanka Electricity Company (LECO), Lanka Coal Company and Lanka Transformers Limited (LTL) Holdings. more..

Jan 30 (EN) Sri Lanka's garment and textile exports in 2018 had grown 5 percent from a year earlier to US$ 5 billion with a growth in both the US and European markets, the Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) said. JAAF data showed the US market growing 5.8% to US$ 2.3 billion for SL garment exporters, with the highest growth coming in March, August, Sept, Nov and Dec. Exports to the US in December were more..

Jan 30 (DM) Govt ally, Tamil Progressive Front (TPF) today threatened to quit the govt if the salaries of estate workers are not increased at least by Rs. 150, Estate Infrastructure Development Minister P. Digambaram said today. Minister Digambaram said they will make the final decision after meeting PM Ranil Wickremesinghe on March 1, 2019. “We have already informed our stance to the PM and he had called us, Plantations Minister Navin Dissanayake and Labour Minister Ravinda Samaraweera. more..

Jan 30 (AD) The leader of the Opposition Mahinda Rajapaksa says that what the Chairman of the Elections Commission should do now is not resign from his post, but hold the Provincial Council Elections under the previous election system. He mentioned this to the media, attending a function held to open a private restaurant in the Negombo area, yesterday. According to him, Mahinda Deshapriya, the Elections Commission Chairman, declaring that he would resign from more..

Jan 30 (DM) Prez Maithripala Sirisena commended Minister Sajith Premadasa for his commitment and said he had advised him not to work round the clock but to be mindful of his health as well. He said he was happy that the Ministry of Culture was allocated to Minister Premadasa. Speaking at the 2018 Kalabhusana State Festival held yesterday at the Nelum Pokuna Theatre, he said he had come to know that more..

Jan 30 (NR) The body of an individual who jumped into a river, upon attempting to flee from Navy officers who launched a raid while a group was engaged in illegal sand mining operations in Kinniya, has been found. The Police Media Unit said the remains were a recovered this afternoon. Meanwhile, the body of 22-year old was found yesterday in Kinniya. The Police and Navy together with area residents launched search efforts to uncover the bodies from the Mahaweli River. more..

Jan 30 (AD) The remains of the SL Army Captain and the SL Army trooper, who were killed in an IED attack during the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Mali, are to be brought back to the country on Feb 2. A UN aircraft carrying the remains of the two fallen peacekeepers are slated to arrive at the BIA on the 2nd of Feb. According to the Army media unit, remains will be formally delivered to the Commander of the Army, Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake and the Director General of more..

Jan 30 (DM) Former CB Governor and fugitive Arjuna Mahendran was quoted in an article published on South African newspaper The Business Day, which described him of now advising several family offices in Singapore and the Middle East. The article published in the Business Day website on Sunday identified Mahendran as a former governor of central bank of SL and former chief investment officer at Emirates NBD more..

Jan 31 (Island) "Why? What’s wrong? Why shouldn't I? I told him how surprised I was. "Most people take their positions to their heads; this is nothing," responded the Indian Defence Minister. Thereafter, he asked me about my stay in New Delhi and promised to call me and give me a time to meet with him. George Fernandez, one of India’s former defence ministers and socialist leader, died on Tuesday. It brought back memories from 1998, when I flew with the Defenceless Defence more..

Jan 31 (CT) Sri Lanka is now recovering from the political chaos due to the constitutional coup leading to the ouster of the PM. The economic volatility remains. Sri Lanka requires a well –planned budget that also takes into consideration principles of fairness and equity that will improve the lives of people. Moreover the budget is a mirror that reflects the govt‘s direction and commitment towards ensuring human rights particularly economic, social and cultural rights. more..

Jan 31 (Roar) The Wanathamulla area, situated in the heart of central Colombo, is considered one of the oldest low-income settlements in the major Colombo area. It has a vast, undocumented history. The first communities in Wanathamulla were built over mushy, wetland areas. These were followed by the first govt-sponsored public housing projects, built on garbage dumps. From those early settlements to the modern day, more..