Jul 12 (AD) Ven. Omalpe Sobitha Thero says that if students are to be given Tablet computers then education officials should also take steps to prevent any harm befalling the younger generation of the country as a result of that. Speaking during an event in Kegalle, he said that the development of good values is essential along with education for the school children. He warned that distributing Tabs without blocking pornographic websites, which are destroying the younger generation, more..

Jul 12 (DN) Fundamental Rights petition filed by the Centre for Policy Alternative (CPA) challenging President’s decision to grant pardon Ven. Galagoda Atte Gnanasara Thera was yesterday fixed for support by the Supreme Court. Supreme Court 3-judge-bench comprising Justice Buwaneka Aluwihare, Justice Prasanna Jayawardena and Justice L.T.B. Dehideniya fixed the petition for support on Sept 10, to be taken up along with another petition filed by Sandya Ekneligoda. more..

Jul 12 (ET) India is keeping a close watch as protests grow in Sri Lanka over a proposed pact with the US, which could enable the setting up of an American military base in New Delhi's southern neighbourhood. The Indian establishment is of the view that as a close neighbour, it would respect Colombo's decision, as the Sri Lankan PM on Wednesday announced that his country would not sign any pact that violated sovereignty. more..

Jul 12 (DM) Referring to the complaint lodged by the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) that the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has imported low grade 92 octane petrol, Deputy Minister Anoma Gamage said the particular sample had been taken for testing from a Lanka IOC fuel filling station. “On the day we were informed of this matter, I instructed that samples be taken from the all the storage tanks at Kolonnawa, Sapugaskanda & Muthurajawela but no low grade fuel was found,” more..

Jul 12 (DM) Parliament today approved a motion calling for the gazetting of the Abolition of the Death Penalty Bill deviating from the procedure to refer it to the Attorney General. The bill was handed over to the parliamentary authorities earlier by UNP MP Bandula Lal Bandarigoda as a private member's bill. According to the procedure, such a bill should be referred to the Attorney General for approval in keeping with Standing Orders. However, House Leader Lakshman Kiriella said more..

Jul 12 (AD) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe stated that he will testify before the special Parliamentary Select Committee appointed to inquire into the Easter Sunday bombings. PM says that he too is called before the Committee and that he will reveal everything he knows at the Committee. Despite many criticisms against the Select Committee, the judiciary has acknowledged the legality of the committee; more..

Jul 13 (CT) In an era in which the country is grappling with political problems to address the economic crisis specially the foreign debt servicing crisis which is an inherent internal situation created by money greedy power hungry politicians from the time of Independence of from the British Imperialism, the cardinal issue before our ruling elite is to ensure the country is marshalled on the right pathway towards progress. The internal power struggle between Opposition & ruling Party, more..

Jul 13 (CT) Let me begin with two concrete events. Marx once informed us that “[t]he concrete is concrete because it is the concentration of many determinations.” The Island reported on 13 June 2019 quoting Colombo-based senior U.S. official that the U.S. wants future SL Govts to be abided by the international obligations taken on by the current UNP-led Govt. Ceylon Today on the same day reported in the frontpage headline that a high-level U.S. delegation would arrive in SL to discuss more..

Jul 13 (Roar) Just past the small town of Kosgolla in the Kurunegala district of the Central province is a small village school nestled in the valley that runs alongside the Belgoda Mountain range. Reaching the school is not easy: you have to take the southern road from Kurunegala towards Ambepussa, turn left at Dambokka and drive until you reach Kosgolla, where you take a left past a temple, and follow a road flanked by more..

Jul 13 (DM) SL has a severe human resources problem. That’s stating the obvious. Forget bad planning, the absence of an occupational classification, assessment of needs and charting of future requirements in terms of a reasonable view of how things economic and social would unfold; we lost several hundred thousand people over the past 30 years and even if just 1% of the number warranted the tag talented it is a massive loss. Had they been around, in a country of 22 million, more..

Jul 13 (DM) We hear these days much about the competition for military dominance in the Indian Ocean region, where Sri Lanka has emerged strategically the most important location -- with military analysts describing it as a potential permanent aircraft carrier. Against the backdrop of big power manoeuvres in the Indian Ocean region, a controversy is raging in Sri Lanka over military tie-ups with the US, the world’s number one power, which is seen to be increasingly insecure more..

Jul 13 (Island) Prez Sirisena must be enjoying his stay in Britain, watching the campaign for the election of the next Conservative Party leader and PM, there. Will he be getting new ideas for an anti-democratic leadership campaign for the SLFP, even the SLPP, and to again be the common candidate at the coming presidential poll? His thinking on resuming the Death Penalty with four executions has been given a good push back more..

Jul 13 (Island) Pronounced as acronyms those two sets of initials sound to stupid Cassandra as Axe Ah! and of course the term for a long lovely chair which you lie on and relax in, pronounced sopaawa in the native tongue. Cass watches TV sprawled inelegantly on an old kavichchiya, one on which a grandma perched herself like a little bird and dispensed love, advice and often gifts. Axes too are topics of conversation now – axing trees and axing drug dealers on the gallows and more..

Jul 13 (Island) The defeat of the no-faith motion against UNF govt in Parliament, on Thursday, may have looked a setback for the JVP, which drafted and moved it. But, in fact, it was a win for the JVP, which has, in our book, killed three birds with one stone, so to speak. Its leader must be laughing up his sleeve. Had there been the slightest chance of its no-confidence motion succeeding, JVP would never have moved it, for Parliament would have been plunged into chaos in such an more..

Jul 13 (FT) A few weeks back, a solar power system of 50 kW went operational at Ananda College Colombo. This is to supply electric power to its legendary Kularatne Hall. Lakdhanavi, a subsidiary of LTL Holdings (formally known as Lanka Transformers Ltd.) supplied and installed the equipment as a CSR initiative, one in a series of such similar projects it carries out islandwide. Manohara Thilakawardene, then on LTL Holdings Board, U.D. Jayawardana, LTL CEO, more..

Jul 13 (DN) Zimbabwe defeated Sri Lanka 79-49 in the opening game of the Vitality Netball World Cup at M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool. The initial minutes were tentative as each team tried to find their feet, with both connecting well with their shooters. Zimbabwe got balls to goal utilising their speed and agility, whilst Sri Lanka delivered the ball to their towering goal shooter Tharjini Sivalingam, who, standing at 6’ 9, is the tournament’s tallest player. Any turnover in this quarter was to be found more..

Jul 13 (ST) When his wife was pregnant with their first child, Colin Fernando prayed hard for a boy. Because he had only one dream: and that was to see his son play cricket. Colin’s wish was fulfilled with the birth of who is now the new boy wonder of Sri Lankan cricket: Avishka Fernando. The sporting world is peppered with tales of pushy parents. Colin isn’t shy to admit he is one of them. As a youngster, he had wanted to play cricket at professional more..

Jul 13 (Island) In 1937 an adventurous Yankee sailed a small yacht round the world – the smallest to do so, at that time – stopping awhile in Ceylon. After many adventures, he returned to Ceylon in search of a Jaffna-built ship whose elegant lines had caught his eye. He found her, bought and refitted her in Colombo and sailed for Boston, with an all-Jaffna crew. Boston was as overwhelmed by the vision of this ghost of the legendary Bounty, as by its dusky crew and of the voyage itself. more..

Jul 13 (DN) Sri Lanka Cricket held a media briefing yesterday to announce the Under 19 Super Provincial 50 over Tournament which will be conducted from July 16 to 23, with the participation of the four Super Provincial Teams, namely Colombo, Kandy, Galle and Dambulla. The matches will be played at the RDICS, Dambulla and PICS, Kandy. The main aim is to find the future players for the national team and our main target is 2020 world cup and this tournament will helps to finds more..

Jul 13 (FT) National Medicines Regulatory Authority Act is set to gain wider purview to regulate cosmetic products in the market and revise penalties outlined in the legislation. The cosmetics regulatory function, which was earlier handled by Cosmetics, Devices, and Drug Regulatory Authority (CDDRA), was removed from the NMRA Act, which replaced the earlier entity. However a revision of the Act, more..

Jul 13 (FT) The Enterprise Sri Lanka –Thurunu Diriya loan scheme implemented to empower young, small and medium entrepreneurs has successfully disbursed loans worth over Rs.358 million among 875 young entrepreneurs by the second week of July. Within a span of one year, since Thurunu Diriya loan scheme was launched, it has elevated the life of more than 850 budding entrepreneurs across the country, weekly progress report issued by Bank of Ceylon, on 10 July revealed. more..

Jul 13 (FT) A hundred new projects to help thousands of poor families resolve issues related to water, sanitation and farm land were launched on Thursday by the Gammadda Foundation, which is a charity under the Maharaja Group. Maharaja Capital Group Director Chevaan Daniel speaking at the report launch shed light on the motivation behind the creation of the Gammadda initiative. “The inability to comprehend, and reconcile the level of poverty, and inequality motivated us to set up more..

Jul 13 (DM) UPFA MP Dilan Perera said if the Muslim ministers, state ministers and the deputy minister, who resigned from their posts in support of MP Rishad Bathiudeen were sworn in again, the joint opposition would move a no-confidence motion against Mr. Bathiudeen. He said he was aware of the remarks made by former deputy minister Ameer Ali in Parliament on Thursday soon after the govt defeated the NCM that more..

Jul 13 (FT) Following the tragic incidents of Easter Sunday, Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo, made a generous donation towards the Rally to Care initiative by Dialog Foundation, which will enable long-term educational support to a segment of affected children until the age of 19. Additionally, Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo, will also host an educational and psychosocial program filled with entertaining activities at its premises for the children affected by the tragic events of Kochchikade more..

Jul 13 (CG) An agreement has been reached on amendments to the Muslim Marriage Act, MP Faiszer Musthapha said. He said the amendments to Muslim Marriage Act were unanimously agreed upon after discussions with all the SL Muslim MPs. It has been proposed that the age of marriage for both the bride and the groom should be 18 years. Bride should sign the Register of Marriage as a sign of her consent. It has also been proposed to upgrade the required qualification of a Kadi to Att-at-law. more..

Jul 13 (FT) JO MP Roshan Ranasinghe yesterday raised a privilege issue highlighting life threats from parties related to President Sirisena and Police and said his complaints had been ignored for four years. MP Ranasinghe, who represents the Polonnaruwa District, brought the attention of the House to harassment he had faced, highlighting how the Police had barely take action in relation to investigating the complaints. more..

Jul 13 (DM) Sri Lanka – Greater Mekong Business Council (SLGMBC) of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce organized a successful business promotion mission to Myanmar recently. The delegates met with the Ambassador of Sri Lanka in Myanmar and attended the Yangon Investment Forum organized by the Yangon Regional Govt. Council together with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) Myanmar organized an information session for delegates, which was followed by more..

Jul 13 (DM) Eight police officers including five superintendents of police (SP), two assistant superintendents of police (ASP) and an inspector of police (IP), have been transferred based on service requirements, police said today. They said the transfers were made following the orders of the National Police Commission. Accordingly, SP W.K.J.R. Dias was transferred to the Kelaniya Police Division from the Colombo-South Division and SP P.A.D.A. Wijerathne was transferred to more..

Jul 13 (FT) Govt has taken a number of new initiatives to develop tourist hotspots in the country to facilitate and encourage more tourists to visit SL. Minister John Amaratunga this week outlined that the new facilities and developments at popular destinations across the country included Arugam Bay, Yala, Ella and Nuwara Eliya. According to the Minister, a few extra entrances will be opened at Yala National Park this month more..

Jul 13 (Island) Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne told Parliament that drug companies paid doctors for prescribing their drugs. "There was a drug sold for $ 30 and after I intervened they reduced it to $ 3. This clearly shows how high the markups are." Minister said he had issued instructions to break that monopoly for the benefit of the public. "When I want to break this monopoly these issues arise. When I decided to open the doors for other brands to be imported then the prices started decreasing. more..

Jul 13 (DM) The opposition yesterday urged the government to conduct an epidemiological and statistical study into the allegations against Obstetrician and Gynecologist Dr. Shafi Shiabdeen of the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital without trying to sweep the allegations under the carpet. UPFA MP Ramesh Pathirana told parliament that it was the responsibility of the health ministry to conduct an epidemiological and statistical study and find out the truth behind the allegations. more..

Jul 13 (Island) Parliament was informed yesterday that 17 persons, sans required qualifications, had been posted as Ambassadors and High Commissioners during the past nine years. JVP Kalutara District MP Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa said those 17 persons included two with warrants against them––Jaliya Wickramasuriya and Udayanga Weerathunga. "This is a dangerous situation because Mohammed Zahran, too, had been more..

Jul 13 (EN) Readers of US-based Travel and Leisure magazine have ranked SL as the best island in the world to visit in 2019, adding to the accolades the country received recently. SL debuted at the top of the list, for its diversity of experiences. Wildlife, marinelife, tea plantations and stunning beaches makes the island a must visit, Travel and Leisure writer Rebecca Ascher-Walsh said. Sri Lanka beat out a host of Greek islands, the Maldives, Fiji, Maui in Hawaii and the Palawan Island more..

Jul 13 (FT) Transportation and Civil Aviation Ministry said it had started the process of upgrading Google Maps to show public transportation services as a part of Google Transit and it would be available for use in Google Maps covering the Western Province over the next few weeks. Details of this process were discussed at the 25th anniversary of the National Transport Commission (NTC). Ministry has completed most of the framework to be sent to Google Inc. in order to activate more..

Jul 13 (Island) A private member’s motion was presented to parliament, yesterday, to amend the laws to abolish death sentence and to prevent President Maithripala Sirisena carrying out his pledge of implementing the capital punishment. The motion was presented by UNP Galle District MP Bandula Lal Bandarigoda after parliament Standing Orders 52 and 53 were suspended by another motion by minister Lakshman Kiriella. more..

Jul 13 (DM) UNP MP Hirunika Premachandra raised a privilege issue alleging that under the advice of Prez Sirisena, she had been prevented from participating in a TV programme on July 1 telecast on ITN. She told parliament that she had been invited a week ago to participate in this particular programme but that on the previous night she was asked by an ITN official not to come to the programme on the following day. "When I asked why, I was told that the Prez had advised more..

Jul 13 (Island) Ratnapura District UNP MP Hesha Withanage asked for a Parliamentary debate on political intervention in Sports Associations which were under the purview of the Ministry of Sports. Withanage also urged the Sports Minister to take necessary action to prevent political intervention in those sports bodies. The UNP MP questioned whether the Sports Ministry monitored the officers elected to positions in Sports Associations and the manner in which they functioned. more..

Jul 13 (Island) The JO queried whether there had been an understanding between the JVP and the four party TNA though the former moved the much-touted no-confidence motion (NCM) against the govt over its failure to thwart the Easter Sunday attacks or minimize loss of life. JO MP Shehan Semasinghe told The Island the JVP move was meant to clear itself of being called rathu ali petiya without harming the govt. more..

Jul 13 (Island) Sri Lankan umpire Kumar Dharmasena has been appointed to stand in the World Cup final between England and New Zealand at Lord’s on Sunday despite finding himself involved in a controversial incident with home batsman Jason Roy. The Surrey opener had made 85 to set England on their way to an eventual eight-wicket win against Australia in Thursday’s semi-final at Edgbaston, when he was given out caught behind down the legside by Dharmasena. more..