Jul 18 (AD) Dept of Examinations announced the dates on which the 2019 GCE A/L Exam and the Grade 5 Scholarship Exam will be held across the country and the dates from when tuition classes and seminars for these exams will be banned. This year’s A/L Exam will be held from Aug 5 to Aug 31 and that the Grade 5 Scholarship Exam will take place on Aug 4, 2019. Total of 337,704 applicants are to sit for the A/L exam at 2,678 exam centers while this includes 198,229 new applicants. more..

Jul 18 (CT) Consonant with the ushering in of a market economy in 1977, the price of a 450 gram loaf of bread was increased by Rs 5 from midnight last night. This increase corresponds to an earlier increase by Rs 8 of a kilo of wheat flour, effected on Monday. Bread and wheat flour do not come under the controlled price regime. However, Chairman of National Movement for Consumer Right’s Protection, Ranjith Withanage, said that the price of wheat flour is controlled at Rs 87 a kilo, more..

Jul 18 (AD) The water level of the Kalu Ganga has been observed rising to Alert Level in the Ratnapura area, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said. People living downstream area advised to remain vigilant in this regard as the water level could reach Flood Level if the rainfall to catchment areas continues. Earlier today, two spill gates were opened in the Laxapana Reservoir, due to the prevailing heavy rainfall. more..

Jul 18 (AD) The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) says that two spill gates have been opened in the Laxapana Reservoir, due to the prevailing heavy rainfall. People living downstream are advised to be vigilant in this regard, the DMC said issuing an alert. Especially those living in the lower valley areas of the Kelani River and the people who use water from the Kelani River for daily necessities are urged the remain vigilant in this regard. Meanwhile the DMC further said that more..

Jul 18 (EN) SL is close to reaching a barter deal with Iran to set off payments for shipments of its main agricultural export, Ceylon tea, against money due for oil imports, Minister Navin Dissanayake said. “Our tea market is getting affected because of U.S. trade sanctions on Iran,” he said. The problem arose because of trade sanctions imposed by the US on Iran, which although not covering food, disrupted payments in US dollars as banks feared getting blacklisted for transactions involving Iran. more..

Jul 18 (AD) It is apt to revise the indictments filed against former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa if they are in a state of being revised, Supreme Court told the Attorney General. AG had filed indictments with the Permanent High Court-at-Bar against Gotabaya Rajapaksa, accusing him of misusing state funds when constructing the D.A. Rajapakse museum in Hambantota. Rajapaksa’s attorneys had more..

Jul 18 (EN) Dept of Govt Printing has gazetted a private members' bill to abolish the death penalty. The bill which was gazetted, seeks to amend all laws which mention the death penalty with the punishment of life imprisonment. Convicts who were in the past sentenced to death will be commuted to life imprisonment as well, if the bill is passed. UNP MP Bandula Lal Bandarigoda will be presenting the bill in parliament. The bill, which was handed over to parliament had been directly sent to be more..

Jul 18 (AD) National Building Research Organization (NBRO) has issued Landslide Early Warnings (Level 2 Amber) to Ratnapura and Balangoda Divisional Secretariat divisions and surrounding areas of Ratnapura District. The alert has been issued as heavy rainfall experienced by the relevant areas within the past 24 hours has exceeded 100 mm. If the rains continue, the public is urged to be on alert on the possibility of landslides, slope failures, rock falls, cut failures and ground subsidence, more..

Jul 18 (AD) Secretary of the National Police Commission Saman Dissanayake has been arrested by the CID in connection with the Avant-Garde floating armoury case. The NPC Secretary was reportedly arrested while he was at the Sri Jayawardenapura Hospital. The Colombo Fort Magistrate yesterday rejected the anticipatory bail application filed by Dissanayake, requesting to release him on bail if he was arrested over more..

Jul 18 (RN) Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera today announced that he will be taking legal action against the news desks of two privately owned television channels, Derana and Hiru TV, and against Buddhist priest Thiniyawala Palitha Thero. The Minister said in a tweet that he seeks Rs. 1 billion each from the three parties for levelling what he called “wild and unsubstantiated allegations” against him. Palitha Thero serves on the Board of Directors at Lanka Hospitals and, more..

Jul 18 (EN) Sri Lanka’s investment promotion agency said it has signed an agreement with foreign investors to build an entertainment complex in suburb of the capital Colombo that will add to its tourist attractions. The Board of Investment (BOI) Fantasy Island (Private) Limited will invest four million US dollars in the entertainment park at Waters Edge to be opened in 12 months. “Sri Lanka has made great progress to build hotels and infrastructure. more..

Jul 18 (DM) Referring to the GMOA’s remarks that Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne makes influence on functioning of the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) and social media dissemination regarding claims about the SLMC, its Chairman Prof. Harendra de Silva said the Minister had not influenced him on any matter in relation to the proper functioning of the activities of the SLMC. “I was appointed as the President SLMC by more..

Jul 18 (GDI) Paddy Marketing Board (PMB) has purchased 11,642 metric tons (MT) of paddy in the Northern Province under the govt certified price at a cost of Rs. 447 million. A kilo of Samba paddy has been purchased for Rs. 41 and a kilo of Nadu for Rs. 38. The total quantity purchased from the Kilinochchi District is 3,185 metric tons. The expenditure incurred was Rs. 122 million. From farmers in Vavuniya district 3,182 metric tons of paddy were purchased at a cost of Rs 122 million, more..

Jul 18 (RN) UNP MP Bandula Lal Bandarigoda, who presented a Private Member’s Bill to the parliament proposing the abolition of the death penalty, said that UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa who seems to be in favour of the death penalty at present favoured the contrary a few years ago. Addressing a press conference, the MP recalled that during the parliamentary debate held on 6 Oct 2015, Minister Sajith Premadasa said that death penalty is not the solution for the existing problems. more..

Jul 18 (DM) National Police Commission (NPC) has called for a report from the Acting IGP over the possibility of removing the CID from investigating Dr. Mohammed Shafi’s case and hand it over to the Police Special Investigation Unit (SIU). Police Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekera said an attorney had lodged a complaint with the NPC stating that investigations carried out by the CID against Dr. Shafi should be withdrawn. more..

Jul 18 (RN) Sri Lanka Young Journalists Association (SLYJA) is seeking an investigation into the conduct of the Kurunegala Magistrate Sampath Hewawasam in the case of Senior House officer of Kurunegala Teaching Hospital Dr Segu Shihabdeen Mohamed Shafi. The SLYJA has lodged a complaint with the Judicial Service Commission to this effect. In this case, Dr Shafi is accused of rendering dozens of women infertile against their will. In the complaint, the Journalists point out that more..

Jul 18 (AD) Colombo High Court today issued an interim order against the granting of bail to IGP Pujith Jayasundara and former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando by the Colombo Magistrate’s Court. The Attorney General filed a revision application before the High Court against the magistrate’s court order granting bail to the suspects, who were arrested for their failure to prevent the Easter Sunday attacks. Jayasundara and Fernando were informed to appear more..

Jul 18 (NR) Members of a number of Teachers’ and Principals’ unions are on a sick note campaign at present. A two-day sick note campaign got underway earlier today at all schools in the country. Secretary of SL Govt Teachers Association Shehan Dissanayake, said the trade union action is being launched based on four key demands including a solution to salary anomalies of teachers and principals. However members of 27 other more..

Jul 18 (RN) India is helping Sri Lanka upgrade the train tracks from Maho to Omanthai on the Northern Line, a project costing more than US$ 90 million. A stretch of some 130 km of track will be upgraded. This track has not been renewed for more than a hundred years, a press release from the Indian High Commission said. The project comes under Indian Concessional financing and an agreement for the project was signed in Colombo today between the govt of SL and IRCON Int'l Ltd. more..

Jul 18 (RN) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe says that Sri Lanka is no more a country with low income but a country considered as being a middle-income country. Premier said this addressing the gathering at the opening ceremony of the Shilpasena Exposition today at the BMICH. Further, he said that today science and technology has become important as world leaders like America live through technology and not by production. He also said that even in the Anuradhapura Era rulers valued more..

Jul 18 (RN) Chastising the mainstream media for its allegedly unethical conduct, veteran journalist Victor Ivan yesterday warned that the country’s journalistic fraternity is in danger of facing public retaliation. At a panel discussion organised by Free Media Movement on hate speech and freedom of expression, Ivan said that today, more than the politicians, it is the media that is standing in the way of liberating the country more..

Jul 19 (CT) Of the Yahapalana pledges, the one least fulfilled, in my view, is its rhetoric in achieving national reconciliation. Four and half years into govt, we witness increasing polarization of ethnic and religious communities in a deeply fragmented society. Needless to say that the recent terror attacks by Islamic extremists, although coming within a network of a global phenomenon, have caused considerable strain on relations between Muslim and other communities locally making more..

Jul 19 (DM) Sri Lankans are talking about the absence of elections in the country, but no one is taking to the street in protest of voters being denied of using their franchise. At the present no party seems to be serious in its approach to the much looked forward to elections, which in a way makes us guess whether top political parties are privy to some secret information as to why elections are not being held. EC Mahinda Deshappriya has said that PC Elections should be held first more..

Jul 19 (Roar) In Sri Lanka, baila, is a popular form of music. Originating with the kaffirs (Portuguese cafrinhas—descendants of 16th-century Portuguese traders and African slaves), baila has carved a niche for itself in Sri Lankan music. But while baila, with it’s 6/8 beat and peculiar jerky movement is wide-spread across the island, there exists a little-known offshoot, called vaada baila. Where vaada baila differs from more..

Jul 19 (CT) The power struggle in the UNP is now in the open. Candidature for the forthcoming Presidential Elections is at stake. In fact, this time those stakes are quite high. Sajith Premadasa is making a bid through his surrogates. Unfortunately for him, those surrogates are from the UNP itself. No outsider has voiced his or her consent for Premadasa’s tender. And that in itself is stifling. He is very popular with the UNP-grassroots and it is beyond question. Why so is another question. more..

Jul 19 (DN) The thrust and parry of politics continues among the major political parties in anticipation of presidential elections later this year and there is a renewed quest for forging new political alliances. President Sirisena has come to realise the importance of the SLFP of which he is the leader forming an alliance with the SLPP. President was nursing ambitions of contesting as a common candidate for both parties but that is now becoming an increasingly remote possibility. more..

Jul 19 (DM) The repression of insurgency and terrorism are hard to achieve, yet what is even more difficult is the containment and sustainability of the victories. In Sri Lankan context, in 2009 Sri Lankan govt claimed an emphatic victory by defeating the LTTE who were engaged in a 30-year conflict with the Govt. That victory had been sustained over the ten years that passed. more..

Jul 19 (CT) “A well established immunisation programme is always the key for quick eradication of all communal and non-communicable diseases’’ said, Palitha Karunapema, Director Health Education and Publicity. While the news on the eradication of Measles in Sri Lanka broke out, it brought about an impending need to examine how many diseases the national health services have been able to eradicate over the years. From Malaria, Filariasis, Materna and Neonatal Tetanus to more..

Jul 19 (CT) In a startling revelation, a consultant to a tea factory said tea factories were running at a loss was mainly due to a lack of output as is well known. But, he lamented that most tea growers have stopped planting tea nowadays and have begun alternative businesses. Lack of attention by the relevant authorities has given rise to this pathetic situation. If tea plantations could be encouraged to keep planting tea instead of resorting to alternatives, the tea industry will thrive for centuries more..

Jul 19 (Island) There has been considerable public discussion in recent months about the need to find a meaningful and real alternative to the existing two mainstream political formations in Sri Lanka. But, the people in the country are yet to see a clear vision and a cohesive programme of the proposed political alternative. In this brief article, an attempt is made to articulate a possible vision and a programme to be discussed and considered by relevant parties in the next weeks and months. more..

Jul 19 (Island) Time was when this country was known as the Granary of the East. Today, it is apparently on its way to becoming what may be called the Dumpsite of the East. Consignments of foreign garbage are said to be imported. The Customs trade unions have said that as many as 122 containers of waste, brought from the UK, are currently sitting in Colombo Port. These big boxes are said to contain hospital waste, plant and animal parts, restaurant trash & old mattresses. more..

Jul 19 (CT) State Minister Dr. Harsha de Silva says the Govt has to accept the responsibility for the Easter Sunday attacks. Q: How long do the people have to wait to come out of this economic crisis? A: If there is no structural change in SL we will have to wait for a long time in this same economic situation. The reason is we manufacture only basic goods. Then, we were able to sell such goods and earn an income, more..

Jul 19 (FT) Sri Lanka’s most innovative bank, HNB PLC continued to garner sweeping acclaim for its transformational approach to banking, bringing home a trio of high profile awards including being declared the Best Bank in Sri Lanka for 2019 for the third time by Euromoney Magazine. Rounding out its remarkable achievements, HNB was also presented with the award for Best Managed Bank in Sri Lanka by the Asian Banker Magazine, further cementing HNB’s status an industry leader in more..

Jul 19 (FT) Plantation Industries Minister Navin Dissanayake sounded wary over a planned hike in wages for estate workers ahead of elections. “We have to be careful in not establishing a precedent," he said. "If their daily wage is Rs. 750 and we give more than what we have promised during the wage negotiations, for the next wage cycle they will start at Rs. 850. Therefore, it is good to have an alternative way like welfare development or replanting instead of being included in their salary,” he said. more..

Jul 19 (DN) Lanka Electricity Company Limited (LECO) unveiled three of their in-house developed prime initiatives, MYLECO App, Advanced Distribution Management System (ADMS) and SMART grid Integration Platform (SMIP) yesterday in Colombo in the presence of Minister of Ravi Karunanayake at the LECO Switch On Future event. Outsourcing software products to meet the industry processes more..

Jul 19 (FT) As a direct impact of the Easter Sunday tragedy, earnings from tourism in May have plunged by 70.8% to $ 71 million from $ 243 million a year earlier. The drastic drop has forced cumulative first five months earnings from tourism to decline by 7.1% to $ 1.77 billion. In April, tourism earnings were down 7.5% to $ 313 million whilst cumulative figures showed a 2.2% gain to $ 1.7 billion. Tourist arrivals in May 2019 amounted to 37,802, down 70.8% from a year earlier. more..

Jul 19 (ST) A delegation of four young players, coach and official from Renown Football Academy represented Sri Lanka in the seventh season of Gazprom Int'l Children’s Social Programe, Football For Friendship (F4F) held in Madrid, Spain. This year children from more than 50 countries from all over the world participated in the final series of events featuring football training camps, workshops to teach good sportsmanship and the values behind the game and the main event more..

Jul 19 (FT) Sri Lanka Tea Board will finally launch its much-delayed $ 50 million global promotion campaign in Moscow, Russia this September, to boost awareness of Ceylon Tea among 12 important markets. It is the first time in the 150 years of Ceylon Tea that the Govt is conducting a massive global promotion campaign of this magnitude. Kick-off of the promotions will be followed by advertising & publicity campaign more..