Jul 30 (RN) Colombo-based think tank Verité Research reports that 79 of Sri Lanka’s 225 parliamentarians are over the age of 60. Verité’s Mantrhi.lk, which profiles MPs and keeps track of their activities, found that 21.9% of MPs are between the ages of 61 and 70. Four MPs are between 81 and 90 years of age. A majority of lawmakers, according to Manthri.lk’s findings, are in the age group of 51 to 60, with 74 MPs, while only 15 MPs are between the ages of 30 and 40. more..

Jul 30 (CB) Thilan Samaraweera, the former Sri Lanka batsman, will assist the current New Zealand batting coach Peter Fulton in order to help the visiting batsmen to acclimatise to the spin-friendly climes of Sri Lanka during the two-match Test series, starting on August 14. The 42-year-old, who averaged over 48 in Tests, has previously worked as the batting coach of Bangladesh and SL. He was also appointed as the consultant coach of Australia during their tour of Sri Lanka in 2016. more..

Jul 30 (Xinhua) With the conclusion of land reclamation in Jan 2019 and infrastructure development currently in full-swing, the cooperation between China and Sri Lanka in jointly building the Colombo Port City has entered a new stage. The two sides have been actively working together to attract global investments to the new city near the Colombo Harbor. Using the latest sustainable city designs and smart city concepts, more..

Jul 30 (AD) The total number of drunk drivers arrested during the raids conducted since the 5th of July has increased to 6315, says Police Media Spokesperson SP Ruwan Gunasekara. During the 24-hour raids conducted from 6.00 am last morning (29) to 6.00 am this morning (30), 179 motorists arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol were taken into custody. A special month-long operation was launched island-wide on the 5th of July to apprehend drunk drivers. more..

Jul 30 (DM) Cinnamon Gardens police are conducting investigations into the loss of Rs. 6 million from the Colombo 7 home of former minister and parliamentarian Rauff Hakeem, a spokesman from Police Headquarters said yesterday. He said the investigation has been launched following a complaint lodged at the Cinnamon Garden’s police on Sunday by Mr. Hakeem's wife Shanaz Hakeem. According to the complaint, this money had been kept in an almirah on the upper floor of their more..

Jul 30 (RN) The UNP’s presidential candidate must be someone who promotes its current liberalisation trajectory and ideology, Minister Harsha De Silva said. The party has yet to announce its candidate for the upcoming presidential election, even as the rival SLPP is getting ready to formally announce its own candidate on 11 Aug. He said that his party will announce its candidate hopefully soon after the UNP’s more..

Jul 30 (NR) Colombo Crimes Division has arrested the brother-in-law of the National Thowheed Jamath organisation’s leader Zahran Hashim in Katupotha. The Police Media Unit said the 28-year-old man has received weapons training from a camp in Nuwara Eliya. He was arrested by the CCD at around 1035 last night from Kekunagolla, Katupotha. Further investigations are underway. Zahran Hashim is the mastermind behind the deadly Easter Sunday bombings while the NTJ is now a proscribed more..

Jul 30 (CT) State Lands (Special Provisions) Bill is being brought in order to facilitate the Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement (ACSA) and the Status of Force Agreement (SOFA), MP Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said. “They brought a Bill to Parliament recently. It was the State Lands (Special Prov) Bill. This Bill was brought to displace our agricultural communities. This Bill is brought so that it will be easier for Americans to grab lands of our farmers when ACSA/SOFA comes into operation. more..

Jul 30 (AD) The govt has not taken any measures to curb the ideological terrorism called Wahhabism but reinstated the Muslim politicians who were accused of allegedly supporting it, says Mohamed Muzammil, spokesperson of NFF. He said, Wahhabism is largely capable of creating suicide bombers and in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on Easter Sunday on the 21st of April, it was revealed that there are various means for more..

Jul 30 (AD) A protest and a march against the actions of Dr. Mohamed Shafi of the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital were held in Kurunegala today. The protestors including Buddhist monks had gathered before the hospital and marched towards the Kurunegala Town. They will march back to the hospital from the two to stage a protest in front of the hospital, according to Ada Derana reporter. Heavy traffic congestion has also been reported in Kurunegala town owing to this protest action. more..

Jul 30 (AD) PAFFREL organization has made a request to hold both the Presidential Election and the Provincial Council Election on the same day. The PAFFREL organization had made the request to the President, the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the Parliament through a letter addressed to them. The letter points out that all provinces except for the Uva provincial council are managed by the governors of the relevant provinces and the term of office for the Uva PC expires in October. more..

Jul 30 (CB) Skipper Dimuth Karunaratne said he was happy to see others stepping up to take the responsibility as they start life without Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara. While Lasith Malinga had a fitting farewell in the opener of the three-match series against Bangladesh, Kulasekara decided to quit during the build-up of the ODI's series. SL began their post-Malinga journey with a convincing seven wicket win over the tourist, more..

Jul 30 (DM) Supreme Court (SC) today served the charge sheet (ruling) on State Minister Ranjan Ramanayake over the allegations of contempt of court. He was alleged to have made a statement end of last year during the time when the Supreme Court was hearing the parliament dissolution case. The bench comprising of CJ Jayantha Jayasuriya, Justice L.T.D. Dehideniya and Justice Murdhu Fernando postponed the matter to Dec 2nd. Faiz Musthapa PC appearing for Ranjan more..

Jul 30 (DM) An Opinion Poll conducted at the Enterprise SL exhibition held at Walisinghe Harischandra ground in Anuradhapura showed that 94.35% of people were in favour of the application of Capital Punishment on drug racketeers and rapists. This electronic opinion poll using digital technology was conducted at the booth put up by the Prez Secretariat. At this poll, where 20,992 persons had participated, 94.35% had voted in favour of the death penalty to be made effective more..

Jul 30 (DM) The Opposition today said the proposed amendments to the Monetary Law Act (MLA) were detrimental to the economy and that it would go to the Supreme Court if and when the draft bill was presented to parliament. MP Bandula Gunawardana said the Finance Ministry and the Central Bank of SL would go their separate ways if the MLA was amended. He said the Finance Minister had submitted a cabinet paper more..

Jul 30 (DM) Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa said that some people were slinging mud at cricketer Lasith Malinga following his farewell speech made at the R. Premadasa Stadium. He said this at the Sri Sunandarama Temple in Beliatta during the Bala Mandala meeting of the SLPP and added that political mudslinging was rampant under the present political environment in the country. "This govt came to power with the help of slinging mud and is still surviving by slinging mud," he said. more..

Jul 30 (EN) Ceilings set on clinker substitutes such as slag by Sri Lanka Institute of Standards, is blocking eco-friendly production of cement, a top official of INSEE Cement, unit of Siam City Cement of Thailand, said. "Some of our Chinese contractors are asking for cement with 65% slag, but current regulations do not allow it," CEO Nandana Ekanayake said, at the launch of the firm's sustainability report. "SL Standards Institute has set a limit of 20% on slag content in cement." more..

Jul 30 (AD) Former Eastern Province Governor M.L.A.M. Hizbullah today held a press conference to respond to the various allegations leveled against him by UNP MP Ashu Marasinghe and other individuals with regard to the Batticaloa campus. He said that they have submitted a report to the Parliament Sub-Committee on Higher Education looking into the issue and which will submit recommendations to the Cabinet of Minister more..

Jul 31 (CT) Mr. Deputy Speaker, may I move the following Adjournment Motion as a matter of urgent public importance: “Whereas the Constitution of a Country is the Supreme law of the Country. And whereas in Democracies the world over, a country is governed on the basis of a Constitution framed on the maximum possible national consensus. And whereas Sri Lanka which is a multiethnic, multilingual, multicultural Country with a diverse and pluralist society is not governed more..

Jul 31 (SO) In recent times, at least one political alliance (PPP) has put forward their domestic agenda proposals for public comment. Yet, so far, no political party or alliance has offered any proposals in the Foreign Policy domain. However, articles from academics have emerged in the press indicating a general consensus in praise of the early commitment to non- alignment , which called inter-alia, for equidistance from all major powers and won rare support across political party lines in SL. more..

Jul 1 (CT) State Minister Ranjith Aluvihare said, we learned that the PM has sent teams to the village level to study who must be nominated as the next Presidential candidate. Q: You are a member of a prominent political family of the Matale District, but you were recognized fairly late? A: It’s a big issue. Actually, there was a delay in me being recognised. I was elected to Parliament in 2000 and was there until 2010. more..

Jul 31 (TM) On 18 July 2019, the Jasmine Hall of BMICH was full beyond its capacity. Many individuals gathered to learn about the secret lives of the giants in our seas from Dr Asha de Vos. She kept the entire audience hooked on to every valuable piece of information she shared about these fascinating species. But it was easy to pick the message that she wanted to deliver – leave the whales alone. She explained this beautifully with an anecdote, saying: “What if you were eating more..

Jul 31 (DN) There is sheer waste of rich resource and benefit to Sri Lanka by our failure to tap into the rich resource available in the SL Overseas Communities. There is no co-ordinated effort to tap into this rich willing resource. In the end what most do is undertake personal initiatives. This is what a lot of people do. There are two ways to implement the brain gain: either through the return of the expatriates to the country of origin (Return Option) or through their remote mobilization more..

Jul 31 (CT) The Muslim Law Reforms Action Group (MPLRAG) has raised a persistent voice to amend certain laws in the MMDA that have oppressed SL Muslim women over the decades. The MPLRAG’s immediate concerns are that the 30-year silent battle seeking Justice for women has not been fruitful because of the beliefs of those opposing such amendments claiming them to be against God’s law. more..

Jul 31 (Roar) August is here, and so is our list of startup events for the month. This list may not look very long at the moment, but expect to see a few more events appear on this list once we get past the long weekend. Read on to find out what’s on the cards. With the Entrepreneurship Caravan, experts in entrepreneurship from around the country will visit cities throughout Sri Lanka with the aim of training local entrepreneurs to think differently about their prospective ventures. more..

Jul 31 (Island) The riot police, on Monday, aborted another attempt by unemployed graduates to march towards Prez Secretariat. Yahapalana govt seems to think that it can tackle the burning problems of the unemployed youth with the help of water cannon & tear gas. Unemployed graduates are demanding jobs in the public sector, which is bursting at the seams, and ideally it should not be burdened with any more new recruits. State policy should be to create employment opportunities, more..

Jul 31 (CT) As a child I was fascinated by the idea of being a doctor. At that time, I did not know the financial and social benefits that came with it. I thought I may treat people and that I assumed would make them happy and that I might share that happiness with them. I was wrong and I later realized that if I were to share happiness best place would be in the entertainment industry and not the healthcare industry. Still healthcare could be a satisfying industry if not controlled by a few more..

Jul 31 (Island) I was due to pay a tribute to the late Professor Oleap (JNO) Fernando at a thanksgiving service last Saturday, but was unable to so. Consequently, I offer this public tribute as the next best thing I can do. From the time I got to know him, Oleap impressed me as a fine blend of faith and reason. He was both scientist and Disciple of Christ at the same time. As a leading scholar in his beloved discipline of Chemistry, he nurtured and used his intellectual gifts to capacity; more..

Jul 31 (Roar) On July 16, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, the Apollo 11 mission manned by astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins landed on the moon. Six hours and 39 minutes later, Armstrong became the first man to walk on the lunar surface, in an event telecast live worldwide, during which he made the famous utterance, One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. more..

Jul 31 (Island) One of the sweetest voices in Sinhala music was silenced forever, unfortunately, just over a month ago. Her voice may not have been the most powerful, she may not have sung as many songs as some prolific singers, but there was something unique about Indrani Wijebandara. Whatever song she sang, irrespective of the lyrics, the tune or music, was a treat to the ears as the voice itself provided such a pleasurable listening experience; as if the tinkling of lovely little bells more..

Jul 31 (DN) Last Sunday the first ODI between SL and Bangladesh at the R Premadasa Stadium was all about Lasith Malinga who retired from 50-over cricket after a colorful career with a haul of 338 wickets from 226 matches, making him his country’s third most successful bowler in this format after two other legendary bowlers Muthiah Muralitharan (532) and Chaminda Vaas (400) and ninth highest in the all-time list. The number of spectators who made their way to the 40,000 capacity venue to more..

Jul 31 (Island) Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) made quite a revelation on Friday (26), before the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) probing the Easter Sunday attacks. The CBSL team comprised the Governor of the Central Bank, Indrajit Coomaraswamy, Director of Financial Intelligence Unit, D.M. Rupasinghe, and Director of Department of Supervision of Non-Bank Financial Institutions R.R. Jayaratne. more..

Jul 31 (Island) Eight young talented footballers left the island to represent Sri Lanka at the first ever Under-12 MILO Champions Cup, which will be held in Spain in partnership with FC Barcelona. Nestlé MILO and FC Barcelona have a four-year global partnership aimed at enhancing children’s quality of life, with a number of programmes to make healthy and more active lifestyles aspirational and accessible to children across the world. Nestlé MILO has long been associated with more..

Jul 31 (CI) Can we take a moment of your time to talk about the glory of Kane Williamson? Through the course of the last month, this website, and many others, have been unable to keep a dignified check on their admiration. It's not just the back-foot punch, that rock-solid defence, and the glide through third man. It's his wisecracks at press conferences. It's the grace with which he accepted an incredibly cruel defeat. It's his disbelieving reaction to being named the World Cup's Player of the Tournament. more..

Jul 31 (DN) SLC are not rushing ahead to appoint a new head coach at the end of ongoing 3-match ODI series against Bangladesh but will bid their time looking for the right person. As the series against New Zealand is commencing just a fortnight after the Bangladesh series SLC are looking at appointing an interim coach to oversee the tour which would give them enough time to decide on a suitable long term coach. more..

Jul 31 (CI) With the series decided, the stakes may be lower, but both teams still have much to play for. For Bangladesh, after the first two games, more than the losses itself, it's the manner of the defeats that would leave them stewing. They've been plagued by poor fielding, inconsistent bowling, and wasteful batting, and in the process, they have let a Sri Lankan side that had been relatively low on confidence grow in stature over the course of the series. more..

Jul 31 (CT) Aruna Rankothge has resigned from his post as the Vice President of Sri Lanka Society of Rugby Football Referees (SLSRFR) due to lack of structured development plans in that organisation. Rankothge is one of the most experienced referees in Sri Lanka and had a brilliant career as a referee. He has served as the Vice President in the SLSRFR on three terms. In his letter of resignation he has points out the frustration in the lack of planning by the SLSRFR. more..

Jul 31 (FT) Disagreeing with naysayers, PM Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday argued that the Sri Lankan economy has expanded over the last four years, with growth of total public savings increasing by over 80% as reflected in bank holdings. Speaking at the 80th anniversary of the Bank of Ceylon (BOC), he elaborated on the current state of affairs of the Sri Lankan economy. more..

Jul 31 (EN) Profits at Seylan Bank Plc group fell 11.3% from a year earlier to 547 million rupees in the June 2018 quarter amid flat net interest income, higher taxes and continuing loan loss provisions, interim accounts showed. The group reported earnings of 1.71 rupees per share for the quarter. In the six months to June the group reported earnings 3.88 rupees per share on total profits of 1.46 billion rupees which was down 1.45%. The stock closed at 74.90 rupees, up 30 cents on Tuesday. more..