Jul 5 (AD) National security is the backbone of a country and intelligence services are the backbone of national security, says Rear Admiral (Retd.) Sarath Weerasekera. He made these comments while addressing the public rally organized today (4) by People’s Movement Against Wahhabi Extremism at the Ananda Samarakoon Open Air Theatre, Nugegoda. The former MP claimed that through the strengthening of the country’s intelligence services under the previous govt, more..

Jul 5 (EN) Sri Lanka has started making detailed designs for Colombo suburban electric trains adding an extra track to existing rail lines. An electric track is being designed as a second line running from Maradana to Padukka along the Kelani Valley line. A triple line from Maradana to Ragama will be expanded up to 4 lines. A double line from Ragama to Veyangoda will be expanded to 3 lines. A double line from Colombo Fort to Panadura along the seaside will be made into a triple like. more..

Jul 5 (Island) ACMC leader Rishad Bathiudeen, MP, now under a cloud over his alleged links with the proscribed National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ) has allegedly acquired over 6,500 acres in the Mannar administrative district during the Rajapaksa administration and the current dispensation, the media was told. The NTJ was among three organizations proscribed in the wake of the Easter Sunday attacks. more..

Jul 5 (EN) Prices of Sri Lankan tea have been sliding despite their reputation for quality, owing to increased volume and comparatively less demand with big buyers shifting to cheaper alternatives. “No country can match our quality standards in orthodox tea,” said Lalith Obeysekere, Secretary General of the Planters’ Association, which represents regional plantations companies (RPCs). The high quality means prices tend to be higher than at auctions in other tea exporting countries. more..

Jul 5 (CT) St. Joseph’s College rugby player Tharindu Madusanka has been suspended for 96 weeks (two years) from participating in all formats of the game after an inquiry into the assault of Rugby Referee Priyantha Gunaratne was held yesterday headed by Ranjith Chandrasekere, President of SL Schools Rugby Football Association (SLSRFA) in Colombo. Both Tharindu Madusanka and Santosh Algama were reported by the SL Society for Rugby Football Referees (SLSRFR) to the SLSRFA more..

Jul 5 (DM) The Gazette notification which was issued declaring the railways as an essential service would be revoked if the trade unions agree not to launch any strike action within the next two weeks, Transport Minister Arjuna Ranatunga said. He said the gazette notification making the railway service an essential service was issued because of the number of railway trade union actions experienced recently. more..

Jul 5 (DM) While denying reports that Saudi Arabia was providing loans for Muslims through some local banks at the interest rate of one percent, the Saudi Embassy asserted that the soft loans had been provided by the Kingdom for the development projects in Sri Lanka, and they were intended to be contributions to provide a quality of life for the friendly people of Sri Lanka. Saudi Arabia has provided soft loans amounting to US $ 408.72 million. more..

Jul 5 (DM) At least 9,410 suspects were nabbed in connection with toxic narcotic offences during a special countrywide operation carried out from June 9 to July 2 to coincide with the National Drug Prevention Week, Police Spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said. Addressing the media, he said the special operation was carried out by provincial police personnel in collaboration with the officers of the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB), Walana Anti-Vice Unit, Organised Crimes Division and STF. more..

Jul 5 (CT) A 39-year-old man was shot dead by a soldier, providing security to a school in Akmeemana, Galle yesterday, after he allegedly attempted to force himself into the premises. The victim was identified as Udaya Pradeep Kumara, a father of three and former member of the SL Navy Band. The incident took place shortly after midday outside the school where the victim’s three children are studying, SP Ruwan Gunasekera said. more..

Jul 5 (DM) SLPP said the decision taken by Prez Sirisena to seek Court opinion to get his term extended was unethical since he pledged not to contest for a second term. MP Ramesh Pathirana said there was a move to seek court opinion next week, on the commencement date of the President's tenure. “This move is to clarify whether the President’s term commenced on Jan 9, 2015, when the President was sworn in his office or on May 19, 2015, when 19th Amendment was passed more..

Jul 5 (DM) Sein Anzar Mohamed Rinaz, a member of the National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ) has been arrested by the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) when he attempted to leave the country, SP Ruwan Gunasekera said. He said the suspect was arrested at the Bandaranaike International Airport yesterday. The suspect, who was a resident of Mawanella, had NTJ militant training in Nuwara Eliya. He was brought to Colombo and detained for further questioning, more..

Jul 5 (DM) It has emerged that notorious underworld drug kingpin Makandure Madush had orchestrated four major criminal offences from Dubai, which include the prison bus attack in which Samayan was killed, the shooting incident of narcotic officers in Piliyandala, the Kos Malli murder and 5-billion-rupee worth diamond robbery. Police Spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said, following this revelation by the CID, more..

Jul 5 (DM) On Sunday, June 30 the UN marked the International Day of Parliamentarianism at a time in SL’s Parliament, standards, values and principles have plunged to one of the lowest levels with some cynics even suggesting that the Easter Sunday’s suicide bombers should have targeted Parliament also. At a recent event when there was a 21-gun salute at a ceremony presided over by the President in the vicinity of Parliament some had even suggested a gun or two should have been more..

Jul 5 (DM) We hear these days many voices against the statement made to the heads of media institutions last week by Prez Sirisena that he had signed the documents for the implementation of the death sentence on four convicts. There are political party leaders and leaders of NGOs among those agitated by the announcement. Are all these voices against the implementation of the death sentence honest? In a close scrutiny of the history of most of these political parties and NGOs one would more..

Jul 5 (DM) The economy is in total disarray despite numbers trotted out to insist there is economic growth. The PM was reported as having told his ministers to complete all Development projects within three months by October. There is a sudden awakening, while 2019 budgetary proposals till now were almost forgotten. There are also massive salary increases given to the security establishment as against paltry sums for more..

Jul 5 (DM) Of late, Sri Lanka’s widely-used train services have been hampered by a series of strikes as railway unions and the govt tussle over promised economic demands. Inevitably, it is commuters who suffer the most due to ensuing power struggles and conflicts within the public transport sector. Hundreds of thousands of commuters in Colombo and throughout interconnected cities island-wide have been more..

Jul 5 (ST) The death through starvation of an 11-month-old child in the Hambantota district last week has cast doubt on the health sector’s effectiveness in making sure youth are properly fed. While media reports speculated that the infant died mainly due to economic reasons and the family could not afford appropriate nutritious food, nutritionists say the dysfunctional state health mechanism and the mother’s poor knowledge more..

Jul 5 (ST) Smoking may worsen schizophrenia! The smokescreen to the contrary that has been created by powerful tobacco companies and researchers with vested interests has been dispelled by two Sri Lankan Psychiatrists. Their convincing evidence titled Tobacco smoking and schizophrenia: re-examining the evidence has been published by the prestigious medical journal, BJPsych Advances (British Journal of Psych Advances). more..

Jul 5 (Island) In August 2017, the Urban Development Authority (UDA) refused a request by the Ministry of Health to give a letter confirming that the UDA would not cancel a lease agreement it had with South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM), for the land on which it was built, the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) probing corruption under the current administration was informed yesterday. more..

Jul 5 (Island) Former President of the Bar Association of SL (BASL) U. R. de Silva, PC, faulted Parliament for continuing with its own inquiry into the Easter Sunday attacks even after Attorney General Dappula de Livera had initiated an inquiry. Acknowledging that Parliament had constituted the PSC, a couple of weeks before the AG intervened soon after receiving Justice Vijith Malalgoda report on the Sunday carnage, more..

Jul 5 (CT) Sri Lanka's Wahabi terrorism is sponsored by the Govt, NFF leader and MP Wimal Weerawansa said yesterday. He was addressing the masses gathered at a rally, organised by the People's Movement Against Wahabi Extremism, in Nugegoda. "It's no secret that Zahran was helping the Swan during the 2015 elections. They thought that after these terror attacks, Sri Lanka would sink into another civil war, more..

Jul 5 (AD) Commissioner General of Prisons T.M.W. Tennakoon has undertaken that no prisoner would be executed until the order of the Court of Appeal is delivered on the 17th of July. The Commissioner stated this when the petition filed by journalist Malinda Seneviratne, seeking a court order against the decision to implement the death penalty on four prisoners, was taken up for consideration for the third day today. more..

Jul 5 (Reuters) Sri Lanka is moving to curtail Saudi Arabian influence, after some politicians and Buddhist monks blamed the spread of the kingdom’s ultra-conservative Wahhabi school of Islam for planting the seeds of militancy that culminated in deadly Easter bomb attacks. On April 21, nine Sri Lankans blew themselves up in churches and luxury hotels, killing more than 250 people and shocking the country more..

Jul 5 (AD) Supreme Court has delivered an interim order preventing the implementation of the death penalty until the 30th of Oct. Order was delivered by a 3-judge bench consisting of SC Justices Buwaneka Aluwihare, Prasanna Jayawardene and Gamini Amarasekara. Twelve petitions filed with the Supreme Court against the implementation of the death penalty were taken up for consideration before judge bench today. more..

Jul 5 (CT) Two hundred and fifty six elephants killed and 87 human lives lost in human-elephant conflict (HEC) in 2017, a UNDP report on Wednesday said. UNDP said that there were 5,879 wild elephants according to a 2011 census while stating that up to 50% of the Asian elephant stock had been decimated in the last three generations. If this trend continues, there will be no Asian elephants in the wild, including in Sri Lanka, by the end of the century. more..

Jul 5 (FT) There is a wide circle of readers who used to ask me various questions over the phone and through social media viz. SMS and Facebook, in relation to the issues that I discuss through newspapers. How to eradicate the corrupt system that prevails in the country at present? can be considered the most common of the many questions they have posed to me in contemporary times. Though the question is presented in various forms, the essence of it remains same. more..

Jul 5 (SLN) A diving team attached to the Northern Naval Command had discovered a beautiful coral reef which remained a well-hidden secret until a recent deep-sea expedition carried out over the past week in Kankasanthurai. The diving expedition to uncover this coral reef which extends approximately 400 metres along the seaward side of breakwater was conducted by a diving team led by Command Diving Officer, under the directives of Commander Northern Naval Area, Rear Admiral more..

Jul 5 (DN) Minister Palani Digambaram yesterday said the hill country is rapidly developing with the utmost support of the govt and all the promise were met before the elections. “No previous govt has supported the development of the hill country people. Over 8,000 houses were constructed and another 3,000 are under construction now. Indian PM Narendra Modi has extended his support to construct another 10,000 houses and the work on them will commence in October,” he said. more..

Jul 5 (AD) Attorney General has informed the Acting IGP to immediately arrest the Chairman of Avant-Garde Maritime Services (Pvt) Ltd Nissanka Senadhipathi and 7 others, AG’s Department said. However, CID has informed the AG’s Department that Mr Nissanka Senadhipathi has left the country, according to the Coordinating Officer to the AG, State Counsel Nishara Jayaratne. He has reportedly traveled to Singapore. more..

Jul 5 (DN) A BOI company, Vydexa (Lanka) Power Corporation, has set up a 10 MW Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant in Kaththansinnakulam in Vavuniya. The facility consists of 35,721 numbers of 350 Wp solar photovoltaic (PV) modules established on a land of 54 acres. The PV modules are fixed on a single axis tracking system, which is capable of tracking the path of the sun throughout the day. This is the first project of this nature established in SL & it is using 100% labour from local villages. more..

Jul 5 (CI) SLC have announced a series of two Tests and three T20Is against New Zealand in Aug-Sept, with the visitors set to arrive in Colombo on August 3 and stay in the country till Sept 7. The Test matches will count towards the newly launched ICC Test Championship. The two teams are currently in England for the World Cup, where Sri Lanka's campaign has hit a dead-end; they are out of the running for a place in the knockouts, having collected just eight points from eight games. more..

Jul 5 (AP) Lasith Malinga and Sri Lanka can make one last indelible mark on the Cricket World Cup. India has booked an appointment in the semifinals, and Sri Lanka can ruin India’s bid to top the standings in their group match finale on Saturday at Headingley. On the same ground two weeks ago, SL upended the tournament by shocking title favorite England. England’s semifinal bid was put in jeopardy, and SL, Bangladesh, and more..

Jul 5 (AD) Former Chairman of the Deraniyagala PS, Anil Wijesinghe alias Atha Kota, was sentenced to 24 years rigorous imprisonment by the Colombo High Court after being found guilty on bribery charges. In addition to the prison sentence, Judge Gihan Kulatunga also ordered the defendant to pay a fine of Rs 20,000 and a penalty amount of Rs 400,000. He was also ordered to pay Rs 250,000 as compensation to the plaintiff while failing to do so would result in him serving another 2 yrs in prison. more..

Jul 5 (DM) The UNP has still not decided on its candidate for the presidency, Party Chairman Kabir Hashim said. He said this in a post on his Facebook account in a response to a statement by his Cabinet colleague Mangala Samaraweera that the party would field Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa as the party's presidential candidate. “Mr. Samaraweera was voicing his personal opinion when he spoke about fielding Mr. Premadasa as the candidate. However the party will have discussions soon more..

Jul 5 (PTI) MDMK chief Vaiko, who is set to file his nomination for contesting the Rajya Sabha polls, was Friday convicted by a court here in a 2009 sedition case and sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for a year. Special Court for trial of MPs and MLAs Judge J Shanthi held Vaiko guilty of sedition as his speech came under the scope of creating disaffection against the govt, which is covered in Section 124 A more..

Jul 5 (AD) The SLPP denied that the party has reached an agreement with the SLFP on the name of the new alliance if both parties decide to contest an upcoming election together. UPFA General Secretary Mahinda Amaraweera announced that the possible new alliance between the two parties would be named the SL Nidahas Podujana Peramuna and that they would contest under this name if the two parties contest together. However, SLPP MP Shehan Semasinghe says that no such more..

Jul 5 (CI) Avishka Fernando: The brightest star in the Sri Lanka batting line-up didn't play the first few games, and once he did, the question everyone asked was: why didn't he play from the beginning? Fernando is fairly organised at the crease and is equally good at front- and back-foot play. Since he stands tall and is perfectly balanced, he hits a lot of balls on the up off the front foot. That can either be a deterrent to the bowler to pitch it further up or an encouragement. more..

Jul 5 (AD) Signing the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) allows the forces of the US to enter into Sri Lanka at anytime, says the President of Bar Association of SL and President’s Counsel Kalinga Indatissa. BASL president stated this during a discussion held with the Leader of the Opposition with regard to the SOFA, Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) and Millennium Challenge Corporation agreement that more..

Jul 5 (EN) The suspension of business of controversial primary dealer Perpetual Treasuries Limited has been extended another six months, the Central Bank said on Friday. The central bank said that it extended the suspension starting from July 05 under the Registered Stock and Securities Ordinance and the Local Treasury Bills Ordinance, in order to continue investigations into the country's largest ever securities scam. Perpetual Treasuries Limited is connected to Arjun Aloysius, more..