Oct 4 (Island) The govt would soon go all out to introduce an E-Health Card to all Sri Lankans with which anybody can obtain treatment in any hospital irrespective of the costs, said Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne. He invited two world renowned health industry giants to also introduce telemedicine in Sri Lanka at an event held at the Galle Face Hotel. Minister told the top management of REDtone MEX Sdn Bhd - a subsidiary of Berjaya more..

Oct 4 (EN) Sri Lanka’s budget deficit may reach 5.6% of gross domestic product in 2019, Treasury Secretary R H S Samaratunga said, which would be around the same levels as in 2018. The revised deficit could be 5.4 to 5.6%, Samaratunga said. SL was originally targeting 4.4% of GDP for 2019. But the 5.6% out-turn would be around the same levels as the 5.4 to 5.6% seen in the last three years. Up to July 2019 SL’s revenues fell 4.4% to 1,031.9 billion rupees from 1,079.0 billion rupees in 2018. more..

Oct 4 (AD) Currently, 21 candidates have submitted deposit money to contest at the Prez Election. Ven. Battaramulla Seelarathana Thero made a deposit through the Janatha Setha Peramuna at the Election Commission this morning (3). Accordingly, 11 candidates out of the 21 have placed their deposits through recognized political parties while the other 10 candidates have deposited money either as an independent candidate or through parties that are not recognized political parties. more..

Oct 4 (FT) Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera defended the Govt’s debt management policy, insisting that they removed elements that caused weakening of the fiscal system, with the introduction of a farsighted mechanism to strengthen sources of public revenue and loan management. Responding to former Prez and Finance Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s allegations that Govt’s debt crisis has reached a critical stage, more..

Oct 4 (Island) Not a single written complaint has been lodged stating that the Russian cancer drug Herticad causes any adverse effects, Chairman of the National Medicines Regulatory Authority, Prof. Asitha de Silva told the PCoI on Wednesday. Trastuzumab, sold under different brand names including Herticad, supplemented chemotherapy and increased the chance of recovery by around 5%, the commission was told. De Silva said that he had explained to oncologists about the drug and more..

Oct 4 (BBC) Easter Sunday suicide bombings killed more than 250 people - and threatened to wreck the country's tourism industry. But, five months on, there is hope on the horizon, reports the BBC's Anbarasan Ethirajan. Mary Fernando has been selling clothes to tourists for more than 30 years on Negombo beach. Carrying small cotton bags stuffed with clothes, Mrs Fernando moves from one group of tourists to another trying to persuade them to buy her scarves, casual clothes and beachwear. more..

Oct 4 (Island) Human Rights Commission of SL has taken up with the Bar Association of SL (BASL) the issue of some lawyers refusing to represent the Muslim community in the wake of the Easter Sunday carnage. HRCSL was responding to BASL letter dated Aug 08, 2019. Following is the full text of the letter addressed to, BASL President Kalinga Indatissa PC by Chairperson, HRCSL Dr. Deepika Udagama: more..

Oct 4 (Island) The PAFFREL has severed connections with the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement over the latter allegedly being behind the candidacy of Gen. Mahesh Senanayake, representing the National People’s Movement and People’s Forum Organisation. The break came after the two NGOs had worked together in election monitoring for a long time. PAFFREL Executive Director, Rohana Hettiarachchi has also resigned from a senior position he held at Sarvodaya. more..

Oct 4 (DN) Prez hopefuls vying for the upcoming election are expected to be on one stage at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium at 3pm on Saturday (5), Convener of Youth to Lead Sri Lanka, Sachinda Dulanjana, said. He said Prez candidates Sajith Premadasa, Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Anura Kumara Dissanayaka have been invited to the Public Platform 2019. “We urge all the Prez candidates to get on stage to unveil their policies, methodology, income-generating strategies, more..

Oct 4 (FT) Lawyers for SLPP prez hopeful Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday insisted that Prez Rajapaksa was the repository of all executive power before a Cabinet of Ministers was appointed, and was therefore legally empowered to sign his brother’s dual citizenship certificate on 21 Nov 2005, the legality of which is being challenged in the Court of Appeal. President’s Counsel Romesh De Silva, who explained the evolution of more..

Oct 4 (FT) The National Chamber of Exporters (NCE), which services the most vital component of the economy, namely exports, expresses utter dismay at the failure of the State leadership to have acted and halted the railway strike. The Chamber states that the objective behind the timing of many work stoppages is obvious to everyone, including the railway strike which has caused immense suffering and hardship to the general public, not to mention the damage caused to the economy. more..

Oct 4 (DM) The Elections Commission has barred promotional activities of prez candidates within the premises of the offices of Prez, PM and Opposition Leader. Its Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya informed political party representatives about this move when they called on him on Wednesday. He said these offices could not be used for activities aimed at promoting prez candidates. He said all posters and cut-outs put up prez candidates would be removed by Oct 7 when nominations are accepted. more..

Oct 4 (Island) A Special Convention of the UNP held at the Sugathadasa Stadium yesterday, unanimously endorsed Minister Sajith Premadasa as the UNF Prez candidate and confirmed PM Ranil Wickremesinghe as the UNP leader. After the Convention accepted Wickremesinghe’s proposal to endorse the UNP Working Committee (WC) decision taken on Sept 26, to nominate Sajith as the UNF’s Prez candidate, Sajith was accompanied more..

Oct 4 (DM) The torrential rains that unleashed their fury on Sri Lanka during the past couple of weeks are gradually abating in most parts of Sri Lanka though thunder showers have been reported from some others. The torrential rains, the resultant floods and overflowing rivers affected some 150,000 people with tens of thousands displaced and housed in temporary shelters with health officials warning people to take precautions to prevent the spread of water-borne diseases, such as more..

Oct 4 (DM) While Gotabaya Rajapaksa, SLPP candidate for the prez election, is facing fresh hurdles to his candidacy following legal action by two civil society activists over his SL citizenship, rift created within the UNP over its candidacy seems to be fast mended. The UNP leaders such as Minister Ravi Karunanayake and Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka who had been openly critical of Minister Sajith Premadasa before he was appointed as their party’s candidate on Sept 26 have started to more..

Oct 4 (DM) Today is one Friday that would be marked in history as a memorable Good Friday to one or the other party in the petition the three-member bench in the Court of Appeal (CA) would deliver its ruling on; a ruling either way that could change the entire face of the prez election. If Gotabaya Rajapaksa is cleared of all allegations, he will continue with his presidential campaign beginning on Oct 9 from Anuradhapura, more..

Oct 4 (DM) Chairman of SLPP Prof. G.L. Peiris, spells out his views on litigation against his party’s prez candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa and political dynamics triggered by the internal crisis of the UNP. Q: What do you think of the political dynamics after the nomination of UNP Dy Leader Sajith Premadasa as the candidate of the rival camp? A: Never before has there been such a turbulent situation regarding nominations more..

Oct 4 (ST) Recent incidents where people have sustained injuries, sometimes fatal, due to gas leaks in households, have health officials concerned. On Sept 17, two people in a house in Dematagoda sustained severe burns following a gas cylinderexplosion. One of them died at the National Hospital due to the severity of the burns, police said. In the recent past, the hospital had received at least two cases where the patient had suffered more..

Oct 4 (NR) Chairman of the Election Commission Mahinda Deshapriya says the upcoming Prez Election is expected to be conducted at a cost of Rs.4 billion. He said the sum could exceed the estimated total. Deshapriya also stated that candidates have been advised to table their assets declarations when submitting nominations for the upcoming election. He mentioned that additional funds will definitely be required, more..

Oct 4 (ST) This week’s flooding in parts of the country that has affected nearly 140,000 people could result in the spread of respiratory illnesses, infectious diseases including water borne diseases and dermatological issues, Health officials have warned. The warning came as flood waters were receding in the districts of Galle, Colombo and Gampaha. Health Ministry said one of the best ways to protect oneself from diseases was to more..

Oct 4 (Island) About 293 elephants and 93 persons having lost their lives due to the human-elephant conflict, environmentalists are critical of the ad hoc policies of successive govts. Last year, due to human-elephant conflict 96 human fatalities were reported and 319 elephants were killed. Wildlife Department officials said that despite recommendations such as moving human settlements away from more..

Oct 4 (DN) UNF Prez Candidate Sajith Premadasa hosted an interaction with diplomats from 34 diplomatic missions based in Colombo yesterday. Minister Mangala Samaraweera introduced Premadasa and summarized some of the govt’s achievements in achieving its democracy, reconciliation and development objectives. Premadasa outlined the broad contours of his foreign policy stating more..

Oct 4 (DN) Minister Mangala Samaraweera, stressing that the country’s economy had come to a stable position due to sound fiscal policies introduced over the past few years, invited Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa to enter into a public debate on the true status of the national debt. He fired salvos at former Prez Rajapaksa, who was also the then Finance Minister, over gross mismanagement of economy and practices of crony capitalism. more..

Oct 4 (AD) Minister Sajith Premadasa’s cash deposit for the Prez Election 2019 has been paid a short while ago. UNP-led New Democratic Front (NDF) has made the deposit on the UNP deputy leader’s behalf. Minister Premadasa will contest from UNF under the swan symbol. Non-Cabinet Minister Sujeewa Senasinghe, who joined the occasion, vowed that a peaceful election campaign will be carried out by them. more..

Oct 4 (AD) The Court of Appeal has concluded the consideration of the petition filed challenging the citizenship of former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa. All parties have been given time to present their written submissions before 3.15 p.m. today. Meanwhile, the decision of the Appeal Court regarding issuing an interim order on the petition is to be announced at 6 p.m. today. The petition was filed by two social activists more..

Oct 4 (CT) Let's make no mistake about the fact that Sajith Premadasa's insistence on steering a straight wheel through all opposition into the UNP's Prez Election candidature, his insistence became all the more saturated in perhaps the most challenging formation of oppositions, especially after Gotabaya Rajapaksa was named as the SLPP's candidate for Prez Election. It will be quite an enormous weight of conditions that Gotabaya will bring to bear on every step of the election campaigning process to more..

Oct 4 (FT) The methodology adopted to elect people’s representatives and the elections held for towards that end can be considered a mirror that reflects the extent of decency of the political culture of the country. There is no political party system in our country in which internal democracy is practiced. All political parties can be considered to a lesser or greater degree as entities being led by leaders of dictatorial tendencies. Further, there is no party system in our country that depends on more..

Oct 4 (LBO) Ministry of Development Strategies and Int'l Trade (MODSIT) and the BoI of Sri Lanka held an interactive meeting titled the German Sri Lankan Fast Track Dialogue with the German investor community, to address any issues faced by investors from Germany currently operating in Sri Lanka. German delegation was led by Jorn Rohde Ambassador of Germany to SL. German Companies which were represented included Eskimo Fashion Knitwear (Pvt) Ltd, DHL Keells (Pvt) Ltd, more..

Oct 4 (RN) The general public, oppressed under the Rajapaksa Govt, was too afraid to protest demanding solutions to their problems, State Minister Ajith Mannapperuma said. Addressing the media, he said that people who protested in that period had to pay with their lives. “In Rathupaswala, when people asked for water, the previous government solved the problem by opening fire at them. When a fisherman named Anthony in Chillaw requested a fuel subsidy, he was shot dead. more..

Oct 4 (AD) The Court of Appeal has unanimously decided to dismiss the petitions filed challenging the citizenship of former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, without taking it up for consideration. The court today concluded the consideration of the petition while all parties were given time to present their written submissions before 3.15 p.m. The decision of the Appeal Court regarding issuing an interim order on more..

Oct 4 (Island) To mark the World Children’s Day, a special programme for children was held on Tuesday (1) at Rifle Green Grounds in liaison with Commanding Officer SLAF Station Colombo. The programme was held under the distinguished patronage of the Commander of the Air Force, Air Marshal Sumangala Dias and the Chairperson of the SLAF Seva Vanitha Unit, Mrs. Mayuri Dias, and with the participation of 790 children. This event commenced upon the arrival of more..

Oct 4 (AD) A court order has been issued prohibiting MP Mahindananda Aluthgamage and former Chairman of Sathosa Nalin Fernando from travelling overseas after Oct 15. The Bribery Commission had filed the case against the duo for allegedly causing a loss of 53 million to the government. The case was filed on June 27th with the second Permanent High Court at Bar in Colombo. The former Minister and former Sathosa chairman are accused of causing millions of losses to the govt by more..

Oct 4 (AD) A deposit has been placed with the Election Commission on behalf of UPFA MP Chamal Rajapaksa for the Prez Election. A bond has been placed on behalf of Chamal Rajapaksa to contest the prez election as an independent candidate and not as a candidate of a registered political party. Chamal Rajapaksa has reportedly already obtained a letter from the Secretary General of Parliament confirming his position as a MP, more..

Oct 4 (AD) The Chairman of Elections Commission has emphasized that not removing the cut-outs and banners pertaining to the election campaign of the presidential candidates will be considered a punishable offence starting from the day nominations are submitted. Addressing a press briefing this morning (04), the Election Commission’s chief pointed out that this does not mean the presidential candidates are allowed to do as they wish. more..

Oct 4 (CT) Part of the historic Galle Fort has begun to sink, informed sources said. They said that part of the fort, opposite the Sri Sudharmalaya Temple, has already sunk and after being alerted, officers from the Galle Heritage Foundation (GHF) had gone to the site and taken steps to prevent people from converging. When contacted, an officer from the Galle Heritage Foundation said that they have already identified three parts which had already begun to sink at the Galle Fort. more..

Oct 4 (AD) Minister of Industry and Commerce says that the price of Litro gas cylinders have been reduced from midnight tonight. The prices of 5 Kg and 2.3 Kg LPG gas cylinders too have been reduced accordingly. Price of a 12.5 Kg LPG domestic Litro gas cylinder has been reduced by Rs 240.00 in Colombo District and by Rs 251 in all other Districts. Price of a 5 kg cylinder is down by Rs 95 (Colombo District) and price of more..

Oct 4 (CT) The High Commission of Kuwait has feted R.A. Somawathi for having served at the same household in an exemplary manner over a period of 39 years, after naming her as one of the 10 best expatriate workers, to mark International Labour Day, stated the SL Bureau of Foreign Employment. The event to commend Somawathi had been held on 28 June this year at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Kuwait with the coordination of the High Commissions of SL and the Philippines. more..

Oct 4 (TS) Sri Lanka has made history by being the first country in South Asia to officially recognize esports as an official sport, after Ministry of Sports published the declaration on 2nd of Oct. The Declaration was made on 26th of Sept by minister Harin Fernando. It was a culmination of the efforts of the SL Esports Association (SLESA), after a long fought decade old battle. Sri Lanka now joins the likes of France and South Korea as the countries having recognized esports as an official sport. more..

Oct 4 (AD) Supreme Court today dismissed the petition filed seeking an order invalidating the Gazette notification declaring the Prez Election 2019. The petition was filed by the former Mayor of Galle Methsiri de Silva yesterday citing Elections Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya, the members of the commission and the Attorney General as its respondents. Petition was taken up this morning before a 3-judge bench more..