Aug 20 (CT) Dr. Lal Ekanayake, Sports Physician of the Institute of Sports Medicine, has been appointed Director General of the Institute of Sports Medicine under the Ministry of Sports. He will assume duties today. Dr. Ekanayake is one of the most popular sports physicians among the national athletes. He has received numerous accolades for his amazing service over the years and has become the number one choice of National athletes for medical advice. Recently he did a tremendous job at SAG more..

Aug 20 (Island) An Aitken Spence Logistics company, Logilink (Pvt) Ltd., became the first container freight station in SL to be certified for both ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018 management systems. The certifications were awarded for environmental management and occupational health & safety respectively by SGS Lanka (Pvt) Ltd., covering the export cargo consolidation operations at its fully-fledged container freight station at 309/4A, Negombo Road, Welisara. more..

Aug 20 (CT) Former Cycling Federation officials, who received an ultimatum to submit the audited financial accounts to the Ministry of Sports, failed to appear for the inquiry yesterday; hence, they now face a life ban from the Nationals Sports Association administration. As per the Department of Sports Development (under the Ministry of Sports), all National Sports Associations should present audited financial reports within two months more..

Aug 20 (Island) The new Parliament is scheduled to have its inaugural sitting today. The legislature has been in a state of suspended animation for nearly six months, but nobody missed anything, not even the live telecast of its stormy sittings; many people watched the Nat Geo Animal Fight Club, instead. But being political animals, people voted very enthusiastically at the recently concluded general election without caring two hoots about health risks. They love elections. more..

Aug 20 (DM) Special attention has been paid to the proposal made to move the Dehiwala Zoo to the Kahapola area in Piliyandala, Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said. He said that the practice of watching animals locked in cages is an outdated methodology. Therefore, it is essential that the zoo to be adapted to the modern world and that it be should be done in a manner that does not lead to animal cruelty, minister said. He made these remarks at a discussion held at more..

Aug 20 (FT) The contract for construction of transit housing units in Mannar was awarded to M/s R.A. Constructions at High Commission of India on Tuesday, the Indian High Commission said in a statement yesterday. The agreement was signed between M/S R.A. Constructions and High Commission of India Development Cooperation Counsellor Banu Prakash, while Deputy High Commissioner of India Vinod K. Jacob and more..

Aug 20 (Island) Dimuth Samarweera of D.S. Senanayake College made history by winning the Inaugural SL Youth Chess Grand Prix at the Chess Federation of SL Headquarters at Nugegoda on Tuesday. Dimuth who was performing extremely well from the first round had no hesitation in beating his schoolmate, Senuka Ahangama 1 ½ – ½ at the super finals. He drew his first game and won the second game convincingly. Samarweera was awarded the Championship Trophy, more..

Aug 20 (DM) State Minister of Regional Co-operation, Tharaka Balasuriya, said SL would maintain close ties with its neighbours, adding that regional co-operation is essential to attract investment to the country. He expressed these views addressing the gathering of senior officials, following the assumption of duties at the Foreign Ministry. “The duties the Prez has entrusted me with are especially important in a world where the existing world order or hegemony is changing” more..

Aug 20 (FT) Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga will present to the Cabinet the case for re-opening the SL borders as early as possible for tourists. He made this disclosure during a meeting with all stakeholders of the tourism industry on the way forward, held yesterday in Colombo. The first meeting of the new Cabinet is scheduled for today, but Minister did not confirm whether he will propose the plan today or next week. more..

Aug 20 (AD) A Data Protection Bill has already been drafted and only the approval of the Cabinet of await for it to be turned into an act, says Ravindu Meegasmulla, an Information Security Officer at SL Computer Emergency Readiness Team (SLCERT). He points out that they have identified that many foreign companies do not open businesses here in SL due to the lack of a Data Protection Act. “We have already drafted a Data Protection Bill. The final step is to gain Cabinet approval once more..

Aug 20 (CT) Cinnamon Training Academy (CTA) kicked off construction of a cinnamon processing centre also known as Bought Tree Factory (BTF) at Kosgoda, recently. The foundation stone was laid at the CTA with the participation of, Head of Cooperation EU Delegation to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Frank Hess, UNIDO, Dr. Jairo Andres Villamil-Diaz, Chairman of the Balapitiya PS, Saman De Silva, Divisional Secretary Balapitiya, B.P.S. Anuradhi, Director, Dept of Export Agriculture, more..

Aug 20 (Island) Former Prez Maithripala Sirisena had not been informed of foreign intelligence alerts about a possible terror attack by National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ) leaders Zahran Hashim and his associates, former State Intelligence Service (SIS) Director SDIG Nilantha Jayawardena told the PCoI. Jayawardena made this statement in response to a question posed by a commissioner. Former head of State Intelligence Service more..

Aug 20 (SLN) The Navy managed to seize another stock of dried turmeric, weighing about 807kg, attempted to be smuggled into the country, in the beach areas of Daluwa in Norochcholai and Vankalai in Mannar on 18th Aug. SL Navy, while keeping its vigilant eye all the time to curtail smuggling of contraband and human smuggling activities, continues to carry out regular patrols in island’s waters to nip such efforts in the bud. In a similar operation carried out in the beach area of more..

Aug 20 (TM) Banking sector veteran Rajendra Theagarajah is set to step down from his role of Managing Director/CEO of Cargills Bank Ltd., after just over two and a half years in the role. Accordingly, 30th September will be his last day in this position, which he was appointed to on 1st January 2018. Theagarajah had served as the Non-Executive Joint Deputy Chairman of Cargills Bank from December 2016 till this appointment. When contacted Theagarajah confirmed the news. more..

Aug 20 (Island) Colombo District SLPP MP Madura Vithana said that he wouldn’t take the duty free vehicle permit he was entitled to. The former Kotte Mayor said that he had informed the relevant ministry of his decision. The newly elected member said so when asked him whether he intended to honour his promise to Prez Rajapaksa not to utilise the permit. Vithana polled 70,205 preference votes in Colombo district. more..

Aug 20 (FT) Fort Magistrate Ranga Dissanayake ordered the CID to submit a comprehensive report on all statements obtained in the investigations relating to Hejaaz Hizbullah. The order was made following an application by Counsel for Hizbullah who said that there jad been statements recorded from many parties including all members of Save the Pearls and persons from the Al- Zuhriya Madrasa. The defence said that the CID had selectively filed only statements made by children and more..

Aug 20 (CT) Govt has decided to submit a Vote on Account (VoA) to Parliament, to cover its expenses for the remaining four months of this year, during its inaugural Cabinet of Ministers, meeting held yesterday. Cabinet had also decided to present its maiden Budget for 2021 to the Ninth Parliament in December this year. They added the Cabinet had decided that instead of presenting the Budget now, it would be prudent to submit a supplementary estimate to cover the State’s expenses for more..

Aug 20 (FT) Newly appointed Cabinet members at the inaugural meeting yesterday appointed a sub-committee to formulate the 20th Amendment (20A), and approved repealing its predecessor but retain salient points including the two-term limit and the five-year term of the presidency. Justice Minister Ali Sabry has been empowered to study the 19th Amendment (19A) and make recommendations to the Cabinet more..

Aug 20 (FT) Three strategic new appointments were made to the Board of the Information Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) yesterday, the regulatory body said in a statement. The new appointments are leading Sri Lankan tech personalities and include Virtusa Executive Vice President, CIO Madu Ratnayake, Orange Electric Managing Director Kushan Kodituwakku and TRCSL Director General Oshada Senanayake. more..

Aug 20 (CT) Sri Lanka Cricket is investing in the development of cricket in parts of the country less exposed to the game and has decided to construct six new cricket stadiums in the outstations. The project initiated by SLC President Shammi Silva, is a major step forward in developing the game at grass-roots level and has received the unanimous stamp of approval from the Executive Committee. Accordingly, new facilities will be built in Ratnapura (Monarawila), Badulla (Municipal grounds), more..

Aug 20 (FT) It will be a busy day when the Ninth Parliament of SL convenes for the first time this morning with the election of the Speaker and his deputies, swearing-in of new lawmakers as well as the Policy Statement of the Govt to be delivered by Prez Rajapaksa listed on the day’s agenda. Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena will be proposed for the post of Speaker while Ranjith Siyambalapitiya is slated to be named Dy more..

Aug 20 (FT) The Cabinet appointments and those of the State Ministers and Secretaries, ranging in the main from the unexceptionable to the positive, nonetheless leave me analytically pessimistic about the prospects of this regime and the experiment upon which it has embarked. Despite the fact that several of the appointments are good and the rest aren’t too bad—with a few exceptions—the reasons for my pessimism are not those of personality, but of structure and strategic direction. more..

Aug 20 (FT) It appears from news reports that the new govt considers the impending debt crisis less important than hacking away at the 19th Amendment. It is ironic that those who opposed the 1978 Constitution are seeking to restore its worst elements. Under the 1978 Constitution, the President is directly elected by the people. His mandate is independent of Parliament. Parliament derives its mandate also from the people, independently of the President. more..

Aug 20 (Island) Police found more than 3,600 rounds of assault rifle ammunition from a land released for resettlement of a family at Palaly in Jaffna yesterday. Owner of the land detected the stock of ammunition while he was clearing the land using a backhoe. He then through the Grama Niladhari informed Palaly police of the find. Police on obtaining a court order continued excavations at the site and found some more ammunition. Stock of ammunition was unearthed with more..

Aug 20 (AD) Central Bank has revised the regulated interest rates for Credit Cards, Pre-arranged Temporary Overdrafts, Pawning Facilities and Penal interest rate over the regular interest rate. Considering bank lending rates of certain financial products which continue to remain high, the Board decided to revise downward the caps on interest rates on credit cards to 18% per annum, on pre-arranged temporary overdrafts to 16% per annum and on pawning facilities to 10%per annum. more..

Aug 20 (EN) President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is promising to overhaul the education system, solve issues in schools, increase the capacity of universities in SL and improve the Open University Network. Delivering the Throne speech at the inauguration of the Ninth Parliament, he said measures will be taken to increase the number of National schools’ islandwide. “Parents request for their children’s education suitable schools. more..

Aug 20 (DN) TNPF leader Gajendra Kumar Ponnambalam accepts the Unitary State Constitution of SL, said Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda. A press release issued by Fisheries Ministry states that TNPF leader Gajendra Kumar Ponnambalam told Minister Devananda that he accepts the Unitary State Constitution of SL. Ponnambalam stated that his party accepts the current unitary system of SL Govt and will be sworn in accordingly in Parliament after more..

Aug 20 (AD) Bribery Commission has filed indictment against former minister Dr Rajitha Senaratne and two others for allegedly causing losses to the state when leasing out the Modara Fisheries Harbour in 2014. The other two defendants in the case include the former Chairman of the Ceylon Fisheries Harbour Corporation (CFHC) Upali Liyanage and its former Managing Director Neil Ravindra Munasinghe. The indictment has been filed under section 70 of the Bribery Act and more..

Aug 20 (DM) Two more SJB MPs yesterday called for the appointment of former PM Ranil Wickremesinghe to Parliament though the solitary national list slot which the UNP had received at this year’s general election. The latest SJB MPs to make this request were Mujibur Rahaman and J.C. Alawathuwala who called for it at a press conference yesterday. SJB MP Nalin Bandara Jayamaha made similar request on Aug 17, 2020. more..

Aug 20 (EN) SL will halt the cultivation of oil palm in the country, while giving assistance to growth coconut in new areas, Prez Rajapaksa said in addressing the parliament. “Plantation of palm oil trees will be stopped completely,” he said. SL’s publicly traded commercial plantations companies have moved into palm oil after the island’s politically connected coconut land owners pushed the ruling class to raise import duties on vegetable oil in a bid to charge higher prices from consumers. more..

Aug 20 (AD) A host of Sri Lankans stranded in foreign countries have been repatriated this morning. Reportedly, 290 from Chennai (India), 260 in Dubai (UAE), 160 from Kuwait and 20 from Doha (Qatar) have returned to the country. They have been moved to quarantine centres operated by the Tri-forces following their arrival at the airport. Further, 8 more Sri Lankans in Abu Dhabi (UAE) are to be repatriated during the course of the day. NOCPCO meanwhile said that 31,134 more..

Aug 20 (EN) Prez Rajapaksa promised sweeping changes to the country’s Constitution that will ensure a stable Parliament and “priority will be given to the concept of one country, one law for all the people” in his address to Parliament today. Prez emphasized that his party had asked the people for a two-thirds majority to change the Constitution and that mandate has been given to his govt. “Our Constitution, which has been more..

Aug 20 (Island) Education Minister Professor G.L. Peiris has told top academics and officials that ragging shouldn’t be tolerated any longer under any circumstances. In separate discussions with the University Grants Commission, officials of the Ministry of Higher Education, Vice-Chancellors of Universities and Presidents of the National Colleges of Education, the minister, who is also the Chairman of the ruling SLPP, said that the scourge of ragging had to be eliminated. more..

Aug 20 (DM) The 47-year-old Police Sergeant who was critically injured in the accident in which a tipper truck ran over a group of police officers last month on the Matara-Hakmana road, succumbed to injuries while undergoing treatment in hospital today. Three police officers who were on duty at a roadblock on the Matara-Hakmana road were run over by the tipper truck, killing a police constable on July 13. The 36-year-old Constable attached to the Hakmana Police, died on the spot while more..

Aug 20 (Island) Police investigating clandestine links between the underworld and some law enforcement personnel have taken into custody journalist Prasad Abeywickrema for allegedly facilitating the smuggling of weapons, including RPGs and assault rifles from Naula to Colombo during the corona lockdown. Abeywickrema was taken into custody on Monday (17). Investigations have revealed that more..

Aug 20 (EN) Mahinda Yapa Abeywardene was elected as Speaker of the Ninth Parliament unanimously by the new Members today. Parliament proceedings began at 9:30 this morning with the Secretary-General of Parliament Dhammika Dissanayake reading the proclamation of the President summoning Parliament. Parliament then proceeded to elect the Speaker of Parliament. The name of Mahinda Yapa Abeywardene Matara District MP from the SLPP was proposed by more..

Aug 20 (EN) Skeletal remains found near a temple in Jaffna are now with the Medical Officer for the forensic medical test and dating of the bones. Police said the bones were found near the Pannai Kali Hindu temple along with clothes of a woman, toothbrush and paste, powder tin and a comb. The first set of bones was found on August 14 when the land was being prepared for construction. Jaffna Police said after the acting Magistrate T.V. Shivalingham inspected the place and more..

Aug 20 (EN) Sri Lanka resumed flights to bring back migrant workers from Kuwait today, but returnees say many Sri Lankans remain stuck in the Middle-Eastern country as they cannot afford the ticket home. Sri Lankan Airlines is charging a little over LKR 250,000 per person for the air ticket and quarantine expenses, a sum most of the stranded migrants cannot afford as they are out of work. The returnee, who spoke to us on the condition more..

Aug 20 (AD) The CEB says power interruptions across the island will be ceased from Saturday (22). Norochcholai Coal Power Plant (NCPP) is to be connected to the national transmission grid tomorrow , according to the CEB. An island-wide power outage occurred at around 12.50 p.m. on Monday (17) due to a technical fault at the Kerawalapitiya grid sub-station. Water supply in many areas was also disrupted due to the situation while severe traffic congestion was reported more..