Jun 18 (FT) Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga yesterday reiterated that the Govt led by Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa and PM Mahinda Rajapaksa has given priority to the quicker revival of COVID-19-hit tourism sector given its critical contribution to socioeconomic development. “Both the Prez and PM have given priority for tourism sector revival and have extended their fullest support,” Minister Ranatunga said more..

Jun 18 (Island) The Court of Appeal, yesterday, reserved the order for June 22, pertaining to notice and interim relief, on four Writ applications, filed by Athuraliya Rathana Thera, and three other petitioners. They filed parallel petitions against the rejection of nomination papers for the upcoming parliamentary election in the Kurunegala, Kalutara, Colombo & Moneragala Districts. Name of Rathana Thera’s party is Ape Janabalavega Party. Romesh de Silva, PC appeared for petitioners. more..

Jun 18 (AD) Police have been directed to record statements from several influential figures of the former govt including former Prez Maithripala Sirisena and former PM Ranil Wickremesinghe over the CB Bond Scam. TAttorney General Dappula de Livera has issued these directions to the Acting IGP C.D. Wickramaratne today (18), stated the Attorney General’s Coordinating Officer. In addition to the former Prez and PM, statements are expected to be recorded from the former Advisor to the PM more..

Jun 18 (DM) Western Province Crimes officials have arrested a suspect, under whose name a bank account has been registered and under which transactions amounting to Rs.490 million belonging to underworld figure Sinhara Amal Silva alias Kudu Anju have been made. Police said the suspect was arrested after he surrendered to the Police through a lawyer on Wednesday. The 34-year-old suspect who has two residential more..

Jun 18 (Island) President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said that Most Rev Father Ernest Poruthota’s love for the Sinhala language, literature and SL’s unique identity had been exemplary. "We remember with gratefulness that it was Rev. Fr. Ernest Poruthota who activated the Vatican Council’s Proposal for Localisation of Christianity," the President said in a condolence message. Full text of the President’s message: "I am deeply saddened by the demise of Most Rev. Father Ernest Poruthota, more..

Jun 18 (MoD) Defence Secretary Maj. Gen. (Retd) Kamal Gunaratne has visited Jaffna to review the security situation and the military’s support to mitigate the spread of coronavirus outbreak in the North, today. The high-level defence delegation, including acting Chief of Defence Staff and Army Commander Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva, who is the Head of the National Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak, Navy Commander Vice Admiral Piyal De Silva, more..

Jun 18 (MoD) Defence Secretary Maj.Gen. (Retd) Kamal Gunaratne cautioned the prisons officials to refrain from getting involved in corruption and also supporting the convicted underworld criminals in the prisons as the law enforcement authorities had already commenced investigations on such officers. “We have already commenced investigations on such prisons officials who have links to corruption & to underworld more..

Jun 18 (AD) Notorious drug dealer Kanjipani Imran’s father has been stabbed by three individuals near his house in Maligawatta last evening. The incident had been recorded in CCTV cameras fixed near the scene of the crime and the footage has now been released to the media. The 65-year-old, who sustained several cut wounds, is currently receiving treatment at the Emergency Treatment Unit (ETU) of Colombo National hospital. His condition is not critical, according to hospital sources. more..

Jun 18 (DM) At a meeting held with estate owners, CWC and plantation sector stakeholders today, PM Mahinda Rajapaksa stressed that estate owners should arrive at a final decision on the demands of the workers without further delay. According to the PM's Media Division, the estate workers have failed to arrive at an agreement on the demands of estate workers at the today’s meeting. Meanwhile, newly elected CWC Secretary Jeewan Thondaman renewed calls to increase the daily wage of more..

Jun 18 (PMD) Prez Rajapaksa has emphasized that it is the responsibility of state banks to utilize the reliefs provided by the Central Bank to strengthen the economy and the people, affected by COVID 19 pandemic. The global economies have been hit hard by coronavirus. As such all types of businesses including agriculture, small and medium enterprises should be directly assisted and uplifted to overcome prevailing more..

Jun 18 (FT) Colombo District Court Judge Amali Ranaweera has issued an enjoining order against Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) preventing it from cancelling the lease agreement with Lanka Realty Leisure Ltd. for a resort in Yala. The enjoining order was to prevent SLTDA from cancelling the lease and if such steps have been already taken to make such action null and void ab initio and prevent the SLTDA from granting the rights of the land mentioned in the Lease to another 3rd Party. more..

Jun 18 (AD) Appeal Court rejected a petition seeking an interim injunction on the hearing of a case filed by the Attorney General against former MP Sajin de Vass Gunawardena on money laundering. The former MP has been indicted on the charge of money laundering amounting to over Rs 306.26 million, under Section 3 [1] [a] of Money Laundering Act No 05 of 2006 as amended by Act No 40 of 2011. The order was issued today (18) by the Court of Appeal Justices Achala Wengappuli and more..

Jun 18 (PMD) The Acting Ambassador for China Hu Wei met with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa today at the Presidential Secretariat. He brought a letter from President Xi Jinping wishing Prez Gotabaya for his upcoming birthday on June 20. Chinese delegation also conveyed President Xi’s deep appreciation of Sri Lanka’s successful efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Chinese govt has sent a consignment of medical supplies more..

Jun 18 (CPJ) Sri Lankan authorities should immediately return journalist Dharisha Bastians’ computer and allow her to report without fear of official harassment, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On June 9, officials from the CID raided Bastians’ home in Colombo, and seized her laptop in connection to an investigation over the alleged abduction of a Swiss embassy staffer in the city in November, she wrote in a statement shared on Twitter. more..

Jun 18 (TM) Chief of Staff, SL Army, Major General H.J.S. Gunawardena, shared best practices being followed by Sri Lanka in controlling the pandemic at the e- programme on COVID-19 – Good Governance Practices in a Pandemic organised by the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) in collaboration wth the National Centre for Good Governance & Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances. The e-conference was inaugurated today by Minister of State more..

Jun 18 (AFP) Sri Lanka sold the 2011 World Cup final to India, the country's former sports minister said, reviving one of cricket's most explosive match-fixing controversies. Mahindananda Aluthgamage, who was sports minister at the time, is the second senior figure to allege the final was fixed, after 1996 World Cup-winning skipper Arjuna Ranatunga. "I tell you today that we sold the 2011 World Cup finals," Aluthgamage said. more..

Jun 18 (NR) Two persons tested positive for the coronavirus today increasing the number of infections in the country to 1,926. One individual was a returnee from Russia and was housed at a quarantine centre in Rajagiriya, while the other is a Lankan returnee from London who was at the Pitipana quarantine facility. The number of COVID-19 recoveries rose to 1,421 after 24 persons who contracted the coronavirus were released from hospitals during the past 24 hours. more..

Jun 18 (CT) Central Bank cannot take constructive decisions on the state of the country’s economy, when its main governing body, the Monetary Board is not properly constituted, former Governor of the Southern Province, Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon, said. Presently, there are only three members serving in the Monetary Board, instead of the statutory number of five members. As the governing body, the Monetary Board is responsible for making all policy decisions related to the management, more..

Jun 18 (DM) Though Easter Sunday suicide attack mastermind Zahran Hashim had been eliminated, extremist practices are still being conducted in the Kattankudi area, Secretary to Alhaj Abdul Jawaadh Alim Waliyyullah Trust (AAJAWT), Mohammed Zailan told PCoI. AAJAWT represents the Sufis, the traditional Muslims in SL. The witness said that Wahhabi teaching is still widespread at Madrasas in Kattankudi more..

Jun 19 (CT) The Last three weeks or so have witnesses, perhaps, the most significant global protests against police brutality. The importance of these protests is that they are not mere incidents within a particular country. They involved many other countries. A further significance is that, as the protest-were going on, they have surfaced reflections of import. And discussions on the issue of police brutality going beyond the responsibility of individual officers involved in these brutalities. more..

Jun 19 (CT) The signs of elections and the short term changes that they bring are upon us today. Posters of candidates are coming up with their party symbols, preference numbers and their vote-catching mottos. Despite the difficulties that people are undergoing at the individual level due to economic hardships that personally affect them, the reality of politics today is that the electorate does not have a viable alternative to the government. The opposition has still to recover from more..

Jun 19 (CT) After the Prez election of 16 Nov 2019, we will be able to convene a new Parliament only in Aug 2020. 19th Amendment provision which forbids the dissolution of Parliament until the lapse of 4.5 years and Covid-19 pandemic have together brought about a situation where the whole country has been in a transitional stage for nine full months. We have never before, experienced a situation like this in our political history. more..

Jun 19 (DM) The large number of children used in employment in Sri Lanka is of concern. This issue of exploiting children in labour activities is often not taken seriously because Sri Lanka is an Asian country. Most families in Asian countries are poverty stricken and its members find themselves below the poverty line. Most households are disrupted due to parental separation which forces those under the age of 20 to engage in some form of gainful occupation to ensure that home fires burn. more..

Jun 19 (DM) Jeevan Thondaman, a barrister and the only son of the late Arumugan Thondaman, was appointed the General Secretary of CWC, the largest trade union in the plantation sector on Wednesday, following a unanimous decision by the CWC politburo. Out of the 225 members of the last Parliament, 102 members were from political families whose ancestors of close relatives have also been in the House, according to a recent survey. more..

Jun 19 (DM) Govts, pharmaceutical companies and private investors are now racing to develop a vaccine in record time against a raging global pandemic. According to the Vaccine Centre of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, there are currently 183 candidate vaccines in the pipeline against COVID-19. While some of these researchers have already begun injecting formulations into volunteers, more..

Jun 19 (CT) Prez Rajapaksa, speaking to Bank of Ceylon officials on Monday, requested that lending rates be reduced to single-digit levels. Coinciding with Rajapaksa’s statement, the Census and Statistics Dept, on the same day, released data which showed that the national poverty line jumped by Rs 23 to Rs 5,006 last month, accelerated by inflation. That meant that borderline cases who earned a minimum of Rs 4,983 per person in April to be considered non-poor, more..

Jun 19 (CT) Local supply of fresh and processed food is supplied through domestic production as well as imports. Although successive Govts have pledged to achieve self-sufficiency in certain crop varieties, including rice, it is incontestable that the population of Sri Lanka is heavily reliant on imports to fulfil their dietary requirements, especially the import of lentils. In 2019, Sri Lanka was ranked 66 amongst 113 countries in the global food security index which indicates that food security more..

Jun 19 (Island) Election Commission has got tough with candidates in the parliamentary election fray. It has banned the display of cutouts even at their election offices except during meetings there. Its decision was reportedly conveyed to a group of political party officials at a recent meeting. Candidates have seen red. They will do their best to work around the ban. Former Southern Province Chief Minister Shan Wijelal de Silva has said something interesting about the current more..

Jun 19 (Island) This week Cassandra is full of two emotions: sadness and glad gratitude. She has had no room to look around, no inclination to listen to TV news with critical faculties honed and no heart at all to criticize those who rattled her shackles so she spits like a cobra. She is a sorrowing woman and also grateful to those who have made it possible for her and others to live safe. To Cassandra the personal comes first and foremost, meaning she has to first record her feelings and then go on to more..

Jun 19 (EN) SL’s hundreds of thousands of Senior Citizens who have invested their lives’ savings in Fixed Deposits and are living on the interest will take a huge hit when bank rates plunge after the govt’s move to increase liquidity in the market economists say. At the behest of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Central Bank of SL (CBSL) halved the Statutory Reserve Ratio or the share of deposits commercial banks must keep with more..

Jun 19 (Island) Legal education in Sri Lanka is provided by two kinds of institutions. They are degree awarding institutions (universities) and the Sri Lanka Law College (SLLC). Legal education provided by universities is known as academic legal education; the one imparted by the SLLC is called the professional legal education. Accordingly, at the successful completion of the respective courses, universities award bachelor of law degree, while SLLC grants the title Attorney-at-Law, more..

Jun 19 (TM) Ceylon Beverage holdings (CBH) is set to welcome Dr. Rajiv Herath Meewakkala as its new CEO, following the retirement of its current CEO, Suresh Shah. In a letter addressed to the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), the company stated that Dr. Meewakkala will be appointed CEO-Designate with effect from 1 July 2020; following which he will also become an Executive Director of CBH with effect from the same day. “We wish to inform you that Suresh Shah will retire as CEO more..

Jun 19 (FT) Cabinet approval was given yesterday for the Port City to kick off its first investment totalling $ 1 billion for a mixed development project, which is expected to be completed in two phases within eight years. Co-Cabinet spokesman Ramesh Pathirana said that the project had been submitted by Minister Prasanna Ranatunga and green-lighted by the Cabinet. Port City is made up of 269 hectares of reclaimed land, more..

Jun 19 (CT) Deva Bandula De Silva was well known amongst SL cricketing circles in the late 1970s and early 1980s as a dashing pace bowler who was instrumental in delivering numerous victories to the Nalanda College team during school cricket seasons. Many cricket fans of that era still fondly remember how he locked horns with the likes of Arjuna Ranatunga and Brendon Kuruppu at the annual big match and came out triumphantly. He was one of the highest wicket takers more..

Jun 19 (CT) The Hayley’s Group, reporting its financial results for the 2019/20 financial year (FY19/20), stated it recorded a Profit After Tax (PAT) of Rs 2.89 billion, a Year-on-Year (YoY) growth of 5%, and a Profit Before Tax (PBT) of Rs 5.5 billion, which was a YoY growth of 1%, while the profit attributable to equity holders grew 40% YoY. The Group stated it saw consistent balance sheet expansion, with total assets increasing by 7% to Rs 248.31 billion as at end-March 2020. more..

Jun 19 (ST) Cabinet has instructed the Power and Energy Ministry to direct the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) to expedite a joint venture agreement with China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) for a 300mw extension to the Lakvijaya coal power plant at Norochcholai. The Cabinet decision contained several other measures to be taken in view of the emergency situation in the country created by COVID-19. more..

Jun 19 (CT) National men’s Head Coach and Technical Director, Amir Alagic, is confident the team will head in the right direction with the inclusion of foreign-based SL players. Taking over a team that is lagging at rock bottom, which has not registered a single win in past 2 years in any int'l tournament (with one win coming via forfeit) doesn’t unnerve Amir Alagic. He said: “The only way short-term how we will increase and strengthen our national team is to find overseas players. more..

Jun 19 (DN) Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has announced that they would support Indian candidate Sourav Ganguly as the next Chairman of the ICC. “The SLC will lend support to BCCI President, Sourav Ganguly, if he desires to be the ICC Chairman; and, if he doesn’t wish to be appointed to the position and the BCCI nominates anyone from India, we will continue to favour anyone with our support,” a top SLC official said. Earlier, the SLC said that they would promote Kumar Sangakkara for this post. more..

Jun 19 (ST) The crime scene is less than 150m from Pangiriwatta Mawatha in Nugegoda, where the President lives. The killing took place in daylight. Smartphone footage shows a motionless man on the ground being beaten with a pole. It is rush hour. The death of Sunil Jayawardana, a 53-year-old father-of-three, who led the Lanka Self-Employed Professionals’ National Three-Wheeler Association, has shaken the country. more..