Aug 15 (Island) For nearly a decade Sri Lanka neglected its responsibility to counter unsubstantiated war crimes allegations directed at its Army. War-winning Army, too, cannot under any circumstances absolve itself of its failure to address accountability issues. Having defeated the LTTE, in May 2009, the govt and the Army never really bothered to examine war crimes accusations. Today, Sri Lanka accused of deliberately targeting the Vanni civilian population, more..

Aug 15 (Island) The muddled nature of operations of the current SL govt conjure up images of the mad hatters’ tea party, at least in the minds of observers familiar with A Mad Tea Party described in the fantasy novel Alice in Wonderland. The govt presented to the public, at great expense to them, as an administration of glorious subtlety and decorum in fact, embodies all the absurdities of the Mad Tea Party. After 3 1/2 years in power, govt is yet to announce comprehensive, cohesive formula more..

Aug 15 (CI) Sri Lanka ended South Africa's tour of the island as they started it: by strangling their visitors with spin to win the only T20I in front of a sell-out crowd. But they made hard work of a small chase and lost seven wickets in a tense low-scoring affair, which also served as Dinesh Chandimal's comeback match. Chandimal was returning from a six-game suspension and played as though he had never been away. more..

Aug 15 (DN) The poor turnouts witnessed at the Test series and the five-match ODI series against second ranked Test and third ranked ODI South Africa team is a clear indication that the cricket loving public cannot be fooled into spending money to come and watch a cricket match played on dust bowls. That is one critical factor the local cricket administrators appear to be missing out on. Cricket is in the business of entertainment and people pay good money to turn up and be entertained more..

Aug 15 (Island) A committee has been appointed to probe the rooftop protest at the Welikada Prison. Ministry of Justice is trying to figure out why prison officers failed to prevent a group of female inmates from clambering on to the roof. The answer is very simple, my dear Watson! Some guards colluded with the protesters. Severing the nexus between corrupt prison guards and inmates, especially the wealthy, is half the battle in cleaning the Augean stables that are prisons. more..

Aug 15 (ST) Sri Lanka’s e-Motoring project is getting off the ground after a long delay of around 13 years since the signing of the MoU between the ICT Agency and the Department of Motor Traffic (DMT) on May 20, 2005. The project implementation is now underway following the approval given by the cabinet of ministers assigning the task to Face Technologies-Metropolitan joint venture recently, a senior official of more..

Aug 15 (CI) It has been a weird tour for South Africa. In the Tests, they were more abject than anyone could have imagined, crash-landing in Galle where they slumped to 73 all out - their worst total since readmission - before being soundly thrashed in Colombo as well. Now in the final match of the tour, they have collected another worst-ever total, dismissed for 98 in the one-off T20I at Khettarama. In between though, there were rollicking ODI wins, and a real sense of depth to their ODI squad, more..

Aug 15 (FT) SL Economic Summit 2018 will feature a special session which stages leaders from the business chambers in SL, representing the needs of their members. Shaping the National Agenda: A Joint Chamber Plenary will take place from 2 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. on 14 Sept at the Cinnamon Grand. This session on Day 2 will be held to discuss on some of the common issues impacting the members of chambers, as a holistic approach to voicing the needs of a wide spectrum of enterprises. more..

Aug 15 (Island) For the second consecutive Asian Games some of Sri Lanka’s top track and field athletes, including two who were shortlisted and then selected for the Games, will not be able to represent the country thanks to an administrative faux pas. High jumper Ushan Thiwanka and sprinter Upamali Ratnakumari who were both chosen after the selection trial held in May will not be able to compete at the quadrennial event after more..

Aug 15 (CT) Weight lifting became the heart beat of a Nation during April, as they created history at the Commonwealth Games, by producing some amazing performances winning three medals together with several finishers within the top five. Sri Lanka had only a slim medal hope, even though they sent a contingent of more than 100 for the Commonwealth Games, but the Weight Lifters changed the course of the games! On the very first day itself, Chathuranga Lakmal stunned more..

Aug 15 (DN) Sri Lanka may have lost the five-match One-Day International series to South Africa 3-2 but the question remains whether with their back to back wins in the fourth and fifth matches they have somewhat turned the corner and are prepared to play their brand of cricket that has brought them many victories and trophies over the years. It took the team management quite a while to realise that preparing turning pitches to help win matches in the one-day format was not working more..

Aug 15 (FT) Hot on the heels of the COPE summoning the CEB to investigate three Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya defended the decision claiming that the move was the best and cheapest option available. “We discussed this in detail. We came to this decision after considering price and timeframe. This is a very complex issue. There is a shortage of electricity for the Southern Sector so it is more..

Aug 15 (CT) In line with Prez Sirisena’s pledge to provide jobs to all unemployed graduates, the Govt is planning to recruit 4,130 individuals as trainees during this month. According to the Ministry of National Policy and Economic Affairs, the 4,130 appointment letters are in the making and would be distributed to the unemployed graduates on 20 August. Appointment letters are to be issued to candidates chosen at the district level. Cabinet in May agreed to provide jobs to 20,000 more..

Aug 15 (FT) A high-powered meeting chaired by PM recently discussed moves to declare Ella as a tourist zone to better regulate related activities. “Service providers in the Ella area have been pushing for licences to operate. We have already done the preliminary assessments to streamline unregistered facilities in the thriving tourism hotspot in Ella,” Minister Harin Fernando said. The meeting was attended by, SLTDA Director General Upali Rathnayake, Ella PS Chairman and more..

Aug 15 (Island) Federation of National Organizations (FNO) urged the Joint Opposition (JO) to quit the disputed constitution making process without further delay. JO constituent, NFF quit the new constitution making process in July last year. NFF leader Wimal Weerawansa and four other NFF MPs elected on the UPFA ticket namely Weerakumara Dissanayake, Jayantha Samaraweera, Udayashantha Gunasekera more..

Aug 15 (EN) Alumex Plc, which has commissioned Sri Lanka's largest aluminium extrusion plant says it is eyeing exports and plans to compete strongly in a domestic market with import tax protection that forced customers to pay high prices to be phased out in the future. With the opening of a two billion rupee plant with the most modern technology and an output of 1,200 metric tonnes a month, Alumex is trying to reduce prices and meet global competition. “We’re trying to match the prices of the UAE," more..

Aug 15 (CT) Sri Lanka should follow in the footsteps of Malaysia and Thailand and move into manufacturing and exporting of electronic items, machinery, equipment and motor vehicles using modern technology to reach its export potential and expand its export basket, stated Minister Sujeewa Senasinghe. He was speaking at the 15th Exporter’s Forum organized by the Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade at the Export Development Board yesterday. more..

Aug 15 (DN) Army will not close down camps in the N&E, but will shrink its deployment in a manner that will not jeopardise national security, Army Commander Mahesh Senanayake said. “We are ready to release another 522 acres in the N&E but we have to adjust ourselves prior to releasing these lands to the owners. We have our own infrastructure requirements and for us to move, I have to now construct billets. more..

Aug 15 (CT) Minister John Amaratunga views the congestion at the BIA as a major issue for tourism development, highlighting that it ruined visitors’ first impression of the country. Responding to queries at the launch of the ‘Sri Lanka Tourism Awards 2018’, he said the BIA was overcrowded due to the increased number of visitors and overwhelmed with the effort of clearing travellers. Though the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation is working towards reducing congestion through much smoother more..

Aug 15 (Island) Sri Lanka Tea Board said that it is concerned that US sanctions on trade with Iran would gravely affect Ceylon Tea exports to Iran. If these restrictions are inclusive of Sri Lanka tea exports, Ceylon Tea low growns, particularly, would fare badly. Earlier, Japan, buyers of premium Western High grown tea, had said that they would return a consignment of tea bought by them from Sri Lanka. The quantity involved was about 100,000 kilos. The exporters involved said these teas more..

Aug 15 (DM) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe changed his decision to give up politics and leave the country several years ago following the advice of several leading Buddhist monks including the late Maduluwawe Sobhitha Thera, Chief Incumbent of Mirisawetiya Venerable Ethalawetunu Wawe Dhanatilaka Thera said. Thera expressed these sentiments during a religious ceremony held at the Mirisawetiya Cheithiya more..

Aug 15 (Island) Governor of the Northern Province (NPC), Reginald Cooray has asked NPC Chief Minister CV Wigneswaran to appoint a new board of ministers. The existing provincial council board of ministers has more members than the constitutionally prescribed number. The Constitution says the number of ministers must be limited to five, but there are six ministers in the NPC currently. Northern Provincial Council had no legal authority to administer the province, Cooray said. more..

Aug 15 (DM) SL racing driver Dilantha Malagamuwa said PM Ranil Wickremesinghe had assured him that an independent investigation would be conducted over the alleged death threat. Mr. Malagamuwa said Premier Wickremesinghe had phoned him yesterday morning and told him that he would inform the police to conduct an investigation. He also said he had informed the Law and Order Minister Ranjith Madduma Bandara about an alleged death threat he received two months ago. more..

Aug 15 (DM) The number of monitoring MPs receiving a transport allowance of Rs.200,000 each is less than 55 as several of them have been appointed as deputy ministers or state ministers, the Land and Parliament Affairs Ministry said. Ministry Secretary W.H. Karunaratne said the allowance given to the parliamentarians assigned to monitor development projects had ceased on being appointed as ministers, deputy ministers or state ministers. more..

Aug 15 (CT) MP Mahinda Rajapaksa has been noticed to appear before the CID on 17 August to record a statement with regard to a case of the alleged assault and abduction of journalist Keith Noyahr, informed sources from the CID said. Senior DIG of the CID, Ravi Seneviratne issued the notice. A few CID officers had already left for Australia to record a statement from Noyahr who is currently domiciled there. Connected to the case, former Head of Army Intelligence, retired Major Gen. more..

Aug 15 (DM) All agreements entered into with foreign buyers by this govt to sell valuable properties in Colombo would be reviewed under our govt, SLPP said. SLPP Chairman G.L. Peiris claimed the govt was attempting to sell valuable real estate properties in Colombo, shares in banks and other commercial enterprises. “Under a SLPP govt all these agreements will be reviewed and any transaction which is detrimental to Sri Lanka will be suspended. more..

Aug 15 (Island) A high profile-govt inquiry into the alleged abduction and disappearance of 11 Tamil youth by the Navy during Vice Admiral Wasantha Karannaoda’s tenure as the Commander of the service has taken a dramatic turn with the arrest of Lt. Commander Prasad Hettiarachchi allegedly involved in the case. Police headquarters confirmed the arrest of the officer whose recent disappearance led the CID to more..

Aug 15 (DM) The elephant is one of SL’s most majestic creatures and acclaimed as the king of our jungles. It is unfortunate that we are still embroiled in what is called a human-elephant conflict, which was created after we robbed the elephants of their lands and called them rogues when hungry animals came searching for food. Last Sunday was World Elephant Day and the organizers say that in keeping with tradition, we need to devote some time and attention to what has happened to more..

Aug 15 (DM) Today is Aug 15, 2018. The date for Presidential Election will be called by the Commissioner General of Elections between Nov and Dec 2019. That leaves us with approximately 17 months. Two main protagonists will be a nominee from the UNP and another representing the Pohottuwa (Flower bud) in combination with the SLFP or someone from the Pohottuwa by itself. SLFP without the Pohottuwa support, if the recently held LG polls are of any reliable measure, more..

Aug 15 (ST) In the early hours of Aug 5, medical workers at the Panadura Base Hospital were struggling to stabilize the condition of three grievously ill men who had been rushed in by friends and family. There were four patients in total. High Dependency Unit (HDU) staff said the man who came first, between 3.15-and 3.30 a.m, was pronounced dead on admission. Two other males were brought in between 4 & 4.30 am. more..

Aug 15 (ST) Female Inspectors of Police (IPs) are being barred from applying for promotion because there are no vacancies for women in the Chief Inspector (CI) rank — a sign of persistent structural gender discrimination in the 150-year-old dept. Now 40 of them have lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of SL (HRCSL) saying they were twice denied the chance to advance to CI rank, violating their right to equality more..

Aug 15 (GDI) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe says it is no use of claiming Sinhala Buddhist to obtain the votes without preserving the ancient historic Buddhist temples to tell the world about their glory. The PM said the present govt has spent Rs. 2.5 billion for the conservation of Buddhist and Archaeological sites during the three years since 2015. In contrast, the last govt from 2012 to 2014 had only spent Rs. 1.1 billion, he said. more..

Aug 15 (DN) Cabinet yesterday granted approval to appoint a Special Commission to increase public sector salaries and remove salary anomalies on a recommendation made by Minister Mangala Samaraweera. Govt decided to appoint this Commission to make the necessary recommendations to increase the salaries of the entire public sector staff and to do away with the salary anomalies that were reported in certain more..

Aug 15 (Island) The Lanka Private Bus Owners Association (LPBOA) has urged bus drivers and conductors to postpone their industrial action until the GCE AL exam is over. LPBOA Chairman Gemumu Wijeratne said that they would also support the All Ceylon Private Bus Workers Association (ACPBWA) to win their demands if the strike was postponed. "There is nothing we can do if the drivers and conductors don’t turn up for work today more..

Aug 15 (GDI) To celebrate International Youth Day in Sri Lanka, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) hosted its fourth Youth4Youth symposium in the Central Province from 12 - 14 August 2018.This year's theme for International Youth Day explored the role of Safe Spaces for Youth in contributing to freedom of expression, mutual respect and constructive dialogue. The recent communal violence in more..

Aug 15 (EN) Average occupancy in Sri Lanka's formal sector hotels fell to 73.3% in 2017 from 74.8% a year earlier, reversing a 4-year trend despite increased tourist arrivals and spending in the island, provisional data from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority showed. Sri Lanka's average occupancy which was 48.4% in 2008 rose to 70.1% in 2010 and 77.1% in 2011 and dropped to 71.2% with informal competition coming on stream. more..

Aug 15 (CT) Archaeological cooperation between Sri Lanka and China was initiated yesterday (14). A team of Chinese archaeologists with their local counterparts began excavating for Chinese coins and other artefacts in Allaipiddy in Kayts, in the Northern Province. A Sino-Lanka archaeological excavation has been agreed to find out more about the Chinese presence in the Northern Province in the past. more..

Aug 15 (DM) HALO Trust, the largest international mine action operator in Sri Lanka, said it’s current chief goal is to complete mine clearance of Jaffna by the end of 2019, as only 24 sq.km. of minefields are remaining there. Since 2002, manual and mechanical clearance teams of HALO Trust have cleared nearly 11.5 sq.km. of minefields and 16.5sq.km. of former battlefield areas in the country. Head of Media of HALO Trust, more..

Aug 15 (Island) The Catholic Bishops’ Conference in SL says the death penalty will not solve the drug menace in the country. In a statement Catholic Bishops’ conference says: We the Members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference in SL wish to make the following statement with regard to the issue of the Death Penalty. Supreme Pontiff Holy Father Francis has approved a new revision of number 2267 of Catechism of Catholic Church. more..