Jul 27 (DN) CMA Sri Lanka signed a MoU with Deakin Uni Business school to pursue opportunities for collaboration for promoting the Deakin MBA pathway for CMA members and business leaders, to develop cost and management accounting theories and practices applicable to industries, services, and SME sector, in areas of research, to promote integrated reporting and research work on integrated reporting, to develop professional education and continuing professional development which more..

Jul 27 (EN) China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) trade and infrastructure initiative and investments in Sri Lankan ports could be seen as an opportunity and not necessarily a threat, the head of the island’s biggest business chamber said. SL businesses cannot afford to ignore evolving international trade patterns, said Rajendra Theagarajah, chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. “The most visible of the two or three which are currently more..

Jul 27 (FT) The Court of Appeal yesterday deferred the writ petition challenging the election of non-residents to the Maharagama Urban Council to be mentioned on 1 August. The bench comprised justices P. Padman Surasena (CA President) and Arjuna Obeysekera. Court on 16 May issued notices on 23 members of the Maharagama Urban Council who had been elected from Independent Group No. 2. One of the registered voters Chandrasena Perera of Maharagama filed the writ petition more..

Jul 27 (MX) Researchers from the Institute for Culture and Society at Western Sydney Uni, together with the Sri Lankan Law & Society Trust, have officially launched an innovative report documenting the stories of hardship and resilience of SL women with disabilities living in war affected areas. The collaborative report, Out of the Shadows: War-affected Women with Disabilities in SL, which was closely developed in conjunction with SL women with disabilities and advocates for more..

Jul 27 (PMD) President looked into the issues faced by the people in Ganegama, Pelmadulla marking a visit to the village by a State Leader after 33 years. Prez Sirisena emphasized that it is the responsibility of each and every one to fulfill their respective duties to free the people from poverty while properly implementing the development plans and programmes by the govt to eliminate poverty. more..

Jul 27 (Hindu) The meditative silence surrounding the Thotlakonda Buddhist site is interrupted with intermittent spurts of laughter and hurried selfies. Konda Appa Rao gives annoyed looks to youngsters who’ve climbed the maha stupa situated in the middle of this hilltop heritage site which houses a Hinayana Buddhist complex. He instructs them to step down. “This is a place of worship, so please step down and observe it from a distance,” says the 53-year-old security guard who goes on to more..

Jul 27 (MoD) SL Army troops have rendered assistance to put out several wildfires in several parts of the country during the past several weeks. The prevailing dry weather in the hill country has resulted in sudden outbreaks of bushfire especially in the Nuwara Eliya and Badulla Districts. Troops under Security Force Headquarters - Central (SFHQ-Cen) have intervened and brought several such wildfires during the past couple of days. A bushfire in Millapitiya area in Walapane DS more..

Jul 27 (DM) Political parties representing Parliament failed to arrive at a decision as to under what electoral system the provincial council elections are to be held, Minister Mano Ganesan said. He said the party leaders decided to meet again on Wednesday, to decide on the system. Most of the minority parties and the UNP had insisted that the election should be held under the old system while Minister Faizer Musthapha more..

Jul 27 (Island) National Peace Council (NPC) while appreciating continuing steps taken by the govt for post-war reconciliation, expressed its dismay at attempts to derail the process by extremist forces on both sides of the ethnic divide. NPC spokesman Dr. Jehan Perera issued the following statement: The govt has established an Office of Missing Persons (OMP) and is now in the process of passing legislation to establish an Office for Reparations as part of its commitment to more..

Jul 27 (OSF) This summer, SL’s president, Maithripala Sirisena, defiantly announced that he could end the country’s 42-year moratorium on the death penalty and sign off on the execution of convicted drug traffickers alleged to be running illegal operations from their prison cells. More disturbing, a govt spokesperson added that the country will try and replicate the success of the Philippines govt’s drug war, a bloody crackdown that is estimated to have claimed over 12,000 more..

Jul 27 (Island) A furious UNP MP Thushara Indunil Amarasena accused his party of not taking advantage of the much-hyped adjournment debate on Chinese funding in support of the then President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s 2015 re-election bid. He expressed deep disappointment over the way, his party allowed the JO to force the Chair to call off the debate last Thursday. Amarasena said that he couldn’t believe that more..

Jul 27 (FT) Govt this week decided to pay compensation for those who were affected in the civil conflict in Gintota and Ampara. Treasury has been requested to release a total of Rs. 31,878,831 to pay the compensation. As per decisions made during a meeting on the subject, chaired by PM, up to Rs. 100,000 will be paid for property damages, while a totally damaged place of worship will be paid Rs. 1,000,000 & compensation up to Rs. 500,000 will be paid for partially damaged religious more..

Jul 27 (CT) The Accident Service of the National Hospital is receiving over 100 patients with fall injuries daily. According to Pushpa Ramyani Zoysa, National Coordinator (Training) Disaster Management and Trauma System Development and Triage Team Leader, this equals to an average 36% of total daily patients admitted to the accident service. She said the hospital treated an average of 300 accident victims daily. “Of them, at least 36% of came with fall injuries – most of them more..

Jul 27 (DM) Railway Trade Unions yesterday conducted a two-hour long unannounced strike affecting rail services after they were not allowed to erect a fence dividing a plot of land from the Trace Expert City premises, to construct a nine-storey building for a railway control centre. Officials of the Railways Department had planned to erect a fence around the land area which was located near Elphinstone Theatre, Maradana. more..

Jul 27 (CT) Presidential Task Force on Drug Prevention said relevant authorities were holding discussions to formulate and present a Cabinet Paper to ensure that those medically identified as drug addicts should mandatorily undergo rehabilitation at an authorized centre. Director of the Task Force, Dr. Samantha Kithalawaarachchi said that at present, when the Police arrest a drug addict (identified as such by a medical professional), they would with the support of the addict’s family more..

Jul 27 (CT) Minister Thalatha Atukorale has ordered the immediate disbanding of the Welikada Prisons Intelligence Unit. The decision comes in the wake of several incidents where inmates have been found to having mobile phones and various illegal drugs in their possession. Thus, the authorities have found that the unit has been failing to perform the duties expected of it. Ministry sources also claimed that the officials at the unit have been paid an exorbitant sum as overtime payment. more..

Jul 27 (DM) State Minister Harsha De Silva said the sudden strike by railway employees over the Trace Expert City land issue was unwarranted and that the Tech-City should not be destroyed. He said govt has already assured the railway employees that the issue would be discussed with PM and Transport Minister next Monday. “Issue at the Trace Expert City in Colombo arose after the Cabinet approval was granted more..

Jul 28 (CT) I have never really been able to understand the concept of heaven and hell. If heaven granted all my wishes would a person who wishes the complete opposite of what I want, be living in a different heaven? If lying was a reason to go to hell would my friends who tell me I’m handsome go to hell? If I somehow wound up in heaven would all the honest people tell me, I’m ugly when I meet them? Who are the keepers of the gate to heaven that have to process 8,000 more..

Jul 28 (GV) The flat, cardboard boxes are stacked almost to the ceiling. The neatly glued label of one of them is clearly visible when a door opens – briefly releasing a puff of air-conditioned chill before a librarian yanks it shut. Divaina it reads. Most people would think of the National Archives as their first stop when accessing historical records. The Archives contain an impressive repository of information, including thombus (land registers) dating back to colonial times. more..

Jul 28 (SO) Oil palm is being played out as a big issue on the sustainability agenda in the country. Despite repeated efforts by responsible stakeholders including growers, Agri experts, academia etc, in refuting irrelevant allegations, the topic keeps arising – the latest of which is the media pick up alleging that oil palm cultivation is to replace rubber, arguing that oil palm development programme is a threat to the rubber industry more..

Jul 28 (DN) This week saw the 35th anniversary of the anti-Tamil pogrom of July 1983, which was the darkest phase in post-independent Sri Lanka. It saw to rise of separatist forces, joining or being forced to give room to the LTTE. It also gave emphasis to racism in the politics of govt, as the country moved through three decades of separatist violence, which ended with the defeat of the LTTE in 1990. As one who lived through those dark days, the role of the govt in instigating and promoting more..

Jul 28 (DN) Rice is the staple food of more than half of the world’s seven billion population. However, more than 90% of this rice is consumed in Asia, where it is a staple for a majority of the population, including the region’s 560 million hungry people. The success of the Green Revolution in the early 1960s witnessed a steady rise in Asia’s per capita rice consumption from 85 kilograms per year in the early ’60s to nearly 103 kg in the early ’90s. World average annual per capita consumption of more..

Jul 28 (CT) As with everything of value for this country, everything that should matter to the citizens of this country seems to be political clout and political longevity override all other considerations. It has taken over 30 years for some of the finest representatives of the Muslim population of SL to bring to a close a long drawn out initiative to bring about legislative changes to the 1951 Muslim Marriage & Divorce Act (MMDA) more..

Jul 28 (GV) There is no proper record of what happened, or how the killings took place during that time. We do not have any information or documentation to pass it on to our future generation. In this interview, activist S. Kirishanth reflects on how Colombo’s rapid development has left no trace of the riots in 1983, and the need to remember without blaming an entire community for the violence that was unleashed, 35 years ago. “You should not blame an entire community more..

Jul 28 (Island) Politicians never miss an opportunity to shed copious tears for the public and declare that they are even ready to die for the country. They would have us believe that their sole purpose of being is to serve the public, and it hurts them to see people suffer. State Minister Harsha de Silva has torn into trade unions for inconveniencing the public by staging strikes. He has faulted the railway trade unions for suspending the train service the other day over a land dispute. more..

Jul 28 (CT) It was days ago that the nation received the distressing news of the sad demise of Irfan Hafiz, a differently abled keyboard warrior as he was referred to, about whom most came to know and discovered how talented he was, only fairly recently. It was not many months ago that Irfan rose into prominence when the local media and social media highlighted his inspiring story- a silent fighter, who despite being completely bedridden suffering from a rare disease called more..

Jul 28 (Island) Imran Khan’s victory in the Pakistani elections is of enormous and positive significance for all of us in South Asia. His win is of course in keeping with the global trend of the triumph of populism over the political establishment and old political parties being eclipsed by relatively new ones or third force parties. Imran is usually described as populist, while his party the PTI is classified as centrist and his own personal views on issues of religion is defined as liberal. more..

Jul 28 (Island) We can tell when we have arrived at Balangoda’s Puppet Museum even without looking at the two large boards flanking the driveway. Marionettes depicting dancers, devils and kings dangle on strings from the large tree in front, and a life-sized wooden watchman wearing a blue uniform stands sentry by the entrance. A colourful jester, reminiscent of Andare, the popular character from local folklore, grins cheekily from more..

Jul 28 (Island) General Robert B. Brown Commanding General, Headquarters, U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) Fort Shafter, Hawaii who is currently on an official visit to the Island with a delegation paid a courtesy call on the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Admiral Ravindra C. Wijegunaratne on Monday (23) at the Office of the Chief of Defence Staff (OCDS) at BMICH. He was accompanied by Lt. Colonel Douglas Hess, the Defense Attaché of the US Embassy. more..

Jul 28 (DN) Former SL badminton champion Sriyani Deepika hopes to inspire UAE-based players to aim for glory after winning a gold medal in the Women’s Singles Seniors 50+ division at the Las Vegas World Chinese Invitational Badminton Tournament held from July 20-22. Organized by the World Chinese Badminton Federation - US Branch under the aegis of USA Badminton, Sriyani displayed great skill and stamina to defeat veteran Chinese players in the singles in addition to bagging a bronze medal more..

Jul 28 (Island) It must be a far-reaching system that has been disbanded at Welikada. Prison Intelligence System. Was it dealing with prisoner intelligence or prison warder intelligence? Looks like it was more to do with Hangman Intelligence today. But why disband such intelligence, when it flows down from the Prez and the Cabinet? You mean the President and Cabinet has some special intelligence that cannot be more..

Jul 28 (CI) South Africa's batsmen had a rough time in the Tests, but when it comes to ODIs, there are few places better to be right now than Sri Lanka. That is what batting coach Dale Benkenstein is hoping anyway, and his thinking is this: with several top teams fielding wristspinners in their ODI attacks right now, SA's batsmen need to be primed against high-quality spin ahead of next year's World Cup. With the hosts likely to stack their attack with spin options, and with tracks more..

Jul 28 (EN) Profits at Seylan Bank fell 26.5% from a year ago to 973.7 million rupees in the June 2018 quarter on falling foreign exchange and investment incomes and increasing taxes, despite improving margins and lower bad loan provisioning, interim accounts showed. The bank reported earnings of 2.66 rupees a share in the quarter. The share closed Friday at 79 rupees. For the six months to end June 2018, the bank reported earnings of 5.41 rupees a share with net interest income growing 18.8% more..

Jul 28 (CB) SL opener Danushka Gunathilaka has been handed a six-match suspension with immediate effect for breaching the Player Code of Conduct and Contractual Obligation, Sri Lanka Cricket announced on Friday. His ban for six international games is attributed to two code violations - three for his latest transgression and three from a previous suspended sentence of one year, which Gunathilaka was already serving more..

Jul 28 (DM) The delay in conducting elections to the Provincial Councils is likely to be prolonged because political parties are yet to reach consensus on the electoral method to be adopted, it is learnt. Representatives of political parties met on Thursday and discussed the matter. Three parties viz. DLF led by Mano Ganesan, SLMC led by Rauff Hakeem and ACMC led by Rishad Bathiudeen, insisted that the elections be conducted according to the previous proportional representation system. more..

Jul 28 (Island) The Broad aim of this speech today is to make some general comments about the importance of the humanities research and teaching for democratic citizenship. Yet, I will be addressing some key issues related to research and teaching in general. I am especially happy to be speaking to a group of the youngest researchers within our university system. With the intention of including you in a broader idea of research, I will not limit myself to undergraduate research alone more..

Jul 28 (CT) The 96th edition of the National Athletic Championships will be held from 3-5 August at the Sugathadasa Stadium Colombo and will be considered as a final fitness trials for the team to the Asian Games. Failing to achieve the set standards during the Nationals will result in the athletes being omitted from the team that was selected by 30 June. Athletic Association of SL, has made the National compulsory for all athletes more..

Jul 28 (CT) After beating South Africa 2-0 in Test series Sri Lanka will now walk in to the shorter format, starting in Dambulla, a place where Sri Lanka have not registered a win in four years. Sri Lanka last won a match in Dambulla in 2014 when they beat Pakistan but since then they have been beaten five times at that venue with one match which was going well for Sri Lanka being abandoned due to rain. Pakistan beat SL by six wicket in 2015 and subsequently SL lost the series (3-2). more..

Jul 28 (CT) Highlighting that the revenue and operating profits per TEU (Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit) in shipping lines were on a declining trend, Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Chairman Parakrama Dissanayake stressed it was high time that shipping agencies looked beyond their line agency business into the sphere of maritime and logistics. Speaking at the 52nd AGM of Ceylon Association of Ships Agents (CASA) held on Wednesday, Dissanayake said shipping agencies were too dependent more..