Aug 4 (DM) US Embassy in Colombo issuing a fresh security alert on Friday, has reminded American citizens in SL of the Level-2 travel advisory that was issued after the Easter Sunday attacks, in view of the upcoming holidays in SL. “Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations etc” latest travel advisory said. “In acknowledgment of upcoming holidays, US Embassy reminds American citizens of the current Level 2 Travel Advisory (Exercise Increased Caution). more..

Aug 4 (IHC) In a special event held on Aug 3, the Gandhi Nagar - Model Village built with Indian assistance under the Model Villages Program of the Ministry of Housing and Construction & Cultural Affairs in Batticaloa District was inaugurated and the completed houses are handed over to the beneficiaries. Village is the second of the 100 model villages being built with Indian Assistance and is named after Mahatma Gandhi, highly respected world statesman and father of the nation more..

Aug 4 (ST) The possibility of an interim administration for Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has been banished after the game’s global body, the ICC, rejected any form of political interference in cricket administration. With pressure within the Govt increasing to dissolve the Board alleging various malpractices and corruption, Minister of Sports Harin Fernando met ICC Chairman Shashank Manohar in Nagpur, India, this week to seek a mandate. more..

Aug 4 (EN) Hotels in Kandy are only half full during the annual Esala Perahera pageant season which runs from August 05 to 15, following the April bombings, an industry official said. "Bookings in Kandy are around 50-60% including locals and foreigners during the Perahera season, compared to last year’s 80-90%," Kandy Hoteliers Association President Samantha Rathnayake, who represents the Amaya chain, said. Esala Perahera season consists of a series of pageants, more..

Aug 4 (TM) The BOI last week commenced termination proceedings on a Rs. 16 billion investment agreement with Blue Mountain Properties which was signed in 2016. The agreement was for the development of the much-hyped Achilleion project, which was billed seven-star luxury and was set to include private choppers, limousines, and the world’s tallest show apartment. Officials from BOI confirmed that a noncompliance letter has been sent to the real estate group more..

Aug 4 (ST) The formation of the DNF under the leadership of the UNP scheduled for tomorrow is in doubt. The move comes as at least three constituent partners of the proposed alliance – the SLMC, DLF and the National Union of Workers – said last night that the UNP should first pick its presidential candidate. It is only thereafter that they would get their parties’ policymaking bodies to approve joining the DNF. more..

Aug 4 (SO) A reshuffle of Governors is expected to follow a spate of resignations, a source at Prez Secretariat said. Uva Province governor, Marshal Perera who is also the father of MP Dilan Perera tendered his resignation on Thursday (1) citing personal reasons, while Central Province governor Maithree Gunaratne, who was appointed on January 4 this year, handed over his resignation yesterday. According to Gunaratne, he had resigned in response to a request by the Prez’s Office. more..

Aug 4 (AD) Two persons have been arrested over terrorist activities have been arrested. One of the arrestees is the Leader of the Eastern Province Armed Group of the Jammiyathul Millathu Ibrahim (JMI), an organization which is currently banned in Sri Lanka. He is a 25-year-old named Mohamed Nawushad Umar, stated the Police. The other arrestee is a student from South Eastern University in Oluvil. He was arrested over allegedly carrying out out extremist propaganda. more..

Aug 4 (ST) Thousands of military and police personnel have been deployed to provide tight security for a series of religious and cultural festivals being held this month. The move came as the US embassy issued a fresh security warning to US citizens to take precautions. An intelligence source said yesterday that the security measures were essentially precautionary and not based on inputs pointing to specific plans or activity. more..

Aug 4 (AD) The victim of the shooting at Kuleegoda junction in Ambalangoda was identified as the chief jailor of Welikada Prison Training School. The chief jailor, Thilina Jayaratne, was residing in Soysa Mawatha in Kuleegoda prior to his death. The remains of the deceased are currently placed at the Balapitiya Base Hospital. One person is reported dead owing to a shooting incident that has taken place at Kuleegoda junction in Ambalangoda at around 6 pm this evening (3). more..

Aug 4 (AD) Six persons have been killed while 52 others have been reported injured in a collision between two buses in Waskaduwa, Kalutara. A bus belonging to the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) en route to Colombo from Elpitiya had collided with a private bus heading to Galle from Colombo, at around 4.15 am this morning (4). Three females and 3 males have been killed in the accident. Reportedly, among the injured are 43 males, 8 females and a small child. more..

Aug 4 (ST) His detractors, including those whom he later took within his own fold, ridiculed him as Mr Bean, the comedy character in movies, because of his close physical resemblance to Rowan Atkinson, renown British comedian. Others dubbed him a Born Loser, after a comic strip by that name. String of polls defeats he suffered raised questions over his so-called weak leadership. PM Ranil Wickremesinghe, Leader of UNP, more..

Aug 4 (Island) The discovery of containers of garbage from the United Kingdom, at the Colombo Port and the Free Trade Zone, has triggered the usual national response. There was mock panic in Parliament. The rush to court, as courts have become not just the last resort, but increasingly the first resort, if not the only resort. And the editorial hectoring that garbage is the new frontier of neo-colonialism. Unquestionably, global waste trade is a substantial international operation. more..

Aug 4 (Island) The green beans were wrapped in Time. The magazine, not the passage. The lentils usually in a Newsweek. Any purchase of over a kilo of manioc was rewarded by indeterminable foreign newsprint on international affairs as its wrapping. Perhaps my love and insatiable consumption of manioc was linked to the possibility of a reward by way of more crushed, stained newsprint to read. I remember Seeya’s inexhaustible beedis - moist, pungent and I am convinced, more..

Aug 4 (ST) Prez Sirisena will not swear in a larger Cabinet under a so-called National Govt in terms of a resolution now before Parliament, his senior advisor Shiral Lakthilake said. “In terms of the Constitution, it is the President who has to decide on whether he is satisfied that there is a case for a National Govt,” he said. Mr. Lakthilake was commenting on the resolution before Parliament seeking an increase in number of ministers more..

Aug 4 (TM) With elections due later this year, a delegation from the European Union (EU) headquarters in Brussels is scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka this week on a fact-finding mission, The Sunday Morning learnt. It is learnt that the delegation will have talks with key stakeholders in Sri Lanka to decide if the EU should deploy election monitors in the country in the event the Govt invites the EU to observe the elections. more..

Aug 4 (EN) Opposition presidential hopeful Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s declaration that he had renounced his US citizenship and obtained a new SL passport has sparked fresh investigations into how he acquired dual nationality. After a fake renunciation certificate circulated on social media outlets such as WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook earlier in the week, Rajapaksa said a document leaked a day later was a true copy more..

Aug 4 (PMD) President said that if the country could produce food locally, we can save huge amounts of money annually and it would not be difficult to eradicate poverty in our country. President Maithripala Sirisena made this observation at the opening of the Minneriya Hela Bojunhala and Haritha Puja trade complex today (3) afternoon. The Hela Bojunhala has been established by the Department of Agriculture under more..

Aug 4 (TM) The UGC has sought the assistance of the AG's Department as serious ragging takes place in national universities. Chairman of the UGC Mohan De Silva said that the UGC reached out to the AG’s Dept and sought advice on how to contain the situation. “This issue has become a national menace; the protection of the students and, as per the University Act of 1978, the disciplinary authority of the uni students more..

Aug 4 (CT) The Treasury has granted a staggering Rs 200 million to Minister Ravi Karunanayake, to shift the Ministry of Power, Energy and Business Development to an office complex in Navam Mawatha in Colombo, which will be done at a mind boggling cost of Rs 364 million, sources said. However, a Senior Assistant Secretary and an Assistant Secretary in the Ministry have resigned in protest over this decision and have sought more..

Aug 4 (SO) The National Police Commission (NPC) decision to prevent the transfer of two senior cops in Kurunegala over their involvement in framing a Muslim doctor in a pseudo illegal sterilisation scare has raised serious questions about its alleged role in the communally charged controversy. The NPC stopped the transfers despite the recommendation for Kurunegala DIG Kithsiri Jayalath to Trincomalee and more..

Aug 4 (SO) Despite an INTERPOL red notice being out for his arrest, former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Russia Udayanga Weeratunga was captured on video attending a Gotabaya Rajapaksa campaign event in Dubai last Friday (2). The event, themed Eliya-Dubai took place at the Radisson Blu Hotel and featured about 33 participants, according to details on its Facebook event page. A video currently circulating on social media shows more..

Aug 4 (CT) A group of UNP Ministers are planning to boycott the inauguration of a new political alliance, titled the DNF, slated for 5 August, if the UNP leadership decides to go ahead with its registration sans sorting out the thorny issues, informed sources said. A few of the Ministers who spoke on condition of anonymity said that currently there were serious disagreements between UNP MPs on the proposed Constitution of the DNF. more..

Aug 4 (ST) Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) lost a radar receiver and antenna scanner when they were being sent to China for repairs in 2014, documents presented this week to Parliament reveal. The missing items — estimated to be worth more than Rs. 98 million — were from an F-7 aircraft and could be a threat to national security and global security if they had fallen into the hands of any terrorist group, SLAF’s Legal Director has more..

Aug 5 (CT) Imran Khan (IK), 67 years old Prime Minister of Pakistan, hails from an upper-middle-class Pashtun family in Lahore and is a graduate of Keble College, Oxford. He captained the national cricket team on the single occasion his country won the Cricket World Cup in 1992. Aged 39, IK took the winning last wicket. A philanthropist, he raised funds for two state of the art hospitals in Lahore and Peshawar. He also served as Chancellor of the University of Bradford from 2004 to 2014. more..

Aug 5 (CT) It was most disturbing to watch over television news that two school children of the same family in Galle have died of Dengue fever recently. The report also showed the public angered by the incident demonstrating against govt’s inaction on their pleas to act on a nearby building site breeding the killer mosquito. The angry mob set fire to tyres and blocked roads for several hours. I am by no means condoning the response of the public but am deeply empathetic towards their cause. more..

Aug 5 (SO) Recording another judicial victory against the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC), the graduates of the SAITM, Sri Lanka’s only private medical college, left the Supreme Court complex last Tuesday (30), with fresh hopes for their future. Some 40 graduates and their parents had gathered both inside and outside Courtroom No. 404, where the case was heard by Justices Buwaneka Aluwihare, more..

Aug 5 (ST) Is former President Rajapaksa and his baying podujana party team members suffering from selective amnesia when they flay the Govt on the floor of SL’s Parliament for having presented the Lands Bill to the House without first putting it before the Provincial Councils? Lest we forget, this very same cursory treatment of the constitutional process by the Rajapaksa Presidency in respect of the Town and Country Planning (Amendment) Bill and the Divineguma Bill resulting in more..

Aug 5 (Island) Justin, I cannot wait for the old boy to die was the response my father had received from S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, shortly before he crossed over to the Opposition, in July 1951, having resigned from the posts of the Leader of the House and Minister of Health & Local Govt. My father, Justin Wijayawardhana, was an ardent supporter of SWRD and secretary of the Matara Branch of the Sinhala Maha Sabha, till it joined the UNP, and then was the secretary of the Matara Branch of the UNP. more..

Aug 5 (CT) Leader of the NFF, MP Wimal Weerawansa says the people of this country, without purely being on the stance that a member of the Rajapaksa family must be the candidate, have decided that Gotabaya Rajapaksa is the most suitable. Q: There are only about four months left for the Presidential Election; what are your preparations? A: We talked about the Presidential Candidate at the last Party Leaders’ meeting. more..

Aug 5 (SO) Does Sri Lanka’s medical profession need to heal itself? Glaring lapses have come to light in recent times in what was once a noble and much respected profession, leading to many questions about its integrity. The cancer eroding the profession now appears to have engulfed not only the militant trade union of doctors, the Govt Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) but also the statutory body that is expected to regulate the profession, Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC). more..

Aug 5 (CT) In the developed world the elections are often fought based on economic and social policies relevant to the time. For example the solutions to the main problems facing the country should be in the manifestos of the contenders at elections and they should be part of the political debate. Unfortunately, in our country the situation seems to be quite different with various unexpected and emotive issues coming into the political debate around election time. more..

Aug 5 (ST) As D Day approaches for the SLPP to formally declare on August 11 its choice of presidential candidate as it had pledged it would on that day, will the lights go out one by one on Gotabaya’s presidential star; and render it dimmer by the fleeting hour? In the volatile week ahead which will decide whether he will be made Pohottuwa’s Sun God or whether he will be condemned to the Black Hole of Fate, the nation has no doubt that it will be Rajapaksa Brothers more..

Aug 5 (Island) Chairman of the National Election Commission (NEC) Mahinda Deshapriya is reported to have said that the Provincial Council (PC) polls can be held before the next presidential election only if a court order to that effect is obtained latest by 15 Aug. No one may expect judicial decision so fast, given the difficult conditions to be satisfied for it to become a reality. It may be said that there are only 10 more days left for Deshapriya to fulfil his pledge to resign as the Polls Chief, more..

Aug 5 (CT) Turkey has been expressing its concerns over Gülen Movement or Fethullahist Terrorist Organisation (FETO) that is operating worldwide including SL and Turkish Ambassador in Colombo. He reiterates the importance of knowing who FETO members are and how they could be a threat to any country that is entertaining them. He added that Turkish govt has for the umpteenth time urged SL to ban FETO and its operations in SL. more..

Aug 5 (ST) West Asian countries, despite being a good source market, have not been included in the 48 countries that were finally approved for visa exemption. The final list of countries had been a decision made by the PM’s office, state officials said. In 2018 West Asia generated 71,636 tourists. Following this move, the govt is now considering a request by West Asian nations to include them in the list that would exempt tourist and business travelers from paying visa fees when visiting Sri Lanka. more..

Aug 5 (SO) Former St. Joseph’s College wicket keeper batsman Sadeera Samarawickrama is yet another highly talented cricketer who stepped in to the big league through the Observer-Mobitel Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year, Sri Lanka’s first ever schools cricket awards which began in 1978. Samarawickrama not only won the richest prize in SL’s schools cricket in 2014 but also capitalized on that to enter the Sri Lanka team in next to no time as most of his predecessors have done. more..

Aug 5 (ST) SL swimmers want to win a rich haul of medals at the this years South Asian Games (SAG) to be held in December in Nepal. SL won 39 medals including 12 gold in swimming in 2016, the most number of medals in any sport for Sri Lanka during the meet, while India dominated the pool with 45 medals. To make their dream a reality, Manoj Abeysinghe, who has been producing star class national swimmers during past decade, more..

Aug 5 (ST) Amateur Rowing Association of Sri Lanka (ARASL) has brought down a Para Rowing Double Scull boat, for the first time in Sri Lanka, in a bid to promote the water-sport among the disabled persons. The initiative was made by ARASL President Rohan Fernando and Vice President Sithira Wickramasekara, — a duo who had contributed to the development and promotion of rowing in Sri Lanka immensely. Currently the Para Rowing Double Scull boat is stationed and more..