Jul 29 (ST) Dr. Howard Nicholas from the International Institute of Social Studies, the Netherlands had informed me of his visit to Colombo. Whenever, he comes here, I usually ask him if he has time to visit the Uni of Colombo and give a lecture. Usually, he doesn’t say no. Born in Sri Lanka, I knew his affectionate heart to Sri Lanka as well as to Colombo University where he served about 10 years since the mid-1980s. Together with Emeritus Prof. W.D. Lakshman who was more..

Jul 29 (Island) A former Sri Lankan pilot, in a letter to this newspaper, a few moons ago, wrote about an overhead board put up by a state institution, across the road leading to the BIA, with Welcome to Sri Lanka written thereon, to greet those leaving the country. We argued in this space that at the rate the country’s land was being sold to foreigners that board might make sense soon in that Sri Lanka would be left with only the land where the BIA is located. more..

Jul 29 (TM) Sri Lanka – one of Asia’s oldest democracies – is facing a testing time. With a presidential election around the corner, misinformation and mud-slinging campaigns are becoming the norm of the day followed closely with political bickering, posturing, and forming alliances. Last Monday’s UNP Parliamentary Group meeting is said to be a turning point in recent party history with Party Chairman Minister Kabir Hashim raising the issue of prez candidate and nominating more..

Jul 29 (Island) If Paris didn't have the Eiffel Tower, Louvre Museum and the Notre-Dame cathedral, would this city still have attracted it's 18 million visitors in 2018. If Rome didn't have the Colosseum, St. Peter's Basilica and the Roman Forum, would the city have attracted 27 million visitors in 2017. That's almost 6 million people more than our entire country's population!! All these years after our independence, we have been trying to make Colombo, the number one city in Sri Lanka more..

Jul 29 (CI) Sri Lanka made an auspicious start to life after the 2019 World Cup, clinching the ODI series against Bangladesh with one game to spare. They won the second ODI by seven wickets after their bowlers put together a great team effort. Their batsmen saw off tricky periods in their chase, but mostly dominated the visitors who posted 238 for 8 after deciding to bat first. It is Sri Lanka's first series win at home in 3.5 years, more..

Jul 29 (CI) On Friday, Lasith Malinga played his final ODI game for Sri Lanka, producing a classic performance to take them home. Tributes poured in from around the cricketing world, led by his former captain and team-mate for over 10 years. mahela27: As a 18 year old net bowler who I faced in Galla 2002 to the champion who’s going to walk out today for your last ODI game u have been true to your self. Champion a team mate and above all a good friend you have done Sri Lanka proud. more..

Jul 29 (DN) Avishka Fernando’s father was admitted to hospital, after he fainted while watching the second ODI against Bangladesh at Premadasa Stadium yesterday. The incident happened during SL’s run chase and when Avishka was batting in the middle with Kusal Perera. Avishka was on 77 at the time but was dismissed five runs later for 82. Fernando senior’s condition was reported to be stable. “I was not aware of what happened and I learnt about it only when I got out more..

Jul 29 (ST) Tourism industry is set to hit a downturn in winter with projections made out for a 30% drop during the best season of the year. Easter Sunday attacks had an immediate adverse impact on arrivals and sent all tourists in the country packing home. SL Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) President Harith Perera noted that they were expecting a 30% drop for the winter season. August, being a key month when more..

Jul 29 (ST) Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) named a squad of 29 players targeting the upcoming Asian 7s Series, which will consist of three legs. According to Rohan Chinthaka, the Manager of Sri Lanka 7s Rugby, SLR will rotate players from the squad of 29 for the three legs of the Asian 7s Series, as well as the Olympic Qualifiers, which will follow later this year. Surprisingly, the SLR Selectors have omitted former National 7s skipper Sudarshana Muthuthanthri from the squad of 29, but more..

Jul 29 (DN) SL Association of NVOCC Agents (SLANA) urged for the removal of excess regulations to revive its operating model and become a sustainable operator. Addressing the 3rd NVOCC AGM in Colombo, Chairperson Harsha De Silva said Sri Lanka should be in line with policies followed by other regional hub ports such as Singapore and Dubai especially when it comes to Terminal Handling Charges (THC). De Silva however said that the inability to collect THC more..

Jul 29 (FT) Minister John Amaratunga is to go to Cabinet once again to formalise and fast-track the much-delayed public relations (PR) and global promotion campaigns to boost the country’s image post-Easter Sunday terror attacks. The move is after the selected agency JWT requiring proper formalisation of contract though the Cabinet had previously approved same. “There are some formalities that we have to comply. more..

Jul 29 (SLN) SL Navy apprehended 7 Indian fishermen along with a fishing trawler belonging to them for poaching in SL territorial waters today (28). The apprehension was made by a Fast Gun Boat attached to the Northern Naval Command, during a patrol conducted in the sea area off Thalaimannar Lighthouse. Group of Indian fishermen had been fishing in SL territorial waters by the time the apprehension was made. Subsequently, the apprehended persons along with their trawler more..

Jul 29 (Island) Institute of Chartered Accountants of SL (CA Sri Lanka), launched its new curriculum last week, which is designed to face the new dynamics of the corporate world including increasing digital disruption, big data, automation and robotics. The Curriculum 2020 will mould revolutionary Chartered Accountants by instilling strong business intelligence, IT and leadership skills to help revive corporate SL. The new curriculum was unveiled to a houseful audience of business leaders more..

Jul 29 (FT) Over 100 Chinese travel agents arrived yesterday, becoming the largest group post-Easter Sunday attacks to help revive tourism in Sri Lanka. The group was brought down by Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) in collaboration with Walkers Tours, the destination management arm of the leisure sector of premier blue chip company John Keells Group and Beijing Spring Travel International Co. Ltd. more..

Jul 29 (CT) Former Youth Commonwealth Games Silver medalist and current high hurdles national champion, Roshan Ranatunga had an absolute blast as he won 3 Gold medals setting 3 new records in less than 3 hours as Sabaragamuwa Uni emerged champions of the SL University Games Track and Field Championship 2019 concluded at the Sugathadasa Stadium. Sabaragamuwa Uni’s Roshan, who already had a Gold medal from the 4x100m relay on day one, had his high jump more..

Jul 29 (SO) Fast bowler Nuwan Kulasekara announced his retirement with immediate effect at a Press conference on Thursday but there has been confusion over his exit with some claiming he was not in line for World Cup selection after he declined to play in a Provincial tournament. Kulasekara however denied he refused to play in the Provincial tournament that was the criteria for World Cup selection. “I never refused to play,” he said when the question was put to him. more..

Jul 29 (FT) Tea exports in the first half of this year have reached to highest ever of Rs. 121.8 billion, up 7% from earlier record established in the corresponding period of last year despite a drop in volume. FOB value for the first half of 2019 was Rs. 839.46 per kilo, up by Rs. 11.33 per kilo from a year earlier. Jan to June 2019 cumulative exports volume wise amounted to 145.1 million kilos down 5.5% from corresponding period of last year. more..

Jul 29 (EN) SL's largest pension fund, Employees' Provident Fund, which is managed by the CB, has invested in Teejay Lanka Plc and private banks after its initial investment in Dialog Axiata Plc in the June quarter. Amid the lowest valuations in the CSE in seven years after the Easter Sunday bombings, the EPF, which manages 2.2 trillion rupees in assets, re-entered the market in 2019. EPF's purchase of 55 million of Dialog Axiata shares for around 495 million rupees in mid-May helping re-kindle interest. more..

Jul 29 (S24) Cape Town - Half-centuries by Janneman Malan and Jason Smith ensured there were no final day jitters as the South Africa Emerging team secured a comfortable draw - and with it a 1-0 series win - against their Sri Lankan counterparts in Pretoria on Sunday. The hosts batted out day four of the second and last game of the two-match sequence progressing from 92 for 1 at the start to 260 for 5, lead of 313 when the two captains shook hands late in 2nd session. more..

Jul 29 (CT) MP Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera claimed that the Police Department was divided into a number of groups and certain personnel in the Department were even acting against the Director of CID, SSP Shani Abeysekara. He further stated that according to the report on the inquiry carried out by the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital, in connection with the allegations levelled against Dr. Shafi Shihabdeen, more..

Jul 29 (DM) Govt had not abandoned enacting of State Lands (Special Provisions) Bill despite the decision given by the Supreme Court on it, Minister of Lands Gayantha Karunathilaka said. Minister Karunathilaka, who was speaking during a ceremony held in Embilipitiya to distribute title deeds of lands to the landless said the Govt was looking at available options to get the bill enacted. “We are looking at possible avenues to get the Bill enacted and had not given up on it,” he said. more..

Jul 29 (EN) Sri Lanka's upgraded Palaly airport in the Northern Jaffna peninsula will be able to accommodate regional airliners from the Indian subcontinent from September, State Minister for Civil Aviation Ashoka Abeysinghe said. "The runway will be able to accommodate aircraft carrying about 70 passengers," Minister Abeysinghe said. "We hope to have the first flight by September." He said there was potential to start scheduled flights to destinations like Chennai. more..

Jul 29 (PTI) The Easter Sunday attack is likely to be the first case for the Indian National Investigation Agency (NIA) to probe after the Indian Parliament amended an Act empowering it to investigate terror cases abroad, Indian officials said on Sunday. Over 250 people were killed when nine suicide bombers carried out a series of blasts in SL on April 21. With the Indian Parliament giving its nod to National Investigation Agency (Amd) Bill more..

Jul 29 (FT) A case instituted in the Commercial High Court of Colombo by M.Z.M. Raffick (Plaintiff), who claimed to be a screenwriter, against the well-known member of the Saudi Royal family, who is also an internationally renowned businessman, investor and philanthropist, concluded on 19 July with the judgement delivered by Ahsan Marikkar. The Plaintiff alleged that having written the film script titled the Diamond Merchant, he intended to produce a film based on the script. more..

Jul 29 (FT) A group of newly appointed organisers of SLFP received their letters of appointment from Prez Sirisena on Saturday. The new appointees in Kurunegala District are: Kuliyapitiya electorate organiser Dharmasiri Dissanayake, Bingiriya electorate organiser Athula Wijesinghe, Kurunegala district organiser Sampath Katawalagedara and Puttalam district organiser Shantha Herath. Several district organisers appointed to the Ampara district also received appointment letters from Prez. more..

Jul 29 (Island) Former UPFA MP M M Zuhair, PC, warned that proposed Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) would transform Sri Lanka into a US military facility. Zuhair, who was a onetime top Attorney General’s Department officer and envoy to Teheran during the PA/UPFA administration said that the Acqusition and Cross Servicing Agreemment (ACSA) had been finalized in early Aug 2017. Zuhair, who backed Maithripala more..

Jul 29 (EN) Minister Navin Dissanayake has threatened to expose a Provincial Governor who is pressuring him to block authorities from taking action against a tea factory that has been using additives in tea production against regulations. A controversy had blown up over factories that were using sugar in tea production and authorities have suspended production in several. “A certain governor is already angry with me for not releasing one of these factories," Dissnayake said. more..

Jul 29 (FT) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe is due to testify before the special Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on 6 Aug, Committee Member MP Prof. Ashu Marasinghe said. He also stated that the letter summoning the Prime Minister to the PSC will be sent to the Parliament today. He added that several other ministers will also be called to give evidence on that day. Earlier this month the PM said he was also called before the PSC and he will testify to reveal what he knows. more..

Jul 29 (Island) Ulamas and Moulavis yesterday expressed concern about differences of opinion among the Islamic scholars, legal experts and politicians as regards the amendments to the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA). They warned that if the Muslim women did not put up a united front, they would be the losers. Akbar Town, Hunupitiya, Chief Imam, Moulavi Ameer said that when it came to minimum age of marriage more..

Jul 29 (DM) In the run-up to the US presidential election of 2017, then candidate Trump berated all past US Presidents for involvement in wars around the world. He lambasted past US presidents for the continued stationing of troops in far flung parts of the globe. He added, funds wasted on stationing troops could better be used for job-creation and to uplift conditions in the US. He harangued US allies where US troops were stationed, accusing them of sponging off US largesse, more..

Jul 29 (DM) In this short note, I wish to share the views of many who have spoken to me about the controversy over the Easter Sunday suicide attacks. Most of them do not write to newspapers; neither do I, as a general rule. But at this point, I consider it important to contribute to the debate, in order that the citizens of this country may learn the truth, sooner than later. My focus in the present article is on religion, because, I believe, the Easter attacks were inspired by the false religiosity more..

Jul 29 (DM) In 1788, James Madison, the primary author of the US Constitution, wrote in the Federalist Papers: “The aim of every political constitution, is (or ought to be), first to obtain for rulers men who possess most wisdom to discern, and most virtue to pursue, the common good of society; and in the next place, to take the most effectual precautions for keeping them virtuous whilst they continue to hold their public trust.” more..

Jul 29 (TM) The Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) and the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) are yet to decide if they will sign the agreement with the UNP to work together at the next election. The UNP is to sign an agreement with political parties it hopes to work with at the next election. TPA Leader and Minister Mano Ganesan said that the TPA would sign the agreement only if a consensus is reached on several issues. more..

Jul 29 (RN) Maternal mortality is on the rise in Sri Lanka, with close to 40 deaths per 100,000 live births being recorded, Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) Secretary Dr. Kapila Jayaratne said. Speaking at the Annual Academic Sessions of the SLMA held in Colombo last week, Dr. Senaratne highlighted the cost of unplanned pregnancies, in a discussion facilitated by United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). more..

Jul 29 (CT) The severe shortage of medical and health staff in the Northern Province was paving the way for the closure of six Govt hospitals, Northern Governor, Dr. Suren Raghavan said. Responding to a question regarding the health situation in the Northern Province, he said there was a shortage of 400 doctors, 700 nurses and over 1000 other hospital employees to provide healthcare to patients in the Northern Province. more..

Jul 29 (AD) Colombo High Court has fixed the date for the next hearing of the case against MP Wimal Weerawansa, for the alleged illegal acquisition of assets and money worth over Rs 75 million. The case was taken up before the Colombo High Court Judge Pradeep Hettiarachchi today. At the court, it was revealed that the Hatton National Bank, People’s Bank, and SL Insurance Company had not allowed the defense attorneys to inspect more..

Jul 29 (TM) Chair of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) and Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ananda Kumarasiri stressed that MPs who are constituents of the Committee should act in a responsible manner. Kumarasiri, said he had only limited control over the behaviour of the parliamentarians in the PSC. “There are certain people we can’t have too much control over. If they go out of line, of course, more..

Jul 29 (Island) The Amelie and Daniel Linsey Foundation, established in memory of Amelie (15) and Daniel (19) who were killed in the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka, aims to continue the giving legacy of Amelie and Daniel by providing relief to Lankan victims’ families through housing, counselling and education, and by improving local medical facilities and training, the foundation has said in a media statement. more..

Jul 29 (ST) Citing privacy laws, German authorities have refused to divulge to the Sri Lankan Govt the full identity of a suspected LTTE member who was this week charged by a German prosecutor as an accessory to murder in the 2005 assassination of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar. The suspect was identified only as Navanithan G and he is also charged with being a member of a foreign terrorist organisation. more..