Jan 25 (DM) Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa said that state corporation heads are duty-bound to uplift efficiency levels and generate profit without burdening the govt. “We must identify the fields by which we could serve the people and uplift our economy in the best manner and develop those fields. The main responsibility regarding this lies in the hands of the Tourist Board and the BoI,” he said at a discussion with heads and senior officials of govt corporations at President Secretariat. more..

Jan 25 (CT) Sri Lanka's Angelo Mathews is back among the top 20 batsmen in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings after helping his side win by 10 wickets in Harare to take a 1-0 lead in the two-Test series against Zimbabwe. In the latest rankings update that also includes the Port Elizabeth Test, which England won by an innings and 53 runs to go 2-1 ahead in the four-Test series, Mathews has advanced eight places to reach 16th position after his unbeaten 200 in Harare. more..

Jan 25 (DN) Less than two months away from the expected announcement of a General Election, the UNP in a swamp over choosing its own leadership, is now poised to cut a path between its current leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa by forming new UNP-led political alliance of which Premadasa would be the appointed leader. Accordingly, Sajith Premadasa will be the leader of new coalition more..

Jan 25 (ST) Despite opposition from unions, the Transport Ministry aims to reduce imports of three wheelers. Transport Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said that there is a proposal to replace three-wheelers with small cars due to the many restrictions faced by three-wheelers from the development of road infrastructure. “We will first introduce a uniform for all three-wheeler drivers and make it mandatory. Then we will look at fare meters and pricing,” he said. more..

Jan 25 (Island) One-time Army Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Nanda Mallawarachchi has been appointed Director General, Multi Development Task Force responsible for high profile project to recruit and train 100,000 members of low income families. The project implemented in line with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s 2019 presidential poll pledge aimed to uplift the living standards of the poorest of poor, Govt Spokesman State Power Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage said. more..

Jan 25 (AFP) SL's presidency said Friday that death certificates for thousands of people missing presumed dead from the country's civil war will only be given out after proper investigations. Statement followed comments from Prez Rajapaksa that those missing were actually dead had caused anguish among relatives that govt would close the issue without addressing what happened to their loved ones. more..

Jan 25 (TM) Upon the advice of the Ministry of Foreign Relations, the SL Embassy in Beijing is in discussion with the relevant Chinese authorities and other embassies in Beijing to explore all the possibilities of evacuating Sri Lankans in Wuhan, Foreign Ministry said. Embassy is monitoring the evolving situation of the coronavirus infection in China and is presently in discussion with relevant Chinese authorities in Beijing and Wuhan as well as Lankans in Wuhan and other parts of China. more..

Jan 25 (DN) A fresh investigation should be conducted under the present Govt into the forensic report on the Central Bond Bond scam, State Minister Dilum Amunugama said. “This is because the forensic report had been formulated by a group of persons in the former Government who were connected to the scam,” he said. He said the Central Bank Bond scam not only caused the defeat of the previous regime at the last Presidential Election, but also led the country’s economy to destruction. more..

Jan 25 (DM) Colombo High Court Trial-at-Bar served indictments on 13 accused in connection with the abduction, torture, extortion and conspiracy to murder eleven people in 2008 and 2009. One of the accused, former Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda was not present in court as he was not served with the notice to appear in court yesterday. At the outset the Counsel for the accused requested court not to serve the indictments more..

Jan 25 (TM) Airport & Aviation Services in SL (AASL) is offering a host of incentives to int'l budget airlines to fly to the Ratmalana Int'l Airport and the Mattala Rajapaksa Int'l Airport (MRIA). The incentives include subsidised air handling and fuel charges, AASL Chairman Maj. Gen. (Rtd.) G.A. Chandrasiri said. “If airlines are interested they must come and discuss with us. We are giving all the facilities they could ever need. They will never get a package like this anywhere in Asia,” more..

Jan 25 (Hindu) Valliyammal M., who was repatriated to India from Sri Lanka more than four decades ago, has been living in the same house in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu that the govt built for her and her husband then. She has now partitioned the small single-room house into two, so that her son, Selvaraj, and his family can live in one half. As she boils water on a wood stove, the 75-year-old recalls how difficult she found life in India for the first two years after her return. more..

Jan 25 (CT) SriLankan Airlines announced that it has implemented a series of precautionary measures to mitigate the risks from the current Coronavirus epidemic in the Far East, with the safety and wellbeing of its passengers and staff in mind. SriLankan's cabin crew and other relevant staff have been briefed on action to be taken on board and at airports, especially in the Far East. The Airline is also in contact with relevant more..

Jan 25 (DM) For most people, the most dreaded disease is cancer. Even family members and friends are affected by it because in most cases it leads to death. On Feb 4, the United Nations marks World Cancer Day and the World Health Organisation (WHO) in a statement says Cancer is a generic term for a large group of diseases that can affect any part of the body. One defining feature of cancer is the rapid creation of abnormal cells that grow beyond their usual boundaries. more..

Jan 25 (DM) Last week, the Cabinet decided to draft a National Intelligence Act. Minister Bandula Gunawardena who announced the decision said the objective was “to mitigate the damage caused to the state intelligence agencies under the Yahapalana govt, prevent repetitions and strengthen the State intelligence services to face any threat to National Security.” That is the right decision, communicated in the wrong way. When you colour a national initiative with a political tint, more..

Jan 25 (ST) As strong protests came from environmentalists over reported moves to give out arms to personnel from the Civil Defence Force to curb the human-elephant conflict (HEC), wildlife conservation officials were quick to allay fears and concerns over trigger-happy killings of wild animals. “These personnel from the Civil Defence Force would be supporting officials of Dept of Wildlife Conservation to man the electric fences” more..

Jan 25 (ST) The previous govt’s decisions to keep tossing the dog sterilisation programme between ministries last year resulted in a regime that saw the work stymied for months. That situation probably led to a greater increase of strays on the street, both ministry officials and an NGO in the sector suggested. There are around 3 million dogs in the country (one dog for every eight people). A third of these animals, more..

Jan 25 (ST) The drought has set in around Sri Lanka and, with it, forest fires have started. Despite repeated pleas, advice and warnings by the authorities, the blazes are all manmade. Fires in forests are not uncommon here. The number reported annually ranges from 50 to 200 depending on prevailing weather, said a paper published in 2001 by K P Ariyadasa, a former Conservator General of Forests. more..

Jan 25 (EN) Provincial councils in Sri Lanka have been asked to liberalize beverage licenses to improve tourism receipts to the country. Provincial councils were requested present proposals to liberalise beverage licenses during a meeting with Tourism and Aviation Minister Prasanna Ranatunga and Tourism and Aviation State Minister Arundika Fernando. The meeting was held as a part of a plan to grow tourism more..

Jan 25 (AD) President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has declared open Sri Lanka’s first National Centre for Children with Disabilities, which is named Ayati Centre. The event was attended by Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi, former State Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardene, Vice Chancellor of University of Kelaniya Prof. D.M. Semasinghe, Dean of the university’s Medical Faculty Prof. Prasantha Wijesinghe and more..

Jan 25 (NAR) Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa faces his first test of diplomacy three months into his inaugural term, as he seeks to dilute the country's postwar commitments, possibly flouting U.N. resolutions. Rajapaksa plans to make his case to the UNHRC which is holding sessions in Geneva from late February, running the risk of raising the ire of the European Union, a major trading partner of the South Asian nation. more..

Jan 25 (DN) Students who follow courses at University Colleges that were initiated during the Mahinda Rajapaksa era before 2015 would be given the opportunity to continue their courses up to degree level, although the previous UNP led Govt attempted to close them down, Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardane said in Parliament. He added that all measures would be taken to ensure the future of the students of University Colleges more..

Jan 25 (ST) Hot and humid days are to be expected in the coming weeks while the present chilly conditions in the mornings will gradually fade away, the Meteorology Department forecasts. On Friday the temperature was 35 degrees in Ratnapura while throughout last week it was about 30 degrees in many districts. Ratmalana in the Colombo district recorded 33.6 degrees while the rest of Colombo recorded 32 degrees. more..

Jan 25 (Island) State Power Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage said on Wednesday (22), Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s decision to increase the daily wage of an estate worker to Rs. 1,000 from March 01, 2020, had not been seriously opposed by the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon. Addressing the media at the PM’s Office, lawmaker Aluthgamage said those who had been fighting for Rs 1,000 daily wage now question more..

Jan 25 (Island) Environment Agency of the UK yesterday wrote to the Ministry of Justice, seeking permission to coordinate with legal formalities here and spelling out their willingness to send a team of experts to Sri Lanka over dumping more than 100 container loads of their toxic waste here. Ministry of Justice, informed the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) on the letter titled Export of waste to Sri Lanka in breach of more..

Jan 26 (SO) Cutting down on waste and corruption in the public sector was one of the key campaign planks of Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa. While all other leaders had indeed made this campaign pledge at election time, only Prez Rajapaksa showed the resolve to follow it through. He has already taken many concrete steps to reduce wasteful expenditure and corruption in the Govt sector. This is especially essential as the Govt is losing some revenue due to extensive tax concessions granted as more..

Jan 26 (SO) The dreaded coronavirus, which started spreading in Wuhan, China with the dawn of 2020, is now showing signs of transforming into a fully-blown pandemic. From 1 Jan until yesterday, number of confirmed cases has climbed sharply to more than 1,321 worldwide, with 41 deaths reported in China. China has already locked down several major cities, restricting movement of an unprecedented 56 million people and is now rushing to build a 1,000-bed prefabricated hospital for identified cases. more..

Jan 26 (ST) A beaming family of three sits before us on Thursday morning in Colombo before heading back home to Kaluwila, Hidogama in Anuradhapura. Samadi is the flag-bearer, for not only is CAR T-cell Therapy a first in Sri Lanka but it has also not been introduced in other countries in the region such as India, Pakistan or Bangladesh to name a few. As CAR T-cell Therapy (Chimeric Antigen Receptors T-cell Therapy) more..

Jan 26 (TM) The discussions between UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa to resolve the ongoing leadership crisis in the party have ended inconclusively. Neither Wickremesinghe nor Premadasa seem ready to come to a middle ground on the UNP leadership issue. A majority of the UNP is also looking at ways to form an alliance with Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The fact was revealed in public by UNP MP Ajith P. Perera, more..

Jan 26 (TM) Actor-turned-politician Ranjan Ramanayake whipped up a political tsunami with his latest revelations made in Parliament last week. In a speech spanning nearly 30 minutes, Ramanayake spared no one as he fired barrage after barrage of explosive verbal missiles amidst pindrop silence in the normally noisy Parliament chamber. All Ramanayake had to do to ensure silence whenever he was disturbed was to say, oyage recording-uth thiyenawa (I have your voice recordings more..

Jan 26 (TM) While preparations are being made to shift the office space of the Ministry of Agriculture, currently located at a luxury private building in Rajagiriya, to its former office Govijana Mandiraya in Battaramulla, The officials had been instructed to explore the possibility of renegotiating the agreements with the private party. Furthermore, Minister had also directed officials to try and obtain a refund of the rent for more..

Jan 26 (Island) EU Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) has, in its final report on the 2019 prez election, made several valuable recommendations which, we believe, have struck a responsive chord with the SL public; they warrant the attention of both the govt and the Opposition. EU monitors have stressed the need for introducing new laws pertaining to prez election campaign financing and expenditure, enacting legislation to strengthen the Election Commissioner's mandate; more..

Jan 26 (ST) In the face of a new outbreak of a potentially fatal oncoming influenza from China and South East Asia, how prepared is Sri Lanka to meet the situation? Should an emergency task force be appointed? The new strain of coronavirus has earned the attention of all countries that see Chinese visitors. The Chinese President has ordered the lockdown of the Wuhan province where the virus began and two other cities in a move to contain its spread. Already, death toll has risen to 41 and more..

Jan 26 (Island) Last Thursday, Queen Elizabeth II gave her assent to PM Boris Johnson’s European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020, thus making Brexit a certainty. After Friday this week, Britain will no longer be a part of the European Union. Our erstwhile colonial master, once the centre of an empire on which the sun never set, was herself turned into a colony of Brussels through a process of creeping imperialism over a number of years and decades. more..

Jan 26 (ST) My dear Ranil, I thought I should write to you as you fight to cling on to your political life, hoping to be the leader of the Green party for as long as you live. For years, I wrote to you as the Green Man. It is now time to change that because, if you are truly a man of the Greens, you won’t be doing what you are doing. You have frequently preached to us about democracy in our Paradise but there is no democracy within your Green party now. That is why you prevented a vote the other more..

Jan 26 (ST) When Angelo Mathews arrived at the crease with Sri Lanka on 92 for 2–still 266 runs behind Zimbabwe’s first innings total of 358–he knew he had to play a long hand if they were to take control of the match. Physically, however, it proved demanding as he had just recovered from a terrible diarrhoea. The illness had taken a toll on his fitness, leaving him fatigued. But Mathews defied tiredness to notch his maiden double century, more..

Jan 26 (ST) When Hashan Tillakaratne took over the SL Youth side two years ago, expectations were high by almost many, including the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) management, to revive the fortunes of the National Under-19 National cricket team. But it turned out to be contrast with after an year of fluctuations in 2019. SL Youth side was confident after their victorious campaign in the West Indies after winning four out of seven matches. SL did bring in right-arm fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana, more..

Jan 26 (ST) After being thrashed earlier in all their group games of the Under-19 World Cup series, Sri Lanka Youth team recorded a consolation 9-wicket win over Japan Under-19 in the 21st match of the ICC Under-19 World Cup played at Potchefstroom yesterday. SL bowlers showed a commendable performance to bundle out the Japanese Under-19 for 43 runs within 18.3 overs in the match which was curtailed as 22 overs innings per a side. But Sri Lanka lost a wicket on course to victory. more..

Jan 26 (TM) SL’s participation in the Dubai Expo 2020, world’s largest exhibition, hangs in balance due to bureaucratic delays and the absence of required funds. Of primary concern are the delays in setting up a Dubai Expo local secretariat and selection of an event management company (EMC). While the necessary proposals and documentation were submitted to Ministry of Development Strategies & Int'l Trade more..

Jan 26 (ST) The 85th Nuwara Eliya Golf Club (NEGC) Club Championship 2019 which was originally due to be held on December 7 and 8 will take place on February 1 and 2 at their beautiful course in Nuwara-Eliya. Veteran golfer, Ranil Peiris will defend his title in the club’s annual event which is the blue riband tournament of the year. Tee off is at 7.30 am on both days. The format will be two days of stroke play where the overall champion will be decided on the best gross score. more..