Sept 15 (Island) Minister Gayantha Karunatilleke said that he wasn�t aware of the COPE recommending punitive action against Ministry Secretary Lionel Bopage in respect of his alleged involvement in a massive financial corruption case during Rajapaksa administration. The issue came up at the post-cabinet media briefing. Minister refrained from commenting when a reporter asked him whether he at least knew the Attorney General had more..

Sept 15 (Island) Former cricket captain Arjuna Ranatunga has urged PM Ranil Wickramasinghe to appoint a committee to probe the individuals in attendance at the recent Rio Olympics. "You need planning for everything. By the time we had won the World Cup in 1996, we had a plan to get there for about ten years. But looking at the next Olympic Games, we have simply no plan. We can not be satisfied with the role played by the National Olympic Committee," Ranatunga said. more..

Sept 15 (Hindu) Marine Police of Coastal Security Group (CSG) on Wednesday arrested Arul Jayarathinam alias Rajan (41), the suspected LTTE militant, who was detained by Indian Coast Guard (ICG) for illegal entry into the country. Police arrested him under Section 14 of Foreigners Act, read with Sections 3 (a) and 6 (a) of the Passport Rules, 1950. He was produced before Rameswaram Magistrate Court and taken to Chennai to be remanded in Puzhal Prison. more..

Sept 15 (EN) SL will hire US-based McKinsey and Company, a management consultancy to help set up a Malaysia style unit monitor and carry out govt program aimed accelerated economic transformation. Sri Lanka is to bring in a law called Development (Special Provisions) Bill for integrated and accelerated development across the country and restructuring and transformation of the economy. more..

Sept 15 (DM) The fiasco over the controversial coal tender has taken a new twist, they say. Initially many said that the villain of the piece is a certain political authority who keeps on interpreting the court order and the govt�s official stand on this issue to suit his own designs. All machinations of this political authority are aimed at ensuring the procurement of coal supplies continuously from the errant supplier whom the probe committees had blacklisted, they charged. more..

Sept 15 (CT) COPE has summoned the Board of Management of People's Bank (PB) to appear before it on 22 Sept to explain allegations of misappropriation of public funds amounting to Rs 1,750 million for digitizing the PB's client services and its entire computerization system. COPE Chairman JVP MP Sunil Handunnetti stated that of the sum that has been allegedly misappropriated a sum of Rs 700 million has already been expended on the digitization process that has been more..

Sept 15 (DN) Representatives of more than 140 Civil Society groups including trade unions, have urged President Sirisena to go for an urgent reshuffle of the Cabinet. They have stressed that the formation of Cabinet should be based on a scientific method. These Civil Society representatives which were committed to change of govt at the last presidential election have handed over a letter to President during a meeting between them & President more..

Sept 15 (DM) Ayurveda Department in Nawinna was closed indefinitely following the tense situation at the premises this evening (14), Minister Rajitha Senaratne said. Employees of the department had gheraoed the Chairman Lal Samarasinghe and Managing Director Ruwan Lankeshwara over several demands. The chairman had been locked in his office by the employees and he and the managing director had been prevented from leaving the premises. more..

Sept 15 (Island) Denmark has apologised to Sri Lanka for recognising Tamil Eelam as one of the countries from which foreigners could apply for visas. Denmark had promised to remove the offending section. Danish Immigration website shows Tamil Eelam as one of the options to be selected under the category nationality when filling out its visa application. SL�s ambassador to Stockholm accredited to Copenhagen took up the issue with the Danish govt immediately more..

Sept 15 (Island) UNP-SLFP coalition has proposed a 15% VAT on private sector health, including medical consultations, while exempting diagnostic tests, dialysis and OPD services. Minister Gayantha Karunatilleke explained the enforcement of the new tax structure in line with the proposed VAT (Amendment) Bill expected to be presented in parliament soon. Minister Rajitha Senaratne admitted that even those who had more..

Sept 15 (DM) Today is the International Day of Democracy with the theme this year being Democracy and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The link between democracy and all-inclusive development is vital and challenging. In September last year, all 193 UN-Member-States adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development -- a plan for achieving a better future for all, laying out a path over 15 years to end extreme poverty, fight inequality and injustice more..

Sept 15 (DM) Eminent social and political thinker, Ernest Barker, in his Social and Political Theory describes political democracy as a system of govt by which each citizen lays his/her mind alongside other minds in a voluntary process of common debate and mutual persuasion. This is the principle of toleration and compromise which form part and parcel of political democracy. All the citizens put together their views and values relating to individual needs and wants and choose the ones which are more..

Sept 15 (DM) After a Cabinet meeting with much deliberation, govt approved the proposal to reintroduce VAT (Amendment) Bill, more or less, identical to the original one aborted on a court ruling. First, Minister Ravi Karunanayake presented the proposal for consideration, and his colleagues put forth their views for and against some of its provisions. Crux of the matter here is that govt agreed in broad terms that its revenue has to be raised for more..

Sept 15 (Island) Director Mental Health, Health Ministry, Dr Chithramalee de Silva said over 3,050 suicides had been reported in Sri Lanka last year, a slight improvement compared last year. Addressing the Media in view of World Suicide Prevention Day, commemorate, Dr De Silva said that according to police records the suicide rate had been 14.7 per 100,000 population last year. Suicide rate was 4 times higher among men. more..

Sept 15 (ST) With healthy lifestyles high on the agenda as an essential and simple tool in combating the burgeoning threat of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), Health Ministers from 11 South-East Asian nations including Sri Lanka meeting in Colombo left the podium to engage in physical activity. Providing proof that they are in fact practising what they preach, the day after the inauguration of the 69th Regional more..

Sept 15 (SL) A 2006 circular has prevented promotions of ambulance drivers, Ambulance driver�s unions alleged. Ambulance Drivers are identified as a class of drivers who are vested with immense responsibility on their shoulders. At present over 2500 drivers in the State Health Services ambulances fulfill their duties by putting their lives at constant risk. Ambulance Drivers have to watch the lives of the sick, lives of the crew more..

Sept 15 (DN) Joint Opposition Leader, MP Dinesh Gunawardane stressed that the govt should make a clear statement refuting the harmful statement by UN Secretary General, within the next one week before SL leaders attend UN General Assembly sessions. MP charged that govt remained dumb on this statement by UN Secretary General which compared SL�s war against the LTTE with acts of genocide in Rwanda & Bosnia. more..

Sept 15 (DM) Former President Chandrika Kumaratunga called for a joint effort of all parties to compile a federal semi-secular constitution in order to bring about a proper reconciliation in the country. Ms Kumaratunga, who was speaking at a seminar organized by the national secretariat for national reconciliation in Colombo, said Sri Lanka should learn a lesson from number of countries which have resolved their issues more..

Sept 15 (DM) The joint opposition requested the Govt to call for the people�s approval regarding several actions taken by the it, including its response to the assault on SL�s High Commissioner Ibrahim Ansar in Kuala Lumpur on Sept 4. Former minister Prof. G.L. Peiris said such incidents do not look good on SL's resume, as the country's High Commissioner was a representative of the country�s pride and independence. more..

Sept 15 (ENS) Like Indian PM Narendra Modi, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena is also skipping the 17th Non-Aligned Movement�s summit being held in Venezuela's Margerita Island from Sept 13 to 18. Sirisena will be represented by his Special Envoy Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe. Samarasinghe will represent Sri Lanka also at the ministerial segment to be held from Sept 15 to 16. The summit is being held under more..

Sept 15 (DM) Over ruling the preliminary objection raised on the earlier occasion by the respondents, the Supreme Court today directed the Bribery Commission to file charge sheet on or before Oct 3 in court against former President's son and MP Namal Rajapaksa for disregarding Bribery Commission�s orders. The action had been filed earlier by the Commissions' Director General under the Contempt of Commission provision. more..

Sept 15 (AD) Former sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage has been arrested by the CID. UPFA Kandy District MP was taken into custody after he arrived at the CID to give a statement this morning. Police said that Aluthgamage was arrested on charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act after a statement was recorded from him. He is to be produced at the Colombo Chief Magistrate�s Court later today. more..

Sept 15 (CT) UNHRC website said that among the several issues being taken at its current sessions which opened in Geneva Tuesday is the issue on SL. That subject will revolve round the report of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances on its mission to SL-Note by the Secretariat and comments by the State (SL) on this report. As reported by this newspaper on Monday, the period covered will span a little over a year, i.e. from 16 May 2015 to 18 May 2016. more..

Sept 15 (CT) A total of 99 organisations and 83 individuals have joined hands to urge the members of the Constitutional Assembly and in particular the Steering Committee, to ensure that the new constitution of Sri Lanka is underpinned by a substantive recognition of the obligations of the state to further social and economic justice and rights. In an open letter dated on September 13, the signatories called on both the Constitutional Assembly and the Steering Committee to more..

Sept 15 (CT) Students of the Sabaragamuwa University Union forcibly entered and occupied the premises of the University Chancellor's administration office, demanding solutions to several long outstanding issues relating to the university. The sit-in occupation had begun Tuesday and is expected to conclude today. Several students participating in the protest were seen inside the administration office, while many others conducted the demonstration outside the premises, more..

Sept 15 (Xinhua) At least 26 people were injured when a passenger bus collided with a truck in Sri Lanka's southern expressway on Thursday, police said. A police official told Xinhua that out of those injured, 12 were men and 14 women. The bus was on its way to Matara in Southern Sri Lanka when it crashed into a truck which was parked on the Expressway. The injured had been rushed to nearby state hospitals. An investigation is underway. more..

Sept 15 (LBO) Sri Lanka�s economy expanded 2.6% in the second quarter of 2016 from a year earlier, led by services activities. GDP for the second quarter of 2016 at constant price reportedly reached up to 2,130,240 million rupees against 2,075,805 million rupees reported for the second quarter of 2015. Agriculture, industry, services and taxes less subsidies on products have contributed to the share of GDP at more..

Sept 15 (DN) IGP Pujith Jayasundara made a revelation about the Facebook IGP saying the latter had used indecent language to communicate with females, on Facebook. Rajitha Madhushan Weerasekara, a resident of New Zealand, was remanded by court for allegedly maintaining a fake Facebook profile of the IGP Pujith Jayasundara. Suspect is now popularly known as Facebook IGP. IGP, said incident damaged his public image. "There is a clear case for an inquiry" IGP said. more..

Sept 15 (Island) Residents of Moragahakanda are up in arms against the govt�s failure to fulfil the promises given to them and threatened to go on a fast unto death if the govt does not offer solutions to their problems before the reservoir is completed. The Organisation for the Protection of Rights of Moragahakanda Residents, a leader representing the affected people Chandarasiri Bandara said the govt promised to pay compensation to the families who were relocated to make way for project more..

Sept 15 (DM) The youth reported to have gone missing while in the custody of the Hambantota police was found at a Temple in Dikwella today, Police said. Acting Media Spokesman Ajith Rohana said the youth was found after being informed by the monks of the temple. He would be produced in the Hambantota Magistrate�s Court after recording a statement. The youth has admitted to having escaped from the police custody. more..

Sept 15 (Island) Proceedings of 23,000 labour cases countrywide have come to a standstill due to the on-going strike by labour officers, secretary, Public Service Labour Officers� Union Lalith Jayasinghe said participating in a leaflet distribution campaign in Kandy on Wednesday. Inquiries into around 700 complaints received per day have also come to a halt as a result of the ongoing trade union action. This causes tremendous inconvenience to the persons concerned Jayasinghe noted. more..

Sept 15 (DN) Nine persons including MP Hirunika Premachandra will be indicted before the Colombo High Court on Sept 21 on 24 counts including conspiring to abduct a person at Kolonnawa, aiding and abetting an abduction and keeping the abducted person incommunicado. Hirunika Premachandra will be indicted on the above mentioned three charges, while six others, Pelawatta Vithanage Niranjan, Hasitha Jayatilleke, Kasun Sampath, Indika de Soysa, Michael Anthony, Hasindu more..

Sept 15 (LBO) National Medicines Regulatory Authority says the Russian breast cancer drug registered under their authority is in line with guidelines. The authority said they always follow the due process for registration of pharmaceutical products and biosimilars. Biosimilar is a biopharmaceutical drug designed to have active properties similar to one that has previously been licensed. �Authority followed European more..

Sept 15 (DM) Regional Development Minister Sarath Fonseka warned that it was not wise to invest colossal amounts on infrastructure development just to get a political advantage as Sri Lanka was still a poor, debt ridden country. Minister said his ministry expected to encourage investors to invest in areas away from the townships. Minister Fonseka said Sri Lanka should cut down on imports while encouraging exports to save as well as earn foreign exchange. more..

Sept 15 (DN) SriLankan Airlines today completely banned the use or charging of Samsung�s latest Galaxy Note7 smartphone onboard, with immediate effect and until further notice. The decision follows Samsung suspending sales of the Galaxy Note7 after several incidents in which the phone batteries caught fire were reported. The ban applies to turning on or charging any Samsung Galaxy Note7 onboard, or shipping it in checked-in luggage and cargo, SriLankan said in a statement today. more..

Sept 15 (LBO) Govt has allocated 15 million rupees to form a contributory pension scheme for 327 artists, as an initial phase of the programme. Citizens between the age of 23 and 55 who satisfy the eligibility criteria as artists will be given priority. The cabinet has granted its approval to the Cultural Affairs Department to retain five percent of the allocated 15 million rupees for the initial promotion of this pension scheme. more..

Sept 15 (CT) Voice Against Corruption (VAC), of JVP, lodged a complaint with the Anti-Corruption Secretariat (ACS) about the alleged financial scam and four other related incidents that had taken place at the People's Bank, sources said. The Convener of VAC and JVP politburo member, Wasantha Samarasinghe, handed over the complaints to the ACS yesterday. He said among the complaints lodged with the ACS had been the misappropriation of funds at the People's Bank, more..

Sept 15 (CT) GMOA called for amendments to the National Authority on Tobacco & Alcohol (NATA) Act in order to reduce the consumption of tobacco. Addressing the media, GMOA Editor and former General Secretary Dr. Nalinda Herath said amendment should be brought in to strictly prohibit smoking in public places and a licence system should be introduced for the sale of cigarettes. "We as the GMOA appreciate the commitment of the President to reduce tobacco consumption. more..

Sept 15 (ENS) Dr. Razeen Sally, Chairman of the Institute of Policy Studies in SL and Associate Professor, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National Univ of Singapore, says that Sri Lanka should proceed with the Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) with India and have a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China, but neither of these will trigger a boom in trade in contrast to FTAs with S'pore & US. more..