July 3 (SL) All eyes are now focused as to what action Sri Lanka Cricket would take against those who are alleged to be involved in match fixing at the Premium �B� tournament held in January this year. Vice President SLC and Head of Domestic Cricket, K. Mathivanan said that the long delay in finalizing the match fixing report was due to miscommunication between the committee members and the two sports clubs alleged to more..

July 3 (AFP) Bangladesh�s cricket authorities expressed confidence on Sunday that Chandika Hathurusingha, the national head coach, would see out his contract despite interest from his native Sri Lanka. �Anyone can want him as coach, but we have not spoken to him about (Sri Lanka),� Nazmul Hassan, the Bangladesh Cricket Board president, told reporters in Dhaka. �We have a contract with him until World Cup 2019. more..

July 3 (CT) A fresh tug of war has erupted between State authorities and Bhikkhu hierarchies over the ownership of Golden Temple in Dambulla which is recognized as the largest, best-preserved cave-temple complex in Sri Lanka with Buddhist mural paintings (covering an area of 2,100 m2) and 157 statues, being dropped off the list of World Heritages by the UNESCO. The administration of Dambulla Temple has more..

July 3 (Xinhua) Tourism Minister John Amaratunga warned of stern action against anyone caught harassing tourists who visit the island country. He said that he had held a meeting with the IGP and other senior police officials and police patrolling would be increased in the tourist areas. However, he said, no serious complaints against tourists had been recorded to date and the govt would take all steps possible to ensure more..

July 3 (AFP) Sri Lanka is to deploy game wardens to stop wild elephants straying onto the pitch when the country hosts Zimbabwe for a series of ODIs at the Hambantota stadium. Experts will be on hand for all three ODI games at the 35,000-capacity stadium, which is next to an elephant sanctuary. Stadium was built in 2009 under former president Rajapakse, but has hosted only a handful of matches because of its remote location more..

July 3 (Island) NFF leader Wimal Weerawansa said in Kandy last Saturday that govt�s new constitution was meant to grant self-determination rights to the North and the East. Addressing the Kandy District annual convention of the NFF, Weerawansa cautioned that SL would be devastated if the Yahapalana govt was allowed to rule the country till 2020. "This govt is without any love for the country or any desire to develop it. more..

July 3 (DM) The Joint Opposition said that they would file a case at the Supreme Court, against the handing over of the Lottery Board to the Foreign Ministry violating the rules and regulations imposed by the Legislature. JO Parliamentarian Bandula Gunawardana said though the National Lottery Board (NLB) and the Development Lottery Board (DLB) were handed over to the Foreign Ministry, it has violated more..

July 3 (NR) JHU says the medical degree offered by SAITM must be abolished. General Secretary of JHU Minister Champika Ranawaka said a reasonable course of action must be taken with regard to undergraduate students at SAITM. Minister added delaying action until a Court order is issued would be futile. He noted however the degree must be abolished not only upon an order by SC but on an overall legal standing. more..

July 3 (CT) Doctors should act with patience not only when interacting with patients but when faced with issues challenging the medical profession as well as medical studies. Doctors should act patiently in the best interest of innocent patients who depend on Sate hospitals for medical attention. Health Rajitha Senaratne has announced that the Govt has ruled out further discussions with State doctors over private medical education, as public anger escalated over doctors who focus on strikes more..

June 3 (AD) High Court has decided to re open the case regarding the allegations presented against the Rs. 40 million assets owned by MP Rohitha Abeygunawardena.� The case which was taken up by the Colombo High Court today (3), will be heard again on the 2 and 3 of August, later this year (2017).� During the court proceedings, the defendant�s attorney stated that the defendant was not allowed to see the electronic evidence that was stored.�Defendant�s attorney added that more..

July 3 (EN) World Bank has recommended that Sri Lanka develop a national disaster risk financing strategy and explore catastrophe risk insurance options for public assets given the damage caused by recent natural disasters whose frequency is increasing. �It is of utmost importance for Sri Lanka to increase its physical resilience to reduce impact of disasters and financial resilience to deal with the impact when the disaster happens,� the World Bank said in its latest development update. more..

July 3 (Island) Police investigating last week�s 7.7-million-rupee daylight robbery at Kadawatha have made a breakthrough with the arrest of one of the suspects. Under interrogation the suspect divulged that he had in his possession a part of the cash robbed by an armed gang on June 26. A former employee of the textile shop the suspect knew how the cash was transported, police said. A four-member gang arrived in a car, intercepted the van transporting the money by 2 employees more..

July 3 (Roar) Being a victim, spectator, or perpetrator of online incidents is becoming increasingly commonplace in Sri Lanka. Even cricket legends are at the centre of accusations and�scandal. There are statutory divisions in place to investigate cybercrime, but it would appear that assessability, legality, and resources are barriers to effective online protection. Roar looks at the consequences of online incidents and asks more..

June 3 (DM) The parents of IUSF undergraduates who are staging a protest campaign opposite Fort Railway Station against the SAITM today undertook before the Fort Magistrate Lanka Jayaratna to remove the platform on July 5 before 6 pm. The protesting parents appearing through Attorneys- at- Law Deemani Wellalage, Siraz Noordeen Nuwan Bopage and Namal Rajapaksa made this assurance resulting to a request made by Fort Police from the Magistrate on Friday to remove the platform. more..

July 3 (FT) Sustainable development generally has two meanings. One is associated with sustainability of development through proper market practices. In this sense, a sustainable development is one which, once started, will continue on its own without the need for external support. For instance, a poor man may cross the poverty line with the initial state support. His development will be sustainable only if he could continue his journey to prosperity even after the state support is withdrawn. more..

June 3 (DM) Karaka Sangha Sabhawa of the Asgiriya Chapter has said a new Constitution was not the need of the hour. Sanga Sabhawa which is headed by Asgiriya Mahanayake Most Ven. Warakagoda Sri Gnanaratana Thera passed a resolution to this effect after a lengthy discussion. Members of the council had also resolved that the foremost place accorded to Buddhism & unitary character of the country more..

June 3 (AD) Dehiwala Zoological Gardens will be open to the public from 7 pm till 10.00 pm with a series of new attractions. Minister Gamini Jayawickrama Perera stated that this special night safari segment will come into effect from Sept 9 onward. Accordingly, following the regular opening hours 8:30 am till 6 pm, Dehiwala National Zoological Gardens will be open to the public for an additional three hours from 7 pm till 10 pm, after the new programme is implemented. more..

June 3 (DM) A medical specialist attached to the Kuliyapitiya Base Hospital and another employee were arrested by the officials of the Bribery Commission, while accepting a bribe of Rs. 75,000 today at the hospital. Bribery Commission Director (Investigations) SSP Priyantha Chandrasiri said the physician allegedly demanded a sum of Rs. 25,000 each month from a private laboratory owner for sending patients to the laboratory to obtain medical services. more..

June 3 (EN) Sri Lankan rupee is expected to fall further this year, steeper than last year with a rising fuel import bill and heavy govt borrowings. Bartleet Religare Securities said the central bank will not protect the rupee at the cost of external reserves, which would effectively remove the peg for the dirty float. �We expect a fall in the exchange rate and the rupee to depreciate against the US dollar steeper than it did in 2016,� more..

June 3 (DN) JHU Leader Champika Ranawaka said that the removal of Professor Carlo Fonseka from his position as the Chairman of Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) is not a solution to the SAITM issue. �Though he is 85 now, everybody knows that he can perform his service effectively. He played a key role in the struggle launched against Colombo North hospital during 86/87,� said the Minister. He said that Professor Carlo�s retirement would badly affected the SAITM issue. more..

June 3 (Xinhua) Three-wheel taxi drivers in Sri Lanka on Monday protested against a U.S. travel warning for tourists using three-wheelers in Colombo. Representatives of three-wheel taxi associations protested outside the U.S. embassy in Colombo and submitted a petition calling for the withdrawal of the travel warning. Three-wheel taxis are popular in Sri Lanka and widely used by tourists and locals to travel around the city. The U.S. embassy in Colombo last week said more..

June 3 (NR) GMOA says it will launch an indefinite strike from the 5th of July in protest of the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine. Media Spokesman of the GMOA Dr. Samantha Ananda said the decision was made as the govt failed to formally implement the proposals provided by the association. Speaking at a media briefing held at the GMOA Headquarters, Dr. Samantha Ananda said GMOA will continue the fight until a solution more..

June 3 (EN) A deal to lease Sri Lanka�s southern Hambantota harbour to a Chinese firm will have economy-wide benefits, helping boost foreign exchange reserves and relieving pressure on the rupee, Minister of Ports and Shipping Mahinda Samarasinghe said. Loans from China to build Hambantota and other infrastructure some at commercial rates had put Sri Lanka in a debt trap, he told the Logistics Leaders Evening forum of the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport. more..

June 3 (Xinhua) Sri Lanka signed an agreement with Germany for the recruitment of personnel for training as geriatric nurses. The two sides signed a Joint Declaration of Intent on principles of fair recruitment of personnel for training as geriatric nurses in Germany. The signing ceremony took place at the German Federal Foreign Ministry in Berlin. "Agreement envisages training to commence in SL from 2018 and the trainees will be provided with a comprehensive German language training more..

June 3 (PSL) President Maithripala Sirisena says he would take every possible step would be taken as a government to strengthen the co-operative movement which is a common people�s movement. He added that the govt will take maximum possible steps to free the co-operative movement from taxes. President was speaking at the 95th International Co-operative Day celebration held today (1) in Kurunegala. more..

June 3 (DN) Galle Police have begun investigations into a man who allegedly defrauded schoolchildren to the tune of Rs. 170, 000 by promising them jobs at a leading bank. The man had called school principals at leading schools in the area and informed them of vacancies at a leading bank due to open in Galle. The man in question had asked the school principals to inform their senior students of the job vacancies and left his name and number with the school principals. more..

June 3 (PSL) The Litro Gas Lanka Limited has taken steps to provide gas cookers and cylinders to 1,000 families affected by floods in �Millaniya Divisional Secretariat of Kalutara District, and marking this event President Maithripala Sirisena symbolically handed over gas cookers and cylinders to ten persons at the Presidential Secretariat, today. The value of one set comprises of a gas cooker, cylinder and a regulator provided to each householder is more than Rs 5,000. more..

June 3 (LBO) SL�s new Inland Revenue Act will contribute to increasing the country�s very low level of government revenues, a key constraint on the sovereign credit profile, Moody�s said. Last month, the govt made public a new income tax bill that will replace the existing law with a more efficient, modern and broad-based tax framework. The gazetting of the proposed tax reforms paves the way for the IMF to approve more..

June 3 (NR) Ministry of Foreign Employment says 67 foreign employment agencies have been blacklisted over the past six months of 2017. The agencies were blacklisted for failing to assist in investigations into complaints, wrongfully deploying persons overseas and preparing fraudulent documents. The agencies are also accused of committing financial fraud and obtaining commissions from overseas foreign employment agencies and not deploying workers in return. more..

June 3 (MoD) Members of the troops of the 1 and 6 Corps of Engineer Services are currently engaged in the construction of two new temporary wards in the Negombo General Hospital premises for use of Dengue patients after hospital authorities brought the lack of adequate warding facilities to the notice of the President when he recently visited the hospital. General Crisanthe De Silva, Commander of the Army responding quickly to the SOS need, instructed Corps of Engineer Services, more..

June 3 (KH) The film Let Her Cry, a tantalizing tale of an extramarital affair between an old professor and his seductive student, might not have been shown on screens in Sri Lanka a decade ago. Works that were hostile to the govt or provocative in nature were banned by the previous administration, which ruled the country�tightly nearing the end of�a 30-year interethnic war. But since the new national unity govt of more..

June 4 (CT) Dear Dr. Rajapakshe, During your early political career, I considered you to be one who could contribute to the country constructively within a good team of likeminded politicians. When I wrote that the Young and the bright should lead Sri Lanka in Sept 2012, after calling for a Peaceful Regime Change, you were in my mind with some others. I recollect your visit to my office as the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS) of the University of Colombo in late 2004, more..

June 4 (SL) Unlike being claimed by sections of the civil society, the passage of the missing persons law amendment should not be confused as a first step towards ethnic reconciliation. It should be seen only as a law aimed at helping individuals and families, in the Tamil North and Sinhala South, to come to terms with their missing kin, from the Eelam Wars on the one hand and the two JVP insurgencies on the other. Coming to terms with the death or disappearance of their near-ones more..

June 4 (SO) Since its inception the SAITM has had detractors who held varied opinions on the institution as well as local private medical education. However among them the GMOA has been one of the most vocal opponents, which has moved them to launch serious union strike actions in the recent past while also engaging in protests and discussions to prevent any private medical college from being established in SL. more..

June 4 (ST) The trade deficit reached a massive US$2.5 billion in the first three months of the year. If the trade performance continues in this way, this year�s trade deficit could exceed US$10 billion. However there are expectations that the trade deficit could be brought down owing to an expected increase in exports and reduction in some key imports. With a surge in exports in March, there is an expectation of an export growth in the remaining nine months that could ease more..

June 4 (ST) Well what do you know! Our mettlesome minister in charge of the country�s law and order Sagala Ratnayaka made a foray into the Cinnamon Gardens Police Station last week and discovered multiple horrors we are told in news reports. To enumerate them all in some detail would take more editorial space than the editor would be prepared to spare given that more noteworthy happenings are being recorded almost daily and deserve closer public attention. more..

June 4 (CT) United National Front for Good Governance (UNFGG) seems to be legitimizing the dubious projects which commenced under the Rajapaksas and which have adverse impacts on the environment. The continuation of the Uma Oya Project, which has drawn a great deal of attention recently, is one such instance. However, there are many other similar projects that evade detection. CT spoke to environmentalist more..

June 4 (SL) Lasith Malinga, SL�s star paceman and the most feared Sri Lankan in international cricket has been no-balled by Sri Lanka cricket long before he reached the crease. A one year suspension � suspended for six months � and a fine of 50% of his next ODI match fees were imposed on him for a breach of contract. The offence: Speaking to the media which violates a clause in the contract, it has been said. SLC President Thilanga Sumathipala was quoted in the press saying more..

July 4 (Island) Western Province Chief Minister Isura Devapriya is one of the key UPFA politicians who moulted, so to speak, towards the end of Rajapaksa govt and gained dazzling yahapalana fleeces. They are now competing with their Joint Opposition rivals to make a public display of their patriotism in a bid to shore up their waning popularity. Devapriya has, for his part, embarked on a mission to save the Sinhala race and Buddhism! He is, however, not alone in this endeavour. more..