Sep 13 (DN) National Youth Model United Nations (NYMUN) is here, yet again to engage and inspire SL youth. NYMUN is a two-day conference that functions as a national simulation of the UN and its affiliated organisations for youth aged 14-30 in Sri Lanka. From 250 young individuals in 2016 and 350 delegates in 2017, NYMUN is launching this session with the hope of engaging 1,500 individuals from various parts of the island. NYMUN 2018 will be held on Sept 29 and 30 in Colombo more..

Sep 13 (Roar) What use is a healthy life if we don�t have anything to live for? Pursuing the things we love bring us peace of mind, fulfilment and contentment, said Kumar Sangakkara at Softlogic Life�s new product launch on the 30th Aug, at the Movenpick Hotel, Colombo. Sangakkara talked about passion and having a healthy attitude towards investing time and effort in pursuing passion. Having contentment in what you do makes you happy, he said. more..

Sep 13 (FT) Natural resources, such as water, are under extreme pressure in contemporary times. As the effects of global warming and climate variability become more evident, water takes centre stage as an unfolding global crisis. Increasingly, we hear of cities with depleting water supplies, agricultural lands rendered arid by a lack of rainfall, and communities suffering from diseases caused by poor water quality. more..

Sep 13 (DM) With suicide among students being a crisis in Sri Lanka also, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday marked the World Suicide Prevention Day and various events were organized by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP). According to Sri Lankan newspaper reports, many SL female students are known to be committing suicide or thinking of doing so because of the sadistic ragging they are tortured with when entering universities. more..

Sep 13 (FT) Sri Lanka Economic Summit 2018 will be inaugurated this morning at the Cinnamon Grand, Colombo. The two-day event, which is SL�s foremost economic summit and organised by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce for the 18th consecutive year, is being held on the theme On the Fast Track to a Turnaround. �The theme �On the Fast Track to a Turnaround� was chosen with the aim of identifying levers that can be used by key policymakers & private sector to drive change. more..

Sep 13 (CI) Niroshan Dickwella would have considered himself rather unlucky to miss out after SL's Asia Cup squad was announced last week, but poor returns in the domestic T20 tournament last month had somewhat overshadowed an impressive showing at home against South Africa. In that series, Dickwella was among SL's top three performers with the bat, scoring 158 runs at an average of 31.60 - behind only Angelo more..

Sep 13 (LR) SL-born Suranganie Kumaranayake was appointed Superior Court of Justice for the Province of Ontario in Brampton. Jody Wilson-Raybould, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada made the announcement she was recommending the appointment of 19 new judges recently. Seven provinces are getting 19 new judges as the federal govt tries to narrow the number of judicial vacancies in a stressed system, according to a report by CP. more..

Sep 13 (EN) Sri Lanka plans to expand its new digital land registry islandwide with the aim of speeding up property registration and making the island more attractive for investors, the govt announced. It would also help improve the country�s position in the Ease of Doing Business index. The state information office said the Cabinet of ministers this week approved a proposal by Ministers Malik Samarawickram and Vajira Abeywardena, to secure funds to implement this project. more..

Sep 13 (DM) In a statement to the UNHRC, on behalf of the SL Core Group, the UK urged SL to prioritise and drive forward implementation of the UNHRC Resolutions 30/1 and 34/1, before the Council next considers SL in March, next year. Sri Lanka Core Group comprises Germany, Macedonia, Montenegro and the UK. �Our view remains that, with determined leadership and a clear time-bound action plan, this Govt can make more more..

Sep 13 (FT) Senior Counsel Manohara de Silva yesterday, making a submission on the 20th Amendment of the Constitution, contended that if the 20th Amendment is enacted, it would create a monstrous govt with two organs which do not know each other�s decision. Petitions challenging the Bill was taken up before the Bench, comprising Justices Sisira J. de Abrew, Prasanna S. Jayawardena and Murdu N. B. Fernando, for special determination on the constitutionality. more..

Sep 13 (CT) Lasith Malinga has always been a cricketing sensation in Sri Lanka and his return to the National team after a year in the wilderness has drawn extra interest in the Asia Cup from the public. �Trees even grow on rocks, but it takes a little bit of time,� was his response when asked about his return to the team prior to their departure to the UAE. Malinga always thought he was omitted from the National team for reasons other than his playing ability, when he spoke about more..

Sep 13 (FT) Minister John Amaratunga will award the agreements today to execute the much-delayed $ 3.5 million digital promotional campaign covering five key markets accounting for over 50% of tourist traffic, which is a critical part of Govt efforts to boost arrivals to 3 million by Dec. Digital marketing campaign is expected to begin early Oct and would be followed by a $ 40 million global campaign in Nov. more..

Sep 13 (EN) The slump in Sri Lankan tea prices continued in August this year with the monthly auction average price falling for the seventh straight month, although there has been some recovery in prices of seasonal teas, brokers said. The national tea sale average dropped for the seventh consecutive month this year from a high of Rs.640.05 a kilo in January to Rs.534.02 in Aug 2018, down 16.6%. The auction average for Aug 2018 of Rs.534.02 was a marginal Rs.3.86 more..

Sep 13 (FT) Speaking at a ceremony held last Friday at Higurakgoda for laying the foundation stone for a building complex for a new National Vocational Training Institute and the inauguration of the Nipuni Job Bank, by President Sirisena, Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama pointed out that we have kept a proud record of using technology even in ancient times. He said that the hydrologic technology used in the construction of tanks in the Rajarata was far in advance of those times. more..

Sep 13 (FT) Determined to weed out malpractices rampant in the SL Foreign Employment Bureau, Minister Harin Fernando said that a new agency rating system will be introduced to identify rogue agents engaged in human trafficking. �There are some agents who are engaged in human trafficking. In the recent visit I made to Oman and a few other Middle East countries, I even met a girl who was taken on a visitor visa when more..

Sep 13 (AD) President Maithripala Sirisena has reportedly called an urgent Cabinet meeting today, despite the absence of several top ministers including the PM. The weekly Cabinet meeting was held only yesterday (11), however the President has decided to call an urgent Cabinet meeting tomorrow afternoon. Several ministers are currently away from the country as most of them are on official visits overseas. PM Ranil Wickramasinghe is attending the ASEAN Economic Forum in Vietnam more..

Sep 13 (GT) Five-time champions Sri Lanka should their intent as they got straight down to work at the ICC Academy on Wednesday after arrival in the UAE for the Asia Cup. Dhananjaya De Silva, who is one of SL�s top-order batsmen, feels that SL, in Group B alongside Afghanistan and Bangladesh, have the team to win the tournament despite the strong challenge of their rivals. He said: �It is a big challenge. We have a very young team. Few of our senior guys are also there. more..

Sep 13 (PMD) President Maithripala Sirisena says the present govt has been able to make the programme of providing a safe house with all the basic facilities to every family in the country a reality due to the housing policy implemented with a clear national plan. He made these remarks participating in the ceremony to vest the Lake Crescent Residencies in Mandawila, Mulleriyawa with the public, today (12). more..

Sep 13 (NR) All Island Private Bus Owners� Federation has given a three-day ultimatum for the govt, to increase bus fares following yesterday�s fuel price revisions. General Secretary Anjana Priyanjith said a special resolution was passed today to demand the govt to increase bus fares by 10 percent and to increase the minimum fare to 15 rupees. Priyanjith said the Federation today convened for a special meeting in Colombo and decided to grant three days for the govt to revise bus fares. more..

Sep 13 (GDI) Coconut Development Authority of SL (CDA), in association with the Consulate General of SL, organised a well-attended Business Breakfast Meeting on 11 Sept in Melbourne for SL Coconut Products Exporters who are attending the Fine Food Australia Exhibition 2018, currently being held in Melbourne, to promote SL coconut products and to interact with potential business partners and buyers in Australia. The event was hosted by Udaya Rupasinghe, Chairman of the CDA and more..

Sep 13 (IN) Sri Lanka's $1.4 billion Port City development has elicited parallels to numerous major urban centers. At 665 acres, the project is about the same size as central London, but its design resembles that of cities like Hong Kong, Singapore, and Dubai. A decade ago, the idea of a SL city that rivaled the world's leading financial hubs seemed implausible. From 1983 to 2009, the nation was ravaged by a brutal civil war between more..

Sep 13 (PMD) The State Literary Awards Ceremony 2018, an occasion to give due accolades to the literati who enrich the field of literature in Sri Lanka with their creations, was held under the patronage of President Sirisena at the BMICH, yesterday (11). Many authors received awards at this ceremony for their great contribution for the advancement of the literature in the year 2017. Prof. K.N.O Dharmadasa, M. Ponnambalam and Prof. Gananath Obeyesekere were presented with more..

Sep 13 (SLN) A Fast Attack Craft attached to the Southern Naval Command carried out a naval operation to rescue a fishing trawler in trouble in the sea area off Galle today (12). A merchant vessel had informed the Maritime Rescue Coordinating Centre (MRCC) about a capsized fishing vessel in the sea area about 30 nautical miles off the Galle Lighthouse. On receipt of this distress call, Navy rushed a Fast Attack Craft along with a team of Navy divers to the sea area where more..

Sep 13 (GDI) Vietnam PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc says that steps should be taken not only to strengthen state relations between SL and Vietnam, but also to strengthen relations between the political parties in the Parliaments, and between the people of the two countries. Vietnamese PM said this during the bilateral discussions held with the visiting SL PM Ranil Wickremesinghe at the PM's office Tuesday. During the discussion the two sides stressed more..

Sep 13 (CT) Former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa has told the CID that he was neither connected to the matter nor did he know any facts relating to the incident where journalist, Keith Noyahr was abducted and assaulted during the last regime. Police sources revealed that this was the thrust of Rajapaksa�s statement when detectives interviewed him yesterday. CID officers had questioned Rajapaksa for about three-and-a-half hours from 10 a.m. onwards yesterday. more..

Sep 13 (FT) Ceylon Bank Employees Union (CBEU) called on the Govt to make reforms in the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax, so that it does not impose restrictions on employee benefits. New tax bill, which came into effect from 1 April, counts employee benefits as income, and is therefore accounted for the PAYE tax. Unions also claimed the Govt has also taken measures to categorise the interest rate difference between the concessionary rates offered to bank employees and more..

Sep 13 (EN) Sri Lanka's pharmaceutical firms, hit by rising costs from currency deprecation are calling for controlled prices to be hiked every six months to reflect the falling rupee, with the smaller pharmacies also feeling the pinch from thin margins and rising inflation. "About 85% of the drugs are imported and the exchange rate is a very important component of this," Shyam Sathasivam, President of the SL Chamber more..

Sep 13 (Island) Nine years after the bloody war and three years into the Yahapalana Govt, Sri Lankans are still scratching their heads and looking for ways of putting this nation on a strong footing. The country�s citizens have tried both the leading parties-the UNP and the SLFP- and now seem to realise that even a Govt comprising members of both these parties has not delivered in keeping with the expectations of the people. more..

Nine years after the �bloody� war and three years into the Yahapalana Govt, Sri Lankans are still scratching their heads and looking for ways of putting this nation on a strong footing. The country�s citizens have tried both the leading parties-the UNP and the SFP- and now seem to realise that even a Govt comprising members of both these parties has not delivered in keeping with the expectations of the people. more..

Sep 13 (DM) Following the Ethnic conflict in the Rakhine state in Myanmar, Rohingya refugees have found Cox�s Bazaar in Bangaladesh a safe haven. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the refugee camps around Cox�s Bazaar homes the world�s largest refugee camp. The influx is said to be the world�s fastest growing refugee crisis with the UN describing the situation in Rakhine, more..

Sep 13 (ST) Nearly 300 unidentified bodies were buried in Colombo�s public graveyards between 2013 and 2018 alone while dozens more are interred in a similar manner around the country. From January to August this year, a total of 67 unidentified bodies were brought to the Colombo Judicial Medical Officer (JMO). Only 32 of them were claimed. Remaining 35 were buried by an undertaker contracted annually by CMC more..

Sep 13 (Island) The board of directors of SriLankan Airlines had not seen a Rs. 50 million agreement between Via Capital Partners and the airline to evaluate a business plan formulated by former UL Chief Financial Officer (CFO) S.A. Chandrasekera in 2010, the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) on irregularities at SriLankan Airlines, SriLankan Catering and Mihin Lanka was informed yesterday. Company Secretary Darlene Thirukumar, more..

Sep 13 (Island) Having alleged that parliament had failed to fulfill its obligations and was directly responsible for the current sorry state of affairs, the March 12 Movement side-stepped The Island query whether the grouping backed the JVP proposed 20th Amendment meant to elect the next President through a vote in parliament. The issue was raised at a media briefing at the Centre for Society and Religion (CSR), more..

Sep 13 (Island) Former Navy Commander and Chief of Defence Staff Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne said, yesterday, that he was a law abiding person and had no intention of running away. Speaking to The Island from Mexico, the former Navy Commander said that it was wrong for media to describe him as a fugitive running from the law when he had left the country on an official assignment. Admiral Wijegunaratne left the country for more..

Sep 13 (DM) Female residents living off Buthgamuwa Road, Welikada, Rajagiriya, are facing difficulties due to disturbing and indecent activities of Chinese, Indian and local workers working in a construction project of private apartments, named Iconic Galaxy on a land in their neighborhood. One of the residents, Dinali Perera, mother to three daughters, said the workers at the site cause severe difficulties especially for women. more..

Sep 13 (EN) Sri Lanka's central bank will intervene if there is excessive volatility in forex markets, but the finance ministry does not interfere in its operations, State Minister of Finance, Eran Wickramaratne said. "I will go as far as to say that the central bank will punish speculators," Wickramaratne told an economic forum organized by CCC in Colombo. He said the finance ministry does not interfere the operations of the central bank. more..

Sep 13 (AD) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe says he�s concerned about the deterioration in the relationship between China and the US. The decline of multilateralism is another concern for Sri Lanka, he says, adding that he worries about what will replace it. Wickremesinghe was among speakers at the panel session on Asia�s Geopolitical Outlook at the World Economic Forum on ASEAN (WEF ASEAN) 2018 in Hanoi more..

Sep 13 (CT) Representatives of the Driving School Owners, Instructors and Employees Union are saying, with the SL Transport Board (SLTB) and the Automobile Association of Ceylon (AAC) taking over the training of new drivers, Govt is forcing them to shut down hundreds of driving schools around the country. Union alleged the Commissioner General of Motor Traffic was taking revenge against driving schools; however, more..

Sep 13 (DM) Western Province Governor Hemakumara Nanayakkara said he had ordered Western Provincial Council Chief Secretary to cancel the purchase of 144 chairs, each costing Rs. 644,000, with immediate effect. Addressing a press briefing in Rajagiriya, Governor revealed that Rs. 644,000 for a chair was without the import duty and when included the tax, the price of a chair would be approximately Rs. 844,000. more..