Aug 13 (DN) The final Randoli Maha Perahera of the Kandy Esala Pageant will parade the streets of Kandy tomorrow. The Perahera will set out from Sri Dalada Maligawa premises at 8.05 p.m. facing the south direction, in accordance with traditional ritual. It will then proceed along Dalada Veediya, Yatinuwara Veediya, Kande Veediya and, D. S. Senanayake Veediya, reaching the Maligawa premises from along Raja Veediya. The caparisoned ceremonial tusker, which carries the Sacred more..

Aug 13 (DN) In a first for the state health sector, 20 endoscopy machines worth Rs. 200 million were distributed among state hospitals in the country. A total of 47 endoscopy machines are to be provided to state hospitals across the country by the end of this year, Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne said, speaking at a ceremony to hand over the first 20 endoscopy machines to state hospitals, at the Health Ministry recently. He said daily 45 heart surgeries take place in state hospitals and more..

Aug 13 (OHCHR) UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Ahmed Shaheed, will carry out an official visit to Sri Lanka, from 15 to 26 Aug 2019. �I will look at how Sri Lanka promotes and protects the rights to freedom of religion or belief. The visit will be an opportunity for me to have an open exchange with the Govt to try to gain a better understanding of how it upholds these rights,� Shaheed said. more..

Aug 13 (AD) National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) has also issued a landslide early warning for several areas in the Kegalle and Ratnapura districts. NBRO had previously issued a landslide early warning for certain areas in the Nuwara Eliya District, due to the prevailing adverse weather condtions. Since the rainfall within the past 24 hours exceeded 75mm, if the rain continues, residents are advised to be watchful on the possibility of landslides, slope failures, more..

Aug 13 (AD) Several Municipal Councilors of the Colombo Municipal Council had visited the Muthurajawela garbage dump in Kerawalapitiya yesterday. This was to produce a report on the prevailing obstructions to dispose of the garbage from Colombo. UPFA and SLPP Municipal Councilors joined this observation tour. However, it had been observed by the Municipal Councilors that, the Kelaniya and Wattala Pradeshiya Sabhas still dump their garbage at the Muthurajawela more..

Aug 13 (CI) Sri Lanka may have whitewashed South Africa in February, but their most recent Test series at home brought a 3-0 defeat at the hands of England. Though the hosts' spinners were expected to dominate the England batsmen, the opposition top order batted aggressively, and found ways to put up daunting totals. A lot has changed in SL's world since that series in November. Rangana is no longer around. more..

Aug 13 (CI) SL won their last Test assignment - it was a historic one too - in South Africa, but so much has happened since. New Zealand have had a different kind of high, and a heartbreak to boot, at the World Cup, but are determined to move on and make a fresh start in Sri Lanka, with the Tests part of the World Test Championship. What's certain is they won't underestimate the hosts, even though they are yet to emerge from their forever-rebuilding state, under another interim coach. more..

Aug 13 (AD) Sri Lanka Navy has recovered 83.9kg of Kerala Cannabis at Keerimalai beach area in Jaffna yesterday (12). Several suspicious parcels had been observed during a raid carried out by Northern Naval Command at Keerimalai beach and further inspections had led to the arrest of three suspects linked to the haul. The recovered Kerala Cannabis haul along with the arrested suspects was handed over to Narcotics Bureau of Jaffna Police for further investigations. more..

Aug 13 (DM) Catholic Bishops' Conference in SL (CBCSL) today once again urged the govt and all political leaders to ensure an independent and impartial inquiry into the Easter Sunday attack as a matter of utmost urgency. In a statement signed by 14 bishops, the CBCSL said, �Although various relief efforts of the govt are to be appreciated, we wish to reiterate that, what is more important is to do justice in this regard by more..

Aug 13 (Hindu) The domestic pepper growers have taken strong exception to the reported move by the SL govt to hold talks with India for relaxing the minimum import price (MIP) fixed for black pepper which has led to the decline in exports from the island nation. Currently, Sri Lankan pepper is allowed to be exported to India at zero duty for up to 2500 tonnes under the Indo-SL Free Trade Agreement. Any export above this limit are subjected to 8% duty under South Asia Free more..

Aug 13 (DM) The prices of fuel would be increased with effect from midnight today. Accordingly, the prices of fuel would be increased as follows: Petrol (Octane 92) will be increased by Rs.2 a litre and the revised price is Rs.138, Petrol (Octane 95) will now be sold at Rs.163, after an increase by Rs.4 a litre. Super Diesel will be increased by Rs. 3 and the new price would be Rs.134. However, Auto Diesel will not be increased and the price of Auto Diesal will remain as Rs. 104 per litre. more..

Aug 13 (AD) Field Marshal MP Sarath Fonseka says that he is willing to become the Presidential Candidate of the UNP if the party extends an invitation. MP stated that the decision of the SLPP to nominate former Defense Secretary Gotabaya Secretary as the presidential candidate is correct. He says that if the Ministry of Law and Order was handed over to him, he would have avoided the Easter attacks. more..

Aug 14 (CT) What happened on Wills Road in Badulla yesterday (12) was, if anything, plain attempted intimidation of the UNP leadership by a prominent member of the party leadership itself-its Deputy Leader, Sajith Premadasa; its Minister Harin Fernando and some others of lesser consequence like Lakshman Seneviratne. The latter had been the famous Seeni Amathi, or Minister in charge of sugar of the notorious Rajapaksa govt. Lakshman is a characteristic political adventurer more..

Aug 14 (CT) At a time when the party should be promoting, possibly incumbent Maithripala Sirisena for the year-end polls, SLFP, with its long history and special position in the Nation's political landscape, does not even know if it has a presidential candidate to call its own. Worse still, there are acknowledged doubts, and serious ones, if there would be a party to call the SLFP after the presidential poll- more in form than in name. That is because there is no SLFP to celebrate, more..

Aug 14 (Roar) Last month, the literary world in SL was set awash with grief when one of its titans, Jean Arasanayagam, passed away at the age of 87. A poetry and fiction writer, Arasanayagam was born Jean Solomons, in Kandy, on Dec 2, 1931. Of her ancestry, Arasanayagam said, �...My father�s [side]�the Solomons�very academic, intellectual, moral, upstanding Methodists. more..

Aug 14 (GV) Why is it so difficult for the All Ceylon Jammiyathul Ulama (ACJU) to acknowledge 18 as the minimum age of marriage? What is interesting is that the Qur�an does not specify a minimum age for marriage; however it links the age of marriage with the age a person is able to make sound judgment. This is a crucial distinction, for the age of marriage cannot be static for the simple reason that it changes from time to time and culture to culture depending on various social factors. more..

Aug 14 (ST) One day I was watching a heart-breaking story of a rural family in SL, as telecasted by a TV channel demanding attention of the authorities. The story is about the misery of the family, caused by poverty. And the poverty was a result of the lack of opportunities and resources. The head of the family explained the lack of sufficient meals for his family with little children for days. He had no hope about where tomorrow�s meal would come from. It was an isolated remote village more..

Aug 14 (CT) Dr. Bandula Gunawardana says those who robbed the Central Bank of SL are now strangling the people with taxes. Q: You are always talking about an economic crisis, what is this economic crisis? A: The economic crisis started with the present Govt coming to power. The Govt of Good Governance took over a country which had no economic crisis, whatsoever. They got an unusually high advantageous position, then, due to more..

Aug 14 (TM) The UNP, also known as the grand old party of SL politics, is facing yet another challenge to its survival under its current Leader, Ranil Wickremesinghe. Although Wickremesinghe has managed to wiggle out of every challenge to his authority in the past by resorting to his trademark tactic of appointing committees, the current issue surrounding the nomination of the party�s prez candidate has the potential, unlike the issues of the past, to divide the party right in the middle. more..

Aug 14 (CT) India's impact on the Ceylon Moors (a community distinct from Indian Moors who are more recent Muslim migrants from India) can be seen in their language, culture and practises. Their active links with India (more particularly South India) have snapped, but the legacy has survived in a variety of forms. Ceylon Moors are of Arab descent. Although from the earliest times, Arabs from the Gulf had been coming straight to the Island for trade, the really significant migration for settlement more..

Aug 14 (Island) People will always believe what they want to believe, how they want to believe it, when they want to believe it. The events of Easter Sunday 2019 (Sunday 21st April 2019) triggered a process in Sri Lanka which has exposed the entire Sri Lankan Muslim population to this concept in a very negative sense. Issues which were discussed previously in the rarefied atmosphere of academic conferences have entered the mainstream of public consciousness. more..

Aug 14 (Island) No sooner had Gotabaya Rajapaksa been named the SLPP�s presidential candidate than UNP Deputy Leader and Minister Sajith Premadasa threw his hat into the ring. He was declared as the UNP�s presidential candidate, at a public rally, on Monday in Badulla. Several UNP heavyweights threw their lot in with him unlike in the past when they did not dare stick their necks out. One may say, with apologies to the Bard, that the UNP rebels have chosen to stop dilly-dallying and more..

Aug 14 (CT) Humiliation and trauma causation by physical and sexual abuse inflicted on both male and female new entrants under the guise of initiation by seniors in universities is worsening and has reached crisis proportions. UGC data from the last two years show that a total of 1,989 students have left SL State universities after registration. The actual number may be higher. The number of student deaths due to direct ragging-related more..

Aug 14 (Island) Sri Lanka should examine whether the National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ) suicide bombing campaign helped India�s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to win the recently concluded general election. The NTJ struck amidst India�s staggered general election that began on April11 and continued till May 19. Did the NTJ operation influence the Indian electorate? SL cannot afford not to examine every possibility to prevent the NTJ, or its affiliates, undertaking fresh terror projects. more..

Aug 14 (ST) Her profile in rowing might not be the same of an impressive oarswomen with many records under her belt, but her tale is far extraordinary and truly inspiring. From an obese 14-year-old kid trying out her luck to trim down in size, to a well shaped individual � physically and more importantly, mentally � Ishika de Silva changed the destiny of future oarswomen, by becoming the first ever female Captain of Colombo Rowing Club (CRC). more..

Aug 14 (ST) SL Aquatic Sports Union (SLASU) has requested their parent body�FINA to recognise the newly elected committee as the controlling body for swimming in SL. Though a committee headed by Nethru Nanayakkara was elected as new administrators, the international body still recognises the previous committee of Mahinda Liyanage. SLASU�s newly elected President Nethru Nanayakkara says his priority is to obtain more..

Aug 14 (DN) Immediately after the Buddha�s death, a monk named Subaddha cried out that they don�t need to worry about discipline any more. This Subaddha should not be misunderstood with the other monk who was ordained at the old age. This was a clear indication that there was some unrest in the monk order. Monk order had the royal patronage and received a warm welcome whenever they went on alms. Like today some people must have entered the monkhood for the sake of benefits/perks. more..

Aug 14 (DM) Another story about ragging in universities had made headlines last week. 19 senior students of Ruhuna University were remanded after being arrested over an incident where a new student from Gampaha had been inhumanly tortured during ragging. They had been arrested after the victim student, seemingly a courageous boy had published the nightmare he had to undergo in social media and had held a media conference to explain the grisly experience more..

Aug 14 (Island) If those who were involved in the procurement process of the construction of a 300 MW LNG power plant at Kerawalapitiya had acted responsibly, the construction of the power plant would have been completed by now and a significant amount of money spent on purchasing emergency power could have been saved, Chairman of the PCoI, retired Supreme Court Justice Upali Abeyrathne said, yesterday, more..

Aug 14 (Island) Janashakthi Insurance PLC (Janashakthi), recorded impressive year on year growth of 20% in Gross Written Premium (GWP) for the six months ended June 30, 2019, ending the period with a GWP of Rs. 1.74 billion. The company illustrated its commitment to policyholders, paying out Rs. 899.35 million in Net Benefits and Claims to record a year on year growth of 48% in comparison to Rs. 609.64 million recorded during the corresponding period in the previous year. more..

Aug 14 (CI) Cricket is in line to be included in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, MCC World Cricket Committee chairman Mike Gatting has said following an address by the ICC's new chief executive Manu Sawhney at Lord's this week. In what would be the end to one of cricket's longest and least satisfying sagas, Gatting said Sawhney told the MCC's Cricket Committee that strong progress had been made to ensure the game is given the global platform many of its more..

Aug 14 (FT) Cabinet has decided it will not allow any future waste-to-energy projects as they are too costly, Megapolis & Western Dev Ministry Secretary Nihal Rupasinghe said. Two waste-to-energy projects were given the Cabinet green light shortly after the Meethotamulla disaster, which killed 32 people, to turn waste from Colombo into energy but that the Govt had subsequently realised this resulted in higher generation costs. more..

Aug 14 (Island) Torrential rain forced teams to cancel their training sessions here at the Galle International Stadium yesterday and the opening Test between SL and NZ could be severely affected by inclement weather. Players were forced to stay indoors yesterday and today being Poya Day, there�s serious doubt whether any action is possible. "In the ten or 12 days we�ve been here, about eight of them have been rained out. It�s just one of those things that you try and prepare mentally more..

Aug 14 (IPS) Ongoing research has shown that the five priority areas of China�s mammoth Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has the potential to contribute towards Sri Lanka�s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), IPS Research Fellow, Ganga Tilakaratna, noted recently. In particular, this initiative has the potential to contribute towards the SDGs related to employment, infrastructure, sustainable cities and communities and partnerships, she highlighted. Dr. Tilakaratna was speaking at more..

Aug 14 (FT) Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) appointed to investigate the Easter Sunday attacks will seek an extension of one month by moving a motion on 23 August to conclude its ongoing investigations. Deputy Speaker and the Chair of Committees Ananda Kumarasiri confirmed that during the extension the PSC will consider summoning Prez Sirisena, the Secretary of the Malalgoda Commission appointed by Prez more..

Aug 14 (FT) Committee on Public Enterprises (CoPE) has scheduled to investigate SriLankan Airlines, Lanka Sathosa, National Water Supply and Drainage Board, and the Ceylon Electricity Board during the next sitting week of Parliament commencing on 20 Aug. CoPE Chairman JVP MP Sunil Handunnetti said that opening the sessions to media will enable the public to be updated with the details of proceedings accurately, in order to widen transparency of the public sector. more..

Aug 14 (CT) The Govt Medical Officers' Association (GMOA), threatened to launch a countrywide strike in the coming weeks if the authorities fail to present the minimum standards required in medical education, but introduce arbitrary amendments to the Medical Service Code. GMOA Secretary, Dr. Haritha Aluthge told the Media the final decision on the strike action and future course of action in this regard will be taken at the GMOA Executive Committee meeting to be held tomorrow. more..

Aug 14 (DN) Internet hackers have already begun to wreak their havoc with the country�s democratic system with the websites of two major emerging political personalities, one already campaigning for the presidency, being manipulated to confuse and mislead the interested citizen. A website containing the domain name www.sajithpremadasa.com, when visited, re-directs the visitor to the website www.gota.lk, more..

Aug 14 (Island) The Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) probing the Easter Sunday attacks has written to President Maithripala Sirisena, requesting him to give evidence before it on either 20 or 21 or 22 or 25, August. A PSC spokesman said that the PSC would decide on its future action based on the President�s response. He said that if the President requested the PSC members to come to the Presidential Secretariat to record his testimony, they were prepared to do so. more..