Aug 28 (DM) More than 550,000 metric tons of vegetables and fruits were being wasted a year due to the post-harvest damage and its loss to the nation amounted to over Rs.67 billion, the State Minister of Agriculture Wasantha Aluvihare had said last week. More than 30% of crops were being wasted due to post-harvesting damage, he said during a ceremony in his hometown, Matale. According to him, the vegetables and fruits are damaged and rendered useless in packing and in transit. more..

Aug 28 (DM) Sri Lankans are once again eagerly awaiting a prez election hoping that a new regime would bring about a much needed change. The present UNP regime is riddled with corruption and the presence of a lousy set of administrators hasn�t helped the system to function smoothly. The regime�s top players can always find a scapegoat in Prez Sirisena whom they accuse of buckling their plans using Executive powers. Between the time Mahinda Rajapaksa assumed power in 2005 more..

Aug 28 (DM) Our country is politically bankrupt; poised on the brink of prez election, but who should the people vote for? A million dollar question that has no answer! It is time now for the young ones to break away and form an alliance so they can appoint a worthy Presidential candidate! This horrendous business of family owned politics should be done away with; where kith and kin are appointed to key positions & legitimate appointees overlooked! more..

Aug 28 (DM) National security is becoming another term that is exhausted on the political stage, especially after the Easter Sunday bombings. Other topics such as protecting democracy, putting an end to corruption and serving justice to politically motivated murders and abductions seem to have been sidelined. With the time ticking towards much looked forward to Prez Polls, candidates have been nominated from an alliance and a party. more..

Aug 28 (EN) SL�s govt decision making gets delayed as it has to grapple with vested interests and public agitation stirred by rumor and false facts which ignore scientific evidence, a key policymaker, deputy minister Harsha De Silva said. Agitation caused by rumour-mongering has forced the govt to spend time and effort to tackle a range of issues from opposition to free trade deals, to a fake sterilization scare and fears about oil palm more..

Aug 28 (Island) Minister P. Harrison had informed the Cabinet through a memo on March 24, 2017, that they had paid a 20% advance to Wellard Rural Exports Pvt., to import milch cows, but there was no such clause in the agreement signed between the two parties, it was revealed before the PCoI. Dhammika Pathirana, former chief internal auditor at the Ministry, told the Commission that payment more..

Aug 28 (AD) The engine driver, driver assistant and two train guards of the Kalutara-bound train, which was involved in a head-on collision with another train between Maradana and Colombo Fort railway stations this morning, have been suspended from their duties. Four employees have been suspended, pending an inquiry, for ignoring railway signals. The two trains had collided head-on between Colombo Fort and Maradana more..

Aug 28 (TM) The CID pointed fingers at the security forces over its failure to conclude investigations into some high-profile criminal cases. Reports on six high-profile investigations were handed over to the AG's Department last week. Meanwhile, following the updated report on investigations that had been submitted by the Acting IGP, AG in a response on Friday (23), instructed the acting IGP to appoint appropriate senior officials to more..

Aug 28 (DM) The country would be bankrupt if the govt is unable to repay the borrowings obtained from the Int'l Financial Market in September, Minister Champika Ranawaka said yesterday. He expressed these views while addressing the gathering at a Pannaraya promotions campaign held in the Nelum Pokuna under the theme of for a country worth living in. �If a country obtains loans from the Int'l Financial Market, repayment more..

Aug 28 (DM) Hot on the heels of the discussion between the SLFP and the SLPP yesterday morning, President Sirisena and Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa met last night for a one on one meeting, informed sources said. The meeting at President Sirisena�s official residence down Mahagama Sekara Mawatha had lasted for more than one hour and had revolved around the ongoing discussions to form an alliance in view of more..

Aug 28 (EN) Sajith Premadasa, who is pushing to be the presidential candidate for UNP said he wanted to employ a mix of Hayekian and Keynesian economic policies. "On one hand we have the Keynesian aggregate demand management model," Premadasa said. "At the other end we have the Frederich Hayek new model. I believe we need a mixture of these models to have the major attributes of economic growth." more..

Aug 28 (ST) Govt plans to remove several acres of the protected Wilpattu National Park where a church is located from Protected Area status has shocked conservationists. Serious concerns are being raised with strident calls to leave valuable Wilpattu alone, as ST learns that Minister John Amaratunga had instructed the submission of a proposal to de-gazette (remove from protected status) this area, for approval by the Cabinet. more..

Aug 28 (CT) Post-Independence 1948, the first shots of direct religious intolerance were fired during the Ranasinghe Premadasa era of 19 Dec 1988 - 1 May 1993. It was, however, not State-sponsored religious intolerance, but rather a situation where the Police seemingly turned a blind eye when sections of the community, largely belonging to the Sinhala Buddhist majority, attacked churches, Christian worshippers and their priests, serving in the hinterland. more..

Aug 28 (FT) This article is the first of a series about the current state of the Sri Lankan economy. I expect to cover key areas of the economy including the real, external, fiscal, monetary and financial sectors. The discussions will focus on key aspects within each sector and try to highlight possible challenges and layout future directions. This series is intended to provide an overview of the economy to the general audience. I welcome your comments, suggestions and ideas. more..

Aug 28 (DN) The case filed against eight accused including former DIG Vass Gunawardena, his son Ravindu Vaas Gunawardena and his wife Shyamali Perera for allegedly abducting and assaulting Nipuna Ramanayake in Aug 2009, was yesterday fixed for further trial on Dec 17 by the Colombo High Court. Ramanayake was a student of SLIIT at that time. When the case came up before Colombo HC Judge Shashi Mahendran, summons were issued on 3 prosecution witnesses to appear in court more..

Aug 28 (EN) Singapore consultancy Surbana Jurong Infrastructure Pte. Ltd. (SJIPL) and its engineering subsidiary SMEC International Pvt. Ltd. Australia have won a SL govt contract to modernise four secondary towns in the island. The contract under the Asian Development Bank funded Sustainable Urban Development Project is to modernise road infrastructure in the towns of Kurunegala, Rathnapura, Dambulla and Trincomalee. The state information office said Cabinet of ministers more..

Aug 28 (PMD) Prez Sirisena has given instructions to the relevant authorities to expedite the investigations regarding the allegations of CB bond scam. Prez further advised to promptly conduct investigations and to take actions against the wrongdoers and said that the delay in conducting investigations is a hindrance to deliver justice. He made these remarks during a meeting held with the members of the Commission more..

Aug 28 (Island) Sleuths of the Excise Dept�s Colombo Special Operations Unit, in a predawn raid, yesterday, took into custody 9,000 litres of illicit artificial toddy at Muhudukatuwa, Thalwila in Marawila. The raid was conducted on a tip-off received by Excise Commissioner General. Excise officers also took into custody a large number of plastic barrels, tanks that stored artificial toddy and chemicals used to produce it. Stock of toddy and paraphernalia was worth around Rs. 1.2 m, more..

Aug 28 (RN) UNP MP Bandula Lal Bandarigoda, who tabled a Private Member�s Bill to abolish the death penalty said that a parliamentary vote will soon be carried out to abolish executions as the time given to raise objections against the proposal before Court is now over. �When I presented this Bill some parties accused me of safeguarding criminals. I have told before that if anyone can prove that I had any kind of connection with criminals there is no problem. more..

Aug 28 (MFA) As part of an Asian tour undertaken to promote closer cooperation between the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and Asian countries, the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs for Asia, Middle East and Oceania of Venezuela, Ruben Dario Molina visited Sri Lanka from 24 to 28 Aug. The Venezuelan dignitary held official talks with the State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vasantha Senanayake on 27 Aug at the Ministry of more..

Aug 28 (EN) SL has asked tourists from 48 countries to eligible for a visa without payment, to apply for apply online get it prior to coming to Colombo to avoid being held up at airport. "The exemption is only for the fee, not the visa to enter the country. It is still necessary for these tourists to have visa to enter in to the country," Controller of Immigration Pasan Ratnayaka said. Visitors who want to come to SL should log in to www.eta.gov.lk and apply for the visa. No fee is charged from 48 countries. more..

Aug 28 (FT) Top Korean nameplate KIA is to strengthen its presence in Sri Lanka with a distributor dealership model following the recent corporate structure change which saw Managing Director Mahen Thambiah securing 100% ownership with a total investment of Rs. 1.02 billion. The seamless transition has been achieved with no reduction in employee numbers or changes of key personnel and will enable KIA to introduce exciting new vehicle models that are competitive in more..

Aug 28 (AD) Police officers resorted to using tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesting university students at Lotus Road in Colombo. Ada Derana reporter said that the protesting students had attempted to march through the blockade put up by police at the entry to Lotus Road. He also said that severe traffic congestion has been reported in the area and connected roads as a result of the agitation. more..

Aug 28 (RN) The SLFP and the SLPP are agreed on a wide variety of issues that they hope will lead to a common platform in the future, the Secretary-General of the UPFA Mahinda Amaraweera said today 28 Aug. Amaraweera who has been part of the seven rounds of negotiations between the two parties over the past seven months or so, said there was a firm agreement that the current proportional-preferential system of elections to all elected bodies should be abolished. more..

Aug 28 (Island) Voters should ensure that their names were in the 2019 voter registry because 2020 was a year where two major elections would be held, CAFFE Acting Executive Director Manas Makeen said. "One can only vote in the elections in 2020, if their names are included in the 2019 registry. Politicians insist that 2019 is the election year but only the Prez election is to be held this year. But both the general and provisional council elections are to take place in 2020," he said. more..

Aug 28 (RN) Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya has appointed judges to hear three high-profile cases involving grave misdeeds during the former regime of President Rajapaksa. All three cases relate to alleged crimes committed by members of the security forces when the current Presidential aspirant Gotabaya Rajapaksa was Secretary to the Ministry of Defense. All three cases will be heard by 3-judge trials-at-bar. more..

Aug 28 (DM) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe is reported to have appointed a committee headed by his Secretary Saman Ekanayake to inquire into allegations that Rs.1.2 billion had disappeared from the Central Cultural Fund (CCF). This matter was raised by Minister Ravi Karunanayake at a meeting held prior to Tuesday's Cabinet meeting. The CCF is under the purview of Housing, Construction and Cultural Affairs Minister Sajith Premadasa, who is seeking to be the UNP prez candidate. more..

Aug 28 (AD) The Ministry of Education says that the third term of the schools, which are to be used for the first phase of the paper marking activities of the 2019 G.C.E. A/L Examination, will commence on September 16th. The rest of the govt and govt-approved private schools will accordingly be reopened on the 2nd of September, the ministry said further. The 12 schools that are to be remained completely closed for paper marking are as follows: Royal College, Colombo; Nalanda College, more..

Aug 28 (RN) Accusing the Govt of gross mismanagement of the economy, Former CB Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal said that the growth rate has dropped significantly under the present administration while the tax burden on the public has doubled since 2014. Speaking at the SLPP hq this morning (27), Cabraal criticised PM Ranil Wickremesinghe�s recent predictions of a revolution of prosperity in the country more..

Aug 28 (CT) Govt Analyst's (GA) Dept said that to date they have not been able to probe the garbage containers that had been brought into the country by Hayleys Free Zone Company (HFZC). An officer from the Department said the reason was the failure of SL Atomic Energy Authority (SLAEA) and Medical Research Institution (MRI) in submitting a report as to whether the garbage containers contain any harmful bacteria or harmful rays. Though the GA, Ariyananda Welianga had informed more..

Aug 28 (CT) Number of Samurdhi beneficiaries fell by 4,321 (0.31%) to 1,384,021 and the total value of the Samurdhi handout baskets fell by Rs 468.26 million (1.18%) to Rs 39,238.79 million, as at last year. Two top highest drops, vis-a-vis Samurdhi recipients, District wise, in absolute terms, were seen in Kurunegala and Kandy, with declines of 2,223 (1.60%) to 136,583 and 1,738 (2.11%) to 80,488, 2018 over 2017. Meanwhile, two top highest increases in the commensurate period were more..

Aug 28 (DM) Minister Ajith P. Perera said there is a conspiracy from the opposition and some in the UNP to stage a constitutional coup to abolish Executive Presidency without holding a prez election just to avoid UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa from becoming the president of this country. �The opposition camp is favorable towards the coup as the SLPP candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa is at a disadvantage. more..

Aug 28 (CT) Sri Lanka�s mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis has decided to bring curtains down on his cricketing career. He is aged 34 and could�ve played for a few more years but not getting picked for the national team must have left him disappointed. He last played for Sri Lanka back in 2015 and since then has been plying his trade in the domestic cricket. Mendis played 19 Tests, 87 ODIs and 39 T20Is for the Island nation during his seven-year international career. more..

Aug 28 (AD) Cabinet of Ministers has given the approval to direct the PCoI to report on SriLankan Airlines, SriLankan Catering and Mihin Lanka to the Attorney General in order to take necessary legal actions. The proposal in this regard was presented to the Parliament by Prez Sirisena. Accordingly, the Cabinet has approved the report on the three companies to be tabled in the Parliament and to direct the recommendations of the PCoI, probing the allegations of misappropriations more..

Aug 28 (RN) Darsha Udayanga the uni student who stormed Media earlier this month with his tales of graphic sexual torture he endured at the hands of students at Uni of Ruhuna says a group of students is gathering evidence of the ragging. He described the fall out from his expose of the inhuman torture that students have undergone. Darsha who was a victim of ragging practise that has claimed the lives of many uni students more..

Aug 29 (CT) At the time of independence, Sri Lanka was a country with a well-established democracy under a constitution based on the Westminster system. In the 71 years since independence, the political environment in Sri Lanka has been dominated by two political parties, both conservative, with Marxist, religious and communal based parties occupying a minor presence. These two main parties or coalitions based on them have ruled country alternately for varying periods, more..

Aug 29 (CT) If one has an honest look at history of the Grand Old Party founded by DS Senanayake one has to reckon that the UNP has been a potent political force for national construction. The party had its roots in the Ceylon National Congress; it helped spearhead the independence movement, and achieved political independence for the island nation. UNP leaders have given leadership to outstanding developments beginning from Gal Oya, through various other irrigation schemes like more..

Aug 29 (Roar) The streets of Colombo often host the tumultuous protests of unemployed university graduates. The govt sometimes responds by giving the protesters positions in the state sector. At other times, they are met with water cannons and tear gas. But neither of these responses address the root causes that result in abnormally high graduate unemployment in the country. Universities are expected to, more..

Aug 29 (CT) As anticipated, the appointment of Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva as the 23rd Commander of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has raised concerns in Western capitals especially, even as their Eastern counterparts, including not only China, but also Japan, have looked the other way. If anything, Japan, acting alone or in consort with the traditional Western ally, has despatched the forgotten Peace Envoy, Yasushi Akashi, to Colombo, and he has conferred with more..