Jul 15 (TM) The UNF Govt struck a deal with the TNA to garner the latter�s support to defeat the No-confidence Motion (NCM) last week, the TNA said. TNA PM Easwarapatham Saravanapavan said that the TNA demanded a separate Tamil division in Kalmunai. �We were undecided on how to vote on the NCM until we were certain that our demands would be met,� he said. Saravanapavan said the UNF Govt had finally agreed to set up a separate Tamil division in Kalmunai. more..

Jul 15 (TM) President Sirisena was yet to respond to a request from the SLFP to contest the forthcoming presidential election. SLFP General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekara said SLFP had not yet decided who their next presidential candidate would be but the party was of the view that it should be President Sirisena. Last month, a group of SLFPers consisting of Senior Deputy President of the SLFP Nimal Siripala de Silva, General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekara, Mahinda Samarasinghe, more..

Jul 15 (AD) If a bill to abolish the death penalty is brought before the Parliament, that day will be declared a national day of mourning, says Prez Sirisena. The President stated this addressing the national programme to grant land deeds of 5,000 Mahaweli farmers in the Walawa Zone today (14). Event was held under the patronage of Prez in Embilipitiya. The program was commenced in 2016 on the instructions of the President, more..

Jul 15 (DN) Enterprise Sri Lanka Exhibition organized by the Ministry of Finance will be held in Anuradhapura Walisinghe Harischandra Play ground from July 24-27 from 10.am to 10 pm daily. This exhibition will be a platform for intended entrepreneurs to obtain the knowhow and share knowledge on the enterprise development. Arrangements have been made through the State and private banks and other relevant agencies to provide required assistance, advises and more..

Jul 15 (AD) State Intelligence Officers including the Head of the State Intelligence Service should not be revealed through media, says the Leader of the opposition Mahinda Rajapaksa. He expressed these views speaking to journalists, today (14). A group of women who sell flowers near the Mihintale sacred sites called on the Opposition Leader today. They informed Rajapaksa on a decision taken to remove their stalls from the area. Opp. Leader then responded to questions posed by media. more..

Jul 15 (Island) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday said that a report on the Easter Sunday attacks by intelligence services hadn�t found fault with Minister Rishad Bathiudeen. A statement issued by PM�s Office quoted Premier Wickremesinghe as having said that accusations directed at Minister Bathiudeen hadn�t been proved according to the intelligence report. The PM said so at the inauguration of newly built auditorium more..

Jul 15 (DM) On July 18 this year, the world remembers one of its famous sons, South Africa�s -Nelson Mandela- the leader of the African National Congress (ANC), who from his youth, embraced the fight against the system of Apartheid. Apartheid meaning apartness, was the ideology of the National Party (NP) which introduced the system of Apartheid into South Africa in 1948. It called for the separate development of the different racial groups in South Africa. more..

Jul 15 (DM) The Presidential Election later this year is going to bring out the worst of politics. The Easter Attacks and their fallout have set the stage for chauvinist and xenophobic politics. Anti-Muslim discourses long in the making are now being spread like wildfire. The simulated fears of the broader population and the construction of the Muslims as the enemy within have created an ideological terrain for a race to the bottom of nationalist politics. While this ideological shift in recent months more..

Jul 15 (DM) Jalani Premadasa, the wife of Sajith Premadasa on Saturday addressing and event said that she appeared before them as the first lady of future leader of the country. The first Women's Conference of the Jathika Maha Sabha in Hatton was held at the D.K.W. Cultural Hall in Hatton under the patronage of Mrs Premadasa. �I know that you would have to face to many problems, if all of you do not own a land. more..

Jul 15 (TM) China�s Ambassador to Sri Lanka Cheng Xueyuan slammed the United Kingdom, accusing it of interference. He also said that countries like China and Sri Lanka, who shared a common history of being bullied and colonized by powers should always remain vigilant in terms of external interference. The Ambassador said that such interference can never bring benefits, but only trouble, chaos and disasters. more..

Jul 15 (AD) Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike and her clan in the UNP will not be allowed to destroy the identity of the party, says Minister Ravi Karunanayake. He stated this addressing the media following a religious event in Kataragama. Although Chandrika Bandaranaike is the organizer of Attanagalla electorate, she cannot even win her electorate and it is ridiculous to continue to work with such a person, more..

Jul 15 (TM) The All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) is to hold crucial discussions with Muslim parliamentarians on the proposed amendments to the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA). The Muslim MPs on Friday (12) had unanimously agreed to propose the much-needed amendments to the MMDA. For years, legal reformists have campaigned to change the age of marriage, necessity to allow the bride to sign more..

Jul 15 (Island) Acting on a tip-off, the police on Saturday busted two Facebook parties, one in progress at Boralesgamuwa and the other to be held aboard a luxury yacht in the seas off Mirissa and arrested 21 persons. The raids were conducted by the Matara District Anti-Corruption Unit and the Boralesgamuwa police. In Mirissa, 12 persons including the three women were taken into custody and the women were residents of more..

Jul 15 (ST) 74 new liquor licences were issued last year when compared with just ten in 2017 � an increase of 64%. This is the second largest jump in the number of new liquor licences issued by the Excise Department since 2006. In 2014, 83 new licenses were issued. The number dropped significantly since then to 52 in 2015; 38 in 2016; and ten in 2017 before the sharp rise last year. The statistics were published in more..

Jul 15 (AD) A number of parties have objected to a controversial statement made by State Minister Ranjana Ramanayake regarding Buddhist monks, during an interview on social media. In the interview uploaded recently by a YouTube channel, the State Minister had allegedly made certain comments regarding Buddhist priests in the country, with some groups accusing him of making derogatory statements against the clergy. more..

Jul 15 (Island) Speaker Karu Jayasuriya said that the contentious issue of lawmakers skipping parliament should be raised with the electorate. He said that the media should seek an explanation from the electorate as to why elected and nominated representatives routinely skipped parliamentary sessions. The Speaker said so in response to The Island query as to how he expected to ensure members� participation in proceedings. more..

Jul 15 (AD) There is no issue in holding a Provincial Council (PC) election before the presidential election, says the Chairman of the Election Commission Mahinda Deshapriya. The politicians, the general public and the media persons are raising the question whether holding the PC election before the presidential election would be a hindrance to the latter, the Election Commission chairman says. more..

Jul 15 (DM) The Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) that probes the Easter Sunday attack has decided to conduct inquiries from the intelligence officers in camera in the future. A member of that committee said that accordingly, inquiries would be conducted from the Chief of the State Intelligence Service (SIS) Senior DIG Nilantha Jayewardene in camera when he appears before the PSC on July 24. more..

Jul 15 (SLN) Naval personnel managed to rescue 06 persons who were at risk of drowning in seas off the Calido beach in Kalutara on 14th July 2019. The group of people had gone for a bath from the Calido beach and got into difficulty in rough sea condition. Having noticed them at risk of drowning, several residents in the area had informed the Navy's Rapid Response Rescue and Relief Unit (4RU) personnel deployed for lifesaving duty in the beach area. Responding promptly to the situation, more..

Jul 15 (CT) The North and East separatist war in Sri Lanka could be considered the longest internal armed conflict and it went ten years beyond the Vietnam War in Asia. Vietnam War continued from 1955 to 1975. Whereas, SL�s North and East armed conflict continued, from 1983 to 2009, for nearly three decades with loss of lives on a mega scale and the country being almost on the brink of a failed State. Until the beginning of the ruthless North and East war, SL was considered a paradise more..

Jul 15 (FT) A widely-held view by many Sri Lankans is that SL was an agriculture-based economy in the past and it should be so even in the future. The first part of this argument is only half-true. The second one has been presented without proper understanding of how economies are being framed in the future. A clue to this second one was given by a young researcher attached to the Institute of Policy Studies or IPS � Kithmina Hewage � in a recent interview with Biz-in-Focus hosted by more..

Jul 15 (IE) Congress govt in Madhya Pradesh is considering taking a closer look at the previous BJP govt�s plan to build a temple at Divurumpola in Sri Lanka, believed to be the site of Sita�s Agnipariksha. Shivraj Singh Chouhan govt first spoke about the temple in 2010, but there was little progress on the ground for six years. In between, he had claimed that necessary permissions had been obtained from SL govt and the Centre. When the then SL president Rajapaksa visited Sanchi in 2013, more..

Jul 15 (AD) Muslim MPs have decided to handover a proposal to Minister of Justice Thalatha Athukorale today regarding the amendments required to be made to the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act. UPFA MP Faiszer Musthapha said that Cabinet approval will be obtained for the proposed amendments in the near future and that subsequently it will be tabled and adopted in the Parliament. more..

Jul 15 (DM) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe in a letter addressed to State Minister Ranjan Ramanayake has called for an explanation from him on the controversial statements he had made on Buddhist monks, before July 20, 2019. PM had also mentioned in his letter that neither he nor the UNP endorses the remarks made by Mr. Ramanayake. �My family and I have always associated with leading temples in the country such as Gangaramaya and Kelani Raja Maha Vihara. more..

Jul 15 (DN) State Minister Dilip Wedaarachchi denounced the death penalty at a recent meeting held in Kudawella. He said that implementing the death penalty would cause irreplaceable damage to the country�s justice system. He added that although the death penalty remained in the law books, no President that has been elected under the present Constitution has ever implemented it. He added that the President should not go against objections from local and international communities more..

Jul 15 (DM) European Union (EU) and Sri Lanka held an informal counter-terrorism dialogue where the EU presented a support package for Sri Lanka focusing on law enforcement, rehabilitation and disengagement, counter-narratives and online radicalisation. EU Embassy said the dialogue was chaired by EU Counter-terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove and SL�s acting foreign affairs secretary Ahmed Jawad on more..

Jul 15 (EN) SL agrochemical group CIC Holdings and Sunshine Holdings group said they have decided not to proceed with a proposed merger of their healthcare businesses. Both firms made separate announcements to the stock exchange of their decision. CIC Holdings said it will continue to operate its healthcare business and introduce measures to maintain and improve its competitiveness, its stock exchange filing said. Both groups announced the planned merger in more..

Jul 15 (AD) Colombo District leader of National Thowheed Jama�ath Mohamed Fawaz has been granted bail by the Colombo Chief Magistrate. The bail order was delivered by the Colombo Chief Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne today after taking into consideration a letter submitted by the Attorney General. In his letter, Attorney General has stated that considering the facts revealed by the investigations, he has no objections with regard to granting bail to the suspect. more..

Jul 15 (Reuters) Pearl Divers, a diving school on one of Sri Lanka�s most popular southern beaches, shut shop for two months after suicide bombers attacked churches and hotels on the island on Easter Sunday, killing about 250 people. It had no customers as tourists canceled holidays, and its manager Nuwan Harshana says he took two months leave and a pay cut. Last week, he dusted off the diving equipment and boats, used to carry more..

Jul 15 (Island) A suspect has been arrested for warning the Police Headquarters Emergency unit, on Friday night, that an attack was being planned on Parliament. The suspect had been arrested, on Saturday, after an initial investigation revealed it was a hoax. The police took him into custody in the Ella police area. Police identified the suspect as 57-year-old Adam Bawa Mohammed Rauff, a resident of Borella. At the time, he called the police he was staying at a rented house in the Ella area. more..

Jul 15 (DM) Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa today said the death penalty should be there as a punishment but it shouldn't be implemented. He said this in response to questions by journalists at Mawiththara Sri Thisarana Dharmaayathanaya in Piliyandala. �The punishment should be there, it shouldn't change. Our opinion is that it shouldn't be implemented,� he said. When asked about the remarks made by the President that he would declare a National Day of Mourning if a Bill more..

Jul 15 (AD) Former Minister Rishad Bathiudeen said they were not in a hurry to accept ministerial portfolios and said they would do so on a decision taken by his party. He told media following an event in Colombo that all Muslim ministers resigned from their portfolios for the sake of the country. �All Muslim ministers resigned together. If we accept the portfolios again, we will do it together. We did not resign in fear of more..

Jul 15 (AD) OIC of the Panadura North Police Station has been interdicted on the National Police Commission�s covering approval after two T-56 assault rifles went missing from his police station. An investigation was launched after two firearms went missing at the Panadura North Police Station on July 06. Investigations were carried out under the supervision of the Senior DIG in charge of Western Province. Based on the information uncovered so far, a decision had been taken to interdict more..

Jul 15 (NWC) Both sides started brightly, each claiming two goals apiece. However it was SL who then put their foot down, with their tall goal shooter Sivalingam firing in seven goals to give them a 7-4 advantage. It was a perfect ten as she extended the lead to 10-5, on what was already proving a difficult day for the Singaporean defence. Their main threat in attack was Charmaine Soh who netted nine of their 11 first-quarter goals. However Sivalingam had already boosted her tournament tally by 21. more..

Jul 15 (PTI) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday assured the minority Tamil community in the North that they would be granted a political solution within the next two years. "We are closer to achieving a political solution. We will provide a solution during the next two years. That will lead to a future where all Sri Lankans can live with pride," he said while speaking at an event in Jaffna. PM said that his govt was not able to more..

Jul 15 (Economist) In late April, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a former defence secretary and the brother of a past president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, announced that he would contest the presidential election that is due to be held in late 2019. The Economist Intelligence Unit believes that he is likely to win that contest, and in this article we look at what the political and policy environment would look like under another Rajapaksa presidency. Gotabaya Rajapaksa is well known for defeating LTTE, more..

Jul 15 (AD) Regardless of the party, a leader who cares about the country needs to assume power, says Uruwaride Wannila Aththo. He made this comment speaking to the media in Badulla. The presidential candidate must be a person, who puts the country before the party and respects religions, the nation and the customs of the country, Wannila Aththo said. Politics have become an abomination to the people in the country, he commented further. Wannila Aththo also refuted the claims that more..

Jul 15 (CT) National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) on Wednesday opened a Marine Ornamental Fish and Aquatic Plant Centre at its Headquarters at Crow Island, Mattakkuliya, built at a cost of Rs 36 million. Sri Lanka is the world�s tenth largest ornamental fish exporter. The objectives of this centre include broadening the technical knowledge of the island�s ornamental fish more..

Jul 15 (EN) Sri Lanka's Treasury will be expanding a subsidised working capital loan to be given to tourism businesses to help recover from the Easter Sunday terror attack, Central Bank Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy said. He said that the govt will be providing working capital loans of up to 1.5 million rupees for tourism businesses. Earlier the Treasury had planned to only give a 500,000 rupee loan. "There is pressure to increase this further," Coomaraswamy said. more..