Jul 26 (Roar) In his seven years as an advocate for HIV prevention and testing, Thushara Manoj, (34), has repeatedly come up against one thing: an overwhelming lack of understanding of what it means to be HIV positive in SL. The people Manoj interacts with use the terms interchangeably, and don�t know that HIV is a virus that�if untreated�could lead to AIDS, and that AIDS is a condition that affects the immune system more..

Jul 26 (CT) Watching both the new Governor General of Australia and the swearing in ceremony of the new parliament on 2nd of July this year as well as the tribute to late PM Bob Hawke by the new Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese inspired me to write this opinion to the Colombo Telegraph. What humbling speeches did they make! It was wonderful to watch how learned, balanced, respectful politicians gracefully deliver their speeches. more..

Jul 26 (DN) The worsening urban transport condition articulated in the report on urban transport conducted in the Colombo metropolitan region and suburbs in 2012 (CoMtransStudy) indicates that out of the seven main corridors in the Colombo metropolitan area, the Malabe corridor has the highest number of vehicles with the lowest peak hour travel speed. Based on the estimates for years, 2020, 2025 and 2035, (do nothing scenarios) speed on the Malabe corridor is anticipated to more..

Jul 26 (FT) My children have two different passports, making them a sort of case study in the stupidity and ultimate cruelty of passports. My daughter has a white passport, so no visas required. My son has a brown passport and he has to prove that he�s not trying to escape brown-town. I have to sit in consulates and bring sheaves of documents and basically grovel to get him permission to move about the earth. more..

Jul 26 (CT) The incident in 1983, known as Black July, is particularly well documented. Approximately two thousand Tamils were killed in July/August 1983 by Sinhalese mobs in an attempt to begin genocide (or at least ethnic cleansing) of the Tamils. Human Right Watch documented the cruelty of the 1983 state sponsored Sinhalese riots. �Many neighborhoods were destroyed and nearly 100,000 Tamils in Colombo were displaced. Evidence suggested govt collusion in the riots.� more..

Jul 26 (CT) The international conspiracy that was behind the regime change in SL in Jan 2015, as reported at that time in the prestigious Hindu newspaper of India, was aimed at completing the neoliberal transformation of our society begun in 1977. The chief local conspirator Ranil Wickremesinghe (Yankee Wicky), who became the PM, has used this office not to serve SL and its people, but to fulfil the American mandate. He has acted more as Chairman of Asian Chapter more..

Jul 26 (Island) Power in Free Sri Lanka, invariably seems to bring out fear, the fear of being done away with. Hence the motorcades that still accompany VIPs, whether bureaucrats or politicians. Most of those who are driven protected thus, are actually wasting petrol and manpower. For it is certain not even a stone will be thrown at them, leave alone a bomb. But the cry of I am threatened with the added corollary, But I will continue serving the people is heard often. more..

Jul 26 (Island) The govt would have us believe that the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) has to be replaced with the proposed Counter Terrorism Act (CTA) to tackle ISIS terrorism, which is said to have manifested itself here. But, the CID and the TID say there is no evidence to link the Easter Sunday attacks to the ISIS. Head of the CID and the TID Senior DIG Ravi Seneviratne, in his testimony before the PSC, probing the 21 April terror strikes, said so, on Wednesday. more..

Jul 26 (CB) All tickets are sold out The placard above the ticket counter at the gate of Premadasa Stadium says it all. This is not just another match for the crowd. It's a farewell game for the last representative of the golden generation. It's a chance to bid goodbye to Lasith Malinga. Sri Lanka are going through a longish transition phase since the departure of Mahela, Sangakkara and Dilshan - trio that formed the backbone of batting unit. more..

Jul 26 (Island) June 23, 1983 known as BLACK JULY was a day of shame for Sri Lanka, where a govt calling itself a Dharmista Rajya (a Righteous Regime) aided and abetted armed mobs to attack a section of its citizens -- civilian Tamils. The fact that there were looters, or that other forces fished in troubled waters etc., are irrelevant. That state-aided terror happened in the Capital city itself, is a fact and not an allegation, based on how many Tamils lived in the Metropolis before and after the event. more..

Jul 26 (EAR) On 21 April 2019, Sri Lanka witnessed its largest terrorist attack since the end of its brutal 26-year civil war. These Islamic State (IS) attacks targeted Easter celebrations and luxury hotels in Colombo, killing SL and foreign nationals. This article will consider domestic political, regional and institutional faultlines in light of the bombings, recent state responses to counter the terrorist threat, and the far-reaching impact of cross-border terrorism, in its evaluation and recommendation more..

Jul 26 (ST) Frauds pertaining to real estate property and condominium property have become somewhat common in SL with the laws pertaining to them in this country being unreliable and often amended, repealed and replaced. There is no system in the country where the govt certifies or guarantees the title of the property. A seminar was recently held on Condominium Law and Preventing Fraudulent Transaction in more..

Jul 26 (CI) 335 - Wickets Malinga took in ODIs. He is the tenth-highest wicket-taker in the format. Among SL bowlers, only Muttiah Muralitharan (534) and Chaminda Vaas (400) have more ODI wickets. 56 - Wickets taken by Malinga in World Cup matches, the third-most among all bowlers. Only Glenn McGrath (71) and Muttiah Muralitharan (68) have more wickets in World Cup history. Malinga played in four WC tournaments (2007, 2011, 2015 & 2019) and took 12 or more wickets in each of them. more..

Jul 26 (EN) Net profits at John Keells Holdings, SL's largest conglomerate, fell 54% to 994.3 million rupees from a year earlier, the firm said, with accounting changes to finance costs and lower revenue growth hitting the bottom line. Earnings per share for the quarter was 75 cents. The firm's share closed at 151 rupees, down 80 cents on Thursday. Revenue grew at a slower 5 percent to 31.7 billion rupees from a year earlier due to the hotel segment which suffered from low tourist arrivals more..

Jul 26 (DM) The controversy surrounding Dr. Siyabdeen Shafi for alleged unlawful sterilisation of hundreds of women has to be resolved through a forensic investigation sooner than later because the problem has gone out of hand, Minister Champika Ranawaka said. He further added that if a pragmatic and analytical probe together with a forensic inquiry was carried out by a team of professionals who are well versed more..

Jul 26 (FT) World-renowned The Banker Magazine UK reaffirmed the Bank of Ceylon as being among the Top 1000 Banks in the World with the country rank No. 1. BOC can undoubtedly boast of the financial and operational strength that it has demonstrated throughout the past years as having accounted for this magnificent achievement. Reaching its 80th anniversary celebrations this year, the bank has come across several notable achievements recently to its credit. more..

Jul 26 (CT) SL Paralympian Table Tennis star Pitiyage Don Silva Deshapriya secured a Bronze medal at the Asia Para Table Tennis Championship 2019 after losing to world number 4 Koyo Iwabuchi of Japan 2-3 in the semi-finals yesterday. Deshapriya did not allow the game to slip away without a fight against the world No: 4, but his efforts were all in vain as he narrowly lost the game. Pitiyage defeated Indonesia by 3-0 in the first match and after a gallant effort more..

Jul 26 (FT) With no plans for strategy and promotion to take off yet, private sector tourism leaders alleged that the worst is yet to come, as SL is heading towards a vicious election cycle by the year end, which is also the industry�s peak season. Noting that SL Tourism is still stuck on the numbers game and not on value addition or sustainability, the industry stakeholders emphasised the need to get the house in order more..

Jul 26 (DN) Royalist Thehan Wijemanne and Bridgeteen Oneli Perera clinched the under-16 boys' and girls� singles crowns respectively as the 104th Colombo Championship tennis tournament worked off at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA) clay courts yesterday. Thehan tamed Shivendra Perera 6/3, 6/1 in the boys' U-16 singles final and Oneli defeated Preethika Chandramohan 6/1, 6/0 in the U-16 girls� singles final. Earlier Thehan beat Zaid Zihar 6/3, 6/0 in easy straight sets to win more..

Jul 26 (ST) Norwegian Embassy recently signed up with Moot Manor (Pvt) Ltd, becoming the first occupants of the soon to be completed M2M Veranda Offices in Colombo 2. Ambassador and the First secretary of the Norwegian Embassy visited the site of M2M Veranda Offices, located at the intersection of W.A.D. Ramanayake Mawatha and Hunupitiya Road, connected by a walk-way to the vibrant Park Street Mews in Colombo 2. The embassy plans to start the process of more..

Jul 26 (FT) Central Environmental Authority (CEA) wrote to the BASEL Convention Secretariat regarding the importation of 111 containers of hazardous waste from UK, while requesting the Govt Analyst for an expert analysis of the contents. �We have written to the BASEL Convention Secretariat regarding the incident, informing them of the details,� an official from the CEA said. As the goods in the containers have been categorised as more..

Jul 26 (CB) Nazmul Hasan, Bangladesh Cricket Board president, has said that the management is looking to fill the vacant head coach's role with someone who has worked with subcontinent teams before, more so at the national level. Hasan's eligibility standards fuel the noise around Chandika Hathurusingha's return as Bangladesh's head coach, with Hasan in a way confirming that they indeed have Hathurusingha on the radar, and will pursue his candidacy only after the end of more..

Jul 26 (SO) The US$ 200 million investment by Hutch rolled out over a five-year period will see the company�s 4G technology touching all districts by March next year, said a top official of the company at the launch of Sri Lanka�s first Network Function Virtualization (NFV) based core network and advanced billing system last week. �At present our 4G technology is available in 10 districts and we hope to touch the entire country by early next year,� Hutch CEO Thirukumar Nadarasa said more..

Jul 26 (DM) Former Commandant Eastern Province Major General Lal Perera said he had warned National Thowheed Jamaath Leader Zahran in 2014 to desist from extremist activities he was engaged in. Major General Perera said this while testifying before the PSC probing the Easter Sunday attacks last afternoon. He said there had been tension brewing in the East since 2011 with large-scale land encroachments in Muslims areas. more..

Jul 26 (DN) The present setback experienced in SL cricket will adversely affect the entire sports sector and the country's international image the Most Ven. Warakagoda Sri Gnanaratana Mahanayake thera of the Asigiriya Chapter said. Although we have talented cricketers an internal crisis in the cricket administration may have caused this setback he said. The prelate expressed these sentiments when Central Province Governor Maithree Gunaratne called on him at his aramaya in Kandy more..

Jul 26 (DM) Non-Cabinet Minister, Ajith P. Perera in a letter addressed to the Secretary of the Sectoral Oversight Committee of Legal Affairs, Corruption and Media had requested to arrange an investigation on curbing hate speech and fake news on social media. Minister had therefore suggested that both int'l and local executives in charge of social media platforms such as Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, Viber, Whatsapp, Google and Imo be summoned before the committee for inquiry. more..

Jul 26 (Island) PHU leader Udaya Gammanpila MP announced that wartime Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa had officially relinquished his US citizenship. He emphasised that there was absolutely no issue over Gotabaya Rajapaksa�s current status. Gammanpila, one of the key people, who spearheaded the campaign for Gotabaya Rajapaksa�s entry into active politics, said that the announcement of Gotabaya more..

Jul 26 (CT) Duncan White, the first Sri Lankan and South Asian athlete to win an Olympic Medal, was remembered and honoured on his 21st death anniversary recently by Kandyan sports lovers. He was born on 1 March 1918 in Lathpandura, Kalutara and died on 3 July 1998 (aged 80) in Warwickshire, England. Major Deshamanya Duncan White, MBE won a Silver medal in the 400-metre hurdles at the 1948 London Olympics, the year Sri Lanka gained its independence from Britain. more..

Jul 26 (CT) The signing of agreements between parties, headed by the SLPP, forming a broad new political alliance to contest the upcoming Presidential Poll and other national elections, is set to commence under the aegis of Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa, at his Wijerama Mawatha residence at 9 a.m. today. UPFA MP Dilum Amunugama, said the new broad political alliance, formed by the SLPP, will feature all Political Parties currently under the JO umbrella as well as more..

Jul 26 (CT) Several top officials of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Enterprise Development have expressed their stern opposition to moves made by Minister Ravi Karunanayake to relocate the Ministry premises to an office complex at Nawam Mawatha, Colombo, at a cost of Rs 364 million. These officials have said that when the CEB, which comes under the purview of the Ministry, continues to suffer millions of rupees worth of more..

Jul 26 (DN) ETL Colombo (Pvt) Ltd out rightly denied any claims that they are the ultimate importer of the 130 containers of Used Mattresses imported to Hayleys Free Zone, Katunayake for reprocessing and re-export as legally permitted by the Hub Act. The actual owner and the key stakeholder of the said cargo is Ceylon Metal Processing Corporation (Pvt) Ltd (hitherto referred to as CMPC). ETL Colombo, in laymen terms was the mere interme-diary; a third party that facilitated more..

Jul 26 (DM) Introducing a motion in parliament, TNA Leader R. Sampanthan called for the Constitution introduced in 1978 to be abolished and a new one brought in. Moving an adjournment motion, he said the new Constitution should be brought in with the agreement of all communities, while upholding their rights. He said former Presidents Chandrika Kumaratunga, Mahinda Rajapaksa and incumbent Prez Sirisena had promised to introduce a new Constitution but failed to keep their pledges. more..

Jul 26 (Island) Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) probing the Easter Sunday carnage Deputy Speaker Ananda Kumarasiri, yesterday, making a special statement expressed his gratitude to the parliament staff and his fellow committee members for their support for conducting a special session to record the testimony of State Intelligence Service Chief Senior DIG Nilantha Jayawardena. more..

Jul 26 (DM) When the country goes for Presidential polls in a few months time, people will be compelled to make an analysis on how a certain older generation of political leaders had fared during the last 30 years. Some of our voters have utopian dreams of how a state must function. When the war concluded in 2009 the citizens of this nation thought that monies in the Govt coffers would be used more for development work. Although there was large scale infrastructure development more..

Jul 26 (DM) We can draw ugly parallels between the United States President�s racist politics and what is happening in Sri Lanka. First let us examine Donald Trump�s racist rants which he liberally unleashes, without realising the damage he is causing to the nation�s social cohesion. To say that Trump has no propriety in politics is an understatement. The truth appears to be that he has become so immune to criticism that he sees the inappropriate as appropriate. more..

Jul 26 (DM) Contradictory developments, difficulties in proving charges, glaring conflicts of interest and many factual disputes are emerging regarding the narrative surrounding Senior House Officer (SHO) Dr. Seigu Shihabdeen Mohamed Shafi from the Teaching Hospital, Kurunegala who was in custody over charges of alleged sterilization, terrorism and acquiring enormous wealth against him. more..

Jul 26 (ST) The Court of Appeal (CoA) this week set aside the ban imposed by the Jaffna High Court (JHC), which prohibited animal sacrifice ritual in the Northern Province (NP), for the last 3 years. In 2016, a writ application was filed before the JHC seeking an order prohibiting the animal sacrifice rituals in the NP, and the High Court, by issuing a judgement in October 2017, prohibited animal sacrifice rituals in the NP. more..

Jul 26 (EN) Sri Lanka's plan to re-nationalize film distribution in Sri Lanka signals a return to a failed era and will cripple the industry which is already facing competition from online platforms, Ceylon Threatres group, an industry pioneer has warned. "As we look back over the past, it appears that the movie industry has turned a full cycle, with the proposal to effectively nationalize the distribution of movies in Sri Lanka," more..

Jul 26 (FT) In a bid to attract international dealers to Sri Lanka�s industry, the launch of the 29th edition of Facets International Gem and Jewellery Exhibition, which promises a bigger and better show than ever before, was announced recently. Facets International Gem and Jewellery Exhibition 2019 is organised by the SL Gem and Jewellery Association and sponsored by the National Gem & Jewellery Authority (NGJA) more..