Jun 18 (AD) Court of Appeal has rejected a writ petition and a petition for revision filed by former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa seeking the court to void the order delivered by the Permanent High Court at Bar with regard to the D.A. Rajapaksa Museum case. The petitions were taken up before the Appeals Court Judges Achala Wengappuli and Arjuna Obeysekara today. When the petitions were taken, more..

Jun 18 (EN) SL tea prices are continuing a steady decline this year compared with last year, a senior industry official said. �These days the market is dropping because of the lack of quality and the volume of tea is high and the demand is less,� said Waruna De Silva, CEO Ceylon Tea Brokers. �The lack of quality results from our tea bushes being old and insufficient replanting taking place along with certain weather conditions.� Cumulative Colombo auction average for Jan-May 2019 down 7% more..

Jun 18 (GDI) Sri Lanka�s current extensive port development programs will create more employment opportunities for women in the future, a port industry expert said. �With automation, the opportunities for women to work in the port field will grow, as some of the jobs will change and offer a better working environment where the employees can operate from modern offices rather than being in the field. For instance, a crane operator no longer needs to do that job by sitting on a crane. more..

Jun 18 (DM) Railway Trade Union Alliance (RTUA) today warned it would launch a 48-hour strike from midnight tomorrow over the failure to grant their demands including the rectification of salary anomalies. RTUA co-convener Lal Ariyaratne said the issue regarding grades was solved through a gazette notification on May 16 last year but the salary scales with reference to these grades were yet to be specified. more..

Jun 18 (Reuters) Growth in SL�s economy picked up to 3.5% in the first quarter from 1.8% in the previous three-month period, Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera said on Tuesday. Economic growth in the island nation�s 2018 fourth quarter had slowed to a nearly four-year low as a 51-day political crisis took a toll on the industrial sector. The political crisis created panic and uncertainty among investors, who dumped SL govt bonds and other assets, sending the rupee currency to record lows. more..

Jun 18 (GDI) Sri Lanka earned Rs.35,000 million in foreign exchange by exporting 17,500 metric tons of Cinnamon last year. This is the largest stock of Cinnamon exported during a single year in the history of the Cinnamon Trade, Export Agriculture Director General Dr. A. P. Heenkanda said. He said this is a 13% increase when compared to exports made in 2017. Nearly 80,000 acres are under Cinnamon cultivation at present giving economic sustenance to nearly 100,000 people. more..

Jun 18 (DM) An agreement will be signed by the SL and Japanese Govts tomorrow enabling Sri Lanka to send an unlimited number of skilled workers to Japan for a period of 10 years, monitoring MP for the SL Bureau of Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara said today. He said that the agreement will be signed in Japan by Minister Harin Fernando. He said that Sri Lanka was among the 9 countries given the opportunity more..

Jun 18 (DC) One of the Sri Lankan players in the current World Cup squad alerted the security when he noticed a suspicious man in the same hotel lift, it is learned here. The incident happened last week when the player saw a man with a backpack bag suddenly jumped in to the lift where the player was returning to his room. "The player did not suspect the stranger to be a bookie or a match-fixer and hence the anti-corruption officer did not come in the picture but it was suspected that more..

Jun 18 (AD) The three persons who were arrested at the Central Mail Exchange with defamatory letters have been granted bail as per the order of the Fort magistrate. On May 2nd, 3 persons serving at Lakshman Kiriella�s Ministry of Public Enterprise were arrested with 600 letters defamatory of the President and inciting enmity among races. The letters were reportedly addressed to various Buddhist temples across the country. However, owing to a suspicion that surfaced regarding more..

Jun 18 (EN) A sharp fall in imports and weak export growth led to a significant narrowing of SL�s trade gap in April 2019 to US$ 797 million from US$ 999 million in April 2018, central bank said. Import expenditure fell by 11% to US$ 1.6 billion in April 2019 from a year ago while export growth rose only by 0.4% to US$ 798 million. Garment exports grew 5.3% to US$ 334 million while food, beverages & tobacco exports fell more..

Jun 18 (AFP) A SL police officer on Tuesday defied President Sirisena and testified before a parliamentary investigation into the Easter Sunday suicide bombings that killed 258 people. Sirisena has come in for major criticism after ordering top brass not to allow police, military or intelligence personnel to take part in hearings into the attacks being held by a parliamentary committee. The president, who has said the hearings could reveal classified information, more..

Jun 18 (EN) Sri Lanka needs to develop better entertainment options, especially nightlife, to attract Indian visitors, Tourism Minister John Amaratunga said. "Our casinos are no doubt an attraction but the complaint I get from the Indian authority is that there isn't enough entertainment in the city of Colombo and out station," said Amaratunga, speaking at the launch of a special promotional campaign to attract Indian tourists. "I've been telling the hoteliers association to start their nightclubs. more..

Jun 18 (AD) Current OIC of Kattankudy Police M.P. Kasthuriarachchi says the Kattankudy area had been a peaceful area at the time when he assumed duties at the Kattankudy Police in August 2017. OIC said, after assuming duties in Kattankudy area, he had learnt that a case was being heard before the court against Zahran Hashim and several other persons. The Zahran, his brother Rilwan and a third person more..

Jun 19 (GV) On April 21, 2019, the doctors working at the National Blood Transfusion Services woke to chilling news. A series of suicide bomb blasts had occurred across the island. As of June 11, 254 people lost their lives. At least 500 more were injured. �By 9 am, we knew what had happened. By 11 am, the Centre was full,� recalls Dr Senal Rupasinghe, Medical Officer in Charge of the Donor Section at the National Blood Transfusion Service. Both mainstream and social media shared more..

Jun 19 (CT) In Sri Lanka, anything unlawful we are caught doing, can be shaped up. It is the Asian Way we say proudly, indirectly alluding to upholding the law as the Western Way. In that self-congratulation we forget that we bury our democracy in our feudal grave where our past belongs. For who can shape-up any crime they commit? It is our elders � our clergy like Rathana Thero (who should have been allowed to starve to death rather than let him thwart our democracy), and Gnanasara Thero, more..

Jun 19 (SO) Regen�s tiny living room had nothing except a sofa which took more than half the space. Ten-year-old Nimroth sat on the sofa busy with his father�s mobile phone. He raised his burnt face away from the phone screen questioningly as we entered their little two-room-rented house. Nimroth looked at the camera in our colleague�s hand for a moment and again got back to whatever he was doing with mobile phone. more..

Jun 19 (CT) One of SL�s highest Buddhist authority figures � Asigiri Chapter Prelate Warakagoda Sri Gnanarathana has called for the stoning of Muslims and urged Sinhala Buddhists to refrain from frequenting Muslim-owned shops and consuming food offered by Muslims. For such blatant vitriol against Muslims, fanning the growing unfounded paranoias about the Muslims � he remains untouched; no charges have yet been brought against Chief prelate for violating ICCPR Act. more..

Jun 19 (DN) Everyone is born in a nuclear family. Almost everyone grows up and connects to one another in a community; wider and vaster the community, the greater and more open become the connections and communication. In this modern age, we need to be open on a universal scale to come to a better understanding of one another in order to improve and transform our global village and build a global culture of human solidarity and world peace. more..

Jun 19 (GV) A man in a suit defending the imposition of a saree-only regimen on women � it would have been amusing, had the scene been part of a teledrama. But this was the Secretary to the Ministry of Public Administration arguing with the members of the Parliamentary Select Committee about the suitability of a Sinhala-Buddhist dress-code for women in the public service. more..

Jun 19 (DN) The article today was triggered by an accidental meeting with a senior woman official at the RMV in Colombo denied increments and promotions due to her not obtaining proficiency in the Tamil language required of public servants in the country. She went onto detail her practical constraints as a working mother. It included long hours of desk work resulting in going home late. Children to take care of once home. Domestic chores etc. more..

Jun 19 (Island) Lawmaker Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka on Sunday contradicted Defence Secretary Gen. (retd) Shantha Kottegoda as regards the status of the current threat posed by the now proscribed National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ) and allied organizations. Prez Sirisena, in May, banned Jammiyathul Millathu Ibrahim (JMI) and Willayath As Seylani in addition to the NTJ. War-winning Army Commander Fonseka pointed out the sharp discrepancy in Kottegoda�s assertion before more..

Jun 19 (GV) Maru Sira (his real name being D.J. Siripala) died at Bogambara Prison in Kandy, on Aug 7 1975. He was executed by hanging, on the direction of the State. He had been convicted, in absentia, of the crime of murder. Controversy surrounded his execution: he was unconscious when he was taken to the gallows, he was laid on a stretcher across the trapdoor, with the noose around his neck. His slumped position and the shorter fall of just two feet and two inches, when more..

Jun 19 (FT) The International Day of Vesak was observed at an impressive, yet simple ceremony at the Gandhi Centre, which was filled to capacity in The Hague on Friday, 7 June, organised by the Sri Lanka Embassy in The Hague for the third consecutive year. The program commenced with the lighting of the traditional oil lamp by the Guest of Honour Dalweer Bhandari, Judge of the Int'l Court of Justice, who was joined by Ambassador Venu Rajamony of India & Amb. A.M.J. Sadiq of SL more..

Jun 19 (CT) Charith Senanayake, former SL opener, was first appointed as the SL Cricket team�s manager in 2008. In 2013, he was dismissed from duty unceremoniously, but he was re-appointed in 2016. Internal problems and he being made a scapegoat for the team�s poor performance made him resign from his post as the Manager in Nov 2018. Charith was a tactful manager, who initiated the idea of more..

Jun 19 (Island) Beggars are considered a public nuisance. They have a ubiquitous presence, and their persistence is really irksome. Begging has also become a big business run by some racketeers who have amassed a great deal of wealth. Many beggars are so callous that they do not even care to thank givers, much less invoke divine blessings on the latter in return for alms. Some of them even turn abusive when their appeals go unheeded. But a glaring exception has been reported from more..

Jun 19 (CI) That England decimated another attack, posted a massive total and batted their opponents out of the game is only surprising to someone who hasn't followed Eoin Morgan's side over the past four years. But even for avid enthusiasts of the 50-over game, the brutality of Tuesday's assault, led by the England captain himself, was so gruesome one might have been forgiven for wanting to look away by the end of the first innings. England blitzed their way to 397, 198 scored in the final 15, more..

Jun 19 (ST) With the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) indices at historic lows, certain stockbroking houses will have to close shop in the next six months, market analysts say. This is because the brokers� commissions are not enough to segregate between 24 stockbrokers and on top of that the low money circulation has put them in a spot. Analysts noted that broking houses with strong parent companies will survive on the backing of more..

Jun 19 (DN) SL�s batting performance against Australia in their World Cup match at the Oval, London on Saturday was so dismal that cricket fans from over the world who follow the team�s fortunes are at a loss for words for the downfall of our cricket and to the low standards it has reached compared to such great sides the country has fielded in the international arena in the not too distant past. One past cricket administrator who is well respected and held in high esteem even today wrote: more..

Jun 19 (Island) The key to future economic growth is about more than just increasing shareholder value; rather, it is something which would receive the acceptance all stakeholders as a better sort of capitalism, Dinesh Weerakkody, current chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka (ICCSL) said. Weerakkody is also the current chairman of the Hatton National Bank (HNB), a bank that boasts job creation and transformation in some of the remotest regions of the country, more..

Jun 19 (FT) The country�s trade deficit narrowed significantly in April and in the first four months of this year thanks to dwindling imports and satisfactory export performance. Central Bank revealed that in April, the deficit in the trade account narrowed to $ 797 million from $ 999 million in April 2018. On a cumulative basis, the deficit in the trade account contracted noticeably to $ 2.45 billion during the first four months of 2019 in comparison to more..

Jun 19 (Island) The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Sweden together with the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) organized a Sri Lanka Symposium on June13 at the SLU in Uppsala. The Symposium was chaired by Pro Vice-Chancellor for international relations at the SLU, Ylva Hillbur. Many academics from the University were present to share their views and to present ongoing collaborative research projects with Sri Lanka, the Foreign Ministry stated in a press release. more..

Jun 19 (MDT) Macau Football Association�s (MFA) decision not to send the Macau team to play in Sri Lanka for the second-leg of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 1 was based on a govt alert for the country, according to a spokesperson from the MFA. �Macau Football Association made the difficult decision not to send the [SAR team�s] players to the Sri Lanka match because of concerns about safety,� more..

Jun 19 (FT) Advocata Institute commended Prez Sirisena�s directive to shut down the loss-making, State-owned handloom enterprise Salusala. �While we commend this decision, we are also anticipating the official gazette enacting this statement,� Advocata said. It said the Salusala, now a white elephant to society, was once the only State textile trading enterprise in the country. As the only provider of textile during the closed economy, more..

Jun 19 (DM) Cabinet is reported to have approved the memorandum submitted by Prez Sirisena to ban the import of chainsaws. Prez had earlier revealed that this move was to prevent the illegal felling of trees by racketeers. However, Minister Champika Ranawaka requested the Prez to exempt govt institutions from this ban saying chainsaws were needed by local authorities to prune or chop trees in city and town areas. �It is difficult to find labourers to cut down trees manually using normal saws,� more..

Jun 19 (DN) ICRA Lanka estimates tourist arrivals to drop by 40-50% in the near term, following the terror attacks which took place in April 2019. The fall in tourism earnings may expand the current account deficit by US$1-2 billion in CY 2019 and has muted the economic growth outlook, According to ICRA Lanka latest report on SL. The report further states that in line with fiscal consolidation objectives, the Govt of SL is targeting a Budget deficit of 4.4% of GDP for CY2019. more..

Jun 19 (ST) With the Sri Lanka tea industry just months away from launching its much-awaited global promotional campaign in September, a number of stakeholder representatives have been removed from the Promotion and Marketing Committee (PMC) said to be due to certain structural changes required by authorities. Minister Navin Dissanayake on June 7 had informed the respective stakeholder associations more..

Jun 19 (SLN) Indian Naval Ship (INS) Ranvir arrived at the Colombo harbour on a goodwill visit today (18). SL Navy welcomed the visiting ship in compliance with naval traditions, on her arrival. Upon her arrival, Commanding Officer of the ship, Captain Chetan Chandereve called on Commander Western Naval Area, Rear Admiral Sumith Weerasinghe and held a cordial discussion. Mementoes were also exchanged to mark the importance of this occasion. more..

Jun 19 (Island) President Maithripala Sirisena in his capacity as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces yesterday gave a six-month extension to Army Chief-of-Staff Major General Shavendra Silva. The service extension will be effective from June 22 until Dec 31, 2019. Major General Silva joined the Army in 1984. Silva was appointed the 53rd Chief of Staff of the SL Army in January this year. He was one of the leading frontline commander who helped defeat the LTTE militarily. more..

Jun 19 (EN) A top Buddhist monk in SL has accused minority Muslims of destroying the island�s majority Sinhalese community and called for drastic action, including the boycott of their businesses. Chief prelate of the Asgiriya Chapter of Buddhism launched the tirade against Muslims on Saturday during a ceremony at the Kitsiri Mevan temple near the holiest Buddhist shrine, Temple of the Tooth in Kandy. more..