Sep 6 (CT) As SL looks for a consolation win in the last game of the 3-match T20 series at Pallekele which NZ has already bagged with a 2-0 lead, skipper Lasith Malinga emphasised his young team's inability to field well under lights which was a primary cause of their downfall in both games. SL when defending 175 and 161 dragged the game into the last over on both occasions but it was their fielding that let the team down. Dasun Shanaka missed a crucial chance of getting Ross Taylor out more..

Sep 6 (DM) A few MPs have complained to PM Ranil Wickremesinghe that they were under pressure from some ministers to place their signatures on a petition seeking prez candidacy of the party to UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa, sources close to the PM said. They said these MPs had complained to the PM when he was in the Maldives on an official visit. In trying to prevail upon these MPs, these ministers had said that Mr. Premadasa would become the President, and then, he would automatically more..

Sep 6 (FT) The CoPE decided to summon former People�s Bank Chairman Hemasiri Fernando and Finance Ministry Additional Secretary R. Semasinghe before the Parliamentary Privileges Committee, for providing the bank�s former General Manager Vasantha Kumara a six-month extension, rather than removing him as instructed by CoPE. During the CoPE investigation held in Parliament, it was revealed that CoPE had rejected more..

Sep 6 (SLN) Sri Lanka Navy Ships, Sindurala and Suranimila left Trincomalee today (5) for India to participate in the SL Navy and Indian Navy Exercise (SLINEX 2019). Two ships departed the harbour amidst formal naval traditions. Commander Eastern Naval Area, Rear Admiral Merril Wickramasinghe, Flag Officer Commanding the Naval Fleet, Rear Admiral Upul De Silva and several senior naval officers were also present on the occasion. Meanwhile, Commander Eastern Naval Area more..

Sep 6 (FT) LMD-Nielsen Business Confidence Index (BCI) rose by 20 basis points to 94 in August � the highest increase in the index since November last year. And as the magazine notes, the barometer now stands one point shy of where was it a year ago and five points above its 12 month average of 89. Nielsen�s Managing Director Sharang Pant says: �Sentiment is improving with both businesspeople and consumers feeling that the worst is behind them and the future has better things in store. more..

Sep 6 (DM) Responding to the allegations made by MP Wimal Weerawansa, the US Embassy said it takes security in Sri Lanka very seriously. It also said all mission personnel and official visitors are instructed to comply with SL security and safety procedures within the parameters of Vienna Convention. �We are aware of a misunderstanding that took place at the JAIC Hilton over a month ago and was resolved. more..

Sep 6 (DM) It has been found that a powerful improvised explosive called urea nitrate - widely used by terrorists, had been used for the Ester Sunday explosions, Govt Analyst said. Urea nitrate is a powerful improvised explosive, frequently used by terrorists in the Israeli arena. It was also used in the first World Trade Centre bombing in New York on Feb 1993. Waliyange said that their role with regard to the Easter Sunday investigations was to conduct post-explosion investigations. more..

Sep 6 (DM) Seven suspects including Prasad Ruwan alias Kudu Roshan and a SLPP PS member were arrested by the STF in connection with the incident where two underworld gang members were hacked to death near the Madampitiya Cemetery in Grandpass on August 15, police said. Police Spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said the seven suspects were arrested from the Yakkala area on Wednesday night by the STF personnel and handed over to the Grandpass Police," he said. more..

Sep 6 (CT) Ten high profile corporates had defaulted paying back Rs 37,727 million in loans obtained from the People's Bank, COPE revealed. COPE Chairman MP Sunil Handunnetti said that non-performing loan profile of the Bank has increased by Rs 20,428 million during the last 31 months. People's Bank officials said that this situation has been caused by recent downfalls in the corporate sector and the economy. more..

Sep 6 (Island) A section of UNP parliamentary group, held a public rally in Kurunegala, yesterday, in support of the ongoing campaign to secure party nomination for UNP Dy Leader Sajith Premadasa to contest prez election. It was the third rally in support of Premadasa, who vowed at the two previous rallies held at Badulla and Matara to lead the party to victory in the prez contest. MP Nalin Bandara regretted that instead of taking on those challenging govt they were fighting among themselves. more..

Sep 6 (DM) I believe that I would be fielded as the UNP prez candidate with the blessings of Party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and Speaker Karu Jayasuriya and with the consent of other party members, UNP Deputy Leader Minister Sajith Premadasa said yesterday. He expressed these views while addressing a rally at Kurunegala, which was organized by UNP members including Ashoka Abeysinghe, Nalin Bandara and Thushara Idunil. He said the party leader and other members more..

Sep 6 (Island) Not a single question out of 15 listed for ministers to answer during the questions session in Parliament was answered, yesterday, owing to the absence of ministers. When the question time came, Opposition ranks raised them but Minister Lakshman Kiriella had to seek additional time to table the responses except one question which was re-directed to a different ministry. At the end of the session JVP MP Bimal Ratnayake more..

Sep 6 (DM) The Australian Govt�s attempts to deport a SL family being blocked by a court order has generated calls from sympathizers abroad to make the islanders a part of the Aussie community. The Tamil couple in the news, Nadesalingam and Priya, has Sri Lankan roots. The duo had arrived in Australia separately in 2012 and 2013 respectively seeking asylum. The issue generated excessive media attention when a move by the Australian Govt was thwarted by the Federal Court which more..

Sep 6 (DM) In urban elite circles, there is much debate on 19A and the powers the next elected President would have. 19A goes down in parliamentary history as a set of amendments that had clauses read only in English and a Tamil MP was rudely shouted down by no less a person than the PM himself for requesting a Tamil translation. What was adopted nevertheless is now supreme law of the country and defines the power the next elected President would enjoy. more..

Sep 6 (DM) Attorney-General (AG) Dappula de Livera has come under scrutiny for several decisions and arrests in a number of high-profile cases. One case where it was widely believed that the AG had upheld the public trust and moved to ensure that justice was done, was the investigation into the alleged treasury bond scam involving former CB Governor Arjuna Mahendran, his son-in-law Arjun Aloysius, and the primary dealer firm more..

Sep 6 (Island) The govt had saved Rs. 3.7 billion by importing coal from South Africa this year and also prevented a possible shut down of Norochcholai and Rs. 1.7 billion had been saved from the latest shipment. Lanka Coal Company, Chairman Uditha Devasurendra said that they were expecting the latest shipment of 300,000 MT on 17 Sept. Minister Ravi Karunanayake said that the savings amounted to USD 18.42 per one MT more..

Sep 6 (DC) Sri Lankan Tamil MP representing Batticaloa Seenithambi Yogeshwaran on Thursday made a forceful plea to the Government of India and Tamil Nadu govt to consider former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa�s suggestion to confer dual citizenship status to the SL Tamil refugees living in camps in Tamil Nadu to help them get employment. Speaking at an event organised by the Hindu Makkal Katchi (HMK) here in connection with more..

Sep 6 (ST) The 27-year-old suspect in the hacking to death of two children of one family in Waikkal, Wennappuwa, has admitted his responsibility in court. A simmering dispute over the rainwater runoff from a roof gutter of an unapproved structure made of containers and used as a soup canteen, had boiled over into the killings of two children. The grieving father claims the local authority had ignored the problem, more..

Sep 6 (RN) Some 650 families of Sri Lanka�s disappeared are eligible for a Rs. 6,000 monthly allowance as approved by Cabinet earlier this week, Chairman of the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) Saliya Pieris said. The Cabinet on Tuesday approved the monthly interim allowance for the families of missing persons that have obtained a Certificate of Absence (CoA). According to the OMP, a CoA is a legal document which provides for more..

Sep 6 (Island) Kith and kin of the Easter Sunday victims continue to suffer since the govt had failed to compensate them, parliament was told. UPFA MP Dayasiri Jayasekera said that govt had promised to pay Rs 500,000 each on behalf of 264 persons killed in the Easter Sunday terror attacks. "It was revealed in the Court that compensation had been paid only for 20. Of the 101 injured persons only 6-7 have been compensated. more..

Sep 6 (CT) Colombo Chief Magistrate Lanka Jayaratna, gave the CID permission to inspect the accounts maintained in three banks in connection with a misappropriation charge against the former Treasurer of the Rugby Committee of Royal College, Colombo. CID told the Magistrate that it had commenced investigations into a complaint lodged on 23 March, by Secretary of Rugby Committee of Royal College, more..

Sep 6 (NR) MP SM Marikkar requested the Speaker of House Karu Jayasuriya to compile a report on the daily expenses of Parliament. Speaker responding to the request in Parliament this morning said a report on Parliament�s daily expenses has already been compiled. MP Marikkar said media is reporting on the daily expenses of Parliament, resulting in the public believing that MPs are probably taking in gold. more..

Sep 6 (Island) The State Intelligence Service (SIS) reports were directed to the President and not to the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Anuja Premaratne, President�s Counsel, yesterday, told the Supreme Court. Defence and National Security lies directly under the President, who was the Head of State and the Head of the Armed Forces, the PC said. At the outset Counsel Viran Corea appeared for the former IGP more..

Sep 6 (RN) Election Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya confirmed today that the SLFP has named its candidate to the Election Commission upon a request made by the latter. Deshapriya said that the Commission has written to all parties requesting them to name possible candidates as a matter of convenience. �This was simply to make preparation work for the presidential election easier and was not meant to be compulsory,� more..

Sep 6 (CT) The underlying basis for calling for tenders, especially in public procurement, is to obtain the most technically responsive bid at the least cost. Even during the height of the island's Eelam wars, more so, at least prior to the advent of the SLFP/PA Govt of Prez Chandrika Kumaratunga 25 years ago in August 1994, this procedure, even encompassing unforeseen and emergency situations, such as the outbreak of Eelam War III in June 1990 after Prez R. Premadasa's more..

Sep 6 (FT) Although the 19th Amendment has removed the executive powers of the president, reducing his official status almost to a level of a nominal president, the failure to change the method of election of the president to suit his altered position has led to make the entire system of governance a confused mess and a ridiculous affair. Govt of course, had a responsibility to educate the people, of the true nature of the changes made by the 19th Amendment in prez system of governance. more..

Sep 6 (AD) Prima Ceylon (Pvt) Ltd says that the price of 1kg of wheat flour produced by the company has been increased by Rs 5.50 with effect from today. Accordingly, the company has notified all of its agents to comply with the price increase. However, the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) stressed that legal action would be sought against Prima�s move to increase the wheat flour price without its approval. CAA pointed out, as per the Gazette Extraordinary No. 1975/68 issued on July 14, 2016, more..

Sep 6 (Island) NFF leader Wimal Weerawansa alleged that the govt was planning to transfer 16 Returning Officers in charge of electoral districts at the forthcoming prez election. Weerawansa accused the UNP govt of trying to carry out mass scale transfer. MP alleged that a Cabinet minister had got a group of journalists to propagate a lie about a non-existent inquiry as regards corruption charges against the 16 officials. Journalists had been given a sumptuous meal by the minister concerned, more..

Sep 6 (AD) Navindu Umesh Ratnayake, driver of the Defender involved in the road accident that caused the death of the Traffic OIC of the Borella Police has been released on bail. When the case was taken up before the Colombo High Court yesterday, the defendant was ordered to be released under a personal bail of Rs 200,000. HC Judge Pradeep Hettiarachchi subsequently ordered to take up the case on the 19th of Dec. more..

Sep 6 (AD) Wennappuwa Pradeshiya Sabha member Dulakshi Fernando and her sister, who were arrested for obstructing police officers, have been further remanded until September 11 by the Marawila Magistrate�s Court. The suspects were produced before the court today (06) when the magistrate ordered to re-remand them. The 21-year-old Pradeshiya Sabha member and her sister, who is aged 16, were arrested on August 20 on a warrant issued by the Marawila Magistrate�s Court. more..

Sep 6 (PHC) In connection with the celebration of 54th Defence Day of Pakistan, High Commission of Pakistan in SL, held a reception on 5th Sept, at a local hotel in Colombo, to mark the day. SL�s Defence Secretary, Gen. (Retd.) Shantha Kottegoda was the Chief Guest. Defence Advisor of Pakistan, Col. Sajjad Ali, while welcoming the guests, highlighted the role of Armed forces in eliminating the scourge of extremism and terrorism from Pakistan and bringing peace and stability more..

Sep 6 (EN) An exhibition aimed at building entrepreneurs will kick off in the northern Jaffna peninsular where subsidized credit will be available to entrepreneurs including those wanting to start businesses native to the area. �New entrepreneurs who expect to develop industries which are native to Jaffna district such as in dustry, agricultural, fisheries and tourism sectors could be able to obtain loans at concessionary interest rates at the exhibition� more..

Sep 6 (RN) The first phase of the Rs. 2.25 billion Palaly airport development project will be completed by 10 Oct, with regional flight operations set to commence six days later, Minister Arjuna Ranatunga said. Flights will be operational from Palaly to multiple Indian destinations, with domestic aviation companies given a higher priority in providing services. The Palaly airport, which has been operating as a military airbase, is in the process of being upgraded to a regional airport. more..

Sep 6 (AD) Several trade unions of Dehiwala Zoological Garden have launched a token strike causing disruptions to daily functions of at the facility today. A large number of local and foreign visitors have been inconvenienced owing to the incident. Trade unions stressed that the authorities have failed to fulfil to their demands for over a year, which called for an increase of the interim and attendance allowances. They warned of resorting to indefinite strike action if the authorities continue to more..

Sep 6 (RN) Parliament was adjourned until 17 Sept today citing a low turnout of Govt MPs, forcing the day�s sittings to end at 11.45am. Today�s sittings, scheduled to go on till 7pm, ended in just 45 minutes. Yesterday, too, saw questions go unanswered due to the absence of relevant Ministers. Asked for an explanation, a source affiliated with the UNP leadership said a number of MPs had gone to Deputy Leader Sajith more..

Sep 6 (DM) Speaker Karu Jayasuriya today expressed his displeasure at the conduct of MPs in parliament and said media reports on ministers not being in the House to respond to questions on Thursday was a blow to the reputation of parliament. He said this while referring to the tense situation which prevailed in the House yesterday after the government postponed the voting on the regulations of the Sri Lanka Export Development Act despite objections from the Opposition. more..

Sep 6 (NR) The All Island Bakery Owners Association has decided to increase the price of a 450-gram loaf of bread by Rs.2 from midnight today. Chairman of the Association NK Jayawardene said the decision was reached in line with the increase of prices in wheat flour announced earlier today. Jayawardene however noted a decision to increase the price of other bakery products can be determined by individual bakery owners according to their discretion. more..

Sep 6 (DM) Condemning the actions of the police, human rights activists, called for justice to be meted out to Anne Ranaweera. Having been subject to both physical and verbal assault at the hands of the police, in her home and at the police station, Ranaweera intends to legally pursue this breach of her fundamental rights. On Aug 13, Anne Ranaweera, 33-yr-old freelance journalist for Catholic newspaper Gnanartha Pradeepaya, more..

Sep 6 (AD) Unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle have opened fire at two police officers on patrol duty at Panathugama area in Akuressa early this morning. The injured police officers gave been hospitalized following the incident. While on duty, the two police officers in question had signalled a suspicious motorcycle to stop, however, it had sped up disobeying the orders. One of the persons on the motorcycle had then opened fire at the two cops who had been chasing them closely, more..