Aug 22 (AD) Five persons have died in a collision between a car and a tipper truck, the Police said. The motor accident reportedly took place at around 04.05 am this morning at Walakumbura area on the Alawwa-Kurunegala road. A tipper truck en route to Alawwa from Kurunegala has collided head-on with a car that had been heading to the opposite direction. According to the police spokesperson, the passengers in the car had been returning home after attending a funeral in Warakapola area. more..

Aug 22 (ST) The child protection�s body�s 20-year delay in implementing a National Child Policy, failure to compile a national database and lax recruitment of adequate and qualified staff has let down the country�s children, exposing them to great harm, a scathing report has found. �Even though child abuses, delinquencies and injuries had been on the rise during the previous seven years, the higher management of the NCPA had not more..

Aug 22 (Island) SJB MP Manusha Nanayakkara yesterday told Parliament that out of the total number of 434 departments, boards, authorities and statutory bodies, 126 come under the purview of the ministries headed by the members of the Rajapaksa family. Participating in the debate on Prez�s State Policy, MP Nanayakkara said that in percentage terms, Rajapaksa family members� run ministries had 29 percent of all statutory bodies. �The Prez and PM are from the same family. more..

Aug 22 (EN) Advocata is commending the decision taken by the Dept of Census and Statistics (DCS) to launch an e-registry portal to register unregistered and registered businesses in Sri Lanka. In a press release issued on Friday, the think tank called on Cabinet to support this reform and said it �looks forward to the fruition of this proposal.� It said that this �will allow thousands of SL entrepreneurs, unregistered micro, small and medium businesses to formalize their ventures.� more..

Aug 22 (Island) Former Prez Maithripala Sirisena yesterday told Parliament that the monkey population in the country had increased to become a serious problem. Participating in the debate on the Govt�s Policy Statement, the former Prez said that farmers were confronted with a serious issue where their crops were destroyed by animals. He said that when he was the Agriculture Minister there were more..

Aug 22 (AD) A van that veered off the road has fallen down a precipice near Ravana Ella on Ella-Wellawaya road, killing 2 passengers. In the meantime, four other men have sustained injuries. A total of 6 passengers were reportedly onboard the van at the time of the incident and five of them were found in a critical condition. Three of the injured were admitted to Sirigala, Badulla and Wellawaya hospitals. The remaining two who were admitted to hospital have succumbed to injuries. more..

Aug 22 (DM) Minister of Power Dullas Alahapperuma tendered an apology to the general public for the electricity breakdown on Aug 17, in Parliament yesterday. �I apologize to the people of SL for the electricity breakdown as it had disrupted their lives while affecting the economy of the country. It happened only 96 hours after I was appointed as the subject minister. However I won't use it as an excuse to avoid the issue," the minister said. The minister pledged to convert more..

Aug 22 (ST) Confusion about the format of the ballot paper with its many symbols and three preferences may have led to the high rate of rejected votes at the recently concluded parliamentary elections, experts said. Total number of rejected votes at the Aug 5 election was 744,373. When set against a voter turnout of 75.89%, this is 4.58%. But the highest total of rejected votes as a percentage of voter turnout occurred, more..

Aug 22 (AD) Sri Lanka�s former Ambassador to Russia Udayanga Weeratunga is scheduled to appear before the PCoI probing incidents of political victimization, on the 24th of August. This is with regard to a complaint he had lodged with the PCoI claiming that a case was filed against him for allegedly importing a container into the country illegally. Weeratunga maintains that evidence has been fabricated and that the container in question was shipped in via legal means. more..

Aug 22 (CT) The GMOA urged the Ministry of Health to set up a technical committee to study the impact of palm oil on the nation�s health in a bid to introduce laws to ban its importation. GMOA Secretary, Dr. Senal Fernando, welcomed the move by Prez Rajapaksa to ban the cultivation of oil palms during his policy statement at the inaugural ceremony in Parliament on 20 August, and said that the Union viewed it as a positive effort on the part of the President to ensure dietary safety. more..

Aug 22 (Island) Former UNP Karu Jayasuriya urged Prez Rajapaksa not to do away with the 19th Amendment to the Constitution without consulting all stakeholders. He said that if the govt abolished the 19th Amendment, and a new Constitution passed, that must be done after wide consultation with all stakeholders, including all political parties, citizens� organizations, and eminent individuals and general public. more..

Aug 22 (EN) SL has hiked the tax on imported potatoes to 55 rupees a kilogram with effect from August for four months, a gazette notice said. Tax is charged as a special commodity levy para-tariff. From Aug 15, the tax would go up to 55 rupees a kilogram from an earlier 50 rupees a kilogram. SL�s potato farmers have been given protection for years and are promoted as an export non-competitive product who are able to charge higher than market prices from the public with the help of the tax. more..

Aug 22 (ST) Public dismay has reached boiling point in Kochchikade as a result of a hellish landscape that is a stinking garbage dump created by the Negombo Municipal Council as a landfill about 20 years ago. The dump took shape on a private land on the request of the land owner to fill a pit dug for clay. �We want a fair solution to this problem that has existed for 20 years. Negombo Municipal Council collects waste separated by people and dumps on this site, rather than disposing of it properly," more..

Aug 22 (EN) Opposition is criticizing Prez Rajapaksa�s policy statement made to Parliament yesterday saying it has no plans to rescue the country from the economic damage caused by the Covid situation. SJB MP Harin Fernando told Parliament the speech �is more of an essay than a policy document.� Fernando also warned that the course of action taken by the Prez is leading the country towards an autocracy. more..

Aug 22 (Island) SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa accused the govt of having duped unemployed graduates by calling for applications and issuing letters of appointment in a hurry during the election campaign but not allowing them to report to work after the election. Premadasa said that the SLPP seemed to have taken the unemployed graduates for a ride. �SLPP gave a promise during the prez election that under its govt all unemployed graduates would be given govt jobs. more..

Aug 22 (AD) Nine more individuals infected with COVID-19 made complete recoveries today. 7 from the Welikanda Base Hospital and one each from the IDH and Minuwangoda Base Hospital have been discharged upon recovery. COVID-19 recuperations confirmed in SL thereby reached 2,798. In the meantime, the total count of positive cases of novel coronavirus found in SL currently sits at 2,941. Epidemiology Unit says 132 active cases are under medical care at selected hospitals. more..

Aug 22 (CT) The authorities are to enhance the electronic security system at fisheries harbours after an underage boy was able to board a multi-day fishing trawler at Mirissa in June this year. The electronic system will be upgraded to store data relating to fisher folk and their families along with places of residences and other personal details as a wider plan to streamline those employed in the industry, Director Operations at Fisheries more..

Aug 22 (AD) Applicants whose names were rejected in the Unemployed Graduates/Diploma Holders Employment Program 2020 will be given the opportunity to submit appeals, says the Department of Govt Information. Accordingly, qualified applicants who were not called for the training due to their membership in the EPF and employment will be able to appeal. These applicants are instructed to hand over their appeals to the nearest Divisonal Secretariats before the 15th of September. more..

Aug 22 (DM) A new cabinet paper will be presented seeking approval to modernise and develop the school curricula to meet contemporary conditions and requirements, Education Minister Professor G.L.Peiris informed a group of school principals on Thursday. At a meeting held with the principals of several leading schools at the Education Ministry, Minister Peiris said the development of children's analytical knowledge and critical thinking was paramount. more..

Aug 22 (Island) With a total of 15 different political parties represented in the Ninth Parliament of SL, there were early indications on Thursday during the brief speeches made to congratulate the newly appointed Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena of the balancing act that would be needed to ensure the smooth functioning of the legislature. PM led the House in congratulating the newly elected Speaker and said that more..

Aug 22 (AD) Minister of Justice, President�s Counsel Ali Sabry says the establishment of a separate court to hear cases pertaining to child abuse has been brought to the notice of the government. He made these remarks addressing an event held in Colombo. Minister Ali Sabry further insisted on eradicating crimes against children. In the meantime, new laws will also be introduced to prevent such crimes, the justice minister continued. more..

Aug 22 (EN) SL�s newly appointed trade minister Bandula Gunewardene had said he would revive an Export Development Council of ministers headed by the Prez which had not been convened for 20 years, the state foreign trade promotion office said. SL�s Export Development Act of 1979 provides for an Export Development Council of Ministers including the subjects of trade shipping, industries, agriculture and finance. Minister had said reviving the mechanism back could resolve more..

Aug 22 (EN) SL is seeing a post-election mini-spike in Covid cases as the govt resumes flights repatriating citizens particularly from middle-eastern countries with 39 new patients being reported in the last three days. According to reports from the National Operations Centre for the Prevention of Covid 19 (NOCPC) the total number of patients since the outbreak has risen from 2902 on Aug 19 to 2941 as of last night. more..

Aug 23 (CT) Someone asked me: What is your take on the results of the Election in the North and East? Have the Tamil Nationalists failed? My response was: Certainly not. Tamil people have reacted to the selfish policy-less behaviour of the TNA. The erstwhile TNA votes have got divided mostly among the three parties � TNA, Cycle party and us. Some have shown their disapproval of the TNA by voting to the State favoured parties. Many who so voted felt obliged to repay those who helped them more..

Aug 23 (CT) President Gotabaya Rajapaksa reiterated in his address to Parliament last Thursday, something that he had been saying for some time�that the 19th Amendment will be removed and a new Constitution suitable to the country will be enacted. He also said that while salutary aspects of the proportional representation system would be preserved, changes will be made to ensure stability of the Parliament and people�s direct representation. However, Ministers and leaders of more..

Aug 23 (SO) Minister Udaya Gammanpila said the people decided to give a two thirds majority to the Govt not to continue with the current Constitution by adding another patch to the old shirt but to stitch a new shirt. The people�s mandate and the message are very clear so that we should act upon that mandate as early as possible. He said that Prez Rajapaksa has read that message very clearly and that is why he advised Justice Minister more..

Aug 23 (SO) In a landmark speech delivered in Parliament on Thursday at its inaugural session, Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa outlined several goals, benchmarks and pillars that would form the basis of his governance over the next five years. The first task at hand, according to the President, is the formulation of a new Constitution that can reflect and take on present challenges. This would be preceded by the removal of the 19th Amendment, which even its founders and architects have criticised. more..

Aug 23 (SO) My dear Sajith, I thought I must write to you to congratulate you on your appointment as the Leader of the Opposition and for leading the party which secured the largest number of seats from the opposition at the recent election, even if the pohottuwa chaps stole your thunder and emerged easy winners at the election. They will be gloating about the two-thirds majority they obtained and they have every right to do so. However, you too can be proud that you were able to form a new more..

Aug 23 (SO) Bar Association of SL (BASL) is exploring avenues to introduce the Continuing Professional Development system where lawyers will obtain marks for professional development in a bid to encourage continuous learning and growth of legal professionals, President of BASL, Kalinga Indatissa said. Q: Can you explain what the BASL is and what it does? A: Legal profession is one of the oldest professions in the world. more..

Aug 23 (ST) Sans the pomp and pageantry, Prez Rajapaksa appeared in a business suit lest someone objected to a Stranger in the House, and delivered a business-like address to open the new Parliament elected on Aug 5 by the sovereign people. He began by outlining his vision and mission with what have been his twin platforms � emphasis on Buddhist values and national security. Then followed a gamut of other areas he will focus upon; tackling the underworld, introducing more..

Aug 23 (TM) With the Rajapaksas getting a resounding win in the general election in Sri Lanka, they will be able to get rid of the 19th Amendment which curbs presidential powers. But getting back to the unitary state could pose problems. The Rajapaksa clan is back at the helm in Sri Lanka after the people gave them a huge thumbs-up in the just-concluded general election. While Gotabaya Rajapaksa is the President, his brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa, is the Prime Minister. more..

Aug 23 (ST) Kussi Amma Sera, Mabel Rasthiyadu and Serapina had gathered at the gate this Thursday morning, chatting with Aldoris, the choon-paan karaya, while munching on maalu-paan and tea-buns. Only the cup of tea was missing. �Loku Nona, me light kapana eka ape bakeriyata balapanawa. Apita tranformarayak ganna be ne (Madam, these power cuts are affecting our bakery work. Unlike other big places, we can�t afford a generator),� said Aldoris. more..

Aug 23 (TM) India, following the re-election of Mahinda Rajapaksa as PM of SL and the family�s consolidation of power, is keeping a close watch on any move by the regime to undermine Delhi�s security and economic interests in the island nation as well as the Indian Ocean Region. While the Rajapaksas have traditionally been close to the Chinese, Prez Rajapaksa, younger brother of the PM, has refrained from taking any measure so far to harm Indian interests after being elected as more..

Aug 23 (CT) President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in his 20-minute long policy statement said that the nation has arrived at an important landmark in history and assured that he will never do anything that would undermine the massive mandate received or the faith kept in him by the people of the country. He also said, it should always be remembered that the prime responsibility of a people�s representative is to serve the public. more..

Aug 23 (TM) While the recent reduction on interest rates on credit cards is expected to encourage the credit card usage in the country, banks are likely to incur a significant fixed cost element due to a drop in interest income. During the monetary policy meeting on Thursday, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) announced a downward revision to caps on interest rates on credit cards to 18% per annum from 24% earlier. The reduction has been done by the Monetary Board of the CBSL, more..

Aug 23 (SO) Central Bank will hold discussions and continuous dialogue with the Department of Census and Statistics before data on the GDP is released for each quarter, said CB Governor W.D. Lakshman in response to a query on the low GDP growth recorded in the first quarter this year when barely 10 days of the global pandemic had affected the economy. �Henceforth the CB will engage in discussions with the statistical body before the release of quarterly results of the economy� more..

Aug 23 (TM) HSBC Colombo Fashion Week (CFW) held its 2020 season last week in its usual spectacular fashion. The CFW 2020 season was initially scheduled to take place from 18-21 March and was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the risk of large gatherings, and the nationwide lockdown which was put in place on 20 March. Taking place on 13, 14, and 15 August, the long-awaited 2020 season took to the ramp more..

Aug 23 (ST) A top CR&FC official has refuted reports that there has been an exodus of players because their salaries were cut after the rugby season was affected by the coronavirus epidemic last season. �No one has said they are leaving. None of the boys have signed contracts. After the Covid we anyhow cancelled all the contracts. We are talking to all of them,� he said. �We know that Havelocks and CH&FC have promised some of our boys big money,� he said. more..

Aug 23 (TM) Today on the Little Stars cover is six-year-old biology enthusiast Mahir, who takes special interest in observing animals and recording what he observes. With the help of his parents, he maintains a video log on this Facebook page The Little Biologist. Mahir is a student of Lyceum International School, Wattala and aims to become a biologist when he is older. Mahir, tell us about yourself. My name is Mahir Mikail Noordeen. I�m six years old and I live in Ja-Ela. more..