Feb 18 (FT) Parliamentary Committee on Public Finance will today consider the proposed amendment to the Vote on Account (VoA) to obtain an additional sum of Rs. 367 billion for Govt expenses. The resolution on the amendment to the VoA also seeks to increase the limit on borrowings to Rs. 1,088 billion from the Rs. 721 billion which was approved by Parliament last October. Parliament last year approved Rs. 757 billion for Govt expenses from Jan to April but this amount more..

Feb 18 (Island) The CID Special Investigation Division is on the trail of its self-exiled former IP Nishantha Silva for getting for his personal use a motorcycle belonging to a murder convict in the abduction, rape and killing of 18-year-old Sivaloganathan Vidya of Pungudutivu in Jaffna. The investigation was launched on a complaint that IP Nishantha used a motorcycle which should have been a court production in the murder case. more..

Feb 18 (DM) Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who always asserts the application of scientific knowledge, especially the information technology in every aspect of the life of a person as well as every aspect of governance, had on Feb 11 discussed another similar important issue with those responsible for higher education. During a discussion with the University VCs and officials of the UGC, he stated the present uni study course should be updated in line with the local & int'l job market. more..

Feb 18 (DM) Munich Security Conference, the world�s largest security conference just concluded with a series of grim notes about directions and chaos in global security. The main theme of the conference for 2020 was, Westlessness. The theme highlighted a growing existential concern, Western powers are seeing in a fast-changing World. The Idea behind Westlessness is the problem of what will the rest of the world do or how will it be shaped eventually when Western power recedes. more..

Feb 18 (DM) America�s Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week imposed a travel ban on Lt. General Shavendra Silva, the acting Chief of Defence Staff and the Commander of Army, and the SL govt now complains that the decision had complicated the country�s relations with the US. The designation of Lt. Gen Shavendra Silva, under Section 7031(c) of the Dept of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs more..

Feb 18 (TM) The UNP has more or less resolved its inter-party issues and is now looking to work together to face the upcoming parliamentary elections, UNP MP Harin Fernando said. Q: Is your group satisfied with the current turn of events where Ranil Wickremesinghe has retained the UNP leadership? A: We tried to ask for the leadership but unfortunately it was not a compromise. What we requested from the current Leader was to more..

Feb 18 (TM) Kataragama is a religious city, deeply rooted in its connection to the Kataragama Devalaya, so much so that the city�s development and its people�s wellbeing have oftentimes come to depend on it. There are multiple programmes in place that are entirely funded by the Devalaya and are purely for the benefit of the people of Kataragama. Devalaya has taken upon itself the responsibility to educate, clothe, feed, and more..

Feb 18 (AD) The arrest warrant issued on the UPFA MP Jayantha Samaraweera has been recalled as the MP had appeared before the court today. Reportedly, the MP Samaraweera had appeared before the Colombo Magistrate�s Court this morning through his attorneys. The attorney representing Samaraweera informed the court that his client was unable to appear before the court on time yesterday due to a delay caused by heavy traffic. more..

Feb 18 (CT) The Kilinochchi Magistrate's Court has ordered the Police to obtain a detailed report from the relevant cellular network service providers (NSPs), of numbers used for the alleged sexual harassment of a fresher, as indicated in the complaint made by the Administration of the Faculty of Technology of the Uni of Jaffna in Kilinochchi. Court has issued this order, taking the complaint made by the Faculty Administration at more..

Feb 18 (DM) Panambarage Jacinta, a Sri Lankan woman in Singapore, was named as the Foreign Domestic Worker of 2020 which is an annual accolade for maids who have made extraordinary contributions to the family they serve. The award by the Association of Employment Agencies with a cash price of 2,000 Singapore Dollars was given at a Chinese New Year lunch held early this month at Holiday Inn Singapore. more..

Feb 18 (ST) �I met her via Instagram, and she said she was interested in me and kept asking for nude videos of myself. Initially I sent some for fun via Snapchat, but then she kept demanding more and more photos and videos. Later it was blackmailing, saying that my previous videos will be given to pornography sites, if I stop sending or remove/unfollow her,� an 18-year-old male victim of a cyber-bully has confessed to the CID. more..

Feb 18 (MoD) With the conclusion of the week- long firearms amnesty, the Police together with other intelligence agencies have commenced raiding illegal firearms. During the grace period, 200 firearms without valid permits or with no renewed permits have been handed over to Police stations in nine provinces. The Defence Ministry had declared the firearms amnesty from Feb 5 to 12 following the directives of Prez more..

Feb 18 (DN) Parliament will be dissolved at the first available opportunity declared PM Mahinda Rajapaksa at Hali-Ela on Feb 17. He was addressing a Jana Hamuwa after opening the Ettampitiya Water Supply Scheme at Wellewela in Hali-Ela.The PM said it was a pleasure for him to have got the opportunity to open this water supply project for which they launched the foundation stone in 2014. He said it had taken almost 5 years more..

Feb 18 (AD) The govt is reportedly looking into withdrawing from the UNHRC resolutions co-sponsored by SL. A special discussion on the matter had been held yesterday with the participation of Minister of Foreign Affairs Dinesh Gunawardena and several other officials of the Foreign Ministry. State Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara said that several proposals were made to withdraw from the resolutions. more..

Feb 18 (CT) Sri Lanka is yet to learn something from US politics. Take last week. Call it the seal and scale of Trump Politics: harsh and very realistic. Now he's poised for yet another stupendous election victory. Now he's out of the predicted, yes, he predicted it all along, Senate trial that rejected incriminating evidence from witnesses. And he alone knows how well it not only saved his neck from disgrace worldwide, but set the scenario for another presidential bid victory. more..

Feb 18 (FT) A cabbie in the Colombo suburbs leads a double life. He has a wife in Kadawatha, and another in Kaduwela. One day, an altercation in Kahathuduwa leaves him concussed in hospital first and then confused at the police station. This leads to two addresses being recorded, as many police sergeants running round in circles and a brace of bemused housewives demanding that �the real Mr. Ramanayaka� please step up. (Not that MP � no!) Chaos, confusion, consternation reigns. more..

Feb 18 (DN) A bail application filed by former State Timber Corporation (STC) Chairman Piyadasa Dissanayaka was fixed for order yesterday, to be delivered on April 2 by the Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar. Former STC Chairman, who was found guilty for soliciting a bribe from an Indian investor who wished to acquire a section of the Kantale sugar factory, has been sentenced to 12 years� rigorous imprisonment, along with a fine of Rs. 55,000, by the Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar on Dec 19, 2019. more..

Feb 18 (Island) Sectoral Oversight Committee on Education and Human Resources Development, which met in Parliament, yesterday, recommended that a series of supplementary books be introduced for the use of kindergarten and schoolchildren to prevent child abuse. The committee met under the chairmanship of MP Ashu Marasinghe, who said that the report would be presented to Parliament, on Feb 20. The committee discussed the importance of making health a core subject of the school curriculum. more..

Feb 18 (DM) Colombo Fort Magistrate Ranga Dissanayake yesterday reprimanded some of the CID officers while emphasising that the manner in which they acted when Udayanga Weeratunga was arrested and produced in Court in connection with the alleged MIG-27 deal was unusual and questionable because they had failed to follow the procedure laid down under the Public Property Act. As such he refused to release the suspect on bail considering the gravity of the US$7 million loss caused to the government. more..

Feb 18 (LBO) The UN World Food Programme (WFP) and Skills for Inclusive Growth (S4IG), an initiative of the Australian Government, have signed an agreement to work together to promote healthy diets. One of the key features is a collaboration with Supreme Chef, a popular competitive cooking TV show in Sri Lanka. �We are excited to partner with this dynamic television programme to ignite a national dialogue and create a better understanding on the importance of nutritious foods and healthy lifestyles,� more..

Feb 18 (DM) Former prez Chandrika Kumaratunga is welcome to SLFP or to the proposed SLFP-SLPP alliance at any time though she has been removed from the post of SLFP organizer of the Attanagalla electorate, SLFP General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekara said. He said the SLFP would talk to Ms. Kumaratunga shortly to woo her back to the party. Mr. Jayasekera, who is also the National Organizer of Sri Lanka Nidahas Podujana Peramuna (SLNPP) said that if she came back, it would further strengthen the SLFP and the SLNPP. more..

Feb 18 (EN) Govt will be cautious of providing a solution to the national question that could trigger a fresh conflict between communities, State Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said. Referring to a statement made by the TNA that a failure to provide a political solution will result in a resurgence of the LTTE, he said the present govt is not obligated to fulfill promises made by the previous administration. �We have no intention of doing anything that will harm any community,� more..

Feb 18 (FT) The first Initial Public Offering (IPO) in two years had been oversubscribed on its official opening day yesterday. The HNB Finance Ltd. IPO had an offer for sale of 10 million voting shares at Rs. 5.70 each and a listing of 298.2 million non-voting shares through an introduction at Rs. 4.20 per share. Registrars to the issue SSP Corporate Services said it had received applications for over Rs. 57 million and the offer was closed at 4.30 p.m. more..

Feb 18 (AD) A special program will be launched to eradicate the drug menace from school children, stated the Ministry of Education. The program is a collaborative effort between Ministry of Education, SL Police and National Dangerous Drugs Control Board. Under the program, interested parents or past pupils of each school will be employed as representatives of the relevant school to educate the children on the drug menace. These representatives will be given special training by the SL Police. more..

Feb 18 (AD) Samagi Jana Balawegaya, the political alliance led by the UNP, will contest the upcoming General Election under the Swan symbol, UNP National Organiser MP Naveen Dissanayake said. He revealed this while speaking to reporters following the UNP Working Committee meeting held this evening at Sirikotha. The decision was reached during the crucial meeting held between UNP members representing Party Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa. more..

Feb 18 (EN) A Cabinet paper for a proposed Zoological Garden in Kahapola, Piliyandala will be presented to the cabinet in the coming weeks. According to a statement issued by the Ministry, an 81 acre land has been already allocated for this proposed new Zoological Garden which is a joint project by the Ministry of Urban Development, Water Supply and Housing Facilities and the Ministry of Environment and Wild Life Resources. Through this project, govt expects to reduce the congestion at the Dehiwala zoo more..

Feb 18 (DM) Some govt and opposition MPs raised concerns that some media institutions had published their names as having purchased vehicles under the good governance govt even though they had not purchased or used any such vehicle as reported. Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said his name was mentioned in the media as having purchased a Benz car for Rs.400 million and said he had never used such a vehicle. He said he had requested the CID to investigate this matter. more..

Feb 18 (EN) Several recordings tabled by legislator Ranjan Ramanayake not only contained conversations involving domestic affairs but also foreign relations, parliament was told, as govt members objected to their contents being made public. Opposition members vigorously opposed what they said were attempts to suppress the tapes, since they were seen as damaging to the ruling party and any blocking will set a bad precedent over the rights of members to table documents in the future. more..

Feb 18 (FF) Deutsche Bank today announced it is investing in Sri Lanka and launching a major push into the corporate client market, with the rollout of a new digitally-enhanced Forex platform. The rollout marks the bank�s first step in introducing a comprehensive suite of digital FX solutions for its corporate clients in Sri Lanka. Deutsche Bank Sri Lanka Chief Country Officer Vikas Arora elaborated on the business rationale for the launch: �As international supply chains gravitate toward more..

Feb 18 (FT) In line with the manifesto of the new Govt Vision for Prosperity, which promotes use of technology to enhance efficiency in the State sector, Dept of Pensions reached another landmark milestone recently with the introduction of a facility that enables pensioners to use their fingerprint instead of the tedious process of having to provide a life certificate. Obtaining the annual life certificate is considered an important component in regulating the process of pension payments. more..

Feb 18 (CW) Heather Knight won the toss and batted first but her team - with a slightly rejigged order - never got going, losing regular wickets to Sri Lanka's spinners and reaching just 122/9 from their 20 overs. Early wickets were the key to defending such a below-par total - in particular the wicket of dangerous Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu - but it wasn't to be as Sri Lanka attacked the powerplay and got home inside 13 overs. It was a chastening defeat for England, more..

Feb 18 (FT) Top Sri Lankan marketers and CEOs shared knowledge and expertise on the future of marketing and the value of data in the digital age at the recently held Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM)�s CEO breakfast forum in Colombo. The forum focused on Is Data the New Oil? where advertising magnet Neela Marikkar, shared global trends and marketing shifts in the digital backdrop. �Data has transformed businesses,� said Neela Marikkar, Chairwoman of Dentsu Grant Group, more..

Feb 18 (JS) In 2019 Sri Lanka recorded over 5% growth in the export of textiles and garments in 2019, thanks to growth in exports to non-traditional markets such as Canada, Australia and China. Figures from the Central Bank's External Sector Performance review shows textile and garment exports amounted to US$5.6bn in the Jan to Dec period, from $5.3bn in 2018, representing growth of 5.2%. For garments alone, exports were up 4.9% to $5.2bn, while textile exports gained 9.3% to reach $284.3m. more..

Feb 18 (DM) It is, in fact, a joke that US has banned Army Commander Shavendra Silva from entering the US based on the allegations concerning the war crimes, with the US being the number one war criminal in the world, PHU Leader Udaya Gammanpila said yesterday. He said it was the US that slaughtered thousands of innocent people by dropping nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. �The US dropped an atom bomb on Hiroshima, killing 80,000 innocent people and injuring another 70,000. more..

Feb 18 (CT) For the first time in the history of elections, by 5 p.m. yesterday, the Election Commission (EC) had received 143 applications for the registration of new political parties. According to EC sources, these included several applications requesting the registration of the same party as well as the same symbol, and also several applications requesting for the Heart symbol. All these applications will be examined and necessary interviews will also be held, more..

Feb 18 (CT) Minister Wimal Weerawansa has refuted allegations made against him by JVP MP Sunil Handunnetti, that he had purchased a chair valued at Rs 600,000."Since assuming duties from 25 Nov last year, I have functioned from the office belonging to the Ministry of Industries and Supply Management and have used the furniture that was there at the Ministry. The modus operandi of our political opponents is to sling mud at us to bring about distrust in people who have placed their implicit faith in us. more..

Feb 18 (EN) Two men who had tried to sell Leopard teeth, nails, skin, oil and ivory products on Facebook were arrested in Seeduwa by the Dept of Wildlife Conservation on Sunday. This was following a tip-off given by Animal Rights Activist Iraki Kodithuwakku. She said that the accused is a custodian of a Devalaya in the Seeduwa area. Kodithuwakku appearing as a potential buyer had made contact with the sellers through Facebook and had gone to buy products more..

Feb 19 (ST) �They come and, they are excited when they come. But soon they leave and are disappointed when they leave,� Gihan Liyanage, Assistant Manager of Tangerine Beach Hotel said during a recent conversation with him. He had done an interesting research on a tough labour issue in the hotel industry for his Master�s degree in Tourism Economics. The issue is labour turnover problem in the hotel industry. It is a common but untold problem in the Sri Lanka tourism industry. more..

Feb 19 (CT) The present writer is a strong SLFP supporter. He is from a staunch backdrop of SLFP politics. His father Pani Ilangakoon was the fourth founder member of the SLFP and contested for Ahangama electorate in 1956 and for Weligama electorate in 1970, winning and becoming a SLFP MP in both elections. Besides, his father devoted his whole life and ancestral wealth to build up the Party and is closely related to former PM S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike as his blood cousin. more..