Jul 22 (FT) SJB will appeal the decision by the Civil Appeal HC yesterday regarding the suspension of UNP membership held by its members and take the matter to the Supreme Court. Civil Appeal High Court of the Western Province rejected an appeal submitted by the SJB, seeking to annul a decision made by the Colombo District Court on the matter of SJB members� UNP membership being suspended. more..

Jul 22 (Island) Colombo Chief Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne yesterday issued a warrant for the arrest of the wife of Minister Wimal Weerawansa, Shashi, a suspect in the case filed for using two forged National Identity Cards to obtain a passport. Shashi is accused of fraudulently obtaining two passports, including a diplomatic passport, by submitting forged documents to the Dept of Immigration and Emigration. She was initially arrested in Feb 2015 and later released on bail. more..

Jul 22 (Island) Requests were made to commend police officers who raided National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ) safehouses in Nintavur, Sammanthurai and Sainthamaruthu and prevented a second wave of attacks, but the previous administration had ignored recommendations, SSP of Moneragala Police and former SSP- Ampara, Samantha Wijesekara, on Monday, told the PCoI investigating the Easter Sunday attacks. SSP Wijesekara said police officers who took part more..

Jul 22 (AD) The PCoI heard that there are doubts as to whether Pulasthini Mahendran alias Sara Jasmine, a converted Islamic extremist and part of Zahran Hashim�s terror group, was among the 16 dead at the Sainthamaruthu safe house raided on the 26th of April last year. SSP Samantha Wijeseskara, who was in charge of Ampara Police during the Easter Sunday terror attacks last year, told the PCoI more..

Jul 22 (FT) This is the third in the series connected with the capital market in Sri Lanka. It is a sequel to the immediately preceding two, about corporate integrity and the role of the CFO, audit committees and auditors. The Thought Leadership Forum, first launched in November 2005, was re-launched, 24 June 2020 with the article on The CSE and the need to leverage its abundant, yet unrealised potential. On 9 July, a SL daily newspaper reported that �Sri Lanka was singled out on the world stage, more..

Jul 22 (WPR) Authoritarian populism has returned to Sri Lanka. Since Gotabaya Rajapaksa became the country�s seventh president last November, he has, as many feared, brought back the repressive and undemocratic policies of his older brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was president from 2005 to 2015. In the first few months of Gotabaya�s presidency, the Rajapaksas�SL�s most prominent political family�moved swiftly to centralize power, with Gotabaya immediately appointing Mahinda as PM. more..

Jul 22 (FT) Overnight, business leaders had to face novel and increasingly complex business challenges at the onset of this pandemic. Hardly anybody had past experience of handling an organisational crisis of this magnitude. Conceptualising solutions to look after the best interest of every stakeholder became a demanding task for all leaders. Nevertheless, the true capability of a leader can be assessed in the way in which a crisis situation is handled. One�s hidden talents become evident when more..

Jul 22 (Island) The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has announced several upgrades including self-registration and real time transaction notifications to its ground-breaking ComBank ePassbook mobile app, significantly increasing the flexibility of account management, user-autonomy and convenience. The existing ComBank ePassbook mobile application was introduced in 2016 as a pioneering product of Commercial Bank, revolutionising the concept of the "Passbook" to the customers. more..

Jul 22 (EN) Prez Rajapaksa�s inaction over the controversial demolition of the purported royal court in Kurunegala shows his tacit approval of it, former MP Ajith P Perera said. As commander in chief, he said, Rajapaksa must inquire the IGP about delays in arresting those responsible for the allegedly unlawful demolition. Archaeological site in question is said to be a king�s court or royal assembly hall purportedly built during more..

Jul 22 (Island) Ven. Jamburewela Chandraratne and Wasantha Alwis on behalf of Mahajana Yuthukam Kendraya yesterday handed over a petition to the Election Commission (EC) strongly protesting against its decision to request Acting IGP C.D. Wickramaratne to stop on-going investigations into the Treasury bond scams and the Easter Sunday attacks pending the conclusion of the Aug 5, 2020 parliamentary polls. Having handed over the petition, Alwis said that the EC owed an explanation more..

Jul 22 (Island) Supreme Court fixed for argument on Oct 26, 27 and Nov 2, 2020, the appeal filed by former DIG of Police Patabendi Savendra De Vass Gunewardena, his son Ravindu de Vass Gunewardena and four other accused appellants. High Court at Bar convicted them of the abduction and the murder of a businessmen, Mohammad Shiam. The accused appellants had requested SC to set aside the sentence and acquit them from all the charges lagainst them. more..

Jul 22 (AD) Attorney General Dappula de Livera has advised the Acting IGP to carry out further comprehensive investigations into the demolition of the 13-century building in Kurunegala. The Coordinating Officer of the Attorney General, State Counsel Nishara Jayaratne said this instruction was given after consultation with the Police and the Director General of Archaeology. In the meantime, earlier today (22), more..

Jul 22 (ANI) A man was arrested under mysterious circumstances after he reached Rameswaram in a boat from Sri Lanka on Tuesday. According to the Coastal Security Wing, Mohammad Hussain (62) was arrested by the Coastal Security Wing police when he arrived at Kambipadu near Dhanushkodi, North Coast of Rameswaram Island in a mysterious boat from Mannar, Sri Lanka today at 1 pm. The police have brought him to the Coastal Security Wing police station in Rameshwaram. more..

Jul 22 (Island) Dialog Axiata PLC, Sri Lanka�s premier connectivity provider, extended an open invitation to its valued customers to register their 5G devices on its 5G trial network and experience the power of 5G at Dialog Iconic, Dialog Experience Centres at Alfred House and World Trade Center, and several zones in Colombo city. Subscribers can register their 5G device on www.dialog.lk/5g to experience 5G and stay updated as Dialog expands its 5G trial network into more areas. more..

Jul 22 (CT) A 34-year-old Ukrainian who is said to have taken photographs and videos of high security zones and special places in Kandy City using a drone camera, has been arrested by the Tourist Police Unit of the Kandy Police early last morning. Police investigations revealed that the Ukrainian had, during the past few days taken photos and videos of several important places including Temple of the Tooth Relics more..

Jul 22 (AD) SL has noted a decline in credit card usage in May 2020 compared to April 2020 amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This was stated in the latest report by the Central Bank (CB) on credit cards issued by Licensed Commercial Banks (LCBs). The number of active credit cards in the country has declined to nearly 1,821,108 in May 2020 from 1,822,046 in April 2020. Moreover, the country had 1,829,927 active credit cards in Dec 2019 and this fell by 8,819 in first 5 months more..

Jul 22 (DM) Lanka Hospitals Corporation PLC yesterday announced the appointment of insurance industry veteran Deepthi Lokuarachchi as Group CEO of the company, with effect from July 20, 2020. Lokuarachchi stepped down as MD/CEO of HNB Assurance PLC and its fully-owned subsidiary HNB General Insurance Limited, in line with the group retirement policy, upon reaching his 55th birthday on July 20, 2020. He holds a Law Degree from the University of Colombo and more..

Jul 22 (Island) National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ) members had used tracer bullets during the confrontation with security forces at Sainthamaruthu on April 26, 2019, before blowing themselves up and it showed that some of them had received special weapons training, SSP of Ampra Police Division at the time, Samantha Wijesekara, on Monday, told PCoI. The witness said that tracer bullets allowed the shooter to visually trace more..

Jul 22 (EN) No new COVID-19 cases were reported during the 24- hour period that ended at 6 a.m. this morning, National Operations Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 said. Accordingly, the total confirmed COVID-19 cases in the island remain at 2,730 while the total number of PCR testing done increased to 141,515 with 1,100 PCR tests done yesterday. Further, 30 Sri Lankans were brought from Doha this morning through a special flight where they were directed to quarantine centres controlled by more..

Jul 22 (AD) Former MP Palitha Thewarapperuma has been hospitalized over an alleged attack on him. Reportedly, Thewarapperuma has been injured his arm and leg in the incident. The UNP candidate had been admitted to the Kalutara Nagoda Hospital, this afternoon. The former deputy minister had visited a construction site to inspect the quality of a water pipe laying project from Kandana, Bulathsinhala until Kalutara. Reportedly, a conflict arisen between Thewarapperuma and the employees more..

Jul 22 (TM) Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) today launched a protest against the demolition 13th Century building believed to be the King�s Court of King Buwanekabahu II in Kurunegala. The protest was launched in front of the Colombo Municipal Council. Former Minister Champika Ranawaka and SJB General Secretary Ranjith Mandumabandara were seen at the protest. Earlier in the week, media reports indicated more..

Jul 22 (NR) The expert committee appointed to look into the demolition of the 13th Century Kings Court building in Kurunegala, has handed over its interim report to the PM. The report was handed over to PM Mahinda Rajapaksa by the Chairman of the expert committee, Prof. Senarath Dissanayake. Committee has included five recommendations in the report. The expert committee is of the view that it can renovate and restore parts of the building by using the same materials. more..

Jul 22 (Island) The CID had not finished viewing the videos retrieved from the laptops of National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ) members, killed during a gun battle with security forces at Sainthamaruthu on April 26, 2019, CI Saman Weerasinghe of the CID, told the PCoI investigating the Easter Sunday attacks. The witness said a number of court items found in NTJ safe houses in Nintavur, Sammanthurai and Sainthamaruthu had been sent to the Govt Analyst�s Department, more..

Jul 22 (CT) Department of Archaeology will resort to legal measures against those responsible for the destruction of the historical building in Kurunegala once the Police identify the perpetrators, Director General of the Department, Professor Senarath Dissanayake said. He said despite the claim made by the Kurunegala Mayor that the building in question did not have any historical value, more..

Jul 22 (CT) A group of 70 persons is to be selected from the Kilinochchi District for PCR testing random screenings from tomorrow (23), a senior official of the Office of the Regional Director of Health Services, Kilinochchi, said. The PCR tests are to be performed by the Regional Health Services Department on the directive of the Health Ministry. The screenings will continue for three days, the official said He said the tests are to be performed in Nachchikudah, Palai & Kilinochchi Town. more..

Jul 22 (AD) COVID-19 cases confirmed in Sri Lanka escalated to 2,731 this evening as one more person tested positive for the virus. The latest case is a close contact of a novel coronavirus patient linked to the Kandakadu cluster. According to the Epidemiology Unit�s statistics, a total of 656 patients infected with the virus are currently under medical care at hospitals. In the meantime, the number of recoveries reported from the disease in the country moved up to 2,064 earlier today. more..

Jul 22 (AD) Commissioner General of Prisons Thushara Upuldeniya says that Sri Lanka�s prisons are currently operating at around 173% capacity and that the issue of prisons overcrowding needs to be solved within the next 3-4 years. �The congestion in prisons is very high. Because currently they are operating at 173% capacity, when you consider all the prisons across the island.� �However, prisons in and around Colombo more..

Jul 22 (TM) High Commissioner of India to SL, Gopal Baglay has calls for further expand the wide-ranging bilateral cooperation to effectively and expeditiously address the unprecedented challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Baglay spoke at a virtual event titled Deepening Economic Collaboration between India and Sri Lanka yesterday. This event was organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in association with more..

Jul 22 (DN) With initial indications of high voter turnout during the recent postal voting period, PM Rajapaksa says even with the COVID-19 situation, at least a 70% voter turnout can be expected at the General Election on August 5. The PM made these comments during a discussion with the German Ambassador in Sri Lanka J�rn Rohde when he made a farewell call at Temple Trees this morning. Ambassador Rohde is completing a four-year tenure as the Ambassador for SL and the Maldives. more..

Jul 22 (Xinhua) SL authorities announced that all new birth certificates which will be issued for new born children in the future will not mention any race or religion or the marital status of the parents. Registrar General of Registrar General's Dept said that all details pertaining to marriage, ethnic group and religion will be removed from the application form for registration of a birth in SL although this was mandatory earlier. more..

Jul 23 (DM) We focus today on the twice-postponed general election, which is just round the corner, at touching distance as it were amid the fear, confusion and uncertainty of not knowing who will next fall prey to the relentless onslaught by the coronavirus. In such a scenario, it is left to be seen how many of the eligible voters will overcome their fear and cast their vote on Aug 5 with many who had decided to exercise their franchise seemingly having second thoughts about doing so after more..

Jul 23 (CT) The balance between sustainable development and environmental conservation in SL is often undercut by the political leadership with policies best explained as short-sighted and environmentally unsound. Owing to this, the nation is caught up in a resource curse, where policies validate environmental costs in the name of economic development. It is no new truth that the issuance of mining permits for minerals such as sand, soil, clay & gravel generally get more..

Jul 23 (FT) The fourth week of July revives bad memories among most Tamils who lived in Sri Lanka during the month of July in 1983. It was in that week in July that large-scale violence was let loose upon Tamils living in various parts of Sri Lanka including Colombo and suburbs. The week long spree of anti-Tamil violence saw over 4,000 Tamils and some Muslims � mistaken for Tamils � being killed. Thousands were injured. more..

Jul 23 (CT) This is not unique to Sri Lanka; it is a common occurrence across the globe. It occurs not only during election times, but whenever those holding the reins of power wish to retain their dominance by hook or crook. Let us look at the USA and the UK, which are said to be the most open societies of the free world who have impressive respective histories of democracy! In 2016, Donald Trump�s approval ratings were very high. 77 percent of Republicans thought he was honest. more..

Jul 23 (DM) This is a time when people with a franchise to vote must question politicians about not implementing what they boasted about in past manifestos. Last week representatives of two of the three main parties spoke about their election manifestos. SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa spoke about addressing certain shortcomings in the 19th Amendment highlighted by critics. He also said that through the 13th Amendment maximum power will be devolved within a unitary state. more..

Jul 23 (SO) Upeka � Danseuse Upeka Chitrasena has mesemerised audiences all over the world for over five decades. She has now turned guru to pass on the matchless legacy of dance bequeathed to her by her parents, legendary dancers, Chitrasena and Vajira to future generations. The Sunday Observer took this dazzling dancer down memory lane recently. Q: It can truly be said that you were born to dance. more..

Jul 23 (CT) It would not be an exaggeration to state that Media reports that said imprisoned underworld figures threatened top Prison officials within the Boossa Prison premises shocked the entire country. They had also threatened Defence Secretary & Prez, which is even more alarming. Even though the CID has already taken necessary steps to launch an investigation in this connection, the gravity of this incident should not be taken lightly, if SL is to eradicate organised criminal activities. more..

July 23 (Island) British Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) has taken the Boris Johnson govt to task for dillydallying on what it calls hostile Russian activity in the UK. It has, in its recently releases Russia report, accused Moscow of having interfered in the EU referendum and British elections, and called for urgent action. Downing Street has been blamed for playing catch-up and trying to make light of the situation. If Russia is guilty as charged, Kremlin will have a hard time more..