Jul 6 (TM) Stassen Exports Ltd., which is being sued by US tech giant Apple Inc. over the use of their iconic logo, said that Stassen Exports is in a different trademark classification and therefore the use of a similar logo is not an issue. According to Nihal Fernando, PC, who is representing the defendant, the company used the logo on one of their tea brands, which put the company under the Class 30 trademark classification that is mainly used for types of food, drinks, and cooking ingredients. more..

Jul 6 (DM) Cricketer Kusal Mendis has been arrested following an accident that killed a 64-year-old man at Horethuduwa in Panadura, Police Spokesman Jaliya Senaratna said. He said the SUV of the 25-year-old cricketer was also taken into the police custody. The accident occurred at around 5 a.m today on the Old Galle Road when the Kusal's SUV crashed into a bicycle. The deceased was identified as a resident of Gokarella. more..

Jul 6 (AD) A fire has broken out in a row of shops along W.A. de Silva Mawatha in Wellawatte. The Fire Brigade said that around 10 fire trucks have been dispatched to help douse the flames. Fire fighters are currently attempting to extinguish the fire which had spread fast. Meanwhile the incident has also disrupted traffic along the Galle Road at Wellawatte. Severe traffic congestion has been reported in the area while motorists traveling through that areas are requested to use alternate more..

Jul 6 (AD) Police have arrested the notorious underworld figure known as Battaramulle Bunty has been arrested with heroin in Thalangama area. Police said he was arrested while in possession of 7 grams of heroin and Rs 50,000 in cash. The arrested suspect, Chathuranga Pushpakumara alias Battaramulle Bunty is a known accomplice of underworld crime boss Angoda Lokka. Police said that he a main suspect in the murder of criminal gang leader Aruna Pathirana alias Samayan, more..

Jul 6 (Island) Yuthukama Convenor and SLPP National List MP Gevindu Kumaratunga said that a major responsibility for the new parliament would be the enactment of a new Constitution. Underscoring the importance of launching the new constitution making project as soon as the SLPP achieved victory at the August 5 parliamentary polls, Cumaratunga said that PM Rajapaksha should give the leadership to the proposed effort. more..

Jul 6 (EN) Sri Lanka is not on a list of 67 countries that has been removed from a travel advisory issued for its nationals for tourism (non-essential travel) during a Coronavirus pandemic, or inward travel the UK HC in Colombo said. SL, along with Vietnam are among a few countries in the world that completely killed the First Wave (epidemic phase) of infected persons that arrived from China and contact traced and also contained the spread of the pandemic triggered by third party nations including UK. more..

Jul 6 (FT) Nawaloka Hospitals Group is kicking off a Rs. 350 million expansion to its operations in Negombo. The company said its fully owned subsidiary Nawaloka Medicare Ltd., will be constructing a six storied building in front of the existing Nawaloka Negombo Hospital. The new unit will expand the services of OPD, ETU, pharmacy, channel consultations and inward patient rooms. Construction work on the land taken on 30 year lease is to commence on Friday and more..

Jul 6 (AD) Former Northern Provincial Councillor M. K. Shivajilingam has been released by the Magistrate Court in Point Pedro. The case was postponed until January 20, 2021. He was arrested by Valvettithurai Police this morning for evading court proceedings. The former MP had reportedly failed to appear before a court with regard to a case, and as a result a warrant had been issued for his arrest. more..

Jul 6 (EN) Small and medium enterprises in Sri Lanka can grow their businesses and make more profits by connecting to the internet and getting electronic payment facilities quickly, LirneAsia a Colombo-based information communications policy think tank has said. There was a wide information gap about benefit of the internet between businesses that used internet and those that did not, while may were also unaware of mobile payment facilities that were already available. more..

Jul 6 (TM) With schools starting from today, schoolchildren will have to be equipped with either two disposable masks or one reusable mask along with a case to store the latter when removed. Schoolchildren are to wear a facemask when travelling to school and when leaving school. DGHS Dr. Anil Jasinghe noted: �The kids will have to wear facemasks when taking the bus or school van, as they will be seated in close quarters with other children or passengers. more..

Jul 6 (AD) Puttalam District candidate of the SJB former MP Ashoka Wadigamangawa has reportedly died in a road accident. Ada Derana reporter said that the vehicle in which the former MP was traveling was involved in a vehicular collision at around 3.45 p.m. in Maragasgolla, Padeniya on the Kurunegala-Puttalam road. The former MP�s car was traveling towards Nikaweratiya when it had collided head-on with lorry more..

Jul 6 (TM) Election Commission (EC) warned candidates that promoting their preferential numbers at the upcoming general election was a violation of election laws. EC Director General Saman Sri Rathnayake said that candidates were not allowed to use their preferential numbers for any campaign activities. �The preferential number of a candidate cannot be promoted or displayed in any form, whether in a cut-out, poster, handbill, or otherwise. It is a direct violation of election laws,� he said. more..

Jul 6 (FT) A SriLankan Airlines flight carrying 290 Sri Lankans who were stranded in Bahrain due to the COVID-19 pandemic arrived at the BIA yesterday. The SriLankan Airlines special flight UL-202, carrying the passengers from Bahrain�s Manama Airport, arrived at BIA at 6.00 a.m. Most of the passengers on board were Sri Lankans working in Bahrain. In addition, two Sri Lankan passengers arrived at the BIA on Emirates flight EK-648 from Dubai at 11.45 p.m. Saturday. more..

Jul 6 (Island) Former Minister and SJB frontrunner Rajitha Senaratne says that they will campaign for the preservation of the 19th Amendment and calls on all those who treasure democracy to vote for the SJB at the Aug 5 general election. "Our campaign is based on ensuring democracy, citizen rights and freedom. Therefore, we campaign for the sustenance of the 19th Amendment while there are other parties campaigning for more..

Jul 6 (Island) Police and army increased security at Christian churches in Vavuniya yesterday after receiving a tip-off that an attack was possible. Police and army personnel were deployed at all churches and a large number of vehicles and people were checked. However, the churches went ahead with their services and the security forces took necessary action to ensure their safety. Police, STF and army personnel guarded the churches until Sunday services were over. more..

Jul 6 (DM) UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe today pledged to grant a package of concessions to people if his party was elected to office at the August Parliamentary Election. Speaking during an election rally in Athurugiriya Mr Wickremesinghe pledged to introduce a system under which he said people would be allowed to pay utility bills in installments. "The present govt which initially said the people will be given a grace period to pay their water and electricity bills have now asked the people more..

Jul 6 (FT) The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the United Nations Children�s Fund (UNICEF) have formally signed a grant agreement that will see KOICA provide a $ 600,000 (Rs. 111.4 million) grant, funding and supporting the Ministry of Education�s critical response to COVID-19 in the education sector. The $ 600,000 grant will support activity that will enable the safe operation of schools and more..

Jul 6 (CT) If elections were held in North and East during the ceasefire period, UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe would have won that election and LTTE Leader Prabhakaran would still be alive and perhaps even be the Governor of the North-Eastern Province, UNP Candidate Vijayakala Maheswaran has said. She has made this comment while participating in an interview with a private Tamil Radio Channel. The former MP has also said on this occasion that the North needs the kind of more..

Jul 6 (CT) UNP Deputy Leader, Ravi Karunanayake, said that he will take steps to reveal a lot of information on irregularities and illegal activities in relation to Leader of the JHU, former MP Champika Ranawaka. Karunanayake pointed out that he has in his possession, information regarding many irregularities which have taken place with the knowledge of Ranawaka, not only while he was a Cabinet Minister in the Good Governance Govt, but when he was in other govts as well. more..

Jul 6 (CT) The authorities are planning a major revamp in all prisons throughout the country in a bid to stamp out corruption and other irregularities that continue to rock the system. At present there are an undisclosed number of prison cadres from all ranks who are under investigation and they will be dealt accordingly on completion of the inquiries, the newly appointed Commissioner General of Prisons T.N. Upuldeniya said. more..

Jul 6 (CT) The STF, supported by CID, is successfully continuing with the raids and arrests in the past few days, for the appreciation of the law-abiding citizens in the country. Within a 24-hour period from Thursday to Friday last week STF personnel, with the help of Police sleuths, had arrested 2,165 suspects involved in various types of criminal activities in the country. During the lightning operation involving well-equipped and trained STF men, a large amount of narcotics, illicit liquor, more..

Jul 6 (AD) Another COVID-19 case has been detected among recent foreign arrivals hiking the number of cases in the country to 2,077. The latest case is a person who had arrived from the Maldives. Currently, 149 active cases are under medical care at selected hospitals across the country. Meanwhile, with 14 more patients regaining health and being discharged from the hospital today, the tally of recoveries in the country has spiked to 1,917. SL has witnessed 11 deaths from the virus so far. more..

Jul 6 (DN) Govt aims to develop a mechanism to reduce land problems of the rural people who are dependent on livelihoods such as Chena cultivation. Minister Bandula Gunawardena said the govt�s attention has been focused on transferring State Residual Forests to the District or Divisional Secretariats to minimise land problems of the rural people who are dependent on small scale farming such as Chena cultivation. The administrations of State Residual Forests, which were more..

Jul 6 (FT) The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has brought honour to the country�s banking industry by moving up 51 places on the World�s Top 1000 Banks ranking for 2020, and become the only Sri Lankan bank to be on this prestigious list for 10 years in a row. In its milestone 50th Top 1000 World Banks ranking, The Banker magazine, published by the Financial Times of the UK, has ranked Commercial Bank at No 878, primarily on the basis of the Bank�s Tier I capital. more..

Jul 6 (FT) The World Bank in its latest country classification by incomes, released last week, has downgraded Sri Lanka from upper middle income to lower middle income. This was just one year after SL had been elevated to the status of an upper middle-income country in July 2019. The first elevation was based on the per capita Gross National Income or GNI per capita, calculated according to WB�s Atlas Method, for 2018. more..

Jul 6 (FT) Today we are opening a new living quarters for our Election Commission�s man-in-charge in Batticaloa. I am so glad because Assistant EC, R. Sasilan is a man I am proud of. He stands up for what is right without fear or favour. When a Minister distributed gifts in elections some years ago, he confiscated a gift pack and filed a complaint with the Police. The Police, as often happens, disappeared the evidence. Sasilan sent a report to the Commission and that too disappeared. more..

Jul 6 (Island) Prisons Intelligence Unit seized 28 mobile phone, 200 phone batteries, eight SIM cards and a stock of other electronic equipment including phone chargers during a raid on the female ward of the Welikada prison. They had been hidden in the ceiling, toilets and waste bins. Sources said that 13 prisons officials including eight female officers of the Prisons Intelligence Unit had taken part in the raid. During the raids conducted at 28 prisons during the past four weeks, more..

Jul 6 (DM) PM Mahinda Rajapaksa today requested all voters to give them an overwhelming mandate exceeding even that of the prez election of 2019, in order to put an end to narrow minded communalism in the politics of this country. Issuing a statement the PM said; The leader of the newly formed Samagi Jana Balawegaya was the UNP prez candidate in 2019. The manifesto that Sajith Premadasa issued for the prez election more..

Jul 6 (Island) Most political parties cared little about maintaining physical distancing during their election campaigns and that could lead to devastating consequences, Director of the CaFFE, Surangi Ariyawansha said yesterday. "We have seen footage of some political events where people are packed together. Health ministry and Elections Commission have issued guidelines to ensure that the election is held safely. Physical distancing is an important part to prevent the spread of COVID-19. more..

Jul 6 (AD) An individual suspected to be an ex-LTTE cadre has sustained critical injuries in an explosion that occurred at a house in Iyakachchi, Palai-Kilinochchi. Meanwhile, the police have recovered three locally manufactured bombs, banner containing a message on Black Tigers Day commemoration, explosives, and a photograph of an ex-LTTE cadre. A female who serves as a teacher has also been apprehended along with the items, said Palai Police. more..

Jul 6 (DN) Employers� Federation of Ceylon, (EFC) says that it�s not practical to implement working hours for the private sector in the manner proposed as it will greatly inconvenience employers and employees alike, especially working women. �Setting working hours is a prerogative of employers, but it is done in consultation with employees and Trade Unions representing employees for good reason�, said Dir Gen EFC, Kanishka Weerasinghe. more..

Jul 6 (Island) TNA leader R. Sampanthan used the LTTE to build up an empire of his own and had used the Tamil diaspora to isolate other independent Tamil leaders, V. Anandasangaree, Secretary General of the TULF has said in a media statement. Sampanthan seems to have assumed a superior role in Tamil politics and from time to time changed his tactics, giving the impression that he had the exclusive right to speak on behalf of the Tamil people, Anandasangaree has said. more..

Jul 6 (PMD) Prez Rajapaksa in Polonnaruwa was briefed by the public regarding several issues including the teacher shortages affecting many schools in the district. Prez paying his swift attention to this matter requested the former State Minister Roshan Ranasinghe to prepare a full report on the shortcomings in schools. Prez made these remarks joining the SLPP election campaign in Polonnaruwa, today (5). Prez also advised the Alahera people who are engaged in small scale gem mining to more..

Jul 6 (PMD) The farmers in Polonnaruwa made a strong plea to the President not to allow the intermediaries to create an artificial rice shortage. They pointed out that there was a bumper harvest in the previous seasons. �Hence, should not allow the attempts to create a rice shortage to succeed�, the farmers said. The farmers made this request to Prez Rajapaksa when he joined a public gathering held at more..

Jul 6 (EN) Sri Lanka�s tax revenues dropped 26% to 408.5 billion rupees up to April 2020 and the finance ministry has halved capital spending to keep total spending below last year in the same period, amid a fiscal and monetary stimulus compounded by a Coronavirus crisis, data shows. Total revenue was down 20 percent to 476.8 helped by non-tax revenues which grew 53% to 68.2 billion rupees helped by a 24 billion rupee central bank profit given as new liquidity. more..

Jul 6 (Island) Sri Lanka needed civilized politicians and the voters must ensure that they elected people who could take the country to a prosperous future, Kandy district leader of the UNP team for the coming General Election, Shanthini Kongahage told a seminar organised by the Kandy District Inter-Religious Committee in Kandy. The former Central Provincial Council member told the meeting that election of civilized politicians to Parliament would begin from the Kandy District from Aug 5. more..

Jul 6 (AD) Vice-Chancellors of all universities have been given the authority to recommence academic activities for second and third-year students on a date of their choosing, Chairman of the UGC Senior Prof. Sampath Amaratunga. This was mentioned at a special media briefing of the Ministry of Higher Education today. Accordingly, the universities may reopen for second and third-year students from today (6) onward under more..

Jul 6 (EN) Sri Lanka hotels outside of Colombo has seen rising occupancy as curfews ended with the domestic spread of the disease controlled and housebound weekend trippers fanning out, while delayed weddings are also helping, officials said. �I do not have the exact details but the occupancy rate of hotels out of Colombo are doing 60-70% during the weekend,� Sanath Ukwatte, the President of The Hotels Association of SL, and the Chairman of the Mount Lavinia Hotel Group said. more..

Jul 6 (WION) Six SL fishermen who were stranded at sea for 4 days, are headed for Visakapatnam, after being rescued by a Merchant's vessel on Sunday. The rescue was coordinated by Indian Coast Guard Maritime Rescue Coordination Centres (MRCC) in Mumbai and Chennai. The capsized fishing vessel and the six survivors were sighted around 170 nautical miles east of Chennai, by merchant vessel YM Summit, after which the Indian Coast Guard authorities were alerted. more..