Sep 13 (Island) Many things in our cricket have fallen apart; including common sense. Here�s a case in point. Jerome Jayaratne has been a career coach and his loyalty has been with SLC for over two decades. His thesis on coaching was recognized by the ICC and that�s the one that modern day coaches follow. For some strange reason, SLC opted to take him out of coaching and put him in administration. They wanted to accommodate a British national as head of the coaching department. more..

Sep 13 (SO) Report on the second quarter performance of the GDP is likely to be released by the end of this month, a senior official of the Dept of Census and Statistics (DCS) said. The data on the quarterly performance of the GDP is released 75 days after the issuance of the last quarter results. �We are in the process of finalising the data obtained from various institutions and most likely the final figures will be released by the end of this month,� said DCS Director General Dr. Indu Bandara. more..

Sep 13 (ST) From next month, all fake phones won�t work. So despite a tantalisingly cheap price tag, the unforeseen trouble for such phones lies in the form of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC). From October, phones of only TRC registered telco vendors will work, Oshada Senanayake, Director General TRC said. There are 24.43 million mobile phone subscribers in SL as at Dec 2018, more..

Sep 13 (ST) Sri Lanka is gearing up to produce more tyres using local natural rubber to meet the country�s requirement by setting up a couple of factories soon but the current shortage of tyres due to import restrictions drags on with no prompt solutions. The present tyre shortage will push thousands of vehicles off the road within months as 5000 traders in the country had no adequate stocks to sell during the past six several tyre dealers, traders and buyers complained. more..

Sep 13 (ST) Sri Lanka is gearing up to open the Mattala airport for international passenger services and cargo traffic with discussions underway with a number of airlines. The plan is to have scheduled airline flights once the airport is open for commercial traffic and in this regard it will be aiming for five scheduled airlines at the start, AASL Director Shehan Sumanasekara said. In this respect he said they have had �serious level discussions with Indigo, Air India, Fly Dubai and Myanmar Airlines�. more..

Sep 13 (TM) The much-awaited Data Protection Bill is expected to reach the Cabinet of Ministers by the end of this month following a final round of drafting necessitated by members of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC). Data Protection Drafting Committee Chair Jayantha Fernando said that the draft Bill that would be submitted to the Cabinet is a revised version of the initial Data Protection Bill draft which more..

Sep 13 (CT) The post pandemic scenario that is evolving in Sri Lanka and the rest of the world has seen container shipping activities being streamlined and becoming more efficient and transparent. This in turn will offer an advantage to Container Carrier agents who change with the times, SL Association of Non-Vessel Owning Container Carriers Agents (SLANA) Chairperson Harsha De Silva said. Addressing the association�s 4th AGM on Thursday (10), he said its activities are compounded by more..

Sep 13 (CT) Ten outstanding athletes with potential to win international medals will be selected based on their performance at the National Sports Festival (NSF) 2020, and will be given an international scholarship for further overseas training for a period of 3 years. The 46th National Sports Festival 2020 (NSF) will be held this December at the Sugathadasa Stadium, making it the first instance in five years that the Festival will be held on a synthetic track. more..

Sep 13 (AD) A video featuring the ringleader of the Easter Sunday terror attacks Zahran Hashim, one of his brothers, a former Eastern Provincial Councillor of the SLMC and a candidate of the National Front for Good Governance, has been aired at the Prez Commission probing the attacks. It revealed that Zahran had commissioned a report on the performance of Muslim MPs during the period covering 2012 and 2015. more..

Sep 13 (APP) A Sri Lankan man living in Melbourne has been charged with child sex offences over coercing young girls into sending explicit images and videos of themselves and then blackmailing them to send more. Australian Federal Police alleged the man distributed the intimate content to the girls' families and friends as a punishment for failing to comply. The 23-year-old was arrested after tip-offs from both the London Metropolitan Police and the FBI about young girls, more..

Sep 13 (DM) Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa�s wife Limini had given birth to their first child, a baby boy, today, Minister Rajapaksa said. In a tweet, he said both the mother and the baby are healthy and happy. �What better gift to be blessed with than a healthy baby boy as both Limini and I celebrate our first anniversary. I thank everyone who wished us for both milestones. Mother and baby are extremely tired after the strenuous work they did all day but they are healthy and happy,� he said. more..

Sep 13 (TM) Sri Lanka stands to lose the opportunity of claiming one-fourth the value of the MT New Diamond and one-fourth the crude oil on board (67,500 metric tonnes) due to an oversight by Sri Lanka�s maritime authorities. This is due to the maritime authorities allowing the ship to be towed out of Sri Lanka�s maritime borders into international waters in the rush to prevent an oil spill close to Sri Lanka. more..

Sep 13 (LBO) Temasek Foundation of Singapore presented 1 million Livinguard reusable masks to SL�s High Commissioner to Singapore Sashikala Premawardhane for the people of SL. The presentation was made by the CEO of Temasek Foundation International Benedict Cheong at a ceremony held on 11th September. Singapore�s Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Chee Hong Tat and Non-Resident High Commissioner to SL Chandra Das were on hand to witness more..

Sep 13 (SO) Defence Secretary, Major General (Rtd.) Kamal Gunaratne said the authorities would not bow down to unreasonable demands by incarcerated criminals. He was referring to the ongoing hunger strike at the Boossa high security prison led by underworld gangsters, Podi Lassie, Wele Sudha and other notorious underworld characters. �Those on hunger strike are the most dangerous criminals in this country,� he said, adding that the authorities are willing to consider more..

Sep 13 (ST) Nearly 120 State-owned companies including the debt-ridden SriLankan Airlines will be exempt from Govt audit under the proposed 20th Amendment. Among scores of other business entities to be excluded are Lanka Electricity Company (LECO), Sri Lanka Insurance, Lanka Hospitals, Litro Gas, Lanka Sathosa, multiple plantation and electricity companies and Lanka Coal Company Ltd. more..

Sep 13 (MFA) The 27th ASEAN Regional Forum was held on 12th Sept 2020 virtually. State Minister for Regional Cooperation, Tharaka Balasuriya represented SL at the Forum. In his statement Minister Balasuriya commended the role of ARF as a proponent of peace, stability and prosperity in the region. SL highlighting the values of constructive dialogue, consultation and cooperation by all member states in maintaining peace and security in the region, called for collective efforts by more..

Sep 13 (DM) Prez Rajapaksa, during a meeting held with his State Ministers, asked them to evaluate the amount of work that can be done from year to year and prepare a Five Year plan. Prez emphasised that future works should be done according to a plan. He said officials may say that everything has been done and were in order, but strategies and plans were useless if they are confined only to their files and folders. �You have to take them to the ground and make them a reality. It�s the key role of a more..

Sep 13 (ST) PM Mahinda Rajapaksa, easily one of Sri Lanka�s most popular politicians, this week revealed another facet of his personality � his ability to laugh at himself. A confidant asked him why the Govt sought to abolish 19A and introduce a 20A in Parliament. He guffawed and replied, �Both are aimed at the Rajapaksas, most importantly me.� Even if the remarks were light-hearted, there was still sense. more..

Sep 14 (CT) Civil society hails with Three Cheers; and respectfully recognizes your brilliantly conceptualized, niche and professionally developed maiden speech in Parliament. This presentation certainly contains seeds for a way forward to add significant long term value to our society and its common stakeholders. Civil society also values the transparent commitment you publicly made in the House, to build through your political journey, a fairer world for the stakeholders of our society, more..

Sep 14 (CT) The circumstances in which the right of appeal to Her Majesty in Council was abolished in 1971 has been the subject of much unfounded speculation. It was attributed at the time to be a strategy to prevent the late C. Suntheralingam from challenging the legitimacy of the Constituent Assembly before the Privy Council. More recently, the abolition has been attributed to the late Felix R. Dias Bandaranaike�s displeasure over some decisions of the Judicial Committee, more..

Sep 14 (TM) In August, the UGC stated that only 5% of the student population is involved in ragging and that too should be further reduced in the years to come. Despite the enactment by Parliament of the Prohibition of Ragging and Other Forms of Violence in Educational Institutions Act No. 20 of 1998, it has not succeeded in curtailing this phenomenon. While the current situation is in much better standards in comparison to the situation 30 years ago, more..

Sep 14 (ST) As public concern over Sri Lanka�s draft 20th Amendment to the Constitution increases exponentially since this amendment was gazetted on 2nd Sept 2020, so do the sheer absurdity of the justifications thereto. Cunning and deplorably simplistic explanations are put forward by some in Govt ranks. It is bad enough that the Justice Minister asks as to what is the point of constitutional commissions when the narcotic trade cannot be eliminated in Sri Lanka? more..

Sep 14 (DM) For the past 53 years (since the 1967, Israel-war, also referred to as the 1967 Arab-Israel War), Palestine has been under Israeli militarily occupation. In 2018, Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East Director at Human Rights Watch reporting on Palestinians under Israeli rule wrote: �...Whether it�s a child imprisoned by a military court or shot unjustifiably, or a house demolished for lack of an elusive permit, or checkpoints where only settlers are allowed to pass, a few Palestinians more..

Sep 14 (TM) As we reach the ninth month since the first case of Covid-19 was reported globally and the 6th month since SL reported its first locally transmitted case, we can observe that none of the countries that recorded the outbreak of the virus have been able to eliminate the threat yet. Although there is a potential vaccine being developed currently, it is yet to be administered at the clinical trial levels before it can be administered on more..

Sep 14 (GV) Sept 9, 1990, 5.30 pm. Armed men clad in military uniform and civilian clothes instruct people from Sathurukondan, Kokkuvil, Pachchaiyadi and Pillayaradi to come out to the road. They are taken to the Bois Town military camp nearby with the assurance that they will be released after questioning. They were mostly the elderly, women and children. None of them returned to their homes. In total, 184 individuals were massacred. The outside world gets to know of more..

Sep 14 (CT) Speaking in Parliament during the course of the Vote on Account debate, Prof. Tissa Vitarana of the LSSP, stated that he was glad that speakers from both sides of Parliament appeared, at least now, to accept the country was faced with a severe economic crisis. This did not seem to be the case when promises were being made during the recent General Election campaign. But now when the money has to be found to fulfill the promises made, both sides of the House came out more..

Sep 14 (ST) The constitutional storm that loomed on the horizon last week between the Courts and Parliament did not make expected landfall when a two judge Appeal Court bench pre-empted its outbreak on Monday and allowed the Ratnapura MP-elect on death row, SLPP�s Premalal Jayasekera, to attend Parliament and take his oaths as an honourable member of the House. Last week, the Parliamentary Speaker had ordered the Commissioner General of Prisons to more..

Sep 14 (DM) A murder convict Premalal Jayasekara, sentenced to death for murdering an opposition activist 5 years ago, was escorted to Parliament last week by prison authorities under a ruling by the Court of Appeal, a higher judicial forum than the High Court which sentenced him to death. Returned to legislature by the voters of Ratnapura district, ruling SLPP member took oaths amid protest by SJB led opposition who staged a walk out. Court of Appeal ruled that Jayasekara retained more..

Sep 14 (CT) According to the views of the SJB-led Opposition in the present Parliament, the most pressing issue facing this country at the moment is Premalal Jayasekara being allowed to swear in as an MP of the SLPP Govt. They claim that due to the presence of Jayasekara in the House, the August Assembly has been besmirched and its image forever tainted. Opposition also spent two full days to discuss the demerits of more..

Sep 14 (CT) The Police recently said that the CID has launched investigations into a number of online scams reported this year, while the Cyber Crimes Unit of the CID has also launched investigations into several online scams related to foreign employment scams. Also, it was reported that the Police have received complaints regarding an online racket, which requests people to deposit money to certain bank accounts to pay Customs fees, in order to clear cash prizes from overseas, more..

Sep 14 (Island) Most of the underworld figures who launched a fast, in the Boossa High Security Prison, recently, have given up the protest. Hunger strike is against the communication restrictions currently in place, and security checks on visitors, among other things. These criminals have only themselves to blame for this situation; they have been found to be running their illegal operations such as drug running, extortion and contract killing via mobile phones from their cells. more..

Sep 14 (FT) The Govt has announced a series of measures to boost the pharmaceutical industry to produce within three years 50% of the country�s annual requirement locally, saving Rs. 60 billion spent otherwise on imports, as well as encourage exports. �The objective is to provide high-quality medicine to the public and the foreign market as well, at affordable prices. All products are made in accordance with the recommendations and more..

Sep 14 (TM) The Govt is to introduce a new RF (radio frequency) code for vehicle number plates which would enable authorities faster access to vehicle information. State Minister Dilum Amungama, said the new regulations were to be gazetted. �They will come into effect as soon as the new system is gazetted.� He explained that the RF code would replace the current method of provincial identification on number plates. �Present system where the number plates display the province more..

Sep 14 (Island) The SL coconut authorities awarded Nestle at an official event on World Coconut Day, in recognition of its high foreign exchange contribution as one of the world�s largest exporters of coconut milk powder, and the strategic planning support extended to the govt to help promote the SL coconut industry. Nestle also supports more than 9,000 local coconut farming families through its business. The award was jointly conferred on the company by Mr. Arundhika Fernando, more..

Sep 14 (SO) Minister Johnston Fernando said Govt has to incur a Rs. 20 billion loss due to the delay in construction work on Kadawatha-Mirigama stretch of road on the Central expressway by the former govt. Govt has already released Rs.17 billion as its 15 percent share to expedite construction work on the expressway. Although the previous Govt constructed the Mirigama-Kurunegala stretch of road on Central expressway, more..

Sep 14 (Island) Ceylon Tea Brokers PLC, listed on CSE as the first standalone tea broking company in 2010, has reported a negative bottom line in the year ended Mar. 31, 2020, despite posting an overall performance its chairman, Mr. CPR Perera, saw as encouraging in the face of lower production and declining tea prices. The loss was the result of an extraordinary impairment charge of Rs. 119.85 million (Rs. 21.45 m the previous year), on account providing for loans/advances to tea suppliers more..

Sep 14 (IE) It was fully expected that the Rajapaksa brothers, with Mahinda having swept the parliamentary election last month, six months after Gotabaya won the presidential election in Nov 2019, would embark on a programme of constitutional changes. President and Prime minister Rajapaksa have lost no time. They have the two-thirds parliamentary majority that is required. Their first priority is to get rid of the 19th Amendment, and replace it with the 20th Amendment. more..

Sep 14 (ST) Sri Lanka is in a dilemma of tackling massive public debt restructuring in the next three months with an unprecedented debt load of Rs.3.05 trillion for 2020, surpassing the earlier estimate of Rs.2 trillion, official data showed. In light of urgent and unforeseen requirements arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, the increase in debt stock to over Rs.3 trillion compared to Rs.1.3 trillion in 2019 is unavoidable, a Treasury official said. more..

Sep 14 (NR) 36 persons tested positive for the novel coronavirus, increasing the number of infections in the country to 3,231. 16 persons who arrived from Qatar, 10 from UAE, 6 from Kuwait, 2 from Maldives, a returnee from Ethiopia and a Ukrainian national who arrived from Thailand tested positive for the virus. Meanwhile 13 more coronavirus infected persons recovered and were discharged from hospitals during the past 24 hours, increasing COVID-19 recoveries to 2,996. more..