Sep 17 (Island) Lulu Hypermarket Bahrain,biggest regional hypermarket chain had organized the Lulu Food Festival under the theme Food is Good over the weekends of Aug to Sept 2020. Cuisines of a dozen countries had been showcased at the food festival, being the first ever promotional event that involved many countries. SL�s rich culinary heritage was also honoured in a special Sri Lankan Food Week titled Taste of Sri Lanka 10�12 Sept at Lulu Hypermarket in Dana Mall & Juffair Mall more..

Sep 17 (CT) The total number of international tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka for the period of Jan to Aug 2020 has declined by 60% when compared with the tourist arrivals for the same period last year (2019). As per the latest Monthly Tourists Arrival Report (August) issued by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) total arrivals recorded from Jan to Aug 2019 was 1,267,737. Sri Lanka suspended tourist arrivals from all countries from 18 March 2020 to contain COVID-19. more..

Sep 17 (FT) President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has directed officials to complete construction of 100,000 km of rural roads and connect them with the main road network by 2024. The directive was given at a meeting held to review future activities of the State Ministry of Rural Roads and Other Infrastructure Facilities on Tuesday. Prez stressed that the construction of 100,000 km of rural roads needs to adhere environmental guidelines. more..

Sep 17 (DN) Otter Aquatic Club Baudhaloka Mawatha in Colombo 7 would not be relocated but would be re developed as one of the best sports venues in Sri Lanka. An official from the UDA said that the club which has been ordered to vacate its current premises in Colombo-7 due to the failure to pay taxes would be refurbished and added with modern sports facilities. UDA is planning to build a multi-storied sports and recreation complex on top of the current car park. more..

Sep 17 (AD) Excise Unit of Kesbewa has raided a party involving drugs held at the Dampe area. A group of 20 individuals have been arrested in the raid, stated the Excise Unit. Reportedly, 15 males and 5 females have been arrested in this manner. Over 15 grams of heroin has been found on the arrested suspects. Meanwhile, a fake monk has been arrested in the Neluwa area for the possession of Kerala Cannabis. Interrogation of the suspect has led to the arrest of 2 other persons, more..

Sep 17 (CT) A large number of individuals and organisations, gazetted as terrorists in 2014, have been removed from the 2015 Gazette, including two terrorists whose names were removed due to the influence of former Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, said former Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, B.M.U.D. Basnayake. Testifying before the PCoI, Basnayake said Samaraweera, having called then Chief of National Intel more..

Sep 17 (CT) SL�s quarterly unemployment rate hit its highest figure of 5.7% at the end of the first quarter (1Q) of this year since the Census and Statistics Dept started publishing such quarterly data beginning from the second quarter (2Q) of 2011, CSD statistics released yesterday (16) showed. Further, the labour force participation rate (LFPR) hit an eight year low of 51% in the 1Q of 2020, where a figure lower than this was last seen in the fourth quarter (4Q) of 2012 with a figure of 48.1%. more..

Sep 17 (DM) There was a probability that the Catholic Church also knew about the prior warning which was sent, about the coordinated terror attacks which occurred on Easter Sunday, former minister Harin Fernando informed PCoI. He made the following statement in response to a question raised by the representative from the AG's department. Mr. Fernando said, traditionally the Archbishop conducts a main Easter mass but on Apr 21, 2019 there was no such mass conducted by him. more..

Sep 17 (Island) Given that some of his superiors had tried to shift the blame on Easter Sunday attacks to the SIS, he saw nothing unethical about recording conversations he had with his superiors after the tragedy to protect the reputation of his institution, former SIS Director SDIG Nilantha Jayawardena told the PCoI. He made this statement when Shamil Perera, the counsel appearing for Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith asked more..

Sep 17 (FT) There is reliable information coming through that the iconic elephant of Uda Walawe, Rambo, may be captured and translocated to a holding ground (which is effectively an elephant prison) by the Dept of Wildlife Conservation (DWC). This will in effect be signing a death warrant for this famous elephant. Many wildlife enthusiasts and tourists who travel around the country are familiar with Rambo at Uda Walawe National Park who has developed a close interaction with people over the years. more..

Sep 17 (FT) The proposed 20th Amendment has ignited many viewpoints in society, at the moment. In particular, it is said that the proposed 20th Amendment to the Constitution seeks to remove the auditing of accounts pertaining to the office of the Prez, first citizen and that of the PM, second citizen of the country. In this backdrop where there is a live debate on the subject of audit of Govt accounts, an interesting incident, which I remember well, and pertains to the scope of audit, comes to my mind. more..

Sep 17 (DM) The Bureau of the Commissioner General of Rehabilitation said they hoped to resume the rehabilitation process, especially for those addicted to drugs, which was temporarily suspended due to spread of COVID-19. Commissioner General of Rehabilitation Maj. Gen. Darshana Hettiarachchi said bureau�s objective was to increase the rehabilitation capacity in the country by the end of this year. Currently, the capacity at rehabilitation is at 1,000 and planning to increase it to 5,000. more..

Sep 17 (DN) President�s Counsel Shavendra Fernando yesterday requested Colombo Fort Acting Magistrate Shalini Perera to recall the warrants issued on Sri Lankan Ambassador to the United States Jaliya Wickramasuriya and the two sureties. SL�s former Ambassador to the United States Wickramasuriya has been charged with criminal misappropriation of USD 330,000 out of USD 6.6 million allocated for purchasing a building for the SL Embassy in the United States. more..

Sep 17 (Island) Former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, in his new capacity as the Chairman and Convenor of the National Movement for Social Justice (NMSJ) today will unveil his campaign against the proposed 20th Amendment to the Constitution. A spokesperson for NMSJ said that former Speaker recently accepted their invitation to take over the movement formed by the late Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera. The official said that Prof. Sarath Wijesuriya, who succeeded Ven. Sobitha more..

Sep 17 (AD) Twelve Sri Lankan nationals have been arrested at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) while attempting to travel on forged visa. According to the Police, the arrestees had planned to leave for Canada via Doha, Qatar. The arrest has been made by the BIA Unit of the CID at around 1.30 am last morning (16). Among the arrestees are 07 males and 05 females from Kiribathgoda, Pamunugama, Kegalle, Mawanella, Polgahawela, Alawathugoda, Nugegoda, and Piliyandala areas. more..

Sep 17 (DM) There is room for anyone in the UNP to become the party leader in the future other than myself, UNP Deputy Leader Ruwan Wijewardene said. Mr. Wijewardene who was speaking to journalists after engaging in religious observances at the Kelaniya Rajamaha Vihara on Tuesday said UNP is not a private property of anyone. �Present Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has not promised me the leadership. He has told us that the current Deputy Leader does not necessarily have to become the leader more..

Sep 17 (AD) Prez Rajapaksa emphasized that it is an imperative of the era to establish a sports culture in order to form a healthy, disciplined and an athletic society in the country. Stating that sport is the youth�s language, Prez noted that directing a child simultaneously towards both education and sports will raise a balanced individual for the society. Prez stated that Ministries of Education, Youth Affairs and Sports have a massive responsibility with this regard, more..

Sep 17 (EN) Free Media Movement (FMM) is expressing deep concern about the impending threat to the freedom of expression by the proposed 20th Amendment, a statement from the watchdog group said. FMM said that the proposal �removes democratic features and structures introduced in the 19th Amendment.� �The Independent Commissions have been placed in a position that they are no longer independent.� This is because the members of these commissions are directly appointed by the Prez and more..

Sep 17 (Island) Former Director of State Intelligence Service SDIG Nilantha Jayawardena told the PCoI that he couldn�t accept claims made by former President Maithripala Sirisena that prior to Easter Sunday attacks intelligence agencies had described NTJ leader Zahran Hashim only as an extremist, but not as a terrorist. Jayawardena made this statement when Shamil Perera, the counsel appearing for Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith played a video clip featuring Sirisena. more..

Sep 17 (AD) Cabinet has approved the amendment of relevant labour laws to enable the increase of the minimum age of engagement in service up to 16 years. This is in terms of the legal provisions applicable to labours to suit the legal provisions describing the compulsory age of schooling as 16 years. Approval has been granted at Cabinet meeting held on the 10th of June 2020. Accordingly, Legal Draftsman has formulated the drafted laws for the amendment of following acts and regulations: more..

Sep 17 (AD) Former Director of the CID SSP Shani Abeysekara and two others, arrested for allegedly fabricating evidence in a case, have been further remanded until Oct 2 by the Gampaha Magistrate�s Court. In 2013, eight suspects including the former Police DIG Vaas Gunawardena, his wife, and son were placed under arrest after they were identified as suspects in the murder of businessman Mohamed Siyam. Later, probes were also carried out into Gunawardena�s alleged illegal possession of weapons. more..

Sep 17 (AD) Former Minister Vijayakala Maheswaran has arrived at the PCoI on political victimization. She had been issued summons to appear before the Commission at 10 am today. This is regarding a complaint lodged against her in connection with a case of an LTTE cadre being killed while escaping police arrest after being caught for a gold robbery. Reportedly, the arrestee had run away from Chavakachcheri Police officers while being handcuffed and jumped into a nearby lake in the escape attempt. more..

Sep 17 (EN) No oil leaks have been detected so far from the MT New Diamond supertanker which caught fire last week in the seas off eastern SL, officials said. Deputy General Manager of Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) Jagath Gunesekara said, however, that Sri Lanka will continue to pursue legal action against the tanker�s owners. CID is carrying out investigations into the incident and statements from the ship�s crew are currently being recoded, he said. more..

Sep 17 (AD) Prez Rajapaksa is the main initiator of the controversial 20th Amendment which is now backed by the entire Cabinet of Ministers the govt said today. Cabinet Spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said that the Prez took the main initiative for the draft of the 20A which was Gazetted last week �for which the cabinet takes collective responsibility.� Statement comes after the Opposition Parties and Civil Society activists decrying the rolling back of democratic reforms introduced more..

Sep 17 (Island) State Minister Sudharshani Fernandopulle yesterday handed over a report to PM Mahinda Rajapaksa about 46 children who are growing up with their mothers serving jail terms. The report was handed during an event to mark the Prisoner Welfare Day. Rajapaksa then instructed Fernandopulle to investigate the possibility of those mothers being released from prisons under existing laws. The PM also asked the minister to formulate a system to rehabilitate drug addicts. more..

Sep 17 (AD) PCoI probing the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks warned MP Harin Fernando over the impulsive behavior displayed during his testimony at the commission. Former Minster appeared before the Commission yesterday, to testify regarding the statement he made to the media that his father had pre-warned him of the Easter attacks. Testifying at the Commission, Fernando said that his sister had called him when the first series of attacks happened on Easter Sunday last year, more..

Sep 17 (AD) The govt has decided to print passports and confidential documents of the govt through the Department of Govt Printing. It was noted at the meeting of Cabinet Ministers that passports and other govt documents are currently printed by foreign printing companies. However, printing such documents by the Govt Press will retain the foreign exchange outflow within the country, it has been pointed out. Accordingly, the Minister of Mass Media and Information presented more..

Sep 17 (EN) SL�s vehicles registrations fell 45% to 17,493 in Sept 2020 from a year earlier with motorbikes falling to 13,794 units and three wheelers down to 206 units, after import controls were imposed. Motor car registrations fell to 906 units from 2,385 a month earlier, SUVs and crossovers fell to 511 from 635 data showed. SL slapped severe import controls after money printing in March and April de-stablized the country�s soft-peg with the US dollar, leading to a surge in credit. more..

Sep 17 (CT) Police will impose a Rs 2,000 fine on motorists who violate the Traffic Lane Law, with effect from 21 Sept. Offenders are given time to adhere to the new system till tomorrow and then Police will take legal action against motorists who violate the law and even produce them in Courts under the traffic law, said DIG W.S. Nissanka. There was a couple of cases reported yesterday, adding however, that no one was fined, but were advised to follow the rules. more..

Sep 17 (DM) Another inmate at the Kalutara Prison has committed suicide for not being able to consume drugs bringing the total number of suicides to six within the last weeks. Prison sources said the prisoner who had been in remand custody over a heroin case, had committed suicide inside the toilet of the second ward last night. The prisoner was admitted to the Nagoda Hospital after he was noticed by other inmates. However, he succumbed to his injuries on admission. more..

Sep 17 (CT) TNA Ampara District MP Thavarasa Kalaiyarasan said owing to ethnic and racial marginalisation, the Tamil community is gradually losing its identity. He expressed regret that the Govt was deliberately deceiving the Tamils, noting that during the concluded Prez Election, they had promised that the Kalmunai North DS would be upgraded but that this has so far not taken place. Kalaiyarasan said after the end of the separatist war in 2009, the former govt had promised that more..

Sep 17 (Hindu) SL fugitive gangster Lasantha Chandana Perera alias Angoda Lokka had died of heart attack in Coimbatore and no foul play was involved in his death, a senior officer of the CB-CID said based on the findings of the post-mortem, chemical exam and histopathology reports. K. Shankar, IGP, CB-CID, told The Hindu the three reports did not have any finding related to unnatural death. �There was no finding of poisoning or other suspected aspects in the reports,� he said. more..

Sep 17 (EN) CEB will call int'l tenders for a 300 MegaWatt liquefied natural gas (LNG) power plant to be operated as an independent power producer (IPP), state information office said. The cabinet of ministers had approved the proposal for the plant to be run on a build own operate transfer (BOOT) arrangement. 300MW plant should be set up in Kerawalapitiya, north of Colombo. Cabinet had approved the proposal by the Minister of Power to call int'l competitive bids to select the investor. more..

Sep 17 (CT) The Government Medical Officers� Association (GMOA), yesterday urged Health Minister, Pavithra Wanniarachchi to take immediate action to ensure the independence of the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC). In a letter to Wanniarachchi, GMOA Secretary, Dr. Senal Fernando, alleged the Acting Assistant Registrar (AAR) of the SLMC had met an outside party with confidential documents related to the Foreign University Evaluation Committee of the SLMC. more..

Sep 17 (AD) Colombo Magistrate�s Court today issued notice on the Captain of the MT New Diamond oil tanker to appear before the court on September 28. Notice was issued by Colombo Additional Magistrate Priyantha Liyanage after considering a request made by Deputy Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris, appearing on behalf of the CID which is conducting investigations. When the case was taken up today through a motion, more..

Sep 18 (CT) With all the debates, controversies and rigmarole surrounding the issue of abolishing 19th Amendment with 20th Amendment, and the demand from certain quarters for a new constitution, there is perhaps one historic outcome from the whole episode, and that is, the virtual establishment of hereditary rule by the Rajapaksa dynasty, at least in the short and medium terms. This feat is about to be accomplished quite unobtrusively through the democratic process but with the help of more..

Sep 18 (DM) As kids we knew of China as a country producing inferior or cheap goods. There was even a joke shared among schoolchildren when one kid had penned in her notebook that the opposite of original is Chinese. That�s the old China we knew of. Fast forward from the past to 2020 and China is contesting against America to establish itself as a global economic power. And the scary part is that China is slowly getting rid of obstacles in its way in pursuing this endeavour. more..

Sep 18 (CT) The world is set up in a truly wonderful way, such that, everything that happens in it brings about both positive and negative consequences. An example of this is how, over the past few months, the outbreak of COVID-19 tragically has so far claimed more than 28,330,000 human lives, and yet brought about a benefit to the planet itself, as many of the human activities that have been destroying the environment for more..

Sep 18 (DM) Sri Lanka needs stricter road laws and tough law enforcement officials to implement them. When ever an authority says this it underscores one major issue; a good number of Sri Lankan motorists, three wheel drivers and motorbike riders need to be disciplined. But the problem with implementing these laws is that such efforts often attract protests. The bottom line is that Sri Lankans oppose laws whenever efforts are taken to discipline them. Just a few days ago more..