June 23 (AD) If pavements are completely given back to pavement vendors, that will become a massive problem, Deputy Minister Thilanga Sumathipala said. On his Facebook fan page, Sumathipala said �Pavements are constructed exclusively for the use of pedestrians. They are not a business premises. But pavement vendors primarily cause hassle to pedestrians. That is the first issue. The next problem is that because of this, legitimate shops situated behind more..

June 23 (CG) Concerns have been raised on some decisions taken by the current administration of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), with former cricket board administrators saying those decisions are costing the board heavily. A joint communiqu� by former administrators of SLC board, noted that recent decisions made by the SLC Interim Committee headed by Sidath Wettimuni, is costing SLC thumping amounts of money by the day more..

June 23 (HN) A Sri Lanka Navy soldier was killed in an accident when a boat capsised at a military exercise the US navy held for the Sri Lankan navy in the Trincomale sea yesterday. A 28 year-old navy soldier, resident of Hangurangketa, was thus killed as a result of getting entrapped under a part of the boat when it capsized during the military exercise. The Navy media spokesman said that the post mortem on the body of the deceased soldier was scheduled to be held today. more..

June 23 (CG) The Govt says no decision has been taken to remove more army camps in the North. PM Ranil Wickremesinghe told Parliament today that the army decides on removing army camps and so far no such decision has been taken. He said that if the army decides to remove more camps in the North then the Govt will take measures to brief Parliament. The Prime Minister made the comment in response to a statement made by opposition MP Wimal Weerawansa. more..

June 23 (CG) Parliament was today divided over the draft document on the 20th Amendment to the Constitution which was gazetted last week. During the adjournment debate on the 20th Amendment held in Parliament today some political parties spoke in favor while others opposed it. JVP said that the 20th Amendment has been drafted by President Maithripala Sirisena to take advantage of the split in the SLFP. more..

June 24 (CT) The announcement by Mayor A.J.M. Muzammil that he is going to open the city�s payment for hawkers again is mind chilling and is the worst piece of information the Colombo city dwellers have heard in over a decade. Muzammil has already unleashed the dreaded beggar menace and all he needs is to give the payment to his cronies for the city dwellers to perform trapeze acts on the city roads. The peaceful strolls of window shoppers in the city would only be a dream. more..

June 24 (CT) Like how the activities of the diplomatic missions of the West during the Sri Lanka presidential election on 8 January burgeoned, at the presidential elections in the Maldives in 2008, the activities of the diplomatic missions here in charge of the Maldives and Sri Lanka too intensified. It is the western countries that united the split opposition when the presidential election was held in the Maldives in 2008 which restored democracy in that country. more..

June 24 (SO) The controversy over what caused 12 guests to fall ill and end up being hospitalised during the recent Sri Lanka -UK Friendship Society dinner to celebrate the Queen�s birthday, has led to the Management of the Cinnamon Grand Hotel and doctors locking horns over what actually triggered off the sudden illness among the guests. While Hotel authorities maintain that food poisoning was the likely cause, doctors who treated more..

June 24 (Island) Clich�d as the saying may be that a picture is worth a thousand words nothing else will help highlight the significance of a photograph we front-paged on Tuesday better. It had a young Sri Lanka Air Force officer cuddling his bundle of joy at the BIA before leaving for the newest state in the world, South Sudan, where Sri Lanka is assisting a UN peacekeeping force. The beginning of the Sudanese peace process which led to the creation of South Sudan through more..

June 24 (ST) Those who missed Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake�s remarks to a local business website on the appointment of his brother-in-law as managing director of the Insurance Corporation sure missed a hilarious piece of illogicality and non sequitur. While there is an eminently qualified and experienced business leader, Hemaka Amarasuriya as chairman and a professionally-qualified individual with wide experience in the insurance field as the corporation�s CEO, finance ministry which more..

June 24 (ST) Tony Ranasinghe, the much loved screen hero passed away last week. Here D.C. Ranatunga looks back at his multi-faceted career He started with acting � first on stage and then on screen. With the advent of television he was in demand to act in teledramas. Driven to be more creative, he started writing screenplays and scripts for stage plays. He developed an interest in Shakespeare�s plays more..

June 24 (ST) The need for a pragmatic economic policy framework for implementation can hardly be overemphasised. However, the current preoccupation with political bargaining, power machinations, constitutional reforms, uncertainty of political developments and post-election outcomes are hardly conducive towards political parties focussing on economic issues and preparing long-run economic policies for development. In a parliamentary democracy, political parties more..

June 24 (Island) Since 1956 financial power has been exercised not by the secretaries or the heads of department as required in the Financial Regulations but surreptitiously by the ministers who influence the decisions of the secretaries and heads of department and the tender boards. They invariably have their way for the Secretaries hold office at the will and pleasure of his minister. If we want good governance we can either revert to the past and keep the ministers away from more..

June 24 (FT) Minister Lakshman Kiriella denies the UNP has fallen out with the President and stresses �Sirisena will dissolve Parliament soon�. He claims that neither the SLFP nor the UPFA wanted electoral reforms but due to the fear of losing the election the two parties were now pressurising the President to go ahead with it. �They had a two-thirds majority, they could have done anything they wanted. more..

June 24 (Island) Very few countries can claim to be homogeneous. Most countries are made up of diverse communities often based on factors of birth, such as race, ethnicity, religion, language and caste or a combination of any of them. Consequently, state formations are made up of a multiplicity of cultural communities. The net result is that groups within states, whether majorities or minorities, see themselves as us and them, and we vs. the other. The inability to manage the demands and more..

June 24 (EN) There have been recent news reports suggesting that Sri Lanka may face an over-capacity in the tourism industry. There is also growing skepticism among some investors about the leisure sector�s long term attractiveness. These concerns have emerged when industry experts seems to agree that SL will need around 50,000 hotel rooms to cater to its medium term target of 2.5 million tourists per year. Furthermore industry data suggests that the tourism sector is expanding more..

June 24 (CI) Scoring more frequently off Yasir Shah may be Sri Lanka's best chance of neutralising him, opener Kaushal Silva said ahead of the second Test, beginning on Thursday. Yasir had been excellent in the first innings in Galle, but was devastating in the second, claiming 7 for 76 to send the hosts spiralling to a 10-wicket loss. Sri Lanka's batsmen were reticent against him in both innings, and did not score more than 2.6 runs more..

June 24 (ITN) Ethical guidelines have been issued for reporting on child victims of abuse and violence. The guidelines were released yesterday. Its intent is to solicit the highest contribution of media institutions in safeguarding and improving the rights of children. Emphasis has been laid on the institution of strict legal action against the revelation of the identity of children in abuse cases. Introduction of these ethical guidelines to journalists of media institutions took place under patronage of Minister Gayantha more..

June 24 (Island) After having consulted, either the Geneva-based UNHRC, or UN headquarters, in New York, or both, the UN mission, in Colombo, in April, last year, said that the issue of confidentiality of sources/eyewitnesses needed to be considered at a later stage. The Colombo mission was responding to a query by The Island whether the UN would review UNSG Ban ki moon�s Panel of Experts (PoE) recommendation, pertaining to confidentiality of sources/eyewitnesses for a 20-year period, more..

June 24 (CT) Chairman of the National Selection Committee Kapila Wijegunawardene says Sri Lanka does not need to press the panic button yet as he was confident of the hosts' ability to hit back in the on-going three-match Test series. "I strongly feel we are capable of bouncing back," he said looking ahead to the second Test which is set to get underway Thursday in Colombo. "No doubt it was a very bad day at the office more..

June 24 (Island) Sri Lanka were comprehensively thrashed in the first Test in Galle as Pakistan�s varied bowling attack caused the home team lots of problems. Pakistan�s bowling had variety, bite and venom despite their strike bowler Junaid Khan not firing on all cylinders. Contrastingly Sri Lanka�s bowling lacked penetration. After taking five early wickets, the Sri Lankans left the tourists off the hook as wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed, who had been a thorn in the Sri Lankans� flesh in recent times more..

June 24 (AFP) A confident Pakistan will aim to clinch a first Test series win in Sri Lanka for nine years when the second match starts at the P. Sara Oval in Colombo on Thursday. Misbah-ul Haq's tourists are riding high after a 10-wicket triumph in the opening Test in Galle on Sunday despite the first four sessions of the match being washed out. Pakistan have lost their last three series in Sri Lanka following a 1-0 success in 2006 but Misbah's men could not have asked for a better venue more..

June 24 (DM) Colombo Mayor A.J.M. Muzammil said that street vending would be allowed only on certain pavements in Pettah and nowhere else in the city. �We have decided to allow street vending on certain pavements in Pettah, with the exception of 1st Cross Street. This is a temporary solution for the Ramazan season, and once we decide on a permanent solution they will be moved to other areas. more..

June 24 (Island) Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake faced an avalanche of new and bewildering demands from the business community at the second Ease of Doing Business forum held in Colombo last week, and on top of that the minister found some state institutions had given him a deaf ear on a directive given by him earlier. The Doing Business monthly forum�s mission is to help business leaders tackle the challenges they face on a daily basis, by raising the effectiveness of more..

June 24 (Reuters) Govt borrowing fell 30.7% in the first four months of this year due to a sharp fall in foreign loans, data from the finance ministry showed on Tuesday. Total gross borrowing has fallen to Rs. 577.05 billion in the first four months, compared with Rs. 832.82 billion in the same period a year earlier. Foreign borrowing on a net basis plummeted 86.3% to Rs. 36.76 billion in the first four months. Ministry released the data after the opposition criticised the govt for the state of the economy more..

June 24 (CT) World Rugby � the sport's international governing body - has officially written to Minister of Sports Navin Dissanayake recently, seeking an explanation before 10 July, as to what prompted him to postpone the election of office bearers to the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union (SLRFU), informed sources said. According to these sources, World Rugby has also questioned the minister regards his move to appoint more..

June 24 (Island) NFF Leader Wimal Weerawansa in Parliament accused Minister of Housing and Samurdhi Sajith Premadasa of using public funds to commemorate the birth anniversary of his late father and former President R. Premadasa. MP Weerawansa alleged that Minister Premadasa had utilised the funds of the Condominium Management Authority to provide lunch on the occasion of the late President Premadasa�s birth anniversary, which was marked yesterday. more..

June 24 (FT) Minister Karu Jayasuriya said that people who retired before 2006 could gain increased pension from the next month onwards. He revealed that the Govt was preparing a new circular which would ensure that a fair amount was paid as pension to all retired senior citizens. �There was an amount gap between retired senior citizens who retired before 2006 and after it. People who retired before 2006 received a pension which was less than that given to those who retired after 2006. more..

June 24 (FT) The Govt presented the adjournment motion on electoral reforms in Parliament yesterday, opening the floor for political parties to voice their views on the 20th Amendment, During the discussion, UNP MP R. Yogarajan confirmed that the total number of seats in Parliament would remain at 225, with 125 selected through the first-past-the-post system, 75 through the preferential system and 25 from the national list. more..

June 24 (GDI) President Maithripala Sirisena said that due respect and state acknowledgement will be given to the national institutions working on behalf of children and women to carry out their service in a more productive manner. President while bringing to the notice, the utmost responsibility that everyone has to nurture the children and to make them good and virtuous citizens also said that mothers are entrusted with the significant task of bringing up their children to become responsible citizens. more..

June 24 (ENS) Foreign Minister, Mangala Samaraweera, has asked the country's newly appointed envoys to secure foreign assistance to develop the war-hit areas of the Tamil-speaking Northern Province. Speaking to the ambassadors-designate at their orientation course, he noted with satisfaction that as part of the course they would be visiting the war- devastated areas and urged them to stress the need for assistance and investment to uplift the condition of the victims of war. more..

June 24 (CG) The United States (US) says as it looks advance its interests across the Indo-Pacific, Sri Lanka will be a critical partner. Atul Keshap, the nominee for US Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, told the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee that in Sri Lanka, the primary interest of the US is to help the people succeed as a prosperous, unified, reconciled, peaceful, and democratic nation. more..

June 24 (GDI) In the period from Jan to May 2015 the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka signed 42 investment agreements with enterprises representing a vast range of sectors which reflect the growing diversification of Sri Lanka�s economic base and exports. These include such diverse sectors as mini hydropower plants, software development, tourist hotels, apparels manufacturing, apartment complexes, BPO for legal services, hospital, satellite TV broadcasting, plantation, more..

June 24 (Hindu) A batch of 46 Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, who were staying in camps across the State for several years, returned to their country from the Tiruchi airport on Tuesday. This the second batch of refugees returning home in a span of one-and-half months from here. The refugees, including 18 women had been, staying in camps located at Tiruchi, Pudukottai, Salem, Ramanathapuram, Virudhunagar, Tuticorin and Sivaganga districts. They arrived from different places more..

June 24 (DN) Former Navy Commander Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda was aware of the abductions of children by commandos of Sri Lanka Navy. SI Nishantha Silva of CID told Colombo Chief Magistrate Gihan Pilapitiya that information has surfaced to the effect that former Navy Commander and several high ranking officers of the Navy were aware of abductions which took place on Sept 17, 2008 in Dehiwala. more..

June 24 (DM) Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) requested the Sri Lanka Customs to stop consignments of rejected Maggi Noodle from India being released to the importers because they are said to contain high levels of Mono Sodium Glutamate (MSG). The Indian High Commission had requested the CAA to ban the import such noodles to Sri Lanka from India. �Responding to the written request, CAA Director General J.M.A. Douglas has written to the Customs asking it to prevent more..

June 24 (DN) Minister Champika Ranawaka said the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, Ceylon Electricity Board and the Ports should be administered by an independent commission and a strategic and streamlined management is needed for them if the country is to achieve economic progress. He said so participating in the inaugural sessions of a workshop to draw up sound national policies held under the patronage of President Maithripala Sirisena at the SLFI Colombo on June 22. more..

June 24 (Island) Sri Lankan military is taking part in joint exercises with both US and Chinese armed forces, simultaneously. The US had resumed joint naval exercises with the navy after a lapse of several years. The US suspended exercises during the previous administration. The US included Sri Lanka in a project called Extended Relations Programme (ERP) during then President Chandrika Kumaratunga�s administration. more..

June 24 (ITN) PM Ranil Wickremasinghe has declared his intent on steering the country towards a revolution this year. Addressing a function organized to mark National Housing Day in Tissamaharama, the Prime Minister was optimistic of effecting a revolution tenfold that of 1977. The PM said that they are getting ready to effect a major revolution in the country after the Parliamentary elections. The people had many aspirations after the war, but these were not met. more..

June 24 (ITN) President Maithripala Sirisena has attributed the defeat of the SLFP to the behavior of certain leaders of Local Govt bodies. He pointed out that the preferential voting system should be altered and the public permitted to elect suitable people�s representatives to the Local Councils. President mentioned that in the past few years mainly heads of Local Govt bodies were accused of fraud, corruption, financial scams, drugs peddling and women and child abuse. more..