Aug 12 (CG) The US says the passage of the Bill on the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) is a huge stride forward for SL. US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Biswal said that the establishment of the OMP will help Sri Lanka advance truth and reconciliation. Meanwhile the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Atul Keshap said the new Office of Missing Persons law is an historic milestone in the path toward meaningful national reconciliation for all in Sri Lanka. more..

Aug 12 (CG) Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) has called for the review of the Public Security Ordinance for purposes of reforming the legislative regime applicable to public security. The Commission has said this in a submission made to the Sub-Committee on Law and Order. HRCSL is of the belief the main purpose of a public security regime is to protect the people, and hence must be crafted in a manner that serves more..

Aug 12 (Island) Cyprus govt is to appoint an inter-ministerial committee to decide on a minimum salary for the Sri Lankan migrant workers employed there, according to Cyprus Labour and Social Welfare Minister Zeta-Emillanidow. Cypriot Minister made the revelation at a meeting with Minister Thalatha Athukorala during her recent official tour of Cyprus. Minister Athukorala requested the Cyprus Minister to consider increasing the salaries of Sri Lankan migrant workers in that country. more..

Aug 12 (Island) With the country facing an acute power shortage for want of new power generation plants, proprietors of Plaza 2D and Minerva 3D housed in Dons Plaza in Kalutara have recently obtained solar power for the two cinemas. They are the first cinemas in SL to have solar power and are now exporting energy to the national power grid. This has enabled Dons Plaza to keep their energy usage in the green zone and make their contribution to help SL�s efforts to be less dependent on more..

Aug 12 (DN) Farmer-leaders representing 12 districts and Buddhist monks yesterday visited the Paddy Marketing Board (PMB) to discuss issues related to paddy purchasing mechanism. �Today we came here to discuss this matter with the PMB Chairman with a prior notice. But he was not there at his office and then we met the General Manager. During the discussions with him, we felt that he doesn�t even have a basic more..

Aug 12 (CI) Australia, spin, and Asia are terms that haven't gotten along well together, especially over the last decade. There was a period between 2002 and 2006 when they had a stunning record in Asia, winning ten out of 12 Tests: they blanked Pakistan and SL 3-0, beat India 2-1 and Bangladesh 2-0. Shane Warne was in peak form during this period, taking an incredible 78 wickets from 11 Tests in Asia, while the batting line-up included Damien Martyn, Matthew Hayden, more..

Aug 12 (AD) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe will leave for China tomorrow on an official visit during which he will engage in an inspection tour of the South Western region of the country. Ministers Anura Priyadarshana Yapa and Champika Ranawaka as well as several state officials will be part of the PM�s delegation which will remain in China till August 17. Wickremesinghe is expected to tour the country�s industrial zones, container terminals, technology parks, financial centers and more..

Aug 12 (DM) It was revealed in Court today that sixteen Chinese, who are in Sri Lanka on tourist visas are violating Immigration laws by being engaged in language translation activities for guides in the tourism industry. This racket came to light on an anonymous complaint made to the Tourism Development Authority. The police revealed that a man identified as Imran Hasan Ali and working as the COO of a company known as more..

Aug 12 (ENS) Undeterred by the clashing interests of the US, India and China in the South and East Asian region, Sri Lanka is assiduously wooing these countries to achieve a quantum leap in economic development making up for 30 years of stagnation brought about by an ethnic conflict and a brutal war. While the US is being placated by the implementation of the resolution on Sri Lanka passed by the UNHRC on Oct 1, 2015, the SL govt is doggedly pursuing an ETCA with India, more..

Aug 12 (PMD) The inauguration ceremony of the 19th Annual Scientific Congress of the Sri Lanka College of Paediatricians was held under the patronage of President Maithripala Sirisena at the Galle Face Hotel in Colombo on August 11. The President presented awards for Prof. Asiri Gunawardena, Dr Amit Gupta of the Oxford University Hospital, U.K, and Dr. Srinika Gunawardena to felicitate their significant contribution in diagnosing and providing more..

Aug 12 (DM) Files containing thousands of internal inquiries on police personnel which had been stagnating for years was ordered to be looked into with immediate effect by the IGP Pujith Jayasundara, who ordered that all pending cases be cleared as soon as possible. The IGP had ordered the unit in the police, known as Police Discipline and Conduct Division, to open cases that had been stagnating for a long period of time and to expedite inquiries more..

Aug 12 (DM) Cabinet has approved the use of what's known as the Swiss Challenge Procedure. It is a system adopted by some countries when selecting private sector investors for this purpose. This is a departure from the Govt's assurance to follow the competitive bidding procedure to ensure transparency. Cabinet Paper says that it is a new selection process popular in many countries when selecting private sector investors to engage in development projects when more..

Aug 12 (CG) Speaker Karu Jayasuriya today defended the process followed yesterday to pass the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) Bill. Jayasuriya also slammed the conduct of some joint opposition members in Parliament yesterday. He said that some opposition members behaved in an unruly manner in the Well of the House when the OMP Bill was being discussed. The joint opposition today raised objections to the manner in which the Bill was passed in Parliament. more..

Aug 12 (CG) CHEC Port City Colombo (Pvt) Ltd, the Project Company for the Colombo Port City (CPC), today signed a tripartite agreement between the Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development, the UDA and the Project Company. The agreement formally replaces the previous agreement signed on 16th Sept 2014 between the Govt of SL and the Project Company. New tripartite agreement has been signed more..

Aug 13 (DN) Persistent poverty debilitation has plagued many rural areas of the Eastern Province since the end of the civil conflict just over seven years ago. Due to the war and the poor state of the local economy, many residents had received little schooling or skills training. It is therefore a challenge to many people in the East to secure employment that could help lift them and their families out of financial difficulties. The grinding poverty in and around the Batticaloa District more..

Aug 13 (Island) The Value Added Tax, or VAT as it is commonly known, is certainly not auspicious for this govt. From the day it was mentioned in the Budget, it has faced one obstruction after another, that one feels there is a voodoo on this move to raise govt revenue through taxation. It gets obstructed in parliament, there are people demonstrating against it on the streets, - including traders who will never have to pay the new increased VAT or ever paid the old hat. more..

Aug 13 (DN) The unexpected loss of the yesteryear schoolmate and the colossus, Vijaya Nandasiri, popularly nicknamed as Maname Kumaraya, dramatist and actor who adorned the theatrical world after he made his first appearance as a student in the college-produced Maname stage act, came as a shock and leaves behind an unbridgeable gap in the annals of theatre and drama, in which he played varying roles for well over 45 years. more..

Aug 13 (FT) Memory is a two-edged sword. For those who want to remember, it can be a blessing. For those who want to forget, a burden. Many human entities � as much as humanistic endeavours � have been doomed to remember what they can�t forget, and condemned to forget what they are desperate to remember. Movements that seek to disturb the midnight�s sweet repose with memories from the troubled past are similarly double-edged swords. They might exhume valuable bits of more..

Aug 13 (CT) Of wrongful restraint, Section 330 of the Penal Code of Sri Lanka says, whoever voluntarily obstructs any person so as to prevent that person from proceeding in any direction in which that person has a right to proceed, is said wrongfully to restrain that person. The exception to this Section is that the obstruction of a private way over land or water, which a person in good faith believes himself to have a lawful right to obstruct is not an offence within the meaning of this Section. more..

Aug 13 (CT) UNP MP Harshana Rajakaruna feels that graduates, who protest on the streets claiming to be unemployed, tend to be reticent in seeking employment in the private sector. Cream of the graduates gets employed in the private sector and only the leftovers are taken in by the govt. Calling for reforms in the education sector, he noted that these graduates lacked adequate computer literacy & English skills; more..

Aug 13 (Island) Joint Opposition (JO), having failed to challenge the Office on Missing Persons Bill (OMPB) in the Supreme Court or thwart its passage through protests, is resorting to a face saving exercise. It is trying to pin the blame for its pathetic failure on others. The JO has vowed to dislodge the govt. But, it only floats like a bee and stings like a butterfly! It continues to tickle the govt through votes of no confidence etc instead of posing a formidable threat to its opponents in power. more..

Aug 13 (NS) Noritake Lanka Porcelain (NLPL) unveiled its latest range of fine porcelain, bone china, stoneware and cutlery at the Hilton Colombo. The theme of the evening revolved around the Nil Manel � the blue lotus � which symbolises many of the aspects that are shared by the creed of Noritake, such as Harmonious Co-existence, Mutual prosperity, Social contribution, Trust first and Cooperation with integrity. NLPL is the SL�s pioneer porcelain manufacturer and the largest in SL. more..

Aug 13 (CT) Since independence in 1948, frequent name changes and periodical constitutions have created the fictitious beauty of Sri Lanka. In the island, the poor are getting poorer, the rich are growing richer and the Tamil nation is gradually losing its identity, territory, land, economy, culture, population, etc. These are the achievements of this progressive Sinhala Buddhist country. Donoughmore, Soulbury, Sirimavo � Colvin and J. R. Jayewardene�s constitutions more..

Aug 13 (FT) It was announced in the media that the Ceylon Electricity Board has submitted its revised Long Term Generation Plan and this new document also envisages the establishment of another coal power plant. Even in 2015 the existing coal power plant operated at 54% capacity and when it operates at 80% capacity, it could bring about catastrophic results which could be quantified based on documented scientific literature available in the domain of public knowledge. more..

Aug 13 (FT) Supreme Court refused to grant leave to proceed with the petition challenging the issuance of car permits to MPs. Bench comprising Justices Sisira De Abrew, Priyantha Jayawardane and Nalin Perera refused to grant leave as there is no legal basis to grant leave. A public interest litigation activist filed a Fundamental Rights petition challenging the issuance of car permits to all MPs to import expensive luxury vehicles. more..

Aug 13 (NS) Northern Province Chief Minister C V Vigneswaran has renewed the call for amalgamation of the northern and Eastern Provinces, a move that has been vehemently opposed by many as a first step towards separation. Perhaps, he may have done that as an easy way of gaining some political mileage. Such a call would have been acceptable at least as a political stunt a few decades ago. The situation and the mood of the people in the country have changed quite a lot since then. more..

Aug 13 (CT) A massive suicide bomb attack was carried out by the LTTE on former President Chandrika Kumaratunga when she was descending from the platform after addressing the final rally of the People's Alliance presidential election campaign at the Town Hall Grounds, Colombo on 18 December 1999. The female suicide bomber managed to infiltrate the tight security ring which was put around by her body guards and ignite the powerful bomb she carried on her body. more..

Aug 13 (ABC) In the first days of a new year in Jan, 2009, journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge sat down to write. The corruption-fighting father-of-three had long been violently targeted, and held little doubt that his life would be short. "Is it worth the risk?" editor of The Sunday Leader wrote in an editorial. "Many people tell me it is not." "But there is a calling that is yet above high office, fame, lucre & security. It is the call of conscience." more..

Aug 13 (FT) Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) has collected over Rs.56 million as fines from traders who violated the price control law imposed by the Govt. The CAA conducted more than 12,000 raids against traders who priced goods higher than the controlled price from Jan to 9 August. A sum of Rs 49,965,500 was collected from Traders in Colombo while the figures for Kandy and Kurunegala Districts were Rs. 4,342,000 and Rs. 3,671,000 respectively. Balance was collected from other districts. more..

Aug 13 (FT) Pro Food/Pro Pack & Ag-biz 2016, Sri Lanka�s only comprehensive food, agriculture and packaging exhibition will be held for the 15th consecutive year on 12, 13 and 14 August at the BMICH. The exhibition is organised by the Sri Lanka Food Processors Association together with Presidential Award winning Lanka Exhibition and Conference Services. Event which has witnessed an evolutionary increase over the decade will be held under the theme From the farm to the fork more..

Aug 13 (NS) Approximately 800 former combatants have come forward to allow themselves to be tested by the Govt following allegations of poisoning during rehabilitation. Spokesperson for Crusaders for Democracy, Thulasi said that the recent allegation of former cadres being injected with poisonous substance while being rehabilitated should be probed thoroughly. Crusaders for Democracy is a political outfit more..

Aug 13 (Island) Sri Lanka completed three wins in three matches on the first day of the Asia Under-20 Sevens Series second leg which kicked off in Kings Park, Kowloon in Hong Kong yesterday. Sri Lanka in their first match defeated Chinese Taipei 36 (6-tres, 3-conversions) � 12 (2-tries, 1-conversions) to get their tournament underway in style. It was the vice captain Omalka Gunarathne who opened the scoring like he did in the final of the first leg against South Korea. more..

Aug 13 (DN) Sri Lanka�s Mangala Samarakoon finished last out of 47 competitors in the men�s 50m rifle prone qualification round at the XXX1st Olympic Games here today. Samarakoon, who finished last in the men�s 10m air rifle event earlier this week, was off colour once again. He was nowhere near his brilliant best and surrendered meekly. He scored only a total of 601.8 points with the series scores reading at 98.9, 100.1, 100.4, 100.0, 101.9 and 100.5. more..

Aug 13 (Island) SAITM responding to the Joint Statement of Deans of Medical faculties says it is in their individual capacity and not that of collective opinion of their institutions and insists that "the same recommendation should be enforced and implemented on the Kotalawela Defence Academy who conducts a similar Medical Degree Programme and also to all the other non-state degree awarding institutes in the country". more..

Aug 13 (Island) Commercial Bank of Ceylon has extended its growth momentum into the second quarter of the year to record robust performance indicators for the six months ending 30th June amidst increasing costs of funds and shrinking margins. SL�s benchmark private bank has reported profit before VAT and NBT of Rs 10.391 billion recording a growth of 18.91% for the six month period on Gross Income of Rs 42.935 billion, which reflected an improvement of 18.46% over more..

Aug 13 (EN) Distilleries Corporation of Sri Lanka says it is hopeful of clarity this year over a subsidiary which was nationalised during the ousted Rajapaksa regime, despite it not falling within the criteria set in an expropriation law. Pelwatte was listed in a controversial expropriation law enacted by during the last regime, where its land was taken over despite being in private hands over the time limit set in the statute. However the law controversially banned legal action more..

Aug 13 (WB) Wajira�s early life was bleak and dark, struck by extreme poverty. The 21-year-old and his family come from a rural village in Dambulla in Sri Lanka where they experienced deprivation and constant hunger. With an inborn talent in art, Wajira decided to volunteer in a foundation that had been working in his village for some time. The foundation granted him the opportunity to study ICT. more..

Aug 13 (Hindu) It was the perfect day � after a night of heavy downpour, the hills were a brilliant green and the clouds dipped low to kiss the mountain tops � as we drove from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya. We were on Day 5 of our Sri Lanka trip, where, inundated by rains, we�d had no choice but to eat at the hotels we were staying at. These were invariably dinner and breakfast buffets, which did feature a couple of local dishes, but for the most part boasted of standard Continental fare. more..

Aug 13 (SD) Food shortages brought on by extreme weather events have resulted in almost a quarter of Sri Lanka�s 21 million people becoming malnourished, says a World Food Programme (WFP) document. �The increased frequency of natural disasters such as drought and flash floods further compounds food and nutrition insecurity,� says the document, the latest WFP country brief for SL, released in June. WFP�s most recent Cost of Diet Analysis, almost 6.8 million (33%) more..