Sep 23 (ST) Urban Development Authority (UDA) is to form a subsidiary to manage venues under its purview, to boost its income, said a senior official. UDA Chairman Jagath Munasinghe said that, under the existing Act, they are empowered to form a subsidiary to operate under the approval of UDA Board. �The main purpose is to increase revenue through income generation projects,� he said. �Attracting more tourists, providing venues for international events and having promotions to more..

Sep 23 (ST) Sri Lankans have been inspired to think of alternatives to destructive polythene and a few ideas have so far emerged to challenge the machinations of industrialists bent on producing unwanted carrier bags by the millions of pieces. Housewives and academics have shown the public, locally made substitutes for lunch sheets and shopping bags. The University of Kelaniya has crafted a lightweight fabric bag that it says can hold five kilograms. more..

Sep 23 (ST) Ethanol imports for the manufacture of hard liquor doubled from 10.4 million bulk litres in 2013 to 20.4 million bulk litres in 2015 after the new Govt took over, statistics show. The high levels were maintained in 2016 when 18.4 million bulk litres were legally imported. In the first six months of this year alone, nine million bulk litres were brought in for the liquor industry. The largest quantity to be imported in a single month more..

Sep 23 (ITN) Investigations with respect to the Habeas corpus petition filed with respect to the abduction of five students in Dehiwala have been completed. This petition mentioning that these students had been abducted from the Kotahena and Maradana areas in the year 2008 had been filed by their parents. Inquiries with regard to this Habeas corpus petition were completed today. The Attorney General�s Department filed the related written submissions. more..

Sep 23 (GDI) The price of Squid which is imported from China being used as baits for fishing has been increasing for the last couple of months. Even though the Fisher community has made a request from the Ministry of Fisheries to take measures to reduce the price, it was found futile due to the fact that the imported baits gets the benefit of tax concessions. Minister Mahinda Amaraweera has issued directives to the officials to take steps to render necessary facilities more..

Sep 23 (CT) National Olympic Committee (NOC) is not responsible for the contingents' performances when representing Sri Lanka in the international arena. Chief of the NOC made this remark when CT queried about track and field and about sending only a few athletes for the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Ashgabat. This time only six track and field athletes were included in the SL contingent more..

Sep 23 (CT) Minister Lakshman Kiriella asserted, in Parliament yesterday, that the extension of the Colombo Marine Drive would not affect S. Thomas' College Mount Lavinia. Minister was responding to a question raised by UNP MP S. M. Marikkar. "We will utilize new technology and save the S. Thomas' College grounds when constructing the Marine Drive," the Minister said. He further noted that the decision to extend the Marine Drive, from Dehiwala to Panadura, would be made after more..

Sep 23 (CT) Around 2,400 new oral cancer patients are recorded each year in Sri Lanka with majority of the cases related to the chewing of betel leaf (bulath wita) with arecanut, tobacco and slaked lime, Institute of Oral Health Maharagama, Dr. Hemantha Amarasinghe said. "Three people die everyday from oral cancer in Sri Lanka. Chewing betel falls under the category of smokeless tobacco which includes tobacco products that are often chewed, like babul. That is why the govt decided to ban more..

Sep 23 (ST) A Panama village fisherman explained how he saw one of Britain�s top financial journalists waving his hand in distress before being attacked by a crocodile and drowned in a lagoon. Sadanandan, 65, told the police that he was in his fishing hut when he suddenly heard a cry and looked towards the lagoon. �I shouted to alert the other fishermen and rushed to the location, by that time the tourist had disappeared,� more..

Sep 23 (DN) SL-China Buddhist Friendship Association (SLCBFA) took part in the 5th South Asia-China Friendship Forum held in Chengdu, China from Sept 13-15. The forum brought together all prominent friendship organisations of China, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Maldives was organised by the Chinese People's Association For Friendship with the Foreign Countries and Organization for South Asia Regional Friendship (CPAFFC) and Cooperation with more..

Sep 23 (DM) The one who came into cricket administration from a new world had got so sick of his job he submitted his resignation some time ago. But the authorities above him was just sitting on his letter of resignation making no response either way.� Meanwhile, reports say, that the palace had sent for him to hear from the horse�s mouth the real cause for the popular game that once rose to a glorious height to fall into an abysmal depth today. The one from the New World more..

Sep 23 (BDN) PM Ranil Wickrmesinghe said on Friday that refugees coming to a country like Sri Lanka, far away from their native Myanmar, evoke suspicions of an organised immigration racket. �A citizen of another country can enter Sri Lanka by following the immigration procedures,� he said replying to a query at govt parliamentary group's meeting. �Rohingya refugees of Myanmar can easily seek more..

Sep 24 (SO) How a nation is built and thrives depends on the will of its people and the degree of social unity and co-operation desired by them and exercised by them. It is the strength of this social unity that defines the contours of the political structure and system of governance. There is no room for mere wishful thinking by anyone in this process, no room for fantasies of greatness or exclusivity. A country�s political structure must reflect the demographic realities of our society more..

Sep 24 (CT) Local govt in the South Asian region has a long history. In Sri Lanka the ancient kings used the Gamsabha or Village Councils as the basic unit of administration to provide for the comfort, convenience and well-being of the community. In India the Panchayat system is similar and has now been formalized and included in the governance system through a constitutional amendment. Essentially the village elders looked after the dwellers, settled minor disputes more..

Sep 24 (SO) SL�s 45-year-old National Identity Card (NIC) is on its way to extinction. The new biometric supported e-NIC which is mooted as a means for credible, hassle free proof of the citizen�s identity is currently on a steady path to becoming a reality, Director e-NIC Project Janaka Amarasinghe said. �Dept of Registrar of Persons has plans to introduce the e-NIC for a total of 16 million citizens who are 15 yrs & above, more..

Sep 24 (Island) Thought provoking article written by a retired senior public servant with int'l experience, Mr. Elmo de Silva, exhorting the country not to forget the hardship the people experienced during the period of rigid import and exchange controls during the United Front Govt of PM Sirima Bandaranaike between 1970 and 1977 had prompted an equally thoughtful response from Dr. Janaka Ratnasiri, a frequent correspondent to the newspapers, published in Friday�s issue of The Island. more..

Sep 24 (SL) Proposals for constitutional changes in SL arose around 8 years after Independence with the strident cry for Sinhala-Only gaining momentum. Soulbury Constitution � the first constitution � held the SL people together but was not good enough for racial extremists. This was the commencement of Going down the Pallang or the Gadarene Slope, as Western Classicists would have it. All that led to a 30-year civil war, the consequences of which are too well known and need no repetition. more..

Sep 24 (CT) The position of Secretary to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has always been a coveted one in independent Sri Lanka. It was once held by eminent members of the now defunct Ceylon Civil Service (CCS) when the Ministry was known as Defence and External Affairs (DEA) until 1977. The first Secretary of the DEA in independent Sri Lanka, was Sir Kanthiah Vaithianathan KBE CCS, a member of the Senate and more..

Sep 24 (ST) President Maithripala Sirisena addressing the UN General Assembly (UNGA), spoke of Sri Lanka being a good UN member-state abiding by its treaties and obligations. And yet, while in the city all week, neither he nor his Govt signed the Nuclear Treaty that the country voted for. The signature book was open all week at the UN headquarters in New York, but Sri Lanka�s apparent volte-face (being one of the 122 countries that voted for it) remains unexplained up to date. more..

Sep 24 (ST) My dear Chathurika, I thought of writing to you when I heard that you had written a book about your father. I am told it is called Janaadhipathi thaaththa or Father who is President. Well, congratulations, but all these years we didn�t know that we had a budding Dickens or Martin Wickramasinghe in our midst! Already, some people doubt whether you really wrote that book because you were not known for your literary talents until now. more..

Sep 24 (SO) General Assembly is one of the six main organs of the UN, the only one in which all Member States have equal representation: one nation, one vote. All 193 Member States of the UN are represented in this unique forum to discuss and work together on a wide array of international issues covered by the UN Charter, such as development, peace and security, international law, etc. In September, all the Members meet in the General Assembly Hall in New York for the UNGA. more..

Sep 24 (Island) The scenes in Parliament on Wednesday last week made Parliamentary history. Never before have we seen anything like the horse trading that went on at the last moment to get the amendments to the PC Elections Bill passed. When the SLMC and the ACMC wanted the proportion of provincial councilors elected on the proportional representation system increased to 50% from the 40% that had been decided on earlier, govt agreed in order to get 2/3 majority needed to pass more..

Sep 24 (CT) The success of the UN depends upon the independent strength of its members. To overcome the perils of the present, and to achieve the promise of the future, we must begin with the wisdom of the past. Our success depends on a coalition of strong and independent nations that embrace their sovereignty, to promote security, prosperity and peace, for themselves and for the world. more..

Sep 24 (Island) Veteran spinner Rangana Herath expects a competitive series when Sri Lanka meet Pakistan, which will be between two evenly balanced sides. The Sri Lankan team flies to UAE today on a 40-day tour in which they will play two Tests, five ODIs and three T-20 Internationals. The first Test gets underway on Thursday in Abu Dhabi. "Obviously in rankings, they are sixth and we are seventh. The Indian series was very hurting and the confidence levels were down. more..

Sep 24 (Island) Last week, the All Blacks gave the Springboks a real hiding, thrashing them 52-0. It�s not as if the All Blacks were ranked number-one in the world and the Springboks are much lower in the ladder. South Africans are the world�s third-ranked team and the result Eden Park in Auckland showed you that there is a vast gap between world�s number-one ranked team and the third. SL�s cricket coach Nic Pothas the other day had compared the Indian cricket team to the All Blacks. more..

Sep 24 (ST) After an exhausting several months of cricket at home, SL will leave for UAE today in a state of flux and disarray. Team has little idea of what its best side is or even how to combat the opposition, Pakistan, which is now a formidable team in their adopted home, even without the retired Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq. Following a particularly poor season across all formats, SL team is searching for answers more..

Sep 24 (Island) Sri Lanka defeated Chinese Taipei 26-24 in their third and final group stage match of the second-leg of Asia Rugby Seven Series which kicked off in the Namdong Asiad Stadium in Korea yesterday. SL started off with a try from their dynamic centre Danushka Ranjan who scored near the corner flag and place kicker Tharinda Ratwatte could not make the conversion. Jason Dissanayake was the other scorer for Sri Lanka in the first half as he scored a fine individual try more..

Sep 24 (CT) Long jumper Janaka Prasad Wimalasiri produced a stunning leap of 7.83m under difficult conditions to beat National Champion Dhanuka Liyanapathirana in a thrilling competition at the 43rd National Sports Festival continued at Matara. Wimalasiri who came under the wing of Cuban Coach Luis Mirando, produced his personal best leap in his last attempt to seal the Gold medal, while Dhanuka (7.49m) finished second. Dhanuskha Sandaruwan finished third with 7.37m, more..

Sep 24 (SO) Capitalising on the recent poor performances of the national cricket team in the recent cricket series against Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and India, it is noted with regret that several parties are cashing in on the opportunity to seek entry into the administration of SLC by going on air and in the print media venturing and proposing numerous ideologies, in slandering the present administration of Thilanga more..

Sep 24 (SL) A group of SLFP MPs are to meet President Sirisena individually over the next few days and sit as independent MPs. Deputy Minister and SLFP member Duleep Wijesekera said that he and a few other SLFP members are to meet the President individually as opposed to one group. Earlier, at least 20 SLFP members of the govt were to split but now it is understood that only a few will cross. Among the SLFP MPs set to meet the Prez over the next few days are Nimal Lanza more..

Sep 24 (SO) Having been presented with his honorary life membership of Surrey CCC, Kumar Sangakkara took to the stage to deliver a rousing speech that will live long in the memory of all present on the evening. Here it is in full: First of all, with the honorary life membership; I think someone has read my mind. About three days ago I thinking about whether I should ask for the chance to be a fee paying member at Surrey. When I received honorary life membership at the MCC more..

Sep 24 (CT) After Arjun Aloysius's daring escape last week, it was the former CB Governor Arjuna Mahendran's turn to take the witness box to give evidence before the PCoI into the issuance of Treasury Bonds. And that's exactly what happened this week which saw several previously surfaced matters arising once again, following the conclusion of Perpetual Treasuries Ltd CEO Kasun Palisena's evidence. more..

Sep 24 (ST) All SL banks bar one are capital resilient, according to Central Bank (CB) officials. Unnamed bank with assets less than Rs. 200 billion has some tedious tasks ahead in meeting the Basel III minimum capital requirements by 1 Jan 2019, they say, declining to divulge the name of the entity. This bank has less than 1% of market share and the CB is expecting a final report on its financials by October to gauge the position in terms of capital in relation to its risk-weighted assets. more..

Sep 24 (ITN) PM Ranil Wickremasinghe opened the Five Star Hotel, Amari in Galle. Amari Hotel is managed by Onyx Hospitality Group based in Thailand. They have branches in Bangkok, Pattaya, China, Doha, Maldives and Dhaka. The hotel has 172 rooms with modern facilities. It will provide many direct and indirect employment opportunities to the youth. Chairman of Onyx Hospitality Group Douglas Martell said that they would implement such projects in the future as well for the development of more..

Sep 24 (ST) Sri Lanka�s five largest State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) � Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), Water Board, Airport and Aviation Services Ltd and the SL Ports Authority are to undergo management restructuring soon, official sources disclosed. Comprehensive strategy for SOE reforms and a more rules-based approach to financial management is now being developed more..

Sep 24 (Island) Dhammika Perera, owning slightly over 50% of Hayleys conglomerate, will be taking up a personal stake in Singer SL of which Hayleys took control earlier this month by acquiring approx. 61.73% from its Dutch holding company. In a mandatory offer document published last week and due to reach Singer shareholders later this week, Hayleys together with its subsidiaries, Volanka and Carbotels, offered the same Rs. 47 per share price to all other shareholders looking to sell. more..

Sep 24 (DM) President Maithripala Sirisena, who is in New York to attend the UN General Assembly, toured Niagara Falls on Friday, Niagara Gazette reported. �Before returning home, he made a stop in Niagara Falls to take in the natural wonder, according to Destination Niagara USA,� it said. The DoubleTree by Hilton downtown hosted President Sirisena�s stay and he was also given a VIP tour of the Niagara Falls State Park including a ride on the Maid of the Mist, news agency added. more..

Sep 24 (CI) ICC has confirmed its Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) has opened an investigation in Sri Lanka, less than 48 hours after 40 top cricketers petitioned Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) to launch an inquiry into corruption allegations. On Friday, SLC confirmed it had received a letter signed by national players, including captains Dinesh Chandimal and Upul Tharanga, urging the board to probe the baseless allegations the players claim were more..

Sep 24 (SO) SriLankan Airlines has entered into a partnership with Booking.com, the world�s largest accommodation website, providing airline passengers the convenience of booking accommodation online along with their flight tickets on the SriLankan Airlines website from 18th Sept. As an introductory offer, members of SriLankan Airlines� Frequent Flyer Program, FlySmiLes, who book their accommodation on Booking.com will be awarded double miles for a two-month period. more..