Aug 17 (Island) The SLFP threw its weight behind Development Strategies and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrema, now under heavy fire over SL-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA) finalized in January this year. SLFP Vice President and party spokesman Mahinda Samarasinghe strongly denied Samarawickrema having done anything underhand to facilitate the SLSFTA. more..

Aug 17 (CT) A high standard of golf is expected at the RCGC Open Golf tournament that will be played at the Ridgeways course on 28 August. This is because Sri Lanka�s best professional and amateurs will get down to the course to vie for honours that offers attractive cash prizes. Professional golfers like Mithun Perera, Anura Rohana, Thangarajah and Kumara would have just returned after competing at the Asian Games in Jakarta: Thus they will be in good form for this Open tournament more..

Aug 17 (EN) Sri Lanka has proposed higher carbon taxes for older cars, generally owned by less affluent people and older citizens, while lower taxes are proposed for newer cars which are usually owned by richer people in a classic socialist-interventionist move. The Finance Ministry has proposed taxes of 0.50 cents per cubic centimeter for vehicles less than 5 years old, 1.00 rupee per cc for cars between 5 to 10 years old and 1.00 rupee for cars over 10 years. more..

Aug 17 (EN) Sri Lanka has scrapped an annual 1.5 million rupee license fee from vehicle importers but a fee will be charged from each vehicle cleared as it is cleared from customs, in changes proposed to the country's Finance Act. The Motor Vehicle Importers License Fee, introduced in 2015 as part of a series of arbitrary and retrospective taxes that clouded the business environment and helped more..

Aug 17 (DN) Sri Lanka Cricket announced the appointment of Vinothen John, Priyantha Udayaratne, Nalinda Ilangakoon and Gajaba Pitigala as managers of the four teams competing in the upcoming SLC T20 league. Accordingly, Vinothen John, who represented Sri Lanka in both ODIs and Test matches will manage the Dambulla Team. He was a former national selector and was also the chairman of the women�s cricket selection panel. The Kandy team will be managed by more..

Aug 17 (CT) Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) has finally removed the Minimum Room Rate imposed on city hotels, allowing operators to decide their own selling prices, after reports that the island has come to be known as an expensive destination. Visiting tourists have complained that the country was too expensive, and that they did not get their money�s worth, due to poor quality service and standards. Recently, SLTDA Chairman Kavan Ratnayaka announced that more..

Aug 17 (EN) Anuradhapura city was at the centre of Indian Ocean trade, when there was no Singapore or Dubai, PM Ranil Wickremesinghe said, revealing plans to set up an Institute of History to study ancient Sri Lanka. Anuradhapura City was built on a civilization that sprang up upon the Malwathu Oya Valley the origins of which is still unknown, with evidence already emerging of Sri Lanka's human settlements dating back more..

Aug 17 (Island) SriLankan Airlines officials had not done an evaluation of share value before it bought back 40 mn of SriLankan Catering shares, at Rs. 100 reach, at a cost of Rs. 4 billion, the PCoI on irregularities at SriLankan Airlines, SriLankan Catering and Mihin Lanka was told yesterday. Nalaka Sanjeewa, Manager-Finance at SriLankan catering told the PCoI that the initially the company had one million shares and that had increased to 100 million in Sept 2009. more..

Aug 17 (CT) Buddhist monks in the Uva Wellassa area will meet Chief Prelates of all Nikayas and inform them about the alleged land grab in the Badulla, Moneragala and Ampara Districts, where thousands of hectares are to be given to a US-based multinational company to cultivate sugarcane. Secretary of the Bibile Sasanarakshaka Bala Mandalaya, Ven. Dodammulle Soratha Thera said the monks would notify the prelates of the massive destruction that will take place in the area if more..

Aug 17 (Island) Foreign Ministry has refrained from responding to a query whether it would brief the Human Rights Commission of SL as regards wartime British High Commission dispatches that cleared the SL military of alleged massacre of 40,000 civilians on the Vanni east front. Sri Lanka brought the war to a successful conclusion in May 2009. The Island recently sought clarification in this regard from C.A.H.M. Wijeratne, more..

Aug 17 (Island) Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva yesterday said that under no circumstances would the increased traffic fines be revised. De Silva said Cabinet approval had been obtained for enhancing fines. He said traffic fines had been increased after 2005, considering the new developments and trends. The Minister said there were protests, demanding the withdrawal of the revision of traffic fines, but the govt would not give in to pressure. more..

Aug 17 (GDI) SL has obtained a record income of US$202.5 million from cinnamon exports in 2017, according to the National Cinnamon Research and Training Center under Dept of Export Agriculture. It is an increase of 30% compared to the previous year. SL has been named as a high-quality cinnamon producer in the world. That's why there is a high demand for SL cinnamon in the world market, Cinnamon Research Center says. In 2017 Sri Lanka exported 32% of global cinnamon exports more..

Aug 17 (DN) Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva stated that the new fines aimed at reducing road accidents will not be changed or removed under any circumstances. Minister de Silva said that the traffic fines were amended after 13 years, along with the introduction of several new categories of traffic offences. Even though the new fines were effective from January this year, several bus unions are opposing them only now. more..

Aug 17 (NR) Minister of Justice and Prison Reforms Thalatha Athukorala says a prisons police has been set up instead of the prisons intelligence unit. Minister said steps will be taken to ensure the special police unit has legitimate and legal powers. Minister said the Intelligence Unit was established in 2010 adding however even after 8 years they had no legal authority. Minister stressed no one held responsibility for their duties and the raids carried out by the Intelligence Unit more..

Aug 17 (MFA) During the Second Meeting of the Sri Lanka-Oman Bilateral Consultations, held on Wednesday in Colombo at senior officials� level, an agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion between Sri Lanka and Oman was signed by the leaders of the respective delegations. The Sri Lanka delegation to the Bilateral Consultations was led by Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Prasad Kariyawasam and the delegation of Oman was headed by more..

Aug 17 (Island) Yahapalanaya bond scams from Feb 2015 to June 2016 inflicted staggering losses on the country, economy and people of SL, and irreparably damaged the country�s reputation. People have watched with helplessness, the biggest-ever scam committed in SL, unfold before their very eyes. The people have endured in dismay, the determined cover-up being carried out by a group of ultra-corrupt politicians, officials & more..

Aug 18 (CT) Economics is not an easy discipline. As a friend recently pointed out, take out the references to real world examples and all you are left with are hard to remember, harder to apply equations. Sure, that�s a given in any profession, but it�s particularly infuriating in economics owing to the fact that this is, after all, a field that has real world implications. Foggy, obscure, sometimes obscurantist, as a discipline it has been subjected to myths and falsities more..

Aug 18 (CT) I refer to the Front Page headlined news Report in the Daily Mirror of 13th August that the Govt is to pay a Transport Allowance of Rs. 200,000 per month to 55 MPs, both from the Govt and the Opposition, to facilitate monitoring Implementation of Govt Projects and activities. This amounts to an aggregate amount of Rs. 11 million per month. Relative to the National Revenue of the country, this payment may be a pittance. But relative to the earned salaries of a middle class more..

Aug 18 (DM) Minister Sarath Fonseka shares his views on politics and responds to allegations about harbouring underworld criminals. Q: How do you view the current political situation? A; The political situation continues without any major event. Govt will continue to operate. The Opposition is also weak although they try to make a hue and cry, criticizing the Govt. They have their own skeletons in the cupboard. more..

Aug 18 (GV) On August 13, 20 female inmates climbed onto the roof of Welikada Prison and began a protest. There were various reasons attributed to the prisoner�s motivations, many of which are outlined in this video from Ada Derana � one, more stringent regulations on food brought in from outside. In the past, the police have claimed that this is a commonly used method to smuggle in narcotics at Welikada. The 2017 Prisons Headquarters report tabled in Parliament revealed that over 2000 kg of narcotics more..

Aug 18 (CT) Almost a decade after the end of the war, there is still a segment of Sri Lankan society that has continued to remain in the dark. For them, even as the fighting has ceased, the suffering and trauma remains unchanged. �When I am alone having lost my children and my family, I sometimes get the feeling why I should be living. On one side, I am sad about losing my family. On the other side, I�m longing for assistance.� - Woman from Kilinochchi who lost her family. more..

Aug 18 (Roar) Sharmila* (name changed) is 71 years old. Lined, weatherbeaten and bent under the weight of the bag on her back, she has been plucking tea for as long as she can remember. But she will not be retiring anytime soon. �I will only be eligible for pension when I am 85, so I will have to keep plucking tea for the next 13 years,� she says. �After that, I will try to find some small jobs on the estate to keep myself going.� more..

Aug 18 (DM) It was reported that President Sirisena�s proposal to implement the death penalty to drug traffickers, put to the Cabinet of Ministers last week was received with almost unanimous applause by the ministers. The sole exception was FMinister Mangala Samaraweera, who openly stated he was principally opposed to the death penalty. The death penalty can be considered as a pre-meditated and cold-blooded killing of a human being by the State, in the name of justice. more..

Aug 18 (DM) As human beings, our humanity is often measured by our care for others, and how we respond to a crisis such as a war, a major internal conflict or a lesser issue like a road tragedy, a fire in a building or a robbery involving our neighbour. Do we often run away from such a crisis or do we run into it in a bid to rescue or help others in some way. To the extent we get involved in helping others in a crisis and act like the Good Samaritan; to that extent will our humanity be measured. more..

Aug 18 (Island) The CID has questioned former President Rajapaksa on the abduction of the then Associate Editor of The Nation newspaper Keith Noyahr, in May 2008. That incident should have been probed and punishment meted out to the perpetrators a long time ago. Strangely, the present govt, too, failed to do so in spite of its platform rhetoric. It suddenly wakes up to the delays in probes into the attacks on the media only when it gets into hot water, on the political front. more..

Aug 18 (Island) Regional Integration is a controversial subject amongst Sri Lankans who seem to dislike big brother India perhaps because of the history of repeated South Indian invasions we faced in the past. But the world has changed and South India today is very much integrated with the omnibus State of India. South India cannot take unilateral actions to invade Sri Lanka as in the past unless the whole State of India decides to do so. The regional states of India are very much under more..

Aug 18 (Roar) On July 8, in the most recent instance of a growing number of drug hauls, the police confiscated a cache of heroin worth over 1.2 billion rupees during a raid conducted in Kalubowila and Battaramulla. This is reportedly the largest stock of heroin seized by the authorities on Sri Lankan soil. Earlier this year, in April, the Sri Lanka Navy and the Police Narcotics Bureau seized over 100 kg of heroin aboard a vessel off the southern coast that was bound for Sri Lanka. more..

Aug 18 (CT) Urban Councillor Somadasa Gammanpila has qualified to participate at the 2018 World Masters Athletics Championship in Malaga, Spain. Gammanpila is attached to the Colombo University, in addition to being a Member of the Maharagama Urban Council. He keeps fit at the age of 69-years by training regularly and is seen in action in events connected with athletics. He is the first known Sri Lankan Municipal Councillor to take part in the World Masters Athletic Championship. more..

Aug 18 (DN) Sri Lanka Cricket launched their T20 League and finalized the 84 players for the tournament at a special media conference held at Jaic Hilton yesterday. Of significant note was the exclusion of experienced T20 players like Chamara Kapugedara, Seekkuge Prasanna, Dilshan Munaweera, Sachithra Senanayake, Milinda Siriwardene and Nuwan Kulasekara. Meanwhile Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera and Suranga Lakmal have been appointed to lead Colombo, Kandy, Dambulla and more..

Aug 18 (Island) There was a big party at the Yahapalana Medura, �Home of the Disunited Coalition at Maga Petalunu Mawatha. Everyone was happy at this Third Anniversary of the Coalition of So-called Good Governance. Cabinet Ministers, State and Deputy Ministers and MPs � elected or pushed crookedly into parliament after poll defeat, were comparing the profits gained since August 2015. Commissions was the unmentioned word of the event. The word used was Success. more..

Aug 18 (Island) Amendments to the Inland Revenue Act, the rupee deprecation, global economic uncertainty and the economic slow down have affected investor sentiment at the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), stock market sources said. Amendments to the Act that propose a Rs. 1.5 million annual charge on listed companies, 250,000 on other companies, 30,000 per private company, while introducing the Debt Repayment Levy from the previous budget along with other internal and external factors created more..

Aug 18 (DM) Having successfully wrapped a three decades� run, Sri Lanka�s foremost apparel training body is to expand to the South Asian region next. Meanwhile, for Sri Lanka to sustain its apparel advantage over the longer term, it needs to think beyond its low cost of labour. �I am pleased to inform that SL Institute of Textile and Apparel (SLITA) under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce is planning to expand,� said Minister Rishad Bathiudeen, addressing the apparel industry graduation ceremony more..

Aug 18 (FT) Despite treading a difficult path the Govt still managed to reach significant achievements in governance, macroeconomic stabilisation, debt reduction and development, PM Ranil Wickremesinghe said, recapping key measures adopted by the Govt on its third anniversary. Speaking at a ceremony in Ratnapura to handover land titles, PM was upbeat of Govt�s achievements, describing the journey since Aug 2015 as one that allowed the nation to breath with freedom. more..

Aug 18 (FT) The Central Bank yesterday noted that the Banking Act does not prohibit granting loans to directors or their family but such a transaction is required to comply with additional prudential requirements given the potential conflict of interest. The monetary authority released the clarification following reports of a director of a State bank being given a large loan by the same bank. The full statement of the Central Bank is given below: more..

Aug 18 (Island) SriLankan Airlines has introduced a series of measures to mitigate inconvenience to its valued passengers from the closure of Cochin International Airport due to flooding. On Thursday Cochin Airport authorities announced that they were extending the airport�s closure until 26th Aug. Accordingly SriLankan is offering passengers booked to travel from Cochin to Colombo and onward destinations, the option of departing from Trivandrum or any other destination in South India served by SriLankan, more..

Aug 18 (DM) Former president Mahinda Rajapaksa today claimed that the govt was using journalist Keith Noyahr�s abduction and assault to achieve its political ends and described it as yet another case of political revenge. He told the media who had gathered outside his residence that five CID detectives had questioned him for about three hours in connection with this incident. �The CID must have been instigated by govt leaders to record my statement. more..

Aug 18 (FT) East West Properties PLC notified the Colombo Stock Exchange that the purchase of Weligala Hotel Properties has been delayed due to the Employers Provident Fund (EPF) not completing the valuation of their shares. In March, East West announced it had signed a letter of intent with HPL Hotels and Resorts Ltd., Singapore, to sell a 72% stake in Weligama Hotel Properties Ltd. �Further, to our previous announcements with regard to the above subject, the directors of East West Properties PLC wish to inform more..

Aug 18 (DM) Sri Lanka was unanimously accepted as a Member of the Conference on Interactions and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) on 15 Aug, by its 26 Member States. At a ceremony held in Beijing on 15 August, Ambassador of SL to China, Dr. Karunasena Kodithuwakku signed the Declaration of Principles Guiding Relations among the CICA Members States and the Almaty Act, the two mandatory documents that a new Member State is required to sign to obtain full membership. more..

Aug 18 (DN) A pilot project is to be launched tomorrow within the Northern range of the Western Province which will mobilise all law enforcement agencies in a fully fledged crackdown on narcotics. The project aims to decrease narcotic usage by 40% within the next three months. The project will be launched with the opening of three dedicated drug reporting Hotlines functioning directly under the purview of the DI in more..