Aug 22 (Island) Police Special Task Force (STF) arrested, on Monday (20) night, eight underworld members, including a prominent heroin dealer while they were hiding in a large house, belonging to the secretary to a senior minister, at Pushpadana Road at Bahirawakanda, Kandy. They were in possession of a pistol, ammunition and several parcels of cannabis at the time of their arrest. The arrested drug dealer is the main supplier of heroin in Kandy. more..

Aug 22 (GDI) Ikazuchi a Naval ship belongs to Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force, arrived at the port of Trincomalee yesterday (21) on a good will visit. She was welcomed in accordance with naval traditions on arrival. Deputy Area Commander of Eastern Naval Command Commodore Nandana Jayarathna was also present on this occasion. Mission Commander of the ship Captain Ryoko Azuma accompanied by the Commanding Officer and other officers paid a courtesy call on Commander Eastern Naval Area, more..

Aug 22 (FT) The PCoI appointed to probe allegations of fraud and misconduct at SriLankan Airlines, SriLankan Catering and Mihin Lanka has notified former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa to present himself before it to record a statement later this month. Similar notices are also to be issued to former Monitoring MP Sajin Vaas Gunarawardena, former SriLankan Chairman Nishantha Wickremasinghe and former SriLankan CEO Kapila Chandrasena, it is learnt. more..

Aug 22 (FT) International Institute of Knowledge Management (TIIKM) is an entity that facilitates the purpose of knowledge transfer by constructing the career of the research fraternity, empowering decision making in the corporate sector and promoting on quality decisions for policy makers through academic conferences. A vision of transforming the Asian research culture to betterment is made possible in TIIKM Conferences by setting novel standards for better people engagement, more..

Aug 22 (DM) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday said the govt�s performance with regard to employment generation is far from being satisfactory. PM said this during a ceremony held at Temple Trees to give letters of appointments to unemployed graduates. �Some 430,000 people have been employed after this govt came to power. If the number of people who began self-employment schemes and those who found employment overseas are added it will come to around 700,000. more..

Aug 22 (EN) Sri Lanka will re-start its search for a new partner for state-run SriLankan Airlines within the next three months through public call for offers, with a new leadership on track to cut losses, a top official said. "The public private partnership unit in the Treasury will request expressions of interest sometime in September or October and we feel as of now we will be in negotiations with one or two interested parties by the first quarter of 2019," more..

Aug 22 (DN) The Public Health Inspectors (PHIs) Union of Sri Lanka has informed Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne that there are 107 towns in Sri Lanka which do not sell cigarettes, a Health Ministry spokesman said. According to the spokesman, the Union launched several programmes to educate the public on the ill effects of smoking and as a result shop owners and businessmen from many towns stopped selling cigarettes. There are 22 towns in the Jaffna district, 17 towns in the Matara district, more..

Aug 22 (CT) UNP backbencher, MP Chaminda Wijesiri, said that the UNP is distressed over President Sirisena not appointing its MPs as Monitoring MPs to Ministries. Therefore, he would raise a matter of privilege against President Sirisena�s alleged political favouritism, to the SLFP MPs, at the next Parliament sittings scheduled to commenced on 23 August, he stressed. Elaborating further, Wijesiri alleged, �It was revealed in Parliament that SLFP National List MP Malith Jayathilaka has more..

Aug 22 (FT) In a progressive move, President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday rejected the controversial Cabinet paper imposing an age limit on drivers of passenger three-wheelers, highly-placed Cabinet sources confirmed. The much discussed Cabinet paper presented by Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva proposed to impose an eligibility age criteria for driving three-wheelers for passenger transport. more..

Aug 22 (DM) Minister Wijayadasa Rajapakshe had a startling story to tell the country last week about ragging of newcomers by senior students of Universities. According to him, for the past two years, nearly 2000 students who entered universities had left them due to inhuman ragging by the senior students. We have heard about brutal ragging incidents in universities and other higher education institutions and stories about students leaving universities but nobody expected more..

Aug 22 (DM) A media expose about a celebrated war hero who now makes ends meet by selling fish at the Matale Junction has struck a chord in the public conscience. Amurtha Hastha Navaratna Abeykone Mudiyanselage Sagara Nuwan Bandara, formerly of the Commando regiment once became the public face of military valour when he was photographed in full military gear during a military offensive in the East. Those images and many other impromptu shoots of random and often more..

Aug 22 (DM) Parakrama Jayasinghe, a Senior Chartered Mechanical Engineer with many decades of service in public and Private sector institutions, in an interview contested the argument by the Engineers Union of the CEB� that coal is the most viable and cheap energy source to Sri Lanka. Jayasinghe is also the past President of the Bio Energy Association of SL. Q: CEB claims that coal is still the cheapest source of power. more..

Aug 22 (DM) The JO urged President Maithripala Sirisena to immediately convene the committee of experts appointed to study the SL-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA). President had in August appointed a committee of experts to study the SL-Singapore FTA and submit a report in two months. MP Bandula Gunawardena said the 5-member committee headed by Professor W.D. Lakshman had not met yet. more..

Aug 22 (Island) Controversial SL Ambassador to Russia, Udayanga Weeratunga recommended a company, Sri Lanka Limited, to be appointed as General Sales Agent for the national carrier in Russia, it was revealed before the PCoI on irregularities at SriLankan Airlines yesterday. Writing to the SriLankan country manager in Russia in 2011, Weeratunga had said that Sri Lanka Limited could help the country build more..

Aug 22 (LBO) Sri Lanka�fs overall rate of inflation as measured by the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI),on year on year is 3.4% in July 2018 compared to 2.5% in June 2018, Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) said. Y on Y inflation of food group has increased from 0.5% in June 2018 to 2.4% in July 2018 and that of non�-food group has also increased from 4.2% to 4.3% during this month. more..

Aug 22 (PMD) Leading university professors, academics and others participated in the National Sustainability Discourse initiated by Presidential Expert Committee for Sustainable Development. Those who spoke at the Discourse held at the Uni of Colombo on Aug 20 included Vice Chancellor of the Uni of Colombo Prof. Lakshman Dissanayake, Prof. Mohan Munasinghe, Chairman of the Presidential Expert Committee for more..

Aug 22 (EN) State-run SriLankan Airlines' top management had paid excessive commissions flouting operating rules and had appointed sales agents by-passing competitive procurement, without advertising in some cases, a commission of inquiry was told. Under ex-Chairman Nishantha Wickremsinghe, then-CEO Kapila Chandrasena had approved commissions as high as 6% for some agents, when a ceiling of 3% had been set, more..

Aug 22 (ST) Passengers travelling from Colombo and disembarking in Dubai will not be subjected to automatic arrest if they consume alcohol on flights, a senior official of the Emirates� airline said. The assurance came after international human rights groups raised issue over the arrest of a Swedish born British resident and her detention in Dubai along with her four-year-old daughter over charges that she had a glass of wine on more..

Aug 22 (CT) The Committee for Protecting the Rights of Prisoners demanded that an urgent CID probe be launched into the 20 August clash within the Welikada Prison premises, which they claim was an assault on female detainees by the Prison authorities. According to the Chairman of the Committee, Attorney-at-Law Senaka Perera, the recent transfer of inmates from Welikada to Prisons in Kuruwita, Kalutara and Dumbara, more..

Aug 22 (Island) The GMOA, alleged that Chandani Wijewardana, Secretary to the Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade had called for a stakeholder meeting on formulating the Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) with India on Aug 24. "According to the National Trade Policy she has no power to call for such a meeting. This is something arbitrary. We must also see whether she is conversant with more..

Aug 22 (AFP) Sri Lanka will soon resume executions after a 42-year moratorium but will send home five Pakistanis sentenced to death for drug smuggling for execution in their home country, President Sirisena said. The five are among 18 people, including a woman, on death row for drug offences whose execution will go ahead, according to Sirisena. He did not give a date for the first hanging. �I am determined to carry out more..

Aug 23 (CT) There are some lovely words that have been bandied about in political circles over the past couple of decades. Peace is one. There was also conflict-resolution. Reconciliation has displaced both these of late. Those who are focused on constitutional reform, in particular those who are hell bent on devolution, like to use the word �united� (as in, �maximum devolution in a united SL�). Now unity (like peace and reconciliation) cannot be legislated. The �United Nations� for example more..

Aug 23 (CT) The newly elected Pakistani PM, the flamboyant, albeit a bit controversial Cambridge educated, cricketing icon, former Playboy who was married three times (like President Trump) before finding conservatism, Imran Khan ran on a platform of anti-corruption in a land torn by war. Pakistan is being torn between radical Islamic extremist forces and moderates as a spill out from the terrible war in Afghanistan. Pakistan�s military plays a very active role in its political realm. more..

Aug 23 (SO) Last Sunday, Minister Wijithamuni Soysa visited the fishing village of Nayaru in the Mullaitivu District, in a bid to end a continuous protest by fishermen in the area demanding an end to dynamite fishing and other unsustainable methods by fishermen holding permits from other parts of the island. Minister vowed to cancel all such permits that authorised fishing methods that would adversely impact fish stocks and breeding, more..

Aug 23 (DN) Labbaika! Allahumma Labbaika, La Sharikalaka! Innal Hamda Wan Ne�mata Lak Wal Mulk La Sharieka Lak (I stand up for Thy service, O Allah I stand up! There is no partner with Thee! I stand up! Verily Thine is the praise, the blessing and the kingdom! There is no partner with Thee). This is how the pilgrims glorify the creator, Allahusubhanawathala when approaching the Holy Ka�aba for the first time in their life, at this Almighty Allah remarks to the Angels: more..

Aug 23 (DN) The recent spate of strikes staged by the Railway workers, doctors and private bus operators has drawn heavy criticism from the general public and has also raised doubts as to whether these striking parties were in fact fighting for their rights or if these strikes were politically motivated. The recent Railway strike left commuters stranded by evening, unable to return to their homes as the strike was sudden. However, despite Railway trade unions� demands and more..

Aug 23 (CT) UPFA Kalutara District MP Rohitha Abeygunawardena says that the country doesn�t need a tamed Opposition and that Mahinda Rajapaksa should be the Leader of the Opposition. Q: When you look at the political journey of the Flower Bud, what is apparent is that there is a power struggle of whether it will be Gotabaya Rajapaksa or Basil Rajapaksa who will contest for the Presidency? Who will become the Opposition Leader - more..

Aug 23 (CT) The recent news of the bombing of a school bus in Yemen by Saudi Arabian aircraft shocked the world. How could humans commit such inhuman acts? Unfortunately, such brutality is not uncommon. The first I heard about the incident was in the form of an item which said: �Worst terrorist atrocity ever. Saudis kill 20 children by targeting a school bus�. Later information indicate that 54 people were killed, 44 of whom were children travelling on a rare school outing. more..

Aug 23 (CT) At last PM Ranil Wickremesinghe has spoken � and spoken the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Going by what he had to say recently about ethnic reconciliation, Time, and not the nation�s political leadership(s), is the best healer. Rather, left to themselves, and without political interference and int'l inferences, people themselves would do it for the Govt and their community leaderships, too. �Many Sinhalese from the South are increasingly visiting the North, more..

Aug 23 (Island) Ancient kings lived for this land. They built huge tanks and ensured self-sufficiency in food production, among other things, so much so that their tireless efforts earned the country the sobriquet, the Granary of East. The modern-day rulers of all political stripes have, over the years, turned the country into �the Begging Bowl of the East�. Now, we learn that if the yahapalana worthies� on-going efforts to implement a free trade agreement with Singapore more..

Aug 23 (Island) For the South Asian watcher of inter-state politics, developments in the region could not have been more engrossing. While the competition for influence in South Asia is generally perceived to be on the increase between India and China, with the US looking not to be upstaged in this �geopolitical� tussle, the current visit by the Japanese Defence Minister to Sri Lanka should prove to be a matter of added interest from the regional power politics viewpoint. more..

Aug 23 (AP) His coach had a heart attack and couldn't travel. He had to take three school exams in an embassy under close scrutiny of two govt officials flown in to Jakarta to supervise. And after all that, in the event where he was contending for an Asian Games medal, a teammate dived too early and Sri Lanka was disqualified from the heats in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay on Wednesday morning. more..

Aug 23 (Island) It is 30 years since the loss of our most magnificent RAJA, the Maligawa Tusker. On July 18th 1988, the whole country mourned the death of Raja. Raja was very special, loved by all citizens of this country and famous even internationally. He became the image of our heritage for the good reason that he performed the noble duty of carrying the sacred relics of the Buddha, in one of the most colourful religious pageant in the world. more..

Aug 23 (EN) Sri Lanka will impose a moratorium on filling up wetlands in and around the capital Colombo and designate them as protected areas, following recommendation made by an expert committee, the state information office said. The cabinet had approved proposal by President Maithripala Sirisena as the Minister of Environment to issue regulations banning the filling up wetlands and name protected areas. The Director of Wildlife will be asked to designate Kimblula Ela more..

Aug 23 (EN) The Sri Lankan govt is to start a passenger boat service on canals in the capital Colombo with navy help before attracting private investment into the initiative to make use of inland waterways. The Cabinet of ministers this week considered a proposal Minister Champika Ranawaka on the two-year project. It aims to provide a boat service linking the Fort area with Union Place through the Beira Lake, more..

Aug 23 (CT) Colombo edged out Kandy in a dramatic Super Over, after both sides were tied in their second encounter of the SLC T20 League played at R. Premadasa yesterday. Kandy chasing a massive target of 189, finished on 188 for 7 thanks to a late cameo from all-rounder Chamika Karunaratne who made 12 off 5 balls in the final over. Kandy needed 14 runs in the last over bowled by Lahiru Madushanka and Karunaratne brought them closer to winning with a couple of more..

Aug 23 (Island) Sri Lanka is now becoming a junk vehicle or second hand vehicle yard and such vehicles are sometimes not suitable for the country because these vehicles are being discarded due to various defects, chairman DIMO motor company Ranjith Pandithage said. "It is a damn disgrace for SL people to use discarded second hand vehicles, which have been discarded by another country, when brand new vehicles are available in the SL market at an affordable price, Pandithage more..

Aug 23 (DN) Debutant Sri Lankan baseball team opened their campaign in style when they beat Laos 15-10 in the ongoing Asian Games in Jakarta yesterday. This is the very first international competition the Sri Lanka national baseball team was taking part in. Coincidentally their opponents Laos too were making their debut at the Asian Games. Sri Lanka ranked seventh in Asia and a world rank of 47 will take on Thailand today. more..

Aug 23 (CT) Sri Lanka men�s 4x100m free-style relay team�s medal hopes came to another disappointing end as they were disqualified from the event at the Asian Games 2018 yesterday. Sri Lanka had high hopes in the event as Lankan authorities even conducted the Advanced Level Exam for one of the team members - Akalanka Peiris - in Indonesia, but once again they failed to properly finish the race just like in the Commonwealth Games after they qualified for the finals. more..