Jul 18 (Island) Colombo High Court Judge Sampath Abeykoon yesterday, fixed for October 10, the trial against, Mahindananda Aluthgamage, UPFA MP for the Kandy District. He has been indicted with having misappropriated Rs. 27 million, to purchase a home at Kynsey Road, Colombo 8, while he was a cabinet Minister of the former government. The value of the property had exceeded his declared income, during that period. Counsel Kanchana Ratwatte, appeared for the accused, Aluthgamage. more..

Jul 18 (DM) The govt by two gazette notifications has called on vehicle importers to ensure the permissible vehicular exhaust emission limits of every motor vehicle imported or assembled or manufactured locally are adhered to with effect from last Sunday. The extraordinary gazette notifications were issued by the Ministry of Mahaweli Development and Environment and the Ministry of Development Strategies & Int'l Trade more..

Jul 18 (Island) Royal College batsman Pasindu Sooriyabandara top scored with 69 runs and three others including skipper Nipun Dhananjaya contributed with 39 runs each as Sri Lanka Under-19 laboured to post 244 runs after deciding to bat first against their Indian counterparts in the first Youth Test at NCC ground on Tuesday. In reply, the Indian openers Atharwa Taide and Anuj Rawat added 92 runs before the latter was caught behind for a less than a run-a-ball 63 in final over of the day. more..

Jul 18 (Island) Attorney-at-Law, Ganga Dinesh De Silva, a lecturer at the Open University of SL yesterday, filed a petition in the Supreme Court, complaining that the Bill titled, The office for Reparation, was inconsistent with the Constitution of Sri Lanka, and, therefore, needed a two-thirds majority in Parliament or endorsement by people at a referendum to become law. The petition has said the section (2)(6) of the Bill, which purports to transfer executive power to the PM, speaker, more..

Jul 18 (CT) The JO and MP Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera yesterday, demanded that the Govt reveal its true stance on the glyphosate ban. JO Parliamentary Group Leader Dinesh Gunawardena, making a special statement during the Parliamentary sitting, stressed that while the Govt imposes a ban and an official revokes it, subsequently the Ministers go on telling people that the ban is still on. �These actions are jokes. more..

Jul 18 (NR) Former Parliamentarian Venerable Aparakke Punnananda who was arrested has been remanded till the 26th of July on charges of sexually abusing an underage boy. Police said the 9 year old boy has been admitted to the Gampaha General Hospital for a medical examination and treatment. The child's parents had lodged a complaint at the Mirigama Police claiming the former Parliamentarian had sexually abused the boy at a temple in Mirigama on the 14th of June. more..

Jul 18 (DN) The 14th Asian Schools Chess Championship 2018 was concluded at Citrus Hotel, Waskaduwa, on July 14. The event was held at beautiful beach resort with the total participation of 450 players from 15 Asian Nations. Participants from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, India, China, Iran, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Maldives and Sri Lanka competed in under 7,9,11,13,15 and 17 Open & Girls Categories. more..

Jul 18 (Island) Judicial Commissioner Michael Beloff, who heard a case on breach of Code of Conduct against the top brass of SL cricket consisting captain Dinesh Chandimal, Head Coach Chandika Hathurusingha and Manager Asanka Gurusinha has slammed the trio as ringleaders. The ICC had named Beloff as the Judicial Commissioner to determine the sanctions again the SL trio after they pleaded guilty for more..

Jul 18 (DM) As a result of a Tug-O-War taking place between the CEB and the Public Utilities Commission of SL (PUCSL) over the purchase of power from a private power supplier, Ace Power that is based in Embilipitiya, a crisis situation has arisen with regard to the supply of power to the Southern Province. CEB had entered into an agreement with Ace Power on April 5 to obtain power for the next three years. However, the PUCSL had called the award of the tender illegal and more..

Jul 18 (DM) Top professional Dinesh Weerakkody has resigned from the director board of Ceylon Tobacco Company (CTC), with effect from July 15, 2018. Weerakkody was appointed to the CTC board as a Non-Executive Director in July 2014. CTC filing did not indicate any reasons for the resignation. Weerakkody currently serves as Chairman of Hatton National Bank. He also serves on the director boards of a number of listed and unlisted firms and is Chairman of National Human Resource more..

Jul 18 (FT) Leader of the JO in Parliament, MP Dinesh Gunawardena, vehemently opposing the proposed SL-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA), called on the Govt to do away with the current agreement and draft a new FTA which would not damage local markets and industries. �Local industries will face serious consequences as a result of the SL-Singapore Free Trade Agreement. more..

Jul 18 (FT) The Govt has pledged to employ all graduates before the end of 2019 in a four-stage program while preparing a national policy to cover all sectors, State Minister Dr. Harsha de Silva told Parliament. Currently there are 57,000 unemployed graduates as at 31 December 2016 and this number will increase with the graduates of 2017 and 2018 added to it. �Priority will be given to those who graduated before 31 December 2016 when employing the unemployed graduates. more..

Jul 18 (DM) The buildings older than 25 years belonging to the State or private, should have to be demolished if they fail in the Detailed Structural Assessment (DSA) Report, Disaster Management Ministry Secretary N.A. Sisira Kumara said. He said that most buildings were more than 25 years old. �The decision was taken by the ministry following the recent building that collapsed in Colombo,� he said. �If the DSA report on such buildings were negative there are ways to strengthen more..

Jul 18 (CT) Police Officers from the Organized Crimes Prevention Division (OCPD) yesterday, questioned Northern Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran about the comments made by former State Minister Vijayakala Maheswaran, on reviving the now-defunct LTTE, during a speech she made at the Weerasingham Hall in Jaffna on 2 July. Ministers Vajira Abeywardene and Tilak Marapane were also present during the meeting. more..

Jul 18 (SLC) Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) donated medicines worth Rs. 1 million to the Apeksha (Cancer) Hospital in Maharagama this evening. The move was initiated by the Cricket Aid, the Charity Arm of SLC; under the guidance of the Minister of Sports Honorable Faiszer Musthapa. The donation was handed over by the SLC CEO, Mr. Ashley De Silva to Dr. Buddika Kurukulasuriya, the Deputy Director of the Apeksha Hospital. The donation took place, while the members of SL Cricket Team more..

Jul 18 (DM) A JO-led coalition of 70 MPs are due to meet Speaker Karu Jayasuriya this afternoon to request the appointment of MP Dinesh Gunawardane as the Opposition Leader in Parliament. JO MP Dullas Alahapperuma said this was decided at their group meeting which was also attended by 13 MPs of the 16 UPFA MPs who left the govt. �Out of the 92 Opposition MPs, 70 are backing MP Dinesh Gunawardane and we will request the Speaker to appoint him as more..

Jul 18 (Island) In spite of quitting the Geneva-based UNHRC, the US, as an Observer still can co-sponsor resolutions in respect of Sri Lanka or any other country. A spokesperson for the Geneva body comprising 47 countries said so in response to a query by The Island US spearheaded October 2015 resolution that resulted in a spate of punitive measures targeting the military, in addition to security sector reforms. more..

Jul 18 (DM) The govt�s decision to implement Death Penalty on drug related offenders has opened a can of worms, with human rights campaigners here and abroad demanding the withdrawal of the decision. European Union (EU) had on Monday officially communicated its opposition to the move. The main reason for the opposition is the inability of reversing the punishment if it is found later that it had been implemented on a wrong person. Decision had been prompted by a number of seizures of drugs more..

Jul 18 (DM) Meditation: XVII. The list of 18 inmates for execution including pending appeal cases have been submitted to the President. Wele Suda and Susei, accused of continuing business from prisons are included too. The Govt will hang them, or instead, will they work on revitalizing our judiciary and law enforcement mechanisms in keeping with the modern scientific approach? Heroin dealers within civil society members!� - Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera more..

Jul 18 (DM) Following the revelations made by the New York Times as to how China Habour Engineering Company contributed money towards Mahinda Rajapaksa�s 2015 re-election during the presidential campaign, further details have now emerged. This is how Colombo International Container Terminals Limited (CICT) had �donated� to a fund of a different member in the Rajapaksa family in 2012. more..

Jul 18 (DM) The reason the crime rate never decreases in this country is that there are no punishments fitting the crimes. Every man or woman who commits a crime in this country can be assured of �REMAND�!!! FREE BOARD AND LODGING AT THE EXPENSE OF �YAHALPALANA�!!! When the Govt has to spend so much money feeding all these criminals, is it any wonder they don�t have money left for more..

Jul 18 (EN) Sri Lanka's legislators speaking for consumer sovereignty and free trade battled nationalist conspiracy theories and debunked falsehoods repeated Donald Trump style in a surreal drama by opponents, in a debate on a free trade deal with Singapore. Ministers tried to explain complex trade rules and concepts such as wholly obtained products, rules of origin, Mode 4 services trade, in a country where consumer more..

Jul 18 (Roar) With its neon red and green signage lighting up the night, William Grinding Mills in Dehiwala was a familiar landmark down the old Colombo-Galle road. It was one of those buildings that older people in the family would point out when passing by, sharing anecdotes of how their grandparents would get their spices ground from the mill. Going by its word-of-mouth fame, mill was often considered the best of its kind in Colombo more..

Jul 18 (ST) Even as the Govt, in its bid to eradicate the narcotics drug menace, moved ahead with plans to introduce a draft bill giving police powers to the armed forces and to implement the death penalty in specified cases, the quantity of drugs being seized in the country continued to increase throughout this week. On Tuesday, Cabinet approved a proposal to draft a Special Provisions Bill that would empower the armed forces more..

Jul 18 (CT) Minister of Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said that a problem has arisen at the South Eastern Uni as some students, who were punished for ragging, refused to attend lectures. He this remark while responding to a question raised by JO MP Wimal Weerawansa. Weerawansa queried, �A few days ago I saw a video on social media which showed some security officers looking for students calling out their names. more..

Jul 18 (CT) A heated argument broke out between Speaker Karu Jayasuriya and MP Wimal Weerawansa, when the latter alleged that the Speaker was slow in taking action against MP Vijayakala Maheswaran�s controversial statement that the LTTE should come back to ensure freedom of the people in N&E Provinces. Weerawansa raising a Point of Order during yesterday�s Parliamentary sitting queried about the matter. more..

Jul 18 (Island) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe said in Parliament that it was paradoxical to see the MPs of a party who could not punish their own Pradeshiya Sabha Chairmen who raped and killed innocent women on their watch sometimes back, demanding action against underworld members. "When the Pradeshiya Sabha Chairmen of your party were on a spree of raping and killing women you were in the govt but did nothing. more..

Jul 18 (CT) CEB internal sources say that due to the failure to pay a sum of Rs 860 million for the electricity purchased by the CEB, since 5 April, the operations at the Ace Power Embilipitiya 100 Megawatt (MW) private diesel power plant had come to a standstill on 16 July. The CEB Engineers Union (CEBEU) warned that due to this situation there could be several power outages in the Southern part of the country at any moment. more..

Jul 18 (AD) Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has issued a press release to clarify a statement allegedly done by him via a forged document purporting to be a media release. The forged media release had stated that the former President has officially selected the former Defense Secretary to be the next Presidential Candidate in 2020. While refuting the allegation, he stated that he has not yet named the next prez candidate more..

Jul 18 (CT) Sri Lanka in May and last week increased the prices of petrol and diesel by cumulative amounts of Rs 28 and Rs 23 to Rs 145 and Rs 118 a litre, respectively. Last year SL consumed 1,550,948,000 litres of petrol and 2,726,104,000 litres of diesel respectively. Due to those two price hikes, CPC which has an 80% market share will find its income increase by Rs 84,901,548,800, more than double the island�s last year�s Samurdhi bill of Rs 39.7 billion. more..

Jul 18 (FT) �We were a trading nation since the era of ancient kings,� PM Ranil Wickremesinghe reminded Parliament in his Economic Policy Statement last fall. �Sri Lanka was the hub for transferring goods and knowledge from East to West, and West to East.� This was more than a history lesson. PM was setting out ambitious three-year targets to create one million new jobs, increase inward investment, and boost per capita incomes by over 20%. more..

Jul 18 (FT) SL-Malaysia Business Council (SLMBC) recently held an event elucidating the significant need of integrating blockchain in order to develop functions of a financial system. The event included a keynote address by NEM Southeast Asia Region Head Stephen Chia followed by a panel discussion including Stephen Chia, Lanka Clear Ltd. CEO Channa De Silva, Lead Educator of Blockchain Lab India Sudhir Chaudry, Bestinet SdnBhd Business Development Vice President Kushan more..

Jul 18 (EN) Sri Lanka's power generation expanded 9.6% to 3,838 GigaWatt hours in the first quarter of 2018, sharply up from 0.7%, growth a year earlier, official data shows pointing a pick-up in economic activity. SL power generation is usually a reliable guide to economic activity, though gross domestic product estimates themselves may change due to the composition of generation or other factors. Power generation grew only 3.7% in the full year 2017 to 14,671 GWh. more..

Jul 18 (AFP) A Sri Lankan deported by Australia even though his partner had refugee status there was charged upon his return with illegally leaving his home country. Thileepan Gnaneswaran, who was separated from his wife and 11-month-old daughter, arrived in Colombo Tuesday along with another 17 who had also their asylum applications rejected by Australia. "They were taken before a magistrate and released on personal bail," more..

Jul 18 (Xinhua) SL's medical officials will carry out an awareness campaign in tourist hotels along the coastal belt of the island in a bid to stem the spread of HIV and AIDS. Following discussions with officials from the National Sexually Transmitted Diseases/AIDS (NSTD/AIDS) Program, Health Ministry had decided to set up an additional 10 STD/AIDS control program clinics on the outskirts of Colombo, the south, the east, the north central and north western districts. more..

Jul 18 (AD) A close accomplice of Makandure Madush and 3 others have been arrested today at Sihilelthenna in Welipenna. The arrested made at the house of the 38 year old main suspect is a close accomplice named Joseph Kumara, also known as Josa. The other arrested suspects are Lakshan Gunethileke (28), Navod Pramoditha (26) and Amith Prasad (18). The police have also seized a 9 mm pistol, 10 live ammunition, a hired vehicle and 5 g of heroin found on the suspects. more..

Jul 18 (AFP) Sports minister Faiszer Musthapha called on the ICC to establish simple, clear rules Wednesday after skipper Dinesh Chandimal was punished for ball tampering. "Laws governing the offence / act of altering the condition of the ball are somewhat vague and lack clarity," he said in a statement. "I invite the ICC to revisit the applicable laws and ensure that a set of simple, clear and certain more..

Jul 18 (CB) Tabraiz Shamsi has linked up with the South African team in Colombo ahead of the second Test against Sri Lanka that starts Friday (20). The left-arm wrist spinner, who flew home earlier in the week for family reasons, is available for selection in the series decider. "Shamsi's always been a part of the squad," Keshav Maharaj said on Wednesday (18). "Something happened in his family and it was unforeseen, but he's back and he's ready to go," he added. more..

Jul 18 (GDI) State Minister Dilip Wedaarachchi says the plans are afoot to strengthen fish exports to earn an annual income of US$ 1.5 billion and a number of projects are to be launched for this purpose. Minister Wedaarachchi meeting with the representatives of Fish Exporters' Association on Tuesday at the Ministry said swift action will be taken in a short time to resolve the issues faced by the exporters in order to increase export earnings. The meeting focused on resolving the exporters' issues more..