Aug 22 (EN) French companies are looking for investment opportunities in Si Lanka, Ambassador of France Eric Lavertu said on a visit to the Chinese-built and run Hambantota port on the south coast. Lavertu held talks with officials of the Hambantota Int'l Port Group (HIPG) which operates the port, located close to the main east-west trade route across the Indian Ocean. He discussed investment opportunities for France in Sri Lanka, a statement from HIPG said. more..

Aug 22 (CT) Kadawunu Poronduwa or Broken Promise, a love story, was the first Sinhala film. The film was produced and filmed in India and was first shown on 21 Jan, 1947 at the Kingsley Cinema, Colombo. (Wikipedia). Political leaders too are famous for their broken electoral promises. A standout among broken promises made by the country's political leaders was the promise made by then SLFP/UF leader Sirimavo Bandaranaike canvassing for May 1970 Parliamentary Poll, more..

Aug 22 (AD) Minister Champika Ranawaka says the main responsibility of the succeeding President and the govt is to strengthen state finances. He stated this speaking to the media following an event held in Colombo. Minister said that one of the most major problems in the country is the issue of state finances and that, as a result, the country is closing in on bankruptcy. The main reason behind the risk of bankruptcy is insufficient investing, according to the Minister. more..

Aug 22 (FT) THE REDS ON THE GREEN HAVE TAKEN THE LIE OF THE LAND � and it is a highly-publicised stand, being the largest political rally of late. It�s a red flag planted claiming a space in the electoral pantheon, which is open to a plethora of interpretations. So what does it all mean� and what were these sons of the soil thinking? On the one hand, it is a signal that the once-outcaste JVP is ready to rejoin the ranks of republicanism, having absented itself from Prez polls for 20 years. more..

Aug 22 (AD) Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa stated that he had withdrawn from his US citizenship on the 17th of April and has informed the Department of Immigration and Emigration on the matter. He stated that his passport which identifies him as a dual citizen has been revoked and a new Sri Lankan passport has been issued for him. more..

Aug 22 (RN) There is every sign that the UNP will split into two, whomever they chose as their Prez candidate, Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa has told a SLPP meeting in Battaramulla today. According to a Press release issued by the SLPP, former Prez�s remarks were made at a meeting of the Party Local Govt representatives. He said that a group opposed to the Leadership of the UNP has grown inside the party and such a group cannot function inside the party, release added. more..

Aug 22 (AD) Tourism Minister John Amaratunga says that he believes that the state of emergency, which has been in place in the country since the Easter Sunday terror attacks, will finally be lifted next week. He stated that Sri Lanka is now regarded as a safe destination and that the security forces have repeatedly certified that the country is now safe for tourists. �The only unfortunate thing is still the emergency is continuing because investigations are going on.� more..

Aug 22 (RN) Will a Provincial Election be held in the maelstrom of a Prez election? A 5-judge bench of the Supreme Court will hear oral and written submissions tomorrow, as to whether the PC elections can be held under the former system or needs to be held under new laws. The hearing has been caused by Prez Sirisena asking the Apex Court to rule on the issue as most of the elections to the councils are long overdue. more..

Aug 22 (EN) The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) has launched a directory of female members with qualifications and experience to be corporate directors to promote gender diversity in join company boardrooms. Professional services firms have progressed faster than corporate in achieving gender diversity, said Aruni Rajakarier, chairperson of the CA Sri Lanka Women Empowerment and Leadership Development Committee. more..

Aug 22 (AD) Appointing the Commander of the Army is an internal matter of a country and other parties should not be concerned about the matter, stated JVP MP Sunil Handunnetti. He expressed these views to the media following an event held in Colombo. Meanwhile, the JVP is not planning to hold discussions with other political parties on the Prez election, according to the MP. For the upcoming Prez election, JVP will present a program that would rally the masses, he added. more..

Aug 22 (RN) JHU chief Champika Ranawaka is urging the UNP to resolve its internal issues soon or they would lose the Prez polls. Minister of Megapolis who is also a UNP ally said they should announce the new alliance and the presidential candidate as soon as possible before the �democratic fortress they created gets destroyed.� Ranawaka added that if the UNP fails to make the announcement about the alliance more..

Aug 22 (AD) Another suspect, who had aided and abetted the murder of the chief jailor of Welikada Prison Training School, has been arrested at Hikkaduwa area. The arrestee is said to be the owner of the motorcycle used by the gunmen to shoot the chief jailor. The 25-year-old suspect is a resident of Pannila area in Hikkaduwa. Ambalangoda Police said the suspect would be produced before the Balapitiya Magistrate�s Court today. On the 3rd of Aug, Thilina Thihara, more..

Aug 22 (CI) Dimuth Karunaratne's fourth-innings effort of 122 in Galle was a memorable, matchwinning effort. His knock was instrumental in Sri Lanka chasing down 268 with plenty to spare. In the process, Karunaratne became only the third Sri Lanka opener to score a fourth-innings century, and the fourth Sri Lanka batsman to score one in a win. That he achieved the feat as captain made it even more special. Clearly, no one can dispute the import of that innings. more..

Aug 22 (CI) Dimuth Karunaratne led Sri Lanka's slow but steady progress on a rain-hit first day at the P Sara Oval in Colombo. SL captain blunted the new ball and grew more fluent against the old one, making an unbeaten 49 off 100 balls, on a truncated day that saw only 36.3 overs. This, just three days after he had broken into the top ten in the Test batting rankings. A persistent drizzle had wiped out the entire morning session more..

Aug 22 (DM) A total of 60 Sri Lankan housemaids who had suffered from various harassments at their Kuwait households arrived at the BIA at 6.15a.m, The Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) said. They were brought back to the country by the intervention of the Foreign Employment Bureau and the SL Embassy in Kuwait. �Forty-five housemaids were sheltered at the Suraksha Detention Centre and another 15 maids who were in the custody of Kuwait Police,� more..

Aug 22 (AFP) Sri Lanka will return to Pakistan after a nearly two-year absence for three short-form cricket games later this year, the sports minister said Thursday. "We are not in a position to send the team to Pakistan to play the two Tests, but we will be in Pakistan for about eight days to play the ODIs or the T20 matches," Harin Fernando told reporters in Colombo. No dates were announced, but the minister said the games would be scheduled for later this year. more..

Aug 22 (AFP) Sri Lankans involved in gambling firms will be barred from the nation's cricket governing body as officials bid to eradicate match-fixing scandals that have dogged the sport, govt said. SL cricket has been mired in corruption scandals in recent years, including claims of match fixing ahead of an int'l Test against England last year. Sports Minister Harin Fernando said he was introducing regulations to bring the country more..

Aug 22 (AD) An island-wide census has been launched on the drones present in the country, stated the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The application form for registering drones will be available on the official website of CAA. According to the CAA, this survey will confirm whether registered drone owners are still in the possession of their drones. This survey will allow the new drones to be registered under the Authority and update the information on previously registered drones. more..

Aug 22 (CT) Condemning the statement of the US Ambassador in SL regarding the appointment of Army Commander, Lt General Shavendra Silva, UNF MP, Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, told Parliament the US had no power to order Sri Lanka as to who the Commander of the Army should or should not be. "We have signed the UN Convention that we are a sovereign country. It is true that we are a small country compared to countries such as the US. But that does not make us any less than them. more..

Aug 22 (EN) Alliance Air, a subsidiary of Air India, has expressed interest in flying to the Palaly Airport in northern Jaffna peninsular. "Some Indian Airlines (have expressed interest), one airline is called Alliance Air," Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Air Transport and Economic Regluation Director Rayhan Wanniappa said. He was responding to reporters in Colombo. Alliance Air currently flies to 54 cities within India. more..

Aug 22 (DM) UNP MP Ananda Aluthgamage, who defected from the govt and joined the main opposition, said he and at least a few other MPs in the opposition would back a prez candidate who attends Parliament and maintains a good rapport with all MPs. Mr. Aluthgamage actually referred to Leader of the House Lakshman Kiriella when he made this remark in the House during the oral question session today. �I and others would back a person such as Mr. Kiriella if he enters prez more..

Aug 22 (NR) Govt Medical Officers Forum (GMOF) says the strike launched by the GMOA has been unsuccessful. Secretary of the Forum Dr. Niroshan Premaratne said several doctors have not pledged support to the strike action. Dr. Premaratne condemned the actions of the GMOA claiming the protest was an attempt to achieve their personal political agendas. He charged that the GMOA has not cited any justifiable reasons. The token strike launched by the GMOA based on 8 demands more..

Aug 22 (DM) SL Army acted in keeping with international humanitarian laws and rights during past humanitarian operations, Army Commander Shavendra Silva recalled. �Any army in the world is committed to protect the inalienable rights of the country�s citizens and create a conducive atmosphere for a democratic way of life while being alert to adopt any measures against internal or external threats with determination. more..

Aug 23 (CT) Sri lanka/Ceylon has gone through various betrayals from time immemorial, during the rule of Sinhala/Tamil Kings. Betrayals were essentially due to their own seeking and infighting among the Kings and their subjects. I do not wish to look back at the past prior to 1948, but at the Betrayals, mostly of the Tamils, thereafter. During the rule of Sinhala Kings, killing of fathers, siblings and wives were rather common. A section of the population of Ceylon, the Sinhalese, more..

Aug 23 (CT) Though not all the Muslims are perpetrators of violence it is the violence of the few that stain the image of the many. Besides, the experience of Iliyas is only a temporary phase. It takes time to heal. The Sinhalese and the Muslim have come a long way from the riots of 1915 which was an early attempt of the Muslims to impose their will on the majority. When the Muslims tried to deny the Sinhala-Buddhists their historic right to sound their traditional drums as they passed more..

Aug 23 (TM) Minister Vajira Abeywardena raised many eyebrows in SL after he recently claimed that there was no proper mechanism to monitor non-profit organisations, especially their fund inflow. The question is not about the existence of NGOs or non-profit organisations in the country, but rather the govt�s failure to establish a monitoring mechanism to ensure these organisations work for the development of the country & its citizen. more..

Aug 23 (GV) In the 1970s and 1980s, Sri Lanka witnessed a marked conflict between the State�s enactment of power in relation to the control of public space, and street theatre�s appropriation of it. The proscenium theatre was allowed more freedom from State control, thus highlighting that there was a distinctly threatening quality to the nature of street plays, which were often more spontaneous and open to greater audience-performer interaction. I will argue that at times these performances more..

Aug 23 (CT) Tamil politicians are on an onslaught against Gotabaya Rajapaksa. By doing so, they are only misleading the Tamil people. TELO MP Govindan Karunakaram alleges Gotabaya Rajapaksa is responsible for the deaths of 150,000 Tamils in Mullaivaikkal. Not a single UNHRC report has made such an allegation. Clearly, these allegations are only political and part of a smear campaign without any substance or evidence. Such false allegations are only misleading and more..

Aug 23 (SO) On Aug 18, National People�s Power (NPP) led by the leftist JVP will announce its candidate to face the upcoming Prez election at a rally at the Galle Face Green. Candidate has been chosen from among the 28 political movements which joined hands to form the NPP. According to JVP MP Vjitha Herath, NPP candidate is the only alternative for the people of SL, who have rejected family bandyism & corruption more..

Aug 23 (TM) Gotabaya Rajapaksa was officially nominated the SLPP candidate for the upcoming presidential election last weekend. With this nomination, the entire discussion in the political landscape has completely shifted focused to the upcoming presidential election. Although the UNP is yet to officially announce who it will be nominating as the candidate to contest in the upcoming election, a situation where several party members are self-nominating themselves has arisen. more..

Aug 23 (DM) When the koha calls we know it is avurudu. When certain names are mentioned over and over again, we know elections are around the corner. Yes, Thajudeen, Lasantha and Ekneligoda. Throw in Keith Noyahr and Upali Tennekoon if you like. And of course white vans. The first two were killed. The third disappeared. Keith and Upali were attacked; Keith in fact might well have been killed had it not been for the untiring efforts of the CEO of newspaper house he worked for at the time. more..

Aug 23 (Island) Cassandra was tossing around on her reclining sopawa, where her brain works best, scrabbling around for subjects to vent her venom on, this week. She is sick to her gills of the self-promotion of Sajith P and the turmoil (apparent though not advertised) within the green human elephant party (not all rogue elephants though, it must be acknowledged) and physically and mentally fatigued viewing the budding prez hopeful of Pohottu Party being toted from temple to temple, more..

Aug 23 (Island) President Maithripala Sirisena has decided to refer matters relating to Provincial Councils Elections to the Supreme Court by way of consultative jurisdiction in order to hold the belated Provincial Councils Elections. Before I deal with the three issues raised by the President, it is relevant to recall the legislative history of the Provincial Councils Elections (Amd) Act, No. 17 of 2017 for the benefit of readers of this article. Legislative history of the above Amending Act demonstrates that more..

Aug 23 (FT) Northern Province Governor Dr. Suren Raghavan last week declared that he serves the people to uphold social justice. �I never asked for any post and never contest for it. The time has decided because I serve the people to uphold social justice,� Governor said while participating at the opening ceremony of newly-renovated Myliddy Fishing Harbour constructed at a cost of Rs. 150 million in order to uplift the livelihood of more..

Aug 23 (Island) There are complaints that questions MPs raise in Parliament, more often than not, go unanswered or ministers give yanne koheda malle pol (irrelevant) answers which leave the Opposition and the public none the wiser. Self-righteous leaders of the present dispensation were the bitterest critics of their predecessors, whom they raked over the coals for the criminal waste of public funds and the callous disregard for democracy and the rights of the Opposition. more..

Aug 23 (CT) ICC Chairman Shashank Manohar will meet several parties, including Sports Minister Harin Fernando, SLC Executive Committee and team members of SL and NZ during his 4-day official tour which commences today. This follows an invitation extended by Minister Harin Fernando for him to tour SL after the latter travelled to India to meet him. Minister mentioned that he is hoping to get ICC support to develop the Homagama Cricket Grounds to int'l standards to serve as a venue for more..

Aug 23 (FT) Crucial yet short-term global public relations (PR) and marketing campaign to revive tourism following the Easter Sunday attacks has been abandoned due to bureaucratic concerns, and is being replaced with a multi-country promotion drive. The original emergency recovery promotional campaign, approved by Cabinet with a nearly Rs.1 billion budget, was awarded to JWT as an extended business to the broader more..

Aug 23 (FT) The Cabinet has given approval for the formulation of a national policy on industrial development, as well as to hold public consultations to develop an overarching agriculture policy. It has been identified that disincentives such as inconsistencies in the related policies, inadequacy of the required technology and the infrastructure facilities, the dearth of skilled human resources, excessive energy cost, environmental challenges associated with industries, and shortcomings more..