Jul 24 (Island) The ongoing court case in respect of Elpitiya PS election may prevent Nagananda Kodituwakku from contesting the 2019 prez election as the registration of political parties was on hold pending the conclusion of the Elpitiya PS election case. The prez election is scheduled to take place between late Nov and early Dec 2019. In accordance with the Parliament Elections Act (No 01 of 1981) only a more..

Jul 24 (TG) Canadian PM Justin Trudeau remembered the thousands of Tamil pepople who lost their lives and the countless others who were displaced during the Black July pogrom of 1983. "Black July was a week of violent riots and horrific destruction that followed decades of unrest and rising tensions in the country. It led to a conflict that lasted 26 years, killing tens of thousands more people and leaving lasting wounds in communities across Sri Lanka," said Justin Trudeau. more..

Jul 24 (CT) While noting that the majority of the UNP expects its Deputy Leader, Minister Sajith Premadasa to be named as the Party's Presidential candidate, Minister Harin Fernando vowed to quit politics if the Party decides otherwise. He was responding to questions posed by journalists during a media briefing held last afternoon. Replying to a query regarding an incident t between Minister Ravi Karunanayake and Premadasa the other day during a Party meeting, Fernando said: more..

Jul 24 (FT) The JO called on President Sirisena to take measures to prevent future imports of medical waste that could lead to potential health concerns and conduct an investigation on people responsible for the incident. Speaking to media, JO MP Bandula Gunawardena said the Govt should take immediate measures to prevent a repetition of incidents of importing waste that could impact the environment and public health. more..

Jul 24 (DM) Minister Kabir Hashim, who is also the Chairman of the UNP, is reported to have taken a swipe at the party hierarchy for planning to form an alliance with the like-minded parties without his knowledge. Mr. Hashim, who is known to be promoting Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa as the presidential candidate, said at UNP parliamentary group meeting that he learned about such an alliance through the media. However, PM responded saying that Mr. Hashim was privy to more..

Jul 24 (AD) To start a SL era, first, the prisoners who were taken in during the LTTE era should be released as appropriate, states Minister Mano Ganesan. Looking back at the history of the country, the time period after the �80s were the JVP era, and then it was the LTTE era until 2009, according to the Minister. Currently, it is the Zahran era, and this too should be ended, he added. However, before that, the prisoners arrested during the LTTE era must be released at some level, he said. more..

Jul 24 (FT) Reports that Gotabaya Rajapaksa�s name does not appear on the US govt�s quarterly list of citizens who have renounced their American citizenship have cast a calculated doubt on the former Defence Secretary�s Presidential ambitions. On 13 May, the US inland revenue agency, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), filed a quarterly publication of individuals who have chosen to expatriate, or give up American citizenship, more..

Jul 24 (FT) Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera yesterday ordered Customs to conduct an investigation into the import of containers containing clinical waste to Sri Lanka, and said he stands ready to take legal action against those responsible. Issuing a statement, Finance Ministry said Samaraweera has ordered Customs Director General P.S.M Charles to conduct an investigation into more than a hundred containers that arrived in the Colombo Port, containing clinical waste. more..

Jul 24 (Island) Spokesman for the Catholic Church Rev. Fr. Jude Krishantha said that the comments made by Prez Sirisena in reference to the remarks made by Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith last Sunday that the govt didn�t have a backbone and it was being dictated by the international community was unwarranted. The Cardinal made those remarks during the first Holy Mass conducted at the St. Sebastian�s Church, Katuwapitiya after renovation following more..

Jul 24 (DN) Speaker of Parliament Karu Jayasuriya responding to calls in the House yesterday personally intervened to quickly prevent a visiting UN official from convening a meeting with the Chief Justice and justices of the High Court concerning specific cases being currently heard by the Court. After first listening to statements in the House by Opposition Leader Rajapaksa and other MPs concerning the proposed meeting more..

Jul 24 (DM) Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith has opened a Pandora�s Box on Sunday by saying that he did not have faith in any of the investigations carried out into the terrorist attacks on Christians on their holiest day, the Easter Sunday which fell on April 21. He expressed this sentiment while delivering his sermon at the re-consecration (re-opening) of Katuwapitiya St. Sebastian�s Church in Negombo which was damaged in the Easter Sunday bomb attack more..

Jul 24 (DM) I write in response to US Ambassador Alaina Teplitz�s comments in the article headlined US wants military cooperation pact with Sri Lanka to tackle red tape published in the Daily Mirror of July 2. In my opinion, the envoy�s comments are an insult to the intelligence of Sri Lankan people owing to the following three reasons. Firstly, the ambassador is reported as saying that with the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), the US has no intention of setting up a base [in Sri Lanka]. more..

Jul 24 (DM) When, in 1956, S W R D Bandaranaike unleashed the power of the saffron robe, he did not realise that he was setting free a cultural force that Ceylon did not know it had within itself, a force that had total control over the generally docile mind of the Sinhalese Buddhist. Whether or not the country was under colonial rule for nearly half a millennium, whether or not the Portuguese, Dutch and the British guns and more..

Jul 24 (ST) JHU leader and Minister Champika Ranawaka, a partner of the ruling coalition, wants its predominant partner, the UNP, to re-think fielding its own candidate at this year�s presidential elections. They may only gain some 2.5 million votes if they field their candidate, he said. This, he said, was in marked contrast to 38 years ago when J.R. Jayewardene won resoundingly with UNP votes alone. more..

Jul 24 (CI) Sri Lanka seamer Nuwan Kulasekara has retired from international cricket with immediate effect. Known for his ability to swing the new ball both ways, the 37-year old exits as SL's third-highest ODI wicket-taker among seamers, behind Chaminda Vaas and Lasith Malinga, with 199 scalps in 184 matches. Kulasekara is also the joint second-highest wicket-taker for Sri Lanka in T20Is, with 66 wickets in 58 matches, behind Malinga on more..

Jul 24 (EN) Cabinet has approved to grant free on-arrival visa for tourists, and have expanded the program from 39 countries to 45 in an attempt to recover faster from the Easter Sunday attack, a statement said. The cabinet had earlier given approval to start the free on-arrival visa on May 01, but the program was halted due to security concerns after the Easter Sunday attack. The state information office said that new countries more..

Jul 24 (Island) Kingsley Senanayake, who had thrice won the award for the best milk farmer of Matale, told PCoI that he was plagued by financial difficulties due to loans taken by him to take part in the govt subsidized scheme to introduce high-yielding imported pregnant cows, in 2017. "We were assured by the Minister P. Harrison and Project Director Sagarika Sumanasekera that the Ministry would ensure that the farmers received more..

Jul 24 (Island) Minister Daya Gamage was accused of doing politics by making use of monies from a fund created by deducting 100 rupees from the Rs 2,000 monthly allowance paid to the low-income senior citizens by his ministry. JVP MP Bimal Ratnayake told Parliament that Rs 100 was deducted from the monthly allowance of citizens over 70 years and whose monthly income was below Rs. 3000 through National Secretariat more..

Jul 24 (FT) Sri Lanka�s economy is expected to rebound in the remaining quarters of 2019, due to policy measures taken by the Govt to restore normalcy and support affected sectors in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday attack, Mid-Year Fiscal Report submitted to Parliament said. The economy has accelerated to 3.7% in the first quarter of 2019, compared to 1.8%recorded in the last quarter of 2018 and the real GDP growth more..

Jul 24 (RN) Gotabaya Rajapaksa is back in the country and his close supporters are confident that come August 11 he will be anointed as the Presidential Candidate of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) at the new party�s first national convention. �We will support the party only if he is the candidate,� Retd. Admiral Sarath Weerasekara said. �If the candidate is someone else we will not support them,� he added. more..

Jul 24 (AD) Senior DIG in charge of CID Ravi Seneviratne has commenced giving evidence before the Special Parliamentary Select Committee a short while ago. The committee assembled this morning at the Parliament premises. Chief of State Intelligence Service DIG Nilantha Jayawardena had testified before the committee earlier today. Senior DIG in charge of the CID Ravi Seneviratne, Director of the CID, Senior SP Shani Abeysekara and more..

Jul 24 (DM) Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera has yesterday vehemently protested against the Cabinet paper presented by Minister Ravi Karunanayake requesting for Rs 364 million from the Treasury to shift the Ministry of Power, Energy and Business Development to another location. On an earlier occasion when this Cabinet paper was presented, the Minister of Finance had raised his objections. more..

Jul 24 (CT) Last week Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy speaking at a seminar in Colombo called for a greater independence of the CBSL. That would require the proposed amendments to the Monetary Law Act (MLA), which would determine an inflation target for the year, known as Flexible Inflation Targeting (FIT) and simultaneously giving CBSL the required tools, space and independence, to make FIT a reality, to be in place. more..

Jul 24 (EN) Sri Lanka unit of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute, a global association of investment professionals, will sign an agreement with the capital markets watchdog to promote governance during a visit by the orgnisation�s global head. Paul Smith, president and chief executive of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute, will visit Sri Lanka to recognize several key community service and public engagement initiatives undertaken by the CFA Society Sri Lanka. more..

Jul 24 (MFA) Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently conducted Consular Awareness Programmes and Integrated Consular Mobile Services (ICMS), under the guidance and presence of Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana, in Trincomalee and Kandy districts, with the aim of educating the general public on the consular services and other kinds of assistance provided by the Ministry. The two ICMS were organized in collaboration with the Trincomalee and Kandy District Secretariats and more..

Jul 24 (AD) Investigations into the two T-56 assault rifles that went missing from the Panadura North police station have been handed over to the CID. SP Ruwan Gunasekara stated this speaking to Ada Derana. Two T-56 assault rifles reportedly went missing from the Panadura North Police Station on the 6th of July. The OIC of the Panadura North Police Station Prabhath Paranavithana was later interdicted over the incident on the National Police Commission�s covering approval. more..

Jul 24 (CT) Attorney General is on the war path with Colombo Chief Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne. Colombo Chief Magistrate�s extensive 40 page order justifying bail being granted to former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and suspended IGP Pujith Jayasundara heaped scorn on Dappula De Livera�s brazen decision to charge the pair with murder, punishable by death over the failure to prevent the Easter Sunday attacks. more..

Jul 24 (EN) Cabinet of ministers this week approved buying cranes for a new state-owned container terminal in Colombo port that will be operated as a joint venture involving Japan and India. Ministry of Ports and Shipping was given approval to buy six ship-to-shore gantry cranes and 18 electric-powered rubber-tired gantry cranes for use in the container yard, the state information office said in a statement. The equipment is for the East Container Terminal (ECT) of the Colombo South Port more..

Jul 24 (AD) Three persons including a medical officer have sustained injuries as a jeep collided with a train at an unprotected level crossing today, Habarana Police said. The accident took place at around 10.30 a.m. this morning at Galkadawala area in Palugaswewa, Habarana. Habarana Pradeshiya Sabha Medical Officer Dr. M.A. Akmeemana and two other health officers had sustained injuries in the accident. The injured persons were admitted to the Habarana Hostpial, more..

Jul 24 (NP) The British Govt has launched an investigation after Sri Lankan authorities said they would send back more than a hundred shipping containers which appeared to contain human remains disguised as recyclable metals. Officials at the port of Colombo made the grisly discovery while investigating a strong smell emanating from 111 containers which have been arriving at the docks over the past 2 years. more..

Jul 24 (FT) With the growth of cross broader international trade, economic liberalisation and relocation of manufacturing facilities to economical location in search of competitive advantages, the concept of Free Zones was born. Free Zones include varieties of Free Trade Zones and Free Economic Zones. Though identified by different names, the concept is similar. Free Zone operates as an exclusive zone, largely insulated from local commercial, customs and exchange control more..

Jul 24 (AP) German prosecutors have charged a suspected member of the Tamil Tigers as an accessory to murder in the 2005 assassination of Sri Lanka�s foreign minister. Federal prosecutors said Wednesday that they filed the indictment against the 40-year-old, who was arrested in January and identified only as Navanithan G. in line with German privacy rules, in a Stuttgart court earlier this month. He is also charged with membership of a foreign terrorist organization. more..

Jul 24 (AD) Two other suspects linked to the attempted attack by �Awa� group on several police officers at Manipay have been arrested today. Security forces in Jaffna stated that the suspects were arrested at Inuvil area in Manipay, Jaffna. They were arrested while hiding inside a house in Chavakachcheri area during a joint raid carried out by the officers of Kopay and Manipay police stations. more..

Jul 24 (NR) SLC says the match day entry tickets for the first ODI between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to be played at the R Premadasa Grounds in Colombo, are sold out. The ODI will also serve as the farewell game of veteran pacer Lasith Malinga�s illustrious career. Malinga earlier this week announced that he will retire from ODI cricket but will be available in the shortest format until the 2020 World Twenty20s. Sri Lanka is due to play three ODIs against the visiting Bangladesh team. more..

Jul 24 (RN) Seemingly ecstatic about a Sajith Premadasa candidacy in the upcoming presidential election, Opposition MP Pavithra Wanniarachchi today said Premadasa would be the weakest opponent SLPP candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa would have to face in the polls. If, as speculated, Premadasa was nominated as the UNP�s candidate, an upbeat Wanniarachchi told journalists at SLPP headquarters this morning, voters would see a sequel to the film Maithripala 2. more..

Jul 24 (Island) SLPP Chairman Prof. G.L. Peiris yesterday said that soon after they formed a new govt no holds barred investigation would be launched into the Easter Sunday attacks. Addressing the media, Prof. Peiris said that the people had no faith in the ongoing investigations. The former law professor said that the process was wholly unsatisfactory. He said that Sri Lanka was nowhere near to ascertaining the truth. more..

Jul 24 (CT) The Govt plans to make the export of the Pacific White Shrimp, also known as the Vannamei shrimp, a US$ 1 billion industry by next year (2020), Fisheries Ministry website, quoting State Fisheries Minister Dilip Wedaarachchi, on 19 July, said. Prawn exports, which, prior to last year (2018) averaged 4,000 metric tons (mts) per annum, were doubled to 8,000 mts last year, he said. Meanwhile, National Aquaculture Development Authority Chairman Nuwan Madawanarachchi, more..

Jul 24 (Island) Some ministers came to parliament and relished meals in the MPs� canteen but did not turn up in the chamber to respond to the questions of the Opposition, Parliament was told yesterday. Only two ministers, Minister Sagala Ratnayake and Minister Eran Wickremaratne were present in the chamber to answer the queries raised by the Opposition during the question time. There were 15 questions listed in the Order Paper by the MPs seeking responses from the ministers. more..

Jul 24 (PTI) Sri Lanka�s head cricket coach Chandika Hathurusinghe has been asked to step down after the ongoing ODI series against Bangladesh. Sources in Sri Lanka Cricket said SLC Secretary Mohan de Silva has written to Hathurusinghe asking him to resign. Hathurusinghe was under pressure to quit after Sri Lanka�s dismal showing in the recent World Cup. The island nation won just three preliminary round games and more..