Jul 31 (EN) Sri Lanka is looking to counter the problem where farmers cannot get a guaranteed price due to higher moisture content in paddy (rough rice) coming from mechanical harvesters, State Minister for Public Distribution and Economic Affairs Harsha de Silva said. Amid labuor shortages Sri Lankan farmers are increasingly relying on mechanical cutters and combine harvesters generally known as boothaya (devil) or tsunami in the farming community. more..

Jul 31 (FT) Tightening its hold on members the SLFP said their members cannot attend the SLPP Convention on 11 August where their presidential candidate is expected to be announced without prior approval and backed the selection of a prez candidate that does not hail from a single party insisting they are holding out for a national candidate. General Secretary MP Dayasiri Jayasekara said the party will take tough action against any member more..

Jul 31 (FT) A top UN official urged SL to step up promotion and advocacy post-Easter Sunday setback, saying it was everyone�s responsibility to tell the world it was a safe, environmentally-conscious, fantastic and gorgeous island that is a must-visit destination. Speaking at the launch of Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts� Bring A Friend Home promotion, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Rep. Hanaa Singer stressed that tourism was a vital contributor for economic growth. more..

Jul 31 (FT) Assuring the Govt will do its utmost for a quicker revival, Minister John Amaratunga hailed the proactive promotional campaign by Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts to boost tourism post-Easter Sunday setback. �At the moment we are bouncing back to normalcy, whereas other countries that faced similar incidents took years to revive,� he told the audience at the launch of Cinnamon�s Bring A Friend Home campaign. �We have been able to bounce back within three months, more..

Jul 31 (Island) UNP MP Wijeyadasa Rajapakse, said that Attorney General�s Dept owed an explanation as to why it had sat on hardcore National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ) member Zahran Hashim�s file for nearly two years. Nearly 270 perished in seven separate suicide blasts, and another 500 were wounded with Colombo Shangri-La targeted by two persons, including Zahran. Former Justice Minister said that more..

Jul 31 (ICC) Cricket needs the ICC World Test Championship. Context is essential, to play for points as well as pride. We have a World Championship in other formats and I think it's important to bring that over into Test cricket. Otherwise, it just becomes bilateral series after bilateral series. Once you bring in that concept, there will be enough competitive structure in the five-day game to make fans excited and keep them gripped over a number of years. more..

Jul 31 (FT) Marking yet another innovative initiative to boost tourism, Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts yesterday unveiled the Bring A Friend Home promotion, coinciding with World Friendship Day. Key objective of this campaign is to communicate a sense of urgency to visit Sri Lanka and create user-generated content, to spread the message that the country is now safe to visit. The campaign is set to expedite the tourism arrivals to the country, and is part of Cinnamon�s contribution more..

Jul 31 (DM) Former minister Duminda Dissanayake made a statement to PCoI on corruption in current administration with regard to the renting out of the D.P.A. Jayasinghe building by his Ministry in 2017. At the proceedings it was revealed that the former minister had wanted considerable changes made to his office on the 9th floor compelling the ministry to extend by four months the time given to furnish and carpet the building. more..

Jul 31 (Island) Police headquarters has directed the CID to investigate a complaint against State Counsel Malik Azeez of AG�s Dept. The complaint was filed by General Secretary of the Sinhala Ravaya organization Ven. Magalkande Sudatta Thera at the Police Headquarters on Monday. The Thera has called for the arrest of the counsel. While giving evidence before the PSC, State Counsel admitted that he had received a file NTJ leader leader Zahran Hashim, in June 2017 more..

Jul 31 (FT) Supreme Court decided to postpone until 3 Sept the hearing of Fundamental Rights petitions filed against two top govt officials over their failure to prevent the Easter Sunday attacks. 12 Fundamental Rights petitions have been filed in the apex court against former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and IGP Pujith Jayasundera, who has been sent on compulsory leave, over the failure to prevent the attacks despite having beforehand intelligence warnings in this regard. more..

Jul 31 (FT) The CIABOC is set to present new legislation to address loopholes in existing laws, to help fight bribery and corruption. The proposed legislation, now with the Legal Draftsman, is at its final stage, with plans to be presented before the Sectoral Oversight Committee Legal Affairs (anti-corruption) and Media on 9 August. The draft will then be sent to the Cabinet for approval before being tabled in Parliament, more..

Jul 31 (Island) Former Minister Duminda Dissanayake said the decision of the Ministry of Agriculture to rent the D.P. Jayasinghe building at Rs. 21. million a month had been based on recommendations made by the Cabine including PM Ranil Wickremesinghe and relevant officials. He said it had not been an arbitrary decision he had taken. Dissanayake told media that he told the CID unit attached to the PCoI that relevant officials had also approved the decision. more..

Jul 31 (CT) The Cabinet Paper, seeking approval for the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Agreement, had not received approval, as President Sirisena had reportedly informed Cabinet that he needs more time to peruse it, informed sources said. Prez had stated that he had already summoned the necessary parties involved in the MCC Agreement, to further discuss the issue tomorrow, and he had told the Cabinet that his decision on it will be announced, after studying it at length. more..

Jul 31 (DN) A certificate of renunciation that purported to show that former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa was conclusively rid of the US citizenship that could prevent him from contesting the presidency in SL was proven to be a fake yesterday within hours of being widely circulated on social media and messaging apps. Former Defence Secretary himself indicated to media that he actually has US citizenship renunciation in his more..

Jul 31 (DM) It is said that the govt is planning to enlarge the Cabinet again from the current 30 to 48 and increase the number of non-Cabinet ministers to 45, on the basis of the ruling UNP having formed a National Govt. SLPP Chairman Prof. G.L Peiris said on Monday that Leader of the House Lakshman Kiriella had listed a resolution in the Order Paper of the Parliament for today. One would recall that this is not the first time the govt has been attempting to increase the number of ministers more..

Jul 31 (DM) The sun seems to be shining on the SL voters after a long period of uncertainty. There was a time when it looked like that no political party was interested in elections and the country would drag on like a ship without a destination. But with political parties burning midnight oil and working on finding their next presidential candidates, the initiative to find the country�s next leader has begun. However for the elections to be held the president of the country has to obtain more..

Jul 31 (DM) Mahinda Rajapaksa is an extraordinary individual. His passion for power seems to have overrun all plausible limits; his determination to cling on to something that is very tangible that comes in the guise of sheer power saw to it that his political journey never came to an unforeseen halt. After entering Parliament in 1970 at a very tender age, thanks mainly to the Blue Wave under Sirimavo Bandaranaike, MR�s first term in more..

Jul 31 (ST) A committee comprising around ten Secretaries to Ministries has been appointed to monitor the implementation of 42 mega projects which have shown less than 25 percent cumulative physical progress last year, authoritative sources said. The high-level group is headed by Treasury Secretary R. H.S. Samaratunga and meets every week. It was appointed last month by the PM�s office to address bottlenecks, more..

Jul 31 (RN) Hayleys is arguing that the company never imported waste into the country and therefore did not violate any law when a Writ petition with regard to the import of hundreds of containers of garbage came before the Court of Appeal yesterday. The court fixed yesterday July 31 to decide on issuing notices to the respondents and the granting of interim relief. Romesh de Silva PC appearing for Hayleys PLC told court that more..

Jul 31 (CT) The public, civil society organisations and Northern Political parties were up in arms over reducing the speed limit of trains plying the Northern line and say it is a ploy to attract commuters to take the bus. It has been found that many of the buses are owned by a high ranking politician and that it was in this light the Govt was attempting to inconvenience commuters. They opine that this is an attempt to attract train more..

Jul 31 (FT) SLPP yesterday extended an open invitation to the SLFP to participate in its maiden national convention on 11 August and back their presidential candidate to be announced at the event. Speaking to media at the SLPP head office, MP Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said several key SLFP members and one UNP member will participate at the convention to show their support for the SLPP presidential candidate. more..

Jul 31 (JDS) International rights watchdogs have intensified their campaign urging authorities to unconditionally release a Sri Lankan award winning author detained for more than 100 days for writing a short story. Amnesty International identified Shakthika Sathkumara as a prisoner of conscience on his 120th day of detention, joining several organisations that have been calling for the writer�s release. more..

Jul 31 (PMD) President Maithripala Sirisena emphasizes that the Religious leaders should take the lead in mending the hearts of the people that were broken in the tragic incident of April 21st. President also said that politicians should fulfill their national responsibility in this regard leaving aside their narrow political agendas. President made these observations addressing the National Conference on Peace, Unity and more..

Jul 31 (AD) The Court of Appeal today issued an interim order preventing the containers allegedly containing imported garbage, which are currently placed at the Colombo Port and Katunayake Free Trade Zone, from being transported towards the interior of the country. The interim order was issued when the petition filed by Centre for Environmental Justice was taken up today before Appeals Court judge bench more..

Jul 31 (AD) Commander of SL Army Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake has commenced giving evidence before the PSC probing the terror attacks on Easter Sunday. This is the second time he is being summoned before the panel. Earlier, he gave evidence before the PSC on June 26. In addition, former Defence Secretary Kapila Vaidyaratne is also slated to testify before the committee today. more..

Jul 31 (AD) Archbishop of Colombo, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, says that he will not meet any Presidential Candidates if the reports Easter Sunday terror attacks are not handed over. Cardinal Ranjith said that more than 3 months have passed since the terrorist attacks which shocked the entire nation and impacted the economy. He stated that the victims and the people affected by these suicide bombings are still suffering and that more..

Jul 31 (FT) Currently Sri Lanka appears to be moving towards a failed state status like that of Afghanistan, Somalia and South Sudan. This article discusses why this has happened and gives an indication of what has to be done to avoid such a situation and move towards prosperity. What is a failed state? �It is a country whose government has failed to carry out its basic responsibilities such as providing good governance, security and public services such as education and health. more..

Jul 31 (FT) It is the historical experience of all revolutionary movements to generate counter-revolutionary action. Revolution and counter revolution go hand in hand. Vested interests threatened by revolution initiate counter revolution. The latter gang up in unimaginable ways. One of the well-known ways that the threatened operate is by sneaking into the enemy camp and enlisting to their aid the recalcitrant leaders therein-those individuals who are waiting and hungry for quick power, more..

Jul 31 (AD) An airman on duty in front of the official residence of the Switzerland Ambassador in Colombo has committed suicide by shooting himself. SL Air Force airman was on security duty in front of the Swiss Ambassador�s residence located on Thurston Road in Colombo 03. He had suddenly taken his own life by shooting himself to death using his service weapon, sources said. The reason behind the suicide is yet to be ascertained while police are conducting further investigations. more..

Jul 31 (RN) Teachers Association of the Faculty of Music (TAFM) in Uni of the Visual and Performing Arts (UVPA) says that the current Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the university senior Prof Sarath Chandrajeewa is corrupt. RepublicNext reached Prof. Chandrajeewa for comment but he was unwilling to speak to the Media. President of TAFM Nishoka Sandaruwan said that ever since Prof. Chandrajeewa became the VC in 2017 there have been a series of corruption allegations more..

Jul 31 (PMD) Measures should be taken to strengthen State Banks but not to privatize them, President Maithripala Sirisena emphasized. He said it is his continued policy. President made these comments at a ceremony to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the Bank of Ceylon (BOC) held at BMICH today (30). Bank of Ceylon, a pioneer in delivering an unparalleled service to its customers spearheads to transform itself into more..

Jul 31 (AD) A suspect has been arrested for aiding and abetting the shooting incident at Jambugasmulla, Kohuwala, in which one person was killed while another was injured. SP Ruwan Gunasekara said the suspect was taken into custody in Nugegoda area by the officers of Western Province (South) crimes division. The 39-year-old suspect is said to be a resident of Gangodawila area in Nugegoda. Further interrogations into the suspect have led the police to find two face coverings more..

Jul 31 (Island) The country which should have been a commercial or naval hub in the region now had become a garbage and narcotic hub owing to lack of sound national policies, Minister Champika Ranawaka said recently. Speaking at a ceremony in Salawa, Panagoda to declare open a new market complex in place of the former market damaged by the Salawa Army armoury explosion, he said: "Sri Lanka�s geographical location has been known to be unique from time immemorial and more..

Jul 31 (AD) The Ministry of Finance has alerted the general public of a fraudulent scheme that has exploited the ministry�s letterhead to send letters to the applicants of Enterprise Sri Lanka Loan Scheme. The Finance Ministry stated that the letters sent by the scammers have demanded the applicants to pay a certain percentage of the total amount expected from the loan as a basic advance in order to release the loan in full. more..

Jul 31 (EN) Sri Lanka is expecting to draw 1.9 million to 2.0 million tourists in 2019, helped by lower prices and tightened security after Easter Sunday bombings, down from 2.3 million last year a top official said. Chairman of Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau Kishu Gomes, said security has been tightened and tourism authorities are co-coordinating closely with the security authorities and intelligence. Gomes said Sri Lanka is expecting 117,000 tourists to arrive in country in July. more..

Jul 31 (Island) Members of a certain student union sexually harassed first year students, Dharshana Udayanga, a student of Ruhuna University said. He said; "A group of students that belonged to a union forcibly entered my hostel room at night. They lifted me up, took me outside the room, stripped me naked and subjected me to inhumane sexual harassment. After this incident I fell sick. I left the hostel and stayed with my friends. I was admitted to Gampaha Hospital because I got sick." more..

Jul 31 (AP) Shocks from deadly suicide bombings on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka are reverberating throughout its economy in the worst crisis since the South Asian island nation's civil war ended in 2009. The blasts that killed more than 250 people were blamed on Islamic extremists. They have devastated Sri Lanka's vital tourism industry, source of jobs for many, and are hindering foreign investment. more..

Jul 31 (DM) Science Faculty of the Ruhuna University has been closed from today until further notice as a result of a group of students threatening the Dean, university office said. A senior official said that all hostellers at the Wellamadama complex had been asked to leave the premises before 6 pm today. University�s Vice-Chancellor Senior Professor Sujeewa Amarasena said a group of students had threatened the Dean of the Science Faculty after an unannounced raid was carried out more..

Jul 31 (DM) A soldier attached to the Anuradhapura 212 Brigade Headquarters had allegedly shot himself with his weapon, A'pura police said. They said the soldier sustained serious head injuries due to the gunfire when he was on duty. The 28-year-old victim, a resident of Digana area in Ehetuwewa, Galgamuwa was identified as Ekanayaka Mudiyanselage Dinesh Priyantha. The other soldiers who came to the incident site had admitted the victim to the A'pura teaching hospital. more..