Sep 11 (DN) Sri Lanka put up a close fight with football heavyweights Peoples� Republic of Korea before going down by one goal to nil in a 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers campaign played at the Racecourse International Stadium in yesterday. Both teams played a very competitive game throughout but the contest but the Lankan players left a lot of gaps which the visitors capitalized on. The visitors used the spaces well by their defensive passes. However the first half ended scoreless. more..

Sep 11 (PMD) The Speaker of Saudi Arabia�s Shoura Council (Parliament), Dr. Abdullah Al- Asheikh said effective steps would be taken to establish a strong cooperation between Saudi Arabia and SL parliaments. He said this when he called on President Sirisena at the Prez�s Office today (10). Prez thanked the Saudi Speaker for long-term assistance provided to development activities in SL through the Saudi Fund. more..

Sep 11 (Island) HNB PLC, has announced a new partnership with Toyota Lanka, to launch a unique co-branded credit card packed with a host of special benefits to reward their sizeable base of mutual customers. All of HNB�s Toyota co-branded cardholders will gain lifetime annual fee waiver based on a monthly spend of more than Rs.25,000 or Rs.300,000 annually. In addition, cardholders will also be eligible for a 10% discount on all genuine Toyota spare parts and motor oils in services more..

Sep 11 (EN) SL�s constitutional crisis last year demonstrated the people�s commitment to democracy and bolstered investor confidence, said Ruwindhu Peiris, managing director of Stax a US-based global strategy consulting firm. �I see the 2018 fiasco as a phenomenal celebration � it put us to the test,� he said. �It has given investors confidence on the strength of democracy in SL.� Peiris said SL holds tremendous potential despite political uncertainty generated by the crisis. more..

Sep 11 (CI) Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has denied Niroshan Dickwella a no-objection certificate (NOC) to play in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), and will also prevent Thisara Perera from playing in the majority of the T20 league, after the two players - and eight others - refused to tour Pakistan in Sept and Oct. According to SLC CEO Ashley de Silva, it is the board's policy that if there is a national tour for which a player might more..

Sep 11 (DN) SL interest rates are one of the highest in the world and steps should be taken to lower them. This in turn would help to create more business opportunities, said Dilshan Wirasekara, CEO, First Capital Holdings Plc at the Oxford Business Group organized How can SL enhance competitiveness in the age of disruption? round table discussion event in Colombo yesterday. �Without lowering interest rates govt cannot blame business community for not reinvesting.� more..

Sep 11 (DN) Creating history in the Jaffna peninsula, British Council launched a new Digital Wall at the Library of the Uni of Jaffna, Thirunelveli on Sept 2. Chief Librarian of the Uni, Arulanantham warmly welcomed Gill Caldicott, Country Director British Council and the team together with the Competent Authority Emeritus Prof. Kathirkamanathan Kandasamy. Other distinguished invitees attending the event included Deans of the Faculties of Jaffna Uni, Assistant Librarians of all faculties, more..

Sep 11 (AD) UNP Deputy Leader and Minister Sajith Premadasa says that although some internal crisis are seen inside the UNP to those who are not well-versed in democracy, it is really the party exercising true democracy. He said that the freedom to have different opinions is a symbol of democracy and, points out that such opinions are shunned down only in an authoritarian regime. Minister Premadasa who participated in more..

Sep 11 (EN) Sri Lanka will host a men�s qualifying series competition of the World Surf League at Arugam Bay with over a 125 surfers from 30 countries will take part, boosting the island�s positioning as a safe destination for surfers and tourists, officials said. It is the second time the global body of professional golfers is holding the event in Sri Lanka. The surfing completion is one of several events Sri Lanka is holding to mark World Tourism Day, as the country looks to boost its image more..

Sep 11 (FT) The war of words over which symbol is to be used to represent the coalition between SLFP and SLPP continued yesterday, with the former backing a neutral symbol, warning that it was the best option to bring a range of party members together. SLFP General Secretary MP Dayasiri Jayasekara argued the neutral symbol would be a common umbrella. However, the SLPP has insisted they want to stick to the flower bud symbol, as it is more popular among their vote base. more..

Sep 11 (FT) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday argued that unlike previous governments, many projects had been implemented since 2015, but the Govt had not spoken about their accomplishments as much as previous administrations, leading to the public being less aware of the work accomplished. PM Wickremesinghe made these remarks at the foundation-laying ceremony of the proposed more..

Sep 11 (FT) The simmering debate on the symbol for the proposed coalition between the SLFP and SLPP continued yesterday, with Opposition MP Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena saying they will not change their stance on the flower bud symbol under any circumstances. Speaking to media, Abeywardena said the party�s stance would not change, as the flower bud was the symbol popular among the public, and enabled the SLPP to win the Local Govt Election. more..

Sep 11 (DM) Govt is attempting to amend the Monetary Law Act (MLA) of 1949 in an arbitrary manner, disregarding the recommendations made by Prez Sirisena, MP Bandula Gunawardana said. He said Prez had instructed the Cabinet to obtain the opinion of an experts committee of economists prior to amending the MLA but instead a cabinet paper to amend MLA, which is of great importance, was submitted to the Parliamentary Committee on Public Finance for recommendations. more..

Sep 11 (CT) Ex-President of SLC and current MP Thilanga Sumathipala admitted no corruption took place during his stint with the Sri Lanka Cricket. At the outset he stated: "SLC authorities didn't respond properly to any of the questions put to them by COPE. When the Committee summoned them they should have discussed and prepared answers to the questions posed and given proper answers," said Sumathipala. more..

Sep 11 (Island) Twenty trade unions representing non-academic staff commenced an indefinite strike in 15 universities, yesterday, demanding that Ministry of Higher Education implement the agreements reached in 2016. The strike has crippled the entire uni system,unions claim. They previously launched a 48-hour token strike, on Aug 28 and 29, and warned that they would launch an indefinite strike from 10 Sept. Unions say that the salary anomaly was created after the govt raised more..

Sep 11 (DM) Prez Sirisena is reported to have stopped a Cabinet move to grant a monthly allowance of Rs.200,000 to 23 MPs who are working as the heads of the District Development Councils (DDC). Minister Vajira Abeywardane submitted the Cabinet memorandum after having made a similar attempt in May this year. However, the Prez had not activated the DDCs at the time. The DDCs became active after the govt started implementing the Gamperaliya and Enterprise SL programmes. more..

Sep 11 (FT) Minister Ruwan Wijewardene accused Prez Maitripala Sirisena of repeatedly obstructing his attempts to change the management of SL Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC), leading to the impasse which resulted in the Corporation being brought under the Defence Ministry�s purview. �Since I took over the Ministry of Mass Media in Feb this year, I tried to appoint an efficient, talented, and suitable person as more..

Sep 11 (AD) The suspect wanted in connection with assaulting two novice Buddhist monks has been arrested by Horowpathana Police. The arrested suspect has been identified as Chaminda Galaboda alias Utiya. Police had identified the suspect and arrested him after video footage of the incident, recorded via a mobile phone, had been widely circulated on social media. The video shows a man repeatedly slapping and hitting two novice monks over an apparent issue over some money. more..

Sep 11 (DM) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe and UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa who met at Temple Trees last night had agreed to meet the constituent parties of the UNF and discuss the candidature of the UNP led alliance at the next prez elections. A meeting will be held in few days time between the UNP seniors and the constituent parties of UNF though a date is not fixed. Meanwhile, Mr. Premadasa told journalists after the meeting that the meeting with the party leader ended on more..

Sep 11 (AD) Discussions held between PM Ranil Wickremesinghe & UNP Dy Leader Sajith Premadasa ended without any final decision being reached. Minister Permadasa had arrived at Temple Trees at around 9.30 p.m. last night for discussions with UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe which lasted until 11.30 p.m. The crucial meeting was expected to end with a final decision being reached on the prez candidate of the party. more..

Sep 11 (DM) So, we are looking at elections towards end November. The next two and-a-half months are going to be nothing short of full throttle. Already some candidates are on the campaign trail. Gotabaya Rajapaksa (SLPP) and Anura Kumara Dissanayake (JVP) both have launched their campaign. In the case of the former, he was already the benefactor of a well-oiled social media campaign. The nuts and bolts of that machinery date back to the second tenure as Prez of his more..

Sep 11 (DM) Elections call for manifestos. Manifestos are typically documents into which the wish lists of all conceivable political communities are inserted. It makes sense politically to promise every religious community, every ethnic group and even every caste, class, age, region, sexual-preference and professional community a piece of the future�s pie. Lip service is too often the order of the day. It is not that people really believe manifestos, but they certainly ought to. more..

Sep 11 (DM) Leader of MEP MP Dinesh Gunawardane speaks about the Prez Elections and the current status of the economy in the country. Gunawardane, who worked as the parliamentary group leader of the JO, said that the role of Parliament had diminished today, and it should be restored. Q: What is your general assessment of the current political situation? The present Govt has failed after being in power for past 4 years. more..

Sep 11 (Island) The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) have continued to engage regional entrepreneurs through a series of events presenting CSE�s SME listing platform, the Empower Board. The latest events were organized in Jaffna and Matara recently and followed forums organized in Anuradhapura, Negombo, Kurunegala and Kandy. more..

Sep 11 (FT) Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera in a statement said that SLPP�s prez candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa�s economic blueprint, unveiled on Sunday, was meant to build castles in the air. Following is Samaraweera�s statement. Gotabaya Rajapaksa�s so-called economic blueprint is anything but a plan. The 82 slides, released on Sunday, pump aspiration and dump implementation. more..

Sep 11 (FT) An island-wide opinion survey conducted by a former Peradeniya Uni Professor has given Speaker Karu Jayasuriya a slight edge over UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa, the retired sociologist said. Senior Fulbright Fellow and former faculty member of the Dept of Sociology at Peradeniya Uni Dr. Sisira Pinnawala told journalists that his research contained a sample size of 1,675 voters, with the entire vote base more..

Sep 11 (ST) There has been a sharp rise in deadly dengue this year. So far, more than 44,000 dengue cases have been reported compared with 37,587 cases last year in the eight months to August, statistics show. Several deaths too have been reported this year, but the Epidemiology Unit has not said how many. The number of reported dengue cases have started to increase from March this year compared with the last year. more..

Sep 11 (FT) Sri Lanka Tourism is all set to celebrate World Tourism Day 2019, with a 2-day celebration on the UNWTO�s theme Tourism and Jobs: A Better Future for All. Recognising the importance of this year�s theme, SL Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), in association with SL Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB), SL Convention Bureau (SLCB), and SL Tourism Hotel & Management Institute (SLITHM), more..

Sep 11 (Island) Speaker Karu Jayasuriya requested more employment opportunities in skilled and professional categories from Saudi Arabia while extending sincere appreciation to that Govt for providing employment opportunities for those Sri Lankans. Speaker highlighted that Saudi Arabia made a tremendous contribution for improve living standards of the migrant workers families in SL, while contributing to progress and more..

Sep 11 (DM) A Cabinet memorandum seeking to give duty-free vehicle permits for the provincial council members was shelved for the second time yesterday on an objection by Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera. The Cabinet memorandum, submitted by Minister Vajira Abeywardane, came up for discussion at yesterday�s Cabinet meeting. It seeks to grant approval for the provincial council members of the now-defunct 7 PCs and more..

Sep 11 (RN) The CEB is paying its engineers higher salaries they are not entitled to, in violation of a court order, Chairman of the Ceylon Electricity Workers� Union Malaka Wickramasinghe said. He said the Board has failed to follow an order by the Court of Appeal against what he called the illegal increase of engineers� salaries since 2015. The Union has filed further action in court against the CEB, said Wickramasinghe, adding that more..

Sep 11 (AD) The Supreme Court today by majority decision rejected the petition filed by former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa claiming that the charges filed against him over the D.A. Rajapaksa museum case are incorrect. Rajapaksa had filed the petition alleging that flawed charges have been presented by the AG against him, over the alleged misappropriation of funds amounting to Rs 33.9 millon more..

Sep 11 (CT) SL's 1.37 million strong public service whose monthly emoluments were increased by a record Rs 10,000 by this Govt will, nonetheless, down tools today and tomorrow in a political move to weaken the Govt on the eve of a key Prez Poll, constitutionally due by 9 Dec the latest. The alleged motives behind this trade union (TU) action are as a protest against political pressure, arbitrary transfers, politically-motivated false statements made on SL Administrative Service (SLAS) officers more..

Sep 11 (FT) Sri Lanka�s public debt has continued to rise. This has put enormous pressure on the Govt budget as well. Interest payments on public debt consumes a large part of Govt revenue and represents a large portion of Govt expenditure. In turn, budget deficits will continue to be financed through more borrowings, thereby increasing the amount of public debt. In an environment of subdued economic growth, managing the budget deficit becomes even more challenging due to more..

Sep 11 (CT) Shortly after the Yahapalanaya govt was formed in 2015, the process of investigating Rajapaksa-era corruption and financial crimes was kicked into high gear for the public to see. The police set up a new division, the FCID. The govt began an Anti-Corruption Committee and international assistance was sought to go after known crimes. As a part of these efforts, high-level delegations of American law enforcement officials regularly came to SL to assist local police & provide information more..

Sep 11 (ST) The Pulathisi Intercity Express Train, a new S13 luxury train which was added to the Sri Lanka Railways recently commenced operations today from Colombo to Polonnaruwa. President Maithripala Sirisena presided over the inaugural journey of the Pulathisi express train from platform 3 at the Fort Railway Station. The Pulathisi Express will commence its journey from the Fort Railway Station at 3:05 pm and reach Polonnaruwa at 7:47 pm. The Colombo bound train more..

Sep 11 (PMD) President Maithripala Sirisena said the environment in many parts of the world as well as in Sri Lanka is destroyed by the people who have political powers and racketeers. He made these remarks addressing the inauguration ceremony of the Association of Tropical Biology and Conservation Asia-Pacific Conference held at the MAS Athena, Thulhiriya, today. Prez Sirisena pointed out that maintaining human beings more..

Sep 11 (AD) Eleven members of the banned terrorist organization Jama�athe Milla�athe Ibrahim (JMI), who were arrested by the Ampara Police over the course of last month, have been handed over to the Terrorist Information Division (TID) for further investigations. The arrestees were placed under the custody of the TID yesterday. The suspects, who were apprehended based on the tip-offs given by the State Intelligence Service, are been interrogated for 90 days under detention orders. more..

Sep 11 (AD) Minister of Education Akila Viraj Kariyawasam is slated to record a statement with the PCoI today. This is with regard to the complaint lodged against the Education Minister over misappropriation of state funds for printing the image and a statement from him in the textbooks for govt schools. Director (Supplies) of the Ministry of Education I.M.K.B. Illangasinghe recently testified before the commission over the textbook issue and he later filed a complaint alleging that more..