Aug 28 (EN) The road that connects Neluwa to Deniyaya is mired in controversy, with many questions being asked about the development work begun recently; is the road just being repaired or is it being widened? Is the directive from Prez Rajapaksa to halt work on the road, only temporary or permanent? Is the road being developed on the request of villages or are there outside interests? The specific issue involves a village known as Lankagama, described as an isolated village more..

Aug 28 (DM) MPs appointed to the COPE, COPA and the Public Finance Committee will be allowed to elect the respective chairpersons of these committees, PM Mahinda Rajapaksa told Parliament yesterday. PM Rajapaksa came out with this remark when members of opposition questioned whether the govt will keep the practice of appointing chairpersons to the said committees. The question was raised by Leader of Opposition Sajith Premadasa and MP Nalin Jayamaha. more..

Aug 28 (AD) Vehicle permit holders can buy an unregistered vehicle from the local market by using permit with Tax concession, says the Ministry of Finance. The Trade and Investment Policy Circular No: 01/2020 announcing the relevant tax concession was published by the Finance Ministry today (28). According to the Circular, vehicle permit holders can purchase an unregistered vehicle from a registered dealer or an importer, equivalent to the Tax concession in the permit. more..

Aug 28 (DN) Fourteen contempt of Court Cases filed against Lankaenews website editor Sandaruwan Senadheera have been withdrawn before the Supreme Court by the petitioner. These Contempt of Court applications had been filed for allegedly publishing defamatory articles which appeared in Lankaenews defaming the judges from the Apex Court to the Magistrate�s Court castigating their characters. more..

Aug 28 (FT) The objective of this write up is to focus the attention of the Govt, particularly those closely linked to the subject of Local Govt. The ministry, however, is now covering a wide spectrum of subjects outside the local govt ambit extending to pensions � official languages, human resource development, language education, etc. the assigned functions. (Ministry of Public Services, PC & LG). Local Govt is a field where major developments have been effected periodically oriented more..

Aug 28 (DM) Mayor of Matale Duljith Aluvihare said suspending him from functioning in his post was an act of political victimisation and that it amounted to an excessive use of power on the part of the Governor, and that he filed a petition against it in the high court. He told the media that the govt was misusing its two-thirds majority to victimise rival politicians. �The UNP had been victorious only in Matale at the last local govt election and I had scored a triumph at the local govt election. more..

Aug 28 (AD) Ministry of Education has announced the dates for the Scholarship, GCE A/L and GCE O/L exams of the year 2020. Thereby, the Scholarship Exam will take place on the 11th of Oct 2020 (Sunday). In the meantime, the G.C.E. A/L Exam is scheduled to be held from 12th of Oct � 6th of Nov 2020, Education Ministry said. The third term of all govt schools will commence on the 9th of Nov and end on the 23rd of Dec. more..

Aug 28 (CT) The Buddha Sasana Task Force, submitting a letter to Prez Rajapaksa, has advised him against being hasty in conducting the long deferred Provincial Council (PC) Polls, before the Govt could introduce much-needed political reforms. The Task Force consisting of Chief Prelates of the Buddhist Sects as well as other leading monks had also pointed out that it would also be unwise to press ahead with the staging of the Poll, before the Govt could introduce the 20th Amendment, more..

Aug 28 (AD) The Association of Former UNP MPs has made a request to the former Speaker of Parliament, Karu Jayasuriya to take up the leadership of the party. In a media release, the Secretary of the Association Upali Amarasiri noted that Karu Jayasuriya is a personality who can unite all the members who have left the party for various reasons. Release mentions that the former Speaker is the only person who is capable of recovering the UNP from the crisis it is now faced with. more..

Aug 28 (EN) The Chilaw courts have ordered the Dept of Wildlife Conservation to investigate, identify and charge those involved in the clearing of the Anawilundawa Sanctuary in Puttalam. Director-General of Wildlife Conservation, M G C Sooriyabandara said that the court order from the District Court followed a complaint made by the Department against the wilful destruction of a portion of the sanctuary, on the night of Aug 25th. more..

Aug 28 (CT) The invitation extended by the SJB to former Speaker of Parliament Karu Jayasuriya is proof that the latter is having an underhand deal and is conspiring to sell the UNP to the SJB, UNP Working Committee Member Vajira Abeywardena alleged yesterday (27). Abeywardena said, that an individual, who defected from the UNP with 17 others to join the then Rajapaksa Government, talking about having lifetime membership in the UNP is nothing but a joke. more..

Aug 28 (DN) The case filed against former Minister Patali Champika and two others over an alleged motor accident that took place in 2016 at Rajagiriya was today fixed for Sept 17 by the HC. The case was filed against former Minister Patali Champika, his driver Thusith Dilum Kumara and ASP Sudath Asmadala over the hit-and-run accident at Rajagiriya in 2016. The case was taken up before the HC Judge Gihan Kulathunga. At previous occasions, indictments were served to the all 3 accused more..

Aug 28 (AD) Colombo High Court today served indictments on MP Rajitha Senaratne and the former Chairman of SPC Mohamed Rumi over controversial press conference on white van abductions. The indictments, filed by the Attorney General on the 31st of July, were served on the two defendants before the Colombo HC Judge Gihan Kulatunga. The defendants were then released on two personal bails of Rs. 500,000 and more..

Aug 28 (CT) Several prominent political figures have been summoned to the Police Unit of the PCoI probing the bombings on Easter Sunday, to record statements. An official of the PCoI said former MP Sunil Handunnetti will testify before the Police Unit today (28), while former MP Akila Viraj Kariyawasam will record a statement on 31 August. Also, former MP, Professor Ashu Marasinghe and MP Ranjith Maddumabandara will record statements on 2 September. more..

Aug 28 (AD) A member of a criminal gang has been arrested in the area of Wandaduwa, Balapitiya. According to reports, the suspect is an accomplice of the notorious underworld figure Podi Lassie. He was taken into custody by a team of officers from the Colombo STF, acting on a tip-off. A T-56 firearm, 02 shotguns, 04 Magazines, 98 rounds of T-56 ammunition, 53 rounds of 9mm bullets, a hand grenade, a pair of handcuffs and a smoke grenade have been seized from the arrestee. more..

Aug 28 (AFP) Sri Lanka will ban the import of most plastic products in a bid to protect wild elephants and deer that die eating the waste, the environment minister announced Friday. Plastic in SL landfills is a major killer of elephants, with autopsies showing kilos of it in the stomachs of animals who died after rummaging at dumps. Environment minister Mahinda Amaraweera told parliament more..

Aug 28 (AD) Twelve more persons infected with COVID-19 made complete recoveries today. According to the Epidemiology Unit, 10 of the patients were being treated at the Welikanda Base Hospital and the remaining 2 were receiving treatment at Minuwangoda Base Hospital. COVID-19 recuperations confirmed in SL thereby reached 2,842. In the meantime, the total count of positive cases of novel coronavirus found in SL currently sits at 2,986. more..

Aug 28 (EN) SL�s last administration had also printed money almost from the time they started in 2015, though now charges are being leveled at the current administration, State Minister for Finance Nivard Cabraal said. �Now some members are saying money was printed. At times money has to be printed. Developed countries are printing money,� Minister Cabraal, a former Governor of the Central Bank said in his inaugural address to the parliament. �There was no money printing in 2014. more..

Aug 28 (NR) Leader of the NPP MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake has questioned the govt over the allocation of funds for the period between the 30 of April and the 31 of Aug, when a Budget proposal has not been passed. Addressing Parliament today MP Dissanayake said the govt must table a special draft bill in Parliament for the past four months in order to have it approved in Parliament. He said one of the main tasks more..

Aug 28 (AD) A parcel containing over 500 grams of heroin, estimated to be worth around Rs 7.5 million, has been discovered in a forest area at Kandalama, Dambulla. Parcel was found by officers of the Dambulla Police this morning following a search carried out based on a tip-off received by the Dambulla HQI. The drugs had been cleverly concealed inside a makeshift container and hidden in the woods in order to safeguard it from the rain. Parcel of heroin was discovered with the aid more..

Aug 28 (CT) Jaffna Municipal Council has banned the use of polyethylene wrappings and bags being used in the hotels, restaurants and business establishments within the Municipality limits from 15 Sept. The resolution to ban the use of polyethylene items was passed last year, while implementing it officially was postponed, following a request made by owners of restaurants and business establishments because they couldn�t change to the alternative immediately. more..

Aug 28 (DM) Former Norwegian peace negotiator Erik Solheim revealed that LTTE Leader Velupillai Prabhakaran had ordered the killing of former Indian PM Rajiv Gandhi. Solheim said that during discussions he had with LTTE peace negotiator Anton Balasingham, the latter had admitted that Prabhakaran ordered the killing of Rajiv Gandhi. Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by an LTTE suicide bomber in May 1991. more..

Aug 28 (EN) Sri Lanka is planning a new development bank to fund small and medium enterprises and a credit guarantee fund, as part of building a developmental state and directed lending, CB Governor W D Lakshman said. �Discussions are underway in the central bank now to establish a National Entreprenuership Development Bank which could support SMEs and start-ups,� he said delivering a lecture marking 70 years of its establishment. more..

Aug 28 (CT) SJB MP Harshana Rajakaruna yesterday (27) stressed in Parliament, 36% of Vote on Account (VoA) monies have been allocated to Ministerial portfolios held by four persons. Participating in the debate on the Vote on Account, Rajakaruna queried as to why the Govt mentioned that it would borrow another Rs 750 billion in addition to the earlier requested Rs 1,300 billion worth of loans. �This is a huge amount of debt which we never saw in the past. more..

Aug 28 (AD) The Vote on Account for govt expenses from Sept 1 this year was passed in Parliament without a vote today. Parliament convened at 9.30 am today for the second consecutive day to debate the Vote on Account. The proposed special provision for the government to meet short-term expenditure needs was presented to the House yesterday and the debate commenced subsequently. more..

Aug 28 (NR) Number of coronavirus cases reported in the country has increased to 2,988 after two persons tested positive today. Two were identified as a returnee each from the UAE and Kuwait. Another 12 persons who contracted COVID-19 recovered and were discharged raising recoveries to 2,842. Ten persons were released from Welikanda Base Hospital and two from Minuwangoda Base Hospital. 134 COVID-19 positive patients, including five foreign nationals, continue to undergo more..

Aug 28 (EN) MPs are miffed at media reports that it costs the taxpayer Rs 3,000 per meal to feed our representatives. Some MPs said it cannot be given the quality of the meals they are offered. Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena stepped in today to give the right numbers: It is Rs 296 per head, he said. Abeywardena�s response came today in response to a Point of Order raised by Opposition MP S M Marikkar. The MP from Kolonnawa raised the issue after seeing a newspaper report more..

Aug 28 (EN) CEB has been faulted for bad maintenance procedures and significant lapses in not carrying out recommendations in previous investigation reports in an interim report on probe on a cascading failure in Aug 2020. The grid had also failed seven times during restoration. The reasons for five failures had been found. The reason for at least two failures involving an unanticipated drop in load still remained more..

Aug 29 (CT) It�s been 25 days since the conclusion of the General Election 2020, and one of SL�s oldest political parties � the UNP, is yet to nominate a member to fill the sole National List seat it has been awarded. The UNP suffered its most humiliating defeat in its history, receiving only 249,435 votes islandwide, which amounts to a mere 2.15% of votes cast. For the first time in its long history, the Party failed to win even a single seat in Parliament. It only managed to get just one National List seat. more..

Aug 29 (CT) The past few weeks have been noteworthy. The firm pursuit of narcotic peddlers, dishonest public officers, drug smugglers, organized criminals and their gangs, have to be praised by the decent and feared by the corrupt. However, society must be convinced that the objectives � stated in the Prez�s address to Parliament, and which seems to have drawn on available expertise (usually ignored) is salutary and holds hope. It is perhaps a spin-off from his Army Days & Computer technology more..

Aug 29 (CT) I met a very senior respected Sinhala Politician a day or two ago. He made a pertinent observation. He said my speeches were not vituperative nor abusive. He advised Never lose sight of the need to be objective. I truly value his advice. I hate none. But I love Truth. I have come to conclusions about our past after studying certain historical facts. If my conclusions are wrong others must point out shortcomings in my more..

Aug 29 (GV) Article 9 of SL�s Constitution states: The Republic of SL shall give to Buddhism the foremost place and accordingly it shall be the duty of the State to protect and foster the Buddha Sasana. The promise to establish a govt that upholds the values of the Buddhist Sinhala majority was central to Prez Gotabaya�s party platform in the prez and parliamentary elections. Following his party�s win in the parliamentary election, he has begun to take steps towards keeping that promise. more..

Aug 29 (CT) SL is already deeply enmeshed with a crony economic system. As a consequence, businesses thrive not by managing risks, but by returns accumulated through nexus between the business and political classes. This is often achieved by state intervention rather than competition. The state exercises monopolist control over resources and money, that is made mostly through profiteering arrangements such as rent seeking. Entrepreneurship becomes stifled with more..

Aug 29 (roar) No one knew how old Lawrence was when he passed away. He died at the bus stop he took shelter at, amid rain or the unbearable noon heat. The bus stop in front of the construction site with the massive white Buddha statue next to it became his haven�where no one bothered him or asked him to leave. V.A.M.T. Lawrence was homeless. He was one of many homeless people in Colombo, stranded and more..

Aug 29 (Island) The govt and the Opposition have locked horns over the appointment of chairpersons to the parliamentary finance committees, especially the COPE. PM Mahinda Rajapaksa has said the appointment of their heads should be left entirely to their members. On the face of it, this may look a very democratic way of sorting out the issue. But what the PM has left unsaid is that the govt will be able to control all these committees if their members are allowed to decide on their heads because more..

Aug 29 (DM) Were the UNP and its leader Ranil Wickremesinghe really rejected by the people at the Aug 5 parliamentary election to the extent that the party was wiped out from all districts it contested? Had the two factions of the party led by Mr. Wickremesinghe and Sajith Premadasa faced the election together, would not the UNP managed to win a few more seats than what the SJB led by Premadasa had secured? Would not Mr. Wickremesinghe have fared better than more..

Aug 29 (DM) United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) encourages every country to observe the principles of World�s Wetlands Day and this year the theme is, Wetlands and biodiversity. In a statement, the UNEP says this years Wetlands Day theme highlights wetland biodiversity, its status, why it matters and to promote action to reverse its loss. According to a convention adopted by the UNEP in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea, wetlands are areas of more..

Aug 29 (CT) The speech of the former Supreme Court Judge, former Chief Minister of the Northern Provincial Council, and the new Jaffna District MP, CV. Wigneswaran in his first address to the new Parliament has caused more controversy in the country and internationally than the President's speech at the opening of the Ninth Parliament. His speech aroused suspicion and fear about creating a new round of ethnic conflict amongst Sinhalese, Tamils, and or Muslims, regardless of race. more..