Jul 8 (DM) Kalutara District UNP candidate Palitha Thewarapperuma, who threatened to withdraw his candidature, said today he would resume his election campaign as the Election Commission Chairman informed him that he could not legally do so. He told the media outside the Election Commission that the EC Chairman had refused to accept his letter of resignation which was submitted to him, saying candidates could not withdraw after handing over nominations. more..

Jul 8 (NR) Maldives and Sri Lanka were today verified for having eliminated rubella, making them the first two countries in WHO South-East Asia Region to achieve measles and rubella elimination ahead of the 2023 target. �Protecting all children against these killer and debilitating diseases is an important step in our endeavor to achieve healthier population and health for all,� said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia Region, congratulating more..

Jul 8 (MB) The Vidattaltivu coastal belt in SL�s north was once home to the marine unit of the Tamil Tiger guerrilla group, known as the Sea Tigers. From here, the group launched explosive-laden suicide boats in attacks against the much more powerful fighter vessels of the country�s naval forces. The area�s lush mangroves proved an effective hiding place for storing explosives. More than a decade after the end of the civil war, more..

Jul 8 (EN) Japan is giving a grant of 800 million yen (1,360 million rupees) of high tech medical equipment to SL�s health system as the country successfully battles the Coronavirus pandemic. At the request of SL, Japan is giving a grant aid such as MRI and CT scanners, Bed Side X-Ray Systems, Central Monitors, Bedside Monitors, and Defibrillators to strengthen the COVID -19 prevention activities in Sri Lanka. �Though the country has achieved significant progress more..

Jul 8 (Island) Hambantota International Port (HIP) follows all guidelines laid down by the government with regard to service engineer embarkations that occur at the port, and the process is carried out under the supervision of the SL Navy. The most recent overseas repair team to arrive at the Mattala Rajapaksa Int'l Airport, were three service engineers from Denmark who were flown in on a specially chartered Gulfstream G200 and transferred to the vessel SCF Sayan which was berthed at HIP. more..

Jul 8 (AD) The govt has decided to bear a part of the burden caused on the public by the hike in the electricity bill, said Minister of Power and Energy Mahinda Amaraweera. The report of the five-member committee appointed last week on the electricity bill has been submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers, today. Minister Amaraweera said that the govt has decided to provide the public with the maximum possible relief by going beyond more..

Jul 8 (Island) The police lifeguards on duty at the Panadura beach last Sunday saved the life of a young man who tried to take his life by jumping into the sea after querelling with his wife. The police said, the wife of the person had left him and come to her parents house after the woman found that her husband was having an illicit affair with a woman whom he befriended on Facebook. Later a friend of the woman had volunteered to reunite them and requested the man to meet her and his wife more..

Jul 8 (FT) Only two SL universities can be seen in the list of world university rankings in the year 2020. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020 includes almost 1,400 universities across 92 countries. Interestingly the University of Peradeniya has been included for the first time with a ranking from 401-500. And University of Colombo at 1,001, which was last year in the 801-1000 category. It is important to understand what this ranking method/s is and why SL universities more..

Jul 8 (AD) Twelve police officers attached to the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB), who were arrested over drug dealing charges, have been remanded until the 21st of July. The order was delivered by the Colombo Chief Magistrate when the suspects were produced before courts today. A total of 18 PNB officers are currently under arrest for allegedly passing drugs in the custody of the organization to drug dealers. more..

Jul 8 (AD) Interdicted DIG and former Director of Police Narcotic Bureau (PNB) Nalaka de Silva disclosed to the court of a case of PNB officials divulging information on PNB raids to notorious drug trafficker Wele Suda. The case on the Welikada Prison murders was taken up before the Colombo HC judge panel, Gihan Kulatunga, Pradeep Hettiarachchi, and Manjula Tilakaratne, today. During cross-examination of the defense, witness de Silva stated that, when he acted as more..

Jul 8 (CT) Sri Lanka will split into 10 parts if the 13th Amendment to the Constitution is fully implemented as promised to Jaffna residents by Samagi Jana Balawegaya Leader, Sajith Premadasa, to garner their votes, claimed PHU Leader, Udaya Gammanpila. Gammanpila stated that Premadasa promised to dedicate himself to defending the 13th Amendment, which is a mockery. �According to the 13th Amendment, the President can set up a single Provincial Council (PC) at any time by more..

Jul 8 (Island) SLPP Chairman Prof. G.L. Peiris said that a future govt under Prez Rajapaksa would continue to depend on military led mechanisms available within the law to face extraordinary challenges. Former External Affairs Minister Prof. Peiris was commenting on the appointment of high powered Presidential Task Force (PTF) headed by Defence Secretary Maj. Gen. (retd) Kamal Gunaratne. more..

Jul 8 (DM) The Sports Ministry has referred the probe report of its Special Investigations Unit that investigated allegations of match-fixing made by Mahindananda Aluthgamage, to the Attorney General�s Department. Ministry said in a media statement, that Secretary K.D.S. Ruwanchandra has referred the report to the AG�s Department seeking its advise in order to take future action. Ministry Secretary Ruwanchandra earlier made a complaint to the Police Special Investigation Unit more..

Jul 8 (AD) University of Kelaniya has decided to recommence academic activities for the 4th-year students on the 13th of July. Accordingly, the Faculty of Management, the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Computing and Technology will be reopened next Monday. The 4th-year students of these faculties will be allowed to return to hostels on Sunday (12) between 9 am and 5 pm. However, the management of the university noted that returning to hostels is not compulsory while more..

Jul 8 (CT) Environmental activists criticised the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau�s (GSMB) attempt to extract sand from the Mahaweli River to finance a project to build groynes for one of the river�s dams. Groynes are rigid hydraulic structures built perpendicular to ocean shores or river banks to interrupt the flow of water and limit the movement of sediment. Convener of Rainforest Protectors Org, said that the project was being done under more..

Jul 8 (AD) UNP has lodged a complaint at the Elections Commission with regard to SJB using green color for their election campaign. Submitting a letter to Chairman of the Election Commission Mahinda Deshapriya, UNP General Secretary Akila Viraj Kariyawasam requests the Commission to take steps to prevent SJB from using green color, which is official party color of UNP as per the party constitution. He further points out that as per the SJB party constitution, the official party color more..

Jul 8 (FT) The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce will be conducting the Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability Awards 2020 (BCCS Awards), with a revised application format and also a revised evaluation process in order to appraise the sustainability of the corporates and the projects during the current pandemic. The new focused areas of evaluations will be on emergency preparedness, resilience and stakeholder management during the pandemic and also contingency plans of the corporates. more..

Jul 8 (Island) None of the main parties that had governed the country for the past 70 years had given a salary increment to public sector workers to match the cost of living, JVP trade union wing said. JVP trade union wing leader K.D. Lalkantha said that the public workers should use their vote at the Aug 5 election as an instrument to effect a radical change. "We call on the state workers to think carefully of their present plight and more..

Jul 8 (DM) The govt's measures to analyse the impacts of foreign agreements such as the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) on national security, commenced soon after the ending the country's civil war, former Chief of National Intelligence (CNI) Kapila Hendawitharana informed the PCoI probing Easter Sunday attacks today. Highlighting the importance of reviewing important matters pertaining to the national security constantly, Mr. Hendavitharana said that even after more..

Jul 8 (NR) Leader of the SJB Sajith Premadasa says various factions of the govt are making contradictory statements over important economic matters in the country. Addressing a rally Premadasa said the govt lacks a clear economic plan. He said the present govt is inefficient, adding that the govt is even incapable of controlling the price of salmon and dhal, and cannot provide relief to the people either. Premadasa added the latest drama includes Minister Bandula Gunawardana more..

Jul 8 (Reuters) Domestic cricket in SL will resume on Tuesday without spectators, the country�s cricket board said on Wednesday. Lockdown and curfews have ceased in Sri Lanka, where the total number of infections was reported to be 2,084 on Wednesday. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) organised two residential training camps for the national team squad last month and action would resume next week with an inter-Club more..

Jul 8 (AD) A total of 310 individuals � including inmates and prison officers � at the Welikada Prison have been directed to PCR testing on Tuesday (7), says the Commander of SL Army, Lt Gen Shavendra Silva . The test results of 210 of this group were received this morning and all of them have tested negative for the virus, he said further. Under the instructions of the Prez, 186 inmates at the prison were moved to a separate quarantine centre in Punanai supervised by the Army, last night. more..

Jul 8 (CT) PAFFREL stated that they had received a complaint regarding the launch of a scholarship programme for students by SLPP Anuradhapura District Candidate S.M. Chandrasena ahead of the 5 August Parliamentary Poll. PAFFREL has charged that Chandrasena had allegedly used letterheads of his Ministry of Environment, Wildlife, Lands and Land Development to seek publicity for the scholarship programme which is a violation of Election laws and regulations. more..

Jul 8 (EN) A Nationalist organisation is saying that if President Gotabaya Rajapaksa signs the controversial Millennium Challenge Compact (MCC) he will be committing political suicide. Addressing a press conference, General Secretary of the Patriotic National Movement Dr Wasantha Bandara said it is clear the Prez will not enter into this agreement. The press conference held in Colombo was organized by more..

Jul 8 (TM) Mental health intervention, put quite simply, comprises the variety of techniques used by psychologists to treat individuals with issues pertaining to mental health and wellbeing. A common misconception is that mental health intervention is simply counselling, but this is not so. There are diverse techniques with various levels of physical and emotional interaction. These techniques include counselling, psychotherapy, vocational therapy, and even medication. more..

Jul 8 (CT) In all countries that have got past the worst of the coronavirus crisis and most others airports are open for both arriving and departing passengers. Even India which is still in the grip of the disease airports started opening for internal flights though the country is closed to international travel. To the best of my knowledge airports in the UK, USA, most European countries, Hong Kong, Singapore and most in China did shut down completely though inbound travel from more..

Jul 8 (TM) The Newspaper, co-directed by Sarath Kothalawala and Kumara Thirimadura who are also featured in the main cast, was screened at a special screening at PVR Cinemas last week at the theatre in One Galle Face and was attended by Prez Rajapaksa and PM Rajapaksa. The film tells the story of an unwavering friendship between two individuals on a journey to right a wrong; it is the story of two men from rural more..

Jul 8 (SO) The history of salvation is dotted with examples when God Almighty raises up prophets and shepherds to journey with His people through challenging and deliberating moments of history. Whether it be Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, Joseph or Jeremiah, or Peter or Paul, they all had one thing in common. They were convinced that their mission was related to a deeply spiritual calling. This is found in the Old Testament written around the sixth century BC. more..

Jul 8 (CT) The novel coronavirus which drove cities and countries into lockdown has now sparked anxiety over a possible food crisis given the increase in export and import bans and disruption of global food supply chains. This uncertainty has left the SL govt to question whether these disruptions would affect food security in the near future and if ensuring self-sufficiency is the absolute and undisputed solution to this conundrum. In this attempt to achieve self-sufficiency in food more..

Jul 9 (DM) Ven. Pahiyangala Ananda Sagara Thera, convener of Protect Sri Lanka Organisation is preparing to contest at the upcoming Parliamentary Election from the Our Power of People Party (Ape Janabala Pakshaya) ticket. Having voiced strongly against looming environmental issues, Ven. Ananda Sagara Thera believes that a political intervention is needed to put an end to environmental disasters more..

Jul 9 (Island) US President Donald Trump has, true to form, set the cat among the pigeons, again. His govt has declared that all international college students who take only online courses in the US will lose their visas. It has perturbed hundreds of thousands of foreign students and their family members including many Sri Lankans. This directive has provoked angry reactions from the groves of academe in the US and been called just plain wrong and needlessly rigid. more..

Jul 8 (DM) Career politician since 1988, Anura Kumara Dissanayaka held the position of National Organiser of the Socialist Students� Association and later appointed to the Central Working Committee of the JVP in 1995. He was elected to parliament in 2001. Q: Your educational and professional qualifications? A:My main qualification is my experience in politics. (Anura Kumara holds a Bachelor�s degree in Physics from the Uni of Kelaniya.) Q: Vision for education of children more..

Jul 8 (DM) Harshana Rajakaruna contested the 2009 provincial council election and was elected to the Western Provincial Council. He was elected to parliament in 2015. Q: Your educational and professional qualifications? A: Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Management Studies from University of Nottingham, UK Masters in Business Administration from Cardiff University, USA. Q: Vision for education of children and youth? A: I believe that preschools are not overlooked properly. more..

Jul 9 (CT) Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Sri Lanka linked to global value chains (GVCs) make more profits than others, an Asian Development Bank (ADB) study dated 22 June 2020, said. The report which focused on 329 MSMEs located in four backward districts in the island, namely Nuwara Eliya, Matale, Badulla and Monaragala, found that the average monthly profit levels of MSMEs that are engaged in GVCs in these four districts were considerably higher than more..

Jul 8 (CT) After 30 years of a brutal war in the North and East that claimed thousands of lives, SL saw only ten years of reprieve from that dark era until the threat of civil unrest reared its head again � several hotels and churches were hit by a series of suicide attacks on 21 April 2019 by a set of religious extremists, shocking the nation and sparking much discussion regarding religious extremism. more..

Jul 9 (Island) Sri Lanka has at least US Dollars one and a half billion (USD $1.5B) debt repayment due later this year and both the status of the global economy in the Covid-19 environment and our own vulnerabilities caused by the pandemic, namely the total curtailment of foreign tourism, the drastic drop in expatriate worker earnings and reduced earnings from exports such as apparel, together with fiscal slippage, has downgraded our international credit ratings and made access to more..

Jul 9 (FT) That is a perfect definition of the fake news of match-fixing and the questioning of Kumar Sangakkara for nine to 10 hours. Two cricketing greats were questioned during that week. One, Aravinda de Silva, who was named by Wisden as the World�s Greatest Batsman at a certain point in time. He was questioned for six hours. The other is of course Kumar Sangakkara, whose distinctive contribution to cricket made him the first-ever non-white President of the World Confederation of more..

Jul 9 (Island) Constitutional Council member, Attorney-At-Law Javed Yusuf, threw his weight behind a fresh initiative by civil society grouping, Freedom: People�s Collective project, to prevent the ruling SLPP from securing a two-thirds majority to abolish the 19th Amendment. Addressing a group of civil society activists, Yusuf emphasised the pivotal importance of protecting the 19th Amendment, enacted at the onset of more..