Jul 2 (Island) Over a decade after the conclusion of the war some civil society groups/NGOs have taken up new challenges. In the wake of the unprecedented crisis caused by coronavirus, the National Peace Council (NPC) had an opportunity to provide relief to the needy courtesy foreign donors. The writer sought an explanation from the NPC�s Executive Director, Dr. Jehan Perera, soon after the Canadian High Commission in Colombo announced a substantial grant for the organisation for more..

Jul 2 (Island) Athletics Association of SL is planning to conduct selection trials in October to pick pools for a number of international competitions taking place in 2021. While delaying the flagship event, the National Championship till December for top athletes striving for Olympic qualifications to gain ranking points, the AASL will conduct a selection trial in October to pick pools for several other international events, Palitha Fernando the president of the AASL said. more..

Jul 2 (DM) The committee appointed to review the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact has raised serious concerns about the draft agreement. Noting that the document as it stands is detrimental to the national interest and essentially subverts sovereignty while surrendering judicial oversight, the committee clearly recommends that the Govt should not sign the document unless such sections are amended. The US Govt has not indicated any willingness to alter anything. more..

Jul 2 (ST) National Olympic Committee (NOC) President Suresh Subramaniam said a mouthful when he exclaimed that to dwell in the past was not the way to produce Olympic champions. What of course spoiled the appetite of the Olympic boss was the SAG tamasha that is now being taken to the cleaners who are scrutinising how each morsel was consumed on the way to the salubrious climes of Kathmandu and back by an oversize contingent that did not fully justify what hamstrung treasury more..

Jul 2 (EN) Prez Rajapaksa does not want candidates of the SL Nidahas Podujana Peramuna (SLNPP) for the Aug 5 Parliamentary Poll to use his photograph in their campaigns. The SLNPP alliance that brings together the President�s party SLPP, SLFP, CWC and other allies backed his candidacy for Prez in last year�s resounding win. It is not clear whether the Prez will join the campaign. Up to now PM Mahinda Rajapaksa, the best-known more..

Jul 2 (FT) Sri Lanka Insurance, at the recently held Annual General Meeting declared that the company has closed year 2019 in a positive note, recording phenomenal growth with exceptional service innovations. Sri Lanka Insurance, the premier insurer to the nation, recorded stellar performance in 2019 recording 15% growth in profit before taxation, reaching a profit before taxation of Rs. 8.2 billion for the year � a marked improvement on the Rs. 7.1 billion in the year 2019. more..

Jul 2 (EN) SL�s interbank clearing house, Lanka Clear, is starting an easy-to-use mobile cash transfer and an automatic bill payment facility as internet banking use in the country soared during a Coronavirus crisis, when curfews confined people to their homes, an official said. Sri Lanka had seen a 600 percent growth in internet banking and a 200 percent growth in payments, during Covid-19 curfews, Channa de Silva, CEO of LankaClear (Pvt) Ltd, SL�s interbank clearing house said. more..

Jul 2 (Island) The Office of Attorney General Dappula de Livera PC, yesterday (1), confirmed an unprecedented meeting between the AG and Acting IGP C. D. Wickremaratne at the former�s Office following a revelation that some Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) officers were dealing in heroin. State Counsel and Coordinating Officer to the AG Nishara Jayaratne said that that having inquired into the issue at hand, more..

Jul 2 (Island) International Finance Corporation (IFC) has informed the CSE of its intention to exit its investment in Cargills Food Company (Pvt) Ltd. by enforcing the put option. Under this option, outlined in a prior agreement, an entity can resell its stake holding in a company at a future date. Cargills Ceylon PLC states in a disclosure to CSE that, "Pursuant to the agreement entered between Int'l Finance Corporation (IFC), Cargills (Ceylon) PLC and Cargills Food Company (Pvt) Ltd, more..

Jul 2 (Island) Pressure is mounting on the government after several former cricket captains had been hauled up by the Police to investigate claims by former Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage that the 2011 World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka was fixed. While Aravinda de Silva gave his statements to the Police on Tuesday, another former skipper Upul Tharanga was called up yesterday. Today it will be the turn of Kumar Sangakkara to appear before Police. more..

Jul 2 (CT) Former Commissioner of Rehabilitation at Prisons Department, Emil Ranjan Lamahewa said he was forced by former Minister Mervyn Silva to make a confession that incumbent Prez Rajapaksa and PM Rajapaksa were involved in the killing of 27 Welikada Prison inmates in Nov 2012. Testifying before the PCoI probing Political Victimisation of public servants during the tenure of the former Govt, Lamahewa said that more..

Jul 2 (CT) World Cup winning skipper and former parliamentarian Arjuna Ranathunga stated that corruption at Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) started from 2008, and it could even filter down to the schools in the future. He further explained that during his tenure as President of SLC he was against players seeking permission to play franchise based cricket instead of playing Test cricket in England, but the Sports Minister (Gamini Lokuge) overruled him and gave permission. more..

Jul 2 (AD) Plasticcycle added 18 collection bins on the Southern Expressway on 30th June 2020 adding to the existing network of bins. These bins were sponsored by Cinnamon Wild Yala (Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts), in partnership with the RDA and Eco Spindles, allowing commuters to drop off plastic waste/PET for responsible recycling. These new bins are located towards the Southern end of the expressway at the Mattala, Hambantota and Sooriyawewa exits leading to MRIA more..

Jul 2 (Island) 95 pensioners have complained to the Court of Appeal that they have not received a favourable response in respect of their demands to withdraw the suspension of the revision of their pensions, with effect from Jan 1, 2020. A reply due to them has been unreasonably suspended by the Public Administration Circular dated Jan 20, 2020, their complaint says. The petitioners have requested the Court to call more..

Jul 2 (DN) SL Football�s most awaited extravaganza and the long standing dream the Super League Soccer Tournament conducted by the Football Federation of SL (FFSL) is set to kick off in November this year, subject to health authorities� clearances in Colombo. Super League, which is a key tournament all around the football playing nations accredited to FIFA, in their annual calendars, has never been played in SL or never had a professional outfit competition for last 75 yrs. more..

Jul 2 (DN) Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) tied up with My Cola Beverages (Pvt) Limited as their official Carbonated Beverages Partner when they signed an agreement at a press briefing held yesterday. The contract will be in tandem for three years effective. The partnership was formed at a crucial juncture when the National Cricketing body is gearing up for bigger challenges in the future. My Cola Beverages with almost over 16 years of existence in the beverage industry in the country, more..

Jul 2 (IE) On Sunday (June 28), Sri Lanka emerged from its nationwide lockdown, which had earlier been relaxed and re-imposed selectively. The success in controlling the spread of the novel coronavirus has prompted the govt to consider reopening airports for tourists from August 1. It has also led to the country�s Election Commission to fix Aug 5 as the date for the parliamentary election that was put off in April due to global pandemic. more..

Jul 2 (DN) Ceylon National Chamber of Industries (CNCI), premier industrial Chamber, has requested the govt to support the industries with a minimum of 2% of the GDP, or Rs. 350�400 billion to be immediately disbursed within the next two months to keep the businesses moving by overcoming the immediate constraints for the next 6 months of the year. Moreover, the Chamber requests another 3%, which is approximately Rs. 500 billion in the next year as long term support to venture into more..

Jul 2 (TM) Discussions are being held between the Ministry of Health and the Election Commission (EC) to see the possibilities of increasing the number of participants at election rallies from 100 to 500 as per the requests made by party secretaries, The Morning learnt. As told by Ministry of Health Spokesman Viraj Abeysinghe, a final decision has not yet been taken in this regard. In the election-related Covid-19 health guideline issued by the health authorities, it has been mentioned that more..

Jul 2 (FT) The Police said three special teams comprising of 25 investigators have been tasked with probing the alleged links between four Police Narcotic Bureau officers and drug traffickers. According to DIG Ajith Rohana, two civilians have also been taken into custody by the CID in the ongoing investigations. Both persons are being held on detention orders, DIG Rohana said. The four PNB officers, including more..

Jul 2 (CT) Election Commission (EC) is attempting to reduce the voter turnout at the 5 August General Election as they have received a contract from diplomatic missions of European countries to do so, Minister Wimal Weerawansa alleged. These embassies can then show that the new Parliament does not have the full mandate of the public but only part of it, he further alleged. �We request the public to act intelligently at General Election by showing that they can support Prez Rajapaksa more..

Jul 2 (AD) Former CB Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, on Wednesday, issued a special statement on the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). The full statement as follows: "I have seen some social media posts which attempt to insinuate that the Mahinda Rajapaksa Govt was ready to enter into a Compact with the MCC that was detrimental to Sri Lanka. While it is true that the US Govt had offered aid in the form of certain projects in SL through the MCC in 2004, the discussions in 2006 more..

Jul 2 (Hindu) Sri Lanka must ensure that the democratic space in the country remains open and accountable, the Core Group on Sri Lanka has said, observing that the extraordinary measures to tackle the pandemic should not be used to roll back human rights. Addressing the ongoing 44th session of the UNHRC on Tuesday, Rita French, the UK�s Int'l Ambassador for Human Rights voiced concern over the targeting & marginalisation more..

Jul 2 (FT) A German company named Bomag (BOMAG Fayat Group) Fayat Bomag and GMBH & Company Germany has been sued in the Commercial High Court of Colombo in case No. CHC 182/2019/MR. The Plaintiff, a local company named K.D. Ebert & Sons Holdings Ltd. had filed an action in the Commercial High Court of Colombo, claiming that they purchased several Bomag Tamping Rammers from the said German company through its agent in SL Diesel & Motor Eng. more..

Jul 2 (DM) Industrial Development Board (IDB) supplied Brass and Copper to Colossus, a company owned by Easter Sunday suicide bomber Insaf Ahmad Ibrahim during the period between 2017 and 2019, although the company had failed to operate within the given criteria, Sarath Udayasiri, Marketing Director of IDB informed the PCoI. Testifying before the Commission, Udayasiri said that the IDB had supplied Brass and Copper to Colossus at concessionary rates. more..

Jul 2 (AD) President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has ordered not to use his photographs and portraits for the election campaign activities of candidates contesting the upcoming parliamentary polls. He has also advises that public servants employed in security services, public services, corporations and statutory bodies should refrain from engaging in political activities. The Secretary to the President, P.B. Jayasundara, has written more..

Jul 2 (FT) The regime�s promises and claims of putting professional expertise first is belied by the fact that having placed ex-military brass is in charge of everything from archaeology to agriculture, not to mention virtue�matters in which they have no particular expertise�Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa delivered a parade-ground dressing down on prime time TV to the Central Bank economists. By contrast, one didn�t see on TV news the President upbraiding whoever was responsible for more..

Jul 2 (FT) Henry W. Cave in 1980 has written quite interestingly on Moratuwa carpenters and their skills � �The people who live here are carpenters. Using their own carpentry tools, their hands and fingers work perfectly. They are skilled workers and make beautiful carvings. Some of their cabinets are excellent. Thousands of tables, chairs, couches and beds are made under the sheds of coconut palms on the banks of the beautiful Moratuwa Lagoon.� Today the same way of writing to be expected over more..

Jul 2 (PMD) Following corporate, individual donations and direct deposits, ITUKAMA COVID-19 Healthcare and Social Security Fund balance has now surpassed Rs. 1423 million. Today�s donations included Rs. 361,438.32 by the PM�s Office, Rs. 1,200,000.00 by Housing Development and Finance Corporation Bank of SL (HDFC), Rs. 100,787.40 by SL Eye Donation Society, Rs. 1,000.000.00 by NSB Fund Management Co. Ltd, Rs. 1,000,000.00 by Sri Lanka Savings Bank, Rs. 5,000.00 by more..

Jul 2 (EN) The govt of SL is deliberately delaying the installation of three new gantry cranes at Colombo Port�s east container terminal to quietly pave the way for a sale of the terminal, JVP-led National People�s Power (NPP) said. JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva speaking to journalists accused the govt of delaying the terminal�s long-overdue development work in order to justify a transfer of ownership from the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) to an Indian company. more..

Jul 2 (MoD) Defence Secretary Maj.Gen. (Retd) Kamal Gunaratne, who visited the St. Anthony�s Shrine, Kochchikade, today (1), has taken swift measures to strengthen security and also assured to complete the balance reconstruction work of the Shrine, which was badly damaged due to the Easter Sunday bomb attack, soon. Following the request of Shrine�s Administrator Rev. Fr. K.A. Jude Raj Fernando to provide additional more..

Jul 2 (PMD) The International Rotary Club has donated a fully automated PCR machine to the Medical Research Institute of Sri Lanka to expedite the diagnosis process of COVID-19. Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa was briefed about the operational aspect of the new PCR machine at Prez Secretariat, yesterday. The value of the new instrument is over Rs. 22.2 million. It is significant that this new machine will help to mitigate human resource shortage in conducting medical testing. more..

Jul 2 (Island) Higher Education Commission of Pakistan is offering 1000 Allama Iqbal Scholarships to SL students over a period of five years under the Pakistan-SL Higher Education Cooperation Program. The scholarships provide an opportunity for SL students to visit Pakistan and pursue undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral degree programs in Engineering Sciences, Basic & Natural Sciences and Social Sciences. The scholarships include full tuition fee, accommodation more..

Jul 2 (FT) With Parliamentary Elections being scheduled for 5 August, most political parties and independent groups contesting the polls have commenced their respective campaigns in a big way. The hopelessly-divided chief Opposition, seemingly bereft of valid issues to raise, has eagerly seized upon the Karuna Amman admission of Elephant Pass killings to target SLPP Govt. It is well-known that V Muraleetharan alias Karuna, more..

Jul 2 (DN) Five accused who were found guilty of selling a land in Marine Drive in the Kollupitiya area using a forged deed, were yesterday sentenced to 67 years Rigorous Imprisonment (RI) by the Colombo High Court. Furthermore, they were ordered to pay a fine of Rs.130,000 and pay a compensation of 14 million to the land owner by the Colombo High Court. The accused Christy Vivian Rodrigo, Dhammika Rodrigo, Jeyaraj Amarasiri, Chintha Rajapakse and Jayantha Rodrigo more..

Jul 2 (EN) Cabinet has decided to revoke all the agreements signed with foreign contractors relating to the construction of the Ruwanpura expressway signed by the previous govt, said Co-Cabinet Spokesman Bandula Gunawardena. Ruwanpura Expressway will run from Kahathuduwa to Pelmadulla with interchanges at Ingiriya and Rathnapura, the expressway covers a distance of 76 km. He said that the project which was originally started back in 2014 under Prez Mahinda more..

Jul 2 (DM) Responding to views expressed by the UNHRC�s Core Group on Sri Lanka, the SL Govt today urged all parties to appreciate the country's approach of focusing on deliverable measures of reconciliation and to recognise the ground realities. Sri Lanka was responding to views expressed by the UNHRC Core Group on Sri Lanka at the 44th Session of the Human Rights Council on Tuesday. more..

Jul 2 (AD) Former Sri Lanka Cricket Captain Mahela Jayawardena has been summoned to appear before the Special Investigations Unit of the Sports Ministry. He has been summoned by the unit to provide a statement regarding the match-fixing allegations leveled by former Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage pertaining to the final of the 2011 ICC World Cup. Jayawardena was the Vice-Captain of the Sri Lanka squad for the final match of the 2011 ICC World Cup. more..

Jul 2 (AD) More Sri Lankans who were stranded in the Maldives have been repatriated this afternoon. A flight belonging to the national carrier SriLankan Airlines has returned to the Mattala Int'l Airport carrying 178 Sri Lankans from the Indian Ocean archipelago. According to reports, this group of Sri Lankans, who were stuck in the Maldives due to the outbreak of Covid-19, were employed at tourist hotels there. They were subjected to PCR testing upon arrival and have been moved to more..