Aug 6 (EN) Laugfs Gas Plc is expecting a new price formula to end price controls that has left the sector is large losses, whenever global prices rise or the rupee collapses, though global prices are moving down. Benchmark prices for propane and butane, the key ingredients of liquefied petroleum gas, has fallen from the third quarter of 2018. SL's economy has been characterized by monetary instability and price controls for many years, which are key constraints for living standards & growth. more..

Aug 6 (AD) Minister Sagala Ratnayake says that he had received 13 intelligence reports regarding the Islamic State organisation during his time as the Minister of Law & Order, including one about the National Thowheed Jamaath (NTJ). He revealed this information while giving evidence before the Parliamentary Select Committee probing the Easter Sunday attacks, at the parliament complex today. more..

Aug 6 (Island) A committee appointed to evaluate the phase I of the subsidised scheme to introduce high yielding imported cows in 2017 and implement phase II of the project had not taken into consideration whether the animals suffered from serious diseases, Chairman of the committee, Prof Hewa Waduge Cyril, told the PCoI. Cyril is also the Chairman of NLDB. Responding to a question posed by Additional Solicitor General, Ayesha Jinasena whether it should have been an important more..

Aug 6 (PMD) Prez Sirisena says that some Ministers in the present govt too, are involved in the environmental destruction in Muthurajawela which is a valuable asset of the Gampaha district. Addressing the closing ceremony of the (Let’s Stand for the Country) Gampaha District programme held at Divulapitiya Public Playground, today the President said that this colossal environmental catastrophe should be prevented for the future of the country and the nation. more..

Aug 6 (AD) State Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardene, testifying before the PSC, stated that he had no knowledge on security before his appointment, however, he gathered knowledge on the subject by working for the ministry for four years. Further speaking he said that the Security Council meetings in 2017 had discussed the clashes between two mosques in Kattankudy as a result of extremist activities in the area, however, more..

Aug 6 (DM) Five suspects, including two school teachers and two retired army soldiers, had been arrested today over alleged theft of gems, cash and gold worth more than Rs.30 million in Pelmadulla on July 27 night, Police Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekera said. He said the suspects had entered the shop which was on the second floor of a three-storey building at the Main Street in Pelmadulla. The Spokesman said that the suspects had broken into the shop on July 27 night and more..

Aug 6 (AD) Minister Ranjith Madduma Bandara is currently testifying before the PSC probing the Easter Sunday attacks. The former Law & Order Minister had been called to appear before the committee today and had arrived at the parliament premises at around 4.30 p.m. Earlier today, State Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardena and Minister Sagala Ratnayake, who is also a former Law & Order Minister, had testified before the committee. more..

Aug 6 (AD) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe arrived at the Parliamentary Select Committee probing the Easter Sunday attacks, a short while ago. The PM entered the committee room at 6.10 p.m. and commenced giving evidence before the panel after giving oath. Earlier today, State Minister Ruwan Wijewardena, Minister Sagala Ratnayake and Minister Ranjith Madduma Bandara also testified before the committee. more..

Aug 7 (DN) The wildlife documentary film, Wild Sri Lanka: Realm of the Leopard, will air on Discovery Asia for the first time from Aug 22 to 29 in South East Asia. Film produced by SL based production company, Aegle Creations (Pvt) Ltd took over two years to complete. The writer, as well as the director of the film, is Thivanka Perera. This wildlife film depicts the lifestyle of the SL leopard, a subspecies unique to SL, and highlights the potential hazards and environmental threats faced by them. more..

Aug 7 (DN) Before each Esala Perahera, Sri Dalada Maligawa requests the Kandy Municipal Council (KMC) to remove community dogs within the Kandy city square through which the Perahera parades for about 15 days, Kandy Association for Community Protection through Animal Welfare (KACPAW) Secretary Champa Fernando said. According to Secretary Perera, in 2017 and 2018, the KACPAW helped the KMC Veterinary Department by removing these much loved community dogs and more..

Aug 7 (Roar) “Every day I would wake up at 5 AM and fall into bed, exhausted, around 11 PM. Most times I didn’t have the energy to even change my clothes. From the moment I woke up till the moment I slept, it was work, work, work all the time,” Shanthi* told Roar Media. “I ate leftovers, after the family had finished eating — a few bites at a time, while I washed the pots and pans. [My employers] rarely paid me on time and more..

Aug 7 (SO) Thirty years ago on a fateful July 31, veteran television and radio broadcaster, journalist and lyricist Premakeethi De Alwis met an untimely death at the hands of armed men sent to his home. It was a time when the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) insurrection was at its height. Premakeerthi had received several warnings from the Depashapremi Janatha Viyaparaya (DJV), the armed wing of the JVP. But the unassuming Premakeerthi had taken these threats lightly. more..

Aug 7 (CT) No argument, education can be at a crossroad as it is a vigorous development component which contributes in multiple developmental aspects including nation-building and economic development in any society and in any country. Obviously, education gives people the skills they need to help themselves to ameliorate their living conditions out of poverty or, in other words, progress towards prosperity of their personal lives and prosperity of the society where they live more..

Aug 7 (SO) Health Minister Dr.Rajitha Senaratne said the UNP is all out to muster the support of political parties and civil organizations to launch a broad Political Alliance at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium on August 05, so as to ensure the victory of all progressives at the forthcoming Presidential Election. “So far, we have not reached consensus on a Presidential Candidate. The Alliance will decide on the Presidential Candidate in due course.” more..

Aug 7 (SO) After visiting Shakthika Sathkumara in prison, I sat down to write about this writer who should never have spent a single day behind bars, let alone four months, for a short story he wrote. Then I reconsidered. Self-censorship — that is the real enemy of freedom of expression and that is what govts and other institutions harbour secretly. Providing an alternative view of religious leaders and their lives in a work of literature is poetic licence. If you disagree, well, it’s just what all art is more..

Aug 7 (CT) I come now to one of the most important functions of govt in the modern world. Govt needs to promulgate & uphold regulations, not least because, as I wrote in Political Principles and their Practice in SL, Govt must ensure a level playing field, so that exploitation of weaker sections of society is limited. Exploitation can be by businesses, by the govt, by special interests or by individuals, and it is an essential function of govt to provide protection to all citizens against such exploitation. more..

Aug 7 (Island) Thanks to the ongoing Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC), ACMC leader and Vanni District MP, Rishad Bathiudeen, is no longer under heavy fire over his alleged involvement with the now-proscribed National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ). The govt proscribed the NTJ on May 13, 2019 - 23 days after the Easter carnage. The Jama’athe Milla’athe Ibrahim (JMI) and the Willayath As Seylani (WAS) were also banned in terms of regulation 75(1) of the emergency regulations. more..

Aug 7 (ST) With the ICC Under-19 World Cup on the horizon, intense practice sessions are being done to make sure that the SL team has covered all the areas that they need to fix before their departure to South Africa in Feb 2020. Asia Cup will be the first hurdle that junior coach Hashan Tillakaratne and his team will have to get through as they battle for supremacy and look to gain the confidence ahead of some important tours in the future. Leading up to the tournament, there was the Super Provincial more..

Aug 7 (FT) German Ambassador Jörn Rohde this week declared that early opening of Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau Representative Offices in key markets will help quicken revival of the leisure industry post-Easter Sunday setback. "Soon after the 21 April Easter Sunday terror attacks, Tourism Minister John Amaratunga said SL Tourism Promotion Bureau Representative Offices will be set up in key markets. more..

Aug 7 (Island) Hardly a day passes without several fatal road accidents being reported from different parts of the country. On Sunday, two buses collided head-on, killing six persons and injuring over 50 others, at Waskaduwa. The disaster struck when an SLTB bus tried to overtake another vehicle; its driver died in the crash. Blaming the deceased driver for the accident, Police Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekera revealed that 1,629 persons had perished in road accidents since 1 Jan 2019. more..

Aug 7 (DN) Cricket World Cup held every four years not only brings to an end the careers of several cricketers, but also spells the death knell for team head coaches depending on how the respective countries have performed. At the moment SL, South Africa, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and England are on the lookout for a new head coach. First five countries because their teams failed to qualify for the semi-finals, India because as one of the pre-tournament favourites more..

Aug 7 (PTI) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe has said that the creation of Ladakh as a Union Territory is an internal matter of India. Indian govt revoked Article 370 which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir and moved a separate bill to split the state into two union territories of Jammu, Kashmir & Ladakh. Move sparked jubilation in Buddhist-dominated Leh town for coming close to the fulfilment of their long standing demand. more..

Aug 7 (EN) Expolanka Holdings Plc, a logistics and travel firm, said that its net profits for the June quarter fell 38.2% to 152.9 million rupees from a year earlier. Basic earnings per share was 8 cents. The Expolanka share closed 10 cents lower at 5.90 rupees a share on Tuesday. Revenue for the quarter grew 15.1% to 22.9 billion rupees from a year earlier, while cost of sales rose 15% to 18.3 billion rupees, leading to gross profits rising 15.7% to 4.6 billion rupees. more..

Aug 7 (EN) The central bank has limited deposit taking at Ideal Finance after the firm failed to meet a 1.5 billion rupee capital requirement on January 2019, Fitch Ratings said. "The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has imposed a cap of 700 million rupees on total deposits due to Ideal's non-compliance with the interim minimum capital requirement of 1.5 billion rupees," Fitch Ratings said. "Its non-compliance could give rise to regulatory risks," the ratings agency said. more..

Aug 7 (FT) The SLPP said the country needs a leader who has the potential to work and think in line with needs and challenges of the 21st century to develop the country. MP Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said a leader with a focus simply to develop basic infrastructure will not be sufficient to resolve prevailing economic challenges. He said all the leaders that won elections in the recent past around the world had given more..

Aug 7 (Hindu) Family members of seven Rameswaram fishermen who were arrested by the SL navy on July 28 on charges of trespassing into SL waters while fishing, have urged the district administration to take up the issue with the govt and secure the release of the fishermen at the earliest. Led by Deeran Thirumurugan, advocate and president of the Tamil Nadu Meenavar Urimai Padukappu Iyakkam, wives and children of the seven fishermen, presented petition to more..

Aug 7 (TM) The SL Export Development Board (EDB) celebrated its 40th anniversary with religious observances on 1st Aug 2019. The anniversary celebration consisted of a multi-religious event, an all-night pirith chanting and alms giving for 40 Buddhist monks. These merits were made at the head office of the EDB on August 1st, 2nd and 3rd. With the objective of development and promotion of the export trade, the EDB was established under the direction of the late Lalith Athulathmudali, more..

Aug 7 (EN) Sri Lanka's state-run bus transport enterprise will buy 2,000 luxury buses, as more people move towards private transport due to bad service, Transport Minister Arjuna Ranatunga said. “I have already put a cabinet paper to call for EOIs for 2000 high-end luxury buses and then low floor buses mainly targeting disabled people in the city limits,” Minister said. There a 1.5 billion rupee allocation for buses in 2019 budget, he said. more..

Aug 7 (ST) Califolink Logistics (CLL), the logistics arm of the Jinadasa Group, was recently acquired for an undisclosed sum by Ceyline Holdings. The integrated logistics company, which has a strong presence in Sri Lanka, has been an effective and reliable partner to many prominent local export businesses in the apparel, FMCG and automobile space over the past 10 years. Over the years CLL diversified its business portfolio with the inclusion of mobile storage solutions through more..

Aug 7 (ST) Large crowds, including foreigners, are visiting the Sri Lanka Post (SLP) headquarters at DR Wijewardena Mawatha, to see the Colombo Stamp Show (CSS) 2019, which is on from August 2-4. SLP has a special unit to provide a personalized stamp service for visitors to have their bust with a valid stamp, at the CSS. The cost of 20 Rs 10 stamps would be Rs 1,500, of Rs 15 stamps would Rs 2,000 and Rs 25 stamps would be Rs 2,500. These special personalized stamps can be used for more..

Aug 7 (CT) Govt yesterday, withdrew the SL Electricity (Amendment) Bill which was scheduled for the Second Reading in Parliament on the same day following the AG's instructions that the certain clauses of the Bill violate the Constitution, making Parliamentary Sittings limited to 1.5 hours. Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa: “We understand that Speaker has received a letter from AG that the latter had objected to this Bill more..

Aug 7 (AT) Under the leadership and direction of PM Ranil Wickremesinghe as Minister of National Policies, Economic Affairs, Resettlement and Rehabilitation, Northern Province and youth Affairs, the Govt of India has extended a generous support to build an Iconic cultural centre in Jaffna (adjoining to the Jaffna Public Library- Pullukulum) at a cost of Rs. 1,800 Million with 12 floors of luring tower, auditorium, museum, display gallery and floating stage. more..

Aug 7 (Island) Supreme Court yesterday continued to hear the contempt of court trial against Ranjan Ramanayake, Deputy Minister and UNP MP for the Gampaha District. He is charged with having made degrading statements about judicial officers at a public address in Colombo in the recent past. Video cassette was played on the screen in court, displaying the aforesaid incident. The accused Ramanayake had been permitted by court to sit the A/L Exam which is currently being conducted. more..

Aug 7 (Island) Senior Vice President of the SLFP Nimal Siripala de Silva, MP, and the General Secretary of the party Dayasiri Jayasekera, MP, yesterday, repeatedly said that an agreement with the SLPP on the candidature of Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the 2019 presidential election would depend on the ongoing talks between Prez Sirisena and former Prez Rajapaksa. The MPs emphasized that though the SLFP strongly believed more..

Aug 7 (Island) Softlogic Life, signed a MoU with the University of Kelaniya to extend their dynamic sales force the opportunity to be qualified with both a diploma and higher diploma in financial services management. Softlogic Life aims to further strengthen their team of experienced insurance advisors through this unique new initiative, accredited by the UGC. Where once insurance sales was thought of as a profession for those who cannot find employment elsewhere or one which more..

Aug 7 (FT) Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) Executive Director Dr. Dushni Weerakoon has been appointed as a member of the Monetary Board of the Central Bank of SL with effect from 29 July. She joined the IPS in 1994 on completing her PhD, and has written and published widely on macroeconomic policy, regional trade integration and international economics. She is also the Head of its Macroeconomic Policy Research. She has extensive experience in public policy engagement more..

Aug 7 (Island) Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, MP, revealed that he had recently been offered the post of the Deputy Minister of Defence and a Cabinet portfolio by the Minister of Defence. Prez Sirisena is the Minister of Defence. The former army chief said that he had turned down the offer because it was intended to silence him. He said he could not keep his mouth shut, given the situation in the country. more..

Aug 7 (AD) Minister of Sports Harin Fernando has received the draft of the report of forensic audit on Sri Lanka Cricket was received. The forensic audit was conducted by the Auditor General’s Department. Minister said a committee will be appointed to study the audit report and to take necessary actions on it. The sports minister, on January 28, called for a report on the financial transactions of Sri Lanka Cricket from 2016-2018 after conducting a forensic audit. more..

Aug 7 (FT) German Ambassador Jörn Rohde is backing the call for one country, one law in the on-going debate surrounding the reform of the Muslim Marriages and Divorce Act (MMDA). He said that post-Easter Sunday attacks, during discussions on the security situation with the diplomatic community, there was reference by PM Ranil Wickremesinghe to the need for one country, one law including a uniform minimum marriage age, and the reforms to MMDA have elicited much debate in media. more..