Oct 30 (ST) Sri Lanka will be implementing a 5-year strategic plan (2020-2024) in phases ensuring that the products and industries that really need protection are safeguarded. Under this plan, para- tariffs including Special Commodity Levy (SCL), Ports & Airports Development Levy (PAL) and Commodity Exports Support Scheme Levy (CESS Levy) will be removed without considering the loss in revenue for the govt. more..

Oct 30 (CT) The SL Association for Software and Services Companies (SLASSCOM) will be hosting SLASSCOM AI ASIA Summit 2019 for the second consecutive year. The summit will be held on 6 November 2019 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Shangri-La, Colombo. Following a highly successful summit last year, more than 400 participants are expected to take part in this year's summit. This year's keynote speakers hail from the field of AI and will cover emerging AI Applications more..

Oct 30 (Island) Showcasing its superior dominance in the Roaming category, Mobitel, Sri Lanka’s premier mobile network provider sponsored Yes 101 and Shakthi FM to host Radio shows from overseas though Mobitel’s ultra-speed roaming platform. Priced at US$ 10, Mobitel’s ‘Unlimited Data Roaming, SMS & Voice comes with irresistible offers and exclusive privileges, allowing customers to travel abroad without facing any interruption in Data, SMS or Voice usage. more..

Oct 30 (FT) In a major breakthrough, the Cabinet of Ministers yesterday approved the implementation of the $ 480 million Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) grant, based on a proposal by Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera. While authorising Minister Samaraweera to sign the Compact Agreement with the MCC on behalf of the Sri Lankan Govt, Cabinet also approved tax exemptions for related projects, as well as the enactment more..

Oct 30 (DN) With rain washing out play in the first two days the first under 19 cricket test between SL and Bangladesh ended in a draw at Barisal yesterday. SL under 19 who won the toss and batted first reached 331-7 declared with skipper Nipun Dhananjaya (67), Sonal Dinusha (58) and Dunith Wellalage (50 n.o.) scoring half-centuries apiece. Dhananjaya and Dinusha figured in a 113-run stand for the 4th wicket. B'desh U19 were struggling at 142 for 6 when the game ended. more..

Oct 30 (CT) SLC has awarded 20 national players and 15 emerging players contracts for six months and three months respectively. The national players have been grouped in four categories while the emerging players have a fixed monthly rate and an attendance allowance. Chamari Atapattu, Shashikala Siriwardene and Inoka Ranaweera have been categorised in Group 'A' while Group 'B' and Group 'D' have 5 players each with 7 players placed in Group 'C'. more..

Oct 30 (CT) Sri Lanka failed to capture a spot in Lonely Planet's Best in Travel for 2020 despite the global travel magazine maintaining the island nation's ranking as the number one location for 2019 after the tragic Easter Sunday Bombing. The Best in Travel 2020 edition featured Bhutan as the leading destination, followed by England, North Macedonia, Aruba, Eswatini, Costa Rica, Netherlands, Liberia, Morocco and more..

Oct 30 (Island) Mahindra & Mahindra of India recently inaugurated its first completely knocked down (CKD) facility in Sri Lanka with its local joint venture partner Ideal Motors under the subsidiary Mahindra Ideal Lanka. With their local assembly operation, Mahindra Ideal should be able to price Mahindra KUV 100 SUVish car rolling out in November at a competitive price. The Island asked Sanjay Jadhav, vice president- Mahindra&Mahindra, head of international operations-South Asia more..

Oct 30 (DN) SLC provided bowling machines to 16 schools that performed well in the Under 19 Schools Cricket Division 1 Tournament during the year 2018/19 season. Accordingly, St. Joseph’s College, Colombo, S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia, St. Sebastian’s College, Moratuwa, Nalanda College, Colombo, Prince of Wales, Moratuwa, Trinity College, Kandy, Thurstan College, Colombo, Mahinda College, Galle, Richmond College, Galle, Maris Stella College, Negombo, more..

Oct 30 (PTV) The CEO of a major Iranian contractor company involved in the construction of a hydropower project in Sri Lanka says works on the massive project has completely finished as he recounts how engineers from around the world were outsmarted by their Iranian rivals every step on the way. Nasser Tarkeshdouz, who heads the Mahab Qods, company that offered consultancy services in Uma Oya Multipurpose Development Project, more..

Oct 30 (DM) Chinese Ambassador Cheng Xueyuan said it would be opportune for Sri Lanka to improve the investment climate in Sri Lanka since there were many large Chinese companies eager to put their money on the ground. Addressing a forum of media personnel, academics and representatives of Chinese companies doing business in Sri Lanka at the Lotus Tower, the Ambassador said bilateral relations between the two countries had progressed well. more..

Oct 30 (Hindu) Most Sri Lankans are unlikely to have heard of Nadukattupatti. But the tragic death of Sujith Wilson has left many across the Palk Strait devastated. As news of the toddler’s death broke early on Tuesday, messages of grief and shock started filling social media pages in Sri Lanka. The plight of the two-year-old had become a chief concern for many in the island nation over the last couple of days, despite the presidential race dominating social media platforms. more..

Oct 30 (AD) The UNP has decided to remove MP Wasantha Senanayake from the party with immediate effect. UNP General Secretary Akila Viraj Kariyawasam stated that the UNP decided to strip party membership from Senanayake immediately and later remove him from his ministerial portfolio. Wasantha Senanayake, great grand son of UNP founder D.S. Senanayake, is the current State Minister of Foreign Affairs in UNP-led govt. more..

Oct 30 (BDC) According to the high places, sources close to a few of these players, who didn’t travel to Pakistan (for three ODIs’ and three T-20 internationals a few weeks ago) expressing security fear have expressed their willingness now to play in Pakistan. The news was also confirmed by another source, who revealed to this reporter from Australia that Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, and Niroshan Dickwella were consulted by the team manager and the tour selector, Ashantha de Mel. more..

Oct 30 (FT) European Union (EU) noted that the bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and the EU in recent years have grown significantly. Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Helga Schmid made this observation when she met with the Ambassador of SL to the EU Grace Asirwatham in Brussels recently, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said. During the cordial discussion, Schmid noted the significant growth in bilateral relations between SL and the EU in recent years. more..

Oct 30 (CT) Five Northern groups yesterday decided against voting for any Sinhala candidate at the forthcoming Prez Election. The groups that took such a decision were: Former NP Chief Minister C.V. Vigneswaran's Tamil Makkal Kootani (TMK), Suresh Premachandran's Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF-Suresh Wing), Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam's All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC), more..

Oct 30 (DM) These are hilarious pre-election days where citizens of this nation are getting to hear about fancy plans prez candidates have for them. Prez hopeful Sajith Premadasa has challenged his main counterpart Gotabaya Rajapaksa for a debate, but the debate seems to be a non-starter. Rajapaksa camp questions Sajith’s credentials before the debate and the response of its members is that they wouldn’t want to waste time on such an event. This could be a preferred way of rubbing it in more..

Oct 30 (DM) When the Donoughmore Reforms which included proposals for granting universal franchise to all citizens, were being discussed, the legislators who belonged to the nobility (to whom the voting rights were confined up to then) raised objection to it. As Sir James Pieris argued, giving such right to all and sundry, with barely any experience in governance, would allow shrewd and cunning individuals to deceive them and come to power through their vote. more..

Oct 30 (TM) The 16 Nov prez election will see a tight race between SLPP prez candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa and NDF prez candidate Sajith Premadasa in the Uva Province. Despite being the second least populated province in the country with a population of 1,266,463, the Uva Province, which borders the Eastern, Southern, and Central Provinces, would play an important role in the upcoming presidential election, more..

Oct 30 (Island) Addressing a rally held in Galle, prez candidate of the NDF Dr. Rohan Plallewatte criticized the behavior of some private media channels saying "it is blatantly biased and unjust". He further said that this necessitates prompt action by the election commission to ensure a free and fair election. "Some private TV channels devote over 60% of the news coverage time to promote one candidate of their choice", said Pallewatte. more..

Oct 30 (NAR) Sri Lanka's growing dependence on China to support its maritime economy keeps Ray Ren on edge in Hambantota, where a $1.5 billion port built with Chinese loans sits along the Indian Ocean island's southern coast. The Chinese executive of the port operator has to fend off criticism that the port is to become a Chinese colony. "This is not a port where we will only welcome Chinese investors," Ren, the CEO more..

Oct 30 (Island) Convenor of civil society group Yuthukama Genvindu Cumaratunga yesterday called for tangible measures to reveal the truth as regards some of those killings blamed on the JVP during its second abortive insurgency in the 80s. One-time Inter University Student Federation (IUSF) activist Cumaratunga emphasised that the Joint Opposition/SLPP couldn’t absolve themselves of the responsibility to look into that aspect. more..

Oct 30 (ST) National Medicine Regulatory (NMRA) Authority has taken steps to regulate clinical trials on medicines, devices and borderline products listed in its registry. NMRA said that the step has been warranted because of the lack of controls on clinical trials on pharmaceuticals products. Pharmaceutical medicines, devices and borderline products earlier came under the Cosmetics Devices and Drug Act, but more..

Oct 30 (FT) DNF prez aspirant Sajith Premadasa pledged to provide free fertiliser, insisting that would be done with a broader economic plan to increase the productivity of the agriculture sector and assist Sri Lanka to become self-sufficient. Addressing a rally held in Divulapitiya, Premadasa said the decision to provide free fertiliser was taken in good faith, as a necessary part of a plan to develop the agriculture sector. more..

Oct 30 (Island) UPFA lawmaker Dullas Alahapperuma said that the SLFP had not taken up arms during the second JVP led insurgency in the late 1980s Alahapperuma said so at the launch of UPFA MP Bandula Gunawardena’s sudu van sanskruthiya (white van culture) at the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute, Wijerama Mawatha. UNP had unleashed violence to achieve political ends, more..

Oct 30 (DM) NDF candidate Sajith Premadasa turned down the request that had been made by his rival SLPP candidate to make a formal written request from him for a public debate stating there is no need for written request if the latter is interested in such a debate. Speaking during an election rally in Biyagama which was organised by State Minister Ruwan Wijewardene yesterday, Mr. Premadasa said he is ready to debate with more..

Oct 30 (DN) Minister Ranjith Madduma Bandara said that during the last four years, the rates of all forms of crime such as murder, rape and looting in the country had declined drastically as a result of raising the number of successful prosecutions under this govt compared to the previous Rajapaksa regime. “We have prepared the environment for the people of this country to live without fear and uncertainty. more..

Oct 30 (PMD) The scroll or the traditional Sannas Pathraya declaring the Shrine of Our Lady of Madhu as a Sacred Site has been presented by President Maithripala Sirisena to the Bishop of the Diocese of Mannar Most Reverend Dr. Emmanuel Fernando at the President’s Office today (29). One of the most sacred sites of Catholic devotees, the Madhu Church is venerated by Sinhala and Hindu community too. more..

Oct 30 (FT) This series is based on business leader Dhammika Perera’s recently revealed Economic Growth Strategy and Action Plan to increase GDP Per Capita from $ 4,000 to $ 12,000. Document outlines goals and action plans for 23 ministries and today’s column focuses on Ministry of Fisheries. Goals: Double fishermen’s income. Double the current fish yield of 0.9 tonne/sq. km per annum to 1.8 tonne/sq. km per annum (fish yield of India from exclusive economic zone of 2.02 m sq. km more..

Oct 30 (CT) Nov 12th will mark the 43rd death anniversary of undergraduate Weerasuriya, killed on 12 Nov 1976 due to Police shooting within the premises of Peradeniya University in order to quell undergraduate unrest at that time. 1976 was also the tail end of the SLFP/UF Govt of Sirimavo Bandaranaike, who was due to face a Parliamentary Poll the following year, 1977. The Opposition UNP led by J.R. Jayewardene made capital of Weerasuriya's killing, leading to the UNP's more..

Oct 30 (AD) NPP Prez Candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayaka says that females in Sri Lanka face many issues today. He mentioned this addressing a public meeting in the Kattankudy area, yesterday (29). He pointed out that only 3% of females are engaged in employment despite 70% of the country’s university population being female. According to him, 638 abortions are carried out per day in Sri Lanka and that the Sri Lankan women have inherited an insecure life. more..

Oct 30 (Island) Five Tamil political parties will decide today whom to support in the prez election. They first met on Monday. The five parties would meet in Jaffna in an attempt to reach a consensus, former MP Suresh Premachandran said. He said they were confident the Tamils would vote in accordance with the stand to be taken by the five Tamil parties. However, the Tamil political parties recently put forth 13 key demands. They include demands for the re-merger of Northern and Eastern provinces more..

Oct 30 (CI) At least there were no unwanted records this time. At least the team total broke through to triple figures. And at least two batsmen made more than 20. Having been thumped by 134 runs on Sunday, these were the only minor improvements for Sri Lanka in the second T20I. Yet again, however, they were emphatically outplayed from the very beginning. A slow start, replete with regular wickets, coalesced into more..

Oct 30 (EN) Farmland opened by a new irrigation projects in Sri Lanka below a montane forest reserve has been named an exclusive organic farming zone, by the ministry of Mahaweli Development. Farmers settled in Sri Lanka’s Laggala Pallegama areas in the course of building Kalu Ganga and Moragahakanda irrigation projects under the Mahaweli ‘F’ area fed from waters coming from the upper reaches of Knuckles range of mountains which are free of human settlements. more..

Oct 30 (AD) All govt schools in Hambantota district and Mulatiyana zone of Matara district will remain closed tomorrow as the inclement weather continues to affect these areas. The Governor of the Southern Province Hemal Gunasekara yesterday issued the directive to relevant authorities to close the schools in the aforementioned areas today. However, as the heavy rainfall continues to plague these areas, the Governor has taken measures to keep the schools closed over the course of tomorrow. more..

Oct 30 (RN) Prez hopeful Anura Kumara Dissanayake addressing a gathering in Kattanukudy pledged that a govt led by him will facilitate a culture of mutual respect and understanding between all ethnic and religious groups. “The cultural diversity of our country is what makes it beautiful. But our politicians have used our respective language, religion and culture to divide us, to create conflict and tribulation. more..

Oct 30 (FT) Sri Lanka must focus on the mechanisation of agriculture, especially the non-paddy sector, while the private and public sectors should co-ordinate to find optimum solutions to improve the productivity of the farmer, said an expert recently. Agriculture Machinery Manufacturers and Suppliers Association (AgMMA) recently held a dialogue on Smart Crop Production and Post Harvest Technologies. AgMMA President Lasantha Wickremesooriya, delivering a speech more..

Oct 30 (DM) The Election Commission said nearly 659,030 were eligible to cast their postal votes from tomorrow to Nov 5 with Nov 7 as an additional day for postal voting for those who had failed to cast their votes earlier. Election Commission Director Channa De Silva said the EC had initially set aside Oct 31 and Nov 1 for public servants and Nov 4 and 5 for police and armed forces personnel and public servants deployed on election duty. EC had received 77,871 applications for postal voting more..

Oct 30 (AD) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe says that he will continue to remain as the country’s PM if NDF candidate Sajith Premadasa wins the upcoming Prez Election. He made these comments during a special press conference, to reveal the ruling govt’s performance and achievements up to date. Asked about the election defeat suffered by the UNP at the last Local Authorities in 2018, more..