Feb 10 (SO) Sri Lanka discard Angelo Perera has once again let his bat do the talking this time in the on-going SLC Major League Tier A where he contributed another half century (51) for Nondescripts Cricket Club (NCC) against Lankan CC at Maitland Place yesterday that took his career aggregate to over 7000 First Class runs. He smashed 126 against Ragama CC in the tournament’s opener. Perera is currently captaining the NCC team that declared at a massive 511 more..

Feb 10 (SO) Despite the current challenges, work on the Colombo Port City project and all other mega development projects will continue unabated in line with the policy of the govt to accelerate economic growth and pass on its benefits to the people, said Economic Advisor to PM, Ajith Nivard Cabraal. He said there is no reason why work on development projects should be stalled given the dire need to expedite work on them to achieve higher economic growth which is a long felt need. more..

Feb 10 (TM) The foolproof sticker requirement for local liquor products that was conceptualised by the previous Govt is likely to be implemented by the Excise Department from 1 March. Industry sources said that the department is pushing for it to be implemented from 1 March onwards, despite strong concerns within the alcohol industry. The implementation comes three months prior to the compulsory enactment date more..

Feb 10 (FT) The liabilities of the Skyrise Grand Hyatt Colombo are seemingly rising sky high in light of its defeats in the Arbitration held in Singapore as well as in the court action instituted in local courts to enforce the Arbitral Award. The dispute arose as far back as March 2015 in relation to the interior works of the Grand Hyatt Colombo, which was awarded to Interna Contract Spa, an interior works specialist, which has completed over 40 other Hyatt Projects around the globe. more..

Feb 10 (Island) Teejay Lanka has reported profit before tax of Rs 2.364 billion at Group level for the nine months ending 31st Dec 2019, an improvement of 56% over the corresponding period of the previous year. Sales for the period grew by 15% to Rs 26.3 billion the Company said, with revenue for the 3rd quarter alone up by 5% to Rs 8.9 billion. Group profit before tax for the three months ending 31st Dec – Teejay’s 9th consecutive quarter of revenue & profit growth – increased by 31% more..

Feb 10 (FT) A special audit report on charges and facilities provided for tourists visiting Sri Lanka has found that even though high prices are charged from foreigners who visit National Parks, botanical gardens, museums and sites that come under the Central Cultural Fund (CCF), they are provided with neither adequate facilities nor security, and often fall victim to fraudulent groups. The report released by the AG’s Department more..

Feb 10 (FT) High Commission of Sri Lanka in Canberra commemorated the 72nd anniversary of Independence Day of Sri Lanka with a formal flag hoisting ceremony and the participation of a wide cross-section of the Sri Lankan community living in Canberra in the early morning of 4 February, at the High Commission premises. The ceremony commenced with the hoisting of the National Flag of SL by the Acting High Commissioner, followed by the singing of the National Anthem of SL. more..

Feb 10 (EN) Cabinet of ministers had cleared changes to the Finance Act that are required to remove the Debt Repayment Levy from banks, the state information office said. The DRL was a direct tax slapped on banks by the last administration, which raised state sector workers salaries sharply. President Rajapaska, as part of his fiscal stimulus package listed the DRL as one of the taxes to be removed. The cabinet had cleared the changes to be gazette and brought to parliament. more..

Feb 10 (Island) UNP MP Mujibur Rahman, said that yahapalana govt had paid compensation to the Netherlands-based aircraft leasing company AerCap Holdings N.V. for the cancellation of leasing agreement in respect of four Airbus A 350-900 ordered by the previous administration. The decision to cancel the agreement had been taken on the recommendation of JC Weliamuna report, MP said. Rahman said that the govt had acted on more..

Feb 10 (DN) Minister Dullas Alahapperuma has appointed a Special Investigation Unit comprising a Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) and a Superintendent of Police (SP) to implement the legal provisions of the Prevention of Offences Relating to Sports Act. Two members appointed to the Unit are W.A.J.H. Fonseka, SSP (Director/Chief) and S. M.J. Samaranayake SP (Deputy Director). The appointments have been made by the Minister for three years with effect from Feb 15 more..

Feb 10 (CT) A woman working at the BIA suspected of contracting the coronavirus (2019-nCoV) had been admitted to the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital and after having tested positive she was promptly transferred to the IDH. She had come to the A'pura Teaching Hospital OPD for treatment on 7 Feb, and the doctor who examined her had taken her to a safe place after preliminary investigations, concluding that she had contracted 2019-nCoV. The hospital administration had taken her to IDH more..

Feb 10 (TM) Plagued with multiple controversies, the country’s national carrier SriLankan Airlines has been slapped with a fresh scandal after details emerged of an alleged corrupt deal involving a former SriLankan Airlines executive, his wife, and European plane-maker Airbus. The devastating revelations of the controversial deal initially came to light on 31 Jan after judges in a UK court approved a record $ 3.9 bil settlement more..

Feb 10 (AD) Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa question the govt whether the attempt to dissolve the parliament before the due time a result of the inability to provide reliefs for the Sinhala and Tamil New Year. According to the Leader of the Opposition, there are reports of the govt attempting to dissolve the parliament before the due date. Asking what the hurry is to hold the election before the New Year, Premadasa said this decision is taken as the govt is unable to provide relief to more..

Feb 10 (SO) Celebrating its 30th anniversary on January 31, CINEC has decided to rebrand its educational service with the vision of expanding as an educational and training institute solely for the purpose of providing employable youth to the international market. “CINEC was launched in 1990 as a Maritime Academy aimed at helping young school leavers to enter the seafaring sector from the basic level and rise all the way to Ship’s Captain and Chief Engineer ranks,” Master Mariner more..

Feb 10 (CT) The CID has seized 67 files containing valuable information on billions of rupees worth of controversial Sathosa transactions, allegedly carried out by former Minister Rishad Bathiudeen, during the previous Govt's tenure, from a private residence, a topmost Police official said. He said the files were recovered during a lightning raid carried out by a team of CID officials in a private residence in Colombo on Friday. more..

Feb 10 (AD) Afghan Minister of Finance Mohammed Humayon Qayoumi called on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa today (9). The Finance Minister met with President Rajapaksa at the President’s residence,. Minister Qayoumi also serves as a Special Advisor to the President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani. The visiting Minister discussed bilateral relations and regional issues with President Rajapaksa. Afghan Ambassador to Sri Lanka, M. Ashraf Haidari was also present on this occasion. more..

Feb 10 (Island) Muthubanda of Keselpotha in Rideemaliyadda, Badulla. was born with a restrictive disability that slows him in walking and with a difficulty to sit or bend down. He has once run a successful grocery in his town and has saved enough from this primary enterprise to purchase a bus to lease as an additional source of revenue. However, after a few troublesome years in his entrepreneurship and losing his bus and the grocery, Mr. Muthubanda was identified by more..

Feb 10 (ST) A stoppage of fuel supplies by the Petroleum Corporation to the ECB due to non-settlement of an outstanding bill — which triggered an unannounced all island power cut last Monday morning — is pushing the Power and Energy Ministry to fast track negotiating a Rs 10 billion loan from state banks. The CPC served the CEB an ultimatum by stopping fuel supplies to the CEB thermal power plants. more..

Feb 10 (DM) 21 persons including an Army Colonel and two other soldiers were arrested in a joint raid by the STF and the Army for searching gold buried by the LTTE this morning at Kattaikadu in Dharmapuram in Kilinochchi. Suspects had been excavating using scanners when the arrest was made. Army Colonel and the two soldiers have taken part in the excavations, providing security to a group of people who were searching for gold. Colonel and two Army personnel were dressed in more..

Feb 10 (FT) Five progressive SL companies are vying to boost exports by securing new buyers at Ambiente 2020, the world’s largest consumer goods show ongoing in Frankfurt, Germany. The companies are Dankotuwa Porcelain (Hall 6.12) along with its sister company Royal Fernwood Porcelain, Art Decoration Int'l (Hall 9.2) specialising in decorative ceramicware; handloom products specialist Selyn Exporters (Hall 9.3), wooden educational toys exporter Gospel House more..

Feb 10 (PMD) The programme to employ unemployed undergraduates will accept application forms until 20th of Feb. Should not be more than 35 years of age; A monthly allowance of Rs. 20,000 / during the one year training period; Appointments will be within the district; The Programme to provide jobs for all unemployed graduates and diploma holders has commenced. more..

Feb 10 (FT) Office of Missing Persons (OMP) has called on the public to help it verify the provisional list of missing or disappeared persons before 15 March. The OMP, in a public notice, has requested families of the missing and disappeared to contact the OMP either by calling 011 2056 504 or 011 2667 108, or by visiting its Head Office or Regional Offices on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on or before 15 March to ensure that the information concerning their missing or disappeared more..

Feb 10 (TOI) PM Mahinda Rajapaksa offered prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi before heading to pay a visit to Buddhist shrines in Sarnath on Sunday. Rajapaksa’s is on a 5-day visit to India. Rajapaksa reached Kashi Vishwanath temple and performed the shodashopchar pujan in the sanctum sanctorum as priests chanted Vedic mantras. He then went to the mandap of the neighbouring Tarkeshwar Mahadev Temple, where UP minister Neelkanth Tiwari felicitated him. more..

Feb 10 (CT) The Tamil People's National Front (TPNF), a new political alliance, was formed with the signing of a MoU, at Tilko Hotel in Jaffna yesterday. The new Tamil political alliance, led by former Northern Province Chief Minister and Tamil Makkal Kootani (TMK) leader C.V. Wigneswaran, will comprise Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF), Eelam Tamil Self Rule Party (ETSRP), and Tamil National Party (TNP). more..

Feb 10 (DM) Not long after he was elected President of the US in 2017, newly-elected President Trump questioned the legitimacy of the US civil war. “The Civil War,” he said, “if you think about it, why? People don’t ask the question, but why was there the Civil War? Why could that one have not been worked out?” Unfortunately, Trump is not an avid fan of history not even American history. As he himself admits, he depends on Fox News to enlighten him on events both local and foreign. more..

Feb 10 (DM) Impeachment against President Donald Trump was approved by the Congress [Democratic-lead House of Representatives] on Dec 18. However, the majority in the Senate, who are Republican loyalist of Trump, acquitted him last Wednesday. Will the UNP’s WC loaded with Ranil loyalists which meets today endorse the plans of Sajith faction or drop the pro-Sajith Parliamentary group’s decision to proceed with reforms? Daily Mirror of Feb 6, states that, more..

Feb 10 (TM) Plantation companies and the Govt are struggling to reach a consensus on a proposal made by Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa to increase the daily wage of plantation workers to Rs. 1,000. Govt sources said that plantation companies had submitted a set of proposals on how the Rs. 1,000 can be offered, but a consensus is yet to be reached. Planters’ Association of Ceylon (PA) Secretary General Lalith Obeyesekere more..

Feb 10 (ST) A Health Ministry Experts Committee met last morning to draw up guidelines for SriLankan Airlines crews who fly in and out of China which has been hit by the spread of a new coronavirus, the Sunday Times learns. Health Services Director-General Dr. Anil Jasinghe appointed the four-member Experts Committee to set out the guidelines on a request made by the Pilots’ Guild on Friday afternoon. more..

Feb 10 (TM) With the recent outbreak of the coronavirus plaguing the Chinese city of Wuhan and spreading to other countries in the region, global communities have reached a state of panic. This panic has now given rise to something that is spreading much faster than the virus itself, Sinophobia. Defined as a strong dislike of China, Chinese people, and Chinese culture, Sinophobia is fast spreading globally, along with the spread more..

Feb 10 (FT) Coalition talks between the SLPP and SLFP plunged into deeper turmoil yesterday, with the former saying that separate talks with the SLFP were not needed and instead they could join common talks with all other parties that supported President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the Prez Elections. The SLFP which is a key part of the proposed coalition, previously demanded a 30% quota, a co-leadership role more..

Feb 10 (EN) The communities in the Batticaloa district range from Arab, East Asian and Indian traders who came by sailboat, to the Portuguese and Dutch who came to the island as invaders. The majority community is Tamil speaking, split between Hindus, Christians and Muslims and the Sinhala speakers, who are a minority. Portuguese is still spoken here and there are half a dozen Tamil dialects you can hear as well. more..

Feb 10 (FT) The Govt is planning to sign a string of bilateral agreements with a number of countries including China, Pakistan, Iraq and South Africa to channel tourists to the crisis-hit sector. Cabinet has granted approval to sign the bilateral agreements with China, Pakistan, Estonia and Iraq to promote tourism. In addition, the Govt expects to enter into bilateral agreements with several other countries such as South Africa & Georgia. more..

Feb 10 (EN) Unknown forces have launched a conspiracy to de-stabilize the Open University of SL and he is ready to enter a do-or-die battle to save the national university system and the freedom of students to study higher education minister Bandula Gunawardana said. Unknown forces are trying to undermine the national university system at a time when the govt is trying to find places for all qualified students within the country, he said. more..

Feb 10 (DN) Minister Mahinda Amaraweera has decided to lodge a complaint with the CID regarding the allegations against him on the purchasing of a vehicle worth Rs.42 million during the Good Governance era. Issuing a statement, Minister Mahinda Amaraweera refuted the allegations that he had purchased a Mercedes Benz worth Rs. 42 million when he was the Minister of Mahaweli Development. more..

Feb 10 (DM) The heads of SriLankan Airlines have been summoned by the COPE on Feb 19, to inquire about the controversial deal with Airbbus, its chairman MP Sunil Handunnetti said. He said that he has decided to hold an inquiry after summoning them for an initial discussion. At this meeting, several deals of SriLankan are scheduled to be probed. An investigation has been already carried out regarding the deals of Sri Lankan Airlines. more..

Feb 10 (EN) There were negotiations this morning between the two sides in the deeply divided UNP as it struggles to construct a viable campaign to challenge the rampant SLPP at a general election slated to be held at the end of April. The top decision-making body of the UNP the Working Committee is due to meet at 4pm today Monday to take several crucial decisions. The first will be to ratify the appointment of MP Ranjith more..

Feb 10 (CT) Western Province Senior DIG Deshabandu Tennakoon has revealed that the Province remains a hotbed for narcotics and underworld activities in the country. It is shocking to understand that the Western Province despite being the premier Province containing all important defence institutions has been identified as the hotbed of narcotics and underworld activities posing a threat to law and order in the entire country. It was ten years ago a free for all situation remained more..

Feb 10 (DN) Neville Fernando Hospital in Malabe has not been fully acquired by the then govt, Minister Bandula Gunawardena said. “Therefore the agreement signed during the previous govt regarding the acquisition of Neville Fernando Hospital should be studied properly,” he said. Minister said so after visiting the SAITM University’s medical faculty closed for about two years now, on Saturday. He said there was an agreement to acquire the Neville Fernando Hospital to govt more..

Feb 10 (FT) Asani, the bright AL student, and her grandfather – Sarath Mahatthaya – have been having frequent intellectual discussions on issues of mutual interest. Last week, they had a similar dialogue on the forensic audit reports completed by two audit firms of international repute – BDO India and KPMG India – on the bond issues by the Monetary Board of the Central Bank from 2002 to April 2016. In this discussion, Sarath Mahatthaya had pointed out to Asani that the loss more..