July 27 (DM) A total of 250 and 86 fuel loaded bowsers had left from Kolonnawa and Muthurajawela terminals respectively this afternoon, CPC Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals (CPSTL) said. CPSTL Managing Director Sanjeewa Wijeratne said the operations of the Muthurajawela commenced this morning after the trade union strike action. “Now both the Kolonnawa & Muthurajawela refineries are fully operational,” he said. more..

July 27 (NR) Port Authority employees have decided to postpone the proposed strike scheduled for tomorrow. Chief Secretary of the All Ceylon Port General Workers’ Union said the strike was postponed following a promise by President. He claimed the President has vowed to temporarily postpone the signing of the Hambantota Port agreement. The govt yesterday reiterated that handing over operations of the Hambantota Port to China will not see the country’s land sold. more..

July 27 (DM) Minister Harin Fernando said he was not prepared to defend anyone found guilty of fraud by the presidential commission probing the bond issue. At the same time he said the present govt had appointed a commission to probe the bond issue despite allegations against its own self. Further he charged that some joint opposition MPs have inflicted undue influence on police officers at the Welikada police. "We saw how these MPs behaved at the police station "he said. more..

July 27 (DN) Jaffna High Court Judge, M. Ilancheliyan refuted claims made by the Police Media spokesperson, SP Ruwan Gunasekara that the shooting incident in Jaffna was not aimed at him but was a mere coincidence. Judge stressed that the Police media spokesperson’s views on the case were irresponsible and need not have been made before a full investigation was concluded into the incident. more..

July 27 (PSL) President Maithripala Sirisena held a meeting with the senior lawyers who were recently appointed as Presidents’ Counsels. The meeting was held yesterday at the President’s House. During the meeting, the President said a greater service should be offered to the country through their knowledge and experience in the field. He wished them to carry out their professional work independently. The meeting was held according to the tradition for them to meet the President more..

July 27 (LBO) Considering the success of the project, cabinet has approved a proposal to provide funds to continue the pre-hospital care ambulance service launched last year with an Indian grant. The service was launched in Western and Southern Provinces by GVK EMRI Lanka with US$ 7.6 million assistance from Indian govt in July 2016. The govt let GVK import their vehicles and medical equipment duty free and provided space to set up their rapid response centers and more..

July 27 (DM) A complaint against a very senior purohita in yahapalanaya had been made to sleaze investigating authorities recently, they say. What is special about this complaint is that it had been made by a very intimate family member of the purohita. The complainant has furnished a list of property owned by the purohita which includes several mansions and BMW vehicles. The family member had made the complaint to more..

July 27 (DN) Minister Faiszer Musthapha said he would take maximum effort to prevent cruelty to animals. He made this observation when he met representatives of organisations campaigning for the prevention of cruelty to animals at the ministry. Representatives arrived in a protest march against the killing of stray dogs in Sri J'pura and Moratuwa campuses. Minister said that there is an organised campaign to blame and discredit him with regard to stray dogs being killed in the country. more..

July 27 (Island) Health Ministry said it would make use of theatres at private hospitals to perform cardiac and eye surgeries to clear waiting lists at govt hospitals. Decision had been taken during discussions between Minister, Rajitha Senaratne and Private Hospital Association (PHA) to address issues faced by private health institutions. Health Ministry would meet the cost incurred for the surgeries by the relevant hospital. Surgeons and staff would be from govt and private sectors. more..

July 27 (AD) Kayts Magistrate’s Court has instructed CID to launch an investigation into the accusations against Minister Vijayakala Maheswaran, in connection with the release of a suspect in the murder case of Vidya. Chief suspect of the murder case, Mahalingam Shashi Kumar, had been captured by local residents and tied to a post, whereupon he had been released without being handed over to the Police. more..

July 27 (EN) SL tour operators have volunteered to deploy bowsers to fill dried up water holes at the north-western Wilpattu National Park where animals were suffering owing to a prolonged drought. “The prevailing drought in the northern and central region of Sri Lanka has had an adverse effect on wildlife,” Ministry of Tourism said. “One of the most affected areas has been identified as the Wilpattu National Park. As a result of the drought almost all of the waterholes in the park have gone dry more..

July 27 (CT) In his famous polemic on morality and its place in human society, Trotsky said that morality is relative to each society, to each epoch, and is above all, relative to the interests of the different social classes. So, the morals of our PM and the Minister of Lotteries and Foreign Affairs are different from the morals of this writer.  We made a terrible mistake on 8th Jan 2015. We replaced a tyrannical autocracy with a shameless clique that delights in moral hypocrisy. more..

July 27 (CT) China and Hambantota are once more in the news, with Cabinet approval having been obtained to grant China Merchants Holdings Company Ltd. a 70% equity stake on the Hambantota Port for $ 1.4 billion, of which 10% 'will be deposited immediately after the official validation, another 30% of the value in three months (October) and the balance in another six months (January). See the lead story of this newspaper's yesterday's edition. more..

July 27 (DN) Three individuals who attended a wedding in Athuruwela, Giriulla have drowned in a well last night. One of the three deceased has tripped into the well during the wedding and the other two followed at the attempt to rescue. Three individuals who were pulled out from the well with the aid of ropes and ladders died while being rushed to the Hospital. The deceased, Mahinda Karunaratne (39), Nisal Adikari (38) and Anjana Lal Kumara (41) are residents in Dambadeniya. more..

July 27 (EN) Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a U.S. govt aid agency, has announced a Rs1.1 billion initial grant for Sri Lanka with due diligence now being done on potential projects in the transport and land sectors.   Sri Lanka was among countries selected by MCC last year to receive five-year grants aimed at encouraging economic growth and reducing poverty. Delegation from MCC led by Fatema Sumar, more..

July 27 (Island) The JVP and FSP as well as their IUSF have taken control of GMOA campaign against Dr. Neville Fernando’s SAITM, Govt Medical Officers’ Forum (GMOF) alleges. GMOF President Dr. Rukshan Bellana yesterday said that the GMOA had allowed those who had been pursuing a political agenda to interfere and influence what he said should essentially be a GMOA driven project. more..

July 27 (BBC) Jaffna High Court Judge, M. Ilancheliyan, vowed to protect his two children for the death of his guard. He was given this pledge at the funeral of Sub Inspector Sarath Hemachandra who was killed. "I have two children, both sons and sisters, from today I am taking care of Hemachandra's daughter and son, now I have four children, and I will accept the future of my two children till my death" Judge said. more..

July 27 (PSL) “Though those who were removed from power by the people are launching many conspiracies by dreaming to come to power again, nobody will be able to topple the current govt”, says President Maithripala Sirisena. “The govt is proceeding according to the constitution and the law in the country. Nobody can stop the govt’s journey towards the betterment of the country with long term political experience”, he said. more..

July 27 (Island) Knowing fully well that legal action against some members of former President Rajapaksa on criminal charges was imminent, GMOA, was trying hard to topple the govt as quickly as possible, Minister Rajitha Senaratne said. He said that in the history of the GMOA, it had struck work only on issues that directly affected their profession. "But, of late it has been protesting even against issues not connected to more..

July 27 (CT) Former Minister Basil Rajapaksa said, that no minister in the previous govt has been levelled with such serious accusations as Minister Ravi Karunanayake has earned following the Treasury Bonds Incident Investigating Commission. Basil Rajapaksa made this comment, while expressing hi views to journalists when he arrived at the Colombo High Court yesterday for a case hearing. more..

July 27 (CT) Chairman of SLPP Prof. G.L. Peiris demanded the Commissioner of Elections to hold elections to three Provincial Councils where the current terms are due to expire in Sept-Oct this year. Prof Peiris, in a letter sent through his lawyer Yajish Tennakoon, pointed out to Election Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya that PCs, Eastern, Sabaragamuwa and North-Central Provinces are to be expired and as per more..

July 27 (ST) Joseph Arulraj, a youth from Pungudutivu, one of the northern islands in Jaffna, pays Rs. 300 twice a week for 500 litres of water transported in water tankers. “It is a business, six water tankers are in this trade of transporting water to households,” he said. He said since an individual requires around six litres of water per day, residents have to use salty water for washing and bathing. “We have no choice, some people more..

July 27 (SL) The spread of dengue has taken a turn for the worse putting the govt on a war footing with cabinet last week approving a proposal to amend the Public Security Act to assist in the fight against dengue. Public Security Act is to be used to check abandoned property, including houses and construction sites, for dengue mosquito breeding grounds. Epidemiology Unit of the Ministry of Health said that during the last 7 months of this year, more..

July 27 (DM) Sunday Lankadeepa met with the Minister of Health, Dr. Rajitha Senarathna two days after the govt acquired the Malabe Neville Fernando Hospital. At the time we sat down to interview the minister, there was a protest being staged against SAITM in front of his ministry. Q: Do you think that the SAITM problem is over?   A: I can’t say that we have sorted out this problem to the very end.    more..

July 27 (DM) There’s a singular vacancy in this country, according to some. Ranil Amirtthiah of the popular local band Black, whenever he speaks and in whatever forum he chooses to do so, is often poetic but sometimes he flushes subtlety down the tube. He says it straight from the heart, always. This is clearly evident in a vacancy ad he posted a few hours ago.   Post: Sri Lankan ZORRO. Area of work: Colombo and suburbs. Job description: to terrorize those selfish Essential Service blackmailers, more..

July 27 (DM) Govt has decided to ban the use of polythene and rigifoam from September as one of the measures to reduce the quantity of garbage countrywide and as a measure to protect the environment. The short notice for the implementation of the polythene and rigiform ban by the government might have been prompted by the garbage crisis that erupted following the collapse of the 300-foot Meethotamulla garbage mountain on National New Year’s Day this year and more..

July 27 (Island) CoI ordered former CB Governor Arjun Mahendran to immediately hand over his hand phones, tab computers and laptops used since Jan 1, 2015. The order followed an application made by ASG Yasantha Kodagoda. Directions were issued to Mahendran’s counsel within 30 minutes after having initially reserved the order. At the time Singaporean national Mahendran received appointment on Jan 15, 2015, more..

July 27 (DN) The European Union (EU) has taken note of the European Court of Justice’s (ECJ’s) judgement annulling measures against the LTTE, namely the designation of the LTTE as a terrorist organisation and the freezing of LTTE funds. The judgment is a legal ruling of the European Court of Justice on the procedure used for listing the LTTE. It does not involve any assessment by the Court of the substantive reasons for the designation of the LTTE as a terrorist organisation. more..

July 27 (CT) Govt is facing a challenge to find Rs 1 trillion to pay for Treasury Bonds that will mature by 2018, Deputy Minister of Policy Planning and Economic Development, Dr. Harsha de Silva, said. Minister, elaborating on the new Treasury Bonds issuance system said, this is in addition to other debts the govt has accumulated that amounts to little over Rs 3 trillion. "Treasury Bonds issued over the years since 1990s will reach their maturity and govt needs at least Rs 987 billion for that. more..

July 27 (CT) Govt said it might postpone the signing of the Hambantota Port deal with the Chinese, which had been scheduled for 29 July. Signing of Hambantota Port Concession Agreement, that is scheduled to be signed on Saturday, with the SLPA obtaining 30% of the ownership and the rest given to China Merchants Holdings Company, might be postponed depending on Parliamentary debate on Friday, more..

July 27 (DM) All Ceylon Port General Workers’ Union has decided to stop work on Friday against the govt's move to lease 70% of the Hambantota Harbour to a Chinese firm, union's chief secretary Chandrasiri Mahagamage said. "We have organized a protest today against the govt’s decision. We will do our best to fight this treasonable act," he said. Mahagamage said the Bill on leasing 70% of the Hambantota Harbour to a Chinese firm was presented to Parliament yesterday more..

July 27 (CT) CEB General Manager A.K. Samarasinghe warned that there would be power cuts, if the distribution of diesel is not carried out. 47% of the daily power requirement of the country as of now is being produced using diesel and if diesel is not received, supplying electricity to the entire country would prove to be a serious problem. 73.3% of the requirement of power in the country is being produced through thermal power plants and 47% of that is being supplied by diesel plants. more..

July 27 (DN) Minister Ravi Karunanayake failed to appear before the Treasury Bond Commission for the second time yesterday. His lawyer said that he was summoned for a Security Council meeting, called for by the President. Following the absence which resulted in back and forth dialogue between the Commission and Karunanayake’s lawyer, Commission said he must appear before the Commission on Aug 2, more..

July 27 (CT) Dean of Medicine of the SAITM will also be a member of the Board of Governors, of the Neville Fernando Teaching Hospital (NFTH), appointed by the Cabinet, Minister Rajitha Senaratne said. "NFTH will act as the teaching hospital for SAITM students, thus the Dean of Medicine of the SAITM has to be a part of the board. Board of Governors comprises 12 members and they will be provided with a monthly allowance of Rs 200 million as operational expenses, more..

July 27 (EN) The govt has decided not to use the tough Public Security Act to outlaw work stoppages of state-sector doctors because their trade union has been greatly weakened, Minister Rajitha Senaratne said. The govt on Tuesday resorted to the Public Security Act to ban a strike by petroleum workers unlike work stoppages by the GMOA. "The last strike by the GMOA on Tuesday was a flop. A large number of doctors did not join the strike," Senaratne told reporters. more..