News

A Police Inspector attached to the Police Field Headquarters was killed when a vehicle driven by a Doctor crashed into his car yesterday morning.The accident had occurred in the Boralesgamuwa area. The killed cop, identified as IP Ajantha Gamini Gamage had been travelling back from his parents home after attending an almsgiving when the incident occurred around 12.45am. The wife and two sons of the Policeman aged 19 and 8 remain in critical condition. 

According to sources the Doctor responsible for the accident, Dr Tirani Kavindhya Gunawardena (39), a specialist Doctor attached to the Ratnapura base hospital had been heavily intoxicated at the time. She has been remanded till October 9 by the Gangodawila Acting Magistrate.

Popular Singer and Actor Ronnie Leach passed away this morning (October 01) due to a sudden heart attack in Perth, Australia at the age of 65.

Chairman of the Sri Lanka Singers Association, Keerthi Pasquel confirmed that the singer had passed away while attending a musical show at Perth.

Having gained fame for singing over 350 songs, Ronnie Leach had contributed greatly to the music industry of Sri Lanka.
 
He has performed several popular songs on stage with well known Sri Lankan groups like the Gypsies and other bands as well.
 
He has also appeared in some Sinhalese movies as a comedian and he became popular for acting in films like  Leader (2009), Ninja Sri Lanka (1997), Cheerio Darling, Johnson and Gonson , Jolly Boys   and Les mystères de Sadjurah (1997).

Colombo municipal commissioner V.K.A. Anura and Deputy Municipal Treasurer Meryl Ponweera are said to be attempting to illegally handover a plot of land in Maradana to Meerania & Company, according to sources. 

The property located at No. 35, Devanampiyatissa Mawatha, Maradana had been taken over by the Colombo Municipal Council around 20 years ago due to non-payment of assessment tax while a court case against  Meerania Company too, had upheld the CMC’s ownership of the land.

According to the law, therefore the land cannot be returned if the CMC has made a registration of the takeover with a purchasing certificate though the assessment tax dues are paid by the defaulter. However, the company has been trying for the past eight years to get the land back.

But the CMC legal officer and the Former municipal Treasurer had informed them that this was not possible. However, Anura, Ponweera and certain councillors are now said to be trying to give the land back to the company a reliable CMC source said adding that the groups had even submitted a proposal to the finance committee that the land should be returned.

The Finance ministry announced several immediate measures to ease the pressure on the rupee with immediate effect. This move is aimed at curtailing the importation of vehicles, non essential items and electrical appliances  preventing foreign e exchange out flows ,  

Accordingly issuing of Vehicle permits to Members of Parliament will be suspended for a period of one year. Importation of vehicles for Government Ministries, Departments, Statutory Boards, State owned Enterprises will be suspended until further notice.

Importation of vehicle using the concessionary permits issued to entitle State Sector employees will be suspended for six months. No Letters of Credits will be permitted to be opened based on these permits during this period.

Loan to Value Ratio (LTV) for Hybrid vehicles will be revised from 70:30 to 50:50 basis. Importers of all vehicles other than buses, lorries and ambulances will have to keep a 200 percent cash margin at the time of opening of the LCs

Further, the requirement of 100 percent cash margin has been imposed for the import of Refrigerators, Air Conditioners, Televisions, Perfumes, Telephones including Mobile phones, washing machines, footwear and tyres

However, though these measures will be effective temporarily from today the government will continuously monitor the exchange rate fluctuations and will take appropriate action accordingly

The long overdue LP gas pricing formula will soon be submitted for Cabinet approval, a top official confirmed yesterday.

“The pricing formula was revisited by the Authority’s Pricing Committee after the industry requested to change the prevailing pricing formula which was introduced in 2007. The amended pricing formula has now reached the final stages, and the Industry and Commerce Minister (Rishad Bathiudeen) is ready to submit it to the Cabinet for approval in the near future,” a top official of the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) told Daily FT on condition of anonymity.

Noting the original pricing formula had to obtain Supreme Court approval, he believes that the new mechanism might also have to go through the same process.

“The swift implementation of the LP gas pricing formula is the only way to resolve the issues looming in the industry,” he added.

The two companies involved in the distribution of LP gas in the country, State-run Litro Gas Lanka Ltd. and Laugfs Gas PLC, have continuously lobbied to Government to implement the pricing formula, which has been overlooked by authorities for many years.

Currently, both these companies, as well as its stakeholders in the value chain, are grappling with many difficulties from skyrocketing costs on a daily basis.

As the sole regulatory body, the CAA introduced a pricing formula in 2007, allowing then Shell Gas Lanka Ltd. (now Litro Gas Lanka Ltd.) a lesser margin (18% on landed cost) and a higher margin to Laugfs Gas (30% of landed cost). (FT)

Sri Lanka government has taken measures to prohibit oil palm cultivation on a directive issued by President Maithripala Sirisena considering its threat environmental sustainability in the island, Presidential secretariat official said.

This decision has been taken in consultation with the National Economic Commission, he added.

Palm oil has gained notoriety for its links to tropical deforestation, biodiversity loss, greenhouse gas emissions, disturbance of carbon-rich peatland, exploitation of workers and land grabs, environmentalists said. 

There is growing opposition to palm oil cultivation in some districts with non-governmental organizations and political parties getting involved in protests, claiming that the environment was being harmed by oil palm.

Plantation Minister  Naveen Dissanayake said some protestors were being driven by political objectives but there were also others who were genuinely concerned others emotional without relying on scientific evidence.

"So much of the criticism is unscientific and emotional," Minister Dissanayake said. "Sinhalese and Tamil people tend to emotional." Officials said even earth slips are being blamed on oil palm by critics. However oil palm had been cultivated since the 1960s in Sri Lanka but the opposition gained momentum recently, officials said.

Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) Superintendent Nalini Malkanthi Bandara told the Presidential Commission of Inquiry that Rs 500 million has been spent from the EPF to purchase SriLankan Airlines’ shares belonged to Emirates in 2010 violating all rules and regulations. She had revealed this on 28 September before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry appointed to investigate corruptions in SriLankan Airlines, SriLankan Catering and Mihin Lanka.

It was also revealed through the inquiries carried out by Additional Solicitor General Neil Unamboowe that the above transaction had been approved without required proposals, recommendations and estimations. 

Nalini Malkanthi Bandara had further disclosed before the commission that this transaction had taken place at the discretion of Assistant General Manager of Bank of Ceylon, B.A. Lionel and several Central Bank officials, and that Ajith Nivard Cabraal served as the Central Bank Governor at that time. She had further stated that neither the cabinet nor the Treasury had granted approval to spend EPF money to purchase SriLankan Airlines’ shares.

Former Finance Minister and President Mahinda Rajapaksa on 4 May 2010 had presented a cabinet paper regarding purchasing shares belonged to Emirates, and the cabinet paper said that Bank of Ceylon and Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation must purchase the shares in question, not EPF, she had further stated. However, on 6 July 2010, Assistant General Manager of Bank of Ceylon, B.A. Lionel, had written to the Funds Management Committee of the Central Bank informing to credit Rs 500 million from the EPF to the current account of the corporate branch of the Bank of Ceylon to purchase the shares. No relevant documents with regard to this investment are available, and it indicates that this transaction took place without an agreement or any other legal proof, she added. (Lankanewsweb)

Sri Lanka was ranked 165th in the 2014 World Press Freedom Index and has since moved to the 131st place in 2018, Finance and Mass Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera said.

“There is clearly a long way to go, but we are moving in the right direction”, he said.

Addressing the 20th Anniversary of the Colombo Declaration on Media Freedom and Social Responsibility yesterday at the Cinnamon Grand Colombo, Minister said that the freedom of media directly contributes to the economic, political and social well-being of the country.

“We do expect balanced, unbiased and fact based reporting.It would strengthen our democracy without harming our core values”, he said.

He further noted that by keeping the government and other institutions accountable for their actions, media is a powerful tool used to promote democracy and the rule of law and added that enabling a free, independent and responsible media should be the priority of any government’s agenda.

Since the Unity Government was established, much has been done in Sri Lanka to ensure that journalists can fulfill their role without interference or intimidation by the government, he said.

Minister Samaraweera said that Right to Information Act was a significant reform in empowering an independent media and added that as a result fact based journalism will be more prevalent.

He said that media is moving towards a more sensational perspective rather than giving prominence to facts and pointed out how media sensationalism regarding Free Trade Agreement between Singapore and Sri Lanka without revealing the real facts.

 Source : Daily News

Facebook Inc. said on Friday that hackers stole digital login codes allowing them to take over nearly 50 million user accounts in its worst security breach ever given the unprecedented level of potential access, adding to what has been a difficult year for the company’s reputation.

Facebook, which has more than 2.2 billion monthly users, said it has yet to determine whether the attacker misused any accounts or stole private information. It also has not identified the attacker’s location or whether specific victims were targeted. Its initial review suggests the attack was broad in nature.

Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg described the incident as “really serious” in a conference call with reporters. His account was affected along with that of Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, a spokeswoman said. (Reuters)

Tourism Development and Christian Affairs Minister John Amaratunga said that the government is strongly considering the possibility of resuming the ferry service between Rameshwaram and Thalaimannar. He was addressing the World Tourism Day official celebration at the University of Jaffna recently.

The Minister noted that the government was keen to proceed with the plan as it would strongly benefit the Northern Province, including its tourism sector. The Minister said that the Palaly Airport which operated as a military airport for a long time had been opened up for civilian transportation.

The domestic airport, he said, would drastically increase the number of tourists visiting Jaffna as they would be able to fly to Palaly from the Bandaranaike International Airport. The Tourism Minister said the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) would soon open up a sub-office in Jaffna to expedite the industry’s growth in the province.

He requested the Tamil diaspora to return to the country and invest in the tourism industry in the North.“Whenever I meet members of the Tamil diaspora when I go overseas, I request them to come back. That way, they will help themselves and their community. Tourism offers a great opportunity to the Northern Province,” he said.

Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran urged the tourism authorities to tap into the full tourism potential of the North by resolving ‘bottlenecks’ in fund allocation, industry expertise, and planning. The Chief Minister said his province had many places that could be developed into provincial tourism hubs through the right strategies and fund allocation.

“We need more tourism experts in our province to realise its full potential,” the Chief Minister said, adding that he had presented several comprehensive plans to the government on tourism development in the Northern Province.

Wigneswaran, highlighting the importance of the tourism industry for better revenue generation, said the scenic islands in Jaffna and other beaches in the province could be developed into major tourist attractions, similar to those in the Eastern Province.

He said that although a strip between Palaithivu and Pallikuda had been earmarked for a ferry service that would benefit the tourism industry, the process had come to a halt due to Navy occupation in the area.

The Chief Minister attributed the industry’s slow growth to external factors such as anomalies in fund allocation and the absence of inclusive planning.“We have no reservations about working with the government or tourism bodies of the central government as long as our regional rights are not violated,” Wigneswaran said.

Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority Chairman Kavan Ratnataka promised to fast track measures to develop tourism in the province in a holistic and sustainable manner.“Tourism, I am sure, will be the number one or number two sector in Jaffna. But the industry in the province should grow in a manner that preserves the authenticity of the tourism experience it offers. You, in Jaffna, should remain who you are. At the same time, the growth of the industry should be sustainable,” he said.

The new train fares, revised under the Budget Proposal for the 2018, are effective from today (01) onwards.

Sri Lanka Railways stated that, according to the new fare revision train fares will go up by 15%.

However, the minimum fare will remain unchanged, further stated Sri Lanka Railways.

Sri Lanka Railways says that this new fare revision is the first fare revision for train services in nearly a decade.

Accordingly, the previous minimum fee of Rs 10 for the third class, Rs 20 for the Second Class and the Rs 40 First Class, will remain unchanged.

Although season ticket fares also changes under the fare revision, the fare percentage will not change. (Derana)

Critical Engagement’, the apex of the joint Tri-service mega Field Training Exercise (FTX) of the Army, 'Cormorant Strike IX - 2018’ dominated largely by Special Force and Commando Regiment troops and backed by sailors, airmen, mechanized infantrymen and foreign troops got off the ground at Kuchchaveli, Trincomalee on Wednesday (26), before a mammoth gathering of state officials, commanders, tri-servicemen, invitees, media personnel, onlookers and local civilians, Army media unit said.
 
The final phase of this annual FTX, technically defined as the ‘Critical Engagement’ vividly displayed how a simulated multi-pronged joint amphibious attack on enemy hideouts could be carried out with precision and short notice in a setting, considered hostile, most challenging and exciting.
 
Along with 2500 troops, infantrymen and mechanized infantrymen, inclusive of 400 Sailors and 200 Airmen, the FTX was made up largely of Army Commandos and Special Forces. To the credit of the Sri Lanka Army, the FTX has attracted a total of 64 foreign service personnel, representing 19 countries, either as participants or observers in the Operation proper.
 
Foreign participants and observers from China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Turkey, Indonesia, Nigeria, Nepal, Sudan and Zambia contributed productively to the consecutive 9th FTX in close cooperation with fellow service personnel participating in the FTX during the three-week long training.

Today’s simulated lightening attack of ferocious magnitude, headed by Commandos and Special Forces, where they were simultaneously joined by MI 24 and MIG fighter jets and Naval fighter craft at sea struck enemy positions in a convincing manner, identical to that of a real battlefield scenario.

The FTX is aimed at enhancing the military cohesion, combat preparedness, operational readiness and efficiency of Special Operational Forces and is on par with similar Exercises at international levels.