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Older generation 15-inch MacBook Pro units will not be allowed in as checked-in or carry-on luggage by SriLankan Airlines due to a safety risk announced by the Apple Inc.

Apple Inc has announced that in a limited number of older generation 15-inch MacBook Pro units, the battery may overheat and pose a fire safety risk. The affected units were sold primarily between September 2015 and February 2017.

Accordingly, SriLankan Airlines has requested passengers to verify with Apple whether their devices are affected by the recall.

Passengers, upon check-in, will be requested to produce such verifications or proof that the battery has been replaced.

In the absence of such verification, their devices will not be allowed in as checked-in or carry-on luggage, SriLankan Airlines has stated.

In order to verify such devices, the users are urged to follow the link Apple’s 15-inch MacBook Pro Battery Recall Programme.

The Presidential Commission of Inquiry probing fraud and corruption that had taken place after 2015 has assigned a fresh date for Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to appear before it following a request made by the Prime Minister.

The Commission had summoned the Prime Minister to appear before it today (12) at 9.30am.

However, the Commission has now asked the Prime Minister to appear before it on the 16th of this month since Wickremesinghe had informed he was unable to attend today’s hearings.

The Prime Minister was asked to appear to give evidence on a complaint regarding the new building taken on rent by the Agriculture Ministry a few years back.

The Agriculture Ministry had to vacate the Battaramulla building in 2015 after the Prime Minister presented a Cabinet proposal to use the building for the activities of 17 Parliamentary Sectoral Oversight Committees and the Ministry later took on rent a new building paying a monthly rent of Rs 21.5 million.

President of the All Ceylon Bakery Owners’ Association, N.K. Jayawardena has said the decision was taken following the reduction of wheat flour price.

The Association last Friday (6) announced that the price of a loaf of bread will be increased by Rs. 2 following the price hike of wheat flour announced by the Prima Ceylon (Private) Limited.

The price of 1kg of wheat flour was to be increased by Rs 5.50, but the wheat flour companies later retracted the price hike.

The companies were called before the Cost of Living committee on Tuesday (10) and they agreed to scrap the recent price hike and to sell wheat flour at the previous price with immediate effect.

The companies were also given a period of three weeks to show cause for the arbitrary wheat flour price increase. 

President Maithripala Sirisena, Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation of Sri Lanka Arjuna Ranatunga and High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Taranjit Singh Sandhu jointly flagged off a new train, Pulathisi Express, from Fort Station in Colombo to Polonnaruwa on Wednesday (11).

The train is supplied to Sri Lanka Railways by M/s RITES Ltd. under Indian Line of Credit. The train has best-in-class passenger amenities with fully rotating seats in the Air-Conditioned Chair Cars, on-board entertainment system and modular interiors.

In the last ten months, India has supplied 5 trains (Diesel Multiple Units-DMUs), 4 locomotives and 15 wagons to Sri Lanka Railways. One additional train, 6 more locomotives and 35 more wagons will be supplied by India to Sri Lanka within the next 3 months under concessional financing.

In March 2017, a contract worth around US$ 100 million for supply of 6 DMUs and 10 locomotives was signed between M/s RITES Ltd., India and Sri Lanka Railways. The first DMU arrived in Sri Lanka in December 2018 ahead of schedule. 5 DMUs and 4 locomotives have already been delivered to Sri Lanka Railways so far.

In addition, 50 wagons are also being supplied to Sri Lanka Railways. 15 wagons have been delivered so far.

In June 2017, India signed a Line of Credit Agreement for US $ 318 million for the development of railway sector in Sri Lanka. Under this Line of Credit, various projects are underway including procurement of 160 passenger coaches (contract for around US$ 83 million was signed in September 2018 between RITES Ltd. and Sri Lanka Railways); upgradation of around 130 km. railway track from Maho to Omanthai (contract for around US$ 91 million was signed in mid July 2019 between IRCON Ltd. and Sri Lanka Railways); upgradation of signal & telecommunication system from Maho to Anuradhapura; and setting up of a Railway Workshop in Rathmalana  etc.

India has so far committed Lines of Credit worth around US$ 1.3 billion for development of railway sector in Sri Lanka. The restoration of arterial railway lines, connecting the North and the South after decades of conflict; and the renovation of the tsunami-affected Southern Railway line were undertaken under Indian Line of Credit. India has also supplied rolling stock to Sri Lanka and contributed to capacity building of Sri Lankan railway personnel.

India remains committed to undertaking people-oriented connectivity projects in Sri Lanka as per Sri Lanka’s own developmental priorities, the Indian High Commission said.

Indictments have been filed by the Attorney General (AG) against the suspects of the Rathupaswala shooting case before the Trial at Bar bench in Gampaha.

The announcement was made by the Coordinating Officer of Attorney General Nishara Jayaratne said.

On a request by the Attorney General, Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya on the 28th of August appointed three trial at bar benches for the hearing of three high profile cases including the Rathupaswala shooting case.

On the 11th of July the Attorney General sought the Chief Justice’s permission to indict Brig. Anura Deshapriya Gunawardena and three other soldiers namely D. Aruna Sirisena, G.M. Thilakaratna and Lalith Gray at the Special trial -at-bar High Court for the killing of three civilians and causing grievous injuries to civilians at the Rathupaswala protests on 1st of August 2013.

The Rathupaswala protest was organised demanding clean drinking water.

Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera  says that the United National Party (UNP) must come to the forefront to make Sajith Premadasa the next President of Sri Lanka. The Minister had made this request during an interview with ttvnews.lk

"Although you said that Ranil couldn't during Chandrika's government, you were later quoted as saying that it was because Ranil was able to. When you have said Ranil can, then why are trying to bring Sajith Premadasa as the presidential candidate?," editor of the website Dilini Samanmali inquired.

In response, the Minister said, “It is true posters were put up saying Ranil is not able to. I have already explained that at the time I said this because Ranil was the main obstacle for Chandrika Kumaranatunge. We made that decision based on research done at the time.”

“In 99, Ranil and Chandrika both were in a very close race. This was proved by the election result as well.”

“Even in 2005, Ranil was once again in a close race with Mahinda Rajapaksa. He lost because the people of the North were not allowed to vote by the LTTE.”

“But no other politician was popular as him during the time. This popularity does not exist anymore. It happens to any famous person. No one should get offended by these honest comments. I often speak very directly.”

“While the country deserves a President like Ranil Wickremesinghe however he is not able to win the election as evidenced by surveys conducted”

“This is why we are stressing that Sajith must be made President and the UNP must come to the fore to ensure this," Samaraweera added.

United National Party (UNP) Deputy Leader, Minister Sajith Premadasa will be appointed as the UNP Presidential Candidate in a few days, says Sports Minister Harin Fernando.

Fernando made this statement in a post on his Twitter account.

He said Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Premadasa had had a very positive discussion last night.

“Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa had a very positive discussion with the Prime Minister. Sajith Premadasa will be appointed as the UNP Presidential Candidate in a few days,” the Twitter message read.

Talks were held last night between Wickremesinghe and Premadasa in an attempt to reach a consensus on the Presidential candidate of the United National Front (UNF) and it was decided to hold several discussions with the leaders of the UNF and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA).

The announcement of Premadasa’s candidacy is to be made during the weekend, senior UNP sources said.

Minister of Industry & Commerce, Resettlement of Protracted Displaced Persons, Cooperative Development and Vocational Training & Skills Development Rishad Bathiudeen and Taranjit Singh Sandhu, High Commissioner of India inaugurated the LANKAPAK 2019 in BMICH yesterday (11).

Around 40 Indian companies are participating in the Exhibition, supported by PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry of India.

State Minister of Industry & Commerce, Resettlement of Protracted Displaced Persons, Cooperative Development and Vocational Training & Skills Development Buddhika Pathirana and and Taranjit Singh Sandhu, High Commissioner of India were also present.

Minister Bathiudeen highlighted the importance of printing and packaging in international branding. He encouraged industries to use innovative methods of packaging, especially for food and beverages. He also spoke about the need for adoption of environment-friendly technology in packaging industry. He urged for greater collaboration amongst SMEs in various countries to strengthen value chains.

High Commissioner expressed his happiness over the large-scale participation of Indian companies in the recent Exhibitions in Sri Lanka, noting that it was not just about ‘proximity’, but also about ‘closeness’.

Highlighting the importance of safe, hygienic and attractive packaging, he noted that there was also a need to be mindful of the implications it has, for our environment sustainability. High Commissioner cited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent call to put an end to single-use plastic in the coming years, and suggested that paper, cloth and other alternative material need to be looked at as viable options.

Anuradha Jayasinghe, President, Sri Lanka Institute of Packaging, Rohan Victoria, President, Asia Packaging Federation, Imran Hassan, MD, CDC Events (Pvt Ltd) and Rakesh Sarangi, Secretary, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India and others also attended the inaugural event.

The Exhibition ends on 13 September 2019.

 SLFP General Secretary MP Dayasiri Jayasekara told a news briefing at the party headquarters that the decisions taken by Non-Cabinet Mass Media and State Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardene to appoint a new SLRC Chairman was done without the approval of a special Committee set up at the Presidential Secretariat to look into appointments to state media.

According to Jayasekera, this Committee was tasked with reviewing heads of State institutions.

“The previous SLRC Chairman Inoka Sathyangani was appointed with the approval of the Committee. However, Minister Wijewardene sent a letter requesting to appoint someone else as SLRC Chairman and that name was rejected by the Committee. As a result of that the previous Chairman continued to occupy the position,” the MP said.

Jayasekara further observed that Wijewardene had appointed a new Chairman without the approval of the Committee set up at the Presidential Secretariat. He claimed that the appointment led to internal conflict at the SLRC.

“Minister Wijewardene appointed Local Government representatives as Board members. That also was a reason for the internal conflict at SLRC. There was an incident when two people claimed the position.Considering all these circumstances, the President decided to bring SLRC under the purview of the Defence Ministry,” the SLFP General Secretary added.

State Minister of Defence and Mass Media Minister Ruwan Wijewardene says the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) was facing a serious financial crisis.

Wijewardene called a news conference yesterday (11) to express concerns over the President’s decision on SLRC and the impending financial crisis of the corporation.

The Minister pointed out that the SLRC had been losing close to Rs.300 Million annually.

He explained that a sum of Rs. 450 million was requested by SLRC from the Treasury to pay salaries in May, but the request was rejected at a pre-Cabinet meeting as the corporation had not shown promising results. The SLRC required Rs. 200 million a month to break-even.

Wijewardene noted that in the last six months the corporation has been making only Rs. 120 to 140 million and had been facing an average loss of Rs. 60 to Rs 80 million monthly.

He said immediate payables to suppliers were over Rs 100 million.

The Minister explained that the corporation was currently running on advertisement income gained from the screening of the World Cup.

“SLRC will be stuck for cash as it is currently using the World Cup advertisement income to pay salaries,”

Wijewardene said, adding that World Cup related costs were yet to be covered.

He added that a sum of US$1.8 million equal to Rs. 360 million had to be paid to Star Sports as rights payments.

“For this payment a Bank Guarantee has been issued by Bank of Ceylon and is due in December. The bank guarantee will be forfeited as SLRC will be stuck for cash. Once BOC pays this amount SLRC will eventually collapse,” Wijewardene said.

“I am ashamed to say Cheques worth Rs. 2000, 3000 are bouncing back,” he further noted.

Wijegunawardena added that even the Auditor General in his report had questioned whether the corporation could run further and that the SLRC’s financial crisis began in 2014 and had worsened in 2017 mainly due to mismanagement. 

 Related News:
President took over SLRC to resolve issues: Dayasiri

Ruwan notes threat to media freedom and obstacles by President

Wijewardene said the President’s decision to bring Rupavahini under his wing is clearly a move to gain advantage at the upcoming presidential elections.

“With elections coming around the President wanted to take over the Media institution. I hear that the Chairman of Rupavahini will now be replaced. This clearly proves his intentions,” Wijewardana notes.

“He has taken the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) under his wings, he will most probably find another reason to take the rest of state media institutions.” he added.

Meanwhile, sending a letter to the President yesterday, Wijewardene noted that the President had repeatedly obstructed his attempts to change the management of SLRC, leading to the impasse which resulted in the Corporation being brought under the Defence Ministry’s purview.

“Since I took over the Ministry of Mass Media in February this year, I tried to appoint an efficient, talented, and suitable person as Chairman of the Corporation, but the President objected to all the nominees, giving various reasons,” Wijewardene said in the letter.

The President on Monday, after months of wrangling over differences over appointments to the management of SLRC, issued a gazette notification announcing that Rupavahini has been assigned under the Defence Ministry with immediate effect.

Wijewardene also stated in the letter that the takeover of SLRC is a blow to media freedom in the country, and has been done in a contravention of all accepted norms.
“Your actions can be construed as a move against media freedom in the country. The step has been taken arbitrarily, with no consultation with the Minister in charge of the subject,” Wijewardene said.

“Even during the height of the war, SLRC was not placed under the Defence Ministry. The reasons that were given for the sudden move cannot be justified, as in the past four years, no interest was shown by you to use the station to achieve those objectives,” the letter noted.

The Gazette notification removing SLRC from the Mass Media purview said that the Corporation would be tasked with “implementation of programmes for the promotion of peace, harmony, and reconciliation among people, whilst ensuring national security through the use of audio-visual media, enhancement of the entertainment quality of the people, and creation of a higher media culture using state-of-the-art technology.”

Wijewardene has pointed out that the current Chairperson of the SLRC has failed to improve the ratings of the station, while the Corporation has suffered massive financial losses running into Rs. 40 million a month.

The Minster has sought to remove SLRC Chairman Inoka Satyangani, who was appointed by the former Minister of Mass Media Mangala Samaraweera, and who has disregarded calls for her to step down.

The President’s Office did not comment on the sudden move, and is yet to name anyone to the SLRC management.