Use Child to insult President, PM condemned

Petroleum Resources Development Minister Chandima Weerakkody yesterday condemned the behaviour of certain Paada Yathra protesters who used an eight-year-old child to insult the President and the Prime Minister. The minister said that this incident completely contradicted with the policies of the SLFP since the SLFP is the party which is dedicated to protect the culture, traditions and the children of this country.

Meanwhile, National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) Chairperson Natasha Balendra told the Daily News the NCPA will look into the matter

Injured Suranga Lakmal dropped from Test squad

Sri Lanka who are one-up in the three-Test series against Australia are contemplating a change in the batting order especially with the openers.

For the past two years Sri Lanka has gone with Dimuth Karunaratne and Kaushal Silva as openers, but over a period of time it has been established that neither of them are attacking players.

The pair does not carry the fight to the opposing bowlers and thereby badly exposes Sri Lanka’s middle order to the new ball.

In England although they fought hard under extreme conditions they were unsuccessful in seeing the England new ball bowlers Anderson, Broad and Finn off until the third and final Test at Lord’s where they figured in a century partnership only their third in 20 Tests.

“We have a few options up our sleeves and opening with Kusal Perera is one of them,” said chairman of selectors Sanath Jayasuriya. “If we decide to open with Kusal then Dimuth will bat at number three.”

That would mean that Kusal Mendis will come in at number four – the position where he scored that monumental match-winning knock of 176 followed by skipper Angelo Mathews and wicket-keeper/bat Dinesh Chandimal.

In his heyday Jayasuriya, a plunderer of runs formed Sri Lanka’s most successful Test opening partnership with the resilient Marvan Atapattu.

Kusal Perera has been compared more or less to Jayasuriya the way he bats but he has still a long way to go before filling in the great man’s shoes. He has shone only in patches and so far has lacked in consistency.

Jayasuriya said that he has had chats with Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews about making changes to the top order batting but nothing has so far been finalized.

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said after the Pallekele post-match press conference that they had tried out Kusal Perera as opener with Silva to wipe out as much of the deficit quickly as possible but the ploy didn’t work when Perera was dismissed for four. However Mathews didn’t rule out using Perera as an opener during the series.

LAKMAL OUT OF SQUAD

Despite the mounting number of injuries Sri Lanka has decided to stick to the same squad. The only change is that injured fast bowler Suranga Lakmal who has a hamstring strain has been omitted from the squad that was named for the first Test at Pallekele thus reducing it to 14.

Sri Lanka won the first Test by 106 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match Test series.

Jayasuriya said that Nuwan Pradeep, the latest casualty in the Lankan camp is due to undergo a fitness test today.

If Pradeep who damaged his hamstring doesn’t come through the fitness test one of the two uncapped fast bowlers in the squad is likely to make his Test debut – Vishwa Fernando or Asitha Fernando, both of them with very little first-class experience. Vishwa has appeared in 44 first-class matches while 18-year-old Asitha has played in only two.

In the Pallakele Test, Pradeep bowled only six of the 88.3 overs in Australia’s second innings dominated by the spinners.

SRI LANKA TEST SQUAD FOR GALLE: Kaushal Silva, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews (captain), Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dilruwan Perera, Rangana Herath, Lakshan Sandakan, Nuwan Pradeep, Vishwa Fernando, Asitha Fernando, Roshen Silva.

Girls at hostel sexually abused

Medical examinations have established that nine girls taking part in a ‘human skills development’ course at Hantana in Kandy have been sexually abused.

Police say the victims, aged between 15 and 17 years, were among 17 girls who had attended a six-month residential course.Kandy HQI Nipuna Dehigama said they were investigating to arrest those responsible.

Four of the victimized girls had fled the hostel of the course centre at dawn on Moday, remained in hiding in a nearby jungle and with the help of area residents, gone to police.

The girls had answered a newspaper advertisement to prepare students who had failed the GCE ordinary level examination last year to sit for the exam again.

Parents had paid Rs. 140,000 as course fees for each of the girls.The girls had been allowed to meet their parents only once a month.Without the parents’ knowledge, the girls had been taken outside on two nights, said one mother.

Hostel wardens had even disrupted the girls’ meetings with the parents.The parents say they were dissatisfied with the manner police were conducting investigations, BBC Sandeshaya reports.

Ranjan To Lodge Complaint With FCID Over Pada Yathra

Deputy Minister Ranjan Ramanayake will lodge a complaint with the FCID requesting for an investigation on how the Joint Opposition found the finances to sponsor the recently concluded Pada Yathra.

According to Ramanayake, the cost for the first day of the walk on July 28 alone was a staggering Rs. 18 million. “I have proof that they spent Rs. 18 million on the first day,” Ramanayake told a news conference in Colombo.

He accused the joint opposition of trying to split the SLFP in their effort to safeguard their corrupt practices. He also called on the media to question these MPs about their corrupt practices.

The Pada Yathra which concluded yesterday evening in Colombo at the Lipton Circus, resulted in severe traffic congestion in and around Colombo severely inconveniencing the public. According to eye witness accounts, the protestors who took part in the Pada Yathra from Peradeniya, was seen thronging liquor stores to purchase liquor, whenever the protest march passed an outlet selling alcohol.

Various government ministers accused the joint opposition of buying the participants who took part in the protest march for a bottle of arrack and a lunch packet.

Right to information bill signed by the Speaker

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya placed his signature on the much-awaited Right to Information (RTI) Bill which was unanimously approved by Parliament on June 24, Mass Media and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Gayantha Karunatilaka said today.

He told the weekly cabinet news briefing that the RTI would be made a fundamental right of the media and the people by incorporating it in the statute book.

The minister said a fully independent Media Commission will be established to ensure media freedom in Sri Lanka and as such the suppression, refusal or depriving of any official information to the media or to a citizen by any public official would be considered a violation of fundamental rights, the right of a journalist and the Right to Information Act.

"However, any one can complain to the Human Rights Commission if he or she was deprived of this right but the ‘Independent Information Commission’ will have more legal teeth to deal with those who violate the Right to Information Act," the minister said.

He said clauses to safeguard national security, territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country have been included in the draft Bill and information pertaining to those vital areas would remain out of bounds, to the media or the people, which is an accepted norm in any country.

"With the incorporation of the Right to Information Act in the Constitution, all government circulars issued up to now restricting the dissemination of information to the media will be made ineffective," the minister said.

He said journalists would have a bigger role to play with responsibility and decorum to protect the dignity and ethics of the media while enjoying the fully fledged independence through self-regulation, self-censorship and ethical guidelines if they are to benefit fully from this exercise. (Sandun A Jayasekera)

37th Anniversary of Sri Lanka Ports Authority

A job at the Port is a hardworking profession. To fulfill the obligations everyone should be commitment to their task. Our up-to-date successfulness is because of the strong commitment of our employees. 

Today we have moved forward and we also completed a social responsibility too. That is by joining the walk for financial assistance for the kidney patients. 

This was a great accomplishment in the history of the port, where all of the employees got together without any differences. I have never seen the participation of a humongous number of employees for a social service as such. 

Today we were capable of showing the whole world that the employees of the port are respectful and is well dedicated for social services…” Chairman of the Sri Lankan Ports Authority Mr. Dammika Ranathunga stated, participating on today’s walk.

The walk organized by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority for the 37th anniversary.

The main objective of organizing this walk was to donate funds for the kidney patients. Under the guidance of the Hon. Minister of Ports and Shipping Mr. Arjuna Ranatunga, and with the support from the Ministry of Ports and Shipping this walk was organized by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority.

Covering 25 departments of the Ports Authority, over 6000 employees participated on this walk. The walk which began from the right end of the Galle Face, ended near the main entrance of the Port of Colombo. Chairman of the Sri Lankan Ports Authority Mr. Dammika Ranathunga, addressing and thanking everyone who participated on the walk, further stated that this is the only port in the world to make a development of 11% in such a short period of time. 

Even though many spread false rumors, we will make sure that all the other ports around the country will develop prioritizing on the port of Colombo. The Chairman further emphasized that all of the employees are together for the development of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority. Sri Lankan Ports Authority stated that the donations which were collected today are to be handed over to the His Excellency President Maithripala Sirisena during the opening ceremony of the CFS - 01 warehouse, scheduled on 10th of August 2016.

Sri Lanka world’s first in breast feeding

Sri Lankan has been placed first in the world in breastfeeding during an international survey conducted in 2016 with the participation of 121 countries. Cuba won second place, Health Services Director General Dr. Palitha Mahipala said.

Addressing the media in Colombo yesterday, Dr. Mahipala said the same survey was conducted in 2012 with the participation of 51 countries where Sri Lanka was again placed first.

The current percentage of breastfeeding in Sri Lanka is 92 percent and it should be further increased to 96 percent or above, he said. According to Dr. Mahipala, all Sri Lankan mothers breastfeed their infants for six months but after six months, breastfeeding is reduced due to various pressure such as infant milk powder advertisements.

All employers should provide facilities for their female employees to breastfeed infants during office hours, he said.

The National Breastfeeding Week will take place from August 1 to 7.

Leading Internet TV service, iflix, launched in Sri Lanka

‘Set to revolutionise the local TV watching experience, the world’s leading Internet TV service, iflix, launched in Sri Lanka on August 1, making its vast library of the latest and most popular global TV shows accessible to entertainment buffs across the country.

‘While there are currently several options available in the Lankan market for TV enthusiasts, iflix sets itself apart with a fantastic mix of localised and international content, great user-friendly interface and affordable payment schemes, a press release said.

It adds - ‘iflix’s world class service offers consumers thousands of first-run exclusives, award-winning TV shows, blockbuster movies, popular Asian content, kids programs and more, with each subscription providing users with unlimited access to the service on up to five devices, including phones, laptops, tablets, and television sets, for viewing wherever, whenever. iflix subscribers can also download TV shows and movies from iflix’s extensive library for offline viewing.

‘Firaz Markar, General Manager for iflix Sri Lanka, commented: "Sri Lanka has some of the highest rates of growth in smartphone adoption in the region. We are thrilled to make iflix’s world-leading, smartphone first Internet TV service and exceptional library of the best in international and local content to Sri Lankan consumers. We can’t wait for everyone in Sri Lanka to press play!"

‘With over 150 studio and distributor partnerships globally, iflix will offer a line-up of iconic favourites combined with the latest, most popular series, including The Mentalist, Teen Wolf, The Flash, Arrow, The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Gotham, Supernatural, Jamie's 30 Minute Meals, Friends, The Big Bang Theory, Two and A Half Men, 2 Broke Girls and much more.

‘iflix further has exclusive premiere rights in the region to many top TV series including the critically acclaimed Robot, fan favourites Difficult People, Hunters, and the latest hit fantasy series, The Magicians.

‘Sri Lankans can now experience iflix’s world class service from the 1st of August, by registering at the company’s website, www.iflix.com for a complimentary 30-day trial with full access to its features and content, with no credit card or payment details required for new subscribers, making it a breeze to sign up and enjoy an enhanced TV watching experience.

‘iflix is the world’s leading Internet TV service for emerging markets, offering users unlimited access to thousands TV shows, movies and more. With a vast selection of first run exclusives and award winning movies and shows, plus the best in local and regional programs, iflix places the entertainment people want at their fingertips to either stream or download. For one low monthly fee, iflix subscribers can watch on their mobile phone, laptop, tablet, TV… wherever, whenever.’