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Japan to consider possible FTA with Sri Lanka
July 30 (CP) Colombo- The Japanese government is prepared to consider the idea of a Free Trade Agreement between Sri Lanka and Japan, Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Masayuki Naoshima has told the visiting Sri Lankan ministers in Tokyo.
The Japanese Minister has indicated to the visiting External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris and Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa that Japan should consider entering into a FTA with Sri Lanka in recognition of the country's current environment and opportunities for investment and trade.
Naoshima has assured the visiting Ministers that Japan would enhance assistance to the maximum possible extent for the new stable and peaceful situation prevailing in Sri Lanka.
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Sri Lanka main opposition suspends member from working committee for supporting government
July 30 (CP) Colombo- Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party (UNP) has decided to suspend its Kandy District parliamentarian Abdul Cader from the party's working committee for supporting the government in parliament.
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President reviews progress on development in Sri Lanka's Central Province
July 30 (CP) Kandy- Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa today presided over the progress review meeting on development in Central Province, the first such meeting at provincial level, held at the President's House in Kandy.
The President reviewed the progress on development in the Central Province with parliamentarians, provincial councilors, and government officials of the Province to streamline the development.
The development issues discussed at the meeting included the highways, irrigation, water supply, electricity, the tourism industry, and improvements to infrastructure.
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Visiting Japanese delegation calls on President
July 29 (CP) Kandy- A Japanese delegation including the Mayor of Ginan city of Japan Hideyasu Matsubara met Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the President's House in Kandy Thursday.
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Program to upgrade 100 low-income settlements in Sri Lanka's Western province
July 29 (CP) Colombo- The government is to launch a project to upgrade the basic infrastructure facilities in selected 100 urban low-income settlements on lands owned by the National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) and Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) covering the city of Colombo and the Western Province.
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Sri Lanka can face the loss of GSP+ facility
July 29 (CP) Colombo- The Sri Lankan government has strengthened the macro economic fundamentals to face any eventualities positively and has taken several measures to deal with the loss of European Union's tariff concession, Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) plus facility from next month.
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Indiana Buddhist Temple annual Vas (Rainy Season) invitation
July 29 (CP) Fort Wayne, IN- This year Annual Vas Pinkama organized by the Indiana Buddhist Temple will begin on 31 July 2010 with the observance of Rainy Season by the resident monks of the temple.
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Over 400 herds of Elephants can be seen at Minneriya National Park
July 30 (DGISL) The Minneriya National Park has become a popular tourist destination. The number of foreigners visiting the Minneriya National Park is on the increase and more than 120 foreigners visit the park each day and this number doubles during the weekends. A similar increase is also shown in the number of local tourists visiting the Park.
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Rs. 32 billion loss a year due to traffic Jams
July 30 (DM) A recent report by the Department of Transport and Logistics Management of the University of Moratuwa stated that Greater Colombo areas contributed to a loss of at least 32 billion rupees a year due to traffic congestion.
University of Moratuwa civil engineering Professor Amal .S.Kumarage told the Daily Mirror the congestion was mainly due to no proper system to control vehicular traffic in the Greater Colombo areas.
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Sri Lanka to send jaguars, alligators to thank NGO
July 29 (JAD) Sri Lanka is donating 153 rare or endangered animals to Korea, including a pair of elephants, golden snub-nosed monkeys, jaguars and alligators, to thank a nongovernmental organization that helps Sri Lankan laborers.
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University dons to suspend voluntary services if promised pay hike not given
July 29 (Island) University teachers yesterday threatened to suspend voluntary services on August 10 if the government fails to grant them the 25 percent increment in their academic allowance as promised prior to the presidential election.
President of the Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) Prof. Sampath Amaratunge told The Island that their decision had been conveyed to the authorities including the University Grants Commission and the Ministry of Higher Education.
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Sirimavo led the SLFP through all weather
July 29 (DN) President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday asserted that Sri Lanka today is a country which protected and accrued on its State assets instead of selling them in line with the policies propagated by the late Sirimavo Bandaranaike who became the Worlds first Woman Prime Minister 50 years back.
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Sri Lankan port workers in Colombo's SAGT on a work stoppage
July 30 (CP) Colombo- A work stoppage by prime mover drivers of the South Asia Gateway Terminals (Pvt) Ltd., (SAGT) in Sri Lanka's Colombo Port has crippled the container traffic in the port.
The SAGT is the largest container terminal within the Colombo Port and is privately managed.
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Loss to economy due to traffic congestions in Colombo city is Rs. 32 billion per annum
July 30 (CP) Colombo- A recent survey has found that the loss to Sri Lanka economy due to traffic congestions in Colombo city is Rs. 32 billion per year.
It is 2% of the value of entire economic activities in Colombo city.
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More than two-third of cooked food kiosks in Sri Lanka capital below standard
July 30 (CP) Colombo- Colombo Municipal Council has found out that 380 of the inspected places where cooked food is sold in the city are below standard.
This was revealed when the Public Health Department of the Colombo Municipal Council inspected 480 eating places in the city.
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Major part of Tamil Diaspora willing to help development of Sri Lanka's North and East, government says
July 29 (CP) Colombo- A major part of the Tamil Diaspora is happy with the government's measures to improve the living standards of the Tamil people in the Northern and Eastern Provinces after the war and willing to support the government, the government spokesman said today.
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Norochcholai Power Plant to be operational in last week of November
July 29 (CP) Colombo- The first phase of construction of the Norochcholai Power Plant at Puttalam in northwestern Sri Lanka is nearing completion and expects to be operational in November.
The first coal firing at the coal power plant is scheduled for the last week of November
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President opens new maternal and infant ward at Ratnapura General Hospital
July 29 (CP) Ratnapura- Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa today declared open a new maternal and infant unit at the Ratnapura General Hospital.
Kiribathgoda Gnanananda Thera Foundation has constructed the new facility to mark the completion of ten years of Mahamewna Meditation Centre.
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First Sri Lankan elephant walkway opens at Twycross Zoo
July 30 (BBC) Twycross Zoo in Leicestershire opens the first in the world themed Sri Lankan elephant walkway and habitat - named 'Uda Walawe'.
The brand new £1 million home, for five Asian elephants, was officially opened by Sri Lanka's High Commissioner in July 2010.
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FUTA to launch strike on Aug 16
July 30 (Island) The Federation of University Teachers Associations (FUTA), yesterday warned the Higher Education Ministry that it would resort to a strike if the government failed to rectify the salary anomalies of its members before August 16.
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Govt all out to control Dengue
July 30 (DN) President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday said the Government is ready to make any commitment for the eradication of dengue menace from the country. The President stressed that the Government is ready to bear any cost in importing drugs and medicine which would help control the deadly dengue menace and save lives of people who were diagnosed with the dengue virus.
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Five-in-one vaccine led to child deaths in Sri Lanka and Bhutan
July 29 (IANS) Bangalore- The pentavalent or the five-in-one vaccine that has been recommended in India by the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization actually killed children in Sri Lanka and Bhutan, warns an article in the latest issue of the British Medical Journal (BMJ).
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Jaffna voters who left to be omitted from list
July 29 (DM) The Elections Secretariat has decided to omit from the 2010 electoral register, the names of voters in the Jaffna district who have left the country during the conflict period.
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