Youths of a country are more precious than gems and jewellery, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said at the passing out ceremony of the National Youth Corps 2012 batch of the National Youth Services Council at the Diyagama Mahinda Rajapaksa Grounds yesterday.

In seeking to build this society, as much as we learn from modern technology, we must also be fully aware of our own traditional knowledge of technology, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that everyone is duty-bound to protect children from child abuse if they are to wipe out this menace faced by the younger generation. The President was addressing the recipients of “Ranbima deeds” at Temple Trees yesterday.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has appointed new Secretaries for the Ministries of Child Development & Women's Affairs and Youth Affairs and Skills Development.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday declared the week from July 16 to 22 as Social Integration Week.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has appointed Sarath Palitha Fernando as the new Attorney General today (16).

The government is more interested in ensuring public welfare than hanging on to political power, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said.

A presidential investigation committee will soon be appointed to look into the problems of the academics of universities, the Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga said.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa appointed eighteen new secretaries to ministries last evening. Charitha Herath was appointed as the Secretary to the Ministry of Media.

The leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the main constituent of ruling alliance, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has suggested to suspend the party membership of any public representative charged with crimes including rape, until conclusion of judicial procedures.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa instructed the officials not to be confined to plans and implement a practical program to protect the consumers.

Elections for the Northern Provincial Council will be held in September 2013, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said.

A cartoonist can use their skills to send an enormous message to the society in the form of humor and entertainment, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said when he met a group of cartoonists at Temple Trees yesterday.

Since you are appointed to represent your country, it is necessary that you first acquire a deep understanding of your own country its many assets, its short, medium and long term requirements and the problems and challenges it faces, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa called for establishing new police stations and checkpoints in the country to battle criminal activities.

We have to give the rural people who comprises 80% of our population the results of giant development works we have initiated in the country. It is not only an expectation but also a challenge which we are ready to take up, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said.

Today the national flag flutters pointing to a new country in the making. The way is open for an independent economy. It daily reinforces the nation's aspiration for a prosperous future, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said.

I will be asking all relevant political parties to come together in the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) process in an effort to iron out differences of opinion among them with regard to the issues facing our communities and to speed- up the normalization process in the country. All these parties and other relevant sections are obliged to put the interests of Sri Lanka above their self-interest,” President Mahinda Rajapaksa said yesterday at his monthly breakfast meeting with newspaper editors at Temple Trees.

National Action Plans on Education for Peace and sustainable Development was launched by President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees yesterday.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday directed authorities in the livestock development and dairy product industry to implement a suitable programme for promoting the use of organic dairy products, with an emphasis to produce nutritionally superior liquid milk for the country.