June 3 (LBO) India’s Petronet LNG has proposed to supply green LNG to SL and is awaiting an evaluation of their proposal, Deputy Manager of Petronet LNG Manik Jhamb said during a visit to Sri Lanka. “Investing in it is a win-win for SL govt, consumers and for us since it is Green LNG and therefore a shift will occur to cleaner LNG in SL,” he said. “More importantly, we will revolutionise the supply system here-in that we will introduce pipe-borne LNG supply to households, more..

June 3 (Island) Minister Champika Ranawaka says Jaffna will be a semi-desert within the next 50 years owing to global warming. He said: "Northern and Eastern provinces will face a severe drought situation in the coming years. At this rate due to global warming Jaffna could become a semi-desert within the next 50 years. We call upon those who clamour for a traditional homeland to divert those energies to save their lands first by more..

June 3 (CB) Sri Lanka's maiden Test win in England was recorded at The Oval in 1998. The visitors defied the odds to emerge triumphant and it remains the team's all time favourite Test win. SL were World Champions then having won the World Cup two years ago. England had generally hosted SL for one off Tests. But since they were World Champions, everyone expected in 1998 it would be different, but that wasn't the case. Sri Lankans arrived in England angry and with a point to prove more..

June 3 (CI) History never repeats, the iconic New Zealand band Split Enz would have us believe. Turns out they didn't know what they were talking about. History very much repeated on Friday at Edgbaston, where back in 2013 Australia and NZ had met in a Champions Trophy group match. On that occasion, the first innings was completed and the chase was underway when rain washed the game away. And this year? Ditto. There was enough play in this match for Kane Williamson to more..

June 3 (Island) GMOA said that a life saving drug used to treat dengue patients was in severe shortage. GMOA Spokesman, Dr Samantha Ananda, said that the matter had come to light during discussions at the Health Ministry’s Disaster Management Unit meeting. Dextran, which was in shortage. It was used as the last resort to save critical dengue patients. According to MSD there are 1,000 phials of the Indian drug at present. more..

June 3 (NS) World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) fell on May 31 and was established 29 years ago in 1987 by the Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO). The theme for this year’s WNTD, Tobacco – a threat to development, calls for countries to accelerate tobacco control efforts as a part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Tobacco control has been included in the Sustainable Development Agenda and is identified as an effective means to help more..

June 3 (DN) Colombo High Court permitted PHU leader MP Udaya Gammanpila to travel to Laos from June 12 to 15. MP whose passport was impounded by Court for allegedly cheating Rs.20 million and misappropriation of another Rs.21 million following his alleged fraudulent share transaction, had sought Colombo High Court’s permission to temporary lift his travel ban. Accordingly, his passport was ordered to be released on a personal bond of Rs.500,000 by High Court Judge. more..

June 3 (CT) Sprinters Vinoj de Silva and Rumeshika Rathnayake once again stole the lime light with new personal bests in 200m as both of them completed sprint doubles on the second of the National Athletics selection trials concluded at Diyagama. Vinoj the SAG champion in the 200m clocked 10.30 seconds in 100m, on Thursday and he dazzled in the 200m with a time of 20.84 seconds and now is only behind Sugath more..

June 3 (CT) A 10-year-old student, who had been subjected to inhuman treatment at the hands of a school teacher, has been admitted to the Nuwara Eliya Hospital. The child had been playing with other students and during an argument among them the teacher in question had allegedly hit the child in the stomach. The child's father said, other students who had witnessed the incident had told him that after the severe assault the student had collapsed to the ground in a heap. more..

June 3 (CT) Bradby Fiesta carnival and after party organized to coincide with the 2nd leg of the Bradby Shield encounter, scheduled for today, has been postponed till further notice. "Bradby Fiesta Committee arrived at this decision taking into consideration the devastation caused by the worst floods the county has seen in decades," said Boshan Dayaratne, Chairman, Organizing Committee. The stage was all set for the grandest of Fiestas so far held with performances by more..

June 3 (DN) The CID questioned former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa for over three hours over the abduction of journalist Keith Noyahr yesterday. He was questioned whether he was aware of the abduction of the senior journalist as he was in charge of the security apparatus at the time of the incident. CID also questioned Rajapaksa over claims that he intervened in ensuring the release of Noyahr in the wee hours of May 23,2008. more..

June 3 (CT) A contingent of 33 US Army Cadets, led by four members of the directing staff, undergoing training at the US Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps (AROTC), are now in Sri Lanka on a fortnight-long familiarization tour. During their stay in Sri Lanka, those US Cadets are expected to undergo initial training, in Diyatalawa, in weapon handling, field practices, physical training, and attend several lectures, organized by the Sri Lanka Army until 7 June 2017. more..

June 3 (FT) Court of Appeal this week granted time till 30 June for the intervenient petitioner as well as the respondents in the Jaffna university student murder case to file objections. Sinnathurai Vijayakumar, father of one of the deceased students, was granted a little over a month to file objections with regard to the appeal filed by the five police officers that were arrested in connection with theshooting incident where two Jaffna Uni students were allegedly gunned down. more..

June 3 (FT) Firing the first salvo against illegal structures in Colombo, Minister Champika Ranawaka said his Ministry has lodged over 4,000 cases against illegal construction, with 18 more to be rolled out in the coming days including multi-storey apartment buildings built onto canal reservations. UDA, which has taken action against 4,000 unauthorised structures, would be taking legal action against 18 more illegal constructions more..

June 3 (FT) The Govt has decided to meet with international organisations including the IMF, World Bank, ADB and the UN next week to apprise them of the flood situation and request additional funds needed for rebuilding, PM’s Office said in a statement yesterday.  PM Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is currently in the US, had received an update on the flood situation and instructed his staff to release resources to assist hundreds of thousands of displaced people. more..

June 3 (Xinhua) The Colombo Port City Company and the Chinese owned Zhongtian Construction Group have delivered relief items to families affected by the major floods and landslides which hit Sri Lanka earlier this week. Representatives from the two companies on Friday visited the Pahiyangala Village, in southern Sri Lanka and handed over relief items to officials from the Disaster Management Center and the army, who thanked the two companies for their prompt assistance, more..

June 3 (DM) Finance and Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera called on the private media to expose corruption and shortcomings, if any with sufficient evidence and he would protect the right of everybody for fair criticism. Addressing staff of Govt Information Dept for the first time after he assumed duties, he stated that Private media always highlighted the Opposition views apparently due to their ignorance about the truth. more..

June 3 (Island) Secretary to the Disaster Management Ministry S. S. Meeyanwala said that the Ministry planned to install two Doplar Radar Systems covering the coastal areas which could forecast inclement weather. He said the radars were to be installed in Pottuvil and Kalpitiya. Meeyanwala said they were a gift from Japan and Tokyo would provide the technical expertise as well. An agreement between the two countries will be signed in the next few days, in this regard. more..

June 3 (Island) Funnily, bookmakers in England have given Sri Lanka better odds to win the Champions Trophy than South Africa. That’s due to SA’s infamous record in big tournaments. However, there is no denying of the fact that the Proteas are the favourites to win their opening fixture of the competition against SL at The Oval today. While SA are number one in official rankings, SL are ranked seventh. While South Africa have four batsmen and two bowlers in the top ten rankings more..

June 3 (EN) Auditor general, who disclaimed accounts of the Finance Ministry has exposed chaotic accounting of debt running into tens of billions of rupees where inconsistent rules were applied and where some loans were completely ignored. AG said the balance of seven loan agreements amounting to 332 billion rupees had not been included in financial statements. In the case of 14 loan agreements 4,730 million rupees more..

June 3 (DM) Over the week, at least three cases of teachers physically abusing pupils at their schools were reported from different parts of the country. Last week, the Kandepola Police launched an investigation against a teacher attached to a school in the Nuwara Eliya Education zone regarding an incident of assaulting four Grade five students who had remained after school to attend extra classes for Grade five scholarship examinations. more..

June 3 (DM) Soon after the presentation of a Supplementary Estimate of Rs. 369 million for the purchase of luxury vehicles for Ministers and officials, Govt last Friday had appealed to the UN, Int'l Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) and the neighbouring countries to provide assistance to the flood and landslide hit people in SL.  Supplementary Estimate would put at a total; the amount allocated this year to buy vehicles, mainly for Ministers, Deputy Ministers and more..

June 3 (DM) Northern Provincial Council member M.K. Sivajilingam is identified as a politician who always raises his voice on issues confronting the people of the North, a one-time MP who created a sensation by contesting from the Kurunegala district during the 2015 Parliamentary elections. As a political bureau member of the TELO he entered politics at a very young age. Born in Velvettithurai he knew Prabhakaran from his childhood. more..

June 3 (ST) Hundreds of vehicles lined up towards Colombo on Friday as people in Wellampitiya, Angoda, Kelanimulla, and Ambatale started leaving their homes as the Kelani river kept on rising with water spilling into the villages. The Sunday Times team witnessed motorists and people in three-wheelers taking with them clothing, valuables and even pets as they left their homes. Some of the families close to Kelani river at Wellampitiya more..

June 3 (ST) As landslide deaths become increasingly regular in Sri Lanka during heavy rains, a community-based science programme offers a life-saving mechanism. Getting to know about an imminent landslide even a second earlier could make a big difference, but often the early signs are ignored. To address this issue, an ambitious programme was launched last year. Nature often gives early landslide warnings more..

June 3 (DM) Daniel Carmon, Israel’s Ambassador accredited to Sri Lanka in an interview with the Daily Mirror outlines the importance of bilateral relations and future areas of cooperation in the emerging world situations. Q: How do you look at Sri Lanka –Israel relations at the moment? A: There have been many ups and downs in relations between the two countries in history. There are reasons that are not merely bilateral. more..

June 3 (ST) Falling crop yields have triggered a drastic rise in vegetable prices in Colombo and in remote hamlets. Prices of some vegetables have soared past Rs 200 a kilo. This in turn has prompted hoteliers and suppliers of packed lunches for working people to raise retail prices. In a market in Delgoda, Kelaniya, a road side vendor offered 250 grams of beans at Rs 50, while 250g of beetroot was Rs 40. Okra was sold at Rs 50 for 250g more..

June 3 (Hindu) Tamil poet Abdul Rahman, who passed away on Friday, had a huge fan following in Sri Lanka, where he maintained close links with contemporary poets and scholars over the last 40 years. “I first met him in 1975 in Colombo, when he came for a Kaviyarangu (poets’ meet) organised by Radio Ceylon,” said senior academic M.A. Nuhman, who is also a poet and literary critic. After that Kavikko, as Abdul Rahman was widely more..

June 3 (DN) The Govt needs to respect the role of the Human Rights Commission (HRC) and have a proper understanding of it, Human Rights Commissioner Ambika Satkunananthan said as she explained lack of effectiveness of the HRC in the current policy making and legal reform process. “For the Human Rights Commission to be successful in pushing for policy and legal reform, the govt has to be responsive. more..

June 3 (DM) Despite the heavy rains in several parts of the country, the water levels in the six main hydro-power reservoirs has increased only by about 15% because the catchment areas had not received sufficient rains, the CEB said yesterday. The water levels in the six reservoirs of Castlereagh, Mousakelle, Samanalawewa, Victoria, Randenigala and Kotmale had increased to 42.4% from the 27.3% before the onset of the recent rains. more..

June 3 (Island) The GMOA demands the immediate removal of Dr. Athula Kahandaliyanage as the Chairman of the Special Committee to Coordinate Disaster Relief set up under the Ministry of Health. GMOA spokesman Dr. Samantha Ananda said Dr Kahandaliyanage, employed by a private milk food company, therefore was not suitable to hold the chairman post of the newly set up outfit. Dr. Ananda demanded to know from the govt more..

June 3 (AD) An independent human rights watchdog has urged President Maithripala Sirisena to tackle the alleged hate crime attacks from Buddhist extremist groups targeting the country’s minority Muslim community.  In a letter to Sirisena, Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka asked the govt to fully implement the rule of law to bring the perpetrators of racial hatred to book. The commission has urged the president more..

June 4 (SO) How come that our poorer and far bigger neighbour, Bangladesh, weathered a far more powerful storm and suffered less than half of our human casualty toll? Cyclone Mora developed only after the atmospheric depression over the Bay of Bengal first deluged Sri Lanka with a record rainfall causing floods and earth slips. The powerful cyclone devastated Bangladesh with winds, ocean surges, heavy rains, and floods, but the human death toll estimate so far is less than fifty, more..

June 4 (SL) American President Donald Trump’s announcement on Thursday that he will pull out his country from the Global Agreement on Climate Change will be met with nausea, disgust, despondency and also defiance by the great majority of people in America, the developed and developing worlds. The agreement on global warming was to protect Mother Nature without which humanity will not survive. Protection of the macro environment is essential to all humans. more..

June 4 (SO) WHEREAS human life, property and the environment of Sri Lanka is being threatened and endangered due to certain disasters taking place within the territory of Sri Lanka: AND WHEREAS it has become necessary to protect human life and property of the people and the environment of Sri Lanka from the consequence of these disasters, by effectively dealing with them from a national perspective by more..

June 4 (Island) The Rip Van Winkles of our times are now waking up from their long slumber. Minister Champika Ranawaka went on record on Friday saying prosecutions will begin this week against owners of unauthorized structures along the Wellawatte canal banks, one of which collapsed recently killing four and injuring more than 20. Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa also went on record the same day that anybody building on landslide prone slopes would be prosecuted. more..

June 4 (CT) It was gratifying to see positive responses from the govt as well as the UN to two successive observations we made in our editorials of 28 and 31 May, respectively, in which we thought out loud about the huge contributions from the UN by way of flood relief when the 2011 floods left death and destruction in its wake in the North and the East compared with its much scaled down initiatives this time around. We said "This appears to be a scaled down commitment and that too only after more..

June 4 (SO) Responding to criticism levelled against the Meteorological Department, Disaster Management Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said, Met Department has been neglected by all previous Govts, adding that what is most important right now is to equip the Department with the latest technology and inject new blood to make it more productive, especially, to cope with natural calamities such as flash floods & landslides. more..

June 4 (ST) “The drought came first, heaping untold misery upon man and beast. The deluge followed and, with it, a sweeping landslide. A succession of environmental disasters in recent years has proved that SL remains ill-equipped to mitigate threats and save precious lives, if anything, the country is racing towards bigger catastrophes.” This is not just the beginning of this week’s editorial, but what we said in our editorial of Nov 9, 2014 in the immediate aftermath of the Koslanda landslide, more..

June 4 (ST) My dear flood victims, I thought I must write to you in this hour of great distress to assure you that you are indeed being thought of and cared for- although it sometimes may not seem that way. I know most of you must be considering yourselves lucky to be alive in this Paradise of ours – certainly a land like no other! You must be wondering why you are in this plight, why no one predicted that this would happen and why no one provided you with a proper warning or asked you to leave more..