May 2 (Island) The GMOA and those backing the ongoing high profile campaign against the SAITM wouldn’t deviate from planned strategy due to Indian PM Narendra Modi’s participation in UN Vesak Day celebrations during the second week of May, GMOA Secretary Dr. Naveen de Zoysa said. He said the govt shouldn’t expect them to divert from a planned protest campaign taking into consideration the UN event. more..

May 2 (DM) It appears that Central Bank may need to sharpen its monetary policy tools, as credit to private sector has continued to grow stubbornly, a scenario that could drive the country’s inflation and imports beyond a tolerable level. The amount of private sector credit granted by the banking sector in February has returned to its previous higher levels. In Feb, banks have granted as much as Rs.71 billion to private sector more..

May 2 (EN) The Sri Lankan economy appears to be enmeshed in a growing debt overhang. The latest data indicate that total general govt external debt has grown by 10% in 2016 to US$ 27.2 billion.  Even averaging out for 2015-2016, annual debt growth was 6.2% compared to 4.5% in the preceding two years. It is also not the case that the country is witnessing a lowering of the costs and risks of its external debt profile. more..

May 2 (CT) Yesterday, Sri Lanka and the world celebrated May Day, a day set aside to recognize workers' rights. While workers' rights are annually celebrated this way, there is however, no day set aside to celebrate workers' obligations. Such rights are simply encapsulated by doing an honest job on every working day. Whereas workers in the private sector generally subscribe to this ethos, as their future, more often than not is related to performance, there is a question mark more..

May 2 (ST) Govt has spelt out new guidelines relating to unsolicited proposals for state projects. The proposals which have been set out in a circular will apply to all govt institutions in reviewing and evaluating development proposals presented by the private sector. These proposals need to be of a strategic nature from an economic development viewpoint and therefore need to be expedited. The Govt has decided that the mechanism known as Swiss Challenge will enable it to call more..

May 2 (CT) This writer is not ashamed to confess that the words holy shit did escape his lips when some TV channel briefly and fleetingly displayed the human mass gathered, assembled or herded into Galle Face green. State owned Rupavahini was showing the SLFP rally in Kandy. State owned ITN was transmitting live the proceedings of the UNP rally at Borella. In the age of Digital technology such contempt for democtic dissent only helped exacerbate the resentment of the citizenry more..

May 2 (EN) India will be allowed to build a 50MegWatt solar power plant in Trincomalee district where plans for a 500MW coal plant was scrapped by the island's current administration. Under a MoU signed during a visit of PM Ranil Wickramasinghe to India, Sri Lanka is expected to issue a letter of intent to India by end May for a 50MW solar plant. The plant would be expandable to 100 MW. There was no mention of the price to be paid per unit of power bought by CEB. more..

May 2 (roar) May Day was marked with much pomp and pageantry by several mainstream parties yesterday. The events drew busloads of grassroots party supporters and other visitors. The Joint Opposition rally at Galle Face Green saw unprecedented numbers turning up to hear Former President Rajapaksa speak. SLFP held its rally in Gatambe, Kandy, with the participation of President Sirisena. more..

May 2 (LT) May Day demonstration and rally organized by the JVP to commemorate the Int'l Workers’ Day was held yesterday with the participation of the leaders of the party, foreign delegates and a massive crowd. The demonstration that started from S. de S. Jayasinghe grounds filled the road from the ground to the BRC Grounds and the rally overflowed the BRC grounds to fill the adjacent roads. Delegates from left and Communist parties from Cuba, India, Greece and more..

May 2 (DM) A 72-year old woman and her 32-year old pregnant daughter were found hacked to death in Hungama, Hambantota, Police said. The victims have been identified as the mother and younger sister of Suriyawewa MOH Director, Susantha Kariyawasam. Hungama Police are conducting further investigations. Police said that no arrests had been made as yet. The two deceased were identified as Siriyawathi Kariyawasm (72) and Yamuna Kariyawasm (36). more..

May 2 (DM) European Union (EU) is committed to enhancing the quality of journalism, access to public information and freedom of expression in Sri Lanka, the Delegation of the EU in Sri Lanka said today. In a statement issued on the Catamaran website, a tri-lingual portal publishing work by local journalists, the delegation said the website aims to improve dialogue, combat discrimination, and explore opportunities for more..

May 2 (DM) Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) has threatened to stop work on Friday (5) over what it claims as a move to privatize higher education system by recognizing SAITM as a degree awarding medical institution, SLTB Joint Trade Union Alliance said. It rejected the efforts of a powerful minister to establish private institutions in the country and said those institutions will sabotage the State Universities. Expressing his views on this matter the All Ceylon Transport Employees’ Association more..

May 2 (DM) Around 1100 complaints have been received regarding social networks during past four months, Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness  Team (SLCERT) said. CERT Information Security Engineer Roshan Chandragupta said the majority of the received complaints had been related to fake Facebook profiles. He further said that Facebook users must take special precautions to ensure their cyber safety such as publishing their personnel images under friends only category. more..

May 2 (DM) GMOA warned today it would launch the country’s biggest ever trade union action on Friday with the backing of 160 state sector trade unions including those of teachers, nurses and the SLTB. It said the TU action would be a protest against govt’s double standards on SAITM issue and the attempt to destroy free education in the country. "Six health unions including the GMOA, ten teachers' and principals' unions including more..

May 2 (DM) An individual, who fell off a bus at Pidurangala in Sigiriya on his way back after dropping off supporters of a political party who attended a May Day rally, died on the spot. The victim Adikaram Janaka (44) who transported a group of supporters of Dambulla UNP organiser Priyan Wijeratne in a SLTB bus, was on his way back when he fell off the bus and was pinned under the rear wheel. In a similar incident, an individual who attended the SLFP Rally in Kandy, more..

May 2 (AD) Association of Medical Faculty’s Lecturers (AMFL) has threatened trade union action following injustice towards the medical students of state universities whose educational activities have stalled due to their efforts to curb the issue relating to the private medical university in Malabe. The medical faculties of the state universities in Colombo, Sri J'pura, Jaffna and Anuradhapura would take part in tread union action, AMFL Convener Dr. Manuj Weerasinghe said. more..

May 2 (LBO) Finance Ministry has expanded crop insurance that has so far covered paddy cultivation to five other food crops. The govt had already launched a two-year National Food Production Programme to ensure self-sufficiency in Potatoes, Big Onions, Chilies, Maize and Soya beans. Now, farmers of these crops will receive crop insurance and will be paid compensation up to a maximum of 10,000 rupees per acre for more..

May 2 (GDI) Sri Lanka has been given a fresh opportunity to showcase its investment and export portfolios to the emerging markets as well as the huge Russian region through a premier global Forum, dubbed as Russia’s Davos. “St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) is a unique event in the world of business and economics. We officially invite you to SPIEF 2017” said the Russian Ambassador to Sri Lanka Alexander Karchava today (2nd May) in Colombo. more..

May 2 (DM) Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) members in the joint opposition (JO) and the members of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) will jointly contest the upcoming elections, SLPP Chairman G.L. Peiris said today. He said that the two parties would not contest these elections under the hand symbol of the SLFP. Professor Peiris said people had sent a clear message at the JO May Day rally held at the Galle Face Green that they had no trust in the SLFP. more..

May 2 (PTI) Tamil Nadu govt today objected to the arrest of five fishermen from the state by Sri Lanka, saying it can only be seen as an act to derail the diplomatic bids to resolve the issues pertaining to fishing. In a letter to PM Narendra Modi, Chief Minister K Palaniswami raised the April 30 arrests of the five fishermen, hailing from Thangachimadam in Rameswaram, by Lankan navy. more..

May 2 (DN) The danger of methane eruption at Gohagoda garbage dump site has eased with the rains in Kandy on Monday, Peradeniya University Geological Dept Prof Athula Senaratne said. “After the rains, the moisture content has gone up and temperature inside the dump has lowered. This will result in less methane generation and therefore there will not be a methane emission as experienced a few days ago,” he said. Prof said he would visit the Tekkawatta garbage dump in Gohagoda more..

May 2 (Island) A former JVP Pradeshiya Sabha member on Sunday had blown himself up by exploding a gas cylinder inside a three wheeler over the refusal of his paramour to continue their illicit relationship, police said. The deceased was Charles Nandana of Kotavila. The paramour had refused to continue the relationship with him on the grounds that she had grown up children. The explosion had damaged the woman’s house and another vehicle, the police said. more..

May 2 (Scroll) Pala Pothupitiye, a defiant artist from Sri Lanka, has earned many admirers in India over the past six years with his critically acclaimed artworks that reimagine maps. His popularity was evident last week at a preview of his solo show in Delhi: a number of art lovers and collectors stood frozen before the vociferous frames narrating the artist’s history, enmeshed in biography. Until this Moment, arranged by Galleries Exhibit 320 more..

May 2 (Island) Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) will request the govt to appoint the new President of the Court of Appeal in accordance with the seniority list. President of Court of Appeal Justice Vijith Malalagoda, PC, was recently appointed to Supreme Court after being overlooked on more than one occasion under the present dispensation and as a result the post of the Appeal Court President fell vacant. Justice Deepali Wijesundera is the most senior Appeal Court judge, more..

May 2 (IOL) Famed South African paceman Allan Donald began his appointment as Sri Lanka's interim bowling coach on Tuesday, declaring the squad has the potential to claim victory in next month's Champions Trophy. Donald was hired by the Sri Lankan cricket board as a fast bowling consultant ahead of the tournament in England. "The Sri Lankan attack has what it takes to win the tournament," he told reporters at the cricket board headquarters. "Sri Lanka has a lot of skills. more..

May 2 (CI) Early signs suggest Lasith Malinga will be fit enough to bowl ten overs per match by the time the Champions Trophy rolls around, according to Sri Lanka's head coach Graham Ford, though he also hinted there was a possibility Malinga could play even if not quite fully fit. Effectively, the feeling in the SL camp seems to be this: they need Malinga, they need him bad. Malinga's returns in the 2017 IPL so far more..

May 3 (CT) Last year, an article title New Year Kokis To Luxury Permits was written for the Colombo Telegraph highlighting that the Kokis treats eaten on our traditional New Year didn’t have the time to digest among us before luxury permits was issued to Parliament members. The very public who suffered last year from the burden of permits now has to face a colossal disaster. This disaster has cost lives as the entire nation mourns rather than celebrates the New Year. more..

May 3 (CT) Tamil print Media is widely polarized in line with minority politics, ethnicity and religion. With very few exceptions, it has certainly failed to evolve as a successful enterprise too. No doubt it has an extensive history and potential in shaping perspectives and informing its readers. However, compared to its lengthy history, the contribution of Tamil media to the broader development of Sri Lankan Media as a whole, can be considered insufficient. more..

May 3 (SO) Today, we commemorate the memory of the late President Ranasinghe Premadasa, a visionary and a leader of our time, who, during his whole adult life worked indefatigably to improve the quality of life of the people of his country, especially the poor and the disadvantaged. President Premadasa was a man with a singleness of purpose. He devoted his whole life to serve the people & to realize his vision more..

May 3 (GV) Over the last few months, there have been several protests across the Northern Province demanding the release of civilian land from under military occupation. While there have been no definitive responses to these protests in terms of long term solutions from the state, two small victories have taken place since. First, the release of land in the Pilakudiyiruppu area and secondly, the release of the land belonging to Sellamma and some of her neighbours in Puthukudiyiruppu, more..

May 3 (GV) The recent announcement that Sri Lanka had successfully defeated a motion to deny the GSP Plus trade concession would boost the country’s export sector, which had been flagging over the last 18 months, Chief Economist at Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, Anushka Wijesinha said. He commented on the economic implications of receiving GSP+ concession, noting that he was not placed to comment on the human rights and political implications of SL gaining the concession. more..

May 3 (CT) President of CPC General Employees Union Asoka Ranwala cautioned Govt that if the Sapugaskanda Oil Refinery catches fire due to delays in the refurbishment it would kill at least 3000 people. He said that there are two leaks already and a disaster in this complex would be of a much higher magnitude than the tragedy that struck Salawa in Avissawella simply because temp at S'kanda is around 320°C. more..

May 3 (FT) Due to the amount of attention the Meethotamulla garbage dump collapse has given to garbage management and waste reduction, I thought this is a good time to relate the following.  It was way back in 2006 when I was visiting a Whole Foods store in North Carolina, USA that I saw this lovely green bag that they were packing the groceries in and I saw that the shoppers were bringing several of the same bags with them from home to take their groceries in. more..

May 3 (Island) Two recent developments, in as many ways, serve as indicators of yahapalanaya’s terminal decline from hope and confidence to insecurity and despair. The first is the response to and media coverage of the PM’s visit to the Meetotamulla disaster area. A grammatically convoluted press release by the PM’s office, printed verbatim in the State run English press, suggested the PM would cut short an official trip to Vietnam because of the gravity of the disaster. more..

May 3 (Island) Dr. C.S. Weeraratne, one of our most erudite agricultural economists, has said the numbers that have already succumbed to Kidney Disease is in thousands compared to the tragedy at Meetotamulla. In fact, the Independent newspaper of the UK in 2015 stated that 20,000 had already succumbed, and that over 400,000 were sick with the disease. With only a few dialysis machines in each hospital, and the afflicted, having to get dialysis done weekly, more..

May 3 (Island) The govt must now be regretting its decision to allow the Joint Opposition (JO) to hold this year’s May Day rally on the Galle Face Green. It obviously did not think the JO was equal to the task of bringing enough people to fill that long Stretch of land and the adjoining promenade. The yahapalana leaders and their propagandists kept on daring the JO to fill at least one quarter of the venue if it could. Crowds at political events may not necessarily translate into votes at elections, more..

May 3 (CT) Even after the massive Meethotamulla Garbage Mountain disaster, brought about partly because of poor waste management in the country, discussions with the responsible State authorities indicated that they still have no sustainable, specific solution to the problem. A senior officer of Central Environmental Authority says a proposal on a specific solution for waste management in Colombo is yet to be seen. more..

May 3 (LBO) Property portal Lamudi’s real estate market report on Sri Lanka says that there is a 28% increase in searches for property in Colombo in the first quarter of 2017 against the same period last year. Between 2014 and 2015, data from Lamudi showed a 20% increase in searches for property in Colombo. Data further shows that Colombo is five times more popular than Gampaha and ten times more in demand than Kandy. Most locals are aiming for Colombo’s suburbs at the moment more..