Jan 2 (DM) A group of former SLFP ministers are expected to meet party leader and Prez Sirisena on Friday to discuss their future in politics, one of them said. He said that about 16 SLFP members who were either former ministers or deputy ministers had no intention of obtaining SLPP membership and wished to remain in the SLFP and contest the upcoming general election on UPFA ticket. “They are unhappy over post-Oct 26 developments more..

Jan 2 (CT) Minister Champika Ranawaka claims that his Ministry has built ten times the number of houses in the City of Colombo, compared to those built by the previous govts during the past 35 years. He claims that the Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development has built thousands of houses in Colombo which was far more than those built by all leaders such as Dudley Senanayake, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, R. Premadasa, J.R. Jayewardene, Chandrika Bandaranaike and Mahinda more..

Jan 2 (FT) Police Chief IGP Pujith Jayasundera said a special island-wide operation will be launched from 1 Jan to seize illegal firearms. Operation will be carried out in the next three months on the instructions of the IGP. The program has been planned to curb crimes committed by underworld gangs using illegal firearms. Special operations were carried out all over the country in 2018, also to seize illegal weapons. He said that through the operation to seize all illegal firearms, more..

Jan 2 (Island) UNP MP Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakse, said that the passage of the Presidential Inquiry Commission Amendment Act should be the priority for parliament in 2019. Colombo District MP Rajapakse said that in fact the House owed an explanation as to why all political parties represented in parliament unanimously agreed to defer the vote on PCoI Amendment Act. Rajapakse said that it was meant to empower CIABOC more..

Jan 2 (DM) Ask voters with common sense what he or she wants from the politicians here in SL in 2019. The answer would be for them to keep quiet and do some solid work at least this year. Last year saw some unprecedented level of garrulity from both the govt and the opposition. The cacophony they made during the television news bulletins almost made an average voter lose his or her sanity. Although the status quo has been restored there does not seem to be an amelioration of the situation more..

Jan 2 (DM) There was a time when the New Year dawned the phone would ring and beep incessantly. It still does, but not at the same rate it did, say five years back, unless it’s loaded with social media apps. The once ubiquitous SMS has been replaced by Whatsapp, Facebook and other web based messaging systems. We still get our electronic New Year greetings – the New Year would not be the same without them, but they come in different formats. more..

Jan 2 (DM) Jawaharlal Nehru wrote thus: Life is like a game of cards. The hand you are dealt is determinism; the way you play it is free will. if one examines how each of these players, Maithripala Sirisena, the President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, former President and 50-day PM and Ranil Wickremesinghe the current PM, at least on the surface, look more like jokers who did not know when to play and when to quit, more..

Jan 2 (ST) Long-overdue equipment to measure air quality will shortly be operating in two pollution hotspots, greater Colombo and Kandy, replacing old machines that should have been taken out of operation eight years ago. Air pollution has been increasing at an alarming rate in both cities, with irremediable lung diseases being reported among children in Kandy. The CEA says two of its three new machines will be more..

Jan 2 (Island) Central Bank Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy defended the decision taken by its officials between 2006 and 2014 to use the direct placement method in issuing a significant number of treasury bonds to the national carrier. Although the war ended in 2009, the defence expenditure of the country did not decrease and Sri Lanka also had to maintain a significant welfare state, he said. more..

Jan 2 (CT) The Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) always fought resolutely against racial, religious, caste, gender, and class discrimination. The LSSP stood up for Sinhala and Tamil to be the official languages, when the UNP and SLFP wanted Sinhala as the only official language, Prof. Tissa Vitarana said at the LSSP’s 83rd anniversary. To celebrate its 83rd anniversary, the LSSP held a very well attended meeting more..

Jan 2 (CI) New Year, new beginnings, a fresh set of fortunes. That, at least, is what Sri Lanka are hoping, after two horrendous ODI years. Just imagine a house on fire, neighbourhood children throwing eggs at the front door, in the middle of an earthquake, while the residents stumble around drunk indoors, tripping over furniture and stabbing themselves with cutlery. That's SL in ODIs since the start of 2017. more..

Jan 2 (DM) Sri Lankan fishermen’s leaders from across the north met with Northern Province Governor Reginald Cooray in Jaffna last week to hand over a letter to Prez Sirisena. In their letter the representatives from fishing communities in Jaffna, Kilinochchi and Mannar called upon the President to step up measures to stop destructive fishing practices by foreign and local fishing vessels in the Palk Bay and Gulf of Mannar, more..

Jan 2 (CI) Lasith Malinga has one request from his team in the ODIs against New Zealand: a good start. A good start to his captaincy, because following a 2017 in which almost everyone on the island seemed to captain Sri Lanka in ODIs, and a 2018 in which Angelo Mathews was controversially dumped from the leadership - and Dinesh Chandimal unceremoniously deposed two months later more..

Jan 2 (EN) Sri Lanka may extend an International Monetary Fund program which due to end in the first half of 2019, as the central bank has again enters a period of balance of payments trouble, while operating a highly unstable soft-pegged exchange rate regime. Sri Lanka is on a reform oriented 3-year extended fund facility (EFF) which was due end in April 2019. The program can be extended by six months to an year, more..

Jan 2 (CT) A special train carrying relief items to the flood-affected people in the North reached Kilinochchi from Colombo Fort yesterday at 2 p.m. This relief train was collaboratively organised by the Presidential Secretariat and SL Railways Department. There are phases of relief programmes taking place to support the flood affected. The relief train began its journey from Matara on Monday at 2.15pm and more..

Jan 2 (Reuters) Sri Lanka plans to restrict foreign holdings of govt securities to a maximum 5% from the current 10% to prevent possible hot money flows and improve the quality of reserves, country’s central bank chief said. The surprise move comes after the island nation suffered about $1 billon in foreign outflows from rupee-denominated govt securities in 2018. Nearly 42% of these outflows were in the last couple of months more..

Jan 3 (CT) The New Year is dawn with much celebration. Millions of people celebrated in capital cities, but we should not forget that millions of people also remained hungry on this day. What we see in SL and the world over is the primary necessity of addressing the suffering (dukkha) of the poor, if we wish to avoid injustice, instability and violence. If it is a struggle, it is a struggle primarily for economic justice, freedom from hunger and poverty, better living standards and more..

Jan 3 (GV) As the New Year dawned in 2019, I received the news that Father Harry Miller had died. Members of the Batticaloa Peace Committee had been visiting him in recent weeks, and had shared that he had stopped eating and drinking and was slowly fading away. Even so, it was deeply saddening to hear the news. I kept thinking of the Maya Angelo Poem…When Great Trees Fall.…particularly the last lines… They existed. They existed. We can be. Be and be better. more..

Jan 3 (SO) Having explored the different facets of the Maskeliya and Hatton towns in central highlands in last week, we decide to widen our radius of exploration by travelling north – east into the NuwaraEliya. It is December and the weather is perfect to travel to NuwaraEliya, about 40 km east of Hatton. The highlight of the winding route is the spectacular Hatton –NuwaraEliya Road that connects the cool town with a view of more..

Jan 3 (SO) Drones are back in the news again. Suspected drone activity near London Gatwick (IATA Code GTW), home to the world’s busiest single runway international airport, affected thousands of passengers from all over the world as their flights were cancelled. This is because a plane-drone collision could be catastrophic for those in the aircraft as well as those on the ground. Gatwick authorities closed the airport for a few days in the interest of passenger safety. more..

Jan 3 (CT) After the unenthusiastic reinstatement of Ranil Wickremesinghe as PM the Prez delivered a belligerent broadside to UNF hierarchy. He made some revealing pronouncements and remarks. They represented the core values of the man we mistakenly elected as our Prez to abolish the executive presidency. They insinuate deeply held beliefs – cultural traits or taken for granted intrinsic values, stubbornly held and powerfully expressed, that they are beyond debate & negotiation. more..

Jan 3 (CT) Leader of the DLF, MP Vasudeva Nanayakkara says that they could not muster a majority to form a govt due to various conspiracies. “Those who could find 113 or 115 did not do that,” he said. Q: Although you established a govt in a hurry and tried to seize power, what happened was that you lost the place Mahinda Rajapaksa had as well. Why did you try to topple the Govt in such a rush? If you had a little more patience more..

Jan 3 (ST) After all, I consider that the year 2018 was not a bad one. At least from the angle that I look at the events and circumstances, it was more a year of exposing than achieving things. It exposed many hidden things in both economics and politics; it exposed even the hearts and minds. From an economic point of view, we cannot keep ignoring reforms; its economic fallout is detrimental to the nation as we experienced this year. The October turmoil would have been disastrous too. more..

Jan 3 (FT) Colombo turns festive in December; the bracing air, lively parties, Christmas decorations, bright lights, visiting Sri Lankans in their flashy casual clothes; the nondescript city by the ocean is transformed. After months of lean sales, the big stores prosper; meeting orders for hams, turkey, leg of lamb, wine, stollen, breudher and other rich fare. There is encouragement from the credit card companies, attractive discounts dangle before the card holder. more..

Jan 3 (DN) The floods that devastated the Northern Province have now receded and the clean-up efforts are currently in full force. Over 100,000 people were affected and a large number of people were displaced in Vavuniya, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Mannar and Jaffna due to the heavy rains and the resulting flooding. The Iranamadu tank filled to above capacity and with the opening of the sluice gates, many of the low-lying areas were inundated and several smaller tanks had also breached more..

Jan 3 (SO) The tourism industry is gaining strength from the steady performance in the first ten months of this year, Hotels Association President Sanath Ukwatte said. “There was a setback in the arrival figures due to the turmoil in the past 50 days. However, this year could be the best year in terms of arrival numbers,” he said. Sri Lanka had an opportunity to earn US $ 3.5 billion from tourism, and if not for the recent political turmoil, it would have performed better. more..

Jan 3 (Roar) In 2014, cancer was the cause of 10% of deaths in SL. Medical researchers and oncologists have been aware of, and battling the disease, since circa 1600 BCE, but an elusive cure for cancer has remained frustratingly out of reach. Most treatments for the condition—especially for patients at later stages—revolve around a combination of radiation and chemotherapy. These treatments are well known for collateral more..

Jan 3 (Island) The pell-mell of Sri Lankan politics is replete with contradictions, which are legion. The dynamics of the post-Oct. 26 political change have made it much more so, we reckon. There is a campaign for abolishing the executive presidency, which is said to be too powerful and, therefore, inimical to democracy. But we have seen recently that even a mild-mannered Speaker of Parliament is capable of taming the Executive President, who cannot even sack a deputy minister, more..

Jan 3 (OS) SL have called up Sadeera Samarawickrama for the upcoming ODI and Twenty20 clashes against NZ after Angelo Mathews was ruled out through injury. Mathews injured his hamstring and was forced to retire hurt during SL's second innings of the 423-run hammering in the second Test in Christchurch, which secured a 1-0 series triumph for the Black Caps. The first of 3 ODIs takes place in Mount Maunganui on Thursday, before a one-off T20 in Auckland on Jan 11. more..

Jan 3 (CT) Will Sutherland will lead the Australian under-19 team against the SL under-19 team in their short tour of Sri Lanka which begins today with a one day encounter at P. Sara Stadium. The tour, consisting of three one-dayers and a three-day match, will be a testing time for the young players who are gearing up for the 2020 World Cup in South Africa. Aussie team consists of two former U-19 players who represented the country, more..

Jan 3 (Island) I was fortunate to be invited by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), India to visit Prayagraj for a day trip to observe the arrangements made for Kumbh Mela, by the Prayagraj Mela Authority, which functions under the State Govt of Uttar Pradesh. Being a Buddhist, to integrate my thinking in the lines of believers of Hinduism was not difficult, though I was not previously exposed to this experience in Prayagraj. Anyway, I was happy to be in Prayagraj within 45 days of arrival in India more..

Jan 3 (CT) Worker remittances, SL’s largest foreign exchange earner, slipped nearly 1% during the first eleven months of this year, according to the CB, to US$ 6.43 billion from US$ 6.49 billion a year ago. In November this year, worker remittances decreased 5.6% to US$ 555 million from US$ 588 million a year ago, making it the seventh month during 2018 to post a decline. Worker remittances in January this year increased 8.8 per cent, as migrant workers sent US$ 730 million to Sri Lanka, more..

Jan 3 (DN) Sri Lanka’s experienced one-day cricketer Angelo Mathews’ place in SL’s 2019 World Cup squad could be in jeopardy unless he proves his fitness. The 12th edition of cricket’s mega event is scheduled to take place from the end of May in England. Mathews whose career has been plagued by injuries especially below the waist limped off the field while batting in the second innings of the second Test against NZ which SL were more..

Jan 3 (Island) Census and Statistics Department has a reporting issue when releasing certain statistical and economic data, such as economic growth, due to lack of resources at the institution. This has resulted in not releasing 100% accurate figures, CB Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy said "It is said that the 2018 economic growth rate has not been finalized yet but I presume it would be less than 3.5% to 4%. However, due to the Census & Statistics Dept resources problem when more..

Jan 3 (Island) The disbursement of relief items will be carried out in partnership with the SL Army, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Disaster Management Dialog Axiata, announced the continuation of its successful relief programme, Senehe Siyapatha conducted in 2016 and 2017, with a special focus on those affected by floods in the Northern Province. The Company is once again inviting its valued customers to partner relief efforts by donating via SMS, Star Points or eZ Cash, more..

Jan 3 (PSL) President Maithripala Sirisena instructed officials to prepare development plans in New Year with a view to eliminating the poverty of the people as the main objective. President also stressed the importance of suppressing all evil forces that are detrimental to society, such as drugs, and further strengthening the special programs launched in that regard. He made this observation addressing the progress more..

Jan 3 (CT) Opening batsman Sandun Weerakkody smashed an entertaining 93 runs against Ireland ‘A’ in their two-day warm-up match in Katunayake yesterday. SL declared their innings after making 313 for the loss of 7 wickets. On the first day of the match Ireland were bowled out for just 159 runs in 53.3 overs. Lorcan Tucker was the highest run scorer for them with 47 runs in 119 balls inclusive of 5 boundaries. Ireland ‘A’ were in a perilous position on 60 for 4 in their 2nd innings more..

Jan 3 (EN) Sri Lanka is expecting to get a 400 million dollars swap line from India shortly, Central Bank Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy said, as the country has lost 1.1 billion US dollars in forex reserves over three months and money was printed after intervening. Sri Lanka has been negotiating with the Reserve Bank of India to get a US$ 400 million swap line from a facility made available to countries in the South Asia Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC). more..

Jan 3 (FT) Under fire for his comments regarding a top-performing A/L candidate, MP Bandula Gunawardana said as per Govt regulations, performance of private applicants should not be mixed with those sitting for the exam through schools. One-time Education Minister came under criticism for his comments criticising the Education authorities for giving the A/L candidate – a student of an int'l school – an island rank. more..