Jan 24 (AD) The report of COPE on the investigation pertaining to 17 state institutions for the period of July to 30th of Sept 2017 has been tabled in Parliament. The report was presented by the Chairman of the committee, JVP MP Sunil Handunnetti. COPE investigation has uncovered that companies such as SriLankan Airlines, Paddy Marketing Board (PMB) and MILCO Private Ltd. are incurring losses on a large scale, more..

Jan 24 (CT) At yet another attempt at misuse of public funds, the fake Director of Sri J'pura General Hospital Susitha Senaratne has ventured on another project to demolish the world class operating theatre of J’Pura Hospital calling it the expansion project. This so called expansion Project which entails the demolition of the world class operating theatre complex of SJGH which is one of the finest gold standard theatres in the country to build a sky tunnel connecting it to another building more..

Jan 24 (PMD) President Maithripala Sirisena, who is on a visit to Singapore to attend the Asia Pacific Forum of Environment Ministers and Heads of Environment Authorities held a meeting with President of Singapore Madam Halimah Yacob today. President who went to Isthana Palace of Singapore was warmly welcomed by the President of Singapore and the two leaders engaged in a friendly conversation. The two leaders concerned on how to carry on the bilateral relations forward more..

Jan 24 (DM) Controversy surrounds how a foreign private aircraft, said to be carrying investors to the country, was granted permission to land and takeoff from China Bay Air Force airstrip early this month. This happened despite the fact that are no provisions to grant such approvals because this airport has not been gazetted as an int'l airport. Foreign aircraft can be allowed to land and takeoff only using an international airport, but more..

Jan 24 (Island) Chairman of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI), Anil Gooneratne,, stressed the importance of appointing as the Finance Minister someone who was well versed in finance and accounting. Gooneratne made this comment after Deputy Governor of the Central Bank S.R Attygalle said that officials at the Treasury made decisions on day-to-day activities without informing the Minister. That had been true especially with regard to the Treasury bond issuance. more..

Jan 24 (DM) Law enforcement officers are in the search of a Turkmenistan couple suspected to be the mastermind of the heroin distribution racket that operated from a luxury apartment in Kollupitiya. Officers of the Police Narcotic Bureau and Special Task Force on Monday arrested five suspects including two US nationals and an Afghan national for possessing 95.8 kg of heroin worth Rs. 1140 million on Tuesday. Sources said investigations revealed that more..

Jan 24 (DM) The blue hue seen in the packaging of potable drinking water (PET) bottles would be changed to transparent to help consumers see the water they were about to consume, Environment Deputy Minister Ajith Mannapperuma said. He was addressing an awareness workshop for teachers and principals in charge of the Gampaha District Environmental Pilot team at the Nittambuwa Teacher Training Centre. more..

Jan 24 (DN) MPs will have to seek the assistance of the Debt Conciliation Board because of the economic hardships they face, UPFA MP S.C. Muthukumarana told Parliament. The MP blamed the Speaker and the Leader of the House for not increasing the MPs’ emoluments on par with the judges’ salaries. He complained that some MPs, who were finding it hard to repay their loans, have mortgaged their properties and lands to settle the loans. more..

Jan 24 (AD) The water levels of Castlereigh and Maussakelle reservoirs have started to drop owing to the dry weather condition prevailing in the central hills for over a month. According to the irrigation engineers of these reservoirs, at 6 a.m. this morning the water levels had been at 20 ft and 27 ft in Castlereigh and Maussakelle reservoirs, respectively. Castlereigh and Maussakelle reservoirs provide water for hydropower generation of Laxapana, New Laxapana, Polpitiya, Canyon more..

Jan 24 (DM) JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said the govt had suspended the recently increased commuted travelling allowance to the police department and inquired whether it would take steps to pay it. He told Parliament that a circular had been issued to increase the commuted travelling allowance of govt servants in line with the increase in the basic salary from Aug 23, 2018 and added that more..

Jan 24 (NR) Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka says opposition based on narrow minded political objectives should be disregarded. Speaking during an event in Badulla he said the govt will introduce a scientific waste disposal system by the end of 2019. The Minister noted countries such as Singapore, Japan, China and Korea have overtaken Sri Lanka as they prioritised talent. Minister Ranawaka meanwhile stressed not a single soldier is deployed to clean Colombo. more..

Jan 24 (Island) Major General Shavendra Silva, who recently assumed duties as the new Chief of Staff of the SL Army, said in Kandy that the army was watching the country’s security situation carefully. Maj. Gen. Silva addressed the media, after paying homage to the Sacred Tooth Relic at the Sri Dalada Maligawa and receiving blessings from the Mahanayake Theras of Malwatte and Asgiriya on Monday. Responding to media, the war veteran said that Army was carrying out duties as usual more..

Jan 24 (DM) Ven. Galagoda Atte Gnanasara Thera will likely get a Presidential pardon on Independence Day, Feb 4 by President Maithripala Sitrisena along with hundreds of other prison inmates, SLFP MP Shanta Bandara said today. Mr. Bandara said President Sirisena was aware of the numerous requests made to him by the Maha Sangha and the civil society to grant Gnanasara Thera a Presidential pardon more..

Jan 24 (CT) The number of dengue cases in the country, by the third week of this year, hit 3,332. Epidemiology Unit website revealed that the highest number of suspected dengue cases had been reported from the Colombo District, where 865 cases were recorded. The Districts of Jaffna (701), Gampaha (297), Kalutara (197), Kandy (175), Trincomalee (113), and Hambantota (107) recorded the highest number of cases. The floods experienced in the Northern Province more..

Jan 24 (Island) SL embassy in Saudi Arabia has warned media organisations that played video clips of some of our women stranded in the Kingdom, which later went viral, that by rushing to expose them it could result in further victimising people who are already in distress. Following is a statement issued by SL embassy in Riyadh in this regard: Both in the past and present, print, electronic and social media have played a proactive role in disseminating and publishing information about more..

Jan 24 (DM) Minister Rajitha Senaratne would be brought before the Presidential Commission appointed by Prez to probe allegations of corruption that had allegedly taken place from Jan 15, 2015, to Dec 31, 2018, GMOA said. GMOA Secretary Dr. Haritha Aluthge claimed they had all the evidence to prove the culpability of Mr. Senaratne in terms of his tactics to defend SAITM. “Dr. Senaratne during his tenure as the Health Minister has ruined more..

Jan 25 (CT) The fifty-two days torment the nation endured since President Sirisena (MS) sacked PM Wickremesinghe (RW) on October 26th last year, has cost the country’s economy immensely. Capital flight, rupee depreciation, decline in tourist arrivals and above all investor uncertainty and external confidence are the direct result of Sirisena’s impetuous and unconstitutional action. Although RW and his govt have been reinstated the political situation is not back to normal. more..

Jan 25 (SO) Who will be our presidential candidate? This is the question on the minds of the rank and file of the SLPP, or Pohottuwa party, that has, since the recent constitutional crisis quietly shed its earlier moniker Joint Opposition. It is no secret that many senior leaders of the movement whose last names, not least the residents of No. 117 Wijeyarama Mawatha, are wary of nominating a candidate who cannot be relied upon to use the Executive Presidency as a vehicle to restore more..

Jan 25 (Roar) Internationally, Sri Lanka is often commended for its policies concerning maternal health, especially when pitted against neighbouring countries like India. Since the 1950s, there has been a steady decline in maternal mortality: a feat that is often credited to universal health care services and a well-developed health infrastructure. Despite this heavily eulogised commitment to maternal health, more..

Jan 25 (CT) President Maithripala Sirisena openly attacked Human Rights activists today for standing in the way of the law enforcement process. “A country cannot be disciplined if we follow what the Human Rights activists preach. If that is the case, we should hand everything, including the govt and the law enforcement system to the human rights activists and wash our hands off, ” Sirisena said addressing a Police diploma presentation event. “Especially, when dealing with underworld, more..

Jan 25 (SO) We are in the year of elections. It is the season of political name calling. Everybody is busy conferring some name on some body. Neo liberal, liberal, dictator, fascist, neo fascist, NGO agent, imperialist lackey are some of these devices that come handy and convenient to rapacious minds practising the vocation of politics. We are also in the season of common sense patriotism where history is commodified and marketed as heritage. Let us not forget, where we are. more..

Jan 25 (CT) Minister Rajitha Senaratne said the Bond Commission Report does not mention fraud, but a loss only. Q: During the 52-day period, you mentioned on platforms that you were going to abolish the Executive Presidency. Was that view restricted only to those 52 days? A: No, there was a procedure that commenced from the beginning within the amendment to the Constitution programme. more..

Jan 25 (Island) The govt has drawn heavy flak over the constitutional reform proposals prepared by an expert panel appointed by the Steering Committee of the Constitutional Assembly (CA). The UPFA and the SLPP maintain that the document, presented by PM Ranil Wickremesinghe to the CA, recently, is a draft constitution, which Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa has condemned as part of a campaign to divide the country. The Opposition has stopped short of questioning the legitimacy of the CA more..

Jan 25 (Island) You open any newspaper or listen to any TV news channel and there comes politics screaming at you. Prominence is given to what the VIP politicians say and often its crap. Cassandra just cannot comprehend why the presidential elections is already the Number One topic of the day when actual elections are a year ahead. Of course admittedly, a most confusing slab of news was dropped on the public when Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and soon after his elder brother Chamal more..

Jan 25 (CT) Who are greedily awaiting the comeback of the Rajapaksa’s, are intensely engaged in a blind campaign - one of gossip and rumour-mongering. They believe that the current Parliament led by the UNP could be defeated by this method. This market-oriented belief has gained currency in many a quarter, especially amongst the Colombo-based degenerated commission-traders whose only ambition is to facilitate a return of the Rajapaksa’s to power. more..

Jan 25 (Island) On March 9th, 2016, the Parliament of Sri Lanka resolved that: "There shall be a Committee of Parliament referred to as the Constitutional Assembly which shall consist of all Members of Parliament, for the purpose of deliberating and seeking voices and the advice of the People on a new Constitution for Sri Lanka, and preparing a draft of a Constitution Bill for the consideration of Parliament in the exercise of its powers under Article 75 of the Constitution". more..

Jan 25 (Roar) Suranga Lakmal, 36, remembers when the rains came to his village in Kekirawa, in the A'pura district in May 2018. “It rained for days,” he said. “Although we had been waiting for the rain, it felt like this was a punishment. Our crops were entirely destroyed — all the labour of the season, just gone.” The previous year, his village was one of many in 16 districts that were affected by a prolonged drought, worst in four decades. more..

Jan 25 (Island) When former minister Sarath Fonseka was denied a ministry by Prez Sirisena last December, he threatened to go before courts to obtain what he deems to be his rightful place in the UNP govt, formed following the restoration of PM Ranil Wickremasinghe to that post. He has not yet followed up on that threat, but we now hear that some of the SLFP members who defected to the UNP recently are also contemplating petitioning courts because they, too, have been denied more..

Jan 25 (Island) The hosts aided by an unbeaten ton by Minod Bhanuka (113*) effortlessly outplayed the Irish by 8 wickets with nearly 20 overs to spare to gain an unassailable 3-0 lead and seal the five match series at the SSC yesterday. Chasing 269 to win, captain Upul Tharanga was off to an aggressive start which was short-lived and the only aspect which the Irish could cheer about. Fresh at the wicket, Avishka and Bhanuka, put the chase in order sharing 155-runs between them. more..

Jan 25 (ST) The SL – Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA) has run into troubled waters following the startling revelations made by the 5-member Presidential Committee of Experts (CoE) in their 280-page report released recently. President Sirisena has called for the suspension of the agreement pending its revision or abolition, as protests by professional associations, public interest groups and stakeholders of more..

Jan 25 (CT) Writing a column is much more difficult than writing an academic article. Academics usually forget their precis-writing lessons in the school when they start writing academic articles with so much dead-wood in order to make it publishable as editors of the journals ask for at least 8,000- 10,000 words. Are columns vertical while academic pieces are to be more horizontal? Although I had penned many a column in Sinhala and English in the past, beginning a new one is always difficult. more..

Jan 25 (DN) Sri Lanka’s first ever insurance cover for its artisans and craftsmen will commence this March. The insurance scheme, initially proposed by President Maithripala Sirisena in 2017, has been a rallying cry by many local craftsmen for years. Meanwhile, the second national census of the country’s handlooms sector too is to be completed by March 2019. “The handicrafts sector is one of the largest self-employment sectors in Sri Lanka,” said Minister Rishad Bathiudeen more..

Jan 25 (Island) Attorney-at-law Nagananda Kodituwakku, said in open court that he was the only lawyer in the country fighting corruption, in all three organs of the govt namely, legislature, executive and judiciary as well as in the CIABOC and the Attorney General. Kodituwakku said so when a case against him filed by AG Jayantha Jayasuriya over contempt of court during Justice K. Sripavan tenure as the Chief Justice was taken up in the SC. more..

Jan 25 (DM) Govt will be looking at further relaxing the rules pertaining to repatriation of export earnings to facilitate the country’s exporters, said the former Export Development Board (EDB) Chairperson and CEO Indira Malwatte. She said Minister Malik Samarawickrama would consult Minister Mangala Samaraweera to extend the required time for repatriation of export earnings, from the current 180 days. She was speaking at the post-business session of 36th AGM of more..

Jan 25 (DN) Sri Lanka’s rapidly ageing population will offer so many opportunities for businesses and create a positive impact on the overall economy if Sri Lanka puts right policies in place, Lakshman Dissanayake -Senior Professor in Demography and Vice Chancellor of University of Colombo said. Sri Lanka needs to put right policies in place to better garner benefits from its first demographic dividend, and SL’s rapidly ageing population will offer so many opportunities for businesses more..

Jan 25 (Island) A fine of Rs. 500,000 would be slapped on boat operators deploying their vessels in whale watching if current regulations relating to the business were not adhered to by them. Violation of these regulations would also carry a two year jail term, a gathering of such operatives was informed by the authorities recently. State Minister Ranjith Aluwihare, chief guest at an awareness-raising programme for more..

Jan 25 (EN) Sri Lanka wants greater trade liberalization and trust among South Asian economies to accelerate development and reduce poverty, a top central banker said, after slapping trade restrictions which has hit Indian vehicle exports and gold trading. High import protection, partly imposed to make up for policy errors of soft-pegged central banks in the region as well as political rivalries between India and Pakistan in particular have put a break on regional trade. more..

Jan 25 (DM) JVP MP Bimal Ratnayake asked the govt whether there was any plan to sign a Status of Forces agreement between SL and the US. Quoting an article that appeared in the Daily Mirror on US navy conducts temporary cargo transfer initiative in Sri Lanka, he said several US naval aircraft are scheduled to land and depart from the commercial airports. He asked the govt about its stance on the security to the country by allowing US naval aircraft to arrive at commercial airports. more..

Jan 25 (DM) SLFP MP Shantha Bandara alleged the UNP fraudulently introduced a clause to the 19th Amendment to limit the term of office of the current President Maithripala Sirisena to five years although he was elected to serve six years. He said that they realized this only after the Supreme Court ruled that the term of office of the incumbent President ends in five years. Mr. Bandara, who is also the politburo member of the SLFP, more..