Feb 14 (CT) Virtually unnoticed in the country’s media Gotabaya Rajapaksa‘s first major judicial nomination was Court of Appeal Judge Abdul Hameed Dileep Nawaz who was to be promoted as President of the Court of Appeal. Nawaz is the first sitting judge and the senior-most judicial officer to have been charge sheeted by the Bribery Commission for corruption during his time at the AG’s Department. Mohan Pieris who usurped the CJ chair after the illegal impeachment of more..

Feb 14 (TM) The foolproof sticker requirement for local liquor products that was conceptualised by the previous Govt is likely to be implemented by the Excise Department of SL from 1 March. Industry sources said that the department is pushing for it to be implemented from 1 March onwards, despite strong concerns within the alcohol industry. The implementation comes three months prior to the compulsory enactment date more..

Feb 14 (Island) Opportunities were few and rare for Navid Nawaz at his prime as most key positions of the SL team were occupied by some of the stalwarts of our cricket. When the late Guy De Alwis handed him his Test debut, he was two months away from his 29th birthday. But it is as a coach that Nawaz made a reputation. He worked for SLC as the U-19 coach from 2009 to 2014 and some of the current Test players like Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Mendis & Dhananjaya de Silva, came through him. more..

Feb 14 (FT) A public information campaign to combat human trafficking was officially launched on 10 February by the Ministry of Justice, Human Rights and Legal Reforms. This campaign is implemented by the Int'l Organization for Migration (IOM) in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice, Human Rights and Legal Reforms. Human trafficking is an organised crime committed both, within a country and across borders. It is an offence affecting men, women & children and is a punishable more..

Feb 14 (ST) Jayaratne will not depend on domestic structure that produces half-baked cricketers who contribute towards SL’s dwindling fortunes abroad. He wants instead to pick the best and put them under the best coaches to hone their skills so they are on par with international cricketers. “If you think a certain player is ready for int'l cricket, we will have to challenge the selectors & coaching management to get him into the side,” more..

Feb 14 (ST) Former Sri Lanka boxer Saman Nihal Gunaratne deplored the standard of boxing at the Nationals even as Police pugilist Rukmal Prasanna emulated his feat of carrying away the Sir Henry William Manning Cup awarded to the most scientific boxer. It may not necessarily herald another golden era for Police boxing coming as it did three decades after Gunaratne achieved the similar feat in 1989, 31 years after Olympian Dharmasiri Weerakoon won this coveted prize in 1958. more..

Feb 14 (DN) The most prestigious International Schools’ Athletic Championship (ISAC) will commence at the Sugathadasa Stadium today. ISAC has special significance as this is the 20th year celebration of the championship. This year’s edition will be hosted by Gateway College whose school athletic meet commenced in 2001 and has presently established itself as the flagship sporting event in the international schools calendar. The event will comprise approximately 2000 athletes more..

Feb 14 (ICC) With new, young and exciting players in our squad, I’m desperate to see how our new-look team will fare in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020. A tournament like this always brings so much excitement, for the players and the supporters, and we’re all looking forward to seeing what these players can do. With five players over 30, there is also lots of experience in this team to allow younger players to learn more..

Feb 14 (DM) Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) leader, MP Udaya Gammanpila said he had decided to use paper material made out of free-growing plants to print the cards for the upcoming general election. Addressing a news briefing, he said if other candidates had also followed this, we could lend a hand to finish the aggressive breeding plants such as Salvinia in Sri Lanka. He also stressed the need to carry out election campaigning without the usage of polythene and plastics. more..

Feb 14 (ST) Ramping up progress on its ground-breaking TRI-ZEN residential development project, John Keells Properties (part of the John Keells Group) has said that construction of the property was proceeding according to schedule, as work commenced on the building’s superstructure in Jan 2020. Located in the heart of the city at Union Place, the 53-storey development is set to redefine affordable, quality urban living in SL. The 891 homes at TRI-ZEN will incorporate cutting edge more..

Feb 14 (FT) Govt will present an amendment to the Vote on Account 2020 to Parliament next week, seeking Parliamentary approval to increase the debt ceiling from Rs. 721 billion to Rs. 1,078 billion and make additional budgetary provisions of Rs. 367 billion, required to settle bills of completed projects implemented by various Ministries under the previous Govt, which remain unsettled so far. more..

Feb 14 (Island) Sri Lanka’s FTAs have not provided considerable market access to the apparel exports industry. Therefore, we propose to the authorities to continue the trade dialogue which was under way in 2013, Rehan Lakhani, chairman, SL Apparel Exporters Association said at the Association's AGM on Wednesday. "SL is essentially a trade dependent country where imports and exports play a major role. So, the trade dialogue should be directed towards preferential arrangements with EU and UK more..

Feb 14 (Island) Samantha Jayasuriya, ambassador of Sri Lanka accredited to Lao People’s Democratic Republic with resident in Bangkok presented credentials to Bounnhang Vorachith, Prez of Lao at the President Palace Hokham in Vientiane on Feb 7. Ambassador Jayasuriya conveyed the greetings of the Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the govt of SL to the Prez of Lao PDR and during the discussion the Prez of Lao expressed hope on further strengthening cooperation between more..

Feb 14 (Island) Former Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran said that all govt funds received during his tenure as the CM had been spent. Wigneswaran said not a cent had been returned to the Treasury. He said so in response to PM Mahinda Rajapaksa’s claim in India during his recent visit that funds allocated to NPC had been returned. Wigneswaran questioned whether PM Rajapaksa had made a deliberate attempt to more..

Feb 14 (EN) Sri Lankans are most likely to gift chocolates to their significant other during Valentine’s Day, a research firm said. Sparkwinn Research, which polled over 280 respondents working and residing in urban areas on an online survey, found that 41% of individuals will gift chocolates at Valentine’s Day. Clothing and shoes, flowers, perfumes and greetings cards were also popular gifts of choice. A quarter of those surveyed said they will celebrate the day with dinner. more..

Feb 14 (DM) The govt has expressed its satisfaction on preventive measures taken by the Chinese Govt and its embassy in Colombo to contain the spread of novel coronavirus in SL, an official from the Chinese Embassy said. "The govt is grateful on what the Chinese Government and its embassy have done to collaborate with this request," the official said. In a press release, the Chinese Embassy called on “all walks of life in Sri Lanka” not to spread/believe rumours or to panic. more..

Feb 14 (FT) Minister Mahinda Amaraweera acknowledged that the Govt had limited time to take a decision on potentially moving forward with a proposed LNG power plant as parliament is likely to be dissolved early March but assured that uninterrupted power supply would be maintained. He said a six-member committee has been appointed by the Ministry this week to review power generation on a daily basis. more..

Feb 14 (SLN) SL Navy in coordination with the United Nation’s Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) held a round table discussion on the challenges associated with suspected vessels of trafficking drugs and other illegal activities, at the Lighthouse Galley in Colombo on 10th Feb 2020. A group of intellectuals from the UNODC headed by Mr. Allen Cole and an representative from Royal Australian Navy participated in the discussion and they exchanged views with the group of officers more..

Feb 14 (DM) The Cabinet recently approved a proposal submitted by Minister Chamal Rajapaksa to promote officers from the positions of Police Constable to Inspector of Police who had been denied of promotions for an extended period of time. Accordingly, the proposal seeks promotions for PCs, Sergeants, Sub-Inspectors and Inspectors. The lack of a proper methodology in promotions during the previous regime has deprived many police officers of deserving promotions. more..

Feb 14 (CT) JVP lodged a complaint with the CID to launch a probe on vehicles imported by the former govt for Cabinet Ministers, Deputy Ministers, and State Ministers. JVP MP Nalinda Jayatissa and Attorney-at-Law Sunil Watagala lodged the complaint. It was revealed in Parliament on 6 Feb that the former govt had spent a staggering Rs 2.8 billion to import super luxury vehicles for Cabinet, State and Deputy Ministers. more..

Feb 14 (DN) Cabinet approval has been granted for a large buffer of rice to ensure stable market prices and food security throughout the year. The buffer stock of 20,000 metric tonnes of preserved paddy will be purchased by the Paddy Marketing Board. Minister Bandula Gunawardane told the weekly Cabinet media briefing that the paddy surplus would be stored at a large store complex that was established in Minuwangoda during the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime. more..

Feb 14 (MFA) Embassy of Sri Lanka in Bahrain successfully co-ordinated Sri Lanka’s participation at the Bahrain for All festival held at Bahrain Bay on 6-7 Feb. Held under the theme Leaving Nobody Behind the festival brought together more than 50,000 people from over 40 local and expatriates’ communities to showcase their respective cultures. Thousands of people joined the festival to demonstrate the rich multicultural diversity and harmony that exists between more..

Feb 14 (DM) Survey Department had completed surveying 1,470,688 lots of land consisting of a total area of 3,555 square km under the Bim Saviya programme but titles have been issued only for half of that amount, SDSL Senior Deputy Surveyor-General K.D. Parakum Shantha said. He said the Bim Saviya survey programme was carried out in all lands in the country which belonged to the Govt and private owners according to more..

Feb 14 (CT) A decisive meeting between UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa to sort out the political conundrum within the Party is to be held at Sirikotha, at 2.30 p.m. today. Representatives of both factions of the Party, said today's meeting could well be the final discussion between the two Leaders to resolve the long-drawn political bickering within the Party. The Wickremesinghe faction continues to insist that UNF should contest next General Election more..

Feb 14 (FT) Sri Lanka’s onetime Ambassador to Russia Udayanga Weeratunga, who is wanted on charges of money laundering, is expected to be brought back to Sri Lanka from Dubai today, Daily FT reliably learns. Weeratunga has been hiding in the UAE since 2018. A case was filed in a Court there seeking his extradition to Sri Lanka, to face money laundering and misappropriation charges over his involvement in the 2006 purchase of four MiG 27 aircraft for the Sri Lanka Air Force. more..

Feb 14 (Island) Four-party TNA has urged the visiting EU delegation to pressure Prez Rajapaksa’s govt to fully implement the accountability resolution co-sponsored by the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe govt in Oct 2015. The resolution called for hybrid war crimes courts with foreign judges, including those representing Commonwealth countries. EU delegation led by Paola Pampaloni Director, Deputy Managing Director, more..

Feb 14 (DM) Parents using smart phones and occasionally granting their siblings the use of such communication tools would be more concerned in the future with the news circulating that a 21-year-old man had deceived several schoolboys using social media. According to the news item the man had impersonated as women or other men and cheated and threatened these schoolchildren using photos and videos sent to him via social media tools like WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, more..

Feb 14 (DM) The Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA) has been in the news for the past few years regarding reforms to the act. Some of the reforms presented include raising the minimum age of marriage upto 18 with no exceptions, allowing female quazis, making registration of marriages compulsory after the nikah ceremony. However, as of recent, it has been on the news due to Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera’s bill to repeal it and the Kandyan Marriage and Divorce Act. more..

Feb 14 (DM) MCC or the Millennium Challenge Compact is to be signed between US acting through the Millennium Challenge Corporation and The Govt of SL. This compact deals with two programmes: (1) arranging the efficiency and capacity of the road network and (2) privatisation of Govt land, registration and digitalisation of land. Why is it necessary to repeal the authority of the judiciary for the administration of these 2 programmes, more..

Feb 14 (ST) Despite strong assurances that cruise ship passengers, marine crew members and others would be tested for coronavirus, a Sunday Times investigation revealed that checks at sea ports were inferior to procedures at BIA. More than 7,000 passengers and crew members arrived in Sri Lanka on three cruise liners this week, mainly through Colombo Port. Another ship is due next week. more..

Feb 14 (TM) The defunct Oluvil Harbour on the East Coast – which has remained non-operational since the project started in 2013 – continues to incur heavy losses as the Govt looks to reutilise it as a mixed development project. The project was initiated in 2008 during the then Mahinda Rajapaksa Govt. The Govt of Denmark had provided a loan of € 45,095,369.49 or Rs. 8,955,194,083. more..

Feb 14 (TM) In SL’s wildlife history, 2019 will be remembered as the year with the highest recorded amount of wild elephant deaths. According to statistics shared by the Ministry of Wildlife, the total number of elephant deaths reported in 2019 was 395, while the number of human deaths reported was 118. The causes of elephant deaths have been recognised as shootings, electrocution, hakka patas, and poisoning. more..

Feb 14 (Xinhua) SL is planning to produce more skilled workers and technicians in order to meet the growing demand for labor in sectors like construction, partially fueled by the development of Colombo Port City, according to CEO of Vocational Training Authority (VTA), Damitha Wickramasinghe. He said state-owned VTA is planning to double the intake of trainees from last yr's 35,000 to a maximum of 70,000 this yr. more..

Feb 14 (AD) A set of proposals containing points to be taken into account when formulating a new Constitution has been presented to Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The proposals for a new Constitution compiled by the Yuthukama organization under the theme proposals to formulate a new Constitution for a strong state was presented to President Rajapaksa during a meeting held at the SL Foundation Institute, Colombo, today (13). more..

Feb 14 (EN) Sri Lanka has the same level of trade access as earlier under the GSP+ preferential trade scheme for one year after the UK left the European Union, British High Commission Sarah Hulton has said. A new preferential trade scheme is on the way and will go into effect in 2021, she added in remarks made to the SL Apparel Exporters Association in Colombo. “Sri Lanka will continue to benefit from the same level of more..

Feb 14 (FT) The Govt will need to implement forward-looking policies to keep up with an estimated 6% increase in annual energy demand, and implement a staggering 10,000 MW of renewable energy to meet its target of 80% renewables by 2030, a top official warned. At the Sri Lanka Chapter of the Renewable Energy Growth Forum, organised by Informa Markets, India, Public Utilities Commission of SL (PUCSL) more..

Feb 14 (AD) The 33 Sri Lankans, who were quarantined at the Diyatalawa army camp’s Base Hospital upon evacuation from Wuhan, are scheduled to return to their homes this evening. They have departed the quarantine facility to meet Commander of Army Lt Gen. Shavendra Silva at the Army Headquarters in Akuregoda. These Sri Lankans, who were stuck in Wuhan - the epicentre of COVID-19 - were evacuated more..

Feb 14 (AD) Former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Russia Udayanga Weeratunga has been arrested by the CID. Upon Weeratunga’s arrival at the BIA early this morning (14), he was interrogated by the CID officers. He reached Katunayake Airport at around 4.37 am this morning via a flight belonging to SriLankan Airlines. The former diplomat will be produced before the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court today. more..

Feb 14 (CT) Yesterday, this newspaper quoting an EU report, said that the EU has voiced concerns on statements made in regard to the abolishment of the 19A as well as the statement by the Govt supporting the non-implementation of the UNHRC's Resolution 30/1. The report centred round the country enjoying GSP+ and covered SL's progress in the period 2018-2019, in which period, largely, the immediately preceding Yahapalana Govt of then Prez Sirisena and PM Wickremesinghe was in power. more..

Feb 14 (FT) There is a strong correlation between the complex crisis Sri Lanka is currently facing and the ancient history of Sri Lanka. The way Sri Lankans think today, is to a great extent, influenced by various interpretations made on the history of the country rather than the objective interpretations of historical facts themselves. Taking this fact into consideration, I ventured to revisit the history of Sri Lanka with a critical and analytical aproach. My attempt eventually ended up in writing a book more..